700 JEW 
diftrict of Chatlllo'n fur Indre : four leagues eaft of Cha- 
tillon fur Indre, and two and a half fouth-fouth-ealt of 
Vallen9ay. 
JE'UR, [Hebrew.] The name of a man. 
JEU'REV POL'SKAI, a town of Ruffia, in the govern¬ 
ment of Vladimir: thirty-two miles north-north-weft of 
Vladimir. 
JE'USH, [Heb. affembled.] A man’s name. 
JEW, an Hebrew; one who profefles Judaifm. The 
name is derived from the patriarch Judah, and given to 
the defcendants of Abraham by his eldeft fon Ifaac, who 
for a long time poflefied the land of Paleftine in Alia, and 
are now difperfed through all nations in the world. 
The hiftory of this people, as it is the mod fingular, fo 
is it alfo the moft ancient, in the world ; and the greatell 
part, being before the beginning of profane hiftory, de¬ 
pends entirely on the authenticity of the Old Teftament, 
where only it is to be found. To repeat here what is faid 
in the facred writings would both be fuperfluous and te¬ 
dious, as thofe writings are in every perfon’s hands, and 
may be confulted at pleafure. Yet the following brief ab- 
ftrafl we truft will not be unacceptable. 
History of the Jews to the Time of the Capti¬ 
vity. 
God had promifed to Abraham, that he would render 
his feed extremely numerous. It was long, however, be¬ 
fore the promifed feed made any remarkable appearance. 
Abraham’s feed by Ifhmael, and the fons of Keturah, in¬ 
deed mightily increafed ; but neither thefe, nor the pof- 
lerity of Efau, were the promifed offspring. In Jacob’s 
twelve fons it firft began to increafe ; and in after-times 
they were called Ifrael, or Jacob, from their progenitor ; 
and in times Hill later, were called Jew, fuch of them as 
were known, from the name of Judah, the favoured tribe. 
In about 215 years, they increafed in Egypt, from feven- 
ty, to between two and three millions, men, women, and 
children. While Jofeph lived, who had prelerved the 
Egyptian nation amidft a terrible famine, they were kindly 
tiled by the Egyptian monarchs ; but foon after were ter¬ 
ribly opprefled. From a fufpicion that they might, in 
procefs of time, become too ftrong for the natives, they 
were condemned to labour in the moft llavilh and toilfome 
employments. The more they were opprefled, the more 
exceedingly they multiplied. The midwives and others 
were therefore ordered to murder every male infant at the 
time of birth; but the midwives avoided the horrible talk. 
Every body was therefore ordered to kill the Hebrew 
male’children wherever they we're found; the females 
they intended to incorporate with the Egyptians. After 
they had been thus miferably opprefled for about an hun¬ 
dred years, and on the very day that finiflied the 430th 
year from God’s firft promife of a feed to Abraham, and 
about 400 years after the birth of Ifaac, God, by terrible 
plagues on the Egyptians, obliged them to let the Hebrew's 
go, under the direction of Moles and Aaron. Thus they 
departed peaceably, and with great wealth, and without 
fo much as one of their number weak or fickly; and a 
mixed multitude of heathens attended them, who were 
afterwards a fnare to them. See Gen. xv. xvii. xxii. Exod. i. 
xiii. Afts vii. Neh. ix. 
God directed the Hebrew march by a cloud, which in 
the day was dulky, and fkreened them from the heat, and 
in the night was fiery, and gave them light. He direfted 
them not by the neareft way to Canaan, left their early en¬ 
counters with the Philiftines fliould tempt them to return 
back into Egypt, but caufed them to march towards the 
foutli-eaft, and into the Itreights of Pihahiroth, where 
there were mountains on each fide, and the Red Sea be¬ 
fore them. Pharaoh, expecting they were now entangled, 
purfued them with a mighty army to bring them back. 
The Lord opened a paflage through the Red Sea for the 
Hebrews; but the Egyptians, attempting to follow them, 
were drowned. The Hebrews were now in a dry and 
barren defert; nor had they brought provifion for the 
journey. God fupplied them with water from a flinty 
JEW 
rock, and with manna from heaven. Moreover, he re¬ 
galed them with quails in the defert of Sin. By means of 
Mofes’s prayers and Jolhua’s bravery, he enabled them to 
rout the Amalekites, who barbarously fell on their rear. 
Having got officers of thoufands, hundreds, fifties, and 
tens, fet over them, they marched fouthward along the eaft: 
fide of the weftern gulf of the Red Sea, and came to mount 
Sinai, about fifty days after their departure from Egypt. 
There God in a moft tremendous manner, from the midfl: 
of a terrible fire cn the top of the mount, and after the 
moft fearful thundering, avouched them for his peculiar 
people, intimated to them his laws, and confirmed the au¬ 
thority of Mofes as their leader. While Mofes tarried in 
the mount, they fo far loft the impreflion of every thing 
they had feen and heard, that they formed and won'hip- 
ped a golden calf. This being deltroyed, and 3000 of the 
principal idolaters cut off by the fword of the zealous 
Levites, God, at the interceflion of Mofes, fpared them, 
renewed to them the tables of his law, and his tabernacle 
was erefted among them, and Aaron and his fons confe- 
crated to the prielthood, and vaft numbers of further ce¬ 
remonies, concerning offerings, purifications, and feftivals, 
preferibed them. The numbers of their fighting men were 
taken, and arranged in four great divifions, three tribes in 
each ; and the manner of their marching and encampment 
was appointed; the tabernacle was dedicated by the obla¬ 
tions of their chief princes, on twelve feveral days ; and 
the Levites were confecrated to the facred lervice of it, in 
room of the Hebrews firft-born ; and the paffover was 
again obferved in the firft month of the fiecond year after 
they had come out of Egypt. ' See Exod. xiv.-xl. Lev. i.-> 
xxvii. Numb. i.-x. Neh. ix. Pfal. lxxviii. cv. cvi. cxiv. 
cxxxv. cxxxvi. Ezek. xx. xvi. 4-14. 
After they had continued about a year at the foot of 
Sinai, they marched northward, loathed the manna, and 
were punilhed with a month’s eating of flefh, till a plague 
broke out among them. About this time feventy or fe-> 
venty-tvvo elders were fet over them. They quickly ar¬ 
rived on the fouth borders of Canaan at Kadeih-barnea 5 
but for their rafh belief of the ten wicked fpies, and their 
contempt of the promifed land, God would have entirely 
deftroyed them, had not Mofes’s prayers prevented it. 
They were actually condemned to wander in the defert 
till the end'of forty years, till that whole generation, ex¬ 
cept Caleb and Jofliua, fliould be cut off by. death. Dur¬ 
ing this period, God frequently puniflied them for their 
repeated rebellion, murmuring, or loathing of mannas 
The Canaanites made terrible havockof them at Hormah, 
when they attempted to enter Canaan, contrary to the 
will of their God. Above 140,000 of them perifhed in the 
matter of Korah, or for their murmuring at his and his 
accomplices’ death. Multitudes were bitten by fiery fer- 
pents. Twenty-four tlioufand were cut off for their idol¬ 
atry and whoredom with the Midianitilh women. But 
God’s marvellous favours were ftill continued : his cloudy 
pillar conducted and protected them ; his manna from 
heaven fupplied them with meat; the ftreams iffuing from 
the rock at Meribah followed their camp about thirty- 
nine years, whether their way was afeending or not. 
Their clothes never waxed old. At Kadeftt and at Been 
God anew fupplied them with water. The intended 
curfeof Balaam was turned into ablefling in their favour. 
During this period, the cloud conduced them from Ka- 
defli-barnea, on the fouth of Canaan, back to Ezion-geber, 
which is on the north-eaft of Sinai; and then back to the 
fouth border of Canaan. This journey, though of no 
more than a few hundred miles, took them up about thir¬ 
ty-eight years ; and no doubt they wandered hither and 
thither, lo. that it is vain to pretend an accurate account 
of their ftations. Nor were they yet admitted to enter the 
promifed land, but condufted along the louth border of 
Idumea, by a way exceedingly rough and fatiguing. At 
lalt they marched to the north-eaft, till they came to about 
the head of the river Arnon, and turned weftward to the 
Jordan. While they tarried in thefe quarters, they took 
pofleflion of the two powerful kingdoms of Sihon. and Og, 
