unlawful to cut off the Gibeonites who belonged to one of them.

But finally, the fame thing may be argued from the lenity promised without any divine licence or authority, and afterward exercised toward Rahab, Jofhua, iii. 12, 13, 14. and vi. 22, 23. alfo from the forbearance practifed toward the inhabitants of Gezer, Josh. vi, 10. and toward the family in Bethel, Judg. i. 25. together with others, whofe pofterity we read of in the land in Solomon's, and even in our Saviour's time, 1 Kings, ix. 20, 21. Matth. viii. 28. while yet it is faid, Joshua failed not to do every thing which God had commanded in relation to this conqueft. For with what truth could this have been affirmed, had fo many of these Canaanites been fpared, when they were required to be cut off abfolutely, and without any reftriction or referve?

For these reafons I prefer that interpretation which I have given. If I am right in it, Mr. Voltaire ought not to have said, that the Jews relate in their facred books, they had the exprefs order of God to flay these nations of Canaan without mercy, as he hath done, with exception of a special privilege to the little girls, which is wholly fictitious. Even where they may not convince, it fhould be owned, it would have been more fair and candid in him to have taken notice, that his fenfe of the order was difputed, confidering how many eminent perfons *, both Jews

Among the Jews, I mention Maimonides, Samfon Micosi, Mofes de Kotzri, and Ben Nachman; among the Chriftians, Junius, Cunaeus de Republ. Hebr. Grotius de Jure Belli et Pacis, 2. 13. 4. Placette Traité du Serment, 2. 9. Selden de Jure Naturae et Gentium, 5. 12. and 6. 13. 14. To whom I only add Le Clerc, whose author

and Chriftians, have rejected it, and adopted the fame explication which I have endeavoured to eftablish.

6

SECTION VI.

Of his afferting in different treatises, that the Jewish law required human facrifices.

*

IN the next page of the Philosophy of History, our author obferves, The Jews have a law, whereby they are exprefsly ordered to fpare no thing, nor 6 any man devoted to the Lord, "He cannot be bought off, he muft die," according to the law "of Leviticus, chap. xxvii.' And then he goes on to tell us, as we will fee in the next fection, that one of their judges, and one of their priests, offered each a human facrifice by virtue of this law. In like manner, but more plainly, he writes in his Philofophical + Dictionary, It was exprefsly enjoined in the Jewish law, to facrifice all who had been devoted to the Lord. No man fhall be redeemed, but shall 'be put to death without remiffion: The Vulgate has it, Non redimetur, fed morte morietur.' Levit. xxvii. 29. And then, having mentioned that Samuel hewed Agag in pieces in confequence of this law, he fubjoins, Here is an evident proof of human facrifices. To the fame purpose very much, he alfo

rity may feem the greater, that having, in his Commentary on the Pentateuch, contended for the other sense, he, in his Notes on the book of Joshua, difcards it, and juftifies this which I have chofen. * Page 172.

Article Jephtha, or Human Sacrifices, p. 226. 227.

explains the law, in his Dialogues and Effays Literary and Philofophical. But I forbear at present reciting the paffage, as I will have occafion to produce it foon in a note. ‡

But is there not here alfo mifrepresentation? to evince this, let us examine Mr. Voltaire's interpretation of the statute in Leviticus, referving his accounts of the human facrifices, which he fays were offered according to it, till afterwards,

Thefe interpretations of the law, which make it authorize human facrifices, or even the deftruction of the lives of children and flaves at pleasure, refuted.

Now to affirm as he does, that it required the oblation of a man, as a facrifice upon God's altar, whenever he was devoted by another, appears extremely abfurd and unreasonable. Jehovah, the God of Ifrael, hath in this fame code of laws, most exprefsly forbidden his people, to do unto him according to the cuftoms of the Canaanites, which he hated, and for which he expelled them, in presenting human victims to their idols. Deut. xii. 29-31. When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goeft to poffefs them, and thou 'fucceedeft them, and dwelleft in their land, take heed to thyself, that thou be not fnared by following them, after that they be deftroyed before thee, and that thou inquire not after their gods, faying, How did thefe nations ferve their gods? even fo f will I do likewife. Thou shalt not do fo unto the

See Note, page 141,

Lord thy God. For every abomination to the Lord ⚫ which he hateth, have they done unto their gods, for even their fons and their daughters they have * burnt in the fire to their gods.' And fuitably to this earnest prohibition he uses, by his prophet Isaiah, facrificing a man to him, as a proverbial expreffion for doing a thing most odious and offensive to him, He' faith God,' that killeth an ox,' viz. as a facrifice to me, while he chuseth his own evil ways, and delighteth in his abominations, is as if he flew a

man,' and offered him upon mine altar: lxvi. 3. Nevertheless, according to our author, he in this paffage of Leviticus directs them to vow, and present these very facrifices which he fo peremptorily dif charges, and fo ftrongly declares his abhorrence of; at leaft, he leaves them at their freedom and liberty to devote fuch to him, and in pursuance of the devotement enjoins them to offer them. But what humane lawgiver ever fo contradicted himself? How unjust to impute fuch an oppofition of ordinances, as this glofs fuppofes, unto God? especially when there is fo little pretence for it, there not being one fyllable about facrificing in the requirement; for it only runs, He who is devoted of men, fhall furely be put to ' death;' and there not being one clear or inconteftible example of the oblation of a human facrifice among the Jews, through their whole hiftory, as plain as this practice appears, in the annals of the

That the phrase in Ifaiah is thus to be expounded, and not to be understood of murder in general, is plain from this confideration, that killing a man here stands in conjunction with other religious ceremonies which God detefted, the oblation of a dog, and of swines blood, &c.

Gentile nations. I pafs other arguments against the fame fenfe, as its making it lawful, nay incumbent on a perfon, to lay upon God's altar, the moft innocent and useful of all his brethren, whenever he had been malicious or wanton enough to utter a vow about it, and the like; for these will be touched on immediately, to confute a fimilar hypothesis. Nor can it be requifite to dwell upon them here; the confiderations already mentioned, by themselves feem fufficient to fhew the meaning, put upon the ftatute by our author, to be altogether groundlefs. Accordingly, it hath not been propofed by any of the Scripture critics*, nor indeed by any writer fo far as I know, if we except the enemies of revelation, who have

* I once thought, I ought to have excepted the learned Capell here, because in his Differtation on Jephtha's vow, he represents the notion of the heathens, that the more heavy displeasure of their gods could not be averted, but by human facrifices, to have been derived from this ordinance, and uses some expreffions, which look as if he had interpreted it of offering men on God's altar. But on a more careful examination, I find he espouses not this but the next scheme. For having turned Jephtha's vow thus, 'Whatever cometh out of my house 'fhall be the Lord's, (facred to him by a curfe,) and I will offer it for ' a burnt offering,' if it be fit for it; and having contended he put his daughter to death, in pursuance of his devotement according to this very statute, he adds, It is not neceffary to maintain, that she was ' offered on God's altar for an holocauft or burnt offering. It is enough if fhe was put to death, according to the law of the Hherem or curfe. Such a curfe his vow was, by which, when any living creatures werę dedicated, they were offered in facrifice, if fit for the altar, as clean beasts, sheep, oxen, goats, &c. If unclean beasts, as horses, camels, ' &c. they were only killed. In the fame manner were human perfons ' dealt with, whom the law orders to be put to death, not to be offered in facrifice. Again, By the law in Leviticus xxvii. it behoved that Jephtha's daughter should die, not that she should be offered in facri