merous. Arheiſtical Wirs cavil at this Story, and pretend it im- poſhble that out of ſeventy perſons ſhould come above fix hundred thouſand men within two hundred and fifteen years : Wherein they betray no leſs Ignorance than Impiety. For to ſay nothing of the Extraordinary Fruitfulneis of /the Women in EZgypr, who oft brings forth four or five Children at one birth, as Ariſe. notes Hi. animal. 7: 4. nor of the long lives of the Men of thar age, nor of the pr of Wives then much in uſe, nor of the ſingular blefling of Gzod upon the Hebrews in giving them Conceptionsand | Births without Abortion ? all whichare bur very reaſonable fuppo- fitions, the probability of ic may plainly appear thus ; Suppoſe thiere were only 200 years reckoned, and only fifty perſons who did be- get Children, and theſe begin nor to beget betore they be twenty years old, and then each ot them beger only three Children. Dj- vide this time now into ten times twenty years. In the firſt time, of 50 come 150. In the ſecond, of 150 come 450: Of them in
| che third, come 1352, Of w__ in the fourth 4050,
£ theſe in the
— Chap. L
13:1% :;
32. A&:7.16,
5a: odtbne Sales
) All that were of the ſame age with Joſeph and his | 7 (* And the children of Iſrael were fruitful, and , as exceeding mighty g, and the land was filled with
ſtzrution, ro note that their off-{pring was Strong as well as Nu
of
12. 1-4 *-,
* Chap. I. Sa? TE bY ; 4 Of theſe in the ſixth 36450. Of themin the ſevent — Of _ in the eighth 328050. Of theſe 1n the _ | 984150. And of them in the tenth 2952450. If at be object-d, That we read nothing of their great multiplication, till after J0- | ſeph's death, which ſome ſay was not above 50 years before heir go- ing 'out of Egypt, it may beealily replyed ; 1. This is a great miſta E, ' for there were above 1140 Years between Foſeph s death and their go- ing out of Egypt, as may appear thus : Ir is granted that the Iſraelites 1 _ werein Egypt about 210 or 215 years 1N all. They came not thither till Joſeph was near 40 Years old, as is evident by comparing Gen. oo 46. with Gen:45. 6.50 there reſts only 70 years of Joſep#'s lite, wh-ch are the firſt part of the time of [/raz! s dwelling in Egypt, and theie remains 145 years, being the other part of the 215 years. 2. That the Iſ-aclites did multiply much befo:e Joſephs deat, though Scrip- ture be ſilentin it, as it is of many other paſſages confeliedly true, cannot be reaſonably doubred. Bur if there was any defe& in the Numbers propoſed in the firſt 55 years, 1t might be abundantly compenſated in the 145 years ſucceeding. And 1othe computation remains good.
$ Now there aroſe up a new king g over Egypt, which knew h not Joſeph. _
g (#.e. ) Another King ; one of another Diſpolition, or Inte- reſt, or Family ; for the Kingdom of Ezypr did off. paſs irom one Family to another, as appears from tne Hiſtory of the Dynaſtes re- corded in ancient Writers. h Or, acknowleaged not the valit obliga-
* tions which Joſeph had laid not only upon the Kingdoms of Egypr, ' and the king under whom Joſeph lived, but upon all his Succeflors, in regard of thoſe vaſt additions of Wealth and Power, which he had made to that Crown. This phraſe notes his ungrat-ful diſown- ing,' and ill requiting of Joſeph's Favours. For words, of Know- ledge in Scripture commonly include the affetions and ations; as men are oft ſaid not to know God, when they do not love nor ſerve him ; and God is faid not to know men, when he doth not
SD love them. | FPfal:ios 'g, And he ſaid unto his people, * Behold, the people 24- of the children of Iſrael are more and mightier than : we z.
7 This was not a true, but an invidious repreſentation and ag- 90 of the matter, the better to juſtifie the ſeverities which e deſigned.
Io Come on, * let us deal! wiſelie with them leſt they multiplie, and it come to paſs that when. there falleth out any war &, they joyn alſo unto eur ene- mies, and fight againſt us, ard ſo get them up out of the land
k Which was not unuſual in that Countrey. 1 Which they might eaſily learn from ſome of the Hebrews, that they were in due time to do. And they were very unwilling to part with them, becauſe of the tribute and ſervice which they did receive and expect from them.
AQs 7:
+. Ir Therefore they did ſet over them task-maſters -Gen:15: 9 * to afflict » them with their burdens : and they built for Pharaoh treaſure-cities o, Pithom and Ra- amſes. is * n Heb. - Maſters of tribute, who were to exa& from them the tri- bute required, which was both Money and Labour ; that their Pur- ſes might be exauſted by the one, their Strength by the other, and their Spirits by both. » Or, oppreſs, or humble ; to ſpend their - Strength by exceſſive Labours,and ſo diſenable them for the Procrea- tion of Children. o Where they laid the Kings Money, or Corn which is reckoned among Treaſures, 2 Chron: 17: x2. and TY 27. and wherein a great part of the Riches of Zgypr conſiſted ; for they had Corn enough not only for themſelves, but to ſel] to other Countries ; ſo that Egypt was accounted the Granary of the Roman Empire. Or, defenced Cities, in which Gariſons were to be placed which ſeems beſt to agree with the place and uſe of them. F or they were in the borders of the Land, and among the 1ſraclites which appears concerning the one from Gm: 47: 11. ( where the Land in which they were placed is called Rameſes, which in H:brew conſiſts of the ſame Letters, with this Raam/es, and ſeems to be ſo called then by anticipation from the City of that name now builr in it) and may be reaſonably preſumed concerning the other; and therefore it is moſt probable tiiat they were built to keep the Iſ- nary in ſubjeQion, and to hinder them from going our of the and. ;
H 12 + But the more they afflicted them, the more
2. they multiplied p, and grew: and they were grieved
beymul. * becauſe of the children of Iſrael.
lied,&c, p Through God's over-ruling Providence, and ſingular bleſſing which God gave them purpoſely to haſten firſt their ſorer affliction,
and next, and by that means their glorious Deliverance, * Though
envy and fear.
13 And the Egyptians made the children of Iſrael to ſerve with rigour 9.