An Answer to the Rev. John Davison's 'Inquiry Into the Origin and Intent of Primitive Sacrifice'

An Answer To The Rev. John Davison's 'Inquiry Into The Origin And Intent Of Primitive Sacrifice' by John Edward Nassau Molesworth. The work argues that the primeval practice of sacrifice is a divine institution and not a human invention, and that it functioned as an expiatory rite prior to the Mosaic Law. Molesworth contends that Moses speaks of sacrifice with the expectation that its divine origin is understood, and that Genesis and patriarchal narratives imply a continuing sacrificial framework that prefigures the gospel. He asserts two main lines of proof: first, probabilities drawn from the nature of God and the universal witness of sacrificial custom; second, direct and indirect testimonies from Scripture, including Abel, Noah, Job, Abraham, and the Levitical system. The author critiques Davison's internal reasons and the idea of a progressive revelation, arguing that the law did not abrogate but rather incarnated the primeval covenant; and that Christ's sacrifice fulfills, not supersedes, the pretended typology. The volume also engages with Magee, Warburton, Benson, and others, offering a polemical, textual defense of the primeval atonement and its antitype in the Gospel. The Preface outlines the plan for chapters and appendices and invites rigorous critique.