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CHAP. V.

After what manner the posterity of Noah sent out colonies, and inhabited the whole earth.

1. AFTER this they were dispersed abroad, on account of their languages, and went out by colonies every where; and each colony took possession of that land which they light upon, and unto which God led them, so that the whole continent was filled with them, both the inland and the maritime countries. There were some also who passed over the sea in ships, and inhabited the islands: and some of those nations do still retain the denominations which were given them by their first founders; but some have lost them also, and some have only admitted certain changes in them, that they might be the more intelligible to the inhabitants. And they were the Greeks who became the authors of such mutations: for when, in after ages, they grew potent, they claimed to themselves the glory of antiquity; giving names to the nations that sounded well, [in Greek,] that they might be better understood among themselves; and setting agreeable forms of government over them, as if they were a people derived from themselves.

How every

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nation was denominated from their first inhabitants.

1. Now they were the grand-children of Noah, in honour of whom names were imposed on the nations by those that first seized upon them. Japhet, the son of Noah, had seven sons: they inhabited so, that beginning at the mountains Taurus, and Amanus, they proceeded along Asia, as far as the river Tanais, and along Europe to Cadiz; and settling themselves on the lands they light upon, which none hal inhabited before, they called the nations by their own For Gomer founded those whom the Greeks now call Galatians, [Galls,] but were then called Gomerites. Magog founded those that from him were named Magogites, but who are by the Greeks called Scythians. Now as to Javan and Madai, the sons of Japhet; from Madai came the Madeans, which are called Medes by the Greeks; but from Javan, and Jonia, all the Grecians are derived. Thobel founded the Thobelites, which are now called Iberes; and the Moso

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cheni were founded by Mosoch; now they are Cappadocians. There is also a mark of their ancient denomination still to be showed; for there is even now among them a city called Mazaca, which may inform those that are able to understand, that so was the entire nation once called. Thiras also called those whom he ruled over Thirasians; but the Greeks changed the name into Thracians. And so many were the countries that had the children of Japhet for their inhabitants. Of the three sons of Gomer, Aschanaz founded the Aschanasians, who are now called by the Greeks Rheginians. So did Riphath found the Ripheans, now called Paphlagonians; and Thrugramma the Thrugrammeans, who, as the Greeks resolved, were named Phrygians. Of the three sons of Javan also, the son of Japhet, Elisa gave name to the Eliseans, who were his subjects; they are now the Aeolians. Tharsus to the Tharsians; for so was Cilicia of old called; the sign of which is this, that the noblest city they have, and a metropolis also, is Tarsus, the Tau being by change put for the Theta. Cethimus possessed the island Cethima; it is now called Cyprus: and from that it is that all islands, and the greatest part of the sea-coasts, are named Cethim by the Hebrews; and one city there is in Cyprus that has been able to preserve its denomination; it is called Citius by those who use the language of Greeks, and has not, by the use of that dialect, escaped the name of Cethim. And so many nations have the children and grand-children of Japhet possessed. Now when I have premised somewhat which perhaps the Greeks do not know, I will return and explain what I have omitted; for such names are pronounced here after the manner of the Greeks, to please my readers, for our own country language does not so pronounce them: but the names in all cases are of one and the same ending; for the name we here pronounce Noeus, is there Noah, and in every case retains the same termination.

2. The children of Ham possessed the land from Syria and Amanus, and the mountains of Libanus, seizing upon all that was on its sea-coasts, and as far as the ocean, and keeping it as their own. Some indeed of its names are utterly vanished away; others of them being changed, and another sound given them, are hardly to be discovered, yet a few, there are which have kept their denomination entire: for of the four sons of Ham, time has not at all hurt the name of Chus; for the Ethiopians, over whom he reigned, are even at this day,

both by themselves, and by all men in Asia, called Chusites. The memory also of the Mesraites is preserved in their name;" for all we who inhabit the country [of Judea] call Egypt Mestre, and the Egyptians Mestreans. Phut also was the founder of Libya, and called the inhabitants Phutites, from himself: there is also a river in the country of the Moors which bears that name; whence it is that we may see the greatest part of the Grecian historiographers mention that river, and the adjoining country, by the appellation of Phut: but the name it has now has been by change given it from one of the sons of Mestraim, who was called Lybyos. We will inform you presently what has been the occasion why it has been called Africa also. Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, inhabited the country now called Judea, and called it from his own name Canaan. The children of these [four] were these: Sabas, who founded the Sabeans; Evilas, who founded the Evileans, who are called Gentuli; Sabathes founded the Sabathens; they are now called by the Greeks Astaborans: Sabactas settled the Sabactens; and Ragmus the Ragmeans: and he had two sons, the one of which, Judadas, settled the Judadeans, a nation of the western Ethiopians, and left them his name; as did Sabas to the Sabeans: but Nimrod, the son of Chus, stayed and tyrannized at Babylon, as we have already informed you. Now all the children of Mesraim, being eight in number, possessed the country from Gaza to Egypt, though it retained the name of one only, the Philistim, for the Greeks call part of that country Palestine. As for the rest, Ludieim, and Enemim, and Labim, whe alone inhabited Lybia, and called the country from himself; Nedim, and Phethrosim, and Chesloim, and Cephthorim, we know nothing of them besides their names; for the Ethiopic war, which we shall describe hereafter, was the cause that those cities were overthrown. The sons of Canaan were these, Sidonius, who also built a city of the same name; it is called by the Greeks Sidon: Amathus inhabited in

* One ob ́ervation here ought not to be neglected, with regard to that Ethiopic war, which Moses, as general of the Egyptians, put an end to, Antiq. B. ii. ch. v. and about which our late writer seems very much concerned, viz. that it was a war of that consequence, as to occasion the removal or de: truction of six or seven nations of the posterity of Mitzraim, with their cities; which Josephus would not have said, if he had not had ancient records to justify those his as~^ se:tions, though those records be now all lost.

Amathine, which is now called Amathe by the inhabitants, although the Macedonians named it Epiphania, from one of his posterity: Arudeus possessed the island Aradus: Arucas possessed Arce, which is in Libanus. But for the seven others, [Eueus,] Chetteus, Jehuseus, Amorreus, Gergeseus, Eudeus, Sineus, Samareus, we have nothing in the sacred books but their names, for the Hebrews overthrew their cities; and their calamities came upon them on the occasion following.

3. Noah, when after the deluge the earth was resettled in its former condition, set about its cultivation; and when he had planted it with vines, and when the fruit was ripe, and he had gathered the grapes in their season, and the wine was ready for use, he offered sacrifice, and feasted, and being drunk, he fell asleep, and lay naked in an unseemly manner. When his youngest son saw this he came laughing, and showed him to his brethren; but they covered their father's nakedness. And when Noah was made sensible of what had been done, he prayed for prosperity to his other sons; but for Ham, he did not curse him, by reason of his nearness in blood, but cursed his posterity: and when the rest of them escaped that curse, God inflicted it on the children of Canaan. But as to those matters we shall speak more hereafter.

4. Shem, the third son of Noah, had five sons, who inhabited the land that began at Euphrates, and reached to the Indian ocean. For Elam left behind him the Elamites, the ancestors of the Persians. Ashur lived at the city Ninive; and named his subjects Assyrians, who became the most fortunate nation beyond others. Arphaxad named the Arphaxadites, who are now called Chaldeans. Aram had the Aramites, which the Greeks call Syrians; as Laud founded the Laudites, which are now called Lydians. Of the four sons of Aram, Uz founded Trachonitis and Damascus ; this country lies between Palestine and Coelosyria. Ul founded Armenia; and Gather the Bactrians; and Mesa the Mesaneans; it is now called Charax Spasini. Sala was the son of Arphaxad; and his son was Heber, from whom they originally called the Jews* Hebrews. Heber begat Joctan and Phaleg:

* That the Jews were called Hebrews from this their progenitor Heber, our author Josephus here rightly affirms; and not from Abram the Hebrew, or Passenger over Euphrates, as many of the moderns suppose. Shem is also called the father of all the children of Heber, or of all the Hebrews, in an history long before Abram

he was called Phaleg because he was born at the dispersion of the nations to their several countries; for Phaleg among the Hebrews signifies division. Now Joctan, one of the sons of Heber, had these sons Elmodad, Saleph, Asermoth, Jera, Adoram, Aziel, Decla, Elbal, Abimael, Sabeus, Ophir, Euilat, and Jobab. These inhabited from Cophen, an Indian river, and in part of Aria adjoining to it. And this shall suffice concerning the sons of Shem.

5. I will now treat of the Hebrews. The son of Phaleg, whose father was Neber, was Ragau; whose son was Serug, to whom was born Nahor: his son was Terah, who was the father of Abraham, who accordingly was the tenth from Noah, and was born in the two hundred and ninety-second year after the deluge; for Terah begat Abraham in his seventieth year. Nahor begat Haran when he was one hundred and twenty years old: Nahor was born to Serug at his hundred and thirty-second year; Ragau had Serug at one hundred and thirty; at the same age also Phaleg had Ragau: Heber begat Phaleg in his hundred and thirty-fourth year; he himself being begotten by Sala when he was an hundred and thirty years old, whom Arphaxad had for his son at the hundred and thirty-fifth year of his age. Arphaxad was the son of Shem, and born twelve years after the deluge. Now Abram had two brethren, Nahor and Haran: of these, Haran left a son, Lot; as also Sarai and Milcha his daughters, and died among the Chaldeans, in a city of the Chaldeans called Ur; and his monument is showed to this day. These married their nieces. Nahor married Miha, and Abram married Sarai. Now Terah hating Chaldea, on account of his mourning for Haran, they all removed to Haran of Mesopotamia, where Terah died, and was buried, when he had lived to be two hundred and five years old; for the life of men was already, by degrees, diminished, and became shorter than before, till the birth of Moses; after whom the term of human life was one hundred and twenty years, God determining it to the length that Moses happened to live. Now Nahor had eight sons by Milcha. Uz.and Buz, Kemuel, Chesed,

parsed over Euphrates, Gen. x. 21. though it must be confessed, that Gen. xiv. 13. where the original says, they told Abram the Hebrew, the Septuagint renders it, the Passenger, wiggarns: but this is spoken only of Abraham himself who had then lately passed over Euphrates, and is another signification of the Hebrew word, taken as an appellative, and not as a proper name..

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