sacrifice was this: *he took an heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram in like manner of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a pigeon; and, as he was enjoined, he divided the three former, but the birds he did not divide. After which, before he built his altar, where the birds of prey flew about as desirous of blood, a divine' voice came to him, declaring that their neighbours would be grievous to his posterity, when they should be in Egypt, for four hundred years; during which time they should be afflicted, but afterward should overcome their enemies, should conquer the Canaanites in war, and possess themselves of their land, and of their cities.

4. Now Abram dwelt near the Oak called Ogyges; the place belongs to Canaan, not far from the city of Hebron. But being uneasy at his wife's barrenness, he entreated God to grant that he might have male issue ; and God required of him to be of courage; and said, that he would add to all the rest of the benefits that he had bestowed upon him, ever since he led him out of Mesopotamia, the gift of children. Accordingly Sarai, at God's command, brought to his bed one of her hand-maidens, a woman of Egyptian descent, in order to obtain children by her; and when this hand-maid was with child, she triumphed, and ventured to affront Sarai, as if the dominion were to come to a son to be born of her. But when Abram resigned her into the hand of Sarai, to punish her, she contrived to fly away, as not able to bear the instances of Sarai's severity to her; and she entreated God to have compassion on her. Now a divine angel met her, as she was going forward in the wilderness, and bid her return to her master and mistress, for if she would submit to that wise advice, she would live better hereafter; for that the reason of her being in such a miserable case was this, that she had been ungrateful and arrogant towards her mistress. He also told her, that if she disobeyed God, and went on still in her way, she should perish; but if she would return back, she should become the mother of a son who should reign over

*It is worth noting here, that God required no other sacrifices under the law of Moses, than what were taken from these five kinds of animals, which he here required of Abraham; nor did the Jews feed upon any other domestic animals than the three here named, as Reland observes on Antiq. B. iv. ch. iv. § 4.

+ As to this affliction of Abraham's posterity for 400 years, see Antiq. B. ii. ch. ix. § 1.

that country. These admonitions she obeyed, and returned to her master and mistress, and obtained forgiveness. A little while afterwards, she bare Ishmael, which may be interpreted Heard of God, because God had heard his mother's prayer.

5. The fore-mentioned son was born to Abram when he was eighty-six years old: but when he was ninety-nine, God appeared to him and promised him, that he should have a son by Sarai, and commanded that his name should be Isaac; and showed him, that from this son should spring great nations and kings, and that they should obtain all the land of Canaan by war, from Sidon to Egypt. But he charged him, in order to keep his posterity unmixed with others, that they should be circumcised in the flesh of their foreskin, and that this should be done on the eighth day after they were born; the reason of which circumcision I will explain in another place. And Abram inquiring also concerning Ishmael, whether he should live or not, God signified to him, that he should live to be very old, and should be the father of great nations: Abram therefore gave thanks to God for these blessings; and then he, and all his family, and his son Ishmael, were circumcised immediately; the son being that day thirteen years of age, and he ninety-nine.

How God overthrew the nation of the Sodomites, out of his wrath against them for their sins.

1. ABOUT this time the Sodomites grew proud, on account of their riches and great wealth: they became unjust towards men, and impious towards God, insomuch that they did not call to min the advantages they received from him : they hated strangers, and abused themselves with Sodomitical practices. God was therefore much displeased at them, and determined to punish them for their pride, and overthrow their city, and to lay waste their country, until there should neither plant nor fruit grow out of it.

2. When God had thus resolved concerning the Sodomites, Abraham, as he sat by the oak of Mambre, at the door of his tent, he saw three angels; and thinking them to be stran gers, he rose up, and saluted them, and desired they would accept of an entertainment, and abide with him; to which, when they agreed, he ordered cakes of meal to be made

presently; and when he had slain a calf, he roasted it, and brought it to them, as they sat under the oak. Now they made a show of eating; and besides, they asked him about his wife Sarah, where she was, and when he said she was within, they said, they should come again hereafter, and find her become a mother. Upon which the woman laughed, and said, that it was impossible she should bear children, since she was ninety years of age, and her husband was an hundred. Then they concealed themselves no longer, but declared that they were angels of God; and that one of them was sent to inform them about the child, and two for the overthrow of Sodom.

3. When Abraham heard this, he was grieved for the Sodomites; and he rose up, and besought God for them, and entreated him that he would not destroy the righteous with the wicked. And when God had replied, that there was no good man among the Sodomites; for if there were but ten such men among them he would not punish any of them for their sins, Abraham held his peace. And the angels came to the city of the Sodomites, and Lot entreated them to accept of a lodging with him; for he was a very generous and hospitable man, and one that had learned to imitate the goodness of Abraham. Now when the Sodomites saw the young men to be of beautiful countenances, and this to an extraordinary degree, and that they took up their lodgings with Lot, they resolved themselves to enjoy those beautiful boys by force and violence; and when Lot exhorted them to sobriety, and not to offer any thing immodest to the strangers, but to have regard to their lodging in his house, and promised that if their inclinations could not be governed, he would expose his daughters to their lust instead of these strangers; neither thus were they made ashamed.

4. But God was much displeased at their impudent be, haviour, so that he both smote those men with blindness, and condemned the Sodomites to universal destruction. But Lot, upon God's informing him of the future destruction of the Sodomites, went away, taking with him his wife, and daughters, who were two, and still virgins; for those that were * betrothed to them were above the thoughts of going,

* These sons-in-law to Lot, as they are called, Gen. xix. 12—14. might be so styled, because they were betrothed to Lot's daughters, tho gh not married to them. See the note on Antiq. B. xiv. ch. xiii.

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and deemed that Lot's words were trifling. God then cast a thunderbolt upon the city, and set it on fire, with its inhabitants; and laid waste the country with the like burning, as I formerly said when I wrote the Jewish war. But Lot's wife continually turning back to view the city, as she went from it, and being too nicely inquisitive what would become of it, although God had forbidden her so to do, was changed into a pillar of salt: for I have seen it, and it remains at this day. Now he and his daughters fled to a certain small place, encompassed with the fire, and settled in it; it is to this day called Zoar, for that is the word which the Hebrews use for a small thing. There it was that he lived a miserable life, on account of his having no company, and his want of provisions.

5. But his daughters thinking that all mankind were destroyed, approached to their father, though taking care not to be perceived. This they did, that human kind might not

* Of the war, B. iv. chap viii. § 4.

This pillar of salt was, we see here, standing in the days of Josephus, and he had seen it. That it was standing then is also attested to by Clement of Rome, cotemporary with Josephus; as also that it was so in the next century is attested by Irenæus, with the addition of an hypothesis, how it came to last so long, with all its members entire. Whether the account that some modern travellers give be true, that it is still standing, I do not know. Its remote situation, at the utmost southern point of the sea of Sodom, in the wild and dangerous deserts of Arabia, makes it exceeding difficult for inquisitive travellers to examine the place; and for the common reports of country people, at a distance, they are not very satisfactory. In the mean time, I have no opinion of Le Clerc's dissertation or hypothesis about this question, which can only be determined by eye-witnesses. When Chri: tian princes, so called, lay aside their foolish and unchristian wars and quarrels, and send a body of fit persons to travel over the East, and bring us faithful ac^counts of all ancient monuments, and procure us copies of all ancient records, at present lost among us, we may hope for full satisfaction in such inquiries, but hardly before.

I see no proper wicked intention in these daughters of Lot, when, in a case which appeared to them of unavoidable necessity, they procured themselves to be with child to their father. Without such an unavoidable necessity, incest is an horrid crime; but whether in such a case of necessity as they apprehended this to be, according to Josephus, it was any such crime, I am not satisfied. In the mean time, their making their father drunk, and their solicitous concealment of what they did from him, shows that they despaired of persuading his to an action which, at best, could not but be very suspicious and shocking to so good a man.

utterly fail: and they bare sons; the son of the elder was named Moab, which denotes one derived from his father; the younger bare Ammon, which name denotes one derived from a kinsman. The former of whom was the father of the Moabites, which is even still a great nation; the latter was the father of the Ammonites; and both of them are inhabitants of Colosyria. And such was the departure of Lot from among the Sodomites.

Concerning Abimelech; and concerning Ishmael, the son of Abraham; and concerning the Arabians which were his posterity.

1. ABRAHAM now removed to Gerar of Palestine, leading Sarah along with him, under the notion of his sister, using the like dissimulation that he had used before, and this out of fear: for he was afraid of Abimelech, the king of that country, who did also himself fall in love with Sarah, and was disposed to corrupt her; but he was restrained from satisfying his lust by a dangerous distemper, which befell him from God. Now, when his physicians despaired of curing him, he fell asleep, and saw a dream, warning him not to abuse the stranger's wife; and when he recovered, he told his friends that God had inflicted that disease upon him by way of punishment for his injury to the stranger; and in order to preserve the chastity of his wife, for that she did not accompany him as his sister, but as his legitimate wife; and that God had promised to be gracious to him for the time to come if this person be once secure of his wife's chastity. When he had said this, by the advice of his friends he sent for Abraham, and bid him be not concerned about his wife, or fear the corruption of her chastity; for that God took care of him, and that it was by his providence that he received his wife again without her suffering any abuse. And he appealed to God, and to his wife's conscience and said, that he had not had any inclination at first to enjoy her, if he had known she was his wife; but since, said he, thou ledest her about as thy sister, I was guilty of no offence. He also entreated him to be at peace with him; and to make God, propitious to him: and that if he thought fit to continue with him, he should have what he wanted in abundance; but that