of Sanchuniathon, in (a) Berosus, (b) Hecateus, (c) Damascenus, (d) Artapanus, Eupolemus, Demetrius, and partly (e) in the ancient Writers of the Orphic (a) Berosus, &c.] Josephus has preserved his Words in his Ancient History, Book I. Chap. 8. "In the tenth Generation "after the Flood, there was a man amongst the Chaldeans, "who was very Just and Great, and sought after Heavenly Things." Now it is evident from Reason, that this ought to be referred to the Time of Abraham. (b) Hecataus, &c.] He wrote a Book concerning Abraham, which is now lost, but was extant in Josephus's Tinre. (c) Damascenus, &c.] Nicolaus that famous Man, who was the Friend of Augustus and Herod, some of whose Relicks were lately procured by that excellent person, Nicholas Peirc sius; by whose Death, Learning and learned Men had a very great Loss. The Words of this Nicolaus Damascenus, Josephus relates in the forecited Place: " Abraham reigned in Damascus, being a Stranger who came out of the Land of the Chaldæans, beyond Babylon; and not long after, he and those that be longed to him, went from thence into the Land called Canaan, but now Judæa, where he and those that descended "from him dwelt, of whose Affairs I shall treat in another "Place. The Name of Abraham is, at this Day, famous in "the Country about Damascus, and they show us the Town, "which from him is called Abraham's Dwelling." (d) Artapanus, Eupolemus, &c.] Eusebius in his Preparation Book IX. Ch. 16, 17, 18, 21, 23. has quoted several Things, under these Men's Names, out of Alexander the Historian, but the Places are too long to be transcribed; nobody has quoted them before Eusebius. But the Fable of the Bethulians, which Eusebius took out of Philo Biblius, Prepar. Book I. Chap. 10, came from the Altar of Bethel, built by Jacob, mentioned Gen. xxxvi. (e) In the ancient Writers, &c.] For certainly those that we find in Clemens Alexandrinus, Strom. V. and Eusebius, Book XIII. Chap. 12. can be understood of no other. The Maker of all Things, is known to none, But one of the Chaldæan Race, his Son Only begotten, who well understood The starry Orb, and by what Laws each Stur Moves round the Earth, embracing all Things in it. Where Abraham is called only begotten, as in Isaah li. 2. *rs Achad, We have before seen in Berosus, that Abraham was famous Orphic Verses; and something of it is still extant in (a) Justin, out of Trogus Pompeius. (b) By almost all which, is related also the History of Moses, and his principal Acts. The Orphic Verses expressly mention (c) his being taken out of the Wa famous for the Knowledge of Astronomy; and Eupolemus, in Eusebius says of him, "that he was the Inventor of Astronomy among the Chaldæans.” (a) In Justin, &c.] Book XXXVI. Chap. 2. "The Original of the Jews was from Damascus, an eminent City in "Syria, of which afterwards Abraham and Israel were Kings." Trogus Pompeius calls them Kings, as Nicolaus did; because they exercised a Kingly Power in their Families; and therefore they are called Anointed, Psalm, cv. 15. (b) By almost all which, &c.] See Eusebius in the forementioned Book IX. Chap. 26, 27, 28. Those Things are true, which are there quoted out of Tragicus Judæus Ezechiel, Part of which we find in Clemens Alexandrinus, Strom. I. who reports out of the Books of the Priests, that an Egyptian was slain at Moses's Word; and Strom. I. he relates some Things belonging to Moses, out of Artapanus, though not very exactly. Justin out of Trogus Pompeius, says of Moses, "He was "Leader of those that were banished, and took away the "sacred Things of the Egyptians; which they endeavouring "to recover by Arms, were forced by a Tempest to return "home; and that Moses having entered into his own Country "of Damascus, took Possession of Mount Sinah;" and what follows, which is a Mixture of Truth and Falsehood, were we find Arcas written by him, it should be read Arnas, who is Aaron, not the Son as he imagines, but the Brother of Moses, and a Priest. (c) His being taken out of the Water, &c.] As the great Scaliger has mended the Place; who with a very little Variation of the Shape of a Letter, instead of oxysing hulogenes, as it is quoted out of Aristobulus, by Eusebius, in his Gospel Preparat. Book XIII. Chap. 12. bids us read deysins hudogenes, born of the Water. So that the Verses are thus: So was it said of old, so he commands Who is born of Water, who receiv'd from God The ancient Writer of the Orphic Verses, whoever he was, added these Words, after he had said, that there was but one God to be worshipped, who was the Creator and Governor of the World. ter, ter, and the two Tables that were given him by God. To these we may add (a) Polemon: (b) And several Things about his coming out of Egypt, from the Egyptian Writers, Menetho, Lysimachus, Charemon. Neither can any prudent Man think it at all credible, that Moses, (c) who had so many Enemies, not only of the Egyptians, but also of many other Nations, as the (d) Idumæans, (a) Polemon, &c.] He seems to have lived in the Time of Ptolemy Epiphanes; concerning which, see that very useful Book of the famous Gerrard Vossius, of the Greek Historians. Africanus says, the Greek Histories were wrote by him; which is the same Book Athenæus calls, 'Exaudixev. His Words are these: "In the Reign of Apis the Son of Phoroneus, Part of "the Egyptian Army went out of Egypt, and dwelt in Syria, "called Palestine, not far from Arabia." As Africanus preserved the Place of Polemon, so Eusebius, in his Chronology, preserved that of Africanus. (b) And several Things, &c.] The Places are in Josephus against Appion, with abundance of Falsities, as coming from People who hated the Jews; and from hence Tacitus took his Account of them. But it appears from all these compared together, that the Hebrews descended from the Assyrians, and possessing a great Part of Egypt, led the Life of shepherds; but afterwards being burthened with hard Labour, they came out of Egypt under the command of Moses, some of the Egyp tians accompanying them, and went through the Country of the Arabians, unto Palestine Syria, and there set up Rites contrary to those of the Egyptians: But Josephus in that learned Book has surprizingly shewn, how the Egyptian Writers, in the Falsities which they have, here and there, mixed with this History, differ with one another, and some with themselves, and how many Ages the Books of Moses exceed theirs in Antiquity. (c) Who had so many Enemies, &c.] From whom they went away, by Force, whose Laws the Jews abolished concerning the implacable Hatred of the Egyptians against the Jews; see Philo against Flaccus, and in his Embassy; and Josephus in each Book against Appion. (d) The Idumæans, &c.] Who inherited the ancient Hatred between Jacob and Esau; which was increased from a new Cause, when the Idumæans denied the Hebrews a Passage, Numb. xx. 14. Arabians (a) Arabians and (b) Phænicians, would venture to relate any Thing concerning the Creation of the World, or the Original of Things, which could be confuted by more ancient Writings, or was contradictory to the ancient and received Opinions: Or that he would relate any Thing of Matters in his own Time, that could be confuted by the Testimony of many Persons then alive, (c) Diodorus Siculus, and (d) Strabo, and Pliny, (a) Arabians, &c.] Those I mean, that descended from Ismael. (b) Phænicians, &c.] Namely, the Canaanites, and the neighbouring Nations, who had continual Wars with the Hebrews. (c) Diodorus Siculus, &c.] In his First Book, where he treats of those who made the Gods to be the Authors of their Laws, and adds: "Amongst the Jews was Moses, who called "God by the Name of law, Iao," where by law, lao, he means in Jehovah, which was so pronounced by the Oracles, and in the Orphic Verses mentioned by the Antients, and by the Basilidian Heretics, and other Gnostics. The same Name the Tyrians, as we learn from Philo Biblius, pronounced livw, Ieno, others 'Ias, laou, as we see in Clemens Alexandrinus. The Samaritans pronounced it 'labai, Iabai, as we read in Theodoret ; for the Eastern People added to the same Words, some one Vowel, and some another; from whence it is that there is such Difference in the proper Names in the Old Testament. Philo rightly observes, that this Word signifies Existence. Besides Diodorus, of those who make mention of Moses, the Exhortation of the Greeks, which is ascribed to Justin, names Appion, Ptolemy on Mandesias, Hellanicus, Philochorus, Castor, Thallus, Alexander the Historian: And Cyril mentions some of them in his First Book against Julian. 86 (d) Strabo, &c.] The Place is in the Sixteenth Book, where he thinks that Moses was an Egyptian Priest; which he had from the Egyptian Writers, as appears in Josephus: Afterwards he adds his own Opinion, which has some Mistakes in it. Many who worshipped the Deity, agreed with him (Moses); "for he both said and taught, that the Egyptians did not rightly conceive of God, when they likened him to wild "Beasts and Cattle; nor the Lybians nor the Greeks, in resembling him by a human Shape; for God is no other than F "that (a) Pliny, (b) Tacitus, and after them (c) Dionysius Longinus (concerning Loftiness of Speech) make Mention of Moses. (d) Besides the Talmudists, Pliny "that Universe which surrounds us; the Earth, and the Sea, " and the Heaven, and the World, and the Nature of all "Things, as they are called by us. Who (says he) that has "any Understanding, would presume to form any Image like "to these Things that are about us? Wherefore we ought to lay aside all carved Images, and worship him in the inner"most Part of a Temple worthy of him, without any Figure." He adds, that this was the Opinion of good Men: He adds also, that sacred Rites were instituted by him, which were not burdensome for their Costliness, nor hateful, as proceeding from Madness. He mentions Circumcision, the Meats that were forbidden, and the like; and after he had shown that Man was naturally desirous of civil Society, he tells us, that it is promoted by divine and human Precepts, but more effectually by Divine. (a) Pliny, &c.] Book XXX. Chap. 1. "There is "another Sect of Magicians, which sprang from Moses." And Juvenal: They learn, and keep, and fear the Jewish law, (b) Tacitus, &c.] History V. Where, according to the Egyptian Fables, Moses is called "one of those that were "banished." (c) Dionysius Longinus, &c.] He lived in the Time of Aurelian the Emperor, a Favourite of Zenobia, Queen of the Palmyrians. In this Book of the Sublime, after he had said, that they who speak of God, ought to take Care to represent him, as Great and Pure, and without Mixture: He adds, "Thus does he who gave Laws to the Jews, who was an ex"traordinary Man, who conceived and spoke worthily of the "Power of God, when he writes in the Beginning of his Laws, "Let there be Earth, and it was so." Chalcidius took many Things out of Moses, of whom he speaks thus: "Moses was "the wisest of Men, who, as they say, was enlivened not by "human Eloquence, but by Divine Inspiration." (d) Besides the Talmudists, &c.] In the Gemara, in the Title, Concerning Oblations, and the Chapter, All the Oblations of the Synagogue. To which add the Tanchuma, or Ilmedenu. Mention is there made of the chief of Pharoah's Magicians, and |