Our author, in this enquiry, endeavours to make it appear, at least probable, that the Jews and the Samaritans always had letters diftin&t from one another, and always retained them: that the Jews had the fquare letters ab origine; and the Samaritans their characters from the Phoenicians and Affyrians, whofe language and letters, he thinks, were all the fame, or not very different.

He then proceeds to confider the antiquity of the vowel-points and accents.

There have been, as he obferves, many different opinions concerning them. Some think they are of a divine original; and others, that they are of human invention. Some fuppofe that they were first invented by Ben Afher and Ben Naphtali, about the year 1037; others, that they were devised by the Jews of Tiberias, at least five hundred years after Christ, or however were invented after the Talmud was finished; others afcribe them to Ezra, and the men of the great fynagogue; who, they fuppofe, at least revived and restored them, and fixed them to the confonants, which before were only delivered, and used in a traditionary way; and others are of opinion, they were given to Mofes on Mount Sinai, as to the power of them in pronouncing and reading, though not as to the make and figures of them in writing, but were propagated by tradition to the times of Ezra; whilft others believe they were ab origine, and were invented by Adam together with the letters, or however, that they were coeval with the letters, and in ufe as foon as they were. In order to difcover which of thefe accounts is moft probable, this learned writer traces the points step by step, from one period to another, from the time of Ben Asher, A. D. 1037, to the return of Ezra from Babylon; which was, according to bishop Uther, before Chrift, 454 years. In the course of this enquiry he cites the writers which either mention the points, or afford an argument of their exiftence, at the time when they refpectively wrote.

It appears, he thinks, very evidently, from feveral difputes among Jewith grammarians, that the points were in ufe in the eleventh century; and in the tenth, Saadiah Gaon, if we may believe Jarchi, wrote a book concerning pointing. In the church of St. Dominic, in Bononia, a copy of the Hebrew Scriptures is kept with great care, which has the vowel-points, as dean Prideaux and others affirm: Dr. Gill fuppofes it was written about the year 900. The author of the book of Cofri fpeaks with great encomiums of the points and accents; and this work, according to our author, must have been composed before the middle of the eighth century. About the year 500 or 508 the Babylonian Talmud was finished, and though the Talmudifts

Talmudifts do not mention the names, nor express the figures of the vowel-points, yet he thinks they manifeftly suppose them; as when they say, "read not fo, but fo," it is plain, he fays, they have no reference to the confonants, which are the fame one way as another; confequently they must have respect to the difference of the vowel-points, the doctrine of which is the foundation of their remarks. And among other circumftances he obferves, that there is a dispute about giving a reward to those who taught the accents; which could never have been thought of, if the accents had not then exifted.

The Maforah was the work of various perfons in several ages. He fuppofes that it was in being, at least, an hundred years before the Babylonian Talmud; and he obferves, that the remarks of the Maforets not only relate to entire words, letters, or confonants, but also to points and accents.

Jerom flourished about the year 385, and our author affirms, that he often speaks of the Hebrew points and accents. It ap pears alfo, he fays, in feveral inftances in the works of this father, that the punctuation in his time was the fame with the modern punctuation; and it is obferved, that his version of the Pfalms agrees with the pointed text.

In our Review of Purver's Tranflation of the Bible we pro duced the following paffage in Jerom, to difprove the use of the vowel-points in his time: " It matters not, whether it be called Salem or Salim, fince the Hebrews very feldom make use of vowel letters in the middle; and according to the pleasure of readers, and the variety of countries, the fame words are pronounced with different founds and accents."

< Jerom, fays Dr. Gill, is here to be understood either of the matres lectionis ; and it is very true that these are seldom ufed in the facred books of the Hebrews, which makes the use of the vowel-points the more neceffary; and if the matres lectionis were expunged upon the introduction of the points, as is fuggefted by fome, then the points must have been before Jerom's time, and confequently not the invention of the men of Tiberias ; fince it seems the above letters were rarely used in his time as placed between consonants ;—or else he is to be understood of vowel-points going along with letters; and these he might truly fay, were very rarely used, because pointed Bibles in his time were very rare but then he fuppofes fuch were used, though but feldom.'

In this explication of Jerom, our author fuppofes, first, that it is probable, the matres lectionis were expunged upon the introduction of the points; and, fecondly, he obferves, that in the time of Jerom pointed Bibles were very rare. In this cafe he muft either give up the divine authority of the points, or he

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muft

must acknowledge, that thofe Jews, who ventured to mutilate the Bible, and expunge not only fome of the principal letters, but all the vowels, were moft impudent and facrilegious corrupters of the facred text. Nay, we may venture to affirm, that if the vowel points had been ab origine annexed to the letters, no Jew nor Chriftian in the univerfe would have had the temerity to strike them out, or ufe an edition of the Bible caftrated in fuch an enormous manner; and therefore, upon our author's principles, the general reception of unpointed Bibles, in Jewish fynagogues, among people tenacious of every title of the law, is a circumftance which entirely overthrows the divine authority of the punctuation.

Jerom, however, in the place above cited, very evidently alludes to the alphabetic vowels, which, as he obferves, in medio perrarò utuntur Hebræi. His expreffion is LITERIS vocalibus; and if had been pointed by facred authority, he would not have faid, it was no matter whether it was called Salem or Salim. Befides, if the points had been coeval with the letters, he would not have afferted that the pronunciation of Hebrew words was various; nor would he have faid that the accents (if by accents we are to understand certain vifible marks of divine original) were different in different nations. In fhort, this pasfage in St. Jerom feeins inconfiftent with our author's hypothefis.

He proceeds, and obferves, that in a book of Epiphanius against various herefies, written about the year 370, there are feveral quotations exactly agreeing with the prefent pun&uation,

About the year 360, R. Afe is faid to have written a large book concerning the cabaliftic fecrets in the pointing. A. D. 340, lived R, Hillell, the prince, and he is faid to have written a copy of the Bible, with points.

In the beginning of the fourth century, according to Buxtorff, R. Bar Nachmoni wrote the Rabbot, or commentaries on the five books of Mofes; and in these commentaries mention is made of the points and accents.

In the Jerufalem Talmud, which is thought to have been finished in the year 20, the accents are mentioned, the dif tinction of verfes are obferved, and fome remarks are made, from which he infers the existence of the points at that time.

About the fame time Origen compofed his Hexapla; and our author obferves, that the first chapter of Genefis, and other paffages, as given by that writer, perfectly agree with the modern punctuation; and for this agreement, he thinks, we cannot account, without fuppofing that the author had the use of a pointed Bible. In the book of Zohar, the points and ac

cents

cents are exprefsly named; and our author is of opinion, that it was written about the year 120.

In the first century the Targums of Jonathan and Onkelos were written. By fome Jewish commentators Jonathan is obferved, in fome places, to tranflate and paraphrafe according to the points; and Onkelos, fays Dr. Gill, fcarce ever departs from the modern punctuation.

The filence of Philo and Jofephus about the points, is only a proof, he thinks, that they were not a matter of controversy, but no proof of their not being in ufe.

Our Saviour fays, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot, or one tittle, fhall in no wife pass from the law. Here, Dr. Gill obferves, that, as the least letter in the alphabet, yod, is referred to, fo the leaft of the points in ufe, chirek, is alfo; between which and the Greek word nepala, is a great nearness of found, and it feems to be no other than that point made Greek.' This argument he calls unanf.verable. But, first, we can never fuppofe that epaia is only the word chirek made Greek; for it is a common word derived from xspes; and we do not fee how it was poffible for this writer to form fuch a notion, unless he has mistaken the word p, ftridar, for 1, cornu; the first being the name of the Hebrew point, and the other fignifying a born. Secondly, if an allufion to the points had been intended in the place above cited, it is more probable that the word syn would have been ufed. Thirdly, hireq, or chirek, which is a fingle point at a diftance below the line, can with no kind of propriety be called nepara, quæ fignificat corniculum, eminentiam, vel apicem majoris corporis aut figni. We therefore cannot agree with Pifcator, Pafor, Dr. Gill, and others, that our Saviour's words are a proof that the Bible in his time was pointed.

σιγμή

Our author farther obferves, that the biblical names of perfons and places mentioned in the New Teftament, feem to confirm the modern punctuation.

Thirty years before Chrift lived two famous Jewish doctors, Hillell and Shammai, heads of two fects, the Rabbanites and the Karaites. The latter unanimously declare that their copy of the law had the points and accents; and many of the Rabbanites affert, that the points and accents were equally ancient as the letters, The Karaites arofe about the year before Chrift And their fense about the points, is, fays our author, with me an invincible proof of the great antiquity of the points. For from the time that this feet fprang up, it was not poffible for the Pharifees, Rabbanites, Maforetic, or traditionary Jews, to have introduced fuch an invention as that of the vowel-points, but these men would have objected against it.

120.

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The

The book of Bahir expressly mentions the points, and it is fuppofed, that it was written forty years before Chrift.

The date of the Cetibs and Keries, or marginal notes, our author fixes about the year Ant. Chr. 164, and fome of thefe relate to anomalous punctuations.

The Bible was tranflated by the Seventy, two hundred and feventy-feven years before the Christian æra; and Dr. Gill remarks, that the Pentateuch in particular is almost every where tranflated in agreement with the modern punctuation, and that the word Jehovah is rendered xúpios, or eos, agreeably to the points.

He comes now to Ezra; and he thinks it may be fafely concluded, that the points and accents were in being in his time, fince they are treated of in the Maforah, which he supposes was begun by Ezra, at least by the men of his fynagogue. Befides, fays he, the Scribes, which were affistant to Ezra in reading the law, cannot well be thought to have read it diftin&tly, and caufed the people to understand the reading of it, even men, women, and children, without the points.

Having traced the points to this period; and having urged feveral arguments in their defence; as, that the language can not be perfect without the yowels; that the nature and genius of the Hebrew tongue require points; that the points are useful to learners, and neceffary to remove ambiguity and confufion in words and fentences; that we must fuppofe God would deliver his laws in the plaineft and clearest manner, which cannot be the cafe if the points are rejected; that without the points the infallibility of the Scriptures cannot be fupported; that if all Scripture was given by inspiration, then are the vowels as well as the confonants of divine original; and lastly, that the introduction of the points must have been known if they had been a modern invention; he therefore concludes, that the points and accents are coeval with the letters.

This reafoning, we apprehend, may be answered in a fatiffactory manner. The ufe of the points is evidently superseded by the alphabetic vowels a, e, qu, ti, yo; and the force of the argument derived from this learned investigation of all antiquity feems to be greatly diminished, when we confider, that if the points had been originally annexed to the letters, their veftigia in future ages would not have been so obscure and ambiguous as they are at prefent.

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