called Putea; and in Mauritania, into which the possessions of Phut extended, there is mention made, by the same writer, of a river by the name of Phut.* Thus were the families of man scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth. And in this dispersion, we see most evidently the act of an overruling Providence, accomplishing its own purposes. Both Adam, when placed in Paradise, and Noah, when brought out of the ark, God commanded, saying; "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." The last part of the purpose expressed in this command, the impious part of the posterity of Noah would have frustrated but the very act by which they would have frustrated it, is made a means of accomplishing it! The act of an overruling Providence appears as evidently, in the manner of this dispersion, as in the dispersion itself. They are not scattered confusedly, but, as the sacred historian records, and repeats, in reference to each of the three branches of the family of Noah: " every one after his tongue, after their families, and after their nations." The tongues of one branch, although they differed among themselves, bore a nearer resemblance to one another, than to those of another branch. Thus we find the tongues of the branch of Shem, in the east, to agree more with one another than with the tongues of the branch of Japhet, in the west. And this similarity between the tongues of the same branch, or family, would operate as a rule in emigration-companies, both from necessity and choice, locating themselves with other companies, between whose language and their own, there was a similarity, rather than with those, between whose language and their own there was no similarity. Thus we see exemplified what the sacred historian asserts, when he says, "The Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth." * Vide Bocharti Phaleg; Wells' Hist. Geog.; and Paxton's Illustrations. LECTURE VI. COUNTRIES POSSESSED BY NOAH AND HIS THE EMPIRE OF NIMROD. BABYLON.-ERECH.-ACCAD.-CALNEH.-NINEVEH. REHOBOTH.-CALAH.-RESEN. HAVING, in the two preceding lectures, described the Mountain of Ararat,-the Land of Shinar-and the Countries of the Dispersion, we shall, in this lecture, conclude our observations on the Countries possessed by Noah and his immediate descendants, by describing the empire of Nimrod. Nimrod was probably the youngest son of Cush. From the celebrity which he obtained in his day, the sacred historian makes distinct and special mention of him " And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore, it is said, even as Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord." By extraordinary skill in destroying, or driving back into the forests, the beasts of prey which began to overrun the country where he dwelt, and terrify its inhabitants, he acquired considerable influence among his brethren; which either grew up spontaneously into dominion over them, or was employed by him as a means of obtaining it. Possessed of power, from extirpating ravenous beasts, he began to make hostile attacks on men; and he distinguished himself as much as a warrior, as he had done as a hunter. Among his exploits, is his extermination of the family of Arphaxad from the lower part of the land of Shinar. This part of the land of Shinar, in particular, has been characterized as "the most fertile region of the whole east." According to Herodotus,* Strabo, and others, it was so productive of corn, as never to yield less than two hundred fold. And a modern traveller declares, that "there cannot be a doubt, that, if proper means were taken, this country would, with ease, be brought into a high state of cultivation." The fertility of the soil, together with the pleasantness of the country, might have been the inducement to Nimrod to invade and seize upon this region. Having obtained undisputed possession of it, he began to establish an empire in it, which, in after ages, became the mistress among nations. The commencement of his empire, Moses informs us, was the erection of four cities in the land of Shinar; which we shall notice in the order in which he mentions them. The first city erected by Nimrod was BABEL or BABYLON, the same as the city of that name, which was left unfinished, at the time of the dispersion. From the commanding situation of this city, and its desirableness as the capital of his kingdom, Nimrod resolved on occupying and finishing it. The tower bearing the same name, however, he permitted to continue in the state in which he found it, not choosing to expose himself and his new subjects to the wrath of heaven, by the impious attempt to complete it. Nimrod, perhaps, merely completed the unfinished houses of this city, and enclosed them with a wall; or, at most, added so * Herod. lib. i. c. 193. Strabo, lib. xvi. p. 742. Bombay Phil. Trans. vol. i. p. 124. many new ones to them, as would be sufficient for present exigencies. Semiramis, the wife of Ninus, who was the son and successor of Nimrod, enlarged and beautified this city to a considerable extent; but it did not reach the zenith of its glory till the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Thus we find this haughty monarch arrogating to himself the honour of raising this capital to the glory which it had then attained :—" Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty ?" 66 Herodotus, who had visited this city, gives us the following description of it. "It is situated on a large plain, and is a perfect square; each side, by every approach, is, in length, one hundred and twenty furlongs ; the space, therefore, occupied by the whole is four hundred and eighty furlongs. So extensive is the ground which Babylon occupies. Its internal beauty and magnificence exceed whatever has come within my knowledge. It is surrounded with a trench, very wide, deep, and full of water; the wall beyond this is two hundred royal cubits high, and fifty wide. It will not be foreign to my purpose to describe the use to which the earth dug out of the trench was converted, as well as the particular manner in which they constructed the wall. The earth of the trench was first of all laid in heaps, and when a sufficient quantity was obtained, made into square bricks, and baked in a furnace. They used as cement a composition of heated bitumen, which, mixed with the tops of reeds, was placed between every thirtieth course of bricks. Having thus lined the sides of the trench, they proceeded to build the wall in the same manner, on the summit of which, and fronting each other, they erected small watch-towers of one story, leaving a space between them, through which a chariot and four horses might pass and turn. In the circumference of the wall, at different distances, were a hundred massy gates of brass, whose hinges and frames were of the same metal. "The great river Euphrates divides Babylon into two parts. The walls meet and form an angle with the river at each extremity of the town, where a breastwork of burnt bricks begins and is continued along each bank. The city, which abounds in houses of from three to four stories in height, is regularly divided into streets. Through these, which are parallel, there are transverse avenues to the river, opened through the wall and breast-work, and secured by an equal number of little gates of brass. The first wall is regularly fortified; the interior one, though less in substance, is of almost equal strength. Besides these, in the centre of each division of the city, there is a circular space, surrounded with a wall. In one of these, stands the royal palace, which fills a large and strongly defended space. The temple of Jupiter Belus occupies the other, whose huge gates of brass may still be seen." He then gives a description of this temple, and represents it as containing, in statues and other sacred utensils, an immense amount of massy gold.* Besides the works thus described by Herodotus, there were others in this city equally magnificent and splendid. There was a beautiful and magnificent stone bridge over the Euphrates, leading from one part of the city to the other, a furlong in length, and thirty feet in breadth; at each end of which was a splendid palace, communicating with that on the other side, by means of a passage under the bed of the river. There was that prodigious and wonderful effort of imperial wealth and power-the lake which was dug near Sapphira, to the west of the city, to secure it from the dreadful effects of the periodical inundations. This immense artificial bason * Herod. lib. i. c. 178, et seq. |