racle at Ba

bel, and the

confufion of tongues.

we will confider the miracle at Babel, and to the Mienquire into the language of the world at that time, Allowing, as you have proved in our late converfation, that the language after the flood was quite another thing from that used in Paradife, and of confequence, that Mofes did not write in that tongue which Adam and Eve converfed in; nor is Hebrew of that primevity which some great men affirm; ́yet, if there was a confufion of tongues at Babel, and many languages were fpoken in the earth in the days of Abraham, then, how did he and his fons converfe fo eafily with the various nations they paffed through, and had occafional connexions with? For my part, I think with Mr. Hutchinson, that the divine interpofition at Babel was for quite another end, to wit, to confound their confeffion, and caft out of their minds the name or object of it, that a man might not listen to the lip or confeffion of his neighbour. They were made to lofe their own lip, and to differ about the 'words of their atheistical confeffion.

As to a confufion of confeffions (Mifs Noel replied), it appears to me to be a notion without any foundation to reft on. The argument of Hutchinson that the word Shepbab, the name for a lip, when used for the voice or speech, is never once in the Bible used in any other fenfe than for confeffion, is

not

The

of are not in

not good; because though Shephah is often generally used for religious difcourfe, or confeffion; yet the phrafes, other lips and other tongues, are also used for other languages, utterances, pronunciations, dialects. St. Paul, I Cor. xiv. 21, 22. applies Shephah to language or dialect in his quotation from the prophet Ifaiah, ch. xxviii. ver. 11, 12.—He fays, in the law it is written, With * MEN OF words men other tongues or other lips will I speak unto this the Greek. people, and yet for all that, they will not hear me:-And the words of the prophet are, fpeaking of Chrift promifed; with flammering lips, and another tongue will he speak to this people. It is evident from this, that the Hebrew word Shephah here fignifies tongues or languages, and not confeffions or difcourfe: So the apostle applies it, and explains the prophet: and by ftammering lips, Ijaiah means the uncouth pronunciations of barbarous dialects, or languages of the nations, which muft produce in ftrangers to them ridiculous lips or mouths; and in this he refers undoubtedly to the flammering and strange sounds, at the Babel confufion; when God, by a miracle and vifible exhibition, diforted their organs of fpeech, and gave them

trembling befiation, and precipitancy, as to vocal and other powers: In fhort, the miraculous gift of tongues would in fome meafure affect the faints, in refpect of pronuncia

tion,

tion, as the miracle of Babel did the people of that place (6). Nor is this the only place

in

(6) To this ftammering or uncouth pronunciation of barbarous dialects the prophet Ezekiel refers, xxxvi. 3. Ye are made to come upon the lip of the tongues: that is, Ye are become a by-word even in the heathen gabbie, among the babling nations where ye are in captivity. -The author of Letter and Spirit fays, the word barbarous, used in fo many languages (with only their respective different determinations) for perfons of frange or foreign tongues, is a monument of the great confufion at Babel; this word being a corruption of the reduplicate Chaldee word Balbel, by changing the 1 in each place into r.Some fay, the word in the other languages, is derived from the Arabic Barbar, to murmur like fome beaft.Scaliger defines it, Pronunciatio vitiofa & infuavis, literafque male exprimens, blæforum balborumque more: which was hitting upon the truth as to part of the original manner of the confufion. Indeed Blafus and Balbus, in Latin, are both derived, in like manner, from Bal, and Balbel.The Welf has preferved a noble word for this barbarifm of confufed language in their compounded term Baldwridd; which is a plain compound of the Hebrew Bal, and Dahar; without any other deflection from the original Hebrew, than that of changing the b in the latter member of the word (Dabar) into the Welch w, a letter of the fame organ. Moreover from their faid Baldwridd, and Das, we again derive our Balderdash; which therefore fignifies strictly-A heap of confufed, or barbarous words, like thofe of the gabble of dialects, originally gendered at Babel. See Letter and Spirit (ch. 11.) by Mr. Holloway, a Hutchinfonian. It is very remarkable, that this learned gentleman fays, he had been long of Hutchinson's mind, as to a confufion of confeffions, and not of tongues; but on weighing the matter, is now of another opinion: p. 115.

There

in fcripture where Shephah, lip, fignifies language, pronunciations, and dialects; and where there is reference to the confufion of tongues at Babel: Ifaiah fpeaking of the privileges of the godly, fays,-Thou shalt not fee a fierce people, of a deeper speech than thou canft perceive, (of a deeper lip than thou canst bear, Heb.) of a flammering or ridiculous tongue, that thou canst not understand. This is enough in answer to Mr. Hutchinson and his fautors, in refpect of what they fay on the confufion at Babel. This proves that the word Shephah, lip, fignifies language, utterance, dialect, as well as confeffion, or dif courfe and therefore Mofes, in his account of the miracle at Babel, might have meant a confufion of languages. That he did mean this, is plain not only from a tradition gone out into all the earth, which is a matter of greater regard than Mr. Hutchinson's fan

Therefore, Hutchinson not infallible: out for once and, as Dr. Sharp well obferves, this may be an earneft of deferting Hutchinfon in other points of his new hypothefis. See Dr. Sharp's two difcourfes on the Hebrew tongue and character against Mr. Holloway.-His two dif courses on Elohim, and defence.-And his three dif courses on Cherubim.The Hutchinfonians lay the ftrefs of their hypothefis on the Biblical Hebrew being the language of Adam in Paradife: And if this be taken from them, they are left in a poor way.

cy;

cy; but because the facred oracles allude to this event. Befide St. Paul afore-mentioned, the royal prophet in Pfalm lv. ver. 9. refers to the means of the divifion of tongues, and denounces a curfe in terms taken from that inflicted at Babel. Swallow up, O Lord, and divide their tongues. This feems to describe the manner of that confufion; that the fubftance of the one language was funk or fwallowed up in a vaft chaos of universal babble; and that out of that jargon, it was again (by another act) divided or broken into many particular diffonant dialects, or tongues.

All this (I faid) is very juft, and gives me delight and fatisfaction. I am now convinced, not only that Hebrew was not the language of Paradife, or that Adam did not fpeak the tongue, the old world used immediately before the confufion at Babel; but likewife, that the divifion there was a divifion and confufion of the one language then spoken; and not a confufion of confeffions, as Mr. Hutchinfon affirms. Inform me, however, if you pleafe, what you mean by that tradition you mentioned, which declared the miracle of Babel was a confufion of languages.

The Jews tradition (replied Mifs Noel) is preferved in their Targum, and tells us, that the whole earth after the flood was of one peech, or fort of words; and when at their firft remove from Ararat, they came to Shinar, they confulted to build them a city, F

and