generations, they determined to erect a city, and in it a building of such stupendous height as should be the wonder of the world. Their principal motives in doing this were, to keep themselves together in one body, that by their united strength and counsels, as the world increased, they might bring others under their subjection, and thereby become masters of the universe.

The idea of the intended tower gave them the most singular satisfaction, and the novelty of the design induced them to enter upon its construction with the greatest alacrity. One inconvenience, however, arose, of which they were not apprized, namely, there being no stone in the country wherewith to build it. But this defect was soon supplied by the nature of the soil, which being clayey, they soon converted into bricks, and cemented them together with a pitchy substance, called bitumen, the country producing that article in great abundance.

As the artificers were numerous, the work was carried on with great expedition, and in a short time the walls were raised to a great height. But the Almighty, being dissatisfied with their proceedings, thought proper to interpose, and totally put an end to their ambitious project; so that this first attempt of their vanity became only a monument of their folly and weakness.

Though the descendants of Noah were at this time exceedingly numerous, yet they all spoke one language. In order, therefore, to render their undertaking ineffectual, and to lessen the towering hopes of these aspiring mortals, the Almighty formed the resolution of confounding their language. In consequence of this, a universal jargon suddenly took place, and the different dialects caused such a distraction

BABYLON.-This city arose from the building of Babel, and became the famous capital of Chaldea. This most celebrated metropolis of the East, enlarged by Belus, and further extended by Queen Semiramis, about the year 1200 B. Č., reached its summit of magnificence under Nebuchadnezzar, about the year 570 B. C., or when further embellished by his daughter-in-law Nitocris. Its magnitude was 480 furlongs, or 60 miles in compass, being an exact square of 15 miles on each side. Its walls were built of brick laid in bitumen, 87 feet thick, and 350 feet high, on which were 250 towers, or, according to some, 316. The materials for building the wall were dug from a vast ditch or moat, which was lined with brick-work, and, being filled with water from the river Euphrates, surrounded the city as a defence. The city had 100 gates of solid brass, one at each end of its 50 streets, 150 feet wide: these crossed the city; so that the whole was divided into 676 squares, four and a half furlongs on each side, around which were houses, the inner parts being reserved for gardens, pleasure-grounds, and fields. Facing the wall, on every side, was a row of houses, with a street between, of 200 feet wide; and the city was divided into equal parts by the river Euphrates, over which was a bridge, and at each end of it a palace, communicating with each other under the river by a subterraneous passage. Near to the old palace stood the tower of Babel: this prodigious pile, being completed, consisted of eight towers, each 75 feet high, rising one upon another, with an out side winding staircase, to its summit, which, with its chapel on the top, reached an elevation of 660 feet In this chapel was a golden image 40 feet high, valued at $17,500,000, and the whole of the sacred utensils were reckoned worth $200,000,000! Besides these wonders, were the hanging gardens, on a series of elevated terraces, the uppermost equalling the height of the city walls, and having a reservoir, supplied by a machine with water from the river. This great work was designed by Nebuchadnezzar to represent a hilly country, for the gratification of his wife Amytis, a native of Media. Babylon flourished for nearly 200 years in this scale of grandeur; during which idolatry, pride, cruelty, and every abomination, prevailed among all ranks of the people; when Gop, by his prophets, denounced its utter ruin, and which was accordingly accomplished, commencing with Cyrus taking the city, after a siege of two years, in the year 538 B. C., to emancipate the Jews, as foretold by the prophets. By successive overthrows, this once "glory of the Chaldees' excellency," this "lady of kingdoms," has become a "desolation," "without an inhabitant," and its temple a vast heap of rubbish! Daniel ii. vi., Isaiah xiii. xlv., Jeremiah 1. li. "Birs Nemroud," as the ancient tower of Babel is called, Mr. Rich says, "is a mound of an oblong form, the total circumference of which is 762 yards. At the eastern side it is cloven by a deep furrow, and is not more than 50 or 60 feet high; but on the western side it rises in a conical figure to the elevation of 198 feet, and on its summit is a solid pile of brick, 37 feet high by 28 in breadth, diminishing in thickness to the top, which is broken and irregular, and rent by a large fissure extending through a third of its height. It is perforated by small holes, disposed in rhomboids. The fire-burnt bricks of which it is built have inscriptions on them and so excellent is the cement, which appears to be lime-mortar, that it is nearly impossible to extract one whole. The other parts of the summit of this hill are occupied by immense fragments of brick-work, of no determinate figure, tumbled together, and converted into solid vitrified masses, as if they had undergone the action of the fiercest fire, or had been blown up with gunpowder, the layers of brick being perfectly discernible." These ruins proclaim the divinity of the Holy Scriptures!

+ LANGUAGE, or human speech, Genesis xi. 1: this most certainly was originally given to our first parents by the inspiration of God, who, therefore, exercised Adam in giving names to the creatures, Gen. i. 19, 20. Learned men call the most ancient language the "Shemitish," as spoken by the descendants of Shem, the son of Noah. This, however, was soon divided into three dialects: many other languages are now found to exist, Daniel iii. 4; of which the origin is declared in the Bible to have been effected by the Divine interposition at Babel, Genesis xi. 7. The Shemitish dialects were: 1. Aramaan, spoken in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Chaldea, subdivided into the Syriac and Chaldee dialects. 2. Hebrew or Canaan itish dialect, spoken in Phenicia and its colonies. 3. Arabic, spoken with variations in Arabia and Ethiopia Hebrew bears marks of being the most ancient of the oriental languages; and in it the Old Testament, which contains the most ancient records in existence, was written, except Daniel, ii. 4, vii. 28, Ezra iv. 8, vi. 18, vii. 12-26. The New Testament was written in the Greek language. Seventy-two distinguished languages are spoken of; but five which are the chief, viz. Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Germanic, and Sclavonic The English is a compound of all these, and, with the French, is most esteemed. Ours, it seems probabl is destined by Divine Providence to become the universal language of mankind, through the intelligence influence, and Christian missions of Great Britian and America.

of thought, that, incapable of understanding or making known to each other their respective ideas, they were thrown into the utmost disorder. By this awful stroke of divine justice they were not only deprived of prosecuting their intended plan, but of the greatest pleasure a social being can enjoy, namely, mutual converse and agreeable intercourse. We are not, however, to suppose that each individual had a peculiar dialect or language to himself, but only the several tribes or families, which are supposed to have been about seventy in number. These, detaching themselves according to their respective dialects, left the spot, which, before the consequences of their presumption, they had considered as the most delightful on earth, and took up their temporary residences in such places as they either pitched on by choice, or were directed to by chance.

Thus did the Almighty not only defeat the designs of those ambitious people, but likewise accomplished his own, by having the world more generally inhabited than it otherwise would have been. The spot on which they had begun to erect their tower was, from the judgment that attended so rash an undertaking, called Babel.* The confusion of tongues, and dispersion of the family of Noah, happened one nundred and one years after the flood, as is evident from the birth of Peleg, the son of Eber, who was the great-grandson of Shem, and born in the one hundred and first year after that memorable period. He received his name from this singular circumstance, the word Peleg, in the Hebrew language, signifying partition or dispersion. The descendants of Noah being now dispersed, in process of time, from their great increase, they scattered themselves to distant parts of the earth, and, according to their respective families, settled in different parts of the world. Some took up their residence in Asia, some in Africa, and others in Europe. But by what means they obtained possession of the several countries they inhabited, the sacred historian has not informed us. It is, however, natural to suppose, that their respective situations did not take place from chance, but mature deliberation; and that a proper assignment was made of such and such places, according to the divisions and subdivisions of the different families.

In order to ascertain a proper idea of the manner in which the world was populated after the flood, and confusion of tongues, we shall give the genealogy of Noah's three sons, and describe the respective parts of the earth possessed by their descendants; in doing which, we shall, agreeably to the manner of Moses, begin with those of Japheth, who, though usually mentioned last, was the eldest son of Noah.

It is to be observed that the grand-children of Noah made it an invariable rule to give their own names to the countries of which they became possessed, and where they settled, in order to perpetuate their memories to future posterity.

The sons of Japheth were seven in number, who spread themselves over Asia, from the mountains Taurus and Auranus to the river Tanais, and then entering Europe, penetrated as far as Spain, distinguishing the countries, as they proceeded, by their own proper appellations, viz. :† Gomer gave title to the Gomorites, now called Galatians, or Gauls, by the Greeks. Magog founded the Magogites, since styled Scythians, or Tartars. From Media originated the Medeans or Medes. Javan was the founder of the Ionians and Greeks in general. Tubal, of the Iberians, or Spaniards: and Mashech, of the Meschinians or Cappadocians: and Tiras, of the Thiræans or Thracians.

Gomer had three sons, the eldest of whom, Ashkanaz, took possession of Ascania (which is part of the Lesser Phrygia). The second son, named Riphah, possessed

BABEL (confusion or mixture), a tower commenced, as is generally supposed, during the life of Noah, under the direction of Nimrod, a grandson of Ham, and about A. M. 1770, or 113 years after the deluge, though some place this work two or three hundred years later, Genesis x. 10, xi. 1-9. Nimrod is believed to have formed a system of idolatry for his adherents, designing, by this means, to establish a national union under his government, thereby frustrating the Divine designs, which required their dispersion, to repeople the earth. This impious attempt occasioned their miraculous confusion of speech, on which account the building ceased, and the purpose of God was accomplished in the replenishing of the world by the scattered people. How far the work had proceeded we are not informed; but it is believed that, besides three years in preparing materials, twenty-two had been expended in the undertaking, and that the tower had been carried up several stories, laying the foundation for the city of Babylon.

↑ Several of these nations still retain the names given them by their founder; others have lost their original appellations; and some are distinguished by terms corrupted from the primitive denominations. The Greeks principally occasioned these innovations; for, when power gave them importance, they arrogated to themselves the glory of antiquity; corrupted the names of other nations to give them a more modern appearance; and pretended that, from the emigrations of their predecessors, the surrounding realms were peopled, for which reason they took the liberty to prescribe laws for their observance, as they had invented appellations for their distinction.

himself of the Riphaan mountains; and Togarmah, the third son, took Galatia and part of Cappadocia.

Javan had four sons, namely, Elishah, who seated himself in Peloponnesus; Tarshish, in part of Spain; Kittim, in Italy; and Dodanim, in France.

By these, and the colonies which, in process of time, proceeded from them, not only a considerable part of Asia, but all Europe, with the adjacent islands, were well stocked with inhabitants descended from Japheth, who, though thus dispersed spoke the same language, and, for a time at least, preserved a correspondence with the respective tribes or families to which they originally belonged.

The descendants of SHEM, the second son of Noah (from whom originated the Hebrew nation), were five sons, who possessed themselves of those parts of Asia which extend from the Euphrates to the Indian ocean. Elam, the eldest, took possession of a country in Persia, at first called after himself, but, in the time of Daniel, it obtained the name of Susiana. Ashur founded the Assyrian empire, in which he built several cities, particularly one called Nineveh;* Arphaxad founded Chaldea;

* NINEVEH (MovSOUL).-Drawn by J. M. W. Turner, from a sketch made on the spot by the late Claudius James Rich, Esq.-Nineveh, the splendid metropolis of the Assyrian empire, was anciently a city of great importance. It was founded by Asshur, the son of Shem (Genesis x. 11), and by the Greeks was called Ninus, to whom they referred its foundation. It was erected on the banks of the Tigris, and was of great extent according to Diodorus Siculus, it was fifteen miles long, nine broad, and forty-eight in circumference. It was surrounded by walls 100 feet high, on the top of which three chariots could pass together abreast, and was defended by 1,500 towers, each of which was 200 feet high. In the time of the prophet Jonah (who lived between 810 and 785 B. C.) it was "an exceeding great city of three days' journey"wherein were more than sixscore thousand persons that could not discern between their right hand and their left hand." Jonah iii. 3; iv. 11. Its destruction, which that prophet had announced within forty days, was averted by the general repentance and humiliation of the inhabitants. (iii. 4-10.) That repentance, however, was of no long continuance; for the prophet Nahum, soon after, predicted, not only the utter destruction of Nineveh, which was accomplished one hundred and fifteen years afterward, but also the manner in which it was to be effected. "While they were folden together as thorns, they were devoured as the stubble full dry." (Nahum i. 10.) "Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her?" (iii. 7.) The Medians, under the command of Arbaces, being informed, by some deserters, of the negligence and drunkenness which prevailed in the camp of the Ninevites, assaulted them unexpectedly by night, discomfited them, and became masters of their camp, and drove such of the soldiers as survived the defeat into the city. "The gates of the river shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved" (Nahum ii. 6); and Diodorus Siculus relates that "there was an old prophecy that Nineveh should not be taken till the river became an enemy to the city; and in the third year of the siege, the river, being swollen with continual rains, overflowed part of the city, and broke down the wall for twenty furlongs. Then the king" (Sardanapalus) "thinking that the oracle was fulfilled, and the river become an enemy to the city, built a large funeral pile in the palace, and collecting together all his wealth, and his concubines, and his eunuchs, burnt himself and the palace with them all; and the enemy entered the breach which the waters had made, and took the city." What was predicted, therefore, in Nahum i. 8, was literally fulfilled: "With an overflowing flood will he make an utter end of the place thereof." Nahum (ii. 9) promises the enemy much spoil of gold and silver; and we read in Diodorus that Arbaces carried away many talents of silver and gold to Ecbatana, the royal city of the Medes. According to Nahum (i. 8, iii. 15) the city was to be destroyed by fire and water; and from Diodorus we learn that it was actually destroyed by fire and water. Nineveh was taken a second time, by Cyaxares and Nabopolassar, from Chinaladin, king of Assyria, A. M. 3378, after which it no more recovered its former splendor. It was entirely ruined in the time of Lucian of Samosata, who lived in the reign of the emperor Hadrian: it was rebuilt under the Persians, but was destroyed by the Saracens about the seventh century. Its utter destruction, as foretold by Nahum (i. ii. iii.) and by Zephaniah (ii. 13-15) has been so entirely accomplished, that no certain vestiges of it have remained. Several modern writers are of opinion that the ruins on the eastern bank of the river Tigris, opposite to the modern town of Mousoul, point out the site of ancient Nineveh. The late learned and intelligent political resident at Bagdad, Claudius James Rich, Esq. (from one of whose drawings, never before engraved, or view is taken), states, that on this spot there is an enclosure of a rectangular form, corresponding with the cardinal points of the compass, the area of which offered no vestiges of building, and is too small to contain a town larger than Mousoul: but it may be supposed to answer to the palace of Nineveh. Four mounds are observable, the longest of which runs north and south, and consists of several ridges of unequal height, the whole appearing to extend four or five miles in length. These mounds, as they show neither bricks, stones, nor any other materials of building, but are in many places overgrown with grass, resemble the mounds left by intrenchments and fortifications of Roman camps. On the first of these, which forms the southwest angle, is erected the village of Nebbi Yunus, where is shown the supposed tomb of the prophet Jonah or Jonas. The next, which is the largest of all, Mr. Rich conjectured to be the monument of Ninus. It is situated near the western face of the enclosure, and is called Koyunjuk Tepé. Its form is that of a truncated pyramid, with regular steep sides and a flat top; and it is composed of stones and earth, the latter predominating sufliciently to admit of the summit being cultivated by the inhabitants of the village of Koyunjuk, which is built on the northeastern extremity of this artificial mound. Its greatest height, as measured by Mr. Rich, was 178 feet; the length of the summit east and west, 1,850 feet; and its breadth, north and south, 1,147 feet. A short time before Mr. Rich visited these remains, out of a mound on the north face of the boundary, "there was dug an immense block of stone, on which were sculptured the figures of men and animals. So remarkable was this fragment of antiquity, that even Turkish apathy was roused, and the pacha and most of the principal people of Mousoul went to see it. One of the spectators particularly recollected, among the sculptures of this stone, the figure of a man on horseback, with a long lance in his hand, followed by a great many others on foot. The stone was soon afterward cut into small pieces for repairing the buildings of Mousoul, and this inestimable specimen of the arts and manners of the earliest ages was irrecoverably lost." These ruins evidently indicate the former existence of some very extensive edifices, which most probably belonged to ancient Nineveh, and which attest the literal accomplishment of the prophecy that that "rejoicing city

Lud, Lydia; and Aram that part of Syria which extends itself to the Mediterranean

seas.

Aram had four sons, namely, Uz, who seated himself in the country called Damascus; Hul took possession of Armenia; Mash, of the mountain Masius; Gether, of a part of Mesopotamia.

Arphaxad was the father of Salah, whose son Eber gave name to the Hebrew nation. Joctan, the first-born of Eber, had thirteen children, all of whom settled themselves in that part of the world which is situated between Syria and the river Cophene in Judea. The youngest son of Eber was Peleg, who, as we have before observed, was so called because, at the time of his birth, the dispersion of the people took place.

The descendants of HAM (the youngest son of Noah) were four sons, namely, Cush, who took up his residence in that part of Armenia lying towards Egypt; Mizraim, in both Upper and Lower Egypt; Phutt, in part of Lybia; and Canaan, in that part of the country which was afterward called by his name.

Cush, the eldest son of Ham, had several children, namely, Seba, who settled on the southwest of Arabia; Havilah fixed himself in that part of the country situated on the river Pison, where it leaves the Euphrates, and runs into the Arabian Gulf; Saptah took up his residence on the same shore, a little to the north of his brother Havilah; Raamah and Sabtecha, together with the two sons of the former (namely, Sheba and Dedan), settled themselves on the same coast, farther to the east; and Nimrod, the last son of Cush, was founder of the Babylonish empire.

Besides the three sons of Mizraim (who, after the death of their father, divided his territory into three parts), he had three others, namely, Ludim and Lehabim, who peopled Lybia; and Caslubim, who seated himself at Castisots, near the entrance of Egypt from Palestine. Caslubim had two sons, namely, Philistim and Caphthorim, the former of whom established the country of the Philistines, between the borders of Canaan and the Mediterranean sea; and the latter, after his father's death, took possession of his territories.

The sons of Canaan were, Sidon, the founder of the Sidonians, who lived in Phonicia; Heth, the founder of the Hittites, who lived near Hebron; Emor, the founder of the Amorites, who lived in the mountains of Judea; and Arva, the founder of the Arvadites,† who resided near Sidon. But whether the other sons of Canaan settled in this country or not, can not be ascertained with any certainty; only this we know, that they must have taken up their residence somewhere between Sidon and Gerar, and Admah and Zoboim; those places being the boundaries of the land they possessed.

Thus we find that, in the first dispersion of the people over the world, the descendants of Japheth not only possessed all Europe, but also a considerable portion of Asia. The posterity of Shem had in their possession part of the Greater and Lesser Asia, and probably all the countries to the east, as far as China. The descendants of Ham possessed all Africa, with a great part of Asia.

which dwelt carelessly" should "become a desolation, dry like a wilderness, a place for beasts to lie down in." Zephaniah ii. 13, 15

There are appearances of mounds and ruins extending for several miles to the southward, the space between which is a level plain, over every part of the face of which broken pottery and the other usual remains of ruined cities are seen scattered about.

After the death of Mizraim (who was king of Egypt), the country he possessed was, by three of his sons, divided into as many kingdoms, viz: Ananim was king of Tanis, or lower Egypt, called afterward Delta; Napthulim, of Naph, or Memphis, in Upper Egypt; and Pathrusim founded the kingdom of Pathros,

or Thebes in Thebais.

The Arvadites are said by Josephus to have occupied and given their name to the small island of Aradus, called Arvad and Arphad in the Scriptures (2 Kings xix. 13; Ezekiel xxvii. 8); and the inhabitants of which are by Ezekiel mentioned along with the Sidonians, as taking an active part in the maritime commerce of Tyre. This island, which is about one league from the shore, and not above a mile in circumference, ultimately became the port and chief town of this enterprising and prosperous section of the Phoenician people; and there was a time when even Romans regarded with admiration its lofty houses, built with more stories than those of Rome, and its cisterns hewn in the rock. All this, except the cisterns and some fragments of wall, has passed away; but Arvad is still the seat of a town, and, being a mart of transit, its inhabitants are still engaged in commerce. Though the island was the favorite seat of the people, as their wealth and peace were there safe from the wars and troubles of the continent, and their shipping needed not to hazard the dangers of the coast, they were by no means without possessions on the main land; for their dominion along the shore extended from Tortosa [also Tartous, anciently Antaradus] which lay opposite their island, northward to Jebilee. They were, therefore, the most northerly of the Phoenician people. See Joseph. Antiq. i. 6, 2; Strabo, Geog. v. 15; Pococke, ii. 27; Volney, ii. 148. Buckingham's Arab Tribes, 523.