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a substitute for it , a chronological account of the genealogy of Shem . In the record of Jehovah , a geographical sketch of Abraham ' s posterity , by Hagar and Keturah , is introduced
between the life of Abraham and the history of Isaac ; see ch . xxv . 1 —6 and 12—14 ; whereas that under the name of . Elohira , defers the account of the flood until it has given a genealogical and chronological account of the antediluvian world from Seth downwards :
see ch . v . It appears further to have been a point of some consequence with the author of the record of Jehovah , to trace the history of inventions : thus he enumerates prior to the deluge , the rise of agriculture and rearing cattle , the invention of music and the art of
extracting inetals from their ores ; which ultimately , led to the fabrication of deadly weapons in the family of Lamech ; see ch . iv . 17—24 : again , the same record notices , as subsequent
occurrences to the flood , the origin of planting vineyards , ch . ix . 20—2 7 ; of following the chase , ch . x . 8 , 9 ; of erecting pj r ramids , and even of speaking different languages , ch . xu 1—9 , &c . &c .
The chief object of the record bearing the name of Elohim , appears to be that of relating the family history of the Israelites . Hence it traces the posterity of Adam down to Abraham , both before and after the flood , in that
particular line only which was more immediately connected with Abraham ; namely , in the former case from Seth , and in the latter from Shem ; giving but a very cursory sketch of the
relations of Abraham , ch . xi . 2 / , et seq . - y an 4 that too , on the sole ground of Isaac and Jacob becoming" in the sequel more intimately related to them by intermarriage .
The , record under the name of Jehovah inserts , as often as possible , fragments of poetry , those earliest historical documents of all nations . Thus it contains the beautiful address of Lamech to his wives , on the invention of the sword in hia family , ch . iv . 23 , 24 ; further , the coimmencement of an
apostrophe on Nimrod , ch . x . 9 the curse or Noah , as a supplement to the previous account ot the origin of planting vineyards , ch . ix . 25—27 ; the oracle respecting the birth of Esau
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and Jacob , ch . xxv , 23 ; and , to particularize one beautiful instance more , ' ' the parting blessing of Jacob to his sons , ch , xlix . - The author of the same record
seems also to have partaken of that fondness , so common to ancient writers , of giving etymological explanations of names . Accordingly we find him explaining in a similar manner the names of Cain , ch . iv . 1 ; of Babel ,
ch . xi . 9 ; and of Noah , ch . v . 29 , &c . Nay , in all probability , his predilection for such explanations led him , in certain cases , to give an etymological colouring to the whole narrative , a circumstance which cannot fail to
render it proportionately obscure to us ; e . g ., ch . iv . 26 , comp . ch . vi . 1 , 2 . At the same time , it must be owned that the author of the record of Elohim occasionally displays a similar fondness , as may be seen in his accounts of the different births which
took place in the house of Jacob , ch . xxx . ; although it must also be remarked , that his etymological attempts do not reach higher than the flood , or even beyond the time of Abraham .
For the rest , it is utterly impossible , at present , possessed as we are of both records in . a mutilated state only , and in an order very different from that in which they were " originally drawn up , to pronounce with full
certainty on the object which guided the views of each writer , a point which can , for the most jpart , be best ascertained by an examination of complete passages and the narratives of particular facts . Nevertheless , as the
compiler of both reeords in the Book of Genesis uniformly n-dqpts that as the basis of his work Which is the most copious , availing himself of the other in cases only where something may have been omitted in the former , and only inserts both when they
appear at variance with each other , we may , with some degree of Certainty , speak as to the brevity or prolixity of each , in particular narratives . Accordingly ,, we in ^ y safe ly assume that in the recojed bearing the name of Jehovah , the lives of Abraham and
Isaac were more circumstantially , but , on the other hand , tho 3 e of Jacob and Joseph more bri p fiy detgit&l than in the record of Elohim . ' . " . Agreeably to
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616 Eichhorn ' s Account of-the Book of Genesis .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1822, page 616, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2517/page/32/
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