that he had a larger fhare of Victuals allow'd him upon the score of his Valour; so Jofeph ordered Benjamin to be treated after this manner, bonoris causâ.

The Cup whereby my Lord divineth, chap. 44.5.] 44. 5.] The facred Volumes no where take notice of any Divination perform'd by a Cup; and what feveral Learned Men have told us of the Effufion of Wine in the Jewish Sacri fices out of a Cup, is nothing to the purpose, fince it does not at all appear that they gathered any Auguries that way. The ancient Grecians indeed made a Judgement of future Events by the noife of the Wine poured out in honour of the Divinity, and before their Libations pray'd to the Gods to fend them some aufpicious Signs. Sometimes too they threw this Wine into the Fire, and the greater the Flame was, fo much the better was the Omen. We find in 2 Samuel 23. 16. that Water was fometimes poured out unto the Lord; but the Scripture in no place informs us that the Jews gather'd any Omens from thence. And therefore as the Greeks borrow'd great part of their Religious Rites from the Egyptians, 'tis probable that the latter, obferved the fame Method in their Libations, and that Jofeph had a refpect to them here.

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That

That you may dwell in the Land of Goshen, ch. 46. 34] 'Tis unquestionable that the Land of Gofhen was fituate in the Lower Egypt, as alfo that it was the first Province or Nomus, which a Traveller coming out Syria enters, fince Jacob fo foon as he. came thither, fent to acquaint Joseph with the news of his Arrival. By this place it. appears, that it was famous for rich Paftures, otherwife it wou'd ne're have been offer'd to a Company of Shepherds, as the moft convenient place in the Kingdom for them. 'Tis likewife certain, that this Tract of Land was appropriated to the Egyptian. Shepherds, who lived feparate from the reft of their Country-men: For otherwise how cou'd Jofeph conclude, that this Province wou'd be affigned to his Brethren immediately, upon their discovering what Occupation they followed, unless it was the Cu ftom of that Nation fo to do? As will plainly appear by the following words.

For every Shepherd is an Abomination ta the Egyptians, ch. 46. 34.] Learned Men are used to enquire upon this place the first, whether it appears by any Teftimony out of Prophane Authors, that the Egyptians avoided the Company of Shepherds? The

fecond,

:

fecond, for what reafon they hated them? As for what regards the former, we don't here mean all Shepherds in general, but only fuch as fed Sheep or Goats. According to Herodotus, . 2. c. 164. the Ægyptians were divided into feven Claffes, Priests, Soldiers, Cowherds, Hog herds, Merchants, Interpreters, and Sea-men. As for the Cowherds, we no where find that the Ægyptians defpifed them, but the above-cited Hiftorian exprefly affirms fo much of the Hog-herds, ch. 47. where he tells us, that the reft of the Egyptians refused to have any Alli ances with them. Among the Mendefians, if we may believe him, Goat-herds lived in great reputation, because they worshipped Goats. But these fame People that looked upon it to be a hainous Sin to facrifice Goats, thought it no Crime to ferve Sheep after that manner. The contrary to which was obferved by the Thebans, as we find in the fame Author. So far Herodotus, who is more particular in this Affair than any one elfe; however, he does not feem to confift with himself, for fince he makes two different Ranks of his Hog-herds and Cow-herds, why does he not farther branch them out into Goat-herds and Shep-herds? &c. with much more reafon on his fide. Diodorus comprehends them all under the name

of

of Nouwv, or Paftors, but does not acquaint us in what Credit they lived with the other Ægyptians.

Now with Submiffion to Perfons of grea ter Learning, I am of Opinion that as the Ægyptian Superftition varied with refpect to Time and Place; fo that eating of Sheep was held unlawful in the Tanitic Kingdom in fo Seph's time, and that as the Shepherds did either really feed upon them, or at least were fufpected to do so, the rest of the Ægyptians fhun'd their Company. Thus they thought they contracted an Impurity if they kiffed a Grecian, because the latter made no difficulty to eat Cow's Flesh, which Animal was migh tily ador'd in Egypt. For this reason they cou'd not be brought to use fo much as a Knife or a Kettle, if it came out of Greece, out of a fear that the Flesh of a Cow might have been eut by the former, or boiled in the latter. Though we are told by Herodotus that the Mendefians used to facrifice, and confequently to eat Sheep; yet at the fame time he informs us, that the Thebans, who had a much greater Authority in the Country, abftained from it and Diodorus, lib. 1. p. 99. reckons Sheep among thofe Creatures from which the Ægyptians abftained. Befides thofe private Reafons which the Priefts affign'd for this Ab

tinence,

ftinence, he fays the following ones were ufed to be given, viz. that Sheep brought forth Young twice a year, that they cloathed Mankind with their Wool, and nourished them with Milk and Cheese. And therefore fince feveral of the Ægyptians either for thefe, or fome other Realons, abftained from Sheeps Flesh, what wonder is it if they expreffed an utter Averfion to thofe Men whom they knew, or elfe fufpected to feed upon it, if they fhun'd their Converfion, and obliged to live by themselves in a particular Tract of their Country Indeed fome Learned Men doubt whether we can difcover any certain Tokens of Idolatry in Egypt fo early as the days of fofeph, but what they pretend they can no where find; this Mofes exprefly teaches us, Exod. 8. 26. and the Ifraelites became infected with Idolatry in Egypt, as Ezekiel lays it to their charge, ch. 20. v. 7, 8.

And Jofeph placed his father and his brethren in the land of Ramefes, ch. 46. 11.] Here cannot be fignified that City, which is faid, Ex. I. II. to be built long after the Death of Jofeph by the Ifraelites; nor indeed had these People, who lived under Tents and removed from one Place to another, any occafion for a City at first: Therefore others underftand it to be part of the Country of Gofhen.

The