40 days, to the 10th of the 2nd month (A. M. 1656. B. c. 2447) 7 days suspense to the 17th day. The Flood begins. Noah enters the ark. 40 days rain. 110 days the waters prevail. 150 days, ending at the 17th of the 7th month. (17 Nisan, A. M. 1656, B. c. 2446.) The year being lunar, the interval is in fact but 148 days, or it was on the 149th day current, that the ark rested: but this discrepancy is of no moment. viii. 5. The waters decreased till the 10th month, 1st day; 100 days from the ark's resting. v. 6. At the end of 40 days (10th day of 11th month, i. e., of the month afterwards called Ab, the 5th month,) Noah opened the window and sent forth the raven and dove. v. 10. Seven days later, the dove was sent forth the second time; and at the end of another week, the third and last time: 24th of 11th month. v. 13. On the 1st day of the new year, (a week after the departure of the dove,) the face of the ground was dry. v. 14. On the 27th of the 2nd month Noah issues from the ark, after a sojourn of a lunar year and 10 days, or a complete solar year. $ 304. "Shem was 100 years old and begat Arphaxad 2 years after the Flood," xi. 10. If these two years are measured from the beginning of the Flood, so that the birth of Arphaxad lies in the year 1658, one year after the egress from the ark, the Table then proceeds as follows: 1657. 2446-5. Noah issues from the Ark, 27th of 2nd month. (Oct. or Nov.) 1658. 2445-4. Birth of Arphaxad. 1693. 2410-09. Birth of Salah. 1723. 2380-79, Birth of Eber. 1757. 2346-5. Birth of Peleg. The earth divided in his days (239 y.). 1787. 2316-5: Birth of Reu. 1819. 2284-3. Birth of Serug. 1849. 2254-3. Birth of Nahor. 1878. 2225-4. Birth of Terah. 1948. 2155-4. (Terah's eldest son is born.) 1996. 2107-6. Death of Peleg (239 y.) 1997. 2106-5. Death of Nahor (148 y.) 2006. 2097-6, Death of Noah (950 y.) 2008. 2095-4, Birth of Abraham. 2026. 2077-6. Death of Reu (239 y.) 2049. 2054-3. Death of Serug (230 y.) 2083. 2020-19. Death of Terah: Abraham departs to Canaan. 2084. 2019-8. Abraham in Canaan-after, in Egypt. 2085. 2018-7. Separation of Lot. 2086, 2017-6. The war at Sodom. Lot rescued. The Promise, 15 Nisan, 2016, B. C. $305. The brief notice concerning Peleg, "in his days was the earth divided," is interesting in several points of view. That division can be no other than the one which is related in Gen. xi. I am aware that some have taken a different view, supposing the confederacy and dispersion of the Babel-builders to have concerned only the godless posterity of Ham. This is a novelty which I only notice to object to it the ancient and universal consent of interpreters, Jews and Christians, who have taught, agreeably with the obvious import of the story, that all mankind were of one speech and language, and as yet formed one community, until the time of that impious attempt; in which, however, it by no means follows that the godly seed of Noah and Shem took part. The earth was not divided until that time, and it was divided in the days of Peleg. The time, then, of the dispersion of nations lies somewhere in the 239 years of Within this that Patriarch, or between 2346 and 2107 B. C. period, therefore, we are to seek the origin of nations and empires. In a future stage of our inquiry it will be an interesting question how far the genuine records of ancient nations accord with this determination. But with respect to Peleg we may now remark a manifold significance of the name of this Patriarch. It means "division," with an express reference to the division of the earth: but it seems to have a further significance in these respects: 1. Peleg is central between Noah and Abraham; Noah Arphaxad Salah Heber Peleg Serug Nahor Terah Abraham 2. At Peleg the term of human life is abruptly diminished the second time. Arphaxad, the first-born after the Flood, lived not half the term of the antediluvian lives: at Peleg it is reduced from an average of about 450 years to 239. Hence Peleg, the 4th from Aphaxad, dies before all his ancestors, and even 10 years before Noah: and the middle year of his life is also that of Arphaxad: also, if the life of Eber be divided into 3 equal parts, the first ends at the central year of Peleg, the second at the death of Reu, and the whole life 4 years after the death of Abraham. The Rabbins and old commentators suppose, not unreasonably, that the name of Peleg's brother, Joktan (1), relates to this diminution of the term of man's life. We will suppose then, that the great event in reference to which Peleg has his name occurred about the middle of his life, i. e. about 220 years after the flood. Hereafter we shall have occasion to point out an interesting fact connected with this hypothesis at present I have but to remark that the interval here supposed between the dispersion of nations and the Call of Abraham is amply sufficient for the growth of populous nations and the foundation of considerable empires. For in 100 years from the Flood, the population would have grown from 3 males to 400, if it doubled its numbers but once in 14 years. In the second century, since all the males who lived in the first century were still in the vigour of life, the term of doubling cannot have been more than half what it was in the former century. Hence at the end of this century the population might number 400 x 24 or about 205,000 males; and at the 220th year, it would number, at the same rate, more than 7 times as much, or a million and a half of males. These dispersed over the world, and still living on an average 200 years each, are abundantly sufficient to have overspread the territory of the most ancient nations with a numerous and civilized population in the course of about 200 years from that time. For it is to be re membered that the antediluvian arts of civilization were of course preserved among the descendants of Noah. § 306. The annexed Table exhibits at one view the contents of the genealogies in Gen. v. xi., so as to shew at the same time the relative ages of the Patriarchs and the contemporary durations of their lives. SECTION II. EXAMINATION OF THE ALEXANDRINE AND SAMARITAN CHRONOLOGIES. §307. THE following Table exhibits the discrepancies of the Masoretic-Hebrew, Alexandrine-Greek, and Samaritan-Hebrew texts of the genealogies. Besides the numerical differences, it should be observed that in the post-diluvian period the notice kal áré@ave is added to the mention of each residue; thus "Shem lived after he had begotten Arphaxad 500 years, and begat sons and daughters, and he died." The Samaritan, here as on other occasions, out-vies the Greek, by expressing the whole sum of life of each Patriarch, in the form of words used in the antediluvian genealogies: thus "Shem lived after he had begotten Arphaxad 500 years, and begat sons and daughters, and all the days of Shem were 600 years, and he died:" and so each term of the genealogy ends with the for .ויהיו כל ימי (......) (.....) שנה וימת: mula |