: has mifapplied. Let it fuffice, if I fhew that he is fundamentally in the wrong; and has chosen a part of the world for the refidence of the Ifraelites, that was never habitable. He was hurried on with a zeal for his hypothefis, and never in the leaft confidered the natural history of the country he treats of: in which there was neither province nor city; for it was all a defert. Pomponius Mela mentions that one part of Arabia, which lay upon the Red Sea, was fufficiently fruitful but from Egypt to the Red Sea (that is from west to east) it was all a barren flat, 2 plana et fierilis. Pliny speaks to the fame purpose: 3 Arabia-fterilis, præterquam ubi Syriæ confinia attingit.-Agrippa a Pelufio Arfinoen Rubri maris oppidum per deferta CXXV. M. paffuum tradit. Diodorus Siculus, speaking of the fame part of the country to the east of lower Egypt, fays that it was from north to fouth a wild, from Pelufium quite up to Heliopolis; 4απο Πηλεσια μεχρις Ηλιοπολεως δια της ερημε Strabo is more full and to the purpose. 5 H de μεταξυ τε Νειλε και τε Αραβις κόλπε Αραβία μεν εςι και επι γε των ακρων αυτης ίδρυται το Πηλεσίον αλλ' ερημος άπασα εστι, και αβατος τρατοπεδῳ. Arabia, we find, commenced from the very Nile. Pelufum ftood upon the extremity of it; from whence extended a vast defert, not fit for the march or encampment of an army. And 2 P. Mela. Lib. 1. Cap. 10. 3 Plin. Nat. Hift. Lib. 5. Cap. 11. Edit. Harduin. 4 The words of Diodorus relate to a great work of Sefoftris; who is faid to have carried on a fortification from Pelufium as high up as Heliopolis, by way of defence to the anterior parts of Egypt. It was 1500 ftadia in length, and went the whole way through the defert: ano IInλυσιν μέχρις Ἡλιοπολεως δια της ερημα. Lib. I. p. 36. Edit. Stephan. He in another place mentions Egypt as very difficult of accefs, on account of this defert; duoπPOσITY WATERWS sons. Lib. 15. p. 478. See Jof. de Bell: Jud. Lib. 4. Cap. 11. of Titus's march; and Polyb. Lib. 5. of the march of Ptolemy to Gaza. 5 Strabo Vol. 2. p. 1155. Edit. Amft. 1707. JureIGCOROS E51 Alγυπτος εκ των ἑωθινων τοπων. ibid. μων And he farther adds, that, befides it's being without water, it's fands were full of reptiles, undoubtedly of a poisonous nature. Προς δε τῳ ανυδρος ειναι και αμμώδης, έρπετων πληθος εχει των αμμοδύλων. And in another place, mentioning the fame part of Arabia from the Nile to the Red Sea, he reprefents it as a fandy wafte, that could fcarcely be paffed, except upon camels : δι ερηδε και αμμωδων χωριών αι ὑπερβάσεις επι καμηλων. Plutarch affures us that, when Antonius marched his army from Syria towards Egypt, he and his foldiers had fuch apprehenfions from this defert, and this particular part of the desert, that they esteemed it the worft enemy they had to encounter: 7Επει δε τε πολεμε μαλλον εφοβείο την επι το Πηλεσιον όδον, άτε δη δια ψαμμε βαθειας και ανυδρε, περι το εκρηγμα και τα της Σερβωνιδος ἑλη γινομένης αυτοις της πορείας. Even the few towns upon the fea coaft from Paleftine to Egypt feem to have been very bare of the neceffaries of life. One of them was Offracine ; where water was fo fcarce, that to defire drink of an inhabitant became a proverbial exprefion for asking alms of a beggar; "Αρες μεν εκ ήθησαμεν παρα σε, ότι μηδε ύδωρ παρα την Οςρακινην οικείων. Mount Cafius was itfelf 9ινωδης τις λοφος ακρωτηριάζων, ανυδρος : " a 9 Mharp fandy hil"lock, without water." The next place beyond Oftracine was Rhinocolura; and as badly circumstanced as the former. It was furrounded with a morass of sea water; fo that all their wells were tainted; and, bad as their water seems to have been, there was even of this great fcarcity. Περιέχει μεν γαρ αΰτην χώρα 6 Concolor exuftis atque indifcretus arenis 7 In vit. Antonii. 8 Greg. Nazianz. Epift. 46. πληρης 9 Jofephus of the march of Titus fays; Προς τῳ το Κασιδ Διος ἱερῷ στρατοπεδεύεται τη δε ύσεραια κατα την Οστρακίνην. ὗτος ὁ σαθμος ην ανύδρος. De Bell. Jud. Lib. 4. Cap. 11. Mela feems to think more favourably of this hill; but, I believe, without any reafon. Lib. I. Cap. 9. • Diodorus Siculus. Lib. Ι. pag. 38. : πληρης άλμυρίδος· εντος δε τε τειχες ολίγον εςιν ύδωρ εν φρεασι, και τετο αρχή της ερημα. But Lakemacher is not contented with curforily speaking of this part of the world. He goes fo far as to describe it; telling us what it was, and what it was not; as if he had been witnefs of it's goodness, and had traversed it at his leafure. 4Ille tractus — ab ipfâ naturâ ad pecora alenda videbatur fa&tus. Neque enim tot rivis, uti Delta, incifus erat abruptufque; fed campis continuis lateque patentibus liberè evagandi palandique gregibus faciebat copiam. Quocirca illo potiffimum delectatos fuiffe paftores non eft magnopere mirandum. It was a rich open country: in short, a perfect Arcadia. To this minute and whimsical description of a region that the author was totally unacquainted with, let me fubjoin an account of the true nature of these parts; and, as far as I can judge, of the very spot that has been above treated of, with fome occurrences that happened there; as they are defcribed by a modern traveller. 5 Baumgarten, a German nobleman, fet out with a Caravan from Cairo to go to Syria, December the 6th in the year 1507. He travelled five days; when he came towards the part of Arabia that lay between Damiata and Syria. "On the twelfth day about fun-rifing we came to a defolate and decayed cottage; where we stopped about two hours; and then went on in "our fandy journey towards the fea. Not far from this cottage "we saw above ten thousand carcafes of fheep, goats, affes, and "other creatures lying on the ground, rotten and half confum"ed: 2 Acts. 8. v. 26. 3 Exped. Alex. Lib. 2. 4 Vol. 2. p. 320. 5 Churchill's collection of travels. Vol. 1. p. 457. "ed: the noisom smell of which was fo unfufferable, that we "were obliged to make all the hafte we could to get out of the "reach of it. The occafion of their lying there was thus. Admi"rald, one of the Sultan's chief ministers, having been sent in"to Judaa to raise a poll-tax, and finding it hard to get in the cc money, had driven away the poor people's cattle, with a de"fign to carry them to Cairo, and present them to the Sultan. "But, as he was travelling through that defert, where there "was neither water nor pafture, he loft them all.-After we "had got out of the reach of that stink, we came to a certain bay." Sandys, the father of English travellers, went the fame rout, and gives a fimilar account of it. 7" On the east it [Egypt] is confined with the Arabian deferts-We were to be'gin the worst of the journey. On the 10th of March we entered "the main deferts:-a barren and defolate country, bearing nei"ther grafs nor trees; fave only here and there a few palms:"no water that is fweet; all being a mere wilderness of sand." This 6 Baumgarten was at Cairo in the time of Tongobardin, the last of the Mamaluke kings, A.D. 1507. He was admitted to that prince's prefence; and faw him with his thirty five wives, in the midft of the highest luxury and gratification, maintaining that no life could be compared with his for true and fubftantial happiness. A few years afterwards he was defeated by Selim the Turk, and hanged before his palace. The fame perfon traversed this defert another way, in his journey to mount Sinai; and fhews that it was of the fame nature every where. "Alcanica two miles from Cairo; and ftands in a fandy defert. - On the eighth "we entered the deferts.-On the ninth we marched through a dreadful "fandy defert, where nothing that was green appeared; not fo much "as briars or thorns." We have the like account in Monconyfii Iter ad montem Sina. 13. April. Ad hofpitium vel diverforium. 14. Per defertum ftatim a diverforio incipiens. In like manner Neitfcheizt, Iter ad Montem Sine. 25 Junii. Cabiro mane iter inceptum — inde ad Suez merum fabulum. In short, the whole space from lower Egypt to Palestine and to the Red Sea was at all times a desert, taken in every direction. "Toute "l'Egypt eft environnée de deferts et fablons." Davity,p. 273. Leo Africanus fpeaks to the fame effect: and all ancient writers agree that Arabia and the defert of Arabia commenced from the river of Pelufium, the extreme branch of the Nile eastward. 7 Sandys's Travels. This is the fpot that Lakemacher terms terra pafcuofa, pecoribufque alendis cum primis idonea: here he supposes a numerous people to have refided two centuries, where a Caravan could not fubfift for a day. Sure this is overlooking the plainest evidence, and running counter to the most approved authorities. Yet the learned profeffor Joh. Math. Hafius fubfcribes to this opinion; and, proceeding upon the fame grounds, adds to the extravagancies largely. He gives it as a reason for placing the Ifraelites in this particular fituation, because they were in the vicinity of thofe very places about mount Cafius, which are reprefented by Plutarch and other writers as uninhabitable. I have been pretty diffuse in my confutation of Lakemacher's notions; as at the fame time I obviate the opinion of all those who are of the fame way of thinking; there being many of that class. Even the learned bishop Cumberland was of this opinion. 9 "It is probable that the "country which Mofes calls Gofben began hereabouts, [near ‹ Pelufium] and ran fouthward between the Nile on it's west "fide and the Red Sea on part of it's east:—the fittest place to "maintain their cattle." Mr. Sale has exhibited in his writings much oriental reading; and the world is certainly indebted to him on that head. Yet he has been too much led by fancy: and he very often determines a point peremptorily, that he has not sufficiently confidered. He has a note upon this fubject, which I will transcribe at large. "It is a wonder how the Septuagint "came to place the land of Gofben in Arabia, at least, fome copies have it Goshen in Arabia, fince that was farther off "from Egypt than the land of Canaan. St. Jerom thinks cr "that 8 Joban. Math. Hafii Mathem. Profell. Witemberg. Regni Davidici et Solomonis defcriptio. Norimberg. 1739. In Cap. 12. part. 2. p. 175. among other reasons given, these are principal: Conditio regionis; fertilis enim eft ob viciniam Nili, inque introitu Ægypti. In vicinia funt Migdol, Baalze. phon, Lacus Sirbonis. Alia etiam non fine fructu videri poffunt apud Lakemacherum, non fine laude citandum, in obfervationibus fuis philologicis. 9 In Sanchoniath. p. 363 & 365. |