per periods for the interpreter to render the original in the vulgar tongue, he made a mark (thus : ) at every pause, which was called thenceforward the verse: thus began the division into sections and verses. The present division into chapters and numerical verses, did not properly take place till about the year 1438 after Christ, when Rabbi Nathan taking the hint from the numerical letters of Hugo de Sancto Clara, began it in the Hebrew Bible; but it did not commence in the Greek nor Latin Bible till the editions of Vetablus, and Robert Stephens's Greek New Testament; which method has been observed ever since in all languages, as most useful for references to those divine books. Thus I have given you, I hope, full satisfaction, as to those popular topicks, by which you seemed to be deterred from reading and studying the scriptures. I doubt not of the sincerity of your belief, that they are genuine and useful, and preferable to any other writings for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: but that you. may be able to withstand all future attempts to seduce you from this belief, and that you may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works, I would advise you to search the scriptures; and whatever you find obscure, difficult, or seemingly contradictory, I am ready to illustrate, explain and reconcile, that you may be able not only to give a reason of the faith you profess, but to stop the mouth of the noisy scoffer; and to convince every sober and impartial enquirer, that great is the peace, which they have, who love the law of the Lord, and are not offended at it. S. I accept of your advice, and ate performance. will prepare myself for its immediBut in regard to my ignorance and frailty, I hope you will condescend to answer the meanest of my questions. T. I will hear all that you have to say, and answer every particular according to my ability. THE OLD TESTAMENT EXPLAINED BY QUESTION & ANSWER. CHAP. I. The Creation of the World. The Fall of Adam and Eve with their Exclysion from Paradise, and the Nature of their Sin. which contain the latter history of the Jews, and many good exhortations and rules of manners; but are not admitted to be of divine authority, because not proved to be written by inspired persons. S. In how many books is the law contained? T. In these five, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, which are called the five books of Moses, or the Pentateuch, which word signifies the five-fold volume. S. Why is the first book called Genesis? T. Because it treats of the creation of the world, the formation of man and of all other creatures. The word Genesis signifying the original or first beginning. T. It is divided into the Old and New Testament: The Old containing the state of the church of God among the Jews; the New containing the doctrine and privileges of the christian church over all the world. Then the Old Testament is divided into the Law, and the Prophets, making in all 24 books; and the New, into the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Epistles and Revelations, in all 27 books. To these are added T. Two-thousand three-hundred those books called the Apocrypha, sixty-nine, beginning with the world, S. How many years does this book include? and concluding with the death of the patriarch Joseph. During which time, you read of the creation of the world, and of all things therein; of the observation of the sabbath, and the institution of marriage; the fall of our first parents, and of sin and death entering into the world; the promise of grace and redemption, by the seed of the woman; the birth of Cain and Abel; the flood; the original of nations; the confusion of languages; God's covenant with Abraham, and his renewing of it with Isaac and Jacob, and the several very remarkable circumstances which attend each of these periods. S. What do you mean by the creation of the world, and all things therein? T. In the beginning of time God created, or produced out of nothing, the Heaven and the earth, or the confused mass and heap of matter, by some authors called the chaos; and in the same instant he could have given it a form and motion; but for wise and instructive ends, he spent six days in this work. S. What do you mean here by Heaven? T. I understand all that part of the universe, which surrounds this globe of earth, and is not included therein. S. Was this chaos a pre-existent matter? T. This chaos was a fluid mass, wherein were the elements and materials of all bodies; but so confusedly mingled, that heavy and light, dense and rare, fluid and solid particles were jumbled together, with out any separation into land, and sea, continents, islands, &c. And the atoms, or small constituent parts of fire, air, water, and earth (now called the four elements) were every one in every place, and all in a wild confusion and disorder; because the light was buried in the vast abyss, and darkness was upon the face of the waters. S. How did God proceed? T. On the first day God created light. At his word or will, the light shone out; and upon this all the confused stagnating particles of matter began to range into form and order. The dull, heavy, and terrene parts, retired at once to their respective centers; the lighter mount ed ticles ascending still higher, and by up; and, the lucid and fiery parthe divine command, meeting together in a body, and put into a rapid motion, formed light, which God divided from the darkness, which still subsisted in other parts where it had not shone. And all this was done within the compass of one natural day, which consists of evening and morning. S. What is the meaning of the spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters? T. The constant interpretation of this phrase by the church, directs us to understand thereby the Holy Ghost or Third Person of the blessed Trinity but some annotators have rather supposed this spirit to be the wind, or ærial body; and others call it the Soul of the World. And by the spirit's moving upon the face of the waters, is denoted a vital fruitfulness communicated to them by the invisible power of God, in order to their production of other crea tares; or, if the new theory be true, the spirit of God moved the surface of the globe, and thereby gave it its diurnal motion. On the second day, God commanded a firmament to be made, and stretched out the Heavens like a curtain; this is that expansion or region of the air, which appears to our eyes like a vast covering spread over sublunary Leings; by this the waters were divided, a sufficient quantity being reserved above, to qualify and slake the predominant and parch ing heat or fire of the æther, which otherwise must have consumed the lower world; and those that were east below the firmament, are what we now enjoy under the several names of seas, rivers, fountains, &c. On the third day, light and air having been disentangled and extracted from the chaos, but the earth and water still existing, God commanded the waters to be gathered into one place, by the name of seas, and the dry land to appear, by the name of earth; whereupon the mighty mountains instantly reared up their heads, and the waters falling every way from their sides, ran into those large extended vallies, which this swelling of the earth in some places had made for their reception in others. Then he furnished the earth with such things as were proper both for man and beast; for he no sooner had given motion to the waters, and commanded the earth to bring forth grass, herbs, and fruit trees, but it was mediately possessed of a prolific virtuc, and adorned with a beautiful carpet of flowers, plants, and trees of all sorts, which were endued with their respective seeds in order to propagate their kind even unto the end of the world, im T. Those three days were so many portions of time equal to that of a day; or such periods and distinctions of time, as God was pleased to divide his work of creation by. S. What are those purposes they are now made to serve? four hours, it makes a day; by the T. By the sun's course of twentychange of the moon, it makes a month; and by the apparent revolution of the sun, to the same point of the ecliptic, it makes not only a year, but likewise occasions a grateful variety of seasons in the several parts of the earth. Then, On the fifth day, God stored the waters with all kind of fish, and the earth with fowls; some vastly big to display the wonders of his creating power, and some exceeding small, to shew the goodness of his indulgent providence; at the same time giving them a prolific virtue, and a natural instinct for generation, whereby they might prescive their species and multiply their individuals. On the sixth day, cattle, creeping things, and beasts of the earth were produced, and God having furnished the universe both with necessaries, & a great variety of agreeable objects, he concludes the works of creation by making the first parent of mankind after his own image. Man being thus made, God blessed him with fruitfulness to replenish the earth with his own offspring, and with dominion over all other creatures; and gave him the natural produce of the whole earth for his sustenance and pleasure. S. What is meant by God's creating man in his own image? T. That God endowed man with reason, liberty, knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, writing his law on his heart, and giving him power to fulfil it. The image of God in man does also consist in his dominion over the other creatures. He was God's representative upon earth, and was qualified for such a command by the dignity and rectitude of his mind, enabling him to know, converse with, fear, worship, honor, glorify, and obey God; and to command and apply other creatures to his own use and benefit. Accordingly he first gave them all names proper to and expressive of their several natures. S. Was not Eve, the first woman, created on the same day with Adam the first man? T. Yes, as you read it in the 27th verse; in the 6:h day, male and female created he them. And therefore the historian only re-assumes the argument in the second chapter, to give us a more fall and particular account of the woman's origin, which was but briefly delivered, or rather only hinted at, in the first chapter. S. How were they created? T. Man was formed out of the dust of the ground, which became a living into his nostrils the breath of ing soul by the Almighty's breathlife; and the woman was made of the substance of the man's body taken from near his side. God having now closed the work of creation, and pronounced all that he had made to be very good, that is, endued with all those perfections which were suitable to their several beings; he rested from all his work, he produced no more creatures, and sanctified or set apart the seventh day, as a time of solemn rest and rejoicing for ever after; that man might therein consider the excellen- * cy of the creation, and God's goodness towards him. S. Is this account agreeable to that which other nations give of the creation? T. No. S. How then shall I be able to know which is the best and truest? T. By the ridiculous accounts given by other nations compared with this of Moses. S. What do these nations pretend? 7. The Egyptians, from whom |