foundation to rest on. The argument of Hutchinson that the word' shephah,' the name for a lip, when used for the voice or speech, is never once in the Bible used in any other sense than for confession, is not good; because, though shephah' is often generally used for religious discourse or confession, yet the phrases, other lips' and other tongues,' are also used for other languages, utterances, pronunciations, dialects.' St. Paul, 1. Corinthians, ch. 14. v. 21. 22. applies shephah to language or dialect, in his quotation from the prophet Isaiah, ch. 28. v. 11, 12. He says, in the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people, and yet for all that they will not hear me.' And the words of the prophet are, speaking of Christ promised; with stammering lips, and another tongue will he speak to this people.' It is evident from this, that the Hebrew word shephah here signifies tongues or languages, and not confessions or discourse. So the apostle applies it, and explains the prophet: and by stammering lips,' Isaiah means the uncouth pronunciations of barbarous dialects,' or languages of the nations, which must produce in strangers to them ridiculous lips or mouths; and in this he refers undoubtedly to the

* The words men of are not in the Greek.

stammering and strange sounds at the Babel confusion, when God, by a miracle and visible exhibition, distorted their organs of speech, and gave them a trembling, hesitation and precipitancy, as to vocal and other powers. In short, the miraculous gift of tongues would in some measure affect the saints, in respect of pronunciation, as the Miracle of Babel did the people of that place. Nor is this the only

To this stammering or uncouth pronunciation of barbarous dialects the prophet Ezekiel refers, chap. 36. v. 3. "Ye are made to come upon the lip of the tongues:" that is, ye are become a bye-word even in the heathen gabble, among the babbling nations where ye are in captivity. Holloway, the author of Letter and Spirit, says, the word barbarous, used in so many languages, (with only their respective different determinations) for persons of strange or foreign tongues, is a monument of the great confusion at Babel; this word being a corruption of the reduplicate Chaldee word Balbel, by changing the in each place into r. Some say, the word in the other languages is derived from the Arabic Barbar, to " murmur like some beast." Scaliger defines it, Pronunciatio vitiosa et insuavis, literasque male exprimens, blæsorum balborumque more: which was hitting upon the truth as to part of the original manner of the confusion. Indeed Blasus and Balbus, in Latin, are both derived in like manner from Bal and Ballel. The Welsh have preserved a noble word for this barbarism of confused language in their compounded

place in Scripture where shephah, lip, signifies language, pronunciations, and dialects; and where there is reference to the confusion of tongues at Babel, Isaiah, speaking of the privileges of the godly, says, Thou shalt not see a fierce people, of a

term Baldwridd; which is a plain compound of the Hebrew Bal, and Dabar, without any other deflection from the original Hebrew, than that of changing the b in the latter member of the word Dabar into the Welsh w, a letter of the same organ. Moreover, from their said Baldwridd, and Das, we again derive our Balderdash ; which therefore signifies strictly, a heap of confused or barbarous words, like those of the gabble of dialects, originally gendered at Babel. See Letter and Spirit, ch. 11. It is very remarkable, that this learned gentleman says he had been long of Hutchinson's mind, as to a confusion of confessions, and not of tongues; but on weighing the matter, is now of another opinion. Ibid. p. 115. Therefore, Hutchinson not infallible, but out for once, and as Dr. Sharp well observes, this may be an earnest of deserting Hutchinson in other points of his new hypothesis. See Dr. Sharp's Two Discourses on the Hebrew Tongue and Character against Holloway. His Two Discourses on Elohim, and Defence. And his Three Discourses on Cherubim. The Hutchinsonians lay the stress of their hypothesis on the Biblical Hebrew, being the language of Adam in Paradise; and if this be taken from them, they are left in a poor way indeed.

deeper speech than thou canst perceive, (of a deeper lip than thou canst hear, Heb.) of a stammering or ridiculous tongue, that thou canst not understand. This is enough in answer to Hutchinson and his fautors, in respect of what they say on the confusion at Babel. This proves that the word shephah, lip signifies language, utterance, dialect, as well as confession or discourse; and therefore, Moses, in his account of the Miracle at Babel, might have mean'd a confusion 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 Hutchinson's fancy; but because the sacred oracles allude to this event. Beside St. Paul aforementioned, the royal prophet in Psalm lv. ver. 9. refers to the means of the division of tongues, and denounces a curse in terms taken from that inflicted at Babel. Swallow up, O Lord, and divide their tongues.' This seems to describe the manner of that confusion; that the substance of the one language was sunk or swallowed up in a vast chaos of universal babble; and that out of that jargon it was again, by another act, divided or broken into many particular dissonant dialects, or tongues."

“All this,” I said, “ is very just, and gives me delight and satisfaction. I am now convinced, not only that Hebrew was not the language of Paradise,

VOL. I.

F

or that Adam did not speak the tongue the old world used immediately before the confusion at Babel; but likewise, that the division there was a division and confusion of the one language then spoken; and not a confusion of confessions, as Hutchinson affirms. Inform me, however, if you please, what you mean by that tradition you mentioned, which declared the Miracle of Babel to be a confusion of languages."

"The Jews' tradition," replied Miss NOEL, "is preserved in their Targum, and tells us, that the whole earth, after the flood, was of one speech, or sort of words, and when at their first remove from Ararat, they came to Shinar, they consulted to build them a city, and a tower for a house of adoration, whose head might reach to, or be towards the heavens, and to place an image of the host of heaven for an object of worship on the top of it; and to put a sword in his hand, that he might make war for them against the divine armies, to prevent their dispersion over the whole earth. Whereupon the word of the Lord was revealed from Heaven, to execute vengeance upon them, and the Lord corrupted their tongue, broke their speech into seventy languages, and scattered them over the face of the whole earth. No one knew what his fellow said; and they slew one another, and ceased from build