gone so far as to place the death of Job in the thirty-fifth year of the reign of David; and he supposes that Solomon wrote the work in question, about the second or third year of his reign! On this last opinion no stress whatever should be placed.

As the argument for Moses has been supported by supposed parallelisms between his acknowledged works and the Book of Job; so has that which attributes the latter to Solomon. That Solomon, from his vast learning and wisdom, was capable of such a work, none can deny. His knowledge in astronomy, natural history, politics, theology languages, and the general science of his age, must have given him at least equal qualifications to those possessed by Moses. And if he was the author of the Book of Canticles, which most men believe, he had certainly a poetic mind, equal, if not superior, to all the writers who had existed previously to his time. The Book of Proverbs and that of Ecclesiastes, are almost universally attributed to him: now, in the Book of Job, there are a multitude of sentiments, sentences, terms, and modes of speech, which are almost peculiar to Solomon, as will appear from the whole books. In both we find the most exalted eulogium of wisdom. See Job xxviii. 12. Prov. viii. Î1, &c. Job says, "The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil, that is understanding," chap. xxviii. ver. 28. Solomon says, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Prov. i. 7. Job speaks of the state of the dead, nearly in the same terms as Solomon: compare chap. xxi. 33. xxii. 22. xxxvi. 5. with Prov. ix. 18.

Job says, chap. xxvi. 6. Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. Solomon says, Prov. xv. 11. Hell and destruction are before the Lord; how much more the hearts of the children of men." Job says, "Man drinketh iniquity like water," chap. xv. 16. And Elihu charges him with drinking up scorning like water, chap. xxxiv. 7. The same image occurs in Solomon, Prov. xxiv. 6. "He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool drinketh damage."

In Job xv. 34. it is said, fire shall consume the tabernacle of BRIBERY. The same turn of thought occurs, Prov. xv. 27. He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth GIFTS shall live.

Both speak of weighing the spirits or winds. See Job xxviii. 25. Prov. xvi. 2. But to me the parallelism in these cases is not evident; as both the reason of the saying, and some of the terms in the original, are different. Job tells his friends, If they would hold their peace, it would be their wisdom, chap. xiii. 5. Solomon has the same sentiment in nearly the same words, Prov. xvii. 23. Even a fool, when he HOLDETH HIS PEACE, is counted WISE, and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

Solomon represents the rephaim or giants as in hell, or the great deep, Prov. ii. 18. ix. 18. vii. 27. The like sentiment is in Job xxvi. 5. See the Hebrew.

In Job xxvii. 16, 17. it is said that, if the wicked heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. The like sentiment is found, Prov. xxviii. 8. He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather for him that will pity the poor. Solomon says, Prov. xvi. 18. Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall: and, Before destruction the heart of man is haughty; and before honour is humility, xviii. 12. and A man's pride shall bring him low; but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit, xxix. 23. The same sentiment is found in Job chap. xxii. 29. When men are CAST DOWN, then thou shalt say, There is a LIFTING UP; and he shall save the HUMBLE person.

Both speak nearly in the same way concerning the creation of the earth and the sea. Where wast thou when I LAID THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH? Who SHUT UP THE SEA with doors, when it brake forth as if it had issued from the womb? Job xxxviii. 4-8. This seems a reference to the flood. In Prov. viii. 22—29. Wisdom says, "The

Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way—when as yet he had not MADE THE EARTH-when he gave to the SEA HIS DECREE that the waters should not PASS HIS COMMANDMENT: when he APPOINTED the FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH. These are precisely the same kind of conceptions, and nearly the same phraseology.

In Job xx. 7. it is said, "The wicked shall perish for ever like his own DUNG.' And in Prov. x. 7. it is said, "The name of the wicked shall ROT."

It would not be difficult to enlarge this list of correspondencies, by a collation of passages in Job and in Proverbs; but most of them will occur to the attentive reader. There is, however, another class of evidence that appears still more forcible, viz. There are several terms used frequently in the Book of Job, and in the Books of Solomon, which are almost peculiar to those books, and which argue an identity of authorship. The noun n tushiah, which may signify essence, substance, reality, completeness, occurs often in Job and Proverbs. See Job v. 12. vi. 13. xi. 6. xii. 16. xxvi. 3. and xxx. 22. Proverbs ii. 7. iii. 21. viii. 14. and xviii. 1. And it occurs only twice, as far as I recollect, in all the Bible besides, viz. Isa, xxviii. 29. and Mic. vi. 9. The word ma hovah, used in the sense of misfortune, ruinous downfall, calamity, occurs Job vi. 2, 30. xxx. 13. and in Prov. x. 3. xi. 6. xvii. 4. and xix. 13. It occurs nowhere else, except once in Ezek. vii. 26. once in Micah vii. 3; and a few times in the Psalms, v. 9. lii. 2, 7. lv. 12. xci. 3. and xciv. 20. xxxviii. 12. lxii. 3.

The word mann tachbulloth, wise counsels, occurs only in Job xxxvii. 12. and in Prov. i. 5. xi. 14. xii. 5. xx. 18. and xxiv. 6; and nowhere else in the Bible, in this form. And no potheh, the silly one, simpleton, fool, is used precisely in the same sense in Job v. 2. Prov. xix. 7. and in various other parts of the same book. The word p abadon, destruction, Job xxvi. 6. xxviii. 22. xxxi. 12. connected sometimes with shcol, hell, or the grave; and maveth, death, occurs as above, and in Prov. xv. 11. and xxvii. 20.

Calmet, who refers to several of the above places, adds, It would be easy to collect a great number of similar parallel passages: but it must make a forcible impression in favour of this opinion, when we observe in Job and Proverbs the same principles, the same sentiments, the same terms, and some that are found only in Job and Solomon. We may add farther, the beauty of the style, the sublimity of the thoughts, the dignity of the matter, the form and order in which the materials of this writer are laid down, the vast erudition and astonishing fecundity of genius; all of which perfectly characterize Solomon.

Besides the above, we find many forms of expression in this book, which prove that its author had a knowledge of the law of God; and many which show that he was acquainted with the Psalms of David; and a few very like what we find in the writings of the prophets. I shall insert a few more :-

Job xv. 27. Because he covereth his face with fatness.

Job xxxiv. H. If he set his heart upon man, he shall gather unto himself his spirit
and his breath.

Job xxi. 9. Their houses are safe from fear; neither is the rod of God upon them.
Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth

Job xxi. 10.
not her calf.
Job xxi 18. They (the wicked) are as stubble before the wind; and as chaff that
the storm carrieth away.

Job xxii. 19. The righteous see it, and are glad; and the innocent laugh them to

Job xxxviii. 41. Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God.

Job xii. 21. He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.

Job ii. 3. Let the day perish in which I was born; and the night in which it was said, There is a man-child conceived. See also chap. x. ver. 18.

Job xxi. 7. Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, and are mighty in power? Job xxviii 12. But where shall wisdom be found, and where is the place of understanding 7-13. Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.

Psa. xvii. 10. They are enclosed in their own fat.-Ixxiii. 7. Their eyes stand out with fatness.

Psa. civ. 29. Thou hisleet thy face, and they are troubled: thou takes away their breath; they die, and return to their dust.

Psa. Ixxii. 5. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.

Psa. exliv. 13, 14. Let our sheep bring forth thousands; and our oxen be strong to labour.

Pea i. 4. The ungodly are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Psa. Iviii. 10. The Fighteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Psa. cxlvii. 9. He giveth to the beast his food; and to the young ravens which
Psa cvii. 40. He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in

cry.

the wilderness.

Jerem. xv. 10. Wo is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me, a man of strifexx. 14, 15. Cursed be the day wherein I was born; let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.

Jerem. xii. 1, 2. Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper—they grow; yea, they bring forth fruit.

Collate these verses with Baruch iii. 14, 15, 29, and see Prov. i. 20-23. ii 2-7. iii. 13-18. iv. 5--9. viii. 10-35.

The remarkable sentiment that "God, as sovereign of the world, does treat the righteous and the wicked, indepen dently of their respective merits, with a similar lot in this life; and that like events often happen to both," is maintained in the Book of Job, and the Ecclesiastes of Solomon. Job ix. 22-24. HE DESTROYETH the PERFECT and the WICKED. If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the INNOCENT. The EARTH is GIVEN into the HAND of the

WICKED; he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where and who is he?-x. 15. If I be WICKED, wo unto me; and if I be RIGHTEOUS, yet will I not lift up my head.-ix. 15. WHOM though I were RIGHTEOUS, yet would I not ANSWER; I would make supplication to my Judge.-xii. 6. The tabernacles of ROBBERS PROSPER, and they that PROVOKE GOD are SECURE; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.-xxi. 7-9. Wherefore do the wiCKED LIVE, BECOME OLD; yea, are MIGHTY in POWER? Their SEED is ESTABLISHED in their SIGHT, and their OFFSPRING BEFORE THEIR EYES. Their HOUSES are SAFE from FEAR, neither is the ROD of GOD UPON THEM.

Similar sentiments, with a great similarity of expression, are found in the following passages from Solomon:--Eccles. vi. 8. For what hath the wise more than the FOOL?-viii. 14. There be JUST MEN to whom it happeneth ACCORDING to the WORK of the WICKED. Again, there be WICKED MEN to whom it happeneth ACCORDING to the WORK of the RIGHTEOUS.-ix. 2. ALL THINGS COME ALIKE TO ALL: there is ONE EVENT TO THE RIGHTEOUS and to the WICKED; to the GOOD, and to the CLEAN, and to the UNCLEAN; to him that SACRIFICETH, and to him that SACRIFICETH NOT. As is the Goon, so is the SINNER; and he that swEARETH, as he that FEARETH an OATH.-vii. 15. There is a JUST MAN that PERISHETH in his RIGHTEOUSNESS; and there is a WICKED MAN that PROLONGETH his life in HIS WICKEDNESS, I may conclude this with the words of a learned translator of the Book of Job; and apply in reference to Solomon, what he applies to Moses: "The specimens of resemblance now produced have an equal claim to originality, and seem very powerfully to establish a unity of authorship." I think the argument much stronger in favour of Solomon as its author than of Moses: and while even here I hesitate, I must enter my protest against the conclusions drawn by others; and especially those who profess to show where David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, &c. have copied and borrowed from Job! Some of them, in all probability, never saw the book: and those who did had an inspiration, dignity, manner, and power of their own, that rendered it quite unnecessary to borrow from him. Such plagiarism would appear, in common cases, neither requisite nor graceful. I have a high opinion of the Book of Job; but God forbid that I should ever bring it on a level with the compositions of the sweet singer of Israel, the inimitable threnodies of Jeremiah, or the ultra-sublime effusions of the evangelical prophet. Let each keep his place, and let God be acknowledged the inspirer of all.

Thus, by exactly the same process, we come to different conclusions; for the evidence is now as strong that Job lived posterior to the days of Moses, (that he was acquainted with the law and the prophets; that either he took much from the Psalms and Proverbs, or that David and Solomon borrowed much from him; or that Solomon, the son of David, wrote the history,) as it is that he lived in the days of Moses.

For my own part I think the later date by far the most probable; and, although I think the arguments that go to prove Solomon to be the author, are weightier than those so skilfully brought forth by learned men in behalf of Moses, yet I think it possible that it was the work of neither, but rather of some learned Idumean, well acquainted with the Jewish religion and writers; and I still hold the opinion which I formed more than thirty years ago, when I read over this book in the Septuagint, and afterward in the Hebrew; that it is most probable the work was originally composed in Arabic, and afterward translated into Hebrew; by a person who either had not the same command of the Hebrew as he had of the Arabic; or else purposely affected the Arabic idiom, retaining many Arabic words and Arabisms; either because he could not find appropriate expressions in the Hebrew, or because he wished to adorn and enrich the ane language by borrowing copiously from the other. The Hebrew of the Book of Job, differs as much from the pure Hebrew of Moses, and the early prophets, as the Persian of Firdoosy differs from that of Saady. Both these were Persian poets: the former wrote in the simplicity and purity of his elegant native tongue, adopting very few Arabic words; while the latter labours to introduce them at every turn, and has thus produced a language neither Persian nor Arabic. And so prevalent is this custom become with all Persian writers, both in prose and verse, that the pure Persian becomes daily more and more corrupted, insomuch that there is reason to fear that in process of time it will be swallowed up in the language of the conquerors of that country, in which it was formerly esteemed the most polished language of Asia. Such influence has the language of a conqueror on the country he has subdued: witness our own, where a paltry French phraseology, the remnant of one of the evils brought upon us by our Norman conqueror and tyrant, has greatly weakened the strong current of our mother tongue: so that however amalgamated, filed, and polished by eminent authors, we only speak a very tolerable jargon, enriched, as we foolishly term it, by the spoils of other tongues. The best specimen of our ancient language exists in the Lord's Prayer, which is pure English, or what is called Anglo-Saxon, with the exception of three Frenchified words, trespasses, temptation, and deliver. But to return to the Book of Job. The collections of Mr. Goode, Dr. Magee, and others, if they do not prove that Moses was the author of the book, prove that the author was well acquainted with the Mosaic writings; and prove that he was also acquainted with the xcth Psalm; and this last circumstance will go far to prove that he lived after the days of David, for we have no evidence whatever that the xcth Psalm was published previously to the collection and publication of the Psalms now generally termed the Psalms of David, though many of them were written by other hands, and not a few even after the Babylonish captivity. And, as to the inscription to this Psalm onben ww nwo aben tephillah Mosheh ish ha-Elohim, "a prayer of Moses, the man of God." 1. We know not that Moses the Jewish lawgiver is meant: it might be another person of the same name. 2. And even in that case, it does not positively state that this Moses was the author of it. 3. The inscriptions to the Psalms are of dubious, many of them of no authority; some of them evidently misplaced; and others either bearing no relation to the matter of the Psalms, to which they are prefixed; or evidently contradictory to that matter. Hence our translators have considered these inscriptions as of no authority; and have not admitted them, in any case, into the body of their respective Psalms. The parallelism, therefore, drawn from this Psalm, will not help much to prove that Moses was the author of the Book of Job; but it will go far to prove, as will be seen in other cases, that the author of this book was acquainted with the Book of Psalms, as several of the preceding collections testify; and that there is a probability that he had read the prophets that lived and wrote in the time, and after the time, of the Babylonish captivity, which appears to me the only thing which shakes the argument in favour of Solomon; unless we take the converse of the question, and say that Moses, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah, all knew and borrowed from the Book of Job. But this supposition will, in its turn, be shaken by the consideration that there are several things in the Book of Job which evidently refers to the law as already given, and to some of the principal occurrences in the Israelitish history, if such references can be made out. These considerations have led me to think it probable that the book was written after the captivity, by some unknown, but highly eminent and inspired man. We may wonder, indeed, that the author of such an eminent work has not been handed down to posterity; and that the question should be left at the discretion of the whole limbus of conjecture: but we find not only several books in the Bible, but also other works of minor importance, and a later date, similarly circumstanced. We have no certain evidence of the author of the books of Judges, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah, or Esther: we can, in reference to them, make probable conjectures, but this is all. Even in the New Testament the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews is still unknown: though a pretty general tradition, and strong internal evidence, give it to St. Paul; yet this point is not so proved, as to exclude all doubt.

The finest poems of heathen antiquity, the Ilias and Odyssey, cannot be certainly traced to their author. Of the person called Homer, to whom they have been attributed, no one knows any thing. He is still, for aught we know, a fabulous person; and the relations concerning him are entitled to little more credit than is due to the Life of Esop by Planudes. Seven different cities have claimed the honour of being his birth-place. They are expressed in the following distich :

Έπτα πολεις διερίζουσι περι ριζών. Όμηρου,

Σμύρνα, Ρόδος, Κολοφων, Σαλαμις, Χίος, Άργος, Αθηναι.

Smyrna, Rhodes, Colophon, Salamis, Chios, Argos, Athena,
Orbis de Patria certat, Homere, tua.

Nor have these claims been ever adjusted. Some have gone so far as to attribute the work to Solomon, king of Israel, composed after his defection from the true religion to idolatry! that the word Homer, Opnpos, Homeros, is merely Hebrew, ON Omerim, with a Greek termination, signifying the sayings or discourses, from amar, he

spoke; the whole work being little more than the dialogues or conversations of the eminent characters of which it is composed. Even the battles of Homer are full of parleys: and the principal information conveyed by the poem is through the conversation of the respective chiefs.

The Makamaton, or assemblies, of the celebrated Arabic author Hariri, show us how conversations were anciently carried on among the Arabs; and even in the same country in which the plan of the poem of Job is laid: and were we closely to compare the sex concessus of that author, published by Schultens, we might find many analogies between them and the turn of conversation in the Book of Job. But the uncertainty relative to the author detracts nothing" from the merit and excellency of the Poem. As it is the most singular, so it is the best, as a whole, in the Hebrew canon. It exhibits a full view of the opinions of the Eastern sages on the most important points: not only their religion and system of morals are frequently introduced, but also their philosophy, astronomy, natural history, mineralogy, and arts and sciences in general; as well those that were ornamental, as those which ministered to the comforts and necessities of life. And, on a careful examination, we shall probably find that several arts, which are supposed to be the discoveries of the moderns, were not unknown to those who lived in a very remote antiquity; and who, it is fashionable to consider, as unlettered and uncultivated barbarians.

As the person, family, time, and descendants, of Job are so very uncertain, I shall not trouble my readers with the many genealogical tables which have been constructed by chronologists and commentators: yet it might be considered a defect, were I not to notice what is inserted at the end of the Greek and Arabic versions relative to this point; to which I shall add Dr. Kennicott's tables, and the substance of a letter which contains some curious particulars.

"And he (Job) dwelt in the land of Ausitis, in the confines of Idumea and Arabia; and his former name was Jobab. And he took to wife Arabissa, and begat a son whose name was Ennon. And his (Jobab's) father's name was Zarith, one of the sons of the children of Esau; and his mother's name was Bossora: and thus he was the fifth from Abraham.' "And these are the kings who reigned in Edom; which region he also governed: the first was Balak, the son of Beor, the name of whose city was Dennaba. And after Balak reigned Jobab, who is also called Job. And after him Assom, the governor of the country of the Temanites. After him Adad, the son of Basad, who cut off Madian in the plain of Moab; and the name of his city was Gethaim."

"The friends who came to visit him were Eliphaz, son of Sophan, of the children of Esau, king of the Temanites. Baldad, the son of Amnon, of Chobar, tyrant of the Sauchites. Sophar, king of the Minaites. Thaiman, son of Eliphaz, governor of the Idumeans."

"This is translated from the Syriac copy. He dwelt in the land of Ausitis, on the borders of the Euphrates; and his former name was Jobab; and his father was Zareth, who came from the East." This is verbatim from the Codex Alexandrinus.

The Arabic is not so circumstantial, but is the same in substance. "And Job dwelt in the land of Auz, between the boundaries of Edom and Arabia: and he was at first called Jobab. And he married a strange woman, and to her was born a son called Anun. But Job was the son of Zara, a descendant of the children of Esau: his mother's name was Basra; and he was the sixth from Abraham. Of the kings who reigned in Edom: the first who reigned over that land was Balak, the son of Beor; and the name of his city was Danaba. And after him Jobab, the same who is called Job. And after Job, him (Assom) who was prince of the land of Teman. And after him (Adad) the son of Barak, he who slew and put to flight Madian, in the plains of Moab; and the name of his city was Jatham. And of the friends of Job who visited him, was Eliphaz, the son of Esau, king of the Temanites."

Dr. Kennicott says, When Job lived seems deducible from his being contemporary with Eliphaz, the Temanite, thus:

The late Miss Mary Freeman Shepherd, well known for her strong masculine genius, and knowledge of various languages, sent me the following genealogy and remarks, which she thought would clearly ascertain the time of Job, which I faithfully transcribe from her letter to me, a short time before her death.

"Shem was the father of Aram, who gave his name to the Aramites, i. e. the Syrians; and he was the father of Uz, who gave his name to the land of Uz, in which Joв dwelt, not was born; for the text says, There was a man in the land of Uz called Job.

"In the xlvith chap. of Genesis, ver. 13. one of the sons of Issachar is named Job. In the genealogies of Numb. xxvi. 24. and in 1 Chron. vii. 1. he is called Jashub. It is remarkable that there is no mention in Chronicles of the song of Jashub, or of any of the sons of Issachar, among the thousands of Israel, sons of Tola, where, might not Job be called Jashub? Mitzraim, i. e. Egypt, was a son of Ham; Uz and Aram, sons of Shem. Ishmael by Hagar, and Midian by Keturah, both sons to Abraham. How well does this account for the nearness of the languages of these people, being scions from the same mother tongue.

"Ishmael, the father of the tribes of Arabia; Arabic was, therefore, not their mother tongue. The roots of these languages germinated from the Hebrew roots: and so a new language sprung up; afterward formed according to grammatic rules, and enriched as arts and sciences, and cultivated genius, added new inventions. Things new, and unknown before, gave rise to new words or names. Nouns, and the action, operation, and effects of arts and sciences, produced verbs, or roots. Thus the Arabic became so copious and rich, and has roots not in the pure original Hebrew. All this considered, might not Moses have written the Book of Job, as parts of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel, were written after the captivity, in a mixed language, in order that it might be the better understood by those for whom it was written; those of the people who, being left in Jerusalem, had retained their native Hebrew; and those who had, by long residence in Babylon, corrupted and mingled it with the Chaldaic, which is a dialect of the Hebrew: like the modern language of Italy, when compared with that of ancient Rome; or our modern Latin, when compared with that of the Augustan age.

"By the influence of climate upon the organs of speech, the different avocations, usages, diet, turn of mind, and genius of men, the dialects which all streamed from one language, and pronounced in one and the same speech, confounded (not annihilated, troubled but not dried up,) no new language then created, yet so confounded in utterance

that they understood not one another's speech. The operation was upon the ear of the heart, as in the day of pentecost: one man spoke; and all, although of different tongues, understood; the ear suggested the various sounds to the tongue, and from thence the varied pronunciations of one and the same language often makes it misunderstood.

"Shem, who lived five hundred and two years after the deluge, being still alive, and in the three hundred and ninetythird year of his life, when Abraham was born; therefore, the Jewish tradition that Shem was the Melchisedeck (my righteous king of Salem) an epithet, or title of honour and respect, not a proper name, and, as the head and father of his race, Abraham paid tithes to him: this seems to me well founded, and the idea confirmed by these remarkable words, Psal. cx. Jehovah hath sworn and will not repent, par by php 1 attah cohen leûlam âl dibarti malki-tsedek. As if he said, Thou, my only begotten son, first-born of many brethren: not according to the substituted priesthood of the sons of Levi, who, after the sin of the golden calf, stood up in lieu of all the first-born of Israel, invested with their forfeited rights of primogeniture of king and priest: the Lord hath sworn, and will not repent (change), Thou art a priest for ever, after the (my order of Melchisedeck, my own original primitive) order of primogeniture: even as Shem the man of name, the Shem that stands the first and foremost of the sons of Noah. The righteous prince and priest of the Most High God meets his descendant Abraham, after the slaughter of the kings, with refreshments; blessed him as the head and father of his race; and, as such, he receives from Abraham the tithe of all the spoil.

"How beautiful does Paul of Tarsus, writing to the Hebrews, point through Melchisedeck (Shem, the head and father of their race,) invested in all the original rights of primogeniture, priest of the Most High God, blessing Abraham as such, as Levi even had existence, and as such receiving tithe from Abraham, and in him from Levi yet in the loins of his forefathers: when Moses on this great and solemn occasion records simply this: Melchisedeck, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, sine genealogiâ; his pedigree not mentioned, but standing as Adam in St. Luke's genealogy, without father, and without mother, Adam of God. Luke iii. last verse-how beautifully, I say, doth St. Paul point through Melchisedeck to Jehoshua our great High Priest and King, whose eternal generation who shall declare! Ha Mashiach, the Lord's Anointed, Priest, and King, after the order of Melchisedeck; only begotten, first-born Son. The Levitical priesthood that arose from the sin of the golden calf, and the forfeited rights of the first-born, in whose stead stood the sons of Levi, (the reward of their zeal for God on that sad occasion.) This right of primogeniture, as the streams of Jordan at the presence of God, conversus est retrorsum, to its fountain head; and Judah was his sanctuary, Psalm cxiv. Reuben forfeited by incest his excellence; Simeon and Levi, the right in priority of birth, theirs; and Judah, he to whom his brethren should bow down as their head. From the time of Abraham, who married a sister of Haran, prince of the tribe of Judah, to the time of Jesus, the tribes of Levi and Judah intermarried: thus was incorporated the source and streams in one. And the very names of all the sons of the tribes of Israel lost in one, that of Jehudah, from which they call themselves Jehudim.

"The shebit, tribe, not sceptre, the rod or ensign of the chief of a tribe, 'The tribe, genealogy, shall not recede from Jehudah until Shiloh come;' for whose genealogy they subsist. Ten, by the schism of Jeroboam, may be carried away beyond the river, and heard of no more; but Jehudah, Levi, and Benjamin, shall be tribes; and their registers shall be clear and unbroken until the temple, and city, and all the registers of genealogy are destroyed. The people are one: one people worshipping one God." I have prayed, said Jehoshua Mashiach, that ye might be one in me, as I and my Father are one.

"Ham, the son of Noah, begat Cush; and Cush begat Nimrod, and Saba, and others. Nimrod began a monarchy, and founded Babel. Out of that land went forth Ashur, and builded Nineveh. Nimrod was therefore contemporary with Peleg. Compare Gen. ii. 3, 9. with Gen. ix. 10-25.

"Thus, in about two hundred and ten or twenty years after the deluge, by the confusion of tongues, was the earth divided; as its inhabitants, dispersing no doubt in families, together formed themselves into nations, people, and tribes, and kindreds, and from thence into tongues.

"From the knowledge I have of the Hebrew, I have caught a glance of the genius, spirit, and tones, of the general march of the oriental tongues, and even of the expression of their character. To me the Book of Job seems to have much of the Chaldee, both in words and idiom; and much of the sublimity and spirit of the writings of Moses. His grand description of the Most High, his wondrous works, his power, wisdom, justice, and truth, all speak the historian of Genesis, the legislator of Israel, the unconsumed fire of the burning bush, the loud thunders of Sinai, and the shinings of the light of God. That pointed exactness and conciseness of narration that distinguishes Moses, is also conspicuous in the Book of Job. If Moses did, indeed, write this book, he wrote it for the nations, as well as for Israel; and took, as the best vehicle of a general conveyance, a language most generally understood. At this day, for the facilitating of intercourse in the Levant, Mediterranean, Archipelago, &c. there is a language called Lingua Franca, the language of the Franks To Israel Moses conveyed the pure language of their fathers: but rather than the nations should be famished for bread, or die for thirst, he put manna in their coarse earthen vessels, and wine in their wooden cups. "You see, my dear Sir, how strong is female obstinacy: I struggle and contend for the body of Moses. I admire Moses; I admire Job. God, by the prophet Ezekiel, and the apostle St. James, ascertains the history of Job to be a fact, not a fiction. And thus inspiration sustains its inspiration.

"Will you, dear Sir, think it worth while to collect and put together these scattered scraps, as little pegs to better shelves, which you must furbish, and smooth, and point. Too hard a work for Mary the aged. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God: and in him see all truth." M. F. S.

The history of Job, but strangely disguised, is well known among the Asiatics. He is called by the Arabic and Persian historians Ayoub, which is exactly the same as the Hebrew, Ayoub, which Europeans have strangely metamorphosed into Job. In the Tareekh Muntekheb his genealogy is given thus: "Ayoub the son of Anosh, the son of Razakh, the son of Ais (Esau,) the son of Isaac. He was a prophet, and was afflicted by a grievous malady three years, or, according to others, seven years; at the end of which, when eighty years of age, he was restored to perfect health, and had a son named Bash ben Ayoub. Other writers say that he had five sons, with whom he made war on a brutal people called Dsul Kefel, whom he exterminated because they refused to receive the knowledge of the true God, whom he preached to them. Khondemir, who entitles him Job the Patient, gives us his history in the following manner: Job, by his father's side, was descended from Esau, and by his mother from Lot. Abou Giaffer al Tabary relates that God sent him to preach to the inhabitants of Thaniah, a people who dwelt between Remla and Damascus; but three persons only received the truth. Nevertheless, as he was very zealous in the service of God, he rewarded his faith and obedience by heaping riches upon him, and giving him a numerous family. This excited the envy of the devil, who, presenting himself before God, accused Job as one who was selfish in his devotion; and, were it not for the temporal blessings which he received from his Maker, he would not worship even once in the day. God having given Satan permission to spoil Job of his goods, and deprive him of his children, he gave the same proofs of his piety, worshipping God as before, and patiently bearing his great losses. Satan, enraged to be thus baffled, presented himself once more before God; and asserted that Job continued thus faithful, because he knew that God would reward his constancy with an equal or even greater portion of earthly blessings: but, if he would afflict his body by some grievous disease, he would soon abandon his service, and be at the end of his patience. In order fully to show the piety of this exemplary man, God permitted Satan to afflict his body as he pleased, with the exception of his eyes, his ears, and his tongue. The devil, having received his permission, blew up the nostrils of Job such a pestilential heat, as immediately turned his whole mass of blood into corruption, so that his whole body became one ulcer, the smell of which was so offensive that his greatest intimates could not approach him; and he was obliged to be carried out of the city, and laid in a distant place, entirely by himself. Notwithstanding, Job continued both his patience and piety. His wife, Rosima, never forsook him; but continued daily to bring him the necessaries of life. Satan, observing this, stole from her the provision she had made for her husband; and, when reduced to the lowest ebb, he appeared to her under the form of an old bald woman; and told her, that if she would give her the two tresses of hair that hung down on her neck, she would provide her daily with what was necessary for her husband's support. This offer appearing so very advantageous in behalf of her afflicted husband, she accepted the offer, and gave the two tresses to the old woman.

"Satan, overjoyed at the success of his plots, went to Job; told him that his wife had been caught in the act of adultery; and that her tresses had been cut off, and here was the proof of the fact. Job seeing this, and finding his wife without her tresses, not supposing that he was deceived by the devil, lost his patience; and bound himself by an oath, that if he should ever recover his health, he would inflict on her the most exemplary punishment. Satan, supposing he had now gained his end, transformed himself into an angel of light; and went throughout the country as a messenger of God, informing the people that Job, who was counted a prophet, had fallen from his piety, and brought the wrath of God upon him; that they should no more listen to his preaching, but banish him from among them, lest the curse of God should fall on the whole country.

"Job, coming to understand how the matter stood, had recourse to God by faith and prayer; and said these remarkable words, which are found in the KORAN: Distress closes me in on every side; but thou, O Lord, art more merciful than all those who can feel compassion. On this all his pains and sufferings immediately ceased; for Gabriel, the faithful servant of the Most High, descended from heaven; took Job by the hand; and, lifting him up from the place where he lay, stamped on the ground with his foot; and immediately a spring of water rose up from the earth, out of which Job having drunk, and washed his body, he was instantly cleansed of all his ulcers, and restored to perfect health. "God, having thus restored him, greatly multiplied his goods, so that the rain and the snow which fell around his dwelling were precious; and his riches became so abundant, as if showers of gold had descended upon him."

This is the sum of the account given by the oriental historians; who, forsaking the truth of the Sacred History, have blended the story with their own fables. The great facts are, however, the same in the main; and we find that with them the personality, temptation, and deliverance of Job, are matters of serious credibility. Abul Faragius says that the trial of Job happened in the twenty-fifth year of Nahor, son of Serug; thus making him prior to Abraham. He calls him . Ayoub assadeek, Job the righteous. See Abul Faragius, Ebn Batric, L'Herbelot, &c.

Commentators have considered this book as being divided into distinct parts. Mr. Goode, who considers it a regular Hebrew epic, divides it into six parts, or books; which he considers to be its natural division, and unquestionably intended by the author. These six parts are, an opening or exordium, containing the introductory history or decree concerning Job;-three distinct series of arguments, in each of which the speakers are regularly allowed their respective turns; the summing up of the controversy;-and the close of the catastrophe, consisting of the suffering hero's grand and glorious acquittal, and restoration to prosperity and happiness.

PART I.-The TEMPTATION of Job decreed.

Which contains, 1. A brief narrative of Job. 2. The tribunal of the Almighty. 3. His remarks to Satan concerning Job's fidelity. 4. Satan's reply. 5. The Almighty consents to his temptation. 6. Return of the celestial tribunal. 7. The fidelity of Job proved and declared. 8. Satan insinuates that he would not have stood true, had the attack been made on his person. 9. The Almighty consents to a second trial. 10. The trial made. 11. Job's utter misery. 12. The visit of his three friends, to condole with him. Chap. i. and ii.

PART II.-FinsT Series of CONTROVERSY.

1. Exclamation of Job on his miserable condition. 2. Speech of Eliphaz, accusing him of want of firmness; and suspecting his integrity, on account of the affliction with which he is visited. 3. Job's reply; reproaching his friends with cruelty; bewailing the disappointment he had felt in them; calling for death as the termination of his miseries; then longing for life, expostulating with the Almighty, and supplicating his forgiveness. 4. Bildad resumes the argument of Eliphaz with great severity; openly accuses Job with hypocrisy; and exhorts him to repentance, in order that he may avoid utter ruin. 5. Job, in reply, longs to plead his cause before God; but is overwhelmed at the idea of his majesty. 6. He again desponds; and calls for death, as the only refuge from his sorrows. 7. Zophar continues the argument on the side of his companions; condemns Job acrimoniously, for still daring to assert his innocence; and once more exhorts him to repentance, as the only means of obtaining a restoration of the favour of the Almighty. 8. Job is stimulated to a still severer reply. 9. Accuses his companions of declaiming on the part of God, with the base hope of propitiating him. 10. Boldly demands his trial at the tribunal of the Almighty; and, realizing the tribunal before him, commences his pleading in an address, variegated by every side of opposite feelings: fear, triumph, humiliation, expostulation, despondency. Chap. iii-xiv.

PART III-SECOND Series of CONTROVERSY.

1. Eliphaz commences the discussion in his regular turn; accuses Job of vehemence and vanity; asserts that no man is innocent; and that his own conduct sufficiently proves himself not to be so. 2. Job replies; and complains bitterly of the unjust reproaches heaped upon him; and accuses his companions of holding him up to public derision. 3. He pathetically bemoans his lot: and looks forward to the grave with glimmering through despair, of a resurrection from its ruins. 4. Bildad perseveres in his former argument of Job's certain wickedness, from his signal sufferings; and, in a string of lofty traditions, points out the constant attendants of misery upon wickedness. 5. Job rises superior to this attack; appeals to the pity and generosity of his friends; asserts the Almighty to have afflicted him for purposes altogether unknown; and then soars to a full and triumphant hope of a future resurrection, and vindication of his innocence. 6. Zophar repeats the former charge; and Job replies, by directly controverting his argument, and proving, from a variety of examples, that in the present world the wicked are chiefly prosperous, and the just for the most part subject to affliction. Chap. xv–xxi.

PART IV.-THIRD Series of CONTROVERSY.

1. Eliphaz, in direct opposition to Job's last remarks, contends that certain and utter ruin is the uniform lot of the wicked; and adduces the instances of the deluge, and of Sodom, and the other cities of the plain. 2. Job supports his position by fresh and still more forcible examples. Though he admits that, in the mystery of Providence, prosperity and adversity are often equally the lot of both the righteous and the wicked; yet he denies that this ought to be held as an argument in favour of the last, whose prosperity is in the utmost degree precarious, and who, in calamity, are wholly destitute of hope and consolation. 3. Bildad replies in a string of lofty but general apophthegms, tending to prove that Job cannot be without sin, since no man is so in the sight of God. 4. Job rejoins with indignation; takes a general survey of his life, in the different capacities of a magistrate, a husband, and a master; and challenges his companions to point out a single act of injustice he had committed. Chap. xxii-xxxi.

PART V.-The SUMMING UP of the CONTROVERSY.

1. Zophar, who ought to have concluded the last series, having declined to prosecute the debate any farther, the general argument is summed up by Elihu, who has not hitherto spoken, though present from the first. 2. He condemos the subject matter of the opponents of Job, as altogether irrelevant; accuses Job himself, not of suffering for any past impiety, but of speaking irreverently during the controversy. 3. He contests several of Job's positions; asserts that afflictions are often sent by the Almighty for the wisest and most merciful purposes; and that, in every instance, our duty is submission. 4. He closes with describing the Creator as supreme, and uncontrollable; and as ereating, upholding, and regulating, all nature according to his own will and pleasure; incomprehensively and mysteriously, yet ever wisely and benevolently. Chap. xxxii-xxxvii.

PART VI.-The ACQUITTAL and RESTORATION of Job.

1. The Almighty appears to pronounce judgment; speaks to Job in a sublime and magnificent address out of a whirlwind. 2. Job humbles himself before God, and is accepted. 3. His friends are severely reproved for their conduct during the controversy: a sacrifice is demanded of them, and Job is appointed their intercessor. 4. He prays for his friends, and his prayer is accepted. 5. He is restored to his former state of prosperity, and his substance in every instance doubled. Chap. xxxviii-xlii.

On this plan Mr. Goode has constructed his learned translation and excellent observations on this book.
The following synopsis or general view of this book is very intelligible, and may serve as an index to the work: