believed to be invisible. But the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and their children, worshipped not only the invisible GoD, but this LORD also; and this LORD appeared to Moses, and declared himself to be the GoD of their fathers, who had appeared unto divers of them, and who purposed by his hand to deliver the Israelites. This was the person who was to be Jacob's God,* whom he called the fear of his father Isaac, and whom he distinguished from the God of Abraham, the GOD of Nahor, the GOD of their father, i. e. from the GoD whom they worshipped before this LORD had revealed himself to them. In all the several passages where the word Jehovah occurs, before the LORD's appearing unto Abraham, which are near forty, I am not sensible that there are any, where the word necessarily refers to the LORD, who appeared to Abraham ; and it is evident that the Antediluvians used the words Jehovah or Elohim as equivalent terms, taking them both for names of the one true and living God. Thus Eve, when upon the birth of Cain she said that she had gotten a man from (Jehovah) the LORD," meant exactly the same by the term Jehovah, as she did by Elohim, when at the birth of Seth she said that (Elohim) GOD had appointed her another. And thus likewise it was remarked, that in the days of Enos men were called by the name of (Jehovah) the LORD; by which expression was meant, that they z Job ix. 11. Gen. xii. 7. a Gen. xxviii. 20. iv. 1. d ver. 25. · ver. 26. See vol. 1. b. 1. p. 37. obtained the name, which we find afterwards given them, and were called the sons (ha Elohim) of God.f Elohim and Jehovah were the names of the GoD of heaven, and GoD was generally called in the history of these times by both these names put together, Jehovah Elohim, or as we render them in 'English, the LORD GOD. h III. The LORD, who appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, did indeed many times reveal himself to them by the name of El-Shaddai, or as Moses expresses it, he appeared unto them by the name of God Almighty; but it is evident, that by his name Jehovah he was also known unto them. When Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD (Jehovah) appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God (El Shaddai).' In this passage it is related, that Jehovah appeared unto Abraham; this is Moses' narration of the fact, and it may be observed, that he might here, as a historian, knowing that the person who appeared had a right to the name Jehovah, call him by that name; though it is evident, that GoD who appeared here did not call himself in this place Jehovah, but said to Abraham, I am (El Shaddai) the Almighty God, and by that name only was here known unto him. In the same manner it is remarkable, that this person manifested himself to Isaac and his descendants, by this particular name of God Al f Gen. vi. 2. 8, 9, 13, 14, 22, &c. Exodus vi. 3. & Chap. ii. 4, 7, 8, 9, 15, &c. iii. and thus ix. 26. ¡ Gen. xvii, 1. mighty. The GoD who appeared unto Jacob, said unto him, I am God Almighty, and this El Shaddai, or God Almighty, was the person whom Jacob prayed to be with his sons when he sent them to Egypt; who he reminded them had appeared to him at Luz in Canaan," and whom he particularly calls the GoD of Joseph's father, in his blessing him at his death." So that what Moses records, that this their GOD was known to them by his name of GOD Almighty, is abundantly clear from these and many other passages which might be cited. But that this LORD was also known to them by the name Jéhovah, seems apparent from the following passages among others. Abraham called the place where he went to offer Isaac Jehovah-jireh, which I imagine he would not have done, if he had not known the LORD by this name of Jehovah at that time. Abraham's servant called the GoD of his master Abraham, Jehovah ; but Gen. xxviii. 13. is very full and express. Jacob, in the vision there recorded, saw the LORD standing before him; and the LORD said, I am the LORD God, or rather, I am Jeho -h the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. Here the LORD very expressly revealed himself to Jacob by his name Je * Gen. xxxv. 11. " xlix. 25. 1 xliii. 14. • xxii. 14. "xlviii. 3. P xxiv. 12, 26, 40. 4 See Gen. xxxv. 1. where Jacob was directed to Gon who appeared to him at Bethel, i. e. in the place where he saw this vision. And Jacob himself says, that God Almighty appeared here unto him. See Gen. xlviii. 3. hovah; and accordingly Jacob hereupon resolved that this LORD should be his GoD," and in pursuance of this resolution, he was reminded afterwards to build an altar as Abraham had done, not unto God, whom no man hath seen at any time, nor can see; but unto GOD, who had appeared to him. It is therefore evidently clear, that GOD, who spoke unto Moses, and declared himself to have appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, was known unto them by his name Jehovah; and therefore our English translation of the latter part of the third verse of the sixth chapter of Exodus, in these words, but by my name Jehovah was I not known unto them, is undoubtedly a faulty translation, not rightly expressing what Moses intended in this place. The best and most accurate writers have remarked upon this place, that the latter part of the verse should be read interrogatively, thus; By my name Jehovah was I not known unto them? If we take the sentence interro gatively, every one will see that it plainly intimates, that the LORD had revealed himself to them by this name, which is agreeable to Moses' account of Abra, ham, Isaac, and Jacob's knowledge and worship of the Deity. But to take the words without the interro gation, and suppose them to intend, that the LORD who appeared to Abraham, was not known to him, to Isaac and to Jacob, by his name Jehovah, cannot be reconciled to some very express passages in the book of Genesis. interpretation is faThe words of Moses that the LORD, who In the LXX version, the words are agreeable to our English translation, και το ονομα με Κύριος εκ εδήλωσα autos; but it has been observed by the learned, that some of the Greek writers read the words to ovoμa με Κύριος εδήλωσα αυτοις• that is ; my name Jehovah I made known unto them; which voured by the Arabic version. may indeed be supposed to hint, appeared unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to Moses, was not known by the name Jehovah, before Abraham's days; which I think agrees with the book of Genesis; for we no where find him mentioned, before he appeared unto Abraham, and before Abraham built an altar unto the LORD, who appeared to him.' I am sensible that I have been very large in this digression upon the name of GOD. I was willing to be as particular as might be, because I would observe from the whole what occurs about it, that it is remarkable from the writings of Moses, that there were two different and distinct persons known and worshipped by the faithful from the days of Abraham; God whom no man hath seen at any time, and the LORD who at divers times appeared to them, is allowed by the best* and most judicious writers, to have been the same divine person, who afterwards took upon him the seed of Abraham, and was made man, and dwelt among the Jews; and accordingly, the prophet Zechariah calls this person, whom the Jews were to pierce, Jehovah. Therefore, since, according to Plutarch's Gen. xii. 7. See vol. i. b. ii. p. 262. * Zech. xii. VOL. II. |