i66 APPENDIX. 



learned ones to land this fable upon Moff s, who probably 

 knew it as a vulgar error before his time, but was very far 

 from paying any regard to if ; on the contrary, it is with 

 the utinoft propriety and precifion, that, fpeaking to the 

 people, he calls it Rachama in the feminine, becaufe he 

 was then giving them a lift of birds forbidden to be ate *■, 

 among which he felccted the female vulture, as that was 

 belt known, and the great object of idolatry and fu perdi- 

 tion ; and the male, and air the lefler abominations of that 

 fpecies, he included together in the word that followed his 

 kind ; though the Englifli trandatoiy by calling the female 

 vulture Mm, has introduced an impropriety that there was 

 not the lead foundation for. That Mofes was not the au- 

 thor of or believer in this Egyptian fable, is plain from a 

 verfe in Exodus, where, at another time, he fpeaks of this 

 bird. as a male, and calls him Racham, and not Racha*. 

 ma. 



It will not be improper that I here take notice, that the 

 Englim tranflator, by his ignorance of language, has lod ail 

 the beauty and even the fenfe of the Hebrew original. He 

 makes God fay, Ye have feen what I did unto the Egyptians, 

 and how I bore you on eagles wings, and brought you unto 

 myfelf f *\ Now, if the expreflion had been really Eagle, the 

 word would have been Nifr, and would have fignined no- 

 thing; but, in place of eagle, God fays Vulture, the emblem of 

 maternal affection and maternal tendernefs towards his chil- 

 dren, which has a particular connection with, " brought you 

 unto myfelf ;" fo that the paiTage will run thus, Say to the 



children 



* Dent. chap, xiy, yer. 13. -f Exod. chap. xix. ver. 4* 



