chap. 40, anExpoftion upon the Book of Jos. Verf. 23. 649_ breath much longer. For though ( faith he, alleadging iriffotle for it ) as the Sea-calf, the Crocodile andSea thell -;ïfh , fo alto Ltb.s.deHt- the Hippopotasve will be fuffocated in the water at Jail, unlefs he floria Animal. take fome breathing times; yet 'cis certain, he can hold his breach Cal)' 2' a long time, abiding (not being able to fwim) whole dayes at the bottom of T,jlsa, creeping or lying upon the ouze, tili,night ap- proaching, he goeth out to feed. The nature of this animal being fuch as bath bean defcribed, the tranflation in hand anf viers it clearly. Yet, feeing there are other tranflations of this 23d verfe, left us byvery learned men, and skilful in the Hebrew tongue, which may well comply with the nature of the Elephant, it cannot fa- vour of pertinacy, to give them fo much refpe6t as to lay them before the Reader, and leave him to his own c_ hoice in this mat- ter. And, Eirff, Let us confider that in which Bocbartue joynes chofe four Worthies, Pagnine,Arias,cMercerandJunius, whole tranflation Preait avtéa runsthus ; He checksa River, fo that it haftneth not; be is conf- ireutnonfe- dent that hecan draw out Jordan intohis mouth. Here indeed are jliner,confidit great Hyperbolies.'Tishigh language, to fay, an Elephant by is- quod 7orda- terpoting his body like a bank, can fiay the courfe of a River, or nem educetno [wallow it down at adraught; yet it would be no hard labour to °Sf' thew that the Scripture bath many expreilions in is of as high a firain as this. We read of Cities walled and fenced up to heaven (Deist. 9. 1.) And the Evangeli(i John fuppofeth (Chap, 2/. 25.) that if all things whichJefus Chrif did in the dayes of his flefh, here on earth,thould be written, that even the world it felf could not contain the book's which (horrid be written. But I Chaff not fray upon this,nor (loth the learned 21ochartus infiti upon it : he could admit the Hyperbolies in that tranflation, if the tran- flation it fell were confifient with the HebrewText, in reference to which he takes five exceptions againfi that tranflation; to every one of which I fhall only give my apprehenfion, and fo pafs on. The firfi is, That the Authors of this tranflation, fuppofe the Hebrewword for River, and that for ordan, to be of the accufa- cive Cafe (as Grammarians fpeak) whereas in the Original, they have no note of the accufative Cafe prefixed. bmay fay to that, The note of the accufative Cafe is not alwayesprefixt, where the O000 word
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