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THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For OCTOBER, 1756.

A Short Hiftory of the Ifraelites. With an account of their Manners, Customs, Laws, Polity, and Religion. Being an ufeful Introduction to the reading of the Old Teftament. Tranflated from the French of Abbé Fleury, Author of the Ecclefi aftical Hiftory. By Ellis Farneworth, M. A. 8vo. 3s. Whifton.

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S this work has never before, that we know of, been tranflated into English, and as the generality of our Readers are therefore, probably, unacquainted with it; we fhall, without any apology, lay before them the following view of its contents.

The Abbé has divided his work into three parts, in the firft of which he treats of the Patriarchs; in the fecond, of the Ifraelites, from their going out of Egypt, to the Babylonish captivity; and in the third, of the Jews, after they returned from captivity, to the promulgation of the gofpel. In treating of the Patriarchs, he confiders, first, their nobility, nd tells us, that they lived after a noble manner, in perfect freedom, and great plenty, tho' their way of living was plain and laborious; that Abraham knew the whole fucceffion of his anceftors, and no way leffened his nobility, fince he married into his own family; that he took care to provide a wife of the fame race for his fon, and that Ifaac made Jacob obferve the fame law. He obferves farther, that the families of the Patriarchs were little ftates, of which the father was, in a manner, King.

VOL. XV.

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From treating of their nobility, he proceeds to confider their riches, which confifted chiefly in fheep, camels, horned cattle, goats, and affes. Notwithftanding which, the Abbé observes they were very laborious, always in the field, lying under, tents, frequently upon the march, fhifting their abode according to the convenience of pasture, and confequently often taken up with encamping and decamping.

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One may judge of the men's laborious way of living,' fays he, by that of the young women. C Rebecca came a good way off to draw water, and carried it upon her fhoulders; • and Rachael herself kept her father's flock; neither their nobility nor beauty made them fo delicate as to fcruple it, This primeval fimplicity was long retained amongst the Greeks, whofe good breeding we yet admire with fo much reafon. Homer affords us examples of it throughout his works, and paftorals have no other foundation. It is certain, that in Syria, Greece, and Sicily, there were perfons • of condition, who made it their fole occupation to breed cattle for more than one thousand five hundred years after < the Patriarchs; and who, in the great leifure that fort of life afforded, and the good humour thofe delightful countries infpired them with, compofed feveral little pieces of poetry, ftill extant, of inimitable beauty and fimplicity.'

He concludes his fhort account of the Patriarchs, with faying fomewhat of their frugality; fhewing, that they were far from being nice in their eating, &c. and that it was their plain and laborious way of life, that made them attain to fuch a great old age, and die fo calmly. • Both • Abraham and Ifaac, fays he, lived near two hundred years. The other Patriarchs, whofe age is come to our knowlege, exceeded an hundred at leaft, and we do not hear that they were ever fick, during fo long a life. He gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, full of days, is the manner in which the fcripture defcribes their death. The firft time we read of phyficians is, when it is faid that Jofeph commanded his domeftics to embalm the body of his father. It was in Egypt, and many have afcribed the invention of phyfic to the Egyptians.

The moderation of the Patriarchs, with regard to wives, is no lefs to be admired, when we confider they were allowed to have feveral, and their defire of a numerous pofterity.And yet I do not undertake to juftify all the Patriarchs in this point. The ftory of Judah and his fons affords but too many examples of the contrary. I would only fhew, that we cannot, with juftice, accufe thofe of incontinence,

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whom the fcripture reckons holy. For with regard to the reft of mankind, they were from that time very much corrupted. Such then, in general, was the firft ftate of God's people. An entire fredom, without any government, but that of a father, who was an abfolute monarch in his own family. A life very natural and eafy, through a great abundance of neceffaries, and an utter contempt of fuperfluities; through an honeft labour, accompanied with care and frugality, without anxiety or ambition."

The Abbé now proceeds to the fecond period of the history of the Ifraelites, viz, from their coming out of Egypt, to the Babylonifh captivity. This period lafted more than nine hundred years, and most of the facred writings relate to it. In treating this part of his fubject, he fets out with confidering the nobility of the Ifraelites, a point he feems very defirous of establishing.

They were very exact,' fays he, in keeping their genealogies, and knew all the fucceffion of their ancestors, as high as the Patriarch of the tribe; from whom it is eafy going back to the firft man. Thus they were really brethren, that is to fay kinfmen, according to the eaftern language, and of genuine nobility, if ever there was fuch a thing in the • world.

They had preferved the purity of their families, by taking care, as their fathers did, not to marry with the nations • defcended from Canaan, that were under a curfe. For we ⚫ do not find, that the Patriarchs avoided matches with any other people, or that they were exprefly forbidden by the law to marry with them. Their families were fixed and tied down, by the fame law, to certain lands, on which they * were obliged to live, during the fpace of the nine hundred �་ years I have mentioned. Now, methinks, we should efteem that family very noble indeed, that could fhew as long a fucceffion of generations, without any difgraceful weddings in it, or change of manfion. Few noblemen in Europe can prove fo much.

The principal diftinction that birth occafioned among the Ifraelites, was that of the Levites and Priefts. The whole tribe of Levi was dedicated to God, and had no inheritance • but the tenths, and the firft fruits, which it received from the other tribes. Of all the Levites, the defcendants of Aaron only were priefts: the reft were employed in the other • functions of religion; in finging pfalms, taking care of the tabernacle, or temple, and inftructing the people. Two of • the other tribes were fufficiently diftinguifhed. That of

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Judah was always the moft illuftrious, and the most numerous; of which, according to Jacob's prophecy, their Kings, and the Meffiah himfelf, were to come. That of Ephraim held the fecond rank, on account of Jofeph: yet the eldest branches, and the heads of each family, were moft esteemed in every tribe; and this made Saul fay, furprized with the refpect that Samuel paid him, Am not I of the smallest of the tribes of Ifrael, and my family the leaft of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?

Our author now goes on to treat of their employments; and here he tells us, that there were no diftinct profeffions amongst the Ifraelites, but that from the eldest of the tribe of Judah, to the youngest of that of Benjamin, they were all husbandmen and fhepherds, driving their ploughs, and watching their flocks themselves. He is at great pains to vindicate the honours of agriculture, and to fhew that the laborious life of the Ifraelites, was a proof of their wifdom; after which he proceeds to confider the fruitfulness of their foil, their riches, their arts and trades.

We know no people,' fays he, more entirely addicted to agriculture, than the Ifraelites. The Egyptians and Syrians joined manufactures, navigation, and trade to it: but above all, the Phoenicians, who, finding themselves ftraitned in point of room, from the time that the Ifraelites drove them out of their country, were obliged to live by trade, and be in a manner brokers and factors for all the reft of the world. The Greeks imitated them, and excelled chiefly in arts. On the contrary, the Romans defpifed mechanics, and applied themselves to commerce : as for the Ifraelites, their land was fufficient to maintain them; and the fea-coafts were, for the most part, poffeffed by the Philiftines and the Canaanites, who were the Phoenicians. There was only the tribe of Zabulon, whofe fhare of land lay near the sea, that had any temptation to trade; which feems to be foretold in the bleffings of Jacob and Moses.

Nor do we fee, that they applied themselves any more to • manufactures. Not that arts were not then invented: many of them are older than the flood: and we find that the Ifraelites had excellent workmen, at leaft, as foon as the time of Mofes. Bezaleel and Aholiab, who made the tabernacle, and every thing that was neceffary for the service of God, are an inftance that puts it out of difpute. It is furprizing how they came to be fo well fkilled in arts that were not only very difficult, but very different from one another. They underftood melting of metals, cutting and

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engraving precious ftones: they were joiners, makers of tapeftry, embroiderers, and perfumers.

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But whether these two famous workmen had learned from the Egyptians, or their fkill was miraculous and infpired by God, as the fcripture feems to fay, it does not appear they had any to fucceed them, nor that any of the Ifraelites were artificers by profeffion, and worked for the public, till the time of the Kings. When Saul began to reign, it is taken notice of, that there was no workman that understood forging iron in all the land of Ifrael.

If one was to reckon up all trades particularly, it would appear that many would have been of no ufe to them. Their plain way of living, and the mildness of their climate, made that long train of conveniences unneceffary, which we think it hard to be without, tho' vanity and effeminacy, more than • real want, have introduced them. And as to things that were abfolutely neceffary, there were few of them that they did not know how to make themselves. All forts of food < were cooked within doors. The women made bread and • prepared the victuals, they spun wool, made stuffs and wearing apparel: the men took care of the reft.

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Homer defcribes old Eumæus making his own fhoes, and · fays, that he had built fine ftalls for the cattle he bred. Ulyffes himself built his own houfe, and fet up his bed with great art, the ftructure of which ferved to make him known. to Penelope again. When he left Calypfo, it was he alone that built and rigged the fhip; from all which we see the fpirit of these antient times. It was esteemed an honour to ⚫ understand the making of every thing neceflary for life one's felf, without any dependence upon others; and it is that which Homer moft commonly calls wifdom and knowlege. Now I must say, the authority of Homer appears to me very great in this cafe. As he lived about the time of the prophet Elias, and in Afia-minor, all the accounts that he gives of the Greek and Trojan cuftoms, have a wonderful refemblance with what the Scripture informs us of, concerning the manners of the Hebrews, and other eaftern people: only the Greeks, not being fo antient, were not fo polite.

But luxury increafing after the divifion of the two kingdoms, there is reafon to believe they had always plenty of workmen. In the genealogy of the tribe of Judah, we may observe there is a place called the Valley of Craftsmen, because, fays the Scripture, they dwelt there. There is likewife mention made, in the fame place, of people that wrought fine linen, and of potters, who worked for the

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