which it was appropriated, the objection that may be urged against its being a diftinctive title, from its having been known before, whereas the diftinctive title used to Abraham was a new one, is of no force. The rainbow was made the token of a covenant between the Deity and Noah, though that must have been well known long before the appropriation of it to this use. The fabbath alfo was made a fign of a covenant between Jehovah and the Ifraelites, though it was instituted at the creation of the world; Exod. xxxi. 13, 17.

As the name Jehovah was the characteristic title of the Supreme Being under the Mofaic difpenfation; so we find the title God Almighty is thus diftinguishingly ufed by the Deity himself in fpeaking to Abraham and Jacob; and is likewife applied by them, by Isaac, and by others in fubfequent ages, to the fame purposes. The Moft High himself took this diftin&ive title, when speaking to Abraham; Gen. xvii. 1, 19. It is used as fuch by Ifaac; Gen. xxviii. 3, 4; xvii. 21. `The Supreme Being alfo took it when addreffing Jacob, Gen. xxxv. 1 to 15. It is ufed of the Deity as appropriate to the Abrahamic difpenfation; Gen. xliii. 14, 23; xliv. 16, 17; xlv. 5, 9; xlvi. 2, 3; xlviii. 3, 9, 11, 15, 21; xlix. 24, 25; Exod. iii. 6; ii. 23 to 25. The Moft High commands Mofes to tell the Ifraelites that Jehovah is the fame being who appeared as God to their fathers; Exod. iii. 15, 16; iv. 5. Allufions are made to this in many parts of the Old Testament; Pfa. xx. 1, 5, 7; xlvi. 7, 11; xlvii. 9.

The interpretation, then, which has been given above of the text in Exod. vi. 3, is agreeable to the use of the words in other paffages of the Old Teftament, and to their proper meaning in this; it accords with the purport of the fentence in which they are introduced, and with the context; it agrees with a paffage in Exodus, to which it evidently refers, that records the divine origin of the diftinctive appropriation of the name Jehovah; it reconciles every ap. parent contradiction between this paffage and the history in Genefis; and it correfponds with the whole history of the Old Testament.

It is not irrelevant to notice here, that the fame Hebrew verb VT, which we have been attending to, and which is likewife tranflated to know, in Deut. viii. 3, muft fignify to confider. In this text it appears, alfo, as directly to contradict some parts of the history, as the paffage which we have been explaining. It feemed proper to mention this fignification, as the title Jehovah was appointed to be a memorial to all generations, and therefore to be confidered and attended to as fuch. The fame verb muft likewise mean to confider; Prov. ix. 18; Hofea ii. 8; Nehem. ix. 13, 14. It is used as fynonymous with confider, Ifa. i. 3.

VI.

A SKETCH

OF THE

DIFFERENT MODES

IN WHICH

THE HEBREWS

EXPRESS A GREAT DEGREE,

AND THE

SUPERLATIVE DEGREE,

OF A QUALITY.