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groundless Stories to account for it; feeing this is no thing but what is agreeable to the ancient Divinity, and the ufual Sentiments of moft Nations in the World, And fo as for the Earth-quake, or fhaking of the Mountain, it is no more, than what all Nations have thought has come to pass at the Prefence of God. As Pfal. lxviii. 8. The Earth book, the Heavens alfo dropped at the Prefence of God. And Pfal. civ. 32. He looketh on the Earth, and it trembleth. And Virgil in his Defcription of the Ap→ proach of Phoebus, does in a manner but tranflate the Words of Mofes...

tremere omnia vifa repente,

Liminaque Laurufque Dei: totufque moveri
Mons circum, & mugire adytis cortina reclusis.

all Things do feem to quake,

The Doors and Laurels of the God do fbake;
The tott'ring Mountain moves in Eddies round,
And from the Curtain creeps a hollow Sound.

So whenever the Coming of Hecate is described, as in Theocritus's Pharmaceutria, &c. Or when any great Deity appears, as that great Demogorgon which Lucan mentions, Lib. 3, the Earth is always faid to tremble.

•paretis, an ille

Compellandus erit, quo nunquam terra vocata
Non concuffa tremit

But after all, here was not the leaft Ground to fufpect any Deceit in this wonderful Occurrence; for Mofes deals very openly with the Ifraelites in this Matter, and fuffers them to come up into the Mountain after the LORD had departed thence. And there is a Signal given them when they fhall venture to come. When the Trumpet foundeth long, they shall come up to the Mount, Exod. xix. v. 13,

Now

Now if there had been any Thing of this pretended Vul cano in the Mountain that Mofes had cheated them with, to be fure Mofes had forbid them to come up to the Mountain altogether; for their viewing those natural Eruptions afterwards would have laid open the Cheat as much, as if they had been prefent, when Mofes gave out he was receiving his Law from God, who exhibited him felf in that Appearance.

Phil. But ftill, Credentius, there is another of this Le giflator's Actions, which sticks much in my Stomach; and that is his making the Jews believe, that by a divine Power he turned the Waters of the Red-Sea into two folid Walls ftanding up on each Side of the Ifraelites, tổ let them pafs through upon the dry Ground. But to fay nothing of the Pleafantnefs of this Miracle: Methinks this was but a Caft of the Legiflator's Cunning, to coin a Miracle out of the Sea's Low-water. For it is a Tra dition among the Egyptians, that Mofes being a little more fubtile than the ignorant Jews, or the Egyptians which purfued him, understood the exact Time of the Tide of that Sea, and fo carried over upon the Ebb his People fafe, whilft the Egyptians were loft for lack of better Obfervation. *Which Thought fo wrought upon the learned Jofephus, that he allowed the fame to be done by Alexander, in paffing the Pamphylian Sea. Or however this Miracle is much leffened, if we affert with a great many of the Divines, that the Jews did not crofs the Sea; but only went in a little Way, and came out again on the fame Side; and then ignorant Folks that lived far off from the Sea, might be impofed upon at the fame Raté, every Time 'tis Low-water with us.

Cred. It is a Wonder at this Time of Day that you witty Gentlemen, who are endeavouring to fettle all Things upon a new Bottom, fhould he beholden to one of old Porphyry's Cavils to befpatter our Religion; or to an idle Tale of the Egyptians. But in anfwer to thefe Infinuations

* Ant. Lib. 2. Cap. ult.

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The Ifrae

the Head

nus.

1. I am of Opinion, there is no Reafon to think, but lites did not that the Ifraelites paffed quite through the Chanel of the pass round Sea from one Shore to the other. For the only Reason of the Si- which gave Rife to the other Opinion, was the Relation of the Journeys of the People, Numb. xxiii. where, v. 6. it is faid that they departed from Succoth, which is on the Ægyptian's Side of the Red-Sea, and pitched in Etham, and from thence moved to Pi-hahiroth, paffed through the midst of the Sea into the Wilderness, and fo went three Days Journey into the Wilderness of Etham. Whence they con clude that Etham, and the Wilderness of Etham, muft needs be on the fame Side of the Sea; and confequently the Jews did not march cross the Sea, but only through one Šide of it, in a Semi-circle, and out again a little higher on the fame Side. But this is contrary to the exprefs Words of Scripture, which fay, they paffed through the Middle of the Sea. And as for the Difficulty about Etham, that is fairly folved, by allowing only two Ethams, the one a Town which they encamped at, on the Egyptian Side, the fecond on the Arabian Side, a Wilderness. Inftances of which are common enough in Scripture and prophane Hiftories. But if we muft needs have the Wildernefs of Etham denominated from the Town, Mr. Le Clerc has ingeniously gueffed that Etham, the Town, was fituated nigh the upper Part of the Sinus Arabicus, and gave Denomination to a great Defert which furrounded the Head of that Bay, and reached down a confiderable Way on both Sides. So that tho' they marched from the Wilderness of Etham cross the Bay, they would be only in another Part of the Wilderness of Etham ftill.

The Waters

2. Neither do I fee any Reafon to affert that the Wadid not ters were miraculously confolidated; or that they did in Band erect. a literal Senfe ftand on an Heap, or erect like a Wall. But only God fent a strong Wind, as the Text fays, which blew back the Tide and all the Waters, which covered the Sands over against Pi-hahiroth, farther towards the Ocean; leaving fome Waters ftagnating towards the Head of the

Differt. de Maris Idumæi traject.

Sinus, all along towards the Mediterranean Sea. So that by this means the Sholes about Pi-hahiroth muft needs be left dry, for the Ifraelites to pafs over: Indeed it must be a North Wind which must produce this Effect, or at least a North-Eaft; whereas our Tranflation fays, an East. But there is no Neceffity of tranflating Cadim Eaft, it fignifying only a strong Wind. And fo St. Jerom interprets it, ventum vehementem & urentem, a vehement and burning Wind. And Pfal. xlviii. 7. Thou breakeft the Ships of Tarfis with a Kadim, the LXX. tranflate it*, evμāle BeCare with a mighty Wind. Vid. Ez. xxvii. 16. Job xxvii. 21. Jer. xviii. 17. And then this Explication will be very agreeable to the Words of the Text, and that Divifion which is affigned to the Waters there. And the Lord caufed the Sea to go back by a strong Eaft-Wind all that Night, and made the Sea dry Land, and the Waters were divided, Exod. xiv. 21. Now as for those Words in the Song of Mofes and Miriam, where it is faid, that the Flouds ftood upright as an Heap, and the Depths were congealed in the Heart of the Sea, that must be taken only as a poetical or metaphorical Expreffion. And where it is faid that the Waters were a Wall unto them, it must be understood only that there were Waters on both Sides the Sholes they paffed over. And this is agreeable to the Expreffion in the Prophet Nahum, Art thou better than Noammone, or populous No, that was fituate among the Waters, that had Waters round about it, whofe Rampart was the Sea, and whofe Waters were a Wall? Nah. iii. 8.

natural

3. Nor did this come to pafs by any natural Wind, Not beat back by a 'but by a miraculous one, which the Scripture fays was fent immediately by God, for that Purpofe. For no Hi- wind. ftories give Account, that ever fince that Time, the Waters were fo blown out, which muft have often come to pafs, if the Caufe had been natural; nay more frequently of late than formerly, the Waters of all Creeks and Sinus's being more fhallow in thefe later Ages of the World, than in the Centuries which were nigher to the Deluge. But if

* Vid. Cler. Dim

fuch

Alexan

der's Paf fing the

fuch Ebbs had been fo natural and frequent as the Infidels pretend, it was impoffible that Mofes could have put fuch a Banter upon fo great a Multitude, who could not have all been ignorant of the Tide of fo neighbouring a Sea, nor would the Ægyptians have ventured into the Danger of a Sea, the Time of whofe Return they muft needs know as well as Mofes. Nay, it is impoffible, that fuch a great Army should be drowned by the coming back of an ordinary Tide, and that there fhould not remain fo much as one of them. It must therefore be allowed, that God kept the Waters back by this preter-natural Wind, till the Ifraelites were paffed over, and then fuffered them to return back upon the Egyptians, in their full Fury.

4. It does not make any Thing against the Truth of this Miracle, that Alexander paffed his Army over the Streights of the Pamphylian Sea; for thofe Streights are Pamphy- naturally dry at every low Water; which I believe FofeStreights, phus was ignorant of, which made him compare it with no Parallel. this great Occurrence in the Mofaical Expedition. Now

lian

of that Matter Strabo writes thus*, About Phafelis there are Streights towards the Sea, through which Alexander paffed his Army. There is also a Mountain called Climax, which lies to the Pamphylian Sea, leaving a freight Paffage to the Shore, which is quite bare, in good Weather; but when the Waves arife, it is for the most Part covered with them. Now the Road by the Mountains is about, and difficult, and therefore in calm Weather they go by the Shore. Now Alexander came thither in ftormy Weather, and trufting to his Fortune, would go over before the Waves were abated, which made his Souldiers go all Day up to the Navel in Water. And much to the fame Purpofe does Plutarch fpeak t. This March through Pamphylia has been a Subject to many Hiftorians of mighty Wonder, and fine Declamation, as if the Sea, by order of the Gods, gave Place to Alexander, which almost always is a rough Sea there, and does very rarely open a fmooth Way under thofe broken Rocks. And this Menander hints at in his Comedy, Speaking of a Wonder, as 'Aλežaufgádes rïïo, &C.

Strab. Lib. 14.

Plutar. Vit. Alexandri

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