CHAP.III. SECTION III. Of the first Plantations or original Settlements of the Descendants of Shem, or Sem. Shem. I SHALL proceed next to the first plantations of 1. the sons of Shem, and their families; forasmuch The several as they lie next in a geographical order, bordering nations of on the nation and families of Gomer, to the east and south. Now we find five immediate sons (or sons properly so called) of Shem mentioned by Moses, namely, Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. Of these, Moses acquaints us with the sons only of Arphaxad and Aran. I shall begin with the settlement of Aram, as 2. being the first nation of the branch of Shem, ad- The nation of Aram, joining to the nations of the branch of Japhet where seatalready spoken of. For the portion that fell to the ed. nation of Aram lay in the countries called by the Greeks Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Syria. It is probable, that Armenia took its present name from Aram. Mesopotamia, as it was so called by the Greeks from its situation between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, so it was called by the Hebrews Aram-Naharaim, i. e. Aram of or between the two rivers. And whereas one part of this country, viz. that lying next to Armenia, was very fruitful, and the other to the south, very barren, and so of the like soil with Arabia Deserta, to which it adjoined, and under which it was by some writers comprehended; hence the upper and northern part of Mesopotamia is that, which in Scripture is distinguished by the peculiar name of Padan-Aram, and in Hosea xii. 13, by the name of Sedan-Aram: both which names are of a like importance, and denote as much as fruitful or cultivated Aram. 3. Padan-A ram, what, and where. 4. Though the Hebrew word Aram be frequently rendered Syria, yet it must not be thought that Aram and swers to the other. PART I. they are words exactly equivalent. The word Syria may indeed be sometimes used in old authors, to Syria, how denote not only Syria commonly so called, but also far one an- Mesopotamia. And hence it is that Jacob, called in the Hebrew an Aramite, is agreeably enough said in our Version to be a Syrian; namely, either as being descended of Syrians or Mesopotamians, or else as dwelling many years in the country of Syria. For by Syria (Hos. xii. 12.) must be understood Mesopotamia, as is evident from the words immediately following, wherein it is said, that Israel served for a wife, and for a wife kept sheep; which was done in Mesopotamia. But then as to the country commonly called Syria, the name of Aram appertained only to part of that, namely, to so much of it as fell to the nation of Aram; that is, the northern and eastern parts thereof. For as to Phoenicia and Palestine, though they are esteemed as parts of Syria, yet did they not belong to Aram, but fell to the lot of Canaan. From the Hebrew name Aram, the old Greeks seem to have denoted the inhabitants of the parts that fell to Aram, by the name "Apun, Arimi; which therefore we meet with in old Homer, Iliad ii. ver. 783. The name Syri, or Syria, is not to be found in that ancient author, as being probably of a latter date, derived namely from Sor or Tyre, which is likewise never mentioned by Homer, as being likely not then grown famous, if built. 5. The situation of Uz son of Aram. Proceed we now to find out the first settlements of the families of the nation of Aram, which are reckoned four, according to the number of Aram's immediate sons mentioned by Moses, viz. Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. As for Uz, he is by a great agreement of the ancients sa d to be the builder of the city Damascus: whence it may be reasonably supposed, that the land of Uz mentioned in Scripture did denote the country about Damascus, so as to comprehend a good part of Arabia Deserta, and to extend itself to Arabia Petræa. And in this latitude both what is said in Scripture concerning Job's living in the land of Uz, as also of Edom's SECT. III. being in the land of Uz, is applicable enough to the CHAP. III. country so denominated from Uz, the son of Aram, at the first plantations; and there is no need of making two other distinct lands of Uz, called so one from Uz, the son of Nahor, brother of Abraham, the other from Uz, a descendant of Edom. In process of time, the city Damascus became the capital of a kingdom, as we read in Scripture; which kingdom seems to be that which is denoted in the sacred writings by the name of Aram Dammesek, that is, Syria Damascena. 6. 7. The family of Hul, or, as it is written agreeably to the original word, Chul, may with great proba- The situation of Hul, bility be placed in Armenia, particularly the greater son of AArmenia. For there we find the names of several ram. places, beginning with the radicals of Chul; as Cholua, Choluata, Cholimna, Colsa, Colura, and to mention but one more, Cholobetene: which last seems to have been formed from the oriental Chol beth, which denotes the same as the house or dwelling of Chol. Now this Cholobetene being the name of a province in Armenia, from this especially we may gather with good probability, timt Chul with his family seated himself in these parts. Between Hul to the north, and Uz to the south, their brother Mash seated himself, namely, about The situa the mountain Masius, which is probably enough thought to have taken its name from him. From Meshech, this mountain issues out a river of Mesopotamia, called by Xenophon, Masca; which is likewise rat. with good probability conjectured to have been so named from this Mash, or, as he is otherwise called in the Scripture, Meshech, the radicals whereof are plainly contained in the name Masca. The inhabitants of the tract adjoining to the mountain Masius, are by Stephanus expressly called Masieni, or Masiani. So that here may be placed very reasonably the first settlement of Mash, or Meshech. tion of Mash, or son of A But it is not so clear, where the remaining son of Aram, namely Geter, settled himself. Bochartus The settle thinks the river Centrites, which is said by old ment of |