ORIENTAL LANGUAGES. 329 



countries, we here underftand, however, by the 

 term oriental, thofe only which are eflentially nc- 

 cefiary to the underftanding, and interpreting, in 

 an exegetic manner, the holy writings, efpecially 

 thofe of the Old Tcftament ; and for this re- 

 ftri&ion of the term we have the authority of a 

 great number of learned men, who by the orien- 

 tal languages underftand only the Hebrew, Chal- 

 dean, Syriac, Arabic and Coptic : to which we 

 mail add the Samaritan, Rabbinic and Talmudic. 

 Thefe eight languages merit a more particular 

 examen, as they ferve to eftablifh the foundations 

 of the Chriftian religion, and make a confider- 

 able part of the ftudy of a Theologian. 



II. The Hebrew, Arabic and Chaldean, re- 

 fpedtively claim the right of fcniority, each of 

 them has its advocates, and the point is not eafy 

 to be decided. Mod zealous divines are in- 

 clined to favour the Hebrew , and there are 

 fome of them who pretend that it was the lan- 

 guage in which God talked with Adam in Para- 

 dife, and that the faints will make ufe of it in 

 heaven in thofe praifes which they will eternally 

 offer to the Almighty. Thefe doctors feem to 

 be as certain with regard to what is patted 

 as what is to come. Some philologifts give 

 the priority to the Arabic, and others to the 

 kk-an. This difference is the more difficult 

 to be reconciled, as Mofes was not born tfll 

 2464 years after the creation, and in Kgypt; 

 that is to fay, 700 years after the definition of" 



