CHAPTER I. ON SACRED HISTORY. AS it can be shown, that historical researches, confirm the authenticity of the Mosaical account of the primitive world, the book of Genesis takes precedence of all other histories; not merely in consideration of its forming the first link in the chain of ancient records, but of its imparting the earliest information to us, that there is a God, who existed before all things; that he made the world by his Word alone, and thus gave proof of his Omnipotence. The word "Scriptures," literally signifies Writings; and the word "Bible," Book; but these appellations are, by way of distinction and pre-eminence, exclusively applied to those books of the Jews which are denominated sacred. The word Scriptures occurs, in this sense, in the Gospels, Acts, and Epistles; whence it is evident, that, in the time of our Saviour, this term denoted the books received by the Jews, as the rule of their faith. To these books have been added the writings of the Apostles and Evangelists, which complete the collection of books acknowledged by Christians to be canonical. The Bible thus divided into two parts, is called the Old Testament and the New. Beginning with the former, we assert, that the only authentic and genuine History of the Creation, and of what came to pass before the flood, and for several ages after, is that left us by Moses, in the book of Genesis. To the truth of the principal events recorded in this book, we have abundant testimonies from philosophers, poets, and historians of antiquity. And it is remarkable that those books which come the nearest to it in age, make either distinct mention of the facts recorded in Genesis, or the most evident allusion to them Josephus, the eminent historian of the Jews, when enumerating the books which were believed to be of divine authority, and which comprehend the history of all ages, informs us, that five of them belong to Moses; which contain the original of man, and the tradition of the succession of generations down to his death, taking in a compass of about 3000 years." These five books are at the head of the Old Testament, viz. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. To the first of these books, the Greeks gave the name of Genesis, which signifies production and generation; because it begins with the history of the production and generation of the inanimate and of the animate creation. The word Exodus, also derived from the Greek, signifies going out; this second book is so called, because it describes the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. The third relates to the office of the levitical priesthood, and is therefore called Leviticus. The fourth, from its containing the account of numbering and classing the people, is called Numbers; and Deuteronomy, signifying the second book of the law; is so called, because in the fortieth year of the journey of the Israelites, when all the men of war who came out of Egypt had died by the way, Moses rehearsed, in the ears of the people that had been born in the wilderness, the Lord's dealings with their fathers, his promises, his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments. It is apprehended that Ezra, on his return from the Babylonish captivity, added to this book, the account of the death of Moses. These five books collectively, have the appellation of the Pentateuch, a name composed of two Greek words, signifying five and book. The books of Moses are considered not only the oldest, and the best authenticated, but the most comprehensive and important in the history of the world; giving more satisfactory proofs of the being and attributes of God, of the origin and end of human kind, than ever were attained by the deepest researches of the most enlightened philosophers. The tenth chapter of Genesis may appear to some people, to contain nothing but an uninteresting narrative of the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth; but it is one of the most valuable records of antiquity. It explains what all profane historians were ignorant of, the origin of nations; and it gives such an account of the peopling of the earth after the deluge, as no other book in the world gives; the truth of which, all the books that contain any thing on the subject confirm. The last verse of the chapter says: "These are the families of the sons of Noah after their generations, in their nations; and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood." Divers authors have traced out the situations in which these founders of empire settled, |