such as the history of no other people upon earth, ever did exihibit, exceeding all the powers of mortal agency, yet backed with the authority of the holy writ.” The poem is divided into two parts, and subdivided into eight books; only the first few books were published, and the poem was never completed. Cumberland says that he and Burges “had traced out the journal of the sacred Historian with the most exact fidelity, and had availed themselves of maps and books.” The Biblical knowledge displayed by Cumberland in this poem, shows full well that he knew intimately the ancient history of the Jews, whom as a living and modern people, he sought to defend.
4.
Cumberland as Critic of the Jews
a. His Controversy with David Levi
It must not be supposed that Cumberland’s attitude towards Jews and Judaism was uniformly favorable. His strong Christian theological bias made him hostile to Jewish religious beliefs and their champions, though from the standpoint of abstract justice and
