been predicted by former Prophets? But we affirm, that he has been foretold and particularly described in those prophecies which still remain uncorrupted, in passages far too numerous to be transcribed here. And, in the prophecy of the Hebrew child*, he has been foretold by name. It is certain, however, that a prediction of the particular properties of any one, is much more easily applied than that of a proper name would be. Because, any one might, either intentionally or unintentionally, give himself that name, and so apply a prophecy to himself which was intended for another. But the particulars of any one's character cannot be misapplied, as we shall hereafter shew, when we give our extracts from the books of the Prophets.

SECTION IV †.

ON THE PASSAGES RELATING TO MOHAMMED WHICH OCCUR IN THE PENTAteuch.

Or these the following (Gen. xvi. 11, 12.) is one, in which it is said, that when Hagar had fled from Sarah her mistress an Angel appeared to her in the desert, &c. as follows: "And the Angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou

* Of this we shall have some account hereafter.

In the MS. we have here Jai. Section I.

art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. And he will be D

TT

(a wild man), his hand will be in* every man, and every man's hand in him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." The

word and an

(pere) is written with a ≥ (p) a ¬ (r)

(a). If the (a) had preceded the (r) the meaning would have been nobility, which would have suited the context extremely well. According to the received text, however, as found in all the manuscripts which I have seen, the meaning (according to the Shoreshim, a book of great authority among the Jews) will be, prosperous; numerous; also any one attached to the desert, and fond of hunting; all of which agree exceedingly well with the context. The meaning prosperous, which is the most obvious, as well as numerous, which relates to a multitude of posterity, confirms the preceding context. For Ishmael resided in the desert of Paran, that is,

I have given the Moola's translation where he has taken the preposition to signify in rather than against, the object of which will presently appear.

+ In this case the word would have been 8, which would have meant any ornament for the head, as a crown or mitre; and as a verb, to adorn, become splendid, &c.

A Dictionary of the Hebrew Language of great value, by Rabbi David Kimchi. The passage alluded to is this :

פרא כי הוא בין אחים יפריא ירבה ויפרה ורבי יונה פירשו

Mecca*: he was also a great hunter. It is probable too, that residing in the desert may relate to the Arabs, who, for the most part, pass their time there, and who are descended from Ishmael. The object of the angelic message will therefore be, to announce the appearance of the last Prophet from the stock of Ishmael; which must have been very consoling to Hagar, and sufficient to meet all her difficulties.

The meaning of this passage, viz. "His hand will be in every man, and every man's hand in him," is thus given by one of the Targumists+:

לשון פרא פרא אדם בשש נקודות ופירושו אדם מדברי בפרא ונכתב בהא פרה למד מדבר והקבוץ הן פראים במדבר הוא

7. that is,

xiii. 5.) "Though he

(as a verb, in the passage Hos. i. e. increase and become fruitful among his brethren." Rabbi Jonah has explained the word, where it occurs as a sægolate noun, in the phrase DN

It is also written

.a man of the desert אדם מדברי by

with a (h) as (Jer. ii. 24.) 727 TS 17 “a wild ass accustomed to the wilderness." And (Job xxiv. 5.) in Behold as wild

הן פראים במדבר the plural number, as

asses in the desert."

66

* Nothing can be more certain, I believe, than that Mecca is not situated in the desert of Paran. The fact is, Paran was itself the name of a city, which gave this name to the district, and was situated in Arabia deserta, about three days' journey east of Elath (Reland's Palestine, Vol. II. p. 556.): whereas Mecca is situated in Hejaz, at least 500 miles south of Paran.

+ The translation of the Targum of Onkelos on this passage, as given in the Polyglott, is, "Et ipse erit onager in hominibus, ipse indigebit omnibus, et etiam omnes filii hominum indigebunt eo." The word translated by Onager

"He shall rule over all, and all shall stand in need of him." The rest of the verse, viz. " And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren," confirms this explanation. Now, it must appear to every attentive reader, that neither Ishmael himself nor any of his posterity ever obtained universal dominion, either temporal or spiritual, not even over his own brethren: nor is there any one to whom this prediction will apply but Mohammed, who was the seal of prophecy, and to whom the Deity gave universal spiritual dominion in consequence of his mission; and temporal dominion in the promise, viz. "That he may exalt the same (religion) above every religion, although the idolaters be averse thereto." It is sufficiently clear, therefore, that no objection can be made by the Commentators on the Pentateuch to this interpretation. In consequence, however, of the difficulties in which they have found themselves implicated, they have endeavoured to shew that this must relate to the descendants of Isaac, although it is manifest that the text relates to Ishmael †.

or רדה ירך has been taken by the Moola as derived from

777, signifying to obtain dominion, which will account for

the difference in the translations. The part which he has

omitted he perhaps thought unnecessary to his purpose.

* Sale's Koran, Vol. II. p. 423.

It is very certain, however, that no Commentator has so applied it.

It is also probable that the word (hand) here means a law or revelation, in which sense it often occurs in the writings of the Prophets, as the Commentators have shewn*. Of the passages in which this word is so used, the following may be noticed; Jeremiah, chapter i. v. 9. 1 Kings, chap. xviii. v. 46. Ezekiel, who is also called Zu 'lkifl†, chaps. iii, vii‡, xxxiii, xxxvii, and xl.

The meaning of the first passage therefore, "that his hand should be in every man" will be this, the revelation and law of the descendant of Ishmael, who shall be the seal of prophecy, shall be binding on all; nor shall his mission, like those of all the Prophets since the times of Abraham, be undertaken for one nation only.

The second passage, viz. "The hand of all shall be in him" is, that his revelation and law shall comprehend those of all the former Prophets; as it has been said in the Koran. "There is neither wet nor dry which is not to be found in the clear book." And again, "Thou hast

received the aggregate of all revelation."

* In most of these passages the word in question has been interpreted, both by the Targumists and Rabbinic Commenta

the רוח גבורא,prophecy נבואה tors, as signifying either

spirit of might, or the word of the Lord.

+ See Sale's Koran, Vol. II. p. 56. note 9. Marracci's Koran, p. 457.

Chap. vii. is a mistake, it should be chap. viii.

S