appears unaccountable that no mention of it, no occasion of even the obscurest allusion to it, should occur, either in the general history of the world before the call of Abraham, which contains, we admit, only a few memoirs of its early ages, and those extremely abridged; or, which is more to be wondered at, in that of the lives of the first three Jewish patriarchs, which, in many parts of the account, is sufficiently circumstantial and domestic. Nor is there, in the passage above quoted from the sixteenth chapter of Exodus, any intimation that the sabbath, when appointed to be observed, was only the revival of an ancient institution, which had been neglected, forgotten, or suspended; nor is any such neglect imputed either to the inhabitants of the old world, or to any part of the family of Noah; nor, lastly, is any permission recorded to dispense with the institution during the captivity of the Jews in Egypt, or on any other public emergency."

As to the first part of this reasoning, if it were granted that in the history of the patriarchal ages no mention is made of the sabbath, nor even the obscurest allusion to it, it would be unfair to conclude that it was not appointed previous to the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt. If instituted at the creation, the memory of it might have been forgotten in the lapse of time, and the growing corruption of the world; or,

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what is more probable, it might have been observed by the patriarchs, though no mention is made of it in the narrative of their lives, which, however circumstantial in some particulars, is, upon the whole, very brief and compendious. There are omissions in the sacred history much more extraordinary. Excepting Jacob's supplication at Bethel, scarcely a single allusion to prayer is to be found in all the Pentateuch; yet, considering the eminent piety of the worthies recorded in it, we cannot doubt the frequency of their devotional exercises. Circumcision being the sign of God's covenant with Abraham, was beyond all question punctually observed by the Israelites, yet, from their settlement in Canaan, no particular instance is recorded of it till the circumcision of Christ, comprehending a period of about 1500 years. No express men

tion of the sabbath occurs in the books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, the first and second of Samuel, or the first of Kings, though it was doubtless regularly observed all the time included in these histories. In the second book of Kings, and the first and second of Chronicles, it is mentioned only twelve times, and some of them are merely repetitions of the same instance. If the sabbath

d Gen. xxviii. 18-22.

e

Eight times in the singular, 2 Kings iv. 23.—xi. 5, 7, 9. xvi. 18.-1 Chron. ix. 32.-2 Chron. xxiii. 8.-xxxvi. 21. and four times in the plural, 1 Chron. xxiii. 31.-2 Chron; ii. 4.— viii. 13.-xxxi. 3.

is so seldom spoken of in this long historical series, it can be nothing wonderful if it should not be mentioned in the summary account of the patriarchal ages.

But though the sabbath is not expressly mentioned in the history of the anti-diluvian and patriarchal ages, the observance of it seems to be intimated by the division of time into weeks. In relating the catastrophe of the flood, the historian informs us, that Noah, at the end of forty days, opened the window of the ark; " and he stayed yet other seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark: and the dove came in to him in the evening, and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf, pluckt off. So Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove, which returned not again unto him any more f." The term "week" is used by Laban in reference to the nuptials of Leah, when he says, "Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also, for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years." A week of days is here plainly signified, the same portion of time which in suc

'Gen. viii. 10-12. See the observations of Dr. Kennicott on this part of Noah's history, in his Diss. on the Oblations of Cain and Abel, p. 172-176. though perhaps they are more ingenious than solid.

Gen. xxix. 27.

ceeding ages was set apart for nuptial festivities, as appears from the book of Esther, where the marriage feast of Vashti lasted seven days, and more particularly from the account of Samson's marriage-feast". Joseph and his brethren mourned for their father Jacob seven days. In the book of Job, which is generally allowed to be of higher antiquity than any other of the sacred writings, we read that "that there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord," which Dr. Kennicott proposes to render, "And it was the day, and the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord," by which he understands the sabbath, a day enjoined for performing sacred services; but the propriety of this version is very dubious, as the expression may only denote, that "it came to pass on a certain day *." It is also contended by Dr. Kennicott, that in the recital of the offerings of Cain and Abel, which in the English translation is," And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an

k

h Judges xiv. 10-15. It is not certain that Vashti's was a marriage-feast, Esther i. 9-10. Compare Tobit xi. 19. but in chap. viii. 19. it is spoken of as lasting fourteen days.

i Gen. 1. 10.

Kennicott, Dissertation ii. p. 172. The Hebrew of Job i. 6.

on which phrase see Storr, Obse ויהי היום ויבאו בני האלהים is

ad Anal. et Syntax. Heb. p. 125.

offering unto the Lord," the original should be rendered, "And it was at the end of days, and Cain brought," &c. that is, he brought an oblation at or after the conclusion of the week. This interpretation is very ingeniously supported, and the evidence seems to preponderate in its favour; but as the Hebrew may undoubtedly be understood in a different sense, it would be inconsistent with the laws of sound criticism to lay much stress upon it. That the computation of time by weeks, obtained from the most remote antiquity, appears from the traditionary and written records of all nations, the numerous and undeniable testimonies of which have been so often collected and displayed, that it would be worse than useless to repeat them ".

m

Kennicott, Dissertation ii. p. 177. See Reimari Cogitationes de Leg. Mos. ante Mosen, in vol. vi. of Commentationes Theol. a Velthusen, &c.

m It will be sufficient to refer to Clemens Alexand. Strom. v. p. 600.; Theophilus Antioch. ad Autolyc. lib. ii.; Eusebius, Præp. Evangel. lib. xiii. cap. xii.; Bp. Law, Theory of Religion, p. 52.; Jackson, Chronol. Antiq.; Townsend, Character of Moses, vol. i. p. 61.; Faber, Hora Mosaicæ, vol. i. sect. 1. cap. ii.; Owen, Exercit. on the Sabbath, ii. § 13. et seq.; Buddeus, Inst. Theol. Moralis, P. ii. cap. ii. sect. 2. § 32; Grotius, De Veritate lib. i. cap. xvi.; Huetius, Dem. Evangel. Prop. iv. cap. xi. § 1.; Goguet, Origin of Laws, lib. iii. cap. ii. art. 2.; Memoires de l'Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, vol. iv. p. 45, et seq.; Jurieu Histoire des Dogmes et des Cultes. P. i. cap. xvi.; Rivetus, Exerc. 13. in Gen. and Append. de Decal. cap. v.