30 



word is derived, does not signify a Hebrew, but a stranger, a pilgrim, a 

 foreigner, one who comes from a far country. This, to some extent, accounts 

 for the condescending reception accorded to Joseph by Pharaoh, who was 

 himself a Hyksos, or foreigner, one of the last of the Shepherd Kings. The 

 mixed multitudes that came with the Jews out of Egypt, are designated 

 " ereb rab," which the Targum Onkelos correctly renders " nuchrain" 

 strangers. In the interesting paper, to which we have just listened, reference 

 is made to the name of Baal and Bosheth, and I was glad to hear Mr. 

 Tomkins say that he took these names for two distinct deities. This the 

 Bible plainly corroborates. It is only necessary to examine the passages, 

 where Baal and Bosheth are mentioned, and the distinction is evident. Baal, 

 like Bosheth, it is true, has in many passages in the Septuagint the feminine 

 article ; hence biblical critics come to the conclusion that } jSaaX and / a'wx.vv'n 

 are one and the same deity. They overlook the well-known fact that the Greeks 

 were fond of representing everything in the moral and religious life under 

 that form. The statements in the Bible clearly indicate a notable distinc- 

 tion. I will only advert to one or two. In Jeremiah, xi., 13, it is said : 

 " For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, Judah, and 

 according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to 

 Bosheth, altars to burn incense to Baal." Again in Hosea ix., 10, " They 

 went to Baal Peor, and separated literally consecrated themselves to 

 Bosheth." In Ezekiel there is an allusion to Bosheth under the name of Pi- 

 beseth, Bubastis, mouth of the Bosheth. Bast and Bosheth involve merely 

 the interchange of a dental letter, which, in the Hebrew, is of frequent 

 occurrence. Now Bubastis was a goddess of the Egyptians, whom Herodotus 

 compares with Diana. She was worshipped under the form of a cat, to 

 which the prophet appropriately refers, when he declares "Bosheth hath 

 devoured the labour of our fathers," &c, &c, There were festivals held in her 

 honour, which correspond with those accorded to the Ashera or Ashtoreth, 

 the Venus of Phoenician and Aramean mythology, whom, in every respect, 

 she closely resembles. Thus the reference in the Bible to Bosheth, Besheth, 

 or Bast of the Egyptians, indicates a far more corrupt and debasing worship 

 than that offered to Baal (without any adjunct), the supreme divinity of the 

 Phoenicians and Canaanites. Of course, there are other names mentioned in 

 Mr. Tomkins' instructive paper, which deserve serious consideration, and I 

 hope, some members of the Victoria Institute will, on a future occasion, again 

 take up the subject. 



Kev. J. FISHER, D.D. I had marked two words which I wished to notice, 

 but they have already been so fully referred to, that I hardly need go into 

 that part of the subject. I may say, however, that one of them was " Abram,'' 

 I do not think this name comes from"Ramu," but from "Kam," high, 

 and that God changed it to mean "the father of a multitude." The paper, 

 indeed, hints that it was perhaps changed because it was half-heathenish. God 

 also changed the name of Jacob to Israel after the wrestling with the angel. 

 With regard to Melchizedeck, I think, according to St. Paul, in the seventh 

 chapter of Hebrews, the name does not come from Zedek, the Phoenician god, 



