any thing else but of the Circumcifion of the Heart: Lastly, it appears, that the Prophets, adjusted their stile, and their very conceptions to the Circumstances, which are Related, in the Book of Genesis: Do but take notice, after what manner they spake of the Breath of God, &c. Thus the Pfalmist distinguishes the Waters that are above the Firmament, from the Waters, that are under the Firmament; a diftinction only to be found in the 1. Chap. of Gen. and which ever occafion'd, a ve ry great perplexity to the Interpreters. i It is therefore to be confefied, that those Writings we speak of, were in being much before any of the Prophets arose, and confequently before Ezekiel, Feremiah, Elijah, Solomon and David, who continually allude to those matters they contain (which allusions are so natural and unaffected,) and that too in such fingular Circumstances, as easily convince us, they had been altogether bred up in the knowledge of them. th of the Found Thus by Proving, that the matters of Fact, con tain'd in the Pentateuch, were not Supposititious, we have sufficiently proved the of the Jewish Religion; Afsurance, that we have we will further examin two is, whether Moses himself ordered it to be done (for it'a Secondly, whether the form by Ezra. The no Man, I suppo that I by a he wr he gav mandme rstood the inve feffion of the of the Cou the Pentatent my ways al doubted riting, fi wn'd, Co He complied other Books, besides that of the Law, as we are told in the 17. of Exod. v. 14. wherein 'tis faid, that God commanded him to Write the History of Amaleck. About which we need not Dispute, fince Spinosa himself grants it: But then, says he, there's no Mention made in that place of the Book wherein this History of Amaleck was Written: He only adds, there is Mention indeed made in the 21. of Numb. of a Book call'd, the Book of the Wars of the Lord, wherein it is very likely, that this War against Amaleck was described at large. Now what strange fancy would it be to think, that Moses had composed a Book purposely, to describe, with all imaginable Exactness the Incampments of the Ifraelites, such as must have been the Book of the Wars of the Lord; as it appears by what is cited out of it, and the Testimony of the Author of that Treatise called Theologicopoliticus, and yet at the fame time, should never think upon writing any History of their coming out of Ægypt, nor of explaining his Laws, in some Treatise of sufficient extent to make them generally intelligible. But we need but well consider all the Books of he Pentateuch; to be fully affur'd that Mofes was the ue Author of them. The Book of Genesis seems Prether defigned to the Ifraelites to poffess themselves and which God had folemnly promised the and worn it to Abraham, to Ifaac and to that Noahs Prophetical Curse upSmaan was related only for hat Mofes himself was or of the History Egypt. For how alfe History of ughout the he should be have compiled the History of a War that had fo little a relation with the Deliverance of the Ifraelites out of Egypt, and yet that he should omit Writing the hi History of that great Event? Wherefore should he h have fuppreffed that History, which serv'd to illustrate his Ceremonies and Ordinances, and without which, would have been very difficult, to understand this beginning of the Decalogue: Harken, O Ifrael, I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, out of the House of Bondage? But if Moses seems to have taken such care to preserve the Memory of the Children of Ifrael's coming out of Egypt, when he fays in the 6. of Deut. when thy Son asketh thee in time ta come, saying, what mean the Testimonies, and the Statutes, and the Judgments, which the Lord your God ba commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy Son, we were Pharaoh's Bondmen, in Ægypt, and the Lord brought of Egypt with a Mighty Hand, &c. I fay, if he took fuch mighty care to preserve the Memory of those things, how could he fail Writing the History of them? What likely hood is there he should warn the Children of Ifrael, in his Law, to remember what befe Dathan and Abiram; and yet that he should not write the History of that Event more at large? Since the Division of the Tribes, and the setting apart the Levites, for God's service, were the foundation on which that State wholly depended; could he then have for gotten to write their Genealogies, or at least to order them to be written, as we find they are, in the Book of Numbers, because had they been once confounded together, that Division could no longer have remained, and since neither the Book of the Law, nor of Deut. scarcely mentioned any thing concerning the Tabernacle, SacerdoBal Habits, the several kinds of Sacrifices, and many other fuch things, all which appertain'd to the pub fic worship of the Jews, how is is it poffible he should be L De so heedless, as not to write them down in some of his other Books? I say, how is it poffible that Mofes Thould have prescribed nothing in Writing upon that Tubject; And how should it come to pass that the whole Nation of the Fers should in all Ages so constantly af firm, that Mofes had exactly prescribed all those things? Lastly, How can it be imagined, that so wife and politic a Man as he, should not vouchsafe so much as Leither to write himself, or order to be written, the E vents of which he thought fit to leave as fo many fen fible Testimonies behind him? But we should soon decide this Controverfie were the Incredulous but pleased to allow us to argue from, that place, which the Author of the Treatise called Theologicopoliticus quotes himself. We read in the 17: chap. of Exodus, how Joshua discomfited Amaleck with the edge of the Sword, and how the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a Book, and rehearse it int the ears of Joshua: For I will utterly put out the remem brance of Amaleck from under Heaven. Whereupon 'tis fitting to observe, that it is not on ly faid, Thou shalt write an History of this defeat of Amaleck but also, thou shalt write this for a memorial in a Book, which proves, that Mofes was ordered immediately from God Almighty, to Compose a Book of all the most remarkable passages that happen'd to the People; and, consequently, there's no doubt, but that the History of the Children of Ifrael's coming out of the Land of Ægypt was inserted in that Book, and so that Mofes himielf was the Author of Exodus, or fome other fuch Book. CHAP CHAP. XIII. i Where we shall examin, whether Ezra did not alter the Form of the Scriptures. B EING defirous to clear whatever fcruples I might frame upon this Subject; I first of all look upon Ezra with all his external Circumstances; as the time he lived in, the manner of his Conversation, the Pentateuch they pretend he composed: And then carrying on further my Curiosity, I inquire, whether not only the private Enemies of Ezra, but those of his Nation in general, such as the Samaritans were, may not give me some insight into this matter: And I find that all those different Parties afford meno small light in this Discovery. It is cerrain, that, with all my industry, I cannot discover what motions of self-interest could have put Ezra upon any such design. It may at first view seem probable, that he might have intended the promoting the Glory of his Religion, by inventing several Miracles, to make it appear of a Divine Authority; but this thought will vanish into Air, so soon as we consider, that the miraculous Matters of Fact, together with the Circumstances of them, which are contained in the Pentateuch, were so generally well known, by the Prophets frequent repetitions of them, so effentially linked and interwoven with the Law of Moses; and so deeply imprinted both in the Practice and Remembrance of the Jews, that it would be a meer Chimera, to fancy they can poffibly have been counterfeited. This truth we have already proved, but however we intend to do it yet more at large in the sequel of this Work All |