PART II. be improbable, that the town built in this place might have such a name imposed on it, in memory of the Egyptians being drowned in the sea, which they went into, as did the Israelites, in this place. And in like manner the Arabs may call this sea Buhr el Calzem, i.e. the sea of drowning or overwhelming, in memory of the same signal judgment of God upon Pharaoh and his army. It is agreed upon by all, that this sea grows narrower and narrower, the more northward it runs. And Thevenot tells us, that for five days that he kept along the coast of it going to mount Sinai, he could not observe it to be any where above eight or nine miles over.

1.

derness of

Shur and
Etham.

SECTION III.

Of the Journeyings of the Israelites from the Red Sea, till they came to Mount Sinai, with a De scription of the said Mount.

WE read Exod. xv. 22. that Moses brought Israel Of the wil from the Red sea, and they went out into the wil derness of Shur, and they went three days in the wilderness. And Num. xxxiii. 8. we read, that the children of Israel passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days journey in the wilderness of Etham. From comparing these two texts together, it is evident, that by the wilderness of Shur, and the wilderness of Etham, must be understood one and the same wilderness. Of Shur there has been frequent occasion to make mention, in the first Part; and it has been there observed, that by this name is denoted in Scripture all the western part of Stony Arabia. Etham is mentioned before in the first section of this chapter, as being the second place where the Is

raelites encamped after they set forth from Rameses. CHAP. II. It lay not far from the Red sea, in the edge of the SECT. III. wilderness, Exod. xiii. 20. to which therefore it gave name. If there was any difference between the wilderness of Shur and that of Etham, it seems to have been only this, that they differ one from the other, as a whole from its part. As Shur seems to have been the general name of all that part of Arabia Petræa that lay next to Egypt, so by the wilderness of Shur was probably denoted all the desert tract thereof: whereas only part of this desert tract, namely, so much as lay nearest to Etham, was peculiarly called the wilderness of Etham. It is also further observable, that from what the Scripture saith concerning the Israelites passing out of the Red sea into the wilderness of Shur or Etham, it must follow, that the Israelites did pass the Red sea not far from the very bottom or north end of it; forasmuch as there it was that Shur and Etham were situated.

where the

Thevenot tells us, that the place where the Is- 2. raelites are supposed, by the inhabitants of the The place country, to have come out of the Red sea, is at Israelites present called Corondal; and that they say, over- are now-aagainst it the sea is always tempestuous about the days said to place where Pharaoh and the Egyptians were come out drowned. But indeed, the place where the Israel- Sea. ites came out of the sea, seems to have been rather more north, or nearer the bottom of the gulf.

of the Red

3.

Having gone three days in the wilderness, and found no water, the Israelites came at length to a Of Maralı. place where was water; but it was so bitter, that they could not at first drink of it: whence the place was named Marah, which word in the Hebrew language signifies bitterness. But upon Moses praying unto the Lord, the Lord shewed him a tree, or sort of wood, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet. Exod. xv. 2325. The son of Sirach, the author of that excellent book, called Ecclesiasticus, is plainly of opinion, that this alteration was made by the natural

PART II. virtue of the wood; whence beginning chap. xxxviii. with the honour and esteem due to a physician, he adds, ver. 5. The Lord has created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them. Was not the water made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known? I am inclined to think, that this may be the place which Thevenot takes notice of, when he tells us, that in his second day's journey from Suez, they came to a place, where they found several waters, which they call Ain el Mouse, i. e. the wells of Moses; or else they may be the wells of Elim, where the Israelites encamped next, of which in the next paragraph.

4.

Of Elima

From Marah the Israelites came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm-trees: and they encamped there by the waters. Exod. xv. 27. As some commentators think, that by the tree, which was put into the waters of Marah, was denoted the cross of Christ, which is able to sweeten the most bitter afflictions to truly pious souls; so they suppose that the number of the twelve wells here mentioned at Elim did allude, not only to the twelve tribes of Israel, but also to the twelve Apostles of Christ; and that the seventy palm-trees did allude, not only to the seventy Elders of the Israelites, mentioned Exod. xxiv. and Num. xi. but also to the seventy Disciples of our blessed Saviour, mentioned Luke x. But however this be, the place where the Israelites were now encamped seems to have been esteemed as a very pleasant and fruitful place, at least in comparison of the desert and barren parts about it. Insomuch that some learned men are of opinion, that this is the place particularly taken notice of by Agatharchides Gnidius in his treatise concerning the Red sea, and by Diodorus, lib. iii. and by Strabo, lib. xvi. We meet in Tacitus and Plutarch with a story, that the Jews being on a certain time ready to perish with thirst, springs of water were discovered to them by some (tame or wild) asses. Which story, Bochart thinks, took its rise from hence:

that Josephus calls this place Elim by the name of CHAP. II. Ilim, which word in the Syrian language denotes SECT. III. the foals of asses, or asses colts.

The place

Thevenot tells us, that these twelve wells are 5. now-a-days shewn to travellers, in or near to a garden of the monks of Tor, which is a small place, shewn for now-a-days but has a good harbour for ships, lying on the Red Elim. sea. But as this writer plainly confounds the wells of Elim with the waters of Marah; so it seems probable, from comparing the sacred History and the account of his travels, that Elim lay to the west or north-west of Tor; and that rather the encampment of the Israelites by the Red sea (Num. xxxiii. 10.) was near Tor.

xvi. 1.

6.

From Elim the Israelites came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. Exod. Of the enBut Num. xxxiii. where the sacred Histo- campment by the Red rian does professedly give an account of the seve- Sea. ral journeys of the Israelites, we are informed, ver. 10, 11. that they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea; and they removed from the Red. sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin. Whence it is not to be doubted, but that the encampment by the Red sea, mentioned in this last place, is omitted in the former of Exodus, because nothing worth taking notice of happened there. This encampment seems to have been either in the plain, wherein stands the little sea-port town, called Tor, or else in the plain or valley near to the sea, and mentioned by Thevenot, as lying at some distance before one comes to the plain or valley of Tor.

But

7.

derness of

Sin.

As to the wilderness of Sin, which the Israelites came into, upon their decamping this second time of the wilfrom the Red sea, the fore-cited text of Exodus tells us, that it lay between Elim and Sinai. now the Israelites, in their going from Elim to the wilderhess of Sin, making an encampment by the Red sea, it hence seems probable, that either the Israelites were obliged to wind their course round some mountain that came in their way, and hindered them from going directly forward, or else

PART II. virtue of the wood; whence beginning chap. xxxviii. with the honour and esteem due to a physician, he adds, ver. 5. The Lord has created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them. Was not the water made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known? I am inclined to think, that this may be the place which Thevenot takes notice of, when he tells us, that in his second day's journey from Suez, they came to a place, where they found several waters, which they call Ain el Mouse, i. e. the wells of Moses; or else they may be the wells of Elim, where the Israelites encamped next, of which in the next paragraph.

4.

Of Elima

From Marah the Israelites came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm-trees: and they encamped there by the waters. Exod. xv. 27. As some commentators think, that by the tree, which was put into the waters of- Marah, was denoted the cross of Christ, which is able to sweeten the most bitter afflictions to truly pious souls; so they suppose that the number of the twelve wells here mentioned at Elim did allude, not only to the twelve tribes of Israel, but also to the twelve Apostles of Christ; and that the seventy palm-trees did allude, not only to the seventy Elders of the Israelites, mentioned Exod. xxiv. and Num. xi. but also to the seventy Disciples of our blessed Saviour, mentioned Luke x. But however this be, the place where the Israelites were now encamped seems to have been esteemed as a very pleasant and fruitful place, at least in comparison of the desert and barren parts about it. Insomuch that some learned men are of opinion, that this is the place particularly taken notice of by Agatharchides Gnidius in his treatise concerning the Red sea, and by Diodorus, lib. iii. and by Strabo, lib. xvi. We meet in Tacitus and Plutarch with a story, that the Jews being on a certain time ready to perish with thirst, springs of water were discovered to them by some (tame or wild) asses. Which story, Bochart thinks, took its rise from hence: