15 to 22;) he would generally guide him in a track in which he might meet with what was necessary. Accordingly, in one inftance, it is particularly related that this was the cafe. Concerning the well at Beer it is faid, "this is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Mofes, gather the people together, and I will "give them water." Numb. xxi. 16.

The feveral facts and obfervations which we have mentioned, have been produced, in order to fhew that the hypothefis of Bishop Pearce, refpecting the water that iffued from the rock at Horeb, is preferable to either Dr. Wall's, or Le Clerc's. I apprehend, however, that all these hypotheses have been formed for the purpose of removing a difficulty which originated merely from afcribing a sense to the text in 1 Cor. x. 4, which the apostle did not intend it to convey. For, upon a clofe attention to the language and defign of this paffage, it will be found, that it does not speak of real water, or a real rock. There is no occafion, therefore, in order to explain the text, to fuppofe that there is a metonymy here of the rock for the water that flowed from it, or to frame any hypothefis to fhew how the water could follow the Ifraelites at all.

It is an important part of our inquiry into the true meaning of this paffage, to fearch for the proper fignification of two words in it.

The public verfion, Locke, Doddridge, Wakefield, and Newcome, all render xoxons, followed them. Pearce tranflates it, carried along with them. But

another common fignification of anoλdew is, to at-
tend, or to accompany. Inftances of this meaning of
it occur, Matt. iv. 25; viii. 1, 10; Mark v. 24;
x. 52; Luke ix, 49; Rev. xiv.
; Rev. xiv. 13, and in many
Wakefields

tianslation

other places. This fenfe of the term is quite fuitable to the text which we are confidering. Accordingly, the Latin tranflation of the Arabic verfion of it here is, comitante; of the Syriac, quæ cum ipfis veniebat. Walton's Polygl.

xgolos even with the article, is not exclufively appropriated to the Meffiah. It is used, in the Septuagint, of other perfons who are appointed by GoD to fulfil his purposes. In this fenfe it is applied, in the plural, to Prophets, i Chron. xvi. 22; Pfal. cv. 15; and in the fingular, to Saul, 1 Sam. xii. 3, 5; xvi. 6; xxvi. 9, 11, 16; 2 Sam. i. 14, 16; xix. 21; to David, 2 Sam. xxii. 51; xxiii. 1; Pfa. xviii. 50; xx. 6; cxxxii. 10; and even to Cyrus, Ifai. xlv. 1; and to the people of Ifrael in general, Hab. iii. 13. In this text, the Hebrew, the Septuagint, the Latin tranflation of the Chaldee paraphrafe, and of the Syriac verfion, use thy people, a collective noun, and thy Christ, or thine anointed, fynonymously. Newcome translates thine anointed ones, plurally, the authorities for which he produces in his note. The Latin translation of the Arabic alfo is, unctos tuos. see Corr fadd, VIII. In the New Testament. xelos is applied to Mofes, Heb. xi. 26; where it is rendered the anointDr Sykes's haraphrase

ed of God, in the Improved Verfion. Now this evidently appears to be the true fenfe of it, also, in

K

1 Cor. x. 4; though in all the verfions that I have feen, both ancient and modern, it is here tranflated Christ,

The difcourfe, in the five first verses of i Cor. x. is about the ancient Ifraelites and Mofes. The Jews, it is well known, frequently adapted paffages of their Scriptures, in a figurative, allegorical, or spiritual sense, to their prefent argument. The apostle Paul does fo in feveral inftances. See Ef. ii. on Satan, fec. 7, fubd. i. p. 202, 203. In order distinctly to mark this figurative or allegorical style, the adverb veuμals is used in Rev. xi. 8, the great city, which is called, vεvμalis fpiritually, Sodom and Egypt. For the fame purpose the adjective πνευματικος is employed twice in Pet. ii. 5; ye are a Spiritual temple, a holy `priest. hood, to offer up fpiritual facrifices. The apostle Paul adopts the fame explanatory term, to denote that he must be understood figuratively in 1 Cor. xv. 44, it is raifed a fpiritual body. And in 1 Cor. x. 3, 4, all ate the fame Spiritual food; and all drank the fame Spiritual drink. (For they drank from the No one of these substantives, therefore, must be understood in the plain and most obvious fignification. The adjective determines their meaning to be figurative. Agreeably to the Apoftle's own expreffions then, the fpiritual food, and fpiritual drink, and spiritual rock, were not real food, and drink, and rock. Nor could a real rock actually move with them, which the text fays the fpiritual rock did. This language continues the figurative

Spiritual rock &c.)

ftyle of the clause immediately preceding,

"all were

"baptifed into Mofes in the cloud, and in the fea," and therefore fuits the connection.

Now eating food, and drinking any liquid, are figurative expreffions, which are ufed in both the Old and the New Teftament to denote imbibing and practifing good inftruction. In this fame Epistle, Paul fays to the Corinthians, iii. 2, I fed you with (Toral gave you to drink) milk, not with meat. Prov. ix. 5; Wisdom faith, come eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled; ver. 6, forfake the foolish and live; and go in the way of understanding. The two verfes are parallel. The fixth explains the fifth. Ifai. lv. 1; Ho! every one that thirfteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price; ver. 2, hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good; ver. 3, Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear,, and your foul fhall live. The fecond and third verfes explain the firft. Amos viii. 11; Behold, the days come, faith the Lord God, that I will fend a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Jehovah. Ecclus. xxiv. 21; they that eat me (wisdom) fhall yet be hungry, and they that drink me fhall yet be thirsty.

John iv. 14; Jefus faith to the woman of Samaria, whofoever drinketh of the water that I fhall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I

fhall give him, fhall be in him a well of water fpring.

Ver. 32; I have meat to

ing up into everlasting life. eat that ye know not of. Ver. 34; My meat is to do the will of him that fent me. vi. 51; I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread he fhall live for ever. Ver. 35; I am the bread of life, he who cometh to me shall never hunger, and he who believeth in me shall never thirst. Comp. ver. 40, with 54. Ver. 63; The words which I speak unto you are spirit and are life. See alfo Heb. v. 12, 13, 14.

By comparing the texts cited above with 1 Cor. x. 3, 4; it appears, then, that fpiritual food and fpiritual drink, in the latter, denote moral and religious inftruction. And the fpiritual or allegorical rock, from which the Ifraelites drank this fpiritual drink, was Mofes, into whom it is faid, ver. 2, that they were baptifed, and who was divinely commiffioned to be their inftructor. See Exod. xix. 9; xxiv. 3; Deut. iv. 1, 5. Thus Mofes was the fpiritual or figurative rock of the Ifraelites, i. e. the foundation of the Jewish church, as Chrift was figuratively the foundation ftone of the chriftian church; Ifai. xxviii. 16; 1 Pet. ii. 3 to 7; and as Peter was the figurative rock on which Chrift faid he would build his church; John i. 42; Matt. xvi. 18. For Peter was the first, after the afcenfion of Jefus, who preached the gospel, both to Jews, Acts ii. 14, &c. and to gentiles, x. 34, &c.