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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http: //books .google .com/I i 1 1 UKK^iVC^^rorTilL 1 i'^s^i /^Y^f ANALYSIS fj^. RESEARCHES 'ft . 1 THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS HISTORICAL TIME, FSOM THE CSRATION To r^B AccESSionf OS CCaligula: Attempt to arcertaia the Dates of the more notable Erentft in Ancient Univerfal Hiftory by Aftronomical Calcula- tion ; the mean Quantity of Generations, proportionate to the Standard oflfatural Life, in the feveral Ages of the World; Msgiftracieg, National Epochs, &c. j and t» conned, by an accurate ChronoJogy, the Times of thft Hebrews with thofe of the co-cxiftent Pagan Empires ;■ interfperfed with Remarks on Archbifliop Ulher's Annalt of the Old and New Teltaitient. Subjoined is an Appendix, containing Stri^res on Sir Ilaac Newton's Chronology oF Ancient Kingdoms, and on Mr. Falconer's Chronological Tables, from Solomon to the Dead), of Alexander the Great. il*\ BY THE REV. ROBERT WALKER, SMCrOS OF SHINGHAM, NORFOLK. fimnd in iht Hilji Biile. Bl ■ LONDON: Printed for T. CADELLJun. and W. Davies, (Succeflbn to Mk. Cadkli,], in the Strand. Sold alTo by F. andC. Rivinoton, St. Paul's Church-yardj J. FKiDDBHt Flcet-ilreet ; and &. Fa«lu«, bBond-arcet. 1796. ro THE REVEREND AND LEARNED, THE PROFESSORS AND OTHER MEMBERS OF iOTH THE FLOURIsmm UNIVERSITIES IN ENGLAND, THIS SPECIMEN OF SACRED CRITICISM JS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, SY THEia MOST HUMBLE SERVANT, THE AUTHOU,. t V' - • > .».■ ... . A •! W •'* .. <« • ♦ . i'-^ P R B B AC E. T T was the aiit'hoi?*s intention to pubHfli,fevcraI y«ttt ^ fiihcG» the refult of dif^uif&tions, begun in early life and continued smid a variety of profeflional labourist, not to tnention emet^ent avocations, «xd peculiar di&> ficulties, from the myflerious natui*e of the fubje&i butmoftof all, from the imoA of a collateral hiftoryy cotniiienfurate witfi^ Sacred Annals of the HArews. fi recofd, finiiiar to >t^ Chronicles of the Kings itt Judah and IfraeU well attefted, proceeding from tlie fame poiftt'df ttme, and referring to the fame p^foni^ •vents, and -dates, would have been a defirabfe ao- quifition. Such a fepatttteTecoid never did ejdft. For fitmi the BEGiNNiHO, as d^finedby Mofes, tatfaatPOlK^ in time, with which She Sacred Annals terminatey nothing is with -ceitainty known, refpefting tfat Gentile Antiquities, befides the -reports of the infpirtfd writ^n ; affid i^atevdr Events they harve preferveS from oblivi bx from comprifing a fdl hiflory of all nations^ amount to no more than a few condfe hints concerning a very few of the idolatrous tribes^, conti* guoas to Babylonia and' Pkleftine. AccoRMNO^to Archbiflbop UAef, (who in the arfi of coniputaiiiQn, and hlAorical arrangement, excelMl all im fmUvtfS^)^ the Hebrew fcriptinas dostain thi a 3 Hiftaijr ♦i fRtVACt. Hifiorjr of 36 centuries, meafured lofy aftronoimiol years, fingly, or in combination^ generations, magif- tracies, &c. Moderate anc( evefy wary credible, though not univerfally adopted, is this quantity of intermediate time. That luminary of his age, having long poifed, ia.. an equal balance, the merits of the Hebrew an^d Greek computation, from Adam to Abraham, found ^he former to preponderate, and judicioufly decided in fj^your of evidence, ; fiampt with every lignature of pr<)bability and truths -.His preference, more from the ftrength of reafon, than reipefi to the authoi'ity of his name, r^prmii the iehtlments of bis country, and confirmid thofe on the cpntinent, .wherever aflent to the Hebrew chronology had not previoufly obtained an eftabliflimeiit, u» indeed it had done, in the weilern church, from the days of Jerome ; and about the era of the Reformation, it ^j^rivei] canonical authority from a decree of the council #t;Trefit,, before, or about, A* D. 154a* : -^ Itr Brilain, however, during the currency of the xvnith century, the fpurious chronology of the Sep- tu^giht, /o. jufily exploded 150 ye^rs ago, . has again fijGi^ into credit,, a^ ftjiperleded the genuine notations of Mofics, the &4 Chronologer an4 Hiltariitd. : ; l:^^^ gradual change of national opinion, concern* ing the wilful corruption qf tlie Hebrew oracles, and i&e,.ii^ttiior integrity of , the ^ Al^i^ca^dfian. .verlion, (chiefly .with iscgasdto t)K>.fe jmini^rsrwhidicdeteriEm the^^daf&Of ^NHw^r)^ j^r to- A^rahattfr), difconoerted the amtboi^ft* meafures, and unavoidably pn)tta3ed the n ■.■ dfCgn \ PREFACE. tit defigti of piublifhing his arrangements of tbe Sacred Hiftory, cohftruacd on the authority of the Hd>rew numbcw *, the prime fource of computation. r In a Differtation not yet publilhed» but kept in teferve for the Researches, the comparative merits of the Hebrew and Greek computatitms are^ s^ large» * Slow wM:tHctranfition from the reformed chronology by Ufhcr, to the antiquated errors of the Alexandrian fchool : In 172a Whifton publlfiied the firft volutne Of his eflay for reftoringthe true text of the Old.Teftament. Other authors adopted his wild poiition» that the extended chronology of the Greek Pentateuch is preferable to tbe more conci£e fcheme of tbe Hebrew text. Kennicott collated a great many MS9* not Without the hope of finding a confiderable majority id favour of the world's fuperior antiquity. All bis writingi^ thofi^publHbed AtTBR the edition of his Hebrew Bible no| excepted) expreft his full convi^ion^ that the J^ws of the fecond century wilfully mutilated the chronological notations in tbe Hebrew Genesis :' but the refult of his laboriotfj Inveftigatiotis' did hot jnftify the augmentation of any one ' number^ much lefs of all. Hisieamedcontemporaries^how* cYer^ gave bigi implicit' credit for a dtd^oup abfolutely in* capable qf evidence, fufficient to enforce belief ;— the authen«^ ticity of the Sejptuagint Chronology, fiy refpedlablc author^ has this do^ine been maihtained, (t.) in a Sermbn, printed t79t, wtiere it is affirm^, " That the fpace from the hoot of the Fall to the prefcntday is full 7000 years ;^-^-and (^,) |f| a> late ^ogliih ycrfioa of the Pentateuch, the exaggerated numbers in the xith chapter of GBNSdis krt taken from the 70 Interpreters (as dbey at^ called), Under the (bl^n decW r^tioii; that tbt verfion it faithfdlly ttanflated fi^m coite6ted ttUt^ of ^tfae original. In tfte former cak, extreme ^nrduKti^ in iht latt^^.tbt dceeiyckblcneft of JUmxifli Impoihue* Ss c^iwmpUfied^ a 4 confldcrll. f REF A G £• tflDfidbroi, and a wom^ itieeioft view c»bibit«d in tfae mAmg^AuiA l v ais . Be i|| in a form kfm wi^t more diffiifive, rfwiarlDffd».thait. >' i; «Xhs nvnrvdlons flofiei^ (ranfioiftt^ coxKeraiDg tha fiiraiatbsoftkitverfiodf if true, imount tomuch 9fpngefe evidence, ct»n |tmt ^Ikged for ibe autheQUcity of the original ; or, to invert the argument, is it pro* bable, that the tefihnony of Mofes, alone, was fuf- j^cient to induce convidiqin ; and that the teftimony of fO'Saiit>o#». ihi;it42p 'm feparate cells, who all tranllated th^ &me wvkiiigs, fo as not^ to vary in o»e phrafe or ^rtide, was reqoifite to efiablifli the honeiiy, fluUy jgid Infpiration of the tranllators ? If this query bt jnfWred in the affirmative, unavoidable is the inference, that Lewis Ce^does was under obligations to product imd<$ftces of tits fkill and fidelity, 70 degrees ftronger than Mofes for bis veracity as an infpired writer, which I^hara6ler this coafummate critic has ventured to contfrcrveit, with neediefs re^ittdns of bil belief. - *2. Kb i«^i€OTT' alleges, that fottie copies of tht ]^ebrew "peqtatisuch,: having the larger numbers, were extant in the 4tb century. On the repori of Eufebius ihecvedibiUty of'thisfaSislaidtareft. Other evidence )l pfbdwed-lto ooHfirm the^bettef^of copies extftiDg !» tbr Jli, wB even faWcqucnt centuries •• With aH defc** rau;e to the veracity of thbfe witnefie?, hp it remarked, %0t ikm wideace is good for nothings It oug^t 1» have ixea jnoved, by e^idenet,^ dhe&: or .Gircmn* Ibmtid/- that copies haiifig the larger numbers did '^Kfftti^'s remarks onfde^ paiTases, 1787. p. 17* adually P k E F AC R IX aAually texifi before the mpi of Ptolemy PI\ilacleIphusi the ddte of die Greek verfidn. Be it fuppofed, though it cannot be admitted, that the incredulous Jews of the .iecoitd centuiy had mutilated the genuine chronology o^ Mofes iBU(^ mbrc probable it is, that certain ChriilianS) more zealous than honefi, did actually cor*' rupt certain copies of the Hebrew Pentateuch, by ioifting in the aibplified nuibbers of the Greek verfiom ^ This might have been done by foinc profely tes from Judaifinto Chriftianity, Whofe attachment to the en- larged chronology prompted them to procure it the fimAion of Mofes' authority. In the regiflcr of Jacob*s Ikmily, Gren. xlvi. are various inteipolations. Joreph*! age was but 3^ in tb^ 130th of his father. The fon at^ the age of I30 yvas introduced to Pharaoh, and was thea unmarriM. After 9 years, on the arrival of Jacobs Alanafleh and Ephraim are in the Hebrew mentioned as tb^ Avhole of Jofeph*s family. But in the Greek. ver£on .Manafleh and Ephraim had, each, two.fons and agrandfoo. Thefe were undoubtedly taken by tb^ tratiflators fnm a more recent catalogue* In like manner^ £x or feven ions of Benjamin were inferted in tba€ Ml,' &om the Hebrew books of numbers, or - I Cbtt^inclea, mar^ ^^es, perhaps, before the date of. fbe Sqi^vagmt verfii(^. , Mofes could not poflibljf . coniftfaArthttf ^cgiAer iu its prefent farm : I'o m^ny s^d . ctbvioiis ate its cs-cors. Kennicott diJ not appr^en(} it tole in daerltafi degree corrupted j and in. none of . his bulky, volurp^s does one hint occur for anemen* jiatioD. — ^Thefe, 'and the like interpolations, might ftive m PREFACE. finill a sNunber of mtn (hould agree in a frau^ tfaan that the whale Jewifli nation, magifhrates» prie&s> kvites, foribeit and people, did un^mimoufly vittata their fiicred books. Such a projeA could not have been executed without a confroverry, and hiftorians wouU have recorded the names of the agents, the time, dilB fiace^ the motives, the circumfiances, which obltrudedl or favoured the . reception of the fcheme« The impoftor Arifteas takes notice, that only one true copy of the liebsew original was tranfniitted from Jerufakm K» Alexandria. To prevent the danger of a (hameful deteflion, that one copy, if difmembered anddeftroyedt could never be produced, as an evidence either of fidelity or fraud. But at Jerufalem an immediate dif« covery rouft have been unavoidable. 6. It muft farther be cenfidered, that the tranflatora pf the Septuagint, whatever was their number, had ver|r Ipecious and prevalent inducements to amplify the liebrew antiquities. Herodotus, mifled by the often- tatious vanity of the Egyptian priefls, aOigned to that Empire an incredibly remote eAablilhment. ThU national pride, like the pellilence, foon infe£led the contiguous inhabitants of Samaria and Phoenicia* The former, one full century prior to the time of Ptolemy Fhilad^lphus, had procured a copy of thelaw for theufe of thf temjde gn mount Gerizim ; and from every probable circumftance it is inferred, that the amplified numbers were firft inferted in that copy, [the Samaritan] and after- wards in the Greek verfion, where freedoms, far more ^reafonable, were taken with the venerable or^inal^ wbittk PREFACE, xii. ^ich, however, both parties left immaculate. The refult of all thete prefumptions is, that the numbers of the Hebrew text were not retrenched, but thofe of t\w Greek verfion exaggerated. Be the terms of the in- Jiftment, as framed by Jackfon and Kennicott, in^ verted^ the following will be its t«ior : ** The tranflators at Alexandria had a. mind to add one century to the ages of all the patriarchs befbrd they begat children, and to fliorten in proportion the after-term of their lives : but they found, that, if they augmented the ages of Jared, Methafelab, and Lamech^ before they begat children, (as they had done of all the reft), they mufi, by this reckoning, have extended theie three lives beyond the Flood." Every competent and impartial judge, who weighs probabilities in an equal balance, will pronounce, without befitation, that the Alexandrian Jews, biafled by an attachment to an exorbitant chronology, added about fifteen centuriet to the Mofaicat numbers, with the view of (heltering the Hebrews from the fuppofed reproach of an upfiart race, and a recent origin. 7« Kehnlcott feigns ah imaginary motive which be thinks influenced the Jews of the fecond century. *^ Let it not be forgotten, that their plan was to bring back the birth of JefusChrift from the vith to theivtb Chiliad, from about the year 5500 to 3760 ; in order to prove, that, at the birth of Jefus, the time for the Mefliah, was not then come */' ^ s « Gcn/Diflfert. p . 3s< and Rentarks, p. %6i The sir PREFACE. The Jews were indeed inexpert chronologcrs, and the primitive Chriftians ftill Icfs accompli died. The former anticipating the birth of Abraham by 60 ycart, and retrenching almoft two centuries from the durition of the Perfian Empire, allow about 3760 years from Adam'to our vulgar era. But thefe miftakes had no reference to the term fpecificd for the advent of the MeiTiab* Their computation was much more accurate than that of the Cbriftian Fathers, prior to Jcrom and Auguftine. If the birth of Chrift be brought into coincidence with 5500, the date exceeds the truth by almoft 15 centuries, whereas, that aflfigned by the mailers of the fynagogue falls (bort by about 244 years* On the authority of tradition, they believed that the con* tinuance of the world would be fix millenaries, divided into three equal periods, under the Patriarchs, t he Law, and the Mefliah ; and the viith millenary they charaderifed as fabbatical* This is the do6lrine of their Gemara, or coUefiion of traditions ; but it certainly was much more ancient. The opinion is reported by Barnabas, the companion of the apoftle Paul, and was maintained bjr others of the Chriftian Fathers even thofe of the jiKST century ♦. 8* Here is direfi hiftorical evidence, authenticating the adherence of the incredulous Jews of the first century to the chronology of the Hebrew Pentateuch, in dired contradiction to thofe of the Chriftian Fathj^rs, vrbofe authority is alleged for the fir ft introdu£Uon of * Bp* Watfon's Theological Tra(5l8, vol. iii. p. 5$. the PREFACE. X tliC abbreviated reckoning in the second century* *f he truth is, that the Chriftian Fathers were tlietn- felves the heretics of that age, as far as the computatioa of times is concerned. Except on this one principle, the plenary infpiration of the Alexandrian interpreters, it never can be affirmed, that Jefus Chrift was bom at Bethlehem in, or about, the year of the v^rorld 5500. The Hebrew notations conne6l this memorable event- with the clofe of the ivth millenary. But if this latter date be reje£led the attribute of infpiration is transferred firora Mofes to thefc interpreters, — a fet of men whole names were never recorded in hiftory, of whofe abilities their veriion gives a very contemptible fpecimen, and whofe want of principle, in giving their fan^tion to the abfurd fidions of paganifm, in oppofitton to the authority of a venerable record, (which they were under facred obligations to tranilate with fidelity}^ tranfmits their infamy to all ages. 9. Obvious are the reafons, which induced firilthe Hellenift Jews, and afterward thofeCbrifiians who had abjured gentilifm, to prefer the Greek verfion of the Old Teftament to the original Hebrew. One motive, as felf evident, fuperfedes a train of arguments ; both parties were totally ignorant of the language, in whiih the facred oracles had been compofed. The pofterity of thofe Jews, who accompanied Onias, the firft high prieft of the temple built ia EgyP^t ^^^^ ^o ^hat at Jerufalem, during the reign of Ptolemy Pbilometor, having acquired theGreek tongue, which had become vernacular over the whole Maccdo- Egyptiaa xvi PREFACE. Egyptian Empire, entirely forgot the Hebrew. For thi*reafon the fcriptures, according to the Greek vcrfion, were univerfally read in that temple, in all the fyna- gogues, and in all the private families, of the land. When the gofpel was firft preached in. Egyptf Syria^ iind other provinces where t^e Greek language was fpoken, the apoftles, and other Chriftian miflion-^ aiie8> went into the fynagogues, and preached iho doArine of the crofs. Wherever they found difciples^ "^appeab were made to thofe Greek fcriptui:es which leftificd of Chrifi; becaufe their hearers underilobd na other. Hence eafy it is to account for the quick recep- tio» of the Septuagint Bible, and its uoiverial ufe» lK>lh in the Jewifli and Chri&ian aflemblies, difperfed ever the kingdom of the Greeks* It is,^ however to be obferved, that neither the one fntys nor the other knew the diftinfiion between the chronology of the Hebrew original and of the Greek refpboiu Without the feaft fufpicion of an attachment^ m tlie tranSators, to the' exorbitant computauons ol the gentiles, they irapKcitly received the notaticms oi years expveffed in that veviioii* Tbjl Jewv who continued in Paleiline fronb the seign of Cyrus to the ChriAiao era, natural it is to fuppefe> retained fof » mxKib kmgec fpace of time the K& of their niother-toilgue, and the reading of their mnguui Scriptures ; nor doe^ it appear that they IpnetaNy preferrecl the enlarged chronology of the HeHcaifts^ before the ^me of theiir total difperfion. io» Ajtxr the overthrow of Jerwfdlem, Rome be* nme the mother church. Before the end of the firfl 3 century PREFACE. xvii century nearly the whole of the fcriptures Was publifhed in Latin ♦, which, under the title of the italic ver- sion, taken from the LXX. was.moft probably read in the Roman church from the Apoftblical age for feveral centuries. Hence is inferred the almoft uni- verfal predileftion of the Chriftian Fathers, in favour of the Greek chronology. In the fourth century Jerom, diflTatisfied on this account, (perhaps, among others]^ with that verfion, prepared an entire new tranflation from thfe Hebrew, and confequently reftored the pri- mitive Mofaical computation. Thus was the italic V EROSION fuperfeded by a fubftitute, which' the fynod at Trent pronounced Canonical. ** The whole Chriftian church, eaftern and weftern, and all the ancient celebrated writers of thecliurch, heg- leSed the Hebrew computations, and adhered to the Greek ; till in the late century, fome, but not all of the Roman writers, in regard to the decree of the council of Trent about the vulgar Latin, took to the Hebrew computations, not becaufe they were the Hebrew, but becaufe the vulgar Latin agreed with them. Baronius obferves, that the church lifed anciently to compute the years from the creation, not according to the Hebrew, but according to the Septuagint, and cites many authors to confirm it. He might juftly have cited every ancient writer, except St. Jerom and St. Auftin. Among the moderns, Beza was the firft that had any doubts about the Greek chronology; I fay, had doubtr^ for he never abfolutely rejefted it, though hp feemed more i * Gregory's Church Hiftory, vol. i. p. 70. b inclined xvili PREFACE. inclined to the Hebrew. A few followed his opinion ; and they are but a few, in comparifon of the many that have gone the other way *." In times more liberal^ and confequently lefs perilous^ UOier brought the fubje6l to the teft of cool difpaf* Conate criticifm, and decided in favour of the Hebrew. notations. This concluGon, the refult of proofs judicioufly chofen, and fairly flated, was happily falif- fadory to the learned of every denomination : the pro^ teflant churches . having concurred with the popilh, in the article of a truly fcriptural chronologyy without the leaft fufpicion of fwerving from the principles of the reformation, which feems to account for the timic} caution of Theodore Beza. About the middle of the pad century was the re- formed chronology exemplified, in the worthy Priroate*« Annals of the Oj-D and Nevv^ Testament. But after a few years Ifaac VofSus revived the controverfy, and by the injudicious zeal of feveral learned and emi'* nenlly good men, during the paffing century, is th^ erroneous fyilem reAored. As an antidote to the per-* xnanent and general prevalence of a fcheme, fo incom- patible with the integrity of the Hebrew Pentateuch, the author of the Researches undertakes to produce direft hiftorical evidence that the protraQed chronology was firft tabricated in the very formation of the Greel^ verfion ; — and to evince, that the concife reckoning of Mofes allows fufficicnt time for the population requifite * Shuckfard, vol. i, p. 6i. to PREFACE. xix to conflrufl the tower of Babel, if the difperfion be referred to the later years of Peleg's life, as the words of the facred hiftorian naturally admit this fenfe, and not to the time of his birth. On this principle too it will appear evident, that, in the 75th of Abra- ham's age, 427 years aft^r the Flood, the account of great kingdoms, magnificent cities, &c. then faid to exift, IS perfeftly confiftent with the courfe of nature, and improvement in arts. — If thefe pofitions can be • verified, no plaufible pretext will remain for the utility of the expanded computation. In the following fheets a fubjeft coeval with time, and wide as the planetary fyftem, is exhibited in minia- ture. It is an attempt to erefl Ancient Hiftory on a firm and permanent bafis, — an original epoch in reckoning, and to afcertain the lengths of thofe fixed terms in computation, of which the fum defines the paft age of the world, at any given period. Thus are events, prior, .co-exiftent, or fucceflive, difpofed in their natural order. For thefe ends the Hebrew books, the mod ancient and be ft attefted in the world, are prefumed to afford the moft certain intelligence. From the gradual improvements in natural know- ledge, thefe oracles of infpiration derive an acceflion of evidence in every age. By critical (kill in ancient tongues and ufages,"^ the facred phrafeology acquires precifion and fignificance. Reafon is congenial with faith, and even fcience gives her fanftion to revealed truth* Aftronomy and Chronology, applied to the Sacred Hiftory are, happily fabfervient to eftablifti the b 2 belief XX PREFACE. belief of a wife, merciful, and juft Providence fupcrin- tending the Univerfe. If at any time, emergent per- plexities occur, to furmount which thefe ufeful arts are inadequate. Genealogy fuggefts fuch arrangements, as correfpond to the term of natural life, in the various periods of time. By fevcral authors of eminent abilities and learning, have the genealogies from the firft to the fecond Adam been examined, but fuccefsfully adjufted by none. From Jacob to the dilTolution of the Hebrew monarchy numerous are the fources of uncertainty : and as far as the writer's knowledge extends, the period from Solomon to Jofiah has been overlooked by all the critics and expofitors. In this Analysis the principal difficul- ties have been obviated, and, it is hoped, confiitentljr with the courfe of nature. Revealed religion is not now to be confidered as a matter of doubtful difputation ; — an inftitution wh^ch needs the benefit of an apology. This word implies, imperfeftion, if not demerit. It has flood the tefl of Time, which, aided by the increafe of knowledge, never fails to expofe the fallacies of impoflure, and fet forth the luflre of truth. If feveral parts of the hiftorical fcriptures be not yet clearly underflood, certain it is» that nature, providence, and grace, have one origin and Lord ; and though myfteries occur wherever we dire£lour thoughts or eyes, we may trufl, thait TIME will yet unfold many fecrets of unfearchable wifdom, long before the final refult of things, when order and liarmony fhall crown all the works of God. To PREFACE. xri To the purfuit and difcoveiy of truths faffiionable modes of thinking, and the prejudices of hoftile parties, have ever been unfavourable. This remark is fatally exemplified in the hiftory of the Pagans, Jews, and Chriflians. The PagansJ cenfured the Jews becaufe their facred rites and national laws were dwerfe from all people: and the Jews hated the Pagans, whom they very uncharitably pronounced the profane and accurfid out-cafis from the divine favour. One grievous confequence of predominant degeneracy, among the heathen tribes, was the lofs of primeval tradition ; and then vain imaginations fupplied the want of true hifisry. Generations and reigns, multiplied at pleafure, fuggeiled the notion of enormous antiquity. This was the prevailing foible of the gentile empires, about the time when the oracles of hiftory and pro- phecy ceafed among the Hebrews, which was the era, or dawn of alphabetical compofition, over the wide domains of paganifm : and that foible had become both extrava- gant and epidemical, in the age, when the Medo* Perfian Empire fell. When the Alexandrian interpreters fet about their verfion of the Mofaical volumes, the Egyptians had previoufly claimed, by immemorial prefcripdon, an origin of 36,000 years prior to Cambyfes ; nay Cicero reports, that they boafted of celeftial obfervations during the lapfe of 470,000 years*. Thofe inter- preters, conGdering their kingdom as one of the oldeft • Dc Divin. 1 1. b^ in x*Ii PREFACE. in the world, wilhed to impart to the Hebrews, whole religion they profeflcd, a fmall moiety of the reputa- tion derived from antiquity; and in the manner already fet forth, enlarged the times prior to Abraham, by the addition of 15 fiHitious centuries. This is one inftance of fafhionabie opinions, in their unhappy influen(!e to miflead the minds of men. Other examples are in leferve. II. A FORMER hint mud here be repeated. Thole Hellenift Jews, who had been inftrufted in the religion of Mofcs, and with it in the language of Greece, wese generally unacquainted with that in which the Pen* tateuch, and fubfequent volumes of the jacred eanon^ had been compofed. They therefore could not difcover the frauds of the tranflators, in amplifying the years of the patriarchal genealogies. Not incongruous with reafon or probability is the furmifc, that fome individuals, at Icaft, of thofe Hellenifts, or that multitudes of their defcendants, embraced the gofpel. Such proietytes from Judaifm to ChrMlianity, doubtlefs continued as ignorant as before, of the primitive Mofaical chrono* logy y and to the writings of Mofes and the Prophets^ as then extant in the Greek tongue, were they referred for the things concerning the charader of Chriit. Be it not fuppofed, that Jefus or his apoAIes appeared in* that age to give the fan3ion to any one fcheme of Chronology. Much more augull were the obje&s of their commiflion. Befides, the true chronological numbers, entire and unvitiated, were then, as now, extant in the Hebrew Pentateuch, the fole and fupreme • ftandard PR EFFACE, «xiii •iUndard 'for oomputation in every age. The fafthere principatlly intended is the force of early difciplitt^, and of immemorial prcfcription, on the minds of individaals, fe£ts, and fucceflive generations. •It remains to confiderthe hoftile fpirit of faftion, in its baneful tendency to pervert the human judgenient'. Of the Chriftian Fathers a very great majority viras •better acquainted with the Greek, than the Hebrew Bible, and moft probably the incredulous Jews of Paleftine, in« the firft century of our era. During tlie currency of ' that one century, it may be prefumed, the controverfy was firft broached, concerning the time fore-oirfaihed for the appearance ' of the Meffiah : and the tradition already mentioned feems to have been common to both parties ; — that the vith millenary of the world was the proper date ; and, by the Greek com- putation, the then current century was about the center, or intermediate point, of that age, A. M; 5500. Pressed with this perplexing difficulty, the Rabbis of that time, who were beft acquainted with the- Hebrew notations, betook themfelves to the ftudy of the original, and firll difcovered the profane difingenuity of the Alexandrian interpreters. Thus furnifhed with well-tempered weapons from the Sacred Armory, thefe Rabbis might, as they very probably did, argue witli the Chriftians, that in perfeft harmony with the genuine Chronology of the world, as ftated by Mofes, 2000 years were then to elapfe before the appearance of the Mefliah. Both parties mifunderflood the Scriptures to which tbey fcverally appealed. The Jews erred in deferring 5 Oif icxiv PREFACE. the advent of their Prince, to the end of the vlth tnille« nary, and the ChfiQians, in adding 15 pominal cen* turies to the then age of the world. The natural efieA of fuch remonfirances would have been convidion oa both 6des. But the Jews continued incredulous, and the 'ChriAians falfely charged their antagonifls with. the facrilegious guilt of mutilating their chronology, to elude the characters of time which defined the advent of the Mefliah. 12. Jackson, with our other modern patrons of the Greek chronology, refers to certain records, where it is affirmed, that the Jews kept a yearly feflival in iionour of the old Greek verfion, and in pious thank* fulnefs for fo great a blefling ; but that about A, D, 130, they riot only declared it to be full of errors, and forbade the reading of it; but alfo kept a folema Fail on the 8th day of Tebetb, in order to curfe the memory ofits being then made*. On the authority of Philo, a contemporary writer^ it is but equitable to admit the fa6l ; bccaufe it is not rendered doubtful by contradi6lory evidence ; but the affigaed reafon, favouring fo ftrongly of calumny and of virulence, may julUy merit reprobation. Inveterate prejudice (leels the heart, fo as to obfiru£l and defeat the opei'ations of fweet humanity, to violate all the regards due to that inviolable, that awful, that facred things TRUTH ; and to arm the hand, that organ of (kill, power^ and mercy, with the bloody weapons of perfecution. • Kennicolti Diflert. ii. p. 366. May PREFACE. XXV May it not be prefuraed, with every Cgnature of truth, that the Jews, yet declared enemies to the dofirine of the crofs, convinced that the Alexandrine verfion of the Pentateuch (from certain fmifter motives had been wrefted to a partial conformity with the licen- tious computations of paganifm) had dete3ed the grofs prejudices of the unprincipled tranflators, in favour of an incredibly remote antiquity ; and, in confequence of a difcovery, at once fo unexpefled and important, em" ployed Aquila to prepare a Greek verfion lefs repugnant to the original. That tranflation was publifhed, and, in procefs of time, two more by Theodotion and Sym- machus, (all within the fpace of 70 years, ending A. D. 200), in which the genealogical numbers agree in quantity with the Hebrew texts. " It is remarkable, that Eufebius Emifenus who flourifhed about A. D. 340, mentions Symmachus, (and not Aquila or Theodotion}, as always putting 100 years less, in the ancient genera-- iionsy agreeably to the Hebrew ; fo that if the Hebrew chronology was [were] contraSed, it was probably done in the interval between Theodotion and Sym- machus.'' The above aflertion of Eufebius is given by Montfaucon in his Prelimin. Differt, p. 54 ♦. 13. This aflertion of Eufebius Emifenus, though ap^ proved by Montfaucon and Kennicott, no lefs merits rejeftion, than the flander raifed by the Chriftian Fathers againft the Jews of the fecond centuiy, that they mutilated the genealogical notations in their Penf * Kennicott, ii. 369. tateuch. xxvi PREFACE. tatcuch. On teftimonies whicH are highly refpeAabiet and reafons fuperior to every fufpicion of amt>iguityf it is maintained, that, after the o\'erthrow of Jeruialem« it was abfolutely impoflible for the Jews to corrupt, by a national deed, their canonical records. At fo receat a period the mutilation of their chronology would have availed them nothing. As they acknowledged, that their promifed Deliverer had not appeared, a projed to amplify their chronology would much better have ferved their 'riofe. Befides, had they curtailed the yearf of all the copies in their poifeffion, an equal number, at kail, was in the hands of the Chriftians, who would not fuffer fo glaring a corruption to pafii without fpirited remonit ranees. 14. On the whole, whatever reafonable and generous allowance (hould be made for (here and there) a wilful error by afingle hand, or for incidental overfights in the multiplication of tranfcripts, the Jews were faithfal depofitaries of their facred books. The Samaritans en* larged the times in their copy of the Pentateuch, the Alexandrians in their verfion, and moreover bafely io. ferted a fpurious patriarch *. But in other refpe£^s the Hebrew chronology has been (by the fignal favour of a watchful Providence) tranfmitted pure, entire, and fafe, to the pafling generation, at the commencement of the 59th century from the creation. 1 5. This prefatory addrefs could not more appoGtely end than with the iollowing quotation from a Ute profi- • The fecond Cainan. cient P R f: r A C E. xxvii cientinSacredCriticifra* ««The,lightithat arofci^ponthe Cbriftian world at the Rieformation, hath ftill comi««ed to increafc, and we truft willjhine more and more^ unto the perfeSf day. The labours of the learned have, from that time, by the blefling of God upon the free exercife of reafon and private judgement, been greatly fuccefsful in promoting religious knowledge ; and particularly in laying open the hidden treafures of divine wifdom, con- tained in the Holy Scriptures. Much hath been done in this important work, and much ftil! remains to be done. Thofe heavenly (lores are inexhauftible : every new acquifition leads on to new difcoveries ; and the moft careful fearch will ftiil leave enough to invite, and reward the repeated refearches of the pious and induf- trious, to the lateft ages. This is a work that demands our firft and moft earneft regard ; the ftudies and af- fiftance, the favour and encouragement of all. To con- firm and illuftrate THESE holy writings, to evince their truth, to {hew their confiftency, to explain their mean- ing, to make them more generally known and ftudied, more eafily and perfe611y underftood, by all ; to remove dHHcuhies, which difcourage the honeft endeavours of the unlearned, and provoke the malicious cavils of the half-learned :•— tiiis is the moft worthy objedi diat can engage our attention ; the moft important end, to which our labours, in the fearch of truth, can be directed. Here I cannot but mention, that nothing would more efFettually conduce to tins end, than the exhibiting of the Holy Scriptures themfelves to the people, •SX INTRODUCTION. In aii age wlien the natural meifureis of time are exaftly afcertained, and the arts of computation reduced to fyftematical precrfidn, 'it may fecm a paradox, that thefc arts have never been applied to thofe raea- fiires, with a degree of fucceft which infallibly deter- mines the pafi duration of the world. Chronology can be carried no farther back than the moft remote point in hiftorical time. All beyond is the region' of puiie aftronomical operations, which mark imaginary limits ih antemundan duration. The vulgar Chi:iftian Era, with fefpe6t to which all dates art denominated prior or fubfequent, is^ by immemorial prcfcription, accounted the center of aft/onomical calculations. For example, from the firfl: of January A. D. 17^5, count back 179+ fol a r tropical yoaili^ the reckoning is carried up to January ill in the number of the Julian period 4714, where the era begins with' unity. Hence continue the retrograde feries of natural yeai^ up to that firfl point, which Mofes calls the beginning, when God created the beavens aiul the earth j — there meafured Time begins. B Com- a DivisiaN of the Times Computation may proceed farther, if the exiftenae of the planetary fyftem be fuppofcd: but beyond the primary fource of mcafured durarton, divided into dif- tinft porfionsy by the rcvolvnig luminaries, 'neither chronology nor hiftory can proceed. How is the quantity of this retrograde feries defined!^ By fixed periods, extending progreflively from the origii^ of things, to the time of the crucifixion. The biftorical records of the Hebrews, it is true,, leave a void fpace of more than four centuries, prior to the annals of the New Teftament. But this apparent deficiency is abuiv* dantly compenfatedr by the infallible oracles of pro* phecy, which fpccify- an interval of 490 years, tO' comnoence with z certain date, fubfequent to the return of the captiyes from Babylon, and to end vfith, the cutting off of the Meffiah. The ferics in tho retro*' . grade order, is thus completed : Frpm the Crucifixion^ To the date of Ezra's CommtiSon - 4^ Overthrow of Jerufalemand-the Temple ijo. . Foundation of the firft Temple -, 43fcfr Releafe from Egypt - - ^So^* Date of the fojourning in Canaan ai^' Egyjpt . . - \4^&' Termination of the Deluge m. 42V:' Creation - • 1656^ itfp> It. is to be noted, that the computatioor b^iiis ;m€iiri the time of the vernal equinox, in the year of out Lordfsi paffion;^ and therefore ends with the fame^ aaixUn^ point in the firft year of the worI(^ though' &»\ monfh^ 3 - *ft«^ ]iefote the CRtiCrFtxioN* ^ tFtcr the creation ; for at the Exodus was intro4ucecl a change of ftile, by which the feventh month of the primitive year, asanciently computed, became the firfl, 3:9 then altered t " This month (hall be unto you the beginning of months ; it (hall be tl^e firft month of the year/* By the Julian calendar, every Hebrew year, counted from one autumnal equinox to another, falls in with two numbers of the Julian period. The firft year of the world therefore expired the 31ft December 706; and the fccond began JatTuary 707. By this rule, the time of the crucifixioti coincided with the feventh month of the year 4041 fcorri the creation. Kence deduft 37, the current year of Chrift's life, the time of his nativity is cohne6h:d with^4oo4. The prefanied uncertainty of an infallible ftandard in computation has long perplexed chronologers. la the Hebrew Annils the notations of time have every reafonable clahn: to piiefcrence; That th^fe which define the interval' froni Adam to Abraham hav'e beerf fcgregioufly carraptcid, by mutilation or accident, hath often been t&ttofaiy but never proved. The numbers ih the vth and kith chapters of Genefis, as exhibited' in the Greek vcrlionir exceed thofe in the Hebrew* origUial by about* f56o years. But the triinflatorsp- t» compliance: with that epidemical afieflatidn of a* semote origin^ which then had become prevalent smon; the GentHe ^nations, enlarged, (by otte century- each),' Ac a^ of fifteetipatiriafchs at the birtli'of their ijpecified &nsw' Inpelled by* the fame vanity, Jofephus^ kavbg the Hdatw ttzt fuH ixi bis vi^W, preferred x\m B 2, exaggerated 4 Division of the Tih(t$ exaggerated chronology of thcfc interpreters, unJer the falfe pretence of tratiflating faithfully from the original. The Samaritan copy differs from both, fometimes by deCefl, fometimes by cxtefe ; but none of ^1 the three is of equal authority, with the genuine Hebrew Annals. \ Or the world's origin Mofes'gaVe the firft, and the only authentic account; and thence to the year of hit own death continued the hiftory in an orderly feries of flriking events, intermixed, or rather infeparaMy con- ne£led with fuch deciflvc chara6lers of time, as define the pad duration of the world, at the entrance into Canaan. The whole interval is 5^554. aftronomicrf years, fix months..... . With equal fignatures of precifion, and without One vac^ant' ffi&ce)' is the chronology of the Hebrews pfofeiTedlyy and of the Pagan nations Incidentally con- tinued from onfe flage to another; Where the hi flory J^MofeS ends^ there that by Joihua begins, riot with* 9Ut obyipu^ Irints of a ccfitinnatibn. In the fami ^lapnqr is'thcjine pf <:bronolo^iqil pfder prolonged in the hifi<>ry.pf th^ Judges, including^- that/ of Ruth, to tbe delttb rof , SamfpYi. In the tv^d bdois of Samuel^ widthd:fi(ll of th6 Kings, is; the hiftory of Samuel -» government, with that of the £rft tt^ monarchs, dc^ fcribed, in.si reguUr feries of events,. and with requifite notations of timd. ' In the 4th'of Solonion were the foundations . of the Temple laidj duHng the cucrentjr of the 480th year from the Exodiis. . Deduft the 40 years fpetit.in the defart;; the inter val'from the pafl&ige 9ver Jordan is 440 : and 440 + ^554 s^iB994r which r > w . fum Before the Crucifixiok. ^ fiftn is the age of the world in full yearSi not in-^ cladiag the 4th of Solomon, whence a new term in computation begins. From the 4th of Solomon to the 3d of Jehoiakim» both included, is a period of 408 years. Add the 7a years of the captivity ; 408 -j- 7^ = 478 + 2994 = 3472, the^ge of the world at the return from Babylon^ excluding the firfi of Cyrus. From Darius the Medc to the 15th of Darius No-^ thus, beyond which the canonical records of the He« .brews do not extend, the intermediate fpace is 128 years, which bring down the computation to A. M, 3600. This long period with refpeft to the Hebrews, (na part being unknown or fabulous) is all purely HISTORICAL.. It has been pronounced an imper- feflLon in the Hebrew annals, that the hiftory con- tained in them can be authenticated by no collateral teftimony. But neither can it be difproved by authentic records of equal antiquity, and credit. Paganifm had neither oracles, nor national hiflories, of fo early a date^ or fo well attisfted. As the final period of the Hebrew monarchy drew nigh, the facred writers had the precaution, or, rather^ were fupernaturally dire£led, to conne£l their national chronology with that of the co-exiftent Pagan ftates* For inilance, Jofiah was contemporary with Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt :—rthe 4th of Jehoiakim was the I ft of Nebuchadnezzar; whofe 1 8th was the loth of Zedekiah :--In the ift of Cyrus were the Jews ho- liourably difinilTed. frorn Babylon: — in the 6th of B 3 Darius 6 Division of the Times Darius Hyftafpis was the fecond temple finifhed:-^ in the 7th of Artaxerxes Longimanus did Ezra receive his commifiion ; Nehemiah his in the 2oth. Thefe and the like notations, though feemingly incidental, are of fignal ufe in conneding the Jcwifh hiftory with that of the Gentiles, To the fame important end are the fcveral chronological eras of pagan ifm emi- nently fubfervient ;— the Greek Olympiad, the Var- ronian £pochs of Rome, NabonafTar, the Seleucidae \ Ptolemy's Mathematical Syntaxls, &c. In the long interval from Nehemiah to the Evan» gelifts, (and indeed ever after the return from Babylon), the Jews having become tributary to the four mp^ narcbies in fiicceflion, their hiilory is intermixed, with that of the nations among whom they were difperfed \ and is yet extant in the writings, which have been tranfmitted, either in part or entire, to the prefent age. Certain fragments of their ftory, no where elfc to be found, are preferved in the two Apocryphal books of the Maccabees. Jofephus, the glory of his nation, in its lafi period, has exhibited a perpetual commentary on the infpired hiftorical books, and a continuation of the national annals^ coIle£led with great induftry and judgment from many repofitories of au-« thentic hiifiorical information, long fince ^eftroyed ; but ftill extant in his valuable books of the Jewifli Antiquities, and Wars; which extend nearly to the *£icond century of our era. The ingredients of the in-< tormediate hi(lor)r, fo far from being deficient, arc in far greater abundance, than is neceflary to condu6k the juttieot axi4 &Uful chronologer from one ftage to \ another^ B^ore the Crucifixion. . 7 Mother, in computation, till he arrive at that brilliant period ift pagan Hterature ; — the Auguftah age. Among the Greek authors, of fuperior note, the following, in the order of time, merit fpectal regard: Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Diodo- rur St terpretation of the facred hiftorian's words, <^ In his daysy^ is unnatural. The phrafe is firi6ily proper if • Ant 1; 6. 4* C 2 under* 4o ChUONOLOGY of thf PiNTATfeUCH. underltood to intimate, that the dirperfion took place in his life-time. Usher, Bedford, anci Bryant, conjefture that Noah divided the lands among his fons, about the time of Peleg^s bbrtb^ and before tb& general difperfion. But pure cpnje£lure,, without the colour of hifiorical ^vU dcnce, is pot to be admitted. The arduous attempt at Babel, the extent of that flruAurcy .as defcribed 1^ the ancients, and the ftill perceptit^e vefii^es of its ruins, indicate «| iUge of population* and of progrefs in arts, incongruous wif b the hypotfaefis, that the ent^rprife was defeated fo-earJy: as (he iapfe of the firfl century .^rom the flood* f^very^ circumfiance in the ftate of the world, taken la cpn« ne^ion with. the. concife reports of facred . bifipryy adtpilts, ,oay rc[quire$9 the confufioii, of tongues, with tjie qonfequent reparation from Babel, to be brought fo low as ipo years before the birth of A})rabam. Sup- ppfe the 277th year after the flood to be the true date, Noah^ Shem, Arphaxad, Salah, £ber, Peleg,^ were then all living, and moft probably Japheth, Ham, and Nimrod. During the interval thence to the fo* jouhfrng of Abrdham, a period of 150 years, feveral political eftablifhments might have been eredled, and magtiifiG^nf cities b^lt, fo as to accord with the ad-* vartced ftate of population, in tl>at age. Admit this ar- /atigetlien<:, no necefhty occurs for having recourfe to tUfe ejtaggetated chronologyof the Greek Pentateuch-. On the other hand, if the Archbiihop's date of tlw dlfperfioi] be judged preferable, * the romantic projeft at babel was defeated alinoll as foon as begun ^ and no I ftronger Gen E B IS. ^i flronger objedlon to the^ accuracy of Mofes as a chro- nologer^and to his,yeracity gis a hifiorian» i$ fupppf- able. But why ihould his reputation fuSer from the unikilful pofitions of his commentators } A BRIEF abftraabf c6rre3ed dates, in this period, is fubjoined, with their chronological charaQers. ANNALS.' Yrt of the W. J. P. B. C. ARRANGEMENTS. W. J. P. B. Q. Termination of? j^,^ ^.x. ^.,^ , . the flood - I *^^^ *^^^ *^*9 - ^(^S1 »36» *35l Arphaxad born 1658 %i(i% .2346 - 1659 2364 254^ Thcdifperfion Y'^'' ' 1 19344039^74 Abrahain born 2008 %i\% 1996 • 2009 2714 1999 Terah dies - 2083 %Vil <9At - ftoa4 2789 2924 Sir W. Raleigh obferves, with much judgement and ^qual fpirit, " If we advifedly confider the ftate and toun- tenance of the world, fatli as it was in Abraham^s time, yea, before his birth, we fliill find, that it were very ill done, by following opinion without the guide of reafon, to pare the times over deeply between the flood and Abra- ham, tecaufe, in cutting them too near the quick, the re- 'putation of the whole •ftoiy might perchance bleed*." This pertinent remark is the refult of his determination condertiitig the two queftionsi whether the time of Peleg*s Krth were the true dafe of the difperfion, and the 70th of Terah the year of Abrafeartfi's birth ? The refolution of thefe enquiries affirmatively, is the true reafon why the Septuagiiit chronology hath been fo gfencraHy preferred to the riebrew, which, if fairly interpreted, removes every pbjefitoh to the immbelrs of mankind, at both periods. • Hift. p- 177. C 3 CHAP. aa Chronology «/" /A^.P«ntateuch» CHAP. IV. ■ Third 4ge of the World. I. Date of the Sojourning. TH E Annals reprefcnt the removal of Abrahamt firft from Ur, then from Syria, and his entrance into Canaan, as the events of his 75th year. But the hiftory requires a longer interval. In the intermediate fiage he built a village, or town, afterward denomi- nated a city, for the accommodation of his little colony* This certainly was not the work of a few months. It (eems he called it Haran, after the name of his' bror ther, who had died in the land of his nativity. This circumAance implies the profpe£l of a permanent re«- fidence. By a divine fignal,^ or monition, there he pitched his tent, and from the hiAory it does not appear^ that he entertained the thought of a fubfequent removal. The primate, however, aflumes the poftulate, that th^p patriarch left Chaldea with the explicit foreknowledge of an inheritance in Paleftme j— that his progfefs wa^ interrupted by the indifpofition, and death of his father at Haran; — and that he fet out thence for Canaan, the place of his final dcAination, whither he arrived, before thp expiration of one full year from the time he left bjs country, his kindred, and his father's lioufe. Every G £• N E S I $• 23 Every daufe of this complex poflulate is contro- vertible. At. the .command of Godt. the . pattriwcb departed from Ur, into a land afterwards to be (hewn to him. From thefe premifes an Apofile infers a con« clufion, at variance- with the archbifiiop's pofition: " By FAITH," joot by previous knowj-edce, ** Abraham, when he was called to go out unto ^, place, which he ihould (^ter receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and went out, not knowing whither he went.** Abraham and Lot had gathered fubfiance, and gotten fouls, in Haran. Their chief fubfiance was cattle, which had increafed by procreation. Their domeftics too had multiplied by birth, and by purchafe; or, as the Chaldee paraphraft conjeflures, by profelytifm. All thefe circumftances juftify the fuppofition, that Abraham confidered Syria as the place of his ultimate deftiqation, and that his abode there was protradled be* yond the fpace of a few months. Much more probable is the opinion of Petau and Shupkford, who fuppofe, that Abraham, with his at- tendants, was warned to retreat from Ur in his 70th year ; that he refided in Haran five years, and entered Canaan at the Age of 76. Of this laft date we have the utmoft certainty. For after Abraham had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and ^yhen he Was four- fcore and fix .years old,' Hagar bare Ifhmael. This riotatiop' ferves for a proof, that the fojourning ill Canaan and £g}'pt was adopted a^ a new term of com- putation. It is carefully to be noted, that the antici- ption of one year in this place, and of another at the C 4 time ^4. Chronology rf the Pentateuch. tvttit of Arphaxad's birth, unavoidably antedates the Exodus, ' the ifoandation of the temple, and all the in« tenne^iate dvents, by two years, i. Age of IJhmkel when caft oaU UsH£il, addpting impKcitly the opinion of -Sf. Je- rome, that tfliniael was 18 years old when ejeded, 1;aan and Egypt. His age, at' the birth of Ifaac, was 14 years*. ' ■ •■•■>.. 3- Age if IfaHc At the Death (f Sarah. The Primate* mifled by the Authority of Jofephoit, again deviates from the Mofaical chronology, by re- ferring the tranfaflions on Moriah \ to the a5th of Ifaac's age. He was born in the 90th of his Mother's life. She died at the age of 127. Both hiftorians (Mbfes arid Jolephus) conneft the return of Abraham and Ifaac ' from the altar, with the time of Sarah's death. Jofephus, in particular, emphatically remarks, ** Sarah die woman and her fon« — Abraham fent hdr and the child away.*' By what rule of interpretation is thit jwean^ ing feaft deferred to the fourth of Ifaac*s life, ffliid ibt expulfion of Iflimael to his i8th year? From no cfaa^ ra^r of time, expreifed in the hiAory, does it feeni probable, that thefe incidents were f^bfe^ei^t to^l(h( firft yeat of Ifaac*s age. Jofephus very properly obfervei this connexion. ^VWhen Sarah had born Ifaac, (he was unwilling that Ifhmael fhould be brought tip with him, and perfuaded Abraham to fend him and his mo- ther to a diftant country *.** But to reconcile the whole pertod of fbjouming» 430, with the 400, (that part of it mentioned Gem ?^v« ^3') Bedford, Kennedy, and others, date the commencement of the lefs number fron^ the fifth of Ifaac, with which they connefl: the weaning feaft, (exaftly 400 years before the Exodus J. For want of hillorical evidence, this poftulate, as at variance with probability, has, J)^en rejefled. From the fame term, |he fifth of Ifaac, are computed the 4«o years o£ •' Ant. L j%. 3. afflidion> 26 Chronology ^ /A/ Pentateuch. affliction^, and the mocking of Ifaac by Ifiimael is fjpecificdy by Uflier, Bedford, Kennedy, &c» as the firft afi of perfecution. This glofs is, in all its parts» equivocal, and inappofite. For, the text to which they fefer implies, that Abraham's feed (houid fcgoum in a land, not their own, 400 years. It is not affirmed that they (hould, all that time,* be in bondage and af* fli6ti6n. Ifaac, the father of that feed, could not be a ftrahger, in a land not his own, before his birth, ia the a5th year from the entrance of Abraham into Ca- naan. Hence to the egrefs the interval is 405. In the prophecy the round number is exprefled, and the odd years omitted. It was not neceflary that the fum fiiould have been defined with more precifion. This fohition by St. Auftin the Primate mentions without ap- probation. But it is much lefs exceptionable fhan the hyixHhefis, that Sarah, from the age of ninety, fuckied Ifaac five years. 4* Genealogies from yacob, Ik this, as in the fubfequent ages, the Annuls exem- plify jnany inftances of their author's negligence, want of fkill, and fallacious conclufionsj in the article of genealogy. Thofe beyojid the limits of this period are referved for their proper dates. From the birth of Jacob, progrcffively, the order of fucceflfion is not fpecified by the years of the fathers at the birth of their fons ; and henceforth the greatefl prplexities, in adjufling hiftory to the courfe of nature, f Ger, XV, 13. occur. ' I .Genesis^ ^ . " a j occur. The Archbifliop rightly computes this patiiarcV^ marriage with Laban*s two daughters .from his^77lJti . year ; and, from the fame term^ his 14 years of. ftir jmlated fervice. The pedigree is cominued in the line of Judah, his fourth fon by Leah, who qpi^ld not ^ bora befor'^t:*.'^ without the aid of imaginary tra^nfpofition^. . Ifi^,iv. i Z The J3oth year of Jacob was the 39th of Jofej^ Jofeph's age, when fold into Egypt, was 1 79 and Judah's 27. " At that time Judah went down froRi his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamit^.*' There ^nd then he took Shuah to be his wife, by whom* at diilin£l births, he had two fons. Both in fucceffion^ and each, at the age of puberty, married the fame woman ; hut both being fuddenly cut off by the hand of heaven, died chiidlefs. Suppofe the elder brother to "have married at the age of 16, and to have died before the expiration of one year, the computation is brought do wri to the 43d of Judah's life. After the deceale of the younger, the widow mud have tarried a competent time, before (he could reafonably fufpe£l Judah's in- tention to retra£l his promife of his only remaining fon for her third hufb^d* Sufpicion, at laft, growing up into defpair, {he tried the arts pf guile, and fatally fucceeded. S8 Chronology rf tht Fi;ntat£uch, fiKceeded* ^ Judah hegat Pbarez and Zariof Thamar." Incongruous it is tp imagine, that thefe twins were born' before tbe 4Stb year of Judah. Yet, in the next year after^ Pharez, with his two fons Heznon and HatnUlt accompanied- Jacob into Egypt. Here is a phyfiiJBl htipoffibiitty ! Eafy it is to eftablifh the veracity of tbe-facfed biftorian. But it is firft requifite to exi> bibit the feeble> elufive, and contradlflory, argumentis urged by the Metropolitan, for adjufting this feflion of the hiftory to (be courie of nature. In bis Treatifeof Sacred Chronology *, he afluthes tbe poftelate, that Judah at the age of i6, in the year of Jacob's return from Syria, married Shuah. This fundamental pofition, as repugnant to the teftimony of fcripture, which conne£ls the time of this marriage with the year when Jofeph was fold into Eg)'pt, is inadmifiible. He proceeds, ^ In tbe three fucoeffive years, Judah became the father of as many fons, at the •age of I9,'' (as by him computed). *' Er, the firft bonH having entered his 15th year, married Thamar ; and. Onan^ tbe fccond, at the fame age, efpoufed his brother's widow the year after. At tbe expiration of two years more, and ,15 before the defccnt into Egypt, ^ere bom the twin brothers, Phareis and Zara. Tbtis about the beginning of that year which brought Jacob with his family into Egypt, might Hezron be born, and "before its tertnination, Hamul ; or, if they likewife were 'twins, the nativity of both may be referred to the end of tbat year.** The- Moft Reverend Primate exprelTes bis • - * • - ♦ PartL c. 10. perfuafioix^ Gen A«is.^ i"^ df jperfiniiotiytbattiooheAfticIeof this Arrangement, ^irlll be &Htnd at vartanoe mth reafbn and natuie*' On the contrary, the writer of thefe*fheets dechrea^* with greai deference, his firm* belief that Pbarez, the' Csither of Hezron and Hamul, was himfelf an infant, at the time iof the migration fibm Canaan into S^y^* How then is the veracity of Mofcs to be Vindicated t tit is rq>1ied, that the regifter in the xlvith of Geiiefis 'has not,' in its genuine purity, been tranfmitted. In a very remote age, but long after the days of Mofes, and dill more recent than the date of the Greek Pentateuch, in the Time of Pt. Philadelphus, certain critics, with more good meaning than ftill, incapable of accounting for the original form of that regifter, but finding the . recorded names unequal to the whole fum, had recourfe to the ratti expedient of fupplying the deficiency from the later Hebrew pedigrees in the Books of The Num*- bers and Chronicles : Nay, even from the interpolated names in the Greek verfion. The unavoidable brevity of this Analyfii fbitids a tnimite enqmry into this fubje^l. Three very probable >cpnfiderations are obvious and indubitable, i. Mofes excluded from his Autograph the nanies of all the females, except, for diftii^on,.thofe of a few motliers. 2. He inferted only thb name^ of taih mates as were bom, and living at the time of this migration; 3. He divided the regifter into three clafles, and 4efined the number in each, that the deficiency of the males might be filled up with an adequate nulnber of females* By JO Chuonolooy of the Pektatetjch. By die firft rule, Dinah and Serah were omittec^ becaufe females, except mothers occafionaUy, had na place or rank in the facred genealogies. By the lecond, males not then bom were excluded* Of this denomination were two of Reuben's four fons ; for he had but two in the year of the def^ent, and thefehe offered to his father, as hoflages for Benjamin *• Nor were the fons of Levi then born ; for Gerfhomf the eldeft of three, fignifiei, a Jlranger thtre^ which name, if he were bom in Canaan, had no fignificance ; but if foon after the arrival in Egypt, its fpecial emphafis needs no commentary. Er and Onan were omitted, for they died in Canaan, before the removal theQce. These are but a fpecimen of the many names, tranl^ ferred from regifters of a fubfcquent date. As the birth of the patriarchs after Jacob is not chara6lerized by the current years of their fathers lives, the interval from the death of Jofeph to Mofes, who was 80 years old at the Exodus, cannot, by the ufual method, be afcertained. An expedient, however, oc« curs. The whole period of fojouming is 430. Jofeph, at the age of 110, died in the 285th from the arrival of Abraham in Canaan. Add the age of Mofes at the egrefs 285 + 80 2= 365 and 43Q — 365 = 65, the interval required. Such is the ufe of fixed periods in chrpiikology. » ♦ Gen. xlii. 37. Corrected Gekesis. 31 Com&ei Dates, with the Chronological Numbers from the 70th of Abraham. Bef. ^NMAJ4* W. J. P. A. D. Abram. &c. 7 «. ^^ leave IJr - 5*083^793 iS^i Ber. AXRANOJEMENTS. W. X* ' 2079 ^7^4 1929 Depart from r Remove from A^cpazx irom ^ I R v cifi m vanaan j ^ joiiming - J Iflunael bom 2094 2804 19 10 lianc'bom - 2108 2818 1896 Retumsfromthe? o o altar - J"33 ^^43 1871 Marries I^ebecca 2148 2858 1856 iacobbom - 2168 2878 1836 faniesLeah 7 and Rachel J"4S *955 i759 udah born 2249 2959 1755 ofeph bom , 2259 *9^9 *745 udah marries 2265 2275 1739 ** ofeph fold 2276 2986 1728 Judah marries acob in Egypt 2298 3008 1706 Phafez born acob dies • 2315 3025 1689 ofeph dies - 2369 3079 1635 Mofes born - 2433 3140 157 1 The Exodus « 25x3 3223 1491 ^ >2o84 2789 1924 2085 2790 Z923 2095 2800 191J 2109 2814 1099 2x46 2851 1862 2149 2854 1859 2169 2874 1839 2246 2951 1762 ^ 2250 2955 1758 2260 2965 174S 2277 2982 1731 2299 3004 1709 2316 3021 1692 *370 3075 1630 ^435 3140 1573 25x5 3220 1493 This fcheme exhibits but a few of the miflakes in the Annals for this period ; fome are the refult of the author's afFumed term for the fource of computation ; others of deviation from hillorical order; and all the dates of events from the creation to the releafe out of Egypt, charaflerifed by fallacious numbers. Bed- • ford retains the Primate's computation for the year of the Exodus, with rdfpeft to the then age of the world. Kennedy, ftill more at variance with precifion, con- nedls it with A. M. 2512. All the three computations abridge the interval from the flood to the end of the fojourning. Wixa jft Chronology rf iU Pintateuch* yj\T^ this latter term began a new reckomng t^ weeks, months, and years ; the feventh day of the week, and the feventh month of the year, as comited from the creation, (that is, from the laft day of the primeval week), having become refpe&ively the firft of the new leries. From Sar^day the 28th Odober, when the Almighcjr refled from all his works, to Saturday the 27th April^ when the firft paflbver was folemnized in Egypt, tbt 'jntetmcdiate fpace, as defined by the facred hiftoriati^ is preclfely 2514 folar tropical years, and a6 weeks^ wanting one day ; for the week of the Exodus con* fitted of but fix natural days. On the morning of the feventh day, after midnight, all the bofis of the Lord went out from Egypt. * That day, the weekly Sabbath from the creation, being fignalized by the departure of the twelve tribes, was tbencefprth, on all its fubiequent returns, accounted the firft of the Mofaical week ; and Saturday, the fixth by the patriarchal computation, ob- ferved as the Sabbath of the Ifraelites. In the year of the Exodus Abib, or Nifan, began on Sunday, coincident with the 14th April, whence ^11 the facred years of the Hebrews were computed, ac- cording to the courfe of the moon. From the firft paf« cbal new qioon to Pentecoft, the hiftorical trapfa£tions» * with their dates in the Hebrew and Roman calendar^ for N. S,, are thus exhibited, in correfpondenit lines and columns. A, M. Exodus* 33 A.M. I 1515 ) XI M. Apdl 13 f. 6 Il'jUr a 15 w. 4 I Abib I 14 F. 7 3 May 16 th. 5 % 15 m. I ' 4 17 f. 6 3 . 16 t. 2 3d Mof. 5 Sabbath x8f. .7 4 17 w. 3 6 19 F. I S 18 ch. 4 7 io m. 2 6 19 f. 5 8 ai t. 3 7 ' 26 f. 6 9 22 >^. 4 8 ai F. 7 10 23 th. 5 9 12 m. J ■ II 24 f. 6 ^.Lamb xo Confined >3 t* * 4th Mof. 12 Sabbath . 25 f. 7 einT II 24 w. 3 13 26 F. I 12 45 th. 4 1 14 27 m. ft 13 26 f. 5 15 23 t. 3 PalToveir 14 O.XI. A. 27 f. 6 16 »9 W. 4 &}'5Esypt- 28 F. I " 17 t8 30 th. r< 31 f. « l4 29 m. 2 Quails 19 Jude if. 7 ^7 , 30 t. 3 Manna fix . 20 2 F. • i% llLxf •i w. 4 days in. 21 3 "*• , . 19 2 th. 5 continua! i 22 4 f- ^iT 1 " 't^' \ • 3 f. 6 fuccefHon23 24 5 V. t"r J "«**"»* 4f- 7 ^5 Ko Manna 26 7^. ^ 8f. > 22 5F. I 27 9F. ^3 6 m. 2 ' 1 28 16 m. a4 I ^ 3 29 11 t. 25 8 w. 4 t 30 t2 w. 26 9 th. 5 III Sivari I 13 th. 27 10 f. 6 4 2 14 r. idMof. 28 SabbQCh II f. 7 No Manna i , . . . 15 f* 29 w F. 1 Pentecoft 4 The Law 16 F. 30 i^ m. 2 promulgated* ^ II Jiaf I 14 t. 3 OBVIOUS is the cohftru£lion and the ures of this table. It b to be noted, that the pafchal fiill moon was fignalized by ah edipfe, when the angel of death flept IForth to fniite the ferft bohi of man and beaft. IThat Saturday was firft appointed to be kept holyi as the national fabbath, by the Ifraelites, in all their generations, and jii all their dwellings, at the time of Hiiit firft paflbver, is certain, from the regulations con- cerning the number and divifion of the weeks from the D returns 3+ Chronology of the Pentateuch. returns of that feflival to Pentecoft yearly. " Yc (ball count from the morrow after the fabbath, from the day that ye brought the (heaf of the wave*oflFering ; feven fabbaths (hail be complete ; even unto the mor- row after the fevcnth fabbath (hall ye number fifty days ♦.*' The paflbver was invariably to be folem- nized on the 14th day from the vi(ibility of the pafchat moon» without regard to the day of the week on whic& that full moon (hould fall^ by whatever name, or or* dinal number, it might be diftinguifhcd. For inftaaxce^ if the moon (hould be full before Monday evening, the pa(rover was to be kept that day at the prefcribed hour^ (between the two evenings). The 50 days were to he counted from Saturday in that week^ being the national' fabbath. The morrow after that fabbath was Sundayt the firft of the 50 days. During the continuance of that folemnity that day was to be fignalized by a fpecial fervice, — the oblation of the firft fruits j — and by an appropriate number ; — the firft day^of unleavened breads - of which the ufe was flriftly pre{cribed to the end of that week, SEVEN days. The morrow, therefore, aft^r ,the national fabbath, immediately fubfecpient . to the i^paflbver, is virtually, if not in direfl terms, charac* :terizied3 ?is ihp firft day of the Mofaical week* It.wa* likewife the firft of every week to Pentecoft, the laft of the 50 days, and the firft of the eighth week from the offering of the firft fruits!. . This order and fervice were obferved to the day wh?n our Lord rofe from the dead, as the firft fruits of them that Qept, suid To, m * Levit. mu. rv ^ to. the the very circdrh (lance of the time, h6 realized that typical fervice. At the Exodus the primitive fabbath was not defecrated, but changed ; and, at laft^ rcfumed its • ».■-• .... primeval ufe, with accumulated honours, being a me- morial of the CREATION, and of a flill greater work, REDEMPTION. In the preceding table^ the change of the fabbath on the day of the pafchal full moon is exemplified in rotation through feven ot itft^ret-ums^ an<) the reality of that change eftabliflied on th^ firm bafisof hiftorical truth, and aftrp- pomical calculatroi?. The firfl national fabbath was fan£{ified, as a feafon bqth of reft and devotion. Then it was that the whole aflembly proclaimed the praifes of their Almighty Deliverer in the triumphant hymn, £xod. XV. Its 5th repetition was Cgnalized by "k flip- ply of qiiail«» for prQvifiony ^pd t^ic p^xt two, by the periodical ceffajtion of. manna. That, particular day, was in like J^aijner. diftjpguiflved .durmg the fpace pf 4.0 years;..f propagation had a flower progrefs ; for from Terah to Judah the mean ftandard was 93 ; and thence to David 65). Providence, it may reafonably be prefumed, had important ends for appointing, comparatively,; few hwnan progenitors to the promifed feed, in whom bleflings, for all nations, were referved*. One natural reafon is obvious. In the line of Terah by Abraham, Ilaac, Jacob, and Judah, the pedigree is counted from the younger fons, in numerous inftances. Nor is it im- probable that the fathers of the particular tribe, whence the MefTiah was intended to fpring, fliould have their faith and patience long tried, by waiting for the ac* complifiiment of the promife, as far as they, in par- ticular, were concerned. Ifaac was born of a fuper* annuated mother. Several examples nearly fimilar, repeated in the feries of generations, might, when the myftery was fully to be revealed^ produce a more eafy and cordial belief c^f immenfe bleflings from the fon of a virgin. It need not be fuppofed, that the mean age of procreation, exemplified in the feven defcents from Arphaxad to Terah, was, in the fubfequent ^ges, con- liderably enlarged or anticipated. Had it been enlarged, the cafe of Abraham's family would not have been lingular. The fubjefl now under confideration is the common term of natural life ; and it is tq be Qoted, that, I. The fentenceof being cut off in the wildernefs, at the end of 40 years, was limited to the generation D 3 brought ^ Chronology df the Pentateuch. Rrofught out of Egypt, and of them, to fiicli" alone as were 20 years old, x)r upwarf, at the timt? df that re- feafe, and had likewife' murmured at the repbrt 6f the cowardly and Tying fpies. To the gencratioh i^hith fliould be born in the wildernefs, or in later titnes, ihc tbrcatehing did "libt extend. - • • • 2. Many inftanees- of great longevity otciir, In tfie fnterval from the egrefs to Dkvid. Aaron, Mofts, feeizar, Czflebi JoK^tia, bdonrg to the fornier jferidd. Pbftiebte,' the fon of Elcaiar, wis certainly bom in ihk wnderhefs, Tlie 'year before the pafla^eoV^dr Jordan he fignafixed his zeal arid heroifrii in the plains of Moat *. He was thcii '20 years old at Icaft. From ttie chronology and hiftory of the tirties, it is pro1)abte, tTiat 50 years after the entrance into Canaani he fuc- cceded his father in the pontificate, which furiSion lie difcharged 45 years. He therefore lived ii6 ycirs, if not more. Othni-ex, the Ton of Caleb^s brothfer,* was a tti- litary general in the fixth year of Jofhua^s government, Sind acdiiired rdnowh in the rediiftion of Debit f. ftftdr 60 yeirs he 'Undertook the cbnddft of the war agaitift Ciiflikn, which lafteid eight yfears. The lartd had refl: if-o years, and *Othnid died. ~Hi$ age tntm tTierefdYe halve ex-cefelled 1^8. ' 'Gideon, tliat mighty itian of valour, maintained a war of Teveri years a^iift Mldian, and after a gloribtts Viflbry, which rfeftbred qiiittnefs to the country 40 *Nutn. XXV. 7. tJo^i^v. 17. years» E X-O D u 5. 39 years, died in a good old age. The pjirafeology x)f that time jufli&s the jConcluGo^, that h^ lived one full century. , In the gpnjinually decreafing period of longevity, J£U, a(K)ut 66 yeaf$ after» died by accident, at the agp of 98} an old man ; yet nothing 1$^ faid of his having exceeded the ordinary term of life. Samuel fucceedej him in the pontificate. Thirty years was the age of conrpcration, and be had miniilered in the vocation of a fubordinate prieft, before he rofe to the prinjacy, When his age was probably 36. His adminillFation, at the inauguration of Saul, vtras a period of 36 years more. . Jofephus reports that Saul furvived him only ^two years*. Every circumftance in the hiftory con- firms this notation ; and more particularly Saul's con- /pltation with the woman at £ndor. If Samuel's death had not been a recent occurrence^ it is not fup- .pofable, that the king would have defired an interview with that prophet. All thefe chara£lers of time evince ihat Samuel lived 1 10 ye«trs. .Uncertain is the date of Jeffe's birth. He went .for an o)d man in the dsiys of Saul, when his fon, jp^iyidt .was bjjt a ilripling. In the 36th pf that refga, vJPavid committed bis father and mother to the proteflipn of the king of Moab ; and they moft probably were Jivix^ at t;he death of. Saul. Hence it may be prefumed, jhat Jeife's age filled up one complete century; and that.bumsMi life was firft reduced to the term of 70 ♦ .Ant. VI. 14. g. D 4 or 40 Chronology of the Pentateuch. or 80 years in the time of pavid. In the 33d of tbuj reign, and at the age of 8o» Barzillai pronounced bini« felf a very old man. 3. Relying on the certain truth of his pofiulate, Uflier deduds 31 years from the government of Jofbua^ "which, with other mif-arrangemenis, to be fpecified in their proper places, abbreviates the chronology from •Mofes to Ot hniel . * • 4. In the Treatife on the Sacred Chronology ♦, the age of procreation afllgned to the three ancellors of David, after Salmon, contradifls the term of natural life, faid, in the annals, to have been fixed in the year after the Exodus, to 70, or 80. There it is af- fumed, that Boaz livdd 102, Obed arid Jcfle each ill, before the birth of their refpedive fons. The interval from the birth of Boaz to that of David is 324. This fum divided by 3, quotes 108, for the cortimon mcafure. But is it credible, in a period of the world when very few mortals lived* more than '80 years, that the fpace between three defcents, in immediate fuc- ceflion, did exceed a century? To no purpofe is it alleged, that a great many -examples of perfons, who lived from 130 to 150 years, from the days of Vefpa- fian to Thomas Parr, are recorded in hiftory. Thefe examples the Primate'has been at great pains to colleQ. His conclufion is a paralogifm. The point to be proved was, that three fathers, in lineal and continuous U d^riye'bpth.' firmneis axid pro* portion f^om genealogy. (In. this dire3ory,ior compur tation> two rules are carefully to be ohferved. The age of procreation: niift. neither anticipate the courfe of na- ture, nor be extended to the; utmofi term of life. The .bmh of a fqn prior to the 14th of a father's life mayi its not vouched by experience or hiftory, be confidered a,s a phyfical improbability ; and in the facred genealogies no example of procreation before 16 occurs, and none ought to be admitted. From. Abraham to David the generations are 14^ .<:ounting Solomon the firft of a new feries. . , When the long lives of the firft three patriarchs are confidered, (175, 180, and 147), the birth of Ifaac in the loodth of Abraham, of Jacob in the 60th of Ifaac, and of Judah in the 8ifi of Jacob, are events in perfe£l agreement with the courfe of nature. From the de- fcent into Egypt, ivith which the birth of Pharez has been conne6);ed, to the egrefs, the years are 215, and the generations four, excluding Nahihon, whofe age at the egrefs is fuppofed to have been 19. This number taken from 215 leaves 196 for the four intermediate generations, of which the mean quantity for each is precifely 49. The ages of Levi, Jofeph, Kohath, and Amram, were fcverally 137, lie, 133, and 137, and the 4* Chronolocv Bf the Pentateuch. tlie commoQ meafure x 29. Tbofe four were con^enpor j;^ with PhaTiez, Hezroo, Aram, and Anuninadab. \t involves no abfurdky to afi&rm, that 49 was the mean ifttcTvai of ^stceatt) at a timty when the mean term of li&'iras ia9« £iU)M the bi;th of Nafafhon^ as above Aated, to thai 0f^^«lomon| are 475 years, -aioil Six generations, tfap ' cgniDon meaTore being 79. It has been, (hewn, that ibe mean 4erm ^f life in this interval was 108, wbieh fxeeeds the mean age of procisation by 29. In none «f tbefe confutations is any -thing affirmed, at vatiance ^ich4fae4:ourJe of nature. . . ,7'HK focegoing arrangements proceed on the fup>- |M>fition, that David was the Jaft in the firft feiie&jif 14 generations. But the £vangeliils woids may be ^iQQnfidered as placi^ig David at the top of the lecond ieries, without enlarging the number of generations , din that, lOr the fubrequent.divifion« i ' This conje£lure /e^ on the authority of an io- efpinod writer : <* Pharez begat Hezron, Hezron :b^at tllam f*, Ram >begat Amfninadab, Amminadab begat • 'jtlabflion, Nahfhon begat )Salmah^ and. Salmon be^ aBoaz ; Boaz begat Qbed, Obed begat Jefle, and }eSk ibegat David ^l*. Salmop is here charaflerifed as the jibn of Saimah^ and ^at^fon of ,Nah(hon. This ad-< jditioamaLefi Jeife.tbe Jk4th from Abraham, and the loth 9from:Pbac8z. Jackfon, .in his Chronological Antiqiu- iities, ^isflifi^gefied that .this variation of two iimilar ♦ rAffPfi , Mat. i. 3. . t Ruth iv. ^8— aa. names Exodus* 43 names denotes two different perfons. In his feconci diflertatioaOn jthe State of the Printed Hebrew Text ♦, Kennicott approycs the conje£ture, as ingenious, pro:; . bable, and fati$fa3ory. This emendation, if it be one* is mentioned not as abfolutely neceflary to afcertain the genuine chronology of the Bible, and its conformity with the comrfe of natrn^ ; but inertly as an expetiient for weakening an objeSion, .otherwife not forcible t. * p. 184. and 54J. . . - f The reafons which juflify the Bxing of Nahfhon's birtk to the 19th year before the Exodus, evince that he died after Jofhna. Oeitain it is, that ibme elders, at leaft, who had feenall flie great works of the Lord, (both in Egypt and at the Jordan), did Ri5lua11y furvive Jolh'ua ; Eleazar, for inftance i and if Nahfhon did not, it will be itnpofiible to find the plurality implied in all. The fame reafons wbich dcmonftrate the im>- "probabiKty, that the Rachkb, Mat. i, 5 was the fame Rahab «<¥ho entertained the fpics, Jofli. ii. are fet forth at large in the piflertation on the Hebrew Genealogies. If the name in both .pafiages defcribe the fame perfon, ihe muft have .been 1^0 years i)ld at the birtii of Bpaz. Sir Ifaac Newton, finding a Jefhua who had fons in the Tftinue of Zor6babcrfix)m<}haldea, confounds that Levite with -the high prieft of Uiat^name. In the fame regifter he finds an Ezhra, and a Nehemoh^ whom he affirms to have been livins^ ^^oo years after. Ckronohgf ( 44 ) . J .t > Chronology frotif the I^eath of Mofes to Saul. CHAP. I. Joshua. SipttnoTj Tears of Refl. •T^HE unfucccfsful attempts of Uflier, Bedford^ • -*• Wbifton, &c, to fix the true era of fabbatidil years and jabiles, induced Prideaux to pronounce tbofe circulating periods both uncertain and ufelefs. Their life in computation is obvious, and the term of compu- tation defined, in the original inftitution, ** When ye come int6 the land, &c. then (hall the land keep a fabbath. Six years ihalt thou fow thy feed; and fix years (halt thou prime thy vineyard, and gather in thy .fruit ; but in the feventh year fhall be ^ fabbath of reft unto the land ; a fabbath for the Lord : Thou (halt neither fow thy field ; norprune thy vineyard */* Be* fore the inhabitants were fubdued and the land divided, Ifracl could neither fow nor reap, Ufher allows fix years for the conqueft of the country, and appropriates the feventh for its partition. But a fabbatical year could not be obferved before fix had been employed in fowing and reaping. • Ler. xxv. 8—5. The 'Joshua. 45 The fubjugation of the natives was the work of fivie yearsi In the beginning of the fixth, Jofiiua and Eleazar, with the fathers of the tribes, proceeded to divide the iandi hy line and lot. Caleb, jmor to that diilribution, claimed, in virtue of a grant from Mofes, Hebron for his inheritjince. In the fecond year from the Exodus Caleb's agd Was 40," and 85 in the 46(h^- Thus is the date of the partition afcertained. At tlfe time of the autumtial equinox in that year the tribes, having acquired tteirfeveral poffeffions,. began to plow, plant, and fow. The firft poflible year of reft b^an at the fame cardinal point in> the '53d from the egrefs, and the 13th froiD'thc paflage over Jordan, A. M« 2568. *< Thou (halt number fevcn fabbaths of years unto thee, feven times feven years $ and the fpace of the feven fabbaths of years (hall be forty-nine years. . Then {bait thou caufe the trumpet of jubile to found on the tenth day of the feyenth month t.'* Here is the quantity of a jubile defined ; the 50th year from the foregoing jubile inclufively; or in a contmual feries from the primary reft for the lajid. Thus is the term of computation certain. Thefe circulating periods ferve as a regu- lating meafure in the progrefs of computation inde- finitely; and. with refpefl to the fiicred chrono- logy, anfwer the fame end with the Julian period, applied to the chronology of the world. For example. The facred critics and expofitors agree tliat a jubile chara£lerifed fome one year of our Lord's natural Life ; * Jofh. xiv. 7— IX. t I-ev. xxv. Z, 9. that 46 Chron'oj-ogy 9f the Judges* that of tiis nativity, baptifoiy 6r crucifixion. Difirdrd- ant, however, are their opinions. But .this tcft b decifive. From A. M. 2568, on the tenth day of the fevenlb Hebrew month, according to the patijarcbal caletidaSf continue the reckoning down 1470 y^ars, ^qual to aio fcptenary combinations of years, or 30 jubiles ; the operation terminates with th^ ninth of the fcventh Hebrew month, A. M. 4038% That was the fowth of John's miniflry,,the 34th of our .Lord's age, md-thi very date of his baptifm. From Jordan he went ftrait- ^ay into the wildernefs, at the end of 40 days retefinwi into Galilee, entered the fynagogue at Nazareth; on the fabbath day, and read from the book of Kil^bf . ^ The fpitit of the Lord God ; is upon me, becfrufe be hath anointed me to preach the ac<;eptable year ojF. jthe Lord*" Thus calculation agrees with the irifaiUhUe teftknpny, both of prophecy, and fai^ry, in the con- dufion, that our Lord beg^n hifi miniflFy on. the 30tfa Jubile from the firft fabbatical year in Canaan. Hence it is evident, that the Primate's. iarcaogf- . ment mifplaces the^root of computatkm by jubrks, ooq- founds the firit -year of John's mmiftry with.. that ^^f Chrill's baptifra, and contrary to every notatiQn:«at itfie gofpel hiftory, defers his entrance on the pipphetscal fun£lioQ| three years beyond its true date. « JLength of Jojhua^s Govirnmtnt. Bt.ttecottiputation: of Jofephus the adrftiniftration of Jolhua is compreffed within the narrow limits of 25 1 . years J - Joshua. 4| years ; Lightfoot admits but 17 $ Uflier no^more than nine. H« died at the age. o£.lio. If tbe>VNNAi.s give the proper notation, he was 61 years old in the year of the egrefs*. ^ In (bat ye^MT he is denominated a young man ♦. At the age.of 30 the expreffion j^tirig is ufual ; but youth is at variance with threefcore. Suppole Jo(hua 1h his 30th year difcAiAfitfeU Aiiialek. Add 9b^ thefum 1s ilo. By tht^ retkohing he jtidged Ifrael 4b years. 'In tfie j'eir of ithe pittitfon he was old «rd 16 xne^t ^ A reft over all Canaan 2^3 Abimelech dies - 296 Tolahdies* - 5^9 Jair judges in'N. and E. 320 War with Ammon begins 324 Jair dies - - 34J Jephtha fubdues Ammon 342 dies - 347 Ibzan die« • 33^. £lon fucpeeds - 355 End of the Philifline war 360 Elon dies- - - 364 Abdon dies - 372 373 380 39^ A. M* ;29ix. * Fixnn the firft year of Eli's govermnent, coincident with thelaft :of To]^, both excluded^ to the death of Abdon, the iatermedlate years, common to contemporary judges, are 54^ «quivalent to the fum retrenched in the Annals, from Jofhua^s miniftry, and to the abridged fpace between the death of €amfon a«d th£ accelfiofi of Satd. E3 CHAP. ( 54 ) « Chronology of the Kings. CHAP. I- Rules of Computation. HERE begins a new era, not meafured by genera- tions, as in the patriarchal ages ; neither by al« tcmate periods of war and reft \ but by the reigns of kings, in a regular feries. Few and obvious are the rules of computation. I. Moses ordained, that the years, from the Exodus progreflivcly, (hould begin, about the time of the ver* nal equinox, with the month Abib or Nifan, the term whence the Hebrew feftivals were to be rq;ulated; though he retained the primitive order of the months^ in buying, felling, and the other tranfa£lions of civil life** From this month alfo were the reigns com* puted. For if any king afcended the throne a few days before the fame month, it was reckoned to him for a . whole year ; and with the return of the fame month began his fecond of the new reign t« ♦ Joftphus, Ant. I. 3. 3« f D. Levi's Rites and Ceremonies of the Jews^ p. %%\ and Sir I. Newton's Chronol. <;b. iv, p. 296. Chuonology of the Kings. 55 The reigns in Judah were computed from this fource ; Aough with refpeS to Hezekiah, Jofiah, and their fucceflbrs, the Metropolitan contends, that their years were computed from the vacancy of the throne. His arguments are fallacious. 2. Reigns of a few days, or months, are included in thofe before or after, agreeably to the exprefled no- tations of time. 3. Partnership in royalty is never to be admit- ted, except on the authority of the facred writers, for one or more years. The laft year of Dand was not comprehended in the firft of Solomon ; for though the latter was anointed in the currency of that year, yet was his acceffion not reckoned from the date of his confecration, much lefs from the foregoing Nifan, as in the Annals ; but from the firft month of the fubfe- ^uent, the 81 ft from the inauguration of Saiil *. Asa reigned 41 years t. But he died in the 41ft if, . -and the laft, as incomplete, was the firft of Jehoftiaphat, though not fo marked in the Annals. Neither was the 40th of Jehoafh the firft of Amaziah, though the Pri- mate, without the Jeaft colour of hiftorical ^evidence, puts them in coincidence. In the like arbitrary man- ner, is the firft of Hezekiah \\i^ in the 16th of Ahaz. With refpeft to joint reigns of more than one year, the rule is determinate. 4. If the years common to twofovereigns were full, all belong to the fenior. If he died during the currency of * I K. vi. 1. and % Chron. lii. a. f i K. xv. lo. % % Chron. xvi, 13. E 4 the 56 Chronology of the Kings. the la&> that was accounted the firft of the fucceflor. From notations abundantly decifive, certain U is, thai Jehoram the fon of Jehofhaphat began to reign while his father was king of Judah. The reign of the l6tk had a two-fuld commencement : — One, two years be* fore the other Jehoram afcended the throne of Samaria, while Jehofhaphat was living ;-— another, after his de«- ceafe, in the fifth of that other Jehoram* Thefe cfaa.. raflers of time are infallible \ though it is difficult to reconcile all the terms of coincidence. Whatever was the duration of the joint reign *, the 25th and laft of the father, as incomplete, and that only, is reckoned to the fon, by the firft rule. *^ U z z I AH was a leper unto the day of his death, and he dwelt in a feveral houfe ; and Jotham the king's fon was over the houfe, judging the people of the landf*'* In what year of his reign this malady was iqfiiOed, is uncertain. The text denotes continuance of timet An interval of fix years may, though with lefs cer^ tainty, be fuppofed. But the notations of time, in the context, evince that the 52 years, afcribed to thp fa- ther, were full, prior to th^ fole reign of the ion. 5. Ik thefe two reigns (for none other is to be ad* mitted as common to two fovereigns), the genealogies require, that the fpecified ages of Jehoram and "^Jotham be computed from the firft commencement of their, zcr fpedlive reigns ; and as the precife date of the conjunft Sovereignty is, in neither cafe, defined, a fuffipeot * Four years fecQ^ tp be the moft proba)>le quantity^ t a K. XV, 5. wmber Chrouology cf)the Kings. 57 number of intermediate years may be aflumed, for ad- jufting chronology to the courfe of nature. 6. In fome cafes the reign of a minor is dated from the vacancy of the throne, as in the; inilance of Jeho- afli, the fon of Ahaziah, king^of Judah*;— in others, and particularly in that of Uzziah, from the legal age of 1 6. But in both cafes a regency muft be fuppofed. Jofiah's age at his acceffion was 18 (not 8, as in all the copies). For this reafon a regency is excluded. * Concerning the father of Jehoafh, the fucceflbr of Atha- lia, various are the fentiments of critics and expofitors. He is faid to have been the king's fon (a Chron. xxiii. ii.), which defignatioB can belong to no other than Ahaziah, the prede- ce0br of AthaHa, on the throne of Judah. Jehoflieba, wh^ concealed him in the temple, when the reft of the feed royaj were cf uclly put to death> was the lifter of the fame Ahaziah (a Chron. xxii. ii); andherliumane care of that belplefsin- iant feems to afcertain propinquity of relation. That he was a minor of fcven years old at his acceffion, is exprefsly afiSrmed in parallel texts. Jehoiadah, the high prieft, was his pious guardian, and regent of the kingdom, till the young prince attained the legal age; By his counfel, example, and influencCt was the royal pupil inftrudted in religious discipline, and ia the arts of government. At the protradted age of 130, died that venqrable man, as is fuppofed, in the a 7th year of this reign. * Jehoafli foon after degenerated into a tyrant and ido- later (a Chron. xxiv, 15— zo.) Here Jehoafllis diaraderifed as the fon of Ahazialv; and> in % Kings, xii. 18, Jehoihapbat, Jebor^QQ> and Ahazi|ih> km^s pf Judab, are his lineal ancefr CHAP; ( 58 ) ' C H A P. II. Chronology of Saul's Reign. Qa u L, when fet apart for the fovereignty, was a ^ choice young man, and a goodly ♦. « When he had reigned two years over Ifracl, be chofe him 3,000 men, whereof 2,000 were with Saul, in Michmafh, &c. and 1,000 with Jonathan, in Gibcah +/' Thefe notations are at variance with the courfc of nature. The fon of a choice young man, and a goodly, cannot be fuppofed capable of conducing the military operations, afcribed* in the context, to Jonathan. The Primate is not cen- fured for overlooking a diflBcuIty which had efcaped the penetration of all the critics and expofitors. Neither the age of Saul at his acceflion, nor the length of his reign, is mentioned in his hiflory. In the text (j Sam. xiii. I.) both thefe notations were probably inferted* But the original numbers feem now to be partly loft and partly mutilated. Dr. Wall, in his note on the place, fuggefis, that an old fcholiaft, cited by Bofs, illed up the blank in the firft claufe by the number 30. His reign was 40 years J. The ancient Hebrews ex- prefled numbers, not by words at length, but by alphas * I Sam. ix. %. t Ch. xiiL 2. % A6ts, xiii. 20. betical Chronology ^Saul*s Reign. 59 betical charafiers. In the firft claufe the numerical . (ignatures were probably (K 7 31.) and thefe being rfCcidentSklly oniittecli YEAR in the fingular number only remained : In the fecond claufe may have flood £) 40, which in tranfcribing was miftaken for 3 20 *. The whole verfe thus completed is, " Sau). was 31 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 40 years over Ifrael.'* Wall adds, " Abp. Ufcer, adhering flifly to the words, mangled as they are, has veiy much difturbed his own chronology." Of the text, as rendered in our public verfion, he (the Primate) fays, ** It can have no fitter fenfe than this ; that after the Philiflines were fubdued by Samuel, one year had paffed when Saul began to reign, and that then he reigned two years free from fubjedion to the Philiftines t." No fenfe can be lefs fit. ** For after the Philiftines were fubdued, Samuel went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Ifrael in all thofe places |.'* " When he grew old he made his fons judges over Ifrael, who turned afide after Iu« ere, took bribes and perverted judgement §." They muft have been fome time in office, and given flagrant * So the text 1 Sam. xiii. x. wa8 probably read in the days of Jpfephus, who circumfcribes SauPs reign within the cora- pafs of up years, 18 during the life, and 2 after the death of Samuel. But the notation io Adts, xiii. ao. is exadly con- fbmiable with hiftory ; for David, bom in the i«th of Saul's ' reigp, fpcceeded him at th^ age of 30. f Annals, A. M. 2909. % i Sam. yii. X3-'x6. proofs 6o Chrokology qT Saul's Reich. proofs of maladminiftnition, before the elders, deTpair* ing of their reformation, prefented complaints to Sa« muel, and requelled to have a king. On the whole, much more probable it is, that Samuel judged Ifrael i6 years, than one only, after the fecond battle at Ebe* nezer. . The Metropolitan proceeds: << Shortly after Saul was put from the kingdom again by the Philiftines, and the Ifraelites again very much enthraUed ; which yoke, being again (haken off, Saol is faid to have gotten the kingdom ; that is, to have recovered it out of the Philif^ tines hands *• Now, that this thraldom continued many years, appeanth by this, that, whereas it began eight years before the birth of David, yet before it ended, Sa« muel prophefied of his fucceeding Saul in the lung* dom/' This train of furmifes merits ferious eonfidert- tion. 1 . That Saul was, after a reign of two years, divdied of the kingdom, is a poftuhte, which has every fem- blance of a fi£lion. He is no where chara£brifed as a dethroned fovereign, as a tributary prince, or, ^as a prifoner taken in war. On the contrary, he is every where reprefented as an independent monarch, ifloinqg proclamations, by his own authority, levying forces, in his own dominions; conducing them to the fidd of l)attle, and at laft victorious, or defeated* 2. It does not appear^ that the war with the PhiliC. tines, defcribed ch. xiii. and xiv. continued many years* The hiftory has no notations of time^ no account of * I Sam. xiv. 47. armies ^ CjBtfi.oKroLOClYi^ Saul's R&igk^ 6t Mnies in fiationaiy encampments, or continually Aiiit-' if^ their fituations ; of frequent conflid^ productive o€ defeats »id vi3:ories» on both fides* Every circum« fiance indicates the notion of one campaign. 3* Th£ text, ch. xiv. 47. does not neceflariiy im* ply that Saul recwered the kingdom* The phrafe has a-ietro(pe£l to the very commencement of his reign ^ idbich^/for many' years,, was profperous and briiliant.- His vi3ories zxe^ in this text^ recapitulated: f^So Saul took' the kingdom over Ifrael, and fought againft all his. enemies on: every fidis, agaihft Moab^ Ammonv Edom, the kings of Zobah*, the PhUiftkies^ and*- whitherfoever he turned himfeif, he vexed them/^ Thefe (uccefsful want ai^ moft* probably recosded nearly^ in the order of time^^ and that with the PhilifiineSt- lOEUJLed as prior to the^ fubfequent: confli£l with Ansalels^- 4» The prediSion, that the fceptre Ihould be traiiT* ferred from Saul to David, refers to an advanced period of Saul's reign^ but does not confirm the Archbifhop's piofition, that the Philifiine war, in which Jonathan exhibited all the abilities of an accomplHbed' general^ began fo early as the third year from his father's confer cration. The faft feems to be, that the hiftbrian*s Intfcnt was t6'tranfmit a very concife account of this reign, in its cfommencement and progrefs, while the ihdnarch per^^ I t ...... f ** In the days of Saul the R«ubenite« imade' i*ar wth the Hagarenes, who fell by their hand, and they dwelt in their tents." I Chr. v. 10. Thcfc conquefts arc otnittM 1 Sam. xiT. 47. 8 fevere^l 6i Chrokology ^Saul's Reicw,- ievered in his duty. It was his primary objeEt to patiate on that period of bis admiuiftration, which: exemplified fuch inftances of mifconduS, as jufiify^ to- every fucceeding age, the equity of Providence^ in re^ moving Saul's family from the throne. These remarks fugged the expediency of having r^courfe to a tranfpofition in the order of biftorical oc- currences, that chronology may be brought into ccn*' cord with the courfe of nature. ' The propofed connexion is: << Saul was 31 yeait old when he began to reign^ and he reigned 40 years overlfrael*." ' ^ So Saul took the kingdom over Ifrael» and {oug^ againft all his enemies on every fidey againft Moab, and againft the children of Ammon, and againft Edom^ and againft the kings of Zobah, and ?igainft the Pfai- lifiines ; and whitherfoever he turned himfelf, he vexed Acmt." << Saul chofe him 3,000 men of Ifrael, whereof a,ooo were with Saul in Michmafh, and in Mount Bethel i and 1,000 were with Jonathan, in Gibeah.of Senjamin ; and the reft of the people he fent every man to his tent J*' ^< And he gathered an hoft, and fmote the Amale- kites, and delivered Ifrael out of the hands of them that fpoiled them §." ** Now the fons of Saul were Jonathan and Ifhui,'* &c. Of Saul's four fons Jonathan's name always • 1 Sam, xiii., i. f Ch. xiv. 47. X Ch. xiii. a, read forward to cht xiv. 4^. § Y. 47^ 4Z0 occurs Chronology ^Sai^l's Reign. 63 occurs firft in the regifter;— a probable criterion of primogeniture* Khbolheth, or Efhbaal, was 40 years oM«l>*^tbe'tiiBe of the tragical overthrow on Giiboa. Admit that Jonathan was a few years older : Yet nei- ther age nor experience qualified him for the military glory he is thought to have acquired in the third of his father's reign, ^ut fuppofe the war, in which he gathered fo many laarelsi b^n and ended, id tho 28th of that reign, the whole hiftory is confiftent with itfelf, and chronology in exaft unifon with the coiirfe. of nature. Thus is the perplexity, ^refulting from the incoherent computation in the Annals, untwified. • Dates correded, with the chronological chara6lers» , Years after the Exodus - 395 ". W. J. P. B. C. Saul anointed - . 396 ^2911 3616 1097 Reigns profperoufly 27 years - 423 2938 3643 1070 Defeats the Philiftines by the"! ,^ , ^^ . ^ _ ^ heroifin of Jonathan - J "^^ '939 3644 1069 Subdues A^nalek - 425 2940 3645 .1968 David privately anointed - 426 2941 3646 1067 Saul and his fons flain in battle 436 2951 3656 1057 This divifion of Saul's reign, into parts, on the authority of the facred writers, fufficiently difproves the notation of Jfjfephus, who diminiihes its duration by one half. But it has already been fUggefted, that the original text had, before his time, been corrupted by an interchange of numerical figna- tUres. ^x A- '^Cy,. /r. /.; ,. .r •> U yu^ - t^^l^^ -CHAP. V ^ ^ /Sif. / ^ ' ?- ^ 3 v^ i" ( «4>l 111 umi I lit CHAP. IIL Cbranokgffrom the Death rfSdul to the Tem^^ T^AVId's reign in Hebron, over Judah and Beaja^ ^^ min, commenced from the death of his prede* ceflbr. After feven years and fix months, all the elden x>f Ifrael came and anointed him king over all Ifnid and Judah. His fubfequent reign in Jerufal^m wit 33 years, including the odd. fix monthi ; fo that the interval from the death of Saul to that of I>a^-iin# piecifely 40 years, computed from Abib. Two inftances of anachronifm, during this reigiiy occur in the Annals. I. <^ It came to pafs after 40 years, that AMAbok faid unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow in Hebron *." No term whence the compuMltiOB begins, is exprefled. The Primate reckons from the confecration of David in the 30th of Saul. But tbat» being a private deed, was not likely to be u fed at a common term in reckoning. From the context it b evident that the number 40 is by a mifbke put for 4^ Abfalom, after the murder of his brother Amnon, fled to Gelhur, and dwelt there three years t. By the * % Sam. vii. 154 -f z Sam. xiii. 38. fecret CrikoNOL6CY/r^*i the Death o/Savl^ ice. 6^ Tecrct influence of Joab was he recalled and lived two full years in Jerufalem, but faw not the king's face *^ Having obtained accefs into the iroyal prefence, and a gracious reception, he, by the arts of popularity, ftrength- ened his intereft, prepared horfes^ chariots, and foot* men ; and at the end of two years more requefted per- midion to retire to Hebron, as above related. Jofe- pbusi conformably to the Sacred Hif^ory^ dates this re- queft from Abfalom*s return out of Gefliur to Jerufat- lem +. Grotius adopts the corredion, and Kennicott confirms it by the authority of the Syriac verfion of SixtusV/s famous edition, and of certain excellent MSS. of the Vulgate ; — all which read 4 not 40. 2. Solomon was anointed to the fucceflion, fix months, as the Primate computes, before the deceafe of JDavid : And the 40 full years, afligned to the reign of the father^ he confiders as complete in the firfl month before the fon was confecrated. From that firft month is the new reign counted in the Annals^ a full half year before the demife of the father. Saul was anointed privately about the time of the jpaffover, in the year from the Exodus 396. About feven weeks after, in the time of wheat harvefl, Sa- muel refigned his commiflion as fuprenie magiftrate* Count forward 80 years for that and the fubfequeut reign, the reckoning is continued to the firft month of the year 476. Solomon might have been anointed fix months before his father's death. But it was not the ufage of the Hebrews to account the laft complete }'ear • 2 Sam. xiv. a4. t Ant. vii. 9. i, F of 66 Chkov o LOG f from the Death rf^SAVtf ftc^ of « fenior monarch the iirft of bis fucceflbr. Solo* mon's fole reign began with Abib« 477 from «W Exodus ; for in the fecond month, in the 480th year after the children of Ifrael were come out of £gypff and in the 4th of his reign, Solomon hid the founda^ tion of the boufe of the Lord *• Jos^EPHUS difagrees not only with the canonical records, concerning the length of the intenral firom Adam, from the delage, iirom the arriral of Abrahani in Canaan, and from the egrefs, to the foundation of the temple ; but alfo with bintfelf, in difierent parts oi his works ; even when the fame events and times aM his fubje£l+. Strong was his predileflion in favoiuc of an amplified chronology. In two chara£lers of the time he confirms the authority of the facred Annals* affirming that the work of the Temple was begun in the fecond month of the ecclefiafiical Hebrew year^ and in the fourth of Solomon. That month he fur- ther conne£ls with the Macedonian Artemifius ;. and that year with the eleventh of Hiram, king of Tyre^ as in the fame paflage; or with the 12th, as in the ip6th fedtion of his firil Book againft Apion. * 1 K. vi. 1—57. t Ant. iii. 3- j.. Pfik ( 6? ) ■ WM i JJI ^' ). 'P . ' U| m il \ mm*>mmmmmaitim^mmtimm J^ift^ A^e of the Wofld. From the Foundation tQ the Oifertbrow of tie Temple. C H A P. I. ' Chronot^gy of Solomon* s Ri/gn. HE K c E commences a new term of computation* ** It came to pafs, at the end of 26 years after Solomon had built the two houfes, the houfe of the Lord, and his own houfe, that Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities/' The 24th of his reign is thus charac- terifed, as the 20th from the foundation of the Temple cxclufively. Three years having been fpent in providing mate- rials for this great work, it viras finiflied in feven years^ in the 8th month of the nth year from the death of David. That the dedication might derive folemnity firom one of the national feflivals, it was deferred to, the Feaft of Tabernacles in the fubfequent year. The Primate aflign^ another reafon for this delay ;— that it might coincide with the return of the ninth jubile. But that year v^s not concurrent with the fource of computation from the divifion of the land, and thefe obfcrVances were totally neglefled from the confecra- liop of Saul, to the days of Nehemiah* 68 Chronology tf/*Sor:OMON*s RErCK.^ After Solomon had employed thirteen years iiior# in building his own houfe, he proceeded to raife nume- ,rou« and magnificent Aruftures about JenifalcHiy and* in other parts of his dominions, twenty cities in Galilee^ Hazor, Megiddo> Tadmore, or Palmyra, in the wil- dernefs^ cities of flore^ &c. : all which works o£ ufe ^nd" grandeur, jufiify the fuppofition, that he contintied many years' in the pradice of thofe virtues which at* traded the admiration both of his fubje£ls and of fo-* reign princes. After he had finifhed all the flupendous enterprifes recorded in hishiftory,he continued to frame his life by the principles of piety and wifdom ;. for three times a year he offered burnt ofTerings and peace offi^- ings upon the altar which he had built *• This inti- mation implies perfeverance during a feries of years^; and it was not till after he was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods +. An accurate computation allows only 39 full years for his reign. The 40th, as incomplete, is accounted the firtt of Rehoboam. As a memorial of the fchifm, which gave rife to the unhappy diflinftion bet'wcen the Samaritans and Jews, the ancient Hebrews, who ad- hered to the tribe of Judah, kept a yearly faft on the 23d day of the 3d month from the firft of Reho^ boam. This faft, as to the year,, is with no lefs certainty^ authenticated, by Jeroboam's appointment of a feaft in the eighth month, like unto the feaft of the feventh month in Judah ^. * I K. ix. 25. t Chap. xi. i— S. J i K. xii. y». Abstract CmiONOLOGY ofSoL^UCfVl^S Reign. 69 Abstract of the chronology from Saul to the apo- ftacy of the ten tribes. Years after the Exodus * - 435 W. J. P. B.-C/ JDavid begins to reign in Hebron 436 2951 3656 1057 * • in Jerufalem^43 2958 3663 1050 Uriah flain in battle ' - ^54 2969 3674 1039 fiolomonj)oin - 456 2971 3676 1037 ^ZZtv' ^'1'^'°" "t"l 458 2973 3678 1035 Abfalom recalled - - 461 2976 3681 103a Goes to Hebron, and rebels 46S 2980 3685 1028 Solomon anointed, David dies 47^^ 2991 3696 1017 Solomon's fole reign begins 47^2992 3697 1016 The Temple founded - 480 2995 3700 1013 Dedicated ^ .- 8 3003 ^708 ipoc Rehoboam born - I 3004 3709 1004 Solomon dies, revolt of theT , o ten tribes - - } 2630303735 998 The fubfequent years are not counted from the date Off the Temple ; but from 9 prophetical period of 39b y^ars, commencing with the firft of Rehoboam, A. M. 3031, and ending with the breaking up of the city, ia t-he nth of ZedeJciah, 3421, If the -.36 years prior to the acceffion of Rehoboam be comprehended in the rieckoning, the whole dur^tio9 of the firft Temple '\% 4^6 years^ F3 CHAP. ( 70 ) C P A P- II. Chronology from Solomon to Jthalia. WITH the defe£lion of ten tribes from the houfe of Davidy the fceptre of Rehoboam, and a pur^ worfliip, begins a new feries of contemporary and inde^ pendent kings. The two royal calendars^ being exa£l: fcounterparts, augment the labour of comparing dates, but hence computation acquires preciflon and certainty. In Judah the reigns are longer than thofe in Samari^, and, as fewer broken years occur, the regifter of thf? former cjaims the preference, as a regulating mi^fure : The years chara£lerifed as coincident do not always ruo pjiirallel. Sufficient it is, that they touch in one com- mon point. Sometime^ the fame year, making a part of two reigns, is twice counted. To difcriminate fucb notations is the province of critical flcill. In thispcr ^od the fum of the reigns in Jerufalem is 95, ar^ at Samaria 9^. As Rehoboam and Jeroboam afcended their refpefliye thrones at the fame time, fo Ahaziah and Jehor^m perifhed together. The interval, there?- fore, ought to be the fame by both calendars. To bring them to an equation^ \t is previoufly requifite to exa? mine, whether all the years in the Chronicles of the lyings in Judah were full, § It CHROT<;oxoGY/r^;» Solomok to Athalia. 7X It bas already been noted, that the 41ft of Afa, and a £lah Zimri Omri Ahab I 2 I ^ 20 20 2T 21 22 22 24 46 47 I 2 48 12 58 a 59 4 61 5 62 22 79 Judah. Jehoihaphat 20 Jehoram's7i 21 joint reign J £ 22 Joram 3 23 4 24 Sole reign J 25 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ahazi»^ % Samaria. Ahaz^ahi 80 2 8t Joram i 82 .2 83 3 84 .485 5 86 ^ 87 7 8it ^ 8 89 9 90 10 91 11 92 J[> 93 * From the fchcme of co-exifient fovereigns it is ob- yious, that the four years aligned to Nadab and £la are comprehended in the reigns of Jeroboam, Baaflia^ and OmrL on the throne of Ifrael. The laft of Jero- boam coincides with the firft of A(a, and the firft of Omri with the ayth ; to that tlie intermediate years in ^the kingdom of Samaria are, by the numbers of re- ference, reduced from 30 to 26. Ahab began to reign in the 38th of Afa, which was the 12th of Omri, who dying before its termination, the whole year is ac«^ i:o!Mnted the firft of Ahab. • Abp. Ulhcr extends this period to 95. ^4 In 72 CiiRONOLOGyyrtf/« Solomon to Ath alia. In eacii chronicle a few notations^ feemingly dif* cordant, occur. "In the 36th year of Afa, Baaflia came up againft Judah *." But, " In th^ a6th of Afa, Elah the fan of Baaflia began to reign over Ifrael +." Of this inva- fion the true date was certainly the 26th of Afa ; for Jofephus appofitely remarks, that Baaflia, after a re- pulfc, returned immediately to his own country, and being prevented by death, bad no leifure to meditate expeditions againil Judah. ** In the 27th of Afa, Omri fet fire to Zimri*s pa- lace, and burnt it oyer him, fo that he periflied in the conflagration J." But Omri's reign is dated from the 31ft of Afa §. This apparent incongruity is obviated in the context. The people was divided. One fa£lion made Omri king, another declared in favour of Tib^i: After a confli£l of four years Tibni died, and Omii reigned. ** Ahaziah the fon ofAhaU began to reign over Ifrael in the 17th of Jehofliaphat, king of Judah, and reigned two years ||." From the hiftory it is probable that Ahab, alarmed by the awful threatenings denounced againft him on account of Nabal's murder, took his fon Ahaziah into a parinerfliip in the fovereigrtty threp years before his death, though thefe, conformably to the ufual mode of computation, are incliided in his reign of 22 years. The true date of this conjunft reign is the J 7th of Jehofliaphat, as above exprefled, and the twQ * 2 Chr. xvi. I. f I K. xvi. 8, ;j: 1 K. ?tvi. 19. 5 Ver. 23. 1) i K. xxii. st> yew CMRONOLOGY/r^OT Solomon toAxHALiA. *j^ years of the fon*s fole reign arc counted from the de-- ceafe of the father. ** Jehoram, the fon of Ahab, king of Ifrael, began to reign in the i8th of Jeholhaphat, king of Judah, and reigned 12 years*/* This arrangement excludes two years from the reign of Ahab with the two fubfe- quent years of his immediate fucceflbry Ahaziah» and extends the reign of this Jehoram to 16. But certain it is, that prior to the accellion of Jehoram king of Sa- maria, his brother Ahaziab confulted with Jehofliaphat^ concerning an e:{pedition to Ophir, in the interval from the death of Ahab, Jehoram, therefore, was not invefted with fovereignty fo early as the 1 8th of Jeho* ihaphat, for in the 19th Ahab died. By fome incidental miflake in tranfcribing this text, 18 is fubftituted for 7.2 ; and the error is repeated in the Septuagint, and pther verfions. The reign of Jehoram, the fon of Jehofhaphat, had a double commencement ; the one in his father's life- time, the other at the vacancy of the throne. For Ahaziab, the fon pi Ahab, in Samaria, having died without a fon,' was fucceeded by his brother Jehoram, in the fecond year of Jehoram the fon of Jebofliaphat, king of Judah f ; and, " in the fifth of Joram, the fon of Ahab, Jehofhaphat being then king of Judah, beg^a J)is fon Jehoram to yeign :}:." • a K. iii. i. f a K, i, 17. • 1 Ch. viii. 1 6. Thise 74 CHROKOLOGY/r^Jfl SoLOMON /^ AtHALXA. These two notations imply, that Jehoram began twice to reign in Judah, while his father was living and both arc accurate. In the 2ift of Jehofhapbat be* gan the conjun£l reign ; fo that the 22d was the firft of Joram in Samaria; and the fccond of Jehoram in Ju- dah. Again, Jehofhaphat died during the currency of his 25th year, which being incomplete, was accounted the firft of his fon's fole reign, coincident with the fifth of Joram in Samaria. At the beginning of this year Jehofhaphat was living ; but his reign in full years did not exceed 24. The refult of a minute fcnitiny into the phrafeology of the fac red writers, is fufficient to convince every intelligent and candid reader^ th^t fome exprefTions, feemingly coi^tradi6lory, are ejtam^ pics of the ftrideil precifion. Both the eleventh and twelfth of Joram in Ifrael are affigxied for the one year of Ahaziah, the fon of Jeho- ram in Judah ♦. Tbcfe d^tes exclude both perplexity 9nd error. In the lad year of his father's reign arMi life, Ahaziah had been invefi^zd with royalty, ifts copait- «ier in the government. But as the fenior fovereigti lived to the end of that year, the fon*s accedion 19 computed from the I2th of Joram, king of Ifrael. The age of Jehoram, king of Judah, when he be-> gan to reign, was 32 t. The fubfequent genealogies require, that his reign be computed from the 21 ft of his father inclufively. In the firft of his fole reign he was 36 years old, and after a reign of eight years, he died at the age of 44. His fon Ahaziah fucceeded hint • » Kings, ix. 29. and viii. ts, f 1 Kings, viii. 17, CKKOfioxoCY from SpjLOMON /^ Athalia, 75 » • iBt the 9ge of 42 *• This egregious mlftake in the on* ginal text, is, as Kennicott obferves, happily corredled in an excellent MS> inppofed to be 8co years old, where ihc number is 22, and in the Syriac and Arabic ver- fions. This is likewife the reading in the editions of the Septuagint, by Aldus, and by Wechelius, 1697. But the ipoft decifive authority is that of the parallel jHebrew text t, where all the copies, manuicript and printed, with iill the verfions, i^xhibit the lefs number, which feems to have been originally marked with the pumeric^l letters 3 3, 22, and afterwards inadvertently changed into ^ Q, 42, in one copy of the text in the Xhjronicles. In procefs of time the erroneous notation i^ecame general, while the trpe reading in the parallel paflage was retained. In computation it is an invari- able rule, that hiftorical confiflency is more to be re* gardedy than notes of number, which, if cafually inter- changed, or otherwife varied, are a fource of perplexity in reckoning by generations. By the aid of chronological char^iElers, applied to jcoexiftent reigns, a^e the years of the kings of Ifrael^ jadjufted to thofe of Judah, in this period, the common meafure being 93, in perfeft harmony with the reports p{ the Sacred Chronicle. Two numbers only deviate frotn the truth pf cemputation, the 36th of Afa is put fpr the 26th, ai^d the ;8th for the 22d of Jehoihaphat. ^ut fuch miftakes, ^s are difcpverable by 4:omparing the f:pntextwith itfelf, lead tp no deception. ♦ aCbrop^xxii. a.^ f a Kings, ^i. 26. CHAP. I I M^ ) •W^'i^T I CHAP. IIL From Athalia to the Redu6lion of.Simaria. N his Treatife on the Sacred Chronolog}' the yei^Cr rable Primate remarks, that the fum of the reign^ , over Judah, in this period, is 165 ; ihofe over Ifracl J43 years 7 months; the deficiency being 21 years 5 months. With refpeft to the former feries, the author deviates from his arrangement in the Annals, where the interval is reftrifted to 163. The larger number is a corredion juftified by the fecred regifters. 'Yet \}y a flrange fatality, he proceeds to an equation, .and re- trenching one year from the reign of Jehoafh^ another from Aliaz, reflores the deficient number. As no hint of an incomplete year, or of a joint adminillration. occurs in either cafe, this abridgement is inadmiflible. In the former period, the fubjedl of the preceding chap- ter, it is recorded, that Afa died in the 41ft year from his acceffion ; and that the firft of Jehoram's fole reignt began while Jehofliaphat was king of Judah. Thefc hints, had the Metropolitan attended to them, gave him full authority for reducing the fpace between Solomon and Athalia from 95 to 93 years. If no other unchro- nological abbrevi^ipns had been made^ the length of C UROn^o to a^ from Athalia, i^c. 77 the interval from the acceffion of Rehoboam to the dilperiion of the apoftate tribes, would have agreed with every recorded criterion of the intermediate tinaeSi This period, may conveniently be divided Into two parts. I. From the death • of Ahaziah to that of Uzziah, kings of Judah, the fum of the reigns is 127. Uzziah and Pekahiah» king of Ifrael, died in the fame year. From the 12th of Joram, excluCvely, to the death of Pekahiah, mull likewife intervene 127 years. Jeroboam II, in Samaria, died 14 years after the beginning of Uzziah*s perfonal reign in Judah, which was the 13th from the death of Amaziah ; and 13 + 14 = 27, con- xieft the 4ifl;, or laft, year of Jeroboam with the 27th of Uzziah, thus : . Athalia 6 Jehu - 28 Jehoafli 40 Jehoahaz 17 Amaziah - 29 Joafh - 16 Uzziah 27 Jeroboam 41 lOZ 102 Uzziah reigned 52 years, and confequently lived 25 after Jeroboam. But the reigns of Jeroboam's fuccef- fors, from Zachariah to Pekahiah, both included, make but 12 years 7 months. Here is a deficiency of 11 years 5 -months, the complement of 25. It muft be prefumed, that from the 27th to the 38th of Uzziah, when Zachariah afcended the vacant throne, was a feafon of anarchy in Samaria. Suppofe it to have lafted II years nearly; for though Zachariah*s fix months began in the 38th, they ended in the 39th. In yS CHitONoLoGY from Ati^aliX I^} this year he was flain by Shallum ; and Shaliartf^ after one full month, by Menahcm. According to rti^ ufual rule of computation, the whole year (hotild have been reckoned to Menahem. But his right to the throne was not immediately recognized. Of a throne, ac-» quired by blood, he could not obtain pofleflion, without violence. Thofe inhabitants, who would not open thehr cities to him, he fmote with thie fword, and ripped nptbe women with child. At lad, defpairing of fuccefs, he bribed Pul, king of Aflyria, with looo talents of filver, to con&rm the kingdom in his hand^ and pre-* Tailed. The time of this conflift for domination, it is rea- fonable to fuppofe, was two years, including the few months affigned to Zachariah and Shallum. Having forcibly invaded the throne, he reigned lo years, and was fucceeded by Pekaiab, his fon, who died after two years. The reigns in Samaria Aibfequent to the cle- niife of Jeroboam, adjufted to the remaining yean of Uzziah in Jerufalem, are^ as follow : Uzziah . 27 Jeroboam dies* Interreign - - il Zachariah and Shallum s Interreign - - j Menahem « I a Pekaiah dies « % Uzziah 4ics 27 38 II 39 I 40 I 50 10 5a 2 25 + I02 127 25 + \Q% 127 11. Th« to the ReduBlm ^SaMarXA- . ^9 II. The remaining divifion of this period compre- hends the two reigns of Jotham and Ahaz with the firft fix years of Hezekiah : — i6 + 16 +. 6 = j8. Iti the chronicle of the contemporary kings in Ifrael» 20 years only are adigned to Pekah^ and 9 to Hofhea ; the deficiency 9- Two notations in the regiiter indi« o^t^ a.fuccefsful expedient for afcertaining the equality of the numbers. I. Pekah was flain in the 20th year froni the death ^f Uz^iah^QF 4th of Aha^, which the &cred hiHorian^ by a very unufual mode ofexprefTion, calls the aoth of Jotham the fon ofUzziah*.* Jotham reigned but 16 years. Pekah was, theFefoFe, murdered in the fourth cf bis fuccefTor. But here ^n objeflion occurs. ^< In dbe fi^cond year of Pekah, t;ing of Ifrael, began Jotham, ^ng of Judah, to reign t." Confequemly the firft of "Pekah was coincident both with the fecond of his pre- deceirpr P^ahiah, and alfo with the 52d of Uzziah, on the throne of Judah. But, if one invariable rule in computation be applied, the objedion will difappear. Pekah moft probably afcended the throne of Ifrael a few days or weeks before the death of Uzziah, who it may be prefumed did furvive the then cnfuing month of Abib, whence the fecond of Pekah, according to the ufual mode of computation, began. From the fame term likewife was counted the firft of Jotham. Yet, the far greater part of the fame year being common to both' princes, the faered hiftorian, by connecting the « % Kings, XV. 30. f V. 3». aoti 8o Chronology /r^w AthalIa 20th of Pekah with the 20th from the dcmife of tj^-* ziah excluGvely, intimates, that, in this one infiance^ he deviates from the general rule of counting a feW days or weeks a whole year. 2. The reign of Hofheai in Samaria, is dated fi^ont the 1 2th of Ahaz * ; that is, eight full years after the murder of Pekah. Here is a decifive intimation of an interreign in Ifrael. To Hofhea is afligned a reign of nine years. But the 2o years of Pekah, the nine of HoQiea, and the eight of an interreign, is no more than 37, or lefs by unity than 38, the interval from the death of Uzziah to the fixth of *Hezekiah inclu- fively. This defeft may be fupplied, by fuppofing, that, in the I2th of Ahaz, Hofliea, either by forcc^ or by the confent of the people, had furmounted the re« fifiance of an oppofite fa£lion, and that his reign ii to ~ be computed from the t3th of Ahaz. Thus arc the reigns of the kings, in the rival itates, brought to an exadl equation. Jotham - 16 Pekah - 20 Ahaz - 16 Interreign 9 Hezekiah - 6 Hofhea - 9 38 +127 38 +127 165 +93 165 +93 258 258 • % Kings^ xvii. i. USHXH USHElt allows but 254 years from the revolt to the removal of thfe ten tribes; The reafon of this abbre* viation has already been afligned. In the Annals the tnrth of Arphaxad and of Abraham is anticipated each hy one year. A third is retrenched from the reign of Jehoaihf and a fourth from that of Ahaz. Thefe mif« takes being reSified, the redu£lion of Samaria is brought dowti to its true date A. M. 3288, not 3284. ** They who make operofe explications of little difficuhies* are more folicitous in defending the chrono- logy of the fcripture, than it needeth. In reckoning the times, the facred writers do not inGfi on the niceties of odd months, days, or parts of a year*." Even this remark is more than it needeth. No other hifio* rians are fo careful to diftinguifh incomplete from full years, to chara£lerize excurrent months, and days, by the years of co-exiftent reigns, and to fuggeft more bints than ar^ ftri&ly neceflary to the truth of compu- tation. Of the infpired authors this is one peculiar mark of perfedion. In the foregomg arrangements the utmoft regard has been had to thofe numbers of reference, without which it would have been impoflible to methodife the hillory of this period ; and it is, with TQUch fatisfa£lion, difcovered, that all are perfe£lly confifient. Subjoined are the fynchronifms in the reigns from the 93d year fubfequent to the death of Solompn, exhibited at one view. * Wall's note on % Kings, ix. 19. G Judah 8a Chronology from Athalia^ Ice. Judah. Athalia Jchoaih Amniah iTr.ziah a Minor Pcrfonal rcigni 1 1 6 X 22 39 40 X i6 ^9 12 13 38 39 40 50 Jehu Jehoahaz Joafli Jeroboam Samaria. 6 7 28 I 17 X 1 16 I H 26 27 41 Interrcign 1 1 Zachariah ^ and Shal- > i lum J Intcrrcign i Menahem ro 99 100 I2X 122 138 139 r4o '54 »55 x68 180 ill 195 206 207 208 ai8 Judah. Cuiah 51 Jotham Ahas 5* I 16 t a 3 4 »3 14 15 1^ Hezckiah i » 3 4 5 6 Pekahiah x 2x91 Pekah s %±^ X 221 x^ 236 x8 238 Ptfkah flain 20 24P Intbreiga 9 249 UoOica* X 2 f 4 5 6 7 250 *53 »54 256 The ten tribes I 8 *57 carried away 9 258 It merits regard, that the long reign of Uzziah hap- pily ferves, as an adjufting meafure, for f^ven (hort reigns, and three vacancies of the throne in Samafia. '* Hofliea's firft year is contie^fted with the lath. o£ ^iiaz (2 Kings, xvii. 1.). In the table it coincides with the X4th. This apparent difcord of dates admits a very probable' com- promife. fn the rath of Ahaz, either by conihrt or Compv!- fton, Hofhea mjght obtain the fovereignty; hut the Ikcred hiilorian judged it proper to ioclude ^he nine full yeaiip ^ ufurpation, and to compute the reigaof the. fame quantity from the 14th of Ahaz, in which it mod probably ended. Some part of the fame year might he common to both princ^^ though it did not begin attd end with the fame day of the txideut rcigHs. CHAP. t 83 ) 4 » . 1 * #1 • ■ ■• .- i.'.* • • ■ .,.;:?■■ .,..'. , 1 « . > • • • • ■ • .... • . • • * • . k CHAP. IV. From the RemovaLtf the Ten Tribes to the Con*, Jlagraiion of the Firji Temj>le. «i I /« THAT ufeful dire£loi{^y tlie Chronicle of Samariay unavoidably ceafed With the political exillence of that efiabliflnncnt. Its iife,- hotvevin", is happily fu- perfeded by Ptolemy^^ Mathematical Canon» which opens 26 years prior to the extinStion of the kingdom m Ifrael, and terminates with the; reign of Antoninus the Philofopher,' one full: century after the Chriftian era. The reigns &i Judah are ftill computed from Abib« But to all of then the Annals aflign another date from different months of their feveral years. The authorities produced from the facred records, if properly inter- preted, do not* eftabliih the author's pofitions, a full examination of "VKhich is referved for the enlarged Arrangements, where it will be ihewn, that his con- clurionS;acc:at variance with the chronology and hifiory of the times. This period ends with A. lA. 3421, 427 years after the foundation^pf the Temple. But from tbe 39th cf Solomon's lei^ exclufively, 3030, begins a new G 2 foi^rcc 84. CURONOLOdy. fource of computadoo, by the noted teem of 390 years, beyond which the punilhment of Ifrael's apoftacy was not to be deferred *• As a regulating meafure for the remaining reigns in Judah, it is requifite to fet thofe of Cbaldea in juxta* pofition. An abbreviated fcheme foHows. Jerufalem. Hczckiah Babylon. Mard.£m- 2 259 padiis iz 269 5 274 Manaflch 7 17 22 Arcbianus 14 Intenciga a? ifelibus x8 Aprooa- a9 dius J 4 5 RegUibtts r Mccclli- 9 1 monU'' C cus iy Intcrrc'gn 8 298 SoV^^ }- 33. 51 Nebuchado- i 332 \ 2 276 3 279 1 280 2 281 3 282 6 285 t 286 4 *90 Amort Jufiah 55 2 I uofor 5 336 7 338 8 339 22 353 Jerufalem. Jofiah t6 Jchoahaa jf eboiakim i 4 5 7 9 10 Tehoiachin 11 i^dekiadt ' r . .-4 5 6 7 8 10 Babyl< Ml. Kabopol- r ^54 laflar 16 369 17 370 Kebucbad- 120 37j uezzarf 221 374 1 3 375 4 376 ■ < 5 376 6 377 . .# 7 378 « 379 9 3^ , .10 381 It 382 «* 3»3 13 384 ■ 14 385 15 386 . i« 387 • 17 38^ • l8 3*9 ■ *9 59© " A.M. 3421 • See Ezekiely iv. :v • t Daniel, adopting the computation of Chaldca> whcm he wrote his Prophecies, dates Nebuchadnezzar's reign from the death of his father. But all the other iacrad authors reckon from the fourth of Jehoiakim. > The duration of the divine forbearance ivith the idolatrons ifraeliteSy prefignified to Ezekiely was limited. to 390 yea»» the laft of which began in the tenth of Zedekiah* which was the i8th of Nebuchadnezzar, Jer. xxxii, i. 5 and etded.on the ninth of the fourth month in the fubftquent year, 'when tKc- famine was fore in the city, and Zcdekiah bound with fetters. a Kings, xxiv. 5—7. Stages Captivity of Judah* 85 Stages kA the Siege according to tbe Hebrew and Roman Calendar. ^ A.M. Heb. Rom. Z^ekiah*S9t]b year begins 3419 Abib X April to m. Seige begun - 3430 Shehat 10 Jan. 14 th« loth of Zedekiah begins Abib 1 April a8 L Siege renewed - Sivan t6 July ta C J ith of Zedekiah begins 3421 Abib x April 17 t* Famineprevails. The liege raifed Tamuz xo July a6 th« Conflagration of the temple Ab 10 Aug. 25 f.. Captives carried to Babylon 20 Sept. 4 t. These Arrangements, the refult of calculations^ confiru£led on infallible chara£lers of time, exprefled in feveral concurrent texts, evince, that the years of Ze« dekiah are not computed, as in the Annals, from the tenth day of the fourth month, and that the eleventh in particular, did hot expire till the end of the eighth month exclufively from the date of his captivity. If from the bilking up the city, on the 26th July, 390 years be counted back, to the firft of Rehoboam, which was the 40th of Solomon, their comniencementt without r^rd to the Hebrew lunar form, will coincide with Wedncfday the 27 th July A. M. 3031, the true hiftorical term, whence the cftabliflimcnt of idol- worfliip in Samaria is to be computed. Usher, Prideaux, Bedford, and others, contimie the currency of the 390 years to the 23d of Nebuchad- nezzar, when Nebuzaradan returned to Jerufalcm, and thence carried away into Babylon 745 captives *• ♦ Jer. UL 30. G 2 This 86 C H H O N. O L O. O Y. This obvious metachronifm is the unavoidable. con- fequence of taking four full years from the age of the world, and of conne£ling the hiftorical date of our Lord's nativity with A.M. 4000. But the ori^ of thts miflake is not now the fubjefl of difcui&on. Its efitfls muft be examined. It contradifis the numbers and iftia^ety of the prophetical vifion in the fourth chapter of Ezekiel ; — nay, perverts the very terms by which the vrhole is explained. The complex apparatus relates entirely to a then future fiege of Jerufalem ;-— a liege of a determinate length ; — neither more rior lefs than 390 natural days. Tbefe natural days reprefented as many natural years in pall hiftorical time. If the firft of the 390 days reprefented the firft of the 390 years, evident is the abfurdity of affirming, that the 39Qth, year and the .390th day had a differeni; ter- mination. From the time of raifing the ficge, 40 days inore wer^e to intervene before the carrying away of Judah into captivity. Thefe reprefent as many years of the divine patience towards the tribes of Judah and Ben- jamin .,($:omprebcnding alfo the remains of the ten other tribes, who bad adhered to the houle of David, fmce the redu£Uon of Samaria); and art counted in. the fcheme from . the. loth of Tamuz to the 2otb o( Ab. The 40 correfpondent years are nuoibered from the beginning of Jeremiah's miniAry, io the I3tb of Jofiab. Sixth f «7 ) / • MbMHHMaMMnHMMaaMnnHN SSSEI3PS Sixth Jg0 . 28 32 49 51 55 58 66 I 67 36 I02 I 103 I 7 8 2 3 104 105 6 begin 21 113 I 114 7 120 II 124 Eliafhib i 12 125 Nchcmiah's^ 9 Cdmmiffion 20 133 ElUQiib Juiadah End of the Jonathan Jaddm 10 Alt. Long. 21 134 30 41 154 31. Dar. Noduis^i. 155 40 9 161 f II 165 5 Sacred hift. 15 169 9 19 173 io>Art. MneiD. i 174 46 I • s 15 1 6 Ochus 3* I 4 6 Arogus 31 204 3* 20s 46 219 I ^20 If 236 18. 237 21 240 * HI Codom. 4 247 A. M. 3668 It now remains, that the anachronifms in the Annals be reduced to the natural order of genuine hiftory. I. The identity of Cambyfes, the fon of Cyrus^ with the Ahafuerus mentioned Ezra, iv. 6 ; and of Smerdis, the magian, with the Artaxerxes, in the fe- venth verfc, is an arbitrary hypotbcfis of U(bcr, and xafhly adopted by Prideaux and Bedford. Cambyses, and hisfucceflbr Smerdis, theimpoftor> occupied the Perfian throne from the deraife of Cyrus to the acceffion of Darius Hyftafpis, a fliort period of eight yesurs, according to the report of the moll credi- ble Rebuilding of the TiMVtz. 91 ble hiflorians, and the c6mputation of Ptolemy, the nlathlESinatkian. In the facred hiftory it is recorded, *^ That 'the people of the land," that is, the difiif- feSed' Samaritans, <♦ weakened the hands of the people in Judah, and troubled them in building (the Temple), all the days of Cyrus, even unto the reign of Darius, fcing of Perfia.** This interval comprehends 14 years. None of the Pag^n writers has diilinguiffied Cam- byfes by the name of Ahafuerus ; and though Smerdis had ftveral names, which are well known, yet that of Artaxerxes was certainly not of the number. The oppofition raifej by evil counfellors, who had. been hired to fruftrate the purpofe of the builders, prior to the reign of Darius Hyfiafpis, feems to have been the projed of a tumultuous faf^ion at home, without the knowledge or authority of the Perfian court. If the deputy governors in Samaria, ihftigated by the ad« verfaries of Judah, did tranfmit to Cambyfes, in the commencement of his reign, a remonArance againft the Rebuilding of the Temple, no evideujCe of his pro- hibiting the wOrk, by a royal edi£l, exiils. Improba- ble it is, that he would reverfe a national deed, fo lately and folemnly ratified by his father. His fliort and buftling reign, embroiled with foreign wars, parti- cularly the conqueA of Egypt, left him but few and fiiort intervals, for the admin i drat ion of Perfia ; mucbf lefs for interfering with the afiairs of remote pro- vinces. Smerdis, during the few months of his ufurpation, folicitous to conceal the infamy of his mutilated ears* and 92 Chronology. and to guard againft the apprehended danger of a vio* lent death, feldom appeared in public^ and difcharged few funflio^fs of royalty. Befides, before the Sannari* tans could o^in an anfwer to tlieir complaint (if any were produced), he had undergone the punHhment due to his impofture and treafon. The conclufion from thefe premifcs is, that the re- fillence to the building of the Temple, from the time of Cyrus to Darius, proceeded wholly from the malevo- lence of the Samaritan fadion, witliout the approbitioh of the intermediate pri.ices, Cambyfes and Smerdis. But in the fecond year of Darius, Tatnai, the De- puty Governor in Sarharia, with his companions, tried» though without effc£), to hinder the elders of Judah from proceeding to build the houfe of the Lord. A letter wa^ fent from Samaria to Darius, fetting forth, that the Jews had begun, and were ftill continuing in that work, under the pretended fandion of authority from Cyrus. The remondrants fubmitted to the king's good pleafure, whether the national archives ihould be fearched, in order to difcover the original of that de- cree. The records were confulted, and the deed found to be authentic. Darius immediately enforced the com- miflion by Cyrus, adding ample encouragements to the builders, and denouncing on their enemies grievous pains and penalties. The Jews continued to build, and the houfe .was fini(hed in the fixth year of that reign. This is the fum of what is recorded in the canonical Book of Ezra, concerning the work of the fecond Temple^, Rebuilding d^ Jerusalem. 93 Temple. Before its dedication the rebuilding of the city-i^s not begun. On this principle h \s pfefumed, that the Ahafuerus and Artaxerxes, mentioned in the fixth and feventh verfes of the fourth chapter, were not the predeceffirsy but the 'Jucctjjhrs of Darius Hyftafpis ; and confe- quentljr were Xerxes and his fon, Arraxerxes Longi- manu^. **'Ih the reign of Ahafuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they ♦ an accufation againft the inha- bitants of Judah and Jerufalem." The articles of this accufation are not expreffed. They could not, how- ever, relate to the reftoration of the Temple, for that ftruflure had been finifhed full 30 years before the ac- ceflion of Xerxes. Of that complaint the fubje£^, doubtlefsj w;ei,s the rebuilding of the city : and this conjefture the words of the text confirm. In the pre^ cedii\g' verfes, which treat of the Temple only, the people of Judah alone are mentioned. The city did not then exift otiierwife than aS a heap of ruins. Now, after the lapfe of 30 years, confiderable prbgrefs muft» under the patronage of Darius, have been made i^n rearing up its defolate edifices. Not without peculiar emphafis does the hiftorian obferve, <^ That this accufa- tion was written againil the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem." The hiftory gives no fuller account cf the refult of this remonfirance^ than of its contents, though they are ^jaferred by implication* It had very probably an eflfefl^ 9 The people of the UiQd, and tfaeir counfeHors* fimilar gH, Chronology. fimilar to tbe complaint preferred in the former rdgo# It was meant for mifchief, but produQive of good. It is tbe remark of Jofephus, <^ Tbat Xerxes inherited not only tbe kingdom» but alfo tbe piety, of bit father Darius ; for be did all things relative to' the divine worfbip, in imitation of fo worthy a pattern, 4iiid ap- proved himfelf a munificent benefador of tbe Jews *•*' Here is a fortuitous, but not indecifive prefumption, that this writer confidered Xerxes as the Ahafuenis in Ezra, iv. 6. «« In the days of Artaxerxes wrote Biflilam,. &c. a letter againft Jerufalem." This remonfixance it expli- citly declared to have bad for its fubjefi the building of the rebellious and bad city, the walls of which bad then been fet up, and the foundations joined. During tlip fpace of 41 years from the dedication of the TempI^ had the Jews, enabled by a royal grant from Dariutf and continued by Xerxes, of all the tribute arifiMfrpm the lands in Judah, Samaria, and Galilee, propeeded with all difpatch, without much difiurbance friCNP .eir fchifmatical neighbours f . The Samaritant,' fjfiidgaig fo large a contribution, extorted annually for t)pe ^ • Ant. 1u. 5* I. t The wor^i of the grnAt are, •* MoreoTer, I make a de» cree, tbat of the king's goods, even of the tribute befdlid Ike river, forthwith expcnces be given unto thefc men that they be not hindered. '''Ezrajvi. 8. By *' the tr'tltute beyond fberhier,** t \ not meant the whole taxes ariftng from all the provjncei of the Perfian empire, on the weft of the Euphrates j but, in ^ mdrereftrifted fcnfe, the produce of the revenues 'impOfed on the late kingdoms of Judah and Ifrael. lument REB\JlVDl^o ^T JerusAxem. 95 jument of the ]t^% repeated their grievances, with petitions of rdie^ dt the co^naencement of every new jieign-^ and at the aceeflion of Artaxerxes Longimanus, the uiiial expedient was ftot. omitted, . He, implicitly telicving the. accufation, . in its full extent, as fet forth^ without hearing the,. Jews fin their own defence, gave pxdera thfi.t the city fiKMild not be builded, till a new commandment ihoold he given from himfelf ^« The epnufxiffioners neUsmed^ and made the Jews to ceafe by Jbrce and power:; nor was this peremptory prohibition reverfed before the feyenth year of the fame reign +. 2. The CQ^ppotation of the Annals deviates from the truth of hiftory, in affirming, that Darius Hyftafpis was the prince,,: who, under the name' of Ah^fuerus, divorced Vaflxti and efpoufed Efther. Qn the authority of the Septuagint, Jofephus, and the apocryphal book f This arrwlgtirfetit ef reigns, event;?, arid dates, from tbe firft of Cyrus, is authorifed by the teftimony of the Pagan witcra, and, witk the be]p of a few necefHiry tranfpofitions, accords io perfe6J harmony with the reports contained in the books of the canonical and apocryphal Ezrx ' This order of titties, and incidents, does not incur the cen - fere of iK)Tclty 5 though even novelty is not a certain criterion of crror^ It refts 00 the authority of the ^eatSir IfaAc New- ton, (Cbronol. ch* vi.) and is confirmed by additional .re- marks and evidences, in a brief eifay on the Chronology cf fomc PaiTages, 5cc. fubjoined to Dr. Wall's Critical Notes on the New Teftament, vol. iii. The author of this Analyfig would have been happy in referring to authorities equally r<» l)>eft^le in fupport of many other conjedures, far which be alone is refpohBble. I of 96 Chronology. of £fther;— all which records teftify, that the kinff, whofe queen was Eftber, and whoTe prime niniftef was Hamao, had the name of Artaxerxes *. On their authority, Lee, Prideaux, Wbifion, &c. diflent from the Primate*s hypothefis, which anticipates the hiftory of the canonical book by 59 years. Tn£ contents of the firft two chapters of the He^ brew Eflhcr are a proper introdufiion to the feventb of the Hebrew Ezra, which hiflory ends with the fe- venth year of Artaxerxes. The remaining part of Eftber continues the hiflory to the 13th of the fame reign ; and the book of Nehemiah opens with the 20ih. 3. By the confent of all hiftorians Xerxes reigned ^1 years, and Artaxerxes, after his father's demife, 41. Buc in the Annals, 12 years only are counted to the father, and the nine fubfequent years to the foiu and the reign of the latter extended to 51. This diflribu- tien is arbitrary, and repugnant to hiflory and the courfe of nature* By curtailing the reign and life of Xerxes, contrary to the teftimony of all the hiflorians, (except Tbucy- dides}, and to Ptolemy's Canon, which refts on the firm bafis of aftronomical calculations, the Archbiihop gives his own fingular hypothefis every feroblance of a paradox. It is likewife incompatible with phyfical probability. For Juftin reports t, that Artaxerxes was, * Joferhus in particular alTcrt , tliat he was the fon of Xerxes, and therefore could be no other than Artaxerxes Loo* (Imanu?. f L. iii. t. at P£RStAK£M^IR£. 97 at the time of hit father's death, a very young man, itdmodumpue)f\ and* Diodorus Siculus* repeats the fame fad. He was bom after his father came to the throne, for which reafon his elder brothers were overlooked in the fucceilion. Now, if the father reigned but' 12 years, the fon*s age did not exceed 11. But at the time of the father's death, or very foon after, the fon Was matried, and in the third year of his reign di- vorced his queen. Whereas Xerxes reigned 2ti years, Artaxerxes afcended the throne at the age of '20. Thus piricifra. Let 41 years only be allowed for the, reign of Artaxerxes, including the odd months of Artabanus, the younger Xerxes, and Sogdian ; — and let 21 years, full be allowed for the elder Xerxes, confornabty to the unanimous reports of aM the hiftorians ; — then from the date of Ezra's commiflion, on the firft of Nifan» in the feventh of the fame Artaxerxes, A. P. Jul. 4256, the interval thence to the third of Nifan 4746, is pre- cifaly 490 years 3 days. 5. As P E R s t A H Empire. 99 5. Assail th^ fabbacical yeais,^ and jubiles, biilorically rocoided in Jofep|hus» and the bookfr o£ the Maccabees, f9|) computed iroln the date of their reAoratioii by Ne« bemiab *» in the aift of Art%xerxe9; every iaquifitive jreader, vho would perufe^the facred hiiipty with dif- ccrnment, has a right to be inforiiied, whether ^f^he- miah obferved tb^, terms, of the original inftitution, or introduced a new i^ckpniog : if .t^ latter, wliich oi the two is the completion in the Anna^ ? For exarapli^ : - f\ Wh]?a Herod- and. Sofius condtt^ed the fiege of Jerufalens the inhabitadtls w^rtp reduced t^ extreme neceSity fxom famine, that IxMng. a fabbatical y^M t/* The Jewifti b^Aorian defines the time by tw9 Aeutioasof ifl(:^l{ibl^ f^^rtainty : i . Th« jconfulate of Mar*- CUB- Agrippa aojd Canijoios Gallus, and th^ iSith Olymr- piads— the former bring >he 717th yf ar of the Vamofc fiiaiv <^on?pula(ipnf A^ M. 3972 ; and the firft .qf the ^tcTi coin^idfiit) abqut the time of tbe famtner folfttce^ that very io^io^i when the city was taken by ftorm. ^g^that year^ 9S ^xetuni) of Septenary r^fl, began with Hhcj tioNi of ilift ,M|$i|fnml «quiaox in. 397 n* It is now 1. WttETjHiLR Jofephtti computed that reft from ito true date^ lib^ fevy^o^h year from the partition of the 4Sowtry in .2;$^$ i. Ci9wpet)diou6 and decifive is this I^ObUaa: i^ 297^ — ^;^68=x403p which furplus, di- vided, hy 7« i|iiQtes ^<>o years of reieafe, and the re- vm^^ d<»i9tes the third year of tile then current I ■ • 41 ■ » . I • • • • • Chap. X. 3X, t JofcpEus, Ant. xiv. 16. i. H % cycle» too Chronology. cycle. Evident it therefore is, that Jofephas did not count from the primary fource. Neither £d the Arch* bifliop, whofe reckoning, from the feventh year after the paflage over Jordan, exclodes thofe fix years of fowing and reaping, which the ftatute did not only per* mir, but enjoin. By this prochronifm, one faperfluous week of years is entered into the Annab. With every femblance of prectfion, however, the year of the fiege is charaSerifed as-fabbatica!. His origiRal* numbers^ erroneoufly combined, impofed on bimfelf, and his readers, a plaufible chronological deceptioHf in every fubfequent criterion of time. By bringing the date o£. the Creation too k>w by four years, the numerical cha» raders of this fiege, with refpefl to the age of the world, are mifplaced, 3967 being fabftituted for 397T; as in fixing the time of the firft feptenary cycle, 2560 was preferred to 2568. This involuntaiy follacy wears every afpefl of certainty. As it arifes from the junfiion of incoherent numbers, let the four deficient years, in the age of the world, be repkced, (3967 + 4 = 397 1 )> and retain the Primate's date of the prhnluy iabbatkal year; an eafy arithmetical operation will afcertsunthc fource of the miflake. Thus . 397 1 — 2560 =: 141 1, quotes 201 fabbatical cyctes,- with a furplus of four years, a fraflional part of the current cycle, at the time when Herod befieged Jerufalem. The only remaining error is the addition of one fuperfbous week of years ; and this is zcSkified by fubftituting 2568 for 256^ Tantum ferlts jun^uraque polkt +. The next enquiry is, t Hon 2. Whether P t K $ I A K Empire. ioi 9* Whether all the fabbatical cycles (kblequent to the re-eftablUbment of the brdinance by Nehemiah^ 4o proceed in a contiauous ieries &om this new term ? It is previouily requifite to afcertain the date of their reftoratioa. One indifpenfable criterion of time is the acceffion of Artaxerxes Longimanus ; and it has been ihewn, that the hypothefis of Ulher is exploded by the courfe of nature, and dired hiAQrical evidence. This reign muft confequently be reckoned from the 2ift of Xerxes, exclufively. Sir Ifaac Newton, by an accu- mulation of chronological xrharaders, fixes his demife to the end of winter A. M. 3544 ; fuppofe about the end of January. His murderer, Artabanus, having invaded tbe vacant throne, was llain after an ufurpation of feven months. Thus is the commencement of Artaxerxes' reign brought down to September in that year^ Hence (that is, neither from the Hebrew Abib, nor the E^gyptian Thoth) dp the facrej hUlorians compute tbe fucceeding years of this prince. For in ^he ninth Hebrew month, Chifleu, in the 20th year of Artaxerxes, Nehemiah was informed tlpt the wall of Jerufalem had been broken down, and the gates burnt. Nifan, the firft of the pext Hebrew year, is charafterifed as ia thp 20th ^f the fame reigp. From thefe * and other unequivocal notations, Sir Ilaac concludes, with his ufual acutenefs, that it began in the autumnal half year, between the fourth and ninth Hebrew months. Qut a chronological chara£ler, ilill more appofite and deciGvCi remains. Africanus inforn^ ps, that the 20th • See Neh. i. x. and ii. i. H 3 of loa Chronology. of Artaxerxes fell in with the fourth of the S^i Olym-- plad 5 and, therefore, his firR year began a month or two months before tlic autumnal equinox *. The Olympic years were computed from the new moon be- fore the fummer folftice; confequently his^ift )'ear commenceel one month or two before the enfuing au- tumnal equinox. These dates, thus defined, are happily ' fubferrient to the required difcovery. In the 20th of Artaxerxes Ndiemiafa fet out from Shufhan^ in Perfia, for Jenifa- 1cm : and, in tlie 25th day of the 6th Hebrew month,* EluL was the citv wall finifhed. The aift of Arta- yiCTxcs wa5 then begun. On the 15th df the feveaih month was the feaft of tabernacles obferved with ejc- traordinary folemnity. On the 24th was held a vo- luntary faft, fpent in the reading of the law, in the confeffion of fins, znd in framing the articles of a na- tional reformation. One of thefe was an obligation formally ratified to " leave every fcventh year, and the exaSion of every debt.'* This is a new Tource' of compuution by the fabbatical cycles, commencing with the autumnal equinox A. M. 3565. It has been re- marked, that the year in which Herod took Jerufalcm^ 3971, was fabbatical. If the lefs fum be taken from the greater,, and the difference, 406, divided by feveri, the refiilt will be 58 feptenary refts for the land, and' releafe for fenrants. As (00) remains, that year *was fabbatical, ip virtue of the new regulation, in the 21ft of Artaxerxes. Sjrsrt by the primitive term in the days' • Newton's Chionology, p. 354, oi New Series ^Sabbatical Years. 103 tof Jofhua, Jenifalem was befieged in the tHird year of a th6n current cyc\t.- It may afked, Why did Nebemiah deviate from the original feries ? It may be replied, that the true times -of obferving thefe periodicial fdlemnities might have ^fcaped the remembrance of that generation, after a lapfe of 654. years, fince the days of Samuel ; for fo 4ong had years of refl and releafe gone into difufe. But another reafori is much more probable, and al- tnoft certain. Fourteen years, precifely, before this «iew regulation, had the 70 weeks of years begun. That every feptenary combination might be fignalized by the ^•e-e{lab^lfh^!ent of a facred ordinance, too long ne- jglefled, and eminently conducive to the pra£lice of na- tional juftice, mercy, and devotion, Nehemiah con- giefted the fabbatical years with a famous circulating period in the oracles of prophecy. This double feries of regulatirig meafures, tn computation, is decifive, if applied to the chrondbgy of our Lord; — more particu- larly it defines, with infallible certainty, the duration of his minifiry. At the commencement of the 30th jubile, from formerly perplexed, ftiU doubtful. Pr. Macnight adj\ift$, with tolerable exa<5tnef8, the chrono-^ logy of Chrift's miniftry to the hiftory-of that period; but, in fome cafes, proceeds with hefitation, in others without con- (iftency, and, at laft, concludes with an approach to cer^ tainty. Some of his fuccelTors, in this line of inveftigation, have deviated widely, not only from truth, but even from proba- bility. K(hops Pearct, Newcome, and Dr. Prieftly, have pVe- fented their'feyeral hypothefes to the public, without imparting to their readers one fpark of illumination. * See Sir I. Newton's Obfervations on the Prophecies, p. 131, and other paifa^es of that rather ingenious than accu- tatc work. . and ic6 C n R O X O L O C Y. anct in the third year fow and rcap^ and plant vineyards, and cat the fruits*.** From the 13th verfe of the i8ih chapter it is cvi*- dent, that, in the 14th of Hezekiah, Sennacherib came up agaitlft all the cities of Judah, and, no dOubt, laid the country under exorbitant contributions, for the fup- port of his numerous army. It is not here enquired, whether that was aflually obfervcd as a fabbatical year, for the reverfe is certain ; but whether it was fuch in rotation? The years of Hezekiah began with Abib, ihofe of reft from tillage with Tizri. Computation nuiil, therefore, proceed from the 13th of that reign, A. M. 3382: Hence fubtraft that year, which is the fource of computation, 2568 ; the furplus, 814, which* divided by feven, quotes 116 years of reft for the land, and leaves two for the fradional part of a 117th cycle* That year, confequentiy, was not fabbatical by rotation. But God gave, for a (ignal to (upport the faith of Hezekiah, and bis people, a gracious promife of an extraordinary fupply, from the fpontaneous fruits of the earth. « a Kings, xix. 29. « Without entering into a minute explication, how the pro- duce of one year ftiould fuffice for three, be it remembered, that the Hebrew year had a double commencement, the ciYii; from the autumnal equinox, the sacred from the oppofitc cardinal point. Both commencements are here ipedfied, and either interval reckoned for a full year. The Ifraelites had the promife of immutable veracity, that the incrcafe of every fixth year fliould be adequate to the confumption of iZ tnofiths. 2. In New Serks £/* Sabbat ic A L Years. 107 2. In the eighth year of Zedekiah, A. M. 3418, when the fovereign had made a covenant with all the people, that every man fhould prodaini liberty to his mate and female fervants ; and, even after an a£lual difmlflioh, the princes recalted them into fervitude, in the profpeS' of aid from the king of Egypt againft NcbuchadnezziaT, a prophet was'fent to denounce the tinavoidatifle captivity* of Zedekiah, and the dcfolation of tfic city **. It is enquired, was that year fabbatical ? Anf^ver, It was the third after the pafJ, and the fourth before the next feptenary releafe. Though neither of the fpecified years concluded a cycle, the operations ftewthe times of the circulating repetitions. 3f. In the fourth of Joiakim began the 70 years cap- tivity of Judah : " To fulfil the word of the Lord, by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her fabbaths ; for as long as (he lay defolate, fhe kept fab- bath, to fulfil three fcore and ten years +•'* Hence it is certain, that 70 returns of years, facred to reft and relf^afc, with the remiflion of debts, and the reeovcry of cftates, prior to the fourth of Joiakimi had been fucceffiveJy negleded. The years of fowing and reaping, correfponding to 70 fabbaths of years, are 440 : and 420 + 70 =; 490. From the fecond of that reign* A. M. 3401, which was fabbatical, deduft 490, tbe rt regularly obferved in the days of the Judges, than in the times fubfequent to the adminiftration of Nehemiab. Ordinances fo infeparably conne£ied with humanity^ juftice, religion, and feoular intereft, would, on this laft account alone, though all the other motives had a lefs powerful influence, be moft pun£lually obferved. That New Series ^^SabAatical Years* ic^ That people was no fooner fubjeft to a foreign yoke than put under tribute* In a (late of unavoidable dependence, exemption f|t)m the taxes of the feventh year, the Jews always implored, atid, for any thing now known, it was ever granted, as an equitable indulgence* A few infiances, in the chronological order, are fubjoined. A. M. Sabbatical cycles reftored, 2 1 fi Artaxerxes 3565 Firft reft for the land, and releafe of fervants 7 3572 Alexander remitted the tribute of the fe-T ^ venth year, Jofcphus, Ant. xi. 8. 5. J ^^^ ^ '' Bethfura furrendered for want of ftore in' the feventh year, i Maccab. vi. 49. ^168 3845 Ant. xii. 95* Siege of Beth Dagon continued to the year"! g « of reft, Ant. xiii. 8, i. War. i. i. 14. J '^ ' In a famine of the feventh year Herod tookT g Jerufalem, Ant.xir. 16.2. &xv. 1.2. J ' 397 A famine in the feventh y^ar, becaufe theT feed of the foregoing feafon perifhed in s 14 3985 the foil. Ant. xv. i6. i. - - J Year of the crucifixion - - 5^ 4^4^ Tk£5£ computations, conftrufled 01^ true chronolo^ gical principles, give to the poftulates, above aflumed, all the certainty of infallible felf evident axioms. As fuch they are here repeated. I. Archbishop UQier unhappily antedated the feptenary cycles, in either feries, the one by feven, the other by nine years, which entirely defeats the fubfer- viency of both to hiftorical arrangement. 7 ^, By no - C H R O N O LO C Y. a. By a ndb* unjuftifiable abbreviation of one reigv» and the proportional enlargement of anotI>er,. biAoricat order is violated in favour of a hjpothefis, vifionary, fallacious^ and repugnant to the evidence of every authentic record. This artful and arbitrary tranfpofi- fion of numbers brings the beginning of the iaiDous 70^ weeks nine years lower than their true epoch ; and this turn protra6)s the currency of thefe weeks as much beyond that point in hifiorical time, where, by every fair mode of reckon! iig, they ought to end. If four years - taken from tlie date of the creation be refiored> -the metachronifm will amount to 17 years. Th^ refiik disjoins the natural connedion which fubfifts between the oracles of prophecy and" the report of faiAOry. From different terms may this memorable proj^berical ■period be computed, in the defcending feries.\ ' fiut with the crucifixion it mud end. Allow 21 yearsr for the reign of Xerxes, and 41 for tliat of his fop, Longimanu$» the artificial confufion in the ABsala, for this period, disappears, and every obilro^oa toajuft arrangement in the afcending feries is reoioned. JSaly and certain is the operation. From 4041 dedu£l 490^ the remainder, 355 1, denotes the fevcnth of Arttxettes, as before. 3. Sir Ifaac Newton and others, taiking it for granted that the fabbatical years of Nehemiab Ive^ a continuation of the ferics begun by Jofhua, have in- advertently combined two eminent chronological dia- rafters, which if kept diftinft, (as every hiftoricai crite* rian of thofe times requires), would have been fuffidienc either New Series of Sabbatical Years. i^i cither to prevent fffj:orjp(k^m}R.akes in the chronology of our Lord's life and mimilry. , Uiher had involved thq fubjefb in fucb^perj^lexity and confuuon as to defi^at the primary uH^s^^and -en^s^of all the fep^enary. periods, whether meafured by. weeks of days, or. of y^ars. Sir Ifaac Newton, at ^ venture, aflumed the poftu)ate, that a fabbatical yea^ ch^radt^rifed tbajt pf the cruclnxioq, without the leaft apprehenfion, thfit fuch years were computed from mo different fources. The 7a weeks of Daniel begin and etid In Abib, or Nifan, of the floored Hebrew year. This criterion is common to each part o{ the entire number, and confe- quently to the 7Qth or^laft week. The prophet had no Tetfofpe£l to the original ardinance concerning periodi- cal reAs for the lands releafe for bond fervants, remif- fiop of deb^Sf &(?. i — ufages whiqh had become obfolete almoil fix . centuries before his time. Nothmg lefs* Of his coDpmiiTton it was the ultimate oDJe£l to define, by certain nat^5 of number^ a point in remote futurity, when a notable perfenagc, often foretold by former pro- phets, and then firft denominated the Messiah, Jhould he cut off^ but not for himjelf 9s the fignal of a momentous revolution foon after to fucceed. Natural it is to conjeflure, that a predifliop of ^ents^ fo grand and awful, would roufe the attention of every inquiCtive mind, to unfold the myftical terms iq which it was delivered, and, if poiCble to afcertain the time of its completion. From the firft. year of Darius the Mede, A. M. 34.71, when this prophecy was emitted, to the feventh of LK>ng!manus, iia Chrokology. Longimanusi in 355 19 when the firH of the 70 week! began, is an interval of 80 years. Ttom the month Abib, in the year la ft mentioned, count forward 13^ years, the reckoning is continued toTizri, in tbeaift of the fame Longlmanus; — ^that very month, when Nehemiah, with the concurrence of the princes, priefts^ Lcvites, and the coIIe6iive body of the people, entered into a curfe, and into an oath, that they would leave the feventh.year, and the exa£lion of every debt*. Thus is the coincidence of the laft year of the fecond pro-^ phetica! week, with the firft fabbatical year, in the feries from Nehcrniab, dcmonftrated. It has been already fhewn, that every fabbatical year, in the original feries, falls in the center of a prophetical week from the date of Blzra^s commiflion. According to thfs tule the fe» venth of the original feries rauft likewife be the fourth of the 70th week, from the 21ft of Artaxerxes. In the firft year of this week John the Baptifi began his miniftry, in the month Abib, A.M. 4034. Add 3^ years, the reckoning terminates in Tizri 4038. About the time of the vernal equinox Jefus was baptifed, and foon after opened his commiflion to proclaim the ac- ceptable year of the Lord, in the fynagogue at Naza-* reth. Prolong the computation downward, from that cardinal point, 3I years more, the crucifixion is fixed by infallible chronological characters to the beginning of Abib, 4041 : the latter part of which year vras, by the new feries, fabbatical. • Nch. X. a9— 31. To New Series of SabSATICAL Vears. tti To prevent the cenfure of audacious prefumption, tn controverting the authority, not only of archbiOiop Uflier, but of Sir Ifaac Newton, and of Aill more re- cent writers, eminent in the republic of letters, the author judged it neceflary to elucidate the chronology and hiftory of our Lord's miniftry, and that of his fore- runner, by evidences derived from genuine records. The refult is, that the laft prophetical week, divided into two equal portions, comprehends and exhauft^ the duration of both, in exafl: harmony with the pro- phecies of Daniel, the teftimony of the Evangel ills, and the repetitions of the three famous feptenary cycles, that of natural days from the creation, of aftronomical years from the divifion of Canaan, and alfo from the 2ift of Artaxerxes, rightly computed. To afcertain the true fources of thefe circulating pe- riods, has been a work of labour and patience. But no merit is claimed from the difcovery. That the minifiry of John the Baptifi, and of Jefus Chrlfl, was circumfcribed within the limits of feven years, has» from time immemorial, been the uniform belief of plain unlettered Chriftians, and of the learned before the reception pf an erroneous chronology, which the accurate arrangements of Dr. Prideaux have not been fuffi^cient to explode. The fubjeft is now brought to the ted of Arid calculation, and fubmitted to the tri* bunal of impartial criticifm. From Sir Ifaac Newton to Dr. Jofeph Prieftly, a great majority of the writers, on the chronology of the Evangeliits^ has incurred the imputation of adopt* I ing 1X4. Chronology. ing ambiguous principles, and of relling in abfurd conclunons ♦. Tliey generally compute by the Dionj- fian era> and the Catonian years of Rome; and la comprefsy within too fcancy limits^ the interval from our Lord's nativity to his paflion. Thus the miniftry, either of Chrift or of John, or of both, is, without necclTity, and contrary to hiflorical evidence, abridged. But if feven years be allowed for both, and this period brought down to April A.M. 4041, coincident with the number of the Jul. Per. 4746, every difficulty b furmounted, confidently with every criterion of time. • An eminent commentator on the Gofpcls, conteraporarf with both and inferior to neither in Biblical criticifm, Dr. Pearce, late bifhop of Rochefter, incurs this cenfare of adopt* ing contra<5tcd epochs, and deficient meafures* Dodwdl IukI framed the Chronology of Veil. Patercnlus to an afrecaieqt tvitb VaiTo's Computation, which makes the firft JnliAn jr^ar rtiTi parallel with 709, and the 78th with 7S6. The Right Re- verend Critic, with a rafb, unil^ilful hand, accommodated the Chronology of Jofephus and Patercnlus to the Catonian fcheme, which retrenches two years from the Varroniaa. Ac* cording to him Chrift was bom in the 41ft Julia* yc9r» ^d i^f* fered in the 74th ;•— not as the truth of computation requires ; —in the 40th and 77th.— Thus is the firft, and confequently the 15th of Tiberius, anticipated by two years ; the crucifixion by no lefs than five : and the refult is, that the 70th and laft pro- phetical week began with the month Abib, about the middle of which the Melliab was cut off. Thus, iw dtk€ta the mimftity both of Chrift and his forerui^n-.-r is anticipated, the dear i^^ terpictation of a very coherent prophecy diftorted, the wb()lef computation by fabbatical terms fet alide, and the moft coiw fiftent hiftory ever written by the pen of man, inrolved in-jl. deep gloom of artificial darkntift. CHAP. ( 1^5 ) CHAP. II. Chronology of the Greek Empire. THIS mpnarchy, founded by Alexander of Mace- don, rofe into political importance on the ruins of the Perfian. He is the mighty king, of whom it had been foretold, (257 years before the event), " that he fliou]d fiand up, rule with great dominion, and do according to his will *." The fupremacy of Provi- dence is wonderfully difplayed, in overruling the wills of princes, and in rendering their enterprifes fubfer- vient to the accomplifhment of its gracious defigns, even when the means employed feem to human wifdom ina- dequate, or of a contrary tendency, ** This kingdom is compared to a leopard to Cgnify its fiercenefs. Its four heads and four wings fignify, that it (hould be divided into four king- doms ; for it continued in a monarchical form, during Ac reign of Alexander, of his brother Aridxus, and of his young fons, Alexander and Hercules; and then brake into four kingdoms, by the governors of provinces putting crowns on their own heads, reigning over their own provinces;— d^g|NEi C^flander over Macedon, ■ • Dan. xi. 3, >- I % Greece, life Chronology Greece, and Epinis; — Lyfimachus over Thrace and Bithynia; — Ptolemy over Egypt, Arabia, Caclefyria, and Palefline ; — and Scleucus over Syria*.** Short was the duration of the monarchy ;(horter ftill that of the four kingdoms. Each of the felf-created fovereigns vainly afFe6led to be Alexander ; and, not content to prefidc over a part of his dominions, ftrove to acquire the whole. Confederacies, ratified without fincerity, and fufpicions which artifice could not con- ceal, prompted the antagonifls to hoftile meafures* Hence a collifion of contrary forces, fatal to all the parties, of whom none could be fatisfied with any thhig lefs than univerfal dominion. After a (hort fpaoe of ^bout 19 years from the fubverfion of the Perfian Em- pire, the refult of difcordant counfels, and of arms * polluted with the blood of millions, was the formation of two independent principalities : Syria, where Sel^ucus cre£led his throne ; — and Egypt, of which Ptolemy Soter retained pofleflion. • • • In the Books of the Maccabees thefe two prinqipa- lities have one common title. The kingdom, of the Greeks: Its name is, from one of the .foyereigQS» called the era of the Seleucidae. By it both the|c. au- thors compute, the one from the 12th, the other fxom tile 13th, after the demife of Alexander t. * Sir I. Newton on the Prophecies, p. ag. - »- • i- ■ t Dr. Prideaux explains the reafon of this variatioii?«l irfe- ikoalngby the era of Seleucus, and exemplifies it in^iiieKBt dates^afligned by the two authors for the fame event. Set Conncx. Ann, 31*. Ik of the Gjieek Empire. 117 In the fubfequent fcfaemes of hifiorical tranfa£lionsy wiih their dates, of coexiflent magi ftracies, and of chronological numbers, it was found, that the pag6 was too narrow to admit the titles of fevera] articles ; ipuch lefs the triple column of numerical notations in Teckoning. The years of the Jul. Period, and thofe before the Dionyfian era, are, for thefe reafons, una- voidably fuperfeded, though they are cxpreffed for the firft and iaft years of each fcheme. Scheme I. Historical events from the rise of the Greek Empire, A.P.J. 4383. Before A. D. 1330, and AfM. 3678. Alexander dies in the i8th of Jaddua*s pontificate 3685 Jaddua dies' in the 2d of Philip Aridasus - 3687 AridsEUS dies in the 5th of Onias the H. Prieft 3692 Alex2uider iEgus depofed - - 3696 Slain, with his mother Roxane, by Caflander 3^99 The Pentateuch tranflated into Greek at Alexandria 3732 Pyrrhus expelled Italy - - - 373 5 Hannibal defeats Flaminius at the Thrafymenus 3792 Scipio conquers Hannibal at Zama -^ 3807 Antiochus, the Great, routed at Thermopylae 3818 Carthage and Corinth defolated by the Romans 3865 Syria becomes a Roman province - 3944 Pompcy takes Jerufalem - - 394^ Its walls repsfi red - • 39^5 Herod again takes the city - ,„ ^ J97? Egypt a Roman province, and the Greek Ero-]\^^ © pire unhinged - - 'r397 '' ^ I 3 Thjs Ii8 Chronolocv This cothp^ndious feledioA of notable incidents^ taken promifcuoufly from the hiftory of the Jews, Car- thaginians, Greeks, and Romans, ils a fpecitnen of the various materials whence the times of events may be defined by a diverfity of national eras. The computation U thus brought down to A. P. J. 4683, or the 30th before the Dionyfian era of our Lord's nativity. Of this third prophetical monarchy Ptolemy's Aftro- nomical Canon furnifhes the inquifitive ftudent with ah authentic chronicle ♦. Even Ptolemy's exquifite col- leflion betrays fome infiances of fingularity in reckon- ing, though they feldom involve error. Alexander i£gus was dethroned in the fourth of his reign, and flain in the fevetith ; yet the canon continues his government to the eighth year of the Seleucidan era, and defers to the ninth the acceflion of Ptolemy Soter, to whom is alTigned a reign of 20 years. Evident is the impro* priety of extending the duration and honours of roy- alty, after the term of a fovereign's degradation ; much |nore, beyond the period of natural life. This over- *» tts bcft edition in Englifh is that hy Prideaux, in his Chro- nological tables, where the years of NabonnalTar are con- licdted with the numbcti of the Julian period. With refped to the names of the kings, the feries of fucceffion, and the length of rcTgns," extremely inaccurate are the air^gemenis •bf the Abb6 Dofrcnoy ; a writer, who has the merit of coiki- ^rifing, in a very narrow compafs, an immehfe tepolitory df erudition in chronological antiquities; This is not the Olily ^ridd which exemplifies bis negligence or credulity. But it ntay feem invjdious to cenfure an ipdividtial^ in a matter whieh r^fasnMy; of the Greek Empirje. 119 figlit is efieflually re£lifiecl by afTigning to Sotcr a reign of 28 years, commencing from the date of the era. It has already been obferved, that Jofephus, the only author whofe works, illll extant, contain a full hiftory of tlie Jewilh nation, is much more accurate in his account of the high priefts fince the return from Chai- dea, than in former times. His regifters are not al- ways complete, or his notations per fed ly exact. In fuch cafes, however, his deficiencies may be fupplied, and his miftakes correSed, from genuine fources of in- formation, here and there difperfed in other fragments of facred antiquity, or in partial catalogues, among the writings of the Christian fathers. " The high priefts of Jofadac's pofterity were 15, under a popular government, during the fpace of 414 years *." As to the number of pontiffs, the author is exa6t. But the period of their adminiilraCion did not exceed 370- In the fame paOage, the author enumerates, by name, nine pontiffs from Menelaus to Antigonus, all (except Mcnelaus) of the Afmonean family. The real num- ber is ten ; but perhaps Alexandra, as a queen, was, on account of her fcx, excluded from the priefthood ; for^ in diis period, the chief magiftracy was fometimes united with the (acred chara£ler, and fometimes kept difiina. The duration of the Afmonean period was about 130 years. JofephujS is peculiarly attentive to mark the • Ant. XX. xo. x# J 4 ycar;5 110 Chronology years of vacancy in the pontificate, the length of in* cumbencies, and what high priefts retained their dig- nities for life, were fupcrfeded, or held the office as col- leagues : — notations of f5gnal ufe in reckoning which, without the leaft danger of fallacy, exhibit every defir- able criterion of truth. Under the direftion of guides, uninfpired indeed, yet almoft infallible, a candid and docile fpirit needs no extraordinary degree, either of fagacity or labour, iq combine the feveral links in this part of the great chronological chain. The report of Ptolemy, Jofephus, the two writer$ ftf the Maccabees, &c. is but huinan teftimony ; but it is teftimony ftrongly confirmed by the evidence both of prophecy and hiftpry ; — prophecy emitted, and hiftory vrritten, by divine infpiration. This portion of the faired chronology is cpmprehended in the 70 weeks, of tyhich the termination is fixed by an infallible charafter of tifpe. To this fure word of prophecy, the preach^ ers and difciples of the gofpel, at its firft publication, giving good heed, as unto a light (hining in a dark place^ acquired the full alTurance, that the firft coming q{ Chrift, in the manner, ' and at the time foretoMf Turaj. then paft^ Hence the apoftle, reafoning with equ^ light and force of argument, concludes the in^ fallible certainty of his fecond coming. The particu-^ Jar inference deducible fron^ thefe principles, and ap« plied to the prefent fubjeft, is, that if the whole period p( the 70 weeks be clearly elucidated by a 1uminoti$ ^9dy pf evidence) from the volumes both pf prophecy rf the Greek Empire. I2t. and hiftory, this .one part of the fame period can He under no fufpi^ion of uncertainty or impofture. Scheme II. Coexijient magiftracies in the Greek Empire, y^/ in Juxtapoftiion with the prineeSi kings^ and priefis^ of the Jews, from the era of Seleucus, I. 11. III. Syria. Egypt. Judah. A.M. Scleucus Nic^nor 33 Ptolemy Sotcr 28 Onias I. dies Simon the Juft 12 370S 21 3717 Antiochus Sotcr 19 Ptol.Philadelphus38 Eleazar 36 373* Ant. Theus 15 Manaffeh 6z 3758 jSel. Callinicus 20 Ptol. Euergctcs 25 Onias II. 95 3791 Sel. Ccraunus 3 Ptol. Philopator 17 Simon II. 117 38*3 Ant. Magnus 36 Ptol. Epiphanes 24 Onias III. 137 3833 Scl. Philopacor II Ptol. Philometor 35 r^on Mehelaus 140 3836 Ant. Epiphanes II 146 384* Ant. Eupator 2 Jud* Maccabeus Jonathan 152 3848 Demetrius Sotcr 12 Ptol. Phyfcon 29 169 3865 Alex. Balas 5 Simon II. 177 3873 Dcra. Nicator 7 Ptol. Lathyrus 36 J. Hyrcanus 206 3902 & Ant. Sidetej * r" Ariftobulus 207 3903 Aicx. Zcbina 2 Alex. Jannxus *34 3930 Ant. Grypus 27 Alexander 15 Alexandra M3 3939 Seleucus 4 Ptol. Aulctes 14 Ariflobulus ,249 394$ Philip 9 Cleopatra 11 Hyrcanus in 396$ Jigranes 18 Antigonus Herod ^75 397f 282 397^ * - ■ 17)247(14 y. 6 m. 11)282(25 y. 7 m. 18)282(15 7* 7 m. Should this combination of names and numbers appear, at firft view, lefs perfpicuous than concifc, a fiew remarks for illuilration are fubjoined. 1/ In the longer reigns and pontificates, fome part, 3t leaft, of one prince's prefefture is coexiftent with that of the other two ; but not always in thofe of the ^ortefl duration. Such variations are of little moment. 2. The laa Chronol6gy 2. The names of the kings in the firft and fccond columns, arc exprefled nearly about the time of their acccflion, which is computed, rather from the incum- bency of the high prieft, mentioned in the fame ho- rizontal line, than from the fpecified year of the world. The column of numbers, annexed to that of the names denotes the length of reigns. 3. In the regifter of the princes, &c. in Judah, the numbers, correfpondent to their feveral names, denote the years of Seleucus, (from tlie date of that era), co- incident with the termination of their refpcftive ma- giftracies, and in connexion with the then current years of the world. 4. T^E fum of the reigns in Egypt, 282, being precifely equal to the pontificates, reigns, &c. in Judah, demonflrates the true quantity of the interval from the firfi of the Seleucidan epoch to the didolution of the Greek Empire. Though the chronology is derived horn different fources, the reports are in unifon. The reduAion of Syria happened in the 247th of the era, 35 years before the rife of the Roman Empire ; 282— m = 35- 5. The exadl number of the g^'ernors, in their Yeparate prefeflurcs, may, without faffifyrng the* re- giRers, be reduced. For example ; Demetrius Nica* tor, after a reign of five years in Syria, was removed, and Antiochus Sidetcs fet on the throne, vho, after an ufurpation of ten years, was degraded. Demetrius, being reftored, held the fovereignty five years more. The fum of their reigns was 20, as in the fcheme. But of the Greek Empire. 123 But Sidetes, being excluded, the kings are 17 ; by which « number, if 247 be divided, the common mea- Jure is 14 years 6 months. On IAS III. wore the mitre 24 years ; but was fup- planted by Jafon, and he, in his turn, by Menelaus ; for which reafon four years are, in the fchcme, re- trenched from the incumteitcy of Onias. The fir& pontiff of this name had been invefted with the primacy nine years before the era of Seleucus; and Herod reigned 27 after the redudlon of Egypt, Truth in computation permits^, in fuch cafes, the omifTion either of Onias or Herod. Let him, ^ith the ufurper Jafon* be expunged from the ^'egiller, for this period, 18 fue. ceflive magiftracies remain; by 18 divide 282, the quotient afligns to each 15 years 7 mcxiths. It is to be noted, that the 11 coexiftent reigns in Egypt were, one with another, 25 years 7 months. If this common quantfty of feparate reigns in Egypt* be compared with that in Syria and Judah, for the fame fpace of time, (nearly fo at leaftj, the jpefult may be admitted, as a confirmation of Sir Ifaac Newton's pof« tulate, that the common medium of reigns, fince the abbreviated duration of natural life> does not much ex« cee^ 19I, or 20 yeais* Seventh ( iH ) > Seventh Age^ of the World. from the Battle at A^ftum to the Demife of Tiherlus Nero Cafar. ' C H A P. 1 General Remarks on M^ Chronology tf thh Period. TO the 30th yearbcfore the Dfonyfiaii era have the aecounts of times, and the fates of eitipires, been brought down, from periods unknown, fabulous, and hif- torical, as charaQerifed by the moft illuminated Sagj^s among the Gentiles. Mofes, the Prophets, and £ van- gelifls, make no fuch diftinftions. Without the leafihe- fitation, they fpeak decifively of events in paft or future duriation, from the full belief that the fubjefls of their reports were events which had, or mott certainly would, come to pafs. The facred writings are a promifciious colleftion of prophecies fealed up to the time of their completion, and of hiftories authenticating, with a won- derful precifion of places, times, perfons, and other qirr jcumft^nces, their a£lual accomplifliment. This feventh age of hiftorical time was, in many refpeiSls, much more remarkable than all thofc before Of OsKERAL Remarks. ii$ or fince* In. no period was a more numerous train of very important oracles fulfilled ; and no former age, at leaft, produced more accompliflied hiftorians to tranf* mit (many of them without explicit knowledge of pro« vidential predetermination) the fiupendous events which tbefe oracles had prefignified. It is here noted, without cenfure, that Ufher, and moft, if not all, former Chronologers, date thi^ Se« venth age from the vulgar year of our Lord's nativity. But may it not, with equal propriety, be computed from the origin of, the Roman empire, which was coeval with the introduftion of the goTpel economy^ and fo chara£lerifed in the piophetical volumes J ** I faw in the night vifions, and behold a fourth beaft, dreadful and terrible; — diverfe from all the other j>ea{b ;-^and behold, one like the fon of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of clays ;<— and there was given him dominion and a king* dom, that all people, .nations, and languages, fliould ferve him. His dominion is an everlafting dominion,'* &c. f With no mean apparatus of prophetical imagery are the former empires defcribed, prior to their exifi- jence, in a kind of orderly proceflion, and diflinguiihod by their peculiar attributes. This fourth is exhibited at an obje£l of grandeur and terror, awful in itfelf as a whole, multitudinous in its parts, and diverfe from all kingdoms. With thefe chara£leriftics is contrafted, in iSm. fpirit of true fublimity, a co-exiftent dominion, iiipienie, boundlefs, eveilafiing. No figns concomi* » Dan. vii, 7-^i4« tanf. It6 Chronology. DMnt, SmiUr, and of equal magnificence, are fjpecified in the recof ds pf prophecy and hiflory, at the life of ioy pieceding empire. OcxAViu^ Cesar, and Jefus of Nazareth, were i^nteinporary, and born within the. limits of the Ro- man dominions. Before the birth of either, Syria had hsen added to the then extenfive conquefts of that en- t^rifing people (a nation of heroes) ; and Palefiine though under the jurifdidion of a nominal and vica- rious king, was an appendage of the Syrian preieflure. Both thefe perfonages founded a kingdom, with each of which has been connected the criterion of univerfa- lily* About the time of their nativity very fanguine^ and very general expe6lations prevailed" of fome one mighty potentate (hortly to appear, whofe dominioa ibould be wide as the univerie. Whether thefe ex- pe^ations rofe from immemorial tradition, or from the Greek verfion of the Hebrew prophecies, which, for almoft three centuries before^ had been circulated vherever that -language was underftood, is uncertain. One circumftance» however, muft not be omitted, Thefe perfonages were lio fooner born, than the cfaa- la&er of univerfal monarch was applied to both. ^^ The day Auguftus was bom, while the fenate was warmly debarinjg the fubje£l of Catatine's plot, his father Ofiavius, on account of the flate of his family, came into the court'ist a late hour. It is a notorious hSt^ that P. Nigidius, having learned the reafon of the delay, and the hour of the young prince's nativity, declared, that General Remark^. 127 that tbe world had now got m new fovereign."-^ ^ JuL Marathus relates, that a few months before hi» birth, a firange incident, at Rome, prefaged, that nature was then about to bring forth a king for the Roman people. Alarmed with the apprehenfion of reftored monarchy, the fenate palled a decree, that no man-child, born that year, fliould be preferred. Thofe members, who fufpeded that this fanguinary refolution might afie6l their own families, prevented its regiftration in the treafury, without which form it could not acquire tbe force of a law t.'* These quotations are not produced to confirm the veracity of the affrologers* They, however, authen- ticate the opinions every where entertained in that age. The Romans diud Jews confidered the phrafes Tfrrarum §riisf and Hoira «} iutovftiiin^ as equivalent to the whole habitable world. That the like expe&atioRs, at the fame time, were impatiently chenlbed among the Jews and Samaritans, ^ » » t Quo natus eft die, qiim de Catalinse cpi\juratioiie :ig?retur tfi curia, e( pdavius ob uxoris puerperium fierius s^dfiiiflle^^ ^ota ap vulgata res eft, P. Nigidium compcrta mora caufa» ut horamquoque partes acceperit, adfirmafle, Dominum ter- ranim oH>i natum. — £/ pauh /«/fri«j; — Audtor eft Jul, Marathus, ante paucos menfej quam naiceretur, prodigium £iAum RomsB puUice, quo dcnuDciahatur rcgem populo Ro- mano natt^am partux^re : (enatum exterritum cenfuifle nequU anno iUo gcnitus educarctur : eos, qui gravidas uxores habc- rent, que ad fe qUifque fpem traherct, cur^flc nc S. C, ad lerariuft dcferretur. Suet. Auguft. cap. 94, is 1*28 CHRpNOLOCV. is evident^ from the furface of almoft every page of the four gofpels. Nay, certain fagesrinftru£led either by traditioriy or the facred oracles, in the faith of a fa- viour for mankitid at large, were, at length, conduced by a fupematural impulfe, and an extraordinary me- teor, from a remote country in the eaft to Jera(alem » where, enquiring the name of the place which fiiould give birth to the king of the Jews i the anfwer given^ in a convention of the priefls or {bribes of the people, was Bethlehem of Judea. Herod, an alien, who had derived the fovereigaty from a foreign power, and^ afraid of lofing it, on ac- count of many tyrannical encroachments on the liber* ties of the people, was vehemently troubled at the re* port. Stung with fufpicion, jealoufy, rage, and terror^ he commanded an immediate mafiacre of all the male children in or about the vicinity of Bethlehem, from two years old and under. But, by the prote&ion of ever wakeful Providence, Jefus was previoufly removed into Egypt. The gofpel was firft.publifhed within the limits t>f the Roman empire, then extending frotn ScytlpA to Numidia, and from the eaftern boundary of Afia to tbei coafis of the Atlantic. Several centuries, under peife«^ cution from infidels of every clafs, had elapiedt beibce the Chriftians obtained a civil eflabliihmeiit. Romt then claimed firft the prerogatives of a mother churchy ^xt of fupremacy, afterwards of univerlality, lafily of infallibility. In procefs of time primitive truth wag debafed with berelie^, a pure worfliip with idolatry and fuperftitiony General ReIicarIls. t2^ itiperftition, faliitary difcipline With abfurd penances and civil authority was converted into an engine of deftruAion* In all thefe enormous corruptioiis is Rome Antichriftian a gennine type of Rome Pagan. / In the Aiiguftan age^ or the fulncfs of time, God fetit forth his Seklg a Well known quantity, have been, and may be^ without limitation of future time, reduced to the ftand* attl of natufe, by periodical equations *. In the Annals of the Old arid New Teftaraenr, have thte chrcmology and hiftory of no prior age bcea mtoJved in a deeper gloom of artificial obfcurity, thati the fliort period of Chrift*s life and miniftry. The moft reverend author, it muft be acknowledged, was in part mifl«d, even by the moft renowned hiftorians of the Augufian and fubfeqttent age ; and it may be con- , ■fidered as a paradox, were it affirmed, that palpable chronological tniftake$ in Livy, Paterculus, Suetonius, &c. caa be redlified no othcrwire*, than by indubitable charaflers of time in the £vange]ift Luke. Such are, for inftanee, the date of the enrolment before the de*- mife of Herod ;--K)f the aSfual taxation under Cyre- niiis ;**-the 15th of THjcriui, compared with the com- mencement of the 70th prophetical week ;- — the age of Jefus in the firft of John's miniftry. With all thefe notations full in his view» the primate (eems to* have put a veil before his face, and thro\4'n an impenetrable fliade of darknefs over fome of the moft luminous pirts of thegofpel hiftory* Nor of it alone; for, by an arbitrary tranfpofition of hiftorical events, and a firange cbnfufion of dates^ the fabbatical cycles, pro- phetical periods, and national aeras, are either rendered • Of tiic Juliati year, with refpe6> to form, quatitity, and inecbani£n«.a mora minute account is referved f6r The Prin- CiTirBS OF Computation, under the article, Ciyil Year. K % ulblefs, 13% CHROKOtOGY. ufelefs, or acquire the charader of fallacious guides^ ixt the art of computation. . [^^ . How are thefe . anachronifms in the ilpn(ian hiftories, and in the venerable Author of the An- NALS, to be correQed?. ;By two infallible dates : — the reformation of the R^oman calendar ; — aad the demife rof Tiberius Nero. But can the quat\tity of this interval be afcertained ? With the utmoft ea^fe. As each term is Qxed by cha- rafters of equal certainty, it is a matter of pure indif- ference whether the intermediate years be computed in the retrograde or progreflive line. Various and decifive are the chronological meafures applicable to this (hort and memorable period. Two are fele£led, in perfefl agreement with all the reft ; — the JuL Per. and the years of the Varronian eipoch of Rome. Tiberius Nero died A. P. J. 4747, coincident with .U. C. 787. on the i6th March ; .and in the iecond Julian year, on the 15th March, was Julius Caefar flain in the fenate houfe, A. P. J, 4670, coincident with U^ C. 710^ Nero was born about the end of the firit Julian year, and died in the currency of his 78th. Dedudl now 4669, the year of Ncro*s birth, from 4747, the date of bis death, the furplus, 78, is the age of Nero. Again 787 — 709=78, the refult of the two operations is the fame ; but a few odd months are iq- cluded. If, however, the computation proceed from the death of the firft Caefar to that of Tiberius, the third, the interval is circumfcribed within the ]iam» of 77 firfl General Remarks. 133- yj full y^rs, and one natural day. For 4747 — ^4670 =177 : and 787 — 'jiozz.'jj. Two queries remain for difcuflion ;: — whether the bifloriaiis of that and the fucceeding . age, have truly defined this interval ; — and whether the Metropolitan's arrangement be confillent with itfelf, with the report of hiilory, and with chronology. " Augustus, the fecond Roman emperor, died, as Jofephus teftifies, after a reign of 57 years, fix months, and two days *." ** Tiberius died after his predeceflbr 22 years, five months, and three days t." The fum (57. 6. 2+a2. 5. 3=79 y. 11 m. 5 d.) exceeds the true quantity by almoft three years. " Augustus, together with Antony and Lepidus, governed almoft twelve years, and laftly by himfelf^^^:}:/* //^a " Tiberius died in the 23d of his reign §.'* " Tiberius ruled with arbitrary power 23 years nearly jj." After the confulate of Hirtius and Panfa, Auguflus fucceeded to that dignity. Add 56 years for this reign, and 23 for that of Tiberius, the fum is 79. But from the alTaffination of Julius to the confulate of 0£lavius, was a fpace of 18 months. Thus is the interval enlarged to 8q years fix months **. — Eafy it were to muhiply authorities. But falfehood, though attefted by a cloud of witnefles^ does not change its nature. Can the fource of this mifiake be difcovered ? The deception is jobvious^ at firft vie>y. Jofephus, and the author of the f 4^t xyiii. 1. «, : and War. ii. 9, i. + Ant. xviii.^. 10 I Suet. Oflav. cap. 9. § Suet. Tib. cap. 73. ii. )| Tacit. Anna), vi. 51. ** Dialog, dc Claris Oratoribus. K 3 Dialogue^ 134- GHRdMOLOGY. Dialogue^ have fallen into an egregious amplification. Suetonius affigns to Augufluf a reign of almoft 56 ; and Tacitus agrees with him, that the 23d of Tiberius was incomplete. Let the reign of each be computed from the death of Julius, the interval to that of Tibe- rius is precifely ^77 years one day, as before. The error of the two hiftorians laft mentioned is two fold. They count two deficient years for complete ; and ad- mit, that a certain portioii of the former reign wa$ common to both emperors ; yet make no abbreviation* }t is to be (hown, in its proper placf?, that the duration of the partnerfhip in fovereignty was two years, and no more. Now as toUflier's computation. According to him Julius was {lain A. P. J. 4670. This arrangement happily fets cenfure at defiance. Bm the reign of Tiberius is continued to 4750 : the difierr fituie is 80, and the fum too much by three years. This latter number of the Julian period he conned; Iwiih A. M. 4040 *, and with A. D. 37, inftead of 1(042, and 34. Such is the fatality unavoidably re? fulting from his original combination of chrprioIogica| numbers ; and fuch the wfefulnefs of a reformed Ro- man Calendar, at that particular time. The Stqefs of the time, appointed for the manifeilation of Cbriff, ^ight, from the confiderations already Cet forth| be ^ jlpitted. Rut^ • The year of the world, correfponding to A. P.J. 4750^ pugKt to be 4-45' w.hich was the 38th from the true hiftorica| date of th^ natiyity, ■ 3' 4f General Remarks. 135 3. As the Roman Empire^ and the Chriflian Mra^ were nearly coeval^ it follows^ that the firji Century if both was the lajl Stage of the Hebrew Polity. Absolutely neceffary it was, in virtue of many unequivocal notations in the oracles of prophecy, that the prophet, like unto MoCbs, (hould open his cotntcif- fion, before the clofe of the Jewifli oeconomy. EcuJALLY neceffary it was, that the age of prefigu* ration (hould be of a confiderable lengthy before the Glory of Ifrael, the Light of the Gentiles, and the Defire of all Nations, (hould be manifefted to the world. To the Ifraelites many fignal marks of pre-eminence had been vouchfafed, ** To them pertained the adop- tion, and the giory, and the covcnaftts, and the giving of the law, and the fervice of God, and the promifes ; whofe were the fathers, and of whom, according to the fleCh, Chrift came*/* Should the quer)' be repe^ted^ *♦ What advantage then had the Jews ?" the reply is now no lefs proper, than in thfc apoftolical age, " Much every way ; chiefly, becaufe unto them were committed the orades of God+." The line of the Meffiah's ex- lra6lion was limited to the progeny of Abraham by Ifaac, and to the tribe of Judah by David. It had been foretold, that the greateft and lad prophet to be fent to that people, (hould be raifed up from among their brethren ; and the infallible teftimony of an Evan- jj^liil affcrtS) that the Word, made flefh, came unto his • Rom. 9, 4.-6. f Ch. iii. a. K 4 own. ^3,6 CHRONOLOGY. own. Had he appeared among any other people hi^ pretcnfions would have merited no credit. Or, had ^c i^ppcared to his own^ [el; rot liiocj his own peculiar bro- therhood, a feparate community, in their own land), 4 pne generation later, when the community was dif- banded, the land occupied by aUeps, and the temple (vHiich the defire of alt nations was to honour with his prefence and miniHry) covered with its own rubbifh :— » in that cafe, it would h^ve been impoflible to produce to tbp houf<^ of Ifrael, in a national eilabliihment, the gistiuine evidences gf hismiflion. . The Ifraelites were the depofitaries of thofe oracles which defcribed hit character, and, in a qertain manner, anticipated his hif- lory. To them,^ i^ a date of difpetfion, he could not have unfolded, from the writing of Mofes and the pro* pheis ; from the pfalms, and all the Hebrew fcriptures ; the things concerning bimfelf. Galilee, and other parts of Palcftine, ^re defcribe4 as the theatre of his mini* ijrations ;. ^d there it was requifite that be.fliQuld ap- ipear a (hqrt time, at Uaji^ before the diflblution of th© fciyil and religious, polity. , Th£ time predetermined is both by the prophiets an4 Ijpofilescharaflcrifcd irjdefinitdy as the f att^r days. By which phrafe is to be underftood, not the confu* ipAtion of things, but the laft fiage of the Jewifh con- j^tntioii ;r— the ultimate term beyond which that people {[ipuld not exiil, as a dillindt and peculiar part of the |)liman race, in a political capacity. ' >' QoD, whp at fundry times, and in.divcrfe.ip^ajacrs, Ijpakc unto the fathers of the Jewifli people by the ' ' prophet^ General Remarks. 137 pr<^hcts, hath in thefe laft days Tpoken to mankind by his Son/* He having finiftied his perfonal miniftry, committed the profecution of his gracious purpofes to certain choftn fervants, whom he fent forth to preach -the gospel to every creature. Eifential wifdom and goodiief» had onl»inedy that the loft (beep of the houfe. of Ifracl (hoOid have rhe firft overtures of grace. Thi^ primary article of the commiflion was faithfully ob-r ferved, ■ during the eight fubfcquent years. But the houfe of Ifrael, ftill continuing to rejedl, as a colle£live body, the cornifel of God againft themfelvcs, the apoftles recolleQing the terms of their original commilTion, " Ye Ihall be my witneflcs, both in Jerufalem and in all Judea, and in all Samaria, and unto the uttermoft parts of the earth ♦," extended the call, without limi. tation, to the uritutbred Gentiles. << The Lord gave the word, great was the company of the preachers, and numerous were the converts, as the drops of dew from the womb of the morning." But even after the door of faith was thus opened for the Gentiles, a ma- jority of the apoAIes devoted their labours to the bene* fit of thbfe, who- maintained the neceflity of circum* ciGon, and the inviolable obligation of all the Mofaica^ rhes. In the mean time, free accefs being granted to the temple at Jerufalem, and to the fynagogues eflabliftjed in every city, village, and corner of the widely- ex tended Roman empire; thither the apofiles reforted on the ^veoth day of the Jewifli week (Saturday), and on the * Ads, u 8. firft. 138 Chronology. firft day to promifcuous affemblies, wherever met, open* . ing and alleging that Jefus, whom they preached^ was theChfift. By a providential di region, and efficacious expedi- ents, during the lapfc of 37 years, were the temple and fynagogues converted into i^urferies for the infant Chriftian chqrch, ** Multitudes believed, both of Jews and Greeks/* AH that while the difciples of Mofei^ hardened, for the moft part, in impenitence and incre^ dulity, accompanied with an implacable fpirit of perfe« cntioti, rebelled agaifift the light. At laft the day of vengeance came. They wtere'caft away, but not finally^ and when the happy time Arrives, what (hall their re- ftoration be, but life from the dead ? With the miniftry of John ct)mmenced the kingdcNni of God. During that week vwas the covenant con* firmed with MANY. A* the end of the fame week, all the carnal ordinances of Judaifm were, as beggarly elements, nailed to the crofs of Chrift, and thenceforth became altogether unprofitable, even in their prefigu** rative virtue. Continued indeed for a determined tim^ was their ufe ; but they Were fuperannuatcd. ** A new convenant had- made the firft old, and that which ^^$ old decayed, and was ready to vanifli away *•'* ' The text above recited, *« God fpake by the prophets in time paft, at fundry tim^, and in diverfe manners^ • Heb.viij. 15. Geacral tradition fixes the date of tWs Epi''le to the 7th year before the overtlirow of the temple, apd the defolation of Jeruralem, by Titus Vefpafian. The text abovt quoted feems to be prophictical. to General Rbmarks* 139 to the fathers/' implies a long (eries of genefations, under a preparatory difcipline of prefigurative ordi- liances. What fpace of time was proper or fufficient for this fort of preparation, infinite wifHom could alone (determine. Prophecies, being no Ids defcriptive of an extraordinary charaSer than types, neither the one teft, nor the other, could have the full efiefl in authen- ticating a divine commiffion, before the lapfe of at leaft ^ few generations a^d ages. Now, if Chriil had ap« . peared in the charader of a fufiering intercelTor, im* mediately afte;r the apofiacy in Paradife, his pretenfion^ (coidd have been verified by no fimilar precedents from biftory, by no evidence from the records of prophetical pracles. Was it fit that Adam (hould be the execu* tidner pf his own Saviour ? Wjas it poffible that the Saviour, before the multiplication of the firil fanuly^ pould ha^ve martyrs, and the martyrs perfecutors ? But l^low the appearance of this fufiering interceflbr to have been deferred to the firfi, (ecpod, or third gene- ration ; comparatively few muft have been the witnefldu In an age of advanced population, when the arts of iranfmitting bifiorical tranfaflions with certainty to fi^* tiare tin)es, and on 2^ very confpicuous theatre, was Jefus of Nazareth executed, as a ilate (:riminal, as an impof* .tor, ^s a blafphemer. The proofs of his innocence and veracity, were, in a very fliort tim^, no }efs convi]>cing ihao his fqfierings had been notorious ; and the evi.- depce, whence is inferred not only the merit of his cha- rafler, but the injuftice of his perfecutors, never was, f^nd never can Jbe difproved. 3u$ had he ijjiffered the fame, I40 Chronology. fame, or the like things, in a very early ftage of fociety^ modern fcepticifm might have urged, with every feature of probability, " That thefe things were done in a cor- ner, and that the whole was a cunningly devifed fable :*^* — infinuitions which the apoftlcs very juftly repro- bate *. Th AT the appearance of the Mefliah was delayed too long, the difputers of this world affirm with more plau- fibility than truth. The efficacy of his interpofition began with the firft, and will extend to the laft gene- ration of men. The growth of ignorance, licentious principles, and profligate manners, was gradual. Had Chrift afTumed the charafler of a reformer, before civil government and the light of philofophy had done their iitmoft, but without effeft, for curing the inveterate corruption of the world, the ufe and neceffity of fuch a reformer would not have been admitted. As an in- termediate difpenfation was the Mofaical inftitution introduced. "To what end ferved thie law? It was added,' becaufe of tranfgrefTions," (predominant, and ever proceeding from evil to worfe in the pagan world), " till the feed, to whom the promife was madl^ (hould comet.'* Had it not been for this interme- diate fcheme, corruption would have becomq, in the * ■ ■ ■ ■ / awful progrefs of degeneracy, univerfal, total, incurable. In this cafe, the promifed feed mull have come, without the harmonious evidence arifing from hiilory, prefigu*' ration, and prophecy. , • A and with the firfl; of John the Baptift's minillry. * The terms fooa and htc arc relative. If the duration of the world fhould be prolonged four millions of years, and the Old and New Tcftament fcriptures, in the original tongues. Which are exad counterparts, be tranfmitted to that remote pericdp the truth of divine revelation would nilpbe impaired. But the objedion taken from the late introdudion of the Gof- pel would vanifti. For the tranfadtiona of A. M. 4000, would be refpred to the very infancy of time. 5* ABOtJT 141 CmronOlooV. 5. About the time of the autumnal equinox, wben precifely 34 years 6ld, he was baptifed. 6* His miniilry of three years and fix montfas ex- pired with the crucifixion, in the 37th of his age. All thefe events are comprehended in the reigns of Herod, Auguftus, and Tiberius, as above *• • " The cdiA for an enrolment from Auguftus was wifely ordered by divine Providence> not only to detcrinine the time of Cbrift's nativity, but alfo bis tribe and family ; both which were afcertained by the authentic records of two nations : the genealogies of the Jews, which were preferred with great cx- jtftnefs; and the archives of the Roman empire, to which the firft apologifts for Chriftianity made frequent appeals.**^ Waiters Gofp. Hid. p. 17. x « Some of the ancient apologifts referred to the Afts of P. Pilate, and the account given by him to Tiberius, concerning our Saviour. Such appeals, unfupported by vidble and noto- rious fadts, would certainly have been of fatal Confequence to phriftianity. The A^s themfelves, or very authentic copies of them, could as eafily be produced as they were readily quoted. The Ads of Pilate were called in queftion. But though nothing of that kind be now in the world, yet that fuch genuine Adts were once in being is not r^fonably to be dWBWMBW»yi*'y»*'»***"'*»'**'<^^r?*PP»' CHAP. II. CliRONOLOGY ^Herod's Ufe. AN account of the times and revolutions of cni* pires, has been brought down to the 30th year before the DionyOan aera. A few of thofe explicit, and infallible chronological cbara£)ers, which fix the true epoch of this feventh age, with the dates of thofe fiupendous occurrences which (ignalifed its commence- ment, and ferve to arrange the hiftory of the firft 64. years, nsmain for inveftigation. With the hiftory of three contemporary princes, Herod, 0£lavianus AugQf<- tus, and Tiberius Nero, is that of our Lord's birth, baptifm, miniftry, and crucifixion, infeparably conned- ed. Of each in order, I. Herod's A>/*. JoSEFHUS reports in twopafTages, not ipv^iihout ati aj^rent variation in the number, that Herod died about the 70th year of his age, or almoft 70 ♦. By both -Mta^ne hit 70th year was begun. It is afterwards ti> * Ant. xvii. 8. ir and Wat. i. 3}- r. be 144- Chronology be (hewn, that he died in the fpring of the Varronian 7S0 . year ^71 Oy A. M. 4005, and of the Jul. Pen 4710; Hence deduft 70, the difference 4640 is the date of his birth. tJfher, and after him Prideaux, bring it lower by two years, hut neither afligns a reafon for rejefiing the authority of Jofephus. 2. Made Governor of Galilee. " AnTIPATER made his eldeft fon Phafaelus go* vernor of Jerufalem and its precinfls ; to Herod, then a very young man of 15, he committed the adminillra- tion of Galilee*.** Uflier and Prideaux, on the att- thprity of Cafaubon, correft this notation by fiftf- flituting 25. But both thefe great men, having miflaken the year of Herod*s birth, ought to haVte marked the number 27. The prudence, experience, and fpirit, which he difplayed at his entrance on that arduous province, did great honour to his abilities and years. The Varronian year 707 is the true date of thh his fir ft promotion. « 3. Different Dates of his Reign. ■■ f ■ . v In 714 was he created king of Judea by a deed of the Roman fenate. But Antigonus, the, Ion of Arifto- fbulus, claiming the right of inheritance and pblTeffion, difputed his title by an appeal to the fword ; and after an ineSedual oppofition, with infeViol* force, wasover. come, taken prifoher, and tragically executed, ih 717. * Jofephus^ Aut« xiv, 9. a* Herod HenMl ' ttoicsforth , letgoed without a competitor, and ']u8:acceffian is mkdned by* both term^. 4. Rebuilds the Temple. As^an alludon «to,. this date occurs in. the gofpel hit- .fcpryy in. connexion with . a certain year of our Lord*s . tnin^ftry, it merits regard, as a chronological charafier. - "jJEorty and fix years ,was the tero|Je in building *." ^JBy- eyery. criterion pf jdo^e this conference with tfie Jaws refers to jthe.firft year of Chrift's miniftry* a fliort .tinie,,ppihaps; a, /e,w months, after the firft Paflbver. Jofephus alSgas two dates for this great and expenfiye . MUdert^mg. «* Ik the fStb of his. reign, Pcrod projefled a ye^ .great workr^^l^c. rebuilding of the temple; and fuf-^ pe£ling that the jews, fo far from contributing to the , cpfty. would,. Qot confent to his takmgon himfelf the -iHfhoIecbirges,. called together an affembly of the peo-» .pk, to. whom he. fignified his refolution* They appre- hending, that w^re the old edifice once demoliihed, he tnight either change his mind, or, having begun the new ftrufiiire, ihoUld not be able to finifh, flrongly re- monftratedk To convince them of his fincerity, Herod told thftiDt that he fliould not pull down the fabric, till all things v?ere ready for the new buildings He ac- . coidii^Iy provided toco waggons, and employed X0,ooo of the moft flulful artificers, fione--cutters, car^* ffAtfiSM^ &c. |br . preparing the materials^ as foon as ^ John, ii. ao* L they 14-6 Chronology they could be brought to the fpot. Convinced of fais rinceritV) the people apptoved with chearfulne(s an overture fo beneficial to themfelves, and honourable to their fovereign^.'* In another pafTage f i different date is expreffcd : «< In the 15th year of his feign Herod rebuilt the tem- ple.** Which of the notations is to be preferred ? It is fcarcely probable, that the hiftorian would compute Herod's reign from the decree of the fenate ; for the Jews accounted him an ufurper during the life of An- tigonus. But, as in feveral parts of his works, Jofe- phus counts by either reckoning indifferently, fometimes diftinguifhes the one from the other by mentioning both, and always ftates three years for the intermediate fpace, let his fpecified numbers be fairly examined, and a felf- confiftent inference deduced. Th AT the arrangements of this very eminent hiftorian be not raftily difmiffed from the tribunal of impartial criticifm, two previous enquiries are equitable ; firft. What is the ufual mode of reckoning in fimilar cafes ? and next, What might be the point which the' Jews, in their arguing with our Lord, meant to eftablifh ? First, from computations in the retrograde feries,the paffing year, efpeclally about the time of its cbmmence- ment, is, as the fource of reckoning, excluded. It has been remarked, that the Je^ws, in the firft year of our Lord's miniftry, and feme (hort time after the Paffover, ((blemnized, according to Varro, A. U. C. 783*.),' told * Ant. XV. II. I. f War, i.ai. !• bimr faim^ ;that the temple had been then 46 years in build- ing) as our publick verfion renders their words. In this view thefirft of the 46 years is included in* 783. The firft year in the retrograde or afcending feries was, conlequently, 782. Secondly, the meaning of the Jews w^s rather to . amplify than abbreviate the number. This is the pur- port of their argument : " This temple employed many hands, during the lapfe of 46 years ; — 10,000 ftone- •cutters and carpenters, not to fpeak of other workmen in preparing the materials, before the foundation was laid : — -befides double, triple, or 20 times that number in rearing this immenfe pile ; — and art thou able, by thine own fingle flrength, to demoli(h the whole in three days ? ' Such is the prefumptive refult of the argument, ac- cording to the fentiments of our Lord's antagonifts. Its agreement, or incongruity with the notations of Jo- fephus, is now to be examined : and for this end the {cheme fiands as below, for the two terms of Herod's reign. . Source of retrograde computation for the foundation of Herod's temple. The 46th year ends,"! q The 46th year ends,*! © A.U.C. J7^^ A. U.C. J7^2 Dedu6l « - 46 Dedu6l . - 46 736 736 Decree of the Senate 714 Death of Antigonus 717 • tf . _ YearofHerod'sieign 22 Years of Herod's reign 19 L a The Ha C H R O N O L O 0^ T Ttts true Iburces of Herod's reigii are, in ihe dif^ titiEi columns, marked conformably wkh the faithfol report of genuine hiflory ; but by both datesy the years 714 and 717, were refpefiively the firft of Herod. The computation muft have proceeded fromryt^and 716. On this principle, the foundation of the temple muft have been laid, neither in the I5di nor i&h; but in the 23d or 20th of Herod. Thus hr the nOtaHiias of Jofephus vary from the number fpecified in the Gofpel. But in favour of the Jewifli hiftorian juftice demands, that the terms he employs be infierpret£4^C«* cording to his probable meaning* In a quotation^ al« ready produced in the way of reference^ he settmrks^ ^ that the priefls built the teltiple i^SA£ in i$ months ;< or in the fecond year from the foundation of iti PxaS^ The author's dates are not now uniformly, without ^^ riation, in the feveral copies, expi^ifed I5^and «Sr -& It fuppofed, that the Jews reckon^ the 46 years {fppi the finifhing of the work, the eoaiputatioi»..th«n begifa^ in the year when Antigonus died, as by the fecotid column, the temple was begim in the i8th and fi^Qked in the 20th of Herod. The Jews altered their^dj^on of the temple's age, about 50 years before jofej^m wrote its hiflory : and if both they and.he commif^fr millake in numeration, the Evangelift, wha report^ tbe remonftrance as it was ftated, is not refponfibte. '' If both parties merit the character of precifion, the>|^ years expired in^ tbe year before Chrift's appearance in his prophetical office ; and if this were the notion of the }tws, their Words ought ta be r^hdeiiedi «*Teitjr ted > ' fix gf HerodV Ufe. 149 fix vearSrhath this tetnde been built ;'' which fenfe the original ttxi eanly aamits *. V.I 5. TiW of his Death. *♦ liEROD died, har^inff enjoyed, the I^ngdom 34 yean after he had killed Antigonus ; but from the time that be was declared king hy tl^e Romans, 37, about the 15th of our November, or the 7th of the month •*^ '.."1. • •.;, CiOeU, which is therefore accounted a joyful and feftival day, becaufe then Herod died, who hated all wife men; as Edward Lively, a moft learned man, noted in his Chronology, in n^JVIl niSSjDi Megilloth Tanith, or; Volume of the Fcaft t." L£ Clerc afligns the fame dates, with the only dif* ference of fubftituting the Varronian year of Rome 750, for the laft two chronological numbers in the Annals |. The number of the Julian period, though exaS, requires two corrections. It is erroneous firft, ,as put 10 ccmne&ion with A. M. 4001, inAead of 4005, * 411 Aorifts denote time either paft or fiiture. Thofe Which exprefs time not future> may, accordmg to the truth of framipatlcal propriety, lignify time cither paft, or pa^ng. For Sample, m h lar«f yitnbim^ |y Budxsif* ; << Jefus having been hm m Qethle^em/* Here is a notation of time fully paft. lyhy fllOUld not Tl0^«{«iMrr« mm i£ iTi0-iy' Sno^fM^n I nal^ Sre;^ *f llkls temj^e hath been built 46 years.^ The meaning is. It it a new and firm ftruAure, and may laft ages* Matt. ir. t« John» ii. ftb. ) f tTfher^s Annals, A. M* 4091. Jul, Per 47x0. as by him ■^ -i $ce Ifift. ^cclefiaft, page us. ' ^ L 3 and 150 Chronology and fecondly as brought too low by eight months^ No-* vember inftead of March. Macnight, and his author Lardner, heCtate as to the year of Herod's death, concluding that he neither died before A. U. C, 750, nor furvived 751 ; but conr elude, that the feafon was the spring. It is here added, that it was the Ipring before November A. P. J. 4710, of the world 4005, and of the Varronian era 750, In Jofephus the proofs are numerous and deter- minate ; — a fliort time before a national faft, and before a paflbver, &c. Herod being feized with his laft illnefs, and a ru- mour fpread that his diftemper was incurable, nay, that he was adually dead, on the very day when the Jews obferved annually a national faft, certain young men were inftigated by two rabbis to take down the golden image of an eagle, v^/hich, to the great difpleafure of the nation, Herod had fet up over the portal of the' temple. They, lihder the very probable hope of impu- nity, were eafily perfuaded, and . accordingly removed, that monument of idolatry, at noon day, in the prefence of a great concourfe of the worftiippers. The captain of the temple, with an armed force, apprehended 40 of the mutineers, and carried them to Jericho, where Heroid' then was, in a ftate of extreme weaknefs. The moft obnoxious were burnt alive, and an eclipfe of the moon fignalized the night of the execution. In the mean time a refcript arrived from Auguftus, to whom had been referred the cafe of Antipater, a fon of Herpd, then tpnvifled of a confpiracy againft his father's life. The emperor ^HeROD*j Life. 151 emperor having referred the matter to Herod's difcre- tion, without recommending any other meafure than ading as became a father, and a king, by infliding ei- ther baniOiment or death. Antipater was immediately executed in prifon. Herod died after five, days; — a very fliort fpace, but fully fuflBcient for all the inter- • mediate tranfa£lions. The funeral folemnities over, and feven days, as ufual, fpent in mourning, Archelaus re- paired to Jerufalem, and went into the temple at the time of the paffover ; when and where he ratified his conformity to the national religion by facrifice, &c. be- fpake the allegiance of his fubje£ls, received the accla- mations of all, heard the grievances of fome ; and forthwith fet out on a voyage for Rome, in order to have his father's will, appointing himfelf tOi the fuc- cefEbn, confirmed by authority of Auguftus ♦. The paffover fell that year on the 12th of our Julian April ; the night of the eclipfe was the full moon, pre- cifely 30 days before that fellival. The middle of the eclipfe at Jerufalem was ^\ hours after midnight, on the ijth March +. The fail is a chara3er of the time, of which no veftige has occurred to the writer of thefe (heets, in the works of thofe learned men who have laboured to af- ^ certain the date now required. In D. Levi's Rites and • This is a very brief epitome of the chrotiological no- tations from Jofcphus. Ant. xvii, 6 — 9. War, i, 33. and II. I. t See the calculation conftru<5tcd, in Whillon's Aflronomic.il Ledures. L 4 Ceremonies' I|9 C IftVo'^' O L O d Y Csrcmotnttd hhp Jews, p. 1*25^ if the fdUowing nn nUtrkjC fSOdter 13th, tbe day beforrtheieaft of Barim^ is kept a faft, called the Fad of EAher, in comiDCfliO- l)ttioir>qfiier having (afted three dajn and nights bdbre Iheivreotto fiq)plicate the l^ng for tkddelivenu^ of tiie ijemrst who were marked oUt for deftru&ion b^ Haimai» ; .although Efther Med in the firft mdnthy Ni* (an : but that being the tinie of the paflbvcr, we keep the feft on the day before the feaft»i' Befidcs^'thi?^ faft differs from all other falh^in the year ; for this" rea* fisni^bec^fcoh the fabbathday n forbidden ^^\l mailneF of ihournmg or failing : therefore, wh^eyet^ a feft day happens to fall on a fabbath, ^cept ii bt the gfft acctont pf the fabbatb beginning befote dark^ afnd they being oUiged to faft till night : therefbre^whisn it happens on the fabbath, it is kept on the Thurfday before." • ♦ It is worthy of remark, that this yery year, A» U. C, ^Oy the 13th Adar fell on Sf^tiirday, the na(;ional fab»^ bath; and the faft^ agreeably \^ith thefe i^galatibm^ was adoally kepi on the foregoing Thurfday^ the 8tli of our March. Thus is afcertained the foiemnity which charafleri^es the time of taking down the goldei^ eagle. It would have been. extremely fa^sfe^Slory, i|[ • Furim in Adar. - Mr. 9^ HiE,^^Dts L^H 1 5$, Mr. ^^evi liad iqpfilidit this paflage in Jp&phtx^ toan an^ .nmr&7» m tim^ agn ib very a&cient, and at this^ day Th£&£ cfaataden of time^^numerous^ difcd» andall in mufooy diveft of prdiability the arranpniait of Livelyy Uflieis Le Glerc» &o. buik^ on d)e flend^ an*' thority of the Rabbifical'fiook on Fafis and Feftivali, £• ^nf- oM the Tears of this Reign^ as diffirentlji daUiy full? Thxs enqmiy is the more neceiTary, as, by taking ei|^t months from the term of Herod's life, the dura- tion of hit reign is proportionably ftortened. IB^xxt the lefult depends on the folution of a difficult problem ;-^ the feafon of the year when he was jSrft created king at, Rome. From ftmdry circumflances of time incident- ally mentioned by Jofepbus,, it is pvefumed, that the F^hiant plaoed Antigcmus on tbe throne oC his father* ^riftobulus, early in thefpring A« U. G. 714 ; and that tlie'R<)pui &nate decraed that honour (or Herod about the time of the eafuing fumnper folftice. , .^H£aQD> preiagingfWhat foon came to pafs, the pre^ ppllent. force of Antigonns, in concert with the Par* lIlM^ns,, fled to Rome« imploring afliftamee and prote£lion, In^ bis voyagQ;.{iK>m Pampbylia^ he was in danger of IhipiKreck from teinpeftuous weather, but efcaped to RhodeSf- thence lo Brundifium, and hence to Rome, where ibongs invefied with royalty, he, after a ihort abode of feven days, went back to Brundifiuro, whence refuming his voyage, he^arrived at Ptolemais, a fea port . ' in 154 Ch-uonology in Paleftine, after a (hort expedition of about three months. Finding that Antigonu^ had kept his mother, fiiler, and family, ever fince his retreat, in clofe fiege at Mafaddy a fortrefs in the tribe of Judah, he haftened to their relief. His brother Jofeph, who all the while repelled the afiailants, at laft reduced to extremity for want of water, had refolved, in defperation, to attempt an efcape. Put a plentiful fall of rain having fupplicd all the cifterns, Herod came up in time to relieve his* friends. This circumftance plainly indicates the fum- mer feafon. It is here mentioned purely as a conjec- ture ; for, in the hiftory of the fecond commencement, more decifive notations occur ; and it may perhaps be (hewn, that each computation originates from the fame, ^ay of the fame nK)nth in two different years. The firft of the feaft of feven days, provided by Antony for Herod, at his inauguration, is by Jofephus denominated, in two palTages, thp- first day of his reign, A. U. C- 714 *• It was afterwards, as the ori- ginal date of his regal honours, diftinguiftied by tlie title of N ATALIS REGNI, the nativity of his kingdom^, ' In its future repetitions it was celebrated with regal magnificence ; but none of the hiflorlans fpecify the dav of the month. ** Herod took Jerufalem, and made Antigonus apri- foner, in the confulate of M. Agrippa and Canidius. Gallus, in the 185th olympiad, on the third month, on the folemnity of the faft, as if a periodical revolution of ♦ Ant. xiY. 14. I. and War, i. 14. 4. calaniiticai of Hekod^s Life. 155 calamities had returned, fince the reduflion of the fattio' city by Ptolemy, after 27 years *," It may be enquired whether this were not the anni- verfary of his firft appointment by the fenate, and alfo the foUrce of the fecond reckoning ? AgrippA and Gallus were confuls A. U. C. 717. That year was the fourth of the 185th olympiad ; and the Olympic years were always counted from the new moon before the ftimmer folflice. In the firft year of the firft olympiad, that new moon fell on the 9th July ; and the next autumnal equinox on the ift Odober, After 740 years, or 185 olympiads, the 5th July was the time of the fummer folftice in 7 17. Whether Jo- fephus meant the third month of the Hebrew year, or of the fiege, has improperly been controverted. This author elfewheret mentions the fifth month of the fiege, and then reckons only from' the term of Kerod's en- gaging in that enterprife ; for Sofius had, with a nu- merous army, begirt the city one full month before. The third month of the year muft be the true notation. ** Herod * marched up to Jerufalem, about the end of winter, in the third year of his reign ;}:." " At the end of the fiege it was fiimmer §•'* This criterion of time correfponds to the commencement of the olympic year, and to the third Hebrew month. The hiftorian omits the yday of the month, though he fpecifies it by a charafter • Jof;.phu8, Ant. xiv. 16, 3. t They bore a fiege of five months. War, i. i J. 2. I War, i. 17.8. § Aot. xiv. 16. ». then 156 C H.R O K O I. O Q Y tbeo vmH knowni but now obfcure; M the S0L£;m^. NITY of the r AST. The Hebrew feAiVfits-and-fafls, aa well thole of hu- man as of a divine appointment, are an indifpenfable, diredory in calculi^tign. Witbput a iaid4l6.tem^ of^ fuch exquifite ufet aiid fo infallible hpth in 'n$ prjqciples and conclufions, chronology could not have a fifpi bafif. Mofes prefcribed no fail for the third month ; neither is any of a fubfequent date to be found in Levi's Ac- count of the Rites and Cerempnies of the modem Jews. Jofephus» however, often refers to the &ft of tl^at month, as folemnized in his time : and it has already been remarked, that it was enafied to commemorate thp introdudion of idol-wor(hip into S^unaria, in the firft of Rehoboam. The 23d of the third month yiras the time of its obfervance annually. In the year of Rome 717, the 23d of Sivan was cwicident witl^ th^ aid of June ; and this feems to be tb^ moil prob2d)le date of Herod's acceifion, whether reckoned from the decree of tjnt fenate, or from the capture of the city. Did this conclufion reit on 0^^ doubtful chara6ler of time, or on th^ authority of an equivocal recordi^ when or by whom written, non^ can t^ll, it might be fttjeSed as an ideal conje£lure« But with the evidento astfia§ ^om calculation, from the harmony of iia« tional eras, and magiilracies, from levend fpecifications of feafons, it derives every criterion of probability. Of this complicated difquilition the refult is, tbtt H^rod died about three months before the end of bis 37th' year from the decree of the fenate, and of his . i - '. 34.th * $4th fifoiii^redafUoci of Jerufalem : ibr 75CH^7f3« =37 ; and 750 — 716=34 ; from each Temamdek> three tilosiths are to be dedu£led» ■ :.» 7. Th(t fwigfitng C^utdfiom afffiUedt^ the hiflmcal Date of Chrifs Nativiij. In the days of Herod the king was bom John the i&aptifi) ind Jefos Ghrift about fix montht after *. - In the fame leign, '^nd but a very'fliort ^ce before its terminatite, vras Jefus, in bis infancy, conveyed into Egypt, atnd recalled at the accefTion of Archekus t. The vifit of the eaftem fages at Bethlehem inuft be ■ Jiefcrred to the iwetval from thefirft to the 40th day of our Lord's Kfe. On the litter he certainly \was ^ef^Mted ia the temple, whence his pa^rents returned with him, not to Bethlehem, but immediately to Na- ' karethv in Galilee, and there was intimated to them the warning for their removal with him into Egypt, toge« ther with the-reafon of that injun&ion« ^^ There they continued tmtit the death of Herod j:." All thefe no* tatioDS juflify the pofition, that, according both to the ' Hebi^ew and Roman computation, Jefus was born in the year before Herod^s demife. The time of the re^ ' cefs in Egypt is a point which has unhappily divided ' the fendmenti of chronologers and critics. All how^ ever a|(rec^ that the retuni thence was immediately fub^*^ fisquent to the death of Herod. «M ' • Luke, i. f Mattj ii. i— if . t Matt* ii. if. From l^i Chronology From the age of the infants cdinprehended in thd bloody edi& for a general maflacre in Bechlehem^ and its precinds, (" two years old and under,?) has it been conjeflured, that either our Lord was born about two years before the execution of that edi61 ; or, that Herod lived as long after. By the latter claufe of the alterna- tive, the refiderice in Egypt was two years. It is re- plied to both claufes in common, that, from the capri- cious humour of a defperate tyr9nt» driven to.madnefs by difeafes, fury, jealoufy, and the dread of a pplitical revolution, no certain conclufioa is deducible. Re- folved, at any rate, not to permit the eficape of one innocent vi£lim, he extended the terms of the fanguinary mandate to two years and under ; though Jefus, at the time, might be an infant of a few days or Mreeks. But the hypothefis merits a more fpecial and minute exa- mination* First ; if our Lord were two years old^ or nearly fo, at the date of the mandate, his age mud have been more than twelve when he conferred with the dodors in the temple, in the year after the removal of Arche- laus ; which year coincides in aftronomical and hifio* rical conneflion with the taxation levied by Cyrenius; Judea having then, and no fooner, become a Roman province : for //// thfn^ Herod and Archelaus had paid a ftipulated fum into the Roman treafury, as a yearly • compofition for all the revenues accruing from the lands and other property in Judea, Samaria, and Ga« lilee. While that regulation was in force, no Ro- man officers either did or could impofe taxes on the inhabitant! if Herod*^ Lift. 159 ifnhabitahfs mdividually. Farther, if our Lord*s age were two years at the date of that cdiftj he was more than 30 years old in the 15th of Tiberias, or the firft of John's minifiry. But this charafter of time ftands, and muft ever remain, invariably fixt on the infallible bafis both of prophetical and hiftorieal evi- dence. Secondly ; fuppofe Herod to have lived two years after the execrable maflacre at Bethlehem, the whole chronology of his life, above adjufted by coexiftent events, almoft to the exadnefs of a fingle itfs is totally unhinged ; a compa^ chain difunited, and the cohe- rence of every link violently broken. By what ?— the authority of a bold and paradoxical conje£lure. • Finally; in the fpirit of licentious furmife^ which afliimes every thing, but proves nothing, be it poftulated, in difeft oppofition to the feftimony of two , y evangelifts, that Jefus was born in the fourth year before ^^f^f^ |he vulgar era, as ftated by Archbifhop Ufher, the confe- quences muft be admitted ; fuch as, the crucifixion did not fall within the procuratorfliip of P. Pilate, neither in the reign of Tiberfus Nero ; though that great man has protrafted both thefe magiftracies three years be- yond their final period, if the computation proceed by the true years of the world. The feafon of that year, which was fignaiized by the manifeftation. of Chrift in human nature, is now, if poflibley to be afcertained. It has already been (heWn that this event, if fixed, as is ufually done, to the 25th, and the tragical executions in fo many families at Beth- lehem^ I^ C H & O N O li Ot^ Y febem, to the.^th of December, UMDedialely hefaitf the death of Herod, the flight intb.fgjrpt .was.pmr both to thefe executiooe, and to the«49tb;dix of jCbciftff Ufc, or feoond ^f February, the HBQ9i-app^Afeed for. Wa ]nre(iBAtation in «he temple. It rwa«.in like mmutt iiiggefted, that the tine aS^oed for. tfaeJlii^jbicrr^f the innocents, contradi£ls no report of hifloryi comman oi^ caoonical) hut flili this cooceflion doih JM>t..iflert the truth of- the computation* «« Tii£ tknea4>f the birth and paflba of Chnft»>ilpith •fiich like nicett^,; being nottoaterialito^iiligioii^ivafe but little regarded by the GhriEfttansof thetfrAitge. They who began firil to. celebrate thctfl, placed tbtm in the cardinal points of the year ; aslihe ananneittiOfL of the Virgin Mary, on the 25th of Marc)i^-wliichf. when Julius Caefar correAed the calendar* mn- tho jwnaX €quinox */' Whether the primitive . UAmh Wher from ignorance of exaS periods iti HckoHak^ or-firom inattention to terms clearly defined, or Jftftly# cffOBL- a . prediledion in favour of u&ges,. previoofljr-eMbWIlid by prefcription) is a frivolous enquiry. Gertaia it/ii« that in matters of chronok^cidpredfioit»' i t| i e i f :i WPiiif or fragments of tbem* fliil piJefenrcd,; do .not fhem expert, much kfs in£aIIiUe« TIm^ great proceeds : ^^ Neither was. there any certan about the years of Chrift. For the^ ClmBmmti :^firft began to .enquire into fiich .tiliiigs»ar rAldxandfinus^ Origoi, TertuUktti' Jed. lintiiiif * ^ HiKbD*^ Life. ' X%i bhtfift; Jferbliff'Auftin) Suip; Severds, :aiid as many ^ tjlart thfc a^athidf Chrift te the 1 5th or i6th of Tibei riii^'hiake Chrift to )i2ive preached but oii6 year, or^t inoft but two.** *^What cohfidence is due to the af range*- neini of'thofe tiiehi in othet gdod qualities howe^e^r v^enenUe^ who ccmne^i the time of- the paffioa with tii0:F5th Kit 16th of Tiberius ? Yet with juil as little deference to the opinion of the pafTmg and fubf x^r^ M gofpel r62 Chronology gofpel hlllory requires, to give confiftency to its part$» Forty days are fufficient ; and this Gorreftioa, obvious to common fenfe, will conned the time of our LordV birth with the 15th November- . . As this alteration is propofed for redifying the cfaro^ nologV) not for introducing innovations hi pralSace^ and, as both prophecy and hiftory are iilent conccmiiig the prectfe day of the event now under invefttgi^oii^ it may be requifite, with the Chriftian fathers, to prefer fome one of the four cardinal points, in coincidence with fome one prefigurative fervice of the Jewifii church. The Feall of Booths, both in the contiguity of the time, and in the fimilartty of prefigurativ^ ce« re monies, is the moil probable of all* The pafchal lamb, with one of its appendant obfer* vances> the oblation of the firft friuts wai, as an in&ttible interpreter of the Hebrew ritual affirms^ a &rikiiig reprefentation of " Chrift, our paffover, fecrificed fcfg us, and then rifmg from the dead as the fivft fniils of them that flept." The feaft of weeks, kept OA tfae 50th day from the offering of the firft fruits year by year, together with the giving of the hw from Sinai^ on the firil year of its inflitution, adumbrated the conf^ munication of the Holy Ghoft, in his wonderful- opes* rations, on the day of Pentecoft, at Jerufaletti* In both thefe cafes, the antitype realifed every circumlhince in the types, that of the time not excepted. Scarcely is it fuppofable, that the Feaft of Tabernacles had ni> reference to the incarnation of Chrift. Thofe who maintain the negatives will be reduced to Ibe dbhtditf of t)f ]frtKtting a very frigid gTofs on a vcfry fignificant allu- fion of an cvangdift, " The Word Was made flefh, and rfWelt {i(ntiiv(a fignificanee, and energy. To omit the words of an eminent writer in the paft centtiry, than whom few poffefled more original ideas^ and iiofie furpafled him in the faculty of interpreting ^wrativc language, were unpardonable. ^*' It is incredible that this principal feaft (hould not be a type of fome principal thing concerning Chrift, as ^cH as the feft ; it being as folemn as either of the dther two, nay, rather the chief of the three, as having a more extraordinary courfe of facrifices than either of the other ; yea, one day's more continuance, it having eight days. To it nothing but his incarnation and na- tivity can be applied ; and it may be the eighth day wis ^ded, as figuring the time of his circumcifion ♦» But ft wiH be objefted, that the birth of Chrift was in December;: and the feaft of tabernacles was kept the • The worthy author might have mentioned another cir- cumftance pf pre- eminence peculiar tp this ordinance. It wa« liftercd in with the apparatus of a great day of expiation for all Ifracl. For the Redeemer a body was prepared, that he might be capable of fuffering for the fms of the world. M 2 15 th i64 Chronology 15 th of the 7 th month, which anfwered in a manner to our September. The interval is three months. In anfwer, give me leave to relate, not my own opinion^ nor as my own, but that of the moft learned chrono- logers ; the fum of which is, that the birth of our Sa- viour was at the time of the feafl of tabernacles, ^or firft, it is apparent in the primitive church was neither certainty nor agreement about the time of our Lord's nativity, as Clemens of Alexandria witneffeth ; and himfelf faith, that thofe who enquire more exa£Uy, do aflign the 25th May. Others aifigned other times, as Epiphanius witnefleth, 400 years almoft after Chrift : fo long, therefore, there was no certainty. After the time of Conflantine, the day we now obferve waa chofen, and firft in the Latin church ; but not in the Greek till the days of Chryfoftom, who made an pra« tion, yet extant, upon the firft obferving of this day* which he fays they then received from the Latin church. If any would know, after fo much wici^r- tainty of opinion, how they came at laft to.refolve upon this day, they will tell you, that it was upon a falfe fuppofal, and a miftaken ground, &c.^" From hiftory and analogy every probability indicalea the autumnal equinox, and the feaft of tabernacles in the year of the Julian Period 4709, or the 749th of the Varronian era. On thefe principles eafy it were • Jofeph Mede's Works, p. a 66. Thofe who defire to ob* tain fuller hiftorical information, may perufe the fequel of this author's argument, or Bedford's Chronology, p. 4x6— ^i^S* to of HerodV Life. 1(55 to bring the fubjeA to the teft of calculation. But mtnutenefs is not here afFe£led. By this computation the-age of Chrift, at the time of Herod*s death, was fix months, the didance between the oppofite equi- noxes. A TERM, or firft point in reckoning, either aflumed or difcovered, will be fubfervient to a juil arrangement o( hiftorical events, from this era of the nativity to the ' demife of Tiberius. ,' : . 7.. Arcbelaus. His acceffiOn may be dated from the vacancy of the throne, about the 20th of March. Jofephus, in oae paflage, afligns nine - years to the duration of hb government, in another, ten*. In each is related a dream concerning ears of com eaten by oxen, the numbers of both being exprefTed with the like va* nation. ; That (ingular dream, with its interpreta- tipn by Sin^on the Eflene, who faid it prefaged the length of his reign, Arcljelaus reported to his friends fcqne titjje before his removal to Rome. But the no- tations of time, as contradidory, are indecifive. Other felf-CQnfiftent dates, however, occur in the fame au- thor, and in favour of the larger number, i . In the Hiftory of his own Life t he relates, that bis father, Matthias, was born in the tenth of Archelaus* go- vcrtiment. 2. That in the currency of that year, hot ©ply the chiefs of the people in Samaria and Judea, but • War. ii. 7. 3. ; and Ant. xvi. 13. a. f Se(5lioa i. M 3 even l66 C H.R^O N OHUtP O Y even hi$ own brothers^ preferred a complaint agauil^ him, of tyra{iny» and other idftances of roaladmimfira^ tion, at C^far'B tribqiial ; who difpatched a.iAefieoger to apprehend his perfon^ and .condud . him to .floai^ ^*- Thefe orders being executed, Archelaus was tried^ found guilty, and fern into exil^ «t Vieone in Gaul. The time fpent in tranfmitting the cditlplault of. griev« aoces, in the voyage oi th^ meflengfrt in bjf ittifrQ, with the prifoner, and in the formalitiaf of l^..t]fial|t, may fairly be fuppofed to have taken up the remainder of that year. 3. That PhiKjr, the brother of Archelaus^ i\^ i^lhd lotH of Tiberias after he hikl'liceaitetaiith of GclUlbnitii, and ot6er printi^lftti^, 37 ifeant. Tbd sij^th off Tiberius is compki|t}^» life, and 7th of the rulgar era, $• Procurators in Judea from Archelaus to the tfeatb ^ Tiberius, ^' ■ Their number, and years of magiftracy, arf CcX^ levied from Jofepbus and Prideaux* Coporlms . . 2 Brought forward 6 Marcus Ambivius 3 Valerius Gratus 1% ^nniusRufqs » i I'ontius Pilat^ «• IQ ^7 * ^nt. 3^vii, 1 J. |, f Ant, xviii. 4. 6. Tbif ' ^HEROji*/ Lift. ' I'S) Thh (bm is the interval from the baniffmiem of Arche- laus to the death of Tiberius Nero, in the year after who has preferved a curious remark of the populace at thtt very time of his death J ; — ** That the fame day of the year was the firft of his magiftracy, and the laft of hit life :" — the other is taken from the fame Suetonius* who affirms in the life of 0£lavius §, that be invaded • D. 0«£lav. cap. 5. This author mentions a different date, though of the fame year ; but as a vulgar tradition, and rcft- ing on the authority of an aftrologer, P. Nigidius — the 13th Pccember ;T-that very night when the fenate was deliberating on the fate of the confpirators, cap. 94. But the place and manner of mentioning this report fhews, that this judiciou& writer repeated it, with no fmall degree of academic faith. •f Aniial. 1. cap. 9. % 19th Aug. § Cap. 26* the Cbe confulate in the 2Qth year of hU lifo. With this aitaogement Paterculusi a contemporary writer, agrees^ and i» inore'detsrmkiate* ^' He entered on his coniuiate yFhen he wanted but one day to complete his aoth year*/' and *< that this was 72 years before the confulate of Marqus Vinicius/' A, U, C- 783. Hence deduft 72, tbe furplus 711 is, the true term. All thefe notations are in exa6l hBnnoiiy» e^ccept that in Tacitus^ . * ■ * 2..>His fir/i Confulate. - This datis is all^ady afcertained. It only remains |o he obfe^vedj^ithat; the eafe and perfpicurty of com>- pHtationreq^ifip ti^at his magifiracy be fuppofed to laaiiHiiei^.abp^t 18 nionths earlie^Ti from the aflaifi'- nation of tiie firft.CaMar on the i5th March 710. Thus the confulfliip of Julias and Antony, and that of Hittius aiid Panfsk> fot a part of the ne^t year, are fu- perfeded. Tbis is the reckoning of Jofephus, and ac- cords much better with the chronological chara£lers in |he gofpels/ 3. His Age and Death* This fubje£l of difquifirion has likewife been in part aiiticipated. A few points are briefly to be retouched, with additional remarks. If the time of his death can, i^rith Certainty^ be discovered, the deduflion of a fmall ^piantity, both from his Uie and reign, will be requifite ^nd neceflary* » I*, il 63. Suetonius tyt Chronology Suetonius fuggcfts one circuniftance, (gfneraIFy omitted by the other hiftorians), fubfetvient to this dif* covcry. ** A law having been pafled, on a motion from the confulS) appointing Tiberius to hfe joined with" Auguftas in the adminiftratiori of certain province and in the celebration of the next kiftrum, aiid this laft foldfnnity having been finiOved, Tib^riiU inftantly fet out for Illyricum, one of thofe provinces coamutted to his government \ and Auguflus accompanied him part of the way, but died before hU return to Rome ♦.** This criterion of time, though defedive, Hio#s that Auguftus died a very (hort fpace after'the exhibition bf a luftrum. But Livy fupplies this defeftf. *« In th^ Varronfan ytar of Rome 450, it i« faid tliat Q. Fabius Maximus, the- cenfor, inftituted the foleitan pirocefliotl pf the Roman kniglits, of which th^ anniverfary b tfie 15th July," The ceremony is thus defcrfted by a late author : " Every fifth year the Equites fode up to thi{ Cenfor, feated in his curale chair, before the capitol, and dlfmounting, led along their horfes in their hands befcH'e hipi, and in this inanner were reviewed ;{:." Auguflus, by every account, died on the 19th Augufi, A. U» C* 766, or 35 days after the luftrum, and according to Suetonius, juft as many before the conclufion of his 7)ithyear§. Usher, Prideaux, and others, conne£l hil' dcccafe.^ with the number of the Julian Period 4717> coincideiJl • Vita. Tib. Neronis, cap. ir. -J- Lib. ix. 46. J Dr. Adams's Roman AfitiquiUes, p. aS« § D. O^av. Aug. cap. 100. with ^Augustus Cesar. 173 with the Va^r^pian- year 767.. This, date is brought too loW: by one. year : fox, by the computation of Sue- tOQi|is» 766 — ^^691^:75, leaves but. 7 5 for the age of d^fs emperpr, and the :lalt incomplete.. Thus one year mail be retrenched from his life* The rotations of the luftrum are an infallible charafle;: of time, from the yi^ry date of the inflitu,tion, in the.firftof Seryius TuU Ui^s^ Ann. Varron^, i j^. This fum , deduS. from . 766, and the difiTerence, 590, divided by 5, quotes 118 lufira, without a remainder* Though this folemnity was omitted for 16, or even 40 years occafionally, never 4id one deviation happen from the regular returns of this circulating period. Tvsro years muft alfo be dedufted either from this> or from the fubfequent reign ; for, if 56 full years bp alTigned to the one, and 23 to the other, thq interval, froip the flaughter of Julius to the death of Tiberius, is 79 years ; which exceed the truth by two. Tor a rea» fpn, afterwards to be produced, the reign of Auguflus muft be abridged. 4.. Decree of Enrolment at Bethlehem. ** It came to pafs, in thofe days, (of Herod's reign), that a decJree went forth from Cefar Auguftus, that ALL the WORLD (hould be taxed*.'* In the Roman phrafeology all the World was a term equivalent to the then widely-extended e m p i re of that people. But provifion having been made by a conftitutional ordinance, * Luke, ii, I. (the 17+ CHRoKotocir (th^ cenfiis, about fix centuries befere), -for fixing tlA public revenues, in proportion to the .priyate property of the fubjeds ; no particular decrees for that purpofe occur in former periods, much lefs at that time. Ach- guftus indeed celebrated, during his long reigfi, tfarefe notable luftra, each at the diftance of 20 years, at the vftial times, and not in virtue of an extraordinary ftai- tute. In the fir ft Auguftus prefided together with Mark Agrippa, Ann. Varr. 726 5 in the other alone, 746 ; in the third with Tiberius Nero, 766 ♦. But the monumental infcriptions marked on thofe occafions^ and ftill extant, declare the quality of the perfons en- roiled and taxed ;— Roman citizens ; (eenfa funt ci- vium Romanorum capita.) Befides, none of alP the three years can, by any reafohable computation, be brought to agree with the time of Chrift's nativity. It may be furmifed that the provinces, either all or fome of their numbers, might be enrolled^ at leaft at limes diftin£l from that of the national CENSUS. Sur^- mifes are not evidence. As to any general furvey of the provinces, during this interval of 4.0 years, hiftory is entirely filent: and every prefumption induces the belief that the decree to which the evangelift refers, was reftri6led to Herod's dominions ; for as the Romans denominated the empire by the title of Totus Terrarum Orbls, the WHOLE WORLD, fo the facred writer* called the land pf Paleftine, Xiaaa Ouca/jisimj an expreflion equivalent to the whole country of Judea, Samaria, and Ga- • Suet. Odav. Aug, cap. a;. lilee* ^Augustus Cssas. 175 Ulee. Tbtts mw^ for the: terms. £at does the prefumption Mow foggeftedreft on the bafis of hiftorical probability f .Herod's coumry) about three years before his 4bath| Was very much infefted by a powerful body of Trachooitiih robbers, who had been encouraged ia their depfedaftions by one SyHxus> th^ deputy of Obodas^ king of Arabia Pletraea, an ally of the Roman empire.. With a miliury force Herod pafTed over into that country, and put to death numbers of the invaders^ but found tlie main body in a fbrtrefs, (granted them by Sylixus), where they were inacceflible. After this un- iuccefsful iexpedition, the exafperated thieves, having acquired an acceflion of force from S) llaus, made a frefli irruption into Judfea and Cekfyria^ in their pra- grefs laying wafte the country and villages. Herod applied for redrefs to the govemoi^ of Syria. By their mediation S'yllxus agreed to compromife matters, and aiib to pay a debt of 60 talents formerly borrow€td from Herod^ within 30 days. Without performing jiny part oi his engagements Syllaeus went to Rome^ with a complaint againft Herod, as carrying on unpro** yoked hofiilities with the Arabians. Auguflus giving implicit credit to this report, exprefled his refentmenr in a letter to Herod, fetting ibrth, in terms more acri- monious than moderate, ^^ That formerly he had adlect towards him as a friend, but thenceforth would treat bim as a dependant." By a happy conjuncture of in* eidents, Herod proved the falfehood of the whole charge at the emperor*s tribunal, and foeffefted a reconciliation** * Jof. Ant. xvi. chap. ix. p. 16* Here •. ' •■ i;6 C R It b N o t d-c V; Here feems to be a very natural aecotiiyi of ftid decree in its caofe and origin. Afigsftlis, Ht the firfl tranfport of indtgnation, hiving formed the Tcfbhitionf dt reducing Herod to the abjed conditicM ol t'HIE'A^ bady as a previous flep, emitted an tiiBt for the fntey of ki« domidions* Bat that ferment of difpleafum IUbfiding>' and after feme time the innocence of Herod being in- dicated, he forbore his refemment; tfnd thotfgb the farvey had been executed^ its effects were fufpended* This reconciliation took place in the 34tbof'HerOd'fll reign, and only a few months before his death. In this ihort interval (and neither fooner nor later} is the en- rolment at Betlilehem to be fought and found. History farther reports, <^ That in the reign of Auguflus, an enrolment was made in Judea^by Semmr Saturninus *.'* This cenfus could be no other than th6 kvc7(Apty enrolment^ in the evangeliil* Uk both the name of thp emperor is exprelTed, and the whoU worU or lami is reftri3ed to Judea. TertuUian adds the ninitf of the Roman commiflioner. Saturninus futtieded Agrippa, as prefident of Syria, in the 26th of HerbdU reign, computed from the defeat or death of Antigq^u^. Of hisintermeddling,either by authority or otherwife,with the affairs of the Jews, not one veftige occurs in hiftory prior to his concern in the litigation between Herod and Syllaeus. He is next mentioned as a judge, iti the trial of Herod's fons by Mariamne f , in the fecond yea# • Cenfus adtus fub Augufto, in Judea, per Sentiuin Satur- toinixm. Tcrtall. Contra Marcion. Lib. iy. 19. f Ant«xvi«iitf 3. before 5^AuctfsfuS Cesar. iyy before their father's death : and the very year of that d^th be was fuperfeded by the appointment of Quin* tBk» \^an%iHa faccefler ^i» the prorinee of Sjrrnr. It has been fhown that the decree for the enrolment was not iflued before the Varronian year 748 ; and it is now eertaint from fundry eicplioit notations of time, that it could not be executed by Saturninus after 749. It muft therefor^ have been executed at Bethlehem, about the time of the autumnal equinox, the true hiflorical date * '** In lliis matter weVe two diftlnct particular actions done at iifeiWa an* dififcrent tiihts; i&tJurHfey and the /wy. Iii Lnke^liv ii 'tb^ fbnrier is'to be aftd«ritd6d'^ alnd m Verfi^ n^c6tfdr tbe iatter.- Xbw reconciles that etaiigelift with Jcifephus, from' w|io|n itU inanifeft. that Cyrenlus was not governor ofS^^iat and levied no ta^ uil^on Judea, t;Ul after Archelaus was depoCed, arWtfc^Jt country ^^^S^^^^def a prociiratof, which wasaBove el€tfcit7«»f8 ifter tAfc dicrec f# th^ furi^. If thyh-dficA-e HHe ftcotid veift. of the leeohid chapter be p«r;i^1al;$^. N CHAP. ini C.H R^ N .Q L O G. Y ■ 1. ^ c HA p: IV^ 1 ' ^'1 J Chronology cf Tiberius Nero. ■ » FOR the date of his birth SuctomuS^iffigns ttirec diftinfl and fucQeflive years, charafleriled rby as inany pairs of confuls \ — JEjXojXwxi Lepidus^ and :Mur- natius Plancus, Aulus Hirtius and Vibiot P^fa, Servi- lius Ifauricos and Lucius Antonius ; — coiirefpohding' to the Varronian years 711, 712, 713. with this' sluthor Tacitus and Dion CalTiqs agreie^ in.ttus repo^. that he died in his 78th*year« >lf the Jaft .were in*' complete A. U. Cv 787^ and 71 1 be fubdufied^ he died before the end of his 76th. Either therefore bis bir& TOuft be anticipated, or his life protraQed two yeai^. ^ It mnft occur to thct reader's recolle£liQiu that atl the Roman hiftorians, not excepting even. tbo& wW admit a part of Nero's reign to have been common %o that of his predeceflbr, aflign to both a period of 70 or 80 years, from the premature and tragical death of Julius. The time of the partnerfiiip in empire was two years. Let thefe be retrenched, and then the 78th of Nero will coincide with 787 in March. Evident |s the abfurdity of dating his birth from 71 iy and pro- lonpnjf longing fiis reign to 789. For thus our Lord was not crucified in the procuratorfliip of Pontius Pilate^ as all the e va n g e li fe -teftify ; neither in the reign of -Tiberius^ ts Tacitus relates ; but in that of Caligula. , The next fubje£Lof difquifition is the two-fold date of this reign» Certain it is that he returned from his^ laft expedition in Germany, and, befides other honours^ had a fplcndid triumph, in the confulate of Germanicus Cefar and'Fonteius Capito, A. U. C^ 765. Among Other honours on that occafion conferred, one was, an equal authority and power in the adminillration of cer-*> tain provinces with Auguftus. On the 19th of Auguft 766, he became fole emperor by the death of his col* league. The queftion now is, from which of thefe dates is his fifteenth year, thiit much celebrated chrono- logical character in the gofpel hifiory, to be computed ? Every criterion of hiflorical truth eftabliih^s the for- iher^ From the laft year of Auguftus's fole admini* ftration in 764, dedu£l the year of the firft Cefar's aflaflination, 710, the remainder, 54, brings forward the reckoning to the aoth March765, the very point whence the government of Tiberius is herp fuppofed to com* mence; and 765+iS==78o, makes the i6th March the firft day of his 15th year, or the 70th from the daughter of Julius. This unufual term of narchy, to the death of the fecond emperor, is chofen^ from no afiedation of fingularity, or merely for the fake of controverting the truth of arrangements* i - ^ H % which i8q C h r'o h o t o c Y tvhich prefcripftion has made femiliar. The author^4 Ible motive is the application of a regulating meafurt from the fiift to the 78th Julian year^^*— t aeafnre precifely eqpnl to the natural life of Tiberius^ with the dteduQioD of eight roonthS| without defeA or fiirplus^ In this fpace Augufius began, under the tinitations abovementionedt his reign of 54 years o» the i6tb March ; and on the fame day, in the rotation of years^ fhat of Tiberius, compreliending 23 yearsy both bcgail and ended. A teft of fo much uie and certainly^ though obvious even to fuperficiat readers, ha& unaic<# countably been overlooked by the rooft penetrating critics m chronology, and eicaped the refisardiei of all the Harmonifis. > . . To prevent, however, the cet^ureof kuiovatto%kt the acceffion of Nero, in the )ife-tkne of AognluSY W feckonQd'(oDly one year before the demiie of the lali- tery from the ' aoth Auguft 765, aod let 14 be addtd^ the operation, denotes the 19th Auguft 779^; and i^ this fiatement of terms the i5th o£ h\$ reign tenmnaltti the 2mtb Auguft 780. At. the time of the precedtflg vernal eqiiinox, the word of God came to Jobn mi the Urildemefs. This computation yt juf^ butk&^pei!^ CU0U3* For the expofitort of the : gol^el hw^ifig gcwtr nlly re&TKd the: death of Herod, to Nov^tnbeiv {datMIt eight «3^p|Hte ^9. its trrue aflfronoi4ui(;»l dait^), <$pi«piiiM!l Jhe rcigq4 b^tj^,^ Arch^^l^MS a^dpf Ne/o f|foi9;a,tfieAy.Jc*' fcribed frpm verfe | tp :^a, inclufi,velyt where the bap-< ti^ of Chrift is mentione4y ii^ con,pe6l^ witb an advanced ilage of that miniflry. Hence a tranfijUon to^another part of tb^ gf ^^f^l^ fubje^ y-^tl^e jperfoi^I n?^i|^ o|:^^^^ 9.f whpfft5^bo bringf. ifito comqdenfXf with the laflrjoientioQed d|tte» to wbicb by i^ KtroibejSjive yiew^ . he virtually re^aJU tb^ atten- tion -I V •' tit^:of hi? readers who, without violating' ttsb cooti* guity of coexifient events, may confider the conciic kc^ (^wntof John'«-iniiiifirya9.a parentbdis. Soch then are two dates in juxta-pofition. *' It came t9 pal$^ iti^ t^e 15th year of Tiberius Cefar, that the word of God* came to John, the fon of Zacharias, in the wUdemeTs ^ i)pd Jefus himfelf began to heaimt 30 year^ of age, beiiig^ sts was fuppofed, the fon of Joleph/' &c. The evangdili could not, with more piecifion, have defined ChxiftV age, at the time of the vernal equinox in ,that yearj^ except he bad cbofen to write 29 year^ fix mcmtbs*.^ Annalists are confined 19 the order of time» and fo exhibit fragments of hiftory* The hifiorian, col* lediing parts, unites them with fkill, rejei^ng evexf thing incoherent, diifimilar, or fuperfluous, and fo frames one perfefi and well-proportioned whole. In, this method of hiilorical compofition, the evangefift exhibited a model for Suetonius, who, in his lives of the Cefars, *^ propofes to prefent the feveral parts diU^ tinf^Iyj, a^d 9pt in the oi^der of time,, but to combioQ , ♦ T!^ author Y^uld, with no lefs fatisfiidlion ^hao jufticc,, Kave acknowledged his obligation to any of the critics, in whofe works he i^xpeded to %nd this coexiftence of time and numbers.- As a very probable conje^ure, little fiiartx>f eer^ t|9aty» his .fiagular opimoais f^bnoitted to difceraing j.Mdge8« Thofe critics* if any fuch •be, who yf^ afiirmj that at the time of his baptiim the age of jefus did not exceed 30 years, muft on the fame grounds maintain, that his baptifm was fub« fequent to the in^prifonment of John, which^ in the order of things, is recorded as a prior tranfa^ion. things its C H n 6 k'6'l o c y Atrrgs ofMd^e mttirci thM he xtiight avoid eonfi.' * If to A. U. C. 779, the 15th drNero/andf 3bth' *f JefotChrift, 3f years be added, the reckoning h iemttinued to tlie autiimnal equmbk 783, the '19th and j4th of- Nero and Chrift refpeSively. '* This is the true' iate of his: baptifm, to which' facceeded' his temptatiotk in tfewtldernefs ; and then comniehced his niiniihY itr Aieyeaf of the* 3orh jubile* from the partition 6f 'Ca-' Manl ^ All tftefe direS evidence?' froitt hiftbry and prcH' Jhccy, refute as idle furmifes the pofitioifs'bf 'archBilhop' Jfhtfr, that Jefus was bapHfed iri the ''tfrft of John's mlniftry, that he fpent three y6ars in private Mifc, and 'then began to pfreach and confirro' his dbftririe^by iiiifa-i* ctes- Tbii train of arbitraiy and incbherent arrange-^ ments disjoins events, which all' the ^vangelifti combine in comely order'and continuous TuccefTion. - '• To preverit every fufpicion of fo long an Interval,^ the recefs into the defert is cohhe£led with thebaptifm^ at. Jordan. • " Immediately the fpfnt drivetbhim into tlie wildernefs, where he was tempted 40 dayst/* '. Jesus having fuddenly diG^peared^ the prieus' and. kyites at Jerufalemi impatient to knoyir whither he hsbd^ Miir^d, and .anxious to leaia what was his true cha-; fiider;. lent a deputation to the Baptift, who was ftiil^ dontfnuing his miilillratior^s about Bethcibara ;{:. The .' •- ■ : : • •• •• .;; • Partes excqii^r figillatim, peque per .tcmpora, fed per fpc- eics; qdd'diftlhdms demonftran cognofciquc poflint. OAav, ^ .■» t ^'!^? *• ?^* t John, i. 19. time 9f TrBERlUS NlRO." tly. tfaise of this- conference with the deputies majs wi(b every circnmftance of probability, be referred ta thd hpfe of the 40 days nearly. For the next day, (after the return of the meflengers), John feeing Jefus €0m<« ing unto him, gave a frefh atteflation to his chamfier^ as the Lamb of God, fent with authority and a Ipedal commiflioni to take away the fins of die world. >a« " Again the next day after, John, in the prefence of two of his difcipies,' feeing Jefus as he walked, repeatedl^ his ■ honourable teftimony J Tliefe difcipies, (the one Andrew the brother of Peter, and the other ytxf probably John the Evangel ift, who feldom records hi^ own name), defirous of an interview, followed Jefus, and abode with him that day. On. the following day, Jefus, on his way to Galilee^ found Philip and Nathaniel, and having with the other two arrived at Cana, oh the third day after the inter- view with Philip, or the 6th after the return from the wildemeft, and the 46th from his baptifm at Jordan, THERE he turned the water into wine. " This B&-' GiNNiNC of MIRACLES did Jefus in Cana of Gafilee^ and mantfeiled fonh his glory, and his difcipies believed. on him ♦.** '^ Aftebl this he went down to Capernaum, he, ttid his mother, and bis brethren, and his difcipies ; Und di^ continued thtn not many daysf/* This very flUMt (pace of time, with the intermediate occurrences, .th(^ other evangeiifts pafs over in filence. Luke, however, ♦ John, i. a^ii. and ch. ii. ii« f Ch. ii^ ifl. ' records iSa C H R 6 N O L O G V lecord^ tbe events in the exa£l order of time, fubfeqaene to the departure from Capernaum.. <« When the devil had ended all his temptation he departed from him for a feafoa : and Jdiis returned in the power of the fpirit into Galilee, and a fame of him went out through all (be region round about *.** << And he came to Naza* reth, wh^^ h(B had been brought up, and, as his cufioiQ ^s» went into the fynagogue on (Saturday) the iab- |iath-day, and ftood up for to read. The book of the prophet £(aias wa^ delivered unto him ; and when ))^ bad opened the book f , he found the place where it w^ wjdttcJit The fpirit of the Lord is upon me, becaufe ha "* From fundry notations in the context, it is obvious that fcveral incidents, not here recorded, did intervene before our {«or«rs iiifit toNazarctb., when his renown had,, in a very ibort tinne, ff«:ea4 £ir and wide. . The boaonrable report concemi,ng him was not, a ^or^ (^o?) ipnparted by one individual to ano* th^r, neither a rummur in a narrow corrtcr, (Luke, vii. 7 — 17) 5 Sue j^;»^'(<^"VMat;iy. 14. (^n) Luk6,iv. r4. Rumor eit 9cUiodFii)x»rfa«ui omnium. Whence eoukLthis FAJis.riferhut fi^pm ikiA iii^ iigfifti mirsck at.f^na? That he hadlikewife 4^U^Qiiradesa]tCapcr()^upi ia .unequivocally^ intimated, verfe 14, «* Ye will Ajrcly fay. unto me this proverb* Phyfidan^ heal thyiclf : whatfoevcr we have heard done in Capernaum, d6 alfo here in thy country." Such indirect references t^^ prfor iimi^ ki^ ^ efiSsptialt nfe.io. aibortaiiidigi Ufkudval oi^er. ^I^itbf co^xt JtislAfYfKeffM?^ thrift jpanifp^fjl fQ^J^his^^loryby^ftupCBdpps exertions of fuperaatiu^l power, b^ore he fpake, as nev^ man did }^y *^is doctrine. He deli- ^ nty{4f TO ^ioXisy, unfolded the little volume, which, perhaps, fiOlitiitt^dFfaias' prophecy:*' ' *- ' 5 : ^ . ' alone <^ Tiberius Nero.: 289 alone hatb anointed me to preach the gofpel to the poor, — to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. He then cloied the book ; gave it again to the miniftery and fat down:— -the eyes of all in the fynagogue were faflienedofi him/'— 'After an exprefiive paufe, ** He began to (xf unto them, This day is this fcripture (n ypa(pn'iarn^ fulfilled in your ears* All bare hioi witnefs, and won^ dered at the gracions words which proceeded out of \m mouth ♦ +/* Tut • Lwke, ir. x.v *». f NcYer prophet with equal (olcmRjty or more efledl openeff his commiflioH. It has already, and more than once beer* Ihewn, that the 4.th, not the flrft of John's miniftry, and at the end of the firft fi* months in that year, about the tfme of the autumnal equinok, was the true date of Chrift's baptiihiv ti has alfo been fhewn that the fame year was not only iabbaticaU but the ^th jubile from the partition of Canaan. Extremely frigid, not to (ay violent, is the arrangement in the Annals, where the ferft appearance of John on the bafiks of Jordan, tHi baptifrti of hie Lord, the temptatiott in the fHldemefd, the mHl Eon of thef deputieaf to John froOi Jeruialeia,. &c. are all crowded into his firft year:— yet the time of Chrift's entrance o|i his perfonal miniftry is deferred to the 4th. The paflTagcs thready cbiledted from ^he gofpels, reprobate this difpofitfoii of events and times. Were the art of regukting hiftory by aftronomy and* cBfl>*. Iiotogy more generally Inown, many paflages in the facre^ writings, which are commonly read without emotion, (nayi with a idnd of languid apathy), would forcibly arrelf fht ati tehtion of every mind," prepared by the knowledge of ciilcn"- lation, for confulting with difcemment the Bible hiftx)ry. " TRfe prophecy fo prbpefly read with re^e^ tb the cTrc^mffence of '■■.... time. 1*9^ G H It O N O L O C IP The evangelift John proceeds in the natural {tt\i$ of tilings, and order of time. •* The Jews paflbver iwas at hand, and Jefus went up to Jerufalem. Many believed in his name when they faw his miracles *•'*> Six full months had now elapfed from the time o'f bis baptifm. From one circumftance it is p^efurndd that he flaid fome time, fierhaps feveral months, in JudeaV Pqr the pharifees having heard that he had made and baptifed more difciples than John, Jcfus left Judea and departed again into Galilee, by the way of Samaria, where he converfed with the woman at the well, and thence after two days departed, and went to Canat where, on the application of a nobleman from Caper- naum in behalf of his fon, then at the point of death, he refiored, at a diftance, the patient to perfe£l heaUb^ This was the fecond of his miracles at Cana f . In the 5th chapter is mentioned a feafi of the Jews^ which has every probability of a paflbver, and the fe- cond in Chrift^s minifiry. If fo it were, Jefus was certainly at Jerufalem, and before his remrn defcribe4 John as a luminary then fet. << He was (not /x} >si time, and fo apppfitcly applied, in the fynagoguc at Nararcth'j it one of many pertinent examples. If all the learned com- jnfptators, deeply (killed in verbal criticifm, and bnt very mo^ ^erately acquainted with the do^rine of time in its meafuceiu and the combinations of its parts, had been poflefled of thU indifpenjCible qualification, frotn the days of Ufiier, the chro^ aology of biir Lord's life would not, as now, have been ^n- vplved in perplexity. • John, ch, ii. ig-^t* t Ch, ir. 1—54. biimtng of TiBEJftlUS NeHQ. - t^^ burning aind a fliining Xv^r . V^rfe 35* He was ^f:n' probably thrown into priloB, bat not executedlw The' i^xt account ^f Jefus defcribes htm as in Galitee, ad>oiiC' the:fca of Tiberias* ^ •« , The two other evangelifis (Matthew and Mark) rev port, that when JeCgs had heard,, that John was call kiKK priio^ be came into Galitee *. Hence natural is the lAffrence, that Jefus, while in Judea, heard thefe tidingSy' which account exaSly correfponds to the notations^ John, V. 35, and qh. vi. r, compared together. Thcfo chsM-aQers of time and place, efiablilh the certainty of another hiftorical. term : — ^The refurn tifitoGaTilee, of which Matthew and Marl^ take notice, was (in the paflages to which the text^ above-mentioned refer) the third after the lapfe of the 40 days in the wildernels./' That in John, i. 43, and in Luke, vf^ 14, was the firft ; the othej in John, iv. 43, was-the fecond ; and that in M^t, iv. 12, Mark, i, 14, and John, vi. i, was the third ; fome (hort time after the fecond palTover in the miniftry of Chrift. — It may be objeSed, i.^Tbat the imprifonmerit of theBaptift is here. .brought one. year lower than in the numerous arrangements of the Har« monifis, who generally comprehend this hifloncal in* cident within the fpace. of tin^ between the firft and fecond palTover. It. is replied, that this minute invefti* gi|tion is not intended to re£lify alone the precarious and unchronological poflulates of the worthy primate^ but alfo to examine the, no lefs inaccurate fpeculatigk^ ^ k * Mat. tv. 12. and Mark, i: 14.- of 19^ CHR6N^0L06t of oar tvet inultiplying race of harmony wrrters* The ovangeliftsy even when they feem to difl^r, are in per- {eSL concofd; whereas their Harmoailb, as it WeH^ in compa3, are at ferious pains to conyincethe ifOtMj that thefe ^vangelifis knew nothing of the matters which they tranfmitted to the world. It niay be objeflcd, 2. That Matthew and Mark record feveral afis of Jefus, prior in the order of titfle' to the impriibumdnt of the Baptift. Anfwer: This isf not to be inferred from the order, and much lefs frotri diie time of calling the twelve difciples. John the evangelift, An^ew» his brother Simon, afterwards fur* named Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel, were occafionally witii their Lord from the d^te of the firft miracle at^ Cana, but not conftanrly. They and others weife per- mitted to attend their fecular funSxom, and had repc^tA cdAh for a fenp<^ry attetidance. The complete tium- ber twe!v« might likewtfe h»vc been embodied, of ra- Iher aflually was, between the return froin the wilder- ftcfe and the fecond palfo^r; but thpttgfe Aefei tWS erangelifts profeffedly begin fheif hiftory from the time" John was taken into cuftody, yet thfey do relate niany things of a prior date. In exaiEt harmony wftlir this iSkrtiow, inuft neceflarily be referred to the 4tb year of John's miniftry, and the jgth of Tiberibs, frotn the date of his partrierfliip in the erhpife. If thefe points be admitted; the Metropolitan's hypothefis of three years fpent in private life, from the end of the 46 days temptation t6 the commeitcertiertt of this perfonal miniftry, fkrls to the ground; If not, the fcoitiputation by fabbatical years, the ofacles of prophecy, and the concurrent re- port of all the fouf evsingelilts, forfeits every pretcrifiori to credibifiijr. They miift be fallacious guides. Nayi even on the.Kietropolitan*sf principle, that Chrift was baptifed in the firft year of Johri'^ itiiniftry^ that texi from an ancient predi£Hon^ " The vdice of one crying in the "v^ildcntefej prepare ye the way of the Lord !" ^as ex^jtrifitely proper for thait herald of One greatef and mightief, than himfelf : and after three years of ^triKr^i it toutd not be improper for that greater and ititghfiefi than the herald^ t- iequent to his fingular conje3ure of a prior .eoi^^c|:a^ tioi^ to the fundions of a prophet and martyr. Sup}^ decifions darken couofel by words witbou^ knowledge^ *In the month Nifan of the Varronian^ year jS^t which was that of the crucifixion, ended the 70th pro- pbetical weekv It therefore began in the fame n^ontb, 779* Hence count forward three years, C^ i?^^^* The operation brings down the reckoning to Tifri^ ip the centre of that week, when the facrlfice and oblatiQa did virtually ceafe^ being iuperfeded by a mor^excelleoi^ pinifiry. This revolution fignalifed the micjft oi^^ week| as had expref&Jy bepn foretold. At its concluiion the whole apparatus of carnal ordina^ces^ yrhich h^ then loft even their typical virtue, were adually aba« lifhed, beinfi nailed to the crofs of Chrifi. One (tdkx- . » ••! t . ..i.-»f«- I-,.'-* /.i»»l •*♦*;•; ing circumftance with which the prediQioii concludes — the deftru£lion of the city and fanduaryT— was ,fuC- pended during the fpace of about 37 yearsj^ t|MtJfS»^a. perio4 before tbe,4hen exilling gez^^rationjhouldj^ away. In that interval the temple and tjie fynagogqes w^re kept op^n fo;thp diC^^ipl^^ of A^^f^icf^ 4i|J^ the appftles rcrfbrtipg ,W|Bpkly 911 the. day of:ibfel«»iff»l fabbatb, wh^:|h? .wming^ pf Mqfe^ aiAihll I«9i^M9 were publicly read» >c^ c^ejily allege nA:J^f(Sn%^ of tbofc fcriptuce?, that Chrift I^uft ^^\^,fyli^ffi^.^ lifcD from the d<»d i tM this J«^ WhwA t^ p^^ W^ 4He Mefliaub ; Slid that, iff cdnctemning' hiin» ihdc fillers had fulfilled all .that the vibices of tihe prophets had iforeU>Id*. - By this providential difpofitibn iof things di^ th^ iiemple an o t o g y fefiival at Raamdei m Egypt. The intenral \r ^te^ dfely 1526 folar tropical years from the Exodus^ 2i9 feptenar/ periods of years; and were the faiteMidiate fpace iheafured by. weels of days, the finn wpuid' hi' complete^ without one day deficient or fopemnnierar/.' If the fubjedl be brought to the teft bf cijcuiatioa' in its numerous . and complex forms, all tht 'diSereni operations terminate in one feif-conCAent and. infallible^ conchjfion^ ..^ : :. ./ It has been evinced that Jefus was baptif^ at •A©' expiration of his 34th year. It may :be" alleged,' tbat: the analogy to the Ipgal age of cofifoctadng the Aarbrtit lirtil priefts is thus vfolatedk But ChriftrAfeas k prieft oi a fuperior rank, an4*ia dhllnft ordkr;* ^^^' It ii evidiiir^ that our Lord f^caug out of Ju^ah, itf which ctiibc! Mofcs fpailce nothing (concerning priefthobd :*;:*'' He wal^ made under the la w^ a rubje£l,l>ut not affifnifto^ofthaif ^fery difpenfation which he cam^ firft!to cprifommate^ abd then 40 l^bfogat^l . N|y cmo' inftance'occots of- his performing the facerdotal funftiohs' of the Hebrew, rituahr. 'Qo: die contrary,- as ioften as be perforkned miraculous cares on ^ the perfons - of lepers, he always? joined, them to ihew themfetvcs. to --tUe priefts. '. The objeAion is on thefe grounds impertinent. ' It has been (tn^vXif'o^tStei^ th^^jiftisfolemmftd x)pt ia tbe temple, .pr^jpn the .natioual aljtart but. Ui • Heb. vU. 14. J . ? i '...-J . . --^ w » ►V :*'::! i ^ private 9f Tib &R2 u ^ Iff a^*^ 197 priv^t^ haufc,^It.may be added too, that nrany learned f rides have been weak or ridiculous enough to return k a ferious anfwer. Th^, learned Jpfeph Mcdc fome- V^here kicf lies to this efTefl (though perhaps in different words);. ^^ As Chrifl was himfelf the ten^ple, the altar, the oblation, and the prieil, all thefe formalities were fuperfeded/' This may be approved as a vigorous fen^ tinieot, but muft be rgeded as a feeble anfwer. Much more proper it is to note, that the ordinaace ttfelf was out of date, a new inftitution being that very nig^t fubftituted as a memorial of better things. Or rathcr» as juft now hinted, the \f hole ritual of facrifice and ob- lation had virtually' itoafed at the "time of Chrift's bap- tifm. This paflbver was the laft a A of conformity with the prefigurativc ritual* For Jefus, while di£> penfing that ordinance of fubftitution, the lacrament of his own body and blood, thus exprefled a change of adminiftration already begun : *^ Verily I fay unto you, I will not henceforth drink of this fruit of the vine^ until that day when. I drink it new with you in my fatherV kingdom ♦/* *'Mat. xxvi. 29. Our Lord in thefe words inti^tes his iMelation to partake neither of the pa0bver, nor of the new lacramefity till the tilings fignified by both ftiould be fulfilled if},tbe go^Ml difpenfatiDni.ywhich ^as aigh at haxu) i or that he would not part^e..with th^fn in any joy, t!|) he r^joiped with^ them in the communications of the j^ioly Spirit. Macknight*8 parmony, 545. O 3 Chronology . • rf-^-" - f99 p«H9.pNpfoev -■..I.' s..it ^ phiwi9logf j^ HfiROb, Augustus, ii7»^TxB;£Riy^ K£Rt>9 including that of]t^\)S.CiiK]^'^ifnmtbff firjl Juj^lAK Tfor /» iht Acceffim rf:C^hlQ^^%Ai adju/l€dt9 tbi ViUtRQN JAN JTcars ^ R.pi(iz. . A. P. j. 466^ ]Refonnation of the Roman pajendat A • M* 396^ ^XQ ^3 j. Firft Julian year. Tiberiiw bom A^ U. Vaf. 705^ j^ Julius Cefar aflaflinated - - 710 3* Battle at Mutina. Finft dohfulate of P3ar viuft - - - - 711 4h Defeat of Brutus and CaOilis at Phiiippi ,^ 712 6. Antigonus and H^rod rival jctngs in Judea 7141 ■9* Antigonus (Iain. Herod reigns - T^7 3^. . Battle at Adium - - '^ 73tj 16. Firft year of the Roman empire. - 724] l^« Ccnfus and hiftrunl reftored i iti» -m; rZ OXttfxntahi iynnt tn^^u^ nXiou fjtiytcn rmt iytug-fxtvuv fr^oncv, atai »«£ eSfa c ms njfAifat tyinro m^ru »it ao-Ttpm't tiioiifkfm^*wi, ** But otk the (o6) yea/of the aoi4 olympiad wa6 a very great eclipfe of the fiin, fucti as was not i^oriherly known, and nig:ht came on at ttie 6th hour of the day (i» at noon), fo tliat the ftars wet'e Vifible in thefirma- irt'^Fnt.'* Such is tbe y^ue s^cc^nt of this viery ftran^e phetiothenditr. il^itfbp Beveridge, nlikidj; a valtt effort to ftrike a fpark outi tf c^i^bSf propofes an eiiiendatibn iii the firft claufe. T« ^ irii, fie diaiig^s into tw ^ iTfi».fo as to tt^dsfbhxi the particle h^ '^/^^ Into the ni:|tterical ^,4, atid t&us rehders the words, ift $ii 4th'j^di^ tf fbe iQ%d ofjiOfiaJ, Hd Adtoit UtAt correaSon as • ' O4 «^t * ^tOO C:H RON O L O* O X *tiot imf^robable, ftill no month ^nd no day of a moni^ is %}• ^jied. Aflroiiomers aire puzzled in the feafch of a nalura} cclipfe of this luminary at that hoi^r, in a ferics of years befory 6t after that olympiad. But though this rc{)ok trere marked with more cfiaradters oi verifimjlitude, the 4tli of the-aoid olympiad was the year before the (crucifixion ;< aiMl tbefe^f- cordant notations of time cannot be brought into tk^ point of Coincidence, withoi^t either antedating our Lord's bi4h, or abridging the years of his life. If one or the other be ddne» fill the links which compofe the compact chain of cbronologi- cal chafaftcrs above conftruded, for the biftory of moife than f 6 centuries, are violently torn ^fuiider. ; In a lefs advanced ftage of calculation, the tii][ie was-when that preternatural darknefs^ fuppofe it did happen at the time of our Lord's paflion, obtained the credit of a very ftriking colla*- leral teftimony in Confirmation of the goipe) hiftory. As fuch l)r. Clarke confidered it, ip the firft edition of his Sermons, at JBoyle's I^edtufe. In the full perfuafion that this corner-ftone 5vas fufficieyit to fupport any quantity of preffiire, that great man fet forth the argument, with all the advantage it could derive from his eminent abilities. His friend Dr. Sykes fug- jfeftcd the impropriety of refting the caufe of Chriftianity on equivocal proofs, and prevailed with him Jo expunge it froin the fubfequcnt impreffions. The argument has fince'been revived, and the teftimony of Phlegon vindicated with a needlefs parade of genius and eru- dition. In thiii crontroverfy JDr. Chapman diftinguifhed him&lf in a manner vy^biph might have done fervice to a better caufe ; and thofe who approve his fentiments of the fubje^, boaft that pis defence • is not ye^ convided of weaknefs or fallacy. It is a very unacceptable fervice to undeceive fuch as have fdlea into a pleafing reverie. Si populus decipi vult, decipiatur. Mean time thofe who have not yet contracted an infiirmount- able, predil^iStion in favour of Phlegon's authority, are cau- itioned to withhold their full alfent, till it be certain that the phenomenon ■ « ~ ■ . fiiieaoinenQn ^nder examination was obferved on the very daf pi the cruqifixiQO. Aftronomical charafters arc not to be ap- plied at random. A deep eclipfe of that pafchal full moon* tike- that which happened at Raamefes on the night of thcfirft . :|iafluver, could it be certifted by calculation » would be 1^1191^ piore to the purpofe. Chriftianity acquires no credit from injudicious defences, jind lofes no itreagth from the removal of totterin^^ bulwar}u. /The time was when the infpiration of the facred writers was not judged fufficient, except t}ie attribute of infallibility were likewife afcribed to every amanuenfis. Printers, however, it was obferved, had fallen into fome miftakes, and MSS. were 'jiot found to agree in every minute circnmftance. Critics were cautious of corredking palpable errors, left they (hould incur .the fufpicion of herefy. No fboner was it admitted, that the facred texts in fome paflages were faulty, than Freethinkqri pave the alarm that uncertainty pervaded all. Bentley^ by (hewing that the multiplicity of various readings affords the means of reftoring the tnie fenfe, defeated infidelity by repel - ling its weapons on itfelf. Chriftianity has fuffered nothing by jLhe objedions of the learned to the credibility pf the thunder- ing legion, to the early cefTation of miracles in the primitive ' church, to the viOon faid to have been exhibited to Conftan- tine, to the defeat of Julian's attempts to rebuild Jfemiyem, Nor would the grounds of the Chriftian fiith be ihaken, . (hould certain writings, which fpme vifionary critics believe to be canonical, be pronounped fpurious. t ' G£N£AL00y# »* Ge^hai.o&t ^^^'^^^^^^*'**^^*^*^^''"^^^^^**^'^^*'^^**^ Gfinsalogy from David to Jefus Cbrijl. fntroduffion, ^ XARIOUS as the parts of naturi^ ai>d tbe ereote. Y of time arjc the fubjefts of hifiory. Of na»- fure's p?rts fome ?re ftatiodar}', ever in the fainc poQ- tlon wUli rcfpedl to others, and coexifient with all fup- pofable times^ as the Alps, Horeb, Nipbates. Another clafs is partly coexiftent and p^^ftly fucceflive, as th^ genei^tions of animals and men j " One geueratitni pafleth away, and another cometh ; but the eardi abideth for ever : the fun alfo rifeth and the fun goetI| down, and haAeth to the place where he arofe.'* Herji ia fuggefted the idea of motion in a pei^toa|| tircmtv yet perfedly confifient with pcfmanem and ttT lative reft. The fun feVolves 6q hi^ axisi the planets * .1-, on theirs ; and all round the fun^ as the centre of one harmonious fyAem. With refpe£l to this common centre, and to one another, the lefler orbs in the im«e t roenfe expanfe are fometimes in a fiate of approach| fometimes of elongation, and their circumvdlutipns, though not always equable, are upon the whole. \in\^ - form : pri in other words, the amount of their mouons ... « '*^ 7 from fubfirvieni to jGR^OJNOtooy. $^ Arom one poiat of their circuits to the fame agairi^ i$ • Reducible to a mean quantity. ja^^&XQZ^^ • in it& general i;haiaftery wbiitfa^r tradl- tionai or written, implies composition — an aiTem*- ijage of incident^ and fa£ls eonAined according to the relations of time^ piac^^ arid .ordefi and confidered aft prior^ contemporaty, or fubTequent. Historical time is the ireful t of aftrohotnical Irieafures^ in their re^titibiM firom one firlt point lA dui^tion, whence planetary motions are fupj^fed %6 Have begun, or from any fixed' period gehertiWy k'noMrff, Time, in its abftraft nature, is one fubjeft of meta- phyfic. Chronology treats of it in its parts, and their fompofifio'n into an* ititlfgral quantity, as a year/ lufaar, folar, fidereai \ the ntechahiftii df civil years, iti their ykrious ^rms and dim^nGbn& ; circulating' ahd fixed periods, national eras; &c. ' Ai.L incidents, as earthquakes ahd htirricaries ;- and fa6ls, as the rife and* fall of etnpires, improvement in ^i?s, revoliitiohs in governments, and ivliatever elfe nieriti a place in the records of time, happened soM£- l^HEJtE ; in fome ceitain- Ijpot of the terraqueous ^16be ;• in one of Vnt four regions into whicli it is di* yidetf; in ia paiticufat-'provTrii^bf city. Thi)s criterion derives the attribute 6F certainty from the identity and P^Mkdcfnc^ of relatl^ diftances ; as the circuthftince ^ tiiti^ depends On the uhiforhilty of its liaiUtcd itiea^ fures, and inftituted inpdes of computation, Chronolody (including the application of ^ftro* pdny) has been called the life and (bul of biftorji^ without f/0^ -Geneaxco-y wlthoQt.yriiicIi it is but aconfufed lump^ without forni% Geography afligns to the feveral parts pi biftory their fur^per pofition.; the tranfa£Uons either deriving io^- portance from the place, jor the place from the traafr afUoDS* fiiiU farther ; all incidents and faQs relatcf^ |]^rrGuns» whether individuals or commux^ip^ x^onfider^ cd as the agents or the pa£l;y^ jubJ£i6U« i [., Tpj^ pribcipal ckcumftances of hiftorical bBs are therefore three, correiponding to as many queries, witb their anfwers^ wh£N, where^ to whoMs or iy 'JVHO^ wc^e they don^ ? » •**-■•■ ■ ' ,. I. \Vhen was. the law promulgated? In the (ipv ginning of the 26th century from the creation. ip ;Wh£ii£^ Fiona. Moi^n^ Si^ai pr |ioreb is^ Arabia. . i . ^ 3. To WHOM ? To the 12 tribes of Ifrael^ plunder the miniftry of Aaron and Mofes. Notations of time, place, and perfonagcs, if not entered in records, are foon disfigured by report,, an4 muftat j^ft fink into utter oblivion. But on the rapjre important^ hiftory confers jjpimortality. CJommjJOitic^. like individuals, die, and the race becomes immortal by fucceffion. Generations pafs in a train t. THUf is acquired an aflditional rcfource in cpmpu- tatic|n, whence hiftofy 4^^ iypf congruity with invariablf • Stfllingflect, Orig, Sacratr, Bi i. «. . i t Ei^o tpfas quamyis angufti tenainus «vi * Excipiat, gf xMfi immortale ^lai^j^t. . '\. Vifg« Qeorgw iv..2«8. ^ . . / . nature, JuhJenAitit n OHia>rtoiSocY. t^j nafture, aiiif chrotiological At^hSmt: '* Sirlfiac Nevt^-a fob was the fitit bP the i»odtrns wrhp ajppliedittith; liifCA dds. this fimleBe term for difeoveries froni tht^ hetchfo^ g^neoiis fragments of pagatr my fiibldgy • It is now tdii ktetoregitt that he^'did not 'ex?miinerby Ais teft thd chronology asnd hifloty of therBSWe. The 'fiapl>y: tfei fulty had tlie experiment been tried; muft have beeld aHf acquifition'tQ facred hterature. A« mfhtnce or two of What might 'have betti done \*4ll fuffice.. ' '- . t . , • < ■ ♦ • l4 Example^' t. . . » According to the Hebrew text and our pubKef verGon,the fons of Jofeph wereManafTeh arid^Ephraim*'. In the Greek tranftation, Machir, a fon of ManafTeh^ and Gilead, a fon of .Machir; together with Sutalaam and Taarf), two fons of Ephraim, and- Edom, a fon of Sutalaam, are exprefled by their nanies in the reg^er of Jacob's family who accompanied him from Canaan. In an age when the chronology of that vague, licern tious verfioft is held in fuperior eilimatioti to the ori- ginal, the defence of the Hebrew genealogies niay peiC k^ps expefl: a cool reception/ Let the merits of thb tW6 authoritt^ be weighed in aii equal balance. * ^* Jofeph was 30 years old when he interpreted Pha- raoh's dreatos. His two fons were born before the years of famine icame +.*' This is a flifewd intimatioii tliattSey^i^Wyoting.' From the dungeon was Jofepii haftily brought in unto Pharaoh* Is it prt>bable-that ♦ Ccn.xlvi. a#. • • ' ^ t Gen. xlf. 46. ^o. •• ' ' a yoUng io6 ■ -^Gik kfii.oG^ v'^v- t yobhg fiianger and a ilsve, tommitted't^'pttTon uiidei a falfe charge of criminaKty, fliodd hzi/i niztriki cfai liigh ptJeft^s daughter; and thiu tohttzA miniiy yiitb Aat very family whofe honour, it iirajl mjvtHly {aul/iv^ bad attempfeed td ftain, l>efore his intxtldudiofi io Jh^ kingf Commoil fenfe i^monftraUii. joleph's a^ lii/ the &cond year of the famine, ti^hen Maiiatfeh touii tot be more than eight . years otd, or Ephraiin mpiit than feveily wa$. 39; But Jacob at the thi 6f tb¥j pf the beginning of the next year, brought thtir foni and grartdfons into Egypt ! Whfere could the tranflator^ 6nd the natnes ? Hot ill the I'v^ of Mofes, bm X)hi i iRuch more recent catalogijie *i r: r t «: BE^JAMiiN, itii wdH kno^Hi tvaii.ttx^J'piiuiigelljC^ fiUi:J«cob'$ family, and his agfe at the migritii^n Itcbtt £ai|iapn could liot exceed 24, (if it ^iere fb m««cb]b 5^ te of hb foris ah; faid^ in the HeWew ^x^ at^ Oredt Vitlg. to have been in Jacob's fetintie. The Al^xdiiv drine Gr. Pentateuch admits oidy tbree for foifSj B lihenttm^f?^. apd .tjjipktpg the. corfc/Sliqa proper and ^leqeff^jfr Vi&^J^ t??^ -^be gfanjlfcm ift^a.th? ^W- .,, .::. ,. ••• •-.-:-.. / , Qthrr ipifj;an(?e^,of wotd^, numbers, orientjjncqg^ left out, intRrpoIatc^, oir .change^, by accid^nt^ -or rty officious and unfkilfyl hands^ fr(:jm.thf,i|ip|jv9iior(eppigft- dation, it were eafy to produce* Thofe fele£lefi in thjqi enfoing chapters ^hXt fplely t^ the fubje£l of gepe-f. alogy, and are fuch as may be reconciled with thf courfe.of naturq^by rcflorij3g.nun^eriical,fignaturef gf ^ fimilar figure, for whicb thof^ aow ejctant iji thpjOrj;* gjnal texts, ftjena: to have been by Jxii^ake.fi^ftitule^;jj In notatiops of number, ,fh^ %f^ wntings ^{qo^;;' afC ngt regrehpn^blis. Whp could,, iraagir^ tbat;,,aj| tbp Roman hifto]:ians, m and after. t^ie ^gp of i)yj^if ftuf,^ iit^puj^j fi^ ^W^^ rcpipucMi add tvvjp fttll ypars ta^^ ihprt fpacp between tt^e birth ?pd d^sfcth pf Tjbcri^r ■ * , , . . . < • • ScQ ,x C^TQ^.yu*^*' apd f:h. viin |. • 5fte #lfp I^Hpi. xiiivi^ }8— 4X« and Will's N<^tc on Gen. xlyi. ax, AJ t}^c tl^|%f]| Ij^. mufter in the Wildernefs, the number of ]^enjj&inip's defbwd- ants might be 46^600, but he couid not have on^ sprandlToB at the defcent into Egyptt Nc^o^ .• v< Nero'f That fome of them did take notice of a com* partnierfhip in forereignty ; btft none made the rcquifite dedu£tion ? That all defined accurately (he laft current year of that prince's life, and all miftook that of hii^ nativity and deceafe i That they left on record the' means of afcertaining the true computation ? And that (he evangtflift Luke fiiould be the only \^riter of that age who charaflcrlfed, with chronological precifiony ^he i5th of that reign from its true commencement ? In exprefling ths degrees of kindred, the facred hif- torians,' conformably with the idiom of 'their language^ ufc confiderable latitude- Any dcfcendant was not improperly denominated of the firft defcent. Ezra, dfter at lead four intermediate generations, is dcfcribed Sis a fon of Seraiah ; and the infirm woman on whom Jefus performed a miraculous cure was, after an interval of thrice 14 generations, called a daughter of Abraham* • Sometimes even a fenior relation, by a political or figu^ rative fonfliip, is accounted the immediate (kfcendant o£ a junior predeceffbr in office, as in the cafe of Zede- liah, who is promifcuoufly called the father's brother,* the brother, and the fon of Jcconiah f. Among \bd Hebrews, fucceflion to the fame throne was equivalent to adoption. From the penufy of their language thtf Old Tellament writers could not, with fufficicnt mf* nutenefsj diftinguiQi by one appropriate term every ra-^ jnification in genealogy, ^- * . .. • . . . • , ■ . • •. * E^ra, vii. x. Luke, xiii. 16. ' f i idngt/xxiT. 17. t Chron. xxxvl, 9- and i Chron. iii. i6v Sof ,3 Jhiferokra to Ct^RONOLbGY. 26^ So copious however was the Roman totigue^ tliat every degree of confanguinity and alliance by marriage^ both in the tranfverfe ind direfi line^ might have been dircrimiriated by a proper aiid feparate word. Yet even thetr beft hiftorians are not exempt from inaccurate tio-^ tationt of relationfiiip.. One exathpls fiiall fuffice* The tW9 Tatquiks. ^^ TkADitiON andhifiory faid, that ^uperbus wa$ the fon of Prifcus ; — that Superbus fought on horfe- back at the battle of Regillus; that Collatinus, the huiband of Lucretisi, was the ibn of Egerius, nepheiy of the elder Tar^uin. No> fays DionyfiuSi none of thefe things can be tiiie ; for they are n6t conGIlenl with the Jong reigiis of the kings. He prodiicei "ocf authority ag^infi the fads \ nor does be know who was- the father of Superbus^ or the father of CoUatinus» But he reafons from the received chronology, and con* dudes, contrary to all hiQorical teftimohy, that Supers bus was Hot the fon but the grandfon of Prifcus ;— *tha< he did tfot fight cb horfeback at the above-^mentionec) battle ; and that CoUatiAus wKS not tfie fon^ but {td grandfofi of Egerius/' «< LiVYf on theothe^ hand^ thoiigh he durft not openly contr^jEl the ^ceived chronology, feems ta have been fully perfuaded that it tras not fo well vouched as many hiftorical fa£ls» with which it vM incompatible. He therefore adheres to the fa6b, and leaves it to fiich not^le criiks- at Dionyfius to re- P conciie 210. . Genealogy concile them with the chronology at welf * at they can *.'• Here now is a dignus vindice nodus ; a knotty point brought to the tribunal of crittcirm for decifion. Be it in general obferved, that Hooke groftly mifreprefents Livy, who with hi» ufual hefitation in matters of very remote antiquity, expreffes his uncertainty whether L. Tarquin were the fon or grandfon of Prifcus, with- out (ignifying either approbation or cenfure of the po- paTar chronology f : nor does this author combat the more dcciGve opinion of Dionyfius in the fpirit of impartial arbitration, but rather with the vtotence tod (kill of an expert gladiator. For his determination Dionyflus afligns Very appo^ (he reafons, which (eem to be founded on the report of authentic hiftory, then but not now extant; and bis ultimate inference is deduced with every criterion of confcious iincerity and truth. ' This AttalyGs has exceeded its ideal boundaries* Dionyfius points the whole of his artillery againft Fa- bius Pifior, whofe Roman Hiftory is long fince loft« The arguments of his opponent (Dionyfius) muft diere- fore be comprefled into the leaft prolix fomr of .abbre- . * Hooke's Rom. Hift. o^bivoy ]pref. p. ^i. tiere it noie- ference to the pa(Iages of the authors whofc tefljmpny it de- tailed. Confult Dion.* ItaiicamafT. book ivi "AIM. yoli'fl. r* 153* in S]pelman*s TranOation; and T«*Bivtu&, lib. i. Gap. 4f. ^. / • ^' . .. t^,-* . ; ^ -■•r**.* . \ Prifci Tarquinii regit Alius .j)cpolft[cfi4^t»mri|patli^iiet; plurlb\i5 t^men audoribut .fUitt|;a cdMeriin. locticit. ,. ,. viation. fuhfervient to CHRONOLOGY. 211 viation. The introduftory fentencc it is, however, proper to tranfcrlbe at large, «* I HAVE fufpended the narration of what follows that I^ttiay give the reafons which induced me to dif- agree with Fabius, and the reft of the fiiftorians, who affirm, that the infants Tarquinius (Prifcus) left were the fons and not the grandfons of that prince ; for ihofe writers have very inconfiderately and negligently pub- liftied this account, without examining any of the im- |>o(Iibilitles and abfurdities which deftroy its truth; every one of which I (hall endeavour to point out in a few worlls." This author*s work, no lefs valuable as a treafury of Roman antiquities than as a regular hiftory from Romulus xo the 312th Varronian year, may in this cafe be admitted to have the authority of a genuind re- cord. It teftifies that PrifcuX, with his wife and family, came to Rome, according to Gellius, in the firft, or ac<* cording to Licinnius in the eighth, of Ancus Marcius, whofe reigtr was 24 years ; — ^that his age, at the latter term, could not , be under 25, and all agree that he reigned 38. He muft by this reckoning have died at the age of 80 ; or hy the former, 88. Suppofe his wife to have been five years younger than himfelf, fhe was 75 or 83 at his death. Their three fons could not then be infants ; for fuppofe the youngeft born in the 50th of his mother's life, he was at the leail 25 at the death of his father, and the eldeft (Superbus) 27. He is /aid to have been in the vigour of lif6 when he flew Servhis Tullius, a^r a reign of 44 years ; and indeed it P 2 required 21^ Genealogy required vigour to drag the fovereign fFom his throne*, carry him in his arms out of the fenate^ and throw him down the flairs. Superbus reigned a; years, anc) ^74*444*^5^9^ : at which advanced age he was ex- pelled* But flill, as the report goes^ his a£livity was unabated ; for the fame year he prefided in the waf againft the Ardeates, and during tJ. yeaurs more con* dufied in perfon a long train of mililafy operationft- againft the new repubKc. Thus, according ta the hi£* terians, whofe authority this writer reje£lsy Superbus lived above no years. On the whole, Dionyfios agrees with Pifo Fnagi, in^ affirming that Superbos and bit brothers were not the fons, but the grandfona ef Frifcus. This conclufion divefts of credibility the opinion to which Livy inclines, but does not,, in pbift terms, aflert. In one refpe£k however die two acpoontt are confident : for if Collatinus were »iKphew,'SikT perbtts mig^t be a grandfon, of the firft Tarqium- Examtnaiion of Mr. H09W5 Hyp^hifo^ As a ihenuous advocate for Sir I. Newton*s cpinbn,. concerning the duration of the regal^ Aate in Rome^ he delivers that opimpn in detached parts, and in tfaeie« fpe£lable authoc'9 owa wordf% Sufpeding that Sir Ifaac's arguments were ooe fufficient Id n^ake a generiyi impulfeon the publict.and induce fuU eonvi£Uon, lie fuggeib a variety irf auxiliary proof»» . But if his va^ tbor'$ar|ang^ipe(it8;lh«lI ksi found eqt^iyocalr ^lufarjr^ or incongruous with his Own fuodameolal principle% they Jub/er^mt to CHRONOLOGY. SIJ they muft be fet afide, as indefenfible. Thefe principlts tore tbus coneifidy ftated. ^rTKE 14 kings of the Latines, at as years apiece one inrith another, amount unto 280 yean, and thefo years, counted from the taking of Troy, end in the 38th olympiad ^^ Thus are 432 years reduced to a8o : ^< and the feven reigns of the kings of Rome, four or five of them being flain, and one depoled, rn^ay, at a moderate reckonings amount to 15 or 16 years apieod one with another ; let them be reckoned at 17 apiece, and they will amount to abouf 119 years ; which being counted backwards from the Regifuge, end aifo in the 38th' olympiad : and by thefe two reckonings Rtmie was buiit in the 38th olympiad^ or thereabout^'' Hiflorians aflign to the feven kings a period of 244 years* The deduc* tion from this article is 125, from the other 152, and the fum total 2751. Painful it is to infinuate a difapprobation of the venerable Sir Jfaac Newton's poftulates and conclufions) much more to pronounce them e(juivocal and fallacious \ but it is un»70tdable. The 14 Icings of the Latins belong to the fiibulous timest prior to theera<>f a Gorte£l chronology, and of authentic biftory. The duration of theiv reigns, either fiepsralelyiM^€0lU^tvely,tsceftain is to exjtend the fabulous age fo far as to the fifth century nearly before the Chriftian era. This populate is not to be admitted. Few hiftories' of indubitable credibility indeed were then publifhed ; but the olympiad from its reftoration, in the 34th of Uz« ziah king of Judah» was an infallible term of compu- tation ; and fa£ls chara£lerifed with this era are not raflily to, be pronounced fictitious or fa^fe. This is not the proper place for ample difcuflion. The inquifitive and learned reader is referred to Dr. Mufgrave*s " Ex- amination of Sir Ifaac Newton^s Objedions to the Chronology of the Olympiads +.*^ The arrangements in " The Chronology of ancient Kingdoms ^amended," are not only equivocal and elu- tfive, but bconCftent with the aut^ior's own fundamental principles. Fpr inflancet •J " Carthage was deftroyed in the confulfliip of Len- tulus andMuraraius, A. P. J.. 45,68/' This was the Varronian year, of Rome 6o8. A term in coniputation «nce afiumedt for fixing the date of apy other biflorical' incident^ ou|;h^ not to be transferred to any other point 4tf tim^^ becaufe the fource of Te^konii^ig^ if ch4Dgedt ■ ' - ■ '•■ ■ • Ancient Chronology amended^ page 44. ^ Lend. 13JI2J x)davo. P 4 inifplaces 3f.6 GfNEALOCy fpiiplfcesJhe 4ate pf the incident refling gn ithat bafif. Sir Xiaac Newtoi^ afcribes to Carthage an exigence of 139. y^^Fi^ P"®^ f ^ ^^ foundation of Rwie« in. th^ (thi|r(I je^f 0/ the fixth olympiad. Qut if tb^ foijpdfrtion b^ troj^gbt Jow^r by 1,30 ycarst neither tb^. rife nor fall of ^/irthage is determined. This arbitrary Quftipg of terms is a fort of legerdemain in chronolqgy. .>»tTP bxii\g difCTcdit on the long reigqsJroip Riomulu^ tp the fepond Tarq^in^ Sir If^iac JNewtpfi riem^rks, ^Vli> the latter ages fince chronology hath be^Q ^xafl^ there. isXcarcely an example of ten kings reigning any vyher$; ip continual fucceflion^ above 260 years *.;' fl>at is, 26 ypars. the mean quantity. But Whifton, ^s qtioted by HapJLCi ii> his *' Confutation of Sir If^^ N^^vton's Chrpnology," obfcrves, that in £nglan4.we have bad :t^l^£ fucc^fljve reigns, at almoft 30 year§ apie^^fi!e<( Hcnrv I. to Edward III. . , TiV/tLV^ at almoll 28 ye^^s each, from WiUiaiq the. Conqueror to Richard 11. ; , ■> . . The French have had fix reigiv together, at almoll 40 years apiece, from Robert to .Philip IL .,. ' E;qht reigns, ^t above 35 yes^rs apiece^ from Robert to .Lewis I J^. Tbn reign^^alroofl 33 ye^jrs apiece, from Robert to, Mr. Hooke is (o very can^ J think it ..i^uiL be grantied, that, tl^ samples virhtch ^r. Whifton has produced of long reigns ill fucoef* fion, both in England and in France, would be fufiBcieot fo make it credible, that the &;ven kings of Rome 7 reigned fubfervient to CHRONOLOGY, ai7 reigned' as k>n|[ as they are reported to have dowc, if therei w^e na obj^6tion to this report, but its beiog UfiCdniiBloil tcV'Sndy in authentic and undtfputed hifiory»' fcven kiogs' reigning in fucceffion 35 years, one with jan6tlier*." ^Me produces, hmvever, four reafons of di(&nt| iec forth vrith a fair (hew of plaufibility ; but jtbey are nugatory, < When monarchy was exchanged for the confuiate, no great care was tirken to preferte ^he memorials of* ^ibitrary power. The palace and temple of Numa squired veneration ; but even the very name of the Tarquine family was tranfmitted with marks of infamy. i^uch ftronger was the defire of configning,tfce whole ^ace to obHvion, than of perpetrating their names in , " 4. f h^ order of lineal fuccefSon. Though the peopl#^ immedi^itely after ihe revolution, decreed thd Veftoratioii of Tarquin-s private eflates to his relations ; yet the fe- nate deftroyed bis palace, and diflributed his lands among the needy citizens, retatnilig for public life a fmall portion of a field only, adjoining tHrif^t'Cknipus ^Uartiusy w{iich the l^ing had, by ufurpation, added to bis^ private property. CoUatinus, that virtillbus and brave patriot, finding fufpicion andjealoufy siiitacbed Infeparably to his family and name, took the moderate expedient of retiring into private life, even befom the< expiration of the firft confuUhip. The records of the old kip^ iir Latium, and thofe allb of the fecond feriea. ffCQSfx Romiilas^ were loft in the conflagration of the i :. -* • Hooke's Prcf. p. a^ capitoly 3iA Genealogy capirol, fo early as the fecond century of rhc republic*' Hence the numerous complaints of imperfeA and pe* purtous materials in the Augufian agCi for confiruAing a FiiU and continuous hiftory of the early times. After an equal period of time from the diflbhiCioii of the iate monarchy in France^ fliould the rage for annihilating every reli6l of arbitrary goveromenC con* timte ; (hould accidents and violence make alike havoc of public archives ; — it may fairly be prefumed, (ix oenturies hence, that antiquaries and critics will divide int« parties concerning the genealogy of the French monarchs from 1610 to 1774. In this interval of 164 j-ears, from the murder of Henry IV. to the acceffion of Louis XVI. only three fovereigns occupied fuccef- (ively that tlironc, the mean proportion of as many reigns being 54 years eight months, Thofe numerous and bulky volumes, which now have for their fubje6l the ftory of a fingle reign, or of one kingdom^ will then (brink into little abftra£ls, with very concife hints of family defcents and dates. Serious controverfies may then be agitated, whether the uncommon length of thofe three reigns ought not, as incredible, to be re- duced, or the intermediate generations multiplied* ' This example feems direttly applicable to theprefent difquifition. Sir Ifaac Newton, in order to authen- ticate his fcheme of retrenching 125 years. from the regal government, prior to the republic, endeavpurs, by t like effort of ingenuity, to invalidate the chronoloigjr' of the firft 60 or 70 olympiads. If this arl-ahgement be adopted, it will be altogether impoffible to ponneft, ' by fulferuUnt to CHRONOLOGY. 119 by infalUble fynchronifms, the pro&ne hiflory with t}ie lacped» aad to< reconcile any one. national era o£ tb^ gent1le':wiw}M wltlijanother. ,.-.., The Julian period comprehends all other terms. \t%, computation, whether circulating or fixed. Tt^is, therefore, is the regulating meafure and ultimate teft to which not only the firft, hut all the fubfequent yearft.of the olympiads, of Rome, Nabonaflar, the Seleucidac, and thofe of the world, mud be adjufted. The number of the Julian period 3937, coinddeut with A. M. 3232, and the 34th of Uzziah king of Jth« dah, is not tht firft year of the firft olympiad, but the cxclufive fource of computation. That year was bit Textile, a chara6ier common to the lad or fourth of every olympiad, and confequently A. P.J. 39389 and A. M. 3233, was the firft of the firft olympiad. The btiildkig of Rome was begun in the third of the fixth olympiad A. P. J. 3960, A. M. 3255, the 5th of Jotham king of Judah, and the firft of Romulus, the year before the Varronian computation, firft Jan. A. P.J. 3961. In A. P, J. 3967, A. M. 3262, the 12th of Jo- tham, the 7th of Romulus, the 6th Varronian year, and the fecond year of the 8th olympiad, began the famous era of Nabonaflar, by which Ptolemy reckoned the years of the four Pagan empires. Thus, by a multiplicity of chronological charaders, is a firm bafis laid for computation in the defcending feries indefinitely. But remove the fource of the olym- piads almoft three centuries lower, and that of Rome "5 t2d Genealogy 12$ yttLTs^ the chain of chronology is broken» conne£l- ing numbers mifplacedy and hiftorical order involved in a labyrinth of perplexity and confufion inextricable* That 34th year of Uzziah was the 202d of the 390 from the apoftacy of the ten tribes, and 88th be« fore the conflagration of the temple, A. P.J. 4126, A. M. 3421,, £r. Nab. i6o. This conflagration was (he iirfl of the 46th olympiad, the year before the archonfhip of Philombrotut : the i66rb Varrooian yeaft and the 29th of Tarquinius Prifcus. But by two bold anachronifms in the ** Chronology of ancient King-* doms amended,'' is the connexion of the facred hiftory with that of Greece and Rome, deferred not onlyi without oeceiruy» hut contrary to authentic evir dence. Tp no purpofe does Mr. Hooke pretend that we have no better authority for the long reigns of the (even kings in Rome, than for the long reigns of the 14 kings of Alba, their predeceflbrs. The leverfe has been eftablifhed. The very exiilence of many in die latter clafs is doubtful ; whereas the exiilence of all the kings fubfcquent to Numitor, is much more fully con- firmed than that of many pairs of confuls uilder the republic. EqPALLy frivolous are the reafons urged forab* breviating the reigns of the fovereigns after Numiton The bift6ry of the longeft reigns, and of the moft adive priiices, rtiay be comprifed within Very narirow limitSt if the records of the times were deflroyed or little )ux>Wny except the names of niagiftrates and the du* ration Jubfervient to CHROHOtOOT* ^91 lation of their offices ; which, it is admitted, was the cafe in the early ages both of Greece and Rome. On the whole, this defender of Sir Ifaac Newtoxi is more fanguine than judicious. Ilis primaoj c^geji was t6 abridge the chronology of the regal ftate in Rome to an agreement with a retrenched and mutilated gene^ alogy. But the hlftorical evidence is much flrangeiv nay decifively certain in favour of an additional gene- ration between Prifcus and Superbus. Mr. Hooke argued fallacioufly. By fetting Livy and DionyCos. at variance, he artfully tried to fet afide the arrangeipieiit of both. But a minute examination of their teftimonjr invalidates the poftulates and conclu&om of Sir I£uic Newton. If theie remarks {hould be deemed rather difible^ fhey exemplify the (ubfervience of geneali^ to',|be truth of computation, and the orderiy form of hiftoiy* By inferting them here the fubjeQs of the enfubg ch^ ters, being in part anticipated^ will the mpsie Cdociicljf be difcuflfed. GHAF. 22a &EN EALOC^y CHAP. I. Second Series of XIV. Generations. IN the ages prior to David, the fpaces between de- fcents in families have been afcertained in the order of occurrence; their application to chronology and biftory having been neceflary only in certain emergent circumftances. Henceforth the chronologer, if he re- gulate his procedure with a due regard to generations, finds thorns in his way at every ftep. David, the lall of the firft feries from Abraham, w^s born, as already rK>ted| in the loth of Saul, fucceeded him at 30, apd after a reign of 40, died, leaving his thron&and ho^ nours to I. Solomon. In the hiftory of his life, the date of his birth is not defined ; neither the time of his acceflion, nor the years of his life. The duration of his reign over all Ifrael (40 years) is twice recorded* : and hence, per- haps, all the other notations may with tolerable certainty be inferred. In the progreflive feries this difcovery, as important, is defirable. Another biographical article, * I Kings, xi. 4». and % Chron» ix. 30. intimately from David /« Jesus Christ. aaj timately connedled with the hiftory of the times, has an immediate reference not only to his (ingle reign, but to the enfuing generations in the lineal defcents ;— the date of his defeftion from wifdom. — All thefe cir- curoftances are fo infeparably implicated with the fub- fequent reign, that a feparate difquifition^ would be the fource of many unavoidable repetitions; to prevent which it is requifite to confider two complex fubje6bi as one* a. Rehoboam, *< He was 41 years old at his acceflSon *.** This notation ill accords with every circumftarice by which Solomon's age is in general terms defcribed at the time of his father's dcceafe. At that cnfis which broO^Irt timidity and courage to the hour' and theatre of cori- fli6l, the young prince [Solomon] overpowered by an accumulation of new honour?, and arduous fervices, which required a vigorous mind improved bythe habiti of mature experience, he called himfelf ** a little child +•** This phrafe is admiffible as a becoming ex- predion of humility, not as a determinate chronological diara£ler. JosEPHUSj depending either on a conjeflure of his own, or on vague tradition, affirms that Solomon was then but a youth in age :j: ; and as he exprefles no number, it may be prefumed that he meant a term • I K?ng8,xiv. «t. % Chron. xii. 13, t I Kings, in. 7. % Ant. viii. 1. 1. under 224 G£N£ALO01f tinder fulncfs of ftaiure. Afterward he fays, that tbti prince died a very old man, having reigned 80 and lived 94 years *• Hence it is obviotss, that the great Jewifii hiftorian fuppofed that Solomon afcended the throne at the age of 14. But the canoaical recorfif allow but 40 yean for the length of bis ceign \ and if thb quantity be dedu£led from his term of life, he inuil bive died at the age of 54. Dedud 41 years for Re- boboam's age at his acceflion, the furplus 13, for the age of the father, is incompatible by deficiency with the ttfual term of procreation. In computation, a dou- ble genealogical paradox, relative to an individual,, mud be reprobated f • If Solomon lived 94 years, this pr^ trafied term is not clafled with phyfical iropoflibilitieii. but is incoofiftent with implicit charaQers in tbe biftoiy of Solomon. Upon his choice of mfibmi m the crown of human excellence and the beft gift of eQ^if tial goodnels, abfolute was the promife of ricb^ tn^ bonours^ together with the fulleft meafuies of humm wifdora ; not fo that of long life. To thia (fcondarjf bleffing was annexed the condition of continuance jii doing well. Solomon's degeneracy was ren^rk^ilc^ nearly refembling the fall of Lucifer ^ and it iy ictfceljf fufqpoiable that Heaven would reward his egregious db- fefibn with a length of days prolonged, to a period then un^fuaK For many reafons referved for dbeir * Ant. Tiii. 7. 7. t No example of a child bom before tl^e f 6th of a fiither*t life, has it been found proper to admit ia the Bible biftory, aad ia this cafe it may eafily be avoided. proper from David /^ Jesus CiIrist. 42C , ^ - jSfoper place, it is expedient to enlarge the number of A.'^/t^to^i his ycarsjfc jl)oth at the tinje of Rehoboam's birth, and. ^^^^ ^^'^j<- that of his ow n deatjp ^: /.y UsH^R allows i8 years for SoIomon*s age at hii k'^-^ . acceflion. This arrangement incurs no objedion from the foregoing hiftory. But the chronology of thS^ times adniits, nay the courfe of nature requires, that his iiativity be placed a little higher, to prevent, as much as * pofliblc, cmbarraffment and perplexity in the fequel of the genealogical feries. This date depends entirely on the time when Uriafi fell by the fword of the Ammonites, then at war with the armies of Ifrael ; and the rife of that war may, with biftorical confiftenq', be fuppofed two years earlier than the date afligned in the Annals^ By this adjiittment of events and numbers, Solomon was born in the aoth of David's reign, and the 50ih of his lifck The fon confcquently began to reign in the 2ioth of his dwn age. But here a train of per- pfexities fets computation at defiance. He died in the 6oth of his life. Hence dedu£l the 4.1 years of Reho- boam, the refidue denotes the 19th pf Solomon. From the courfis of nature no incredible or abfurd conle- quence enfu«fs. But the hiftory both of the father and the fon 'remonftriaites. With the two original fextt fpecifying the age of the fon, almofi every ancient veir- fioQ agrees, and the few variations afford no probable, folution. Though the notations of nuoiber are uni- form^ confent is uniformity in error. Many and forci- ble reafons induce the belief, that the original notes of (^ number 226 Gen ialogy number have accidentally been enlarged. Of thefi» reafons fome affcd the charafter of Solomon. Rehoboatns Mother was an Ammonitefs. "An Ammonite and a Moabite fliall not enter into the congregation of the Lord ; even unto their loth generation ihall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever." The reafon is affigned : " Becaole they met you not v^rith bread and with water in the way ; — and becaufe they had hired againft thee B** laam the fon of Beor to curfe thee *.'* . This law was an abfolute prohibition without ex- ception of perfons, or limitation of time. The tenib generaiion^ and^c^r every are interchangeable term89 as it evident from the dilFolution of fuch marriages in the days of Kelicmiah, more than looo years, that iSf 30 generations after the paflage over Jordan. This prince is on that occalion pamed, not without a peculiar mark of infamy. " Did not Solomon king of ICrael fin. by tliefe things ? even him did outlandilh women caufe t)0 fin +." R EH o BO AM, if his age be accurately defined, was one year old at the death of David, who certainly would not have approved this grofs violation of a divine &9n tate, fo peremptorily forbidden. In his laft charge to Solomon, the charatlcr is fet forth as pure without a ftain. He is exhorted not to reform, but to perfevcrc. But this one deviation from re£litude, had it heeQ * Deut. xxiii, 3. 4. t Neb. xiii.»6. knflwn. j^om Da;Vid to Jesus Christ. %2^ known^ muft have Incurred reprehenfion, or at leaft been marked) as an exception to that excellent cbara6ier» which i» expiiefled without abatement, ^' Thou art a wife main *." : Presumed it may be that thi^ illicit connexion was concealed from the aged fovereign. But that it was a connexion of a fubfequent date, may reafonably be in- ferred from the unreferved approbation of the divine Being intimated to the, young prince, firft at Gibeon^ and repcaried ^after the dedication of the templet. The refult of thefe pbfervations is, that Rehoboam was not born in the lifetime of David, neither before the dedi* cation of the teYnple ; and fo was not 41 years old at the demife of Solomon* This pofition derives credi- bility from circumftances recorded in his own hiftory, *• Rehoboam having, rejefted the falutary advice of the old men^ who flood before his father while he yet lived, confulted with the young men, who were grown up with him, and Aood before him ; and faid unto them. What advice give ye? And the young men fpake unto him, &c. \ *' Both the requifition and the anfwer fa- voured more of juvenile precipitation than of mature experience. All feem to have been under age, without either the underftanding of men, or the limpHcity of children. In that age of time men were not denomi- nated youngs at or after 40. AgaiH, Abijah his fon, as foon as feated on the throne^ thus expoilulated with Jeroboam king of Ifrzfel, • I Kings, lii. 9. \ \ Kings, iii. 5. and ix. i. t I Kings, xU. 6— 10, Q^ 2 and a2S GENtALOCY tnd hii fatSiofi. << Vain mcn^ the children of Bcbl ftrengthened themfelves againft Rehoboam, when li^ being young and tender-hearted, coold not witUfauil them **** If this apology infinuated inexpeffieiice of t defed of intelledual vigour, it was improper, and fcarcely confiilent with decomm and filial regarit if literally to be underftood of pranature age^ tlit cenfure was appofite and pointed* This Botatioa it more decifive than the other, and both, fuperadded to the former remarks, induce the opinion, that Reboi* boam's age was not 41 at tlie death of his father. Titm of SohmoiCs DeftSion. Mis connexion with (Irange women, andthebirtk of a fon by an Ammonitefs before the expiration of hli 19th year, are, if admitted, incontrovertible proofii df early depravity. But this prefumption vaniflies^ whoft it is confidered that the divine approbation, fubieqoetit to the dream and vifion at Gibeon, jufliBes the iiifak ence, that his heart was then pure from every habit of Mccntioufnefs, and from the pride of life. *• Fiowapi thoughts fcparate from God ; for into a* maKcions IM WISDOM (hall not enter, neither dwell in a body 'On* flaved unto fin. The holy fpirit of difcipline wffl fl^ from deceit, and remove from thoughts without tlndiSl^ Handing t.'* A fudden tranfition from the vigour of good principles and habits, efpecially if they be the ac- quifition of early life, to the loweft fink of • a Chron. jiii, 6. ;• t WifJom of Solomon^ i. 3^5. it from Davijo h Jesus Christ. 209 i^ fearcf ly conceivable. This fublime model of human e^elleoces like many inferior charaQers, degenerated^ by, i)p# imperceptible degrees^ into foHy and vice : and this iiQporal familiarity with the Ammonitefs mighi <)vive bfl^ ttie v«ry firft fiep towards apoftacy. At whatev^Ume he aaived at the lad flage of bis fatal career in wickednefs, the birth of Rehoboam cannot be fiip{>^fed prior to thq dedication of the temple. Nci* tber can its date be brought much lower. If Jie were 31 years old at his acceflioiit bis nativity will coincide with the 9th of his father^s reign, the very year of the dedication ; but this arrangement is at variance with the gracious commuDiications and pr6mifes vouchfafed, when the I^prd appeared to him the fecond time, a3 at Cihfioa formerly *• On that occafion motives to fia* bttity were o^forced, without the leaft reference to paft i|iifcondu&. It muH however be granted, that no time much later can, confidently with the fubfequent furies of genealogy, be affigned for Rehoboam's birth. If it be brought forward to the O+th of the father's reign, when he had finiihed the temple and his own palace ; the fon muft have fucceeded to the crown in Imi i6tb year, which early age feems to accord with tbofe accounts, already quoted, of his youth and tender- iie& of heart. But the arguments on the oppofite fide preponderate. . I. Rehoboam muft have died in his 33d year: — H coiidufion incongruous with the few years and nu- ^ • 1 Kings, ix. a— ^. • . . QL 3 inerous 230 Genealogy merous family of his fon Abijah. Afa too mull have been born in the infancy of Abijah, and JehoQiaphat in the infancy of Afa ; in like manner Jehoram in the infancy of JchoCiaphat, and Ahaziah in the infancy of Jehoram. Thefc natural reafons are infurmountable^ while thofe of the moral kind fubfift in their invariable nature and full force ; for 2. The 24th of Solomon was that very year in which he had finifhed the Lord's houfe and his own houfe. The fame was the date of the fecond appearance, like unto the firfl at Gibeon. In both, the teftimony of the divine acceptance was abfolute ; in both tiie {lability of the kingdom was the condition of flability in obedience. No admonitions to reformation are implied, becatife no inftanccs of paft provocation are exprefled. Yet cer- tainly Solomon's connexion w!th the Amroonitefs^ (whether by wedlock or by concubinage, it matters not^ for both were ftriflly forbidden), was of a prior date. Here is a horned argument, which puflies both ways^ and both ways with equal force. Except the idea above fuggefted, of a gradually flow progrcfs in degeneracy, no other expedient for eluding the zvbole rcJuU of the objeftion occurs. As apoftacy, no lefs than advances to perfeftion, has its imperceptible iJages, fo the di^^nftion between immoral aOs in an individual, and thofc which affeft the func- tions ot a public charafter, feems not improper. David, in his private capacity, derived an indelible ilain from* his conduft towards a private family. This is the fole exception to the glorious char?tfler given after his death ; from David /(? Jesus Christ. 231 death : " He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not afide from any thing which the Lord commanded him all the days of his life, fave only in the matter of Uriah *." One honourable in- gredient in his negal department is, an invariable at- tachment to purity of worfliip, and uniform oppofition to all idolatrous rites. In this view David was always fet forth as the pattern of Solomon's imitation. " If thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep ray ftatutes and commandments, as thy father David did walk, &c. +'* In the event of provocations in private conduft, per- fonar<:haftifements were denounced; but (hould the fovercign, or his children, turn afide and ferve other gods, the kingdom was to be divided, and Ifrael to be cut. oflF out of the land. Admit that Solomon had begun his fatal intercourfe with ftrange women about the time the temple was finilhed, or even a little before, yet was he on the verge of fenility before his many wives turned away his heart after other gods \ : and his reign had nearly expired before the prophet was fent to announce the divifion of the kingdom, after his deceafe §. This meffage, with a brief account of his feeking to kill Jeroboam, con- cludes the hiflory of Solomon's life and reign. In fome intermediate period mult Rehoboam have been born, neither fo early as the exit of David, nor long after the dedication of the temple ; for at his ac- ♦ X Kings, XV. 5. f I Kings, iii. 14. and ix, 4—10. + f Kings, xii. 4, § i Kings, xi. 31. 40. Q^ 4 cefllon, 53* Genealogy ceffion, fuch a number of years muft be allowed as may be fufficient to regulate the enfuing genealogies by the coorfe of nature. For this end 27 years are fully adequate. On the higheil probability, therefore, may the nativity of Rehoboam be put in connexion with the 33d year of his father's life, the 13th of his reign, the iQth from the foundation of the temple, and the yeiy yeaf after it was dedicated *» Every judicious reader, who accurately compare! all circumfiances recorded in the facred hiftory con- cerning this very mixed charader, will be convinced^ that the obfervatious bpth of Whifion ai^ his author« are incapable of a full confirmation. For, i. Eikch proceeds on the romantic hypothefis that Solomoa reigned 80, and lived ^4 years. 2. That Hadad begaq * This is a proper place for infcrting a ftrangc revcne of Whifton in two notes on Jofephus. ♦« Since th« beginning of Solomon's evil and wicked life, and adverfity, was at the time when Hadad, or Ader, who was born at Icaft ao or 30 years before Solomon came to the crown, in the days of Pavid, be- gan to give him difturbancc j this implies that Solomop't evil iiie began early and continued very long, which tll^ multhnde of hi^ wives and concubines does plainly imply airo>: I fuppoljp when he was not 50 years of age.— The youth of Jeroboam. when Solomon built the walls of Jerufalem, |iot very long after lie had finiftied his ao years in bnilding the temple^and his owij palace, or not very long after the a4th of his reigln, and his youth (lill here meniioned^ when Solomon's wickedoefs was become intolerable, fully confirm. my former objervation, that fjich his wickcdnefs began early, and continued very long."«*v* Wjiifton's Jofephus, Ant, viii. 7. 6—8. W fr^nt David to Jesus Christ. t>33 to give faim diftufbance immediately after the death of David ; mrhereas that diflurbance is exprefsjy referred to Solomon's old age* 3* Jeroboam is charaflerifed as % young man in a very late period of Solomon^s reign« 4. Long, after Solomon's two great buildings^ in the 94th year from the death of David, he (hone in the full pofleilion of wifdom* f^ty, patriotifm, and renown* In a former fbeet of this Analyfis, p. 68, 9re the aib* thorities coUeded. 5. Neither Jofephus, nor his tran« flator, dillinguiih as they ought, and as the facred hif-' loriMi had very properly done before them, between the idolatry and other immoralities of this prince* 6. Highly probable it is, that the meflage denounced by the prophet, concerning the partition of the kingdom, was the firfl proyidential circumftance which led Solo* mon to repentance. 7. That he became a genuine penitent is naturally inferred from his experimental '' rdlexions on the vanity and vexation arifing from fen- fuality and the pride of life :*--reflexions which would Dot (o readily occur to 9 mind, inebriated with the high-faOiioned elegancies of corporeal pleafure; neither GOttld h^ without excefs in their ufe, defcribe them with fudi psunful compunQion ; much lefs refolve the chief good of man into obedience and the fear of God, Thefe are not the fentiments of a voluptuary purfuing Ih^ wild career of vicious indulgence. 8. Though 40 years be taken from his reign, yet ftrong are the probabilities that he did not become licentious in the fxtren^e, til) after he was 50 jears old. He died in the beginning d 234 GZKEALOCT beginning of his 6oth year, fome time after Jeroboamf removed into l^gypt, whence his reformation has been dated. The general inference is, that bis defe£lion was neither early, nor of long continuance. Thus is refiified an egregious millake of namerica) fignatnres, not by fimilar iiguies of different value, not by parallel texts, not by various readings in original copies, ancient verfions, quotations, rafh conje6lures, &c. but by evidence much more decifive, the harmony of hiftorical circum(lances» and the uniform procefs of mture. Rchoboam, at the age of 27, might properly be faid to have been not only the companion of younj^ men, but young and tender-hearted. Harmet^s Criticijm. This very ingenious author maintains the common opinion, and hence derives inferences deftrudive of his own fcheme. " It appears from the age of Rehoboam, that Solomon was married before his coming to the crown ; whereas this affinity with Pharaoh*s daughter was made fome time after ; and from this fong [fHB canticles] it appears, that he not only was'manried, but had feveral wives of the higheft rank, as well ag inany wIk) were called concubines, at the time of thofo nuptials which this fong celebrates, ch. vi. 8. *' Th e firft wife of every eailern prince is, and veas wont to be confldered, as the principal, and whatever addition was made to the number of their wives who )2ad dowry, they ufually prcfervcd their prerogatives 2 yet from David to Jesus Christ. 235 y^t it might not be impoflible to remove fuch a one from her dignity */' Facility of conjeflure may be attained with little trouble, and employed to little purpofe. It is here aflumed that Solomon was married, and his fuccelfor born, before he came to the crown. No attempt is tried to afcertain the age of the young monarch. Whe- ther it were i4> i8> 20, or more or lefs, than any of thefe numbers, the author regards not. It is enough to affirm, that Solomon was married, and had a fon, before his affinity with the princefs-royal of Egypt, All this is^ furmife, not evidence. It is nowhere faid, that Maacah, the • A^^^^^^^^^y '^^^ married to Solomon; If (he were, the conneftion was, by the laws of the kingdom, null and void. As (he was an alien, incapable of rank and preeminence, (as a matron or queen in Ifrael), by a particular aft of exclu{ion,'all her prero- gatives could have no exidence biit' in the fertile fancy of a poetical antiquary. By the fame licence of fiftioji too, Rehoboam was born before his father was invefled with royalty. This pofition feems to reft on the au- thority of two texts, which, brought to the teft of found criticifm, are found to exprefs erroneous numbers.' The princefs of Egypt was it feems not the firft ot principal wife of Solomon ; but though (he was not, the other, to whom thefe prerogatives belonged, might poffibly be removed from her dignity. It is not af- * Outlines of a Commentary on Solomon's Song, dniwn by Jfte aid of Inltrudions from the Eaft, p. 5 a, 5^. fertedy 2^6 Genealogy iereed, that Maacah, Kke VaQiti, was difEntfled widb tb« formalities of a divorce. For the ingenious autbqir proceeds: «M AM fuppofing that (be [the firft and principal queen of Solomon] was an Ifracliiefs,*' p. 65. Neither is it affirmed^ that this Ifraelitefs was degraded to n&abe uay for Pharoah*s daughter. No fuch thing. Mf« Harmer rather thinks ^ that a prince, fo remarkaUe fbs finding expedients> might reconcile jarring interefts by an equal divifion of honours.''««*Here again is a fabley but not cunningly devifed. The^ extfience of this I£» faelitefs, and her adual efpoulals, alfo her prioiity of time^ and preeminence in rank> ought to have been afcertaioed. If the prince had the peciUiar addiefs to balance with dexterity the etiquette of court honoun» bis fkill feems to have fbrfaken him in this in(Uncc% Jor from the furface of the poem it is obviousi that jealoufy and envy are the prominent qualities of the female interlocutors. Equality of honours was inconi^. patible with the fupremacy of qne. Even the cajtair ^q>he does not reconcile ^izrm; intmfiu The plan or conftruQion of the poem plainly ii|(ii» matesy that Solpmon, by marrying a foreign prisceft. of Ham's fwarthy family, bad given offence to the vir« gin daughters of Zion. She, apprehenfive of clifcoiu ragement from this circumflance, makes fuch af^fitiK apologies, as might prevent unfavourable impreffioos. ^* I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerufalem^ Look not upon me becaufe I am black, becaufe the fun hatb looked upon mc.'* Complexion is thus properly refolvcd fe(blv«d voin^ the iafluefioe of cUtiutc. Tbjit d«rkne& of hue was no exception to Solomon's choicey wbofe generous love overlooked the exterior diftinfiions o( colour and form. This ftrangcr-queen cixprefles every where conjugal afife&ion in its purcft ardotirsi and cooi^ |>laoency in its fublin^ft tran/jports. The daughters of JeruGilenit though moved with jealoufy and envy, pF&» ferye the decorum fuitable Ui connubiat fokfmnitiest ye( obliquely infinuate hiats difrefpeAful to the priace: ^ What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou faireft among wonoen \ What is thy beloved mof^ than another beloved, that thou doft fo charge \x%V* Th J fundamentsd idea of the poem ieems to be^ thir contempt and enmity of xhe Jews towards the Genttle% when the latter were received into an equal participatiofi of privileges with the former. Long before the days of Solomon had this event been foretold in the oracles of prophecy \ ^ I will move them to jealoufy with tho& who are not a people ; I wilt provoke them to anger with a fooiifii nation *.** This predifi:ion is fully veri* fied in the four gofpels, and in the ads of the apollles* The jealoufy and anger of the Jews impelled them to all the wild extremes of perfecution ; for they confix dered Chrift^ his apoftles, and the difciples of both, as blafpbemers againft Mofes, againit the temple, and «gainft God ; and all, as many of their own nation as had become profelytes to the ChrilHan faith, they pro* noimeed apoilates* Such feems to be primary fenti- * Peut« xxxii. %t. ment^ 938 Genealogy ment, and ultimate truth, adumbrated in this beautiful allegory. To the eftablifliment of this conclufion it is not ne- ceffary with Mr. Harmer to fuppofe, that^Solomon had efpoufed an irraelitefs before Pharaoh's daughter, a con- jeflure which hiftory does not authorife. The ufage of polygamy is foreign to the plan of the poem. Its general fubjeft is not properly Solomon and Chrift in their diftin^t perfonalities ; but the exifience of the Jewifti church when ihe princefs of Egypt became their queen, and alfo when Chrift came to extend mercy to mankind at large. The particular fubjeft is the refent- ment of the Jews on both thcfe occafions ; the one being an image of the other *. • " I would advife, that this produdUon be treated accord^ ing to the eftabliflied rules in this kind of allegory, fully and cxprcfsly delivered in the facred writings, and that the author be permitted to be his own interpreter. In this refpcdt the errors of critics and divines have been as numerous as they fcave been pernicious. Not to mention other abfurdities, they have taken the allegory, not as denoting the univerlkl ftatc of the church, but the fpiritual ftate of individuals, than which nothing can be more inconfiftent with the very nature and ground-work of the allegory itfclf, as well as with the general pradice of the Hebrew poets on thefe occafions." Biihqp Lowth's Lcfturea on S, Poetry, vol. ii. p. 331, CHAP. from David to j£sus Christ. 239 " I - ■ I ' C H A P. 11. Second Series of XIV. Generations continuedr 3. ^Abtjah. XJ IS age, when he aflumed the crown' and fceptre in Judah, is not defined. It is therefore to be po- ftulated according to phyfical probability. His father died at the age of 44, as above ftated. The only remaining circumftances on which computation muft proceed are, that he reigned three years, and died th« father of 22 fons and 16 daughters *. For this reafon the earUeft period of Rehoboam's life, confident with the age of procreation, is to be admitted as the probable date of the fon's birth. In a few inftances, it has been neceffary to allow but 16 years for the interval of fa- mily defcencs, and this is one of the number. Thu$ Abijah's age at his acceflTion was 28, and at his deaths 31. The only forefeen objeftion to computation is the number of his children at fo early a term of life. 1$ is however obviated by a very feafonable remark of the • a Chron, xiii. %f. facred , d4o GemealogV racied hiftorian. His 38 fons and daughters «t^e hy 14 mothers. 4. J/a. Neither is his age, at the time of his inveftiture vrlth royalty, expreflibd. The former rule muft agaia be applied. At his father's deceale he feems to have been a minor ; for it is recorded, ^* that he removed Maacab his mother from being queen, becaufe (he had made an idol in a grove *." From the.circumflance of, bef making an idol in a grove, Selden .conje£lure.s that fhe was a prieftefs of Aflieroth, the* Ailarte of the. Phenicians, who had a magnificent temple at Hieiapolis in Syria, the fame with'the Grecian Venus. That (he might no longer jpatronife idolatry ^iirjt|dibi Ala, as foon as he came of age^ diveiUd her of tht'NgOft^r* after (he had held that dignity three years. By this com- putation he was born in the i8th of bis: f ather - • lifcf fuccecded him^'as- a mfnor when 13 yetrt-old^ and tt the legal age of i^ commenced his perfbhal reign* Jolbphus {ays, that this prince, by GodVbleflif]^ pb-^ ^ A-Chrott. XV. 1 5. Concerning her name and mtunl rela* tlon to ASa, difFereat accounts are given. Maacah is the aame of *Ab:jah's mother, t Kings, xv. %, where ihe is likewiie tdi to have been a daughter of Abinialom. Jofeplmt agrees in both thefe defignations, and adds, that ihe was a gmd* daughter of Abfalom by Tam.'ir. She vaaa& tbere£are ibe grand- daughter of Abfalom, and grandmother of Afii. Ajcoordios to the Hebrew phraieology, even remote deicendants are verf vfually called foas and daughters. See Dr. Wall oil the text laft <4|aoted|l and Jofephus, Aot. viii. jo. it tained from Davio /« j£9U4 CHRIST. 241 tained a longMdfaap^ life^ ai the tt^mA^ his piety and 'righteourpefs*.' The Bible extols lus VEomf wbA- eminent virttres ; but fays nptbing of his long life. From the account above given of Abijah*s fliort life and i^gn» it is certain that Afa^s age dotdd not exceed 54* * Jo&phus, when not direfied by noCitiobs of time in the fiicred Annalsyufoally amplifies numbers i". 5. yeho/haphat. At the age 6f 35 he began his reign of 45 years^ and confequcntly was born in the Z9cfa of Us father A&'slife|. , 6. Jehoranu S^ H£ wa$.32 yaan old when he begaft fo reign, atii r^gned eight years in Jerisfalem $/* By this notatios * JVnt«Tiit. 11.6^ f This author agrees in every Tsnatioti coneeridng Msacahc With refpedt tb the fpedfications already mentioned--48 the ^fe of Rehobesun, this mother of Abijah and A£i» the daogh* ter of AbCalool. In Jpfepliu8,Ant« viii. xx« 4. Micaiah Is the name of Afa's mother : and in % Chr<^]uii. t. Ab^ah's mother ij^ iTo expreifedt with this addition^ << that (he was a daught^ of Uriel 6f Gibeah.'' Thcfe rariatidns inler no uncertainty. 'Ate^diffi^reMie of the name does not ifeceflar9y tntf^ly a diver-* fity df pdrfonsk Much ^r^t^r VariatSons in orthdgimphy are cpofiAent wijth the uiage of ^iveffe dialeds. . Uriel was mbft ^prpbably the huiband of Abialom's daughter (Tamar), who£b dajaghter' Maaoah, or Mtcaiah, was the mother of Abijah, and the graddmother of Ala^ in whole minority (he was quedi regenty and depofisd when he came of age. X % Chron. xxx, 31. § a Chron. xxi. 5. ^y R hi* 141 G E K 1 A LOi^ t . bis age at death did not exceed 40. Hence reTuK (e^i veral difficulties in computation, not to be obyiatt^ other wife, than by taking the chronological chan^r*- of thb reiga, in connection with thofe of tbt enfuing*- : ^ J EH OR AM had fevenJ Tons (their number not fpe- cified) ; and a band of Arabians, Ethiopians, and Phin li&ines, came up againft Judab, and cairied .away all! the fubflance found in the king's houfe, and his fons alfo, and his wives, fo that never a fon vras left hinif f?ve Jehoahaz, [Ahaziah], the youogeft of hit fbnsrV- him the inhabitants of Jerufalem made king in ins (fa-. ther*s) ilead; for the band of men, that came up witb the Arabians to the camp, had flain all the reft. Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he begui to itign. He retgned eight years in Jerufalem, and Ms tiiother*s name, was Atfaalia, the daughter {of Ahab' mi grand-daughter] of Omri *.'* The notation for Aha- siah's age, 42, is happily corre^ed into 22 f. ..Dr. Wall in his note on the place, not without. ifiaGMai, pronounces this larger number one of the moft palpabto miflakes^ .and wrong readings in the Hebrew text of ehis book (2 Chronicles). " Few,** he fayl, «• of thfe hti are corre6led in the Greek verfion, but cbia i$^1 Kennicott aiEgns the moft probable ioorce of tho wi£^ take. For ^q 429 33 22,. had inadverteht]]? bam fubftituted* Thia fets the matter right atohce* ;' -TtSt true number he c^ferves is read'ftniverfany.in^ the iranflations, as well as in the origlnaL.of Kingst; Jn tb: ■'■• ■ M * % Chron. ixi. 6. a«|i ch. xxiu 3. f 1 Kiogs, viiL z6^ Syriac frciu David /» Jistrs Christ. ijj.3 Syriac land Ar^c vbrGons of the Chronicles^ alid id the valuable printed edition of the Septuagint by Aldus^ ill 1 5 1 8; He might have added thfe eiTcelletit imprtdfion at Frankfurt, fol. 1697. That fingular criterion, which gives a fon the rank of fqniority to a father ; — a feniority of two years, and f^cbi-ded in an ancletit hiftory J — has every reafon to be confidered as a writ of error, and the title tbenc6 accruing as a counterfeit. The fcribes, from ignorance; tnake a falfe report. The hiftorian*s notations accord with nature. For ^ father, dying at 40, might leave i fon 22 years old. This youngeft fon, however, had elder brothers ; ^j to the Convidibn of all impartial judges^ it may be certified that the agfe of Jehorani was 32^ when he began his joint reign, and 36 at his father's death. His age was cbnfequently 44^ Ahaziati being borii in his 27jA year, and his elder ibns, by feveral . mothers, between i the 16th and aad. As in genealogy the ArchbiQiop's knowledge is fuperficial^ fo his decifions are incongruous often with his premifes* " Yet eveifi hcT faw the propriety of admitting; that the -jod of Jeho- ram's age ought to be reckoned from bis advsuicenient to the throne in his father's life-time. * This Ahaziaht having x^gned one. year together with his fiither, which as complete makes' the 8th and laft of his adminillratioa ; ahd one full year more after his deceafej was, in the 24th of his .own life^ cut off by . thefword of Jehu. As th6 feventh in fucceffion from : David exclnfively, be ought, on the authority of the royal calendar in judah, to be included in this leries. R a iun 144 Cekealoct But he ii omitted in the lift of Chrift's anceflors hf the evangelift Matthew ; and as not now extant in this dhrifioin, ht in here in like manner left out, though, for leafons to be mentioned, it may be requifite to teplace him with others ; both to (ill np the triple fertest and to reconcile the Old and New Teftament regifiers. His mother Athalia, having flain all the feed roytfl, in Judah, except the infant Joafh, invaded the throlic^ and felU after an ufurpation of fix years, a vi&itn to the refentments of the princes and people of the iand^ and to the juftice of an avenging Providence. \ -. ' • 7. yfhcajhy oxjoajh. On the exprefs authority of dotations int^hc facned records, has his claim to the throne been ovinced^^ -Were his liiieage, as an imthediate ion of Ahaziahi lefstM^ tain, the d^fcetit of Jdfus Chrift frotn David would te more doubtf lib But the dired evidences of this bd, produced in the foregoing pages, (hew, that idle eanjrc- tures and chimerida} notions merit no regard; This infaht, (fetbued from his unnatural grandmother by the humanity (tf his ^ Other's fifter Jeholbeba, the vrib. of Jehoiadah the high prieft, who, in virtue of his office, prefided with fupreme authority ovec the tempie^ vAere the young prince with his nurfe had been GOt)cealai:fix years}^ wks thence condii&ed to the throiie, at dieiage of feven full years. He reigned 40, and confecplenlly died at the age of 47. Ufher, tnifled by hii erroneoas tdrabination of original tiumbers^ mutilates thii'reign by reducing it to 39. 8. AfM%iah. frmn David to Jesus Christ. 045 '8. Amaziah. At the age oC 25 he began bis reiga of 29 yearst and died at the age of 54 *• 9. Arasuah^ Azariah\^ or Uzziah, *< All the people of the land took Azariah^ who was 16 years old, and made him king in the fiead of Amaziah his father V The parallel texts ,agreeiiig^ like two living witnefles, in the article of time, fuper- fede farther evidence* Yet notations appaitptly dif- cordant create he&tation, whether Aeariah were 16 years old at the deceafe of his father, or at foroe fubfe- quent period ^ That text which conae3s the firft of Uzziah's reign with the i6fh of his [i^ refers both to the 27th of Jeroboam 11^ king of Ifrael. This middle term in reckoning is appofite and decifivie. << In the '38th year -of Aeariah king of Jud^ did ^achartah the fon of Jeroboam reign in Samaria fix months p Thefe fix months ended in the 39th of the fame reign. A* M. 3237* Hence fubt^d 39, the remainder 3198 denotes the laft year of Amaeiah, and the 14th of Jeroboam. But the 27th of JeroiK>ani wac the i6th of Araziah. His government therefore bad a "double commencement ^ — a minority of X2 years begun ifa the r5th of Jeroboam ;— and a perfonal reiga in the • dChron. XXV. i. f % KingSyxiv. %u and t Chron. xxvi. |««j. I % Kiogsy XV. S. ^ R3 27th 346 Genealogy 27th of the fame reign. The 38th, 39tb, 50th, andj 5 2d, are all computed from the death of Amaziah, as if no miqority k^d taken place. In the fame manner i c( years of anarchy in Samaria, from the death of Jero*:- boam II. to the death of Zacharjab, are in like manner omitted. By two notations however are they retained, or rather reftored ; — Amaziah lived 1 5 years after the death of Joafli king of Ifrael f ; and Uzziah was i6yeiar> pld when he began his perfo^ial adminiftration 10. yotham. One rule for computing the lives and reign9 of kings has been premifed, ^hd oftld t. But as his father's life axxl reign did not exceed 36 :{:, the fon was bom wbenthe father's age was but li« Whifton pro- nounces this notation one of the greatefl difficulties in all the Bible. On the authority of Treraellius, Uiher has recourfe ^o a retrograde computation, (bis iifual ex« pedient for (olving etnergent perplexkies), by fiippofiag die iacred hiilorian meant, that Ahaz was 20 years old^ not when^he himfeif, but when his father Jotham began to reign. If fo, Ahaz was born in the 5 th year of Jotham*s age; or by the corredHion above propofed, in 4he nth. Both thefe critics are extremely unfortunate. * % Kings, xvi. s. and % Cbroo. xxviii. i. t a Cbrw* xxix. s» t * Chtqn. n^xv^ii. i. 1^4 They jt+B Gekealogy. Tbey folve one contradi£lion, by recommeiiding to thw reide]> the belief of an equal, or greater abfurdity* |Cennicott» in all his three voiuminous dtflertations» overlooks this cliiQier of incongruous numbers. Wall* in his note on 2 Chron. xxviii. i. remarks, that the Complutenfian, Aldine, Alexandrine, Gr. and Vulg. Lat. Pentateuch, agree with the Heb. here and in a Ki^gs, xvi, va. and that the Vat.. Greek copy in the former text, reads 25 for the age of Ahaz* Whiflon approves the emendation, and confirms ' it by the authority of the Armenian, and othei: verGons« He might have added the two valuable printed editions of the Scptua- gint, that by Field in 1653, ^^ ^^- ^Y WecheUpa in 1697. Usher, inconfiflently with his own pofiulate, admits that Jotham was 25 years old, when his adminiftralioii at the time of his father's leprofy began, and that he reigned 16 without a colleague. As above noted be died at the age of 47. Subtrafl 25 for the age of Ahaz, at the demife of Jotham, according to the moft corre^ editions of the Septuagint, the furplus 22 is the age of Jotham at the birth of Ahaz : and 254-i6:?;;4l : the refult indicates the lad of Ahaz; then4i--«>a53:i^9 denotes the age of Aba% at the birth oC Ueaekiab. Thus is furmounted every fen^blance of variation, i;i hiftorical and chronali?gi^al ,chara£lers, from the cQurfe pf natqre. This ^arly inflance of procreation it ba^ in one other cafe, that of Rehoboam, been necelTaxy to admit. Such examples, though not without precedents, are rare ; but ought not to be rejefled under the notion of 7 phyfica} . from David /^ Jesus Christ, -1^49 phyikal itnprobabtlities. Here we (hould have had, two in fucceflion, and, what mull be reprobated as impoflible without a miracle, a fon born in the nth of bis father's life. A mmote fcmtiny into the tifnal phrafeology of the facred writers, the variation^ in parallel texts of the original, the difcordant notations inantient vefrfions, and contextual analogy to nature, have rcftored confiftency with truth in many cafes where palpable abfurdity was otherwife unavoidable. < Without the lead apprebenfibn of hurting verifimilitude, the worthy Metropolitan tnentions an hypo^fis which makes' Aha« bom in the 5th or iithof Jotiian»;-*-and Heziekiah in the nth of Abaz. Yet fo little attentive was he to confequencest that he abridges by one year the life and reign of the father, and conftruds a pile of abfurditie^. Ptideaux, mified by his example, copied this lail miftake, and afterward found it necefTary to compenfate a deficient year by adding unity to the (hort reign of Amoo. 13. Manajfehy At the age of i2» i^fcended the throne. Two in* ferences are obvious: i> He was born in the 42d year of his* father's life, which was the 17th of his reign. % He was a minor, confeguently a regent governed by reprefentation four'years. This long reign of 55 years ^ contributes both to the eafe and certainty of compu«- tation : for except in one other inftance* that of XJze yiahy the reckonipg by generations from David to • f Chroiu xxxiiL z. 2^edekiah, 250 Genealogy Zedekiah, hath been fo circumrcribed, both in the af^ cending and defcending feries, that ic is extremely dif-« ficult * to fix that one critical point in natural timcb where probability is adtniffibley- or contradi£lion fuf* pefied, and unavoidable. i 14. Amoiif On the authority of two parallel texts^ he beg;m to reign at the age of aa, and died at 94*. That a firange fluduation of opinion concerning this mga and life, among the ancient chronologers, did prevail^ it evident from their jarring fentiments, as let fbith bjf the Metrc^Iitan in his Chionologii Sacra, p« 83; With a needlefs expence of inveftigation and aigu^ menty he combats the hypothefis of Eufebius, who a& (igns, on the report of the 70 interpreters, la yean to the reign of Amon, and approves the cenfure of Syii«* cellus,- who gives Eufebius the lie as to the duration of this reign. It is not a little extraordinary that both thefe fathers acknowledge the Hebrew number to be two, and alfo the Septuagint number to be la : whereat all agree with the Hebrew, without the Icaft veftige of a various reading in either of the parallel notations. He continues his firi£lures on other writers with re- fpe6l to different views of the fame fubjeft. Sulpicius Severus, in the firft book of his facred hiftory, affirms^ that Amon's reign did not exceed two years ; but that Jofiah his fon reigned no more thari ai ; for he diedin • % Kings, xxl. 19. and % Chron. xxxiii. sx. th^ from David to Jesus Christ. ^51 0ie third year after the celebration of the memorable padbver in his i8th year. This altercation difcovers grofs ignorance in Eufebius, Syncellus, Severus, and Archbilhop Uflier. They perceived incoheiience forne* Where, but could not d^fcry its fource : they forefaw, that if 10 years were added to the reign of the fatbe% as many mull be retrenched from that of the fon. They perhaps fufpe^ed, on the hypotheGs of Amon having reigned but two years, that Jofiah at the age of la begat the firft of his four fons. To the truth of this fa3 they were unwilling to give thei^ fanflion : to contradi£l it they had not courage, being perfuaded that God, as oft as it might be Jiis pleafure, could work miracles; pioufly referring the time and occafion of r ^ttch interpofition, to Infinite Wifdom* r In (hort, from Eufebius bifliop of Cefarea, in the fourth, to Ufher archbifliop of Armagh, in the fevenw teenth century of the Chriffian era, all the intermediate InAorians, critics, and chronologers, (if anyfuch did jncift], faw confufion and perplexity in -the notatioiulbr itfaefe two kings [Anidn and Jofiah] ;-«^all feem tahave 'fmtertained the fentiment, that every (cribe-pofrefiTed the faculty of plenary infpiratton no le(s than MoGm^ -Eera, &c.<^and all expre($ their opinion tliat a mifl^ke has been committed in the-years» which define. the lehgtb of their reigns. Without the leail tin£lurevOf acrimony may it be^remarked, that a very moderate •degree of penetration would have fufficed to evince^ whether the years of the two kings at the time of their inveftiture with royalty,- were enotieou$ \ and if rea- foos S51 G£N£ALOGY Ions for the affirmative propofition (hould feem the more probable* cafy it was to bring this fubje6l to its oltimate tefi,-*coMPUTATiON* From the point in debate obviout it is* that ten years more, than the length of Amon's reign, apd tea years leis, than the quantity afcribed to Jofiab* would remove certain perplexities in the chronology* gene- alogy, and biftory of the period now under exa^r mination. Be it recolleSed* that Manafleh reigned 55* and lived 67 years. At firft view it infers no abfurdity to fuppofe, that Amon's age, at the deceaie pf Manafleh* might poflibly have been 42. Then 67 — 42=25 : this furplus was, by the fuppofition, the age pf the fyir ther at the nativity of the fon : — ^a,conclufioa in per- fe6l harmony with the courfe of nature, both in the fttrograde and progreffive feries. It may be enquired* whether this poGtioa derives confirmation from the fimilar figure of ancient numerical charafl^? Aor fwer i The chara3ers are the fame with thofe already produced to demonfirate, that Ahaziab king of Judah wtu not, and could not poSibly, be two years older than .his father, Jehoram* The charaQers 30 4^9 ha4 pr&- |K>fterouily been- interchanged for ^^ 22;. and heie 33 90, for 30 42. Thus is taken put of .thci my cfvery obftacle which can produce variance betwtoi ihP truth of nature, and the truth of hiftory* in j^ reign ef Amon. The fufpicion of error in fh? iwQ texts, which define the reign and age of this prinot* hai fjudrd the acumen of all the critics fiom Eufehius. down to Scaliger, fram David to Jesus- Christ. 253 Sca)iger» Petau, Ulher, Prideaux, Bedford^ Jackfon^ Kennedy, Kennicott, Wall, Whifton, the Authon of the Ancient Univerfal Uifiory, &c« Certain objeflions, too momentotxs to be over- looked, relative to the form, number, and order c^ this feries, remain for examination. Ohje6i. I. Three Namely which /^^ EVANGELIST ex- cludes^ are here Interpolated. T£[ESE names are Ahaziah, Jehoafh, and Amaziab. What reafons can be afiigned for an omiilion, which fets at variance the records of the two Teflamepts ? Yardley and Trapp, not to mention others, reply in ge- neral by (imilar qiwries ; Why are two of Judah^s de- fcendants omitted in the firft book of the Chronicles ? Why did Ezra \tvit out feven of his progenitors ? Anfwer : Neither of thefe authors propofed a full lift of thofe families, much lefs a divifion into clafles equal in numbers. They add, that Matthew in particular ^ttiade no fcrupJe of leavihg out feme perfons Well ^tiough ktiown, though fnconfiderabte in themfcilves ; as other hiftorians do when they give a fummary ac- count of things : — that thefe three, as well as any others might have been pafled over ; — that Jehoram married Athaliah the daughter of Aliab, againft whofe boufe a particular curfe had been denounced ; — diat the three fa^re otnitted were of that wicked boufe ; — and, that all tbi^, came to violent deaths. . Allqw thefe arguments their full force, they might juftly tie extended to the exclufioa of many moce.:-r- of 256 Genealqgt ...... . . ' . . • ' '.♦ f • % ... J ■ » CHAP. IV. Third Series of XIV. Ornerations. I. Jofiah. w THOSE texts which define his age when his reign began, exprefs eight years, and limit his govern- ment to 31 *- He, by this reckoning, died at the a^' of 39. This ultimate term of life muft be confidered together with the hiftory of his family. " The fbns of Jofiah were, Johanan the firll boro« the fecond Jehoiakitn, (Eliakim); the third Zedekiah, (Mattaniali) ; the fourth Shallum, (Jchoahaz t).** With that preciCon whence the facred writert nevcf deviate, the rank of thefe fons in feniority is afcertained^ • ■ • •• Such minute diftindlions are here neceffary to prevent confulion arifing from a variety of names. Not wjth- out fpecial fignificance is it recorded, that " the people of the land took Jchoahaz, the youngeji Jon of Jofiah^ and made him king in Jerufalem : his age was 23, and his reign three months if." From the age of the father * a Kings, xxii. i. and a Chron. xxxiv. x. \ I Chron. iii. 15. t * Chron. xxxvi. x, a. 39^ from JotlAH to ^ktATtfttu 2^7 39, take thnt of the (on a6, the /urplus i6j fe the ctrr- rent yttit 6f Jofiah at the birth of Jehoahae. This afge of procreation, in the cafe of a fir ft born, is unexcep- tiotiaf>)e ; bttt dtherwife fcarcely confiftcnt with phyficsll pfbbabilily. Is if poffibfe to difcover the father's age at the rtaf!- vity of his firft three fons ? The fduf had two mofherf. Jehoiakim, (aifd probably JohananJ, was born of Ze- * budah ; — Zeddciah and Jehoahaz of Hamiital. Certain it is, that all were not childreil of the fame year. For Jehoiakim the fecond fucceeded, on the removal of Je* hoahaz, at the age of 25$ and was therefore born in* the 14th of Jofiah*s life. This fa£i is without example in the Bible hifior/ of 4^ generations^ and being be- yond the Ifnedf cxfperienc©, may property be transferred t0 the chapter of paradoxes/ The fame mother hady at (eparate births, Johanan and Jehoiakim. The elder was confequerttly born in the 13th or perhaps the I2th of their father's age. Here is a ttain of improbabItIties» which diftin£lly, but much more in a fiate of compor- fition, fet even creduKty at defiance. Zedekiah Was the third in order, and coniequently 24 yeafs old at the death of his father, for he was the elder fon by Hatnu- tal, Jehoahaz the yotmger, and therefore they were not twins. Zedekiah's age at the death of Jehoiakim, 1 1 years afifer Jofiarh, muft have been 35. But in three texts ♦ it is erroneoully marked 21 • * a Kin^s, xxir. i8. and t Chronvxxxvi. n. Jer. lii. j. S ALIi 3j8 Genealogy All thefe abfurdities in computation render it cre- dible, that JoGah fucceeded his father at a more ad* vanced ftage of life than eight years. By the neceflary emendation above propofed> Amon died at the . age of 44. The birth of Jofiah may be referred to any y^ar not repugnant to the courfe of nature. Be it then fuppofed at a venture, that the facred hillorians in the two texts abovementioned wrote i8, not 8. In ttie Hebrew alphabet n denotes 8, ♦ lo, and fl* i8. The fmall, and fometimes fcarcely perceptible chara£ler, t, might eafily have been overlooked, and with it the number lo was loft, to the great detriment not only of textual coherence, but of phyfical pofTibility, By this highly probable conjedure every difficulty vanifhes. In matters of fingular intricacy even bold conje£lures are juftifiable ; but in framing conclufionsi judgment muft proceed with caution and coolnefs« Precipitance is the bane of criticifm. One enquiry iUll remains. Does this conje£lure derive confirmation from the poffible or actual interchange, omiffion, or tranfpofition, of the fame numerical lignatures, in other inftances? Suppofable it is, that the like fourc^ of perplexity may occur in various pafTages, where the fame combination of alphabetical numbers is repeateds ivith the fame, deviations from the truth of computation. Happily one appofite example is obvious and decifive* The fame pair of letters, intcJnded to exprefs the fame^ age, in a diftin£t perfonage, is exhibited with the fame omiffion of ♦ lo. " Jehoiachin was (pj) eight ye^rs old when he began to reign, and he reigned thrte years and from JdstAkUSAlAikiEU 71^ ahd icA (lays in Jtmhlem^.'* In the Aldiii^ ^d Aiexandtine editionS'of - the Septuagint, ^s- alfor ip the) Hdyrcfw textahd Grai verfidii of 2 KingSj cbr xxiv* 8#' tiite original dotation f^y l8> has happily been pre^r iterved. In this^ lattef context, a circumftance al^^ together • incompaCible- with the number etgtt is rc*^ corded : ^ The kiiig 6{ Babylon took and carried away Jehoiachinr' and theking*s wives. *V A youth^ ofaS it may be)prerumed had wives; but this couldr not^ be a!K>hi^d of a f this aritbttie^. metical experimehtV in afdbt^aitiing the recil age of Jo- fiahat the time of his accefiibn. It is perfedly^on-*' fifientWith the/ iiepeated;^ evidences of his' early: pife^j The recorded fpecifieations denote rather a gradual andE eontinued progrefs in goodfiefs, than a premature eiir ffance on a i^ligious courfe. For inftance^ ** In thcr eighth year of his rleign,'* that is, the 26th of his lifc^ " while he was yti- youhg^ be began to feek aftpr thcf God of David, his fatter : and in the 12th year/' that is, the 30th of his life, ** he begun to purge Judah and Jerufaleni from the high places, groves, imag^s/\&c«^ Th^Bi^brew pbr^feology denominates, men j)!0K»^ at 30*. Again, •• In the 18th of his reign," that is, the 36th o£ his life, '^^ he ifTued a commiffion for repairing the tem- ple, foA^tddifed a magnificent paiTover, and introduced a general reformation, not only in Judah, but alfo in Samaria t.'' • a Chrott. xxxvi, 9. + > Chiron xxxir. f— Jji S a IH a6a O^ M £ A LO CY Ih the very bell difpofition89 the feeds and fympComt of fupeieminent excellence may begb to unfold them* (elves at the age of eig^t years. But fchemes of public ufefulnefs, projefled with a felicity of defign, and exe- cuted with perfevering vigour, require a maturity of finnilties ; and when young princes of fuch a channficr are providentially raifed up on a confj^cuoos theatre^ for the benefit o( the human kind; then the counlebf influence^ and authority of wile and good men» in the liibordinate fundions of magiftracy, are commonly em- ployed to call forth into exertion the latent virtues of a young fovereign« Thus Joafli, king of Judab^ from the tender age of feven years, did that which was good in the fight of the Lord all his days, wherein Jehoiadahy tj^ U^ ptid^ inflruQed him *• In like manner young Jbfiah was happily fnfim&ed in the principles of wifdomyand the meafures. of gp^ government, under the pious tuition of Hilkiak. ib^ high priefl, and other upright counfellors, in tk Mfsxy degenerate age +• His heart having m ^ght bias hom die ftate of infancy, his virtue acquired ftrengib firoooi good culture, and in advanced life he difcharged with eminent honour all the fun£lions of a patriot kiog^ witb the well-dire£):ed zeal of an exemplary reformer* • By a minute difquifition into various notptioitfi 4I time, from Solomon to Jofiah^ many ic^rtant ctneii- ^ ft Kings> xii. %. and ft Chron. xxiv. 2. t d Kings, xxii, a-^^o. dationa jf^m JasxAH /# Salathiex.. a6t cbtidns of nuBsBerSy which embarrafs domputatioOf have Bot only been fugge&ed> but reconciled widi truth and imture. It is humbly prefumcd, that nothipg remains tQ fhock belief^ nothing to viplate probability. EviMy decifion Is admiffibley coherent^ perfpicuous. Chrppo^ logy han^onifes with hifiory, and )x>tl) with the regular prpi^eb of natufe, during the lap& of 15 gen^exaltioiiBj -r« period of tioie wbi<:h has hitherto derived very Uttl^ elucidation from prijticifmr 2. yehoiakim* *< Jo SI A3 begat Jeconias and hi$ brethren, about tli« tini6 they were carried away to Babylon* And after they were carried aw:ay to Babylon, Jeconias begat Sa* lathid*/*&c. Dr, Trapp very properly obferves, ** The two names Jebojakim and Jehoiachin being fo like, the fame Greek word ferves for both. The former was the fon of Jofiah, and he Is meant verfe nth. The ktter was the fon of Jehoiakim, and he is metot verfe 13th •+." Nothing can be more conformable to hiftory than this remark of that eminent critic. It is confirmed by the uniform report of all the Old Teilament regiflers, and by very clear diftin&ions in the phrafeology of this Evangelift; forinftance, • JMiatthew, i. ij, 1%. j- Trapp's Explanatory Notes on Matthew,!, xa* S3 !• J0SIA8 ids • Gen £ alo g y I. JosiAS begat Jeconias and bis bpethreh. The brethren of the former Jeconias have been alrealdye mentioned, Johanan, Jehoahaz, and Z«dekiah, who were likewife the fons of Jofiah. Of the (econd Jo* coniaS) the name of no brother is recorded. - a* The times, as diftinfl, are properly diverfified^ The elder Jeconias was born about th€ iime thty y^t^ carried away to Babylon ; the youngery iifter- ib^ were brought to Babylon, begat Salathiel*. - ... 3. That Jehoiakim the fon, as alfo Jeconiah dicr grandfon of Jofiah, were both born before the firft de* portatio;! to Babylon, is evident from indubitable no- tations already {pecified : — ^the forrber in the 24th, the latter in. the 42d of Jofi^h's life, as,above computed^ This circumfiance (ufficiently evinces the duvcrfity ojT perfons, and prevents cpnfi^fion frpm the identity, of names* 4. Different dates are, without the leaft'^eoi; blance of ambiguity, afligned for the removal to Baby- lon ; — one in the fourth of Jehoiakim's reign j-^-a kr cond in the firft, a third in the 1 1 th, of Zedeki^. 5. Who were the perfons of whom the Eyangdift affirms, they wcxc carried, and they were brought^ Uf ' • TEirJ tSTc ftfTo:iti:c^:tf , fome time Before. The Lexicograpliert remark, that f«c, implying time, and as here put in conftruc- tion, denotes -priority of time, like the Latin j^ in the ikme figniBcation, ^sfub noSem, about even tide; at the approach of night. On the other hand* /(«it«, in this notion, unequiTOcally cxprefles time fuh/equent, as ftsrrf H Tut >(iT#M«rl«v, hu$ toflerthe migration* B^yloni /ramJosiAH h Salathiel. ^63 Babylon ? Anfwer : The words iefbre and afury cha- rafierife no particular perfons* Neither nomftiative nor verb is exprefled in the original text. From our En* glifli verfion, an EngliQi reader would naturally fufpfeft, that the elder Jeconias and his brethren are impliedly But this Jeconias, (Jehoiafcim), was not carried to Babylon. In the nth of his reign indeed, *« Nebu- chadnezzar came up againfi him, and bound him ia fetters to carry him to Babylon *• But he was never tranfported thither. Jeremiah had foretold +, " that he (hould be buried with the burial of an afs, drawn and caft forth beyond the gates of Jerufalem." Jofe- pbus hifiorically records the circumilantial completion of this prophecy : ^* Nebuchadnezzar commanded king Jdioiakim to be thrown down before the walls of the city, without any burial !" That this was done in the lith of his reign, and no fooner, the author exprefsly affirms. " His fon Jehoiachin, was made king of the land, and of the city. He reigned three months and ten days J." This fhort term of fovereignty is tak^n in to complete the laft of his father's difaflrous reign : for he too was taken, and aftually removed to Baby- lon, when that year was expired §. Neither were all the brethren of the fenior Je- conias tranfported to Babylon. Of Johanan nothing ' is recorded but that he was the firft born of Jofiah's four fons. It may be conjedured, either that he was flain * % Chron. xxxvi. 6. t Chap. xxii. 19. X Ant. X. 6. 3. 5 * Chron. xxxvi. xo. S 4 with $64 Gensalogy- \vitb bi& faher in the tragical baUle of^ Megi^cbi qT sy.a^ prevented by a natural death. Certain it is tkit the youngefl, Jehoahaz, or SballuiH) w^ d^hrooed^ (after a reign of three months, which ^rt Mo cpm-* prebended in the 3ifi of his father}, by Pharapb Necbot 9nd put in chains at Riblab ; and a predidiop, of e^urf credit with biftory, had been emitted, «^ that be lhoul4 die in Egypt, the place wbitbejr he had been led caf* tive*." Zedeki^h, therefore, was the only fon of Jofiab, who bad been carried to Babylon. This in* du&ion of circunailances terminates %, the in&renc^ that the Evangelift referred to no particular pprlbns fp-r ^oved fiom Judab into Babylonia, neither to any p9r

^ furplus of twice 14 by two units, or dcfcents. As the line of genealogy is continued from Judah, Saul the Benjamite is properly excluded. For this reafon, the year of the world for his birth is not marked ; but that of his confecration, which afligns him a rank among the kings. The word born annexed to David's name is to be fuppofed after thofe of his progeny, who reigned one full year. Ahaziali indeed is of this number, and his name was moft probably in the original record* though not as one of the fecund feries in the genealogy. The Evangelift had more refpeft to the continuity of R£MARKs on Series IL and III. 07^ time^ than to the number of names. Joafh, the fon of this prince was born in the laft year of his father's life^ and is not improperly reprefented, as the immediate fucceflbr, in blood, to his grandfather Jehoram. All thofe learned men, who have critically exa- mined this catalogue, admit, that the truth of the. gene- logy does not require an exa6l enumeration of ChriftV anceftors, though they have not been fuccefsful in theie conjeQures concerning its original ftrufture. Jehoiakim may, for a fimilar reafon, be retained in the lift of kings, yet rauft be excluded from the genealogy, if Jofeph be inferted. Jiis fon was the firft of thofe princes, condemned to exile in Babylon; and his birth was more nearly conneSed in time with, that difaflrout incident, than that of his father : for hi$ age at the time of Jofiah's death was feven years, and he may no lefs properly than Joafli be reckoned the immediate fucceffor of his grandfather. ** About the time they were carried away to Babylon/' is a fignificant circpmftance which feems both to fuggeft and author ife this arrangement. . Athaliah, as a female, can have no place ^n this roll. Her age is not defined, either at the time of hef ufurpation, or of her tragical ejid. As a fovereign (he reigned, or rather domineered, fix years, and as fuch only her name is introduced in the royal calendar q£ the Jews. The name of Jehoahaz is inclofed in brackets, be« caufe he was not the father of Jehoiakim. His (hort reign is included in the laft of Jofiah, as is that of the fecond 2'JZ GtS L ALOGY fecond Jecon!as in the laft of his father. Zedekiab it here inferted as a king, not as a conftituent member in the genealogy. Thus the names from David to Jofias, excluding botb> are reduced to 14 generations ; and from JdEoA to Jefus Cbrifi} the laft not included, to the £uite pre* cife number. Hence refults the probable conclofioD, that the Evangelift's catalogue, as now refiored, wSl fairly admit this arrangement. But it remains to be ihewn, in a diftind chapter, in perfefl confiftetice with the truth of computation, and with every circumftanoe in the catalogue itfelf, that the names of Abaziah and Jehoiakim may be replaced ; nay, that without them the- jvgifter is incomplete. Ad it is impoflible to difcover in what year of Je* conias IL his fon, Salathiel was bom, ^the intennecEate Ipace cannot be defined by certain intervals. The mode of computation for the third feries, in which the mean quantity of generations muft be afcertsned if atn equation, obvioufly differs from that of the ttm former. From the nth of Zedekiab, A. M. 34ll» is de-* dufted the year of Solomon's birth 2971 : and the fiir- plus, 450, divided by 17, the number of the iiam€t> not inclofed in brackets, quotes 26 years eight months fi»r the equated ages of the feveral fathers at the birth of their fpecified fons. But, if Ahaziah be taken into the reckoning, 450, divided by 18, the mean fpace between defcents is precifely 25. The folution of this chrono* logical problem avinces, that the truth of computation ■ ■ . *7 is REMARKiS MSLKiLi II. and IIL 273I il tibt i^fieded By i fmall variation of numbers during tire rotation of four or five centuries : and if generation^ in the line of kings be commonly (horter than in other families, the reafon has already been fuggefted, that'the priqces in hereditary monarchies generally marry at an earlier period than other men. Hdnce a lefs protra3ed intiefWal in defcinits. This inference reils on the furo bafis of hiftorical evidence ; for from Abraham to Da- vid, as alfo from Jofiah tp Chrift, fuch ifitervals are much longer in privstte families, than in the interme- diate feries from kings. * By a' critical examination of the records, whence this re^fter is (ixtra^ed, it recovers its primeval and genuine form. Mutilations, the refult of accident, pre«^ fumptiious ignorance^ or fuperficial erudition, are re- ftordd ;* and ' the New Tcfiament brought to hartoonife in every note with the 6ld. * Every afpeA of a paradox aflumes the hue of plain truth, and the courfe of nature feems uniform in operation, fuitably to the fixed ap^ pointmeht of an immutable God. The only inftances of apparently premature generation, occur in the cafe of Rehbboam and Ahaz, whofe fons, Abijah and Heze- kiah, it mufl be admitted, were but 16 years younger than tlteir fathers. Here is no phy fical improbability. Such examples -may be uncommon, but; not incredible. Early puberty, ih fpme individuals, is the refult of con- ftitution, or, in many more, depend on the influence of trlimate^' In China it is faid the ladies are. mothers at 12, grandmothers at 24, and fuperannuated at 30. — Neither is it fuppofed,' in the lapfe o( 16 generations, — ^ . T that < • ^74 G £ X £ A L O C Y« that the prolific faculty tailed to the period of extieme Icniliiy. In the table are but two •examples of procre- ation at 50y aiid beyond that ag|e none. Column ii. ^ge of Accejpon* w Thus far kings have been confidered, not In their public capacity, but in their domeftic relation^ z& pro- genitors and defcendants. *' Coacemuig tbpfe of Da-< vid*s race, 21 in number/' Jofephus affiri^s,** that they: reigned 514 years, fix months, and ten days. 3aul was the firft ;" (certainly not of David's family *). «* The 1 8 kings of Judah, who fucceeded Solomon, reigntd 390 years, which is, one with another, 22 years apiece i." Add Saul, David^ and Solomon, with the fum of their reigns, 4o-i-40'j-39=:;ii9; th^ number of the fovcrcigns is, as before, 2X ; that of their, reigns 510. Neither Jofephus nor Sir Ifaac did recoIle£U.that the three months of Jehoahaz, and the thref months ten days of Jehoiachin, being taken in to complete the lall deficient year of their refpedive fathers, ^ve tbem no right to a place in the royal calendar. Their num^ ber is thus reduced to 19, without Saul and Atha* liah. At the bottom of column ii. the number 492 de- notes the fum of years prior to the acceffioa of the feveral princfes. ' By 20 divide 492, the i}uoUeaC^ 24 years (even months, is the mean proportion of 3ge, wJben each aflumed the fceptre. The refult of this oparacioo • Ant, z. 1. 4* t Newt, Chron. p. $%» tariet .■ V Remaeks m Series 11. and ItL 275 Taries but in a finall degree from the mean interval of defcents. Thus are the computations in the two columns fubfervient to reciprocal confirmation. It is to be re- marked, that four of the young princes were minors. Of the numbers in this column marked with afte- rifks^ the ufe is now to be explained. The number of reigns thus difiinguiflied is 12. In fome cafes the no«^ tations of age are altogether omitted ; lor e^tample^ Solomon^ Abijah, Afa : in others the notation is par- tial — ** Saul,'* as the text is now read, *• was the fon of one year *.** In certain texts the riumbers are impair- ed, in others enlarged. Years omitted* Saul Solomon * Abijah Afa Joram - Jotham * Ahaz *• - Jofiah •* Zedekiah * 30 20 28 4 6 5 10 14 Years added. Rehoboam Amon Uzziah ^ 14 20 16 130 Miftahes csmSfed iy paral^ kl Texts. Ahaziah faid to have been 42 years old. The true number 22« jeconiah eight years old* The true number 1 8. These miftakes, proceeding from various fources, and promifcuoufly difperfed in records framed with the utmoft precifion for defihbg the parts of time^ in a continuous * I Sam. xiii. x. ferics 2^6 Oenealocyj feries of years and generations, are fufficient to Ijpread a gloom of obfcurity over the hiftory of 4.000 years. It is one chara6ler of pre-eminent excellence in the facred vyritings, that they comprehend in themfelves the means of re£lifying fuch overfights as disfigure their furface, through the unavoidable imperfefiion of fallible men. The Bible has furmounted a multiplicity of trials* It has flood the tell of criticifm. Let the fame experiment be applied to the dynafties o( Egypt ; the immenfely amplified chronology of the Clialdeans, Chinefc) Gen^ tQoSy Hindoos, &c. j the operator will find, that the far- ther he proceeds, the greater will be his diftance from light and truthj from coherence, order, and certainty. Column iii. Length of Reigns* «« In the later ages, fince chronology hath been cx- aft, fcarcc is an inftance to be found, of tci* kings reigning any where in continual fucceflSon, above 266 years ♦ ;" that is, 26 years apiece. Whist ON has evinced the fallacy of this pofitioa by referring to the teftunony of authentic faiftoiy, (in times much later than the era to which Sir Ilkac al- ludes), where it is (hewn that 12 kings iii England^ from William the Conqueror to Richard III. reigned in continual fucceffion 27! years each:— that 12 kings in France, from* Rupert to Philip IV. reigned ia cpn- tinual fucceffion 32^ years apiece t." « Newtbn's Chronology. ^ t Confutation of Sir Ifaac Newton's Chronology, ijii. IX Remarks on Series II. and III. 277 It merits ferious obfervation, that in an age before chronology was exa6l) a certain clafs of men, the He^ brew prophets and hiftorians, wrote according to nature and truthi the tiranfaSions of 2i reigns in continual fucceflion, almoft equal to twice 260 years. The num- ber ^ the bottom of column iii. is 510, Divide this fum by 21, the mean quantity of reigns is 24 years 3 months. This great man meant nothing lefs than to in^ralidate the authority of the facred records. But his zeal to explode the incredible antiquity of the pagan eftabiifli- ments induced him to abbreviate the meafures in com- putation ; and in many inflances, efpecially his arrange- ment for the age of Sefoftris, he has afligned too late 2^ period for the rife of the Egyptian monarchy ; and likewife for feverstl notable epochs fubfequent to the introduftion of an accurate chronology ; particularly the origin of Ropie, which he brings too low by 1^6 years. Column iv. Duration of Lives^ Our Britifli bills of mortality, if the fafts be re- ported with precifion, are of fignal ufe for afcertaining the advance or decay of population, the yearly refult of national maladies, and the more critical feafons of life, with refpeft to the probable chances of longevity. From fuch documents has it been found, that the one half of the human race fcarcely furvives the age of five years. Whatever light political arithmetic, or medical pra£lice, may derive from authentic records of this tind, they have not yet been applied to a difcovery of T3 great 278 Genealogy. great importance for evincing the utility of genealogy in chronological difquifitions. Much is it regretted, that fo very few ingenious men, enriched with the treafures of erudition, and qualified by a penetrating faculty of OBSERVATION, have attempted to fix that intermediate point of time, which is at nearly an equal diftance from the birth of a family fucceflbr, and the ultimate term of life, in the times fubfequent to its ab- breviation : for example ; fuppofe the line of defcent be continued, fo as that every 34th year fliould. be the firfi of a new generation ; and that 70 years are, with a very few exceptions, the ultimate period of natuial Hfe : — in what year of the current generation, (that computed), does the father ufually die i This query has efcaped the fagacity of Sir Ifaac Newton, of Trapp, Yardiey, and others, whole ^pro« fefled fubje£): is our Lord's genealogy. Its folutton/ however, feen^s to be momentous. Moses tells us, that Adam lived 130 years and be* gat Seth ; that Adam lived after he begat Scth 800 years, and died at the age of 930. With all thcfe Ipc- cifications of time is the genealogy of the patriarchs continued down to Ifaac. With Jacob the notation of births, by the current year of each father, ends, and the chronology is expreffed by fixed periods, but not without a fpecific reference to the genealogy. For in- itance, the 430 years of fojouming are divided into two equal parts. The former computed from the 75th of Abraham exclufively to the 1 30th of Jacob, fills up 2 1 5 years, and four generations born in Canaan> Ifaac, *6 Jacob, R£MARK5 9n SfiRiES 11. and III. 279 Jacobi Jmlstfa, and Pliarez : the latter, from the 1 30th of Jacob to the 80th of Mofes, comprehends the fame quantity of timCt meafured hkewife by four generations, born in Egypt ; Hezron, Aram, Amtninadab, Nah(hon«' <♦ Afterward they" (the Ifraelitcs) " fliall come out in the FOURTH GENERATION, With great fub- ftance*." The next period of 480 extends from: the egrefs to the foundation of the firft temple, and includes a part of fix generations, from Nahfhon to Sobmon. With David commenced a two-fold mode of afcertaining chronology ;— *by generacion& and reigns. But the fa- cted hfftorians judging it improper to mention the fe- veral kings, prior to their invefliture with fovereignty, generally mark with cardinal numbers the complete ytttt%i paft at the date of their: acceflion ; and it is re-* siarkable, that though the age of the patriarchs born after the egrefs, isf not definaJ ; yet that of all the kings pofterior to Saul is virtually recorded ; becaufe the years of tbeit feveral reigns, added to thofe before their acceflion, are the fum of thehr years at the time of their damife. It is (lili more remarkable, that thofe perfonages^ pnly^ who were not in the line of the genealogy, are excepted. The 2^e pf Athaltah when file afcended her fon*s throne is omitted, becaufe flie was^ an^ ufurper and a female: yet the lengthvof ^er ufurpation is defined, to prevent a blank in the computation by ^leigns; T4 On i8o Genealogy. On the other hand, the ages of Jehoahaz, of JehoH achin, and of Zedekiah, at the acceffion of each; are fpecified (the fecond not without a variation, the third erroneoufly) ; alfo the duration of their reigns, though the firft two do not enlarge the chronology. . All three were removed, and, as private charaOers, died in a ftate of degradation, ignominy, and exile. Impoffible it therefore is, to afcertain the length of th&r lives ; and were it poflible, it is needlefs, becaufe thefe three name$ are excluded from the genealogy. It is farther to be noted, as a "peculiarity of the chronological numbers in the hiftory of the kings, that the royal calendar of Samaria does not mention at what age the kings over the ten tribes afcended the throne. The duration of their reigns is fpecified. Sq much was indifpenfably neceflary to charajtorife poin* cident years, in coexiilent reigns, and to circumfcribe the prophetical period of 39Q, from the difmembecing of the kingdom after Solomon : and no farther dfit the intent of the infpired hiilorians extend. The queilion now recurs. Why i^ the chronobgjt of the kings over Judah difcriminated with fo many. lingular and appropriate marks of precifion ? Why. is the age of each, at the-time of his acceffion, exproffed, and not only fo, but rep^ted> together with the length- of the feveral reigns ? One reafo^ occurs. It was, doubtlef^, to give the chronology of the period an additional chara3er of certainty and perfe£lion, by bringing it to the infalliblp teft of genealogy, that the notations of time^ ihould Remar]^^ (in S:£RIJES. H; and III. t9l tbey he accidentally corrupted, (which in feveral cafes has happened), might be rcftored to purity by adjuft- ing them to the uniform courfe of nature in gene** ration*. This laft column comprehends ai lives, of which the fum is 1054 ; or 50 years three months each. Thus every 51ft year is the intermediate point in time, equi* diftant from the birth of a family fucceflbr, (the com. ropn interval fuppofcd tq be ^o), and from 70, the ufual period pf longevity. ' In this roll the flidrteft life is a4, the longeft7i. But they were the lives of kings, who, from the "9- For any thing known to the autiior of thefe {heets, this only pofiible method of corrigdtion has now, for the firft time* been attempted. The difquifition has been a work of la- bour. Dilappointment was often the refult, in many fteps of })is procedure. By adding the age pf acceffion to the length of every Teign, W98 the duration of each life difcovered ; and the effe^ of retrograde computation pointed out the curDcnt year of every fpvereign at the nativity of his fucceflbr. If ^he year thus either a^Tumed, or found, were apparently dif- cordant with hiitpry, every circumftance was brought, into juxtapofition, compared with difctimination, and a conclufion framed, according to the higheft probability. If the year difcovered were repugnant to the courfe of nature, three ex- pedients occurred; i. A minority, and eonfequently a re- gency, a. A conjunft reign, whence the hiftory dates inva- riably the age of the junior fovereign. 3. An erroneous note of number, arifing from the limilar figures of numerical fig- paturcs in the Hebrew alphabet. With deference are his fefearches, and conclufions, fubmitted to the decifion of candid and impartial judges, accidents 4 \ ^Sa Gekealo^y. accidents already enumerated, have fewer chances of longevity than other men. Eight of this number were cut off by a violent death. The laft two were dethroned^ and no account of their age occurs *• On thefc princi* pies it is a fair conjc&ure, that men in private life fur- vhre the birth of their heirs 25 years at an average. * <* It came to pafs in the 37th year of Jehdachin's captu xitjt in the zath montb> on the 17th day of the month, that ETil-MerodaCy the fucceflbr of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Ba- bylon » did lift op the head of Jehoiachin, out of prffon : and be fjpake kiadly unto him, aikl iet bis throne above the throne of the kings who were v/ith him in Babylon ; and changed hit prifon- garments : and he did eat bread continually before him» an the days of his life. His allowance was a continual allow- ance, given him of the king, a daily rate for ever y day, all the days of his life." s Kings, xxv. »;. The 37th of Jehoiachin*s captivity was the 55th of his age. This quotation mentions an allowance for his fapport, all his days, which evidently im- plies that he furvived his enlargement from the prifon fevend years. But on this furmife, though' it were certain, nothing depends. Salathiel might have been bom about the time of Zcdckiah's degradation, or 51 years before the return from Babylon; and Zerababel, the grandfon of Jehoiachin, might in the firfk of Cyrus conduct the captives back to their own land. CHAP. e a83 ) "T" =36 MM* CHAP. VI. Continuation of the Third Series* 3. Con! ah ^ yehoiachin, or Jeconias II • ** r\ EARTH, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord ; write ye this man childlefs, a roan that (ball not profper in his day ; for no man of his feied (hall profper, fitting upon the throne of David, or rut* ing any more in Judah */* This folemn denunciation is not to be literally interpreted. Kings may be faid to be fathers in two refpe£ls. Heirs of their blood and of their dignity, are in different fenfes their children. Jeconias was in both refpefts the fon of Jehoiakim ; but in the latter fenfe only was Zedekiah the fon of Jeconias. He fucceeded him on the throne, and was the laft of David's race who ruled in Judah. The denunciation does not imply the extin3ion of Jeconiah's family, b.ut exprefsly affirms the diflblution of the mo- narchy, as the words are properly applied. In this view die threatening is equivalent to another on the ^ Jen xxii a9> 30. £imf 284. Genealogy fame fubjcft, though in different terms : " The Lord faid, I will remove Judah alfo out of my fight, as I re- moved Ifrael, and will caft oflF this city Jerufalem *^'* 4. Salathiely Shealtiel. ♦« The fons of Jecoijiah, Affir, Salathielt," &c. *^ Tiemellius thinks he had no fon called Aflir, nor any fon at al( ^-^that th^ word Aflir here is x\ot the name of a man, but (ignifies bound or captive ; — and that the words (hould run thus ; the fons of Jeconiah the cap-, live, Salathiel, Malchiram, and Pedaiah," &c. This conjefture has every afpefl of truth, fre- quent examples occur of names impofed on children, in allufion to hifiorical incidents. The eldeft fon of Mo^ fes, born in Midian, was called Ger(hom» a Jlranger iherty and for a like reafon the firft bom of ^vi in Egypt. 5. Xorolaleh ■ In Mat. i. 12. he is faid to he the fon of Salathiel, and in i Chron. iii. 19. the fon of Pedaiah. Sut cither way he was the grandfon of Jeconias. Other difficulties occur, for which Grotius,Trapp, and Yardley> (to whom the learned reader is referred), offer not ^pro? bable folutions. Of ZorobabeKs fons and more remote defcendants, the names in the Chronicles differ entirely from thofe in the Evwigelifl^ unlefs Abiud hre be the * a Kings, x^iii. 27* f x Chron. iii. 17. from SA-LAfHI^L tt CHRIST. dH^ * faftie' A^ith Obadiah, a grandfon of ^orobabel thite} " It is obfervable, that both he and his fons might havd diflfereiit liaities ; one ih tlieir own family, and another among the people to whom they Were captives. K was fcafce fafe for Zorobabcl to be called in Babylon by that name, which flgnifies the ivinnowing if Babei\ and therefore he was amortg the* Babylonians called Shezhbazzar. So his fons w^m Calltid Mefliullam and Harianiah ; b^Caufe the one could fcatce pto^ly^ as well as fcarce fafely, be called Abiud^ my father^ s glory \ the other Rhefa^ a prince *.*' The remaining names in this Evangelift's regifteri denote perfonages pofterior to the clofe of the Old Tef- tament canon, and are, without doubt, copied from au-* theatic vouchers. They are, 6. Abiud, 7. Elialcim^ 8. Azor, 9. Sadoc, 10. Achim, ii. Eliud,:i2. Eleazari 13. Matthan, 14. Jacob. Thus is the line of pedigrei continued to Jofeph and Mary, the one not the natural father of our Lord's humanity, the other excluded, by her fex, from the Hebrew genealogy. Jos I AS has been placed at the head of the third fe- ries. From what point in phyfical time the date of ihi next generation (hould be reckoned, is doubtful. Whe- ther from the birth of Jeconias II. in the42dof Jo- fiah's life, or from ' that more remarkable term, his removal from the throne, feems to be an indifferent matter, the difference is but 18 years. Certain ij is ♦ Dr. Jofeph Trapp's note on Matt. i. 13. that ft86 Genealogy that his fon^ Salathiel, was not born before the traa* ^ortation to Babylon* Christ was born A. M. 4004^ and Jeconiah was maile a captive in 341 1« But, as Salathiel was not bom before the conflagration of the temple and city^ the reckoning by the fourth generation from Jofiah in« clufively may be deferred to the 29th of Jehoicfaia's Kfe, coincident with the nth of Zedekiah^ and the prefumed date of SalathiePs birth, A. M. 3421. This fum deduQ from the hiflorical year of Chrift's nativity 4004, the furplus is 583. From the unavoidable de-» ficiency of genealogical notations, no expedient, for finding a mean proportion, is accefEble otherwife than by an equation. By 11, the number of generations from Jeconias to Jofeph, excluding both, divide 583^ the quotient, 53 years precifely, is the common interval of defcents. Evident it is, that this quantity exceeds the fpace between generations in the line of royalty, by dlmoQ. a half. But here is no myftery ; for reafont have been afligned for princes marrying fooner than other men; and alfo for the various accidents, which often prevent their longevity. It has likewife been noted, that, from the time of Arphaxad's birth, the mean length of generations hat uniformly been fomewhat more than 30 years ;— -that no fooner was the promife intimated to Abraham, that in his feed all the families of the earth fhould be blefled^ than procreation in that line made flower advances ;*— « that from David to Jehoiachin, the interval fell below the frm Salathiel t9 Christ. 187 the common (landard ; — and thenceforward, it is now evinced, that, during the fpace of almoft fix centuries, the ufual term of procreation in that line was length- ened by about 20 years. It was evidently the intent of over-ruling Providence, that the number of Chrift's anceftors, according to the flefh, fliould, comparatively, be few ; and it feems not inconfiftcnt with the great defigns of efTential Wifdom, that his progenitors fhould, like Abraham, have their faith and patience long tried, by the difcipline of a fledfaft expeftation. ** They daggered not through unbelief, but againft hope be- lieved in hope.** Mr. Yardley feet no occafion for inferting Jofeph's name in this regifler^ becaufe he does not fupply the place of one generatioa. Genealogies, p. 220. By dm regulation-is Jehoiakim refiored to his rank as one of our Lord's progenitors: and thus is the threefold drvifion completed without the defe6l or excels of a (ingle name. ' K . * . CHAP, S8S G £ K £ A L O G f # CHAP. vn. Kiw Scheme of the Generations from Abraham i0 Jesus Christ. T N computation by time, whether abfolute, or wrtfa ^ reference to generations; fpecial regard is due to two terms, a firfl commencement, and a final periodw MosES, in defcribing the formation of die univerfe, charafterifes a natural day by its parts, EVENING' snd MORNING, and counts three fuch days piior to tht exifience of the luminaries. The fource of contpn-^ tation is that moment, when the Creator faid, ^^ Let LIGHT BE.'' As foon as this glorious produfiion of Omnipotence was colleded into that great orb the- SUNt to the planets were afligned their circuits, "to nite over the day and over the night» and to divide the fight from the darknefs." Hence the true origiti ormeai- fured time by the motion of the fpherOb-Aiound-'d^ centre of light. Of natural days are compofed weeks, the moft atH cient combination of times into an integral ptrt^ by repetition, and, of all fubfeguent we6ks,abe primeval' iS| in its form and dimenfiol||[[ the model. In reckons N^w Scheme of fit Triple Series. 289 iitg» however, it is icfelf excluded ; that memorable dijy on whidi the Almighty refied from all his works, being here coofidered purely as the firft fource of com- putation, l^ fepteaacy fyAems of natural days. In like manner -the reckoning by generations muft proc^d. When a fifft anceftor is found in btAory,tbe genealogift coiifiders him only as the father of his race, a-term 6i commencement, the point whence generations begin. Si^pofe a 4oRg roll, in the lineal, orfome- times perhaps, the collateral feries progreffively, conti- nued to the palling age, the living reprefentative of that firil anceftor is left out, and the intermediate de- £;:ents are alone counted* For example : ^* This is the book of the generations of Adam ^ in the day that God created jnan.'^ Adam, not having a human fatther and mother, was not gene^ rated ; neither can it properly be faid, that he was one ' of his own ofispring. The roll is brought down to Shcm, the loth from Adam exclufively. Shera was born in a fpecified year of Noah's life. That year is the date of the loth generation, and its final period is the yearof Arphaxad's nativity. On this principle, the intermediate defcents from Adsmi to Shera, exclud- ing both, are nine generations, and no more. Why fliould it he prefumed, that the Evangellft, in conftruding his Catalogue, adopted a diiferent mode in computation ? " The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the fon of David, the fon of Abraham/* Abrahan;! could not be one of his own progeny ; and Jefus Chriil certainly was not one of his own human U progenitors. Qjgb Genealogy. • progenitors. What if this new fchrine (hould Cenre i«' a key framed for opening the myfteries involved in the genealogies of both Testament s» by reftoring to tbe £vangeliil*s regifier thofe names in th^ onginal xtcxxiis^ which either by accident, ignorance, pr injudicioiis cri- ticiuDy have been retrenched from the firfl chapter of tl.v g« ipei hillory * i The Evangelift, in hisr triple di- vifion of names, invariably conne£ls hi^ricai eyentis with perfons, and confequcntly chronology ¥rith genoif rations. This happy union of middle terms» in com*' putation, merits the heedful regard of all, who, with the probability of fuccefs, enter into dilquifitions on this complicated fubjeft. *^ In regard three eltates of the Hebrew common- wealth were mpre remarkable ; — as firft in a fiate of growth or increafe, and governed by patriarchs, pror phets, and judges, to the time of David (no account being taken of the time of Saul, which was tragical and unhappy, and hallened by the precipitate defires of the people> before the time which God had cbofen fo|: the monarchy) ; next, its regal flate, as it was gpvemr ed by a race of kings from David to the time of tbe Babylonifli captivity ; and laflly, in its weaker ftate of declenfion and dependence, as this abolition of tin: reg^. power was followed by a fucceflion of ducal governors and chief priells, who ruled wit|i the aflillance of the * The author ventures to call this attempt a n^w fibeme^ becaufe he has not feen it fuggefted by any of the judicious and learned critics, in any of their works, (to which he hai( had accefs), iu confldenng this fubjcd. Sanbedri{q New ScH«*A V^/A?Tfeif Li Series. t§t Sunhfedrirti trfl Hfelt)d*s afltiWptlon 6f flie' g6t%>hffieftt; p creation* The tme intent of this triple (Krifimi doet not demand inveftigation fo minute, or dites: fixed willi fuch exafhiefs. It is, however, fit to apply tfiis remark to the particular periods already mentioned, left tht notations of time, and of fapily defcents^ which the Evangelift has, in every ftage, been fo attentivo to con? ne6l, (hould be disjoined. I. The abfurdlty of making Abraham ftand in tho front of that catalogue, which profefledly contains the names of his immediate and remote defcendaots, fugr gefis the expedient of confidering him only as the pri- mary fource of computation, and not as the ^ft naniQ in the firft feries of XIV. generations* Much more proper it were to begin with the timf of his death. Nor is it neceflary to bring the term of reckoning fo low. The date of the fojouming is much more reafonable. 3ut the moft conuiiodious o£ all may be the time of Ifaac's birth, that branch o£*tbe revered patriarch's family, in whom bleflin|g;s for all nii^ tions were refcrved. QhjeSfion. The intermediate Generatifns from Abraham h S^hmn^ excluding ivthy are thus reduced to thirteen. On the h)'pothefes of all thofe rcfpeflable expofitom who have taken in hand to adjuft the computation and numb^ New Scheme of the Triple Series. 29J* faiimbers of the Evi'ngeflft, t& the'Hebrew rctofds, ad-^ init that h6 mighv without incurring tlie .cenfuf^ of . a deviation frcMB truths fe]e£l fiich names zi were iiiitabltf to his views,' and fotnfetitnes omit two or three defceats in fiicceffioBy together with the- ufiial difiindionbe*^ tween imnlediat^ and remote defceiidatits^ or between thcffe-of the direA and tranfverfe line : riay, that he ihight infert- fewer jiamei than t4 in. one feries, and more in another^' provided all three- contained nearly the number 4a. Thofe who approve fuch loofe pofi- dons, have no right, in the prefent xrafe, to urge the obje£lion, which is frivolous. '-But as this fohltion may be pronounced unfatisfa3ory and ev^Iiyt^ a direfl reply may enforce conyiQion, when. a iubterfuge can bear no tftrefs. .. / . r It has been noted^ on Ruth, iV. 20. that the ori- ginal text reads, (and^ for any thing alleged to the con- trary), in all its copies, <* Nahlhon begat Salmah, and Salmon begat Boa2.'* If Salmah were the fon, and Salmon the *grandibn of Nahflion^ David certainly was the 14th in defeent from Abraham i^clulively. The reftoring of this n^me to the catalogue furmounts two difficulties, mose perplexing than the objection, i. It fliortens the ^ace >between generations from Nahflion to David ; and^ .%. ^ Obviates the phyficai impoffibility of the fuppoGtion, that Rachab was the mother of Boaz by Salmon. If^ 6n the other hand, ihe were the wife ol Salmah, (he :was alfo ,the gr^gidmother of Boaz. ' Thus Chroaolcgy > accords with the courfe of nature, and ifac H€brew:iext with the.£vangeU&*s firft feiids of U3 xiv. > ■*. ^94 G E N i A. L 0,G Y^ : , XIV. generations. But, even without tpcouxte W Ham expedient, the regifler may. be: conipleie^i cpn(ii^i)t^ Y^ith chronology and hiflory^ which is no^w^tQ l^e^yiap^* . IL Th£ time wi^h which the fecood ferifi^.'b^giiit is cbara^erifed by no de|berwiaaC<^ periqd ih: bifll>r|f* ' Pavid pr^cyeded the. buildbg of fh^. tsmfkh $p)plMi» executed tl^ work according: t0 ^h^ siodo) giHen*. iuri wit^ the. funda l^d up for thatrpu^ojfi^ . If^ %1b4 %j4% gelift cdnnefikd.the q)ii'0nok>gy witii tbiftp^xiodlof-the hiilorvy it feems aiv i^diSerent matter vchdtboii.lm tpretk though Solomon be counted, the lad of, tib& firA &rie^ If, as Dfh Berriman not improperly ccfi^i8diirc^»^ .Ais triple diftrihu^pn were made, rather with »referQfK;€t tp the political changes of the, Hel^rew ff^mmMir.Jii its rife and growtb> declf^fK)!) ^nd difineinbeMl'QftCf^ partial diflblucion, and.iofs of -mdepqndciiic^ tlMili)^ 1».». jnlnute diilinflioa of generatibm ^^-—tlictt thc^ firftipttMJ ends with Solomon^ at the time of bis detnifiri. iMbtH' the kingdom,, divided^againli it(blf, vrdi^ yaxgfnff tot tb& .period of extinSion. III.. The tranfpoitation. to Jlabyloo^ is ativ areiit dt- fcribed wiih fuch latitude, as .admits either Jofias» J^ • ■hoiakim, or Jeconias, to be pkced at tkt top of.'dbe third iencS) regard^ being fltll had to. the triple duefinqf Ne^ Scheme •fthi Triple Series. ^95 tct art angetncnt 5— chrortoJogy, genealogy, and liiftory. If Jofns be preforred, all the three are in perfedl uniibn^ IV. The Uft period^ with which the third fcriet tarminatei, the Evangelift defines by the time of He- rod^i deatfai and of hit Ton's acceflton. If this notation be coimefled with the Roman hiftory, thii laft number of the laiL feries is brought into coincidence with the reign of Auguflus, under whom the fourth empire rofe^ and the foundation was laid of a kingdom never to be deftroyed. Thus even the teftimony of prophecy afcer- tains the final period of the thrice XIV. generations* Refult rf this nnv Schimi, Series I. II. HI. 1. Iloac. T. Rehoboam. I. Jofiah. 7,, Jacob. 2. Abijah. 2. Jehoiakim. 3. Judab. 3. Afa. 3. Jehoiachin. 4. Pharos, 4^' Jehofhaphat. 4. Salathiel. 5* Hezron. 5. Jehoram. 5. ZorobabeL 6. Aram. : .6« Ahaitiah. 6* Abiud. 7. Aminadab. 7% JchoaDi. 7. Eliakim. S. Nahfhon. 8« Amaziah, 8. Azor* Salmah. « ^. Salmon* • • 9. Uzzlalu 9* Sadoc* to. Boaz. 10. Jotham. 10. Acbim« II. Obed. II. Ahaz. II. Eliud. 12. JelTe. 12. Hczekiah. 12. Elcazar. 13. David. 13. Maoaflfch. 13. Maithan* 14. Solomon. 14. Amon. 14. Jacob. Jofeph. • • • * Chrijf. U4 In 396 Y^ENEALOGT. In the firfl feries Salmah's noiae, thoi]^ without a number, is retained. From an inviohibfe regard to fidelit}', a charafler eflfential to juil criticifm, the author is conflraioed to acknowledge, that he is at a lois how tO' determine thb doubtful article in computation* On a ferious examination of the arguments on either fide, (for this- fubjeft is now, for the third time, rcTumedj^ he, with a mixture of caution and diffidence, exhibits bis fingdar opinion to pubKc view. I. The names Salmah and Salmon are nhifoiiflly ex- prefTed, as^ diftin3 perfons, in the Heb. text of Ruth, vr. ao and 21, without the difcordant authority of one va- rious reading ; and this di{lin6lion is prcfenred in Queen Elizabeth's Englifh Bible, printed by Robert Barker in i6io« II. If the diftinflion lie admitted, the length of the generations from Nahfhon to David, (406 years for four generations) is happily abbreviated to anearer conn formity with nature, by adding one defcent : III. Rachab the mother of Boaz, if. ffie be fug^ pofed the fame who entertained the fpies, (which' the Evangelift doth not affirm], muft have beeil either .fit- perannuated or dead before the time of his birth, Bift if his mother were a defcendant from, or a kififwoman^ of the firfi Rachab, in the tranfverfe line, the difficulty ir furmounted ; and this firft Rachab might have beep the wife of Salmah, and that marriage celebi:ate4'foon.aftjtr the paffage over Jordan. . .. •: 1 IV. By this diIlin£lion, David is the 14th k «fefceat from hliU) Scheme rfthe Triple Series. 297 from Abraham, exclufivdy, in perfedi agreement wkb Uiedeqifive escort of Mati. i. 17* -''V . OtpUhnu 1. T%t text tri Ruth is a Jtngle authority^ and contra^' dtJ^o'ry to all the fubjequent regtften^ pdrflcutarly to that in the fir fl chapter of the gojpel ty Matthew, Anfwer. The po£tion>is inappofite, and the infer* ence inconfequ^ntiaL Sundry important notations de* pend on the authority of one foHtary text 4 for inftancet the fpecification of 48Q years for th^ interval from the egrefs to the fourth year of Solomon. This fpace is much too long for four, generations from Nahflion^ on the common fuppofition that Nahfhon^as cut off in the wildernefs, that Salmon, who married Rachab, was his immediate fon, aad that this Rachab was the niothet of Boaz by Salmon. But infert Salmah, the compu* tation is brought within the limits of phyfical probabi« Itty. It involves no abfurdity to conjefhirey that 8aU mah was omitted in the other t^gitters, as id Salmon in I Chron. ii. I2. As to the catalogue in the firft chapter of Matthew, before the omiflion can be allowed to have any force, k ought to be certified, that the Dames Aha^ias, Joaz, and Amazias, were at any time found in any one copy. If they were, that one copy has unhappily eluded riie induftry of Mill, Kufter, Wet- iletnt and Bowycr. Thefe three names occur in all the Old Tefiament pedigrees, and as eflential parts of Mat« l^w^s roUt are here reftored. In all the records the loft jt^ Gi^iALOGir. lois or change of names might natorallf proceed tnrtA the fame caufe. A copyill with the fulleft sntention of executing an accurate tranfcript, direding his eye from OhoziaS) Matt. i. 8. ; after cngroifing this word in his parchment, might, on returning to the volume, find Ozias, and mifled by the (imilitude of wocds, leave oat the intermediate claufes, and fo retrench three gene- rations from the catalogue. In the like manner mig&t one copyift of the firft book of Cl}rotiicle»onii:t Salmpn ; and another overlook Salmah in Matthew. TIk eiifpxal text, in Ruth, feems to have been read hold with reipeft-fto* odMff; But verfions, may uniformly be .cnroheous^' and- can nerit no ciredit in oppdfition.to the original .iextt: at often as- it csiafli^rhaffinmi&srwitbitfaei'lniiA of chiut* oology, hift>iy, aad! natiire.; which m tbe.afis !wi^tb« text under review. .' i . . r ..y i ^. The adnuttance, ^ SalmaH kttst Ai .Svof^^s roll renders impraSiicaHf a hint ffirmerfy^fugffJM^fnii^ mating the pi^thility of rejioring to Mat^hevfi in the- veryyesur- bf liis grandfather Jehoram's dcmife ; and that, fhouM hi^ immedu^te fathery Ahaziah, beocnitted in ^be catalpgjae oi deice^tS), oa Uaojc in tknf{ would b^: t\m xnivkv ^ftd dstough) thQ £i»ngeltft^ moft probably^ iafelt^ idl HamB^ yet feft this difeovery irt ebmpktation to the iagacily of hife readers ; — a point jiow no lefs obvious, tl^an that Abraham and Jefus Chrift are not compieheoded lA the iji^cmedi^tli geaeca^^ion^ ; that it is requifite to; iiidudb Salmah in the. firft feries, to the end that it may-^ei** minate in David ; that Joafli and Amaziah were tran- fcribed into the original roll from the chronicle of the kings in the fecond feries ; and that the third properly begins ^oo Genealogy. begins with Jofiah, and ends with Jacobs Jofej^Ii 6f Nazareth^s father *. This cautious and weH-mesfnt attempt to reconcile the facred genealogies with truth and xlatore,. was nci-' fher undertaken^ nor conduQed, with the view of re- commending the corredion of the infpired oracles^ iii the original text of either Teftam^ht ; — a power which it is fuppofed no particular Chriflian church will, ill this age of the world, arffuttie or execute. The author'^ £mguine wifh is to fuggcft a few hints, for the ufe of the facred order, in their endeavours to elucidate the Bible from the pulpit or the prefs. This ihi^uaiRe code*~of divine knowledge, after every eflbr(ii6' unfold its precious contents, ftill continues, in manf^rdljp^Ss a iealed book to many of its readers* * Unwilltng to incur the imputation of ralhndi» iiIiuUh^ a new name to the regifter, the author has affixed to Salmah fio number, while Ahaziah is marked as the 6th in the (econd foies. Thofe judicious readers who acknowledge tfie force of the four reafons alleged in fixvour of Salmah, p. 996, srd left at liberty to prefix the number 9 to hi» namcr ttd to ex* punge 6 before Ahaziah. By the arrangement hfrtj^poM^ Beceflary it was to reftore four names from the Hebrew re- cords ; but omitted by the Evangelift. Ahaziah, it has becfft fiewn, mufi be included in the lift of kings, but m€^ be omitted in the line of Chrift's progenitors^ becaufe the tal« many peDs» that even an abftniGt of the opinion^, adopted by leveral authors^ would fll a volume. The reader who defires to fee them, muifc apply to their works, of which he may find a larg^ catalogue in Poole's Synopfis, or In Ba(rradiMs'j$ Com** •mentary. Thofe who would take a curfory view cf this fubjefi^ may derive.much fatisf^fiipn from a tn^ tife» of which the title is exprelTed in the note ^* ' The former Evangelift, it is commonly fsud, wrote his gofpel for confirming the faith of the believing Jews ; this fgr thp information of the converts ffom paganilm ;. and. each conftruded his catalogue fuitablf ^o his dhimate de&gn ; the one tracing thrift's pedi* gree front th^ father of the twelve tribes, the otbor • La Genefihgu 4^ Je/us Cbrtft; avee demclement des J>^ tiiltes qui fs rencontrent dans edte Genealogh, par M. CuillariL Leyd. 1683. See PilkingtOn's Notes on the Evangel. Hiftorf^ § 14.; alfo Grotiusy South's SermonSi voLiii, Trapp, YanUef* Scrrimaxi, abore (jupted, from 302 Gen eaiocy. from the firft progenitor of mankinds The final refult is convidion» the method purfued diilimilar» but the accounts not contradidory ; and the number (d^fpicr rations, though unequal, yet exempt from the fufpicion of fallacy. The Jews were in pofleflion of a regular hifiory, from the time they became a diftin£k people ; and, therefore, Matthew adopted tbe defcending feries from their firft fettlement in Canaan, to the then pafling age. But aft the Gentiles had no records of equal au- thenticity, and no certain knowledge of the earlieft times, Luke began with the mod recefAt p^ridd bf tn^ ^ion, ktA thetice proceeded from Aa^ to Atige^ in The mjcinding feries, to that point, beyond whieh the cbAH- putatton by hiftorical years, akid by gehemtioiiSy canAdt lit continued. The rolls from Adam tq David agree ill thenaiMei with no variation, but fuch as refults' from thf difierw Mc^ ^f languages and diale6h. The numbtr too i» tht fame, VIrith one fole exception, that of j« The fecond Cainan. Cit the authority of this £vangelifi,:fti^pDrtcd by ^t of the Greek Pentateuch, has the.exiftence of thii ^puijpus patriarch been generally believed in the Cfari(« tian chuk-cfa, if6T(i the fourth to the now expiring cei|- tury. So inveterate is this perfuafion, fo many and pertinacious its advocates, that thofe who fufpe£t an in- terpolation almolt incur the uncharitable fufpicion of faerefy. After a brief hiflory of this .controverfy, Shuckford exprefles bis convidion^ that the name ia furreptitioust LuKE*j Edition* 3p} fiirreptlrlous. His declfion, with thercafons.for It^is Tme tranrcril>ed9 as the ipofi jprob^ble, perfpicppus, ^ ; ^c EusfiBius and Africanus, bathof tbein» befldes od;ier writers, took their accounts of thofe times from tbe LXX., and yet haye 1iq fuch perfon^ as Cainao^ among the poft-dilyvians* .«• They did not.^mit bis dyw^*' liame from careleflhefsj for by the number of genera-* lions and of years, which they compute from Shem to Abraham, it is plain they knew of no other name thaa they have given us ; therefore, 3. The ancioit copies of the Septuagint, from which Africanus and Eufebiqs lyrote^ h^d Qot the naniip of. Cainan *• 4.. This nama . came * This pofition is controvertible, if not falfe. More pro- bd)le it is, that both thcfe fathers found thi* name in their -co- pies of the Gr. Pentateuch, but, fufpedting it t6 beinterpolated^ would not naention it on authority fo very equfyotcM*4 .1^^ ^^i^-* tainly was extant in that verfion, long before the Cbriftian era* For Yardley, who contends that the name is genuine, quotes the fame Eufebius, who has preferved a fragment of Aki. Corn* Polyhiftor, 86 years before Chrift. The paflage was cbpicd by Pplyhiftor, from Dem^tnus the MftoJ^an, who floorilhed 170 years before the Chriftiaa era^ and is to this effed : "Prom Adam to the time when Jofeph's relations went rdown into Egypt, are ^624 years.** Yardley remarks; " Prom which fragment it plainly appears, i. That Demetrius follows the phronology of the- LXX* *• That their chronology wa«, at that tfme, (within about 70 years after this verfion was firfl: xnade). the very lame that it now appears to be : and 3. That Demetrius doth, and the LXX. interpreters then did, include this fecond Cainan, and infert the years to him appertaining. I^or without thefe vears^ the forefaid calculation will fall fhort cxaflly 304. Genealogy. came Into the Septuagint copies, through the careleff- ne(s of fome tranfcriber, who from inattention inferted an ante-diluvian name, (for fuch a perfon was before the flood), among the poft-diluvianf, and having no aumbers for his name, wrote the numbers belonging to Salah twice over. 5. Other copies being tsdcen from that erroneous one, the name of Cainan in.time camie to be generally inferted. 6. St. Luke did not put Cainan into his genealogy ; but, 7. Learned men find*- kig it in the Septuagint, and not in this gofpel, fome tranfcribers marked in the margin of their copies this name, as thinking it an omilTran. 8. Later osiers and editors, finding it thus in the margin, took it into the textV* From the poll-dlluvian genealogy this lecond Cgi* lum is excluded by the Samaritan copy. Jolcphus was extremely cautious of giving a fpurious patriarch a p)ace in the Hebrew regifter, and, from this pfinciple^ would not admit Cainan as a fon of Arphaxad^ But^ after very Colemn protefiaOons of tranflatiflg from the (iakcred records, he adopted the enormouily magnified numbers of the Greek chronology, and, without hefi-» tation, added to the age of about 15 hthi^xt^ at the birth of th^ir fpecified fons, |oq years, ^nd thus eni* exa^ly 130 years.** Genealogy, p, rig. Dr. "WTindcr affirm?! that the amplified chronology of the Gr. Pent, was coevat with the firft formation of that verfion, in the time of Ptolemy iby the tranflators. Hift. of KnowL Part i. p. 440. * (^onnex^ vol. i. p. 280. Urged L\j¥iE*s $iii/ifin» 305. Wged the period from Adam to Abraham, about 15 centuries, and evinced his unEaithfuInefs as a tranflator. The Tjirriters of the Samaritan copy, the tranflators of the Greek verfion, and Jofephus, all impelled by a partiality in favour of an incredible antiquity, to which Mofesmade no claim, are inconfiflent with one another^ and with themfelves, in many notations of time. The Hebrew Pentateuch, whence all the others were pro- fefledly taken, either as tranfcripts, or verlions, agrees in all its copies, as well thofe now ex,tant, as others of which a^y fragments pr qiiota.tio.ns oc^ur ip hiftory^ In computation it is an infallible axiom, that an original deed, or which is equivalent, nuiperous copies of it, taken at diver fe times, and all in perffs£l concord, with- out the leaft variation of numbers, ar^ of preferable credit tQ tjr^nflations, juftly fufpefted of wilful cor- ruption, to gratify national pride. With the Chriftian fathers the Greek verfion haJ pbtained all the regard and authority, due to the vene- rabfe original, with which many of them were but very little acquainted. They propagated a malicious clamour ^gainft the Jews, 9S if they h^d, by general confent, ab- breviatedl the primitive M<>l^ical ci^ronology, in order to elude the predi£lions rplativp to the time of the Mefliah's appearaqce, and to perple;^ computation. Before the final overthrow of the temple a fraud of this magnitude was imprafiicable, and fince the ge- neral difperfion, phyfically impoflible. As if the affirmative had been fully proved, with all the fpeciali- ^es of time, place^^ perfons, and circumftances, the da- X mour 3o6 Gene alogy. mour has of late been renewed by Whifton, JackfbiH Kcnnicott ; an! laft of all by Dr. L. Geddes, who in an Englifh vcrfion of the Pentateuch, inferts the fpu- rious Cainan, and introduces into the xith chapter of Genefis all the exaggerated numbers of the Alexandrian interpreters, under the equally audacious and falie pre-. tence of tranflating from a correft copy of the ori- ginal ; and left he (bould incur the fufpicion of be- lieving the divine authority of the facred text» (cruples not to repeat his profefiions, that he does not fuppofe Mofes to have written under the infiuehce of infpi- ration. Dr. Winder, in the paffage above quoted, fuggells a very forcible reafon for the opinion, that the Hebrew chronology was not abbreviated by thie Jews, but en-^ larged by t!ie firft Greek tranflators ; — ** becaule the latter had a vifible end to be anfwered by it ; viz. that of magnifying their antiquities according to the humour of that age ; and when there was fcarce any danger of deteftion : — greater, I fay, was the probability of cor* rupting the Greek verfion, than of altering the Hebrew text, at a time when it could anfwer no end, againft either Chriftians or Pagans ; and when it would be almoft impoflible to efcape the dete£lion of the Chrif-. tian critics, who were now * as much concerned as the Jews themfelves to fludy the Hebrews. a. Harmottf • NOW the author muft refer to the fecond century of the Chriftian era, when Whifton wildly furmifca that the Jews mutilated the chronology of their Pentateuch. As if tht faft had LUKE^ Edition. 307 ^. Harmony 0/ the Genealogies from Arphaxad to Na^ than. Not only in the two Evangelifls, but in the Septu- agint verfion, the Samaritan copy, and jofephus, arc the names of the defcendants from Shera, and the fum of had been fully proved by diredt hiftorical evidence, Jackfon .and Kennicott revived the flanderous calumny againft the Jews .of that age; and, in this paragraph. Winder vindicates them from that afperfion, on the great improbability of the attempt, and the certainty of detection. Whatever charafteriftical blemiflies ftain the reputation of that infatuated, people, inva- riably zealous they always were to prefervc the purity of their tiered code. In this refpect they exadly refemble the pra ham, Cainan excepted. Hence to the demife of David the evangelical pedigrees agree v^Ith the Hebrew re- cords, and with one another. 3. Variations from David to TLorohabiL " That the difierence in the two pedigrees is owing to the different methods in which they are deduced^ and not to want of truth in either, may be argued on the following accounts. i. Becaufe the Jewt allowed the main point, that Jefus was of David's family ; fo that the Evangeliil had no need of inven- tion or artifice to prove it. 2. Had they defigned to faliify, they would have avoided all variation 9» much as poflible, and delivered their account with the greateft appearance of confiftency. So that their very variation is a proof of their (implicity and freedom from any de- fign of combination or impoflure. Thefe conCderations are of greater weight to defend the integrity of tbe Evangelifb, and our Lord's pedigree from David, than interpreters, to proted the Jews from the fuppoled infiony of ' an upftart race, enlarged the genealogical niimbers of Mofe9» in their new verfion, but AifTered the genuine notation', which remain at this day, to continqe as they found theni. This criticifm fuperfedes Shuc Word's fourth remark, that Cainan's name was firft introduced by the negligence of a traDfcriber, pofterior to the firft Tonnation of the Gr» Pent. For if the numbers were then firft enlarged to falfify the chronology, ncedlefs it is to conned with a lef* recent date the interpo- lation of a fpurious patriarch, which fallacious artifice adds 130 years to tbe chronology of that period. 7 »»» LUKeV Edition. • 30 J the (iitFerence, obferved between them, can be to over- throw it, even though we were not able to conjeflure the reafoh of fuch difierence." ** But to come nearer to the point, we are not without all conje3ure, what difTerent methods the Evangelifts might ufe, in their dedu6lion of the pedi- gfee, which might lead them into this variety ;** (nay render it unavoidable) : '* fo that, though their accounts are not perfedly the fame, yet both may be true, and both confident : and, though we cannot demonftrate, after all, that our account is certainly right, yet it is enough for the part of a refpondent, that it may be fo, for ought we know to the contrary. This effeflually takes off the force of the obje^ion ; fo that nothing can be conclu(ied againft us from the appearing variety. Two fchemes principally have been offered for the re- conciliation of this difficulty." ** The firft is that of Julius Africanus, in the beginning of the third century, and whofe notion, in this matter, is both flated and ap* proved by Eufebiiis ;— that the two Evangelifts have drawn out the pedigree of Jofeph, in two different views,^ the natural and legal methodf." " The fecorttl fchcme of reconciliation is, — that Matthew has given us the pedigree of Jofeph, and Luke that of Mary ; that fo, from both Evangelifts together, we might have a double pedigree from David, the one in the line by Solomon, the other by the line of Nathan^/' * Berriman'$ Sermons, vol.1, ferm. v. p, la;, &c. 3^0 G E :j E A LOG v. This judicious writer fets forth the merits of either fcheme, the obje£lions to each, with the anfwen» and afHrms the propriety of both. In' an Analjfii^ a more minute difcuflion is needlefs. The generations in Matthew from David to Abiud, excluding both^ as likewife Ahaziab> are S9, as before flatcd, and the mean proportion of time cannot be afcertained, becaufe the interval from the birth of Jc- coniah to Abiud is not known. If Zorobabel witb his father Salathiel be omitted, the defcents are 17, end- ing with the year of Jehoiachin's captivity, A. Mi 3410* Let the year of Solomon's birth, in 2971, be the fource of computation : then the lefs number, dedu6led from the greater, leaves 428 ; and this fum, divided By 17, quotes 25 years two months for the coffimoil in^ tcrval. In Luke's catalogue, from David to Neri, in A^ line • of Nathan, are 20 generations. But it merits enquiry' whether a deduflion be not admilTible. Irenasus, Afrt« canus, Eufebius, Gregory Nazianzen, Jerom^ Auguftinf and, on their authority, Grotius, with feveral other niodcrn critics, rej eft Levi and Matthat *• . Some of thofe fathers it feems furmifed, that 72 new langi^age» were framed at the confufion of tongues, and that this number was equal to the generations from Adam ta Chrift. This is a fanciful aflbciation^ It is hoyrever faid, that thay, on this notion, expunged from the le^ gifter Levi and Matthat, together with Cainan. 'A ** Luke, iii. 24. mucb LUKE*J EditioiK 311 Vntich better reafpn occurs. Fully were they perfuaded, that none of all the three names had a place in the Evangelift's autograph, or in its earlicft tranfcripts. In the days of Irenaeus all three began to appear. He and others rejeBed them as fpurious. But as it was, in that age, a vplgar prejudice, that the new tongueS), which originated from Babel, and tt>e progenitors of Jefus Chrift, were equal in number, thofij who did not affent to this notion, might by that mode of reafoning, called urgumentum ad hominemy declare . their dijjent from the reception of Cainan, Levi, and Matthat, into the lift, Cainan belongs to a former clafs,, and is already repro- bated. But Neri, as the laft of this feries, may, by a former rule, be left out: and thus the generations in private life, are, for the fame period, equal to thofe in the royal calendar from David, that is, 17 defcents in 428 years. 4. Variathm from Zorobabel to Jofeph and Mary* In this, as in the foregoing feflion, the names arc entirely different ; but the fubjeft of difcuffion is the variation of generations, with refpefl: tb number, in the fame period of time. Matthew's regifter exhibits 12 generations from Jeconiah to Jacob, the father of Jofeph. * From the hiftorical year of the incarnation, A. M. 4004 *, de- du£l the year of Jeconiah's birth, 3392, the difference is 612. This fum divided by 12, tlie common quantity » > * The number is properly exprefled, for Ufher gives 4000, the vulgai* reckoning 4008. The hiftofkral year Is 4004. X4 of 312 Genealogy. .of a generaittoin is^ priecifely 51. This Qiediate fpace exceeds the defcents fnmi kings; th6c^h|ih riie former feriea by l^ingf and private f^ilie^ the pioporticm was equality. ,'..». In the roll by Luke^ fn«n JccoiTiali> to Heli, the yf^jui vi555J^of Mary, arb 21 generatimis ; by' which fum divide 6 12, the ^iBNtan proportion 19^99.- Sometimes one life is the double ^of two in co^^ifience* and fuc- ceffion ; fomethnes tw9 generation^ Jire-e^iiri to three m a feries. The dlffefenee-heie i^ v^eliy vtvi$ not thccafe^*.** &£tw&£N Mofes.and the ELvarigeliAs is a ftriklng fimilarity of.ojanner in their common charafler, as hiC- tortograpbers. He wrote fuch ft range accounts of ftrange things, as wei^; not likely to obtain credit, the produc- tion of a univerfe from nothing* the deftruSion of the whole earth by a deluge, with the exception of a fmali flock, for the reftoration of mankind, and animals of every fpecies. They reported the birth of a fon by a virgin mother, and the redemption of mankind by his death on a crofs, which do6lrine fome accounted fool- inmefs, and was to others a ftumbling block. Neither he nor th>y betrayed the leaft fufpicion that they might incur the cenfure of colleSing and tranfmitting a mafs oT'abrurd pataSoxes, impoflibilities, contradifiions. No apology they oflFered for the feeraingly incredible things tliey recommended to the belief of the world ; no anxiety did they difcover about confequences, with refpeft to themfelvcs \ yet with an ardour of charity and zeal, with all the powers of perfuafion, did they befeech, implore, and intreatj thofe to whom they were fent, to confult their own moft important interefls. Here is every criterion of knowledge and veracity, of . ' 't ' *.* ' ■ * Tiapjj's Notes on Matt. :. i— 13. ^ fgfcir 314. Gekealogy. a fober mind, and of fupcriority to popular opihiotlft Thcfe Evangclifts did not mean to contradif): ont another ; each had a diftin£l part of the fame fubjefi ; and both, [Maiihcw and Luke], it muft be prefumed^ executed their defign "with all the precifioni required in faithful hiftorians *, ♦ The Jews, in common with the Chriftians, hold> that the Mefliah was to proceed from David ; and what objeilion was more pertinent than this, that though the apoftles did preach the natural defcent of Jcfus from David, yet as he had no earthly father, they did not ^ve a true and regular genealogy from David to Mary. This objection would have been much more forcible, than thofe many trifling cavils, which the mo*- dern Jews have brought, or their forefathers had alleged agsinft the truth of the gofpel. To obviate this objection, aitcr JNIatthew had given the natural defcent of Jofcph from Abraham ; the Holy Spirit directed the pen of Luke to record the genealogy of Hcli, the father of Mary, the mother of Je«- fus, from David, the king, from Abraham, the father of the Hebrews, and from Adam, the father of all mankind. Sec Yardley on the Genealogies, page 353, &c. APPENDIX. ( 3»5 ) ifmmmmmmmmmimmmwmmmmmmmmmmmmmmtmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmtmmmmmmmmmm mmmtmm^ii'm APPENDIX. Stridures on Sir Ifaac Newton^ s Chronology. Introduction. ■ • • • * • THI$ prodigy of genius, while exploring the laws of nature, devoted occafionally a vacant hour to the hiftory of time, with the meafures of which he was well acquainted ; and in fuch refearches, intricate as is the fubjefl, found relief from the fatigue of inveftigating thofe general principles, which pervade the ftill more complex mechanifm of the univerfe. "He bound the fun And planets to their fpheres ! th' unequal talk Of human kind till then. Oft had they roll'd O'er erring man the year, and oft dlfgrac'd The pride of fchools, before their courfe was known Full in its caufes and efFefts to him. All piercing fage! who fat not down and dream*d ' Romantic fchemes, defended by the din Of fpecious words and tyranny of names ; But, bidding his amazed mind attend, And 3i6 Sir I. Newton'/ Chronots^. And with heroick patience years on years Dcep-fcarching, faw at Lfl the fyflem dawn And (hinc of all his race» on him alone. The noifelers tide of //W, all bearing down To vaft eternity's unbounded fca, Wljcrc the green iflands of the happy (hinc. He fhcmm'd alone; and to tht fource (iiivolv'd Deep in primeval gloom) afcending rais'd His lights at equal diftances^ to guide Hifiorian, wilder'd on his darkfome way.** . This elegant encomium* is, with one exception, jufi. Even the vaft, capacious miiid of Newton did ^lot afcend to \\lz Jourcc of //W, but left it invohed in deep primeval gloom. From the vulgar year pf the na* tivity, as erroneoufly defined by Uflier, A. P. J. 4709, (which is the true hiftorical dare), he purfues his re- fearches, in the retrograde outer, to the days of Eli^ where he flates the firfl fynchrouifm of the Egyptian hiftory with that of tlic Hebrews. Much is it regretted, that he did not extend the line of invefiigatioa through the patriarchal ageS| by the notations of an infiiHible chronology, (which hap- pily combines genealogy with history), back to the origin of things, — that point in ipeafitfed time where genuine hiflory begins, and beyond which chro- nology can go no farther. Not fufpe^ing deceptioft or error in the lucubrations of a metropolitan^ who was f Tbomfun't loein to tbc Memory of Sir.Uaac Kewtoiv Introduction. .317 tlie ornament of his age, and had excelled all his prc- deceflbrs in the fingular art of HISTORICAL AR- EANG£M£NT> Sir Ifaac {loptihoxt^^and excluded from his fyftem the chronology of a8 centuries. In Sir John Mar (ham's Chronological Canon, this sidventurous reformer of anciei^t computations fipund a rich mine of mixed ore, gold, filver, brafs, ifoir^ and clay ; all in one mafi^ y waiting the, refiner's fluii, and the operations of the furnace. Hence he derived an immenfe variety of materials, fufeeptible of a better arrangement, and a more perfeft form. The refult of a minute examination was a full cohvidion, that' the antiquities of the Gentiles had teen amplified by fifliofn, difguifed under the mafk of allcgdryj and derived belief from the credulity of an ignorant world. The Chro>jology of andtnt KifiG)boMS ameful^ edy was not an attempt rafhly projeflfed, ^r its ingre- dients precipitately thrown together. About five months before the author's death he had an ifiierview with Dr. Pearce, late hi (hop of Rotrhefter, whoni he informed, **^ That he had fpent thirty years, at intervafls^ in reading over all the authors, or parts of authors,' which c0uld furrtifli any materials, for forming a juft account of the Ancient Chronology ; — that he had, in his readings made collections from thofe authors^ and had, at the end of 30 years, compofed from, thence .HIS Chronology of ancient Kingdoms ;-^and that he had written it over feveral times, (it appeared aft^iv wards, the hi (hop, thought 16 times), making a few alterations in it, but what were for the fake of fliort- ening 3l8 Sir I. Newton'x Chronology. cning it (as the bi(hop gathered from his difcourfejt and leaving out, in every later copy, fome of the au- thorities and references, on which he had grounded his opinions.'* As this elaborate work was begun in the vigour of his faculties, fo it was the fubjeft of his thoughts, and the cxercife of his hand, in the laft period of his lifc^ «* A few days before he died, Dr. Peanre made him a vifit at Keniington, and dined with him. He found him writing over his Chronology of ancient Kingdoms^ without the help of fpedacles, at the greateft diflance in the room from the windows, and with a parcel of books on the table cafling a (hade upcm the paper. Seeing this, on my entering the room, (faid the dofior}* ** Sir, you feem to be wrking in a place where you can- not well fee/' His anfwer was, ** Little light Cerves me/' He then told me, that he was preparing his Chronology for the prefs, and that he had written igbt bfe' aft OB- SERVE ft, lii'd^^d^ U hotifn{)r6babk;betng cbrftempopary With ilifiife yA\o Were Yo :"— Palatrl^iV'AftraBUJ, Nau- pliiriy Atlas, &d. Defofe faehtiorieS. ' T^hS faft; but hot tlie kaft fuccifsfur,-oppoherit td feirlfaac s pbfition«,'coi^CCTning the Gfeek Chronology^ il Dr. Mufgrave in his Examination of the Objcc- lions toi^he Chronology of the OLYRtPlADSj in 1772: ko iA\ Which atithors the inquifitive and learned reader is rrfdfreq, for niofe ample iriforinaHon; Some principles in. this vtty refpeflable philofo- |jrhei**s laft, though leaift perffeft workj at variance with thofe of a late right reverend divine> arse combated, in the third volume of his Divide Legation, ftom p. 242 to 342j wlfih lefs delicacy than zeal. Warburton was tiot a match for'fJewtdn in thofe parts of literature tonnefted with the arts of calculation^ but by an in-^* lierent vigour of genius^ brought difcrcdit on foitie of that illuftriou^ ' ainhor^s conclufiorts^- ill his book of Ohronologicafl Em'ehdation^i Hooke, in the intro- duftiori to his Kpm^ft Hijloty^ iioiertakes a vindication df Sir Ifaac's afrrangemcnts from th6 oiycQions of his feveral opponent»i and after makii^ feveral conceflions, ipartlcukrly th^ juniority of Rbme ttIHi refpeft to Carthage, . concludcji in fevour of the reformed chro* iiology. ' Y ' SlK 322 Sir I. NEWTON'i ChrMolcfgy. Sir Ifaac Newton's amazing difcovcries in the ap- plication of geometry and experimental philofopby to the fyftem of nature, his ingenious Theory of Light and Colours, his Improvements in Univerlal Arith- metic, not to mention his very probable claim to the Invention of Fluxions, had, in his lifetime, procured him univerfal eftimation, as the model of fcientifical perre6lion ^ and he was almoft the Ongular example of genius having furmountcd envy before death. But with (low caution, and not without numerous abate* men ts and mortifying refervations, have the merits of his two laft publications, Objirvations upon the Prophecies^ and The Chronology of ancient Kingdoms^ both pofthu- mous, been admitted ; though he had the felicity not only to improve, but adorn, every fubjedl, to which he applied his maAerly talents. * ■. In each of thefe performances candid- criticifm muft allow certain objeflions, dated by feveral leacrned men, to remain, either in part, or in their full force. But . this conceflion does not divell that great man of the honours unqueflionably due to him, on account of hit happy elucidation of the prophetical ilile ; and of hit conne£ling a train of particular predi£lions, with the continuous feries of genuine hillory \ — neither of many important difcoveries, the refult of afironomy, chrono- nology, and genealogy, applied with exquifite fkill, and wonderful harnaony of co-operation and effe£l, to the hiftory of the £ARLY ages. ImperfeQion isinfepa* rab!e from even the moft elaborate produ£lions of hu* man iNTRODOtTIOl}. 323 ttiaii geriius. When the intricacy of the fubjeft is confidered, the overfights here are few and excufable *. In framing the prefixed Analysis, feveral inftances of defe£l in the plan, and of improper difpofition in the order of the Newtonian Chronology have^ oc- curred. Thefe, not altogether excluding chara&ers of impcrfeQion or excellence, obferved by other writerf" on the fubjeS, are the ground- work of this Appendix, which is, for this reafon, divided into two parts. ^ " T have one general remark to make on Sir Ifaac^s book; that he tinds fault with the earlier part of the Grecian hiftory for having no chronology j and yet fuppofes, that when chro- nology, that is, technical chronology, was introduced by Ti« niaeus and others, the only ufe made of it was to falfify their hiftory. This makes it neceflary to explain, in a few words, my notion what chronology is, and what it is not. 'I fay then, that tlie genealogy of a particular family; a feries of k4ngs or ptiefteffts, a liO: of archons, or the pe<;orc|8 of a piib^iq folem- nity, like the Olympic games ; none of thefe are chronology. But chronology ia that fcience, which compares thofe lifts, ge- nealogies, and records together, and adjufts them to one ano- ther, niaking, if p^flible, one confiftent whole.' This is a work that requires, no do^b^,rth& i^and of a mafter,-and it requires alfo an unprejudiced- rpimiv For if the chronologer has any favourite point to eflabliibs.ify for inftance, he be delirous of extending or contracting any particular period, he wiU be tempted to mutilate or ftrctch them out, as may beft ferve his purpofe. The want of chronology with which Sir Ifaac re- proaches the Greeks, is a circumftance, which in another point of view may be confidered as ftrongly fupporting their credit." — Mufgrave, p. aa4* Ya CHAP. ( 3*4 ) mm*mmmm^^aiim0*tm*'f**mmmm^mmii^^^tamihmi^titf^tmimftt»mttti CHAP. J. t * 1 Sir Isaac Newton V Chronology. IN <:omputuig tim£s> Dodwell aOumes, as funda* mcQtaly a reafooable poftulate, *' The Chronologer muft proaeed from known to Icfs certain periods ^Z' The primary term in computarion, depending, as fug- gelled in the fubjoined note» on the quantity of mea^ fured time, from ^he firfi to the fecond Adam, and de- fined in the record^, whkh Jews and Chriftians acknow* }edge to be of divine authority, merits the higheft * A certiOFiliiiB ti^mporibue ad ineertiora progrediendum* DlJJerfatlaHis de Gfaeorum Romanotumque Cfclis. The times with which the New Teftameift \Afltirj begins are no lefs known fi^m authentic reoords,' than thcrfe of the fubfequent ages. Kennedy reverfes the poftulate, << Tempera quo anti- qniora, eo certiora. This pofition is applicable to that period alone, with which the Old-Tcftftmelit hlftory begins. The great difiicultyi which has not hei«tofbre been fiirmoimted, is by cofnparing with itfelf, by the aki of borrowed light, the facred hillory, Ibr the inte#m«d2alef(>aGeliximthe Creatioii to the Christian Era. .To fix the aftronomieal years, fo at not to count incomplete for full, or to midtiply their number by counting full years twice, has been attempted in the Intro- AuMion to the foregoing Jnaljjj. degree Defects !n the Plan. 335 *diegrc€ of credit, becaufe the vouchers, whence it is afcertained, are, of all other^^ the beft attefted, and tlie terra, as in them, fixed moll confonant with natural phenomena, the late origin of the moft ancient civil eftablifliments and national recofds, the flow progrefs, 9nd continual improvements in arts, &c. Suppofe this term uncertain, and thefe vouchers counterfeit, curious and Ikilful enquirers into the origin of historical TIME are left in perplexity to determine whether the 'Mofaical chronology, or that of the Chaldees, Chinefe, Egyptians, Geotoos, &c. merits the preference. -. Every well informed and impartial enquirer muft ')admit, that the Hebrew records, infpiration apart, are -recommended by internal chara<3ers of confiftency, me- thod, order, ai}d truth \ not to be found in the annals jof nations, who pretended a prior origin to the He-- brewrs, but were certainly much more recent. No alphabetical compofitionj on any fubjeft, in the primi- mitive language of Egypt, is mentioned in any old hifloriap, even by its title, or a detached fragment. The Coptic alphabet is demonftratively, if not con- feifedly, modern. Manetho's Dynafties, originally tha refult of fi£lion and forgery, never had the loweft claim to credibility : and fo much are they disfigured by deliberate changes of names, order, numben, enlarged, omitted, mutilated, or tranfpofed, that no guefs can be inade concerning their primitive contents or form. The Bible exhibiting eve^ criterion of plan, method, and tendency to* an ultimate end, is properly the fabje& of fair criticifm^ and never, lofes credibility, but always Y 3 acquires 326 Sir I. Newton'j Chronology, acquires confillence, certainty, and every infallible cha* rader of truth, from thofe modes of trial, and tefls of authenticity, vrhich never fail to dete£l the fabrications of impofiure. Sir Ifkac Newton, having built his Chronology on a foundation already laid, the Annals of Archbifhop Uflier, v^hich had, before his time, obtained a general . reception, went no farther back than the days of Elip a8 full centuries fubfequent to the Mofaical creation. But, as he did not avow his approbation of the received fyfiem, . nobody knows, though it cannot reafonably be prefumed, whether he did tacitly adopt the amplified antiquities of the Gentiles. The very firft fentencc of his work removes all fuch fufpicion : ^^ All nations, ber fore they began to keep exa£l accounts of time, have been prone to raife their antiquities; and this humour has been promoted between nations about their pri? ginals." Farther, the Chronology of the Hebrew Penta- teuch is, in many indances, different from that of the Samaritan copy, of the Greek verfion, and of Jofephus. In feveral copies thefe di(lin£l authorities contradiCl one another, and all deviate from the original, which in all its tranfcripts, the Samaritan excepted, exhibits every where the fame notations of number within the ex* preffed period. Here are two reafons of preference, originality, and felf confiflence. Tranfcripts and ver- fions are tried by their antitypes, as the fupreme fland- * ard. Conformity is reftitude, and deviation the crea- ture of error or unfaithfidnefs. Well known are the ?gents. Defects in the Plan. 327 agents, the times, and the probable caufes of variation from the numbers of the venerable original, which none of the fcribes or tranflators had the efiFrontery to cor- rupt. As they found, they left it — unvitiated by en- largement, mutilation, or change ; and kept in cuftody the precious depofltum, iwhich eventually detefied their bfeacb of fidelity, as copiers or tranflators. The impulfive caufe of amplifying the. true Mo- faical computation was to refcue the nation of the He- brews from the fuppofed ignominy of a recent origin, in compliance with the prevalent vanity of the Gentiles from the days of Herodotus to thofe of Jofephus. It has been alleged that the Jews of the fecond century firft abbreviated their chronology. This conjeQure has already been obviated, by (hewing the impofTibility of fiich a fraud from the time of Mofes to the Chriftian cxa ; greater ftlll was the difficulty of executing fuch a projeftj^at a later period ; for the Chriftians of the firft century had got in poiTeflion the genuine oracles of infpiration. This illuftrious reformer of ancient chronology, taking his rife frpm the times of the later judges in Ifrael, has left it doubtful what edition of the Heb. Pen- tateuch he approved, whether the original text, or its tranfcripts and verfions, as ths model of true chrono- logy. The numbers marked in the Short Chronicle. exprefs the years before the Chriftian era, as hxed by Uflier. Where he is erroneous, and Sir Ifaac's arrange- ments did not require a diSerent date, he erred with his mafter ; whence it is prefumed, that his prime fource Y4 of 3 28 «?/V I. N E w T o N ■ i Chronology. df computation 13 the number of the Julian' Pi^iod 4710. WeKe this computation accurate^ which it is tiot^ Uflier antedates the difperfion by a term of ycar«, which afile£)s the credibility of MoTes in .his hiftofical charac- ter, if the ftaie of arts and population, at the cloie of the firft century after the flood, be maturely confidcred*^ The interval, compreffed within top narrow Hmits, vio- lates phyfical probability. Mofes affirms, that, '' ia the days bf Pcleg was the earth divided." Uflher, after Jofephus, refers that partition to the very year of that patriarch's bitth* But iht facred hi^rian's words may feirly be flippofed applicable to dny year qf Peleg's lifc^' whofe age at death was 239 ; or to any year before tine birth of Haran, (a brother of Abram), of lyhpm it i^ recorded that he died in the land of his nativity. Thi$ notation of time prcfappofes the divifion qf the ear^h.- Who fo well qualified to reftify this obvious p^ochro- nifm as the renowned Sii^ Ifaac Npwton,. whofe powers of computation feem to have been intuitive ? Thi^ point, the time of the general difperfion, would have dpened to his view momentous difcoveries, refpefling the plantation of the firft colonies, and the rife of tho ihoft ancieAt kingdoms. It would likewife hav^ prfe- vented the confufion, which, fince his death, perplexes this fubjeft, and i^ likely not to be fodn removed. The authors of the Anctertt Vniverfal Hijlory^ puzeled with the difficulties attending this perfod of the facred chro- nology, drtd incapable of difpelling the darknef^ induced by the frivolous and fetlfe arrangements ol ioexpert 7 chronologer^ Defects in the Plattf ft^ riironologeTS and commentators, preferred th^ compU'? Rations of the Samaritan copy,' as more expaikled thai| ^bpfe of the Hebrew, and lefs extravagant than tboib pf thp Greek verfion. Nor has the Ilcentioufnefs of innovation ftopt here. Whifton, Hay, Jackfon, and JKennidQt.^, having revived the credit of the once ex- ploded Septuagint, it is pow the fupreme and exclufive pbronological dire£iory } fot one Geddet;, in compliance with general opinion, has lately introduced into the Englifll Pentateuch, fhe genealogical numbers in Gen. xi. from the Alexandrian interpreters, under the falfii pre.terice of tranflating from the Hebrew. Evj£N among thpf« Chriftian writers, who adhere to ^he Hebrew coippuu^ion^ great is the difcord of opi- nions,, concerning the firft point in time, which era ^trauchius pronounces the gordian knot in chronologj'^ never to be untwjfled by the ingenuity of man. Peta- vius, Wallis, and others, have been fo bold as to affirm, that abfolute certainty in this matter is not attainable, but by divine revelation. Unreasonable it is to expe£l an immediate communication of fupernatural light, to confirm the difcoveries of the written word. . If this point be not there revealed, it may fafely be avoided, as one of thofe foolifli and unlearned queftions, which minifter flrifes, rather than promote edification. David Paraeus, as quoted by Ulher, pronotinced thofe (who promifed an exa6l afironomical table of time, from the firft point cf the creation ; unto Chrift) more worthy of encourage-^ jnent than praife', in that they attempted a thing above human 33© Sir I. Newton'j Ckronohgy. human capacity. Paraeus was tlten among the lateft writers, who took upon him to number the years, even to Chrifl's time, out of the hofy fcriptures ; he, there- fore, leaving the aftronomica), betook himfelf to the politic time of the Hebrews, &c. In this bufinefs, Ufher thought it an indifferent matter; what rule were applied to the meafuring of time, fo it were known, and terminated with a certain number of days. If any one could by fome equal meafure of years define the diflance between the foundation of the world, and Chrift's time ; it were alfo moil eafy, without the help of adronomical tables, to fet down how many equinoxes in number did happen, during that interval ; and the noted revolution from one equinox to the fame point again, what is it but a year, natural and truly aflrono- tnical ? But, if any one well feen in the knowledge, not only of facred and exotic hiftory, but of aftrono. • mical calculation, and the old Hebrew calendar, (hall apply himfelf to thefe ftudies, he judges it indeed diffi- cult, but not impoflible to attain, not only the number of years, but even of days, from the creation of the world *. These expedients the very learned and judicious primate adopted, but, like Phaeton, without, fuccefs: In great attempts 'tis glorious e'en to fall. To give a fmall epitome of the various opinions held by the bell afironomers on this fubje£l, Strauchius inferts *- Uflitr'-s Preface to his Annals, half ' Defects in the Plan* 331 half a hundred. Of thefe a few are here felefled, >!rhich fix the creation to a date later than the feventb ^Qntuty of the Julian Period, Yrs. M Jacobus Capellus 708 John Wichman 709 U(herandSimpfon7io Dion. Petavius 730 Philip Melanfton 750 Scaliger, Calvi- fius, &c. 764 Chriftianus Sco- tanus ^ 765 3 3 9 9 Yrs, M. Joannes Micro- elius - 766 10 Matthaeus Bero- aldus - 786 9 Jewilh vulgar date 953 9 * David Gantz 954 a Jewifli lefler Chro- nicle * 1044 8 Tnp Jewifh vulgar computation abridge^ the chro- nology of their pwn annals by about 250 year^. This miilake arofe not from any deliberate or malicious de- fign to corrupt their records, as many of the Chriftian fathers, Whifton, and his fujlowcrs, moft uncharitably aflBrm ; for to preferve their records entire and pure, they have, in all ages, exemplified a laudable zeal ; — but from a fatal ignorance in chronology and hiftory, Mif- underftandlng the true Mofaical computation, they refer the birth of Abraham to the 70th, and not the 130th, of Terah, its true date. Thus are 60 ^ears retrenched from the age of the world. Again taking Longimanus, Mnemon, and Ochus, for one and the fame Artaxerxes, Not bus and Codomannus for one and the fame Darius, ^hey reduce the duration of the Perfian empire from ^04. to 48 years. In other inilances they betray equally jjt Sir I. Newton'/ Chronohry, equally ftriking proofs of ignorance in their own chro- nology, and in the hiflory of the Gentile monarchies. Thefe fpecimens alone eftablifh the imputation of in- accuracy, from ignorance, not deflgn. " As long ai they [tjic Jews] continued in the eaft> they continued in the eaftern ufage of computation by the era of contra£ls, as they called that of the Seleij- cidae; but when, about the year of our Lord 1040, iTiey were driven out of the eafj, and forced to remain in thefe weftern parts, and here fettled in Spain, France, England and Germany, they learned from fomc of the Chriftian chronologers of thefe countries to conqpute by the years from the creation. The firft year of this era, according to their reckoning, falls in the year of the Julian Period 953, and takes its beginning from the autumnal equinox in that year. But the true year of the creation, according to Scaiigcr's computation, was 189 years, and according to others, 249 y^ays higher up than where this era of the Jews placeth it ♦." This very judicious critic and hiftorian remarks, " That the era from the creation is of very common 4jfe in chronology ; but this on account of its uncer*- tainty he has rejeded, moft chronologers fcJlowing , -different opinions, fome reckoning the time fooner, fome later, and fcarce any two agreeing in the fame vcart.'* m • Prid. Conncx. Parti, p.' 426, fdi. f Prid. Pix'f. page til. Or Defects in the Piatt. ' 333 O^ the pagan writers Ibnie tnaintaiaGdl the eternity of the world, others affirmed, that it had a beginniag ; but all of this clafs proFefTed their ignorance of the tiizie. ** If,** iays Cenfortnus, ** the origin bf the univerfe were known, I %ouId thence begin to reckon^ Whether time had a 'firftfdurce, or alwraysibd exalt; the isumber of its years cannot be defined •*.**' iPiolarajy the aftronoraer aflerts, " That the epoch orf tinrie lies beyond the limits of human knowledge +:**• and Jjd. Firmious Maternus cerifures the raflirleft of thofe wh« pretend certainty in a matter fo impenetrably dark ^, ^ It has been (hewn, that the Jewsi had no (kill • to conned the genealogical numbei(s of Mofesf, on which the chronology of the firft aces is conftruded, or to aipply to their own hiftory the reigns of the Perfian ttionafcfas: — that they erred from ignorance; — ^and OMght to be acquitted from fhe calumrty of wilfully corrupting .their record** . In like manner ba5 it been ^Cfvinced, that of aU-the Chriflian chronolqgers, few ibav^ afcertained, to the fatisfadion of the public, tlie precife quantity of the interval ftom Adam to our :cra. • Here was a fubjeQ worthy the decifion of Sir Ifai^ Newton ; — a fubjeft of doubt and perplexity^ to the elucidation of which his penetrating, extenfive, and vigorous faculties, were much more than commenlurate. He either adopted implicitly the erroneous f heme of • Dc Die Nal. c. ao, 11. f Gr. Syntaxis, lib. iii. , X Mathe$» I iii. c. 2. Uftier's 33+ Sir I. Newton ^i Chtondlogy. Uflicr's Annals, or perceived the fallacy, and thought it obvious to all the world. ' . That very accurate calculator, the late Mr. James f iergufon, acknowledges, " That he had ftudied chronp* nology but very little ♦ :" and cenfures his antagonifl, «* for pretending to have found out in what year of the Jul, Period the world was created : — a thing, about which not only Mofes and the prophets have been filent; but even our Saviour and his apoflles alfo : — ' and confequently a thing, which no man now can know, without an immediate revelation from Heaven* which we are not to expeft +." In another part of his valuable works, Mr. Fergufon inodeftly remarks: " Iri fixing the year of the crea- tion to the 706th year of the Jul. Period, which was the 4C07th before that of Chrift's birth, I have fol- lowed the Reverend Mr. Bedford, in his Scripture Chronology, printed A. D. 1730, and Mr. Kennedy, in a work of thefame title, 1762. Mr. Bedford only takes it for granted, that the world was created about the time of the autumnal equinox ; but Mr. Kennedy affirms, that the faid equinox was about the noon of the fourth day in the creation week, and that the moon was then^ 24^hours paft her oppofition to the fun. — If Mofes had told us the fame things, we fliould have had fufficient data for the era of the creation : but as Jie has been filent on thefe points, we muft confider • Letter ii. to Kennedy, page 9. \ Letter i. page 3. . : the Defects in the Plan. J35 the beft accounts of chronologers as hypothetical and uncertain*/* Here is a proper mixture of cenfure and caution ; and both, in fome degree mifapplied ; for, 1. Moses has a6)ually afforded fufiicient data for the date of the creation. He has told us that with the tiofie of the Exodus a change of {Ule) by which the feventh month from the creation became the firft from the releal'e. Bedford and Kennedy rightly dared the formation of the folar fyftem from the autumnal equi- nox ; and it is well known, that the Paflbver, an an- nual folemniry in the Jewifh church, and to this ^a.y obferved, was ordained about the time of the oppofite cardinal point. The conclufion is, that a definite num- ber of full years, and fix fupernumerary months, had elapfed from the primeval week to the firft Paffover. 2. Both Bedford and Kennedy, with every criterion of truth, fix the primeval week in aftronomical coin- cidence with the autumnal equinox, and the laft week of OSober, A. P. J. 706. 3. T^HOSE learned men miftook the true year of the Exodus, the former, mifled by Ufher's combination of numbers, refers the time to the year of the Julian Pe- riod 3218 ; whence dedu6l 705, the antemundan years of that period, the remainder, 2513, denotes the year of the world, the fame with that in the Annals, though crroneoufly put in coincidence by the Primate with A. P. J. 3223. The latter, Kennedy, antedates the • Aftronomy, 1770, odlavo, p. 379. egrefs « < kgfefs by one year, and is fo much the farther frbiii chr6nol6gical verity. 4. From the prlmevai week ih-thctfirft of Adam's life, to the week of the Exodus, In the Soth'of 'Mofcs; the mterracdtate fpace is precifrfy 2514 yfears fix months^ (or 26 weeks to a day : 25 1 5 -f 705=1:3220, the true' xramber 6t the Jul. Period. FerguTori hapfnly agreed with his two predeceflbrs, as to that number of this period \^hich charafterifes the primeval year; b6t all three, together with the Mfetropolitait, have mifcalcu- lated tht year of the egrefs. With grfeat truth and jufiice does rergufofi cerifure the aftronomical part 6f Kennedy's fchtme ; nor is his work mofe accurate ih chrofiological arrangement. A train of fcientifical deceptions pervades the entire mafs. Some few inftances of feprehenfion feem to be Over- done. ' 1. Kennedy is blamed for affirming, that the timif of the autumnal equinox waJJ at the noon of the fourth dav in the creation week, and that the moon walS thefi # 24 hours paft her oppofition to (he fun. This cal- culation may be exceptionable. But the critic Over-^ ftrains his antagonift's meaning, when he infers froffli his words, that the moon aftually ex i fled before the fun*. ' It implies no abfurdity to fuppofe, that the two lummai ies, in the moment of their creation, might have been in the pofition defcribed by Kennedy, if fo were! the appointment of the Almighty Maker. Whether * §8ce Letter ii. to Kennedy, thd Defects of the Plan. 337 riie ifaci is capable of proof by the riiles of calculation is a different matter. Fefgufori's calculation may be ihore exaft, though not abfoliitely certain. ^ The refult of his operation is, " that the true time of the autumnal equinox, for the longitude of Babylon, waS Oftober 23, at 19 hours, 22 minutes, 41 feconds, which in the common way of reckoning is O£lober 24, at 22 minutes 41 feconds paft feven in the morning." The author fubjoins the following note : " The reafon why this calculation makes the autumnal equinox, in the year of the Julian Period 706, to be two days fooner than the tinie of the fame equinox mentioned in page 153, is, that in that page, the mean time only is taken into the account, as if there were no equation of the fun's motion.** " The equation at the time of the equinox tlien, did not exceed an hour and a quarter, when reduced to time. — But in the year of Chrift 1756, (which was 5763 years after), the equation at the autumnal equinox amounted to one day, 22 hours, 24 minutes ; by which quantity the true time fell later than the mean. So that, if we confider the true time of this laft mentioned equinox, only as mean time, the mean motion of the fun, carried thence back to the autumnal equinox, in the year of the Julian Period 706, will fix it to the 25th of Oftober in that year." Here are two methods prefcribed for afcertaining the time of the autumnal equinox, and fixing the fun's place to the fign Libra on the fourth day of the crea- tion week. The former, by mean time, as more dircd, Z is 33$ Sir 1. Newton^j Chronology. h preferable. The author refers to another calcuTationv (Example vi. p. 311), where it is Qiewn^ th^t the true time of the full moon at Babylon was the 23d OQo- ber, at 42 minutes 46 feconds pad fix in the morning- •* This he (informs his readers) fome fuppofe to havebeent the year of the creation ; and the refult is, that the au- tumnal equinox was on the next day after the day o^ the full moon. The Dom. Letter for that year was G^ and confecjuently the 24th of Oftobqr was qb a Wed- nefday *.*' Let the trut time of the antmnnal equinox^ A- !?'• 1656, which the author confiders only as m^tfii ti^ne, fee applied to the true time of the full luoon oa the day before the fame equinox ^ in the nutobcr of thQ Julian Period 706 ; that full moon- will fall within the limits of the fame day witb (;he primeval equiixQX. Scienrifical precifion can, perhaps, bring the approxi- mation of die planetary pofitipns to np greater exa£l- nefs, with refpedl to a radical point in conaputatioor It is requifitc to referve for aftronomy all the credit due to its decifions, as far as they afford light in difquifitions fo intricate and complicated ; proper regard bei^ ftiU had to phyfical probability, to tjie differe:nt terms whence the natural and the civil day may bei, or has been^ com^-r puted) and to the unequivocal notations of the £K:re4 kiftorian. 2. Be it remarked, th^t light >yas produced be&re the luminaries. As foon as the terraqueous noafs^ ba^ ac? • Aftrott'. p. 3i6y 8vQ. 1770, • • • • qukcd (juifed it$ ^bular form, pnd bjegan .to mov^ round its axis,, the Creato|i (aid, " ]LfeT light be." The eSe£l was a diftjnilion of evening and morning, equi- valent to night and day. When the evening and pipmlng had meafured the third day, that is, about fix of tl;e clockj on the eyening of our Wednefday, aioui the tiipe of the autuipnal equinox, God created the two great luminaries, in a ftate of oppofitipn, the fun in the lower hemifphere to difpenfe light by emanation, and the inoon in the upper, to refleft it on the interme- diate globe of earth ; the air having previoufly been framed fof its tranfmiffion. At fix of the clock, on the morning of Thurfday, the 25th of Oflober, the £un fipft rofe at Babylon, on the northern hemifphere, twelve hours after the time of the full moon. 3. AstRONOMERS, for the greater eafe and cer- tainty of obfervation, count the 24 hours from noon to noon ; we in Britain, from midnight to midnight ; the ancient Babylonians and. others began the reckoning from the rifing fun ; the Jews from fun-fet. Mofes feems to compute from fix in the evening, the middle point between noon and midnight. 4. Mr. Kennedy was certainly licentious in affum- ing arbitrary populates, under the fanSion of Mofaical principles, which led him into abfurd concluGons ; and thefe he impofed on the 'public belief, with no fmall . fliare of dogmatical cmpiricifm. His Cenfor, Mr. JFcrguibn, difjguftedwlth his overbearing humour, and exafperated by p^cfquj^) reproaches^ efpecially in calling Z 2 bin?, t**/- . ■•■».-> 34-0 *S/r 1. Newton'j Chron(flogy. hirii, ** an illiterate *and incompetent judge** mixed afl infufion of irritability with fome of his firi£lurcs *.'* Mr. Kennedy was juffly reprehenfible for many pre- cariotis conjeflures, fct forth, in plaufible^difguife, z!& infallible axioms in the Mofaical chronology, which. are the wanton fiflions of his own excurfive fancy. That the autumnal equinox fell in the middle of the primeval week, A. P. J. 766, is a faft aflerted by • One inf!affcc, which feetns a deviation from Mr. Fergu* fon's ufual compofure of temper, » felededfrom his Ftrft Let- ter, p. 3. *^ You may abufe me as much as you pleaie ; but however UUteraie you take me to be, I believe I know the meaning of the few Hebrew words at the bottom of this page; which I need not explain to y(/ti, who arc a good Hebrew fcholar, and too well acquainted trith your Bible to be at anjf h>fs where to ftnd them.- As ma/iy^ .who read this, may be quite ignorant of the Hebrew language, I ihall neither give the Englifli meaning of them, nor direft where to find them^ becaiife I would not willingly raife a Taugh againft you." The Hebrew words arc fiotn Prov. xxvi. 4., and thus rendered in our public verfton : •* Anfwer nc^ a fool according to his folly, left thou be alfo like unto Wnw'' • That he w<)s iiliterate is a conrmion, but a falfe allegation. He had the benefit of a claflical education in a nobleman's fa- mily, under the tuition oF an able preceptor, and no mean proficient in matliematrcal learning, which ftudics Mr. Fergii- fon afterward profecuted under the famous Macbtorin. In . many branches of learning he made no.fmall progrefs without the aid of a mafter ; and if he did not rife to eminent (kill in the more abftrufe myfteries of mathematical fcience, he ex- celled in the faculty of inventing middle teriiis for con'dtadKng cxperinients, and deducing important ^Bclufipns. Mofe& I Defects of the Plan* J41, Mofe^ though not in direfl terms, yet by mduQion. That th? full moon h^ppen^d ^recifely 24 hours before the fun, entered Libr^ in the fame weeTc Mo.fes does not T^xvRp eith/5r in explicit terms, or by implication. Fer- gufop a^gns an earlier date by almoft five hours for the true time of that cquinokj ivA anticipates the fu^ll moon by 25 hour^. Yet neither the one nor the other meant to aifert the ilrange paradox, that the earth*s one (atellite (hone forth^ in direfi oppoTifion to (die iuix; be- fbre his exiftenoe. Neither did he incur aorimoiiious cenfure for afBrming, tjbat the fourth day of the original week was the fixteexith/)f the oripinal, month. It is ifV^ell known, t^at the Jews regulated a^ their, compur tations for feftivals, &c. from the firft day of the firft month, after the vifibility of the rhoon ; and it would be a very prepbfterous arrangement, to reckon the be- gioning of a month and year from a full moon. "From the moon i$ the iign of feafts, a light that declineth in her perfeAion. The month is called after hcrmame *." The facred year at the egrefs was counted from the day gS. the moon's vifibility after the conjunction, and nqt from the next full moeyond the limits of antemu^dan 4u«ratioa. Mr, Fergufon allows Mr* Kennedy the merit af confirming what others had fuggefted; — ^the coincidence ffi the firft day in the JewiOi and Ghriftian week witU ♦ Ecclus. xliii. 7. Z3 ^"^ 342 Str 1. irEWTO'N*i'dlJr^d/S|y. * ■ * •• -• ' . the icventh of the patriarchal ; — and the time of the crucifixion with the number of the Jul. Period 4746. This conceflion authenticates the date aflumed for the creation, A* P- J- 7pi&- For liF.eitnpr event be referired to any other year, the haridonious evidence arifing front aftronomy, chronology, iiiftory, Aid projphecy, like thi confufion oJF tongues at Babel, becomes difcordaht ^« * Thofe ^perficial readers^ wbofe aniiidB hciire deriyed) a tinifture of fcepticifm irpm the ro;|:i^ntic pretenfions of the anckntaad modern Orientals to. a. very repiote origin, it may i)e difficult to perfuadc, that the iola)r Tyftcm has not cxiftcd nibrc than 58 "centuries. * Btit'lhc oDJcraon 1*5 impef-^ tihttit aiid kbfniKl. Fof Gh&c it is iinpofliWe,' that the world ihould be ^etema}, it 3^2^ have bad a Hcgif^ning!, nnd the. time. 4^s, wh^en it could not be plder than it is now. If^ therefore^ it had exiftcd earlier by millions of years, it might ftill^ with equal reafon, bcaiked, Why was not the univerfc created 10 iW^s as rtiarty millions foohcr? S^e thfs arguincnl jHx^pcrly ftit^i. In Di'.l^. Jth\!in'i ReoJcrUilble^Ji zAdCertai^ of tb^ <;:irtt.ijSTiA|!f RI^Li<;fiolr, vol. ij, pw 304. Loiid, 1711. * « CWAp. i m ) ■i« jfftp C H A ?• B. Deviations from Historical Orbeiu i, Acceffion of Saujl and Heroifm of Jonathan.. ** T N the j^ear tefore the Chriftian era 1069, Saul U -*• made king of Ifrael, and, by jhe hand of Jona- than, gets a great viflory over the Philiftines *." Here is a portentous confufion of incidents and Jates. UBier conne£l« the inauguration of the fatho* with the year before Chrift 1095, which antedates the true term by two years ; and Sir Ifaac brings it into coincidence with the fon*s memorable viflory over the f hiliftine armies. It has been (hown, that Saul, when privately anointed, wa« 31 years old, and that the Me- tropolitan defpoiU him of the fovereignty, after a fliojit reign of two years. According to him the war, in which Jonathan gathered fo many laiirek, began in the third of Saul's reign, and 34th of his life, when a choice young man, and a goodly. In the very com^ mencement of hoftillties Jonathan's feats in general(htp ^exceeded his years and experience. So incredible are • .Short Chronicle, page »i. Z4 'the 344 ^^^ !• ^^^^os's Chrondoff. .the achievements afcribe4 tp his valour, while a ftrip- Jiogr. that every probable reafbn induces the necefGty pf referring the dat^ of that war to a more protraded -period pf his life, and of his father's reign. Thjs expedient is ncceffary to prevent the difcocd of hiftory with the courfe of nature. For, if Saul yrtic made king of Ifrael, according to the doftrine of :lthc Annals, in the year before Chrift 1095, and this -war witjhitH^ Phil iftines brake out iQ93i(tbe 33.dqf his age), — if likewife Jonathan fmote a garrifon of the Phi- 'Jiftines in Geba *, his age cpuld not exceed 14 years :' — . the natural inference is, that the date of the war rauft ^bc deferred to a more advanced llage of the fon's life. Again, if this war began eight years before the fcirth of David, and lailcd to the 20th of his age, when Sarnuel denounced the removal of the kingdom from Saul's family, that long feafon of oppreffion and fervi- fude was coincident With all the other wars in that i'eign : — the^war with Moab, Amraon, Edom,Zobah t. The recovery, of the kingdom is a pure fi£lion of the Annalift. For the facred hlftorian dates Saul's ' reign from the time he was privately anointed at Rama^ . arid mentions this war with the Philiftines as fubfequent to thofe already fpecified, but prior to that with Amalek. By every criterion of time it was a war of one fingle campaign, begun and ended In the year before the vulgar '^Cbtiftian era'io69,^i)r Ai M. ^93^5 whe» Jonathan*s ^j/ge ftiigW be 30, as' in ttee153di^^e of this-AN^AX-Y^ife* i ■ '*• J ■ • * Th^ pmatlons from Hijlorkal Order. J45 * 'The illuftrlous Author of the Short ChronicJfy finding the Primate's Arrangements^ for this Period, involved in ^Ttificial perplexity, had recourfe to a bold, but inadequate conjedure, which briQgs into coincidence t^e acceflion of the father, and the military acjliieve* ments of the fon. It is inadequate ; becaufe Saul was invefled with royalty in the 31ft of his age. It has above been (hevni that Jonathan is always put firft in the regifter of his brothers, a not unlikely token of primogeniture j^-^ that Ifhboflieth, or Eftibaal ♦, the youngcft of four, fucceeded his father on the throne of the ten tribes, at the 9ge of 40 1 ; and was confequently born in the firft of that reign. Befides Ahinoam, Saul is faid to have had no other wife or concubine^ She, therefore, was. moil probably the mother of bis four fons. Suj^fe them born, each after an interval of 18 months, Jona* • , • • • , than was but fix years old at the time of his father's accelTion ; and no more than 15, if born in the i6th of his father's life ; the earlieft age of procreation re- corded in the Bible. But the age even of 15, though it were certain that be was fo old in the firll of that reign, is inadequate to his military Ikill, experience* courage, and fuccefs, exemplified in the facred hifiory. On the whole. Sir Ifaac Newton's Scheme is encum* bered with all the difficulties which perplex the com- putation in the Annals, But, if thisPbiliiline war be brought a8 years lower than the date afligned hy f aSam. ii. S. and i Chron. viii. 33. f % Sam. ii. 10. Ufhcr; 3+6 Sir 1. NewtonV Chronvtogj. UDier ; and the acceffion of Saul carried 28 years Wghcr than in the Short Chrmick ; the facrcd biftory it eoafiftent with itfelf, with the verity of computation, and with the courfe of NATURE. a. Cnexijitfite i>f Shtskac and Sesostris with Rehoboam. ^* In the year before Chrift 974,Sefac fpoils the Temple, and invades Syria and Perfia, fettiilg up pillars in many places*.^ ** Sclbftris in the 5th year of Rehoboam, came out bf Egypt wifh a great army, fpoiled the Temple, reduced Judea into fervitude, and went oil conquering, firft eaftward toward India, which he in- vaded, and then weflward as far as Thrace +.** Here again is a train of controvertible poftulates. From the teftimony of thefacred writers, in two texts |, tlic Greek interpreters call Shifhac, Soufahim ; and of Jofephus §, who gives the name Soujacos ; certain it is, that he was contemporary with Relioboam. The dynaf- ties, as condru^ed by Eufebius and Sy ncellus, charaflerize Soujfaleim as the fon of Smendes, or Vennephes, the £6th king numbered by Synceilus ; whereas Sethos, Sethofis, Sefoflris, or Sefac, is the 55th of Manetho. Thefe notations are at variance with identity. Sir I« Newton argues, ^ That Sefac and Sefoflris were kings of A L l Egypt, at one and the fame time ; and .that they agree not only in the time, but in their anions .^d conquefls«_ Where ^rodotup defcribes the expo- • Short Chronicle* p, ao. f ChronoL ch. ii. p. tiS^ ^ JL|it. viii. 10' !• ;, . ditioi^ IXviatiffrir jfjrv^ Htjioricai Ordtr. 34^ JRrtbii bf Sefoftris, Jbfe'phus tells us; that he clcfcribedl the ttjpfeailita of Sefac, ind attributed his aftioni to Sefoilril^ fciring only in the nartie of the king. Cbntiptions of hatnes are frequent in hiftorjr; Sefoftiis W2lft olhdrwift tailed Slifochriis, SefooTis, Scthofis, Sefonchis*''* ** Egypt was at firft divided into many fmaller kingdoms^ like other nitions, and giiew into one monarchy by degrees." All great etnpires were cotnpofc;d of petty princi* {)alitieS9 accumulared by fucceflive conquefis ; and, if Egypt were at firft under the government of feveral iti- 3epehdertt chieftains, with local jurifdiflion, it waJ Itonfolidated into one monarchy long before the dayi of Rehoboam. In the time of Abraham and Jacob, it wafe under one fovereign. " When Jofeph was fet bVer ALL the land of Egypt, Pharaoh only in the tIfironIe was greater than he; and, when the fevea years of dearth began to come, and the dearth was iit All lands ; in all the land of Egypt was bread : ahi wheh ALL the land of Egypt was familhed, the peoplfe tried to Pharaoh for bread t." Every circumftance Indicates one fuprerae monarch, and one prime minifter, bver the who l!e land. About the time of Mbfcs* birth ** arofe A new king, who knew not Jofeph.** Hfs htim'e tob was Pharaoh. At the eg^efs, the JPharaoh JoF thofe days, With ^11 \a% hoft, periQicd in the Refl «ca$. Herodotus * ChronoL ch. i. p. i%. f Gen. xli. 40—57. % Herodotus makes Fheron the fon and fucacflbr of Se« 4(MB;piSp. iif I. Nciytofi affirms, thr.t he was the firft of the Pharaohs : 24-8 jSir I. liEV/Tpu*s Ctroncloff. Herodotus and D. Siculus, do not mehtionthf ^her or predeceflbr of Sefoilris. But Jofephus, quoting from Manetho, records, that Amen6phi$ was the father of Sethofis. Africanus and £ufe1liu$ place Amenc^his lafi in the i8th dynally, and Sethp^ firlt in the 19th ; Africanus, in bis I2th dynafty, ^ferts Sefofiris as the fiuxeflbr pf Ammenemis. ? Sir J. Marfham, and Sir I. Newton take for granCed| tbat Amenopbis^ Ammeipenes, Ammon, and Memnon, inrere one and the fame perfon, othejrwife called Jupiter | fuid that Bacchus, Ofiris, Spthos, Sethofis, Spfoncbofis^ ^elac, wejre but different n^o^ies iqf Sefoftris. If this be a difcoyery, it is a fabric built on conje£lure, and ihe conclufion, weak, as the hypothecs is ambiguous. . ^ Sesostris and Sefac, it is faid, reigned at the, fam^ time over all Egypt, ^ut other chron9logers, on grounds equally prob.^ble, refef thje former to the times of the patriarch Jacob ; aij^d a third clafs reprefent him ^o bfi. the Pharaoh who was drowi^e^ in the Red Sea. Tbefe furmifesare, perhaps^ . all alike uncertaii^. Of Sefofiris nothing occurs, but iip poetical traditions^ or legendary catalogues of kings, without chronologies^ flotations. The time of Sefa^'s c^i^iileuce is detenninec^ by infallible authority. , But farther; to neither the qjie npr th/c pther, ojr fo any ox^e Egyptian monarch, . jTo earjy as the days q^ Rehoboam, can the achievements, long voyages, ai^ y* * r Pharaohs; that in the reign of Afa he was drowpcd in the * * . ■ »• Nile $ and that he was afterward drified under the name of Cms. * ^tenfive DiviaftoHT from Hijtorical Or^er. J49 ^tchfive conqueftsy enumerated by Sir Ifaac Newton, be arcribed. This great author pofiulates, <* That Athon, -the father of Sefoflris, having, by the afliflancq bf the Edonrites, built a fleet on the Red Sea, the foa coailed Arabia Felix, failed beyond the Perfian Gulf, and in thofe countries fet up columns, with infcriptions, denoting his conqueils. After thefe things, he invaded sn'd i:!&nquered Libya, prepared a fleet on the Mediter- i^tiean, penetrated as far as the Ocean, and at the mouth of the Straits fet up the famous pillars. At length he came out of Egypt and fpoiled the Temple *. The afGfiance of the Edomites is the bafelefs fabric of a vifion. That people firfl acquired reputation as navigators in the Chronology of ancient- Kingdom^ mntnded. The Egyptians at the time fpecified, and many ages after, had no ikill in maritime affairs. In the infancy of arts, expeditions over a wide tracklefs fea, for traffic or conqueft, were impraflicable. " That of Sefoftris has been confidered as the moft favourable era in the hiftory of Egypt, for fending a colony into China. But, when examined with the greatcft at- tention, it is nothing more than a facerdotal fi^ion^ without the fmalleft particle of reality. Megaftenes, cited by Strabo, was pcrfeftly right in maintaining, that Sefoflris had never fet foot in India. What muft be confidered ftill more extravagant, is the opinion that he conftrufted a fleet of 600 long veflels, on the Red • Chron. xi. »I4« Sea. J 50 Sir I. Ne WTO X U Chr^noUgjf* Sea. ThispK)digy is placed at a perie4» wbfn t< ignorance of the Egyptians in nAvigatic^ was es^tremcji becaufe thetr averfion to the fea wsis ii|vii|cible. . Ship timber befides was fo very fcarce in £>gypff tha( a fuf* ficient quantity could with difficulty he fojund fQrf:pi^^ pleting the veflels employed on the Nile, and the f^ ferent canals. It was, furely, after many unfuccersfii} attempts, that boats were confiru3ed of h^Hfx/^ ^TX\kt an invention hitherto never imitated by anyB^^ij^Hp The method of burning thefe veflels, of givipg t)K^ a certain degree of ftrength by exaAncfis of prupq^fipf^ of varnifhing and covering them with r^flbeSj i$ npy unknown. When the Ptolomeys ^QJeavqiiri^ • tg eftablifh a trade with India by the Red Sea< the iiv.i^ of wood forced them to ufe wretched barks, ijtitcjbe^ with reeds and papyrus. It appears Ukewife, th^t ^ley were always condufled by Greeii pilots ; for fhp Egyptians undcrftood nothing of working them f , Isaiah, who prophefied two full centuries after R^ hoboam, thus defcribes the ftate of navigation in iEfgyfit, while he denounces execrations on the i£thiopifii^; «* Wo to the land, (hadowing with wings, ^hii([hisJlii^Qnd the rivers of Ethiopia, that fendeth eiobalTacior^ jby thfi fea, even in veffels of bulruflies upon tifie watery +•** Too bold, in a ferious hiftory of arts and w^rs, i^ th^ paradox of powerful fleets, conveyed from jthe I^ilc ^o the Eaftwn Ocean, in veffels of earth, butnjt lij:^ • Paw's Diffcrtations on the Egyptians and Chinefe, vol. i. p. »8. t 1^3* 3u^^ii« '• 8 bricks Diviathns from Hiflorical Order. jyt bricks vA a kiln, and covered with bulrufhes for wings er fails. Now if the Egyptians in Reboboam*s time were fo very inexpert in n3val architeSure and the art of fleering) much left will it appear credible thai Sefoftris conftru£led a fleet Qf 600 long veifeU in ati age lb remote, as the Exodus. It remains to be noted, that th^ authority of HercN dati^ and Jofephus, alleged by Sir I* Newton for the identity of Sefofiris and Shifhac, is, as deficient and foreign to the purpofe, inconclufive. Jofephu? relatef almoft in the words of the facred records the tranfac^^ tions afcribed to Shifhac * ; without the Jeaft mentio(i of Sefoftris ; and adds, "That Herodotus of HalicarnafTuf 4cfcribes the fame expedition, with the fole miftake of that King's name, who, without a battle, reduce4 Syria of Palqftin^, and made the men prifon^rs of war." The only paflagc in Herodotus, to which Jofcphus could poffibly refer, feems to be Book II, or £uterpe. Chap. CI — CX^ whjsre the ftory of Sefof- tris is related ; but the name of Shifliac, or Sefac, does not once occur. Neither is it there afErir^ that: Sefoftris reduced Syria oi Paleftine. The author inr deed acknowledges that he had feen fpme monuments of conquefts, gained by Sefqftris, in that country. Btiit this intelligence feems to merit no more credit than what is in the fame paffage afferted, that the Phcnicians and Syrians of Paleftine borrowed the cuftom of cir- cumcifion from Egypt. ♦ See Jof. Ant. viii. iq. 3. and r Kings, xir. 15. % Chron. xii. r^. 3. Co-ex ijiencr 35^ '^ff' !• Ne WTO N V Chrmioitgji. * 3. Co-exijlence of Sefojlris and Danaus. Before Chrift 964 Danaus, with his daughter!/ fleeing from his brother Egyptus, i- c. fronr Sefae^ tromci into Greece ^* The return of the bne brother is «& figned as the reafon of the other*< flight. ^ On tfar return ot Sefoflris into £gypt> his brother Danaus not only attempted his life, but alfo commanded his daugli^' ters» who were 50 in number^ and had married the font of Sefoftris, to flay their huibands ; and then fled with his daughters from Egypt) in a long fliip of 50 oin* This flight was in the 14th year of Rehoboam. Daaaut came firft to Lindus in Rhodes, and there built -a temple, and ere£bd a (latue to Minerva. Thence be failed to Argos, where he arrived in the 1 5tb^ or x6th of Rchoboam f .'* Here the poftulate is ^fliimed-— that Sefoflris was the brother of Danaus. Manetho^ and he alone \y affirms, that Danaus and Egyptus were brothers. Perizonius afligns a very fatisfadory reafen for the improbability of this notion, as incompatiUe with genealogy, chronology, and hifiory §. But were this hypothefis admitted, the identity of Sefoftri^ Egyptus, and Sefac, is {lill doubtful. Except Sir J. Marfham, and Sir I. Newton, none of all the chronologers brings ♦ Short Chron. p. %%. f Chron c.xi. 136. .^ X Others, befidcs Manctho, report the fame thing ; but on bis fole authority has the co-exiilcnce of thefe perfons, with the relation of brotherhood, obtained credit. If the faA were either uncertain or falfc, the frequent repetition of it by fubfequent writers, could not give it confirmation. § Egypt. Orig. €• xvi. p. 334, any Dnmfisfti frm Hiftmc^ Onbh 353 any of the three intoco-exiftence with Solomod and Re«* hoboatn. Jofephus tefiifies, that the Ifraelites left Egypt 393 years before the arrival of Danaus at Argos *• This date ihay be inaccurate. But it is much leis ex- ceptionable than Sir I. Newton's hypothefis. Damaus had 50 daughters, all married before his flight from Egypt, 136 years prior to the 15th of Rehoboam. He could not therefore be the brother of Sefac in thd Sacred Hidory and Jofephus, or of Sefoftris in Hero* d6tus. Whether the dynafticsbe reckoned co-exiftehf or fucccffive, whether computation proceed in th6 retrograde or progreflive feric«, by lunar, folar, or fcdereal years, certainty is unattainable from the want of fixed periods, and regulating meafures, applicclbte to collateral hiftory, in the ages prior to Rehoboani and Shifhac. Of matiy kings the names, with rtie Ibngth of their reigns, are unknown ; and wide is the difference of opinions, in what order the links of ihe chain ought to be difpofed. In (hort, to adjuit hiftory, by fucb' regifters, is a talk fcarcdy more practicable thaa thedficyphering of the hieroglyphics • ■ - * • Who drives to fix them, by fomc certaiti rule, ' May, by right rule and reafon, play the fool. Hor» 3. Co'iXiJience of Zeruiaiel and Jeflma^ ^ith Ezra and ' ■ • • Nehemiah. ^ ^* .Th£ hiftory of the Jews fet down in the Books of ' £itRA and N£H£MIAH, having fu&red by timeiwants • Apion, i, x6, A a fome 354- ^^^ I- Ne WTO N *j Cbronoh^ feme iHuftration. I fliall therefore, ftate their hiftory under Zerubabel, in the reigns of Cyrus, Cambyfes» and Darius Hyftafpis." " It is contained partly in the foft three chapters of the Book of Ezra, and the firft. five verfes of tbe fourth : — and partly in the Bookof Nehemiah, from the 5th verfe of the vilth chapter, to the 9th verfe of the xiith : for Nehemiah copied all this out of the Chronicles of the Jews, written before his days ; as may appear by reading the place, and confidering that the Priefts and Levites, who fealed the covenant, on the 24th of the viith month, Neb. x. "vyere the very fame with thofe who returned from the captivity, in the firft year of Cyru^, Neb. xii. ; and that all. thofc who returned did feal it. This will be perceived by comparifon of the names," &c. * It is admitted, that the contents of Ezra's Book, from the beginning of the ift to the end of the vith chapter relate wholly to the Hiftory of the Jews, under Zerubabel, in the reigns of Cyrus, Cambyfes, and Dariu^ Hyftafpis;. a few notations only excepted^ which Sir Ifaac refer^^ v^irith exqi|ifi|te difcrimination, to iiiib^ fequent reigns t* * Chron. ch. vL p. 35S. f For inftance, the i^hafueru% ch; iv. i, was no other tha|^ Xerxes, the fon and fucceflbr of Dar, Hyftafpis ; and the Artaxerxcs mentioned chjv. 7, 11. 23. and ch.. yi. 14. wag no Other than Artaxerxes 'Longimauus, the fon and (bcceifor of ^eiam^. Xerxes; whofooames are infeited in the hiftory b^ anticipation. But t)eviattem fnm tiiflorieal Ordit. 3$ J But it muft not be diffembled, that the tranfaflions recorded between verfe 5th, Neh. viith, and verfe 9th, ch. xiith of the fame Book) are all fubfequent to the reigns of Cyrus, Cambyfes, and Darius Hyftafpis. With all proper deference to the memory, and literary merit, of Sir I. Newton, be it affirmed, that, except t^o genealogical regifters, profefledly inferted as originals, or rather as aftual extrafts, no one incident, in the Book of Nehemiah, is prior in date to the 2oth of Artaxerxes Longimanus. Nehemiah copied nothing from the Jewifh Chronicles, written before his time, befides the two family regifters, framed in the firft of Cyrus, and again produced as vouchers [in the 21ft of Artaxerxes Longimanus, the fon of Xerxes. In the remainder of the vith chapter, which treats of the Perfian Empire, this great man confounds, in promifcuous diforder, the tranfaftions in the reigns of Xerxes, and of Artaxerxes Longimanus, with thofe of their three predeceffbrs, Cyrus, Cambyfes, and Dan Hyftafpis *. These tranfa3ions, difpofed in parallel columns, according to their feveral dates, will be fufficient lo evince, that the perfons who fealed the Covenant, Neh. xii. were quitfe different from thofe, who re- turned in the firft of Cyrus. ZERUBABELand Jefliua Nehemiah came to came to Jerufalem in the Jerufalem in the 20th of ift of Cyrus, A. M. 3473. Art. Long. A. M. 3564. ,.• Seep. 359— 361, - A 32 In 356 Sir I. Newto In the 7th month of that year, the altar built, the feafl: of tabernacles kept, iTiaterials and artificers pro- vided for the fecond Tern- pie. In the fecond of Cvrus the Temple founded : the work obftruQed during that and tlie fubfequcnt reign ; finifhed in the 6tb, and dedicated in the ytb, Dar. Hyft. A. M. 3494 *• The building of the city oppofed in the ift of Xerxes A. M. 3584 t. Prohibited by a decree of Art. Long. A. M. 3545:}: : that decree reverfed by the commiffion granted to Ezra, in 3551 §. Ezra makes an end of diflblving irregular marriages 355 2 ||. The hiftory continued in the Book of Efther, to the 13th of Art. Long. i557- . -. » N'i Chronahgf* In the 21ft of Art. on the 6th month, the wall finifhed ; and in the 7 th m. the Law lead, the feall of tabernacles kept, with great folemnity : oa the 24th a Faft ; a cove- nant of reformation rati- fied ; Nch. X. throughout, A. M. 3565. Thenceforward the rulers dwell at Jcrufalem» the people caft lots to dwell, one in ten, in the holy city, and nine pajts to dwell in the othei' cities of Judah, Neh. xi. I, 2. Then follow the names of thofe who came from Babylon with Ne- hemiah in the 2cth of Artaxerxes, which are quite different from thofe who accompanied Ezra, in, the 7th of the • fame reign ; as alfo from the retinue of Zerubabef in tfar firftif Cyras; - ) * Ezr. ch. i. to vi. aa. t E^r. iv. 6. X Ezr. iv. 7. i Ezr. vii. 9.^ . fl Ezr. x. 17. Pb.ID£AVX V. _ Deviations from Hiflorical Order. '■ 357 PRIDEAUX fitly obferves, that the Nehemiah and Mordecai, in Ezra, ii. 2. were not the Nehemiah and Mordecai of whom fo much is faid in the Books of Nehemiah and Esther, but quite different perfoni of the fame name*. Sir I.Newton, unhappily re- ceding from that cautious and amiable diffidence, which^ in ambiguous cafes, dirtiriguifhed' him from the petu- lance of dogmatifts^ afHrms in terms by far too por<« emptory, *< Yea Nehemiah, the faftie Nehemiah, the fon of Hachaliah, who was the TiVihat^ia, fubfcribed the covenant in the rergn of: Cyrus t."'^ It is carefully to be noted; — ^that the: Nehemiah, who accompanied 2^nibabeU is not diflinguifhed, in the Book of Ezra^ by his family or offios ; for the Tirfhatba, in ch. ii. 63, could be no other than Zerubabd himfelf ^^andthe tPirfiiSitha, Neh. viii. 9. mentioned -together with E2ra,-the Pricft and Scribe, could be no other than that Nehemiah who came from Shuflian to Jerufalem in the 20th of Artaxerxes I. The Law was not read, nooccafional Fa ft was ke^t, no covenant of reforma* tion was fubfcribed in the firft of Cyrus. The interval hence to the 20th of Artaxerxes is 91 years ; a cir- cpmftance extremely um£avourabIe to the ^ppoiition of one and the fame Nehemiah. Our iliuftrious author feems to have been mifled hy a variation in orthography or diale£l, when he fuppofed, that Ezra the Prieft and Scribe, who read the law» Neh. viii. accompanied Zerubabel and Jefhua * Connex* P, i, p. 106. f Chroo. yL $6Z. A a 3 frooi 358 St> I. Ne WTO N V Chr$n$logy. horn Babylon, in the firft of Cyrus. Of an Ezra, in- vcfted with the dcfignations of Prieft and Scribe, n6 mention occurs in the Book, infcribed with, that name^ before ch.vii. !• where he is charaderized as a fon of?Seraiah, .the 14th in dcfccnt from Aaron. He ce#taitily w»» ^he predeceffor and colleague of Nche* mi^, in Ju4^,4uriqg the reign of the firft Artaxerxes. But whence did Sir L Newton furmife, that this Ezra r^tdrned in the firft of Cy^us, contrary to his own ^ teftimony ; which fixea his removal from Babylon to the firft day of the firft-month^ in the 7th year of Ar- taxerxes, and his arriiral at Jemfalem, in the .5th ^ month of the fame year * f iiis fole authority feems^^ to beNeh. xiif i. where we read> **. Now thefer are I the priefta imd levites ifrho went up with Zenihiai>el:> and Jeihua, Sersuah, Jeremiah, Ezra.'' But inrth&' original regifter, Ezra, ii^ i. &c. Ezra is not, ex- ^ prefled in any of the clafle$. In Neh. x. 2i Seraiah* - Azariah, (probably Ezra, the prieft and fcribe)^ witb- Jeremiah, are faid to have fealed the covenant, as : priefis ; but it is not afiirmed, that they returned in the * firft of Cyrus. The Ezra, Nehwxii. i. 13. might have ^rived with Jefliua, the chief of the facerdotal order ; . but it does not appear that thefe were the very fame perfons who ratified the covenant in the 21ft of Ar-- taxerxes. If Ezia were an officiating prieft at the end of the captivity, his age then wa6 at leaft 31, full'9tl* ye^ before be read the law eight days in continuous^" ♦ £zr. vii. J> 9» ' • order Dmjiaiions from HiJiorUaJ Ordtr. 35 j order from morning to mid-day, in the ears of all th€ PEOPLE. Such exertion. was fcarcely credible at the age of 1 23. ■ ■ ' As diftinn^ perfons, fo different dates, are taken for the fame; — the 7th month 4n the pontificate of Joia«- kim, A. M. 3565, being Confounded with the 7th month in the ponfificate of his father Jefbua, 3473 }— ^ the feaft of tabernacles in the firft of Gyrus, with the fame feftival, kept wtth morefdtemnity in thfe aift of Artaxferxes. Thefe are but a Specimen. Tt cannbt he admitted, that Neliemiah copied froitt Jetvifli Chronicles, written before his time, the things related in Hi Book from the* 5th 'verfe of the viith chapter, to the 9th of the xiith i much lefs, ttet th^ fatne things were all of a datfe pHbr to the reighs of XfetJtes and- ArtaxcTxes Longitnahils, as isaffirmetl ♦* The Hiftoriah aAnovslleges :the authority of no record written before the time of Artaxerxfes, except a getiea!ogical regifter of them who had come up at the firft. This regifter he found either among thfc deeds preferved in the colleSion of national archives, fince the days of Jeftiua, or its extraft in the fccond chapter of Ezra's Hiftory, if then publiflicd. Its title IS, <* Now thefe are the children of the province, who went up out of the captivity, whom Nebuchad- nezzar carried away unto Babylon, and came agaih unto Jerufalem andjudah, every man tmtohi^ city, with Zerubabel.'* In both its cojues + the general * Chron. ch. vi» p. 363. f Ezra^ ii. and Neh. di. A a 4 number 360 . Sir I. Newton'j Chronology. number is, 42,360, but the partial fums, as reckoned up by their families in Ezra, amount only to 29,818 ; and in Nehenilah, to 31,031. The meaning of whicb is, as l^i. Pridcaux obfcrves, they are only the tribes of Judah Benjamin, and Levi, who are reckoned by dieir families, in both tbefe places, the refi> being of the other tribes of Ifrael,. are numbered only in the grpfs fpra, and this in both computations makes the grofs jTum fo much exceed the partial fums *. It mud be allowed th^t the numbers and. names of thofe priefts and leyites^ Nehemiab, xii. i,-— 9« ^ho went with ZerubabeJ, agree nearly with the princes, priells, and levites, .chapter x. i-^ij. who/^aj^d . the covenant. But this general agreemeiit does not evince an identity of the perfons. Dr. Wall properly cpn- fiders the names in the lafi mentioned catalogue as the families, or defcendants, of thofe who accompanied 2erubabel an4 Jeffiua, almoft a century before*, To explode the incoherept hypothefis of Sir !• Ne^wton, fufBcient it is to recoiled ths^t Ezra iirft arrived at Jerufalem in the 7th of Artaxerxes, with about 1500 attendants, 4iAin£k and feparate from the colony in the firft of Cyrus ; — and that Nehemiah fet about, tjie re- paration of the city-wall, in the pontificate of Eliafliib, the grandfon of Jefliua, no lefs than no years from the foundation of the fecond temple* For the imperfeflions found in the chronology qf (lie Perfian £mpire the Editor offers the following « SeePrid* Coi^ncx. Parti, p. X07. .. apology. ^ Deviations from Hiftoriial Order, 361 apology. " The' fixth chapter was not copied out with the other five, which makes it doubtful, whetfieir the author intended to print it. But being found among his papers, and evidently appearing to be a con- tinuation of the fame work, and, (as fuch abridged in the Short Chronicle), it was thought proper to be added. Had the great author himfelf lived to publifh this work, there would have been no occafion for thib advertifement. But, as it is, the reader is defired td allow for fuch imperfections, as are infeparable from pofthumous pieces.'* This chapter, with all its defi- ciencies and miflakes, exhibits ftriking fignatures 6f judicious difcrimination. The ainhor's overfights werJ thofe of a mafterly genius. Even this leaft elaborate feSion of the Ancient Chronology is, in feveral refpe£is, a valuable acquifition ; efpecially, as it fhews the fallacy of confounding Cambyfes and Smerdis with Ahafuerus and Artaxerxes, in Ezra, iv. 6, 7 ; for thus are reSified the prepoflerous and fanciful arrangementi of Uftier, Prideaux, Bedford, &c. This equitabfc conceflion, however, does not vindicate conclufions, incompatible with chronology, hiftory, and the circum* fcribed period of natural life. 4. TJje dates ajjtgned for feveral arts and ufageSj coeval with facial life^ are improbable : for inftance. Agriculture. " Ceres, a woman of Sicily, comet into Attica, and teaches the Greeks to fow com ; for which benefaftion (he was deified. She firft taught the ajrt to Triptolemus, the young fon of Celcus; king of Eleufif ; jfta SirL N E WTO N *x Chrdnohgf. Ekufis : before Chrift 1030. Areas, the fon of Caf- lifio, and grandfon of Lycaon, and Eumeltvs the firft ling of Achaia, receive bread-corn ffom Triptolemus ? B. C. 1020 '^r The cuhivatron of the ground was introduced in the firft age, tianfmitted to the laft generation of the cJd world, and revived by Noah, after the Flood t. An art fo indifpenfably neceffary to the comfortable fabfiftence of the human kind, in the progreffive ftages of population, could in no fubfequent period ^be loft. Much more probable is the pofition, tliat its advance* to perfeftion kept pace with the cohtinual improve- iaients in all the fubfidiary arts. At the time of the tfifperfion, the feveral colonies cairried to their new fet- llcments all the (kill and experience of paft-ages^ and, among the reft of the ufeful arts, AGRicuLTtJRE. To the fons of Japhet immediately after the fepara-^ tion from Babel, were the ifles of the Gerttile^, com-* prehending Greece, affigned. Extremely abfurd is the notion, that they could increafe and multiply, and re- pfenifii the earth, without fubduing the foil, by the varioBS arts of iftaking it fruitful* The old fabulous, cferonotogy brings the different migrations from Egypt into- Greece many ages lower than the days of Japhet. Sir John Marflwm connefts the arrival of Ceres in Greece with the time of Jofliua^s death, 13 generations^ after the difperfion in the days of Pel«g. It is not * Short Chronidc, p. %$, f GeR, iv. I. aad cb. ix. ao^ credible Deviations from Hijlortcal Order* 363 credible that the uTe of corn was unknown in GreecOf . from its firfl plantation, by the fens of Japhet, to the days of Jo(hua ; much lefs, that agriculture, one of tbp. primeval arts, was firft introduced into that countryt. in the reign of David. Early uje of animal food in Egypt, ** The Egyptians lived only on the fruits of the earth and abominated flefli eaters *. They originally faced, hardly and abfiained from animals. Mehes taught, them, to adom their bed? and tables with rich furniture, an4r b|:,9^ght in among them a fumptupus, delicious^ and vpluptpous lyay of lifet.** This Menes is, by a fatality of computation, put the third in fucceflion after the fuppofed Sefac or Sefoftris of Sir I. Newton ; and, in connexion with fo very recent a criterion of time, th^ term ^originally is moft unhappily combined. Ab- ftin^ce from; animal food was the natural confequence of brute worfliip. Every circumftance recorded of the EgyptiaAS, in the days of Abraham, Jacob, and Jofephi induces the full conviSioi^, that Monotheifm, the religion of the Hebrew Patriarchs, was like wife the national religion of that country. Till divine honours were paid to certain fpecies of animals, their flefh was no lefs commonly ufed for food than the fruity of the earth : and that fuch honours were not paid to theqa in the life-time of Jofeph may fairly be prefumed from the hiftory of that time. The chief baker's dream * Short Chron. p. 9. f Chron. p. 941. of 364' Sir I. Newton V Gn'onoh^. of white bafkets, containing all manner of bated mcart^ for Pharaob, implies the ufe of animal food. Jofcph ordered the chief ruler of his houfe to is lay and make ready, for the entertainment of liis brethren, who were to dine with him at noon. This fort of idolatry and abftinence was the invention of a fubfequcnt age. Jor the Ifraelites in the wildernefs recollefled with difcontent and impatience the time wlien they fat ty the flefh pots of Egypt, and did eat bread^ f6 the firff. They remembered too the cuctjmbers, *and* the'Weftms, and the leeks, and the cJnions/ ihd the* piXxc? "ttteffce it is eyidfent, that the pot-Ilerl5s ©P Egj'pt Widrt nbt'th^il confecrated. Corruptions of * this ktrfd wfefe'iiioftpi-of^ bably introdiiced, firft of alF, in the fpace betWeien tWe death of Jofcph and theegrefs*^ . • . ,. " Th e Tower part of Egypt befng ybirly' ovei-floW^J by the Nile, was fcarce inhabited befdhe the irKrenti'oii of'corn, which made it ufeful : afnd the ktitgv iVhcJ-b^ this invention, firft peopled it, and refgrtdd oi^e'r it, perhaps the king of the city Mcfir; whete Memphiii was afterward bnih, feems to have been wor (hipped by his fubjef^s, after death, in the ox or caJf, for this benefaftioh t." It has been fhewnv that the deifica-* tron and confcquent 'wdffhip of animals can be traced no farther back than to the (hort interval from Joftph to the Exbdas. At this latter term, and no fooner, Pharaoh permitted the Ifraelites to perform facrifices * For the origin of Brute and Image Worihfp, See Winder's Hiftory of Knowl. toI. t. cb. xiv. t CbroB. p. X97* in Deviations from Hijlorkal Order* 365 in his land ; but Mofes remonftrated, that the Daughter of the facred animals, in his dominions, would exaf- perate the inhabitants. Here is direft evidence for the cxiftence of brute worfliip, and confequently of abfti- nence from animal food, in the time of that very genera- tion, v^'hich recollefted the fleOi pots of Egypt, From the J^xodus to the reign of Menes, who it is faid fucceeded Orus, the fon of Sefoflris, in the i6th of Afa, king of Judah, and firft introduced into Egypt the fumptuous mode of living on animal food, the interval is 542 years. Sir Ifaac Newton conjeflures, that animal food was firft permitted in Egypt, more than five centuries after it had been prohibited, as a facrilegious profanation. That the, lower part of that country, enriched by the yearly overflow of the Nile, was fully inhabited, long before it was conquered, by the Phenician fhcpherds, who fled from Joiliua, is evident from this circumftancc, that fo early as the days of Jofeph, the land of Egypt had become the granary of the world, and fupplied aU (he contiguous nations with bread, during a grievous famine of feven years. In the paflage, above quoted, this very eminent writer difcovers a (iommendable degcee of caution, in leaving undetermined the time ^nd name of the king, who u^vented the art of raifing corn^ and fertilifed the foil by, means of the Nilq. BjLit if a date, po{le|:ior to^ the Exodus, be afligned for the^e improvements, it will be difficult to itccount fpr the power of the Egyptian empire, and the no lefs fucklen than prodigious multiplication of the Ifraelites, at a period when, it is affirmed, that the tuiV country 366 Sir I. Nzwton'/ Chronology. country was fcarce inhabited. The Aborigines, doubtlefs, brought into their new fettlement all the arts of the old, and of the reftored world, Abfuid is the fup- pofition, that tillage once introduced could anywhere fall into difufe. The rife of art s^ and the foundation of cities in Afia Minofy Cretey Greece^ and Libya^ Sir I. Newton^ refers to the age of CadmuSy in the reign of Davidy an era too recent for credibility. In our language, as in every other, the fenfe of no word is, perhaps, more equivocal than City. Its moft general meaning implies an afTemblage of buildings occupied by a community of inhabitants. " Rome properly 'fpeaking, was at firft but a forry village* whereof even the principal inhabitants followed their own ploughs*." Prefumable it is, that many of the moft ancient cities, did, in the flrufture, fize, and num- ber, of buildings, refemble fome of our Britifli hamlets,. As the inhabitants multiplied they were enlarged. As the feats of empire, arts, or commerce, they rofe gra- dually in importance. *' Cain, who built the firft city, called it after the name of his fon, Enoch. The beginning of Nimrod*^ kingdom was Babel, and Ercch, and Accad, and Calnoh, now Bagdat, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land went forth Aflier the fon of Shem, and tuifc Nineveh, the City of Rehoboth, and Calah/* The * Ifooke't Rom. Hift. vol. i. ch- >. 6 firft Deviations from Hiftorlcctl Order. 367 firfiand lafl are called great cities^ Sidoti, Gerar, Gaza» Sodomy and four other cities in Palefiine, if hot likewife Jerufalem, the metropolis of the ancient Jebufites, had become, fome of them at leaft, v€ry populous, not to fpeak of lefs honourable diftin3ions^ prior to the arrival of Abram *. According to that one true hypotheOs, which I'efts on the firm bafis of hiftorical evidence, Abram was certainly born in the Z3Cth, not the 70th of his father's life. Hence Sir W. Raleigh deduces a very reafonable inference : ^ In this patriarch's time, all the then parts of the world were peopled ; all regions and countries had their kings. Egypt had many magnificent cities, and fo bad Palefline, and all the bordering countries ; yea, all that part of the world befides, as far as India : and thofe not built with flicks but of hewn ftones and ramparts ; which magnificence needed a parent of more antiquity than thofe other men have fuppofed. Therefore, where the fcriptures are plaineft, and agree beft with reafon and nature, to what end fhould we labour to beget doubts and fcruples, or draw all things into wonders and marvels ? giving alfo ftrength to common cavillers, and to thofe men's apiih brains, who only bend their wits to find impoITibilities and monflers in the ftory of the world and of mankind t." It cannot be denied, that fome of Sir I. Newton's arrangements incur this cenfure. For inftance — " In * See Gen. iv. 17. and ch.x. 10—19, t Hiftory, p. aaJ». the 368 Sir I. Newton*j ChronolegfJ the year before Chrift 1080, Lycaon the fon of Pelafgu^ builds Lycofura; Phoroneus the fon of Inachus, Phoroni- cum, aftenvards called Argus ; iEgialeus the brother of Phoroneus and fon of Inachus, ^gialeum, afterwards called Sicyon : and thefe were the oldeft towns in Peloponnefus. Till then they built only fingle houfes, fcattered up and down in the fields. About the fame time Cecrops built Cecropia in Attica, afterwards called Athen§ ; and Ekufine, the fon of Ogyges, built Elcufis. Thefc towns gave a beginning to the kingdoms of the Arcadians, Argivcs, Sicyons, Athenians, Eleu- fmians, &c. *** Those who give credit to the fabulous antiquities of Egypt, mention three colonies, thence tranfplnted into Greece, Sir J. Marfham connefls the firft expedition under Phoroneus with the birth of Ifaac ; the next under Cecrops with that of Aaron ; and the third under Daiiaus with the time of the Exodus. The interme- diate fpace is four centuries. On Sir I. Newton's computation it is remarked, i. That the foundation of" thofe cities, and the rife of thefe kingdoms, are men- tioned, as events of the fame date, [^^ much about the fame tlmey 2. That the time affigned for fuch build* ings is prior to the introdudion of the arts, letters, mufic, metals, and their fabrication, from Phenicia under Cadmus. Perfeflion in architeflure is not con- ceivable without the previous ikill of feparating metals, from their drofs, and of ftiaping them into various uten- • CbroB. p. 19. tkviations from Hijlor'tcal Order. 369 fils by the mould or the hammer. Theie arts were Certainly- much Jmore ancient in the LelTerAfia, than the reign of David *. 3. Sir Ifaac Newton feems to aflume the poflulatCi- that the Egyptians, who con- du6led fucceflive colonies into Afia the Lefs, Crete, Greece, and Libya, found thefe countries either defolate, or in a ftate of barbarifra. But it has been (hewn, that the fons of Japhet were the firft planters in a much more remote age. 4. Cadmus, it is affirmed, brought I^etters, -with other arts, fciences, and cuftoms, of the Phenecians, into Boeotia, about 35 years after Lycaon built Lycofura t ; that is, about the 12th year of David's feign. The date of this ufeful improvement is not now the fubjeftof difqtiifition ; for whether it be placed higher or lower^, certain it is, that alphabetical compofit ion was ' not applied to the hiftory of the Greek colonies before the order, dates, and all the circumftances of the feveral migrations from other countries had entirely * Cam the eldcft Ton of Adam built a city, and Tubal Cain, ©ne ofhlsdefcendants, was an inftru(5tor of every artificer in brafs and iron. This implies that the fabrication of metals was prcvioufly kno^vn. So large a veffel as the ark could not be cohftrudted, without nails, bifs, and plates, and fo huge a pile, as the tower of Babel, required no mean degree of fkiii in mcchanifm. At the difpcrlion nations were firft formed, and lb numerous was each colony, that the coHec- tive body in every diftin<5t country pofllfied all the knowledge of the primitive world, with the ever accumulating improve- ments, of the new. Th«^ muft the knowledge of the mo5 ofcful art« have been coeval with the difperfiou. f Chron. p. 14. ••■ B b c'capcd 370 Sir I. Newton 'j ChrmoUff. efcaped the memory of the inhabitants. Thus if the Argive era were near three centuries prior in time to the Attic, as Sir John Marfliam has fixed the origin of both, the tranfa£lions of thofe intermediate centuries could not be preferved to the time of Cadmu$ *. For Sir L ^ewton lays down this fundamental principle^ •* Before the ufe of letters, the names and aSions of men, could fcarce be remembered above 80 or 100 years after their deaths t." By the fame rule are the adions of Cadmus himfelf unfupported by hifiorical evidence. According tojofephus, the Greeks them- felves admitted, that the law^s of Draco concerning murders, were the moft ancient of their public records ; and Draco, he fays, lived but a (hort time before the tyrant Pififtratus J. From Cadmus to Pififtratus i$ a period of almoft five centuries beyond the era of authentic hiftory. That article of the Short Chronicle, (B. Chr. io8o«) -which makes the two brothers i£gialeus and Phoroneus» ^ The illuftrious author forefaw this objedbion, and had the precaution to ward off its force by introducing Lycaon, Pho* roneus, Cecrops, and Cadmus, about the fame time. Thtii artifitte perplexes his reckoning by generations : Agenor, an exile from Egypt, became king of Phoenicia; whence he va^ pofed the name Phsinix on his eldeft fou.. His brother Cadmus, emigrated thence into Greece, where he built a city, and founded Thebes, the capital of Boeotia. This expedition is with the greateft probability conneAed with the time of Samuel the prophet, 50 years earlier than the date afligncd in The Chronology of ancient Kingdoms amendedm t Chroa. Iatrod«p. 7. X ApioB» i. 4« t)ii)tattoris front tlijiortcat OrJler. yjt the founders of Sicyon and Argas, in the fame year teftifies that tniftake, in the Old Chronology, which inferts it or 12 nominal kings of Sicyon between the two fons of Inachas, now mentioned; and the years, Aifigned tothefe feigned kings, abridge the computation by three centuries ♦. This difcovery is important. But the age of Inachus, tbe father of ^^gialeus and Phoroneu", ilill remains undefined. Sir J. Marfham affirms tliat Inachus was a mer, not a man +. Syncellus fays, that Inachus and his fon Phoroneus, were the moft ancient kings in Greece % and it is well known, that the poets ufually derived thofe kings, of whofe anceflors tradition had Ifiot preferved the names, from a river, or a god. In the Short Chronicle Cadmus is faid to have brought a Phenician colony into Greece 120 years before the ¥oyage of Danaus with his 50 daughters from Egypt. This laft date, by the fame chronicle, is 964 before our era, or 529 fubfequent to the Exodus. This computation brings that expedition too low. Jo- fephus, in a paflage already quoted, with much more probability affirms, that the Ifraelites left Egypt 393 .years before the reign of Dakiaus in Argus. But this it not the fole objedion to the poetical, or rather Ji£litious, plantations of Egyptian colonies in Greece. Dr. Mufgrave, comparing minutely the ufages civil, ^meftic, and religious, of the two countries, pro* nounces them totally diffimilar ; and hence he concludes » Introduiftion, p 7» t Chron. Canon, p. xj. Bba . that 372 Sir I. Newton'j Chromhgf* ■ that the Greeks were, in general, natives of theii' ovim foil ; that their religion and mythology were radically^ if not entirely their own ; that they' refented as an indignity the report that Cecrops was a foreigner ;— and alfo affirmed that Cadmus, Danaus, and Pelops^ were the firft flrangers who had fettled anriong them ♦. This cenfure detrafls from the credit of Strabo, D. Siculus, and others, on whofe authority Marftiam contends, that Greece was peopled by colonies from Igypt under Phoroneus and Cecrops ; but does not affeft the fcheme of Sir I. Newton, who uniformly reprefents the anceftors' of fuch leaders, as ftrangers/ and intruders, in that country ; and themfelves as fugitives, expelled by force Exceptionable indeed is his notion, that Danaus was the brother of Sefact and Sefac the fame with Sefoftris, as is already Diewn. For if Sefoftris returned into Egypt, in the I4tk of Rehoboam ; and Danaus fet out on his voyage to Argos, as Jofephus teflifies, 393 years after the Exodus, the interval is 260 years, a period inconi* patible with the do3rine of Sir I. Newton. Such are the imperfe£lions in the plan and exe* cution of this great man's chronology. A fpecimea only has, for the fake of brevity, been fele£lcd. Caa- dor and equity demand a concife view of the improver ments peculiar to this his laft bequeft, which, with all its defe£ls, would alone have . been fufficient to con- fecrate his memory. V • DUftrt. on Gr, Myttology. CHAP. ( 373 ) CHAP. III. Fixed Periods afcertained by Sir I. Newton. BY the light of philofophy have fpots been dif- covered on the fun's difc. But thefe impair not tJiemanifold beneficial ufes of that glorious luminary. Sir Ifaac Newton was born, in an enlightened age, for the advancement of fcience, and his comprehenfive ipind either adorned or exhaufted every fubjeft of in- . Veftigation, It is not furprifing, that the fame maf- terly genius, which gave the ftamp and feal of certainty to many abftrufe problems, fufceptible of dempnftration, or experiment, fhould deduce un fat is factory conclufions, either from uncertain principles, or from modes of proof, which refult in degrees of probability inferior to infaUible evidence. ; If this wonderful proficient in fcientifical fkill, did BOt untwift all the perplexities, in the art of computing times, it cannot be denied, that he improved and adorned the fubjcft by conjefturing fhrewdly concern- ing the- true date of feveral important events, which lay far beyond the line of hiftorical time, and by com- bining a train of proofs, fufficient to induce the con- vi<^iQ9» that his conjedures were JUST ^ e. g« Bb3 x.Whq, 374 S'!" !• Newton'i Chronology. I. Who, When, and Whence, the Pastor- kings iVi £gypt? The folution of thefe queries has long been an engine of torture, to the moft profound adepts in the myfteries of computation, and the fubjeft is ftill under an arrefl of judgment. Of thefe ambiguous perfonages theearlieft account is a fragment of Manetho, preferved by Jofephus, in the 14th feftion of his firft book again ft Apion. It is in fubftance as follows. / " Under an Egyptian king, Timaus, a multitude from the Eaft invaded the country, flew fome of th^: inhabitants, enflaved others, burnt the cities, demoliflied the temples, and committed all manner of hoftilities. At length they made Salatis, one of their number, king^- •who reigned at Memphis, and made both the upper and lower regions tributary. He had five fucceflbrs, whofe reigns amounted to about 254 years. After them fuc* ceeded another dynafty, who kept poffeffion of Egypt 511 years," in which fum the former number is pro-!- bably included. It is added, " That the kings of Thebais, and of the other fovereignties, raifed a war. again ft the fhepherds, who were fubdued, and (hut. up in a place called Abaris, whtre they fortified themfelvesi, in the reign of Alifphragraofis ; under whofe (od^ Thummofis, they agreed to evacuate the country,. They pafled from Egypt through Syria, and built Jerufalem in Judea." These invaders might have come from the Eaft^ but every feature in the piduxe difprayes the wild fi^ppofi- . tioa Fixed Periods* jyj tion of Jbfephus, that they were none others than the Fathers of the XII. Tribes. Than the fpecifidj charac- ters of time, hothing can be more vague. In that ftrange, inexplicable record, The Dynafties, Timaus is the name :of no one fovereign ; and the fame may be faid 6f Alifphrigmofis and Thummofis. By no cer- tain teft can the interval be defined. Usher brings thefe ufurpers from Arabia, Bedford from Canaan, and both agree in fixing the time of the invafion to A. M. 1920, or about 90 years before Abraham. This term encroaches on the time of the general difperfion, prior to which no kingdoms were erefted, and confequently no- revolutions poflible. Allow 500 years for the two dynafties, the time of the lafting war raifed againft them by all the con- federated kings in Egypt was about 95 years before the Exodus. Biit every memorial from the birth of Abra- ham to the end of the 430 years fojourning, reprefents Egypt as one monarchy. The Ifraelites, and the Paftor-kings, both poflTefled the Lower Egypt, but not at the fame time. If the Paftor-kings were expelled before the Ifraelites arrived, the former muft have feized the country before the feparation from Babel. Thus temples are faid to have been demolished before they were built, and empires overturned before their cxiftence. Cumberland, after a very tedious difquifitlon, maintains, that thefe (hepherds were Phenicians,defcen- dants from Canaan, the firft planter of Paleftine, con- neSs their expullion with the Argive era, about the Bb4 56th 376 Sir I. NewtonV Chronology. 56th year of Ifaac's life ; that is, 508 years after the flood. By this reckoning, they invaded £gypt about the time of Arphaxad's birth or infancy ! What a palpable abfurdity ? Shuckford conjeftures, that thefe fliepherds were the inhabitants about Mount Hor, whom the grand- children of Efau expelled their country, in the time of Jacob's grandchildren. This author places the ufur- pation of Salatis fomewhere between the death of Jofeph, and the biith of Mofes, and affirms, that the cruelties faid to have been done by this tyrant, againft the kings and native fubjefls of Egypt, were inflided on the Ifiaelitcs. He is the new king, who knew not Jofeph. But it is not recorded, that Efau, or his defctndants, conquered, much lefs expelled the Horites ; and leafl of all, that the refugees made an inroad into Kgypi, and fubdued the country. This is fiftion not hiftory. Of all the conjeclures on this intricate fubjeft, .that of Sir I. Newton alone derives confirmation from Jiiflory. " The Canaan ites who fled from Jofliua, retired in great numbers into Egypt, conquered the lower country, and reigned under their kings, Salacis» &:c. until the days of Eli and Samuel *.'* The proofs, w ith their authorities, are fct forth ih the larger work, p. 19b — 202. Several infallible charaflers of time reftrift the conquell of Canaan to .the 45th year from the releafe • Short Chron. page 9. out Fixed Periods.. ' 377 out of Egypt ; and though conficierable numbers, might have taken refuge in that country, during the four p9(l years, ithis may be confidered as the lall date of ' tb.e -migration. Eli's magiftracy began in the year frpm the egrefs 319. From the greater number take the IciSi the furplus 274, denotes the interval. Manetho ^d Syncellus, agreeing nearly with Jofephus, as his numbers are now exprefled, affign a6o years to the firft dymHy of the Paftor-kings from Salatis to Affis ) and this fum dedufted from 274, leaves 14 years for the return of the firft refugees into Canaan. This remainder indicatcsthe 14th prior to £li's adminifiration, coincident -with the 9th of Tolah, All the other fchemes of adjufting this fragment, of the Egyptian Chronology to the Sacred Hiftory, are awkward, fortuitous, ineffecient ; exemplifying licen- tioufnefs of conjefture, incompatible with phyfical probability, and repugnant to the ftate of the world. Sir I. Newton's hypothefrs refts on the report of au- thentic hiftory, and di (covers a felicity of genius ia afcertaining both the origin and period of this otherwife equlvQcal dynafty. .' . 2* The rife of the Assyrian Empire is placed too htgb by all the ancient ^ and the greater part of the modern turiters. « As the deified kings or princes of Greece, Egypt, and Syria of Damafcus, have been, made much an* cienter than the truth, fo have thofe of Chaldea and Aflyria; for Dipdorus tells us, that, when Alexander the 378 Sir I. Newtok*/ Chronology. the Great was in Afia, the Chaldeans reckoned 473,600 years fince they firft began to obferve the ftars ; and CtefiaS) with the other Greek and Latin authors, 'who copy from him, have made the Aflyrian Empire as old asNoah^s Flood within 60 or 70 years, and tell us the names of all the kings in Aflyria from Belus to Sardanapalus. But the names of his kings have no affinity, (except two or three), with the names of the AfTyrians mentioned in fcriptnre. — Ctefias fuppofes, that t)ie Aflyrian Empire was at an end 250 years before it began." ** However, we muft allow, that Nimrod founded a kingdom at Babylon, and perhaps extended it into AITyria, but this kingdom was of fmall extent, if com- pared with the empires which rofe up afterwards ; being only confined within the fertile plains of Chaldea, Chalonitis, and Aflyria, vfatered by the Tigris and Euphrates : and, if it had been greater, it could not have continued long, it being the cuftom, in thofe «arly,ages, for every father to divide bis territories among his fons ♦/* Sir Ifaac having taken notice, p. 2,69, that no mord is heard of an Aflyrian Empire, from the days of Nimrod to thofe of Pul, proceeds to fliew, in a mul- titude of inftances, from the Sacred Hiftory, that various provinces of this large fovereignty, were, during that protradled interval, under the dominion of fundry independent kings : and his conclufion is, *« In the relgnr ^ Cbron. cb. iii. p. %6f9 Fixed Periods. 379 of Sennacherib and E£arhaddon, the AfTyrian Empire &ems arrived at its greatnefs, being united under one monarch, and frontainirig Aflyria, Media, Apolloniatia^ Sufiana, Chaldiea, Mefopotamia, Gilicia, Syria, Phce« nicia, Egypt, Ethiopia, and part of Arabia, and reach- ching Eaftward into Elyraais, and Paraetacene, a pro- vince of.the Medes : and if Chalach and Chabor, bo Colchis and Iberia, as fome think, we are alfo to add thefe two provinces, with the two Armenias, Pontus, and Cappadocia, as far as to the river Halys : for Herodotus tells us, that the people of, Cappadocia, as far as to that river, were called Syrians, by the Greeks, both before and after the days of Cyrus, and that the Aflyrians were alfo called Syrians by the Greeks*/* These decifive geographical notations, confirmed by fo many appofite and dlrefl teftimonies from the leered Oracles, authenticate this illuftrious writer's hypothefis, " That the Empire of Affyria was firft founded at Nineveh, by Pul, about the year before Chrift 790, and deftroyed by Cyaxares and Nebuchad- nezzar in 609, after it had ftood 180 years." Were fingularity of opinion an in£aillible fymptom of erroneous judgement, eafy it were to defend Sir I. Newton from this charge. Not to mention other competent judges, Mr. W. Jamefon, Profeffor of Hiftory in the Univer- lity of Glafgow, publifhed, fo early &s 1720, his Spicilegia anti^ttaium Mgypti atque ei vicinarum Gentium : in which very exquifite fpecirtien of • Chron. p.aS3. Oriental 380 Sir I. Newton V Chronolo^. Oriental learning is fuggefted, and ably raaintainerf. Sir I. Newton's fcheme of the Affyriati monarchy, in its late origin, wide extent, and fh<5rt duration ♦. The date of the Argonautic expedition, and of the Heraclidae recovering a fettlement in the Pelopon- nefiis, Sir I. Newton has fixed, with great probability, on the unanimous report of traditional hiftory. Thefe events are valuable no otherwife, than by their fub- fervience to determine the following epoch. 3. The overthrow of Troy feems probably conneBed ' with the reign ^Jehoshaphat in Judahy and of Ahab in IJraeh From the^ royal calendar, in Jerufalem and Samaria, certain it is, that thefe were contemporary princes ; — that Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, or Itho-baal, king of Zldon ; — and that Jehoram, the fon of Jehofhaphat, married Athaliah, the daughter of Jezebel. Thus is the genealogy of the Hebrews inter- mixed with that of the Tyrians. Ethbaal was the great-grandfather of Dido, the fifter of Pygmalion. " Virgil, a:nd his fcholiaft Servius, who might have fome things from the archives of Tyre and Cyprus, as well as from thofe of Carthage, relate, that Teucer came from the war of Troy to Cyprus in the days of Dido, a little before the reign of her brother Pygmalion, and in conjunftion with • This elaborate piece of ancient criticifm is now feldom feen. Thofe to whom it \% aeceifible, {nay confult chap. iii. and iv« her Fix£t> Periods. jSl htt father, feized Cyprus, and eje£led Cinyfas : and the marbles fay, that Teucer came to Cyprus fcven years after the deftruftion of Troy, and built Salamis. If, therefore, the Romans, in the days of Auguftus, followed not altogether the artificial chronology of ' Eratofthenes, but had thefe things from the records of Carthage, Cyprus, or Tyre, the arrival of Teucer at Cyprus will be in the reign of the predeceffor of Pyg- malion, and by cpnfequence, the deflruftion of Troy about 76 years later than the death of Solomon *." It is to be noted, that Teuger, the fon of Telamon, king of Salamis, an ifland on the fouthern coaft of Attica, having incurred his father's difpleafure, becaufe he had not brought back from Troy his brother Ajax, was refufed an afylum in his native foil. But en- couraged by an oracle, he pointed his courfe to Cyprus, "where he built the new Salamis, and became a pattern of fuccefsful enteriprize, ^ too eminent to cfcape the lenown arifing from the records of poetical heroifm. Teucer Salamina patremque Cum fugeret, tamen uda Lyaeo Tempora populea fertur vinxifle corona Sic trifles affeQus amicos : Quonos cunque feret melior fortuna parente Ibimus O focii comitefqu^ &;c. HoR. Odes, 1. y^ When Teucer from^hijs fire ^nd country fled, With poplar leavps the herb,crown'd his head. • Chron* p. 6s» «'.'■'< ReekidT 3fe Str I. NbWton*x (^ronoUgf, Keeking with wine, and thus his friends addrelf^ * Deep forrow brooding in each anxious breaft ; Bold let us follow through the foamy tides> Where fortune, better than a father, guides. Avaunt defpair ! when Teucer calls to fame. The fame your Augur, and your guide the fame* Another Salamis in foreign clime, With rival pride (hall raife her head fnblime, So Phoebus nods ; ye fons of valour true, Full often tried in deeds of deadlier hue, To-day with wine drive every care away. To-morrow tempt again the boundlefs fea. Francis. Virgil much more pertinently fpecifies the time^ and defcribes contemporary perfonages. In the fub** joined paifage Dido is introduced informing i£neas^ that fhe had feen Teucer on his voyage, cruiiing along th^coaft of Sidon. - Teucrum memini Sidona venire, Finibus expulfum patriis, tiova regna petentem Auxilio Beli. Genitor turn Belus opimam Vaftabat Cyprum, et viSor ditione tenebat. Tempore jam ex illo cafus mihi cognitus urbis Trojans, nomenque tuum, regefque Pelafgt. i£N£iD,i. 623* — *— Now I call to mind. When Teucer left his native (bores behind ; The banifli'd prince to Sidon qame, to gain Grrat Belus' aid, to fix him in his reign } S Then Fixed Periobs. 383 Then the rich Cyprian ifle, my warlike fire, SubduM with hoftile fword and vengeful fire. From him I learn'd the Grecian kings o£ fame» The fall of Ilion, and your glorious name. Pitt* In the works of Jofephus, and o^ Theophilus, Bifhop of Antioch, are happily preferved two extraQs fron* the Tyrian Chronicle, of Menander the Ephefian, who compiled with great diligence and no lefs judge mentj an hiftory both of the Greeks and Barbarians, on the authority of genuine records *. A relick of pagan antiquity fo curious, authentic, and fubfervient, to conneft the facred hiftory with that of the gentiles, merits fpecial regard, as affording various articles of important intelligence relative to the fabulous .ages, and as being the only fragment now extant of a once large chronicle. It is here exhibited at one view together l!f ith the co-exiftent reigns in Jerufalem and Samaria. • Sec Jofephus, Apion, i. 18. and Thcophil. Apolog. EngL edit. 172%. p. 28s. This fragment, in it$ two copies, varies occafionally in the orthography of names, and in partial mnnbers; but both agree in the order of fucceffion, and igeneral lums. . On the authority oFfhe ancient Prolate, 8 years, not 6, /^Mcl ' as in Jofei . us, are affi|ned to the reign ofBarlezoar, fon of Ethbaal. The larger number it here preferred, becaufe every probiaibility brings the conliagration of Troy, and the rife of Salamis, into coincidence with the reiga of Pygmalion's father. ^ Years 38+ SirI^Ni\WTOk*^»ChrMoloff. Years from the Illd of Solooipo, aad Xllh 'of Hiranii both excluded, tQ the dlieaih.of PjgfDa^mm " ^ JuoAH. Samaria. > Solomon Rehoboam Ahijah founds the Temple y JeholKaphat Troy overthrown Jehoibtphat J«kortm Ahaziah Athaliah Jchoafli *3 3» 36 3 3 2 3 7 16 ■ 17 26 •«7 .38 39 141 2 9 Tj' 18 19 20 21 22 ^3 24 1 25 2 3 4 '■ 5 6 7 S I I 2 3 Jeroboam X. Baa(ba Omri Ahab Ahaziah Joram Teucer builds Dido falls Jehu Foundation of 3^1 J Jehoahax -, .A.M««994« Hiram 12 i Abdailart Anoaymut Aftart .... ^j . Afcrymtls Phe}ef Itho^aal 3 X5 17 3C 22 I •5 H 15 *4 \i 12 2 ■3 4 5 12 20 Badezoar «> '21. .Matgenut* 22 z 2 t 2 3 . 5 6 7 8 9 10 IT 12 I 2 3 4 12 .;;« New Salamis:'^ Pygmalion from Tyre New Carthage Pygmalion dies >34 - H 1 30 6 9 12 2 - 7- 8" 12 9 ; r 9 10 22 «3 24 3«, 39 ^3 7* 73 8» ^i 94 II "3 2 ,115 3 "6 4.417 5 118 7 120 * «y ^.124 3 125 5 "7 6 \^% 7 I2jt 8 1.^0 9 131 ao 132 n 133 36 16^ A.M. 3163. iFixib pEKiobi. 385 This Table combines the Pheniciaa with the Hebrew Annals, during the lapfe of iSo years, ending A* M. 3163, which is the 69th before the £lrll Olympiad* The primary end of inferting it here was to vin- dicate and confirm the computation of Sir I. Newton, who, by various methods of proof, efiablilheS the con- clufion, that Troy was overthrown about the 76th or 78th year from the demife of Solomon. From all the Aree columns, it is intuitively obvious, that this prince died in the 36th year after the foundation of the Temple, c6 -incident with A. M. 3030 ; for 2994-4-36 =3030. It is equally evident, that the cataftrophe of Troy ilands in chronological connexion with the 1 14th from the foundation of the Temple, A. M, 3108 : the I ft of Matgenus, the father of Dido, the 21ft of Ahab, and the 1 8th of Jehofliaphat ; — precifely the 78th from the demife of Solomon : or nearly three centuries fub- fequent to the old erroneous chronology. • The ancient writers, Thucydides, Dion, ot Hali- carnaOTus, &c. defi^ne the date of fome eveilts by a deter- minate number of years prior to the fall of Troy, ai the expedition of iht Argonauts ; others by a pofterior tei-Ai, as the return of the Heraclidai, the origin of ' Rome, &c. But fuch vague arrangements explain nothing ; bccaiife the term of computation, or fixed point, fuppofed to be univerfally well known, is itfelf involved in obfcurity impenetrable. The author laft mentioned, with all the folemn ■formalities of indefeftiblc precifion, inforn^s hi^ readers, that « Ilium was taken, at the epd of the fpring, on ^ C c the 3^6 Sir I. Newton 'i Chronology. the 8th 4ay before the end of Thargelion, according fir the Athenian Calendar, and 17 days before the fumrocf fclftice ♦.** The year of no national era is exprefled ^ Bor was it poflible. At the time when Troy, wa» buried unc^er her own afhes^ the Olympiad bad not, become a chronological epoch, Ron^ was not built|| Nabonaflar, yet unborn, was not the fubje£l of hiilory. The notations, fpecified by this learned Hillorian ara aftronoroical ; and by his reckoning the funamer folfticc, fell on the 12th day of the month July, in the Julian year of the World 2&23» almoft three centuries, a» already noted^ before the tree date of that memoraUt cataftrophe. This fixed period, fuppofe it marked with ever/ ppnible criterion of fcientifical truth, if ab^folutely, confrdercdt i& fnvclous \ but, if wkh reference tor evei;^ts. prior, co-exiftent, or more recent, importanim That, in this latter view. Sir Ifaac underftood fucb hiftorical incidents as the Argonautic expedition, tht overthrow of Troy, theregrefs of the HeracHdae intqt^ Peloponpefus, &c. is naturally inferred ffom his.om^. very judicipus remark ; ** Tbefe periods^ being fettledr^ become the foundation for building on them the chro-' nplogy of ancient times, and, for fettling tl^is chro* noio^, nothing more remains to make theie jj^ciods. ^ little exa^er, if it can be, and to ftew how the reft of » . ■ . ^ . . . ' the antiquities in Greece, Egypti Affyri^r Chaldeair and Media, m;iy fuit therewith f ." ^ IXioa. Hal. Rom. Aiittq^ B. ». C. 6x» t Chrom p^xi^ TlUB Fixed Periods. 38^ 'Tiii iMriousatthor might fiave intlttdea Phcc^t hicia, whence Re rup()oIcs, «* thit the Sidoriians, in Xh% i^5th'of David's reign, or thereabout, emigt^ted linidef:. Abibalii§, Cadmus, Cili'x, Thafiis^ Membiiarius^, Atytn- hbs^ and bth%r captains, to Tyre, Airada^j Cilicia|, Rhodes^ Caria, Bithynia, Phrygia> Callift)?; TharuJi SiUBaolhlrace, Crete, Greece, and Libya *^." I'b the fehf^ agfe is referred the building of Tyre^ thfebfei, Kc. Im this paftage Abibalus is affirmed to liave been i, . fugitive from Sidon. But in the fragment Irom Me* Hinder, it is faid, that he died and was fiicc'eeded by his fon Hitam, whoy v^ith his defcendsints, kept pofleffioti of the throne, at Icaft tw6 certturies', from the accieflion of AHibalUSi to whom Marfhall in his Chronological' Tables affigns a reign of 19 years, pridr to iht fole adminiftfatioh of Wiram. On this hypotheffs Abibalus Was made king of Sidon in the 1 2th of David* His predcceflbr was Agenor, the father of Cadtnus, .whb(% elder brother Phoenix, having been born in ihfe coutttry^, tVas called by its name. CadihUs and Phoertix Wfefe ^r- thinly coeiral with Danaus, b^caule he had a dsiUgnterf Aniymoiie, by their fiffer Eufbpii. Mafffianl dsltes ih& ihigfauctn of Cadmus from Phehibia, abbiit 10 yearil , eanier than tHat of Danaus from Egypt ; though h^ connects the arrival of both in Greece nearly with thi, ^ time of the Exodus. The authority of Jofephus h^s _ already been mentioned) dating that the Ifraelitd left ;. i • p X05. C c a Egypt ^58 Sir I. NswTOw'i Chromhgj, tgypt 393 years before that expedition of Danaus i and the fame writer aflerts, that Tyrewas built 240 years before Solomon's temple. Both thcfe notations arc more probable, as lefs incongruous with genealo^ and hifiory, than the reckoning in the Chronology of ancUnt Kingdoms amended^ \i Sir I. Newton's afligned term for the downfal of Troy difagree with his own arrangements for the rife of the Boeotian Thebes, and the Phenecian Tyre, it bar* pionifes with the hifiory of the age to which it is re- f^fsed. A few inftances are fttbjoined* , !• .The three years of d^rth foretold by Elijah ia the days of Ahab is recorded, in the fragment from Menander, to have happened in the reign of EthbaiA king of Tyre, and father of Jezebel^ the wife of Ahab» ting of Ifrael ♦. a. With the termination of the Trojan war is con- ne&ed the hifiory of Athens, and the other Greciab ^ites; for that city filr rendered in tlve 2 2d of Men&- |lheus, Archon of Athens +• 3. The father of Pygmalion and Dido was known by fundry names, Agenor, Belus, Matgenus, Mettes, not to mendon other variations; but his hifiory is fignalifed by two notable events, the fall of Troy in the firft, and the rife of New Salarois in the 8th of his * Compare i Kings, xvi. 31. and chapters, xvii. xiriii, with Jofcphus, Ant. B. viii. ch. xiii. i , a, f Par. Chron. Epocfi. 25. 4. SUNDKt Fixed Periods. 3^^. 4. StJNBRT memoiHible incidents diAingoilh itiKd' itign of Pygmalion, c. g. ; in his ytb year the flight <^ MsMerDido; — the iexccution of Jezebel, ofAhaziah and Joram, kings of Jerufalem and Samaria ;'^and that revolution which brought Athaliah and Jehu each to a vacant throne ; — in the loth the foundation of Kew' Carthage. Obvious is the uTe of chronological charac<« ters, fo numerous, fo decifive, and ail crowded into (b narrow a compafs, that they derive mutual elucidation from contiguity of time, and co-exiftent perfonagcs. 5. By a fingular felicity of conjeQure, which forte- times reconciles apparent contradiflions in hiftorica| records, nas Sir I&ac re£li(ied that notorious anachro* nifm, whicli ignorance, and faffe erudition have laid to the charge of Virgil, in afferting, that iEneas Svas coeval with Dido. Tbofe of the critics who afTefl the greateH indulgence to this poet's reputation as an ac- curate chronologer and genealogift, offer two apologies for this confufion of times, events, and chara3ers. Some of th;^m kindly allege the plea of ignorance In the antiquities and biftpry of T/^^? This apology oijr very leaded, author sepels^ by evii^cing that both Virgil aftd his commentator Servius, not only had accefs to the archives of Tyre, Cyprus, and Carthage, but affirm, with the accuracy of hiftorians, the co-exiftence of Teucer, i£neas, and E^i^Qi about the period of the Trojan war. Others admit the poet's Ikill in the chronology and hiftory of Troy, Tyre, and Africa, but fuppofe that he had recourfe, for the fake of em* ;l)fllilhment, to a poetical liceqce. This feeble effort, C c 3 to 3^ Sir I. NscWOJQnV Qhrmuka* to^lfvctfie poet's qrfBdit, bet says the ignomvp^svid |a- j||4ipKt^|Z(»loJ^hisi^eDds, the critics. Tb^h&.fle^^^ P^-^H^tWoflP dcfen^^s, h^ fully be^n fl|fwa, ^ ^i ]f9^i[9^,^^taliai^ on tibe fubj^ ♦, .„ ; . . It wuflt liowev^ be owned, iba^ VirgU 'Wii?^ B^ viSaii^ by the aJ!i/ artificial cJ^rooology ^ painjci^aj^ly, ^ ^ii^the Avi^Qn of in/i^lbl^ility to tl^t 9f acli^/vii';!^^^ fpietojd a reign of 300, years to ^h^ kiiig^€|f;i^lf)at 1^ co^dMiai^g -*nea^ tQ Carth^^ in theL,7tl^Xe|f pf^ TOy4g^*» tb?* i«» 8 years p^ot t^ 1^ fl^^^ ^f^'iMflt ftOfQ. Ty rcd and full four y ears^ afteif b^ , ; owq ^^eaj^h^ l|bt tbipfe ci^viaupns fj^m h^flocical tnitlv 49 Qf)^ ^^<^ th9 (n35di^iUty. of tihfi Ijia, thajt; tl^, hejo a^ t^9W; iBCfip coojten^porary ; whicU they. i?iigbt b^:^ t^, %po(iti0^. that they ^cver l^ a r+ —TTT-.T^ W fc^timapQrtat Omnibus errantiEun terris e^ fludibus xftas. JSneid, i. 759^, liere the 7th fummcr from the conflagration b^TfOy ft fpecified. But in a fornier pa0age of the ffinte Book, ▼• ai^. Jupiter promiie» to J£neas, in tbeorac^iUr (UlOi a r^p loj^- tlwee.yc^irs after his a;p^«?P I-atAwn?; . ^ , T^rtja dum,l.atip regnaptem yidcrat sftas^ Xemaque tranficrint Rutulis hibcma fubadis. If thcfe three yckrs be added to the 7th ff om the date^ Of iMs expedition, he muft have furvirtd the falix)f Troy lOiyears ; a^period^c^mfatiblc witb that hiftory. or rs^icf tradijipp, which a/Tigns but.feveo y^r^ tp his life a^r th^^ cataftrpphe. See MarfliaU'^ Chron. TaJ)lcji| sxJU. before the Chrifti^n a* \- w; > 6. << When Fixed p£Rtoos« 6. * Wh£^ the Romans conquered the Cartj^a* ^nians, the archives of Carthage canoe into their ftands ; and thence Appian, in hts hiflory ot the Kuiic i^arSf tells, in round numbers, that Carthage ftool ^ ^bo years. Soltnus adds the odd number 37. It was ^cfflrbyed in the confiiKhip of Lentulus and Mum* muisi A/P. Jul. 4568 ; whence count backwards 73'^ ye^i-s, and ihe Encoenia 6t tJedication of the citVt witt ^all upon the i6rh year 6( Pygmalion, the brother o£ Dido, and king of Tyre ♦." With all deference be it fuggefted, that, if from 4.568, be (jabtra8ed 737, thi 4 remainder 383^1^ will denote the number of the Joliaa i^eriod* coincident with the firft of Carthage; and, bjr the Table, its foiundation was laid in the iQth of Pyg» ixu^lion, andiSth from the cataflrcfphe of Troy* hi this one chara£ler of times. Sir I« Newton's intuitive fierfpicacity ieems to have, failed. This great man refers to no hiftorical voilcher, in fupport of his pofkion^ that the years of Carthage were anciently reckoned from the dedicatioo of the city« and not from the date of the firft building. Hildory juflifies thi/^ computatioa in no other infiance, and does, not mention this« a& aa exception from a gjeneralrule. From the foJe authori^ of this eminent writer has the hypotbefis derived tra- ditional credit. But probable circumilances remonfirate« Neceflity, not choice, induced Dido to undert]ak^ J^ expedition, of which fafiety,. not empire, was the ptir majry obje£l* Sh^ launched with a few fliips, indif- • Chron. p. <^, Ci: 4 ferentif ^ft Sir 1. 1gy> genealogy, and hiftoiry.' The refult of fiicfi xnuttipTied experiments is, thai Troy was reduced to defolation A. M. 3108 ; 194 years before the reftoration of the Olympiads by Iphitus, and 18 prior to thefpun'* dation of Carthage by Dido. The difcovery pf 9 fource for computation in the times antecedent to the epoch of aftronomi,cal chro- AOiogy among the gentiles, fimilar to the Chriftian era, (a term peculiarly and exquifitely fubferviept for conneding the hiftory of the Old Teftamcnt with that bf the New, and, in certain periods of time, the * Juftin, lib, xviii. 4—^. facred ^ FrxBD PfJtia0%* 39J ft^red^ wkh the profane), is a valuable acqutfidon to tte ftoek of general Icnowledge ; for which the prekxnt and hcf^ecdin»' fenerations arc, and will be, indebted to the patietit tnduftry, and exploring genius, of the iiw comparable Sir I. Newtom. ♦ The application of tbtt fixed term, to the tones before and after the Fall of Troy, is referved for tiie (ilbj^^lof the enfuing chapter* * Mr. Martyn, in that morfel of extjuiiitc criticifm, the Dflertation above quoted", defends Virgil in points not necef^ far^ to. the tntth of computation* and which hfftpry cann^ admit. J£neas reigned four years together with Latinus, ani fhree more after his colleague's deceafe He therefore died \ iKbout the efl4 of the feventh year from the fell of Troy, and eonfcqucntly before Dido's retreat from Tyre. This author's concluding remark is judicious. *' Every impartial reader will be fatisfied tha,t Virgil is acquitted from the anachromfin iVid to hfs chfarge. Had Sir I, Newton undertaken profefledl j^ to vindicate Virgil, we might have fufpeh Sicyon, s^ Athens*^ ;Ca0MU.§ ^r:4 Thmm have generally been recl^one^ cofsval .with the Sxodus. Sir Uaac refers the expedition^ p£ the fprmei: into Qreece to thp 14th or 16th of {)avid's reign, and that of the latter to the 14th of Behohoamv Tl^. interval is 80 years. Europa,4hc. fiftei o|.C^{^inus,.is faid to have been the mother of 4JLP^ymgn^3 one; of Danaus's 50 daughters* Thi^ dif« pjCpporUQ^rof. agQ brings fufpicionon t^e reckoning* « Short Chronicle, xo8o, . .*--. Sir .»-/- ^6 Sir I. NeWTO N V Chronohgj. Sir !• Niwton's zcil to abbreviate the extra^itgant com^ potations of the untutored, and vainglorious gentiles^ niduced him in this, and feveral other cafes, to over- ihoot the mark. Riafomfir mitUipatmi ihi time ofDanaau « Hiram's acceflion to the throne of Sidon muft have been coincident with the 3ifl of David, becaufe the I C^th of Hir^m was the 4th of Solomon. Marflull^ >» ■ ...... * . Tables, aflfign a reign of iQ years toAbibalus, whofe ' ' ' * ... predecefTor feems to have been Phcenix, the fon of /kgenor, and brother of Cadmus and Europa. Theo* philtis, biihop of Antioch, teftifies from documentt extant in his time, that the Ifraelites left EgQ^pt 316 years before Danaus went to Argos. Jofephus, quoting the fame author, Manetho, and adding the fame re^t marks, enlarges'the interval to 393 ; fo that Danaus emigrated from Egypt to Argos 136 years before ^the 14th of Rehoboam, and with this date the arrival of fCadmus in Boeotia agrees. Other circum flan cesconr- firni this arrangement. No veftige of alphabetical compofition before Mofes is either proved or probabk* Xhe Phcenicians acquired this art from their near neighbours, the Hebrews ; and after the lapfe of four cefituries almofl, it is fuppofable that Cadmus might import the djfcovery into Greece. That he a^ually did, is the uniform ftport of fable,^ tradition, hiftory, or whatever evidence it was, which propagated the imiverfal opinion of antiquity. In Greece, as in other countries, flow was the reception, and partial thepro- grefs. gfefsi pf dn ^rt, (b )iapplly adapted for the expedition^ and eafe, of corferpondence ; not to mention its u(s in perpetuatiQg the records of memorable deeds. One reafon is obvious ; the imperfeA fiate of mechanical knowledge, in framing the inftruments and materials for writing, .with facility^ .compp(i|(ions; of a mpderate fize, and portable weight. But whatever were jthe obftacles to the fpeedy and diffufive ufe of written lan- guage, the only example in Homer of a miflive letter, in Greece, prior to the Trojan war, is that of Proetus king of Argos, committed to Bellerophon *• Proetus was the third in dpfcent from Danaus, and might be coeval with Solomon. Long after the conclulion of that war, fo few were written compofitions, that Ly* curgus firft imported from Crete into Greece, a manu* fcript copy of Homer's poems. Ort^in of Hero worjhif in Greece* Dr. Winder, in his Chronological and Critical Hiftory of knowledge, in its rife, progrefs, declenfionf, pnd revival, froni Adam to Mofes, and from Mofet to Chrii^) flrews that idolatry was not introduced before the general difperfion ; which memorable occurrence, this author brings confiderably lower than his prede- teffors in facred computation. Of his xiith chap. Ido«> latry in its feveral kinds is the fubjcS ; — the worOiip of vifible and invifible beings, as the luminaries and demons, plants and animals ;— laft of all dead men. In * Iliad, Ti. 169. chap* 3^ Sir I. Mkwtbk*/ ChrvH^hgji chap. XT. it is erindtt) that betd-^o^) iiif^ei lit human (hapCf and the (fiftinAion of fbt^ anibng ^€ pagan deities, wer6 entirely uiiknowili in Eg^]^' ^^, Oroice, it leaft befolne the giving of the law tb tbd Ifraelites. Theophilus of Antioch, to Whoih rtfertftctt/ concerning the antiquities of the ^tohiiz Oen^H^, 9M fo often repeated, fofemnly attefts that the holy fe^ip^ tares, and the fei^ing of the law to Mofes, #fere hiiidlf ' tabre ancieitt than Lycurguij Sdrort^ Minosj thelftlgtf of Jupiter in Crete, and c\^ the wir of Troy *. It is to be kept in ttiind, that Ssftnrtt, Ju]^ife?4 Apolld, Jurto, Veflai CM», '&c: Were onfeife mdr^ife/ ' tod by the fuperRhiori and ighbraftcit df j{fcftiri*yi tMi ovlrn cfcfcendknts/ in the fine bf fovdfdgfrty cJ^WilHy^ obtained divine honours aftclT death; Jiipteri ^lltrMf his brothers and fifters^ confHlently with many pre- fumptive cirtumfianc^s fcarcely inferioir to certainty/ #ad4Coevi! With CadWils and Dariatfs. ' iFbr Ciiftliui * Iras the brother of Europa, whom Jiipitef, (to'IJJfeik ' wrthout the aid of fiaioh), coilveyed by fea flrttii PHta*.' '' hicia into Crete* Apollo, Neptune, and Pluto, ^WM«e the Wdtherl of Jupiter; Neptune, by Aihymohe, thd'*datight*r df * Dartaus, became the Father of NaiipliCiS, and'tlfus'fa the co-ex iftencd of Jupiter with Danaus afitottained* Sir Ifaac Newton, by an intuitive fagacity^ njfetrecl the origin of Argos, Sicyon, and AtheiisJ td ^Ui cdnlt * - • • Apolog. »90i' ' > mon WOnp^mp With rffpeCl to Athens io particalar» i^ is r^ordedi that Minerva acquin^ die preference to N(^tuqe in. giving n^ih^ to the new city, builc by Cecrops.. In the re\gn of Cranaus . about 50 ye^ after its foundation, a certain criminal procefs,^ in n trial fpir ^murder, {hewed the genealogy of the families concerned, at that period of tiine. Mars, .^ fon of Jupiter and. Juno, was, it is alleged, thc^ firft culprit ic;faigned at the^ Areopagus, for the murder of Hal- licptius# ,who, it feemSf had attempted to vioiate the purity of Alcippej the defendant's daughter. In this tri4l,JNr^ptune was the profecutor^ becaufe Hallirotiua bsuljheea his foa.^4 Mars was.abfolved by the jii ju^es^ who, after death^ were accounted 12 gods# TTq the cities, built about the fame time, Troy migblt. lu|v^ be^ ^dded, were it not much more probable tha| ks Qrigin . was a great deal more ancient. Th^ tra- dition i^^ that Scamander tranfplanted the firft colony 11:901 CrjBte into Phrygia, long before the golckn agCf or rpign of Saturn. To his fucceflbr Teucer no me- morable deeds are afBgned^ and no years fpeci^d fpc his reign. From Dardanus to Priam, includingvbotbsi ar6 riw?e*e^e^hidedrf cA in^pirt eo-^cxiflrtit- Wt A rid, *'oi<4d years a-p5ece. '^his di()jrojlofttett is l!*l dMfiditlMc; fn jt' more^ad^Siiieecl perf&doftha kings ili\Jtttfa(b,'Mh^ rtrigns of fbiffi, J^^fahij .^and MatrtfTehi 'UjA t^ wi»r':|jU.* t&attM^^«gCi» -'in lhf»^ tim&ar afligned to Cadmujt. at^ j^lfiavb,^ fii#y muft h^ve been either fuperannuated^rot Afld> #t Uie fieg^ of Ti:oy, «fter the la^ of two cetl* Mnelv** . lit %s.j^liedr Wte then ii^to a buil^ ld& ofdiinto*- gpd? ;A^ more ditieft aafi^r, however, adiiits the objeAion» in its fiiU extent^ All c|ie peribnage^, above mentioned, anid others of the.. £ime family, were both dead and deified, before the reigns of Laomedon and Priam. Thefe are the proofs, I. Si&I. Newt^mon the aothofity of Pythagoras, aflSrf)f^HM|t the fepi^cbre of Minos, the fon of Jupiter, D d was 4^ Str I. iilirWTOil'f^ Ofrnology. y^u ieen ia Cretq in the year, before ,X3hrUl 964^ or the 14th of Hehobotni. Marfiuip refers iQ4be Scholj^ft OD Callioiachiu, wbo-ieftifiedr that the word Mxhiji^i^ Jbd by length of timt been ^obliteaM* «nd ;.t^ Jupiter's ^epvlckhi only was legible,; w])ei^ the infcriptioBt nvheo o^iDpletet \^ been, ^ Tg^^i TOMB OP MlNOS» THE SON Of JUPXT«/' , A ff^ fn%ik . of Epimenides, a poet coeval with Sc^om Ksaignsth^ vfra^jtypf his^foun^iyi^eQ, in » ^harac-r fcr rehearfad by, ap,ApolU% .XituSf i. i^;, •* T^f Cretans arc^^aKray^ liars." CalUinachus,^ ^ later .poet» in tba.idays of P^ Phil.ad?lphus, .repca;tcd,and .wc^liT plificdjbc charge, in the. very cafy -i^w tmdef; fxa;vti* nation. : 1* The;. Cretans are always :larS|. becaufe tHqf j/etendedj ibat .^he . tonib of JopUeip ^wau^wiih; them 3 MFhereas they had only that of his fon Minos, (qt Jupitec himfeif ^vl^. imtpprtal */* * Whether tbatniPi^uipent and infcription were id' memQ^- of Jupiter, Of^^f ^ Muk;% tite prefent aigiimeot Is ^tiot invalidate foP cither ihi on^etor-the of her, p^b^pjB^^,' die4 before tbeoye^th^^ of Troy, and netth^jr was imoMMTtdl. /t ' ^ ./ 2. £v£N after the. hero^gods ha^ ^beentenioUcd among the celeitials; they were liable to a temporary: degradation, and e:ciie. - Thus Volcan for a work ,1^ pietjr, towards ills: inctf her J uno^WAs^precifHtated frotid the fummit of Olympus to the ifland of Lemnos. But examples, ftill'ttiore appoiiteoceim: - ^^ -/^^ ^ '■'- '"• • ■ '- -*- '-^ -'- ■■^y-i^-^ .- liiJiU ♦ Sec tafriiai Hymhrim i'; ia J >r lifeUP'Ji^car^s7%ctirr^* the /fetefthifew ^-iA^Mdl fetnpld^ea itt^tfl^Hhers«llI^ of the ddiidls afftd flrf ftMelt to'ffle hbhibIe^^c«j^2kt4oilii>f a (bepbard. Abodt the 4kme dAie/ ; k' ff6!nif,r?fc|)iUhe,:? (itot thiftkii^ :tlft ifffl]j!re (rf'tHfe fcfei/tJtjiual t the fon of JEfculapius^ among the heroes atlVoy> confirms this arrangement, D d 2 evinces 404 S!^ !• Nzwtok'/ Chr^ctogf. evinces that the goddefa had pfevioufly retired fcpm 4he ilage of mortality. Anqiently deification was a cenp^ mony not indulged to the living. It is OKntioi^ed as a circumflance without precedenr» that divine hozwuTA were paid to fome of th^ Cefars before death. 3. Ohje^ion. *< The Romans compute the chronology of their gods differervtly from the Greeks." True ; hut the inore recent nation aflumes a lefs remote term. Both vvor(hipped the fame Jupiter, the fon of Saturn, audi Sovereign of Crete., By the Greek reckoning hff..wa» coeval with the Phcenician Cadmus, and. the CgyptiaA Danaus \ and all three fiouriflied in ^he Ute. y^ars. .o( Samuel's gove/nn^^nt : by the Ron^aq, with David iMid Solomon. T^e fall of T^oy ha§ be years oIA^r thsiii' finhite, affid fiMVed ifi tte firft Punit wur, the hiftorjr of which he Wrote. HithettO tlbrhitlg ceft^ih ^atf algr^ed upon* But about 140^ iSt t^^ ^r^^afte^-fhe dte^h of AleitXnder the Great, tb<«y begm tb f^, thtti- RoiA^ wiis built af fecotid time by RbnitifM^ in the r5fh age after the deftrnfikion of 'tto^. By ages the^ Aettm* the reigns of the Latine king.<} at Aiba, knd* " r ». itjbkom^ tixr firft X4at ^ut 432 y€arr * Chiron, p. 128. % v^ D d 3 This ^ Sir I. NjJWTAjM^ ^08^ derives xonfirmatiot^^ from )» ij^itiplioity oC toinddenc .events, jn 4he podigvefs^ of 'families, and the .records. o£ kingdom, which ^lor only esforee coM yifUon, hoc reduce to 'aaabfufdity,. eveiy f^et^nfioH' 10 coDtradi£lory evidenicc. • ' -*■ ; - P '■ '* By this left, leuthe^prebmed date of tk^ firft Olyaih pi4dj«i)e tried*. V. To thep iStfa of jehoSiaptar,' AiMn, ^08, $idd 432, . the film 3540^ eontihuel^fhef etkoni^^* to^Aeifp^ of^^Xcnm, king 'Of Pecfia,^«rithe^4t|i: yesa^4)ffhe52d£>l)smpiad,* counted from the 'leftotntfoa* ^f that epoch by Iphitus) -A* Mv323^. .imilt be allowed^ forathe* i^^ yftg^lH; iatiuin pAar to^ R(^Ius. Our worthy v|U£(»fnier 4^ ancient ebrouolqgy badjt;wojufttfi«^^-iiietiu>(bi(ofi<^ joflang. Joiiilory by the joint ..aid^ of generajt^on^janl reign|i>:--eiUecjKliidedL1k:b,kin(i:09r(;,.ta amplify , the. accoamt&.iOf UiBO$^Trand> abridged £etgns,:^pa^ntly toaloi^ Xi$, Humfn^Q^^if ^ccpfd with the couciit Q£jnaturc» iXibkly. admits a query, whether many of Jthe ki^gi bctwcco J^&^tr\A ILomulus, were not ^Ikopiani.j .... d //Jf. frpmjb^ date of thereibredOlynipiad^dieodeqf, defied il^i^ar of Troy's dowjcrial^ (that; ki^ 232-1^ ^^&;;;i24)« therefult of the q>eraition is the albono^ ;imcai interval }fi and why ihould hiftoricalarrangemenff be iC«iiflru£ted, in contradiiSipn < to , phy ficat trUthi iaJ^tft;P«ifeg^ abpve^ quoted imoiediately from.^ir^-fc Jgjpwj^niW^beimtboxity of JXonyfias the Hal^arn^fliatt^ is recorded tl^s leftimony of feveraJvancient.mritQ^, 4pri<:^r ija ti^ tO; Alexander therGreat], whofabeiiif it jffas^, :that,a,gFaodfaMmi»^ Ji^;tbq ibuadaticip of Rome ; . wiietliec Bs)mMlwft'ia»4, jl^miijf^jM^^, tJK £pUQdera» oreithei^ i^.^^aindiffe^f '^ff\^a4^^yJ Sirifaachas overlxjpkeda reiparKit^f Jji%M?y|iu^ whi^h i% *^Jh^t,Ceph.4lo^ ^ yjeQ^:,arjiySPf author, referred the building of Rome to the fecond generation after tbl^ Trdjafi * v('af| "^ by a colony who ^^ V D d 4 efcaped fot Sir L Nnncotf ^i CkmnUbgf. iicapoi horn Tro)^ willi iEneasf( t^ac it|ril«MA4lr 1»if Renmis the leader of the cokHiy ; tiMt \k I|m< Ji ibi| ef iEaeas, aii()- that RoMidiit ivM t)iie of iiMf^liMAef^ Bjrthe^bB^fathcri' rOeniagoris, Agatlit^ attl liMh]N>riidfl^ ^rie ^theidrcvitiftante of t$m^ ^ind in^ the ' coiido6lo^ - of Hie expledftionr*. . ^/^Dioi^ifiaff . aids satiy reftimonies of Roman writers^ wild maliitadiifly' affirmed that a Tfojan-eblbfty 'fettled m I w rl y f oon after the Trojan -wan ^uid that Ronfe wat tiUIt'^ftef tto fecort* generation in thrtiYie'from^jGoikifr.^ Air imthiF^* dPi5 generations, 'Sir Ifeac Ncf#tbfe^^iltftSi' ^^TTnei^ pretended ifll after the Yife of * tWfc Gitek Enafplr^,' fee ftiH centOrics after tiie^cotoftagratlort of TVoy'j' ' * ' Th E more anfcicnt ^ritets of aH natiOril rievdt' itt- CliHed- the cenfat^ of a(foaing''an extfaVagint aniJqifiiyi AftToog thfc ]^4 Mofes \*ras ta^e *ni6defa^^tliah ^ofAi? jrtWJ^,' ah*- fhK iifofe a«iti*ettt * authors itt ^Greece "aitj :^Wc, tfian their fncceffors. ' This confidcAtidn 'top- ' ports the not improbable conjefliire, that the hitefvifl^ from th6^ ]()^riod of the Trojan v^ar to f he fifflPOtympia^ btt been prottaded to a dhWtioA v^hrch n^ c^^A^S^ canjaftify,^oreven credulity adttiie:-^ ' ' ^'^ * ^' «- - Suppose, vhat Srf K NbP^tofi wJir nof'iJItoHir, that*- thfe Varronian era was Ar tWtd df ttte'AH (^mpikd^ or^the- 23d from the feftorifidn df that cHt^ttofbgital'^ telhii, Home be^n to be buik t^^^ jtid ^S^fxhitWt (^ Troy. For i24.+2jr:»47 \-^^t» ^tSi>\^)^i±^ A/M. 32S5;conicidenlJ wi*theti*t«*d*ll^^ ;. r. Cl and iuiite^Mihat>i6cl»0i^ 'boWl^ ftiiliM> )iv|ia(iM££l»hi; b^^fe tia^fttieme of hHkiril^! arrange^ iMmtin >¥ t pprop>iet3»^ ^bv trvth) of ilefermg, tbe accefllori^of llofn«h«f er therongin ^of hiscapitaV tio»ihef38tli <34yMipiad» That/ great maamigbt^ with* dot the leaft fuijpickm of violating phyficaIf]»3Dbabilit)V kaive icalfKnchc4 tfae^ number. of the Latian lingiA : Bjr 14 divide J4.7, the refult. is Ko years 6 iii9Qlb$ each*. Thefo r^ignf are Aorter. by ooe half than. Sir. Kaacts w)liDgy..4B atb^r.^cafesy to admit. At . the raite of . 5. mgQ$ f^f^^QcntrnVf^nd proportioa^y ibr the^'efiduaiy si^ioiiertr /ey^P .Jtif^rm^diat€ prii^peii migKi exhauA-tb(|t {fW&Q ifomfW,i^ioiTfQyt9 the rife of Rome, equwa?^ lent to ahpul^ frtur gen^ratioii^ of 33 year;l on& wit]|r another. XhJE date^ affigned in the Chronology ofancUnt Kingr dom spt0vd(4f iot tbe AabverfioQ of Pnam*« capitals iff iJi reality that fixed point, whence commences ccjitaintjr ib '^omputatioiif by the i^ation^l eru of paganifrir; lieeaafethe time of that cataflroplie is defined, by a clufler of chronological notations, which bring into coin* cidence the hifiory of tlie Hebrews, with that oi the co*ex|fting pagan efiabitfhments. Some of the more notable fynchronifms, in the natural order, are, by way^ of recapitulation, fubjoined. I. jEHOSHAPHATt • • >- 41^ Sir L tHmvcit *i ChttikoUgf. t. j£HO&HAPHAT, Ahabf andEtbbaal, .weiee^nr tempora^'fevietistgnsirt Jemfaleniy^Samanai^and Sulon ^ Iq: Ahab mvfied Jezebel the daugbtffr of £thbaal>^and ^bolhaphat't .fi>n» Jebofaixi» married Atbaliah» the 4lAighter oC Ahab. • ■ ik .A^ r»2* TroY' was laid in aib» in tbe feigns Ovxo« I "!.*«• Ili^Etf ftSMQSS.i 4>f m m ^ 'm » - ^E .' -a : • a . . DXONYSX05. iUcaniuft. : AGantos : iEneas • AfoBlillS'^H v 3» fiyivum:.': -.Sjtlvius.f : Afcanius , '.Sylvius . 29 : u£neas Sylvius i£oea9 3» irfBlipMS' : :Li|ioQS^>: , . Latinos 51 AJba,. Alba - AIb.1.:.. Albas : 39 Epytus :Syi¥iiis» Athb. hfit: - ;.Capetcis 26 Gi^rv . Cflpys CapyiB : .Capys : .a8 iCapetus^ Gaipetiis CalpetuSv Calpetus *3 Tibenous: -Tiberinus Tibejinus ^ 8 Agrippa Agrippa Agrippa Agrippas 4t iSLeimiiiis'^ ftemiilus : Roinulus Aliades »9 Aveittnitt&: A:v«mious ^ Aventinui < Avenunus 37 Ff oca Bracas iProqa • Procas . . 23 ^AtnuHus- AmuUus, Amulius 4» 42s In thele foiir editions the names, and order of fuc* ibn, are too much at variance to acquire the credit due tQ authentic records. The numbers taken from J^nyfius dp not amount to - 4^2. He afligns indeed ff years to the firft j£neas and his predecelTor Latinus ; which fill the blank. Proper, but inefEcient, is Sir Ifaac Newton's fcheme for reducing the quantum of thefe reigns from 432 to 280 years, as it has been ihewn, that the fpace, between Latinus and RomuluSf cannot exceed 147 years. Abfolutciy ncceflary it is tp retrench the one half of the nominal kings, that the arrangements 'i 4i» Sir 1. VtWIMkU O^hff. afrangementa bjrgenerafiomsaiid reigiis may eorrefpcmd t6 the aational eras', bf wKich thehiftoty af th^ titati hHid he j^}u§iei. « . -. s« -. 5^ D10O the greit'igrind-daogbtef iation of Troy, at-fmaerly ttentioiNNiv ia m-^KHtu ^nce with fundry chrdnologioal chaittfiers. At the biftory of this iie# ftate it incdcp^mted with that^df tha Roman Empire, the timie ol its origin^ 'is aA acqulitiMl of no fmill impottance. •■.•', ' r ,.. .t. .,;- ' '6. A. M. 3232 'iMttcs reft^red «che 4&rtxk Otympt^d 114 yeart afrerthe conchifiofi*>'ddid ilie hiA«i:ioal^ibf th^ &rih6o.or TOOlympiadsr^.- ^ -.^* Iy this populate be i mpltci«l}r gdaiitted','tb^ iHuftrious. author's arrangement, which ^e&rs th^ ^rfdati^in -^ Ronns^td th^^Stk Olympiad, ia iiivolved in aH fbtf ttncertainty of the fabubus ages) nay, it may b(f doubled whether the firft yc^-of the 68th Olympiad were thi; mce datjs^^af the ritegifuge; as is aflcrtedyiFvithom a peradveatui^ii** .-.^ppofe the couAilaie i^tiedacHf^ with. the:ien&iing^ J^e^ir^^ thia iaiportafit re\H|l|ittofk ia charaflerift^d byn.v^fry ambigoous > point sin. liiziei^io? that- ifi^perGeptible line- which divides the biiiofficAl ffiom theh&boJoias ages* . . ^^y In the year of the wcrfld 3255 was the founda- tion ^ Rome laid, 147 from the fall of Troya.A3g[ fiom th& rife of Ci^diiag^, and ^ (rom,tfbe revival^of (bo -Qlyxapiiid j;|^, fitb 01y>mpiad for tbfJL ^iA^rical orig^iof ..Roiafl^; are^not fa be (oQpefied-.of credulity pr fal(eb9od^ !>' ^'^o-^t^--'" cidcs with the firft of Olympiad irifv .If CatOM/oUowed^jno OrcejL cbronolo^er^ be ^ventured tQ Introduce a cpmputation of his own. The firft iTarronian year of Koine did coincide fo' Jantar^ Aif. J. jp^t, with wh&h month be^i'A. tJ. C.'i f j^ tHt^^tiiM'year ofthe vHh Olymj^ifld^^iNlcl (dxmt th^ lime^the enfiting funsBifr foKtice. 'Bf th^^^^CoAfiilii^ tl^q^ fourtli .of the vith Olyropiad is the prft^ of Ron^g ^d, by the Catonian era, this date is brought one year lower^ itill. Unavoidable is the conclufioo thai Dionylllis and Sir I. Newton fell into a mtfttdce^ when fhey aifihned fei fyn-^ cfirt^ntfin of the Vi^onran epoehr wiUi the^t^^of "lldb ttiUm Olympiad. With an obvious neglect of propriety, does the gireae antiquary €odRe4l'the Arft year ^of Romultte with the third of the Varxoaiatf era. ' •- -' < v' ^^ ^-aw From : -F|H>II Dton^'fitM *' are coUeAed the ioHawiag Jtp4f pi;f(ite:iiQ^tionS):. c^pFiefling tbev4i»tes of reigns. ^. m:. REIGNS. DATES. AUTHORITIES. RoitouKis ^ ' :^m{>ri(U t vH. Bbok$and'€ha|^ i: x4r7 TuUw rfoftjliu^. .... - . z xxvii. , Hi. jl Ancus Marcius 2 xxxv. ili. 37, Tarquinius ^fcus a xli. * 13. 47. Srviusttiffius''^'^' ' • * 4 •■ 1. - *■-'- ■ ■' ir;-- 4 Ui. . ' .ir.. .^X* firtttu&^C9Uj9itm^s^tl^firftp)ur 4 Ixyiii. of f^oaiCuls. v%' ^« Thus the reigtty of Hi€ fcvtn kihgs, from Rcwtaailus to-thefiI'ftpairof-CoMfuh^exclu(lveIyy amount' to 244 yeart. The 4eatbnV "which ' milhatd afgainft Sir'^t. Newton*s redufiion of thehi td i f ^'^ Hftve alitbdj heen fet forth at large ; and if the objeflions, to the abbre-* f iatioh of refgns, be fatlsfaSory ^ arid 4tifurraountaHIe| no induceAicnt occurs for bringing the date of the Var- ronian computation forward tp the. year before Chrift 627,as in theSHO&TCirRONicxiE»T(M penetrating ismthor feemsno have been awarv^ fhat bis' fcbeme Mr bringihgihe^ overthrow 6i Troy sfaiof! jfooyears lovr# ^nan the general' opinioni would not'^sfcape the rod of cnticifm* He therefore judged it proper not to incur the fufpicion of compreiling, at f, At Diof^rfin^efrofc^fdly .adopts the Caton'aQ rcokoning^ which brings the feveral dates two; years Ipw^er than tibueVavr ronian, the acceflion of Romulus triuilbe computed from the 3d of the vith Olympiad, the firil confulate from the 4th o: the Ixviithy and each intermediate date carried two yearj higher. . tion, 4iS Sir I. NkwtoK V Cfmdtridgy. cioto, 432 years into 124. iriucli - 1110ft ^^MUri# tl was to e)(tend an expedient, of gnukiil MMaebnenl througb-676 ooipiDal years, comprebenclii^ ai i;qgns» adl whicb leigns it vas judged advUahtr to fetaii^ Jmi to exclude 277 years, as incompatible mth di^ coorft of nature in generations. Suffice it to have rnentioned, without jn intent to amplify, certain . inAances of deviation it^wm^ t})^ truth of chronology, htAory, and nature, m ^otaqbcdt parts of this extenfive work, k mull nyt, h6wev«rv be dtflembled, that i»rtaia decifions jq£ ^l;)ift«^reat JD«fter in cQviputation^ cootradiA aifiHped priacipios^ . and lbakejhc.foundaiiQn of pre*eftabli(b?(i diicoveries. WiTMa i^iciiyof uniting difpexfed matc^^l^ .(/I caknt jafanoft peculisHT to himfeif)^ i^r L. NfwjtoR fpund ttet Cactbae? vi^a^dcflxoyed A.lP. Jul 4 jfijS;— that i| had flood- 7SJ.iWJ»r*4^tb^ it M bwat^lmyt A. jp^ Jul. 3S31. £a^y it^viras to lecoUeft ti^it ti^ ]{eii^ iriieD^Ianbegf^ w|mi ;oy^r(biovgir c y nci4pi wi^ fjb« 4pS(lblGQP t^ £(Niindation of Rome; : and that 4S6^ -M^^SS^Oi which gperayw c^MirijiiOT. tfacvyecfcoQigg back 10 the find half <»f thetisuKl jne^c in ,lhe jMj^ Olyroidad, jor the true fiMirorof ;tlN$:Vaiiipnis|i^iepo^ Thui Sir L Newtga's priodpleit fi|i^ . appliqd»,,i|if validate his own deciiions : for 3960— '3831=:: 129* by which ^pantiey Carthage was older 4iM Rodie. But if the foundation of the latter ikrtie 1^ after tbf lapfe of 38 Olympiads, the diiFerence in time is 266 yeats* Befides the . incongruity of fliifting tenns# the age of Carthage being meafured by the years of]^p{|je» computed foizijiiiM'fr 6tK 01yiDpiad/ana elf tnoilirdrjr i' aifd f SS-f-l t9!:s367, dtifiotes the yeai^ of iftdtiie accdrdiiig b thi^ CHi(ONd* LOGY of amcidst kiogd6mi afflboded^ at the cMl- njtocettiefit df die firft Piinic tfrar. By the &tne aiithoritjr C^arifiage Md HlbdA $6j ytkH. The Veiy ik^- pbfition that Rome, at fo vi»ry (iariy A pmod. Was more tBan a mirth for Caithage, esthibita die afpefl of fome- thil^ more than a hiftorical pf^radtM. ' t. l^tlnt €ttL' y^i' ftoiii the VanroDiah En^ incln- fiVely, biff^ tbt bm&ai eompotatiOQ called The Era of Nabteafiar, on tte pattition ttf the Aflytiih Emjite b^hhn ittd TigUiflirPUef<^r; Btftop BevMdgd ei^tols it, at a vefy accurate charaSer of Times, add incapable of An actount of its form, diediariiftti, and quntity, if iAcdhnpadble with the nanowliinits of this Appendix. At a tetinii cq m p u t nio n it obtahied a general and * Hac cpoeha nihil ia to^ chronologia celcbrius^ aihU cogaitu nuigia iii^eflarium» utpote qui eaadtiflimua , eft tea^poruni dumfter, ct fallere fiddas. loAit. Chronol. lib. ii. cap. t6. i» E « almoft 4x8 Sir L Ne WTON 'x Chrmhgj. almoft cxclufive fcccptlof}^ oyc/r Affyria, GbaJdca^ Egypt, Mcdi^, and Pcr^. \yith it^ firft jrcar Pt9lcapy. b^an hU very learned pcrf9rn[un<^ thfii MafhcBiatifal Syntaxis, and Dean Pr^eai4x.^.cxcn- xiexi(jn,1ikv'e'beeh admitted, as equivalent to the puf bp- rity of approved various readings in particular ^^sof thidiP'ver-fions., efpecially thofe of. the earlieft dat^. „ The writer of thefe papers reftri£l^d his enquifieis tp thofe numbers alone, wbi^ h be judged fuhfeFvi^Qt tp the elucidation of the 3acred Annals, with a refe^Qce tp chronology^ gemafogy^ and htftory. Few and jn^;^- liderable are the propofed emends^tioos, which re^ pn DO better authority^ than his own privatje conjefiure* Th£ texts where thefe emendations h^ve beoi pror pofed^ the njumbers to be corre£led, an4 tlye fpbjjc^s to which they refer» are fpecified as belpiy^ J^ehoboam's age for 4« read 27 X Kings xhr. lO. Amon'9 %% 4» % Chroa. xxxiii. %l. u^% t ' iS xxxiy. i; Zcdcki^h*! %l 3^ ■ xxxyi* !'• Jehoftapbats rei^ X? • t Kiogs • •• 111. I* A&8 3^ a6 % ChroQ. XVI. I* E c 3 This 4» ^/> I. NIbwton'/ Cbr$mkgy. This very diminutive fum of dircordatit m the pedigrees, and chronology of the whote Bible, does not exhibit fo bulky and portentous a figtttt^ U might be prefumed, from the loud and frequent cfaMMUfr <>f itiodem free-thinkers, who would nothefitate toapolo^ gisce for errata far more numerous and iinportafif^ in the puny volumes of Eutropius or Floras. These ftridures, on this great man's laft bequeft to the litetary world, might have been extended to a thuch more minute fpeciiication of articles fuGceptible t)f improvement, or tranfcendently excellent. A finall Ipecimen of either kind was intended to be fet before the public, with quite other views, than to difparagea thataSer, every way refpe£bble, and- whofe renown bis own vahsable works will tranfmit to a very remote J^bfterity, with increafing honour. Sir I. Kewton^s principles of computation are ap* ]|[)Iieable to tnany more hiftorical fynchronifms, than site menlidhed by himfelf, or can here foe enmnerated. Thbfewho wifh to fee the fuhjeft profijiiu'ted more diffufiVely, fitom the time of the Judges in ifrael' to the captivity of Zcdekiah, may confiHt Di^^ Wihder's ^iftory of Knowledge, ehieHy reli^ou^ 2 vols* 4to, 1746, a work now alrtioft forgotften, Frqm the fa£ls eftabliflied in this chapter, natural is the inference, that the fall of Troy is the rife- of the true hiftorical era among the gentiles. For, in a very ihort time after, commenced four famous national eras as in the fubjoined fcheme of their date^v Trox FlXkD PERIODS. 423 Troy overthrown, A. P. J. 3813, coinci- . dentfwith A* M. 3ie8 Ifcw Satemklniilt ty Teuccr - - — •• •'.- -.-.^ Dido lays the foundation of Carthage II Source of computation by the Olympiads 106 Firft Varronianyeai: ofRome . U Firft year of Nabonaflar's era 6 Sir IfaacNeiw^toh's cbonology ends 416 A. P. J, 4383. A. M. 367?. On£ gencfral refie£lion, though obvious, is too im- |>ortaht to be omitted. The arts of computation had. made fuch progrefs in the pagan world, that the foiir principal fixed periods of gentilifm commenced before the Annals of the Old Teftament were concluded* Thefe periods are called the artificial chronology. Biit the Greeks had calculated eclipfes about the time of the , 70 years captivity,, which is the era -of ailronomical chronology. Before the clofe of the Hebrew ca^oil 49 of the 490 prophetical years had elapfed, lb thatlthe remaining 341, ending With /the crucifi;«iph, , ruji • parallel wifli the correfpondipg ye^rs of ^he Olyippiad^ of Rome, ofNabonaflar, and of the Seleucidas. Sdch was the providential care of overruling Wifdom in aip^ pointing fit and efficient means for explaining the oracles of prophecy by the chronology an4 hiftory of l^ogdomSt Ee4 CHAP. ....im.h-^'^. 1 -wt. >*i; , ^. K' . «•• •-'^'- «'► i* C H AP. .¥.-: ^» • ; » — Falcone^*/ CbronplqgicakT^biein •'^niTii I LE AisJaftOi^t was under ttie compofitor^s V bands, this publrcafibn wai ?(dvertifed Fpr fi^c. Its profeffed* defign is fo conftrua a ctiirondlogical chain. uniting the common biftory wM'tW facrea, from the demiieof David to that of Aleiinde/'ttvi Great, by the Mc Thomas Falconer- of eheftei Efrf. The title prompted puriofity, 'tocf even impatience, Wj«^ the volume, fo recently -annbunc^d, • « ' . '' ' ' .,.,.*. /• - In a PRErAT<>Ry "^biscoxjRSE iif 734 q^^^fQ pages» ^ are ejcplaifjcd -fhc principal cpluinns in the ^abks^ y^^K^ we^e itftetided to fill up the 'dark period between fter^//d«of thejewifli, and the r^rto«/y of the Greek biftof)^. Thofe on the left hind, reprefent* ing the kitfgdoms of Judah and Ifrael, are reguTatcd by the admirabte fvfiem of A- B. l)(her, but witliout foU lowing hiin implieitly year by year. The nrft column on the left hand is the Julian Period, which may be . . . . •^ . '■ ^ «♦' ' '•' (Compared with that on the oppbute fide, denoting the years before the birth of our blefled Saviour, according to the vulgar era ; and the other column of numbers, adjoining on the right hand, to the chronicle of Ifrael. IS 1 ■• Accession ^Soi^pMON. 425 'i[s.mea|it to prove the truth of Ezekiel's predi£Uonof 390 ycArs, and may ferye as a regifter of time, from ithat HDtecf ep^ tlife fepamioh oftKe tv?o^m|d6ms!* Pref, p. 6. •&€. On the plan and,execurioti of this work, it is judged expedient to f^ggeftn few Cjurlbry remarks. I. Usher's admrabU fyftem^ afligning a fal^ date both for the creation, and for the vulgar era, takes four hi&orical years from the age of the world, and bj^ J* the fame quantity anticipates the true year of our Lord^s birth/ Thus the interval, which comprehends 400S ' agronomical years, is reduced to 4000. To give, iifpofliWc, the figure of fcientifical precw-;: fion to a mutilation fo violent, the Primate was obliged ^ to retrench four years from the reigns between Davidoi:7 and the 1 1 th year of Zedekiah. Hence the chrohology^io ' of the Annals, erroneous in the beginning, middle, and end, forfeits every claim to the charaGcr of an ^ccurate\-,:v^ ^nd infallible direflory, for the interval* , 1 The great Sir Ifaac Newton, projeding a well pro* v- portioned and durable fabric, had not the precaution to^ clear away the rubbifti of the old building, before he ^ laid the new foundation. For this reafoiy« certain im* perfe£lions, inherent in the compofition of the Annals, are derived to the Chronology of ancient Kingdoms amended. Mr. FIAS RES Non fccus ac notas Auditorem irapit. Hon. But to the grand event he fpeeds his couHe, And bears his readers with impetuous force. Into the MIDST of things; Francis* To afcertain the true date of Solomon's acceffion, it is neceflary, that Ufher's radical miflake, in conne6ling the firll year of hiftorical time with the number of the Julian Period 710, inftead of 706, be re3ified. From the creation to the demife of David, the inter- mediate (pace is 2991 aftronomical years, the laft incom- plete, at his death. Solomon's reign is therefore dated from, the Hebrew month Nifan, A. M. 2991 ; to this fum add the antemun^ne numbers of the Julian Period, 705, and the firft of Solomon coincides with A. P. J, 3696. In the 40th of his reign he died, and that year, as incomplete, is accounted the firft of Aeboboam* From the 39th, therefore, of Solomon exclufively, arc the 390 years of forbearance with the apofiate tribei computed : Solomon's acc£SSion. World. J. Per. B. Chu Hiftorical Arrangements 2991 3696 1017 Uiher's Annals ^99^ 37^' ^^^3 Falconer's Tables 37^3 '^^^ Obviovs I>£ATSi9^S0L0M0K. 42; OBVt 6u^ is the incbngraily of UOier's notations fblr the numbef of the Julian Beriodi and the year& before the vutgar era. Falconer does not follow him im- plicitly » year by year, and deviates fo *much farther from truth, by injudicious correfHon, Solomon's death. , World. j.p*. B. Chr. Kiftorical Arrangements 3031 3737 977 Ufcer's Annals 30«9 3739 975 Falconer's Tables 3742 972 Expiration off the 390 YEARS. Hiftorical Arrangements 3420 4125 588 Ufher's Annals 3420 4130 584 Falconer's Tables • 4132 582 The true quantity of the interval from the 39th of Solomon, to the nth of Zedekiah, excluding both, is a problem eafy of folution. It is divided into three periods, as in the fubjoined fcheme. I . Revolt of X Tribes. 2 The two thrones vacant. 3 .Rcdu^ion of Samaria. Rehoboam 17 Athaliah 6 Hezekiah *3 Abjjah 3 Jehoaih 40 Manaifeh 55 Afa 40 Amaziah 29 Amon |ehofha|>hat H Uzziah 52 Jofiah 31 Jchoram 8 Jotham :6 Jehoiakim II Ahaziah I Ahaz Hezekiah 16 6 Zedekiah 10 93 165 i3» In col. I. the 41ft of Afa, and 25:h of Jehofliaphat are, as current, accounted feverally the firft of the fubfequent 428 V Falcon er'j ChromhgicalTohhf. fubfequent reigns. Thus are the 95 years of this firft pericxl reduced to 93 : and 93+165 + 132=390, the lad of this number ending fome time in the fourth Hebrew month of the xth of Zedekiah. This prince was taken into cuilody, and tranfported one full year, after the ultimate term of the Divine patience with the of- fending houfe of I frael. It has been noted, that Ufher afligns but.4900 years from the creation to the true hillorical year of thp In- carnation, and that this number is deficient by fishl: years. Of thefe 4 have been reftored by tiansfernng the date of the creation from the 710th to the 706th of the Julian Period. The Primate retrenches the a^d and 24th of Jehofhaphat, the 40th of Jehoafli, and, the i6thof Ahaz, not only without authority, but in dire^ contradiflion to every criterion of hiftorical truth. Thus are the 390 prophetical years either reduced to 386, or their expiration brought four years lower thaii their defined period. But be thefe four years reftored to the reigns of Jehofhaphat, Jehoafh, and Ahaz, then chronology will perfcilly accord with hiftory, the true year of our Lord's birth with A. M. 4004, and the Vulgar computation with 4008. Tbus far concernuig thofe arrangements, which aSe£l the Sacred Hiftory alone. . It remains to examine 2. The fynchronifms of the Sacred and Gentile Hiftory, In his advertifement Mr. Falconer notes, «' Whether we adopt the extended calculations of Era- tofthenes, or thofe more contrafted by Sir L Newton, the fcripture hiftory isequ^lly diftinS from the prpfari^j and •• • • ♦ HOveHthrow ^Troy. 4^' and the taking of Troy, wherever it is placed, has n6 reference to the JcwiDi hifiory, or any of the kingdoms connected with it.** * This pofition is rather bold than jiift. If it be fufceptible of a good meaning, penetration, in no com- mon degree, is requifite to make the difcovery. The Scripture Hiftory is dtfitnSf from the Profane, becauft the rfc^ni!f oiF both are dlftinft. But if thofe * records which contain an account of the kings in Jiidah ttiA Ifriel iuggeft plain intimations of affinity with the royal family of Tyre, and of a famine in Ifrael and Phoenicia, in the reigns of the contemporaty princes Afaab and Ethbaal, it feems firange to affirm, that thd annals of Tyre have no reference td the Jewifti hiftOry* Should it aj^spear, from any record, not formally proved to be a courtterfeit, that Troy was overthrown in the archonfhip of Meneftheur,.an Atheoian magiftrate, €o»- cxlftent with Jehofhaphat in Judah, the man who would aflert, that fuch an event had no reference to the hiflory ot the Jews or Athenians, might juftly be fuf* pefted of fceptical infatuation. ^ From various,* arbitrary and equivocal, pofitions of Herodotus; sirfd other authorities, equally controvertible, iliis writer poftulates, that Troy was demoUfbed in the 1 2th of Reboboam, which yeai- he marks in paralleliftn with A. Pi J. 3754> and before the vulgar era 960. Thefe notations, however, indicate the 18th of that reign ; or the 66th year prior to the 18th of Jehoflia- phat. 516^7/ arrangement has not the recommendation of one decifive fynchronifm ; this of Sir I* Newton ..J derives 43^ F A LCO N E r'x Chronohgical Tahta. derives confirmation^ equal to the highefL degree oi moral certainty, from a train of circomftances ift chronology, genealogy, and hiftorjy all fuperior ta chance, collufion, or impoflurp. If thefe remarks be jufty with refpefi to co-exifieni chaHra3ers and events^ among- je¥^ and gientiles, wtulc the former had national records, and a roysd odeiM^r ) it can fcarcdy be prefumed, that tbefe Ch&qko.lqh GiCAL Tables will afford light fufiiciem, through that dark period, from the overthrow of: JeruffJem to the expedition of Xerxes« On the principles of the old artificial chronologyy this prefatory difcourfe has confiderable inent ; b^t a fyfiem, cpnIlruAed on precarious, notsoss^ md^ a| variance with nature and fcieoce, cai^ add nothingHtO the general ftock of knowledge^ in coiopariron-o^ whi/ch mere audition and> teaming avail little*. NfHtraltQ** getherwithout utility are the Tables* F^» engrpfle^ oo good ^lean paper, and a ftzeable lea^ they may prpl^y foon find, their way to tBofe aromatic repofitories^ Where pepper, odors, franklncenfe, are fold. «^-— in.vicum vendentem thus et, odores, £t piper, et quidquid diartis amicitor ineptis. Hon* CONCLUSION. X 43» ) . C O N G li U S I O N. I» the fo»sgOing pages, froquent opportutiiti€S,ha^ ocKomed oidoing juftice to the ancient Jewsy as- faithi* fttl: guardtaniof the 4iv»ie oracles, sukI of vindicating them from the very improbable flander, raifed againft then;b^.. feveral primitive Fathers, and modern criticSf as if they; had f wilfnlly, and with Univcrfiil <:Onfent abddge4; ^ MoTaical chroxx>logy, one generation, (mt twpy 4ftctri{their general^dirperfion. Isr is bat«quitab)e to add, that, ever from theitiR^e of thfiti:aw&il. revolution, their defcendants havie uni^- fohidy.di&vowf(|^ in jpriiiciple and. pfa^ce, all con* formit)i with idolatrous rites, refrained from peribcution, and abated in their zeal' for making* profel)^e$r In fome of their convocations ha vq they exprpfled their opinion, that the time for the appearance of the Meiliah is paft, and that, on account of their fins^ their fanguine expe£lations have been fruftrated. According to certain foreign gazettes, great num* bers of the Jews in Italy have (hewn, of late, a fpirit of indifference to their religious ufages, as inconvenient and unprofitable ; and their Rabbies have convened a general Synod at Florence, the members being delegated from Modena, Mantua, Rome, and other ciiies, where the Jews have fchools, — After a conference of tea days, they have deteripined to reform their cufioms, in feveral » J * \ 432 Co N C L U S LO K« feveral particulars : and among others to prevent hirt'^' France of bufiners, the fabbath (hall not be obferved oit Saturday, but on Sunday *• These refolutioni wtkaate j^Ullcal wifdom, and refpeA for the conflitutlons of Chriflendom. One prin* ciple maintained in the preceeding Analysis^ cob- firmed by the teftimony of infallible hiftory^and demon- flrated by aftronomical calculation^ is the transferring of the fabbath from the viith to the 1 ft of the week at the Exodus. By that change^ and the abrogation of the Molaical fabbath, at the refiirreOion of Jefus, the iirft day of the Jewi(b and Chriftian week, became the viith, in the rotation of weeks from the beginning/ By a partial conformity with the gofpel, eminently fid)- iervient to their own fcctilar intereft, the modem Jew? fiiould not fcruple to obferve that day« which Adamy Noah, Abraham,, and all the patriarchs before Mofesy did aQcouAt facred to devQjtkm.and left.: • Sec the London Newfp^ipers for April »7th 1796-. F X N X S. I » ) I . PROPOSALS ;pRINTING ^ [SJI^SCRIPTIQN, RESEARfcH^s 'itftd the Origin and Progre/s cf Uifioricaf Ttmei from the Creation to the Demije cfTiberiitf i^erjo, - ■ . m TimEE:PARTS. . ' ■ , . * •« I. O R I N :G i P L£ J5 ,of CQnaputation by natutjal fi^nd inftitwted roeafcMr€5s 3 — d?iys, vreeks^ liwijatipns, equinoxes, folftices ;-n-fii)gle y?ajs, natural and cfvil, couunon wd bUT^XtUe, lunar, luni-folax, foIar-tropicaI» fidereal, hiftorical, prophetical \ — feftivals of the Jewifli- :v^prfhip ;fr-ye^K >n cqmbinatipnjor circuJatixig periods i tbs olympiftd and luftrum^ fs^b^tic^l years and jubiles, cycles of the fun and moon, eclipfes, with their repetitions ^-r-rfixed ^periods, more remarkable epochs in the flexed and gentile hiftory ; rife and fall of ancient en^ix^s ;--^hronological ftile, the Grego- rian adjufted to the Aftronomical ftandard, and con- tinued b^^k from ^he time of the Nicene council to the Chriftian era; thence to the origin of meafured time. To all thefe meafut^s are .applied the generations of men, the duration of m?igiilr^cies^ reigns, poutii^cateSy and ot,her fupren(ie or fubordinate dignities. II. Historical Arrangements from Adam to the < acceffion of Caligula, in the year after the crucifixion ;— A com- ( 2 ) comprehending occafional flriQures on the chronolo- gical fcheraes of Patau, Scaliger, Ifaac VoJQSus, Sir W. Raleigh, Sir J. Marfliam, Sir I. Newton ; Arch- bifhop Ufher ; Bifhops Beveridge, Clayton, Comber- land, Loyd, Mann, Newcome, Pearfe, Pearfon, Richardfon, Squire; the Reverend A. Bedford, Blair, Jackfon, Kennedy, Kennicott, Playfair> PrielUy^ Strauchius, Whifton ; — as alfo on Grotius, Pilkington, Trapp, Yardley, and other writers on the {acred ge- nealogies ; Pay ley on fabbatical inftitutions. III. DissERTATiONSon important fubjefts in facrcd cri^cifm, fubfervient to illuftrate or confirm the prin- ciples and conclufions in the foregoing parts. Dissert, i. On the dates of the books, in which is contained the hiftory of the Old and New Tefia- ment. 2. Chronology of the Hebrews and Gctitiks compared with refpeft to authority, genuinenefs, and truth, 3. Examination of the genealogicaf numbers in the Samaritan and Greek Pentateuch, Jofephus, and others, difcordant with the Hebrew notations, prior to the birth of Abraham, 4. History of the Sabbath from the primeval week to that of Chrift's refurredion. 5. True times of the Hebrew feftivals from the firft Paflbver in Egypt, to the laft in Chrift's miniftry. 6. Origin of alphabetical compofition and national records. -7. Means. ' ( 3 ) 7^ Means of preferving traditional knowledge, prior to the era of written language. 8. Gradual preparations for the introduflion of the gofpeh Illustrated with aftronomical calculations, and chronological tables. The ^whole intended for an improvement of Archbifliop Uflier's Annals, and Sir I. Newton's Chronology. By theRev*RoBERT Walker, ReQor of Shing- ham, Norfolk. London to be printed for T. Cadell jun. and W« Davies, (Succeflbrs to Mr. Cadell) in the Strand. CONDITIONS. The work will be printed on a fine paper, and elegant type, in two volumes quartp, ppce 2 /• 2Sm to be paid when copies are delivered to SUBSCRIBERS. ammmammmsamoL ADVERTISEMENT. So ME. readers may pronounce every attempt to ereft the febric of ancient Univerfal Hiftory, on the bafis of Aftronomical Chronology, a vifionary projeft, to the execution of which the human faculties are inadequate. In the prefumption, that the fcheme is practicable, the author proceeded to colleft materials, which he found to be various, fuitable to the propofed end, and fufficient to enforce conviftion. To facilitate the ftudy of facred litet^ture, by evincing that the objedions, daily " ' At, urged ( * ) nrgcd ag^infl tlic credibility df ibe Holy Oracles, rife froxn ignorance and fofAiftry, was faisprerailzsg motive to t!iis ardoous cnterprize. Of truth in aC its modifications God is the taigmi fom-cc, and ail his works it pervades. Katntc, Provi- dence, and Grace , are drftind dcparbnents of one grand and complex 9 but harmonious icwiue^ m wmdi stre ci:fit>rc7iccs of adminifljations, bat the fame Lord ; and ai\'erritir5 oi operationsbtttlfee &meOod, wiiowoxbtfa «iH in uH : thai is« whofe ail powerful energy conduSs to aioiirailc and benc&cial ends, the ieparate and c .tmbinei tcndcnrics of fecoDdar\* cauSs^ sid fubordinate r*ican5 ; m^t to fpaak of monl ageats^ contributing theii sid. \^ !Uii.vjt kuowksdge, and o&m beyond their in- 1 \ ihr f jiThlnnailr i&raTeologv, natoie is an inde- ^rriiirn: prmr.ijflr^ ana providexlce9 cfauice. — ^Words, iis "lb J3^ r^pp*:i^d. are wi^oui a meaiui^. Grace too is ex* pkiiirJl I'A th; pT'otefci ' iii^^ off fatality* as the chimera. %c fiirtrrftiriwn and i ! U} i v. ftr d:^f«niarinB *rf cxaci-.'* If do ( 5 ) as they have QQe cpn^mon Lord, a perfed har^ mopy of operation is foj^pfaible, in the means, iC^ufef, and effeSs, employed during a}! thf intermediate {(aigef. The Sacred Apnal^ together mfy the Prophetical Qr^plcfif define with fcientifical precifion the interval, in days, weeks, months, a;id afi^onomical yej^fs, fr(>qi /^ jam to the reigp gf Caligula ; nay foretel fuch eycnjUi as ace now fulfilling or yet to be fulfilled, prior t9 the cqnfumn?ation pf things. No where elfe is a primary fource of jcomputation to be found. This interval is fubdivided into diftinQ parts, each of a determinate lengthy and all conducive both to the cale and certain^ of reckoning ; — for example. From Adam to Noah ; hence to Abraham, and from him to Mofes, is the patriarchal economy continued^ and the feveral periods circumfcribed within limits charaderifed by defined aftronomical quantities. In like manner is afcertained the fpace from Mofe$ to Jofhua, and from the intermediate judges, to Samuel ; whence the computation proceeds by Kings to the fife of the Chaldean monarchy. Th e canonical hiftory of the Jews ends about 440 years before the crucifixion, that is, half a century after the commencement of the famous feventy pro^ phetical weeks : 368 years from the refioration of the Olympiad, 345 ftom the Varronian era, and 339 from that of NabonalTar* By the feventy prophetiCfi^l weeks is the chronological chain continued, from the firft point in meafured time, without the lofs of one link ; ^niby (hefe three notable er^s of the gentiles, h the A 3 Sacred ( 6 ) Sacred Hiftory brought into aftronomical connexion with that of the pagan empires, in continuous fuc-- ccflion, and co-exiftent periods. Christianity, or thedoftrine of grace, is not quite to ancient as the creation. But it certainly did com- mence immediately with the apoflacy in paradife. Befdte fin entered into the world, the luminaries had begun their courfes, and by their periodical revolutions are mcafured, with an exadnefs, which extends to the minuteft fraflional parts of time, thofe interrpediate ages from the prime fource of computation to the very day, when the fecond Adam rofe from the grave, to ai^ cndlefs life and univerfal dominion. Though it is not affirmed, that a diftinfl knowledge of the chronological charafters, in the Bible, is of equal importance and neceflity with belief in the do£lrines and fafts of Revelation ; yet, if the veracity^ of the facred writers can be cftabliflied on the bafis of de* monftrative fcience, it muft appear, that the objec- tions, ftill urged again ft the credibility of the holy oracles, are the offspring of ignorance and fophiftry. For evincing the certainty of the Bible Hiflory, . Genealo^ is an eflential ingredient. During the firft three ages of the world, that is, from the creation to the Exodus, thefum of the intervals in family defcents is the paft duration of thp planetary fyftem. In afcer- taining this criterion of chronological truth, one axiom is fundamental : " The age of procreation muft accord with |he ftandard of natural life, in the feveral ages pf the world." This axiom merits exemplification. ( 7 ) 1, *^ AxL the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died." This notation harmonifes with that other chronological charafter, which connefls the birth of Enoch with the 262d year of the fame Jared. a. From the birth of Arphaxad to thatofNahor the grandfather of Abraham, ( feven generations)^ thp iifual ftandard of natural life was between 250 and 300 years, and the common age of procreation 30, plus minus. Thefe arrangements are congruous with the courfe of nature. But in the generations, after Nahor, the ultimate period of mortality was comprefled within lefs protraded limits ; and, at the fame time, the mean proportion of generations was extended to 60 years an4 upwards, in the line at leaft of Terah by Abraham. That, in all the other families*of Noah's progeny, and even thofe in the line of Shem by Haran and Nahor the fons of Terah, procreation made a lef^ rapid pro- grefs^ during a feries of generations, is not credible* But probable reafons may be afligned for a longer fpace between defcents in the families of Ifaac and Jacob, than of Khmael andEfau. IJere ^ minute fpecifi; cation would be improper. 3. After Terah was the ftandard of natural lifp comprifed within the fpace of two centuries ; yet if the reckoning be continued from Judah exclufively tp the defcent into Egypt, he was the grandfather of two twins, Hezron and Hamul, by Pharez,the youngeft of four fons, at the time of that defcent : fcarcely half 9 cpnti^ry. The improbable circumftances ?re ; — A 4 , Judih*s ( 8 ) Judab's marrUge wai hot folemnifed Before the 27th year of his age ; — neither was Pharcz born before the expiration of ao years morfej and 27+201=4.7 ; which obvious and diort operation continues the teckoning lo within two y^ars of Jacob*s removal with hii whole family from Paleftine to Egypt ; in which ^pedition^ Pharez, Hezrbn, and Hamuli are mtotioned among the threefcore Imd fix fouls who accompanied Jacob S^nd his defcendants> from the 1 2 patriarchs. Much Ynore natural it is to poftulate, that thefe and many other names, now extant ih the xlvith chapter of Genefis, were taken from records of a fubfequen^ date, to fill up deficient names. 4. The generations pofterior to the entrance into Caftaan, and prior to the birth of David, are but four, mi the interval in time 406 years ; each Ton mud there-f jforc have been born at or after the looth of his father's life. In four fqcceffive inftances fqch incidents arie improbable, efpecially on the popular hypothefis^ that natural life was reduced to its prefent ftandard fa early as th^ cgrefs from Egypt. Such incoherent prin- ciples and contradidory decifions, found criticifm mul^ '|iot only explode, but re-eftablifli felf-cofrfiftent truths. From natural phenomena the facred annals derive con^rmation. Memorials of 2^ deluge once yniverfa] '^xift in every cjinaate. The acomplifhmeqt of pre- 4i£lions, which threatened the defolation of fevera] ttties, fome of them never to be rebuilt, is recorded ii; JLUthentic biftory, though difficult it is to afcertain the names of fome, or the file of others, Qf many notable co-incident with A. M. 2159.. Levi, the fon of ^^^ Jacob, converfed with his own grandfon, Amram, thp ftther of Mofes. So that from Jacob to ,Mpfes» both excluded, are but two generations during the lapfe of 4.20 y?ars before the Exodus j — a period, not much <' - exceeding ( la ) caureediflg 60 years of tradidonal hiflor}^ As the xaemory of the pagriarcbs, colle£lively, was in the age« prior to alphabetical coinpofitioD> the treafury of au* tbentic hiftorical truth, iznpoflible it was for Mofes tp efcape detedion, if he had pretended to contradict the univerfal report of uncorrupted tradition. Incredulity may ilill remonilrate, that tradition could not preferve pure and unvitiated the contents of the Mofaical hiftory, during the currency of twenty* jive centuries. It is replied, that the hiftory of the world's origin could not be known without a fupernatural communica- tion. To Adam it was firft of all revealed. Who "will venture to deny, that it was, if need were, re« peated to Mofes i A late * tranflator of the primeval hiftory fcruples to admit the divine infpiration of the writer. Let him enjoy all the credit and comfort of bis own paradox. In the writings of Mofes, as in the other volumes of the facred code, are recorded many things, which 4iuman fagacity could not forefee. The Lawgiver of the Hebrews, in particular, foretold the fpecifical puni(h<* ments referved for tliat people, if they Qiould dege- nerate into idolatrous practices, and reje£l the great 3PK0PHET, to be raifed upfrom among their brethren. They contra£led that guilt, and underwent the awful judgements, which had been denounced. The difperfed 90d (oxlQxn condition of their pofterity, at this day^ l^earf ( «3 ) l)cars Witnefs to t!ie prophetical charafter of the firft hiilorian. As without a divine itnpulfe he could not predift the events of a remote futurity, it cannot tc ihcOrigruou* to fuppofc, that, in compofing the hiftoiy t)f 25 paft centuries, he was under the influence o£ rupernatural dircSion. During the latte century, the patrons of facrei literatore fignified their wifli to have all the exifting manufcripts of the original Hebrew and Greek texts of both Teftaments carefully compared, that fome one topy, worthy to be admitted as the ftandard of textual purity, might be compiled from many, and retain the verity which pervades all. By the laudable induftry and (kill of feveral accomplifhed matters in facred criticifm, have the fanguine hopes of the Proteftant churches been amply gratified, and not Without the concurrence of the learned in the Romifh communion. Some of the reafons urged for collating manufcnpt and printed copies, verfions, (ancient and •modem), quotations, See. merited immediate regard, and liberal encouragement. Others fpecious, but nugatory, cap- tivated the attention of the public ; and by a kind of difa(ftrous fatality, **ihe' worfe appeared the iretter reafon^ to perplex and dafh matureft counfels." For the pre- ference of the amplified Greek chronology to the very moderate Hebrew notations, the arguments are, ** as the drop from a bucket, fmall duft in the balance, and Icfs than nothing." Of a minute fcrutiny, the refiilt was a pcrfeft harmony between all the chronological charaflers from Adam to Terah. Yet, as if the-Hcbrev^ •numbers ( H ) numbers had, as tiniformly contradi6lory and rhtrita^ lious of reprobation, forfeited every claim to proba- bilitx. ; the report of the Greek tranflators, vague as it generally is, and, in. its chronology, convided of deliberate and wilful forgery, is fet forth by Whiftoot Brett, Hay, Jackfon, Kennicott, and Geddes, as the primary model of chronological precifion. Every friend to the human race, and to ehriflianity, which comprehends the interefl of the whole fpecies, mull derive pure complacence from the continually multiplying editions of the Englifh Bible from the Britiih pre fs. Many of them, as fpecimens of elaborate mcchanifm, fuperfine paper, elegant types, fuperb binding, exquifite fculptures, and other exterior deco- rations, folicit and obtain extenfive and liberal en^ couragement. It is with deference fubmltted to the judgement of an impartial and difcerning Public, wh^it regard may be due to Propofals, of which the ultimate 6bje£l is to accomplifh Sir Ifaac Newton's arduous enterprize, fo as to make Sacred Hiftory fuit with itfelf, with the Annals of Paganifm, with the natural meafures of time, with national eras, with the courfe of nature in the generations of men, and with civil magillracies. Subscriptions to be tranfmitted to any of the Bookfellers in Great Britain ; or to the author. No. 6» Crown Court, Little Pultney Street, Weflminfter. The papers, now ready for publication, will be Qmt to prefs, as foon as a competent fubfcription ihall be notified.