Notes, Critical and Explanatory, on the Holy Scriptures

Magog is the ancestor of the inhabitants of Great Tartary, whom the Arabians thus designate.

Madai was father of the Medes.

A city called Maxaca, probably from Mosoch, was in the country of the Cappadocians, in the days of Josephus. The inhabitants of the mountains between Iberia, Armenia, and Colchis, also bore a similar name. Louis Capell numbers the Muscovites among his descendants.

Thiras was father of the Thracians, who formerly occupied a country for north of the present Thrace. Capell conjectures that Troy and the Trojans derived their name from him.

Thogorma was father of a nation to the north of Judes, famous for bringing horses and mules to Tyre. £sek. 27 : 14. Some take it to be Armenia: others Turcoman i a. The Georgians, Mingreliana. and Caucasians may be traced to him. Capell derives the Turks from the same source.

Cetthim seems to have been the ancestors of the Macedonians, who went also styled MacceUe. The inhabitants of the islands and of Italy were from the same source. The plural form of the name indi- cates the descendants, rather than the head of the race.

Canaan gave his name to the land so celebrated in Scripture. n Saba was father of the Sabeans, who inhabited a part of Arabia celebrated for incense.

Hevila, with bis descendants, peopled a place which bore his name in Southern Arabia. Strabo mentions Chaulateans in Arabia, who were probably descendants of Hevila.

Sabatha may have given occasion to the name of the town Suphta, mentioned by Ptolemy, on the road from the gulf of the Gerrheans to Arabia Desert.

Regma is thought by Michaclis to have given name to a city in Arabia Felix.

Sabatacha, according to Bochart passed into Carmania; whilst others think that the inhabitants of the eastern coast of Ethiopia are his descendants. Tj Saba and Dadan left descendants in Arabia. Saba. Reema, and Dadan, are all mentioned by Eze- kiel 27 : 22, and must have been well known in his timu. The inhabitants of the isle Dadan, in the Persian Gulf, are descended from Dadan.

Babylon, on the Euphrates, in the land of Sennaar, in the southern part of Mesopotamia (probably the site of the tower of Babel), was the seat of his empire.

Arach (Edessa), Achad (Nisibis), and Chalanne (Seleucia, or Ctesiphon), were cities of his empire.

From Sennaar, Assur, son of Sam, went forth, and built Ninive, Rechobot-ir, Chale, and Resen.

Ninive was on the western bank of the Tigris, according to Pliny. It was called from Ninos. Many think that Assur in this passage Is not the name of a man, but marks the place to which Nlnus went forth. The foundation of a city is, however, sometimes ascribed to one who augments it considerably.

Bochart. conjectures that Resen is Larissa, a great city, eight miles in circumference, spoken of by Xenophon, the prefix S being sometimes added to the name, as llala is called Lahela. Several cities in Mesopotamia likewise bore names approaching that of Resina: amongst others Rhesiua, an episcopal see, subject to the Patriarch of Antioch.

The Phetrusim were inhabitants of a considerable province of Egypt, probably of Thebais, wherein Paturis, or Pathurites, is mentioned by Pliny and Ptolemy.

Tho Chasluim are placed by seme in Lower Egypt.

The Caphtorim are elsewhere said to be the stock from which the Philistines sprang; so that some conjecture that there is a transposition in the latter part of the verse. Michael is supposes Cyprus to be meant.

Sidon, the firstborn of Canaan, founded the famous city which bears his name.

The cities pointed out with such precision as the limits of the land in which the descendants of Canaan settled, are known, excepting Lesa, which, however, St. Jerome takes to be Calirrlide. Moses, by marking so distinctly tbe limits of these early settlements, furnished evidence, which at that time could be examined without much difficulty, and pointed out a great portion of th&t land which the Israelites were to possess.

Heber signifies beyond. Tho children of Heber are the people who dwelt beyond the Euphrates. 64 1 Par. 1 : 17. Sem was the elder brother of Japheth. Bush acknowledges that P. is incorrect :*"Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder." w Elam, son of Sem, was father of tbe Elamites, who inhabited the country adjacent to Media. w Assur gave his name to Assyria. As from v. 2 we gather that Nimrod was the founder of Nineve, the capital of Assyria, we must suppose that he had dispossessed Assur of his land, which, nevertheless, continued to be called by his name, probably because he subsequently recovered it. Assyria, which is also called Atyria, and Adiabene, was bounded on the north by a part of Armenia' and Media, on the east by another part of Media, on the south by Babylon, and on the west by Mesopotamia, from which the Tigris separates it. The empire embraced Medes, Persians, Babylonians, Arabians, Armenians, Syrians, and the people of Mesopotamia.

Elmodad, son of Jectan, w& father of a tribe in Arabia Felix , and Saleph of the Salaphenes mentioned by Ptolemy.

Uzal is the capital of the kingdom of Alseiman, in Arabia Felix.

Decla, in Assyria, may have been called from Dikla.

Ophir is thought to have settled in India. Some fix his descendants on the isthmus between Pons Euxinus and the Caspian Sea.

Hevila appears to have settled in Arabia.