is situated 32° 40′ N. lat., and 61° 55' E. long. from Ferro, in the vast chain of Taurus and nearly in the centre between the southern extremities of the Black and the Caspian Seas. Its perpendicular height is 16,254 Paris feet above the level of the sea, and 13,350 above the plains of the river Aras (Araxes), and is always covered with snow, as indeed is the whole mountain for three or four months in the year. It is a very grand object, being not merely a high summit in a chain of elevated mountains, but standing as it were apart and alone, the minor mountains, which seem to branch out from it and decline away in the distance, being so perfectly insignificant in comparison, that the sublime effect of this most magnificent mountain is not at all impaired, or its proportions hidden, by them. We have ourselves gazed upon this mountain for days together, at different distances and from various points of view, with intense and reverent admiration, called forth not more by the traditions connected with it, than by its surpassing grandeur and wonderfully fine proportions. Other mountains, more lofty, and more involved among the grandest scenes of this lower world, and others not so high, but exhibiting more of the circumstances which we are apt to call 'picturesque,' we had already seen; but never had seen any mountain which so much engaged the sentiment of admiration, or which so much created the wish to associate it in the mind with some circumstance of moral grandeur. It is probably to the natural operation of some such feeling, that the Aghur Dagh owes the reputation which it enjoys of being the mountain of the ark; for in the absence of authentic tradition or historical proof, the selection would naturally fall upon that which is not only the highest mountain in Armenia, but one of the noblest in the world. This great mountain is separated into two heads, distinguished as the Great and Little Ararat, which may perhaps account for the plural expression mountains' of the text. The heads form distinct cones, separated by a wide chasm or glen, which renders the distance between the two peaks 12,000 yards. One of them is much smaller than the other and forms a more regular and pointed

cone: it is also much lower (12,284 Paris feet), and its summit is clear of snow in summer. Several attempts have been made to reach the summit of the mountain, but the only one crowned with success was that of Professor Parrot, who, after having failed in two attempts, was on the third enabled, according to his own account, to plant his feet upon the top of the great Ararat. This was on the 27th of September (O. S.) 1829. The summit was found to be a slightly convex and almost circular platform, about 200 Paris feet in diameter, composed of eternal ice, unbroken by a rock or stone. On account of the great distance nothing could be discerned with distinctness from this point. The account of this ascent was published by Dr. Parrot, in his Reise zum Ararat, lately translated into English by Mr. Cooley. The fact of this ascent, as well as of a subsequent one said to have been made by M. Antomonoff, is not altogether free from suspicion, and is firmly denied by the natives, including even those who are described as having taken part in the adventure, who state that the ascent was arrested at the limit of the perpetual and solid ice which caps the top of the mountain. We found this alleged ascent to be discredited by all of whom we inquired in the neighbourhood of Ararat. It was denied as a fact, on the authority of Armenians who were of the party, and denied as a possibility, in virtue of the general belief that no one is permitted to approach the summit and view the remains of the ark, which are supposed to be there preserved.

The entire aspect of the district in which the Aghur Dagh stands, underwent a great change, in an incredibly brief space of time, by an earthquake which commenced on the 20th of June (Ŏ. S.) 1840, and continued at intervals till September. The mountain itself was shaken, and vast masses of rock, ice, and snow, detached from its summit and lateral points, were thrown at one single bound from a height of 6000 feet into the valley of Akhori, where they lay scattered over an extent of several miles. This valley was the scene of the greatest devastation, but the destruction of houses and other property throughout the

district was awful. The great shock which occasioned all this overthrow providentially occurred in the day-time, whence the loss of life was less than might have been expected, as not more than fifty persons perished. See the account by Major Voskoboinikof in the Athenæum for 1841, p. 135.

The Armenians have many religious establishments in the neighbourhood of the mountain, on account of the holiness which they attach to it as the mountain of the ark. A city not far from it, called Nachshivan, they also believe to be the oldest in the world, as having been founded by Noah when he quitted the ark. The name is said to be formed of NACH, a' ship' or 'large boat,' and SCHIVAN, 'standing fast.

7. Raven.' oreb, which, from its etymology, we might translate the bird of night,' an appellation which it owed to the tincture of its plumage, which was dark, like the livery of night (or ereb). A word of the same origin is extended by the Arabian writers to the rook, crow, and jackdaw, as well as to the raven in fact it seems to include all those species which are by Cuvier ranged under the genus Corvus. The predominant colour of these is black, hence Ereb (the origin of the classic Erebus), implying a sable hue, is a very proper word as a generic appellation corresponding to Corvus. As this bird soon grows familiar, its docility might have induced the patriarch to think, that unless it found a fair resting-place, it would return again to the ark. When it is said that "it went forth to and fro,' we are not to suppose that the raven continued upon the wing for seven days and nights without resting; for the words in the original imply a going forth, and returning to the same spot whence the departure was taken.

8. ' A dove.—The nearest approximation to the truth will be, perhaps, to consider the original word ( yonah) as a counterpart to Columba, the generic term for all the various kinds of dove with which we are acquainted. Different species of dove seem to be diffused over all the regions of the torrid and temperate zones. The fondness which these birds exhibit for home is well known, and for this reason, probably, the patriarch made choice of the dove for the purpose alluded to in the sacred narrative.

11. An olive leaf plucked off:-That the leaf was plucked off, is mentioned because it was only from this fact that Noah could infer that the vegetation of the plains was becoming clear. That it was fresh, or green, would not alone have conveyed the assurance that it had not been found floating on the water; for the olive being an evergreen, its leaves will long remain fresh in water.

22. 'Seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter.'-Here six divisions of the natural year are indicated; and it seems that the Jews adopted the same division of the seasons, in reference to the labours of agriculture, which formed the principal employment of the mass of the population. The same divisions are still in use among the Arabs. A few particulars concerning the period and natural phenomena of each season in the Holy Land may be usefully given. The same statement applies more or less to the adjoining regions.

'Seed-time' extended from the beginning of October to the beginning of December. During this season the weather is various, very often misty, cloudy, with miz

CHAPTER IX.

1 God blesseth Noah. 4 Blood and murder are forbidden. 8 God's covenant, 13 signified by the rainbow. 18 Noah replenisheth the world, 20 planteth a vineyard, 21 is drunken, and mocked of his son, 25 curseth Canaan, 26 blesseth Shem, 27 prayeth for Japheth, 29 and dieth.

zling or pouring rain. The early autumnal rains begin to fall late in October, or early in November, in frequent showers; and then the land was ploughed, wheat and barley were sowed, and the later grapes gathered. The trees lose their foliage in the latter part of November. The weather is warm by day, and cold, even frosty, at night. Towards the end of the season, the snow begins to fall on the mountains.

'Winter' extends from the beginning of December to the beginning of February. The climate necessarily varies with the situation of the country; but in general it becomes very cold as the season advances-particularly in the mountains, which are covered with snow, and where the cold, accompanied by the biting north wind, can scarcely be borne even by natives of our northern climate. Vehement rains, hail-storms, and falls of snow distinguish this season. In the low plains the season is comparatively mild; and, at the worst, days occur in which it is warm in the open air when the sun shines and the wind does not blow.

"Cold season' extends from the beginning of February to the beginning of April. It is cold at the beginning, but gradually becomes warm, and vegetable nature assumes a revived appearance. Barley is ripe at Jericho, although but little wheat is in the ear. Thunder, lightning, and hail frequently occur; and at the end of the season the latter rains sometimes begin to fall.

'Harvest' extends from the beginning of April to the beginning of June. In the first fortnight the latter rains fall heavily, but cease towards the end of April. These rains are always chilly, and are often preceded by whirlwinds, which raise great quantities of sand into the air. The results of the harvest depend on these, and on the autumnal or early rains; which rendered them objects of great anxiety to the Jews. The weather becomes warm as the season advances; and, with a serene sky, is generally delightful throughout Palestine. The heat is, however, excessive in the great plain of Jericho, and other morning and evening breezes from the sea. large plains. On the sea-coast the heat is tempered by

Summer' comprehends the period from the beginning of June to the beginning of August. The heat increases; and, in order to enjoy the bracing coolness of the night air, the inhabitants generally sleep on the tops of their houses.

'Hot season,' called by the Rabbins chum, or 'the great heat,' extends from the beginning of August to the beginning of October. During most of this season the heat is very intense, and even the nights can scarcely be called cool.

The extremes of summer heat are felt in the large plains, and of winter cold, in the mountains. From April to the middle of September there is no rain or thunder. No cloud is to be seen during May, June, July, and August; but there is a copious dew at night. These dews, however, only compensate for the want of rain to the more hardy plants. As the season of heat advances, vegetable life is dried up, and the face of the earth assumes a parched and dry appearance, except where watered by streams or by human labour. There is a longer statement on the subject of this note in the Rev. T. H. Horne's Critical Introduction to the Scriptures,' from which the above facts are abridged, with little alteration, and one still more copious, describing the climate, and processes of agriculture from month to month, in our own Physical History of Palestine.

AND God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that

moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the 'green herb have I given you all things.

4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

6 'Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: "for in the image of God made he man.

7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.

11 And 'I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living

creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

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18 ¶ And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth and Ham is the father of Canaan. 19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.

20 ¶ And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

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26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be 'his servant. 27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.

29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

Verse 4. Flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.'-This and the corresponding prohibitions in the Law are generally understood by the Hebrew doctors to interdict the cutting off the flesh of any still living creature, and eating it while the life, i. e. the blood, was in it. Many Christian interpreters concur in this sense, believing that there were in those times people so savage and barbarous that they ate flesh raw, while it was yet warm and palpitating from the living beast. We have no doubt that this law, by directing the flesh to be perfectly exsanguinated before it was eaten, designed to exclude a large class of barbarous and sanguinary usages which had previously prevailed. The reader may be

6 Isa. 54. 9.

7 Ecclus. 43. 11, 12.

reminded of the practice among the Abyssinians, as recorded by Bruce and Salt. Bishop Gleig, in a note to his edition of Stackhouse, mentions that not very many years ago it was customary among the poor people in some parts of the Highlands of Scotland, to bleed their cattle occasionally, and dress their blood for food. Burckhardt informs us that the Bedouins are in the constant habit of eating on the spot the raw and reeking liver of whatever animals they kill. A wise and civilizing legislator would endeavour to give some comprehensive rule to discourage such practices as have the very reverse of a humanizing effect.

13. I do set my bow in the clouds.'—Different opinions

have been entertained respecting the sense in which these words are to be taken. Some of the older writers thought that the covenant now established gave the first existence to the rainbow. And now that the physical operations of the material world are better understood, and it is known that the rainbow is an effect which must, unless a special miracle were interposed, result from certain conditions of the atmosphere, it has been sometimes imagined that the conditions under which this phenomenon is produced, did not exist before the Deluge. It is supposed that there may have been no rain. This conjecture is founded upon what we have shown to be an erroneous interpretation of Gen. ii. 5, 6. Abarbanel ingeniously supposes that, although the rainbow existed, it was not visible till after the Deluge the mists and vapours which rose before that event being of so dense a nature, that the refraction of the sun's rays upon the cloud could not be seen from the surface of the earth. All this seems, however, little better than ingenious trifling. The more closely the meaning of the words are examined, the more manifest it will appear that the real meaning is that which would be conveyed by this paraphrase-The bow which of old I have set ("♬Л), not ‘I do set') in the cloud, I do now appoint for a sign of the covenant,' etc. As the rainbow becomes visible when on the one side the rain-clouds are about to withdraw, while on the other the sun re-appears, a more significant sign of this covenant cannot be imagined.

20. Noah began to be a husbandman.'-It is well to consider that after the flood had subsided, mankind had not to begin life anew; but that through the family of Noah, whatever civilization, and whatever knowledge in the arts belonging to it, existed before the Deluge, were undoubtedly preserved by that family, and transmitted by it to the new generations. That Noah and his family were civilized men, well versed in the arts of life, is very clear from their history. If, therefore, we are entitled to infer that civilization prevailed during the ages from the Creation to the Flood, we can be perfectly certain that the savageism which still prevails in some countries, is not a type of the original condition of man, from which he has, in some times and countries, emerged, but is a degeneracy in certain tribes and nations from the original condition. This is so obvious a consequence of the belief that all the existing races of mankind are descended from Noah, that it is surprising to hear grave Christian writers, and even divines, talk of the progress of man from a condition of original savageness. Dr. Lindsley, whose dissertation On the Primitive State of Mankind we have cited under chap. vi., observes, that when Noah entered the ark he was 600 years old, and his sons little short of 100. They, therefore, had time and opportunity sufficient to become intimately acquainted with all the arts and learning which the antediluvians possessed. And we may reasonably conclude that they diligently and success

fully improved the time and means which they enjoyed. They knew that they were to be the depositaries of all the knowledge and attainments of past ages, and to become the instructors of future generations. They were familiar with the cities, edifices, and other productions of the old world. The ark itself was many years in building before their eyes. They lived together a year within its capacious bosom, where they had the finest opportunity possible for the study of zoology; and next to Adam they were probably better versed in that department of natural science than any other mortals have ever been..... But let us return to the mountains of Armenia, and see the little remnant of the human family issuing from the ark, and commencing a new career, in which probably not a vestige remained to awaken melancholy recollections or tender associations-not a relic of that grandeur and magnificence on which they had formerly gazed with admiration, or contemplated with sentiments of unutterable compassion in view of that awful catastrophe which they saw would speedily overwhelm their vain and guilty possessors. How long the ark itself continued as a monument of art, or a memorial of divine vengeance or divine mercy, or as a model of great design and exquisite skill in architecture, whether for ship-building and naval enterprise, or for temples, towers, public or private edifices, Moses has not told us, and tradition is not worth regarding. Noah, we are informed, became a husbandman. He began the world (as the phrase is) as Adam and his sons had done before him, by cultivating the earth. Here there is no approach to savage life.'

21. He drank the wine, and was drunken.'—It is impossible not to respect the feeling which has led some interpreters of Scripture to assume that Noah was ignorant of the potent qualities of the fermented juice of the grape, and that he was surprised by an intoxication which no previous observation had led him to dread or to expect. Is it probable that in the long ages before the Deluge, accident had never disclosed the quality of fermented vegetable juices, which it so soon afterwards made known to him? Besides, does not the act of planting a vineyard, imply this previous knowledge, and indicate an intention to make wine. Men may plant some vines for the sake of eating grapes or sherbets; but vineyards have never been planted for any other purpose than to make wine with the fruit. Just as we plant orchards only when we intend to make cider, and for any purpose of lesser delectation are content with a few apple-trees in our gardens.

Excellent wine is still made in the district of Ararat in Armenia, and vineyards are abundant. Whether the vine grows wild in Armenia, the writer of this note could not determine, having traversed the country in winter. It probably does; for in a previous autumn he had gathered very small but good grapes from wild vines, growing on the banks of unfrequented streams in the neighbouring country of Georgia.

CHAPTER X.

1 The generations of Noah. 2 The sons of Japheth. 6 The sons of Ham. 8 Nimrod the first monarch. 21 The sons of Shem.

Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth and unto them were sons born after the flood.

2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

11 Chron. 1.5

4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. 8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

1 Chron. 1. 8.

9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.

:

10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and 'the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.

13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistin,) and Caphtorim. 15¶ And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,

16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto 'Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

20 These are the sons of Ham, after their 3 Gr. Babylon.

4 Or, he went out into Assyria. 81 Chron. 1. 17.

families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

21 ¶ Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.

22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and 'Arphaxad, and Lud, and Áram. 23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

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24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.

25 "And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, 28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, 29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest, unto Sephar a mount of the east.

31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

9 Heb. Arpachshad.

Verse 1. The generations.'-The list of names contained in this chapter, barren as it may seem to common readers, is to those who search into the origin and antiquities of nations, an ancient fragment of the deepest interest, which claims and has obtained the most profound and anxious consideration. The learned Bochart, in his Phaleg, brought to bear on the subject all the resources of his consummate tact and vast erudition; and his labours left comparatively little for others to accomplish. Later inquirers have corrected some errors into which he fell, have amended some of his details, and in some cases have suggested better alternatives; but the questions suggested in this chapter remain substantially as settled by him. The latest writer on the subject is Dr. J. Pye Smith, in the article 'NATIONS, DISPERSION OF,' in the Cyclop. of Bibl. Literature. This article contains an enumeration, with the best authenticated identifications, of the nations named in this chapter; and, to save the space which a multitude of separate notes on every name would occupy, we shall presently insert this enumeration in a somewhat condensed form. It is, of course, based upon Bochart, but incorporates such of the improvements suggested by Michaelis, Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Robinson, and Baumgarten, as approve themselves to the judgment of the learned writer.

Before proceeding to this list, it should be understood, 1. That the enumeration comprises only nations existing in the time of Moses, and probably of them only such as were more conspicuous, as more or less connected with the history of the Israelites. 2. It does not appear that the enumeration is complete even as regards the nations existing in the time of Moses. Of each of the sons of Noah it gives the sons, but their sons (Noah's grandsons) it is

manifest that all are not mentioned: and we have no means of ascertaining how many are omitted. Thus of the sons of Japhet, the line is pursued only in Gomer and Javan; Magog, Madai, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras, are dropped without any mention of their issue. Ham had four sons, of three of these the sons, or rather clannish or national descendants, are specified; but to Phut, the fourth, no posterity is assigned. Shem had five sons, but the descendants of only two of them are recorded. It cannot be supposed that those whose sequence is cut off, died without children; for we have evidence that nations of great historical importance may be traced up to them. 3. The immediate descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, are, except in the instance of Nimrod and a few more, some of which are doubtful, given by names not personal, but designative of tribes or nations, or their countries. Thus all those terminating in the plural im, and those specified by the Gentilian adjective, the Jebusite, the Hivite, etc.

The following is the enumeration here referred to, with identifications embodying the results of great research, the particulars of which may be seen in the works of the authors already named :

I. Sons of JAPHETH, the Iapetus of the Greeks.

i. Gomer. This name is traced in the Kimmerii of Homer and Herodotus; the Gomares (Touapeîs, Josephus, Antiq. i. 6), whence Kelts, Gauls, Galatians; the Kymry; all the Celtic and Iberian tribes, Welsh, Gaelic, Irish, Breton; the Cimmerian Bosphorus, Crimea.

Sons of Gomer:

1. Ashkenaz. Axeni, inhabitants of the southern coasts of the Euxine Sea, where we find a country Askania, and a river Askanius, and a large part of Armenia; the Basques