GOD 



uetifm, aftrology, chiromancy, &c. as well as ta medicine. 

 Eloy. 



GOCIANO, in Geography, a town of the ifland of Sar- 

 dinia ; <;o miles E. of Algeri. 



GOCKEL, or Gokiclius, Christian Louis, in Bio- 

 graphy, of Gotha in Thuringia, was born on tlie 31(1 of 

 December, 1662. In 16S5, he was appointed phyfician to 

 the city of Herfpriick, wliere lie acquired great reputation 

 by l"s practice, and obtained the confidence of feveral 

 German princes, efpecially of the duke of Wirtemberg. 

 His pubhcations likewife contributed to extend his fame, 

 confifting of a " Medical Surgery,'' in German, and of 

 forae papers in the Memoirs cf tlic German academy. He 

 died in Augull 1736, aged 74. 



With the preceding phyllcian we mull not confound an- 

 other, called Everard Gokel'iiis, who was born at Ulm, in 

 1636, and praftifed phyfic at Giengen in Suabia. Befides 

 fome elTays in the German language, he publiflied, i. " En- 

 chiridion Medico-prafticum de Pelle," 1669. — 2. " Con- 

 liUorum et Obfervationum Medicinahum Decades VI." 

 1682. — 3. " Gallicinium Medico-prafticum, five, Confiho- 

 ruin, Obfervationum, et Curationum Medicinalium novarum 

 Centurix duse cum dimidia," Ulma; 1704- Eloy. Dicf. 

 Hill. 



GOCULGUR, in Gtography, a town of Hindooftan, 

 in the fubah of Agra; 16 miles N. W. of Agra. 



GOD, an immaterial, intelligent, and free being ; of per- 

 feft goodncls, wifdom, and power ; who made the unirerfc, 

 and continues to fupport it, as well as to govern and direct 

 it by his providence. 



The Rabbins and Hebraifts, particularly St, Jcrom, and 

 the interpreters, reckon up ten different names of God in 

 Scripture; which are^}{. El, DVI^f^S Elohim, Tl'^N*. 

 Elohi, or in the fingular, hSnN Eloah, ni{<3V» Tfebaolh, 

 ;vSy' ^''""'< n^HN. Ehjeh, 'J-nX; jidomi, n'> J^^h, 

 '1^', Shaddai, nin'» dehovah : but it is wrong to di- 

 vide '~\'75<> from rfKHV ; they fliould be but one name 

 r\ KSVn'^K. Elohetjeha.th, i.e. God of%p. Of thefe 

 aiames there are three which exprefs the eifence of God, and 

 are proper names ; r/s. ninS'i Ehjeh, ;-|', Jah, and niHS 

 Jehsvah: the others are only names of attributes. St.Jerom 

 gives a particular explanation of thefe ten names, in his 

 epiftle to Marcella ; and Buxtorfthe younger has an exprefs 

 differtation on the fame, " Differtatio de Nominibus Dei." 

 The Jefuit Souciet has three feveral dilcourfcs on tlie three 

 names. El, Shaddai, and Jehovah, printed at Paris, 17 15. 

 The Hebrews call the name of God nVmj< yilKp' ^'"^ 

 the Greeks, after this example, Tn^y.y^t^ujM-v.t ; as confid- 

 ing of four letters, whicli it is oblerved to do in moil lan- 

 guages: thus, in the Hebrew God is called mn*, Jehovah; 

 in the Greek, W-o- ; in Latin, Dens ; in Spanilh, Dios ; 

 in Italian, Idio ; in French, Diet ; in the ancient Gaulifli, 

 Diex ; in ancient German, Die! ; in tlic Sclavonic, Biich ; 

 in Arabic, yJ/fa ; in the Polifli, Bung ; in the Pannonian, 

 Jjlit ; in the Egyptian, T,iiu ; in tlie Perfiini, Sire; in the 

 language of the iSIagi, Or/i. But a dillinc^ion ought here 

 to be made between the name God, and the name of God ; 

 it being the latter, not the former, that in the Hebrew 

 confifts of four letters. The name or word God, in tlie 

 Hebrev.-, is Pl^K) F-!"i-Th, which confills but of tliree letters; 

 or in the plural, D'H/Xj E/ohim, which eoniiils ot five. 

 The name of God is nTH** Jehovah ; which is tlie true 

 TSTfayfxufiaTov, or the name of four letters among the 

 Hebrews and Greeks. But it is not this name thafaniwers 

 to the Greek ©:->-, Latin Deur, Englilh Ccd, &c. In 

 reality, none of thefe languages have anv proper name ut 

 Gcd, as nin*' Jd'ovah, is in the Hebrew. .... 



GOD 



M. Hallenberg, a Swcdifli writer, in a work publiflied at 

 Stockholm in 1796, and entitled " Differtatio hiftorica ct 

 philologica de origine nominis Dei Gu^,' &c. fiiggefts that 

 the names given by different nations to the deity might 

 d-note unity ; as the word God itfelf, by whicli in all the 

 Teutonic diuledls the Supreme Being is denominated. 



Philologiils have hitherto confidered the word God ai 

 being of t!ie fame fignification with Good; and this is not 

 denied by M. Hallenberg. But he thinks, that both word* 

 originally denoted unity ; and that the root is "inX -Jr^jt/, 

 unus ; v.'lience the Syr. Chad and Gada ; the Arab. Jhd 

 and Gahd; the V criic choda and chudtt ; the Greek ayaJio. 

 and 72.^1,; the Teutonic Cu.-/; the German Go*/: and our 

 Saxon God. The other names of God, this author think.-, 

 are referable to a fiaiilar origin. 



l^y his immateriality, intelligence, and freedom, God 

 IS dillinguiflied from fate, ncture, drjiiny, nfcejfuy. chance, 

 anima murdi, and from all the other riftitious beings, ac- 

 knowledged by the Stoics, Pantheifts, Spinofifts, and other 

 forts of athcills. 



Tiie knowledge of God, his nature, attributes, word 

 and works, with the relations between him and his crea- 

 tures, makes the fubjeft of the cxtenfive fcience called 

 theology. In fcripture God is delined by, " I am that 1 

 am ; Alpha and Omega ; the Beginning and End of all 

 things.'' 



Among philofophers, he is defined a being of infinite pcr- 

 feftion ; or in whom there is no defeft of any thing wliich 

 we conceive may raife, improve, or exalt his nature. 



Among men, he is chiefly confidered as the firit caufe, 

 the firll being, who has exiftcd from the beginning, 'has 

 created the world, or who fulfills neceffarrly, or of him- 

 fell. 



Sir Ifaac Newton choofes to confider and define God, not 

 as is ufually done, from his perfedlions, his nature, exig- 

 ence, or the like; but from his dominion. "The word 

 God, according to him, is a relative term, and has a re- 

 gard to fervants ; it is true, it denotes a being eternal, in- 

 finite, and abfolutely perfecl ; but a being however eternal, 

 infinite, and abfolutely perfect, without dominion, wotild 

 not be God. 



"The word God,'' the fame author obferves, "frequently 

 fignifies Lord; but every lord is not God: it is the do- 

 minion of a fpiritual being or lord, that conftitutes God ; 

 true dominion, true God; fuprcme, the fupreme ; feigned, 

 the falfe god. 



" From fuch true dominion it follows, that tlic true God 

 is liTing, intcHigent, and powerful ; and from liis other per- 

 fections, that he is fupreme, or lupremely pcrfeCl ; he is etcr- 

 nal, and iniinite ; omnipotent, and omnilcient ; that is, he 

 endures from eternity to eternity, and is prclent from infinity 

 to infinity. 



" He governs all things tli.u e:;ill, and knows all thiiig> 

 that are to be known : he is not eternity, or infinity, but 

 eternal aad infinite : lie is not duration or fpace, but he 

 endures, and is prefent : he endures always, and is pre- 

 fent every where ; and by exiiling alv. ays, and every where, 

 he conffiuite.^ the very tiling, duration and fpace, eternity 

 and inlinity. 



" Since every particle of fpace is always, and every 

 indivifible moment of duration every where, tlie Creator 

 and Lord of ;ill things can nevi-r be ■ttunquam, or nvj- 

 ^uam . 



" He is oniniprefent, not only virtually, but alfo fubftan- 

 tiallv : for power without lubflance cannot fubfift. All 

 things are contained, and move, in him ; but without any 

 mut'ial-paflion : he iiiirerMiothiitg froni the motions- of btN 



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