ON DIVERS

Paffages of Scripture.

Placing many of them in a Light altogether new; Afcertaining the Meaning of feveral not determinable by the Methods commonly made ufe of by the Learned;

Propofing to Confideration probable Conjectures on others, different from what have been hitherto recommended to the Attention of the Curious;

And more amply illustrating the Reft than has been yet done, by Means of Circumstances incidentally mentioned

IN BOOKS OF

VOYAGES AND TRAVELS INTO THE EAST:

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I, RELATING TO

I. The Weather of JUDEA.

II. Their Living in Tents there.

III. It's Houses and Cities.

IV. The Diet of it's Inhabitants, &c.

V. Their Manner of Travelling.

THE SECOND EDITION,

Corrected with Care, and enlarged with many new Obfervations: Numbers of them taken from fome MS. Papers of the celebrated SIR JOHN CHAR DIN.

Impellimur autem Naturâ, ut prodeffe velimus quamplurimis imprimifque docendo, Itaque non facile eft invenire, qui quod fciat ipfe, non tradat alţeri. Cic. de fin. lib. iii.

LONDON:

Printed for J. JOHNSON, No. 72, St. Paul's Church-yard.

M DCC LXXVI.

L

EARNED men have often employed themfelves in noting down places of the Greek Claffics, which they have thought explanatory of paffages of Scripture, and many volumes of obfervations of this kind have been published to the world, from whence fucceeding commentators have taken them, and placed them in their writings; but modern books of Travels and Voyages, which, if carefully perufed, will afford as many obfervations, as curious, and as useful, have not, I think, been treated after this manner. An attempt then of the kind, which appears in these papers, is, fo far as I know, new, and as fuch will, I hope, be received by the public with approbation, or at leaft with candor.

I do not mean in fpeaking this to fay, that no one of the numerous writers of Travels into the Eaft ever obferved the conformity between fome of their prefent customs, and certain correfponding paffages of Scripture - It has been done moft certainly, and the refemblance has been fo Ariking, and the thing fo curious, that they could not in fome cases well avoid taking notice of it; but what I mean is, that no one, that I know of, has fet himself purpofely and at large, after the manner of those that have publifhed observations on the ancient Greek writers, to remark these refemblances: an infinite number almoft, of very amufing and inftructive particulars are taken no notice of; and thofe few that are mentioned are, in a manner, loft amidst a crowd of other matters.

Accounts of countries, very remote from those that were the scene of thofe tranfactions which are recorded in the Bible, may pour fome light over particular paffages of Scripture, in the fame way, as Buchanan's relation of the manners of the