as Jacob, but took him for Efau. Nor did Efau understand any fuch connection between birth-right and the bleffing; for he fays, He hath supplanted me these two times, he took away my birth-right, and behold now he hath taken away my bleffing: whereas had the bleffing, which was to be lord over his brethren, belonged to the birth-right, Efau could not have complained of this fecond, as a cheat, Jacob having got nothing but what Efau had fold him, when he fold him his birth-right; fo that it is plain, dominion, if these words fignify it, was not understood to belong to the birth-right.

§. 114. And that in those days of the patriarchs, dominion was not understood to be the right of the heir, but only a greater portion of goods, is plain from Gen. xxi. 1o. for Sarah, taking Ifaac to be heir, fays, Caft out this bondwoman and her fon, for the fon of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my Jon whereby could be meant nothing, but that he fhould not have a pretence to an equal fhare of his father's eftate after his death, but fhould have his portion presently, and be gone. Accordingly we read, Gen. xxv. 5, 6. That Abraham gave all that he had unto Ifaac, but unto the fons of the concubines which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and fent them away from Ifaac his fon, while be yet lived. That is, Abraham having given portions to all his other fons, and fent them

away,

away,

that which he had reserved, being the greatest part of his fubftance, Ifaac as heir poffeffed after his death: but by being heir, he had no right to be lord over his brethren for if he had, why fhould Sarah endeavour tor

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him of one of his fubjects, or leffen the number of his flaves, by defiring to have Ishmael fent away?

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§. 115. Thus, as under the law, the privilege of birth-right was nothing but a double portion fo we fee that before Mofes, in the patriarchs time, from whence our author pretends to take his model, there was no knowledge, no thought, that birth-right gave rule or empire, paternal or kingly authority, to any one over his brethren. If this be not plain enough in the ftory of Ifaac and Ishmael, he that will look into 1 Chron. v. 12. may there read these words: Reuben was the firftborn; but forafmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birth-right was given unto the fons of Jofeph, the Son of Ifrael: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birth-right; for Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birth-right was Jofeph's. What this birth-right was, Jacob bleffing Jofeph, Gen. xlviii. 22. telleth us in thefe words, Moreover I have given thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the band of the Amorite, with my fword and with my bow. Whereby it is not only plain, that the birth-right was nothing but a double

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portion,

portion; but the text in Chronicles is exprefs againft our author's doctrine, and fhews that dominion was no part of the birth-right; for it tells us, that Jofeph had the birth-right, but Judah the dominion. One would think our author were very fond of the very name of birth-right, when he brings this inftance of Jacob and Efau, to prove that dominion belongs to the heir over his brethren.

§. 116. 1. Because it will be but an ill example to prove, that dominion by God's ordination belonged to the eldest son, becaufe Jacob the youngest here had it, let him come by it how he would: for if it prove any thing, it can only prove, against our author, that the affignment of dominion to the eldest is not by divine inftitution, which would then be unalterable: for if by the law of God, or nature, abfolute power and empire belongs to the eldest fon and his heirs, fo that they are fupreme monarchs, and all the reft of their brethren flaves, our author gives us reafon to doubt whether the eldeft fon has a power to part with it, to the prejudice of his pofterity, fince he tells us, Obfervations, 158. That in grants and gifts that have their original from God or nature, no inferior power of man can limit, or make any law of prefcription against them.

§. 117. 2. Because this place, Gen. xxvii. 29. brought by our author, concerns not at all the dominion of one brother over the

other, nor the fubjection of Efau to Jacob: for it is plain in the hiftory, that Efau was never fubject to Jacob, but lived apart in mount Seir, where he founded a diftinct people and government, and was himself prince over them, as much as Jacob was in his own family. This text, if confidered, can never be understood of Efau himself, or the personal dominion of Jacob over him for the words brethren and fons of thy mother, could not be used literally by Ifaac, who knew Jacob had only one brother; and these words are so far from being true in a literal sense, or establishing any dominion in Jacob over Efau, that in the story we find the quite contrary, for Gen. xxxii. Jacob feveral times calls Efau lord, and himself his servant; and Gen. xxxiii. he bowed himself feven times to the ground to Efau. Whether Efau then were a fubject and vaffal (nay, as our author tells us, all fubjects are flaves) to Jacob, and Jacob his fovereign prince by birth-right, I leave the reader to judge; and to believe if he can, that these words of Ifaac, Be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's fons bow down to thee, confirmed Jacob in a fovereignty over Efau, upon the account of the birth-right he had got from him.

§. 118. He that reads the story of Jacob and Efau, will find there was never any jurifdiction or authority, that either of them had over the other after their father's death; they lived

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lived with the friendship and equality of brethren, neither lord, neither flave to his bro ther; but independent each of other, were both heads of their diftinct families, where they received no laws from one another, but lived feparately, and were the roots out of which sprang two distinct people under two diftinct governments. This bleffing then of Ifaac, whereon our author would build the dominion of the elder brother, fignifies nomore, but what Rebecca had been told from God, Gen. xxv. 23. Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people fhall be feparated from thy bowels, and the one people shall "be stronger than the other people, and the elder fhall ferve the younger; and fo Jacob bleffed Judah, Gen. xlix. and gave him the Scepter and dominion, from whence our author might have argued as well, that jurisdiction and dominion belongs to the third fon over his brethren, as well as from this bleffing of Ifaac, that it belonged to Jacob; both thefe places contain only predictions of what fhould long after happen to their pofterities, and not any declaration of the right of inheritance to dominion in either. And thus we have our author's two great and only arguments to prove, that heirs are their brethren.

Sover

1. Becaufe God tells Cain, Gen. iv, that however fin might fet upon him, he ought or might be master of it: for the most learned

interpreters