"take another stick, and write upon it, For Jo"feph, the ftick of Ephraim, and for all the "houfe of Ifrael his companions: and join them "one to another into one stick; and they fhall"become one in thine hand. And when the "children of thy people fhall speak unto thee,

faying, Wilt thou not fhew us what thou "meanest by thefe?-Say unto them, Thus "faith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the "children of Ifrael from among the heathen, "whither they be gone, and will gather them " on every fide, and bring them into their own "land and I will make them one nation in "the land upon the mountains of Ifrael; and 66 one king shall be king to them all: and they "shall be no more two nations, neither fhall

they be divided into two kingdoms any more "at all;" Ezek. xxxvii. 15.-19. 21, 22.

In order to fulfil this prophecy, it is not ne ceffary to fuppofe, with fome vifionary men, that the ten tribes carried away captive by Salmanefer are ftill preferved a feparate people in fome unknown country. There is not much reafon to doubt that all of thofe carried away by him, are blended with the other nations of the world, and loft as a feparate people. But feve. ral individuals of the ten tribes deferted the land of Ifrael, when the calves were fet up in Dan and Bethel, and lived with their brethren,

P

voluntary

voluntary exiles in the land of Judah, out of regard to the ordinances of religion'. After the great body of the nation of Ifrael was carried away captive, many families remained in the land, others took refuge in the land of Judah, as appears from their attending the paffovers of Hezekiah and Josiah 2, after the captivity. The pofterity of these were all along, and still are blended with their brethren, under the common name of Jews. It is an eafy matter for the Almighty to make them a very numerous people, by the time they go down to Armageddon.

The land of their poffeffion fhall be much more extensive than at any former period, including the whole diftrict of the country that lies betwixt the Euphrates and the Mediterranean; fo the prophet Micah fays, chap. vii. 12, "In that day also he (Ifrael) fhall come even to "thee (Jerufalem) from Affyria, (to the forti "fied cities, and from Tyre 3, fhall he extend),

66 to

(1) See 2 Chron. xi. 13.-18. 2 Chron. xxxi. 6, 7. (2) See 2 Chron. xxx. 11. 2 Chron. xxxv. 17.

(3) I fuppofe the fortrefs mentioned to be Tyre, be

caufe it was once the most famous fortrefs in Paleftine. Befides, its fituation is the point of land farthest weft on the coast of Palestine, to which we are directed to look, when

"to the river, and from fea to fea, and from "mountain to mountain." The prophet defcribes the extent of their territory, by marking the breadth of their land from west to east, in two different places. At the north end it fhall extend from Tyre to the Euphrates, at the fouth end from the Mediterranean to the Perfian Gulph. The length of the land from north to fouth, shall be from mount Lebanon, which was at all times the northern boundary, to mount Seir, as in the parallel paffage. "They "in the fouth fhall poffefs the mount of Efau ;" Obad. ver. 19.

"His do

This is confirmed by Zechariah. "minion fhall be from fea to fea, and from the "river even to the ends of the earth;" Zech. ix. 10. The words have a double meaning; they not only represent the Meffiah's kingdom, as extending over all nations, but they likewife defcribe the territory of the people of Ifrael, after their fubmiffion to the Mefliah; while the words are fo happily chofen as to fuit both events. In the latter sense, the defcription is the fame with that of Micah, their dominion extends

when fet in oppofition to the Euphrates, as the eastern boundary. The fcriptures always mean the Euphrates, when no proper name is added to the river. Befides, the word tranflated fortress, with a small variation, would give the name of Tyre in the original.

tends from the Perfian Gulph', to the Mediterranean, at the south end, and from the Euphrates to the extremities of the land of Palestine, that is, to the fea-coaft at the north end.

The fame expreffions are used Psalm lxxii. 8. where they have likewise a double meaning. They represent the extent of the Meffiah's kingdom, and likewife of Solomon's. Now Solomon reigned over all the kings betwixt the Euphrates and the Mediterranean, 1 Kings iv. 24. which fixes the meaning of the expreffions both here and in Zechariah, as far as they relate to the people of Ifrael.

The divifion of the land shall be different from that originally made by Joshua. It is minutely described in the 48th chapter of Ezekiel. The inheritance of each tribe shall extend along the breadth of the land, from the eaft to the weft fide, so that each tribe shall be poffeffed of

fea

(1) Many have supposed, that the lake Afphalites, or Dead Sea, is meant; but obferve that the kingdom of Solomon extended beyond it, and that the country of the Moabites and Ammonites, which lay to the east of it, is faid to be poffeffed by the children of Ifrael upon their reftoration, (Zeph. ii. 9.), confequently it cannot be intended. Now the next fea to the east is the Perfian Gulph, into which the Euphrates falls, therefore being the continuation of the fame line, which makes the eastern boundary at the north end, it is most probably intended

3 A

fea-coaft. Seven of the tribes fhall lie to the north of Jerufalem in the following order, beginning at the entrance of Hamath: Dan, Afher, Naphtali, Manaffeh, Ephraim, Reuben, Judah; and five to the fouth, Benjamin, Simeon, Iffachar, Zebulon, Gad. The holy portion for the city, defcribed Ezek. xlv. 8.-21: fhall fie betwixt the inheritance of Judah and Benjamin, fo as not to be reckoned of either 1.

(1) The city and the holy portion may be understood, partly in a literal fenfe, but chiefly in a myftical, fignifying the national polity, like the new Jerufalém. I prefume the meaning of it cannot be fully understood, till the Jews receive the model of their national polity, upon their converfion. However, it may have thus far a literal meaning, that a certain portion of land, distinct from the inheritance of the twelve tribes, shall be allotted for a fubfiftence to perfons in public offices, both ecclefiaftical and civil; and that in lieu of tithes and taxes, that have been frequently fources of oppreffion to the people. I build this idea, on the portion allotted to the prince; for which the reason is given, " My princes fhall no more "opprefs my people; and the reft of the land fhall they "give to the houfe of Ifrael, according to their tribes."O princes of Ifrael, take away your exactions from my "people, faith the Lord God;" Ezek. xlv. 8, 9. Again, it is faid of a part of the holy portion, "It fhall be for "food to them that serve the city," chap. xlviii. 18,; that is, for a fubfiftence for public functionaries. Farther, the part allotted to the priests and Levites, may fignify a fubfiftence to the ministers of the gospel.