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gels was BAAL-PEOR, (t) an abominable Idol, who entic'd the Children of ISRAEL in SITTIM, (u) on their March

phureous, falt and bitter Water in Judea, where Sodom and Gomorrah ftood, 35 Miles from Jerufalem to the Eaft; about 24 Leagues long, and fix or feven broad. On the Eaft and South it is enclos'd with exceeding high Mountains, viz. Abarim, Nebo, Pifgah, Peor; on the North with the Plains of Jericho ; and on the Weft with the Land belonging to the Tribe of Judah, Jerufalem, &c. It is called the Dead Sea, because no Fish live in it; or from the heavy ftagnated Nature of its Waters: The Salt Sea, because it is of a brackish Tafte; the Sea of the Plain, the Eaft Sea, because it was eafterly from Jerufalem. See Joel 3. 20. And the Sea of Sodom. It is a Pool or Lake of ftanding Water; for tho' Jordan, Arnon, Jabbock, Dibon, Zered, and Cedron run into it, yet it hath no vifible Discharge. Iron, Lead, or any other weighty Matter doth fwim upon the Top of it. Vefpafian threw fome condemn'd Criminals into the deepest Place of it, and manacled; yet they rofe up with fuch Violence as if a Storm had fent them up. If Men or Beafts drink of it mix'd with Water, it makes them exceeding fick; and Birds that fly over it, fall down dead. This Pitch refembleth Bulls without Heads, and is good for pitching Ships, Cables, and Medicines. Befides Mofes, Strabo, Tacitus Pliny, Diodorus Siculus, and other antient Hiftorians have left

Accounts of it, and moftly from him. See Gen. 19.

(t) Peor, Baal-Peor, and Baal-Pheor; III. Heb. i. e. A naked God or Lord, or, he that fheweth his Nakedness publickly. An Idol of the Moabites and Midianites, the fame as Chemos, the beaftly and obfcene Priapus of the Greeks and Romans. An abominable Idol, frequentlymention'd in holy Writ with the utmost Abhorrence, as it well deferv'd. Jeremiah calls it fo by Way of Difgrace, Ch. xl. 7. This Name is more ufual than the other Chemos. The Heathens took this Idolatry from the Hiftory of Noab, when he lay expos'd, Gen. ix. 21. A fad Original, but a worse Copy. A Mountain that bears his Name belong'd to the Moabites on the Eaft of Jordan; because there was Beth Peor, i. e. The Temple of Peor upon Mount Peor, wherein he was worshipp'd. The Moabites entic'd the Ifraelites to worship him, which brought a fad Plague upon them; Numb.

XXV. I.

(u) Sittim or Shittim; i. e. Scourges or Thorns. A Place in the Plains of Moab, fixty Furlongs, or eight Miles from Fordan, where the Ifraelites encamped laft under the Conduct of Mofes; and where they were tempted by the wicked Counsel of Baalam to commit Fornication with the Women of Moab, and to facrifice to this Devil; which provok'd God to destroy

March from EGYPT, to do him wanton Rites, which coft them Abundance of Woe; yet from thence he extended his luftful Festivals, even to that fcandalous Hill, which was by the Grove of murderous MoLOCH; fo fixing Luft hard by Hate, 'till the good King JOSIAS (x) drove them both thence back again to Hell. Along with these came they who were worshipped from the great River EUPHRATES, (y) to the Brook that parts EGYPT from SYRIA, and had the general Names of BAALIM (x) and ASHTAROth,

24,000 of them. Here grew that Wood whereof the Ark of the Covenant was made, Exod. 25. 10. 37. I.

(x) Jofiah; Heb. i. e. The Fire or Zeal of the Lord. The 18th King of Judah, the pious Son of a very wicked Father and Grandfather. He was a great Reformer of Religion. He deftroyed all thofe IdolTemples and Groves, as it was foretold of him by Name 360 Years before he was born, I Kings 13. 2. 2 Kings 23. 10. He began his Reign when he was eight Years of Age, A. M. 3363. Before Jesus Christ 637. and reigned thirty-one Years; being kill'd in a Battle at Megiddo against Necho King of Egypt. Jeremy lamented his Death in a Divine Poem, 2 Chron. 35: 25.

U) Euphrates; Lat. Gr. from the Heb. Phrath or Parah, i. e. Fruitful; because it renders thofe Countries very fruitful, which it overfloweth at a cercain Seafon yearly. The principal of the four Rivers of Paradife, Gen. 2. 14. It is the largest in Afia, and the moft

(a)

famous River upon Earth; ri fing in the Mountains of Armenia, the Tygris and many more join it; it waters Mefopotamia, paffeth by and thro Babylon, renders many Countries very fruitful; and after a Courfe of 2000 Miles difcharges itself into the Perfian Ocean. In facred Scripture it is call'd the River, the Great River, by way of Eminence. It ftill retaineth the old Name by a Contraction, Aferat and Frat: The Water of it is very foul; if it ftands in a Veffel but two and Mud will

Hours, the Dirt be two Inches thick on the Bottom of it. The Poet calls it Old, because it is one of the firft Rivers mention'd by Mofes, the first and oldeft Hiftorian in the World. So, Old Kifhon. Judges 5. 21.

(z) Baalim, and Baal; IV. Heb. i. e. Lords and Lord. This was the firft Idol in the World, erected at Babylon in Memory of Belus or Nimrod, whom Ninus his Son and Succeffor deified after his Death; and was worshipp'd all the World over, tho' under different Names, viz.

Baal

(a) meaning Male and Female; for Spirits when they pleafe can affume either Sex, or both, their pure Effence is fo foft and uncompounded, not confin'd to material Joints and Limbs, nor depending on the frail Strength of Bones, as Flefh is; but in what Shape they choose, extended or contracted, obfcure or bright, can perform their spiritual Purposes, and do Works either of Love or Enmity. For those the JEWS often forfook the living Go D, and left his righteous Altar unfrequented, bowing down lowly before Idols, even in the Form of Beafts; for which their Heads were bow'd down as low in Battle, and they fell by the Spears of despicable Enemies.

IN the fame Troop with thefe came ASTORETH, whom the PHOENICIANS (b) call ASTARTE, (c) the Queen

Baal-Berith, Baal-Gad, BaalMeon, Baal-Peor, Baal-Semen, Baal-zebub, Baal-zephon, &c. by the Greeks, Zeus; by the Romans, Jupiter; by the Gauls, he was call'd Belenus; by the Saxons, Thor: from whence comes our Thursday. He was the Sun, who is Lord of Heaven, and most useful to all the inferior World, worshipp'd with magnificent Temples, Altars, Invocations, Bowings, Kiffes, Sacrifices, &c.

(a) Afbtaroth, or Aktoreth; V. Heb. Plur. i. e. Flocks and Herds; because Sheep, Goats, &c. were offered to her. A Goddefs of the Affyrians, Syrians, Phænicians, Sidonians, Carthaginians, Jews, Greeks, Romans, &c. but under different Names. The Queen of Heaven, Jer. 7. 18. All meant the Moon, as the Sun was the

Lord of Heaven: Thefe were the first and principal Deities among all Nations. She is Juno and Venus of the Romans, Eafter of the Saxons, &c. Because her grand Festival was in April, the old Saxons called it EafterMonath: from whence we call our's, Eafier, which happens in March or April, as the Jewish Paffover did; according to the Courfe of the Moon. Baal prefides over Men and all Male Animals, as being ftronger; and Ahtaroth over Women and the Female Sex, which are more weak and feeble.

(b) Phoenicians; Heb. q. Bene-Anak; i. e. The Sons of A nak, a gigantic Man, who with his Race inhabited that Country. The People of Phenicia, Palefline, or Canaan, call'd the Philistines.

(c) Allarte, VI. Heb. i. e.

A

Queen of Heaven, and figure her with a Crefcent, to whose bright Image the Virgins of SIDON (d) every Night fung by Moon-light, and paid their Vows; which alfo was often done in SION, where her Temple stood, on the offenfive Mountain of Olives, built by that uxorious King SOLOMON; whofe Heart, though it was large, beguil'd by fair Women from among the Heathen, fell to foul Idolatry.

NEXT Came THAMMUZ, (e) whofe annual Wound in LEBANON (f) allur'd the Damfels of SYRIA, to lament

A Flock; from Afhtoreth, according to the Phænician Dialect; and one of their Goddeffes. Aftarte is Sephora, the Wife of Mofes, and the Moon.

(d) Sidon; Heb. i. e. A Fish: because of the great Plenty and Riches, which the Inhabitants got by the Trade of Fish: or of Sidon the firft Son of Canaan, who first built it. Gen. 10. 15. i. e. A Hunter. A Sea Port Town, the Metropolis of Phanicia, older than Tyre, Carthage or other Cities, which the old Phoenicians built upon the Mediterranean Sea. It was taken by the King of Afcalon, a Year before the Deftruction of Troy, and 240 Years before the Building of Solomon's Temple; then they that efcap'd built Tyre, which is 16 Miles from it to the South, and 36 Miles from Jerufalem to the NorthWeft. By their great Trade and Wealth, the Sidonians became very proud, idolatrous and abominable to God: therefore he frequently punished them; now

it is very much decayed; as the

D

Prophets had foretold. Sidon was famous for Purple and other fine Dyes, as well as Tyre.

(e) Thammuz; VI. Egypt, from the Heb. i. e. Hidden or Death; because of the fecret, infamous, and obfcene Rites perform'd to this Idol, which was Death to utter. Or from Thamuz, Heb. i. e. June; because thefe Feafts were kept in June. This Goddels was Thammuz among the Egyptians, Carthagi nians and Jews, but Adonis among the Romans, &c.

(f) Lebanon; Heb. from Laban, i. e. white; because the Top of it appears white with Snow: Or Frankincense; because it abounds upon it. A very long, large, and high Mountain in Sy ria, about 200 Miles in Length, from Damafcus to the Mediterranean Sea Weftward, and the Boundary of Canaan to the North, about 120 Miles from Jerufalem. It is famous for Cedar Trees, which grow only there and in fomeWoods of Ame rica. Some of thefe Trees are 20 Yards round, very tall and Spreading

lament his Fate in Love-Songs a whole Summer's Day, while the smooth River ADONIS (g) ran coloured with Purple to the Sea, fuppos'd to be with the Blood of THAMMUZ wounded every Year; the LoveTale corrupted the Daughters of JERUSALEM, and warm'd them with like Heat; whofe wanton Paffions EZEKIEL (b) faw in the facred Porch, when being led by a Vifion, he faw the dark Idolatries of the alienated Children of JUDAH.

fpreading. Solomon built his Temple of them chiefly; but now they are much decay'd. Mr. Thevenot reckon'd no more than 23, great and fmall, and Mr. Maundrel only 7. On the Top of it stood a Temple of Venus, wherein lewd Men and Women debauch'd and proftituted themfelves most infamously; for which Conftantine the Great demolish'd it. There is now Canobine, a Convent of the Maronites, about the fame Spot of Ground. The Head of it calls himself the Patriarch of Antioch.

(g) Adonis; VII. Heb. i. e. Lord. An Affyrian Idol, the fame as Thammuz. The Tale is, this Adonis was a fine Youth, the Son of Cynra King of Cyprus by his Daughter Myrrha, belov'd of Venus and Proferpina, kill'd by a wild Boar upon Mount Lebanon while he was hunting, and much lamented by these Goddeffes. Thefe Women kept a folemn Feaft at that Time, weeping, lamenting, and beating themselves for his Death; afterwards they rejoic'd at his Return to Life. The Fettival of Adonia was celebrated through Greece, in Honour of Venus and Adonis,

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for two Days. See Potter's Antiq. of Greece, Vol. 1. P. 328. Adonis is the Sun, for 6 Months he is in the lower Hemifphere, as in Hell with Proferpina; and for the other 6 Months in the upper; at which they rejoic'd mightily, as they were forry for his declining from them. Here, the Name of a River which runs down Mount Lebanon, and at that Time of the Year his Waters are red, which the Heathens afcrib'd to a myfterious Sympathy in it, for the Death of Adonis; which is indeed and only caus'd by the Rains, that make it to fwell and run over the Banks, and to wash away fome red Earth; as Mr. Maundrel teftifies; and gave Occafion to this Fable and Idolatry.

(b) Ezekiel or Jechezekel; Heb. i. e. The Strength of God. The third of the four greater Prophets, carried a Captive to Babylon with Jechonia, when he was young: The Son of Bux, a very learned Priest. Some mistake him for Pythagoras, the antient Heathen Philofopher; but he was contemporary with him, and learn'd much from him alfo. He saw in a Vi

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