born more

Abraham find Nimrod frequently mentioned as a contemporary of Abthan 2346 ram, yet Josephus does not favor such a view, which must be years B. C. erroneous, as Nimrod evidently appears to have died a long time

prince. Terrified at this, Nimrod, who was of a cruel and despotic temper, gave such orders as he thought calculated to prevent the accomplishment of this event. But Adnah, the wife of Azar, one of the courtiers of Nimrod, conceived, and when her time drew near to be delivered, she hastened to a secret cave, and there gave birth to a son. After a while she left him in the cavern, the entrance to which she well secured, and, returning to her husband, informed him that her child had died on its birth. Adnah, however, often returned to the cave to visit her concealed boy, and to give him the breast. On all these occasions she found him sucking the ends of his fingers, and discovered that those of one hand furnished him with honey, and those of the other with milk. The mother was at first much astonished at this; but her astonishment yielded to joy, on finding that it had pleased Providence thus manifestly to make her infant the especial object of care. She was also greatly surprised, and highly gratified too, when she perceived that her child grew so rapidly, that at the end of five moons he had every appearance of a boy five years old, and that his mind was more premature still. As this precluded all apprehension of his coming under the operation of the decrees Nimrod had aimed at him—whose approaching birth the star had so lately indicated-Adnah no longer hesitated to acquaint her husband with all these circumstances, and Azar saw that he might safely avow such a child to be his son. He consequently hastened to the cavern, and caressed his child with much affection and tenderness. On his return, he declared to the mother his intention to remove him to the city, with the view of ultimately introducing him to Nimrod, and placing him at court. It was towards evening when Adnah went to the cave to conduct her son to the city of Babel; and on her return with him, they passed herds of oxen, camels, horses, and flocks of sheep. The child, to whom-having been from his birth confined to the cave-all things which he saw were new and strange, asked his mother the name of whatever attracted his attention; and, in reply, Adnah fully instructed him in the names, qualities, and habits of the creatures which they passed. At last he inquired who it was that had produced so many different beings; and was told by his mother, that there was nothing in all the world which had not its creator and lord, on whom it depended. "If this be the case," said the child, "who placed me in this world, and on whom do I depend?" "On me," replied Adnah, without hesitation. "Then who is your lord?" continued the child; and its mother answered, "Azar, your father, is my lord." The child, however, did not rest satisfied with this; but proceeded to ask, " And who is my father Azar's lord ?" and being told that it was Nimrod, he still wished to know who was the lord of Nimrod; but his mother finding it difficult to give a satisfactory answer, said, “You ought not, my son, to search into these things too closely, for they are dangerous to you." This child was Abram; and while continuing their way across the plain to the city, he indulged in those inquiries which his mother had desired to repress. He looked up to the sky and beheld the stars, and the brightest of them all was Venus, whom many in that country chiefly adored. "Surely," he said to himself, "this must be the god, the lord of the world;" but, after a while the beautiful orb set and disappeared, and, after some farther reflection, Abram said, This cannot be the master of the universe; for it is not possible that he should be subject to such a change." His attention was next attracted by the moon, which soon afterwards rose in the full; he then exclaimed with ecstasy, "Behold now the divine creator, the god appears!" But as time passed, he saw this luminary also sink to the horizon and disappear; when, with still greater disappointment, he made the same remark as before. The remainder of the night was passed by him in deep meditation, and in the morning he arrived before the gate of Babel, and beheld multitudes of people prostrate in adoration before the rising sun," Wondrous orb," he thought, "thou indeed mightest easily be taken for the creator and lord of all nature, to which it bringeth light and strength; but I doubt not that thou also wilt

before the time of Abram, who, I am satisfied was born more than two thousand three hundred and forty years before the birth of Christ.*

There can, I think, be very little doubt, as Josephus intimates, that Abram had in his native country brought enmity and persecution upon himself, by the open acknowledgment of opinions contrary to the superstitious worship which there prevailed. To the same effect-it has been justly observed by a recent writert is the old account preserved in the apocryphal book of Judith, where Holofernes is represented as requiring information from all the neighboring princes concerning the Jewish people. On this subject the descendants of Lot might be supposed to be better informed than any others; and accordingly Achior, "the captain of all the children of Ammon," is represented as coming forward and furnishing the required intelligence in a slight sketch of the history of the Hebrew nation, which, brief as it is, contains some facts not related in the Pentateuch. First, he says, "This people is descended of the Chaldeans, and they sojourned heretofore in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow the gods of their fathers, which were in the land of Chaldea. For they left the ways of their ancestors and worshipped the God of heaven, the God whom they knew; so they cast them out from the face of their gods, and they fled into Mesopotamia, and sojourned there many days." This statement would be curious and interesting-if we could rely upon it-as embodying the traditions of the Ammonites on this subject, as Ammon, their ancestor, is said to have been the son of Lot, who was Abram's nephew, and the companion of his migration from Mesopotamia.

hasten to thy setting, and vanish even as the lesser stars. How then canst thou be my creator, my lord, my god? Where is He?"

When Azar presented his son to Nimrod, the king was seated upon an elevated throne, around which were ranged a great number of handsome slaves of both sexes. Abram, from his natural curiosity and inquisitiveness, was soon induced to ask of his father who that personage, so much elevated above the others, might be, and was answered that he was the lord of all those persons that he saw around him, and whom they all acknowledged to be their god. Upon this, Abram having attentively regarded Nimrod, who was of a stern and disagreeable countenance, said to Azar, “How is it that he, whom you call your god, has made his creatures more lovely than himself, seeing that the creator must needs be of a more perfect nature than his creatures ?" This is said to have been the first occasion-and indeed it was early-that Abram took to point out to his father the absurdity of idolatry, and to preach the unity of God, the creator of all things who had revealed himself unto him. The zeal, however, which he manifested on this and other occasions, excited the anger of his father, and in the end drew him into vehement disputes with the courtiers of Nimrod, who refused to listen to the truth he advocated. At last the rumor of these disputes reached the ears of Nimrod himself, and this tyrant threw him into a burning furnace, from which, nevertheless, the traditions relate, he came forth, without having suffered the least injury from the flames. These fictions have at least the merit of being pleasing and instructive, while the hyperboles of the Talmud are mostly ridiculous.

The opinion has for centuries been prevalent that Abraham was born no more than 2000 years B. C.; but this I most positively reject.

+ Kitto's Palestine, page 26.

Judith v. 2-8.

But from certain expressions, not in keeping with the character of the speaker, it is evident that the speech is put into his mouth by the narrator, and is actually but a Jewish tradition, worthy of notice as the oldest on this subject that exists in writing. Its information is not at variance with that given in the Pentateuch, while it coincides, in substance, with the later statements of Josephus, and with the spirit of the traditions and tales of the Jews and Arabians.

Terah, as we are told in Genesis,* accompanied by his sont Abram, and Sarai, his daughter-in-law, and by Lot, the son of Haran, went forth from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan, but when arriving at Haran, or Charran, the party halted until after the death of Terah, which took place there. From hence Abram and Lot-whose families appear to have grown into a petty tribe or clan--moved with their flocks. and all that belonged to them across the Euphrates, and arriving at length in Canaan, settled first in the beautiful valley of Moreh, between the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, where the city of Sechem was either before or afterwards founded.

Those who are acquainted with the existing manners of the pastoral tribes of Asia, can easily form in their minds a picture of this party of emigrants. Under the conduct of Abram, and the more immediate direction and control of his and Lot's principal servants, we behold in the distance a lengthened dark line crossing the plain, or winding among the valleys, or creeping down the narrow pathway on the mountain-side. In this line a multitude of camels we discern from afar, by the grotesque outline formed by the figures of these animals, with their long necks and their tall forms; and that the less distinguishable mass which appears in motion on the surface of the ground, is composed of flocks of sheep, and perhaps goats, we can only infer from the fact that such accompaniments are usual. On approaching nearer we find all this to be true,

* Genesis xi. 31.

+ The Arabian traditions say that Terah was the grandfather, and Adar, or Azar, the father of Abram. Some Christian writers are inclined to coincide in this opinion.

Supposed by some writers to have been situated in the northwest part of Mesopotamia. Haran is called Charran in Acts vii. 2.

It is to be observed that the Arabian Bedouins have no oxen; but sheep and goats are very common among them; still there are families that have only camels. But the Hebrew patriarchs had oxen; which indicates that, though nomades, and imbued with the ideas and practices of that class of people, they were not desert nomades, but, for the most part, lived in the open parts of the country already settled and partly cultivated. Neither had they any occasion to cross deserts, except the comparatively short one between Canaan and Egypt. They were not of the class of Bedouins who are constantly roving into or from deserts, or between places separated by deserts. Hence, we may infer, proceeded their possession of oxen, which are not animals suited to live in, or to cross, such deserts as those of Arabia, and which, therefore, form no part of the wealth of a modern Bedouin. There must, however, have been something more than this to cause the difference; for the same is true in regard to the sheep. which are, however, conducted across the deserts, by taking

and moreover that many of the camels are laden with tents, and with the few utensils and necessary implements which the dwellers in tents require; and if the natural condition of the traversed country be such as to render the precaution necessary, some of the animals may be seen laden with provisions and skins filled with water. The baggage-camels follow each "other with steady and heavy tread, in files; the halter of those that follow being tied to the harness of those preceding, so that the foremost only needs a rider to direct his course; but, nevertheless, women, children, and old men, are seen mounted on the burdens some of them bear. These are slaves, retainers, and other persons not actively engaged in the conduct of the party, and not of sufficient consequence to ride on saddled dromedaries, which are reserved for the chiefs of the party, their women, children, and relatives, and are not, unless for convenience, strung together like the drudging animals that bear the heavier burdens.

For the youth and men of vigorous age,-the slaves and shepherds,there is enough of active employment in directing the orderly progress of the flocks, and in correcting the irregularities, friskings and breaches which occur. In this service they are assisted by a stout staff, crooked at one end-the origin of the pastoral and episcopal crook-which, however, is but sparingly used by those most accustomed to the flocks; their familiar voices being in general quite sufficient to control and guide the sheep. Of their voices they make no stinted use, but exert them liberally, in the incessant utterance of loud cries and shouts, reproaches and encouragements. The feeble of the flock are very tenderly dealt with; the shep

advantage of those seasons of the year when even the desert ceases to be destitute of water and green herbage. The patriarchs, in trafficking with the people of the towns and villages near which they lived, might have found in the possession of oxen an advantage which the Bedouins of the desert know not of. But as even those Bedouins, who are somewhat similarly circumstanced to the patriarchs, do not keep oxen, there must be still some farther reason for the difference. Perhaps there has been some change in the use of animal food. The patriarchs ate the flesh of the ox and the calf: and the same was very commonly eaten in the nation sprung from them. To entertain a stranger, or to make a feast, "a calf tender and good," or "the fatted calf," was slain; whereas now a sheep or goat, a lamb or kid, serves the same purpose. In fact, most people of Western Asia rarely eat beef, and among several tribes a calf is never killed. But on the contrary, the nomades of Central Asia-the great Tartar races-do possess oxen, and make use of them. This is not the only instance in which the developments of patriarchal life, as exhibited in the books of Genesis and Job, more strongly remind us of nomade life among the Tartarian, than among the Arabian races. The general analogy—the practices in which all agree-are so considerable, and the proximity of language and place is so evident, that it is seldom necessary to go farther than to the Arabian Bedouins in search of illustration of the ancient Hebrew usages or habits of life; but when this does become necessary, one is tolerably certain to find the additional elucidations in the customs of the nomades of Central Asia. See History of Palestine, by T. Kitto, p. 48. These circumstances deserve the more attention, as strengthening the opinion that the Chaldeans were a northern nomad people, and that the Hebrews had thence inherited some of the usages in vogue among them.

herds may be seen bearing in their arms the weaker lambs of the flock, or those lately weaned. The men engaged in their services are on foot, though a few of the principal may be on camels, or probably on asses, if there be any of those animals in the train.

Thus, from the manner in which the nomadic tribes move from place to place, we have been enabled to picture to ourselves the migration of Abram and Lot, and in the same, or in a similar manner, we may believe that not only this, but also other removals-mentioned in the history of the Hebrew patriarchs-took place.

In the valley of Moreh, Abram built an altar to Jehovah,* that is, to the Supreme God. The name of Jehovah was not known either to Abram, or to Isaac, or to Jacob, as may be inferred from what is said in Exodust but was the name under which Moses taught the Hebrews to worship the Deity in unity.

The adoration Abram here paid to the Almighty, is the first act of

* This word has by many of the modern translators of the Old Testament been rendered "the Lord," but without assigning either any reason at all, or an unsatisfactory one, for it. They may have done so, in imitation of the Jews, who, from a superstitious feeling, dared not pronounce the word Jehovah, but instead read Adonai, which, being in the plural, properly signifies my lords, and is called in the Hebrew grammar, pluralis majestatis. This practice is said to have commenced among the Jews after the Babylonish captivity; but I think it was much more ancient. It is also to be observed, that in the Septuagint version, Jehovah is translated by the word Kuptos-which signifies Lord. The Jewish notion is explained in the Talmud, on the authority of Rabbi Nathan Ben Isaac, who is reported to say, In this world we write the name of God with the letters, -Jehovah—and read, -Adonai; but in the world to come we shall both read Jehovah and write Jehovah." It is to be observed that the true pronunciation of this word is lost, as is conceded by the Jews, who regard it as one of the mysteries to be revealed in the days of the Messiah, whom they expect. They hold to the opinion, that the knowledge of the Name does not exist on earth, and that he by whom the secret is acquired, has, by virtue of it, the powers of the world at his command; and they seem to believe that he who calls upon God rightly, by this his true name, cannot fail to be heard. They also account for the miracles Christ is related to have performed, by saying that he had got possession of the ineffable name. Some imagine that this was the same TɛTOαKTUS which the Pythagoreans knew, and by which they made oath. There are some who say that the true pronunciation of Jehovah is Yahouh, because the ancients, particularly the Syrians and Phoenicians, were acquainted neither with the j nor the v, which were borrowed from the Tartars; but it seems to me very likely that this objection may be overruled by the very probability that the word Jehovah-having originated among a people that had inherited many other customs from the nomade people of central or high Asia-ought to be pronounced in accordance with the use among those who had formed it. But whether it ought to be pronounced Jehovah or Yahouh, it nevertheless signifies—He who is, was, and will be, or the eternal principle of life. It most forcibly reminds us of the inscription on the temple of Isis, "I am whatever is, was, and will be, and no mortal has ever raised my veil." This resemblance may perhaps be explained, as some have observed, by the passage in Acts vii. 22, "Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." Whether there be any connection between this celebrated rεrpaypaμμarov and the exclamation Yaw of the Egyptians and Greeks, is, I think, impossible to decide. + Chap. vi. 3.