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Government? Now Mofes no where tells us, that fuch a Revelation happened to him, and indeed whoever will read over the nine Verses, wherein the Succeffion of the Kings of Edom is contained, will foon be fatisfied that there is no Prophecy in the cafe; for the Sacred Hiftorian there speaks as of a thing paft and gone, that nothing can be more clearly exprefs'd: For what more evident Testimony can there be given that the thing was already paft, than these Phrafes, And he died, and there reigned in his ftead? Some body, whofe name has escaped me, folves it another way; for he humbly supposes that these Kings reign'd at the fame time in different places; and for my part I humbly fuppofe he never read this Chapter, his Head being certainly fill'd with Metaphyfical Contemplations. To deal ingeniously with the Reader, the best way to get clear of this Difficulty, will be to own frankly, that these nine Verfes from V. 31 to 39, were added by fome one who lived after the Kingly Government was set up in Yrael.

10. Some have objected, that Canaan is called the Land of the Hebrews, Chap. 40. 15. which, in propriety of Speech, could be faid only at that time, when the Hebrews had poffeffed themselves of it; and that therefore the Sacred Hiftorian, who was later than Mofes, accommodated Jofeph's way of speaking to the Stile of his own time. But we

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have (b) anfwered this Objection in our Commentary.

11. In Exodus Chap. 6. after the Sacred Hiftorian has inform'd us of Aaron's and Mofes's Pedigree,he thus goes on v.26. These are THAT Aaron and Mofes to whom the Lord Jaid, bring out the Children of Ifrael from the Land of Egypt according to their Armies. These are THET that Spoke to Pharaoh King of Egypt to bring out the Children of Ifrael from Egypt. These are THAT Mofes and Aaron. Now we do not urge the third Person here, fay fome, which 'tis plain feveral Historians have used, but the Demonstrative Pronouns that and they, which Moses would fcarce make use of while he was alive, and writing of himself. But we must here call to mind, that Mofes did not only write to his own Age, wherein his Father and Grand-father were well known, but likewife to the following Ages, to whom he seems in this place to direct his Difcourse,and not to his Contemporaries, who knew

(b) 'Tis plain enough, fays our Author upon this place, that after Fofana had led the Ifraelites into Canaan, all that Country might be called, and really was called, the Land of the Hebrews: But if we fhould take it in this Sence, it would follow that this Paffage was written after the time of Joshua, as fome have believed. If we would have it written by Mofes, we muft only understand some part of Canaan where the Hebrews generally fed their Flocks without any difturbance. For though they were Strangers, and wandered from one place to another, yet thofe Fields might properly enough be faid to belong to them, where they had pitch'd their Tents for feveral years, with the Consent of the old Inhabitants, Now it appears by the Book of Genefis, that they fo journ'd for the greateft part about Mamre and Hebron as far as Sichem, partly by the Permiffion of the Natives,and partly by Force,

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all these Particulars well enough. It was of Confequence for them to know, that Aaron the Brother of Mofes was defcended from Levi, and that he was the first Head of the Sacerdotal Families; therefore it ought not to feem ftrange to any one, that in this place Mofes and Aaron are as it were pointed at, and their Genealogy shown to the Ifraelites of future Ages.

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12. The words of Exodus 16.35.are alledged, which they pretend could not be written till after the death of Mofes. And the Children of Ifrael did eat Manna forty years, until they came to a Land inhabited: They did eat Manna until they came unto the Borders of the Land of Canaan. For it appears from the fifth Chapter of Joshua, that Manna did not cease till after the death of Mofes. To this fome answer,That Mofes fore-knew, as is evident from Numbers 14. 33. that the Manna would cease after the end of forty years, fo foon as the Ifraelites entred the Land of Canaan. But this is here related,and not foretold, and therefore Mofes uses the Preterperfect Tenfe Comederunt, did eat: For which rea fon I fhould rather chufe to say, that this Verfe, as well as fome more,has been added to the Text by way of Parenthefis, occafioned by what immediately goes before,where mention is made of an Omer full of Manna to be laid up in the Ark.

13. Some Perfons deny the following Verse to belong to Mofes, But an Omer is the tenth part of an Ephah; because when a Measure is in ufe, it is not customary to define it; and therefore

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they believe that after the Hebrews were fcatter'd into several Countries, and confequently began to use the Measures of other Nations,this was purposely written, that they might underftand which Measure was meant in this History. The fame is obferved about their Money, Numb. 3.47. Chap.18. 16. But it does not appear, that the Jews used any other Measures in Palestine,fo as to make it neceffary to define the old Meafures; nor does an Ephah feem to be better known than an Omer. But Mofes,who instituted the Jewish Commonwealth, might defignedly give a fhort Description of the Coins and Meafures, to the end that they might not afterwards be changed.

14.The Sacred Hiftorian thus begins,Deut.1.1. Thefe are the words which Mofes Spoke to all Ifrael on this fide Jordan in the Wilderness. From whence they gather that the Writer of this Book was then in Canaan. But we have difcuffed the

* M. le Clerk has promifed the World a Paraphrafe and Comment upon the other four Books of Mofes,but they have not feen the light as yet.

Ambiguity of the Particle Bheber upon * that place of Deuteronomy to which we refer the Reader.

15. In the fame Book Chap. 2. 12. there are fome words which they pretend could never come from Mofes, The Horims dwelt in Sur before time, but the Children of Eau Jucceeded them when they bad destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their (tead, as Israel did unto the Land of his Poffeffion. But at that time when

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Mofes writ this, two Tribes and a half had already fetled themselves near the head of Jordan, and turn'd out the old Inhabitants, and Mofes had an Eye to that.

16. Chap.3.11. Thus the Sacred Writer speaks of the King of Bafan. For only Og King of Balan remain'd of the remnant of Giants, behold his Bedfted was a Bedfted of Iron: Is it not in Rabbah of the Children of Ammon? Nine Cubits was the length thereof, and four Cubits the breadth of it. Now fome can scarce believe,that it was poffible for Mofes to speak thus of a Man that was lately dead, and overcome by the Ifraelites, and whose Bed was rather in Bafan, of which Territory he was King, than among the Ammonites who were none of his Subjects. But Mofes had a mind to give a particular account of a thing, which was well known at that time indeed,but would have been unknown to Pofterity, unless he had deliver'd it in writing. As for what concerns the Bed, how it came to be carried into another Kingdom,who can tell? But fince there is no Abfurdity in this Story,nothing can be gather'd from a thing,the reason of which is altogether unknown.

17. In the fame Chapter, v. 14. we meet with the following paffage, Jair the Son of Manaffeh took all the Country of Argob unto the Coafts of Gefhuri and Maacathi, and call'd them after his own name Bashan-Havoth-jair unto this day. We fhall handle this matter more at large in our Commentary. In the mean time if this were added by a later hand, yet it would not follow

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