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in Difguife, pretending to be a Stranger from fome other Country, and not of their Family. For Ibid. xliii. 20. his Brethren communed freely with his Steward. So Ibid. xliv. 4. and V 15. and chap. xlv. freely with him, and xlvii. 9. Jacob communed freely with Pharaoh. Tis certain, the Egyptians then spoke the Original Language, or Hebrew; because the Ifrae lites in feveral hundred Years had not corrupted their Tongue, by mixing with them, but understood the Writings of Mofes because when their Pofterity were but 70 Years in Affyria, when that Language was there corrupted, they, for want of performing their Services, and by communing with the Affyrians, fo far left the Knowledge of their own Tongue, that none but their Scribes, or learned Men could read Mofes's Writings; and, I think, even they did not perfectly understand them; and they never could retrieve the Knowledge of their Language, nor of them. And it appears by the Names of Places and Perfons, and many other Ways, wherever Abraham Ifaac, or Jacob came, Hebrew had been there firft, and was their then present Language.

As that Language was formed, that there is a Community, as appears in Scripture, from

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from the Idea in the feveral Things to which each Word is applied: And as each Word was but of two or three Letters, they could not be eáfily corrupted. And it was not an eafy Matter to form any other Words for the fame Things or Actions, nor to frame any new Words; and then there were none to be borrowed from others. Nor was it easy to make Alterations in the old Words, fo as to make them unintelligible to any who had been educated in that Language, by any Means then in being. Thofe curious Animals, who have each afked Thousands of Questions, and made Thousands of Objections, and never folved one, may know, if they were ca pable, by the Perfection in that Language, and by many other Things, why Adam lived fo long, who inter al. had Directi on and Power to fettle it.

As a further Proof of this it appears, that when the Ifraelites returned to Canaan, notwithstanding their Cohabitation with the Egyptians feveral hundred Years, and their fojourning in the Wildernefs above 40 Years, fome Part of the Time with a mixed Multitude which joined them; they fpoke the very fame Language as all the Nations in their Way, and as the Chaldeans and the Canaanites fpoke; and the Spies, Jof. ii. conversed

freely

freely with Rabab alone, without any Interpreter. Deut. xxiii. 4. Balaam lived at Pether in Mefopotamia. And Numb. xxii. 5. The Meffengers of the King of Moab, and afterwards he and his Princes converfed freely with him, as the Ifraelites did too freely with the Moabites. And when the Ifraelites entered Canaan, they converfed with the Canaanites, and even with the Gibeonites, who made a League with them, fof. ix. who, they fuppofed by the Accounts the Gibeonites gave, might have come feveral Hundred Miles, and had no Sufpicion from their Language, but took it for granted, that People at that Distance had the fame Language as they had. Bochart. in his Canaan, De Colonis & Sermone Phænicum, Book ii. c. 1. proves, that in Mofes's Time, and long after, all spoke Hebrew, or very near it, and fo do many others. Ravis's General Grammar, in his Difcourfe concerning the Eastern Tongues, Lays, p. 66. All the beft Authors do earneftly contend to have Ebrew escape a Confufion at Babel, but fuffer it to be led Captive in the Babylonian Captivity, Ibid. p. 85, &c. This Evidence against the pretended Miracle, of the Confufion of Tongues at Babel; The visible Evidence against the pretended Miracle to make the Sun ftand till, and fuch like, have confounded many

Believers

Believers, and confirmed many Unbelie vers, that the Scripture was not true: I hope, conftruing them right will have the contrary Effects. I fhall do with this as I have done in many other Cafes, admit their Evidence, prove the Bible to be true, and deftroy Gainfayers with their own Weapons.

The Manner in which Jehovah made the Covenant with Abraham, and in which Abraham, who was bred in Chaldea, and Ifaac and Jacob witneffed their Covenants with the Kings in Canaan, &c. and of Abraham and Jacob purchafing Land, fhews that Men then knew nothing of writing Words with Letters. Does any one doubt, if Jofeph could have writ, tho' he might not think it proper till then, when he fent that affectionate Meffage to his Father, could want Breeding fo much as not to have fent a Letter to his Father, with fome private Circumftances which happened between them, when he was his Father's Darling; but have left the Old Man, who looked upon the Meffage as fo incredible, that he did not believe his Sons, till he faw the Waggons, &c, which were sent to fetch his Family? The Execution of the Command given by febovah to Mofes, who had been educated in

all

all the Wisdom of the Egyptians, Exod. xvii. 14. and write this Memorial 500 in a Book, and rehearse it in the Ears of Joshua, &c. The firft Time that the Word for Writing was mentioned, fhews that Mofes then knew nothing of Writing; because instead of Writing he built an Altar for a Memorial, as ufual, and called it Jehovah-Niffi, &c. But after Writing was revealed, Deut. xxv. 17. he obey'd the Precept, and writ the Direction and Reafon for it, inter al, in a Book. Indeed 5p feems to be an antient Word, fignifies to express or declare any Thing, inter al. Numbers. As People then understood Sculpture, or making of Images, or Figures in Baff. Rel. and Painting to represent the Powers and Actions in this System, they must understand the Ufe of Lines to defcribe; and 'tis very likely they had some. Method of Scores or Numbers to keep Accompts: And by the Ufe of Lines they might score out the Geography of Parts of the Earth; nay, the Circles or Courses of the celeftial Orbs, and their Motions, might be kept by the Chaldeans, &c. in that Manner, fo Accounts of Days, Months, Years. But Books were not ufed as a Name for Things, on which they writ Words, be fore the two Tables were writ; These are VOL. IV. diftin

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