EVIDENCES OF TIIE MIGRATTOX OF ABRAM. 93 



institute such a comparison, and to produce evidence which 

 vs^ould tend to prove the migration of Terah and his de- 

 scendants to be a great and important historical event, such is 

 no longer the case. 



Only of late have the grave- mounds of the land of Chaldea 

 yielded up the monuments and inscriptions which the 

 decipherer has revivified by his almost magic skill, and 

 breathed into their long silent characters the breath of life, 

 forcing them to become living witnesses in the cause of 

 truth. 



The discoveries made by Sir Henry Layard and M. Botta 

 in Nineveh, followed by those of recent years resulting from 

 the explorations of Mr. Hormuzd Rassam in Chaldea, have 

 given to the history of the East a retrospective enlargement 

 far beyond the expectations of the most ardent believer in 

 the resurrection of the past. 



When we remember that this series of historic records, won 

 from the bosom of the earth, extends back to a period of 

 twenty-five centuries before the Christian era in almost 

 nnbroken sequence, and that further still we find isolated and 

 epoch-marking records, we may naturally expect that points 

 of contact may be found between the Hebrew writings and 

 these monuments, and that they will afford ns the evidence 

 we require. 



Before proceeding to deal with these valuable stone 

 commentaries which come from the dark storehouse of 

 centuries, as new and illuminating lights, it is necessary to 

 glance at the Hebrew account of the migration of Abrani 

 to see upon what points we have to obtain evidence to 

 emphasise more strongly for those who doubt its accuracy, 

 the historical character of the events, and their agreement with 

 contemporary testimony. 



The points we require to treat of are : — 



1. — That the ancestors of Abram belonged to the Semitic 



branch of the human family (Gen. xi. 10-27). 

 2. — That their original home was on the east side of the 



Euphrates (Josh. xxiv. 2). 

 3. — That the dwelling-place of Terah was in Ur of the 



Casdimor Chaldeans, that is, in Chaldea (Gen. xi. 31, 



and Neh. ix. 7). 



4. — That the first step in the migration was from Ur to 

 Kharran, in North Mesopotamia, and that all the 

 ti^be of Terah took part in that migration (Gen. 

 xi. 31). 



VOL. XX. H 



