Researches Antediluvian, Patriarchal and Historical Concerning the Way in Which Men First Acquired Their Knowledge of God and Religion (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1836. Excerpt: ... after the Flood, by Noah and his descendants, and were in force at the memorable dispersion of mankind which took place on the plain of Shinar, and for one or two centuries afterwards, they may be said to have constituted also the preceptive and prohibitory part of the body of divinity of the Church of Noah or of the patriarchal world. Hence they are handed down to us under two different names. Some of the ancient Jewish Commentators alluded to, call them the statutes of Adam, considering them to have been given by God to Adam; and others call them the precepts of the Sons of Noah, considering that Noah carried them over the waters of the flood, and that he delivered them to his children for their observance, and that these delivered them for the like purpose to the new world. Our Divines, when they speak of them generally give them the latter title; but they are not known in the Scriptures by either of these names. The learned Ellis, before quoted, notices them thus. "For as to the universal, equally common law of mankind p. 443, the Jews never were of any other opinion; but as often as they had occasion to mention it, their usual expression was "they were commanded to the Sons of Noah, that is, the whole race of men, and the first man, Adam, received them from God. For they held, that certain natural laws were, immediately after the creation, declared and commanded to men, which, from divine authority became of perpetual obligation; whence the paraphrase of Onkelos on those portions of holy writ, where Enoch and Noah are said to have walked with God, expresses it, that they walked in the fear of the Lord; and thus they became righteous, because they kept the precepts which were appointed as early as our nature and propagated through all mankind: hence t...