NATURAL HISTORY

OF THE

OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS.

THE subjects contained in this division of the present work are only alluded to in a general manner in the preceding GAZETTEER OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. In describing the various countries mentioned in the Bible, it was of course impossible to omit an enumeration of their animal and vegetable productions, but as all these, to a greater or less degree, are intimately connected with the illustration of various important passages of the Inspired Record, it was resolved from the first to arrange and describe them separately, to make the work as complete as possible. But it is necessary to state that the following alphabetical treatise, if it may be so designated, pretends to little more than a mere outline of the various subjects described and explained. It is as complete as the proposed limits of this work will permit; but every one who has any idea of what Natural History really is, will at once admit that the range is too extensive and interesting to be compressed into a narrow compass, and yet treated with the minuteness it requires. Volumes have been written on mostly the whole of the subjects to which the reader's attention is directed in the following pages; and all that is here attempted is merely to collect and condense the observations of the learned individuals who have devoted their time and their talents to the illustration and elucidation of the most important and interesting subjects which can occupy the attention of the human mind.

It is by a contemplation of the "wonderful works of God," as displayed in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, that we can perceive the peculiar force and beauty of what Moses records respecting the Creation. At the commencement of the Inspired Record we are directed to the operations of the Almighty Architect of the Universe, at that remote and unfathomable period when the earth was without form and void," and when" darkness moved upon the face of the waters." At his Omnipotent command, and by the moving of the Spirit of God," the glorious light appears, which he divides from the original chaotic darkness-the"firmament called Heaven" is separated from the waters beneath-those waters are collected together into seas, or lakes, into which run the numerous rivers, and the dry land thus formed, which these rivers and streams refresh and invigorate, is called Earth. A mighty and universal luxuriance ensues-trees, herbs, fruits, and flowers, of innumerable kinds, to arrest the attention, gratify the taste, or please the eye, and delight with their fragrancy, are produced; their necessary seeds are planted in the newly formed soil by the hand of Jehovah himself, and they spring up and grow to maturity, nourished and watered by the dews of that firmament which in his Divine wisdom He called Heaven. We are then directed to the creation of the planetary world, the study of which forms the stupendous range of astronomical science-to those "lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night," which were ordained to be "for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years," and to give "light upon the earth"-from the king of day, whose invigorating beams shed joy and happiness over creation, and from the "lesser light to rule the night," whose silvery rays fall placidly on the mountains, valleys, and plains, the woods, forests, fields, the seas, lakes, and rivers, of widely-extended Nature, to the twinkling stars which appear like myriads of sparkling diamonds in the heavens, reminding us of the fine expression, that "the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted aloud for joy." We are told of the "sweet influence of Pleiades," of the " bands of Orion," of " Mazzaroth

(the Twelve Signs) in his season," and of "Arcturus with his sons." Again, we are directed to the creation of the animal world-the seas and rivers teeming with myriads of inhabitants, from the

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great whales," and the mighty leviathan, to the feeble minnow of the brooks-from the stupendous Behemoth, to the tiny insect which lives but for an hour in the sun-beam and then dies of old age--from the eagle soaring aloft, and inhabiting the inaccessible cliffs, the crag of the rock and the strong place," where her eyes behold afar off," and "her young ones suck up blood," to the humble sparrow on the house-tops, and yet not one of which can fall to the ground unperceived or unnoticed by the ever watchful eye of Omniscience. Nor is the Divine benediction withheld from the innumerable varieties of animated Nature. Like man himself, at their advent, when they sprang into life, and rejoiced as the workmanship of the Almighty, they were blessed by their beneficent Creator, who ordained them to be "fruitful," and to multiply," and to fill the "seas" and the "earth." Then it was that the first Sabbath was instituted when Jehovah is represented to us as surveying every thing that he had made," and pronouncing it to be " very good."

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In the Scriptures the subjects of Natural History are often introduced in the most impassioned poetical manner, peculiar to the Oriental imagination, and yet with an accuracy in reference to their appearance and structure as instructive as it is interesting. We are told of a "vein for the silver, and a place of gold where they find it"-that "iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone"that as for the earth, out of it cometh bread, and under it is turned up as it were fire"-that "the stones of it are the place of sapphires, and it hath dust of gold." We are told of the fine gold of Ophir, the precious onyx, the coral, pearls, rubies, and the "topaz of Ethiopia." In vegetable productions, we have the lofty cedars of Lebanon contrasted with the brambles, thistles, and thorns; and balm, honey, spices, myrrh, nuts, and aimonds. It is magnificently demanded by Jehovah himself, Hath the rain a father, or who hath begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? Who can number the clouds in wisdom, or who can stay the bottles of heaven, when the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?" We are introduced to the "wild goats of the rock," the "unicorn with his band on the furrow," the "wild ass which is free," who "maketh the range of the mountains his pasture," and the horse, whose "neck is clothed with thunder," who " smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains and the shouting." We are told of the peacock's "goodly wings" of the ostrich," which leaveth her eggs in the carth, and warmeth them in dust, and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them"-of the flight of the hawk, and of the soaring flight of the eagle. We are introduced to the Behemoth, or hippopotamus, who "eateth grass like an ox," whose "strength is in his loins," whose "force is in the navel of his belly," who moveth his tail like a cedar," whose bones are as strong pieces of brass," like "bars of iron;" and we have the magnificent description of the Leviathan, whose "scales are his pride, shut up close together as with a close seal," so near to each other that "no air can come between them," whose heart is as firm as a stone, yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.-The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold; the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon. He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. The iron cannot make him flee; sling stones are turned with him into stubble. Darts are counted as stubble; he laugheth at the shaking of a spear. He maketh the sea to boil like a pot; he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment. We are told of the industrious ants, "which are a people not strong"-of the conies, a "feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks"-of the locusts, which have no king, yet they go forth all of them by bands"-of the spider, "which taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces." It is the contemplation of these varieties, their external form, habits, and propensities, which induces the astonished inquirer to exclaim with the Poet

"

"These are thy glorious works, Parent of Good!
Almighty Thine this universal frame."

The knowledge of the animal, mineral, and vegetable productions of a country is almost as essential as a knowledge of its history, traditions, vicissitudes, and present condition. In reference to the countries mentioned in the Scriptures, this knowledge is indispensable to those who are interested in the study of Sacred Geography. We see wherein they agree with or differ from similar species and productions which either exist in our own country or may have come under our observation, and they tend to elucidate many important passages and incidents in the Scriptures. Natural History is repeatedly introduced by the Sacred Writers in an allegorical manner, comparisons are instituted from the habits of the animal creation, or the peculiarities of the mineral and vegetable world; the Hebrew Poets, Prophets, and Historians, often explain their meaning by such references, and we find the whole Canon of Inspiration

closing with a magnificent description of the New Jerusalem, in which the rarest, most valued, and most costly productions of Nature are brought under our notice. The range which the Inspired Authors take does not indeed include the whole of the Animal, Mineral, and Vegetable Kingdoms, as the grand divisions of Natural History are termed by modern naturalists, but it is sufficiently copious and extensive to add greatly to our knowledge, and to show the varied and almost unlimited information to be derived from the Scriptures.

There are few works on the Natural History of the Bible which are accessible to ordinary readers, and those attainable are for the most part very expensive. They have all this great defect, if it be viewed as such, that they are too scientific, and indeed no reader, unacquainted with the Greek and Latin languages, and of the various technical terms used by writers on Botany, Mineralogy, and Natural History, can understand them, without referring constantly to a dictionary. In the following pages every technical term is purposely excluded, as the object is to make the subjects severally described as plain as possible to general readers. These pages are intended for the many, not for the few; and those who are inclined to scientific descriptions, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin words, and to all other technical terms used in the several departments here treated, can be easily gratified in the perusal of various works of more ambitious pretensions.

A

ADAMANT, shmir, is sometimes translated diamond, and is a general name for a precious stone. It is also used for a species of iron, denoting the hardest and most tempered parts of it, and by some ancient naturalists for the spume of gold, which not being malleable, is usually cast away. The word is not now employed as a scientific term, but chiefly as a poetical expression synonymous with diamond, or simply to convey an idea of extreme hardness. In this seuse it is used by some of our best English poets, Milton, Pope, Gray, and others, as it is by the Prophet Ezekiel (iii. 9), when he was encouraged. by Jehovah " As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead;" and by the Prophet Zechariah, in describing the cause of the captivity of the Jews-" They made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the Law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former Prophets." Bochart argues that this adamant means a peculiarly hard stone used for polishing gems, and for engraving or cutting other hard stones. In the two texts in which it occurs it denotes extreme hardStone of this description abounds in

ness.

the East.

ADDER, nachash, a reptile of the serpent kind commonly called a viper, which differs from the snake in its external features and formation. The adder is much shorter for its bulk, and especially its tail below the belly; it is marked with black spots or lines; its belly is blackish, and of a uniform colour,

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while that of the snake is of a pale yellow and blue; it never attains the size of some snakes, and its young are produced alive, whereas those of snakes are produced from eggs. The adder seems to be a general designation in the Scriptures for any individual of the serpent tribe, and is used in a figurative sense by the sacred writers. In the final blessing of his sons by Jacob, Dan is described as a serpent by the path, an adder by the way, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backwards," Gen. xlix. 17. This delineates the character of the future tribe, the Danites being as noted for their boldness as for their stratagems and craft. The same reptile is meant in both divisions of the verse, according to the genius of Hebrew poetry, in which a thing is often at first mentioned generally, as, " Dan shall be a serpent in the way;" and then precisely and explicitly, "an adder in the path," or, "a horned viper upon the path." It grows to the length of from eighteen inches to two feet, and is distinguished by a small prominence or horn above each eye. It is remarkable for lurking among the sand and in wheel tracks, and in its retreat it bites the heels of the passing horses, whose hinder legs become soon torpid from the activity of the poison. These reptiles, which are found in Egypt, Arabia, and Syria, are the more dangerous, as from their dark colour it is difficult to distinguish them from the sand in which they lurk. The Psalmist speaks of the "deaf adder that stoppeth her ear, which