,,the ,,bible3 ,,what ,,it ,,is6 ,,by ',,iconoclast' ,by ,charles ,bradlaugh ,published ,by ,the ,author ,sold ,by ,holyoake ,and ,co41 #adg1 ,fleet ,street2 ,parker1 ,ridge ,heath2 ,sharp1 ,tabernacle ,walk1 ,london2 ,j4 ,bates1 ,champton2 ,j4 ,b4 ,cooper1 ,manchester2 ,g4 ,miller1 ,glasgow2 ,watson1 ,newcastle-,on-,tyne2 ,and ,robinson1 ,edinburgh4 ,,being ,,an ,,examination ,,thereof ,,from ,,genesis ,,to ,,revelations #a ,,transcriber',s ,,note3 ,the author states the scope of his work as ,,being ,,an ,,examination ,,thereof ,,from ,,genesis ,,to ,,revelations4 ,my copy of the first two pamphlets give only the first nine books of the #ci book ,st4 ,james version--nor can ,i find in any old book stores or on internet search any print or electronic copy which goes beyond the first nine books of the ,old ,testament4 ,either my nine books are but a fragment of the whole of ,bradlaugh's work1 or he may not have completed it4 ,regardless1 the detail of his work here1 with ,hebrew and ,greek references1 make this a valuable study4 ,,dw ,,book ,i4 ,,genesis ,the ,bible is the name by which the collection of ,books beginning with ,genesis and ending with ,revelations is commonly known4 ,it is derived from the ,greek word ------ 7,books71 and this name is supposed to have been first applied in the fifth century by ,chrysostom1 before which time those books were known as ------ holy writings1 sacred writings1 writings of ,god4 ,the ,bible is divided into three parts3 the ,old ,testament1 containing thirty-nine books1 the ,new ,testament1 containing twenty-seven books1 and the ,apocrypha1 containing fourteen books2 making in the whole eighty books4 ,it is only the first portion1 known as the ,old ,testament1 upon which ,i intend to treat at present4 ,it professes to be translated from the ,hebrew1 in which ,language 7according to the learned ,parkhurst7 ,god communicated with ,adam2 or1 perhaps to quote the learned divine more correctly1 ,i ought to say that ',hebrew was the language in which ,god taught ,adam to speak4' ,it has been suggested by other saintly writers that ,hebrew will be the language spoken in ,paradise by the ,saints4 ,it is perhaps to be regretted that ,god did not choose a language more copious1 and less capable of being misconstrued2 but ,i will not at present stop to question whether the fact be as above stated--it is sufficient for us to know that the original of the ,old ,testament is 7with some slight exception7 written in the ,hebrew4 ,the ,old ,testament is divided by the ,jews into three parts1 called #ast1 7the law7--this division includes ,genesis1 ,exodus1 ,leviticus1 ,numbers1 and ,deuteronomy2 #bnd1 7the ,prophecies7--this portion contains the ,books of ,joshua1 ,judges1 ,samuel1 and ,kings1 which are known as the former prophets1 and ,isaiah1 ,jeremiah1 ,ezekiel1 ,hosea1 ,joel1 ,amos1 ,obadiah1 ,jonah1 ,micah1 ,nahum1 ,habakkuk1 ,zephaniah1 ,haggai1 ,zachariah1 and ,malachi--of these1 the three first are called 'the greater ,prophets1' and the remaining twelve 'the lesser'2 #crd1 7holy writings71 comprising the ,psalms1 ,proverbs1 ,job1 ,song of ,songs1 ,ruth1 ,lamentations1 ,ecclesiastes1 ,esther1 ,daniel1 ,ezra1 ,nehemian1 and first and second ,chronicles4 ,i have given the books in their ,jewish order1 which differs from our own1 ,chronicles being the last book of the ,hebrew ,bible4 ,the earliest complete translation into ,english of the whole of the ,bible was made in the fourteenth century by the famous ,john ,wickliffe1 who was born in #acbd and died in #achd4 ,this translation was reprinted in #agca1 and again in #ahaj4 ,wickliffe's version #b of the ,old ,testament1 ,i believe1 still remains in manuscript4 ,portions of the ,bible had been previously translated into ,saxon1 and it is alleged that one ,john de ,trevisa had completed a translation prior to ,wickliffe4 ,the next translation appears to have been made by ,william ,tyndale 7a native of ,gloucestershire1 born about #adgg1 and cruelly murdered in ,september1 #aecf7 who1 in #aebf1 printed two editions of the ,new ,testament1 which were issued from ,wittemberg2 both of these were1 however1 bought up by the ,church authorities1 and committed to the flames4 ,tyndale1 however1 nothing daunted by this1 continued his work of translation1 in which he is said to have been assisted by ,martin ,luther2 ,tyndale at this time residing at ,antwerp1 to which place he had been compelled to fly in #aebc1 to avoid the persecution of the priests4 ,it is worthy of notice that the ,bible1 which is alleged by the priests to be ,god's word revealed to the people1 was never revealed to the people of ,england in their own tongue until the fourteenth century2 that it was not until fifty-two years after printing had been introduced into ,england that any attempt was made to print an ,english edition3 and that the first man who was sufficiently religiously disposed to print an edition1 had his work burnt by the very men who1 if their doctrines are true1 should have zealously guarded each copy4 ,not only were the ,bibles burnt1 but every person in whose possession they were found was subjected to severe punishment4 ,despite all this1 the editions issued by ,tyndale were eagerly bought2 and efforts were then made by ,king ,henry ,,viii41 ,cardinal ,wolsey1 and ,sir ,thomas ,more1 to lure poor ,tyndale back to ,england1 but he was too cautious to return4 ,his friend1 ,john ,frith1 who had assisted him in translating1 was more credulous2 and1 returning to ,london upon the king's promise of safety1 was arrested and burnt4 ,tyndale was ultimately entrapped1 and strangled and burnt at ,vilvoord1 near ,antwerp4 ,one would now be inclined to think that the priests well knew that to place the ,bible in the hands of the people would be to tear down the veil from the temple1 would expose their trickeries1 and would place in the hands of the mass the means of detecting their false pretence4 ,under the guise of preachers of a revelation from ,god1 they had ruled the minds of the people2 and they were fully aware or the danger which would accrue to themselves should the people ever examine too closely into the merits of that revelation4 ,sir ,thomas ,more wrote against ,tyndale in language which will startle the readers of the present day1 especially when we remember that ,tyndale's crime was the presenting us with a translation of the ,bible admirable for its style and general accuracy4 ,more says1 ',our ,saviour will say to ,tyndale1 ,thou art accursed1 ,tyndale1 the son of the ,devil1 for neither flesh nor blood hath taught thee these heresies1 but thine own ,father1 the devil1 that is in ,hell4 ,ah1 blasphemous beast1 to whose roaring and lowing no good ,christian man can1 without heaviness of heart1 give ear4' #c ,the next published translation was by ,miles ,coverdale 7born #aece71 who partially used ,tyndale's text4 ,coverdale appears only to have translated from the ,dutch and ,latin into ,english4 ,it does not seem at all clear that ,tyndale translated from the ,greek and ,hebrew direct4 ,it is quite certain that prior to this time the monks placed great difficulties in the way of acquiring either of those languages1 in fact1 ,erasmus tells us that to know ,greek was to be suspected1 and to know ,hebrew would prove you heretic outright4 ,the next is known as ,matthewe's ,bible1 which is supposed to have been issued in the early part of the sixteenth century1 by ,richard ,grafton4 ,it is merely a collation of the texts of ,tyndale and ,coverdale4 ,about the same time were issued ,cranmer's and ,taverner's editions of the ,bible4 ,the ,geneva edition1 issued in #aefj1 is that which is commonly known as the ',breeches ,bible1' on account of the translation of ,genesis1 c4 #c1 v4 #g4 ,i have a copy of this in reference4 ,bishop ,parker's ,bible was issued in #aefh4 ,this edition was completed by the aid of several learned men1 and differs considerably from its predecessors4 ,in #aehb1 the ,douay edition of the ,new ,testament was issued2 and1 in #afji1 the ,old ,testament also4 ,the former was printed at ,rheims1 the latter at ,douay2 and both were issued under the superintendence of ,cardinal ,allen4 ,this brings us to the period at which what is commonly known as the authorised version was issued4 ,this being the version ,i have to examine1 ,i shall quote the history of it as given in an able article which appeared in the ,penny ,cyclopdia3--',early in the reign of ,king ,james ,i41 there was a conference of divines of different opinions1 at ,hampton ,court1 for the settling of the peace of the ,church4 ,in this conference much was said concerning the imperfection of the existing translations of the ,scriptures4 ,the king himself1 who was often present at these meetings1 expressed a strong opinion on that point of the debate4 ,i wish1 said he1 some special pains were taken for an uniform translation1 which should be done by the best learned in both ,universities1 then reviewed by the bishops1 presented to the ,privy ,council1 and1 lastly1 ratified by royal authority1 to be read in the whole ,church1 and no other4 ,out of this speech of the king's arose the present ,english ,bible2 for the suggestion soon ripened into a resolution4 ,as this is the ,bible which has for more than two centuries been the only ,bible allowed to be read in the ,english ,church1 and as it is also the ,bible universally used in dissenting communities1 we may be expected to give a more extended notice of it than of the former editions4 ,fifty-four of the persons in that age most distinguished for that particular species of learning which such a duty required1 were selected for the work1 according to the king's suggestion2 finally1 forty-seven of them undertook it4 ,they divided themselves into six independent classes1 to each of which a certain portion of the work was assigned4 ,each person in the class was to produce his own translation of the whole #d committed to them1 and these several translations were to be revised at a general meeting of the class4 ,when the class had agreed upon their version1 it was to be transmitted to each of the other classes2 so that no part was to come out without the sanction of the whole body4 ',two of the classes sat at ,westminster1 two at ,oxford1 and two at ,cambridge4 ,the instructions which they received from the king were1 that they should adhere to the ,bishops' ,bible1 which was then ordinarily read in the ,churches1 making as few deviations from it as possible4 ,they were1 however1 to use the other versions1 and to consult the translations which had been made into other modern languages2 and they were to keep in the old ecclesiastical words1 such as ,church1 etc4 ,when a word had divers significations1 that should be kept which had been most commonly used by the ancient ,fathers1 being agreeable to the propriety of the place and the analogy of faith4 ,no marginal notes were to be used1 except for the further explication of some ,greek or ,hebrew word4 ,references to parallel passages might be given4 ,they were to call in the assistance of any learned man who was known to have made this subject his study4 ',they were employed upon the work for three years1 namely from #afjg to #afaj2 proceeding with that deliberation and care which so weighty an undertaking required4 ,the names of the divines engaged in it1 and the portions known which were committed to each class1 are reserved4 ,if we say that there are few names among them which have acquired a lasting celebrity1 we are only saying of them what is the usual fete of divines4 ,the name of ,bishop ,andrews is first in place and the first in celebrity4 ,it is believed that ,bancroft1 then ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 though not one of the professed translators1 had much to do in the superintendence of the work4 ,it came forth from the press of ,robert ,barker in #afaa4' ,i have a copy printed by ,robert ,barker before me which contains the whole eighty books4 ,it begins with these words1 ',the first book of ,moses1 called ,genesis4' ,not one word of this title is to be found in the ,hebrew4 ,the word ,genesis is a ,greek word1 signifying production1 generation1 birth1 origin1 or formation4 ,it seems curious that the translators should have given a ,hebrew book a ,greek title4 ,in the ,hebrew there is no title to the book2 the first word ------ 7in the beginning7 is merely written in larger characters4 ,the headings to each page and chapter are also additions made by the translators2 and this is sometimes very important1 as they are made to improperly govern the meaning of the text4 ,as to ,genesis being called 'the first book of ,moses1' ,i think that grave censure should be cast on those who prefixed those words2 they are entirely omitted in the ,douay edition4 ,long since1 our churchmen have been acquainted with the fact that these words1 fixing the authorship on ,moses1 form no part of the original text1 yet they allow edition after edition to be printed bearing the same title as that of #afaa4 ,why is this8 ,it is not that they are afraid of tampering with the authorised version1 for they have actually1 in the later editions1 omitted the whole fourteen books of the ,apocrypha1 which were included in the original edition4 #e ,in an edition of ,king ,james's authorised version1 printed in #afcj1 the page containing ,ezekiel1 chapter #g1 is headed by mistake with the word ',apocrypha4' ,this mistake has been corrected in the later editions2 why not also have corrected those five false statements which allege ,moses as the author of the ,pentateuch8 ,there have been1 also1 several printers' errors corrected in the later editions1 yet the words in question are allowed to stand2 why is this8 again ,i ask4 ,the persistence in an error of so important a character would justify suspicion1 and even the allegation of fraudulent intent on the part of those who issue the book4 ,it is an attempt to give an anonymous work an undue claim on our attention4 ,moses himself1 in no part of the five books1 claims to be the author of them2 and in no part of the ,bible is he alleged to be the writer of the ,pentateuch4 ,it is certainly alleged that ,moses wrote 'the law1' 'the book of the law1' but there is nothing whatever to show that that work outlived the destruction of ,jerusalem1 and there are several express declarations to the contrary 7vide ,letter on the ,pentateuch by ,thomas ,cooper1 ,m4,d41 and ,esdras1 chap1 xiv41 v4 #ba74 ,i am aware of the texts quoted by those who allege that ,moses was the author of the whole ,pentateuch2 viz41 ,exodus1 chap1 xvii41 v4 #ad1 chap1 xxiv41 v4 #d and #g1 chap1 xxxiv41 v4 #bg1 ,numbers1 chap1 xxxiii41 v4 #a and #b1 ,deuteronomy1 chap1 i41 v4 #e1 chap1 xxxi41 v4 #i1 #ac1 #bb1 #bd1 #bf2 but do not think that they will1 even in the hands of the most partial supporter of the ,mosaic hypothesis1 bear on the question sufficiently to decide it in the affirmative1 or even to create a presumption in its favour4 ,that ,moses was the author of the ,pentateuch as it now stands is a proposition which no intelligent man in the present day will venture to support1 especially after the elaborate criticisms of ,aben ,ezra1 ,spinoza1 ,hobbes1 ,peyrerius1 ,astruc1 ,pere ,simon1 ,volney1 ,voltaire1 ,gesenius1 ,vater1 ,paine1 and others4 ,the whole of the five books abound with passages which could not have been written by ,moses1 or during his life time4 ,see--,genesis1 chap1 xii41 v4 #f1 also chap1 xiii41 v4 #g2 these verses must have been written at a period when the ,canaanites had been expelled from the land of which they were in quiet possession during the lifetime of ,moses3-- ,genesis1 chap1 xiv41 v4 #ad4 ,the city of ,lais1 ,laish1 or ,leshem1 was not called ,dan until long after the death of ,moses1 when the ,danites possessed themselves of it and called it after ,dan1 their father 7vide ,joshua1 chap1 xix41 v4 #dg1 and ,judges1 chap1 xviii41 v4 #bi73--;,genesis1 chap1 xiii41 v4 #ah1 chap1 xxiii41 v4 #b and #ai1 chap1 xxv41 v4 #bg1 c4 ,these verses and several others1 in which ,hebron is named1 cannot be from the pen of ,moses1 for there was no such place as ,hebron in his day4 ,kirjath ,arba was not called ,hebron until given to ,caleb1 son of ,jephunneh1 long after the death of ,moses 7vide ,joshua1 chap1 xiv41 v4 #ad and #ae73-- ,genesis1 chap1 xx41 v4 #af1 and chap1 xxiii41 v4 #ae and #af4 ,of these verses1 ,voltaire writes as follows2 ',learned and ingenious men1 full of their own talents and acquirements1 have maintained that it is #f impossible ,moses could have written the book of ,genesis4 ,one of their principal reasons is1 that in the history of ,abraham that patriarch is stated to have paid for a cave he purchased for the interment of his wife1 in silver coin2 and the ,king of ,gerar to have given ,sarah a thousand pieces of silver1 when he restored her1 after having carried her off for her beauty at the age of seventy-five4 ,they inform us that they have consulted all the ancient authors1 and that it appears very certain that1 at the period mentioned1 silver money was not in existence3-- ,genesis1 chap4 xxii4 v4 #ad4 ,it is asserted that ,mount ,moriah was not called the ,mount of the ,lord until after the ,temple was erected thereon1 centuries after the death of ,moses3-- ,genesis1 chap1 xxxvi41 v4 #ca4 ,this could not have been written until kings had ruled over the ,children of ,israel1 which would bring the authorship to the time of ,saul1 even conceding the earliest date4 ,voltaire says1 'this is the celebrated passage which has proved one of the great stumbling-stones2 this it was which decided the great ,newton1 the proud and acute ,samuel ,clarke1 the profound and philosophic ,bolingbroke1 the learned ,le ,clerc1 the ingenious ,freret1 and a host of other enlightened men1 to maintain that it was impossible ,moses could have been the author of ,genesis'3-- ,exodus1 chap1 xvi41 v4 #ce4 ,this could not have been written by ,moses1 as manna did not cease until after his death 7vide ,joshua1 chap1 v41 v4 #ab73-- ,numbers1 chap1 xii41 v4 #c4 ,no man will for one moment suppose that a meek man would write his own character1 to be handed down to posterity in this fashion4 ,paine1 quoting the verse1 says1 ',if ,moses said this of himself1 instead of being the meekest of men1 he was one of the most vain and arrogant of coxcombs1 and the advocates for these books may now take which side they please1 for both sides are against them2 if ,moses was not the author1 the book is without authority1 and if he was the author1 is without credit1 because to boast of meekness is the reverse of meekness1 and is a lie in sentiment'3-- ,deuteronomy1 chap1 i41 v4 #a and #e1 and chap iv41 v4 #da to #di4 ',these be the words which ,moses spake unto all ,israel on the other side of ,jordan4' ,our version gives it1 'this side ,jordan1' but the ,hebrew word in each verse is ------ which even the orthodox ,park-hurst translates as meaning over1 beyond1 on the other side 7vide ,parkhurst's ,lexicon1 p4 #eji1 article ------ and ,dr4 ,cooper's ,letter1 p4 #da to #dd74 ,in fact1 the translators of the ,bible have themselves translated this very word differently in ,deuteronomy1 chap1 iv41 v4 #di4 ,it of course follows that1 as ,moses never crossed the river ,jordan1 he could not have been the author of the verses in which the expression occurs3-- ,deuteronomy1 chap1 ii41 v4 #ab4 ,this could not have been written by ,moses1 as in his day the ,children of ,israel had not even reached1 much less entered into possession of the promised land3-- ,deuteronomy1 chap1 xxxiii4 ,it is scarcely probable that ,moses wrote a chapter containing phrases such as 'the man of ,god1 ,moses1 #g blessed the ,children of ,israel before his death1' ',moses commanded us a law1' c3--,deuteronomy1 chap1 xxxiv4 ,i do not consider it necessary to reason upon the proposition that a man cannot write an account of his own death and burial1 or to endeavour to prove that he cannot relate that his grave remains undiscovered to the present day4 ,beside which1 the names used in this chapter are those which were given to the places after the ,israelites had obtained possession of the land1 and which could not have been known in the time of ,moses4 ,the same remark applies to ,deuteronomy1 chap1 iv41 v4 #dc1 in which the reader will at once discover a glaring anachronism1 as it is impossible ,bezer1 ,gilead1 and ,golan1 could have been called ,bezer of the ,reubenites1 ,gilead of the ,gadites1 and ,golan of the ,mannassites1 until after those tribes had conquered and taken possession of ,bezer1 ,gilead1 and ,golan respectively1 which they did not do until after the death of ,moses4 ,in ,dr4 ,cooper's able letter to ,professor ,silliman1 ,spinoza's ',tractates ,theologico-,politicus1' ,pere ,simon's critical history of the ,old ,testament1 ,voltaire's ',philosophical ,dictionary1' ,volney upon ,ancient ,history1 as also in the notes to ,volney's ',ruins1' and in ,thomas ,paine's ',age of ,reason1' part #b1 the reader will find the arguments ,i have used more fully elaborated4 ,in ,professor ,newman's ',phases of ,faith1' pp4 #hc and #hd1 there is an eloquent repudiation of the attempts at argument of those theologians who contend for the ,mosaic ,pentateuch4 7,the word ,pentateuch is a compound ,greek word1 meaning five books47 ,why should we acknowledge ,moses as the author of ,genesis1 ,exodus1 ,leviticus1 ,numbers1 and ,deuteronomy8 ,we have positive evidence that he was not the writer of very many portions1 and we have no evidence at all to support the assertion that he wrote a single line of either of the five books4 ,in ,voltaire's dialogue between the monk and the honest man1 the following remarks occur3-- '#a4--;,it seems difficult that ,moses could have written the ,pentateuch which we attribute to him1 in the desert4 ,if his people came from ,egypt1 where they had lived1 says the author1 #djj years 7although he is mistaken in #bjj years71 the book would1 probably1 have been written in ,egyptian1 and we are told it was in ,hebrew4 ,it must have been graven upon stone or wood1 because1 in the time of ,moses1 they had no other mode of writing4 ,this was a very difficult art1 and one which required long preparations1 since it was necessary to polish the wood or the stone4 ,it does not appear that this art would have been exercised in a desert1 where1 according to the book itself1 the ,jewish horde were not able to make their own clothes and shoes1 and where ,god was obliged to work a continual miracle during forty years to preserve their vestments without decaying1 and the coverings of their legs and feet4 ,it is so true that they were only able to write upon stone1 that the author of the book of ,joshua says that ,deuteronomy was written upon an altar of rough stones1 plastered with mortar4 ,it appears ,joshua did not even imagine this book was durable4 #h '#b4--,those men who are most versed in antiquity think these books were written more than #gjj years after ,moses4 ,they found this opinion upon that which is spoken of the ,kings of ,edom and ,israel1 when there were no kings till a long time after ,moses2 upon the position of the cities1 which is false if the books were written in the desert1 and true if they were written at ,jerusalem2 upon the names of the cities and small towns of which these books speak1 which were neither built nor called by the names there given them till many ages afterwards1 c4' ,previous to my analysis of the first chapter of ,genesis1 ,i shall quote from an able letter which appeared in a provincial paper a short time since1 and in which ,i fully concur4 ',before entering into a detailed examination of the ,mosaic narrative1 ,i will glance at the order and operation of its incidents4 ,this is the more necessary1 as the sequence of those operations becomes a leading and important feature in the final deductions4 ',genesis1 read in its literal sense1 teaches that1 on the first day ,god directed light to be1 and divided light from darkness1 calling the light day and darkness night1 ',on the second day ,he placed a firmament to divide the waters1 gathering the waters together and forming dry land1 which ,he commanded to bring forth grass and herbs yielding seed1 and trees yielding fruit4 ',on the fourth day ,he placed lights in the firmament to give light upon the earth2 and1 on the same day1 ,he made two great lights1 the greater to rule the day1 the lesser the night2 and he also made the stars1 and placed them in the firmament to give light upon the earth4 ,on the fifth day the sea was commanded to bring forth the living creature that had life1 and the fowl that might fly above the earth in the open firmament4 ',the great whales were also created on that day1 and every living thing that moveth1 which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind1 and every winged fowl after his kind4 ',the first part of the sixth day opens with the creation of the beasts of the earth1 and cattle1 and everything that creepeth on the earth2 consummating the mighty work with the creation of man4 ',my task is to prove that1 so far as geology and the sister sciences have examined into the results of this creation1 neither the order1 the mode1 nor the period of operations can1 on physical evidences1 be sustained4 ',god said1 let there be light1 and there was light4 ,we have here a fiat originating light2 but from what physical source was that luminous effect evolved8 ,neither sun nor moon was yet made2 not a single star had twinkled in the heavens2 nor was a firmament or atmosphere placed1 as a vehicle for the rays4 ,by what natural law could there be light8 ,the common rudiments of ,physics teach us that air diffuses the solar beams1 thereby causing the brightness of that portion of light called1 from the earliest recorded period1 day4 ,without that diffusive medium1 the heavenly bodies would be sharply #i defined balls of apparent fire1 in the profoundly black vault of heaven4 ,science has never1 hitherto1 found a substitute for the sun2 nor research discovered a period since the earth existed1 having evening and morning1 without one4 ',the terms evening and morning of a day have1 from all recorded time1 conveyed to the mind distinct impressions2 evening1 that portion of sun light immediately preceding and succeeding its apparent departure or disappearance below our horizon2 morning1 that portion of light that immediately precedes and succeeds its apparent rising above4 ,they also imply two other divisions of time1 night and mid-day4 ,now1 we have the direct conclusive evidence daily exhibited1 that the sun1 or its luminous atmosphere1 by recognised laws and combinations1 lights the world2 and that darkness1 as a necessary consequence1 follows its absence4 ',if the earth had existed independently of the sun1 it would have been a wanderer in space1 under circumstances which are decidedly inconceivable4 ,yet ,genesis relates that there was light1 without a sun to give it forth1 or medium to diffuse its rays4 ,we have also involved in this order of creation the phenomena of a diurnal rotation1 indicated without any central source of light to make the period or time of revolution1 and a planet revolving in an orbit without a centre round which to revolve4 ,scientific observations and deductions1 every day evidences of the physical laws that govern our solar system1 lead clearly to the conclusion that the sun1 #adj1jjj times larger than the earth1 was the first born4 ,genesis asserts that our pigmy earth was its precursor4 ',whence1 without sun or moon or stars1 did this light1 in accordance with any known natural law1 proceed2 and how was the division of evening and morning of the first day indicated8 ',the second day's creation again gives us an evening and morning without any arrangement to measure those divisions of time1 and still without any source from which light could proceed4 ,what the waters were above the firmament or atmosphere1 ,i cannot discover2 certainly clouds are not above the firmament or atmosphere1 but floating in it2 and of any other aqueous aggregations above the firmament we know nothing4 ',in the third day's creation we have dry land appearing1 and grass and herb yielding seed1 and fruit trees yielding fruit brought forth4 ',we have1 as yet1 had no sun to shine on the earth created1 to give colour to the leaves or to the flowers2 to ripen the seeds of herbs yielding seed1 or the fruit of trees yielding fruit4 ,neither does ,genesis mention any other creation of plants2 we must therefore infer this creation originated all the vegetable world4 ',the present number of named species of plants is about #bhj1jjj1 spread in provinces over the known world4 ,the greater part of this large number are peculiar in their habits1 and arbitrary in their provinces of growth4 ,the palms of the tropics would die in the ungenial atmosphere of the northern hemisphere2 and the plants that flourish under the chilling blasts of the ,arctic ,regions would wither under #aj the scorching suns of the ,torrid ,zone4 ,it is1 therefore1 a preliminary question--was this a multitudinous creation1 assorted to their several localities1 or a creation of one or two plants of a class from whence all the rest proceeded8 ,if the former is alleged1 ,i ask1 as the ordered world was then only two days old1 what provision was there1 by known laws1 to meet numerous physical wants of this immense creation8 ,were they created perfect plants1 as we are informed they were1 yielding seed1 or only the germs for future growth8 ,if perfect plants1 ,i apprehend the periodical rings1 the distinctive mark of the exogens1 would1 by natural laws1 be wanting2 but1 ,i suppose1 added in the plants proceeding from the parent stem4 ,we have1 then1 a development process at once admitted2 a process1 ,i conceive1 manifestly opposed to the ,mosaic narrative4 ',of the oneness of vegetable creation1 making1 or formation1 ,genesis leaves no doubt4 ,now ,geology1 or rather palaeontology1 adduces many proofs which1 to unbiassed minds1 ,i apprehend1 will be conclusive1 that such was not the case2 but1 on the contrary1 the vegetable world progressed with the altered structural and climatic conditions of the earth4 ,this is evidenced by the presence of special fossil vegetable productions in certain strata1 and the absence of others4 ,negative evidence may1 in some cases1 be inconclusive2 but it must be borne in mind that there are certain conditions or collateral circumstances which impart to negative the force and conclusiveness of positive and direct affirmative testimony4 ,thus1 in considering the value of that evidence in favour of the existence of a certain class of vegetable life at any given period1 if we find 7says the ,rev4 ,b4 ,powell7 that some vegetable forms existed1 and a fitness at the same period for the existence of others1 the non-appearance of the latter in such cases is tantamount to non-existence4 ,on evidence thus valued we will inquire into the simultaneous creation and existence of the vegetable world as related in the #aath and #abth verses4 ',through nearly the entire range of the immense ,silurian deposits we find only traces of algae1 the lowest form of plants of the ,thallogens4 ,sir ,r4 ,j4 ,murchison says1 there are no traces of land plants in the great mass of the ,silurian rocks4 ',the first evidence we have in the ,devonian of terrestrial vegetation is a doubtful specimen of the fern tribe2 yet1 through these immense periods1 a large surface of dry land is evidenced by the extent of the sedimentary deposits of the earlier stratified formations2 for1 as ,professor ,nicoll observes1 any sedimentary deposition implies not only the existence of a sea in which its materials were deposited1 but of lands from which they were derived4 ',when we enter on the ,carboniferous1 we are surrounded by the spoils of the first great woody era4 ,now1 during the ,carboniferous period1 it cannot be denied that we have every requisite for supporting vegetable life1 and the most undeniable evidence of its existence by the fossiliferous preservation of near #ejj species4 ,these were peculiar to the ,carboniferous period4 ,they died away and have not left one species specifically the same with our present vegetation4 #aa ',further1 there is scarcely any evidence of a true exogen up to and through the vast and immeasurable periods of the coal measures2 and he who dreams that1 in the woods of the primeval world there flourished the oak1 the elm1 and the hundreds of our other forest productions1 introduces in the landscape a feature equally immaginative to the wildest ,eastern allegory4 ,of the great family of the leguminosae we have no trace until we come to the ,london clay1 forming a part of the eocene series4 ,in the same formation 7deposited in the geological calculation tens of thousands of years past1 and hundreds of thousands of years subsequent to the ,carboniferous era7 we have abundance of fossil fruits---palm nuts1 custard apples1 and the gourd and melon family4 ,that the most delicate and perishable parts of vegetable structure can be preserved through immense periods of time1 is shown by the state of these1 and also of the fossil ligneous coverings of nuciferous fruits1 cones of firs1 and even the indication of flowers4 ,this preservation of parts of fructification1 and the pollen of coniferae1 displays the art with which nature embalms her relics4 ,who1 having examined the fossils of the ,carboniferous beds1 can fail being struck with amazement at the clear and distinct tracing of leaves and forms of the most delicate articulation and structure8 ,we have1 also1 in our coal measures1 found trees of species long extinct1 thirty to forty feet high1 with roots attached as they grew in situ4 ',these were of a structure far more liable to perish than the hard1 close grained exogens of our days4 ,but palaeontology discloses that nature has been guided in her formations by certain laws pre-eminently evidenced by her vegetable productions4 ',a large portion of the earth's surface1 we may infer from analogy1 in the ,carboniferous ages had the appearance of an immense ,polynesia of equable temperature1 where her peculiar vegetable productions grew in immense profusion1 and1 for their species1 attained gigantic size4 ',immediately after this period1 land vegetation almost disappears2 and not until the deposition of the tertiaries do we find the dawning of new species of varied structures4 ,after entering thereon1 an entirely different view opens to us4 ,birch1 pines1 and evergreen shrubs1 species of the orange and gourd families1 of the leguminosae and mallows1 abound4 ,we have here wherewith to make a forest1 a garden1 a feast4 ,now all these floras depart in type more or less from their predecessors2 each in its turn died out1 as ,buffon emphatically states1 because time fought against them4 ,they are peculiar to the days of their existence2 but the past and the present unite in proclaiming1 trumpet-tongued1 that these multitudinous species had neither one centre nor one period of creation4 ,the remarkable statement of the much-regretted ,professor ,edward ,forbes1 in his presidential address to the ,geological ,society in #ahed1 of the fauna or animal life of the creation1 applies more strongly1 if possible1 to the flora4 ,more evident does it become every day1 said that eminent naturalist1 that the old notion of an universal primaeval fauna is untenable1 and that at #ab all epochs1 from the earliest preserved to us to the latest1 there were natural history provinces in geographical space4 ',now we find that1 although seeds1 herbs1 and flowers and plants were stated to have been created1 made1 or formed1 on the third day1 we find no evidence of their existence during periods incalculable subsequent to the appearance of animal life4 ,any short period of non-appearance might not satisfy the requirements for the proof of non-existence2 but the astounding fact or the absence of the vegetation specifically the same as the present1 through all the intervening series from the earliest dawn of life to the tertiary1 can leave no doubt on any unbiassed or candid mind of their non-existence in the early ages of the created world1 and of their subsequent altered structure4 ,may we not fairly argue and expect that in such multitudinous species some evidence of their existence during enormous periods 7especially when we find remains of other vegetable forms and animal life abound7 would appear4 ,and if this one day's work does not disclose the whole vegetable creation1 when or at what period did the subsequent one take place8 ',i apprehend ,i have shown circumstances surrounding the negative evidence1 to give to the non-appearance of land vegetation through the periods of the ,silurian and ,devonian the force of proof of nonexistence4 ',i also submit that ,i have shown1 by direct evidence1 that there was no oneness of creation of vegetable life1 but that altered forms and structure were peculiar to periods in which they flourished2 and that there never did exist any immense primaeval flora as narrated in ,genesis4 ',i have thus far had the task of showing how negative evidence14 in the non-appearance and the subsequent varied forms1 contradict the order of oneness in the creation or formation of vegetable life4 ',i will now produce positive evidence bearing upon the same discrepancies4 ,we have in the third day the creation of vegetable life1 but no animal life until the fifth day--then we have 7we must be excused reiteration7 fish and fowl and the whales1 whilst on the sixth and last day were brought forth creeping things4 ,the first sign of animal life yet discovered is of the radiate class1 in the lowest zone of the lower ,silurian4 ,we have another class of animal life1 the articulata1 in the same zone2 and we have some three hundred species of molluscs through the silurian4 ,nay1 so large is the last named class at this early period1 that it is denominated by ,american geologists the age of molluscs4 ,i must remind our readers that during the whole of this immeasurable age1 we have not a single authenticated land plant2 nay1 further1 we have fish1 the creation of the fifth day1 before aught of the third day's creation appears4 ',we have1 also1 a reptilian vertebrate land animal in the ,devonian ages incalculably before the appearance of any seed bearing herbs or fruit bearing plants4 ,here1 then1 is positive and direct evidence of the appearance of types of the four great groups of animal life--the radiate1 the articulate1 the molusca1 and the vertebrata--not a few hours #ac or days or months1 or a few years1 but thousands upon thousands of years before a single evidence of the seed-bearing and fruit-bearing plants of the first day's creation existed4 ,it must not be said they might have existed yet are not preserved1 for this is opposed to the facts previously stated of the preservation of the algae and fucoids during these periods1 and of the immense flora during the subsequent coal formation1 and the pollen1 flowers1 fruits1 leaves1 and trees in still younger formations4 ,nor can it be met by an argument against the fitness of the condition of the earth at this time4 ',if1 on the other hand1 it is urged1 ,where are the evidences of the existence of these several forms of life at the periods stated8 ,i answer1 the facts bearing out my assertions will be found recorded in ,lyell1 ,murchison1 ,phillips1 and ,morris 7the collectors from the several strata named71 all geological writers of repute2 and the fossil forms themselves can be examined in the museums of the country4' ,amongst the many works which have been issued for the purpose of explaining away the discrepancies between ,geology and ,genesis1 is one by ,dommick ,mc,causland1 entitled ',sermons in ,stones1' and the following is a portion of the mode of harmonising pursued by the author4 ,while admitting that the transactions mentioned in the first chapter of ,grenesis could not be brought within the compass of six days1 it is urged by ,mr4 ,mc,causland that the scene of the creation was presented to ,moses ',in a series of visions1 each separate one occupying an evening and a morning1 that is to say1 an intermediate night1 the season of visions or dreams4 ,so that1 in commencing our task of making revelation reasonable1 we are to imagine that ,moses dreamed the whole of the history of the creation4 ,but even this hypothesis is open to objection4 ,what 'scene' could 'present to the vision of ,moses' 7if we admit ,moses to be the dreamer7 an earth without form and void1 especially with darkness upon the face of it8 ,it is true that1 if you suppose the writer dreamed the whole story of the creation1 it will account for much that is otherwise most improbable2 for we all know what strange images are conjured before us in our dreaming moments1 sometimes they are compounds1 sometimes reversals1 of our waking experience4 ,mc,causland proceeds1 ',it is well known that the transactions of years are often compressed1 in a dream1 into the space of a few minutes2 on the same principle1 the operations of the divine author of creation1 which may have occupied a long series of years1 may have been presented to ,moses as the events of a single day4' ,what may have been or may not have been1 is hardly sufficient to base an argument upon4 ,it is most extraordinary that1 in discussions upon this subject1 the reverend advocates arrogate to themselves the right of conjecturing ',what ,god meant to do1' ',what ,god's intentions were1' ',what might have happened before this occurred or that was prevented1' ',that this is literal1' ',that that is allegorical1' etc41 etc42 and yet1 while they are conjecturing and supposing outside the text to an unlimited extent1 it becomes rank blasphemy to advance an opinion to the plain ,english meaning of the text itself4 ,i am afraid that ,moses #ad is not the only dreamer2 for a few pages further ,i find this remarkable sentence1 ',we know from ,geology1 in confirmation of ,scripture1 that there was a beginning1 when the universe was formed out of nothing'66 ,in which strata or in what rock was this knowledge found8 ,are we to be told in the present day that in the universe we find evidence which convinces us that there was a period when the substance of that universe did not exist--when there was nothing8 ,why1 the very form of words conveys an absurd and contradictory meaning4 ,it is impossible for man1 in his boldest flights of imagination or doubting1 to annihilate existence2 he may1 in his fancy1 vary its modes1 but he cannot1 even in his wildest moods1 ignore its substance4 ,of the fiat1 'let there be light4' the harmonizer says1 ',this divine command and the result of it does not negative the previous existence of light4 ,it only conveys the information that light was commanded to shine4 ,the sun had sent forth his rays from the date of the creation1 but the black misty envelope of the deep could not be penetrated until the divine fiat went forth for the advent of light to its surface4' ,quoting ,genesis1 chap1 i1 v4 #ad to #ai1 he says1 ',with respect to this language1 all philologists agree that it does not mean that the sun1 moon1 and stars were for the first time called into existence at this period of the creation4' ,this is not true2 if the verses mean anything1 they positively do mean that the sun1 moon1 and stars were1 for the first time1 created on the fourth day1 and it is only the evident falsity of this statement which has compelled religious philologists to twist 'the language' into a spiritual meaning4 ,we learn from such works as the ',sermons in ,stones1' that the warmest advocates of scriptural history find so glaring a discordance as to immediately compel them to relinquish the literal version2 with the strongest faith they cannot believe in light before the sun--they cannot reverse the order of the different strata as revealed by the science of geology1 and they therefore tell you that you must call in your fancy 7or rather their fancy7 to the aid of your revelation1 and1 by subtracting from1 or liberally adding to1 the words of the text1 they will melt the strongest contradiction4 ,you must read prayerfully1 that is1 you must be prepared to cast away your senses every time they are opposed to your ,bible4 ',in the beginning ,god created the heaven and the earth4' ,the word here translated ,god is ------ 7,alehim or ,elohim7 which is a plural noun 7vide ,parkhurst's ,hebrew ,lexicon1 article ------1 and although translated by the singular word ,god1 it is often associated with plural adjectives1 pronouns1 and verbs1 see ,genesis1 chap1 i1 v4 #bf1 chap1 iii1 y4 #bb1 chap1 xi1 v4 #g2 nay more1 on the same orthodox authority we learn1 that in many other passages the translators have ignored the plural accompaniments for the purpose of supporting the orthodox theory1 and yet we are told in the present day that the ,bible does not want retranslation4 ,it has been before pointed out that there is a double creation narrated1 one from ,genesis1 chap1 i1 v4 #a to chap4 ii1 v4 #c2 in this the only word used is the plural word ,alehim1 or the #ae ,gods 7that is1 if ,alehim be either ,god or ,gods as it has been differently translated2 elsewhere we find the expression ',god' applied to ,moses--this would lead us to doubt as to the precise meaning of the word4 ,i am told by some of my reverend friends that the meaning of the word ,god is varied according to the mode of printing2 if with a capital letter ',god1' it means an incomprehensible anything they like1 if with a small initial1 'god1' it means an inferior anything you like74 ,volney1 in the notes to his ',ruins of ,empires1' says1 ',if we further observe that the root of the word ,elohim signifies strong or powerful1 and that the ,egyptians called their decans strong and powerful leaders1 attributing to them the creation of the world1 we shall presently perceive that the ,book of ,genesis affirms neither more nor less than that the world was created by the decans1 by those very genii whom1 according to ,sanconiathon1 ,mercury excited against ,saturn1 and who were called ,elohim4 ,it may be further asked why the plural substantive ,elohim is made to agree with the singular verb bara 7the ,elohim creates74 ,the reason is1 that after the ,babylonish captivity1 the unity of the ,supreme ,being was the prevailing opinion of the ,jews2 it was therefore thought proper to introduce a pious solecism in language1 which it is evident had no existence before ,moses4 ,thus1 in the names of the children of ,jacob1 many of them are compounded of a plural verb1 to which ,elohim is the nominative case understood2 as ,raouben 7,reuben71 they have looted upon me1 and ,samaonm 7,simeon71 they have granted me my prayer1 to wit1 the ,elohim4 ,the reason of this etymology is to be found in the religious creeds of the wives of ,jacob1 whose ,gods were the taraphim of ,laban1 that is1 the angels of the ,persians1 and the ,egyptian decans4' ,the other account commences with the fourth verse of the second chapter1 and in this the words translated ',lord ,god' are ------2 what these really mean it is impossible to say1 unless they mean ,chief of the ,gods4 ,parkhurst translates it into a trinity4 ,the word ------ 7rendered in our version ,jehovah7 simply represents time past1 present1 and future4 ,the two accounts differ considerably2 in the first we find water forming an important feature1 and ultimately drained off so that the dry land appears2 in the second we have the land dry without water1 and it becomes necessary to send a mist to water the face of the earth4 ,genesis1 chap1 i1 v4 #a to #bg4 ,whoever wrote these verses must either have been an inspired man1 a dupe1 or a knave--that is1 he could not have gathered from tradition1 because here tradition is outstepped2 it could not have been known by man1 as he was not yet made2 he must either have received it from ,god1 or have been deceived by man1 or must have intended to deceive man himself4 ,if inspired1 it is a pity ,god did not explain the creation of light before the sun 7 verse #c71 the creation of herbs and fruit trees bearing seed and fruit before there was a sun to ripen the fruit and bring the seed to maturity 7verse #aa71 the creation of 'female-man' in his own image 7verse #bg71 etc4 ,by verse #bi it appears that ,god intended man to be a vegetarian2 by ,genesis1 chap1 ix1 v4 #c1 he gave them all kinds #af of cattle for food2 and by ,leviticus1 chap1 xi1 v4 #ab1 he forbade man to eat certain kinds there specified2 one of ,god's attributes notwithstanding all this is immutability4 ,chap4 ii4 v4 #b and #c1 he rested on the seventh day and blessed it and sanctified it1 because in it he had rested3--see ,deuteronomy1 chap1 v1 v4 #ab to #ae2 which is the correct reason for the sanctifying the sabbath day8 99,chapter ii1 v4 #d4 ,this1 as it is translated1 seems ridiculous3 'the generations of the heavens and the earth4' ,what is the meaning of this phrase8 ,what are the generations8 ,from a careful reading of verses8 #e1 #f1 and #g1 it would appear that ,god did not make man out of the dry dust2 and that it was not until a mist had watered the whole face of the earth that he formed man4 ,this may account for the creed of the negro1 who believed that ,god made ,adam from mud1 and who assigned as a reason that dry dust would not stick together4 ,in verse #i are mentioned the 'tree of life' and the 'tree of knowledge of good and evil4' ,if these expressions occurred in the ',arabian ,nights' tales1 we might not regard them as inappropriate1 for in such books1 which make no pretensions to truth1 we expect to find tales of ghosts1 witches1 men carried off in fiery chariots1 devils walking about bodily1 donkeys speaking1 and men passing through furnaces unhurt2 but when we are told that a book is inspired by the ,god of truth1 and in its early pages find mention made of a tree1 by eating the fruit of which a man might live for ever1 and that by eating of the fruit of another tree1 a man would get knowledge of good and evil1 with other fabulous expressions of a like nature1 we cannot help a feeling of astonishment4 ,of verses #aj to #ad ,voltaire speaks as follows3--',according to this version1 the earthly paradise would have contained nearly a third part of ,asia and of ,africa4 ,the sources of the ,euphrates and the ,tigris are sixty leagues distant from each other1 in frightful mountains bearing no possible resemblance to a garden4 ,the river which borders ,ethiopia1 and which can be no other than the ,nile1 commences its course at the distance of more than a thousand leagues from the sources of the ,tigris and ,euphrates2 and if the ,pison means the ,phasis1 it is not a little surprising that the source of a ,scythian river and that of an ,african one should be situated on the same spot4 ,we must therefore look for some other explanation1 and for other rivers4 ,every commentator has got up a ,paradise of his own4' ,dr4 ,john ,pye ,smith suggests that the description is antediluvian1 and that the deluge changed the courses of many streams2 that hence we must not expect to find any spot conforming to the exact geographical description4 ,if antediluvian1 ,moses did not write it4 ',verse #ae4 ,the ,lord then took the man and put him into the ,garden of ,eden that he might cultivate it4 ,voltaire continues3-- ',it is very respectable and pleasant for a man to cultivate his garden1 but it must have been somewhat difficult for ,adam to have dressed and kept in order a garden of a thousand leagues in length1 even although he had been supplied with some assistants4 #ag ,commentators on this subject1 therefore1 we again observe1 are completely at a loss1 and must be content to exercise their ingenuity in conjecture4 ,accordingly1 these four rivers have been described as flowing through numberless different territories4' ,verses #af and #ag4 ,it is a matter of great difficulty to refrain from ridiculing the statement that there exist trees bearing such fruit1 and after overcoming this difficulty1 it is still less comprehensible why ,god should forbid man to acquire a knowledge of good and evil4 ,would not man's free access to this knowledge appear more in accordance with the character of a just and merciful ,god8 and is not knowledge necessary to man1 especially when we find the serpent 'more subtle than other animals1' plotting man's destruction8 ,verses #ah and #ai4 ,it is somewhat remarkable that immediately after the ,lord ,god had declared his intention of making a helpmeet for ,adam1 that he formed all the beasts of the field and fowls of the air1 and brought them to ,adam to see what he would call them4 ,this is open to many objections2 first1 see chap1 i1 v4 #ba1 but as we must admit there are two distinct accounts of the creation1 ,i will not further burden my work with the contradictions between them2 second1 the strong improbability of the story of the ,lord ,god bringing the beasts and fowl to see what ,adam would call them2 either the ,lord ,god had fore-ordained the names to be applied by ,adam1 or the theologians are wrong--either the ,lord ,god foreknew what names ,adam would give each bird and beast1 in which case ,genesis is incorrect1 or prescience1 one of the attributes applied to ,deity1 is deficient2 third1 the immense time which this naming of every bird and beast must have taken1 especially when we remember that ,adam was waiting for his wife--it almost appears as if verse #ah should come after verse #bj to make sense of the story4 ,lawrence says that the account of all the animals being brought before ,adam is zoologically impossible 7',lectures on ,man1' p4 #afi74 ,voltaire says that if ,adam had named the animals according to their various natures1 he must have either previously eaten of the fruit of the tree of knowledge1 or it would apparently have answered no end for ,god to have interdicted him from it4 ,he must have already known more than the ,royal ,society or the ,academy of ,sciences of ,paris4 ,the mode of manufacturing the woman from the rib of the man has been the subject of much controversy1 but is only noticed here as another illustration of the fabulous character of the book we are dealing with4 ,having passed through the two accounts of the creation contained in the anonymous book ,i am examining1 ,i shall strive to ascertain the source from whence some of the doctrines and traditions contained in this book were derived4 ,aware of the magnitude of my task1 ,i will now only deal with authorities to whom no exception should be taken by the religious reader4 ,one is the pious and erudite ,sir ,william ,jones1 the other the ,reverend ,thomas ,maurice4 ,of the claims of the first to our attention ,i will say nothing1 for every man ought to be more or less acquainted with the character of #ah the great linguist2 of the second ,i can only say that ,i find his work issued under the countenance of the heads of the ,church1 and supported by some of the first men of his day4 ,when1 at the present day1 you point out to a ,christian the striking coincidence in many points between the ,bible and the ,hindoo and other sacred writings1 he will tell you that the latter have been stolen from the former4 ,is this the fact8 ,i think not4 ,maurice1 in his preface to his ',indian ,antiquities1' says1 ',the stupendous system of the ,brahmin ,chronology1 extending back through millions of years2 the obstinate denial of a general deluge by those ,brahmins2 the perplexing doctrine of a trinity in the divine nature constantly recurring in the operations of ,brahma1 ,vishnu1 and ,seeva1 a doctrine not to be traced to any immediate connexion with the ,jewish nation2 these were among the delicate topics which neither the clerical nor historical functions in which ,i had engaged would allow of being passed over in silence4 ,as ,i advanced in my inquiries1 ,i found that the primeval histories of all the ancient empires of the earth amount to little more than the romantic dreams of astronomical mythology4' ,weigh well this last sentence1 read your ,bibles attentively1 and ask yourselves in what particular feature is ,genesis superior to the ,shastra or ,bhagavat4 ,the following is from the ,manava ,sastra1 the words of ,menu1 ,son of ,brahma1 as quoted in vol4 i of the ',asiatic ,researches1' page #bdd3-- ',this world 7says he7 was all darkness1 undiscernible1 undistinguishable1 altogether as in profound sleep2 till the self-existent invisible ,god1 making it manifest with five elements and other glorious forms1 perfectly expelled the gloom4 ,he1 desiring to raise up various creatures by an emanation from his own glory1 first created the waters1 and impressed them with a power of motion3 by that power was produced a golden egg1 blazing like a thousand suns1 in which was born ,brahma1 self-existing1 the great parent of all rational beings4 ,the waters are called nr1 since they are the offspring of ,nara or ,iswara2 and thence was ,nryna named1 because his first ayana1 or moving1 was on them4 ',that which is1 the invisible cause1 eternal1 self-existing1 but un-perceived1 becoming masculine from neuter1 is celebrated among all creatures by the name of ,brahm4 ,that ,god1 having dwelled in the egg through revolving years1 ,himself meditating on himself1 divided it into two equal parts2 and from those halves formed the heavens and the earth1 placing in the midst the subtle ether1 the eight points of the world1 and the permanent receptacle of waters4' ,sir ,william ,jones admits that the ,vedas are 'very ancient1 and far older than any other ,sanscrit works1' but assigns to the ,manava ,sastra1 and the ,bhagavat a later date than 'the ,scriptures of ,moses1' on the ground that 'the nakedness of the ,hebrew dialect1 metre1 and style must convince every man of their superior antiquity4' ,on the same page ,sir ,w4 ,jones1 however1 states that the ,brahmans affirm that the ,vedas1 the ,manava ,sstra1 and the ,bhagavat1 were all #ai written in the first age of the world4 ,is it honest to reject the testimony of the ,priests of ,brahma while we are content to place our reason in the hands of the ,priests of our own ,church8 ,my reasons for not believing the ,manava ,sastra and ,bhagavat were stolen from the ,jews are as follows3 first1 the ,bhagavat1 admitted to be much more ancient than our alleged ,christian era1 contains the history of ,chrishna1 which is1 in very many particulars1 identical with that of ,christ1 and as it is absolutely impossible that the ,hindoos could have stolen the history of ,christ one thousand years prior to his existence1 ,i am inclined to conceive it more probable that in our ,bible we have throughout appropriated from the ,hindoos2 second1 ,i deny that it has ever been shown that the ,jewish nation is nearly so ancient as the ,hindoo1 and ,i am1 therefore1 puzzled in attempting to charge the more ancient nation with stealing the traditions of the modern one4 ,it would be nearly as reasonable if a ,frenchman were to charge the ,english with stealing the history of ,william the ,conqueror from the ,americans4 ,sir ,william ,jones further says1 ',i am persuaded that a connexion subsisted between the old idolatrous nations of ,egypt1 ,india1 ,greece1 and ,italy1 long before they emigrated to their several settlements1 and consequently before the birth of ,moses2' and what do we find8 ,why this1 that the religions of ,egypt1 ,india1 ,greece1 and ,italy1 have a wonderful similarity to one another1 and yet we are told that the religion of the ,jewish nation 7which contains something common to them all7 was not stolen from them1 but they1 the ancient religions1 were stolen from the more modern nation4 ,it would be as probable were ,i to tell you that the ,royal ,society in ,london was founded and originated in consequence of something which fell last year from the lips of ,louis ,napoleon4 ,the third chapter of ,genesis contains1 according to its heading1 an account of man's 'most shameful fall4' ,it will be in vain to attempt to treat the contents of this chapter as a relation of actual occurrences4 ,the following is a summary3 a serpent1 walking erect on its tail instead of crawling on its belly1 tempts ,eve to eat the forbidden fruit1 urging that ,adam has been deceived by ,god2 the woman 7not at all surprised at being addressed by one 'in such a questionable shape'7 saw that the tree was good for food 7how she saw this does not appear7 and ate and gave to her husband4 ,upon eating1 their eyes are opened1 and they are ashamed of their nakedness1 and sew fig leaves together to make breeches4 ,this sewing was before the invention of needles4 ,the species of this fruit has formed the subject of much conjecture2 one kind only has since been known to confer on man and woman a knowledge of their nakedness after mutually partaking thereof1 and it has therefore been suggested that this chapter is an allegorical representation of the union of the sexes4 ,after eating1 ,adam and ,eve hear the 'voice of the ,lord ,god walking1' and they hide themselves4 ,it is not easy to understand how either ,god or his voice could walk in the garden1 nor why he should walk in the cool of the day1 as we cannot suppose heat to affect him4 #bj ,the reason ,adam gives for hiding himself is not a correct one2 he was not naked unless his fig-leaf garment had fallen to pieces4 ,god having ascertained that ,adam had disobeyed his command1 cursed the serpent and commanded it to eat dust and go upon its belly all the days of its life2 ,god also cursed the ground4 ,it does not appear1 however1 that he carried out the threat contained in chap1 ii1 v4 #ag2 in fact1 the serpent appears to have been more correct in saying to ,adam and ,eve1 ',ye shall not surely die4' ,some divines would have us believe that by the sin of ,adam death was introduced into the world1 and the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,john ,pye ,smith tells us1 ',it is probable1 had not man fallen1 that1 after a continuance in the earthly state for a period of probation1 each individual would have been translated to a higher condition of existence4' ,unfortunately1 this hypothesis will not bear investigation4 ,professor ,newman says1 in relation to this subject1 ',a fresh strain fell on the ,scriptural infallibility1 in contemplating the origin of death4 ,geologists assured us that death went on in the animal creation many ages before the existence of man4 ,the rocks formed of the shells of animals testify that death is a phenomenon thousands and thousands of years old2 to refer the death of animals to the sin of ,adam and ,eve is evidently impossible4 ,yet1 if not1 the analogies of the human to the brute form make it scarcely credible that man's body can ever have been intended for immortality4 ,nay1 when we consider the conditions of birth and growth to which it is subject1 the wear and tear essential to life1 the new generations intended to succeed and supplant the old--so soon as the question is proposed as one of physiology1 the reply is inevitable that death is no accident1 introduced by the perverse will of our first parents1 nor any way connected with man's sinfulness1 but is purely a result of the conditions of animal life4 ,on the contrary1 ,st4 ,paul rests most important conclusions on the fact1 that one man1 ,adam1 by personal death1 brought death upon all his posterity4 ,if this was a fundamental error1 religious doctrine also is shaken4' ,verse #bj4 ',and ,adam called his wife's name ,eve1 because she was the mother of all living4' ,this can hardly be the reason1 as ,eve was not the mother of anybody at that time4 ,the word ------ 7,adam7 means red or ruby1 and ------ 7,eve7 to show1 discover1 or declare4 ,verse #ba4 ,i suppose the most enthusiastic advocate for the literal reading of the ,bible would hardly wish us to picture ,god as a tailor4 ,one of the ,jewish ,rabbis asserts that ,god clothed ,adam and ,eve with the skin of the serpent who had tempted them4 ,verse #bb4 7,and the ,lord ,god said1 ,behold the man is become as one of us4' ,one of whom8 ,to whom are these words addressed8 ,it is evident that the writer of this book believed in a plurality of ,gods1 and had not any very elevated ideas in relation to those ,gods1 for1 in the very same verse1 he makes ,god express fear lest ,adam should take or the tree of life1 and eat and live for ever4 ,does it mean that man's soul was not then immortal8 it cannot mean that man's body could become immortal4 ,if man's soul was not then capable of living for ever1 when did its nature become changed8 #ba ,verse #bd4 ',cherubim6' ,this word is ridiculous2 cherubim is the plural of cherub2 the is merely a specimen of ,bible orthography4 ,in ,walker's ,pronouncing ,dictionary ,i find the following severe remark on the word ',cherubim3'--,those who understand no language but their own are apt to commit an unpardonable fault with critics1 by mistaking this word for a singular1 and writing the plural ,cherubims4' ,it is evident1 therefore1 that if ,god inspired the ,bible1 he did not inspire the grammar4 ,but what is a cherub8 the word ---- 7kereb7 is of very doubtful meaning1 and seems to have been used to express an inferior kind of deity4 ,in the seventh edition of ,parkhurst's ,hebrew ,lexicon1 the correspondence between the description of the cherubim in ,ezekiel and the inferior deities in other mythologies is fully and ably pointed out under this head4 ,were it not for the length of ,parkhurst's article1 ,i would quote the whole1 it constituting an elaborate essay in which the astronomical origin of every religious system is clearly proved4 ,an interesting astronomical explanation of the allegory or the fall is given in pp4 #bid-e of ',volney's ,ruins4' ,some of the cherubic figures are a compound of ox1 eagle1 lion1 and man4 ,are we to imagine several of these with a flaming sword1 guarding the way to the tree of life8 ,having read the third chapter carefully1 we are irresistibly driven to the conclusion that ,adam's primitive nature was extremely frail1 for he fell with the first temptation1 and no greater evidence of frailty can be given2 yet ,adam is the choice work of ,god1 made in his own image4 99,chapter iv contains the history of ,cain and ,abel1 which presents several remarkable features for our consideration4 ,cain and ,abel both make sacrifices to the ,lord4 ,why they should so sacrifice does not appear2 they do not seem to have followed the example of ,adam1 as we cannot find any history of his sacrificing to the ,lord at all4 ,by verses #d and #e we find that the ,lord had respect unto ,abel and his offering1 but unto ,cain and his offerings he had not respect4 ,why is this8 ,cain's offerings consist of flowers and fruits1 sending up sweet fragrance to heaven2 ,abel's offerings are the bleeding carcasses of slaughtered lambs2 yet ,god1 'with whom there is no respect of persons' 7#b ,chronicles1 chap1 xix1 v4 #g--,romans1 chap1 ii1 v4 #aa71 respects ,abel more than ,cain4 ,how was this respect shown8 ,god1 by showing favour to ,abel without assigning the least reason for the ,preference1 created animosity between the two brothers4 ,god must have foreknown that this religious strife would end in bloodshed4 ,religious strife always has led to war1 and it is only because people are growing larger than their creeds that they now do not fight quite so recklessly about them4 ,verse #g4 ,it is somewhat perplexing to find that1 although ,god is displeased with ,cain1 yet he tells him he shall rule over his brother ,abel4 ,verse #ac4 ,this verse is translated in a very different manner to the ,douay4 ,in our version ,cain complains of the severity of his punishment2 in the other1 ,cain says that his sin is too great for pardon4 ,which is right8 #bb ,verse #ad4 ,what does ,cain mean when he says ',every one that findeth me shall slay me4' ',every one 'can only be used when there is a likelihood of meeting with many persons1 yet ,cain must have been well aware that no persons were then in existence beside his father and mother4 ,verse #af4 ,how is it possible that ,cain could go out of the presence of the ,lord8 7vide ,psalm cxxxix1 v4 #g to #ab74 ,verse #ag4 ,who was ,cain's wife8 ,according to ,genesis1 there was only his mother1 ,eve1 living4 ',and he builded a city4' ,it must have been rather a remarkable city1 built by one man1 and inhabited by one man1 his wife1 and one child4 ,verse #ah4 ,who was ,enoch's wife8 ,perhaps these were what the ,mormonites call ',spiritual ,wives4' 99,chapter v1 v4 #a4 ',this is the book of the generations of ,adam499 ,books were not known at the date alleged for the existence of ,moses4 ,verses #a and #b contradict the previous chapters4 ,the fifth chapter appears to fit on after verse #c of the second chapter2 and it is rather curious that in the list of ,adam's children1 ,cain and ,abel are not mentioned4 ,neither are ,cain's descendants in any way referred to4 ,cain not only went out of the presence of the ,lord1 but both he and his wife and family seem entirely to have gone out of sight of everybody4 ,verse #bd4 ',and ,enoch walked with ,god1 and he was not4' ,the ,breeches ,bible1 in a marginal note1 says that 'to inquire what became of ,enoch is mere curiosity4' ,verse #bg4 ,methusalem must have just died in time to save himself from drowning4 99,chapter vi1 v4 #b4 ',the ,sons of ,god4' ,who are the ,sons of ,god82 ,how could ,god have ,sons8 ,is not ,jesus said to be the only ,son of ,god8 ,voltaire says of this verse1 ',no nation has ever existed1 unless perhaps we may except ,china1 in which some ,god is not described as having had offspring upon women4 ,these corporeal ,gods frequently descended to visit their dominions upon earth2 they saw the daughters of our race1 and attached themselves to those who were most interesting and beautiful2 the issue of this connexion between ,gods and mortals must1 of course1 have been superior to other men1 thus giants were produced4' ,but there is a further objection to our authorised version2 the original is not ',sons of ,god1' but ---------- 7,beni ,alehim1 ,sons of the ,gods74 ,in the mythologies of ,greece1 ,italy1 and ,india1 we find the same idea of ,gods having intercourse with women2 and it is also remarkable that1 although in many cases the woman bears a child1 yet all true believers devoutly contend for her virginity4 ,verse #c seems out of place1 it should come in after #e or #f2 but in any place it is not correct4 ,one hundred and twenty years is neither the average nor the limit of man's life4 ,what does ,god mean when he says ',my ,spirit shall not always strive with man8' ,what was the striving about8 ,does the verse mean that ,god's spirit strove in vain8 ,what does 'that he also is flesh' mean8 ,does it mean that the ,lord's spirit and man are both flesh8 #bc ,verses #e and #f4 ,god made mankind and the circumstances which surrounded them1 and must have foreknown what would have been the effect produced upon man2 why not have made better circumstances8 ,shall we presume either that ,god had not the power to have created things differently1 or that he is careless of man's welfare8 ,in what manner did ,god make known his repentance8 ,in ,numbers1 chap1 xxiii1 v4 #ai1 we are led to believe that ,god never repents4 ,why should ,god destroy the beasts1 creeping things1 and fowls8 they surely could not have been parties to man's wickedness4 ,why should ,god repent that he made 'the beasts1 the creeping things1 and the fowls of the air8' ,what does the phrase mean in relation to ,god1 'it grieved him at his heart8' ,the expressions 'repent1' 'grieve1' etc41 could scarcely have been used if the book had been a revelation from a ,god who intended to convey to us an idea of his omnipotence and immutability4 ,the following quotation is from ,robert ,taylor3-- ',what blasphemy6 thus to represent the ,creator of the world4 ,omnipotence repenting that he had made man1 sitting upon a stone1 and crying like a child1 wringing his hands1 tearing nis hair1 calling himself all the fools and idiots he could think of1 stamping his foot1 cursing1 swearing1 and vowing vengeance1 that he would not leave a dog nor a rat alive4 ,we should yet have but a faint idea of the' exceeding sinfulness of sin1 and how poor and impotent language of any kind must be1 to convey to us the emotions of that infinite wisdom and inconceivable benevolence which repented that he had made man1 and grieved that man was no better than he had made him4 ',there can be no doubt at all that such language as this1 when used in relation to the ,supreme ,being1 is used only in gracious condescension to our ignorance1 and in accommodation to the dulness and stupidity of our powers of conception1 which require to be stimulated ana excited by strong and impassioned figures of speech1 ere they can be led to form an idea at all on sacred subjects4' ,verses #aa and #ab4 ,all flesh could not be corrupt2 in the previous verse we are told that ,noah was a just man1 and perfect in his generations4 ,all flesh being corrupt1 flesh and fowl were condemned2 but the fish were allowed to escape4 ,were the birds more corrupt than the fish8 or were the fish allowed to escape because the concocter of this tale did not conceive the possibility of their being killed by a flood8 ,by verse #ag it is clear that ,god intended to destroy every living thing2 perhaps he forgot the fishes4 ,verse #ad to chap1 viii1 v4 #ai4 ,of this account ,professor ,newman says ',it had become notorious to the public that geologists rejected the idea of an universal deluge1 as physically impossible4 ,whence could the water come to cover the highest mountains8 ,two replies were attempted3 #a--,the flood of ,noah is not described as universal2 #b--,the flood was indeed universal1 but the water was added and removed by miracle4 ,neither reply1 however1 seemed to be valid4 ,first1 the language respecting the universality of the flood is as strong as any that could be written2 moreover1 it is stated that the #bd tops of the high hills were all covered1 and after the water subsides the ark settles on the mountains of ,armenia4 ,now1 in ,armenia1 of necessity1 numerous peaks would be seen unless the water covered them1 and especially ,ararat4 ,but a flood that covered ,ararat would overspread all the continents1 and leave only a few summits above4 ,if1 then1 the account in ,genesis is to be received1 the flood was universal4 ,secondly1 the narrator represents the surplus water to have come from the clouds1 and perhaps from the sea1 and again to drain back into the sea4 ,of a miraculous creation and destruction of water1 he evidently does not dream4 ',other impossibilities come forward3 the insufficient dimensions of the ark to take in all the creatures2 the unsuitability of the same climate to arctic and tropical animals for a full year2 the impossibility of feeding them1 and avoiding pestilence2 and especially1 the total disagreement of the modern facts of the dispersion of animals1 with the idea that they spread anew from ,armenia as their centre4 ,we have no right to call in a aeries of miracles to solve difficulties of which the writer was unconscious4 ,the ark itself was expressly devised to economise miracle1 by making a fresh creation of animals needless4' ,voltaire says of the deluge3-- ',we consider it as a miracle2 first1 because all the facts by which ,god condescends to interfere in the sacred books are so many miracles4 ',secondly1 because the sea could not rise fifteen cubits1 or one and twenty standard feet and a half above the highest mountains without leaving its bed dry1 and1 at the same time violating all the laws of gravity and the equilibrium of fluids1 which would evidently require a miracle4 ',thirdly1 because1 even although it might rise to the height mentioned1 the ark could not have contained1 according to known physical laws1 all the living things of the earth1 together with their food1 for so long a time2 considering that lions1 tigers1 panthers1 leopards1 ounces1 rhinoceroses1 bears1 wolves1 hyenas1 eagles1 hawks1 kites1 vultures1 falcons1 and all carnivorous animals1 which feed on flesh alone1 would have died of hunger1 even after having devoured all the other species4 ',fourthly1 because the physical impossibilities of an universal deluge1 by natural means1 can be strictly demonstrated4 ,the demonstration is as follows3-- ',all the seas cover half the globe4 ,a common measure of their depths near the shores and in the open ocean1 is assumed to be five hundred feet4 ',in order to their covering both hemispheres to the depth of five hundred feet1 not only would an ocean of that depth be necessary over all the land1 but a new sea would1 in addition1 be required to envelope the ocean at present existing1 without which the laws of hydrostatics would occasion the dispersion of that other new mass of water five hundred feet deep1 which should remain covering the land4 #be ',thus1 then1 two new oceans are requisite to cover the terraqueous globe nearly to the depth of five hundred feet4 ',supposing the mountains to be only twenty thousand feet high1 forty oceans each five hundred feet in height would be required to accumulate on each other1 merely in order to equal the height of the mountains4 ,every successive ocean would contain all the others1 and the last of them all would have a circumference containing forty times that of the first4 ',in order to form this mass of water1 it would be necessary to create it out of nothing4 ,in order to withdraw it1 it would be necessary to annihilate it4 ',what was that abyss which was broken up1 or what were the cataracts of heaven which were opened8 ,isaac ,vossius denies the universality of the deluge2 ,hoc est pi nugari4 ,calmet maintains it1 informing us that bodies have no weight in air1 but in consequence of their being compressed by air4 ,calmet was not much of a natural philosopher1 and the weight of the air has nothing to do with the deluge4 ,let us content ourselves with reading and respecting everything in the ,bible1 without comprehending a single word of it4 ',i do not comprehend how ,god created a race of men in order to drown them1 and then substituted in their room a race still viler than the first4 ',how seven pairs of all kinds of clean animals should come from the four quarters of the globe1 together with two pairs of unclean ones1 without the wolves devouring the sheep on the way1 or the kites the pigeons1 etc41 etc4 ',how eight persons could keep in order1 feed1 and water such an immense number of inmates1 shut up in an ark-for nearly two yeare1 for1 after the cessation of the deluge1 it would be necessary to have food for all these passengers for another year1 in consequence of the herbage being so scanty4' ,the dimensions of the ark1 which are slightly varied according to the different lengths assigned to the cubit1 were between #dej and #egd feet in length1 between #ge and #ia feet in breadth1 and #de and #ee feet in height4 ,an ark that size must have been a tremendous undertaking for a man nearly six hundred years old1 even with his three sons to help him4 ,the ark was divided into three stories and many rooms1 but only had one window and one door4 ,the situation of this door is curious1 'in the side2' if it gave access to all the floors it must have extended from top to bottom4 ,it is hardly possible to imagine a large number of animals1 civet cats1 musk rats1 etc41 existing in an ark in which ventilation was so badly provided for2 when the door was shut and the window shut to keep out the rain and water1 it must have been absolutely stifling4 ,but it is impossible to imagine seven of each of the clean beasts and two of each of the unclean1 and seven of each of the birds1 crammed into so small a space4 ,even if there were room for it1 we hear nothing of any food being collected for the sustenance of all these birds and beasts4 ,did they fast8 ,how did ,noah know which were clean and which unclean8 #bf ,thomas ,paine treats the account of the flood as follows3-- ',we have all heard of ,noah's flood2 and it is impossible to think of the whole human race1 men1 women1 children1 and infants1 7except one family7 deliberately drowning1 without feeling a painful sensation2 that must be a heart of flint that can contemplate such a scene with tranquillity4 ,there is nothing in the ancient mythology1 nor in the religion of any people we know of on the globe1 that records a sentence of their ,god1 or of their ,gods1 so tremendously severe and merciless4 ,if the story be not true1 we blasphemously dishonour ,god by believing it1 and still more so in forcing1 by laws and penalties1 that belief upon others4 ,i go now to show1 from the face of the story1 that it carries the evidence of not being true4 ',there were no such people as ,jews or ,israelites in the time that ,noah is said to have lived1 and consequently there was no such law as that which is called the ,jewish or ,mosaic ,law4 ,it is1 according to the ,bible1 more than six hundred years from the time the flood is said to have happened to the time of ,moses1 and1 consequently1 the time the flood is said to have happened was more than six hundred years prior to the law called the law of ,moses1 even admitting ,moses to be the giver of that law1 of which there is great cause to doubt4 ',we have here two different epochs1 or points of time2 that of the flood1 and that of the law of ,moses2 the former more than six hundred years prior to the latter4 ,but the maker of the story of the flood1 whoever he was1 has betrayed himself by blundering1 for he has reversed the order of the times4 ,he has told the story as if the law of ,moses was prior to the flood2 for he has made ,god to say to ,noah1 ,genesis1 chap1 vii1 v4 #b1 ,of every clean beast1 thou shalt take to thee by sevens1 tne male and his female1 and of beasts that are not clean by two1 the male and his female4 ,this is the ,mosaic law1 and could only be said after that law was given1 not before4 ,there were no such things as beasts clean and unclean in the time of ,noah--it is nowhere said they were created so4 ,they were only declared to be so as meats1 by the ,mosaic law1 and that to the ,jews only2 and there were no such people as ,jews in the time of ,noah4 ,this is the blundering condition in which this strange story stands4 ',when we reflect on a sentence so tremendously severe as that of consigning the whole human race1 eight persons excepted1 to deliberate drowning1 a sentence which represents the ,creator in a more merciless character than any of those whom we call ,pagans ever represented the ,creator to be1 under the figure of any of their deities1 we ought at least to suspend our belief of it1 on a comparison of the beneficent character of the ,creator with the tremendous severity of the sentence2 but when we see the story told with such an evident contradiction of circumstances1 we ought to set it down for nothing better than a ,jewish fable1 told by nobody knows whom1 and nobody knows when4 ',it is a relief to the genuine and sensible soul of man to find the story unfounded4 ,it frees us from two painful sensations at once2 that of having hard thoughts of the ,creator1 on account of the #bg severity of the sentence2 and that of sympathising in the horrid tragedy of a drowning world4 ,he who cannot feel the force of what ,i mean is not1 in my estimation of character1 worthy the name of a human being4' ,the account of the deluge is rather complicated2 according to chap1 vii41 v4 #b and #e1 ,noah took inseven pairs of all clean beasts1 and one pair of all unclean1 as ------ 7,alehim7 had commanded him2 while1 by v4 #h and #i1 it would appear that ,noah only took in two of every kind1 as ------ 7,jeue or ,jehovah7 had commanded4 ,this is another specimen of the confusion in the use of different originals in the manufacture of the book of ,genesis4 ,dr4 ,john ,pye ,smith1 in his ',relation between ,geology and the ,holy ,scriptures1' admits that he is compelled to the conclusion that the flood of ,noah was not absolutely universal2 and with respect to the ark grounding on ,mount ,ararat1 he says that the state of the summit of that mount is such that the four men1 and four women1 and many of the quadrupeds would have found it utterly impossible to descend4 ,the summit of ,mount ,ararat is continually covered with snow and ice4 ,the olive leaf mentioned in chap1 viii41 v4 #aa1 is remarkable1 as one would be inclined to imagine it decomposed after remaining under water for about twelve months4 99,chapter viii41 v4 #ba4 ',the ,lord smelled a sweet savour2 and the ,lord said in his heart4' ,this is1 of course1 only a figurative expression2 but it is much to be regretted that1 in a book issued from ,god1 an expression should be found so liable to misconstruction2 a literal reader might imagine that ,god had a nose and heart4 99,chapter ix41 v4 #i and #aj4 ,these verses have been much commented on4 ,voltaire says3-- ',god made a covenant with beasts6 ,what sort of a covenant8 ,such is the outcry of infidels4 ,but if he makes a covenant with man1 why not with the beast8 ,it has feeling2 and there is something as divine in feeling1 as in the most metaphysical meditation4 ,besides1 beasts feel more correctly than the greater part of men think4 ,it is clearly by virtue of this treaty that ,francis d',assisse1 the founder of the ,seraphic order1 said to the grasshoppers and the hares1 ,pray sing1 my dear sister grasshopper2 pray browse1 my dear brother hare4 ,but what were the conditions of the treaty8 ,that all animals should devour one another2 that they should feed upon our flesh1 and we upon theirs2 that1 after having eaten them1 we should proceed with wrath and fury to the extermination of our own race2 nothing being1 then1 wanting to crown the horrid series of butchery and cruelty1 but devouring our fellow men1 after having thus remorselessly destroyed them4 ,had there been actually such a treaty as this1 it could have been entered into only with the devil4' ,the token of this covenant is to be the rainbow--v4 #ac4 ,the ,geneva translation has it1 ',i have set my bow2' the authorised version1 ',i do set my bow2' the ,douay1',i will set my bow4 ,of this latter1 ,voltaire remarks-- #bh ',observe1 that the author does not say1 ,i have put my bow in the clouds2 he says1 ,i will put2 this clearly implies it to have been the prevailing opinion that there had not always been a rainbow4 ,this phenomenon is necessarily produced by rain2 yet1 in this place1 it is represented as something supernatural1 exhibited in order to announce and prove that the earth should no more be inundated4 ,it is singular to choose the certain sign of rain1 in order to assure men against their being drowned4' ,it is quite evident by the context1 whichever translation be right1 that the meaning intended to be conveyed is1 that the rainbow is to be the sign to remind ,god and the people and beasts of his covenant with them4 ,this covenant1 like many treaties made with high powers1 is open to misconstruction4 ,god only covenants not again to destroy all flesh by a flood1 but it is quite within the terms of his covenant to overflow a few rivers1 and sweep flocks1 herds1 villages1 and villagers off a large tract of country2 this is occasionally done1 and the rainbow cheers the survivors with the thought that1 as everybody is not to be drowned at once1 they are safe till another time4 ,verse #af4 ,it is implied that1 but for the rainbow1 ,god might forget his covenant2 surely this cannot be a revelation from an unchangeable ,god1 who could never forget4 ,verse #ba4 ,noah1 if he was a just and perfect man before the flood1 seems to have soon degenerated1 although he had just had cognizance of so fearful an example of ,god's vengeance4 ',his tent4' ,the word ------ does not mean his tent2 the final -- is a feminine termination1 and the word should be translated 'her tent2' but to save revelation from seeming ridiculous1 the translators have taken a slight liberty with the text4 ,verse #be4 ,it is hard to understand why ,canaan should be cursed because his father1 ,ham1 accidentally walked into a tent and saw ,noah naked4 ,if ,ham even deserved a curse1 it is no reason for cursing his son1 who was no party to his father's offence4 99,chapter x4 ,there are scarcely any of the names contained in this or the preceding or following chapter1 until we come to ,abraham1 which are now used amongst the ,jews4 ,paine says1 ',if they 7the ,jews7 affix the same idea of reality to those names as they do to those that follow after1 the names of ,adam1 ,abel1 ,seth1 etc41 would be as common among the ,jews of the present day1 as are those of ,abraham1 ,isaac1 ,jacob1 ,moses1 and ,aaron4 ',in the superstition they have been in1 scarcely a ,jew family would be without an ,enoch1 as a presage of his going to heaven as ambassador for the whole family4 ,every mother who wished that the days of her son might be long in the land1 would call him ,methuselah2 and all the ,jews that might have to traverse the ocean would be named ,noah1 as a charm against shipwreck and drowning4' 99,chapter xi41 v4 #a4 ,if the whole earth was of one tongue1 what do verses #e1 #bj1 and #ca of the preceding chapter mean8 ,voltaire says1 ',people have wished to know how the children of #bi ,noah1 after having divided among themselves the islands of the nations1 and established themselves in divers lands1 with each one his particular language1 family1 and people1 should all find themselves in the plain of ,shinaar to build there a tower1 saying1 ,let us make us a name1 lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth4 ',the book of ,genesis speaks of the states which the sons of ,noah founded4 ,it has related how the people of ,europe1 ,africa1 and ,asia all came to ,shinaar1 speaking one language only1 and purposing the same thing4 ',the ,vulgate places the deluge in the year of the world #afef1 and the construction of the ,tower of ,babel1 #agga2 that is to say1 one hundred and fifteen years after the destruction of mankind1 and even during the life of ,noah4 ',men then must have multiplied with prodigious celerity2 all the arts revived in a very little time4 ,when we reflect on the great number of trades which must have been employed to raise a tower so high1 we are amazed at so stupendous a work4 ',it is a pity that there remains not on the earth1 among the profane authors1 one vestige of the famous ,tower of ,babel2 nothing of this story of the confusion of tongues is found in any book4 ,this memorable adventure was as unknown to the whole universe1 as the names of ,noah1 ,methusalem1 ,cain1 and ,adam and ,eve4' ,it seems scarcely probable that a multitude of people1 forming so many nations1 could be got together in one plain2 and if they were1 why should they fear being scattered8 ,verse #e4 ',the ,lord came down4' ,this idea pervades the book--that is1 that ,god resides in heaven1 above the earth1 and that he leaves heaven occasionally and comes down to earth1 and after having finished his business1 goes up again to heaven4 ,the writer appears to have had no conception that ,god could see from heaven to earth1 but makes ,god come down to ascertain whether the tale which had reached him in heaven be true4 ,unfortunately1 even after ignoring the attribute of omnipresence in relation to ,god1 the idea is not a correct one4 ,that which is above me when ,i look up and pray is not above the ,new ,zealander1 if he looks up and prays at the same instant4 ,the powers above to him would be the powers below to me4 ,the verse implies that ,god could not see the tower until he came down4 ,verses #f and #g4 ,who did ,god speak to8 ',let us go down2' who are 'us8' ,did the ,almighty actually fear lest his creatures should build a tower so high that they might scramble into heaven without his assistance8 ,the whole of this account is absurd in the extreme4 ,dr4 ,john ,pye ,smith says that 'the confusion of language was probably only to a certain point1 not destroying cognation4' ,i do not the better understand the story with the aid of this comment4 ,the only thing proved by the elaborate commentaries of many divines is1 that they gave ,god the credit of inspiring an inexplicable revelation1 and that1 instead of endeavouring to make it explicable1 they burden the margin of the book with suppositions which only increase the difficulties of the text4 #cj ,verse #bf4 ',and ,terah lived seventy years1 and begat ,abram4' ,verse #cb4 ',and the days of ,terah were two hundred and five years1 and ,terah died in ,haran4' 99,chapter xii41 v4 #a4 ,and the ,lord said to ,abram1 ',get thee out1' etc4 ,so that ,abram must have been one hundred and thirty-five years old when he left ,haran2 but1 according to verse #d it appears that ,abram was only seventy-five years of age4 ,this has been regarded as an inexplicable difficulty by ,st4 ,jerome and ,st4 ,augustine2 and ,i1 who am not a saint1 must confess with ,voltaire that ,i cannot understand how a man can be seventy-five and one hundred and thirty-five years of age at the same time4 99,chapter xii41 v4 #a1 #b1 #c1 and #g2 chap1 xiii41 v4 #ad1 #ae1 #af1 and #ag2 chap1 xv41 v4 #e1 #f1 #g1 and #ah2 chap1 xvii41 v4 #g and #h2 chap1 xviii41 v4 #ah2 chap1 xxii41 v4 #ag and #ah2 chap1 xxvi41 v4 #c and #d42 chap1 xxviii41 v4 #ad4 ,these verses contain the solemn promise1 the more solemn covenant1 and the most solemn oath of ,god2 this promise1 covenant1 and oath all being to one effect--namely1 that ,abraham's children should be as numerous as the dust of the earth1 or the stars of heaven1 and that this numerous progeny should possess certain specified land for ever4 ,there is a difficulty in comprehending why ,god1 who is no respector of persons1 should have selected ,abraham and his descendants for such great reward2 but waiving this1 we find several questions requiring answer4 ,who are ,abraham's descendants8 ,not the ,jews2 their number is very limited4 ,where are ,abraham's descendants8 ,not in the promised land1 most certainly4 ,if ,abraham's descendants are the ,jews1 then ,i say that they have never been as numerous as ,god promised1 covenanted1 and swore they should be4 ,i say that they have not held the promised land for ever4 ,it may be that this promise is yet to be fulfilled2 it is quite certain that it is unfulfilled up to the present time4 99,chapter xii41 v4 #aa to #bj4 ,the account of the chosen of ,god having recourse to a lie to pass off his wife for his sister1 deserves notice4 ,when this happens twice 7chap4 #bj71 it excites suspicion2 and when it occurs a third time in the same country to the son of ,abraham1 it creates doubt as to the truth of the whole4 ,voltaire writes thus of ,abraham3-- ',the ,scripture says that the ,god of the ,jews1 who intended to give them the land of ,canaan1 commanded ,abraham to leave the fertile country of ,chaldea1 and go towards ,palestine1 promising that in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed4 ,it is for theologians to explain1 by allegory and mystical sense1 how all the nations of the earth were to be blessed in a seed from which they did not descend1 since this much-to-be-venerated mystical sense cannot be made the object of a work purely critical4 ,a short time after these promises1 ,abraham's family was afflicted by famine1 and went into ,egypt for corn4 ,it is singular that the ,hebrews never went into ,egypt but when pressed by hunger2 for ,jacob afterwards sent his children on the same errand4 ',abraham1 who was then very old1 went this way with his wife #ca ,sarah1 aged sixty-five2 she was very handsome1 and ,abraham feared that the ,egyptians1 smitten by her charms1 would kill him in order to enjoy her transcendent beauties2 he proposed to her that she should pass for his sister1 etc4 ,human nature must at that time have possessed a vigour which time and luxury have since very much weakened4 ,that which ,abraham had foreseen came to pass2 the ,egyptian youth found his wife charming1 notwithstanding her sixty-five years2 the king himself fell in love with her1 and placed her in his seraglio1 though1 probably1 he had younger females there2 but the ,lord plagued the king and his seraglio with very great sores4 ,the text does not tell us how the king came to know that this dangerous beauty was ,abraham's wife2 but it seems that he did come to know it1 and restored her4 ',sarah's beauty must have been unalterable2 for1 twenty-five years afterwards1 when she was ninety years old1 pregnant1 and travelling with her husband through the dominions of a ,king of ,phoenicia1 named ,abimelech1 ,abraham1 who had not yet corrected himself1 made her a second time pass for his sister4 ,the ,phoenician ,king was as sensible to her attractions as the ,king of ,egypt had been2 but ,god appeared to this ,abimelech in a dream1 and threatened him with death if he touched his new mistress4 ,it must be confessed that ,sarah's conduct was as extraordinary as the lasting nature of her charms4 ',the singularity of these adventures was probably the reason why the ,jews had not the same sort of faith in their histories which they had in their ,leviticus4 ,there was not a single iota of their law in which they did not believe2 but the historical part of their ,scriptures did not command the same respect4 ,their conduct in regard to their ancient books may be compared to that of the ,english1 who received the laws of ,st4 ,edward without absolutely believing that ,st4 ,edward cured the scrofula2 or that of the ,romans1 who1 while they obeyed their primitive laws1 were not obliged to believe in the miracles of the sieve filled with water1 the ship drawn to the shore by a vestal's girdle1 the stone cut with a razor1 and so forth4' 99,chapter xiii41 v4 #g and #ah1 as before observed1 could not have been written by ,moses1 7see p4 #e47 99,chapter xiv41 v4 #a to #af4 ,this victory of ,abraham over four mighty kings is1 if true1 a very wonderful one4 ,it is quite clear that ,chedorlaomer was a very powerful monarch1 having other monarchs for his vassals4 ,amraphel was the king of the mighty empire of ,babylon1 doubtless not so grand as it afterwards became1 but still one of the most powerful of the then monarchies of the world4 ,these are assisted by two other kings2 one of whom is described as the king of nations4 ,the four allies make war upon certain kings1 five in number2 and1 according to verse #aj1 they fight1 and the kings of ,sodom and ,gomorrah fall in the vale of ,siddim4 ,abraham1 hearing that ,lot1 his relative1 was taken prisoner1 took three hundred and eighteen men1 and1 by night1 pursued and smote the four allied kings1 and recaptured his brother4 ,as he went near #cb to ,damascus in pursuit1 he must have travelled more than one hundred miles1 beside crossing some very mountainous country2 this1 of course1 enhances the character of the victory4 ,one of the fruits of this triumph seems to have been1 that the ,king of ,sodom1 who is killed in verse #aj1 comes to meet ,abraham1 alive and well1 in verse #ag4 ,verse #ah4 ',melchizedek2' who was he8 ,before answering this question1 read ,psalm ex41 v4 #d1 ,hebrews1 chap1 v41 v4 #f1 #aj1 and #aa1 chap1 vii41 and chap1 viii41 v4 #a4 ,in the verse we are examining1 he is described as ------ 7melekitzedek7-- ------ 7melek7 ------ 7shelem74 ,what does this mean8 ,melekitzedek or ,melchizedek2 'first by interpretation ,king of ,righteousness1 and after that the ,king of ,salem1 which is1 the ,king of ,peace2 without father1 without mother1 without descent1 having neither beginning of days1 nor end of life'--vide ,hebrews1 chap1 vii41 v4 #c4 ,this description does not answer to any man who ever lived on the face of the earth2 nearly everybody claims to have had a father and a grandfather2 everybody has had a mother4 ,everybody was one hour old before he grew older2 and after existing some few score years1 more or less1 every man has1 sooner or later1 died4 ,so ,melchizedek could not have been a man4 ,in ,malachi1 chap iv41 v4 #b1 we find ------ 7,chemesh zedek72 this is translated ,sun of ,righteousness1 and it is only to the sun that the description of ,melchizedek will apply4 ,the ancients looked upon the sun as the everlasting source of all existence1 and personified it in various names2 ,melchizedek1 king of the zodiac1 appears to be one of the ,bible personifications4 ,but supposing ,melchizedek to be not a real person1 what becomes of the story of ,abraham giving him tithes of his spoils8 ,if this story be not fact1 how much is allegory8 ,is any portion of the history of ,abraham a fact8 ,in chap1 xvi41 we find part of the history of ,hagar and ,sarai2 while1 in ,galatians1 chap1 iv41 v4 #bd and #be1 we are told that whole history is an allegory1 and that ,hagar represents ,mount ,sinai in ,arabia1 and ,sarai the ,city of ,jerusalem1 which is 'above4' ,if it be taken as a relation of fact1 we find ,sarah1 the chosen of ,god1 ill-treating a woman of her household1 causing her to fly into the desert when in a state of health requiring great care2 and we further find that ,god prophecies for the yet unborn child1 ',that his hand will be against every man1 and every man's hand against him4' ,if all things are in the order and disposition of ,god1 he did not order and dispose them very well for poor ,ishmael4 ,but perhaps the ,god of the ,jews1 like the slaveowner1 had not the same consideration for those born in bondage as for their masters4 99,chapter xv41 v4 #ac4 ,if this four hundred years refers to the ,egyptian captivity1 it is four hundred and thirty years according to ,exodus1 chap1 xii41 v4 #dj and #da 7also see ,galatians1 chap1 iii41 v4 #ag72 but1 according to the ,bible chronology1 it is only about two hundred years4 ,it is impossible to give credit to one more than the other2 for ,genesis1 ,exodus1 and ,chronology1 while they contradict one another1 are not supported by any other evidence themselves4 #cc ,verse #ah to end4 ,ten nations are specified here2 in ,joshua1 chap1 iii41 v4 #aj1 seven only are mentioned2 in ,deuteronomy1 chap4 xxii v4 #ag1 six2 in ,exodus1 chap1 iii41 v4 #ag1 and chap1 xxiii41 v4 #bc1 six2 #b ,chronicles1 chap1 viii41 v4 #g1 five only4 ,the land from the ,nile to the ,euphrates has never yet been in the undisturbed possession of the ,jews2 large portions have never been in their possession for a single moment1 so that this promise has never been performed4 99,chapter xvi41 v4 #ac4 ,in the ,douay this is translated1 ',and she called the name of the ,lord that spoke unto her1 thou the ,god who hast seen me2 for she said1 verily here have ,i seen the hinder parts of him that seeth me4' ,the reader will perceive a strange difference in the two texts4 ,if the ,douay be the correct translation1 where are the hinder parts of a ,god who is without parts8 7vide thirty-nine articles74 99,chapter xvii41 v4 #a4 ',and the ,lord appeared to ,abraham4' ,verse #c4 ',and ,abraham fell on his face4' ,verse #ag4 ',then ,abraham fell on his face4' ,verse #bc4 ',and he left off talking with him2 and ,god went up from ,abraham4' ,the intent of this chapter is to induce a belief that the ,lord appeared in person to ,abraham2 and that1 after he had talked with him for some time1 he left and went up4 ,it is also intended to convey that ,abraham showed his respect to the ,lord bv falling down before him2 and1 according to the ,douay1 'flat on his face4' ,i have before remarked on this going up and coming down1 which is utterly inconsistent with any idea of an infinite and omnipotent ,god4 ,i do not wish to fill my pages with mere repetitions1 and shall1 therefore1 at once deal with ,genesis1 chap1 xvii41 v4 #a and #bb1 chap1 xviii41 v4 #a1 #b1 #g1 and #h1 chap1 xxii41 v4 #aa and #ae1 chap1 xxvi41 v4 #b and #bd1 chap4 xxviii41 v4 #ac1 chap1 xxxii41 v4 #cj1 and chap1 xxxv41 v4 #g1 #i1 and #ac4 ,it is quite clear that the author of these verses in ,genesis considered not only ,god was material1 and could be seen1 but also considered ,god in the light of a superior or more powerful being than man1 yet of somewhat the same form and passions4 ,man is represented as made in the image of ,god4 ,men1 ,gods1 and ,angels are strangely confused together2 angels are spoken of in three characters--viz41 as intermediatory messengers1 as inferior ,gods1 and as ,god4 ,this would be sufficient of itself to cause great confusion4 ,god is spoken of in this book as eating1 talking1 walking1 going up and down1 grieving1 repenting1 and swearing1 making impossible covenants and never keeping them1 fearing lest man should eat of the tree of life and live for ever1 or that he should build a tower which should reach to heaven4 ,in the eighteenth chapter1 the terms ',angels1' ',men1' and ',lord1' are indiscriminately used in reference to the same persons4 ,in the twenty-second chapter1 the angel of the ,lord calls from heaven to ,abraham4 ,what are angels8 ,voltaire says-- ',angel1 in ,greek1 envoy4 ,the reader will hardly be the wiser for being told that the ,persians had their peris1 the ,hebrews their melakim1 and the ,greeks their demonoi4 ',but it is1 perhaps1 better worth knowing that one of the first of #cd man's ideas has always been1 to place intermediate beings between the ,divinity and himself2 such were those demons1 those genii1 invented in the ages of antiquity4 ,man always made the ,gods after his own image2 princes were seen to communicate their orders by messengers2 therefore1 the ,divinity had also his couriers4 ,mercury and ,iris were couriers or messengers4 ,the ,jews1 the only people under the conduct of the ,divinity himself1 did not1 at first1 give names to the angels whom ,god vouchsafed to send them2 they borrowed the names given them by the ,chaldeans1 when the ,jewish nation was captive in ,babylon2 ,michael and ,gabriel are named for the first time by ,daniel1 a slave among those people4 ,the ,jew ,tobit1 who lived at ,nineveh1 knew the angel ,raphael1 who travelled with his son to assist him in recovering the money due to him from the ,jew ,gabael4 ',in the laws of the ,jews1 that is1 in ,leviticus and ,deuteronomy1 not the least mention is made of the existence of the angels1 much less of the worship of them2 neither did the ,sadducees believe in the angels4 ',but1 in the histories of the ,jews1 they are much spoken of4 ,the angels were corporeal2 they had wings at their backs1 as the ,gentiles feigned that ,mercury had at his heels2 sometimes they concealed their wings under their clothing4 ,how could they be without bodies1 since they all ate and drank8 ',the ancient ,jewish tradition1 according to ,ben ,maimon1 admits ten degrees1 ten orders of angels4 ',the ,christian religion is founded on the fall of the angels4 ,those who revolted were precipitated from the spheres which they inhabited into hell1 in the centre of the earth1 and became devils4 ,a devil1 in the form of a serpent1 tempted ,eve1 and damned mankind4 ,jesus came to redeem mankind1 and to triumph over the devil1 who tempts us still4 ,yet this fundamental tradition is to be found nowhere but in the apochryphal book of ,enoch2 and there it is in a form quite different from that of the received tradition4 ',it is not known precisely where the angels dwell--whether in the air1 in the void1 or in the planets4 ,it has not been ,god's pleasure that we should be informed of their abode4' 99,chapter xvii41 v4 #aj1 #aa1 #ab1 #ac1 and #ad4 ,according to the latter verse1 no uncircumcised man will be admitted into heaven2 so the ,mahomedans would get in and ,christians be excluded4 ,the following will be found in the ,philosophical ,dictionary under the head ',circumcision4' ',it appears1 says ,herodotus1 in his book ,euterpe1 'that the inhabitants of ,colchis sprang from ,egypt4 ,i judge so from my own observations1 rather than from hearsay2 for ,i found that1 at ,colchis1 the ancient ,egyptians were more frequently recalled to my mind than the ancient customs of ,colchis were1 when ,i was in ,egypt4 ',these inhabitants of the shores of the ,euxine sea stated themselves to be a colony founded by ,sesostris4 ,as for myself1 ,i should think this probable1 not merely because they are dark and wooly-haired1 but because the inhabitants of ,colchis1 ,egypt1 and ,ethiopia1 #ce are the only people in the world who1 from time immemorial1 have practised circumcision2 for the ,phoenicians and the people of ,palestine confess that they adopted the practice from the ,egyptians4 ,the ,syrians1 who at present inhabit the banks of ,thermodon1 acknowledge that it is1 comparatively1 but recently that they have conformed to it4 ,it is principally from this usage that they are considered of ,egyptian origin4 ',with respect to ,ethiopia and ,egypt1 as this ceremony is of great antiquity in both nations1 ,i cannot by any means ascertain which has derived it from the other4 ,it is1 however1 probable that the ,ethiopians received it from the ,egyptians2 while1 on the contrary1 the ,phoenicians have abolished the practice of circumcising new-born children since the enlargement of their commerce with the ,greeks4 ',from this passage of ,herodotus1 it is evident that many people had adopted circumcision2 but no nation ever pretended to have received it from the ,jews4 ,to whom1 then1 can we attribute the origin of this custom2 to a nation from whom five or six others acknowledge they took it1 or to another nation1 much less powerful1 less commercial1 less warlike1 hid away in a corner of ,arabia ,petraea1 and which never communicated any one of its usages to any other people8 ',the ,jews admit that they were1 many ages since1 received in ,egypt out of charity4 ,is it not probable that the lesser people imitated a usage of the superior one1 and that the ,jews adopted some customs from their masters8 ',clement of ,alexandria relates that ,pythagoras1 when travelling among the ,egyptians1 was obliged to be circumcised1 in order to be admitted to their mysteries4 ,it was1 therefore1 absolutely necessary to be circumcised to be a priest in ,egypt4 ,those priests existed when ,joseph arrived in ,egypt4 ,the government was of great antiquity1 and the ancient ceremonies of the country were observed with the most scrupulous exactness4 7,joseph was married into the family of the ,priest of the ,sun before his relations had established any religious system47 ',the ,jews acknowledge that they remained in ,egypt two hundred and five years 7the ,bible says four hundred and thirty74 ,they say that1 during that period1 they did not become circumcised4 ,it is clear1 then1 that for two hundred and five years1 the ,egyptians did not receive circumcision from the ,jews4 ,would they have adopted it from them after the ,jews had stolen the vessels which they had lent them1 and1 according to their own account1 fled with their plunder into the wilderness8 ,will a master adopt the principal symbol of the religion of a robbing and runaway slave8 ,it is not in human nature4 ',it is stated in the book of ,joshua that the ,jews were circumcised in the wilderness4 ,i have delivered you from what constituted your reproach among the ,egyptians4 ,but what could this reproach be1 to a people living between ,phoenicians1 ,arabians1 and ,egyptians1 but something which rendered them contemptible to these three nations8' #cf 99,chapter xviii41 v4 #a4 ,the ,lord appeared1 according to verse #b1 in the shape of three men1 who wash their feet and sit down under a tree1 and eat cakes1 butter1 milk1 and veal1 until the tenth verse1 when they become only one1 and it is 'he said4' ,this he would1 according to verse #ac1 appear to be the ,lord2 but1 in verse #af1 we go back to 'the men' again1 who walk with ,abraham4 ,during the walk1 the ,lord speaks 7verse #ag71 and1 in verse #bb1 the ,lord is mentioned separately from 'the men4' ,verses #bj and #ba4 ,this is scarcely the language to be expected from an omniscient ,god4 ,it is here stated that a report of the sin of ,sodom and ,gomorrah has reached ,god2 that ,god is uncertain and ignorant as to the correctness of the report1 and that he is determined to go down to the city to ascertain the truth for himself4 ,this is just what an ignorant and superstitious man might fancy1 but not that which we should expect a ,god would reveal4 ,the argumentative conversation between ,god and ,abraham1 and the strange comment1 that1 after the conversation was finished1 'the ,lord went his way1' are worthy of notice4 ,the ,douay ,bible explains this chapter in a foot-note1 as follows3--',the ,lord here accommodates his discourse to the way of speaking and acting amongst men1 for he knoweth all things1 and needeth not to go anywhere for information4 ,note here that two of the three angels went away immediately for ,sodom1 while the third1 who represented the ,lord1 remained with ,abraham4' ,how is this ascertained8 ,this comment is1 like all the rest1 a barefaced attempt to make falsehood appear like truth2 but failing in the attempt1 because1 like upon the contact of fire with water1 a loud hiss is always raised against those who endeavour to mix falsehood with truth4 99,chapter xix4 ,my original publishers and my present printer1 more moral than the ,queen's printers1 decline to print or publish any comment upon1 or any quotations from1 the obscene part of this chapter4 ,in defence of the publishers1 ,i may observe that1 if this chapter was in any book but the ,bible1 and was published by any one not well protected by the aristocracy1 he would be most assuredly prosecuted by the ,society for ,suppression of ,vice2 ,regent ,street1 a few ,lords1 a ,duke or ,marauis1 a ,bishop1 or the ,bible1 will1 however1 cover with mystery1 and varnish over with fashion1 that1 which if stript of its tawdry gewgaws or solemn black cloak1 is nothing but disgusting and degrading immorality4 ,i shall1 therefore1 pass with but scant notice1 and without the slightest attempt at examination1 all those chapters or verses which may be classed under the head 'obscene4' ,it is said that the ,bible would not be an authentic history unless it contained such chapters as this1 and that the relation is given for the purpose of showing that ,god condemned and punished such conduct1 and as a warning and example to futurity4 ,now1 ,i feel that 'evil communications corrupt good manners1' and1 although ,i regret that ,god made such an unfortunate mistake in selecting a family who trained up such bad children1 when he drowned everybody beside1 yet ,i cannot admire and reverence his conduct in leaving them to fall into disgusting #cg crime for the purpose of furnishing us with the horrid scene of the inhabitants of two cities burnt alive4 ,lot's wife being changed into a pillar of salt1 is a chemical problem not easy of solution4 ',looking back' seems scarcely sufficient to account for the transmutation4 ,jesus told his disciples that they were the salt of the earth2 perhaps they were descended from ,lot's wife4 99,chapter xx4 ,this has been before adverted to in the general remarks on ,abraham4 ,newman1 in his ',phases of ,faith1' asks1 ',what was ,i to make of ,god's anger with ,abimelech1 whose sole offence was the having believed ,abraham's lie8 for which a miraculous barrenness was sent on all the females of ,abimelech's tribe1 and was bought off only by splendid presents to the favoured deceiver4' ,according to verse #f1 ,abimelech was not free and responsible2 this makes the punishment still more remarkable2 and why punish others for ,abimelech's offence 7if offence was really committed78 ,if ,god withheld ,abimelech from committing sin1 why is he not as merciful to every one8 it would be more ,godlike to prevent sin than to punish the sinner4 99,chapter xxi41 v4 #ab and #ad4 ,the sending ,hagar and ,ishmael into the desert with only one bottle of water is cruel and barbarous conduct4 ,abraham does not seem to have had much parental affection2 his first-born son he turned out into the desert with a small amount of food and water1 and he prepared to cut the throat of his second son without the slightest hesitation4 ,god informed ,abraham that in ,isaac should the great promise be fulfilled2 and on this ,ishmael was sent away4 ,voltaire says-- ',it was in ,isaac that the race of the ,patriarch was to be blessed2 yet ,isaac was father only of an unfortunate and contemptible nation1 who were for a long period slaves1 and have1 for a still longer1 been dispersed4 ,ishmael1 on the contrary1 was the father of the ,arabs2 who1 in course of time1 established the empire of the ,caliphs1 one of the most powerful and most extensive in the world4' ,verses #cj and #ca4 ,in chap1 xxvi41 v4 #be1 #cb1 and #cc1 we are told that it was not ,abraham1 but the servants of ,isaac who digged the well2 and that it was not ,abraham1 but ,isaac who called the name of the place ,beersheba4 ,which is correct1 or were there two ,beer-shebas8 ,the thirty-third verse reads1 ',therefore the name of the city is ,beersheba unto this day4' ,the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,giles adds1 ',it is sufficient to remark that no city of ,beersheba existed in the time of ,moses2 consequently1 the ,book in which it is found could not have been written by ,moses or any of his contemporaries4' 99,chapter xxii41 v4 #a4 ',god did tempt ,abraham4' ,it is quite clear that ,james1 'a servant of ,god and of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1' did not believe this verse2 for1 in his epistle to the twelve tribes1 chap1 i41 v4 #ac1 he says1 that ,god never tempteth any man4 ,verse #b4 ,in the ,douay1 ,abraham is told to go 'into the land of vision1' in our version1 'into the land of ,moriah4' ,the ,bible is so much made up of dreams and visions1 that we cannot wonder the preachers should chiefly discourse upon castles in the air and crowns #ch in heaven1 not to be looked at in the present life1 but to be enjoyed without stint in the next4 ,it is one drawback that we are all to die first1 because men may well doubt whether their decaying and decayed remains will rise again with capacity to enjoy the good things4 ,this influences all2 per example1 assuming a bishop to be a sincere believer1 we all know that he is reluctant to retire without his five shillings in this world1 even while upheld by his faith in the crown he is to receive in the world to come4 ,any doubter can satisfy his conscience by reference to the late debates on the retiring bishop's bill4 ,verse #d4 ,abraham does not speak the truth when he tells the young men that he and the young lad will return after worshipping1 because at that time he intends to kill ,isaac4 ,i do not wish to imply by this criticism that ,i expect to find ,abraham speaking the truth1 because such an implication would not be justified4 ,abraham might have respected truth1 perhaps did1 but he kept a long way from it very often 7vide his before-mentioned adventures with ,pharaoh and ,abimelech74 ,abraham even deceived his own son2 see verses #g and #h4 ,on this ,voltaire remarks-- ',it seems astonishing that ,god1 after causing ,isaac to be born of a centenary father and a woman of ninety-five1 should afterwards have ordered that father to murder the son whom he had given him1 contrary to every expectation4 ,this strange order from ,god seems to show that1 at the time when this history was written1 the sacrifice of human victims was customary amongst the ,jews1 as it afterwards became in other nations1 as witness the vow of ,jephtha4' ,newman adds1 ',paul and ,james agree in extolling ,abraham as the pattern of faith2 ,james and the author of the epistle to the ,hebrews specify the sacrifice of ,isaac as a first-rate fruit of faith2 yet1 if the voice of morality is allowed to be heard1 ,abraham was 7in heart and intention7 not less guilty than those who sacrificed their children to ,molech4' ,see also ',phases of ,faith1' p4 #ia4 ,verse #ad4 ',and ,abraham called the name of the place ,jehovah jireh2' in ,exodus1 chap1 vi41 v4 #c1 ,god says positively that he was not known to ,abraham by the name ,jehovah2 which is true8 ,if ,abraham called the name of the place ,jehoveh jireh1 he must have known the ,lord by that name2 either the account as to ,abraham is untrue1 or ,god had forgotten or made a mistake in ,exodus4 ,which ever supposition is adopted1 the ,bible ceases to have any claim on us as a revelation from a truthful deity4 ,verse #af4 ',by myself have ,i sworn4' ,can my readers imagine any form of oath an omnipotent1 eternal1 and infinite ,god would be like to use8 ,is ,god's oath to be considered more binding than his word8 ,in our day1 if a man swear to an untruth1 ,we call it perjury2 but1 although ,god did not keep his oath1 we must remember that his ways are not as our ways4 99,chapter xxiii41 verses #b and #ai1 and verses #ae and #af have been before noticed on page #e4 99,chapter xxiv41 v4 #a4 ,abraham1 in his old age1 was more vigorous #ci than in his youth and prime of life2 for1 by chap1 xxv41 v4 #a to #c1 we learn that after this he took another one1 and had six sons1 and1 by chap1 xxv41 v4 #f1 it would appear that he had other wives and children4 ,verse #c4 ,the conduct of ,abraham and of ,god1 as previously detailed1 as to oath-taking1 is disapproved in ,matthew1 chap1 v41 v4 #cd to #cg1 and ,james1 chap1 v41 v4 #ab4 99,chapter xxv41 v4 #e and #f4 ,if ,abraham gave 'all that he had' unto ,isaac1 what kind of gifts did his other children get8 ,verse #h4 ,one would scarcely fancy when reading the life of ,abraham and this conclusion1 that he had died younger than any of his predecessors on record4 ,the ,douay has it1 'and decaying1 he died in a good old age1 and having lived a long time4' ,why1 instead of dying in a good old age1 he had lived a much shorter period than any of his ancestors1 and the verse1 to be in accordance with the previous chapters1 ought to have lamented his premature death4 ,verse #bc4 ,god seems to have a preference for younger sons2 the dutiful ,ishmael 7who1 though turned out into the desert to starve1 forgot his wrongs1 and attended to place his father's body in the grave7 was set aside for his younger brother ,isaac4 ,the truthful1 manly1 and forgiving elder born ,esau is supplanted by the crafty1 cowardly1 and untruthful ,jacob4 99,chapter xxvi41 v4 #g to #aa4 ,of this adventure happening a third time in the history of father and son1 and a second time in the same country1 ,professor ,newman says1 ',allowing that such a thing was barely not impossible1 the improbability was so intense as to demand the strictest and most cogent proof2 yet1 when we asked who testified it1 no proof appeared that it was ,moses2 or1 supposing it to be he1 what his sources of knowledge were'--and1 on chap1 xxvii41' ,was it at all credible that the lying and fraudulent ,jacob should be so specially loved by ,god8' ,verse #cd4 ,these wives are differently named and described in chap1 xxxvi41 v4 #b and #c4 99,chapter xxviii41 v4 #aa4 ,even in a dream1 the idea of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven to enable ,god and his angels to go up and down is rather ludicrous4 ,the ,douay says that ,jacob 'saw the ladder in his sleep4' ,a dream1 in ,genesis1 is intended to have a stronger significance than we should attach to it2 we are told that ,god often appeared to various persons in dreams4 ,the writer of ,genesis evidently conceived a ladder necessary to enable ,god to get up to heaven1 in the same style in which you or ,i might ascend to the roof of a house4 ,verse #bj4 ,the inference from this conditional statement is1 that if ,god does not keep1 clothe1 and feed ,jacob1 then he shall not be ,jacob's ,god4 ,jacob was rather a shrewd fellow2 he did not want to be religious for nothing4 ,verse #bb4 ,how can a stone be ,god's house1 and what benefit would tithes be to ,god8 99,chapter xxix41 v4 #e4 ,laban was the son of ,bethuel1 not the son of #dj ,nahor2 see chap1 xxv41 v4 #bj4 ,verse #ag4 ,the ,douay says that ,leah was blear-eyed4 ,verse #be4 ,the cunning ,jacob was outwitted by ,laban1 his uncle4 ,the bickerings between ,jacob and his wives1 and the curious mode of cheating ,laban 7chap1 xxx41 v4 #cb to #db71 need no comment other than that of surprise that a special providence should interfere to make women fruitful or barren1 or to make sheep of divers colours1 white1 black1 brown1 speckled1 spotted1 grisled1 and ringstraked--extraordinary sheep those4 ,in the ,douay and ,breeches ,bibles1 the word 'sheep' stands instead of 'cattle' in our version4 ,perhaps the authorised translators had never seen sheep so peculiar as those first described3 99,chapter xxxi41 v4 #ec4 ,who is the ,god of ,nahor8 99,chapter xxxii41 v4 #a4 ,who are the ',angels of ,god8' ,verses #bd to #cj4 ,if any meaning is intended to be conveyed by2 these verses1 it is that the omnipotent and infinite ,god and his creature ,jacob wrestled all night1 and that in the morning ,god1 finding that ,jacob was as strong and clever at wrestling as himself1 unfairly puts ,jacob's thigh out of joint2 notwithstanding which1 ,jacob refused to let let go his hold of ,god ,almighty until he had given him his blessing4 ,i will not comment on this1 because1 to ,freethinkers1 the matter is too absurd1 and1 to ,believers1 too outrageous for remark4 ,on verse #cb1 the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,giles remarks1 ',this reference to a custom still existing among the ,israelites1 seems decidedly to indicate a later date than that of ,moses4 ,no one has ventured to assert that the ,mosaic ,law was observed by the ,jews before it was instituted by ,moses4 ,now1 the words of the passage before us seem to show that the ,israelites had1 for a long time1 abstained from eating the sinew which shrank4 ,moses1 being conscious that this custom was ordained by himself1 could hardly have used such language1 or have claimed such great antiquity as the words seem to indicate4' ,verse #c to #bb1 and chap1 xxxiii41 v4 #a to #ae4 ,read this account attentively1 and then ask yourselves which of the brothers was the more worthy of the promise--,esau1 cozened out of his birthright1 swindled out of his father's blessing1 yet forgetting and forgiving when he had the power to crush and punish2 or ,jacob1 the cheater1 the liar1 and the coward4 99,chapter xxxiii41 v4 #ai3 ,in the ,douay1 instead of 'a hundred pieces of money1' we are told that ,jacob gave the children of ,hamor 'a hundred lambs4' ,verse #bj is thus translated2 ',and raising an altar there1 he invoked upon it the most mighty ,god of ,israel4' ,whether ,douay or ,protestant translation be correct1 it is quite certain that ,jacob was a little too fast--there was no -------- 7al alei ishral7--,jacob was not called ,israel until chap1 xxxv41 v4 #aj--so that the ',el-elohe-,israel' of our version1 and the 'most mighty ,god of ,israel' of the ,douay1 are both out of place unless ,jacob used the words in the spirit of prophecy1 which will explain many difficult passages4 99,chapter xxxiv4 ,upon this chapter ,voltaire indulges in criticism more pungent than before3-- ',here our critics exclaim in terms of stronger disgust than ever4 ,what6 say they1 the son of a king is desirous to marry a vagabond girl2 the marriage is approved2 ,jacob1 the father1 and ,dinah1 the daughter1 are loaded with presents2 the ,king of ,sichem deigns to receive those wandering robbers1 called patriarchs1 within his city2 he has the incredible politeness or kindness to undergo1 with his son1 his court1 and his people1 the rite of circumcision1 thus condescending to the superstition of a petty horde that could not call half a league of territory their own6 ,and1 in return for this astonishing hospitality and goodness1 how do our holy patriarchs act8 ,they wait for the day when the process of circumcision generally induces fever2 when ,simeon and ,levi run through the whole city with poignards in their hands and massacre the king1 the prince his son1 and all the inhabitants4 ,we are precluded from the horror appropriate to this infernal counterpart of the tragedy of ,st4 ,bartholomew1 only by a sense of its absolute impossibility4 ,it is an abominable romance2 but it is evidently a ridiculous romance4 ,it is impossible that two men could have slaughtered in quiet the whole population of a city4 ,the people might suffer1 in a slight degree1 from the operation which had preceded2 but1 notwithstanding this1 they would have risen in self-defence against two diabolical miscreants2 they would have instantly assembled1 would have surrounded them1 and destroyed them with the summary and complete vengeance merited by their atrocity4 ',but there is a still more palpable impossibility4 ,it is that1 according to the accurate computation of time1 ,dinah1 the daughter of ,jacob1 could be only four or five years old2 and that1 even by forcing up chronology as far as possible in favour of the narrative1 she could1 at the very most1 be only eight4 ,it is here1 then1 that we are assailed with bursts of indignant exclamation4 ,what6 it is said1 what6 is it this book--the book of a rejected and reprobate people--a book so long unknown to all the world--a book in which sound reason and decent manners are outraged in every page--that is held up to us as irrefragable1 holy1 and dictated by ,god himself8 ,is it not even impious to believe it8 or could anything less than the fury of cannibals urge to the persecution of sensible and modest men for not believing it8' 99,chapter xxxv41 v4 #aa4 ,although kings were to come out of ,jacob's loins by promise1 ,esau's issue have been quite as successful1 in fact rather more so1 without any of ,god's assistance4 ,verse #bb1 and chap1 xlix41 v4 #c and #d4 ,the family to whom ,god promised 'the land1' seem to have been as immoral and vicious as any on record4 ,abraham has been noticed2 the conduct of ,lot1 his family1 and neighbours ,i dare not comment on2 ,isaac was pretty free from blame1 except in the matter of ,rebekah2 but his goodness is overborne by the rascality of his son ,jacob and his wife1 ,rachel1 who 7worthy partner of such a husband7 robs her own father--the cutthroat propensities of ,simeon and ,levi--and the licentiousness of ,reuben4 #db 99,chapter xxxv41 end of verse #bb to verse #bf4 ,dr4 ,giles speaks of the inaccuracy of the last verse1 as follows3-- ',these are the sons of ,jacob1 which were born to him in ,padan-,aram4 ',but it is well known that ,benjamin was born some years after ,jacob returned to ,canaan4 ,the text1 therefore1 is incorrect1 and creates a serious difficulty1 if we suppose that ,moses1 writing in the presence of ,god1 could have been liable to such an error4' 99,chapter xxxvi41 v4 #b and #c1 are contradicted in chap1 xxvi41 v4 #cd4 ,verses #ad1 #af1 and #ah4 ,it is difficult to discover from this whether ,korah was the son or grandson of ,esau1 as he is described in both characters4 ,verse #ca has been referred to on page #f4 ,in ,dr4 ,giles's ',hebrew ,records1' page #adj1 the critical reader will find the matter discussed more fully than my pages allow4 99,chapter xxxvii41 v4 #a4 ,in the ,douay1 instead of 'wherein his father was a stranger1' it reads1' wherein his father sojourned2' and1 in verse #b1 instead of 'seventeen1' it reads 'sixteen1' and states that ,joseph 'accused his brethren to his father of a most wicked crime4' ,verses #be1 #bg1 and #bh4 ,these verses are criticised in the ',hebrew ,records' as follows3-- ',here the merchants1 to whom ,joseph is sold1 are twice called ,ishmaelites1 and once ,midianites4 ,bishop ,patrick explains the inconsistency in the following extraordinary manner3-- ',ishmaelites4 ,they are called below ,midianites4 ,these people were near neighbours to each other1 and were joined together in one company1 or caravan1 as it is now called4 ,it is the custom1 even to the present day1 in the ,east1 for merchants and others to travel through the deserts in large companies1 for fear of robbers or wild beasts4 ',if the passage to which these comments are annexed1 occurred in one of the famous ,greek or ,latin historians--,livy1 ,thucydides1 or any other--such a note would not1 for one instant1 be taken as sound criticism1 because none of those able writers would be guilty of such an absurdity as applying two names1 known to be distinct1 to the same people1 within the space of four lines4 ,if some idle and weakly written tale contained the inconsistency1 the mode of interpreting it1 which ,bishop ,patrick applies to the passage before us1 might be passed over1 but1 even then1 more from its being of no importance1 than from its soundness or its propriety4 ,but1 when we find this discrepancy in a work which professes to be inspired1 it is highly desirable that such an inconsistency or discrepancy should be cleared up4 ,why have none of the commentators remarked on the singular circumstance of there being ,ishmaelitish merchants at all1 in the time when ,joseph was sold into ,egypt8 ,ishmael was ,jacob's uncle1 being brother to ,isaac1 ,jacob's father4 ,the family of ,ishmael could not have increased to such an extent in the time of which the history treats4 ,the mention of ,ishmaelites1 in the text before us1 indicates that the writer lived many generations later1 when ,ishmaelitish #dc merchants were well known4 ,still less likely is it that there were ,midianitish merchants in those days2 for ,midian was also one of the sons of ,abraham1 and fifty-four years younger than ,isaac2 see chap1 xxv41 y4 #b4 ,at all events1 the variation in the name of this tribe of merchantmen renders it impossible that ,moses could have written the narrative1 unless we suppose that1 when he had it in his power to describe the matter accurately and definitely1 he rather chose to relate it in such a manner as to puzzle all future ages as to its exact meaning4' ,verse #ce4 ,in the ,douay1 the word 'hell' is substituted for the word 'grave4' ,the ,hebrew is ------ 7shale74 ,jacob believed his son devoured by wild beasts1 and1 therefore1 could have hardly expected to find him in his grave2 and1 although hell might1 perhaps1 be the appropriate receptacle for one who had been so great a rascal as ,jacob1 yet1 ,i much doubt whether he ever expressed his intention to go there to find his son4 ,i must refer my more precise readers to the various controversial works written by various shades of ,catholic and ,protestant divines1 on the words 'purgatory1' 'limbo1' 'hell1' and 'grave4' ,verse #cf4 ,the word ------ translated 'officer1' means eunuch1 and is so translated in the ,douay2 if this be correct1 we can scarcely wonder at the conduct of ,potiphar's wife1 as detailed in chap1 xxxix4 99,chapter xxxviii ,judah and his children are a still further illustration of the happy and moral family in whom all the nations of the world were to be blessed4 ,the following is quoted from ,voltaire3-- ',the ,rev4 ,father ,dom ,calmet makes this reflection1 in alluding to the thirty-eighth chapter of ,genesis3--,scripture1 he observes1 gives us the details of a history1 which1 on the first perusal1 strikes our minds as not of a nature for edification2 but the hidden sense which is shut up in it is as elevated1 as that of the mere letter appears low to carnal eyes4 ,it is not without good reasons that the ,holy ,spirit has allowed the histories of ,tamar1 of ,rahab1 of ,ruth1 and of ,bathsheba1 to form a part of the genealogy of ,jesus ,christ4 ',it might have been well1 if ,dom ,calmet had explained these sound reasons1 by which we might have cleared up the doubts1 and appeased the scruples1 of all the honest and timorous souls who are anxious to comprehend how this ,supreme ,being1 the ,creator of the world1 could be born in a ,jewish village1 of a race of plunderers and of prostitutes4 ,this mystery1 which is not less inconceivable than other mysteries1 was assuredly worthy the explanation of so able a commentator4' 99,chapter xxxix4 is inserted1 ,i presume1 by way of contrast1 to heighten the effect produced by the previous chapter4 99,chapter xl41 v4 #e1 #h1 #i1 #ab1 and #af--;chap1 xli41 v4 #ae and #be4 ,in ,leviticus1 chap1 xix41 v4 #bf1 we find these words according to the ,douay1 ',you shall not divine nor observe dreams4' 99,chapter xli41 v4 #ch and #ci4 ,one would imagine1 by these verses1 that ,joseph and the ,egyptians worshipped the same ,god1 but this is not the fact2 ,pharaoh speaks to ,moses of the ,lord your ,god1 and if the ,egyptians had spoken in their usual manner1 it would have been #dd not to have praised ,joseph for the ,spirit of ,god being in him1 but rather to have upbraided the infidel prisoner with having obtained his knowledge from the devil1 unless1 indeed1 we are to assume that the religious ,egyptians were more humane than the religious ,christians4 ,if ,joseph had lived a few years later1 he would have stood a fair chance of being stoned to death1 for his divinations and fortune-telling 7vide ,exodus1 chap1 xxii41 v4 #ah1 and ,deuteronomy1 chap1 xviii41 v4 #aj1 #aa1 and #ab74 ,verses #de and #ej4 ,potipherah is here called priest of ,on2 in the ,douay1 he is denominated priest of ,heliopolis4 ,in plain truth1 he was priest of the sun2 and it might be instructive if it were possible to ascertain the reasons which induced the translators to hide ,joseph's close connexion with sun worship4 ,verse #ef4 ,this famine was over the whole earth1 so that the favoured family of ,abraham were worse off than the ,egyptians1 to whom ,god gave seven years' notice1 to enable them to prepare against the coming trouble4 ,we have all heard of people living on hope2 and the children of ,isaac might have hoped for the fulfilment of the promise1 but such would be very unsubstantial food during a seven years' famine4 99,chapter xliii41 v4 #cb4 ,how could it be considered an abomination for the ,egyptians to eat with the ,hebrews8 the latter were only the descendants of ,abraham1 few in number1 and the ,egyptians could not have known of their existence until they made acquaintance with ,joseph2 and1 by giving him the daughter of the high priest to wife1 they had conferred great honour and favour on him--he was the first in the land1 and the only ,hebrew amongst them4 99,chapter xliv41 v4 #e and #ae4 ,joseph1 according to this1 used to divine in a cup4 ,my grandmother used to inspect the dregs of her tea cup1 and prophesy wondrously2 but it is really too much to expect us to find a creed in such a cup4 99,chapter xlvi41 v4 #a to #c4 ,god again appeared in a vision at night1 that is1 ,jacob dreamed that he saw ,god4 ,the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,giles observes on verses #h to #bf3-- ',an error is found also in the other catalogue of ,jacob's children1 who accompanied him into ,egypt4 ,the names occupy from verse #h to #be of ,genesis1 chap4 xlvi4 ,in verse #bf it is said3-- ',all the souls that came with ,jacob into ,egypt1 which came out of his loins1 besides ,jacob's sons' wives1 all the souls were three score and six4 ',this total is erroneous1 for the names1 added properly1 amount to sixty-seven2 and a still greater difference is found between the ,hebrew text and the ,septuagint1 in the twenty-seventh verse2 the former makes all the souls of the house of ,jacob1 to be three score and ten1 whereas the latter states them to have been seventy-five4 ',we might set aside the authority of the ,septuagint as inferior to that of the ,hebrew in such a matter1 were it not1 that in ,st4 ,stephen's speech1 in the ,acts of the ,apostles1 chap1 vii41 v4 #ad1 the number #ge is repeated2 and an awkward dilemma is created1 from which it is #de impossible to extricate ourselves1 if these conflicting accounts1 both written by inspiration1 are to be considered as having come down to us in their original state4 ,this may1 with justice1 be called in question2 for ,dean ,shuckford1 who supposes that the transcribers have added something in chap1 xxxv41 accuses them of having omitted something in chap1 xlvi41 of having added a verse in xlvi41 #bg1 of the ,septuagint1 which is more full than the ,hebrew1 and1 lastly1 of having altered seventy into seventy-five1 in chap4 vii4 of the ,acts4 ,it is difficult to imagine how a book1 with which such liberties have been taken1 can properly be regarded as an immaculate record4 ,but the same mode of interpretation is entirely inapplicable to explain the remarkable fact1 that1 among those who accompanied ,jacob into ,egypt1 are enumerated1 in chap1 xlvi41 v4 #ba1 ten sons of ,benjamin1 and1 in v4 #ab1 two grandsons of ,judah1 ,hezron and ,hamul4 ,jacob surely went into ,egypt soon after the famine began2 and ,benjamin was then a lad1 if we may trust the chronologers1 under twenty years of age4 ,the grandsons of ,judah1 through his son ,pharez1 could not have been born until many years later2 for ,pharez1 their father1 was only two or three years old when the whole family first entered the land of their servitude4 ',in verse #cd it is said1 as a reason for the ,israelites being placed in the land of ,goshen1 that every shepherd is an abomination to the ,egyptians4 ,but it appears1 from every other part of the history of ,joseph and ,pharaoh1 that there was no such enmity between them4 ,this is also the opinion of ,dr4 ,shuckford1 whose account of the matter is as follows3-- ',there is1 indeed1 one passage in ,genesis which seems to intimate that there was that religious hatred1 which the ,egyptians were afterwards charged with1 paid to creatures even in the days of ,joseph2 for we are informed that he put his brethren upon telling ,pharaoh their profession1 in order to have them placed in the land of ,goshen1 for1 or because1 'every shepherd is an abomination to the ,egyptians1' ,genesis1 xlvi41 v4 #cd4 ,i must freely acknowledge that ,i cannot satisfy myself about the meaning of this passage2 ,i cannot see that shepherds were really1 at this time1 an abomination to the ,egyptians2 for ,pharaoh himself had his shepherds1 and1 when he ordered ,joseph to place his brethren in the land of ,goshen1 he was so far from disapproving of their employment1 that he ordered him1 if he knew any men of activity amongst them1 that he should make them rulers of his cattle2 nay1 the ,egyptians were1 at this time1 shepherds themselves as well as the ,israelites1 for we are told1 when their money failed1 they brought their cattle of all sorts unto ,joseph1 to exchange them for corn1 and1 among the rest1 their flocks of the same kind with those which the ,israelites were to tell ,pharaoh that it was their profession to take care of1 as will appear to any one that will consult the ,hebrew text in the places referred to4 ,either1 therefore1 we must take the expression that every shepherd was an abomination to the ,egyptians to mean no more than that they thought meanly of the employment1 that it was a lazy1 idle1 and inactive profession1 as #df ,pharaoh seemed to question whether there were any men of activity amongst them1 when he heard what their trade was2 or1 if we take the words to signify a religious aversion to them1 which does1 indeed1 seem to be the true meaning of the expression1 from the use made of it in other parts of ,scripture1 then ,i do not see how it is reconcilable with ,pharaoh's inclination to employ them himself1 or with the ,egyptians being many of them1 at this time1 of the same profession themselves1 which the heathen writers agree with ,moses in supposing them to be4 ,diod4 ,sic41 lib4 #a1' ,though learned men have observed that there are several interpolations in the books of the ,scriptures1 which were not the words of the ,sacred ,writers1 some persons1 affecting to show their learning1 when they read over the ancient ,,mss41 would sometimes put a short remark in the margin1 which they thought might give a reason for1 or clear the meaning of1 some expression in the text against which they placed it1 or to which1 they adjoined it2 and from hence it happened1 now and then1 that the transcribers from manuscripts so remarked upon1 did1 through mistake1 take a marginal note or remark into the text1 imagining it to be a part of it4 ,whether ,moses might not end his period in this place with the words1 that ye may dwell in the land of ,goshen2 and whether what follows1 for every shepherd is an abomination to the ,egyptians1 may not have been added to the text in this way1 is entirely submitted to the judgment of the learned4 ,connexion ,book #e1 vol4 i41 p4 #cda4 ',the learned writer of this extract is more correct in his statement of the difficulty1 than in its solution4 ,it is a principle in criticism to consider a book as free from interpolation1 until it is proved that interpolations have certainly been made4 ,the charge of interpolation is brought against the books of the ,old ,testament for no other reason1 than to reduce them into harmony with the preconceived opinion that they were written by the authors to whom they are commonly ascribed4 ,in the present instance1 there has been no interpolation4 ,the compiler1 relating the honours paid to the family of ,jacob in ,egypt1 and endeavouring to harmonise them with the state of things in his own times1 #a1jjj years later1 when the ,egyptians1 by their religious absurdities1 had been made to entertain an enmity towards shepherds1 has given us a description which1 in this particular1 is inconsistent with itself4 ,in short1 the ,egyptians held shepherds in aversion in the fifth1 but not in the fifteenth1 century before the ,christian era4' ,it is scarcely necessary to add to the above2 but1 if it were1 it would be hard to reconcile there being an abomination with the eleventh verse of chap1 xlvii41 in which it is stated that ,pharaoh gave these very people 'the best of the land1 in the land of ,rameses4' 99,chapter xlviii41 v4 #bb4 ,jacob's life contains no account of his wars with the ,amorites2 in fact1 had it not been for these concluding words1 ,i should have looked upon him as rather likely to gain victories by cozening and diplomatic swindling1 than by his bow and sword4 99,chapter #a41 v4 #aj and #aa4 ,these verses could not have been #dg written by ,moses1 because ,atad was not beyond but on this side ,jordan to him4 ,joseph did not cross the ,jordan to bury his rather4 ,before quitting ,genesis1 ,i will endeavour1 as briefly as possible1 to sum up the effect of my partial examination 7,i say partial1 because there are many differences in the readings of the various manuscripts1 and in the translation of the different versions1 which ,i passed without notice1 because they have seemed to me to be of comparative unimportance74 ,i have shown1 in the foregoing pages--first1 that in the authorised version the book claims our attention under false pretences1 that1 in fact1 it is not1 and in the original does not claim to be1 the work of ,moses2 many passages he could not have written1 of the rest1 some passages are evidently taken from different manuscripts1 and badly joined or fitted in1 so as to make up the text as we have it1 forming1 in many cases1 a twice or even thrice told tale1 as in the accounts of the creation1 of the flood1 the adventures of ,abraham's wife1 and of ,jacob's wife1 etc4 ,second1 that it is impossible the book can be a revelation from ,god1 because it contains passages in relation to deity which are in themselves ridiculously absurd1 because it speaks of more ,gods than one1 treating some as superior and some as inferior ,gods1 because it degrades the deity to the level of man1 making him grieve and repent1 and become subject to the same passions and feelings as man1 liable to heat and cold1 etc1 because it treats of the deity as a finite being1 occupying a small portion of space1 travelling from one part of the earth to another1 going up to heaven and coming down therefrom with the aid of a ladder2 because it relates that ,god has1 or sometimes assumes1 a finite1 substantial shape1 which a man may lay hold of and wrestle with2 because it pictures ,god as favouring1 without apparent reason1 some men in preference to others1 and1 in very many instances1 choosing as the objects of his divine favour the worst possible characters1 rewarding fraud and knavery with lands flowing with milk and honey1 and discouraging and discountenancing virtuous conduct either by leaving it unnoticed or by depriving the unfortunate virtuous man of some benefit to which he appeared to be entitled2 because it represents a just and ,almighty ,god allowing the happiness of his own creatures to be destroyed by one of the animals he had created1 and then cursing the tempted man and woman for being frail enough to fall at the first temptation1 when1 in fact1 he 7,god7 was the cause of that very frailty2 because it represents the same ,deity pledging his oath to a promise which he either never intended to perform1 or which he did not possess the ability to perform1 or which he afterwards wilfully broke4 ,third4--,that it cannot be relied on as a relation of actual occurrences1 because1 in the account of the creation1 science has enabled us to detect several positively false statements in the account of the flood2 also several gross and palpable mis-statements occur2 because1 in dealing with dates and genealogical statements1 it contradicts and confuses its own narrative2 because1 even where it pretends to be the most real1 it is alleged1 in another book of the same ,bible1 to be purely allegorical4 #dh ,fourth4---,that it ought not to be used as an educational work for the foregoing reasons1 and because of the various obscene passages spread throughout the book2 because1 also1 the youthful scholar will find cunning1 craft1 and cheating rewarded and preferred1 while honesty and noble conduct is unnoticed2 because he will find the practice of sacrifice is encouraged1 and sacrifice1 either human or bestial1 is degrading and debasing2 because he will find cruelties detailed at which his nature must revolt or become deteriorated4 ,in ,foxton's work on ',popular ,christianity1' a quotation is given from the ,prospective ,review1 in which the writer suggests3-- ',that the ,jews1 like every other nation of antiquity1 have framed for themselves a mythical history1 which1 with the lapse of time1 has been received for fact4 ,this at once releases us from the necessity of any elaborate contrivances for reconciling their belief with probability and the laws of nature2 and exhibits a phenomenon so universal and so natural1 that it would have been a miracle if the ,jewish literature had been an exception to it4 ,but the transition from regarding the first chapters of ,genesis as an inspired record1 to treating them as only a picture of the popular notions of the age in which they were produced1 is too violent to be made at once by any large portion of the public4 ,we are not sorry1 therefore1 that1 from time to time1 hypotheses are proposed which smooth the descent from one of these opinions to the other1 and make the gradients safer4 ,the clerical geologists would have been suspended by their diocesans1 or hooted from their pulpits1 if they had not been able1 at first1 to profess that their discoveries confirmed the ,mosaic account of the deluge1 and did not contravene that of the creation4 ,time has familiarised men with the idea that they are not to look into ,scripture for geology2 and we hope that its professors will soon come openly to avow this1 and cease to torture the words of ,genesis into a conformity with their science4 ,public opinion is so tyrannically intolerant1 and its penal power so fearful1 that we cannot expect the whole truth to be told1 or even to be seen1 at once4 ,but while we admit the temporary value of such intermediate stages of opinion1 we are bound to declare our judgment that they are merely temporary1 and have no solid basis4' ,my only object in collecting together these criticisms on the ,bible1 is to free the human family from the many evils which1 in my opinion1 attach to1 and are consequent on1 a belief in the divine origin of the ,book4 ,the child is taught to believe the ,bible is the word of ,god1 at an age when he can scarcely read its words2 he is taught to regard with horror every attempt to criticise its pages2 and the result is1 that when his senses point out a fact1 and that fact clashes with his ,bible1 he is bewildered and confused1 he knows not what to think1 and unless he be of great mental power1 he ends by not thinking at all1 and becomes professedly a believer1 but in reality a man who dares not reason4 ,,book ,,ii4 ,,exodus ,the title1 ',second ,book of ,moses1' is an interpolation1 forming no part of the text4 ,the remark on page four1 as to titles and headings1 applies to the whole of the ,bible4 99,chapter #a41 vv4 #f and #g4 ',joseph died and his brethren1 and all that generation and the children of ,israel were fruitful1 99 99 99 and the land was filled with them4' ,if these words mean anything1 they mean that in the duration of a little more than one generation1 the children of one man multiplied so as to fill the whole of the land of ,egypt1 and to become exceedingly mighty4 ,devout believers can only wonder that this numerous and exceedingly mighty people allowed the ,egyptians so to maltreat and oppress them2 or that this fruitful and abundantly increasing people wno filled all the land1 had only two midwives to attend them4 ,the believers may also wonder why ,god made houses for those midwives to live in1 when if the ,israelites were so exceedingly fruitful and numerous1 the midwives could have but little time to live in their own houses1 but must have been always employed in their professional avocations4 ,admirers of ,god's truthfulness may likewise wonder why he rewarded the midwives for telling ,pharaoh a lie1 when by his power he might have saved them the necessity4 99,chapter ii41 vv4 #af1 #ag1 #ah4 ,from these verses it would seem that the name of the father-in-law of ,moses was ,reuel1 but according to chap4 iii41 v4 #a1 chap1 iv41 v4 #ah1 chap1 xviii41 vv4 #a1 #b1 #e1 #f1 and #ab1 his name was not ,reuel1 but ,jethro1 while according to ,numbers1 chap1 x41 v4 #bi1 his name was neither ,reuel nor ,jethro1 but was ,raguel4 ,on reference to the ,hebrew text1 ,i find the same word ------ is carelessly anglicised as ,reuel and ,raguel2 this will not1 however1 explain the third name1 ,jethro1 and if we treat ,moses as the author1 it will be difficult to understand how he could be mistaken in the correct name of his own father-in-law4 ,verses #bc and #bd4 ,these verses imply that until the cries and groanings came up to ,god1 he had forgotten his chosen ,israelites1 and his solemn covenant1 oath1 and promise4 ,this view is confirmed by the ,douay translation of verse #be1 which adds1 ',and the ,lord looked upon the children of ,israel1 and he knew them4' ,as though he had refreshed his memory by so looking on them4 99,chapter iii41 v4 #b4 ,the ,douay says that 'the ,lord appeared1' instead of the angel4 ,the picture of the ,omnipotent and3 ,eternal ,god appearing as a flame of fire in the middle of a bush1 which burns1 but is not burnt1 and desiring ,moses to take his shoes off1 is scarcely calculated to arouse a reverential feeling in our minds4 ,verse #f4 ,in ,genesis1 chap1 xxxv41 v4 #aj1 ,god said of ,jacob1 ',thy name shall not be any more called ,jacob1 ,israel is thy name1' yet we find he calls himself 'the ,god of ,jacob1' and uses the name ',jacob' no fewer than eight times in the book of ,exodus alone4 #ej ,verse #bb4 ,this mode of 'borrowing' seems very much like stealing1 and the translators of the ,breeches ,bible in a note say that this example is not to be followed generally4 99,chapter iv41 v4 #ad4 ,the anger of the ,lord kindled1 and why8 ,because ,moses tells him that ne is not a good speaker1 and that he 7,moses7 therefore desired the ,lord to choose somebody else to represent his wishes to ,pharaoh and the ,jews4 ,but why should the ,lord be angry8 he must have himself foreknown and foreordained that ,moses should be reluctant to go4 ,verse #ba4 ,what are the miracles which are previously mentioned but so many incidents in a solemn farce1 if ,god had already determined that ,pharaoh should pay no attention to them8 ,the serpent1 rod1 and the leprous hand1 not being intended by ,god to move ,pharaoh1 of what use are they8 ,in the third chapter1 ,god tells ,moses to use subterfuge to ,pharaoh1 by pretending that the ,jewish nation only wanted to go three days' journey to sacrifice in the wilderness1 and at the same time ,god says that he is 'sure the ,king of ,egypt will not let you go4' ,if ,god is the ruler and ordainer of all things1 he must have ruled and ordained that his chosen people should be ill-treated by ,pharaoh1 whom ,god must have created for that very purpose4 ,can anything be more inconsistent and less calculated to enable us to admire the character of a just and merciful ,deity8 ,verse #bf4 ,what does this mean8 ,if the ,lord sought to kill ,moses1 what hindered him from carrying out his desire8 ,it is strange that he should seek to kill the very man whom he had selected to lead his chosen people out of ,egypt4 ,the circumcision of the son of ,moses seems connected with the story1 but not very clearly4 ,the abrupt transition from the message to ,pharaoh1 to the seeking to kill ,moses1 shows that something has been lost from the original text4 ,the verses #bb to #bg read as they stand are absurd4 ,in our version we are told that after the ,lord let ,moses go1 ,zipporah said ',a bloody husband thou art1 because of the circumcision4' ,in the ,douay we find that ,zipporah used these words before the ,lord let ,moses go4 ,verses #bh1 #bi1 and #cj4 ,aaron who wrought the signs1 and spoke the words to the people1 did so without any direct communication from ,god4 ,he must have been more credulous than ,moses1 for he seems to have readily undertaken1 upon the mere representation of his brother1 that which his brother had hesitated to do1 although personally commanded by ,god4 ,in chap1 v1 we find that ,moses complains to ,god that the ,jews are worse off since his message1 and he expresses himself in a manner which implies doubt as to whether ,god really intend to deliver his people4 99,chapter vi41 v4 #c 7see also page #ch of this work71 ,here is a positive statement that ,god was known unto ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and ,jacob1 by the name ------ 7,bal ,shadi1 translated1 ,god ,almighty71 but not by the name ------ 7yeue1 anglicised as ,jehovah74 ,this statement1 professedly from the lips of ,god himself1 is absolutely contradicted by the book of ,genesis1 in which the name ------ occurs no less than #ea #acj times4 ,in the ,douay it reads1 'and my name ,adonai ,i did not show them1' and in a foot-note we are told that the name ,adonai is substituted for the four letters ------1 because the ,jews out of reverence never pronounce this word4 ,this is not true3 the ,jews simply do not pronounce the word1 because without points it is unpronounceable4 ',the nearest approach to the exact utterance or pronunciation of this word will be produced by suspending the action of all the organs of articulation1 and making only that convulsive heave of the larynx1 by which the bronchial vessels discharge the accumulated phlegm2 it is enunciated with the most eloquent propriety in the act of vomiting8 7,vide ,taylor's ',diegesis1' chap4 #bb47 ,verses #ab and #cj4 ,the fear expressed by ,moses that ,pharaoh will not listen to him1 because he 7,moses7 has not been circumcised1 is strongly corroborative of ,voltaire's criticism given on page #ce of this work4 ,verses #bf and #bg could never have been written by ,moses1 but must have been written long after1 by some one who wished to identify the ,aaron and ,moses of the genealogy with the ,aaron and ,moses to whom the ,lord spoke4 99,chapter vii41 v4 #a4 ,what is meant by the words ',i have made thee a ,god to ,pharaoh8' ,in what sense could ,moses be considered as ,pharaoh's ,god8 ,he was not worshipped by ,pharaoh1 nor did he rule ,pharaoh4 ,verses #aj1 #aa1 and #ab4 ,is it necessary to argue in the middle of the nineteenth century that the whole account of these miracles are unreasonable as well as impossible8 unreasonable1 because even the most pious ,theist1 if he claimed for ,god the power to turn a rod into a serpent1 would hardly concede the same power to the sorcerers and magicians of ,egypt4 ,the throwing down the rod by ,aaron1 its change into a serpent1 and the swallowing the other rods1 form a display without purpose or utility1 because ,god has already predestined that they should produce no effect whatever upon ,pharaoh4 ,verses #ai1 #bj1 and #ba4 ,these verses1 if they mean anything1 mean that the whole of the water in ,egypt was turned to blood2 if so1 the twenty-second verse would be incorrect in stating that the magicians did the same1 because1 if all the water were already turned to blood by ,aaron1 there would not be any left for the magicians to operate upon4 ,we are told that this plague was throughout the whole of the land of ,egypt2 if so1 the ,jews must have suffered equally with the ,egyptians4 ,this for seven days in a warm country would have been a terrible plague4 ,the same remarks apply to the following plague of frogs4 99,chapter viii41 w4 #ag and #ah4 ,it is scarcely a matter for wonder that the magicians could not turn the dust into lice1 when we are told that all the dust had been previously changed bv ,aaron4 ,verses #bb and #bc4 ,it is evident from these verses that the ,jews had been equal participators in all the evils attaching to the previous plagues4 99,chapter ix41 v4 #aj4 ,what beasts could the boils break out on1 when all were killed by murrain in verse #f8 #eb ,verses #ai1 #bj1 #ba1 and #be4 ,either the cattle which were dead in verse #f had been restored to life1 of which we have no account1 or these verses are positively absurd as well as false4 99,chapter xi41 v4 #c4 ',and the ,lord gave the people favour in the sight of the ,egyptians4' ,the ,douay reads1 ',and the ,lord will give favour to his people4' ,our version is evidently incorrect1 because the ,egyptians afterwards suffered another plague1 which would have been unnecessary4 ',and the man ,moses was very great in the land4' ,moses can scarcely be supposed to have written this4 99,chapter xii41 v4 #bi4 ,in this verse is related the horrible consummation of a series of plagues which ,god had caused to fall on the ,egyptians4 ,and why all this punishment8 ,was it because the ,egyptians as a nation had oppressed the ,israelites8 ,if so1 the cattle1 the trees1 and the green herbs were sharers in the punishment although not in the offence1 and the ,egyptians could never have oppressed the ,israelites if it had not been permitted by the ,omnipotent ,deity who had sworn to protect and cherish them4 ,was the punishment because ,pharaoh would not let the ,children of ,israel go8 ,if so1 what had the first-born of the 'maid-servant in the mill and of the captive in the dungeon' to do with his offence8 ,but even ,pharaoh was specially controlled by ,god2 in chap1 iv41 v4 #ba1 chap1 vii41 v4 #c1 chap1 ix41 v4 #ab1 chap1 x41 vv4 #a1 #bj1 and #bg1 chap1 xi41 v4 #aj1 and chap1 xiv41 v4 #d1 we have distinct repetitions of the statement that ,god himself hardened ,pharaoh's heart and prevented him from allowing the ,children of ,israel to go4 ,then1 why all this punishment8 ,in chap1 ix41 v4 #af1 chap1 x41 v4 #b1 and chap4 xiv4 v4 #d1 we are told that ,god raised ,pharaoh up for the very purpose of smiting him and his people1 so that the name of ,god might be declared throughout all the earth1 that the ,israelites might worship the ,lord1 and that the name of ,god might be honoured amongst the ,egyptians2 and to attain this result1 ,god plagues and torments the ,egyptian nation with most painful and destructive plagues1 killing the first-born in every family1 from him that sat on the throne to the captive in the dungeon1 and ending by drowning ,pharaoh and his army in the ,red ,sea4 ,the religious thinker who attempts to contemplate this horrible picture1 and who might1 perhaps1 be tempted to blaspheme by questioning ,god's justice and goodness1 will be saved from this dilemma by a consciousness of the falsity of the whole tale1 which is manifested in a most ridiculous manner4 ,according to chap1 ix41 vv4 #c and #f1 all the cattle of the ,egyptians1 their horses1 asses1 camels1 oxen1 and sheep1 were killed by the murrain2 by verse #aj of the same chapter1 a boil breaking forth with blains is sent upon the same cattle2 by verse #ai the ,egyptians are cautioned to gather in their already dead cattle lest they should again die from the effects of the hail1 and those who feared the ,lord amongst the servants of ,pharaoh made his dead cattle flee into the house lest they should be killed again1 and those who did not fear the ,lord had their cattle killed a second time by the hail2 in chap1 x41 v4 #be1 ,moses asks ,pharaoh to give him some of his twice killed cattle that he may kill them a third time as sacrifices to the ,lord2 in chap4 #ec xii41 v4 #bi1 ,god1 in the night1 kills the first-born of all the cattle1 some of which must have been thrice killed2 yet1 despite all this 7notwithstanding they had all been killed by the murrain1 nearly killed over again by the boils and blains1 killed another time by the hail1 and the first-born destroyed in the night-time by the ,lord7 we find ,pharaoh with an army of chariots1 horses1 and ,horsemen1 who are finally and irreversably got rid of by being drowned in the ,red ,sea4 ,in ,thomas ,paine's ',essay on ,dreams1' he makes some very severe remarks upon the contemptible picture which ,old ,testament writers give of their ,god in relation to these plagues upon the ,egyptians4 99,chapter xii41 vv4 #ce and #cf4 ,this is clearly nothing but robbery4 ,the ,egyptians simply lent because they could not avoid doing so2 it was quite a ,russian loan1 raised by force4 ,after saying that the ,lord gave the people favour in the sight of the ,egyptians1 the expression1 ',and they spoiled the ,egyptians1' reads with a curious meaning4 ,verses #dj and #da have been noticed on page #cb of this work4 ,stephen1 in ,acts1 chap1 vii41 v4 #f1 says it was four hundred years4 ,dr4 ,john ,pye ,smith1 with all his orthodoxy1 felt that there was a great difficulty to encounter1 and writes as follows3-- ',many comprehend in this reckoning the time from the communication to ,abraham 7,genesis1 chap1 xv41 v4 #ac7 or his entrance into ,canaan ten years earlier4 ,this will leave only two hundred and fifteen years for the sojourn in ,egypt4 ,yet1 during that period1 the population increased to what would give #fjc1eej warriors1 men above twenty years old1 not including the tribe of ,levi 7,numbers1 chap1 i41 v4 #df74 ,hence1 it is scarcely imaginable that the whole number of the nation could be less than two millions2 an increase from seventy-two1 which is quite impossible4 ,supposing that they doubled themselves every fourteen years1 the number would have been less than half a million4 ,but if four hundred and thirty years be taken1 the increase is probable4 ,we see1 also1 that the males of the whole family of ,kohath were #h1fjj 7,numbers1 chap1 iii41 v4 #bh72 yet ,kohath had only four sons 7,exodus1 chap1 vi41 v4 #ah71 from whom the grandsons mentioned are eight in number1 none being mentioned from ,hebron1 who1 perhaps1 died childless4 ,also1 that the father of ,moses should have married the daughter of ,levi1 appears impossible4 ,surely1 then1 one or more generations have fallen out from the table 7,exodus1 chap1 vi41 vv4 #ag and #ah74' ,by this extract from ,dr4 ,john ,pye ,smith's ',first ,lines of ,christian ,theology1' my reader will see the manner in which orthodox divines overcome difficulties in the text4 ,finding that it is impossible to receive this part as true1 it is suggested that one or more generations may have fallen out of the table1 and that it was impossible that the father of ,moses could have married the daughter of ,levi4 ,exodus1 chap1 vi41 v4 #bj1 is precise on this point2 but taking ,dr4 ,smith's explanation1 how can we place reliance on a book as a revelation from ,god1 which is admitted to be imperfect and untruthful in #ed any part8 ,if fallible in matter of detail1 it is probably the same in matters of doctrine4 ,verse #dd4 ,this is one of the verses on which the slaveholders of ,america rely4 ,i shall deal with the question more fully hereafter4 99,chapter xiii41 v4 #b4 ,by this and several other texts1 it appears that the first-born1 both of man and beast1 were devoted to the ,lord4 ,it is quite clear that the beasts were slaughtered as sacrifices1 but it is not so clear as to the fate of the human beings4 ,there are special regulations for their redemption1 by the payment of cattle1 but the unredeemed are not mentioned4 ,it is apparent from ,leviticus1 chap1 xxvii1 w4 #bg and #bh1 the history of ,jephtha's daughter1 ,judges1 chap1 xii41 that human sacrifices were parcel of the ,jewish religious rites2 a portion of their prisoners seem to have been sacrificed to the ,lord after each victory1 as in other idolatrous nations2 and in ,jephtha's case1 we find these remarkable words after the account of the sacrifice1 ',and it was a custom in ,israel4' ,verses #ag and #ah4 ,even a devout believer might be sadly puzzled by these verses4 ,was ,god afraid lest the people should repent8 and did he express that fear to his confidant1 ,moses1 or in what manner1 and to whom did ,god speak8 ,did ,god lead his chosen people into ,egypt to avoid all wars8 if so1 how comes it that we almost immediately hear of the battle with the ,amalekites8 7vide chap4 #ag74 ,god's fears seem ill-founded1 for the ,jews although they had a very hard fight with the ,amalekites1 even with ,god's aid1 never talked of returning to ,egypt1 in consequence of that fight4 99,chapter xiv41 vv4 #bd and #be4 ,our authorised translation reads1 ',the ,lord looked unto the host of the ,egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud1 and troubled the host of the ,egyptians1 and took off their chariot wheels that they drave them heavily4' ,in the ,douay it is1 ',the ,lord1 looking upon the ,egyptian army through the pillar of fire and of the cloud1 slew their host and overthrew the wheels of their chariots1 and they were carried into the deep4' ,verse #ca4 ,the ,israelites' belief in the ,lord and in his servant ,moses was of a very unstable nature1 notwithstanding all the mighty miracles alleged to have been wrought in their presence4 ,if the ,israelites doubted ,moses and disbelieved in ,god1 with the terrible series of plagues fresh in their recollection1 can it be wondered that we1 to whom they are related in so incoherent a style1 at this distance of time1 should also have misgivings as to their truth8 99,chapter xv41 v4 #c4 ,this expression1 ',the ,lord is a man of war1' is hardly calculated to inspire us with that love of ,god it is alleged to be so necessary to our salvation4 ,verse #h4 ',nostrils4' ,this1 we are told1 is to be read as figurative4 ,how unfortunate that in a revelation words are used which are to be understood as meaning something different from the real signification4 ,verse #aa4 ,who are the ,gods8 ,in the ,douay the phrase is translated1 ',who is like unto thee amongst the strong1 ,o ,lord8' ,the ,roman ,catholics wished to avoid the suspicion of polytheism4 #ee ,verse #ab4 ,poetic licence is used here2 it was not the earth1 but the water1 which swallowed the ,egyptians4 ,chanter xvi41 v4 #c4 ,if we may judge by the ,israelites' own account1 starvation was not one of the phases of oppression suffered by them in ,egypt4 ,verse #d4 ,it is clear that the ,deity of ,moses was not an ,omniscient ,deity1 for he says1 ',i will rain bread from heaven for you1 etc41 that ,i may prove them whether they will walk in my law or no2' so that ,god did not know until he had proved them whether they would obey or disobey1 and yet we are taught that he is the ,infinite and ,omnipotent ordainer of all things4 ,verse #h4 ,this verse must be misplaced1 as ,moses had not yet been informed that ,god intended to give the ,israelites flesh4 ,see verses #d and #ab4 ,verse #ae4 ,the children of ,israel did not call the bread from heaven manna1 but they said when they saw it1 ------ 7,man eua71 i4e41 ,what is this8 ,verses #bj to #bd4 ,by these verses it appears that while the manna invariably putrified if kept till the second day on six days of the week1 yet1 if the second day happened to be the seventh1 then no putrefaction took place4 ,this corresponds with what ,i have heard as to some ,scotch cities1 in which the ,sabbath is so strictly observed1 that if salts or jalap happened to be taken as medicine on ,saturday night1 they refused to work during the whole of ,sunday4 ,verse #ce has been noticed on page #f4 ,verse #cf must have been written when the omer had become obsolete as a measure amongst the ,jews1 or the verse would be unnecessary4 99,chapter xvii41 w4 #e and #f4 ,this striking the rock for water is a miracle2 a devout man may believe in it2 ,i confess ,i do not understand the process1 although ,i admit it would be very useful in the desert1 if practicable4 ,verses #i to #ac4 ,can any man believe that if ,napoleon had stood on an eminence near the scene at ,waterloo1 and had held up his hand1 this would have influenced the success of either party8 ,why should a man believe that in relation to ,moses to which he would refuse credence in the present day8 and if ,god was really on the side of the ,israelites1 why did he allow his aid to depend upon whether ,moses could hold up his hand8 ,verses #ad and #af4 ,why was ,amalek to be so punished8 ,god the ,creator must have created both ,amalekites and ,israelites1 yet he favours the latter and declares war against the former from generation to generation4 ,what a strange idea to convey in relation to an ,omnipotent ,deity--strife between the ,infinite ,god and his weak and puny creature4 ,by the expression 'the ,lord hath sworn that the ,lord will have war with ,amalek from generation to generation1' true believers may learn that ,god predetermined to make war upon unborn generations of ,amalekites1 whom he created for the purpose of exterminating4 99,chapter xviii41 vv4 #a to #f4 ,some part of the previous history must #ef be lost1 as we have no account of ,moses sending his wife back2 on the contrary1 in chap1 iv41 v4 #bj1 we are told that he took both her and his two sons into ,egypt4 ,jethro gave his son-in-law very sensible advice1 and the only matter of surprise is that ,moses listened to it4 ,usually1 priests of different religions snarl at one another like angry1 half-fed curs1 growling over a solitary bone1 and if a priest of one sect 7out of the ordinary course7 offered good advice to another sect1 it would probably be treated with neglect and contempt4 99,chapter xix41 w4 #i1 #aa1 #ab1 #ac1 #af1 #ah1 and #ai4 ,in these verses we have an account of the meeting of ,moses and ,god4 ,if this had been in the book of ,mormon or in the ,koran1 some ,christian critic would have at once exclaimed1 ',why1 this is all imposture6 for these reasons--the man who led the people1 and who wished to pretend that he was to have an interview with ,god1 took very great pains to keep the people at a sufficient distance to prevent detection of his schemes2 the trumpet sounding1 the darkness1 the thunder and lightning1 are so many scenic appliances to give effect to the delusion4 ,perhaps the mount was a volcanic one1 in which case the addition of the trumpet soundings completed the scene2 and the secrecy observed as to all the transactions on the mount protected the man from exposure4 ,how careful are the directions given to prevent any inquisitive straggler from getting sufficiently near to make a fatal discovery6 ,but no man in his senses will believe that ,god blew a trumpet1 or caused a trumpet to be blown1 to announce his coming1 and that he descended upon ,sinai surrounded by fire and smoke4 ,in all fabulous relations we find such things1 but it is absurd to suppose that this refers to an ,almighty and ,infinite ,deity4 ,we are told in verse #bj1 ',the ,lord came down upon ,mount ,sinai on the top of the mount1 and the ,lord called ,moses up to the top of the mount1 and ,moses went up4' ,can you require stronger evidence of the mythological character of your book8 ,your ,omnipresent and ,infinite ,deity is pictured as standing on the top of a mountain1 and calling to ,moses1 who was down below1 to come up to him4 ,verse #ae4 ,this is one of the verses which no amount of commentary can make intelligible3 ',come not at your wives4' ,why not8 99,chapter xx4 ,the second verse of this chapter begins in the first person1 ',i am the ,lord1' and continues in the first person to verse #f1 where it merges into the third person4 ,verse #e is contradicted by ,ezekiel1 chap1 xviii41 v4 #bj1 #b ,kings1 chap1 xiv41 v4 #f1 and ,deuteronomy1 chap1 xxiv41 v4 #af4 ,this is as positive and distinct a specimen of contradiction as can be found anywhere4 ,in the third commandment we are told that ,god is a jealous ,god1 visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generations4 ,in the other three texts1 we are told that the child shall not be put to death for the father1 but every man for his own sin4 ,by the following contrast of the ,fourth ,commandment1 as given in the second and fifth books of the ,pentateuch1 biblical students may judge how far they may rely on the reasons for closing the museums1 mechanics' #eg institutes and crystal palaces1 and opening churches1 chapels1 and gin palaces on the seventh day1 ,chap4 xx41 vv4 #h1 #i1 #aj1 #aa4 #h4--,remember the ,sabbath-day to keep it holy4 #i4--,six days shalt thou labour1 and do all thy work3 #aj4--;,but the seventh day is the ,sabbath of the ,lord thy ,god3 in it thou shalt not do any work1 thou1 nor thy son1 nor thy daughter1 thy man-servant1 nor thy maid-servant1 nor thy cattle1 nor the stranger that is within thy gates3 #aa4 ,for in six days the ,lord made heaven and earth1 the sea1 and all that in them is1 and rested the seventh day3 wherefore the ,lord blessed the seventh day1 and hallowed it4 ,,deut4 ,chap1 v41 w4 #ab1 #ac1 #ad1 #ae4 #ab4--,keep the ,sabbath-day to sanctify it1 as the ,lord thy ,god hath commanded thee4 #ac4--,six days thou shalt labour1 and do all thy work3 #ad4--;,but the seventh day is the ,sabbath of the ,lord thy ,god3 in it thou shalt not do any work1 thou1 nor thy son1 nor thy daughter1 nor thy man-servant1 nor thy maid-servant1 nor thine ox1 nor thine ass1 nor any of thy cattle1 nor the stranger that is within thy gates2 that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou4 #ae4--;,and remember that thou wast a servant in the land of ,egypt1 and that the ,lord thy ,god brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm3 therefore the ,lord thy ,god commanded thee to keep the ,sabbath-day4 ,which is the correct reason for sanctifying the ,sabbath-day8 ,was it because the ,lord rested1 or because the ,lord brought the ,israelites out of ,egypt on that day8 ,the true believer will devoutly answer1 ',the ,lord only knows4' 99,chapter xxi41 vv4 #b to #f4 ,leviticus1 chap1 xxv41 vv4 #dd to #df4 ,in these verses we find slavery acknowledged1 and its continuance provided for by the law of ,god4 ,the offering a slave his liberty on condition that he abandoned his wife whom he loved1 and his children who are of his flesh and blood1 is a piece of refined cruelty4 ,perhaps ,god did not know that a slave was capable of love1 perhaps ,god was not aware that the slave in his hovel may have as true and as warm an affection for his wife and children as the king in his palace1 or the noble in his fine mansion4 ,is a slave a man with a man's passions and feelings1 or is he an inferior animal8 ,if the ,bible is to be examined before replying to the question1 and if we are to govern our mode of answering by the words we find there1 it ceases to be a matter for wonder that there are slave ,states in ,christian countries4 ,it is a beautiful theory this1 and worthy of a place in a revelation from an all-wise and all-good ,god--i4 e41 that a man may be a religious man and yet keep his brother and sister as male and female slaves1 breeding and begetting other slaves4 ,how did this slavery originate8 before the flood slaves are not mentioned4 ,if ,god made all men originally free1 how did any become slaves8 #eh ,verse #f is contradicted in ,leviticus1 chap1 xxv41 w4 #ci to #db4 ,verses #g to #aa4 ,these verses contain a provision for the sale by a man of his own daughter4 ,and for what purpose8 ,our translators have endeavoured to hide the real meaning of the text4 ,verse #g reads1 ',and if a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant1 she shall not go out as the men servants do4' ,in the ,douay it is1 ',if a man sell his daughter to be a servant1 she shall not go out as bondwomen are wont to go out4' ,the #hth verse in our translation reads--',if she please not her master1 who hath betrothed her to himself1 then shall he let her be redeemed to sell her to a strange nation2 he shall have no power seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her4' ,in the ,douay1 ',if she displease the eyes of her master to whom she was delivered1 he shall let her go1 but he shall have no power to sell her to a foreign nation if he despise her8 ,in the ,breeches ,bible the whole truth is revealed1 for we find the last words of the #hth verse translated1 'seeing he hath deflowered her4' ,lest there should be a mistake1 ,i will further contrast the translation of verse #aj4 ,in our version it is1 ',if he take him another wife her food1 her raiment1 and her duty of marriage he shall not diminish4' ,in the ,douay1 ',if he take another wife for him1 he shall provide her a marriage1 and raiment1 neither shall he refuse the price of her chastity4' ,in the ,breeches ,bible1 ',if he take him another wife1 he shall not diminish her food1 her raiment1 and recompense of her virginity8 ,can any man doubt as to the real meaning of these verses8 ,is it not clear and beyond contradiction that here is a law professedly from a ,god of truth and purity1 rendering it lawful for a man to prostitute his own daughter4 ,our translators have cleverly glossed the text1 partially hiding its disgusting meaning1 but still enough was left to excite suspicion4 ,i have investigated it1 and now lay the result before you1 and ask you one and all is this the ,book from which you let your little girls read1 and from which you expect them to acquire that knowledge which shall render them happy and virtuous8 ,i have already remarked upon the recognition of slavery by ,god4 ,we have seen how ,ishmael was not allowed to participate in the promised land1 because he was born a slave4 ,but it remained for us to read more of this ,bible before we discovered that a just ,god1 who is no respector of persons1 who is the father of us all1 who loves the whole world1 and who looks alike upon king and peasant1 could make such a regulation as the following3-- ,verses #bj and #ba4 ',and if a man smite his servant1 or his maid1 with a rod1 and he die under his hand1 he shall surely be punished4 ,notwithstanding1 if he continue for a day or two1 he shall not be punished1 for he is his money4' ,we are here told that if one of ,god's children1 whom ,god caused to be born free1 kills another of ,god's children1 whom ,god has caused to be born a slave1 the murderer shall escape punishment1 if 7as the ,douay quaintly expresses it7 the party remain alive a day or two after the infliction of the punishment1 which was the primary cause of death4 ,why is this mercy8 is it because #ei ,god so loves all the world that he does not wish to shed the blood of any man8 ,no3 but because the slave killed is the murderer's money4 ,he 7the murderer7 bought and paid for that slave with bright gold and the power of gold is recognised even in the kingdom of ,god4 ,to-day the ,society for ,suppression of ,cruelty to ,animals would prosecute and obtain the committal to prison of any man1 who1 on such prosecution1 should be found guilty of beating his horse or his dog1 so that it died on the second or third day4 ,it would be no defence to urge on the part of the prisoner that he had paid for the ill-used animal4 ,the whole auditory would hiss the advocate who raised such a defence4 ,but in a trial at the last day before the ,supreme ,judge1 when a ',legree' is accused of the murder of an ',uncle ,tom1' may raise a valid defence with the words1 ',he was my money4' ,the power of gold will open the gates of heaven to the murderer1 who can look complacently down into hell upon the murderers who had no money4 99,chapter xxii41 v4 ll4 ,here oaths are commanded2 in ,matthew1 chap4 v41 w4 #cd to #cg1 and ,james1 chap1 v41 v4 #ab1 they are forbidden4 ,verse #ah4 ',thou shalt not suffer a witch to live4' ,in the ,douay1 ',wizards thou shalt not suffer to live4' ,can we wonder that our criminal courts occasionally reveal a scene of life in which we see one man parting with his hard-earned pence to propitiate another man1 whom he believes to possess some supernatural power8 ,it is customary on such occasions1 for the presiding magistrate to deplore the ignorance of the labouring classes1 and to exclaim against the folly of believing in witches and wizards1 yet he swears the complainant on the ,bible1 containing this verse1 and would refuse to receive his evidence1 if1 after hearing the magistrate's opinion on the folly of believing in witchcraft1 he should happen to remark1 ',then ,i cannot believe in the ,bible4' ,verses #bj and #bh1 and chap1 xxiii41 v4 #ac4 ,who and what are these ,gods1 and why these commands8 ,the sole end of this religion is the worship of one ,god1 yet here are other ,gods referred to4 ,if ,i sacrifice to them1 ,i hazard destruction1 and if ,i revile them1 ,i shall fare no better4 ,as for cursing the ruler of my people1 ,i am one of those who deem curses to be vain words1 which a man had far better leave unuttered2 if the ruler does wrong1 let him rule no longer1 but let the people place another in his stead4 99,chapter xxiv41 vv4 #i to #ad1 are contradicted in chap1 xxxiii41 v4 #bj1 ,john1 chap1 i41 v4 #ah1 #ast ,epistle of ,john1 chap1 iv41 v4 #ab1 #ast ,epistle to ,timothy1 chap1 i41 v4 #ag1 ,colossians1 chap1 i4 vv4 #ae4 ,it cannot be urged that this is figurative1 because the evident intention is to give a literal account of seventy-four persons going up to see ,god4 ,to what place they went up is not clear1 it was not the mount1 or but a short distance on it1 for ,moses and ,joshua left them1 and went up from them into the mount4 ,in the ,hindoo mythology we shall find several instances of ,gods1 under whose feet paved work may be seen2 but these ,gods are neither omnipotent1 infinite1 nor omniscient4 ,all enlightened ,christians admit #fj that the whole list of ,indian deities is fabulous1 and while they gaze on the curious pictures given in the ',asiatic ,researches1' and other works1 they feel convinced of the superiority of their own system1 which is free from such ridiculous absurdities4 ,but how do these enlightened ,christians deal with this chapter1 which tells them their 'invisible' ,god was seen by seventy-four men in a fiery mount1 with as it were1 a paved work under his feet8 ,dr4 ,john ,pye ,smith1 never at a loss1 easily reconciles these apparent discrepancies by asserting that they refer to the different persons of the ,father and the ,messiah1 but this is only 'confusion worse confounded1' for it is quite clear that it was not the ,messiah who is referred to1 either here or in the many other texts speaking of the appearance of the ,lord to ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and ,jacob2 it is also clear that ,jesus was not invisible2 so we are left without aid from the ,reverend ,dr4's comment1 and must still wonder how an 'invisible' ,god ever appeared to anybody4 99,chapter xxv41 v4 #cj4 ,here is an absurd and useless regulation4 ,god could not and did not eat this bread4 ,verse #dj4 ,what patterns were these1 and is not ,moses supposed to be in the mount when these words were spoken8 ,this verse either refers to a previous interview1 of which we have no account1 or else this did not take place in the mount at all4 99,chapter xxviii41 w4 #dj1 #da1 and #db4 ,can anything be more puerile than to imagine the ,god of the universe giving directions for the particular description of girdle1 bonnet1 and breeches to be worn by some insignificant puny creatures1 crawling on the outside of a little planet called the earth8 99,chapter xxix41 v4 #dd4 ,at the very time that ,god was thus intimating that he would sanctify ,aaron1 the latter must have been engaged in the manufacture of the calf4 ,did ,god know this8 ,if he did1 it is hard to understand how he chose an idolator for his priest4 ,if otherwise1 ,god is not omniscient4 ,the family of ,levi1 who were so severely cursed by ,jacob1 seem the most favoured by ,jacob's ,god4 99,chapter xxx41 v4 #f4 ,it is not quite clear where this altar was to be placed2 but from the text it appears to have been placed in the 'holiest of holies1' which creates a doubt as to how an altar in daily use could be situate in a place only entered once a year4 ,the text is1 however1 rather complex in its description1 and ,i may be mistaken in my reading4 ,verse #ae4 ,the words 'when they gave an offering unto the ,lord to make atonement for your souls1' are totally omitted in the ,douay version4 ,verses #bb to #ch4 ,god1 who is a ,god of love and full of mercy and loving kindness1 here ordains that every man who shall manufacture a particular kind of scented pomatum1 shall be put to death4 ,christian ,theist1 you tell me that yours is the 'eternal1 immortal1 and only wise ,god' 7vide #ast ,timothy1 chap1 i41 v4 #ag7--;do you in truth believe that he would order me to be utterly cut off because ,i might perhaps unconsciously make a scented ointment of a particular character8 ,do #fa you believe if ,i take a certain description of perfumed pomatum1 and 'smell thereto1' previous to rubbing some on the hair of my head1 that ,i shall be put to death8 ,perhaps these enactments were only meant for the ,jews1 who seem to have required some strange laws2 if so1 it is a pity ,god has allowed the ,book to come to us in its present state1 as we find it hard to conceive 7without any fact to reason upon7 that one verse is intended only for the ,jews1 and the following one intended for the whole world4 99,chapter xxxi41 v4 #ae4 ,moses would never have joined the ',society for ,abolition of ,capital ,punishment1' if it had been established in his day4 ,this verse must have since become a dead letter1 an obsolete statute which ,god does not enforce in the present age4 ,but if this verse is a dead letter1 how much more of the ,bible is affected in the same manner8 ,who is to tell which enactments may be safely disobeyed1 and which carry with them the terrible penalty8 ,v4 #ag4 ',he rested and was refreshed4' ,although even the most faithful and pious believer must have great difficulty in attempting to contemplate that stupendous work1 the creation of the universe out of nothing1 yet this great difficulty sinks into utter insignificance beside the greater one of endeavouring to imagine the omnipotent and immutable ,deity resting after his labour1 and being refreshed4 ,v4 #ah4 ,the expression 'finger of ,god' is evidently intended to be understood literally here1 but the question then arises as to the nature of an infinite spirit without body1 parts1 or passions 7vide thirty-nine articles71 yet having fingers1 hands1 face1 and back parts4 ,dr4 ,pye ,smith says1 on the ---------- 7anthropopatheia7 of the ,scriptures 7treatment of ,god as if possessing a human shape and nature7--',this is very remarkable and very extensive1 but it is manifested by comparison with many other parts of the ,scriptures1 that the terms employed are terms of condescending comparison with the acts and effects of the thus mentioned organs of the human body1 to convey1 especially to unpolished men a conception of those properties and actions of ,god1 which to our feeble ideas have a resemblance1 and that they were so understood4 ,language had not then terms for the expression of abstract conceptions4' ,the ,christian theologian tells me that ,god created man and all the circumstances that surrounded him1 yet speaks of 'human incapacity1 and infirmity1' and of 'the language of the ,scriptures being formed in condescension thereto4' ,is it not remarkable that the all-wise ,creator should have not foreseen the time when the language of his revelation should have sunken below the level of the human capacity8 ,but it is worse than folly to put forward hypotheses as to ,god's condescension in using such language4 ,the ,book itself nowhere suggests such an idea1 and ,i ask to what mind 7however 'unpolished' he may be7 can the following words convey any other conception of the properties and actions of ,god than that of the literal reading8-- ',and ,i will take away my hand1 and thou shalt see my back parts1 but my face shall not be seen4' #fb ,dr4 ,smith says that 'metaphysical or philosophical preciseness is not in the character of ,scriptural composition1' yet upon our precise conception of the true meaning of that composition1 hangs the penalty of eternal torment4 99,chapter xxxii4 ,during the absence of ,moses1 the ,jewish people applied to ,aaron to make them other ,gods2 they used very disrespectful language1 saying ',as for this ,moses1 the man that brought us up out of the land of ,egypt1 we wot not what is become of him4' ,aaron1 who had been specially chosen by ,god to be his priest and ,prophet1 instead of reminding the people of the miracles ,god had just performed on their behalf1 instead of reproving them for the slighting manner in which they had spoken of his brother ,moses1 instead even of appealing to ,nadab and ,abhu1 and the seventy elders who had personally seen ,god so shortly before1 and who must all have been impressed with the awful majesty of the ,deity1 forgetting the first and second commandment contained in chapter xx41 w4 #c1 #d1 and #e1 and that their ,god is a jealous ,god1 forgetting also the repetition contained in v4 #bc of the same chapter1 ,aaron 7who alone had been nominated to enter the holy of holies71 without the slightest attempt at reason or remonstrance1 asked the people for their golden earrings1 and made a molten calf1 and built an altar before it1 and proclaimed a feast2 and the people said1 ',these be thy ,gods1 ,o ,israel1 which brought thee out of the land of ,egypt4' ,god was very unfortunate in his choice2 his chosen people are the first to forget him1 or to doubt and deny his power4 ,the miracles performed by ,moses and ,aaron in ,egypt--events any one of which should have been sufficient to have struck terror into the ,israelites for the remainder of their lives--the interview between ,god and the seventy-four1 only a few days before1 were all forgotten4 ,god having permitted all this to happen1 informed ,moses thereof1 and then uses this remarkable phrase--',let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them1 and that ,i may consume them1 and ,i will make of thee a great nation4' ,is this the language of an infinite and immutable ,deity8 ,moses reasoned with ,god1 and endeavoured to persuade him not to allow his wrath to wax hot1 and ultimately the unchangeable changed his mind1 and 'repented of the evil he thought to do his people4' ,the mode of expostulation adopted by ,moses is very remarkable 7see vv4 #aa1 #ab1 and #ac72 one of the chief arguments used is not as to the merits of the case1 but as to what the ,egyptians will say when they hear about it4 ,vv4 #ae to #ai4 ,moses1 considering that he was so meek a man1 soon lost his temper1 and the act of throwing down the tables1 betrays rather the character of a hasty petulant man4 ,v4 #bj4 ,gold is a metal distinguished by its extreme permanence in air and fire1 by its malleability and ductility2 it might have been melted by the action of fire1 but could not be burnt--i4e41 consumed by fire4 ,the ,douay says that ,moses 'beat it to powder2' this would be impossible1 as it is so malleable1 that it may be beaten into leaves #fc not more than the #bhj1jjjth part of an inch in thickness4 ,our version says1 'ground it to powder2' this would be a difficult task1 unless ,moses had other aids than we are aware of4 ,the ,golden ,calf being reduced to powder1 ,moses strewed it upon the water1 and made the ,israelites drink of it4 ,unless a chloride of gold had been formed by the use of chlorine and nitro-muriatic acid1 and of which we have no account1 the gold would not be soluble in water1 but would sink to the bottom1 leaving the water entirely unaffected4 ,after this ,moses collected the tribe of ,levi1 who had been equally guilty with their brethren in the worship of the calf1 and set them to slaughter every man his neighbour4 ,in this slaughter there fell1 according to our version1 #c1jjj men1 but according to the ,douay1 #bc1jjj men were slain4 ,whichever version is right1 it is evident that ,aaron1 who deserved the most punishment1 escaped scot-free4 ,the ,lord's vengeance was not satisfied with even this terrible sacrifice of human life2 and we are told1 in the unique phraseology of the ,bible1 that 'the ,lord plagued the people because they made the calf which ,aaron made4' 99,chapter xxxiii41 vv4 #a to #c1 and chap1 xxxiv41 v4 #aa4 ,judea was not a land flowing with milk and honey1 and the ,lord did not drive out the ,canaanite and the other nations mentioned 7vide ,joshua1 chap4 xvii41 v4 #ab and #ac2 ,judges chap1 i41 vv4 #ai1 and #bg to #ce2 chap1 ii41 vv #bj to #bc1 and chap1 iii41 vv4 #a to #f74 ,vv4 #d1 #e1 and #f4 ,why did the ,lord want the children of ,israel to put off their ornaments8 ,if in any other book than the ,bible some shrewd ,christians would shake their heads and say1 ,we are afraid ,moses and ,aaron were not quite honest--first1 they deprive the people of their gold earrings under one pretext1 and now they defraud them of their remaining trinkets1 under the pretence that the ,lord commands them to put them off4 ,vv4 #i and #aj4 ,this 'pillar of cloud' is a favourite shape1 and if the whole were an imposture1 it would have been an easy matter for ,moses by artificial means to have raised a 'pillar of cloud' when he pleased1 especially as such precautions were taken to prevent too close an examination by the ,israelites4 ,v4 #aa4 ,apart from any question of contradiction 7which has been noticed on page #ei71 is not this verse condemned by itself8 ,its purpose and meaning is to raise ,moses in the estimation of its readers1 and to effect this object it degrades the ,deity by the very terms it uses1 the conversation contained in verses #ab to #bj has all the same tendency1 making it appear that ,moses was ,god's favourite1 and that ,god knew his name4 ,in verse #ac1 instead of 'show me thy way1' the ,douay has 'show me thy face2' this accounts for the expression in v4 #bj1 ',thou canst not see my face1' but it distinctly contradicts the 'face to face' of verse #aa4 ,v4 #bc needs no comment2 but ,i defy any man to read this verse thoughtfully1 and yet be filled with awe and admiration for a ,deity1 who only allows his favoured ,prophet to see his 'back parts4' ,the #fd absurdity is heightened by the remembrance of the many distinct appearances of ,god to ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and ,jacob1 and shortly before to ,moses himself1 and seventy-three other persons who all saw ,god4 99,chapter xxxiv41 v4 #c4 ,the same precaution to prevent detection1 if imposture was really being perpetrated4 ,verse #f4 ',the ,lord ,god merciful and gracious4' ,when8 where8 and how8 ,was it when cursing the first man and woman1 and the very ground on which they stood 7,genesis1 chap1 iii472 or when he determined to destroy both man1 and beast1 and the creeping thing1 and the fowls of the air 7,genesis1 chap1 vi41 v4 #g72 or when he rained brimstone and fire upon ,sodom and ,gomorrah 7,genesis1 chap1 xix41 v4 #bd72 or when he slew the firstborn in every family throughout ,egypt 7,exodus1 chap1 xii41 v4 #bi72 or when he drowned all ,pharaoh's army in the ,red ,sea 7,exodus1 chap1 xiv41 v4 #bg72 or when he swore to have war with ,amalek from generation to generation 7,exodus1 chap1 xvii41 v4 #af72 or when he killed ,nadab and ,abihu with fire 7,leviticus1 chap4 x41 v4 #b72 or when he repeatedly attached the penalty of death to the infringement of almost any article of the ceremonial law2 or when his fire consumed the people because they complained 7,numbers1 chap4 xi1 v4 #a72 or when he smote them with a great plague 7verse #cc72 or when he ordered the man to be stoned to death who was found gathering sticks on the ,sabbath 7,numbers1 chap1 xv41 v4 #cf72 or when he causes the earth to swallow ,korah1 ,dathan1 and ,abiram1 and all that appertained to them1 and afterwards slew #bej more by fire1 and #ad1gjj more by plague 7,numbers1 chap1 xvi41 vv4 #ca to #ce1 and #di72 or when he sent fiery serpents to bite his people1 so that they died 7,numbers1 chap1 xxi41 v4 #f72 or when he sent the plague1 and killed #bd1jjj of his people 7,numbers1 chap1 xxv41 v4 #i72 or when he directed the terrible slaughter of the ,midiantes 7,numbers1 chap4 #ca78 ,i might multiply these texts1 but have confined myself to the same ,pentateuch in which ',god's mercy1 graciousness1 and long suffering' are proclaimed by himself4 ,any reader who wishes further to pursue the subject1 is referred to a pamphlet1 written in answer to ,bishop ,watson's ',apology for the ,bible1' and entitled ',the ,god of the ,jews4' ,verse #ad4 ',the ,lord1 whose name is jealous1 is a jealous ,god4' ,my dictionary tells me that to be jealous is to be 'suspiciously vigilant1' 'suspiciously fearful4' ,the omniscient1 omnipotent1 and infinite ,deity1 of what can he be jealous8 ,perhaps this phrase also is figurative4 ,verses #bi and #cj4 ,the ,douay says that after ,moses had talked to the ,lord1 his face was horned1 and that the children of ,israel1 seeing the horns1 were afraid to come near him4 ,in concluding the comments on the ,book of ,exodus1 ,i ask what is the result of our investigation8 ,we have found the ,book to be thoroughly worthless as a relation of actual occurrences1 even when tested under the most favourable auspices2 it repeatedly and in important particulars contradicts itself4 ,it cannot be a revelation from ,god1 because it pictures an all-wise ,god choosing a man with an impediment in his speech1 to be a preacher1 and relates that when the man #fe hesitated on account of his infirmity1 ,god became angry at a difficulty of his own creation1 and which ,moses could not help4 ,it represents a just ,god as seeking to kill 7apparently without the slightest cause7 the very man whom he had just entrusted with the important mission of releasing his chosen people from bondage2 it speaks of an invisible ,god as becoming visible2 of an immutable ,god as being jealous2 of a loving ,god declaring war against unborn generations of his own creatures2 of a just ,god as punishing the people for following 7the teachings of the priest whom he had appointed1 and yet allowing the criminal priest not only to escape unpunished1 but actually rewarded for his misconduct47 ,it pictures a merciful and good ,god as tormenting and murdering the ,egyptians1 solely for the purpose of convincing the ,jews that he is really the ,lord ,god of ,israel1 and afterwards plagueing and slaughtering those very ,israelites1 because all the former cruelties practised on their neighbours had not produced sufficient convincing effect on them4 ,it teaches monotheism in one verse1 and polytheism in another4 ,it ought not to be used as an educational book amongst the children of men1 because it contains doctrines and precepts only fitted for the offspring of tyrants and slaves4 ,it teaches that children may be born slaves1 and that their parents may sell them as slaves1 and it places money at a higher value than life1 virtue1 honour1 or liberty4 ,,book ,,iii4 ,,leviticus ,in dealing with the laws of the ,jews1 ,i feel compelled to avoid very many texts on account of their disgusting nature2 but generally ,i may remark that it is evident the ,jews must have been an ignorant1 viciously-inclined1 unintellectual1 and thoroughly-depraved people1 or such laws would never have been required4 ,if ,god chose the best people on the earth1 the state of the whole of the human family must have been very bad indeed4 ,my reason for avoiding the above-mentioned class of texts is twofold2 first1 although ,i think them fair matter for comment1 ,i have no wish to offend or insult any reader who1 from his or her mode of education1 has been taught to regard such subjects as unfit for discussion2 second1 ,i am not quite certain that the ',society for ,suppression of ,vice1' or some kindred society1 may not be induced to again attack works of this class1 in which case ,i have no wish to afford the counsel for the prosecution an opportunity of declaiming against my obscene style1 but wish1 if possible1 to compel my most severe critics to admit that ,i have been more choice in my phraseology than the writers of the ,book they defend4 99,chapter1 v4 #c4 ,the ,douay reads--',if his offering be a holocaust1 and of the herd1 he shall offer a male without blemish at the door of the testimony to make the ,lord favourable to him4' ,it will be perceived that the words italicised are not contained in1 our version at all4 ,the holocaust1 or whole burnt offering1 is so called because the whole victim was consumed with fire1 and ascended1 as we are told in verse #i1 'with a sweet savour to the ,lord4' ,what elevated conceptions #ff of the ,deity are here conveyed2 an infinite ,god1 whose favour is granted to the man who burns the most sheep or oxen2 a just and immutable ,god1 to whom the sweet savour of roast mutton is an acceptable expiatory equivalent on behalf of a murderer1 a robber1 or other criminal4 99,chapter ii41 vv4 #c and #aj4 ,the priests are not neglected in this revelation4 ,verse #ac4 ,without salt the sacrifice would be incomplete4 ,query4 ,was not the salt rather required by the priests than by ,god8 ,it is easy to understand why a man wishes for salt to season his meat1 but it is not so easy to comprehend the same requisition on the part of a ,god4 99,chapter vi41 v4 #ac4 ,this fire must have been out several times1 especially since the last conquest of ,jerusalem4 ,where is it burning at the present time8 ,by reference to chap1 ix41 v4 #bd1 and chap1 x41 vv4 #a and #b1 it would seem that this fire came from ,god himself4 99,chapter vii41 vv4 #bc to #bg4 ,those are cruel and useless laws4 ,the punishment of death is strangely disproportioned to the offence2 and unless the law has become obsolete1 we must wonder that ,god allows the manufacturers and consumers of articles of food1 made from the blood and fat of animals1 to escape unpunished in the present day4 99,chapter xi4 ,it is difficult to conceive the reason why1 in the list of articles fit for food1 eels should be forbidden as having no scales1 and classed as unclean with hares and swans1 while locusts1 grasshoppers1 and beetles are permitted4 ,the ,douay gives entirely different names to some of the prohibited animals1 mentioning1 amongst others1 the griffin1 an animal whose existence is much doubted4 ,no naturalist has ever yet described it to us1 it is only mentioned in a few old fables4 99,chapter xvi41 vv4 #ba and #bb4 ',and ,aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat1 and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of ,israel1 and all their transgressions in all their sins1 putting them upon the head of the goat1 and shall send him away1 by the hand of a fit man1 into the wilderness3 and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities into a land not inherited1 and he shall let go the goat into the wilderness4' ,is not this supremely ridiculous8 and the absurdity is only heightened by the inutility1 for ,i do not find that the ,israelites were ever let off from any punishment by reason of the scapegoat4 ,the doctrine of the scapegoat has gained considerably of late2 and it is the custom when an outcry is raised against the actors in any public grievance1 to offer up some person 7who generally is innocent of all participation in the offence7 as a scapegoat4 ',the ,egyptians had a similar custom1 as we learn from ,herodotus1 ,book #b1 chap4 #ci1 who relates it in these words3-- ',after they have killed the goat1 they cut off its head1 but they flay the animal's body1 after which1 having pronounced many imprecations on the head1 those who have a market and ,grecian merchants dwelling among them1 carry it thither and sell it to them2 but those who have no ,grecian residents to sell it to1 throw the head into the fire1 pronouncing over it the following imprecations3--',if any evil is about to befall either those that now sacrifice1 or ,egypt in general1 may it be averted on this head6' #fg ',the two customs1 though not perfectly the same1 are so far similar that the one appears to have been derived from the other4 ,the import of both is certainly the same2 for in both the goat is made use of as a substitute to draw away calamity from the party sacrificing2 in the one case being sent into the wilderness1 and in the other consumed by fire4' 99,chapter xvii41 vv4 #c and #d4 ,the absurdity of this command will be apparent upon the slightest examination4 ,if the ,jews were as numerous as is represented when in ,egypt1 and continued to increase and multiply in the same ratio1 they would have filled a very large portion of the earth's surface2 but even allowing for biblical exaggeration1 it would have been impossible for a people1 amounting to several hundreds of thousands1 to have all slaughtered their cattle at one spot 7the door of the ,tabernacle72 and if they had done so1 judging from the appearance and odour of modern slaughterhouses1 ,i can scarcely think that the 'holiest of holies' would have been at the same time 'the sweetest of sweets4' ,it would have been still more impossible for each individual to have brought 7perhaps from a distance of several miles7 each an ox1 lamb1 or goat killed4 ,it is not at all probable1 in a nation so ignorant as the ,jews1 that the people possessed carts and waggons for the purpose of transporting the dead cattle to and fro1 and if they had1 the waste of labour would have been enormous4 ,the severe penalty of death is all that is required to make this essentially one of ',god's laws4' ,what would be said if all the slaughtered cattle in ,england were1 by ,act of ,parliament1 compelled1 under penalty of death1 to be brought to the door of ,st4 ,paul's ,cathedral to have the fat and blood taken from them8 ,verse #g1 chap1 xix41 w4 #bf and #ca1 chap1 xx41 vv4 #f and #bg4 ,what are devils8 ,if ,god is the ,creator of all things1 did he create devils8 ,if so1 it is scarcely just to punish us for falling victims to devils1 whom ,god must have made sufficiently powerful to tempt us to the commission of crime4 ,if otherwise1 are devils independent existences1 because in that case the ,deity is not omnipotent4 ,they are neither2 devils1 angels1 gods1 familiar spirits and demons1 all stand in the same mythological position4 ,they belong to the past1 not to the present4 ,they belong to the age of ignorance1 not of inquiry4 ,we find in such verses as these the clue to the superstitious fear with which the inhabitants of some little villages still regard certain old men and women2 we find in them also the clue to the persecutions for witchcraft in the reign of ,king ,james1 etc4 ,strong objections have been urged against the doctrine of devils1 demons1 and familiar spirits4 ,it is said by ,theists that it is contrary to all natural conceptions of the benevolence and mercy of the ,deity2 that he should have created1 and should sustain in existence1 beings of the highest intellectual order to be the subjects of eternal misery1 not only to themselves1 but to all humanity4 ,it is further urged that the doctrine detracts from the power of ,god by holding forth an almost omnipotent chief of a legion of powerful and mischievous devils1 all bent on the destruction of mankind4 ,it is further1 and very reasonably1 urged that the ,jews1 #fh especially alter their connection with the ,chaldean and ,persian nations1 had imbibed very extended1 and1 at the same time1 very puerile ideas with regard to the operations of both good and bad spirits4 ,the properties of plants1 of mineral waters1 of minerals1 of certain climatic conditions1 the existence of any remarkable phenomena1 the insanity of men1 or animals1 were all attributed to the presence and influence of good and bad spirits4 ,sound science has exploded these errors2 and why should not the whole mass of demonology be rejected as exploded also 7vide ,farmer on the ',demoniacs1' and ,pye ,smith's ',christian ,theology'78 99,chapter xxvi4 ,it is worthy of notice that in this chapter1 which professes to describe the reward for obedience to ,god's laws1 and the punishment for disobedience1 no reference whatever is made to a future state4 ,the rewards are temporal--viz41 good harvests1 and easy victory over enemies1 etc4 ,the punishments are also temporal--viz41 painful defeat in battle1 sterile land1 captivity1 starvation1 etc ,not a word about the soul1 or about heaven1 or hell2 yet a chapter like this seems a place in which1 if such a doctrine had been held by the writer1 we should expect to find some traces of it2 temporal punishment of a very severe kind is threatened1 but nothing occurs wnich can in any way lead us to a spiritual punishment2 death seems to be the highest penalty1 and the author of the ,pentateuch did not contemplate the possibility of tormenting men after they were dead--this was reserved for more enlightened ages4 99,chapter xxvii41 vv4 #bh and #bi1 has been noticed on page #ed4 ,verses #cj to #cc4 ,the clergy are very zealous in conserving their claims under these verses 7which of course apply to the whole world74 ,they act as the ,lord's representatives1 and take the ,lord's share to themselves4 ,the ,book of ,leviticus only claims our attention under two phases--first1 as a revelation from ,god3 and second1 as a code of laws4 ,it cannot be a revelation from an immutable ,god1 because it alleges that ,god is influenced in his conduct by particular kinds of sacrifice3 it cannot be a revelation from an all-wise and just ,god1 because it contains trifling and absurd commands enforced by severe penalties2 it cannot be a revelation from an all-powerful and infinitely good ,creator1 because it treats of devils and bad spirits1 either having independent or permitted power to commit evil4 ,as a code of laws1 it is utterly inapplicable to the present state of society2 and1 in fact1 seems mainly intended to support and benefit the priests 7placing the government in their hands71 but is utterly without utility as regards the people1 the punishments are mostly very disproportionate1 and for breaches of the ceremonial law unnecessarily severe4 #fi ,,book ,,iv4 ,,numbers 99,chapter i41 v4 #ad1 chap1 ii41 v4 #ad4 ,in one we find ,eliasaph the son of ,reul1 in the other ,eliasaph the son of ,deuel4 ,in chap4 vii41 vv4 #db and #dg1 and in chap1 x41 v4 #bj1 it is also ,eliasaph son of ,deuel4 ,which is right8 ,verse #df4 ,by this verse we learn that the number of ,jews1 warriors 7not including the ,levites71 capable of bearing arms1 was #fjc1eej2 and taking old and young into consideration1 you can hardly compute these at more than three out of each ten1 which would leave a total of about #b1jjj1jjj males1 the proportion of females would be upwards of #b1jjj1jjj more2 these1 together with male and female slaves1 and the tribe of ,levi1 must have made upwards of #e1jjj1jjj people4 ,this would be an immense number to pass through a desert1 where water and food were deficient4 ,verse #di1 see chap1 iii41 v4 #ae4 ,the ,lord must have changed his original intention4 99,chapter iii41 v4 #ci4 #bb1jjj is incorrect1 it should be #bb1cjj--viz41 ,gershonites #g1ejj1 ,kohathites #h1fjj1 ,meranites #f1bjj4 ,this may seem a trifling error1 but in a revelation from ,god we are not prepared to expect errors at all2 and in this case it is a grave error1 and not a mere slip of the copyist1 or transcriber1 for in verse #df we are told that the first-born were #bgc more in number than the male ,levites1 when in feet they were twenty-seven less4 ,it is very extraordinary that the ,levites should be comparatively so few in number1 especially when we consider them as the most favoured by ,god4 ,the whole of the ,levites1 male and female1 could not be much over #ej1jjj1 while the other tribes averaged #cej1jjj each4 99,chapter iv41 v4 #bj4 ,the same mystery as before observed1 coupled with the usual threat of death to deter the uninitiated from too closely examining the things of ,god4 ,verse #bc4 ,by this the ,levites are to serve from thirty to fifty2 in chap1 viii41 v4 #bd1 it is from twenty-five to fifty4 99,chapter v41 w4 #h1 #i1 and #aj4 ,here is a complete identification of the rights of the ,lord with those of the priest1 ',let the trespass be recompensed unto the ,lord1 even unto the priest4' ,whether this ,book be a revelation from ,god or not1 it is quite clear that it is the interest of the priesthood to support it4 ,verses #ag to #bg4 ,we have read of various ordeals amongst savage nations1 and it is customary to deplore the ignorance and barbarity of the nations amongst whom these customs are allowed to prevail4 ,if we abide by this style of criticism1 what must we say of the legislator who established the ordeal of the waters of jealousy8 99,chapter vii41 v4 #hi4 ',and when ,moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him1 then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy-seat that was upon the ark of #gj testimony1 from between the two cherubims3 and he spake unto him4' ,this voice is uttered in the hearing of no one but ,moses4 ,the ,douay reads1 ',and when ,moses entered into the tabernacle of the covenant to consult the oracle1 he heard the voice of one speaking to him from the propitiary that was over the ark1 between the two cherubims1 and from this place he spake to him4' ,is not this similar to the oracle-consulting of other nations8 ,it is admitted now1 by all intelligent men1 that the oracles of ,delphos1 of ,ammon1 and of ,dodona1 were only instances of jugglery and cunning1 practised by the priest on the people4 ,in what respects are the oracles of the ,jews superior8 ,in an able article on the word 'oracle1' in ,brande's ,dictionary is the following quotation3-- ',the general characteristics of oracles were ambiguity1 obscurity1 and convertability2 so that one answer would agree with several various1 and sometimes directly opposite events4 ,thus when ,croesus was on the point of invading the ,medes1 he consulted the oracle of ,delphi as to the success of the enterprise1 and received for answer1 ,that by passing the ,river ,halys1 he would ruin a mighty empire4 ,but whether it was his own empire1 or that of his enemies1 that was destined to be ruined1 was not intimated1 and in either case the oracle could not fail to be right4 ,the answer of the oracle to ',pyrrhus is another well-known instance of this sort of ambiguity4 ,aio1 te acida1 ,romanos vincere posse--as it might either be interpreted in favour of1 or against1 ,pyrrhus4 ,this ambiguity and equivocation was not1 however1 the worst feature that characterised the oracles of antiquity4 ,they were at once ambiguous and venal4 ,a rich or a powerful individual seldom found much difficulty in obtaining a response favourable to his projects1 how unjust or objectionable soever4 ,but such and so powerful is the influence of superstition1 that this system of fraud and imposture maintained a lengthened ascendancy1 and interested responses of the oracles frequently sufficed to excite bloody wars1 and to spread desolation through extensive ,states4' 99,chapter ix41 vv4 #ae to #ag4 ,the 'cloud and appearance of fire' might have been easily produced by ,moses himself1 and1 judging by the context1 it is a fair presumption1 they being always rendered subordinate to his plans4 99,chapter x41 v4 #i4 ,is it intended to be implied that the blowing the alarm with trumpets1 will the more readily bring ,god to the aid of the ,jews8 ,if not1 what is the meaning of this verse8 99,chapter xi41 v4 #d4 ,it is not easy to understand how the ,israelites could be without flesh food1 when we are told in ,exodus1 chap1 xii41 v4 #ch1 that they took with them out of ,egypt 'flocks and herds1 even very much cattle4' ,verse #af4 ,if ,moses had no assistance in the government of the ,jews1 he must have entirely neglected the advice of ,jethro1 his father-in-law1 referred to on page #ef4 99,chapter xii41 v4 #a4 ,the following is from ,dr4 ,giles's ',hebrew ,records'3--',the country to which the wife of ,moses belonged1 here called ,ethiopia1 is ,cush in the original ,hebrew1 and may fairly be #ga interpreted in a very wide sense4 ,ethiopia1 also1 in ,grecian history1 designated not only the modern ,ethiopia1 but parts of ,egypt1 ,arabia1 and1 perhaps1 other neighbouring countries4 ,we may then freely admit that the ,ethiopian woman here mentioned was the same person elsewhere described as ,jethro's daughter1 but the manner in which her name is here introduced1 is perfectly incompatible with her having been already described1 and that so fully1 in ,exodus ii41 as the daughter to the priest of ,midian1 and married to ,moses1 possibly several years before the strife1 which ,miriam and ,aaron now stirred up on her account4 ,this leads to the following conclusion1 either that the two accounts of the wife of ,moses were written by two distinct authors1 or that the ,ethiopian woman whom ,moses married was not the same as the daughter of ,jethro priest of ,midian4 ,in the former case the whole ,pentateuch1 as it now is1 cannot be considered as the work of ,moses2 in the latter case1 the mixture of the ,israelites with other tribes would appear to have begun very early after the ,exodus1 and to have been carried to a very great extreme4' 99,chapter xiii41 vv4 #b to #ag4 ,why were these people sent to spy out the land8 ,god could have told his people all the particulars without this4 ,in ordering them to be sent1 he must have foreknown and foreordained that they should report falsely1 and that the ,israelites should believe their report1 in which case it is difficult to justify the forty years wandering in the wilderness4 ,verse #bb4 ',hebron' has been noticed on page #e4 ,verses #bc and #bd4 ,bishop ,patrick's note on this verse is highly sensible and becoming3--',the place was called the ,brook ,eschol4 ,that is1 when the ,israelites got possession of the land1 they called this brook or valley ,eschol in memory of this bunch of grapes1 for so ,eschol signifies4' ,but the book1 which relates that the place was called ,eschol1 cannot have been written until the act of naming had taken place4 ,verse #cc is meant figuratively1 otherwise the sons of ,anak would be of tremendous height and size4 99,chapter xiv41 w4 #a to #d4 ,this murmuring displeases ,god1 but grave consideration is required to understand why ,god was so displeased1 ,twelve men1 all equally trustworthy 7as far as we can glean their characters from the ,book71 are sent to view the promised land2 ten report unfavourably1 and two1 on the contrary1 give a favourable account4 ,the balance of evidence is therefore very strong1 and yet ,god is displeased1 because the ,israelites put faith in the unfavourable report4 ,the case is even stronger than this4 ,one of the two favourable witnesses 7,joshua7 was a servant and partisan of ,moses1 and might well be suspected of giving a highly coloured account of the country1 according to the wishes of his leader4 ,later historians have even rendered more unfavourable the account given by the ten1 rather than corroborate that of ,joshua and ,caleb4 ,voltaire quotes a letter from ,st4 ,jerome1 in which he speaks of the land of promise as being about #afj miles long1 and about fifty broad1 all beyond being desert1 that from ,jerusalem to ,bethlehem there is nothing but pebbles1 and scarce any water to drink during the summer season4 #gb ,verses #aa to #cg4 ,there is here a repetition of the mode in which ,moses reasoned and expostulated with ,god1 pointed out on page sixty-two1 the same fear lest the ,egyptians should hear of ,god's wrath against the ,israelites1 and ultimately the same change is effected4 ,in verse #bj1 the ,lord says3 ',i have pardoned according to thy word1' and immediately notified that instead of pardoning the people1 he intended them all to die on their journey to the promised land4 ,verses #dc to #de4 ,in ,exodus1 chap4 #ag1 vv4 #ad and #af1 ,god swore to utterly blot out the remembrance of ,amalek from under heaven1 and to have war with them from generation to generation4 ,in this chapter he aids and assists them to destroy the ,israelites4 ,verse #de4 ',hormah4' ,this verse could not have been written by ,moses1 as the city of ,zephath was not called ,hormah until after the death of ,joshua 7vide ,judges1 chap1 i41 v4 #ag73 in chap1 xxi41 vv4 #a to #c1 we find an account of the destruction of a city1 and the naming it ,hormah ',this' 7says ,dr4 ,shuckford1 as quoted in the ,family ,bible7 'was effected in the days of ,joshua 7,joshua1 chap1 xii41 v4 #ad71 or a little after his death' 7,judges1 chap1 i41 v4 #ag74 ,yet ,dr4 ,shuckford did not perceive that the relation of an event1 which happened in the days of ,joshua1 could not have come from the pen of ,moses4 ,the second of the above-mentioned texts--namely1 the first three verses of ,numbers xxi41 describe the fulfilment of ,israel's vow--not in a mere word or short sentence1 such as others--which the commentators explain by saying that they are interpolations4 ,the present text is too full for us to suppose so3 it is evidently an integral part of the main narrative1 and cannot be separated from it4 ,the whole of this part of the history1 therefore1 is liable to the same observation which has been so often made1 that it was written by some one who lived long after the time of ,moses 7vide ,dr4 ,giles's ',hebrew ,records'74 99,chapter xv41 vv4 #cb to #cf4 ,these verses are the species upon which fanatics ground their opposition to a free ,sunday4 ,the organ blower may work in the organ loft of his parish church till the perspiration streams from his brow--no serious voice checks his labour1 but should he dare take his accordion into the green fields1 and there1 with lighter labour1 beguile away his ,sunday morning or afternoon1 immediately the reverend pastor1 the pious churchwarden1 the devout and stately beadle1 the meek and humble pew opener1 with a thunder-like chorus-voice shout after him1 ',sabbath-breaker1 thy doom is hell4' ,this sentence is printed in small capitals on a little tract--this tract does great good4 ,john ,phillips1 of ,hare ,street1 ,spitalfields1 weaver1 having been at work at his loom from early on the previous ,monday morning until late on the ,saturday evening1 and feeling tired thereby1 determines to take ,mrs4 ,phillips and his three children into ,victoria ,park2 and1 preparatory to this1 ,john ,phillips hammers at a small piece of leather in the endeavour to fix it to the sole of his boot1 which is out of repair1 suddenly his room door opens1 and a ,scripture-reader enters1 who solemnly hands ,john the above-mentioned tract1 and the following dialogue takes place3-- #gc ,s4 ,r4--,you are now breaking the ,sabbath-day4 ,john ,p4--,this is a work of necessity2 the boot must be mended before ,i can go out4 ,s4 ,r4--,if you read ,numbers1 you will find that a man who gathered sticks on the ,sabbath-day was put to death2 and although you will not probably die to-day1 you will go to hell by-and-by4 ,you should go to church4 ,john ,p4--,if ,i did go there1 every one would shrink from the mean dresses of myself and family4 ,if the free seats were full1 we should have to stand in the centre aisle1 while those who paid to go to heaven comfortably reclined on the cushions of their half-empty pews1 or knelt on their comfortable hassocks4 ,in the green fields it is different1 the daisy is as bright1 the grass as green1 and the clover as sweet to me as to the richest man in ,england2 the sun shines on me although my dress is corduroy4 ,i feel better and happier to be free for a few hours from the dense and smoky atmosphere of this house1 and ,i cannot believe ,i shall go to hell for that4 ,the ,scripture ,reader departs1 and wends his way to ,ebenezer ,chapel4 ,this chapel is situate in a narrow street1 between a sugar-baker's and a soap-boiler's premises1 and he cannot help regretting1 as he smells the foul exhalations from the sewer-grating1 and the overcrowded grave-yard1 that it is unlawful to stroll into the green fields on the ,lord's-day4 ,the bell-ringer1 the grave-digger1 the priest1 the sexton1 the choristers1 the organist1 the organ-blower1 the beadle1 the pew-opener1 the bishop1 the bishop's coachman1 and groom1 all ply on the ,sunday their several avocations without fear or threat of punishment2 but if ,john ,thomas on that day1 instead of driving my lord bishop to church1 and afterwards retiring to a neighbouring mews1 to smoke his pipe in an orthodox manner1 until service is over1 were to drive into the green fields1 or wander by the river side1 he would most assuredly bring upon himself denunciations of future damnation4 ,by the fruit ye shall judge of the tree4 ,the fruit of this ,sunday tree has been hypocritical1 outside show1 a false and empty parade of ,bibles and gilt-edged prayer-books1 grim faces1 and constrained manners--this some people call religion4 99,chapter xvi4 contains the history of a rebellion on the part of ,korah1 ,dathan1 ,abiram1 and ,on1 against the authority of ,moses1 connected with which there are several curious features2 the rebels are swallowed up and consumed by an explosion and fire1 which of course is sent by the ,lord2 but as ,moses took a whole day to make the necessary preparations1 it is quite possible to account for the destruction of ,korah and his party in a more comprehensible manner4 ,it is apparent that ,moses had a direct interest in the destruction of these men1 who wished to share the power he had arrogated to himself4 ,by verses #bi and #cj it is clear that the manner of their destruction was pre-arranged by ,moses2 and it is also clear that the ,israelites themselves took this view of the matter1 for in verse #da we find them charging ,moses and ,aaron with having killed the people of the ,lord4 #gd 99,chapter xvii41 w4 #a to #h4 ,this miracle of ,aaron's rod budding amongst the other rods was easy of accomplishment1 when we remember how carefully the tabernacle was guarded by ,moses and his priests1 who had every facility for changing one rod for a branch from a fruit bearing tree4 ,the rod1 according to this account1 budded1 blossomed1 and bore fruit1 all within twenty-four hours4 ,verse #f says1 there were 'twelve rods1 and the rod of ,aaron was among their rods4' ,the ,douay says1 'there were twelve rods1 beside the rod of ,aaron4' ,verses #ab and #ac4 ,these verses are a sufficient evidence of the care taken bv ,moses to prevent the people inspecting too closely his thaumaturgic tabernacle4 99,chapter xviii41 v4 #ae4 ,see chap1 iii41 vv4 #ab and #da4 ,there is some confusion in these texts1 as by the latter it was only the surplus number1 beyond the number of the ,levites1 who were to be redeemed with money--here all are to pay the five shekels4 ,verses #bj to #bd4 ,it is much to be regretted that our priests never imagined that this part of the revelation had any personal relation to them2 great attention has been paid to the tithe part of the ,book1 but our reverend pastors have most wonderfully overlooked the part which says1 ',thou shalt have no inheritance in their land4' ,this1 they say1 only applies to the ,jews4 ,on what principle1 then1 does any part of the ,book apply to the ,gentiles8 99,chapter xix4 contains a direction to the priest to burn a red heifer1 the ashes of which heifer become water1 by a process not described2 or rather if the writer had condescended to be explicit1 ,i suppose he means that the ashes are to be mixed with water1 this water is a kind of holy water1 with which every unclean person is to be sprinkled1 under pain of death4 ,amongst a people numbering #e1jjj1jjj1 some must have had great difficulty in getting access to this water1 especially those residing at a great distance from the place where the ashes were kept4 99,chapter xx4 ,in the ,douay translation of v4 #f1 ,moses and ,aaron say1 ',o ,lord ,god1 hear the cry of this people1 and open to them thy treasure1 a fountain of living water1 that being satisfied1 they may cease to murmur4' ,these words are entirely omitted in our version1 and it would seem that some other portion of the original account must be lost1 as we find the ,lord reproaching ,moses and ,aaron for their exhibition of unbelief1 of which we have no account here4 ,verses #aj and #aa4 ,this is a miracle4 ,voltaire says3-- ',a miracle1 according to the true meaning of the word1 is something admirable2 and agreeably to this all is miracle4 ,the stupendous order of nature1 the revolution of a hundred millions of worlds round a million of suns1 the activity of light1 the life of animals1 all are grand and perpetual miracles4 ',according to common acceptation1 we call a miracle the violation of these divine and eternal laws4 ,a solar eclipse1 at the time of the full moon1 or a dead man walking two leagues1 and carrying his head in his arms1 we denominate a miracle4 ',many natural philosophers maintain that in this sense there are no miracles1 and advance the following arguments3-- #ge ',a miracle is the violation of mathematical1 divine1 immutable1 eternal laws4 ,by the very exposition itself a miracle is a contradiction in terms3 a law cannot at the same time be immutable and violated4 ,but they are asked1 cannot a law1 established by ,god himself be suspended by its author8 ',they have the hardihood to reply that it cannot2 and that it is impossible a being1 infinitely wise1 can have made laws to violate them4 ,he could not1 they say1 derange the machine1 but with a view of making it work better2 but it is evident that ,god1 all-wise and omnipotent1 originally made this immense machine1 the universe1 as good and perfect as he was able2 if he saw that some imperfections would arise from the nature of matter1 he provided for that in the beginning2 and accordingly he will never change anything in it4 ',moreover ,god can do nothing without reason2 but what reason could induce him to disfigure1 for a time1 his own work8 ',it is done1 they are told1 in favour of mankind4 ,they reply1 we must presume1 then1 that it is in favour of all mankind2 for it is impossible to conceive that the divine nature should occupy itself only about a few men in particular1 and not for the whole human race2 and even the whole human race itself is a very small concern2 it is less than a small ant-hill1 in comparison with all the beings inhabiting immensity4 ,but is it not the most absurd of all extravagances to imagine that the ,infinite ,supreme should1 in favour of three or four hundred emmets on this little heap of earth1 derange the operation of the vast machinery that moves the universe8 ',but1 admitting that ,god chose to distinguish a small number of men by particular favours1 is there any necessity that in order to accomplish this object he should change what he established for all periods and for all places8 ,he certainly can have no need of this inconsistency1 in order to bestow favours on any of his creatures3 his favours consist in his laws themselves3 he has foreseen all1 and arranged all1 with a view to them4 ,all invariably obey the force which ne has impressed for ever on nature4 ',for what purpose would ,god perform a miracle8 ,to accomplish some particular design upon living beings8 ,he would1 then1 in reality1 be supposed to say--,i have not been able to effect1 by my construction of the universe1 by my divine decrees1 by my eternal laws1 a particular object4 ,i am now going to change my eternal ideas and immutable laws1 to endeavour to accomplish what ,i have not been able to do by means of them4 ,this would be an avowal of his weakness1 not of his power2 it would appear in such a being an inconceivable contradiction4 ,accordingly1 therefore1 to dare to ascribe miracles to ,god1 is1 if man can in reality insult ,god1 actually offering him that insult4 ,it is saying to him1 ,you are a weak and inconsistent being4 ,it is therefore absurd to believe in miracles2 it is1 in fact1 dishonouring the divinity4' ,verses #bc to #bi4 ,aaron's death is rather curiously related2 it was certainly a sudden death1 and the account almost conveys the idea that ,moses and ,eleazer killed ,aaron in the mount4 #gf 99,chapter xxi41 vv4 #a to #c1 have been before noticed2 in addition it is only necessary to observe1 that the ,israelites could scarcely have destroyed the cities of the ,canaanites1 until they had entered the land of ,canaan1 into which it is alleged they did not go in the lifetime of ,moses4 ,verses #h and #i4 ,see ,exodus1 chap1 xx41 v4 #d4 ,dr4 ,giles observes3-- ',the reason why ,god commanded ,moses to adopt this course has not been recorded2 but the fact would probably be susceptible of a satisfactory explanation1 if we were acquainted more fully with the serpent-worship which existed among the ancient people of ,egypt4 ,in the absence of certain information1 it may be supposed that the ,israelites had been taught to hold serpents in great respect whilst they were in ,egypt1 and that ,moses availed himself of their superstition to bend them the better to his will4' ,in our version1 verse #h1 ,moses is told to make a 'fiery serpent3' in the ,douay1 he is told to make a 'brazen serpent'--fiery serpents are very rare animals4 ,verse #ad4 ',the ,book of the wars of the ,lord4' ,what book is this8 ,who was the author of it8 ,what has become of it8 ,was it inspired8 ,was it more ancient than the ,pentateuch8 ,in answer to all these questions1 we can say but little1 except this1 that the book referred to is one of several books quoted from in our ,bible1 and now lost2 the authorship is unknown2 it must have been a well-known book at the time ,numbers was written1 and1 consequently1 more ancient than ,numbers4 ,there are many other books quoted from1 which are also lost4 ,the following is from the ',hebrew ,records1' in reference to this subject3-- ',in ,st4 ,paul's ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 ix41 #ai1 we read thus3-- ',for when ,moses had spoken every precept to all the people1 according to the law1 he took the blood of calves and of goats1 with water and scarlet wool1 and hyssop1 and sprinkled both the book and all the people4 ',the writer of this epistle must also have had more sources of information than we now possess2 for the account which he gives in the verse before us does not exactly tally with any of the various verses in the ,levitical ,law1 where the subject is related4 ,nothing is said of the book being sprinkled with the blood1 even if the other parts of the description are allowed to bear a sufficient resemblance4 ',another remarkable instance bearing upon my present argument1 is the account which ,st4 ,jude gives of a contest between ,michael and the ,devil3-- ',yet ,michael1 the archangel1 when contending with the ,devil he disputed about the body of ,moses1 durst not bring against him a railing accusation1 but said1 ',lord rebuke thee6' ',it is not known to what ,st4 ,jude alludes in this verse2 nothing is said in the ,old ,testament of any contest between the ,devil and the archangel ,michael4 ',in ,st4 ,paul's ,second ,epistle to ,timothy1 chap1 iii41 v4 #h1 are found #gg the names of two of the magicians who competed with ,moses in magical arts in the presence of ,pharaoh1 ,king of ,egypt4 ',now1 as ,jannes and ,jambres withstood ,moses1 so do these also resist the truth2 men of corrupt minds1 reprobate concerning the faith4 ',it is presumed that the names1 ,jannes and ,jambres1 not found in the ,books of ,moses1 became known to ,st4 ,paul through the medium of other writings1 in which many particulars of ,jewish history were recorded1 but now no longer in existence4 ,several circumstances of the life and acts of ,moses are known to us1 only because they are noticed in the ,new ,testament1 no mention being made of them in the old ,jewish ,scriptures4 ,for instance1 in ,acts vii41 v4 #bb1 etc41 we are told that-- ',moses was learned in all the wisdom of the ,egyptians1 and was mighty in words and deeds4 ,and when he was full forty years old1 it came into his heart to visit his brethren of ,israel1 etc4 ',but in the ,book of ,exodus the account of these things is much shorter1 and nothing is said of the age of ,moses at the time referred to4 ',neither is there any authority in the ,pentateuch for the remark which occurs in ,hebrews xi41 #bd3-- ',by faith ,moses1 when he came to years1 refused to be called the son of ,pharaoh's daughter4 ',these circumstances make it probable that there were other original records in the time of ,st4 ,paul1 which have since perished4 ',this conclusion is supported by the admitted fact that many books which have perished are quoted in the ,old ,testament itself4 ,such are the books of ,jasher1 ,enoch1 the ,wars of the ,lord1 and many others4 ,a perplexing train of argument opens to us from a consideration of these facts4 ,if the books which have perished were of value1 why have they perished8 ,if they were of no value1 why have valuable writers1 like ,st4 ,paul1 quoted them8 ,it is supposed that they were of inferior authority1 but this point has not been proved4 ,if the existing books are genuine relics of a high antiquity1 yet some of the lost books were more ancient still4 ,the same ,providence which has preserved the one has suffered the others to sink1 even though those which have floated down the stream of time are imperfect on many points1 which the others would have supplied4 99,chapter xxii41 v4 #a4 ',on this side ,jordan3' the ,douay has it 'beyond the ,jordan3' the ,hebrew is ------ 7beyond1 across1 over1 or on the other side71 see also page #f4 ,it is evident in this case either that the translators must have falsified the text to support their theory that ,moses was the writer of the book1 or that there is a very extraordinary coincidence of error4 ,the whole of this subject has been carefully examined in ,dr4 ,giles's ',hebrew ,records1' pp4 #bhd to #bhi4 99,chapters xxii41 xxiii41 and xxiv4 ,it is not at all wonderful that the barbarous ,midianites and ,moabites should have looked upon ,balaam as a prophet1 whose curse or blessing would affect the success of the #gh ,jews4 ,in the dark ages we have many instances of persons revered by the people of their countries1 because they were believed to possess supernatural powers2 but is an inexplicable matter when we find the superstitions of the ignorant people shared by ,god himself4 ,god communicated with ,balaam4 ,god said1 ',thou shalt not curse this people4' ,god came to ,balaam repeatedly2 at first he forbade him to go to ,balak1 and afterwards gave him permission2 and then ,god's anger is kindled because ,balaam1 in consequence of such permission1 went with ,balak's messengers1 and the angel of the ,lord is sent to stand in ,balaam's way4 ,i have remarked upon angels in pages #cc and #cd2 those who wish to read more orthodox comments are referred to ,dr4 ,pye ,smith's ',christian ,theology1' p4 #cbg4 ,this angel is invisible to the wise man1 ,balaam1 but is at once perceived by his ass4 ,is this intended as a covert sneer8 ,did the writer mean that asses are always the first to perceive invisible angels8 ,the angel has 'his sword drawn in his hand'--this sword 7being also only visible to the ass71 must have been 7like ,macbeth's dagger7 manufactured from different material from the swords commonly in use4 ,the ass obstinately refusing to go forward 7and asses very often do refuse to go forward1 rather staying because a church1 an angel1 or a ,bible stops the way1 than progressing with ,freethinking searchers toward the truth71 is beaten by ,balaam4 ,the ass indignantly remonstrates1 inquiring why he is beaten2 and as ,balaam manifested no surprise whatever when his ass spoke1 we must conclude that the phenomenon was not entirely new to him4 ,the fable concludes by relating that ,balaam blessed the ,jews1 instead of cursing them4 99,chapter xxiii41 v4 #ai4 ,according to the ,bible account1 ,god has repented several times 7,genesis1 chap1 vi41 vv4 #f and #g2 ,exodus1 chap4 xxxii41 v4 #ad2 #a ,samuel1 chap1 xv41 v4 xi42 #b ,samuel1 chap4 xxiv41v4 #af74 ,in chap1 xxiv41 v4 #ae1 our version reads1 ',the man whose eyes are open hath said3 'the ,douay has it1' ,the man whose eye is stopped up hath said3 'the ,breeches ,bible renders it1 ',the man whose eyes were shut up hath said4' 99,chapter xxv41 v4 #d4 ,see ,deuteronomy1 chap1 iv41 v4 #ca1 ',the ,lord thy ,god is a merciful ,god4' ,verse #i4 '#bd1jjj4' ,in #a ,corinthians1 chap1 x41 v4 #h1 the number is given as '#bc1jjj4' 99,chapter xxvi41 vv4 #aj and #aa4 ,the ,douay says1 ',and there was a great miracle wrought2 that when ,core 7,korah7 perished1 his sons did not perish4' ,our version omits the miracle1 out says1 that 'the children of ,korah died not3' yet in chap1 xvi41 vv4 #cb and #cc1 we are told that 'the earth opened her mouth1 and swallowed them up1 and their houses1 and all the men that appertained unto ,korah1 and all their goods1 they and all that appertained unto them1 went down alive into the pit1 and the earth closed upon them1 and they perished from among the congregation4' ,verse #ab4 ',nemuel' is called ',jemuel' in ,genesis1 chap1 xlvi1 v4 #aj4 ,verse #ac4 ',zerah' is called ',zohar' in ,genesis1 chap1 xlvi41 v4 #aj4 ,verse #af4 ',ozni' is called ',ezbon' in ,genesis1 chap1 xliv41 v4 #af4 #gi ,verse #bc4 ',pua' is called ',phuvah' in ,genesis1 chap1 xlvi41 v4 #ac4 ,verse #bd4 ',jashub' is called ',job 'in ,genesis1 chap1 xlvi41 v4 #ac4 ,verses #fd and #fe4 ,phinehas and ,eleazar at least were left1 if no more than they entered the promised land 7vide ,joshua1 chap1 xiv41 v4 #a1 and chap1 xxii41 v4 #ac74 99,chapter xxvii41 v4 #ad4 ,we have no account whatever of any rebellion by ,moses4 ,in ,exodus1 chap1 xvii41 it is the people who rebel against ,moses4 99,chapter xxxi4 gives an account of the slaughter of the ,midianites1 and the destruction of their 'cities' and 'goodly castles' by #ab1jjj ,jews1 and the capture of #cb1jjj virgins1 #fge1jjj sheep1 #gb1jjj oxen1 and #fa1jjj asses4 ,the number or slain is not given2 but it is easy to ascertain a minimum1 if we reckon to each virgin for father1 mother1 brother1 married sisters and their husbands1 and other married females and their husbands1 an average of four persons--which ,i conceive will be an estimate much under the true amount--we shall find #abh1jjj to have been slaughtered by #ab1jjj ,jews1 which is a statement rather difficult to believe4 ,this difficulty is increased when we remember that the ,midianites dwelt in 'cities' and 'goodly castles1' under shelter of which they could have contended against the attacks of the ,jews4 ,after all this fighting1 the tired warriors must have had considerable trouble 7especially if the captives resisted7 in bringing back the spoil1 which averaged to each man 7supposing that all the ,jewish soldiers had escaped unhurt7 three virgins1 fifty-six sheep1 six oxen1 and five asses1 besides gold1 silver1 lead1 iron1 tin1 brass1 jewels1 and other spoil4 ,the ,jews1 however1 were mighty warriors2 and it has been previously noticed how two men slaughtered the whole of the inhabitants of a city17see page #da74 ,i am compelled to add1 that verse #g1 which says that the ,jews slew 'all the males1' must be positively untrue1 because if all were killed except the #cb1jjj virgins taken captive1 there would be an end to the ,midianitish nation2 while in ,judges1 chap1 vi41 we actually find the ,midianites more powerful than the ,israelites4 ,verse #af4 ,this 'counsel of ,balaam' is never mentioned before4 ,verse #ah4 ,is not this command likely to produce a repetition of the offence mentioned in chap1 xxv41 and for which the ,israelites were so heavily punished8 99,chapter xxxii41 v4 #dj4 ',machir' must be a mistake1 as he must have been dead long since 7vide ,genesis1 chap4 #a41 v4 #bc72 he could hardly have lived long enough to see his own progeny number #eb1gjj 7vide chap1 xxvi41 v4 #cd74 99,chapter xxxiii41 v4 #d4 ',upon their ,gods also the ,lord executed judgments4'4 ,what judgments were these8 and1 if there is only one true ,god1 were these judgments executed upon the mock gods of the ,egyptians8 ,if this be so1 the whole is a farce upon the face of it1 without deeper investigation4 99,chapter xxxv41 v4 #ad4 ',on this side ,jordan3' the ,douay reads1 'beyond the ,jordan3' the remarks on page #gg apply equally to this text4 ,numbers is presented to us as a history of the wanderings of the #hj ,israelites during nearly forty years1 with an account of some of the wars in which they were engaged4 ,it professes to be the work of the same writer as the ,book of ,genesis2 and in this respect its pretensions at once fail1 for it is not at all probable that one man would make such strange variations in writing the names of the persons referred to on page #gh4 ,it cannot be revelation from ,god--#ast4 ,because it contains a variety of errors1 as in the names just alluded to1 or in the times of service of the ,levites2 or in the destruction of the children of ,korah1 etc41 etc4 #bnd4 ,because it pictures a ,god of great mercy and long suffering1 ordering an indiscriminate and merciless slaughter1 as in the case of the ,midianites4 #crd4 ,because it assumes that the curse or blessing of ,balaam would affect the welfare of the ,israelites1 and represents an omniscient and immutable ,deity as forgiving or punishing sinners according as they sprinkled1 or neglected to sprinkle1 themselves with water1 in which had been mixed the ashes of a burnt red cow4 #dth4 ,because it is wholly1 or in some part1 compiled from other and earlier writings1 and1 therefore1 was not an original4 ,as a narration of events1 it must be regarded with extreme suspicion4 ,the numberings of the ,jews in chapter i41 ,i cannot help considering as suppositious2 and the account of the wholesale slaughter of the ,midianites is evidently untrue4 ,as an educational book1 it is entirely without merit1 and affords neither instruction nor amusement to its reader1 unless1 indeed1 he be of a sufficiently depraved character to enable him to find amusement in adding together the thousands of ,israelites slaughtered by ,god1 or in calculating the probable number of the ,midianites slain by the children of ,israel4 ,,book ,v4 ,,deuteronomy 99,chapter i41 vv4 #a and #e 7see page #f71 ',on this side ,jordan3' the ,douay has i beyond the ,jordan' in each instance4 ,verse #aj4 ',ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude4' ,yet we are told in chap1 vii41 v4 #g1 that ,god chose the ,jews because they were the' fewest of all people4' 99,chapter ii41 v4 #cj4 ',the ,lord thy ,god hardened his spirit1 and made his heart obstinate4' ,the 'hardening of heart' has been remarked upon in pages #ej and #eb1 in the case of ,pharaoh4 ,it is useless to fill the work with mere repetitions2 but ,i feel bound to draw attention again to such texts as this1 which clearly demonstrate1 to even the most obtuse mind1 that the ,book cannot be a revelation from an immutable ,deity4 ,that a merciful and loving ,god should harden any man's heart is unreasonable in the extreme2 and that he should do it for the purpose of affording an excuse for slaughter1 is a blasphemous proposition1 which every ,theist ought to deny4 ,can men wonder that ,atheists grow in number1 when the character of the ,deity is delineated in such a contradictory and absurd manner8 ,a just ,god grossly unjust1 a merciful ,god cruel in the extreme1 an immutable ,god constantly changing2 in fact1 a ,god consistent only in the attribute of incomprehensibility6 #ha 99,chapter iii41 v4 #aa4 ',for only ,og1 ,king of ,bashan1 remained of the remnant of giants2 behold1 his bedstead was a bedstead of iron3 is it not in ,rabbath of the children of ,ammon8 nine cubits was the length thereof1 and five cubits the breadth of it1 after the cubit of a man4 ',dr4 ,pyle 7in the ,family ,bible7 remarks on this passage3-- ',it is probable that either ,og conveyed his iron bedstead1 with other furniture of his palace1 into the country of the ,ammonites1 to prevent their falling into the hands of the ,israelites2 or else the ,ammonites had taken it from him in some former conquest1 and kept it as a monument of their victory4 ',either of these cases would be probable1 if it could be first proved that ,moses wrote this verse1 and that he knew of ,og's bed being kept in ,rabbath4 ,but as ,rabbath was not taken by the ,israelites until the time of ,david1 as we read in #b ,samuel1 xii41 #bf1 ',and ,joab fought against ,rabbah1 of the children of ,ammon1 and took the royal city4 ',it is very unlikely that the ,israelites knew anything about the bedstead of ,king ,og until then4 ,in the reign of ,david1 five hundred years had passed since ,og lived1 and his bedstead had consequently become an object of curiosity2 like the great bed of ,ware1 which is still shown in that town1 though only three hundred years old4 ,it is hardly possible that ,moses knew anything about this bedstead of ,king ,og1 afterwards so famous4' ,verse #aa4 ',is it not in ,rabbath1 of the children of ,ammon8' ,this could scarcely have been written by ,moses1 for the reasons just stated4 ,verse #bd4 ',what ,god is there in heaven1 or in earth1 that can do according to thy work8' ,this is a strange phrase from the lips of a man who only believed in one ,god4 99,chapter iv41 vv4 #ba and #bb4 ,the ,lord said1 that not one of the ,israelites1 except ,caleb1 and his seed1 should enter the promised land 7vide ,numbers1 chap1 xiv41 v4 #bd74 ,yet here ,moses says1 ',i must not go over ,jordan1 but ye shall go over1 and possess that good land4' ,verse #dj4 ',the earth1 which the ,lord thy ,god giveth thee1 for ever4' ,the earth1 ,i suppose1 means ,judea only1 and this has not been held by the ,jews to the present day1 much less for ever4 ,verses #da and #df4 ',on this side ,jordan1' the ,douay reads1 ',beyond the ,jordan4' 99,chapter v41 vv4 #ab to #ae 7see page #eg74 ,verse #bb4 ',these words the ,lord spake4444 with a great voice1 and he added no more1' ,yet in ,exodus1 chap1 xx41 vv4 #bb to #bf1 and in the following chapters1 he adds a great deal more4 99,chapter vi41 v4 #e4 ',thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god with all thine heart1 and with all thy soul1 and with all thy might4' ,is it possible that the ,jews could love a ,deity1 whom they had only seen amongst smoke and fire1 as a pillar of cloud by day1 and as a pillar of fire by night2 who had led them from the flesh-pots of ,egypt into the sterile sandy desert of sin8 ,if love is a necessary consequence of punishment1 the ,israelites would1 of course1 love very strongly2 but ,i submit it is #hb utterly impossible they could love a ,god who told them he was a jealous ,god1 whose anger might be kindled against them1 and who might destroy them from off the face of the earth2 who had tormented them with various plagues1 for uttering complaints which they could scarce avoid4 ,hunger and thirst would tempt the most contented men to murmur2 and yet for these murmurings they had been terribly dealt with4 99,chapter vii41 v4 #b4 ,see ,exodus1 chap1 xxxiv41 v4 #f41 ,deuteronomy1 chap4 iv41 v4 #ca1 ,psalms1 xxxiii41 v4 #e1 ii41 v4 #a1 cxvi41 v4 #e1 cxiv41 v4 #h1 #b ,chronicles1 chap1 xxx41 v4 #i1 ,nehemiah1 chap1 ix41 v4 #ca1 #i ,micah1 chap1 vii41 v4 #ah1 #a ,corinthians1 chap1 xiv41 v4 #cc4 ,i will make no further comment than this1 that it is utterly impossible a ,god of mercy1 long suffering1 gracious kindness1 and goodness1 could have given such a command as this to his people3 ',thou shalt smite them1 and utterly destroy them2 thou shaft make no covenant with them1 or show mercy unto them4' 99,chapter viii41 v4 #d4 ',thy raiment waxed not old upon thee4444 these forty years4' ,so that during that time a continual miracle must have been worked with respect to the clothing of the ,jews1 although1 if we admit any one miracle1 of course we1 to a great extent1 if not altogether1 lose our right to object to any other4 ,i am not aware whether it was from wearing their clothes for so lengthy a period that the ,jews obtained the epithet of 'old clothesmen of the world4' ,perhaps the editor of ,notes and ,queries may deem the point worthy of investigation4 ,verses #g1 #h1 and #i4 ,this description cannot apply to ,judea1 and there must be some error1 as the digging 'brass4' ,brass is an alloy of copper and zinc2 the proportions varying1 according to the required colour4 ,it is made by heating copper plates in a mixture of native oxide of zinc4 ,it is not true that ,judea was 'a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness1' as various famines are mentioned4 ,see ,ruth1 chap1 i41 v4 #a1 #b ,samuel1 chap1 xxi41 v4 #a1 #a ,kings1 chap4 xviii41 v4 #b1 #b ,kings1 chap1 vi41 v4 #be1 #b ,kings1 chap1 viii41 v4 #a1 and #b ,kings1 chap1 xxv41 v4 #c4 ,verses #ai and #bj4 ',if thou do at all forget the ,lord thy ,god1 and walk after other ,gods1 ye shall surely perish4' ,the ,jews were often idolatrous1 and yet have not perished4 ,chaps1 viii4 and ix4 ,by these chapters it is certain that the bulk of the ,israelites1 who were to pass over ,jordan into ,canaan1 had resided in ,egypt1 and provoked the wrath of the ,lord on many occasions4 ,the ,lord must1 therefore1 have changed his mind1 and rescinded the decree made by him in ,numbers1 chap1 xiv41 v4 #bc4 99,chapter ix41 v4 #a4 ',fenced up to heaven4' ,these fences must have been very high2 the carpenters built tall fences1 and archers drew long bows1 in the time of ,moses4 ,verse #af4 ,on page #fb1 ,i omitted to notice that casting a metal calf is not a very easy operation to be performed by a wandering and ignorant people1 in a desert without furnaces or mechanical aid4 ,verses #i and #ah4 ,the pretension here made by ,moses is1 that he #hc fasted continuously eighty days and eighty nights1 and 'neither ate bread nor drank water1' during that period4 ,this is a very long fast1 especially when we consider that ,moses preserved his usual strength and activity1 walked down the mountain1 carrying two tables of stone1 dashed them under his feet1 etc ,there are several cases on record1 in which human beings1 affected by disease1 have preserved life during a forced abstinence2 the teeth1 in one instance1 being quite closed for a very considerable period2 but in all the cases ,i have read1 some nutriment was administered in a fluid form1 with a quill1 or feather1 or otherwise2 in some1 the patient has been in an almost cataleptic state1 and ,i do not think that1 in any case1 the person fasting has been known to retain all his powers of mind and body unimpaired4 ,there is nothing said about this fast in ,exodus4 ,verse #bj4 ,neither is there any mention whatever of this in the ,book of ,exodus4 99,chapter x41 v4 #f4 ',mosera4 ,there ,aaron died1 and there he was buried4' ,according to ,numbers1 chap1 xx41 v4 #bh1 ,aaron died and was buried on ,mount ,hor4 ,verses #f to #i4 ,these verses seem to have been inserted without regard to the context2 they have no connexion with the rest of the chapter1 which would read more coherently if read from v4 #e to v4 #aj1 omitting the four intermediate verses4 ,in v4 #h1 the words 'until this present day1' would denote a considerable lapse of time from the death of ,aaron4 99,chapter xi41 w4 #bc1 #bd1 and #be4 ,this has never been fulfilled1 and the ,christian will urge that it is not fulfilled because the ,israelites have been disobedient4 ,but this can scarcely be admitted1 as neither blessing nor curse has been accomplished4 99,chapter xii41 v4 #ae4 ,this is a contradiction of ,leviticus1 chap1 xvii41 vv4 #c and #d4 ,verses #ah and #bg4 ,here the people are allowed to eat a portion of the tithes and burnt offerings4 ,while by ,numbers1 chap1 xviii41 v4 #bd1 they are confined to the ,levites4 99,chapter xiii4 ,here ,moses says1 if 'a prophet' arise1 and his prophecy come to pass1 'that prophet shall be put to death4' ,can we1 therefore1 wonder that the ,jews put ,jesus to death1 the more especially as he endeavoured to introduce a new form of worship1 and new doctrines amongst them4 99,chapter xv41 v4 #d1 contradicts v4 #aa4 ,the former stating that there shall be a time when 'there shall be no poor amongst you2' while the latter declares that 'the poor shall never cease out of the land4' 99,chapter xviii41 v4 #h4 ,what is a ,levite's patrimony8 ,in ,numbers1 chap1 xviii41 w4 #bj to #bd1 it is expressly stated that the ,levites should have no inheritance in the land4 ,verses #aj and #aa4 ,on page #ei1 ,i have remarked upon the subject of witches and wizards1 and now ask1 can we have a stronger argument against this book than is contained in these verses8 ,voltaire writes thus upon enchantments3-- ',is not a large portion of the absurd superstitions which have #hd prevailed1 to be ascribed to very natural causes8 ,there are scarcely any animals that may not be accustomed to approach at the sound of a bagpipe1 or a single horn1 to take their food4 ,orpheus1 or some one of his predecessors1 played the bagpipe better than other shepherds1 or employed singing4 ,all the domestic animals flocked together at the sound of his voice4 ,it was soon supposed that bears and tigers were among the number collected4 ,this first step accomplished1 there was no difficulty in believing that ,orpheus made stones and trees dance4 ',if rocks and pine trees can be thus made to dance a ballet1 it will cost little more to build cities by harmony1 and the stones will easily arrange themselves at ,amphion's song4 ,a violin only will be wanting to build a city1 and a ram's horn to destroy it4 ',the charming of serpents may be attributed to a still more plausible cause4 ,the serpent is neither a voracious nor a ferocious animal4 ,every reptile is timid4 ,the first thing a reptile does1 at least in ,europe1 on seeing a man1 is to hide itself in a hole1 like a rabbit1 or a lizard4 ,the instinct of man is to pursue everything that flies from him1 and to fly from all that pursue him1 except when he is armed1 when he feels his strength2 and1 above all1 when he is in the presence of many observers4 ',the charming of serpents was considered as a thing regular and constant4 ,the sacred ,scripture itself1 which always enters into our weaknesses1 deigned to conform itself to this vulgar idea4 ',the deaf adder1 which shuts its ears that it may not hear the voice of the charmer4 ',i will send among you which will resist enchantments4 ',the slanderer is like the serpent1 which yields not to the enchanter4 ',to enchant a dead person1 to resuscitate him1 or barely to evoke his shade to speak to him1 was the most simple thing in the world4 ,it is very common to see the dead in dreams2 in which they are spoken with1 and return answers4 ,if any one has seen them during sleep1 why may he not see them when awake8 ,it is only necessary to have a spirit like the ,pythoness2 and to bring this spirit of ,pythonism into successful operation2 it is only necessary that one party should be a knave1 and the other a fool2 and no one can deny that such rencontres very frequently occur4 ',the famous ,witch of ,endor has always been a subject of great dispute among the fathers of the ,church4 ,the sage ,theodoret1 in his sixty-second question on the ,book of ,kings1 asserts1 that it is universally the practice for the dead to appear with the head downwards2 and that what terrified the witch was ,samuel being upon his legs4 ',st4 ,augustin1 when interrogated by ,simplicion1 replies in the second book of his questions1 that there is nothing more extraordinary in witches invoking a shade1 than in the ,devil transporting ,jesus ,christ through the air1 to the pinnacle of the temple1 on the top of a mountain4' 99,chapter xix41 vv4 #b1 #g1 and #aj4 ,here three cities of refuge are directed with a condition that three more may afterwards be added2 #he while in ,numbers1 chap1 xxxv41 vv4 #ac and #ad1 six are directed unconditionally4 99,chapter ix41 vv4 #af1 #ag1 and #ah4 ,by this command to 'save alive nothing that breatheth1' we may judge of the mercy and loving kindness of the ,god of the ,jews4 ,why were the ,hittites1 the ,amorites1 the ,canaanites1 the ,ferrizites1 the ,hivites1 and the ,jebusites1 to be mercilessly slaughtered8 ,i am answered that they were idolaters4 ,so were the ,jews4 ,and even if they were idolaters1 the ,omnipotent ,deity had permitted them to become so1 without giving them the benefit of any revelation from himself or the chance of listening to any of his prophets2 in fact1 by preferring the ,jews1 he must1 to some extent1 have neglected these unfortunate nations2 and can it be wondered that such barbarous nations worshipped false ,gods in those dark ages1 when in the enlightened latter moiety of the nineteenth century1 in the highly civilised country of ,england1 there are more sects than there are books in the ,bible2 each drawing from that ,book entirely different doctrines as to the ,deity1 and each declaring that theirs only is the true faith1 and that all the others merit damnation 7vide the ,reverend preachers of ,surrey ,gardens on the one hand1 and of ,exeter ,hall on the other78 99,chapter xxi41 w4 #aj to #ad4 ,according to this highly moral ,book1 if one of the ,jewish warriors perceived a beautiful woman amongst the captives1 he could take her home1 keep her until he grew tired of her1 and then desert her2 he was only prohibited from selling her4 ,verse #ae4 ,polygamy is evidently a recognised institution amongst the ,jews4 ,in the present day1 we are told that polygamy amongst the ,mormons is an evidence of the grossly sensual character of ,mor-monism4 99,chapter xxii41 w4 #i1 #aj1 #aa4 ,these verses seem to me to be too trifling and absurd to have a place amongst the ordinances of the infinite ,deity4 99,chapter xxiii41 v4 #c4 ,an ,ammonite1 or a ,moabite1 shall not enter into the congregation of the ,lord1 even unto their tenth generation4 ,yet ,david was only the third1 and ,solomon the fourth1 generation1 from the ,moabitish woman ,ruth 7see ,ruth1 chap1 iv41 w4 #ba and #bb74 ,verses #a to #f seem positively unjust4 ,why should ten generations suffer2 they did not choose their birth-place--whether ,ammon or ,judea4 ,verses #ac and #ad4 ,i should not notice these verses1 were it not for the gross absurdity of the #adth4 ,the #acth contains a very useful sanitary regulation1 although hardly worthy of a place in a revelation from the infinite and eternal ruler of the universe2 but to suppose that ,god would perceive the 'unclean thing1 and turn away1' is really too ridiculous to need further remark4 ,verse #ah4 ,why is a dog an abomination to the ,lord8 ,dogs are of all animals the least likely to be an abomination to any one4 ,they are more faithful to man than any animal except1 perhaps1 the horse4 ,they possess better organisations than the majority of the brute family1 and one is at a loss to understand the reason for this dislike #hf to a dog on the part of the ,deity1 especially when we remember that the same ,deity is alleged to be the creator of the dog1 and of all other animals4 ,verses #ai and #bj4 ,all men ought to be considered as brethren4 ,these verses are further evidence1 if any were needed1 that this is not a revelation from 'one ,god and ,father of us all2' if it were1 he surely would teach that all are brethren1 and that none should be treated as strangers4 ,until we can call each man brother1 and can set aside class distinctions1 we shall never be able to realise a good state of society4 99,chapter xxiv41 v4 #b4 ,in ,leviticus1 chap1 xxi41 v4 #g1 it is said1 ',neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband4' ,these contradictory precepts can scarcely be from the same man2 still less can they be from the same ,god4 ,verse #af has been referred to on page #ef4 99,chapter xvvii1 vv4 #b to #h4 ,here is a command for the elders to write 'all the words of this law1' and it is very clear that whether ,moses1 or any one else wrote1 that it would be utterly impossible for a few men to carry the ark about1 if it were filled with as many stones as would be required to contain the whole of the ,pentateuch4 ,the plastered stones would only suffice for a stationary people4 ,dr4 ,giles observes3-- ',that the ,hebrew legislator should deliver to his countrymen two tables of stone on which the principal heads of the law were engraved1 is consistent with all the information which history supplies concerning those early times and the practice of other nations4 ,but if we suppose1 a book of such length and bulk as the ,pentateuch to have been given at the same time to the ,israelites1 what becomes of the two tables of stone8 ,where was the necessity that these1 also1 should be given8 ,it was not that they might be set up as monuments visible to the whole people1 and as exponents of the heads of a law1 which the written books would develop more fully1 for the two tables of stone were never set up at all2 they were kept in the ark of the covenant1 and there is no mention made of their ever being taken out1 not even when the temple of ,solomon was built1 when they might1 with propriety1 have been set up in some public place if this had been the use for which they were originally designed4 ,but no such use is hinted at by the writer1 nor were they originally given by ,god for such a purpose1 as is manifest from their size1 for when ,moses came down from the ,mount1 he held the two tables in his hand1 which he could not have done if they were of the usual size of monuments made to be set up in public4 ',but the supposition that the two tables of stone were intended to be set up as monuments is refuted by the fact that other stones were actually set by ,joshua1 according to a command given by ,moses1 and that on them was inscribed a copy of the law of ,moses4 ,the original injunction of ,moses is found in the #bgth chapter of ,deuteronomy1 vv4 #a-h4 ',and ,moses1 with the elders of ,israel1 commanded the people1 saying1 ',keep all the commandments which ,i command you this day4 ,and it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over ,jordan unto the #hg land which the ,lord thy ,god giveth thee that thou shalt set thee up great stones1 and plaster them with plaster3 and thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law when thou art passed over1 that thou mayst go in unto the land which the ,lord thy ,god giveth thee--a land that floweth with milk and honey1 as the ,lord ,god of thy fathers hath promised thee4 ,therefore1 it shall be when ye he gone over ,jordan that ye shall set up these stones which ,i command you this day in ,mount ,ehal1 and thou shalt plaster them with plaster4 ,and there shalt thou build an altar unto the ,lord thy ,god1 an altar of stones3 thou shalt not lift up an iron tool upon them4 ,thou shalt build the altar of the ,lord thy ,god on whole stones3 and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the ,lord thy ,god3 and thou shalt offer peace offerings1 and shalt eat there and rejoice before the ,lord thy ,god4 ,and thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly4 ',the fulfilment of the command is related in the #hth chapter of ,joshua1 vv4 #cj-cb3-- ',then ,joshua built an altar unto the ,lord ,god of ,israel in ,mount ,ebal1 as ,moses1 the servant of the ,lord1 commanded the children of ,israel1 as it is written in the book of the law of ,moses1 an altar of whole stones1 over which no man hath lift up any iron3 and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the ,lord and sacrificed peace offerings4 ,and he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of ,moses1 which he wrote in the presence of the children of ,israel4 ,and all ,israel1 and their elders1 and officers1 and their judges stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the ,levites1 which bare the ark of the covenant of the ,lord1 as well as the stranger1 as he that was born among them2 half of them over against ,mount ,gerizim1 and half of them over against ,mount ,ebal2 as ,moses1 the servant of the ,lord1 had commanded before1 that they should bless the people of ,israel4 ,and afterwards he read all the words of the law1 the blessings and cursings1 according to all that is written in the book of the law4 ,there was not a word of all that ,moses commanded1 which ,joshua read not before all the congregation of ,israel1 with the women1 and the little ones1 and the strangers that were conversant among them4 ',this narrative is remarkable1 for it commemorates a public solemnity held for no other purpose than that the laws of ,moses might be impressed on the minds of the ,jewish people4 ,the writer also tells us that it was held in accordance with the book of ,moses1 and yet he does not tell us that the book of ,moses was produced on that occasion1 though we are to suppose that it was in existence4 ,yet something is then done which seems to prove by implication that there was no such book at all at that time4 ,joshua is said to have engraved on certain stones a copy of the law of ,moses1 and afterwards to have read all the words of the law1 and the concluding paragraph relates that there was not a word of all that ,moses commanded1 which ,joshua read not before all the congregation of ,israel4 ,must we1 then1 suppose that the whole of the ,pentateuch was inscribed on those #hh stones by ,joshua8 ,what could be the use of inscribing the historical parts of the ,pentateuch on those stones1 or reading them afterwards to the people if the object was simply to admonish them that they should observe the law of ,moses8 ,it is more probable that an inscription1 much shorter than the whole of the ,pentateuch1 was carved upon those stones1 and as no mention is made of any book at all on the same occasion1 we have a negative proof that no such book was in existence at that time4 ',the delivery of the two tables renders it unlikely that any other writing was bequeathed by ,moses to the ,israelitish people1 particularly as the age in wnich ,moses lived precedes by many centuries the times in which books1 as far as we know of them1 can be proved to have been written4' 99,chapter xxviii4 ,the remarks on page #fa apply more forcibly here4 ,in this chapter ,moses exerts himself to the utmost to depict the blessings attendant upon obedience to the laws2 he uses the most expressive words he can command to define the rewards which ,god will give his chosen people1 but he never dreams of a crown in heaven1 or of an eternal life of happiness after death4 ,if man possessed an immortal soul in the days of ,moses1 it is certain that ,moses was ignorant of its existence4 ,when threatening the people with terrible punishments if they disobeyed the laws1 when using terms which would degrade the ,deity into a cruel and horrible monster1 when speaking of events which1 if they had occurred1 would have made life a burthen1 when using the most vindictive and diabolical curses1 ,moses never hinted at a hell fire in which men were burned 'for ever and ever1' by the fire which is never quenched1 and1 at the same time1 further tormented by the worm that never dieth4 ,the doctrines of the existence of a soul1 and of its punishment or reward in a future state1 were entirely unknown to the ,jewish lawgiver4 ,verse #bc4 ,here the heaven is to be 'brass1' and the earth 'iron4' ,in ,leviticus1 chap1 xxvi41 v4 #ai1 the heaven is to be 'iron1' and the earth 'brass4' ,verse #eh4 ,is evidently written long after the time of ,moses1 because at the commencement of his oration1 ,moses tells the elders to write 'the words' after they have crossed the ,jordan1 and this verse1 therefore1 could have formed no part of the original speech of ,moses4 ,verse #fa4 ,the same applies here4 99,chapter xxix41 v4 #bc4 ',admah and ,zeboim1 which the ,lord overthrew in his anger4' ,we have no account of this anywhere in the ,pentateuch4 ,it has been assumed 7but ,i am unable to learn on what ground7 that these cities were destroyed at the same time with ,sodom and ,gomorrah4 ,verses #be and #bh4 ,dr4 ,giles observes that in these verses 'are described the evils that should happen to the ,israelites in case of their not observing the law which had been given by ,moses3-- ',then men shall say1 ,because they have forsaken the covenant of the ,lord ,god of their fathers which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of ,egypt ,for they went and #hi served other gods1 whom they knew not1 and whom he had not given unto them4 ,and the anger of the ,lord was kindled against this land1 to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this ,book4 ,and the ,lord rooted them out of their land in anger and in wrath1 and in great indignation1 and cast them into another land1 as it is this day4' ',here is an allusion to the great downfall of the first ,israelitish monarchy1 too plain to be interpreted as a supposed case1 merely of a misfortune which only might befall them if they should be disobedient to ,god's commandments4 ,the impression which the words irresistibly leave on the mind is1 that the calamity of defeat and transportation into a strange country1 had actually befallen them when those words were written4' 99,chapter xxxi41 w4 #i1 #ai1 #bb1 #bd1 and #bf4 ,these verses are1 ,i believe1 sometimes quoted as evidence of the authorship of the ,pentateuch2 but it has been urged in opposition1 that it is idle to quote a work1 while its authenticity is denied 7vide ,watson's ',apology for the ,bible1' p4 #ahc72 and that the terms 'book' and 'volume' are not applicable to the age in which ,moses lived 7when the mode of writing was on thin slabs of plastered stone74 ,papyrus is not once spoken of1 or alluded to1 in the ,pentateuch1 and could not have been known to ,moses4 ,it is also asserted1 that the 'book of the law' cannot possibly be identified with the ,pentateuch1 or even with the ,book of ,deuteronomy4 7,see remarks on page #g1 and also ,dr4 ,cooper's letter to ,professor ,silliman1 pp4 #bi and #ch47 99,chapter xxxii4 ,this is a song full of ,oriental hyperboles4 ,the language attributed to the ,deity is absurd in the extreme1 if read literally4 ,verse #d4 ,the words ',he is the rock1' are omitted1 both in the ,douay and ,breeches ,bible4 ,verse #h4 ',when the ,most ,high divided to the nations their inheritance1 when he separated the sons of ,adam1 he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of ,israel4' ,this verse is not very explicit2 but if it means that ,god had apportioned the promised land to the ,israelites1 it then becomes a curious question as to how the ,canaanites ever became possessed thereof4 ,in a marginal note to my ,breeches ,bible1 ,i find these words3--',when ,god by his providence divided the world1 he lent for a time that portion to the ,canaanites1 which should after be an inheritance for all his people ,israel4' ,if this be true1 ,i can only add1 that when ,god reclaimed his loan1 he1 like a modern ,shylock1 took a great quantity of blood as interest for his 'pound of flesh4' ,it does not appear1 anywhere1 that the ,canaanites ever were informed of this strange tenure4 ,instead of holding the land as a loan1 they looked upon it as their country1 but suddenly found 7if the ,bible be correct7 that ,god had 'sent them a strong delusion1 that they might believe a lie4' 7,vide #b ,thessaloni-ans1 chap1 ii41 v4 #aa47 ,verses #ab to #ae4 ,the ,israelites1 according to the ,pentateuch1 never had much of the 'honey1 oil1 butter of kine1 milk of sheep1 fat of lambs1 and rams1 and goats1 and fat of kidneys of wheat1' during the #ij life of ,moses2 on the contrary1 it is alleged that they had no bread1 but fed on manna in lieu of it2 that they were short of water1 and were without flesh meat1 having to substitute a diet of quails4 ,verses #ae and #ag4 ,these verses are remarkable as containing the singular of the plural word ------ 7,aleim1 or ,elohim71 and have given rise to much controversy amongst the learned ,divines1 because it is apparent to even the most prejudiced1 that if the singular word ------ or ------ 7,aloe1 or ,ale71 signifies ',god1' the plural must mean more ,gods than one4 ,verses #ah1 #cj1 and #ca4 ,for the word 'rock1' in these verses1 the ,douay and ,breeches ,bible each have the word ',god4' ,the ,hebrew word is ------ 7tsorem71 which1 ,parkhurst tells me1 is a plural noun1 and 'a name of certain idols1 representative of the heavens1 under the attributes of compressors1 givers of strength or firmness4' ,this would convey an impression that the ,jewish religion was strongly connected with ,tsabaism4 ,verses #bj to #dc4 ,i shall not attempt to comment on the language attributed in these verses to the 'infinite1 immutable1 and merciful ,father of us all2' it is quite sufficient for me to repeat the terrible threat from a ,god of love1 'to devour flesh with his sword1 and to make his arrows drunk with blood2' and that 'the sword without and the terror within shall destroy the young man1 and the virgin1 the suckling1 and the old man with grey hairs4 ,verses #dh to #eb4 ,it is impossible to ascertain what offence was committed by ,moses4 ,in ,numbers1 chap1 xx41 we find that the ,lord threatened to punish ,moses and ,aaron on account of their unbelief2 but it is evident some portion of the ,book must be lost1 as the particular instance of unbelief is not mentioned4 99,chapter xxxiii41 v4 i41 has been noticed on page #f4 ,verse #b4 ',he shined forth from ,mount ,paran4' ,this is an expression more applicable to the sun1 in a ,tsabaistic form of worship2 so also is verse #bf4 ',there is none like the ,god of ,jeshurun1 who rideth upon the heaven1 in thy help1 and in his excellency on the sky4 ,the eternal ,god is thy refuge1 and underneath are the everlasting arms4' ,the ,douay reads1 ',there is no other ,god like the ,god of the lightest2 he that is mounted upon the heaven is thy helper4 ,by his magnificence1 the clouds run hither and thither2 his dwelling is above1 and underneath are the everlasting arms4' ,verse #e4 ,in our version are these words3 ',and he was ,king in ,jeshurun4' ,the ,douay reads1 ',he shall be king with the most right4' ,the ,breeches ,bible has it--',then he was amongst the righteous people as king4' ,simeon is altogether forgotten in this chapter4 ,although it is headed ',the blessings of the twelve tribes1' only eleven are mentioned4 99,chapter xxxiv41 vv4 #a to #d1 identifies the land which ,god swore he would give 7but which he did not give7 to the ,jews for ever4 ,verse #b4 ,which was the 'sea' mentioned here2 it would have required good powers of vision to have seen the ,mediterranean4 ,the following is from the pen of ,dr4 ,giles3-- #ia ',as it is impossible for a writer to relate his own death1 those who maintain that the ,pentateuch is the work of ,moses1 make an exception in favour of the last chapter4 ,dr4 ,gray has the following remarks upon this subject3-- ',the account of the death and burial of ,moses1 and some other seemingly posthumous particulars described in this chapter1 have been reduced to prove that it could not have been written by ,moses2 and1 in all probability1 these circumstances may have been inserted by ,joshua1 to complete the history of this illustrious prophet2 or were afterwards added by ,samuel1 or some prophet who succeeded him4 ,they were admitted by ,ezra as authentic1 and we have no reason to question the fidelity of the account4 ',this language is authoritative and dictatorial4 ,truth1 when questioned1 comes out purer and brighter for the ideal through which it has passed3 whereas error is scorched and withered by the touch of criticism4 ,the chapter before us is admitted by all not to have been written by ,moses4 ,why1 then1 was it ever attached to the ,book of ,moses1 without some strong mark1 to denote that it was only an appendix8 ,it cannot be allowed that ,joshua1 ,samuel1 or ,ezra1 could connive at such a deception4 ,there is internal evidence that neither ,joshua nor ,samuel made this addition to the ,pentateuch2 for the word ,nabi1 rendered in ,english prophet1 indicates an age later than that of ,samuel4 ,we learn from the #ast ,book of ,samuel1 chap1 ix41 v4 #i1 which was written after ,samuel's death1 that he who ',is now called a prophet was before time a seer4 ',if1 therefore1 the xxxiv4 chapter of ,deuteronomy had been written before1 or in the time of ,samuel1 ,moses would have been designated as a seer in ,hebrew1 ,roech1 and not ,nabi1 a prophet4 ,this exculpates both ,joshua and ,samuel from having added to the ,book of ,moses without mark of such addition4 ,there are also other indications in the same chapter that ,joshua could not have written it2 for he would hardly have written of himself that ,joshua the son of ,nun was full of the spirit of wisdom2 neither would he have said1 ,there arose not a prophet since in ,israel like unto ,moses2 for there was no other prophet to whom ,moses could be compared except ,joshua himself4 ,the word since implies that many years had passed since the death of ,moses1 and that many prophets had arisen1 none of whom could be placed in comparison with him who led them out of ,egypt4 ,moreover1 the words1 no man knoweth of his sepulchre--i4e41 the sepulchre of ,moses--unto this day1 are another proof that the chapter was not added by ,joshua1 for they imply that a considerable space of time had elapsed1 during which the sepulchre of ,moses remained unknown4 ,as ,joshua died only twenty-five years after ,moses1 these words coming from his mouth would lose half their force1 and would1 probably1 also convey an untruth2 for we cannot believe that the great ,hebrew legislator was buried clandestinely2 or that ,joshua1 the next in command1 and almost his equal1 could be ignorant where his body was laid4' #ib ,the ,book we have last examined professes in part to be a repetition by ,moses1 of various events mentioned in the previous ,books2 but as there are omissions of former statements1 and additions of statements1 before left unnoticed1 as well as positive disagreements between some portions of the various texts1 we are placed in the position of being compelled to deem one or the other as less worthy of our credence4 ,this is at the best an embarrassing position2 but our embarrassment is increased when we are gravely assured that both statements are from the pen of the same writer4 ,we are tempted to doubt whether in an age when writing was a task of great difficulty 7both from the inferiority of the materials then used1 and the general ignorance of the people71 any man would be likely to indulge in such long repetitions as those here found1 and our inquietude is nowise allayed by the additional assurance that the ,book is a revelation from ,god1 especially when we read the list of terrible curses threatened in his name1 but we feel that it is impossible a revelation from a loving ,god could include the directions for wholesale slaughterings of the human family1 such as contained in this ,book2 or that an immutable ,god could have revealed that he had repented or changed his mind towards his people4 ,there is no feature connected with the ,book of ,deuteronomy which enables us to place it in a better position than the four ',books previously examined2 its historical and educational character stands on the same basis4 ,in quitting the ,pentateuch1 ,i must ask several questions of my readers4 #ast4 ,are you satisfied that ,moses is not its author8 ,i have cone with you carefully through every verse1 and nowhere have we round anything which should induce us to regard ,moses as the author of the first four books2 with regard to a portion of the fifth ,book1 it is possible that a few scattered phrases may lead some to conclude that ,moses might have been its author4 ,but this supposition is dissipated when we ascertain that whatever books of the law the ,jews possessed1 were burnt either prior to1 or during their captivity under the ,persians4 7,see #b ,esdras1 chap1 xiv41 v4 #ba47 ',for thy law is burnt1 therefore no man knoweth the things that are done of thee1 or the works that shall be done4' ,i submit1 therefore1 that there is no evidence whatever to support the hypothesis that ,moses is the author of the ,pentateuch2 against the proposition the evidence assumes a very strong character4 ,there are numerous verses which ,i have specially noticed1 which it is utterly impossible ,moses could have written1 as they relate to events which transpired after his death2 and there are other passages which are very unlikely to have been the product of his pen1 from the mode of reference to himself4 ,there are numerous passages directly contradictory one of the other1 and which compel the belief that more than one man must have been concerned in writing the ,books4 ,the incoherency of many portions of the ,books betrays the fact1 that they have been compiled from various manuscripts1 and that in some passages due attention was not paid by the compiler to the manner in which he joined the different documents4 #ic ,the reference to the book of the wars of the ,lord admits the existence of other documents at the time ,numbers was written2 and the passages referred to on pages #gf and #gg1 are evidence that documents have existed containing more complete accounts of the life and times of ,moses1 than those we are commenting on4 ,bishop ,watson says3-- ',it appears incredible to many that ,god ,almighty should have had colloquial intercourse with our first parents2 that he should have contracted a kind of friendship for the patriarchs1 and entered into covenants with them2 that he should have suspended the laws of nature in ,egypt3 should have been so apparently partial as to become the ,god and governor of one particular nation2 and should have so far demeaned himself as to give to that people a burthensome ritual of worship1 statutes1 and ordinances1 many of which seem to be beneath the dignity of his attention1 unimportant1 and impolitic4 ,i have conversed with many ,deists1 and have always found that the strangeness of these things was the only reason for their disbelief of them3 nothing similar has happened in their time2 they will not therefore admit that these events have really taken place at any time4 ,as well might a child1 when arrived at a state of manhood1 contend that he had never either stood in need1 or experienced the fostering care of a mother's kindness1 the wearisome attention of his nurse1 or the instruction and discipline of his schoolmaster4 ,the ,supreme ,being selected one family from an idolatrous world2 nursed it up by various acts of his providence into a great nation3 communicated to that nation a knowledge of his holiness1 justice1 mercy1 power1 and wisdom2 disseminated them1 at various times1 through every part of the earth1 that they might be a leaven to leaven the whole lump2 that they might assure all other nations of the existence of one ,supreme ,god1 the creator and preserver of the world1 the only proper object of adoration4' ,as an ,atheist1 ,i cannot quite appreciate the analogical character of the argument1 when ,i find ,bishop ,watson comparing the ,deity with a mother1 a nurse1 and a schoolmaster4 ,i cannot understand the maternal care for the children of ,abraham1 who were oppressed in ,egypt1 starved1 plagued1 and slaughtered in the desert of ,sin1 and who never enjoyed a tract of country so large as ,great ,britain in the whole course of their history4 ,the bishop speaks of the ,jews as nursed into a great nation4 ,when was this8 ,if ,god has communicated to the ,jews his 'power and wisdom1' where are the effects shown8 ,what is the common estimate of the ,jews8 ,that they are powerful only as usurers1 wise only in estimating the value of the money which they lend1 and the security they take for it4 ,i do not endorse this estimate1 because ,i know they have produced a few wonderful musicians1 and one or two men wno deserve to be in the front rank of the world's ,freethinkers1 but even ,i confess that the ,jews do not seem to me to be 7or ever to have been7 a great1 powerful1 and wise nation4 ,bishop ,watson says that it is an article of faith among the ,jews that the law was given by ,moses1 and that it is well #id known that the ,jews gave the name of the law to the first five books of the ,old ,testament2 if so1 the 'law' was burnt and forgotten at the time ,ezra wrote1 and no man knew anything about it4 ,but whether the books were written by ,moses1 or by ,ezra1 or whether they were compiled from ,hindoo or ,egyptian originals1 would matter but little to us if they were of the slightest utility to mankind4 ,i will not further object as to the impossibility of their being revealed by ,god4 ,i think ,i have said enough on that point4 ,i now simply ask1 ,why have we ,bible societies for the distribution of ,bibles all over the world8 ,members of the ,peace ,society1 when you subscribe your guineas1 remember the ',book of the ,wars of the ,lord1' remember the command of the ,jewish warriors to 'save alive nothing that breatheth4' ,fathers who wish for truthful sons1 remember the reward of the false and cunning ,jacob1 who cheated the dying ,isaac4 ,daughters1 remember the regulation made for your sale by your parents1 and the careful provision of a pecuniary compensation for your lost virtue1 if the man who buys you becomes weary of his purchase4 ,anti-slavery men1 forget not the godlike text which places a man's liberty on one side1 and his wife and children on the other1 and 7with a refinement of cruelty worthy rather to be from a devil than from a god7 bids him desert his family1 or be a slave for ever2 bear in mind1 also1 the wise protection of the rights of property1 and do not ignore the fact that the servant man or maid is a chattel1 'the money' of his or her master4 ,astronomers1 recollect that the sun was created after the earth1 and that light existed1 and morning and evening1 day and night1 were determined prior to the creation of either sun1 moon1 or stars4 ,geologists1 what shall ,i say to you1 except to bid you shut up your stone books when you open your ,bibles8 ,we have examined five books2 the following is an analysis of their contents3--,genesis relates the history of the world from its creation until the time of ,abraham4 ,this1 according to some ,biblical chronologists1 takes in about #b1jjj years1 but these people do not reckon the seven days 787 in which the earth was made4 ,after the time of ,abraham1 it confines itself to the ,israelitish nation1 whose history it continues to the time of ,joseph1 which1 according to the same chronology1 would bring us down to about a4m4 #bcfi4 ,from this history of the world1 we can learn but little1 except that religion must have commenced its tyrannical reign very early4 ,this is proved by the general depravity of the people--a depravity often resulting from habits of superstition and ignorance4 ,we gather the characters of the founders of the ,jewish nation from ,genesis1 and we then wonder most profoundly4 ,incomprehensibility seems the proper attribute of ,deity2 the preference shown for the descendants of ,abraham is1 undoubtedly1 a matter far beyond our comprehension4 ,we can hardly understand in what points ,abraham was superior to other human beings4 ,his grandson1 ,jacob1 seems to have been decidedly a great rascal1 and his great grandchildren appear much worse than their father1 but it might be that ,god chose them on account of their bad qualities so that the mystery might be more complete4 #ie ,exodus continues the history of the ,jews1 leaving the other nations unnoticed1 except the unfortunate ,egyptian nation1 who suffered a series of terrible punishments at the hands of the ,deity4 ,we may here admire the mercy and loving kindness of the omnipotent and immutable ,ruler of the universe1 as shown in the history of the plagues and drownings of the ,egyptians4 ,this book brings down the history to about a4m4 #beej4 ,the chronologists slightly differ as to the exact date4 ,leviticus is limited almost wholly to legislative enactments4 ,the purpose of many of the laws is not at all clear4 ,no moral or physical evil is apparently likely to result from eating an eel1 yet eels are prohibited as articles of food4 ,the whole of ,leviticus may be disregarded without loss in an historical point of view1 and of its statutes we can but say1 that many of them are better honoured by neglect than by observance4 ,numbers professes to contain the history of the ,jews during about thirty-nine years1 taking in that period of the wanderings in the wilderness1 from about b4c4 #adea to b4c4 #adij4 ,these dates1 as the former ones1 are purely hypothetical1 and have their chief foundation in the credulity of the people and the holiness of the priests4 ,from this book we may learn1 very decidedly1 that ',god's ways are not as our ways4' ,now1 a thirsty man would ask for water1 and if he were placed in a position where water was inaccessible1 he would complain1 and most men would hold that his complaints were just1 and it would be regarded as a case of considerable hardship if the man should happen to be punished by the civil magistrate merely because he complained4 ,then1 a thirsty people asked for water1 and were severely punished by their merciful and immutable ,father4 ,now1 a wizard at ,leeds is imprisoned for eighteen months1 with hard labour1 because the laws1 the ,church1 the jury1 and the judge all disbelieve in his power to work miracles4 ,then1 the omniscient and omnipotent ,deity acknowledged the power of the wizard of ,pethor to work miracles1 and1 wishing to prevent a curse from falling on the ,israelites1 the angel of the ,lord was sent1 who made himself known to the wizard's donkey1 and stopped the wizard's journey4 ,the wizard lost his temper1 and then1 like many other enraged men1 became as complete an ass as the animal he rode1 and also perceived the angel4 ,numbers contains some ceremonial laws which ,i think have been already sufficiently adverted to4 ,deuteronomy carries the history of the ,jews on to the death of ,moses1 but only includes a very short period of time--viz41 about twelve months4 ,its length is caused by the repetitions of many parts of the previous books4 ,its chief merit is1 that it disagrees where it professes to reiterate1 and as of two contradictory statements1 one must be false1 it requires considerable stretching ol the mental faculties to accept both as true4 ,the following chronological table of the chief events in the ,pentateuch may prove interesting to my readers4 ,its accuracy is not vouched1 but it is acknowledged by many ,biblical scholars3-- #if ,b4,c4 #djjd4 ,the world created--,adam made4 #cdag4 ,methusalem born4 #cjgd4 ,adam died4 #cjdh4 ,noah born4 #bddh4 ,the ,flood4 #bjic4 ,noah died4 #aiba4 ,abraham went down into ,egypt4 #agjf4 ,jacob's family settled in ,egypt4 #adia4 ,the ,israelites were led out of ,egypt4 #adeb4 ,moses died4 ,there are many other matters in the ,pentateuch to which attention might be usefully drawn1 but my space is limited2 and even with the present mode of treatment1 it will be difficult to compress the whole of my work so as to present it as a cheap volume4 ,i am aware that some of my readers will not approve of those criticisms which serve to make apparent the many absurdities of the text1 still1 ,i trust that all will admit that in no case have ,i misquoted or misconstrued a passage for the purpose of gaining a temporary effect4 ,i have written as ,i have thought1 and my fervent wish is1 that my writing may be examined1 and if proved true1 that each word may have power1 like an axe1 to hew down the ,upas tree1 which1 while it poisons the mind and destroys the freethought of the child1 yet claims to be the guide and educator of the man4 #ig ,,book ,,vi4 ,,joshua ,it is alleged by many that this book was written by ,joshua1 and that there is internal evidence of that fact4 ,dr4 ,giles has very fully discussed this subject in pages #aec to #afd of his ',hebrew ,records1' to which ,i refer my readers4 ,it is clear that the book1 as a whole1 was not written by ,joshua2 and1 as ,i cannot find anything enabling me to discover the author1 it must be criticised in the same manner as other anonymous writings4 99,chapter ii41 v4 #ad4 ,the command to save alive nothing that breatheth is soon set at nought4 ,here is a covenant made by the spies with a ,canaanitish woman2 this covenant is afterwards confirmed by ,joshua in direct opposition to the commands of ,god1 given through ,moses4 7,see chap1 vi41 vv4 #bb and #bc1 and ,deuteronomy1 chap1 vii41 vv4 #b and #c47 ,by ,matthew1 chap4 ,l1 v4 #e1 it would appear that ,rahab was married to ,salmon1 so that three of ,god's ordinances are here broken2 first1 in sparing the lives of herself and family1 second1 in making a covenant with her1 third1 in marrying her4 ,from this lady we derive ,david and all the succeeding kings4 99,chapter iv41 v4 #g4 ',these stones shall be a memorial unto the children of ,israel for ever4' ,where are they now8 ,it would be some evidence in support of the genuineness of this pretended history of the ,jews if these twelve stones could be shown4 ,it is no answer that the ravages of time1 or other adverse circumstances1 may have removed them4 ,these stones were to be a memorial 'for ever4' ,verse #i4 ',and ,joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of ,jordan1 in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood1 and they are there unto this day6 ,if the stones had not been there a long time1 the writer of the book would not have used such an expression4 ,it would have been in no wise remarkable that the twelve stones1 or pillar1 should have stood forty or fifty years1 but the writer means that they had stood #ejj1 or perhaps #ajjj years4 ,verse #ac4 ,if this means that the whole of the fighting men of the ,jews numbered only #dj1jjj1 they must have sadly dwindled away1 as in ,numbers1 chap4 i41 vv4 #c and #df1 they are stated at #fjc1eej4 ,verse #bc4 ',for the ,lord your ,god dried up the waters of the ,jordan from before you as the ,lord your ,god did to the ,red ,sea1 which he dried up from before us until we were passed over1' yet in chap1 v41 v4 #d1 we are told that all the people that came out of ,egypt died in the wilderness4 99,chapter v41 v4 #a4 ',until we were passed over4' ,bishop ,tomline remarks on this passage3-- ',the use of the word we proves that this book was written by ,joshua1 or by some one else alive at the time4 ',this inference is obvious1 and cannot be objected to if it can be shown that the words of the text1 until ,,we were passed over1 are #ih a correct translation of the corresponding words in the original ,hebrew ,bible4 ,this1 however1 is not the case4 ,the passage before us is one of the parts of the ,bible which has been corrupted by time1 and the error has arisen in the present instance from the great similarity between the ,hebrew words1 ------ ,aberanoo1 we passed over1 and ------ ,abekoom1 he caused them to pass over4 ,these words are very similar1 and though the common text of the ,hebrew ,bible now reads ,aberanoo1 which gives the sense of we passed over1 yet this was not the old reading of the passage1 but ,aberoom1 he i4e41 ,god caused them to pass over1 and among the various readings of the text ,aberoom actually is found3 but the ,hebrew letter -- has been carelessly divided into two letters1 -- vau and -- nun1 by the copyist1 and the translators of the ,bible1 not perceiving the error1 and perhaps tempted to make a choice which tended to attach to the book the value of a contemporary record1 have given the passage that interpretation which has misled so many critics and on which is built so fallacious a theory4 ',that the error is such as ,i described it1 and consequently that the theory built upon it is fallacious1 must inevitably result from the accuracy of our present statement1 which becomes almost a matter of certainty from the concurrence of the ,septuagint and ,vulgate translations4 ',in the ,german translations of the ,bible the error has been corrected1 and the proper reading of the word restored4 ',it appears1 then1 that this passage1 which has been made the basis for the belief that the ,book of ,joshua is a contemporary writing1 has been incorrectly translated in our common ,english ,bibles1 and consequently the opinion built upon it must fall to the ground4' ,verse #i4 ,on page #ce is quoted ,voltaire's criticism on this text1 ',i have rolled away the reproach of ,egypt from off you4' ,it is evident that it refers to the circumcision1 which was an established ceremony amongst the ,egyptians from the earliest ages4 ,verses #ac to #ae4 ,in what manner shall ,i comment on these verses8 ,shall ,i gravely reason upon the improbability of 'a man with a drawn sword' being the 'captain of the ,lord's host8' ,shall ,i venture to doubt whether the captain of the ,lord's host would come to ,joshua for the mere purpose of telling him to take off his shoes1 or ought ,i not rather at once to class these verses with such tales as ',aladdin's ,lamp1' and others of a like character1 dismissing them as unworthy of further criticism8 99,chapter vi4 relates the miraculous falling down of the walls of the city of ,jericho4 ,one of two courses must be pursued when reading it2 either the reader must discard the evidence presented by his senses1 and1 without reasoning1 blindly accept the story1 or he will be compelled at once to reject it as absurd4 ,i have read of the destruction of a suspension bridge1 or bridge of boats1 in consequence of vibration1 produced by the marching across1 in regular time1 of a large body of men1 but ,i am inclined to think that all the ,jews in the world might march round ,jericho until they were sorely fatigued1 and yet have but #ii little effect on its walls4 ,walls are more likely to tumble down by pushing against them than by shouting at them4 ,it is almost to be regretted that our ,christian friends did not try the experiment at ,sebastopol2 if it had succeeded1 it would have struck all the world with astonishment4 ',chap1 vii41 v4 #a to end4 ,among many nations in their rude infancy1 and while gross and barbarous ideas prevailed1 it has been held that sin or offence1 particularly if of an aggravated kind1 against the gods or the nearest relationships amongst men could never be pardoned4 ,the ,nemesis must be satisfied2 but satisfaction was often obtained from the innocent1 who were made the objects of vengeance instead of the guilty4 ,the ancient ,hebrews participated in these notions of other uncultivated nations1 hence their ideas of visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children1 of the ,israelitish army defeated on account of ,achan1 etc4 ,this idea was greatly encouraged by the ,levitical priests1 whose interests were promoted by it1 and by the practice of sacrifices1 which was founded upon the assumption of vicariousness and expiation4 ,this idea also became thoroughly interwoven with the theocratical institution of the ,jews1 the worship of their sanctuary1 their hymns1 and the poetry of their prophets4 ',verse #bf4 ,and they raised over him ,achan a great heap of stones unto this day4 ,so the ,lord turned from the fierceness of his anger ,wherefore the name of that place was called the valley of ,achor unto this day4 ',chap1 viii41 vv4 #bh1 #bi4 ,and ,joshua burnt ,ai1 and made it an heap for ever1 even a desolation unto this day4 ,and the ,king of ,ai he ,joshua hanged on a tree until eventide4 ,and as soon as the sun was down1 ,joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree1 and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city1 and raise thereon a great heap of stones1 that remaineth unto this day4' ',the words1 that remaineth1 do not occur in the original ,hebrew2 they have been added by the translators to make the sense complete4 ,the only inference which both these last quoted passages carry with them concerning the age when they were written is that it was a very long time after the death of ,achan in the first text1 and of the ,king of ,ai in the second4 ,a similar inference is deduced from the verse which follows3-- ',chap1 ix41 v4 #bg4 ,and ,joshua made them the ,gibeonites that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the ,lord1 even unto this day1 in the place which he should choose4 ',the place which the ,lord should choose was finally ,jerusalem1 and1 if the words were written in the later period of the ,israelitish government1 the ,lord had already chosen ,jerusalem to be the site of his temple and the place of his worship4 ',chap1 x41 v4 #a4 ,now it came to pass when ,adonizedec1 ,king of ,jerusalem1 had heard how ,joshua had taken ,ai1 and had utterly destroyed it1 etc4 ',this chapter is full of names that did not exist until many years #ajj afterwards1 some more1 some less4 ,bethhoron1 mentioned at verse #aj1 was built by an ,israelitish lady after the conquest1 as we learn from #a ,chron4 vii41 #bc1 #bd3-- ',and when he ,ephraim went in to his wife1 she conceived1 and bare a son1 and he called his name ,beriah1 because it went evil with his house4 ,and his daughter was ,sherah1 who built ,bethhoron the nether and the upper1 and ,uzzen-,sherah4 ',the comparison of these texts involves an anachronism4 ,sherah was only the fourth in descent from ,jacob1 thus3--,joseph1 ,ephraim1 ,beriah1 ,sherah4 ,if the ,israelites remained #dcj years in ,egypt1 as appears from several texts of ,scripture1 it is impossible that only one generation1 ,beriah1 could have intervened between ,ephraim1 who was a child when ,jacob went down into ,egypt1 and ,sherah1 who built ,bethhoron4 ',chap1 x41 vv4 #ac1ad4 ,and the sun stood still1 and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies4 ,is not this written in the ,book of ,jasher8 ,so the sun stood still in the midst of heaven1 and hasted not to go down about a whole day4 ,and there was no day like that before it or after it1 that the ,lord hearkened unto the voice of a man3 for the ,lord fought for ,israel4 ',here we obtain a fact that bears with great force upon our present argument4 ,the writer of the ,book of ,joshua quotes an earlier work1 to which he refers his readers1 for a more full account of the miracle which he records--namely1 the arresting the sun and moon in their flight that the ,israelites might be avenged on their enemies4 ,it is impossible to conceive that ,joshua himself1 who wrought that miracle1 could have referred his readers to another book1 in which a better account of it was to be found4 ,it is far more likely that a compiler in a later age finding this miraculous event well described in a book still popular in his time1 called the ,book of ,jasher1 should have referred his readers to that book for further information4 ',but this is not the only observation elicited by the mention made of the ,book of ,jasher in this place4 ,the same work is quoted in #b ,sam4 i41 #ag1 #ah3-- ',and ,david lamented with this lamentation over ,saul and over ,jonathan1 his son4 ,also he bade them teach the children of ,judah the use of the bow2 behold it is written in the ,book of ,jasher4 ',here we learn that the ,book of ,jasher contains the narrative of ,king ,david teaching his subjects the use of archery in war4 ,the ,book of ,jasher was1 therefore1 written in or after the reign of ,david2 and the ,book of ,joshua1 which quotes the ,book of ,jasher1 must have been written later still4' ,whether these verses were written by ,joshua1 or ,jasher1 or by some other equally reliable personage1 nothing can save them from condemnation as being absurd in the extreme4 ,paine observes3-- ',this tale of the sun standing still upon ,mount ,gibeon1 and the moon in the valley of ,ajalon1 is one of those fables that detects itself4 ,such a circumstance could not have happened without being known all over the world4 ,one half would have wondered why the sun did #aja not rise1 and the other why it did not set1 and the tradition of it would be universal1 whereas there is not a nation in the world that knows anything about it4 ,but why must the moon stand still8 ,what occasion could there be for moonlight in the day time1 and that1 too1 whilst the sun shined8 ,as a poetical figure the whole is well enough2 it is akin to that in the song of ,deborah and ,barah4 ,the stars in their courses1 fought against ,sisera2 but it is inferior to the figurative declaration of ,mahomet to the person who came to expostulate with him on his goings on3--,wert thou1 said he1 to come to me with the sun in thy right hand and the moon in thy left1 it should not alter my career4 ,for ,joshua to have exceeded ,mahomet1 he should have put the sun and moon one in each pocket1 and carried them as ,guy ,fawkes carried his dark lanthorn1 and taken them out to shine as he might happen to want them4 ',the sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly related that it is difficult to class them separately4 ,one step above the sublime makes the ridiculous1 and one step above the ridiculous makes the sublime again2 the account1 however1 abstracted from the poetical fancy shows the ignorance of ,joshua1 for he should have commanded the earth to have stood still4' ,verse #ad4 ',the time implied by the expression after it1 that is1 after that day being put in comparison with all the time that passed before it1 must1 in order to give any expressive signification to the passage1 mean a great length of time4 ,for example1 it would have been ridiculous to have said to the next day1 or the next week1 or the next month1 or the next year2 to give1 therefore1 meaning to the passage comparative to the wonder it relates1 and the prior time it alludes to it1 must mean centuries of years2 less1 however1 than one would be trifling1 and less than two would be barely admissible4' ,it is not true1 as stated in verse #ad1 that there was no day before or after that the ,lord hearkened unto the voice of a man4 ,the ,lord before hearkened unto ,abraham 7vide ,genesis1 chap1 xviii41 vv4 #bc to #cb71 and unto ,moses 7,exodus1 chap1 xxxii41 vv4 #aa to #ad2 ,numbers1 chap1 xi41 vv4 #aa to #bc2 chap1 xiv41 vv4 #ac to #bj74 ,after1 the ,lord hearkened unto ,samson 7,judges1 chap1 xvi41 v4 #bh71 to ,david 7#a ,samuel1 ehap4 xxiii41 vv4 #b to #ab74 ,verse #bf4 ,the ,king of ,hebron is slain and hanged in this verse1 and afterwards slain again in verse #cg4 ,in the foot note to the ,douay it is alleged that this was a second king1 but the explanation is not correct1 as only one ,king of ,hebron was slain by ,joshua 7vide chap4 xii41 v4 #aj74 ',the burial place of the five kings was marked out to posterity by a lasting monument--a heap of stones which ,joshua caused to be placed over the cave where they were buried4 ',verse #bg4 ',and it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun1 that ,joshua commanded1 and they took them down off the trees1 and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid1 and laid great stones in the cave's mouth1 which remain until this very day8 99,chapter xi41 v4 #f4 ',thou shalt hough 7or hamstring7 their horses #ajb and burn their chariots with fire4' ,will any man attempt to defend this as a command from the ,deity to ,joshua8 ,is it consistent that the eternal omnipotent and merciful ,creator of all things should order harmless and unoffending animals to be cruelly and inhumanly maltreated8 ,we are sometimes told that the ,canaanites were murdered because they were idolaters1 but surely their horses took no part in the worship of ,moloch or of ,baal4 99,chapter xiv41 #ad4 ',hebron therefore became the inheritance of ,caleb1 the son of ,jephunneh1 the ,kenezite1 unto this day1 because that he wholly followed the ,lord ,god of ,israel4 ,and the name of ,hebron before was ,kirjath-,arba2 which ,arba was a great man among the ,anakims2 and the land had rest from war4 7,see chap1 xv41 #ac to #ai47 ',every part of this verse shows a later writer and a later age4 ,the city had lost its ancient name of ,kirjath-,arba1 and was known by the name of ,hebron3 it had become the inheritance of ,caleb1 by which is implied that ,caleb was dead1 and his descendants were in possession of it1 until this day--i4e41 for a great length of time4 ,and this is further confirmed by the concluding words1 ,and the land had rest from war4 ,the war of the invasion was over1 and the children of ,israel had quiet possession of the country when the ,book of ,joshua was written4 ',chap1 xv41 #h--aj4 ,and the border went up the valley of the son of ,hinnom unto the south side of the ,jebusite2 the same is ,jerusalem3 and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of ,hinnom westward1 which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward3 and the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of ,nephtoah1 and went out to the cities of ,mount ,ephron2 and the border was drawn to ,baalah1 which is ,kirjath-jearim3 and the border compassed from ,baalah westward unto ,mount ,seir1 and passed along unto the side of ,mount ,jearim1 which is ,chesalon1 on the north side1 and went down to ,beth-shemesh1 and passed onto ,timnah4 ',the observations concerning the anachronisms which occur in the names of places1 apply in all their force to this passage2 we have three distinct places here mentioned1 each of them designated both by its ancient and modern appellation1 ,jebusi1 ,jerusalem--,baalah1 ,kirjath-jearim--,mount ,jearim1 ,chesalon4 ,we know1 also1 that ,jebusi did not receive the name of ,jerusalem until the reign of ,david1 proving that the book in which the word ,jerusalem occurs was not written until the reign of ,david1 or that1 if written before that time1 it has since been interpolated4 ,of these two probabilities the former is the stronger3 because we find it confirmed by the last verse of the same chapter3-- ',chap1 xv41 #fc4 ,as for the ,jebusites1 the inhabitants of ,jerusalem1 the children of ,judah could not drive them out3 but the ,jebusites dwell with the children of ,judah at ,jerusalem unto this day4 ',it has been asserted that these words can apply only to the few years which immediately followed the death of ,joshua2 for1 say the commentators1 the ,jebusites were then driven out1 as we read the account in ,judges i41 #g1 #h4 ,we shall find1 on inquiry1 that they were #ajc not then driven out2 at least1 it is not so stated in ,judges i41 #g1 #h1 nor can any such meaning be inferred from the narrative there contained4' ',in the #ast chapter of ,judges1 the writer1 after announcing the death of ,joshua1 proceeds to tell what happened between the children of ,judah and the native inhabitants of the land of ,canaan4 ,in this statement1 the writer1 having abruptly mentioned ,jerusalem in the seventh verse1 says immediately after1 in the eighth verse1 by way of explanation1 ,now the children of ,judah had fought against ,jerusalem1 and had taken it3 consequently1 this book could not have been written before ,jerusalem had been taken4 ,in the quotation just made from the #aeth chapter of ,joshua1 verse #fc1 it is said1 that the ,jebusitea dwell with the children of ,judah at ,jerusalem unto this day1 meaning the time when the ,book of ,joshua was written4 ',the evidence ,i have already produced1 to prove that the books ,i have hitherto treated of were not written by the persons to whom they are ascribed1 nor till many years after their death1 if such persons ever lived1 is already so abundant1 that ,i can afford to admit this passage with less weight than ,i am entitled to draw from it4 ,for the case is1 that so far as the ,bible can be credited as a history1 the city of ,jerusalem was not taken till the time of ,david2 and consequently1 that the ,books of ,joshua and of ,judges were not written till after the commencement of the reign of ,david1 which was #cgj years after the death of ,joshua4 ',the name of the city that was afterwards called ,jerusalem1 was originally ,jebus or ,jebusi1 and was the capital of the ,jebusites4 ,the account of ,david's taking this city is given in #b ,samuel1 chap1 v41 v4 #d1 etc2 also in #a ,chron41 chap1 xiv41 v4 #d1 etc4 ,there is no mention in any part of the ,bible that it was ever taken before1 nor any account that favours such an opinion4 ,it is not said1 either in ,samuel or in the ,chronicles1 that they utterly destroyed men1 women1 and children2 that they left not a soul to breathe1 as is said of their other conquests2 and the silence here observed implies that it was taken by capitulation1 and that the ,jebusites1 the native inhabitants1 continued to live in the place after it was taken4 ,the account1 therefore1 given in ,joshua1 that the ,jebusites dwell with the children of ,judah at ,jerusalem unto this day1 corresponds to no other time than after the taking the city by ,david4' ',chap1 xix41 #dg4 ,and the coast of the children of ,dan went out too little for them2 therefore the children of ,dan went up to fight against ,leshem called ,laish in ,judges1 chap1 xviii41 v4 #bi1 and took it and smote it with the edge of the sword1 and possessed it and dwelt therein6 and called ,leshem ,dan1 after the name of ,dan1 their father4 ',this is the same affair which is related in detail in the #ahth chapter of ,judges4 ,according to the chronology given in the margin of our ,bibles1 and generally received by the learned1 this happened about thirty years after the death of ,joshua4 ,the anachronism is explained in the following manner by the editors of the ,family ,bible1 quoting from ,bishop ,patrick and ,shuckford3-- ',it is supposed that ,ezra1 or some other1 thought good in aftertimes #ajd to insert this verse here1 in order to complete the account of the ,danites' possession4 ',if this be received as sound criticism1 history will truly be brought down to a level with the most worthless pastimes that man can choose for his amusement3 it will be1 literally1 no better than an almanack1 which is altered year by year to adapt it to the existing state of things4 ,if the ,book of ,joshua were indeed the work of the great man whose name it bears1 no later historian would have ventured to impair its value by adding to or detracting from its contents4 7 ,vide ,hebrew ,records and ,age of ,reason7 99,chapter xxi41 v4 #cf4 ,in the ,douay another city1 ',misor1' is named1 but as this would make five cities instead of four1 as mentioned in verse #cg1 our orthodox translators have discreetly omitted ',misor' from the list4 ,verses #dc-e4 ',and the ,lord gave unto ,israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers2 and they possessed it1 and dwelt therein4 ,and the ,lord gave them rest round about1 according to all that he sware unto their fathers3 and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them2 the ,lord delivered all their enemies into their hand4 ,there failed not ought of any good thing which the ,lord had spoken unto the house of ,israel2 all came to pass4' ,these verses are decidedly incorrect4 ,the ,israelites did not get all the promised land1 they did not have rest round about1 their enemies did stand before them1 and in many places defeated them2 the ,lord did not deliver all their enemies into their hands1 and much failed which the ,lord had promised4 99,chapter xxii41 v4 #h4 ,according to chap1 vi41 ,achan was stoned to death for the very act now recommended by ,joshua to the whole of the people--i4e41 preserving and keeping raiment1 etc41 taken from the enemy4 ,verse #bb4 ',the ,lord ,god of ,gods4' ,lord of what ,gods8 ,is not this similar to the mythology with ,jove as the chief of ,gods8 ,the ,jews1 as has been before observed1 were clearly ,polytheists1 recognising a variety of gods1 but claiming the chief place for the ,god of ,israel4 99,chapter xxiii41 v4 #f4 ',book of the law of ,moses4' ,see remarks on page #hf4 ,verse #ab4 ,although ,joshua is here cautioning the people against the consequences which will result from intermarrying with the ,canaanites1 yet he allowed ,rahab and her family to marry and settle amongst the ,israelites4 ,verse #ad4 ',behold1 this day ,i am going the way of all the earth4' ,not one word is said about heaven or hell1 not a hint that after his death he expects to live again1 no expression of hope that he may reach heaven1 and there enjoy eternal happiness1 no thought about his soul4 ,he does not refer to it in any way1 so that it is quite evident that if there be a future state of happiness and misery1 ,joshua knew nothing of it1 yet ,joshua was a favoured individual2 he had personally seen the ',captain of the ,lord's host1' and ought to have known much about #aje heavenly things4 ,our translators felt the want of this spiritual feeling1 and have put into ,joshua's mouth the words1 ',your souls4' ,joshua1 however1 never uttered these words4 ,the verse reads1 ',ye shall know1 in all your hearts and in all your souls2' the ,douay more correctly translates the same passage1 ',you shall know with all your mind4' ,it simply means1 ',ye shall be in no doubt2 but shall thoroughly know and understand4' ,none of the books we have examined contain the slightest reference to an immortal soul outliving the body1 and responsible for the acts committed during the body's life4 7,see pages #fh and #hh74 99,chapter xxiv41 vv4 #b and #c4 ,what flood is this8 ,in verse #c1 the ,douay1 instead of saying that ,abraham came from the 'other side of the flood1' substitutes the words1 'from the borders of ,mesopotamia4' ,we are here informed1 for the first time1 that ,terah1 the father of ,abraham1 was an idolator2 but we cannot ascertain how ,joshua obtained his knowledge4 ,if from other books they are lost1 together with ',jasher1' and the ',book of the ,wars of the ,lord4' ,verses #ab and #ac4 ,if these verses are true1 all the preceding accounts of the wars of the ,israelites must be false1 as we are repeatedly told of their battles1 and hard labours1 and struggles1 to obtain the land4 ,verse #ai4 ,moses said1 that ,god kept 'mercy for thousands1 forgiving iniquity1 transgression1 and sin4' ,joshua says of ,god3 ',he is a jealous ,god2 he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins4' ,verses #bi and #cj4 ,dr4 ,giles thus comments3-- ',if ,joshua died at the age of #aaj years1 and his death is recorded in the ,book which passes by his name1 we need no further proof1 that this book could not have been written until after ,joshua was dead4 ,but this limitation of its origin1 to some period after the death of ,joshua1 must be still further qualified2 for in the next verse of the same chapter we read as follows3-- ',chap1 xxiv41 v4 #ca4 ,and ,israel served the ,lord all the days of ,joshua1 and all the days of the elders that over-lived ,joshua1 and which had known all the works of the ,lord1 that he had done for ,israel4 ',how could ,joshua write1 that ,israel served the ,lord a long time after he was dead1 nay1 after all those who out-lived him were dead also8 ,if some later writer1 as ,samuel or ,ezra1 inserted all these additions to the original work of ,joshua1 he would certainly have not done so in a clandestine or covert manner2 but with a note attached1 that so far is the work of ,joshua1 and the continuation is by a later hand4 ,even the monkish chroniclers have displayed this species of common honesty2 for we always1 or nearly always1 find a mark attached to those passages1 which begin the writing of a new author3 ',hactenus dominus ,radulfus scripsit ,chronica1 etc4 ',so far is the ,chronicle of ,master ,ralph1 etc4 ',or1 ,explicit dominus ,rogerus1 incipit dominus ,matthaeus1 etc4 ',here ends ,master ,rogers1 of ,wendover1 and ,master ,matthew ,paris begins4 #ajf ',even the supposition of these additions1 made by later writers1 goes far towards a concession of the fact1 which ,i would establish--namely1 that we have not the ,hebrew writings in their original state2 but that they are a compilation1 put together after the nation had returned with fresh lights1 and a fresh intellectual impetus from ,babylon4' ,verse #cc4 ,phineas was a ,levite1 and the ,levites were forbidden to have any inheritance in the land2 in what manner1 therefore1 did ,phineas become entitled to this hill8 ,this ,book of ,joshua simply claims to be a relation of the adventures of the ,jews under the leadership of ,joshua4 ,it has evidently been written very long after the occurrences it alleges to have taken place2 and the writer must have either compiled from other writings1 or from oral tradition2 if from the latter1 which is the more probable hypothesis1 it will1 perhaps1 account for the anti-astronomical phenomenon1 related in chapter x41 and for the falling down of the walls of ,jericho1 and similar absurdities4 ,by tradition1 facts are exaggerated and distorted1 especially where the people are uneducated ana superstitious4 ,as a history it is of little value1 as a romance it is of less2 it affords but poor amusement1 and nought of instruction to peruse the account of the wars of the ,jews4 ,a man of martial disposition may feel a degree of interest and pleasure in reading the accounts of the struggles for freedom of a ,tell1 a ,washington1 a ,hampden1 or even of the terrific battles under a ,napoleon or a ,wellington2 but of these ,jews1 whose best fighting was but a sham1 who were cowards at heart2 who only fought well when the ,lord had paralysed the arms of their enemies2 who took credit for victories1 which the 'hornet' had won for them2 who were merciless scoundrels when victorious1 and pitiable poltroons when defeated2 who fought not in defence of their own land1 but to rob their fellow men of their native homes2 ,i say1 reading of these1 a true man feels disgust and sorrow2 disgust at the horrible cruelties related2 sorrow that men should have been so ignorant as to imagine that the butcheries took place under the supervision of a ,god of love4 ,bishop ,watson1 in his fourth letter1 in reply to ,paine's remarks on ,joshua1 writes as follows3-- ',you make yourself merry with what you call the tale of the sun standing still upon ,mount ,gibeon1 and the moon in the valley of ,ajalon2 and you say1 that the story detects itself2 because there is not a nation in the world that knows anything about it4 ,how can you expect that there should1 when there is not a nation in the world whose annals reach this era by many hundred years8 ,it happens1 however1 that you are probably mistaken as to the fact3 a confused tradition concerning this miracle and a similar one in the time of ,ahaz1 when the sun went back ten degrees1 had been preserved among one of the most ancient nations1 as we are informed by one of the most ancient historians4 ,herodotus1 in his ,euterpe1 speaking of the ,egyptian priests1 says3--,they told me1 that the sun four times deviated from his course2 having twice risen where he uniformly goes down1 and twice gone down where he uniformly rises4' #ajg ,the ,bishop is somewhat incorrect in his criticism4 ',there is not 7he says7 a nation in the world whose annals reach this era by many hundred years4' ,this is simply untrue4 ,the alleged date of this pretended miracle is variously stated2 but it may be taken at the outside at about #c1ejj years ago4 ,the ,hindus claim to carry their annals back millions of years1 and ,sir ,william ,jones1 after a fair criticism1 confesses that he traces back the ,indian monarchy to a period upwards of #c1hjj years from the present time1 and admits an age of #c1jjj years for the ,vedas1 or sacred writings4 ,the age of the xajur ,veda1 one of the sacred ,hindu books1 is carried to a period prior to the alleged date of the birth of ,moses4 ,the chronicles of ,iran 7,persia7 claim at least an equal antiquity2 in fact1 the same learned and careful author1 speaking on this subject1 says3--',if we can rely on evidence1 which appears unexceptionable1 the ,iranian monarchy must have been the oldest in the world4' ,the ,tartar's 'genuine traditional history' commences #d1gjj years ago4 ,the ,arabian monarchy is traceable back #c1fjj years4 ,we have a book of the ,chinese1 entitled ',shuking1' containing the annals of that empire1 commencing upwards of #d1ajj years from this date4 ,foh1 or ,foni1 is alleged to have given laws to the ,chinese #d1cjj years ago4 ,we have their poetry admittedly #c1jjj years of age1 and professedly of a much more ancient date4 ,a very learned member of the ,asiatic ,society1 who investigated the astronomical computations of the ,hindus1 as given in an ancient treatise 7the ,surya ,siddhanta71 allows it to contain astronomical observations extending over #g1bjj years1 a period of upwards of #d1hjj years of which has passed since the birth of one of their most famous astronomers4 ,this will be sufficient to dispose of the ,bishop's first assertion4 ,his second1 as to the quotation from ,herodotus1 fares no better4 ,the four deviations spoken of1 by the ,egyptian priests1 do not correspond to the two alleged miracles1 and ,paine's argument as quoted on page #ajj of this work1 remains unanswered4 ,,book ,,vii4 ,,judges ',the ,book of ,judges is anonymous on the face of it2 and therefore1 even the pretence is wanting to call it the word of ,god2 it has not so much as a nominal voucher3 it is altogether fatherless4 ',this book begins with the same expression as the ,book of ,joshua4 ,that of ,joshua begins 7chap1 i41 v4 #a7--,now after the death of ,moses1 etc42 and this of ,judges begins--,now after the death of ,joshua1 etc4 ,this1 and the similarity of style between the two books1 indicate that they are the work of the same author2 but who he was is altogether unknown2 the only point that the book proves is1 that the author lived long after the time of ,joshua2 for though it begins as if it followed immediately after his death1 the second chapter is an epitome1 or abstract1 of the whole book1 which1 according to the ,bible #ajh chronology1 extends its history through a space of #cjf years--that is1 from the death of ,joshua1 #adbf years before ,christ1 to the death of ,sampson1 #aabj years before ,christ1 and only twenty-five years before ,saul went to seek his father's asses1 and was made king 7the chronology of this book has been a matter of much debate2 and it is stated by various chronologers with very serious difference74 ,but there is good reason to believe1 that it was not written till the time of ,david at least2 and that the ,book of ,joshua was not written before the same time4' 7 ,vide ',age of ,reason'74 99,chapter i41 w4 #g and #h1 have been noticed on page #ajc4 ,verses #i to #ae4 ,these verses are a mere repetition of ,joshua1 chap4 xv41 w4 #ac to #ai4 ,verse #af4 ,who were the ,kenites8 ,we read in ,exodus1 that the father-in-law of ,moses was a priest of ,midian1 and by ,numbers we learn1 that ,moses had an ,ethiopian 7query ,egyptian7 wife4 ,a ,kenite may be a ,midianite1 or an ,ethiopian1 or1 as in the case of the ,trinity1 all three may be one4 ,by this verse they appear to be settled in ,judah1 south of ,arad1 while by chap1 iv41 vv4 #aa and #ag1 they are in the north by ,napthali4 ,verse #ag has been noticed on page #gb4 ,verse #ai4 ,as the verse stands1 it is flatly contradicted in ,mark1 chap1 x41 v4 #bg4 ,a devout believer in the omnipotence of the ,deity would doubtless wonder how chariots of iron could form serious obstacles to the attainment of any object by ,judah1 when the ,lord was fighting for ,judah4 ,the ,septuagint renders the verse somewhat differently4 99,chapter ii41 vv4 #a to #e4 ,this visit of the angel of the ,lord from his residence at ,gilgal does not seem to have been attended with any good result2 the ,jews wept1 but they must have shed what are commonly known as crocodiles' tears4 ,verses #f to #aj ,these verses are simply repetitions of verses #bh to #ca1 of the last chapter of ,joshua1 and are inserted here in a confused manner1 having no connection with the earlier or later verses of he chapter4 ,the whole of this chapter is confused and incoherent4 ,verse #bb contradicts the attribute of foreknowledge1 commonly ascribed to ,deity4 99,chapter iii41 v4 #a4 ',these are the nations which the ,lord had left4' ,that is1 we are told1 that the ,lord spared the ,canaanites1 or rather a portion of them1 'to prove the ,israelites4' ,the omniscient ,deity could hardly have needed to prove his people1 as he must have known what course of conduct they would pursue4 ,to ordinary readers the matter is surrounded with difficulty4 ,god had originally issued a series of loving commands with reference to these ,canaanites2 one was1 ',spare alive nothing that breatheth4' ,the ,jews might well imagine that1 as ,god had abandoned this portion of the commandments without special directions as to the others1 that they 7the ,jews7 were at liberty to make treaties with the ,canaanites1 and marry amongst them4 #aji ,verse #c4 ',all the ,canaanites4' ,this is not true4 ,the inhabitants of ,jericho and ,ai were ,canaanites1 and these were 'utterly destroyed4' ,verses #ae to #bf4 ,the ,douay says1 that 'what ,ehud1 who was judge and chief magistrate of ,israel1 did on this occasion1 was by a special inspiration from ,god2 but such things are not to be imitated by private men4' ,there is no statement in the ,book that ,god specially inspired ,ehud to kill ,eglon2 yet if ,eglon was a tyrant who deserved death1 and if the act of ,ehud was a praiseworthy act in him1 why should it not be so in another8 ,verger doubtless was equally inspired when he killed the ,archbishop of ,paris1 ,felton when he killed the ,duke of ,buckingham1 and ,pianori when he tried to kill ,louis ,napoleon4 ,the question is two-fold--#ast4 ,is it lawful to destroy tyrants8 #bnd4 ,if a man is almost unanimously accursed1 and accused as a tyrant 7as ,louis ,napoleon for example71 is it lawful for one man to constitute himself judge1 jury1 and executioner8 ,verses #bi and #ca4 ,these round numbers betray the fallibility of the writer4 ,a revelation from ,deity would have been more precise4 ,shamgar must have been an extremely valiant warrior4 ,to kill #fjj men with only an ox-goad is no trifle4 ,the record does not say whether or not they were all killed in one day1 or during a lone period2 or whether in a mass together1 or separately4 ,they could scarcely have been all killed in one day1 and tne probability is1 that ,shamgar did not attack the #fjj men in a mass4 ,i can only hope that ,shamgar did not waylay the ,philistines1 simply killing them unawares4 ,the ,douay says1 that the weapon used was a 'plough-share1' not an 'ox-goad4' 99,chapter iv4 ,voltaire thus comments on this chapter3-- ',we have no intention here to inquire at what time ,baruch was chief of the ,jewish people2 why1 being chief1 he allowed his army to be commanded by a woman2 whether this woman1 named ,deborah1 had married ,lapidoth2 whether she was the friend or relative of ,baruch1 or1 perhaps1 his daughter1 or his mother2 nor on what day the battle of ,thabor1 in ,galilee1 was fought between this ,deborah and ,sisera1 ,captain-,general of the armies of ,king ,jabin1 which ,sisera commanded in ,galilee1 an army of three hundred thousand foot1 ten thousand horse1 and three thousand chariots of war1 according to the historian ,josephus4 ',we shall at present leave out of the question this ,jabin1 ,king of a village called ,hazor1 who had more troops than the ,grand ,turk4 ,we very much pity the fate of his grand vizier ,sisera1 who1 having lost the battle of ,galilee1 leaped from his chariot and four that he might fly more swiftly on foot4 ,he went and begged the hospitality of a holy ,jewish woman1 who gave him some milk1 and drove a great cart-nail through his head while he was asleep4 ,we are very sorry for it2 but this is not the matter to be discussed4 ,we wish to speak of chariots of war4 ',the battle was fought at the foot of ,mount ,thabor1 near the river ,kishon4 ,mount ,thabor is a steep mountain1 the branches of which1 somewhat less in height1 extend over a great part of ,galilee4 ,betwixt #aaj this mountain and the neighbouring rocks there is a small plain covered with great flint stones1 and impracticable for cavalry4 ,the extent of this plain is four or five hundred paces4 ,we may venture to believe that ,sisera did not here draw up his three hundred thousand men in order of battle2 his three thousand chariots would have found it difficult to manoeuvre on such a field4 ',we may believe that the ,hebrews had no chariots of war in a country renowned only for asses2 but the ,asiatics made use of them in great plains4 ',confucius1 or rather ,confutze1 says positively that from time immemorial each of the viceroys of the provinces was expected to furnish to the emperor a thousand war chariots drawn by four horses4 ',chariots must have been in use long before the ,trojan war1 for ,homer does not speak of them as a new invention3 but those chariots were not armed like those of ,babylon2 neither the wheels nor the axles were furnished with steel blades4 ',this invention must at first have been very formidable1 in large plains especially1 when the chariots were numerous1 driven with impetuosity and armed with long pikes and scythes2 but when they became familiar it seemed so easy to avoid their shock1 that they fell into general disuse4' 99,chapter iv41 v4 #b4 ,hazor was burnt and thoroughly destroyed by ,joshua4 ,verse #d4 ,we have no account of any of the prophecies of ,deborah4 ,verse #aa4 ',hobab1 the father-in-law of ,moses4' ,this is an error4 ,hobab is described in ,numbers as the son of ,raguel1 the latter being the father-in-law of ,moses4 7,see page #di74 ,verses #ag to #bb4 ,after reading these verses1 ,professor ,newman wrote as follows3-- ',in various attempts at compromise--such as conceding the scriptural fallibility in human science but maintaining its spiritual perfection--,i always found the division impracticable4 ,at last it pressed on me that it ,i admitted morals to rest on an independent basis1 it was dishonest to shut my eyes to any apparent collisions of morality with the ,scriptures4 ,a very notorious and decisive instance is that of ,jael4 ,sisera when beaten in battle fled to the tent of his friend ,heber1 and was there warmly welcomed bv ,jael1 ,heber's wife4 ,after she had refreshed him with food and lulled him to sleep1 she killed him1 by driving a nail into his temples1 and for this deed 7which now-a-days would be called a perfidious murder71 the prophetess ,deborah1 in an inspired psalm1 pronounces ,jael to be blessed above women1 and glorifies her act by an elaborate description of its atrocity4 ,as soon as ,i felt that ,i was bound to pass a moral judgment on this1 ,i saw that as regards the ,old ,testament the battle was already lost4' 99,chapter v4 ,this ,song of ,deborah1 like other oriental songs1 is strongly figurative4 ,verse #h4 ,instead of ',they chose new gods1 then was war in the gates1' the ,douay has it1 ',the ,lord chose new wars and himself overthrew the gates of his enemies4' #aaa ,verse #ab4 ,there were no captives to lead--all were killed4 7,see4 chap1 iv41 v4 #af47 ,verse4 #bc4 ,where and what was ,meroz8 ,was it a city or a country8 ,were its inhabitants ,israelites or ,canaanites8 ,no one knows4 ,it is the only time it is mentioned throughout the whole of the ,bible4 ,verse #bf4 ,the ,douay in this ,terse says nothing about smiting off ,sisera's head1 neither does chap1 iv41 v4 #ba4 99,chapter vi4 ,on page #gi ,i remarked on the account of the total destruction of the ,midianitish nation1 and ,i have now to submit that one of the accounts must be positively untrue4 ,if 'every male' was killed by the ,israelites1 there can be no foundation for the statement that the ,midianites 'came as grasshoppers for multitude1 for both they and their camels were without number4' ,verses #h to #aj4 ,this prophet was a shrewd fellow2 he only related the past1 but did not attempt to foretell the future4 ,why is he called a prophet8 ,the whole of this chapter is very confused4 ,in vv4 #aa and #ab the 'angel of the ,lord' appears1 but in vv4 #ad and #af it is 'the ,lord1' and in vv4 #bj and #ba the 'angel of the ,lord' again1 and this is rendered still more confused by vv4 #bb and #bc1 as it is nowhere said to be death to see an angel4 ,verse #ba4 ,this is quite a type of modern conjuring--to set on fire the flesh and cakes by touching them with a magic wand4 ,the ,douay1 to make the matter more complete1 says that the angel 'vanished4' ,gideon seems to have been very unbelieving1 and to have required many miracles before he would accept ,god's message4 99,chapter vii41 v4 #c4 ,this fact speaks volumes in favour of the ,israelites4 ,they must have been a noble race1 when more than two-thirds of an army in the face of an enemy pleaded guilty to the suggestion of cowardice1 and ran away4 ,verses #ac and #ad4 ,this is scarcely probable4 ,if ,gideon was an unknown and mean man amongst his own people 7see chap1 vi41 v4 #ae71 it is unlikely that he would be so famous amongst the ,midianites2 beside which the ,midianites worshipped a different ,god from the ,israelites1 and the man would not have used the kind of language here attributed to him4 ,the words are not the words of a ,midianite at all1 but such as a ,jew would be more apt to utter4 ,verses #af to #bb4 ,this battle of the 'trumpets1 lamps1 and pitchers1' is a most glorious one4 ,the ,midianites and ,amalekites are 'as the sand by the sea shore for multitude4' #cjj men surrounded their camp unobserved by the sentinels1 who ought to have been more than ordinarily wakeful1 having only just been relieved4 ,these three hundred men1 who have each a lamp concealed in a pitcher1 suddenly break all their pitchers with a great crash1 blow their trumpets1 and shout out loudly4 ,the ,midianites and ,amalekites1 who must have been timid and nervous people1 are much frightened1 and begin to kill one another1 and to run away as fast as possible4 ,this is the more remarkable1 as the #cjj men all held their #aab lamps up1 so that it would have been easy to have distinguished friends from enemies4 ,the #cjj1 not satisfied with their easy victory1 pursued the flying enemy1 and slew #abj1jjj of them1 being #djj to each man1 then attacked their two ,princes1 ,zebah and ,zalmunna1 who were at the head of an army of #ae1jjj men4 ,these the #cjj ,israelites of course routed easily1 after which they returned1 and on their way back1 tore the elders of ,succoth 7who refused to aid them in their pursuit7 with thorns and briars1 and cut the men in pieces4 7,vide ,douay translation1 chap1 viii41 v4 #af74 ,after this they beat down the fortified tower of ,penuel1 and slew the inhabitants of that city4 ,the #cjj did not neglect the plunder1 but brought back #agjj shekels of gold1 beside the golden chains which were about the camels' necks1 and ornaments and jewels1 and ,i do not find that they were stoned to death like ,achan for so doing4 ,although ,gideon and his #cjj followers were so valiant1 yet his first-born son1 ,jether1 did not inherit the bravery of his father 7,vide chap1 viii41 v4 #bj74 ,i have1 in several places1 discussed the commands to extirpate the ,canaanites given in the previous books1 and in noticing this terrible slaughter1 ,i cannot help quoting a few words in defence from ,dr4 ,j4 ,pye ,smith3-- ',the extreme cruelty and abominable crimes of those nations were undoubtedly just and sufficient causes1 under the righteous government of ,god1 for their being cut off1 as they were 7not by pestilence or earthquake1 but7 by a people sent1 and avowedly coming1 with this executive commission from the only ,sovereign of all men and all nations4 ,yet there was also another and a weighty reason in the case4 ,it was the universal belief that the greatness and honour of a ,deity were to be judged of by the standard of great and signal victories which he gave to the nation which he had taken under his protection4 ,the conquest of ,canaan1 therefore1 was a demonstration to the ,canaanites of the feebleness1 and even nothingness1 of their own gods1 and of the superior power of the ,god of ,israel4 ,and this impression would be strengthened by the fact of success and reverses occurring in exact proportion to the faithfulness or the disobedience of the ,israelites towards their ,god1 their natural leader1 protector1 and king4' ,where is the record of the 'extreme cruelty' and 'abominable crimes' of these nations8 ,were they more cruel than the ,israelites1 or did they commit more abominable and cruel crimes than those of ,lot1 of ,onan1 of ,jacob1 of ,judah1 of ,reuben1 of ,simeon1 and ,levi1 of the people of ,benjamin1 or of the many other ,israelitish men and women whose names we fortunately cannot pollute our pages with1 but the record of whose horrible and detestable enormities are still to be found in the legislative enactments which the ,deity found it necessary to make for the guidance of his chosen people8 ,and why did the ,deity give way to the 'universal belief' of an ignorant and vicious people8 ,cannot the great ,jehovah win men by his mighty and irresistible will rather than by sword and fire8 ',the conquests1' says ,dr4 ,smith1' were a demonstration to the conquered of the power of the ,deity4' ,not so1 for in a wholesale massacre1 they took away from the #aac ,canaanites the capability for appreciating any demonstration however clear2 logic has little effect on a man whose throat is cut from ear to ear4 99,chapter ix41 v4 #e4 ,by chap1 viii41 verses #cj and #ca1 we find that ,gideon had seventy sons1 besides ,abimelech2 yet here are seventy killed by order of ,abimelech1 and the youngest escapes1 and this youngest son makes the confusion worse confounded1 when speaking against ,abimelech2 for he mentions his seventy brethren slain on one stone 7verse #ah72 and the number is again repeated in verses #bd and #ef4 ,it is evident that ,jotham entertained very different ideas of the ,deity from those held by ,john the ,evangelist1 for he speaks of the olive1 of whose fatness both gods and men make use 7vide ,douay71 and of wine which cheereth ,god and man4 ,verse #bc4 ',god sent an evil spirit4' ,out of perfect good1 evil cannot come1 yet perfection is alleged to be an attribute of the ,deity1 who sent an evil spirit between ,abimelech and the men of ,shechem4 99,chapter xi41 v4 #a4 ,according to ,deuteronomy1 chap1 xxiii41 v4 #b1 ,jephtha was debarred from entering into the congregation of the ,lord4 ,verse #ae4 ',thus saith ,jephtha1 ,israel took not away the land of ,moab1 nor the land of the children of ,amnion2' yet according to ,joshua1 chap1 xiii41 v4 xxv41 ,moses gave to the tribe of ,gad 'half the land of the children of ,ammon4' ,verse #bd4 ,here we have the fact revealed1 that each tribe or nation had a ,god peculiar to itself3 one worshipped ,chemosh1 another ,baal1 another ,jehovah1 and each tribe believed that its particular ,deity fought its battles1 and that when a battle was lost1 then the ,god was displeased1 and a sacrifice was wanting to restore favour4 ,verses #cj to #dj4 ,voltaire says3-- ',it is evident from the text1 that ,jephtha promised to sacrifice the first person that should come out of his house to congratulate him on his victory over the ,ammonites4 ,his only daughter presented herself before him for that purpose2 he tore his garments1 and immolated her1 after having permitted her to go and deplore1 in the recesses of the mountains1 the calamity of her dying a virgin4 ,the daughters of ,israel long continued to celebrate this painful event1 and devoted four days in the year to lamentation for the daughter of ,jephtha4 ',in whatever period this history was written1 whether it was imitated from the ,greek history of ,agamemnon and ,idomeneus1 or was the model from which that history was taken2 whether it might be anterior or posterior to similar narratives in ,assyrian history1 is not the point ,i am now examining4 ,i keep strictly to the text4 ,jephtha vowed to make his daughter a burnt offering1 and fulfilled his vow4 ',it was expressly commanded by the ,jewish law to sacrifice men devoted to the ,lord3--,every man that shall be devoted shall not be redeemed2 but shall be put to death without remission4 ,the ,vulgate translates it3 ,he shall not be redeemed but shall die the death4 ',it was in virtue of this law that ,samuel hewed in pieces ,king #aad ,agag1 whom1 as we have already seen1 ,saul had pardoned4 ,in fact1 it was for sparing ,agag that ,saul was rebuked by the ,lord1 and lost his kingdom4 ',thus1 then1 we perceive sacrifices of human blood clearly established2 there is no point of history more incontestable3 we can only judge of a nation by its own archives1 and by what it relates concerning itself4 ',what is the natural meaning of the phrase1 he did to her as he had vowed4 ',what had ,jephtha vowed8 ,what had he promised by an oath to perform8 ,to kill his daughter2 to offer her up as a burnt offering2 and he did kill her4 ',read ,calmet's dissertation on the rashness of ,jephtha's vow1 and its fulfilment2 read the law which he cites1 that terrible law of ,leviticus1 in the twenty-seventh chapter1 which commands1 that all which shall be devoted to the ,lord shall not be ransomed1 but shall die the death4 ,non redimetur1 sed morte morietur4 ',observe the multitude of examples by which this most astonishing truth is attested4 ,look at the ,amalekites and ,canaanites2 look at the ,king of ,arad and all his family1 subjected to the law of devotion2 look at the priest ,samuel slaying ,king ,agag with his own hands1 and cutting him into pieces as a butcher cuts up an ox in his slaughterhouse8 ,verse #ci4 ',and it was a custom in ,israel4' ,what meaning can we attach to these words8 ,our translators have prefixed the word ',that' to the next verse1 to make people believe the custom to refer to the weeping for ,jephtha's daughter2 if this were the correct reading1 then the phrase is incorrect2 it is in the past tense1 and after relating the fulfilment of ,jephtha's vow1 adds 'it was a custom4' ,what8 ,the only answer is1 that human sacrifice was a custom4 ,in feet1 if it had not been an established custom1 the whole nation would have cried out as one man against the murder of ,jephtha's daughter4 7,see also page #ed47 99,chapter xiii41 v4 #e4 ',no razor shall touch his head2' yet despite this imperative command of the ,omnipotent ,deity1 a razor did touch ,samson's head4 7,vide chap4 xvi4 v4 #ai47 ,verse #i4 ,god hearkened to the voice of ,manoah4 7,see ,joshua1 ehap4 x41 v4 #ad1 which contradicts this47 ,verse #ai4 ,this is a repetition of the conjuring referred to on page #aaa2 here the angel vanishes in the flame4 99,chapter xiv41 vv4 #h and #i4 ,bees do not usually rest on carrion at all1 much less store honey in a rotting carcass2 but it is not more surprising that this should happen1 than that ,samson should tear a young lion asunder with nothing to aid him but his naked hands4 99,chapter xv41 v4 #d4 ,foxes must have been very plentiful in the country1 where ,samson then was2 but they must have taken some time to catch4 ,the following is a foot-note to the ,douay1 ',being judge of the people1 he might have many to assist him to catch with nets or otherwise a number of these animals4' ,it is difficult to conceive why the ,philistines so neglected their own interests1 and quietly #aae allowed ,samson to capture and turn loose these #cjj foxes amongst their crops2 and ,i confess that ,i cannot quite discover the utility and morality of the course pursued by ,samson in burning the corn fields4 ,verses #ad and #ae4 ,shamgar's feat1 commented on in page #aji1 sinks into utter insignificance beside this4 #ajjj men all killed with the new jaw-bone of an ass--these evidently slain at one time as they fell in 'heaps upon heaps4' ,if ,samson killed the ,philistines at the rapid rate of one per minute1 which would be good work considering the weapon employed1 the slaughter1 if conducted without cessation1 would then occupy nearly seventeen hours2 and we cannot wonder that ,samson was 'sore athirst4' ,the water flowing from the jaw-bone is a miracle4 ,as to miracles1 see pages #gd and #ge4 99,chapter xvi41 v4 #a4 ,if the rulers of the ,israelites were so immoral1 the ,israelitish people must have been similar in character4 ,verses #g and #aa4 ,truthfulness does not seem to have been one of ,samson's qualifications4 ,verse #bg4 ,i should like to have seen the house which ,samson threw down2 it must have been a curious specimen of ancient architecture4 ,we are informed that it had an immense roof1 supported by two pillars1 rather close together1 between which ,samson stood1 and we are also informed1 that #c1jjj men and women were on that roof 'beholding ,samson's play' 7vide ,douay translation71 although1 unless the #c1jjj could see through the roof1 this must have been another miracle1 as ,samson would be entirely hidden from their sight by the roof and pillars4 ,i cannot discover the most remote moral connected with the history of ,samson2 nothing but robbery1 wanton destruction of property1 immorality1 and murder4 #ast4 ,he enters into a wager with his wife's friends2 having lost his wager1 he robs and murders thirty men1 to enable him to pay his loss4 ,this career of useless crime and bloodshed is continued1 but his own profligacy is ultimately the cause of his being taken prisoner1 and punished by the ,philistines2 yet this is a judge of ,god's chosen people4 99,chapter xix4 ,the number 'nineteen' is badly connected in this book4 ,the remarks on page #cf apply here1 but ,i cannot pass the matter thus4 ,these are ,god's chosen people1 men of the tribe of ,benjamin1 people whom ,god has visited personally1 men for whom he has slaughtered the unfortunate ,canaanites by thousands1 and yet so horribly1 basely depraved4 ,where was the fire from heaven this time8 ,fathers6 do you place this book in the bands of your sons and daughters1 and tell them that it is the ,holy ,bible8 ,if you do1 will they not learn the horrible state of society amongst ,god's own selected people8 ,will they be elevated and improved by the knowledge thus conferred8 ,will it make them better men and women8 ,i say1 no2 and every man who devotes thought to the subject will be compelled to echo my denial4 ,is it possible that events1 so similar as those related in ,genesis1 chap4 xix41 vv4 #g and #h1 and w4 #bc and #bd of this chapter1 could have twice happened in the world's history8 ,it cannot be true4 ,if it be true1 #aaf surely there could never have been a ,god regulating the affairs of the universe1 predestining and permitting such terribly disgusting obscenities and cruelties as those here detailed4 ,verse #bi4 ,if the twelve pieces were intended for the twelve tribes1 this would include the offending tribe of ,benjamin1 which does not seem to be the meaning of the text4 99,chapter xx41 v4 #bh4 ,phinehas1 the grand-son of ,aaron1 could not have been alive at this period1 if we suppose the occurrences related in chronological order4 ,divines overcome the difficulty by alleging that the last chapters of the book should be the first1 as they refer to events immediately succeeding the death of ,joshua4 ,a devout believer would reverently admire the mysterious manner in which ,god revealed his ,holy ,word upside down2 but a thinking man would recognise in this error conclusive evidence against the assertion that the book is a revelation from ,god4 ',the name of this ,book is taken from the title of the functionaries1 whose actions and administration it principally relates4 ,this name is ------ shophetim1 plural of ------ shophet1 a judge4 ,this word designates the ordinary magistrates1 properly called judges2 and is here also applied to the chief rulers1 perhaps because ruling and judging are so intimately connected in the ,east that sitting in judgment is one of the principal employments of an ,oriental monarch4 ',the book is easily divisible into two parts2 one ending with chap4 xvi41 contains the history of the ,judges1 from ,othniel to ,samson1 and the other1 which occupies the rest of the book1 forms a sort of appendix1 relating particular transactions1 which the author seems to have reserved for the end4 ,if these transactions had been placed in order of time1 we should1 probably1 have found them in a much earlier portion of the work1 as the incidents related seem to have occurred not long after the death of ,joshua4 ',the author of the ,book is unknown4 ,some ascribe it to ,samuel1 some to ,hezekiah1 and others to ,ezra4 ,the reason which has principally influenced the last determination of the authorship is found in chap1 xviii41 v4 #cj3--;,he and his son were priests to the tribe of ,dan1 until the day of the captivity of the land4 ,but this may have referred to the captivity of the ark among the ,philistines1 or to some particular captivity of the tribe of ,dan2 or rather of that part of the tribe settled in the north2 or the reference may have been to both circumstances4 ,it is also possible that the clause1 until the day of the captivity of the land1 may actually have been added after the captivity4 ,that the book itself was written after the establishment of the monarchical government1 appears from the habit which the author has of saying1that the event he is relating happened in the time when there was no king in ,israel1 which renders it evident that there was a king when he wrote4' 7 ,vide ',hebrew ,records4'7 ,the recital of the adventures of ,samson1 of ,micah1 etc41 with so many slight particulars fully enlarged upon1 is conclusive evidence against this ,book as a history1 for it is impossible to conceive such minute particularity of detail in individual cases1 and yet such an utter neglect of even the most general dates in the history of the nation4 #aag ,,book ,,viii4 ,,ruth ,in the ,hebrew ,bible this book1 as mentioned on page #a occupies a later place4 ',the ,book of ,ruth is properly part of the ,book of ,judges1 from which it has been separated for no very obvious reason4 ,from its brevity it is not likely to contain many passages to aid us in our present inquiry4 ,those which ,i have discovered are the following3-- ',chap4 i41 v4 #a4 ,now it came to pass in the days when the ,judges ruled that there was a famine in the land4 ',this was written after the ,judges had ceased to rule2 and consequently the work is not contemporary with ,ruth1 who lived when the ,judges ruled4 ',chap1 iv41 v4 #ba1 #bb4 ,and ,salmon begat ,boaz1 and ,boaz begat ,obed1 and ,obed begat ,jesse1 and ,jesse begat ,david4 ',bishop ,patrick's note to this is worthy of notice3-- ',salmon married ,rahab1 and therefore lived at the time of the ,israelites' first entrance into ,canaan4 ,now between this period and the birth of ,david are computed #cff years4 ,thus1 as only four generations are mentioned1 we must either suppose that some names of persons who come between are omitted 7for which we have no warrant71 or that1 as is more probable1 ,salmon1 ,boaz1 ,obed1 and ,jesse all had their children born to them at a very advanced period of their lives4 ',i propose to adopt a different and more natural solution of the difficulty4 ,in #a ,chronicles ii41 #aa1 ,salmon is named ,salma1 which shows that there are some doubtful points in this genealogy4 ,this was likely to be the case2 for the book being compiled out of original papers1 like all the rest of the ,jewish ,history after the captivity of ,babylon1 the compilers were likely to be puzzled by many discrepancies of this nature1 and choosing to preserve as much as possible the form of their original sources1 they have retained even their errors also4' 7,vide ,hebrew ,records47 99,chapter i41 v4 #ae4 ,it seems unlikely that a ,jewish woman would recommend her daughter-in-law to commit idolatry4 ,verse #bb4 ,ruth did not return to ,bethlehem1 never having been there before4 99,chapter iv4 v4 #ag4 ,obed was the son of ,ruth1 the ,moabitish woman4 ,he was the father of ,jesse1 and grandfather of ,david1 and1 by the law of ,moses1 the descendants of a ,moabite for ten generations shall not enter the congregation of the ,lord 7see page #he71 so that ,david1 'the man after ,god's own heart1' and ,solomon1 his son1 and six of their succeeding generations1 were barred out of the congregation4 ,i wonder whether ,david knew this when he 'danced before the ,lord2' or ,solomon when about to erect the temple4 ,paine spoke of the ,book of ,ruth as 'an idle bungling story1 #aah foolishly told1 nobody knows by whom1 about a strolling country girl1 creeping slily to bed to her cousin ,boaz4' ,bishop ,watson thus comments on this3-- ',as to ,ruth1 you do an injury to her character4 ,she was not a strolling country girl4 ,she had been married ten years2 and being left a widow without children1 she accompanied her mother-in-law returning into her native country1 out of which with her husband and her two sons she had been driven by a famine4 ,the disturbances in ,france have driven many men with their families to ,america2 if1 ten years hence1 a woman1 having lost her husband and her children1 should return to ,france with a daughter-in-law1 would you be justified in calling the daughter-in-law a strolling country girl8 ,but she crept slily to bed to her cousin ,boaz4 ,i do not find it so in the history4 ,as a person imploring protection1 she laid herself down at the foot of an aged kinsman's bed1 and she rose up with as much innocence as she had laid herself down4 ,she was afterwards married to ,boaz1 and reputed by all her neighbours a virtuous woman2 and they were more likely to know her character than you are4 ,whoever reads the ,book of ,ruth1 bearing in mind the simplicity of ancient manners1 will find it an interesting story of a poor young woman following in a strange land the advice1 and affectionately attaching herself to the fortunes1 of the mother of her deceased husband4' ,the ,bishop is apparently indignant that ,ruth should be accused of 'creeping slily to bed1' but the ,bible account is certainly that without the knowledge of ,boaz 'she came softly and uncovered his feet and laid her down4' ,i cannot find the ,bishop's authority for the statement that ,ruth lay down at the foot of 'an aged kinsman's bed4' ,boaz is not stated to be an old man4 ,he evidently considered that it was necessary to keep ,ruth's visit a secret1 and appears to have been young enough to have children after his marriage4 ,as for her neighbours reputing her 'a virtuous woman1' that is nothing1 for they were not aware of her nocturnal visit to the bed-chamber of ,boaz4 ,this book scarcely needs further comment at my hands4 ,it is ridiculous to suppose it to be a revelation from ,god1 and with the exception of ,ruth's devotedness to her mother-in-law1 there are no points raised in it worthy of a prolonged notice4 ,,book ,,ix4 ,,samuel ',the two ,books of ,samuel form but one in the ,hebrew ,canon4 ,in the ,septuagmt and ,vulgate translations they are called the ,first and ,second ,books of ,kings1 and those which we call the ,first and ,second ,books of ,kings are termed the ,third and ,fourth ,books of ,kings4 ,this diversity is to be regretted2 ancient histories should at far as is possible be kept in their original form4 ,there seems to be no adequate reason for classifying these books1 as they are classified in #aai our ,bibles2 for they contain quite as much of the history of ,david as of ,samuel4 ,but the impression prevailed that ,samuel was their author2 and as ,protestants in endeavouring to run counter to ,roman ,catholics1 have magnified the importance of the ,old ,testament exactly in proportion as they have decried the use of reason1 the translators have so arranged the ,books as to produce the most striking effect2 and thus an individual existence has been given to that which has none1 but which really is only a part of the whole4 ,yet1 notwithstanding first1 the separation of ,samuel from ,kings1 and then its division into two parts1 the work bears on the face of it the strong fact that it could not have been written by ,samuel3 for the twenty-fifth chapter of the first book begins with the words3--',and ,samuel died6' ,thus more than half of the whole was obviously composed by a later writer4 ,but we shall see by an examination of the book in order that the whole of it owes its origin to a date later than that of ,samuel4' 7 ,vide ',hebrew ,records4'7 99,chapter i41 v4 #e1 says that ,elkanah gave ,hannah 'a worthy portion4' ,the ,douay renders it ',but to ,anna he gave one portion with sorrow4' ,verse #f4 ,what 'adversary' is this8 ,the phrase may possibly refer to the other wife1 but of this there is not the slightest evidence in the wording of the text2 sterility has been a subject of reproach amongst the ,jews1 as also amongst the ,arabs1 and some other nations4 ,verses #f to #ai4 ,it is probable that in the country district1 where the family of ,elkanah dwelt1 that the barrenness of ,hannah was a matter of notoriety4 ,the vow also could not fail to be divulged1 and its apparent success to create a great sensation4 ,the superstitious people who traced the hand of ,god in everything1 would of course say that ,samuel was his special sift4 99,chapter ii41 v4 #e4 ',the barren hath born seven4' ,if ,hannah here referred to herself1 she must have spoken in the spirit of prophecy1 and even then must have erred in her prophetic dreamings1 as by verse #ba she only appears to have had five children1 and1 excluding ,samuel from amongst those1 it would still leave one short of the number4 ,verse #h4 ,what are these pillars upon which the world is set8 ,how many pillars are there1 and upon what do they rest8 ,or is this an oriental figure of speech not capable of a literal interpretation8 ,verses #a to #aj4 ,it is scarcely probable that ,hannah the wife of a country farmer composed this song--it is more likely to have been composed by a ,levite1 or perhaps by the writer of the story4 ,verses #ac to #af4 ',this narrative presents various subjects of instruction3 at first it pictures the simplicity1 or rather the grossness of the manners of the times very analogous to the age of ,homer4 ,this ,hebrew people were mostly composed of rustics1 living on their little properties1 which they had cultivated with their own hands1 as the ,druzes do now4 ,the only class1 a little elevated1 a little less ignorant1 was the tribe of ,levi--that is1 the priests1 who lived idle1 supported by the voluntary1 or forced offerings of the nation2 this #abj class had more time than means to employ the mind4 ,this shows itself here in the tone and style of the narrator1 who1 by his knowledge of the duties of the priests1 evinced himself a man of the craft4 ,we might compare this ,levite to the monks of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries1 writing3 their holy histories under the auspices of superstition and credulity4 ,in this relation we see the essential character of the priest1 whose first and constant object of attention is the pot or kettle1 on which his existence depends2 and this reveals the motives of all that display of victims and sacrifices which play so great a part among the ancients4 ',until now ,i could not conceive the advantage of converting the courts and the porches of temples into slaughter-houses4 ,vide remarks on page #fg4 ,i could not reconcile the idea of the hideous spectacle of the choking of sensitive animals1 of the shedding of oceans of blood1 of the filthiness of entrails1 with the ideas which we were taught of the divine majesty1 of the divine goodness that repels to a distance the gross necessities which these practices suppose4 ,in reflecting on that which has just been noticed1 ,i perceive the solution of the enigma4 ,i see that in their primitive state the ancients were as one2 as are yet the ,tartars of ,asia1 and their brothers1 the savages of ,america1 ferocious men1 contending constantly against dangers1 and struggling with those necessities--the violence of which raises all the sensibilities2 men accustomed to shed blood in the chase1 on which their subsistence depended4 ,in this state1 the first ideas which they had--the only ones they entertained of the divinity--represented him as a being more powerful than themselves2 but reasoning and perceiving like them1 having their passions and their character4 ,the whole history shows the truth of this4 ',by this mode of reasoning1 these savages thought that every unlucky accident1 every misfortune which happened to them1 was the consequence of the hate1 the resentment1 the envy of some concealed agent1 of some irascible secret power1 vindictive1 like themselves1 and consequently susceptible like them to be appeased by prayers and gifts4 ,from this idea originated the spontaneous habits of religious offerings1 the practice of which shows itself amongst all savages1 both ancient and modern4 ,but1 as in all times and in all societies1 there were men more subtle and more cunning than the multitude1 there was soon found some old savage1 who1 not entertaining this belief1 or being undeceived1 conceived the idea of turning it to his profit4 ,supposed to possess secret means1 particular recitations for calming the anger of the gods1 genii1 or spirits1 and to render them propitious1 the vulgar1 ignorant1 and always credulous1 especially when bound by fear1 or stimulated by desire1 addressed itself to this favoured mortal4 ,hence a mediator constituted between man and the divinity3 hence a seer1 a juggler1 a priest1 as all the ,tartars have1 as have most savages and the negroes4 ,these jugglers found it convenient to live at the expense of others1 and perfected their art by causing delusions and deceptions4 ,this it was which gave birth to the sacerdotal phantasmagoria4 ,at present1 as these physical means are understood1 we perceive these #aba artifices in the prodigies of the ancient oracles1 and in the miracles of the ancient ,magi4 ',at the time when the trade became advantageous an association of adepts was formed1 and the rules of the association became the basis of the priesthood2 but as these associations of divines1 of seers1 of interpreters1 and of ministers of the gods1 employed all their time in their public functions1 and in their secret practices1 it was necessary that their daily and annual subsistence should be provided for by a regular system4 ,the practice1 until then casual1 of offerings and voluntary sacrifices1 was constituted an obligatory tribute2 conscience was regulated by legislation2 the people led to the altar and the porch of the temple the choice of their flocks1 of their lambs1 their beeves1 and their calves2 they brought corn1 wine1 and oil4 ,the sacerdotal institution had the income1 the nation had the ceremonies1 the prayers1 and everybody was content4 ,the rest does not require explanation2 ,i only remark that the division of animals into pure and impure appears to be derived from their goodness for eating1 or the disadvantage as injurious or disagreeable when eaten4 ,hence the reason why the rank he-goat was rejected in the desert2 why the old tough ram was entirely burned2 why the measly and scabby hog was despised2 but this is saying enough of the kitchen of the priests of ,israel4' 7,vide ,volney47 ,the priests of the ,israelites are similar in some respects to the priests of the ,christian ,church4 ,the ,jew-priest took all that he could1 if not by fair means then by force2 our priests follow their example4 ,they have seized a poor old woman's family ,bible to pay tithes2 they have pocketed tithes until unable to sign their names to the receipts for their income1 and then when nearly at the point of death1 they have bargained for a handsome retiring pension before they would resign their priesthood2 yet these are the men who 'lay up for themselves treasures in heaven1 where neither moth nor mot doth corrupt4' ,voltaire says3-- ',priests in a state approach nearly to what preceptors are in private families3 it is their province to teach1 pray1 and supply example4 ,they ought to have no authority over the masters of the house2 at least until it can be proved that he who gives the wages ought to obey him who receives them4 ',prayer is not dominion1 nor exhortation despotism4 ,a good priest ought to be a physician to the soul4 ,if ,hippocrates had ordered his patients to take hellebore under pain of being hanged1 he would have been more insane and barbarous than ,phalaris1 and would have had little practice4 ,when a priest says--,worship ,god1 be just1 indulgent1 and compassionate1 he is then a good physician3 when he says--,believe me1 or you shall be burnt1 he is an assassin4 ',the magistrate ought to support and restrain the priest in the same manner as the father of a family insures respect to the preceptor1 and prevents him from abusing it4 ,the agreement of ,church and ,state is of all systems the 'most monstrous4' 7,philosophical ,dictionary7 #abb ,verse #bb4 ,the nation must have improved rapidly in morals when its judges and priests were so extremely virtuous4 ,it is instructive to a devout believer to observe that the ,church has not degenerated1 and that the priests appointed by ,god were as vicious as those since appointed by the ,state4 ,verse #be4 ',because the ,lord would slay them4' ,what terrible cruelty this seems to harden people's hearts in order to destroy them4 ,but to whom did ,god make known his intentions8 ,was it to one man only2 to the priest who repeated it8 ,have we not1 then1 good reason to attribute it rather to the bearer of the message1 to the self-styled interpreter of ,god's will8 ,it is clear that this could never come from a loving and just ,god1 but rather from a ,jewish mouth1 from the heart of a fanatic and ferocious ,hebrew1 full of the passions and prejudices which he attributes to his idol4 ,verses #cj to #cf4 ,when the immutable ,deity decreed that the house of ,aaron should be his priests for ever1 did he foresee the offences of ,eli and his children8 ,if not1 his attribute of foreknowledge is taken away2 if he did1 then the whole story is absurd4 ',in this account we have first a conversation divulged4 ,but by whom8 ,eli would not have boasted of it2 it was the man of ,god who made it known4 ,what interest had he to prepare the minds for a change desired by many1 even by the greatest number8 ,in his quality of prophet and preacher this man of ,god must have known the successor announced4 ,might he not act already in concert with him8 ,his prediction is found to be in favour of ,samuel4 ,might not ,samuel play a part in this affair8 ,the axiom rightly says3--,he has done it1 who had an interest to do it4 ,should it not have been ,samuel in this case8 ,observe that ,eli was blind1 and that any one might have spoken to him1 and he not have known the person4 ,there is here the management of knavery4 ,samuel is not impeached2 but he is arraigned4 ,as to the prediction against the two sons of ,eli on the same day1 it is evident how easy it was to the writer or copyist to interpolate afterwards4' 7,vide ,volney47 99,chapter iii41 v4 #a4 ',and the word of the ,lord was precious in those days2 there was no open vision4' ,what this means ,i do not profess to explain1 but ,i take the opportunity of allowing ,voltaire to deal with the subject generally3-- ',when ,i speak of vision ,i do not mean the admirable manner in which our eyes perceive objects1 and in which the pictures of all that we see are painted on the retina4 ,this matter has been so learnedly treated by so many great geniuses that there is no further remnant to glean after their harvests4 ',my subject is the innumerable multitude of visions1 with which so many holy personages have been favoured or tormented2 which so many idiots are believed to have seen2 with which so many knavish men and women have duped the world1 either to get the reputation of being favoured by heaven1 which is very flattering1 or to gain money1 which is still more so to rogues in general4 ',calmet and ,langlet have made ample collections of these visions4 #abc ,the most interesting in my opinion is the one which has produced the greatest effects1 since it has tended to reform three parts of the ,swiss--that of the young ,jacobin1 ,yetzer4 ,this ,yetzer saw the ,holy ,virgin and ,st4 ,barbara several times2 who informed him of the marks of ,jesus ,christ4 ,he received from a ,jacobin confessor a host1 powdered with arsenic1 and the ,bishop of ,lausanne would have had him burnt for complaining that he was poisoned4 ,these abominations were one of the causes of the misfortune which happened to the ,bernese1 of ceasing to be ,catholic1 ,apostolical1 and ,roman4 ',i am sorry that ,i have no visions of this consequence to tell you of4 ,yet you will confess that the vision of the reverend father ,cor-delius1 of ,orleans1 in #aecd1 approaches the nearest to it1 though still very distant4 ,the criminal process which it occasioned is still in manuscript in the library of the ,king of ,france1 ,no4 #aggj4 ',the illustrious house of ,st4 ,memin did great good to the convent of the ,cordeliers1 and had their vault in the ,church4 ,the wife of a ,lord of ,st4 ,memin1 provost of ,orleans1 being dead1 her husband1 believing that his ancestors had sufficiently impoverished themselves by giving to the monks1 gave the brothers a present1 which did not appear to them considerable enough4 ,these good ,franciscans conceived a plan for disinterring the deceased1 to force the widower to have her buried again in holy ground1 and to pay them better4 ,the project was not clever1 for the ,lord of ,st4 ,memin would not have failed to have buried her elsewhere4 ,but folly often mixes with knavery4 ',at first1 the soul of the lady of ,st4 ,memin appeared only to two brothers4 ,she said to them--,i am damned1 like ,judas2 because my husband has not given sufficient4 ,the two knaves who related these words perceived not that they must do more harm to the convent than good4 ,the aim of the convent was to extort money from the ,lord of ,st4 ,memin1 for the repose of his wife's soul4 ,now if ,madame de ,st4 ,memin was damned1 all the money in the world could not save her4 ,they got no more2 the ,cordeliers lost their labour4 ',at this time there was very little good sense in ,france3 the nation had been brutalised by the invasion of the ,franks1 and afterwards by the invasion of scholastic theology2 but in ,orleans there were some persons who reasoned4 ,if the ,great ,being permitted the soul of ,madame de ,st4 ,memin to appear to two ,franciscans1 it was not natural1 they thought1 for this soul to declare itself damned like ,judas4 ,this comparison appeared to them to be unnatural4 ,this lady had not sold our ,lord ,jesus ,christ for thirty deniers2 she was not hanged2 her intestines had not obtruded themselves2 and there was not the slightest pretext for comparing her to ,judas4 ',this caused suspicion2 and the rumour was still greater in ,orleans1 because there were already heretics there who believed not in certain visions1 and who1 in admitting absurd principles1 did not always fail to draw good conclusions4 ,the ,cordeliers1 therefore1 changed their battery1 and put the lady in purgatory4 ',she therefore appeared again1 and declared that purgatory was her #abd lot2 but she demanded to be disinterred4 ,it was not the custom to disinter those in purgatory2 but they hoped that ,monsieur ,st4 ,memin would prevent this extraordinary affront by giving money4 ,this demand of being thrown out of the ,church augmented the suspicions4 ,it was well known that souls often appeared2 but they never demanded to be disinterred4 ',from this time the soul spoke no more1 but it haunted everybody in the convent and church4 ,the brother ,cordeliers exorcised it4 ,brother ,peter1 of ,arras1 adopted a very awkward manner of conjuring it4 ,he said to it--,if thou art the soul of the late ,madame de ,st4 ,memin1 strike four knocks2 and the four knocks were struck4 ,if thou art damned1 strike six knocks2 and the six knocks were struck4 ,if thou art still tormented in hell1 because thy body is buried in holy-ground1 knock six more times2 and the other six knocks were heard still more distinctly4 ,if we disinter thy body1 and cease praying to ,god for thee1 wilt thou be the less damned8 ,strike five knocks to certify it to us2 and the soul certified it by five knocks4 ,spirit-rapping is therefore more ancient than is generally supposed4 ',this interrogation of the soul1 made by ,peter1 of ,arras1 was signed by twenty-two ,cordeliers1 at the head of which was the reverend father provincial4 ,this father provincial the next day asked it the same questions1 and received the same answers4 ',it will be said that the soul having declared that it was in purgatory1 the ,cordeliers should not have supposed that it was in hell2 but it is not my fault if theologians contradict one another4 ',the ,lord of ,st4 ,memin presented a request to the king against the father ,cordeliers4 ,they presented a request on their sides2 the king appointed judges1 at the head of whom was ,adrian ,fumee1 master of requests4 ',the ,procureur-,general of the commission required that the said ,cordeliers should be burned2 but the sentence only condemned them to make the amende honorable1 with a torch in their bosom1 and to be banished from the kingdom4 ,this sentence is of ,february #ahth1 #aece4 ',after such a vision1 it is useless to relate any others3 they are all a species either of knavery or folly4 ,visions of the first kind are under the province of justice2 those of the second are either visions of diseased fools1 or of fools in good health4 ,the first belong to medicine1 the second to ,bedlam4' ,verse #c4 ',before the lamp of ,god went out4' ,i presume this refers to some lamp kept burning in the tabernacle2 but it is a strange mode of description4 ,verses #d to #ba4 ',now to appreciate this narrative1 ,i do not intend to reason on its leading features3 ,god comes into a chamber1 stands before a bed1 speaks as a person of flesh and bones4 ,what should ,i think of a person who would believe such a fable8 ,i shall confine myself to the conduct and character of ,samuel4 ,and first1 ,i demand who saw1 who heard1 all that was said2 who related it1 who made it public8 ,it could not be ,eli2 it could be only ,samuel1 who was #abe actor1 witness1 and narrator4 ,he alone had an interest to invent and promulgate4 ,without him who could have specified the minute details of this adventure8 ,it is evident that we have here a scene of phantasmagoria1 resembling those which took place among the ancients in the sanctuaries of the temples1 and for the responses of the oracles4 ,the young adept was encouraged to it by the physical and moral feebleness of the high-priest ,eli2 perhaps by the instigation of some person concealed behind the curtain1 and having interests and passions which we cannot now ascertain2 though it is most probable that ,samuel trusted to no one4 ,what remains to be afterwards seen of his dissimulation1 seems to fix the balance on this side4 ,divulging was not so difficult2 he might have been satisfied with the confidence of a servant1 a devoted friend1 an old or a young priestess1 that the apparition of ,god1 the oracle of the holy ark might be rumoured1 acquiring from mouth to mouth an intensity of certitude and belief4 ',but ,samuel increased 7says the text7 and ,god was with him1 and none of his words fell to the ground3 and all ,israel knew that he was become a prophet of ,god2 and ,god continued to appear in ,shiloh4 ,as to the word prophet the historian tells us that1 at this epoch1 the ,hebrew term ------ 7nebiah7 was unknown3 that the word -------- 7raeh7 was used1 which signifies seer4 ,here1 then1 we have a posthumous writer1 who connected at pleasure the memoirs which ,samuel1 or some other contemporary1 had composed4 ,it pleased him to set down1 as a positive fact1 the belief of all ,israel in this fable1 while he himself knew nothing of the matter4 ,if we had memoirs of those times from several hands1 we should have materials for reasonable judgment4 ,it is said in the text1 that for some time the word of the ,lord had become scarce1 and that there appeared no more visions4 ,why was this8 because there were some incredulous2 because there had happened bad examples1 false oracles1 divulging of sacerdotal knavery1 which had awakened the good sense of the higher class among the people4 ,the blind and fanatic credulity remained1 as it always happens1 among the multitude2 it was on them that ,samuel calculated1 and we shall see on the installation of ,saul1 that he had always against him a party of unbelievers1 powerful enough to compel him to use management1 and even to oblige him to abdicate4' 7,vide ,volney47 99,chapter iv41 v4 #d4 ',the ark of the covenant of the ,lord of ,hosts which dwelleth between the cherubims4' ,the ,douay translates the same thus3--',the ark of the covenant of the ,lord of ,hosts sitting upon the cherubims4' ,as to cherubim see page #ba4 ,the word translated ark is ------ 7aroun74 ,in ,parkhurst1 under the root ----1 ,i find the following remarks which are worthy of consideration3-- ',thus ,tacitus informs us that the inhabitants of the north of ,germany1 our ,saxon ancestors1 worshipped ,herthum or ,hertham1 that is1 the ,mother ,earth 7,terrain ,matrem71 and believed her to interpose in the affairs of men1 and to visit nations2 that to her1 within a sacred grove in a certain island of the ocean1 a vehicle1 covered with a vestment1 was consecrated1 and allowed to be touched by the priest alone1 #abf who perceived when the goddess entered into this her secret place 7penetrali71 and with profound veneration attended her vehicle1 which was drawn by cows4 ,while the goddess was on her progress1 days of rejoicing were kept in every place which she vouchsafed to visit4 ,they engaged in no war1 they meddled not with arms1 they locked up their weapons2 peace and quietness only were then known1 these only relished1 till the same priest reconducted the goddess1 satiated with the conversation of mortals1 to her temple4 ,then the vehicle and vestment1 and1 if you will believe it1 the goddess herself was washed in a secret lake4 ',among the ,mexicans1 ,vitziputzli1 their supreme god was represented in a human shape sitting on a throne1 supported by an azure globe1 which they called heaven4 ,four poles or sticks came out from two sides of this globe1 at the ends of which serpents' heads were carved1 the whole making a litter1 which the priests carried on their shoulders whenever the idol was shewed in public'--,picart's ,ceremonies and ,religious ,customs1 vol4 #c1 p4 #adf4 ',in ,lieutenant ,cook's voyage round the world1 published by ,dr4 ,hawksworth1 vol4 #b1 p4 #beb1 we find that the inhabitants of ,huaheine1 one of the islands lately discovered in the ,south ,sea1 had a kind of chest or ark1 the lid of which was nicely sewed on1 and thatched very neatly with palm-nut leaves2 it was fixed upon two poles1 and supported on little arches of wood1 very neatly carved4 ,the use of the poles seemed to be to remove it from place to place1 in the manner of our sedan-chairs2 in one end of it was a square hole1 in the middle of which was a ring touching the sides1 and leaving the angles open so as to form a round hole within1 a square one without4 ,the first time ,mr4 ,banks saw this coffer1 the aperture at the end was stopped with a piece of cloth which1 lest he should give offence1 he left untouched4 ,probably there was then something within2 but now the cloth was taken away1 and upon looking into it it was found empty4 ,the general resemblance between this repository and the ark of the ,lord among the ,jews is remarkable2 but it is still more remarkable1 that upon inquiring of the 7,indian7 boy what it was called1 he said ,ewharre no ,eatua1 the ,house of ,god2 he could1 however1 give no account of its signification or use4 ,in the neighbouring island of ,ulietea were also four or five ,ewharre no ,eatua1 or ,houses of ,god1 like that we had seen at ,huaheine4' p4 #beg4 ,verse #aa4 ,the presence of the ark seems rather to have increased the misfortunes of the ,israelites in the previous battle2 without the ark they lost #d1jjj men1 in this they lost #cj1jjj men1 beside also losing possession of the ark4 99,chapter v41 w4 #c and #d4 ',the ark of the ,god of the ,jews was in the profane hands of the ,philistines4 ,the people might have profited by the opportunity to destroy the talisman which had so often frightened them2 but at this time superstition was universal1 and among all nations the priests had a common interest to maintain it1 lest contempt for a strange deity should lead their ferocious warriors to examine too closely their own idol4 ,the ark is respected1 the priests of the #abg ,philistines place it in the temple of their ,god ,dagon1 in the city of ,azot 7or ,ashdod74 ,the following day on rising1 the people of ,azot found the idol ,dagon fallen upon its face 7the posture of adoration71 before the ark2 but they raised it up and replaced it4 ,the next day they found it fallen again1 but this time the hands and the head were separated from the body1 and placed on the threshold of the temple4 ,whence1 ,i would ask1 came this act of audacity and secret knavery8 ,did some ,jew introduce himself into the city with that artifice1 that pickpocket stratagem of which the ,arabs and the peasants of ,egypt and ,palestine give1 even in our days1 astonishing examples8 ,this might be possible2 fanaticism might lead to it4 ,the temple had no sentinels2 it was even open1 and decisive victory might have banished all vigilance4 ,on the other hand1 might it not have been the priests of ,dagon1 who resorted to this knavery from the motive already pointed out8 ,their subsequent conduct1 altogether partial1 renders this extremely probable4 ',the people of ,azot could not believe their ,god so powerless as to be treated so by human force2 they would say1 it is ,dagon himself who declares his will1 who shows his respect for his brother1 the ,god of the ,jews2 he did not wish to hold him captive4 ,the alarm spreads1 the priests announce some calamity1 the effect of the celestial anger1 and epidemic disease of the intestines takes place 7in that country ruptures and dysenteries are common72 then an eruption of rats and field mice was very destructive4 ,the people are confounded1 all is attributed to the captivity of the ark4 ,they demand its release1 ,the inhabitants of another town where they take it learn the motive and become alarmed2 the disease spreads by contagion1 and terror thus becomes general4 ,finally1 after seven months' delay1 the military chiefs of the ,philistines call before them their priests and divines1 and demand of them what they shall do with the ark8 ,it was proposed to burn it1 but mark the reply2 they advise not only to send it back1 but also to offer an expiatory offering for the sin of the warriors4 ,these 7as is commonly the case71 not less credulous than brave1 ask what offering should be given8 ,the priests reply1 make five golden emerods and five mice of gold1 according to the number of your principalities1 to appease the ,god of the ,hebrews4 ,why have you hardened your hearts like the ,king of ,egypt8 ,you have been smitten like him2 send away also the ark of the ,god of the ,hebrews4 ,here the spirit and system of the priests are evident2 they nourish the public credulity in favour of their particular power1 at the expense even of the interests of their own nation4 ,is there not reason to believe that the trick played by ,dagon came from their hands8' 7,vide ,volney47 ,verse #e4 ',therefore neither the priests of ,dagon1 nor any that come into ,dagon's house1 tread on the threshold of ,dagon in ,ashdod unto this day4 ',bishop ,patrick has a note on the words unto this day3-- ',the day when ,samuel wrote this book3 when the events happened he was a youth3 but the book was written when he was advanced in years4 #abh ',the space of time between this event and ,samuel's death was about forty years--not long enough to justify the expression unto this day4 ,it must not be taken for granted that ,samuel wrote this book2 and the verse before us tells as plainly as words can express1 that ,samuel must have been dead many years1 perhaps centuries1 when it was written4 ,but the commentators have not seen the natural force of the words1 on account of the erroneous opinion that ,samuel was the writer1 with which they would make the narrative harmonise4' 7 ,vide ',hebrew ,records4'7 ,verse #i4 ,the ,douay adds--',and the ,gethrites consulted together and made themselves seats of skins4' 99,chapter vi41 v4 #e4 ,it is difficult to understand how the ,deity could be propitiated by a direct violation of the second commandment4 ,verse #ai4 ,psalm #ajc1 v4 #h4 ',the ,lord is slow to anger1' yet #ej1jgj people slain in an instant for a mere act of indiscretion4 ',bethshemesh was a village belonging to ,god's people1 situated1 according to commentators1 two miles north of ,jerusalem4 ',the ,phoenicians having in ,samuel's time beaten the ,jews and taken from them their ark of allegiance in the battle in which they killed thirty thousand of their men1 were severely punished for it by the ,lord3 ',he struck them in the most secret part of the buttocks2 and the fields and the farm houses were troubled4444 and there sprung up mice2 and there was a great confusion of death in the city4 ',the prophets of the ,phoenicians or ,philistines having informed them that they could deliver themselves from the scourge only by-giving to the ,lord five golden mice and five golden emerods1 and sending him back the ,jewish ark1 they fulfilled this order1 and according to the express command of their prophets1 sent back the ark with the mice and emerods on a waggon drawn by two cows1 with each a sucking calf1 and without a driver4 ',these two cows1 of themselves1 took the ark straight to ,bethshemesh4 ,the men of ,bethshemesh approached the ark in order to look at it2 which liberty was punished yet more severely than the profanation by the ,phoenicians had been4 ,the ,lord struck with sudden death seventy men of the people and fifty thousand of the populace4 ',the ,reverend ,doctor ,kennicott1 an ,irishman1 printed in #agfh a ,french commentary on this occurrence1 and dedicated it to the ,bishop of ,oxford4 ,at the head of this commentary he entitles himself ,doctor of ,divinity1 ,member1 of the ,royal ,society of ,london1 of the ,palatine ,academy1 of the ,academy of ,gottingen1 and of the ,academy of ,inscriptions at ,paris4 ,all that ,i know of the matter is1 that he is not of the ,academy of ,inscriptions at ,paris4 ,perhaps he is one of its correspondents4 ,his vast erudition may have deceived him2 but titles are distinct from things4 ',in this pamphlet he pretends to prove that the ,scripture text has been corrupted4 ,here we must be permitted to differ with him4 ,nearly all ,bibles agree in these expressions3 seventy men of the people1 and fifty thousand of the populace4 #abi ',the ,reverend ,doctor ,kennicott says to the ,right ,reverend the ,lord ,bishop of ,oxford1 that formerly there were strong prejudices in favour of the ,hebrew text2 but that for seventeen years his lordship and himself have been freed from their prejudices1 after the deliberate and attentive perusal of this chapter4 ',in this we differ from ,dr4 ,kennicott2 and the more we read this chapter the more we reverence the ways of the ,lord1 which are not our ways4 ,it is impossible 7says ,kennicott7 for the candid reader not to feel astonished and affected at the contemplation of fifty thousand men destroyed in one village--men1 too1 employed in gathering the harvest4 ',this does1 it is true1 suppose a hundred thousand persons at least in that village2 but should the ,doctor forget that the ,lord had promised ,abraham that his posterity should be as numerous as the sands of the sea8 ',the ,jews and the ,christians 7adds he7 have not scrupled to express their repugnance to attach faith to this destruction of fifty thousand and seventy men4 ',we answer that we are ,christians1 and have no repugnance to attach faith to whatever is in the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,we answer with the ,reverend ,father ,calmet1 that if we were to reject whatever is extraordinary and beyond the reach of our conception1 we must reject the whole ,bible4 ,we are persuaded that the ,jews being under the guidance of ,god himself1 could experience no events but such as were stamped with the seal of the divinity1 and quite different from what happened to other men4 ,we will even venture to advance that the death of these fifty thousand and seventy men is one of the least surprising things in the ,old ,testament4 ',we are struck with astonishment still more reverential when ,eve's serpent and ,balaam's ass talk2 when the waters of the cataracts are swelled by rain fifteen cubits above all the mountains2 when we behold the plagues of ,egypt1 and the six hundred and thirty thousand fighting ,jews1 flying on foot through the divided and suspended sea2 when ,joshua stops the sun and moon at noon-day2 when ,sampson slays a thousand ,philistines with the jaw-bone of an ass44444 ,in those divine times all was miracle1 without exception2 and we have the profoundest reverence for all these miracles2 for that ancient world which was not our world2 for that nature which was not our nature2 for a divine book1 in which there can be nothing human4 ',but we are astonished at the liberty which ,dr4 ,kennicott takes of calling those ,deists and ,atheists1 who1 while they revere the ,bible more than he does1 differ from him in opinion4 ,never will it be believed that a man with such ideas is of the academy of medals and inscriptions4 ,he is1 perhaps1 of the academy of ,bedlam1 the most ancient of all1 and whose colonies extend throughout the earth4' 7,philosophical ,dictionary47 ,verse #ai4 ,the ,douay renders this--',he slew of the people seventy men1 and fifty thousand of the common people2' 99,chapter vii41 v4 #a4 ,what were the men of ,kirjathjearim1 that they should enjoy complete immunity from the ills which attended the #acj other unfortunates who came in contact with the ark1 and what gave them the right to sanctify ,eleazar8 ,kirjathjearim was a city of the ,gibeonites4 7,joshua1 chap1 ix41 v4 #ag47 ,verse #f4 ',drew water1 and poured it out before the ,lord4' ,this is a mode of sacrifice1 or rather of offering1 to the ,lord which ,i do not find mentioned elsewhere in the ,old ,testament4 ,verse #ac4 ,it is not true that the ,philistines came no more into the coast of ,israel4 7,vide chap1 xvii41 v4 #a47 ,verse #ae4 ',and ,samuel judged ,israel all the days of his life4' ,bishop ,patrick's interpretation of this stubborn verse may be quoted1 but to be as speedily rejected2 because it perverts the plain meaning of words1 for the purpose of making them support a preconceived theory3-- ',as ,samuel was the author of this book1 he could not speak literally of 'all the days of his life2' the sense probably is1 that he was so diligent in the discharge of his office1 that he gave himself no rest1 but sat to judge causes every day4' ',it is almost a waste of words to reply to such a manifest perversion of the meaning4 ,all the days of his life means the whole of his life1 not every day3 and the use of these words shows that ,samuel could not have been the author of the book4 ,but the commentator1 taking for granted that ,samuel was the author of the book1 has twisted the meaning of words to suit this preconceived notion4' 7,dr4 ,giles47 99,chapter viii41 v4 #c4 ,the sons of ,samuel seem to have been equally as vicious as the sons of ,heli1 yet ,samuel escapes punishment4 ,verses #f to #i4 ',the thing displeased ,samuel1' doubtless it did1 he disliked having to resign the supreme power4 ,volney says3-- ',a conspiracy was evidently formed2 for1 according to the historian1 a deputation from the sages of ,israel came to find ,samuel1 at his residence at ,ramatha1 to demand from him a king--a royal government1 constituted like that of the neighbouring people1 to whose example generally his attention was directed4 ,the answer which he gave to this deputation1 and the details of his conduct in this affair1 disclose the anger of disappointed ambition1 of a pride deeply wounded4 ,it was necessary for him to bend to force1 to yield to necessity4 ,but we shall see him in the execution exhibit a cunning intellect1 even to perfidy1 which1 by its analogy to the adventures in the temple1 his pretended visions and nocturnal revelations1 discovers all his character4 ',they forced ,samuel to name a king4 ,he might1 he ought to have chosen1 the man the most capable by his talents and by his resources1 to fill this eminent post4 ,but this he avoided4 ,such a man would reign by himself1 and not obey him4 ,a docile subject was necessary4 ,he sought him in a family of low degree1 without adherents2 but having that exterior which would impose on the people4 ,his choice was that of one who1 having just enough sense necessary to transact ordinary business1 was constantly under the necessity of recurring to a benefactor1 who could preserve a strict hand over him4 ,samuel1 in a word1 selected a handsome man of war1 who should possess the executive1 and be his lieutenant1 while he would continue to hold the #aca legislative reigning power4 ,here is the secret of all the conduct which we shall see him pursue in the elevation of ,saul1 in the disgrace of this king1 and in the substitution of ,david1 another trait of sacerdotal ,machiavelism4' 99,chapter ix41 v4 #a4 ,the ,douay substitutes for 'mighty man of power' the words 'valiant and strong4' ,by verse #ba1 according to ,saul's own statement1 his family was least amongst the families of ,benjamin4 ,verses #f to #h4 ,so that the fortune-tellers of the ,jews1 like those of the present day1 were inaccessible1 unless you had money4 ,the servant knew that with the piece of silver he would be a welcome visitor to the man of ,god4 ,verses #i and #aj4 7,beforetime in ,israel1 when a man went to inquire of ,god1 thus he spoke3--',come1 and let us go to the seer2' for he that is now called a prophet1 was beforetime called a seer47 ,then said ,saul to his servant1 ',well said2 come1 let us go4' ,so they went unto the city1 they found young maidens going to draw water1 and said to them1 ',is the seer here8' ,in explaining this passage1 the editors of the ,family ,bible try to make it appear that the words 'now' and 'beforetime' imply no greater interval of time than that which passed in ,samuel's own life-time4 ,they quote as follows from ,bishop ,patrick1 ,pyle1 and ,dr4 ,gray3-- ',the word now refers to the time when this book was written1 probably the latter part of ,samuel's life4 ,the verse explains that1 at the time when ,saul was appointed king1 the ,hebrew word ,roeh1 a seer of secret things1 was usually applied to inspired persons2 but that afterwards the word ,nabi1 or prophet 7which had been very anciently known1 as appears from the books of ,moses71 came into common use4 7,bishop ,patrick1 ,pyle47 ,the word ,nabi1 'prophet1' was in use in the time of ,moses1 or ,abraham4 7,see ,genesis1 chap1 xx41 v4 #g47 ,but then it only implied a man favoured of ,god2 whereas in the time of ,samuel it was appropriated to one who foresaw future events4 ,these remarks contain both what is true and what is false4 ,it is evident that the word ,roeh1 seer1 is the older term of the two1 and we find that it is the word which ,saul and his companions actually used--',is the seer here8' ,the word seer1 therefore1 was used in ,samuel's life-time1 and there is no proof that the word ,nabi1 'prophet1' superseded it during the life of ,samuel4 ,indeed1 there is a verse in the ,second ,book of ,samuel which shows that the old word seer was still in use after the death of ,samuel4 ,the king 7i4e41 ,david71 said also unto ,zadoc1 the priest1 ',art not thou a seer8 return into the city in peace1 and your two sons with you1 ,ahimaaz thy son1 and ,jonathan the son of ,abiathar4' ,chap1 xv41 v4 #bg4 ,the book of ,samuel was1 consequently1 not written by ,samuel4 ,the words now and beforetime denote too long an interval to allow room for such a supposition4 ,but yet the word ,nabi1 'prophet1' not in use in the time of ,samuel1 actually occurs in the ,pentateuch1 and other books of the ,old ,testament2 as for example1 in ,genesis1 chap4 #acb xx41 v4 #g2 ,exodus1 chap1 vii41 v4 #a2 chap1 xv41 v4 #bj2 ,numbers1 chap4 xi41 v4 #bi2 chap1 xii41 v4 #f2 ,deuteronomy1 chap1 xiii41 vv4 #a1e2 chap4 xviii41 v4 #ae2 chap1 xxxiv41 v4 #aj2 ,judges1 chap1 iv41 v4 #d2 chap1 vi41 v4 #h2 #a ,samuel1 chap1 iii41 v4 #bj2 chap4 ix4 v4 #i2 #b ,samuel1 chap1 vii41 v4 #b2 #a ,kings1 chap1 xiii41 v4 #aa4 ,in the later of these passages it is not to be wondered that the word rendered 'prophet' should be found1 because the writer of the ,first ,book of ,samuel tells us that it had come into use in his time1 and therefore must have been a common word afterwards2 but that it should occur in the ,book of ,genesis proves either that ,genesis was written after the introduction of the word into the ,hebrew language1 or that the writer of the ,first ,book of ,samuel is wrong in describing the word as modern1 or that the meaning of the word had changed4 ,i believe that the word was actually a new word in the ,hebrew language1 introduced after the ,babylonish captivity1 and consequently that the ,first ,book of ,samuel1 as well as the ,pentateuch1 were written after that captivity4 7',hebrew ,records4'7 ,verse #ae4 ,in a note to ,home's ',deism ,refuted1' ,bishop ,middle-ton is quoted1 in favour of1 the simplicity of the style of the ,bible2 the style here is undoubtedly simple enough3 ',the ,lord had told ,samuel in his ear a day before ,saul came4' ,verse #bd4 ,according to the ,hebrew it is not ,samuel1 but the cook1 who speaks in this verse to ,saul4 ',what are we to think of all this8 ,can we believe that it was by accident that the asses of ,kish disappeared1 and that ,saul was led to the house of ,samuel8 ,let those believe this who have faith in seers1 fortune-tellers1 the gods of the heathen1 and a particular ,providence in finding lost asses2 but to those who have not lost or abjured their senses1 it is clear that all this is a crafty manoeuvre1 secretly contrived to attain a particular object4 ,we cannot doubt that ,samuel1 a man so acquainted throughout ,israel1 had already known the person of ,saul4 ,he thought his character suited to his end2 but1 to be assured precisely of it1 it was necessary to talk with him4 ,he could not decently go to see him2 he must send for him4 ,he says to a devotee 7as men of that caste always had them71 ,god wishes to prove his servant ,kish2 go1 take away his asses1 and lead them to such a place4 ,the man obeys4 ,behold ,saul seeking them4 ,he does not find them4 ,in such a case1 how many ,swiss1 ,bavarian1 ,tyrolese1 ,breton1 ,vendean peasants would go to see the fortune-teller8 ,but nothing was easier to this divine than to bribe people on the route which ,saul was to take4 ,it was foreseen by ,samuel4 ,he projected the sacrifice and the feast after this calculation4 ,the portion set apart for an absent guest proves it4 ,when he had ,saul in his house he employed the evening to sound him in every way2 he prepared him for his new part2 finally he sends off the servant1 and mysteriously1 without witness1 performs the grand1 the important ceremony of pouring a little oil on his head mark well the circumstance2 he anoints him without witness in secret for a public effect2 he kisses him1 says the text2 he tells him that from this moment ,god has consecrated him unchangeable1 irremovable king of ,israel4 #acc ',at this stage of their intimacy1 it is evident their confidence was complete4 ,saul knew and accepted the propositions and conditions of ,samuel4 ,he who had measured the mind of his pupil1 in order to subjugate him more and more1 uttered several predictions to be accomplished immediately4 ,in returning home 7says he7 you will meet at such a place two men1 who will tell you that your father has found his asses2 further on you will find three men going to ,beitel 7or ,bethel71 they will say to you such things2 they will make you such a present4 ,again1 at the hill of the ,philistines1 you will find a procession of prophets1 descending from the high place1 to the sound of the lyres1 of drums1 of pipes1 and of guitars4 ,the spirit of ,god will seize you2 you will prophesy with them2 you will be changed to another man4 ,when these signs shall happen to you1 you must do that which you wish4 ,god will be with you2 you must come and find me at ,galgala to sacrifice3 ,i shall go down there to offer pacificatory sacrifices2 you must wait my arrival seven days1 and ,i will let you know what you must do4 ,saul went1 and all that ,samuel had predicted came to pass6 ,now1 what was there miraculous here8 ,it was easy for ,samuel to organise all these meetings1 and even to calculate the time and place of the procession of the prophets--a religious ceremony which had its fixed days and hours4 ',saul1 dismissed by ,samuel1 met the procession of prophets1 and at sight of the train1 seized with the spirit of ,god1 he set himself to prophesy with them4 ,the people inquired if ,saul had become a prophet4 ,those who knew it asked what had happened to the son of ,kish to have also become a prophet8 ,others observed1 what is their father to them8 ,his father-in-law having questioned him on the details of his journey1 ,saul told him all except the affair of the royalty4 ,behold1 then1 a connivance between ,saul and ,samuel4 ',there remained a public scene to play to gain the respect and credulity of the people4 ,for this purpose1 ,samuel convoked at ,maspha a general assembly4 ,after some reproaches on the part of ,god 7for nothing can be done without his name71 you wish to have1 says he1 another king than your ,god2 you shall have him4 ,in the meantime he began to draw by lot the twelve tribes of ,israel1 to know from which tribe should issue their king4 ,the lot fell upon the tribe of ,benjamin3 he drew them by lot1 and the lot fell upon the family of ,matri2 and finally on the person of ,saul4 ,assuredly if there is any juggling1 it is that of drawing lot on a thing already determined4 ,as to the trick of directing the lot1 we know that it requires but very little address to play the sleight of hand3 it has been seen everywhere2 we yet see examples of it ',it is necessary that the ,hebrew people should believe that ,god himself had made choice of ,saul1 in order that his choice might impose obedience upon all1 and respect to the malcontents1 which the opposition had not yet let be seen4 ,by an addition to the jugglery1 ,saul was not present3 it is clear that ,samuel had concealed him2 they seek him2 they soon find him in the hiding-place which the seer had the merit of divining4 ,the people were surprised to see so fine a #acd man2 and1 according to the literal account1 they cried ',god save the ,king4' ,then ,samuel read to the people the statutes of the kingdom1 and he wrote them a book1 which he deposited1 without doubt1 in the temple4 ,alter the ceremony the people were dismissed4 ,saul returned to his house at his farm2 and to form an army he assembled around him men whose hearts ,god had touched2 that is the sycophants and partisans of ,samuel2 but the evil one's exclaimed1 ,what6 is this he who is to save us8 ,and they carried him no presents4 ',these last expressions point out a party of malcontents4 ,their spirit and tone of disdain indicate the low rank and condition in which ,saul was born1 and perhaps also the mediocrity of his talents already known to his neighbours1 without exposing a secret infirmity1 which we shall soon see developed4 ,we perceive1 then1 that these malcontents were of a class distinguished by birth and by wealth1 who are in the text denominated evil ones1 because the writer was a believer1 a devotee1 imbued with the ideas of the priest1 his hero1 and that of the superstitious majority of the nation4 ',the book of royal statutes1 written by ,samuel1 is worthy of some attention4 ,the ,hebrew word mashfat ------ which it is designated1 signifies sentence rendered--law imposed4 ,what was this law1 this constitution of royalty8 ,the answer is not doubtful4 ,it was the same mashfat mentioned in the #hth chapter and #aath verse1 where ,samuel being angry1 says to the people--,here is the mashfat of the ,king2 who will reign over you3 he will take your children2 he will employ them in the service of his chariots and his horses2 they will run before him and before his chariots of war2 he will make them captains over thousands and captains of fifties2 he will employ them as labourers in his fields to gather his harvest1 to make his instruments of war1 and his chariots4 ,he will take your daughters and make them perfumers 7or washerwomen71 his cooks1 and his bakers4 ,he will take your corn fields1 your olive orchards1 and your vineyards2 he will give them to his servants2 he will take the tenth of your grain and of your wine to give to his eunuchs and servants2 he will take away your slaves1 male and female1 as well as your asses2 and the best of your goods will be for his use2 he will decimate your cattle1 and of your own persons he will make slaves4 ',those will be deceived who take this for menaces only4 ,it is simply the picture of what passed among the neighbouring people who had kings4 ,it is an instructive sketch of the civil1 political1 and military state of those times when we see chariots1 slaves1 eunuchs1 tithes1 tillages of different kinds1 companies and battalions of thousands and fifties1 etc41 as in later periods4 ,such were the evils resulting from the theocratic rgime1 or government of priests in the name of ,god1 that the ,hebrews preferred to it a military despotism1 concentrated in a single person2 who at home had the power of maintaining peace1 and abroad to repel aggression and the intrusion of strangers4 ',if ,samuel had been a just man he would1 in establishing the rights of the king1 have also fixed the balance of his duties1 what constituted the rights of the people3 he would have imposed upon him1 #ace as is practised in ,egypt1 the duties of temperance in all things1 of abstinence from luxury1 of repressing his passions1 of overseeing his agents1 of discountenancing flatterers1 of resolution to punish1 and of impartiality to judge between his subjects4 ,but the priest ,samuel was irritated at having wrested from him the sceptre which his knavery had obtained4 ,the most to be regretted in this affair is1 that ,saul was not endowed with sufficient means or sufficient spirit to counteract this perfidious protector4 ,he could1 by feigning to hold ,samuel strictly to his order1 by obliging him to explain it clearly1 have thrown back upon him the checks which he imposed1 and thus1 in the eyes of the people1 he would have had the merit of liberating them4 ,david did not fail2 but ,saul1 altogether a brave warrior1 and not suspecting the policy of the temple1 became the dupe and the victim of a consummate ,machiavelism4 ',according to ,samuel1 the royal statute was a pure and severe despotism1 a genuine tyranny4 ,according to ,moses1 it was quite another thing4 ,to be convinced of this1 it is sufficient to read the precept recorded in the #agth chapter of ,deuteronomy1 verse #ad1 etc4 ,it says1 literally1 ,when you shall have entered into the land which ,jehovah your ,god has given you1 and which you shall possess and inhabit1 and you shall say ,i will establish over me a king like all the people that surround me1 you shall establish him who shall choose ,jehovah your ,god2 you shall take him from among your brethren 7,jews72 you shall not take a stranger who is not your brother2 and this king shall not possess many horses2 he shall not make the people return to ,egypt to have many horses2 he shall not multiply wives1 that his heart turn not away2 he shall not amass treasures of gold and silver1 and when he shall sit upon the throne he shall write for himself a copy of the law in a book before the priests and the ,levites1 and this copy shall be in his hands2 he shall read it every day of his life to learn to fear ,jehovah his ,god1 and to practise all his precepts4 ,what a difference between this statute of ,moses and that of ,samuel6 ,mark well the words3 the king shall be one of your brethren1 a man entirely as one of you2 and he shall be submissive to the will of the nation4 ,how happens it that ,samuel was not intimate with1 or did not mention1 a single word of an ordinance of the legislator so precise and radical8 ,how was it that no person made the least mention of it8 ,was this law of ,moses unknown or forgotten8 or was it by some chance not yet inserted8 ,these are reasonable suspicions in this respect4' 7,vide ,volney47 ,dr4 ,giles observes that3-- ',the description of a king 7,deuteronomy xvii41 #af--bj71 presents nothing offensive to the feelings or injurious to the happiness of the people3 nor does it seem to imply that the ,almighty would disapprove of the ,israelites choosing for themselves a king when they should1 be settled in the land of promise4 ,on the contrary1 it conveys an idea that the request would be a natural one1 and it explains the mode in which the petition should be complied with4 ,is it1 then1 likely that ,samuel had read this description1 when he cautioned the people #acf against choosing a king by giving that forcible picture of his tyranny and his rapacity8 ',the words of ,samuel will seem highly reasonable to those who know the nature of ,oriental despotism1 if we only suppose that ,samuel had never read the #agth chapter of ,deuteronomy1 which deals so much more leniently with the same contingency4 ',it is something1 also1 to our present point that neither does ,samuel cause ,saul to copy out the book of the law as before alluded to1 and this seems to prove that there was no book of the ,law besides the two tables of stone then in existence4' 99,chapter x41 v4 #e4 ',the hill of ,god1 where is the garrison of the ,philistines4' ,so that1 according to this1 the ,god of the ,israelites1 who had brought the ,jewish nation into the land promising to cast out all opposers1 not only failed in the promise1 but actually suffered the indignity of having the hill designated par excellence as the 'hill of ,god1' occupied by a hostile garrison4 ,the musical accompaniments to the prophesying1 prove that a very different meaning must attach to the word than the one usually given2 some allege that the word means poet4 ,it is used in many places in a manner entirely unconnected with the foretelling of future events4 ,in the epistle to ,titus the word prophet is used in reference1 probably to a heathen poet4 ,by ,chronicles1 chap1 xxv41 v4 #abc1 the word 'prophesying' clearly denotes musical performances 'under order of the king4' ,the ,douay in a foot-note tells me that prophesying is singing praises to ,god by divine impulse4 ,i am inclined to consider the word prophet as synonymous with that of bard4 ,our ancient bards recited the events of the past1 and in stirring poetical phraseology gave forth their hopes and conjectures of victories in the future4 ,verse #ab has no connection with the rest of the chapter1 and it is not consistent in itself4 ,there is no connection between the question ',who is their father8' and the following words1 ',therefore it became a proverb1 is ,saul also amongst the prophets8' ,besides which1 in chap1 xix41 v4 #bd1 we get a totally different version of the origin of the proverb4 ,verse #be4 ,this book is lost1 ,i presume4 ,it is never referred to afterwards4 ,was it a revelation from ,god8 ,verse #bf4 ,why did not ,god touch the hearts of every man4 99,chapter xi41 vv4 #d to #g4 ,although ,saul was the anointed king of ,israel1 he seems to have been ploughing in a field1 and to have killed the very oxen he had been using4 ,the king at that time1 therefore1 was not so well off as the priest4 ,verses #h to #ae4 ',the ,hebrew version says1 thirty thousand men of ,judea1 and three hundred thousand of the eleven tribes4 ,the ,greek1 on the contrary1 says1 seventy thousand of ,judea1 and six hundred thousand of the others4 ,such variations1 which are often repeated1 show the credit that is due to these books of morals4 ,according to the ,greek version1 by supposing every six persons to furnish one man-of-war1 there would be three millions of inhabitants on a #acg territory of nine hundred square leagues2 consequently more than three thousand persons to the square league2 which is against all probability4 ,the most reasonable number1 perhaps1 is twenty thousand picked men for a coup de main1 which moreover demanded rapidity4 ,saul departs like an arrow2 arrives at break of day1 and pours on the camp of the ,ammonites1 who1 accustomed to the sluggish manner of the ,jews1 expected no such movement4 ,saul surprises1 destroys them1 and delivers the town4 ,the people1 charmed with this beginning1 come uncovered1 and propose to ,samuel to slay those who do not recognise and salute the king4 ,saul brave1 and for this reason generous1 opposes it4 ,this once ,samuel is satisfied1 and gives orders that there snail be a general assembly at ,gilgal to renew the installation1 which was done4 ,but why this second ceremony8 ,was it to give the opponents and malcontents an opportunity to rally with the majority of the people1 and to stifle a schism which had more partisans than are indicated8 for we see symptoms of it when in the approaching war with the ,philistines there were found in their camp many ,hebrew deserters1 bearing arms against the party of ,samuel and ,saul4 ,this was the first apparent motive1 and it was quite ingenious4 ,but we shall soon discover that ,samuel1 always1 profound and full of deception1 had another secret intimately connected with his interests and character4 ,the text tells us1 chap1 xii41 that the assembly being formed1 ,samuel standing before all the people1 made a speech1 the substance of which was that he had managed their affairs with perfect integrity2 that he had taken no one's ox or ass2 that he had oppressed or persecuted no one2 that he had not taken bribes2 and that nevertheless he had been forced to put a king in his place4 ,he attributes this step as against ,god4 ,but why ,god8 ,it was himself4 ,as1 by the nature of the royal rgime1 such as he has pictured it1 ,saul could not fail to cause similar vexations1 a contrast was created which even at this time tends to diminish the credit he had just1 acquired1 and shows the jealousy that actuated ,samuel4 ',the priest insisted that ,god had1 until then1 governed the nation by his special servants1 such as ,moses1 ,aaron1 ,gideon1 ,jephtha1 etc42 and that the people1 now rebellious1 wished to govern themselves by men of their own choice4 ,but as this new system took away the supreme and arbitrary power from the priests of whom ,samuel was the head1 we see whence came the deep hatred which he entertained for it2 and his sacerdotal arrogance in setting himself up as the chief interpreter and representative on earth of the ,divinity4 ,here the writer 7a priest also7 has joined a remarkable circumstance3 ,you see1 says ,samuel to the people1 that we are in the time of harvest the end of ,june1 or beginning of ,july4 ,well1 ,i will invoke ,god1 and he will answer me in a voice of thunder and rain1 and you shall know your sin of disobedience4 ,so there came thunder and rain1 and the people were seized with fear2 they knew their sin and demanded pardon of ,samuel1 who 7generously7 answered that he would not cease always to pray for them4 ',this recital is very well1 but we have a right to ask for the #ach evidence of its truth8 ,who has seen the occurrence8 ,who has told it to us8 ,a narrator at second hand4 ,was he a witness of it8 ,he is the only one2 he is partial4 ,besides1 a crowd of facts and similar accounts are found among the ,greeks1 the ,romans1 and all the ancient barbarians4 ,are we to believe that their seers1 that their divines had also the gift of miracles8 ,but admitting the recital and the fact1 we have yet the right to say that ,samuel1 more knowing than a multitude of superstitious1 ignorant peasants1 had perceived the sign1 or forerunner of a storm1 which is not rare at that time of the year4 ,i myself1 while travelling1 have seen it in the last days of ,december1 when the case is still more singular4 ,the result was1 the people placed greater confidence in ,samuel2 and that was what this ecclesiastical king wanted1 in order not to lose the tutelage of his royal lieutenant4' 7 ,vide ,volney47 99,chapter xii41 v4 #aa4 ',bedan4' ,it is remarkable1 says ,bishop ,patrick1 that there is no such name as ,bedan mentioned in the ,book of ,judges4 ',dr4 ,hales1 with a singular boldness of criticism1 observes on the same passage3-- ',perhaps ,barak may be meant4 ',this supposition might pass if it were certain that the ,book of ,judges contained a full history of all that period of the ,jewish national existence2 but as it certainly is a very brief history1 and occasionally changes with great abruptness from one subject to another1 it is most probable that other writings once existed which perished before the present ,book of ,judges was compiled4' 7,vide ',hebrew ,records4'7 99,chapter xiii41 v4 #a4 ,the ,douay translates this--',saul was a child of one year when he began to reign4' ',it was natural for this new king to be elated with his first and brilliant success1 and with his sudden and high fortune4 ,we find him also a little while after declare war against the ,philistines4 ,several incidents mentioned give cause to suspect that this was contrary to the wish of ,samuel1 and that hence began the misunderstanding which we shall soon see break out4 ,samuel might with reason represent to ,saul that the ,philistines were powerful1 warlike1 and formidable2 that their maritime trade rivalled that of ,sidon and ,tyre1 giving them the means of industry superior to those of the ,hebrews2 who1 although left in peace under their own government1 were not in a state fit for independence or resistance1 since they had not even the liberty of having smiths to make their axes1 their ploughshares1 and still more their lances1 and that it was1 therefore1 better to temporise4 ,this is all very true and wise4 ,but ,saul went farther2 full of confidence in the ardour of the people1 he could answer that ,god would benevolently provide1 as in the time of ,gideon and ,jephtha4 ,he chose three thousand men to remain on duty with him1 and sent away the rest4 ,of this light corps he gave one thousand to his son ,jonathan4 ,this young man soon attacked a post of the ,philistines1 who called to arms and gathered together4 ,saul1 seeing them numerous1 summoned the #aci ,hebrews4 ,according to the historian the ,philistines detached thirty thousand war chariots1 six thousand horsemen1 and a multitude of foot soldiers1 as numerous as the sand of the sea shore4 ,we ask1 who counted these chariots and horsemen8 ,there is1 besides1 a shocking contradiction1 for the whole territory of the ,philistines was not more than one hundred leagues square1 which does not answer to more than two hundred thousand inhabitants4 ,we must suppose1 according to the narrative1 there was more than one hundred thousand warriors4 ,it is a very remarkable circumstance that in the books of the ,jews the numbers are generally exaggerated beyond belief1 and almost always in round numbers by decimals4 ,fear seized the ,hebrews2 the country people dispersed1 and hid themselves in the mountains and caves4 ,saul found himself in a great straight2 he called upon ,samuel1 who desired him to wait seven days 7he wished to see how it would turn74 ,during this time the people contrived to desert4 ,saul1 believing that success depended upon a propitiatory sacrifice1 ordered preparations1 and seeing the enemy ready to attack him before ,samuel's arrival1 he determined to make the sacrifice himself1 which was the duty of the priest4 ,finally ,samuel arrived3 ,what have you done8 says he to ,saul4 ,the king explains his reasons4 ,samuel answers1 ,you have acted foolishly2 you have not observed the orders which ,god gave you2 he had established your kingdom for ever3 now your kingdom shall not stand2 ,god has chosen a man after his own heart 7this phrase must be borne in mind when criticising ,david's life72 he has made him chief over his people2 and ,samuel went away4 ',such a sudden change of conduct could not take place without serious motives4 ,we must suppose that some dissention had arisen between them2 some serious dispute of the kind which ,i have pointed out4 ,if1 however1 that should not suffice to explain a part so decided1 or justify so much insolence1 ,i can perceive another motive4 ,the course of public and private actions of ,saul1 show that he was subject to a nervous disease1 the symptoms of which are those of epilepsy4 ,might it not be that this distressing disease being ordinarily concealed1 ,samuel did not know of it when he made choice of ,saul2 but having discovered it1 he perceived himself to blame in public opinion and before his enemies1 and then sought occasion and means to disown him8 ,it is no less true that in this his conduct is wicked and blameable1 inasmuch as he destroys the confidence of the people in their chief1 and encourages them to desert and lay open the country to the enemy4 ',this priest thought all success impossible1 and by immolating his vanquished pupil he wished to insure for himself a compromise with his enemies1 both within and without4 ,chance defeated his calculations4 ,saul remained with six hundred men1 courageous and determined like himself4 ,he takes post before the enemy's camp1 prohibiting all attack4 ,several days passed4 ,his son1 ,jonathan1 stealing under cover 7of the night1 probably71 followed by one only squire1 he presents himself before a ,philistine post1 situated on a high rock2 he is taken for a refugee ,hebrew1 such as had arrived in great numbers for several days before2 he climbs up with his squire and is received4 #adj ,in a moment they both attack the enemy with so much boldness and good fortune that they stretch twenty men dead upon half an acre of ground4 ,confusion and terror spread through the camp4' ,in fact1 ,jonathan's exploit exercised such a wonderful effect that1 we are told1 the earth quaked and trembled with fear4 ,the ,douay says1 that 'it was a miracle from ,god2' our authorised text does not notice the miracle1 but it is quite certain that the last word of the ,hebrew verse is ------ 7,alehim or ,elohim71 for which ,i find no equivalent in our version4 ,why is this omitted8 ,the ,philistines think themselves betrayed1 either by one another or by the refugee ,hebrews4 ,one man strikes another3 ,saul1 hearing the noise1 advances with his men1 and the rout became complete4 ,carried away by his excessive courage1 the king imprudently forbids the eating of anything before the end of the day1 and of the slaughter and pursuit4 ,his son1 ignorant of this1 refreshes himself with a little honey2 his father would have immolated him to his oath 7like ,jephtha71 but the people oppose it1 and save ,jonathan4 ,i confess that ,i do not quite understand how the ,israelites smote the ,philistines without weapons2 but ,god's ways are not as our ways4 ,nor do ,i understand how it was that the ,lord allowed the people to escape1 who ate the flesh with the blood thereof4 ',here is a second victory of the new king2 but this happened contrary to all expectations1 and must have disconcerted ,samuel1 who does not appear upon the scene of action4 ,the ,philistines being vanquished1 retire to their own country4 ,it would appear that a truce must have been made1 since the historian does not speak any more of war on this side4 ,he mentions that ,saul turned his arms against other nations2 that he attacked one after another3 the ,moabites1 the ,ammonites1 the ,idumeans1 the ,syrian kings of ,sobah1 to the north and beyond ,damas2 and that it was not until then that he turned again against the ,philistines and ,amalekites4 ,everywhere he was fortunate and conquered4 ,it is evident these different wars must have taken several years2 at least each of them one campaign4 ,the narrator likewise seems to terminate here his history in numbering and naming the wives whom ,saul married1 the children he had1 and the man whom he made commander of his guard and general of his troops4 ',from the manner in which the fourteenth chapter is terminated6' a reader used to the style of these books would believe that the history of ,samuel is really finished2 for the ordinary form in closing the history of the other kings1 is by recounting their wives1 their children1 and the prominent personages of their reign4 ,the fifteenth chapter1 however1 which follows1 seems to commence another portion of the reign of ,saul1 containing the details of the consecration and substitution of ,david1 which may be dated from a scene of the final rupture1 which took place between the king and ,samuel4 ,may it not have been that the last compiler1 presumed to have been ,esdras1 in arranging the manuscripts originally written by ,samuel1 ,nathan1 and ,god1 according to the testimony given in ,chronicles i41 #bi1 sewed the narratives together without much care1 as was generally done among #ada the ancients8 ,we shall see the proof of this in the presentation of ,david to ,saul4' 7 ,vide ,volney47 99,chapter xv41 vv4 #b and #c4 ,christian1 contrast these with ,daniel1 chap4 ix1 v4 #i1 and then consider well how your ,deity has entitled himself to the attribute of a ,god of love1 shewing mercy and forgiveness to all1 even to those who have rebelled against him4 ,verse #i4 ,if only as a measure of policy1 ,saul's conduct is worthy of approval2 he acted far more wisely than ,samuel4 ,verse #bi is contradicted by v4 #ce of this chapter1 and in ,jeremiah1 chap1 xv41 y4 #f2 and of all the parts of the ,bible this is the most absurd1 for the whole transaction arises from his having repented that he had set up ,saul as king4 7,see ,v4 #aa47 ,verse #cb4 ,the ,douay says that ,agag was 'very fat2' if the ,jews were cannibals this would doubtless be a sufficient reason for the sacrifice4 ,volney thus comments on this chapter 7the reader ought to bear in mind that ,volney scarcely ever quotes from the ,protestant version73-- ',several years1 perhaps eight or ten1 were passed in the wars of ,saul without any mention of ,samuel4 ,without doubt the successes and popularity of the king affected the prophet4 ,at last he reappears on the scene2 he seeks an occasion favourable to his views2 he finds ,saul2 he opens by recalling to his mind that he consecrated him king4 ,this was to induce obedience1 through a sentiment of gratitude1 to what he was going to say4 ,behold1 he observes1 what that ,god now ordains who formerly ordered me to consecrate you4 ,i recollect what the people of ,amalek did against my people at the coming up from ,egypt4 7,it was #djj years before2 ,amalek had opposed the passage of the ,hebrews1 and had slain many47 ,go now1 strike ,amalek2 destroy all that belongs to them2 spare nothing2 you must slay men1 women1 children1 oxen1 sheep1 goats1 etc ,who is not chilled at such a command8 ,to make ,god order the extermination because of a quarrel #djj years before1 in which the ,hebrews were the aggressors1 for they wished to force a passage through the territory of ,amalek4 ,but what was the object of ,samuel8 ,he had a design in view1 and an occasion was wanted to execute it4 ,samuel saw a popular cause for war and seized it ',saul formed an army4 ,the ,hebrew text says #aj1jjj men of ,judah and #bjj1jjj foot soldiers of the other tribes4 ,the ,greek says #djj1jjj men of one and #cj1jjj of the other4 ,the ,alexandrian manuscript says only #aj1jjj of each1 which is the most probable4 ,why these contradictions8 ,why these absurdities8 ,for it is absurd to collect #bjj1jjj men to take by surprise a small tribe of ,bedouins4 ,saul departs and surprises the ,amalekites in the desert2 he kills all those who fall into his hands2 takes their king alive2 guards him together with the beasts and other booty4 ,returning triumphant to ,mount ,carmel1 he descends to the valley where there is an altar1 and prepares1 says the text1 to offer a sacrifice to ,god of the best among the spoil1 according to the rites of the ,greeks and ,romans4 ,samuel arrives2 but1 says the historian1 ,god had spoken #adb to the seer 7during the night7 and had said1 ,i repent of having made ,saul king1 for he has turned from me and does not obey my orders4 ,this1 it is said1 frightened ,samuel1 who cried to the ,lord all night4 ,here again is a vision1 a conference1 a repentance from ,god6 ,could our negroes and savages hear such fables without laughing8 ,the ,jews believe all2 they do not ask any proof of ,samuel2 he however is the only evidence2 he only could have written such details4 ,he is here author1 actor1 judge1 and party4 ,who would be a ,jew to believe upon his word8 ,yet it is a proverb1 as unbelieving as a ,jew4 ',samuel arrives and advances to ,saul4 ,what means1 says he1 this noise of cattle that ,i hear8 ,saul answers1 ,the people have spared the best of the effects of ,amalek to offer to the ,lord our ,god2 we have destroyed the rest4 ,allow me 7replies ,samuel7 to relate what ,god said to me last night4 ,speak1 says ,saul4 ,when you was little in your own eyes 7says the ,lord7 did not ,i make you king of ,israel1 and now have ,i not sent you against ,amalek directing you to exterminate him2 why have you not fulfilled my commandment8 ,why have you sinned and kept the spoils8 ,i have obeyed 7replied ,saul72 ,i marched1 ,i destroyed ,amalek1 and brought away the king alive1 but the people have kept back these spoils and these victims of beasts to offer on the altar of ,god at ,galgala4 ,samuel answers1 ,does ,god demand these offerings and victims rather than obedience to his orders8 ,you endeavour to ascertain good fortune by a victim1 by inspecting the fat of rams2 but know that the sin of divination is rebellion1 a falsehood1 an idolatry2 but since you reject the commands of ,god he rejects your kingdom4 ',saul1 feeble and superstitious1 confesses himself culpable2 he supplicates the ambassador of ,god to pray for the removal of his sin2 the priest rejects his prayer1 reiterates his deposition1 and turns to leave him4 ,saul seizes the skirt of his coat or cloak to retain him2 the priest1 implacable1 makes an effort by which the part is torn4 ,god 7he repeats7 has torn from you the kingdom of ,israel1 and has delivered it to a better2 he has so decreed2 is he man to repent8 ,saul insists1 ,i have sinned1 do not dishonour me before my people and before their chiefs2 return to me1 and ,i will humble myself before thy ,god4 7,these words seem remarkable2 there were1 then1 among the ,hebrews1 other acknowledged ,gods who lived on an equality with ,jehovah47 ,and ,samuel returned1 and ,saul humbled himself before ,jehovah4 ,samuel then said1 ,bring me ,agag1 king of ,amalek2 and ,agag being come1 ,samuel said to him1 ,what you have done to the children of our mothers that shall be done to yours2 and ,samuel cut him in pieces it seems with an axe4 ,having performed this exploit1 ,samuel returned to ,ramatah1 and during his life did not visit ,saul4 ',what a barbarous scene6 horrible it must be confessed2 but ,i know some more horrible still pass before eyes in our day4 ,suppose that ,samuel had brought ,agag to ,ramatah2 that there he had confined him in a dungeon at the bottom of a cistern2 that he had come #adc every day with an attendant to make him undergo various tortures1 to burn his feet--his hands1 to stretch him upon a wooden horse1 to dislocate him1 etc4 etc42 all this with honied terms1 saying that it was all for his good2 would not the lot of the victim have been a thousand times more dreadful8 ,ah6 much better the open cruelty of the ,hebrew priest1 compared with the charity of the priests and monks which bless ,rome6 ,yet the ,european ,governments authorise and suffer such abominations6 ,but did ,samuel commit such an act without motive--without a projected object8 ,that would not be in conformity to his deep and calculating character4 ,we will examine these motives4 ',for ten or twelve years ,saul1 by his victories1 did not cease to flourish and strengthen his credit in the minds of all the nation4 ,samuel1 finding himself eclipsed1 took occasion to flatter the vindictive passion of the ,hebrews against the ,amalekites4 ,the victory of ,saul1 and taking king ,agag in disobedience to the command of ,god1 who had ordered the extermination of the ,amalekites1 furnished ,samuel with a pretence for striking the audacious blow of anointing a substitute to rival ,saul4 ,he thought it necessary to strike terror into their minds by a preliminary imposing step1 which would make ,saul dread the falling upon him of some new celestial anathema4 ,it is certain that this manoeuvre of ,samuel succeeded1 since ,saul did not dare to use any act of violence against him4 ',in considering the action of ,samuel in a general point of view1 political and moral1 it presents an astonishing union of pride1 audacity1 cruelty1 and hypocrisy2 a little orphan upstart1 to decree from his caprice the extermination of a whole nation1 even to the last living being6 to insult--to abuse a king covered with laurels1 become legitimate by his victories1 and by the assent of the nation grateful for the peace and respect which he had procured for them6 a priest to trouble this whole nation by a change of the prince1 by the intrusion of a new elect of his choice4 ,here is found the first germ of that political division of the ,hebrews which1 suppressed under ,david and ,solomon1 broke out under the imprudent ,rheoboam1 and prepared the fall of the nation by rending it into two kingdoms4 ',we see here the fruits of that divine or visionary power imprudently allowed by a people1 stupified by superstition1 to a king1 otherwise worthy of esteem1 but feeble-minded4 ,we see an impostor1 who dared to call himself the sent of ,god1 the representative of ,god1 finally1 ,god himself 7for such is the transition of ideas which will not fail to occur when the first is tolerated71 turning all this to his profit4 ,the plain historian achieves1 without knowing it1 the tracing of the portrait and character of ,samuel1 in saying1 ,samuel did not see ,saul any more2 but lamented his misfortune that ,god had rejected him4' 99,chapter xvi41 v4 #b4 ,here the ,lord directs ,samuel to tell a lie1 yet in ,proverbs1 chap1 xii41 v4 #bb1 we are told that lying lips are an abomination unto the ,lord4 ,verse #d4 ,our version says the elders 'trembled1' the ,douay says #add they 'wondered1' and the ,breeches ,bible says they were 'astonished4' ,verse #g4 ,the choice of ,saul1 whose height was so great 7vide chap1 x41 v4 #bc71 being an unfortunate one1 this time the selection is made on totally different principles4 ,verse #ad4 ',an evil spirit from the ,lord4' ,if read literally1 these words would occasion1 in the minds of pious theists1 grave doubts as to how an evil spirit could come from an infinitely pure and good ,god2 but ,hugh ,farmer1 in his essay on ,demoniacs1 says that ,saul's disorder was a deep melancholy1 and that this appears by the mode of cure--i4e41 music1 a proper method of exhilirating the animal spirits4 ,verse #ah4 ,it is clear that this servant1 if he spoke the words here alleged1 spoke untruly4 ,david was a young lad who kept his father's sheep1 who was regarded as too young to go to battle1 and who did not know how to wear armour4 99,chapter xvii41 v4 #d4 ,goliah must have been at least nine feet six inches high4 ,verse #e4 ,this coat of mail would weigh about one hundred and fifty-six pounds four ounces avoirdupois1 allowing half an ounce to the shekel1 which ,i believe is under the weight4 ,verse #g4 ,the spearhead at the same rate would weigh about eighteen pounds twelve ounces4 verse #ab4 ,david is here introduced as if he had never been mentioned before4 ',the days of ,saul2' these words indicate a writer subsequent to the death of ,saul4 ,verse #ag4 ',what can we think of this8 ,jesse hardly recalled his son from the honourable post of armour-bearer to the king6 ,it is not likely that he was turned off1 since we afterwards find him playing on the harp to the king as before2 neither was it a proper employment for the ,king's armour-bearer to be feeding sheep when the army was in the field1 and his majesty with them in person6 ,why1 the most easy method is to take it as we find it1 to suppose it to be right1 and go quietly on with the story4' ,verse #cd4 ,instead of 'a lion and a bear1' the ,douay reads 'a lion or a bear4' ,verse #ce1 ,instead of ',i caught him by his beard and smote him1' the ,douay has ',i caught them by the throat1 and ,i strangled and killed them4' ,verse #di4 ,the helmet which afforded no protection to ,goliah's forehead must have been of a very curious pattern4 ,the fact of ,david's going unharmed except with a sling and stones would induce one to suppose that he intended to keep a long distance between himself and ,goliah4 ,if so1 he would incur no danger in the combat1 as the heavily-armed ,goliah could not run after him1 and all that was necessary was for ,david to avoid coming within the reach of the giant's spear4 ,when ,goliah and ,david talked1 they must have been a very long way from each other1 for we find that ,david afterwards ran and hasted toward the ,philistine before he got sufficiently near to sling a stone at him4444 ,,remainder ,,of ,,the ,,pages ,,in ,,the ,,printed ,,book ,,are ,,missing