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he settled his abode: where he also had children. However, he did not accept of his punishment in order to amendment, but to increase his wickedness; for he only aimed to procure every thing that was for his own bodily pleasure, though it obliged him to be injurious to his neighbours. He augmented his household substance with much wealth by rapine and violence; he excited his acquaintance to procure pleasure and spoils by robbery; and became a great leader of men into wicked courses. He also introduced a change in that way of simplicity wherein men lived before, and was the author of measures and weights. And whereas they lived innocently and generously while they knew nothing of such arts, he changed the world into cunning and craftiness. He first of all set boundaries about lands; he built a city, and fortified it with walls; and he compelled his family to come together to it: and called that city Enoch, after the name of his eldest son. Now Jared was the son of Enoch, whose son was Malaliel, whose son was Mathusela, whose son was Lamech, who had seventy-seven children by two wives, Silla and Ada. Of those children by Ada, one was Jubal: he erected tents, and loved the life of a shepherd. But Jubal, But Jubal, who was born of the same mother with him, exercised himself in music,† and invented the psaltery and the harp. Tubal, one of his children by the other wife, exceeded all men in strength, and was very expert and famous in martial performances; he procured what tended to the pleasures of the body by that method, and first invented the art of making brass; Lamech also was the father of a daughter whose name was Naamah. And because he was so skilful in matters of divine revelation, that he knew he was to be punished for Cain's murder of his brother, he made that known to his wives. Nay, even while Adam

* Gen. iv. 17.

† From this Jubal not improbably came Jobel, the trumpet of Jobel, or Jubilee: that large and loud musical instrument used in proclaiming the liberty at the Year of Jubilee.

The number of Adam's children, as says the old tradition, was thirty-three sons, and twenty-three daughters.

What is here said of Seth and his posterity, that they were very good and virtuous, and at the same time very happy, without any considerable misfortunes for seven generations, is exactly agreeable to the state of the world, and the conduct of Providence in all the first ages.

§ Of Josephus's mistake here, when he took Seth the

was alive, the posterity of Cain became exceeding wicked; every one successively dying one after another more wicked than the former. They were intolerable in war, and vehement in robberies, and if any one were slow to murder people, yet was he bold in his profligate behaviour in acting unjustly and doing injuries for gain.

Now Adam, who was the first man, and made out of the earth (for our discourse must now be about him,) after Abel was slain, and Cain fled away on account of his murder, was solicitous for posterity, and had a vehement desire for children, he being two hundred and thirty years old, after which time he lived other seven hundred, and then died. He had indeed, many other children, but Seth in particular. As for the rest it would be tediousto name them: I will therefore only endeavour to give an account of those that proceeded from Seth. Now this Seth, when he was brought up, and came to those years in which he could discern what was good, became a virtuous man; and as he was himself of an excellent character, so did he leave|| children behind him who imitated his virtues. All these proved to be of good dispositions; they also inhabited the same country without dissensions, and in happy condition, without any misfortunes falling upon them, till they died. They also were the inventors of that peculiar sort of wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly bodies, and their order. And that their inventions might not be lost before they were sufficiently known, upon Adam's prediction that the world was to be destroyed at one time by the force of fire, and at another time by the violence and quantity of water, they made two pillars:§ the one of brick, the other of stone; they inscribed their discoveries on them both, that in case the pillar of brick should be destroyed son of Adam, for Seth or Sesostris King of Egypt, the erector of these pillars, in the land of Siriad, see Essay on the Old Testament, Appendix, page 159-160. Although the main of this relation might be true, and Adam might foretel a conflagration and a deluge, which all antiquity witnesses to be an ancient tradition; and, Seth's posterity might engrave their inventions in astronomy on two suchpillars; yet it is no way credible that they could survive the deluge, which buried all such pillars and edifices far under ground, in the sediment of its waters; especially since the like pillars of the Egyptian Seth or Sesostris were extant, after the flood, in the land of Siriad, and perhaps in the days of Josephus also..

by the flood, the pillar of stone might remain, and exhibit those discoveries to mankind; and also inform them that there was another pillar of brick erected by them. Now this remains in the land of Siriad, to this day.

CHAP. III.

OF THE DELUGE: NOAH'S PRESERVATION IN AN ARK, AND HIS SUBSEQUENT DEBARKATION AND DEATH.

TH

THE posterity of Seth continued to esteem God as the Lord of the universe, and to have an entire regard to virtue for seven generations; but in process of time they were perverted, and forsook the practices of their forefathers, and did neither pay those honours to God which were appointed them, nor had they any concern to justice towards men. But for what degree of zeal they had formerly evinced for virtue, they now shewed by their actions a double degree of wickedness; whereby they made God to be their enemy. For many angels* of God† accompanied with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength; for the tradition is, that these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians call giants. But Noah was very uneasy at what they did; and being displeased at their conduct, persuaded them to change their dispositions and their actions for the better. But seeing they did not yield to him, but were slaves to their wicked pleasures, he was afraid they would kill him, together with his wife and children, and those

*This notion that the fallen angels were in some sense the fathers of the old giants, was the constant opinion of antiquity.

† Gen. vi. 4.

Josephus here supposes, that the life of these giants, for of them only do I understand him, was now reduced to one hundred and twenty years; for as to the rest of mankind, Josephus himself confesses their lives were much longer than one hundred and twenty years, for many generations after the flood, as we shall see presently: and he says they were gradually shortened till the days of Moses, and then fixed for some time at one hundred and twenty. Nor indeed need we suppose, that either Enoch or Josephus meant to interpret these one hundred and twenty years for the life of men before the flood to be different from the one hundred and twenty years of God's patience, (perhaps while the Ark was preparing) till the deluge; which I take to be the meaning of God when he threatened this wicked world, that if they so long continued impenitent, their days should be no more than one hundred and twenty years.

they had married, so he departed out of that land.

Now God loved this man for his righteousness, yet he not only condemned those other men for their wickedness, but determined to destroy the whole race of mankind, and to make another race that should be pure from wickedness, and cutting short their lives, and making their years not so many as they formerly enjoyed, but one hundred and twentyf only, he turned the dry land into sea. And thus were all these men destroyed. But Noah alone was saved, for God suggested to him the following contrivance and way of escape: -That he should make an ark of four stories high, three hundred cubits|| long, fifty cubits broad, and thirty cubits high. Accordingly he entered into that ark, with his wife, and his sons and their wives, and put into it, not only provisions to support their wants there, but also sent in with the rest, all sorts of living creatures, the male and his female, for the preservation of their kinds: and others of them by sevens. Now this ark had firm walls, and a roof; and was braced with cross beams, so that it could not be any way drowned, or overturned by the violence of the water: thus was Noah, with his family, preserved. Now he was the tenth from Adam, as being the son of Lamech, whose father was Methusela: he was the son of Enoch, the son of Jared; and Jared was the son of Malaleel; who, with many of his sisters, were the children of Cain, the son of Enos: now Enos was the son of Seth, the son of Adam.

**

A cubit is about twenty-one English inches.

§ The timber of which the Ark was framed, Moses calls Gopher wood; but what tree this Gopher was, is not a little controverted. Some will have it to be the cedar, others the pine, others the box, and others (particularly the Mahometans) the Indian plane tree. But our learned Fuller, in his miscellanies, has observed, that it was nothing else but that which the Greeks call Kuapieros, or the cypress tree; for, taking away the termination, cupar and gopher differ very little in the sound. This observation the great Bochart has confirmed, and shown very plainly, that no country abounds so much with this wood, as that part of Assyria which lies about Babylon. To this we may add the observation of Theophrastus, who speaking of trees that are least subject to decay, makes the cypress the most durable; for which Bitruvius gives this reason, that the sap, which is in every part of the wood, has a peculiarly bitter taste, and is so very offensive, that no worm or other corroding animal will touch it, so that such things as are made of this wood, will in a manner last for ever. Universal Hist. B. ** Gen. vii. 2.

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This calamity happened in the six hun- || hundred and eighty-seven years of age; to

dreth year of Noah's government or age, in the second month,* called by the Macedonians, Dius; but by the Hebrews, Marhesvan; for so did they order their year in Egypt. But Moses appointed that Nisan, which is the same with Xanthicus, should be the first month; so that this month began the year, as to all the solemnities they observed in honour of God: although he preserved the original order of the months as to buying and selling, and other ordinary affairs. Now he says, that this flood began on the seventeenth day of the before-mentioned month; and this was one thousand five hundred and fifty-six years from Adam the first man; and the time is written down in our sacred books, thoset who then lived having noted down, with great accuracy, both the births and deaths of illustrious men.

For indeed Seth was born when Adam was in his two hundred and thirtieth year: who lived nine hundred and thirty years. Seth begat Enoch in his two hundred and fifth year; who, when he had lived nine hundred and twelve years, delivered the government to Cain his son; whom he had at his hundred and ninetieth year. He lived nine hundred and five years. Cain, when he had lived nine hundred and ten years, had his son Malaleel, who was born in his hundred and seventieth year. This Malaleel having lived eight hundred and ninety-five years, died, leaving his son Jared, whom he begat when he was at his hundred and sixty-fifth year. He lived nine hundred and sixty-two years: and then his son Enoch succeeded him; who was born when his father was one hundred and sixtytwo years old. Now he, when he lived three hundred and sixty-five years, departed and went to God. Whence it is that they have not written down his death. Now Mathusela, the son of Enoch, who was born to him when he was one hundred and sixty-five years old, had Lamech for his son, when he was one

*Josephus here truly determines, that the year at the flood began about the Autumnal Equinox. As to what day of the month the flood began, our Hebrew and Samaritan, and, perhaps, Josephus's own copy, more rightly placed it on the 17th day instead of the 27th, as here; for Josephus agrees with them as to the distance of one hundred and fifty days to the 17th day of the seventh month, as Gen. vii, ult. with vin. 3.

Josephus here takes notice, that these ancient gene

whom he delivered the government when he had retained it nine hundred and sixty-nine years. Now Lamech, when he had governed seven hundred and seventy-seven years, appointed Noah his son to be ruler of the people; who was born to Lamech when he was one hundred and eighty-two years old, and retained the government nine hundred and years, collected together, make up the sum before set down. But let no one inquire into the deaths of these men, for they extended their lives all along, together with their children and grandchildren: but let him have regard to their births only.

fty years. These

When God gave the signal, and it began to rain, the water poured down forty intire days, till it became fifteen cubits higher than the earth; which was the reason why there were no greater number preserved, since they had no place to fly to. When the rain ceased, the water did but just begin to abate after one hundred and fifty days, that is, on the seventeenth day of the seventh month. After this the Ark rested on the top of a certain mountain in Armenia; which, when Noah understood, he opened it, and seeing a small piece of land about it, he continued quiet, and conceived some hopes of deliverance. But a few days afterward, when the water was decreased to a greater degree, he sent out a raven, as desirous to learn whether any other part of the earth was left dry by the water, and whether he might go out of the Ark with safety; but the raven, finding all the land still overflowed, returned to Noah again. But after seven days he sent out a dove, to know the state of the ground, which came back to him covered with mud, and bringing an olive branch. Hereby Noah learned that the earth was become clear of the flood. So after he had stayed seven more days, he sent the living creatures out of the Ark, and both he and his family went out; when he also sacrificed alogies were first set down by those that then lived, and from them were transmitted down to posterity: which I suppose to be the true account of that matter; for there is no reason to imagine that men were not taught to read and write soon after they were taught to speak; and perhaps all by the Messiah himself, who, under the father, was the creator or governor of mankind, and who frequently, in those early days, appeared to them.

Gen. vii. 20

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