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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

EDWIN J. BEINECKE, '07
FREDERICK W. BEINECKE, '09 S
WALTER BEINECKE, '10
FUND
The Gift ofthe
Somerset Foundation

A KEY

TO THE

HOLY BIBLE.

A
KEY TO THE
HOLY BIBLE,
GIVING
AN ACCOUNT OF THE SEVERAL BOOKS,
THEIR CONTENTS, THEIR AUTHORS,
AND OF THE
TIMES, PLACES, AND OCCASIONS ON WHICH THEY WERE
RESPECTIVELY WRITTEN.

A NEW EDITION.

TBE KEY TO THE
OLD TESTAMENT, AND
APOCRYPHA,
BY THE REVEREND ROBERT GI^Y, D.D.
PREBENDARY OF DURHAM.
THE KEY TO THE
NEW TESTAMENT,
BY THE RIGHT REV. THOMAS PERCY, D.D.
LATE LORD BISHOP OF DROMORE.

nontion :
PRINTED FOR C. AND J. RIVINGTON,
•62, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD, AND 3, WATERLOO-PLACE, PALL-MALL,
1825.

TO THE
REV. JOSEPH HOLDEN POTT,
ARCHDEACON OF LONDON,
AND VICAR OF ST. MARTIN'S IN THE FIELDS.

In looking back to those sentiments of regard
which I addressed to you in the former
impressions of this work, it is gratifying to me
to find the friendship of my earlier days con
firmed by the reflections of maturer age ; and
to renew, at a more advanced period of life,
the expression of the most lively feelings of
attachment and respect.
The repeated proofs of approbation which
this volume has experienced, have led me to
endeavour to render the present edition more
deserving of the public sanction and more
useful as well to students in divinity as to the
general reader. With this view I have mtro
duced additional remarks and corrections in
various parts of the work, and have carefully
a2

( iv )
revised the authorities produced, noting as
accurately as possible, the references, and ac
commodating them to the best editions, par
ticularly to those of the Fathers, and early
writers. The extensive encouragement which the
work has received, will afford, I trust, some
subject of satisfaction to you ; especially
firom the recollection of the favourable opinion
which you expressed on its appearance, con
ferring a value upon the first fruits of my
application to those studies which you had
assiduously encouraged me to cultivate ; and
countenancing an early tribute of veneration
for those Scriptures, of which, by your learned
and judicious remarks, you have often pointed
out the perfections, and of which you uniformly
illustrate the beneficial influence by the distin
guished example of your conversation and life.
I remain, with very sincere regard.
Your most faithful friend,
ROBERT GRAY.
Durham,
April 22, 1822.

PREFACE.

The useful Key to the New Testament, by
Doctor Percy, Bishop of Dromore, suggested
the idea of the present work, first published
in 1790. It was apprehended that a similar
assistant to the perusal of the Books of the
Old Testament, would prove equally con
venient to those who might not have either
leisure or opportunities to consult larger pub
lications, for scattered information. A differ
ence in the description ofthe books here treated
of, has compelled the Author to adopt a more
diffusive and discursive method of conducting
his subjects than that which is followed by
the learned Prelate. The uncertainty of the
dates and authors of some books, the objec
tions to opinions generally established, and
the mixed character, and miscellaneous con-

VI PREFACE.
tents of the works considered, have neces
sarily occasioned complicated and extended
discussions. The Author was desirous of exhibiting in
one point of view, the probable period of
each book, the character and design of its
writer, and the proofs of, or grounds of dis
puting its inspiration. He wished to pre
sent the reader with a general sketch of the
respective importance of each, of its intrinsic
pretensions and external sanctions ; and to
impart, in a compendious description, what
ever might contribute lo illustrate its history
and contents. This, He has done in a manner
as concise as possible, considering it consist
ent with his plan to prefix general information
and remarks as introductory, and separately to
examine such questions as were immediately
connected with the particular scope of the
individual book. He judged it also improper to
deliver opinions, without stating the reasons
on which they were founded, or to adopt de
cisions on disputed or doubtful points, without
producing, at least, the most considerable ob
jections that might be urged against them,
least the Reader should be led to decide on
partial grounds.

preface. vn
Since the books often contain passages of
obscure interpretation, and doubtful import,
as likewise dates, names, and other particu
lars upon the explanation of which their
character for antiquity and authority must,
in some measure rest, it was impossible
to avoid critical and chronological ques
tions. In consequence of these, the notes
have been increased in, number and extent,
beyond what was at first intended. The
Reader w\\\, however, hereby be saved the
trouble of 'referring to commentators; or, if
unwilling to acquiesce in the decision adopt
ed, he may readily find the foundation and
authorities on which it was established.
As the inspiration of the canonical books
was to be proved, it was often requisite to
point out the accomplishment of prophecy;
which, therefore, the Author has done, in
the most signal instances, though commonly
by reference only and cursory observation.
He presumes, however, that he has thereby
often unfolded an interesting scene, or opened
a wide field of instructive enquiry. The im
portance, likewise, of some discoveries and
remarks which learned commentaries have
imparted, has sometimes tempted the Author

viii PREFACE.
to introduce particulars that may be thought
too minute for a general and compendious
Introduction ; but he has usually endeavoured
to confine himself to such comments as con
tribute to general illustration, or are explana
tory of passages immediately subjected to the
Reader's attention. He apprehends, that if
the Reader should occasionally discover ob
servations which reflect only an oblique or
partial light on the sacred volume, he will
not be displeased, even though it should ap
pear that a larger space is thereby allotted to
some books than their comparative import
ance might seem to justify.
It was thought expedient also, occasionally
to advert to those popular mistakes, and light
objections which float in society, and operate
on weak minds to the prejudice of the sacred
books, as the Author was conscious that fairly
to state, was in some measure to refute them,
and that they often produce more than their due
effect because indistinctly viewed. In conse
quence of this design, he may, perhaps, be
thought to have introduced remarks too obvious
and trivial. The sincere and dispassionate
enquirer after truth, who has deliberately
weighed the evidence on which the scrip-
6

PREFACE. IX
lures rest, cannot readily believe that a pas
sage partially considered, a misconception of
a revealed design, or a fancied inconsistency
with pre-conceived opinions, should be al
lowed to aftect the character, or diminish the
influence of the sacred books, established as
their -authority is by incontrovertible evi-
deince : but experience fully proves, that
these are the foundations on which ignorance
and infidelity ground their disrespect for the
inspired writings.
The Author has been cautious in treating
of the canonical and apocryphal books, to
discriminate their respective pretensions with
accuracy ; since, however valuahle the latter
may be considered for their general excel
lence, it is necessary to keep inviolate, and
firee from all intermixture, that consecrated
canon in which the holy oracles were pre
served by the Jews, which was stamped as
infaUible by the testimony of Christ and his
apostles, and which, in the first and purest
ages of the Church, was reverenced (toge
ther with the inspired books of the New
Testament) as the only source of revealed
wisdom . a

X PREFACE.
The whole design of the Author has been
to assist the Reader to form a just conception
of the character of the Old Testament, and
of those uninspired books which are reputed
to have been written under the first dispen
sation; and to supply such introductory in
telligence, as might enable others to read
them with pleasure and advantage. He
lays claim to no praise, but that of having
brought into a regular form such informa
tion as he could collect from various works.
He acknowledges himself in the most unre
strained terms, to have borrowed from all
authors of established reputation, such ma
terials as he could find, after having delibe
rately considered and impartially collated
their accounts. He has appropriated such
obvious information as was to be collected
from those writers who are universally known
to have treated on the sacred books [a], and
he has endeavoured farther to enrich and
substantiate his accounts by diligent and ex
tensive research. He has not wished to con
ceal the sources from which he has drawn
his information, nor has he scrupled in some
minute instances to employ the words of
[A] As Eusebius, St. Jerom, Grotius, Huet, Calmet,
Du Pin, Patrick, Lowth, &c. &c. 1

PREFACE. xi
those writers from whom he has borrowed.
He has often produced numerous authorities,
not for ostentation, but to confirm interesting
particulars, and assist those who may be in
clined to investigate facts, or to pursue the
subjects under consideration. On important
and controverted points, he has industriously
and carefully consulted the authorities on
which his assertions rest, but in matters of
little moment, and where there could be no
reason to suspect misrepresentation, he has
in a few instances taken up with cited refe
rences. He has adopted that plan which he
thought would render his book most gene
rally useful ; and presumes to hope, that the
uninformed may find it an instructive, and tbe
leamed a convenient compilation.

CONTENTS.

Page
Preface  v
Introduction  1
Of the Pentateuch  46
Genesis  80
Exodus  100
Leviticus  107
Numbers  • 117
Deuteronomy  123
General Preface to the His
torical Books  133
Of Joshua  148
Judges  160
Ruth  173
Of the flrst Book of Samuel 180
Of the second Book of Sa
muel  188
Of the first Book of Kings 194
Of the second Book of
Kings  200
Ofthe first Book of Chron
icles  ,  206
Ofthe secondBook of Chron
icles  212
Of Ezra  217
Nehemiah  228
Esther  238
Job  245
Psalms  275
Proverbs  296
Ecclesiastes  309
The Song of Solomon . . 319
General Preface to the Pro
phets  332
Oflsaiah  383
Jeremiah  398
Of the Lamentations of Je
remiah  '. . 410

Page
Of Ezekiel  418
Daniel  432
General Preface to the mi
nor Prophets  4.50
Of Hosea  456
Joel  465
Amos  472
Obadiah  479
Jonah  485
Micah  495
Nahum  501
Habakkuk  508
Zephaniah  516
Haggai  521
Zechariah  528
Malachi  541
Preface to the Apocryphal
Books  548
Of the first Book of Esdras 562
Of the second Book of Es
dras  568
Of Tobit . .^^.  582
Of Judith  595
Of the rest of the Chapters
of Esther  605
Ofthe Wisdom of Solomon 612
Of Ecclesiasticus  625
Of Baruch  6.37
Of the Song of the Three
Children  648
Of the History of Susannah 652
Of the History of Bel and
the Dragon  657
Of the Prayer of Manasseth 6fi2
Of the first Book of Macca
bees  065
Gf the second book of Mac
cabees  674

INTRODUCTION.

The Biblej which in its original import implies
only the book [a], is a word appropriated by way of
eminence, to that collection ofthe Scriptures, which
have at different times been composed by persons
divinely inspired. It contains the several revela
tions delivered from God to mankind for their in
struction. Those communicated before the birth
of Christ, are included under that division of the
Bible, which is distinguished by the title of the Old
Testament [b], and of that division only it is here
meant to treat. The Old Testament comprehends
all those sacred books which were written by the
descendants of Israel, a people selected by God for
important purposes, to " be a Kingdom of Priests,
and an Holy Nation [c]." Among this people suc
cessive prophets and inspired writers were appointed
[a] Bi£a»o» vel $iQ>Mx., Liber, from giC^oj, an Egyptian reed,
the Papyrus, of the rind of which paper was made. Herod.
L. V. c. 58. and Hewn, de Origin. Nom. Bib. The Bible is
by thc Jews called Mikra, Lecture : so the Koran means the
reading. [b] Testament signifies covenant, agreeably to the import
of the Hebrew word Berith. Hieron. in Malach. cap. ij.
[c] Exod. xix. C. xxxiii. 16. Levit. xx. 24, 26. Psalm
cxivii. 19. Rom. iii. 2. ix, 4. B

2 INTRODUCTION.
by God to convey such prophecies and instructions
as were instrumental to the designs of his provi
dence. As these scriptures were produced, they
were admitted into the sacred volume, which by
gradual accumulation, at length increased to its pre
sent size. These being delivered to the Hebrews,
in their own language [d], with every mark that
could characterize divine revelations, were received
with reverence, as divinely inspired and preserved
with the most anxious care, and attention. Such
only were accepted, as proceeded from persons un
questionably invested with the prophetic character
I^e], or evidently authorized by a divine commis
sion, who acted under the sanction of public ap
pointment and miraculous support. The books
which contained the precepts of the prophets, con
tained also the proofs of their inspiration, and the
testimonies of their character. By recording con
temporary events the writers appealed to well-known
evidence of their authority, their impartiality, and
their adherence to truth ; and every succeeding
prophet confirmed the character of his predecessor,
by relating the accomplishment of prophecy in the
history of his own period, or bore testimony to his
pretensions, by repeating and explaining his pre
dictions.. To the writings of these inspired persons, other
[d] The Hebrew language, if not the first language of man;
seems at least to have higher preteasions to antiquity than any
other. The books of the Old Testament, are the only writings
now extant in pure Hebrew.
[e] Joseph, cont. Apion. Lib. L § 7. Vol. H. p. 1333. Edit.
Hudson.

INTRODUCTION. 3
productions were afterwards annexed, on account
of their valuable contents, and instructive tendency,
though their claims to inspiration have been justly
rejected. Such only as were undeniably dictated
by the Spirit of God, were considered by the Jews
as canonical [p], and such only are received by us
as affording a rule of faith and doctrine. The
contents of the first division of the Bible are there
fore distinguished into two classes. The first con
taining the books of acknowledged inspiration ; the
second comprising those which are entitled Apo
cryphal, as being of dubious or suspected charac
ter, and authority. The latter will be spoken of
in a proper place, since in the present preliminary
dissertation, it is purposed to treat of such only as
are canonical, and to trace a short sketch of their
history in a general outline ; a particular account
of each individual book being reserved for a sepa
rate chapter.
Though the books of the Old Testament are not
always chronologically arranged according to the
order in which they were written, yet the Penta
teuch was probably the first of those productions
which are contained in the inspired volume.
These five books written by the hand of Moses,
and consequently free from error, were secured as
a sacred deposit in the tabernacle, where the ark
of the covenant was placed |]g] ; and were kept
[f] The word Canon is derived from y.atat, which may be
interpreted, a rule or catalogue. Atban. Vol. X. p. 228.
Hieron. Vol. X. p. 41. It here means a rule of doctrine.
[g] Deut. xxxi, 26.
B 2

INTRODUCTION.

there, as well during the journey through the wil
derness, as for some time after at Jerusalem. To
the same sanctuary were consigned, as they were
successively produced, all those historical [h], and
prophetical books which were written from the
time of Joshua, to that of David, including their
ovvn works ; during which period a series of pro
phets flourished in regular succession. Solomon
having afterwards erected a temple to the honour
of God [i], appointed that in future the sacred
books should be deposited in tbis holy receptacle,
and enriched the collection by the inspired produc
tions of his own pen. After him a line of illus
trious prophets continued to denounce vengeance
against the disobedience of the Hebrew nation,
and to predict the calamities which that disobe
dience raust inevitably produce. Jonah, Amos,
Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah,
Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Obadiah, successively
flourished before the destruction of the temple, and
contributed by their unerring predictions, to de
monstrate the attributes and designs of providence,
and to enlarge the volume of inspired wisdom by
invaluable additions.
About 420 [k] years after its foundation, tbe
[h] The books do not sland in the order in which they were
written : they were perhaps not arranged at first according to
dates, or they might have been accidentally transposed in the
manuscript rolls: in difierent versions, they are differently
placed. Dupin. Dissert. Prel. Lib. I. ch. i. sect. 7.
[i] The Temple was dedicated about A.M. 3000.
[k] Josephus says 470, others 428. Usher 424 years. It
was destroyed about 585 years before Christ. Antiq. Lib. X.
ch. viii. p. 449.

INTRODUCTION. O
temple being rifled and burnt by Nebuchadnezzar,
the original manuscripts of the law and of the pro
phetical writings, must have been removed ; and
were possibly carried to Babylon, except indeed
we suppose, that the part of the Hebrew nation
which remained at Jerusalem, obtained permission,
or found means to retain them [i,]. Those He
brews who were dispersed in the captivity, proba
bly used such copies as had been previously dis
tributed ; though Daniel who refers to the law [m],
might by his interest with the Babylonish kings,
have procured access to the original, if we suppose
it to have been transferred to Babylon. Within
the seventy years, during which the Jews were
detained in captivity, were composed the affecting
lamentations of Jeremiah, the consolatory prophe
cies of Ezekiel, and the history and prophecies of
Daniel. On the accession of Cyrus to the throne of Per
sia, the Jews being released from their captivity,
returned to Jerusalem about A.M. 3468, having
doubtless procured or recovered the original books
of the law and of the prophets, with a design to
place them in the temple, which after much oppo-
tion from the Samaritans, they rebuilt in about
twenty years, being encouraged to persevere in
this pious work, by the exhortations of Haggai and
[lJ In the account of the things carried to Babylon, no
mention is made of the sacred books. 3 Kuigs xxv. 2 Chron.
xxxvi. Jerem. liiu
[m] Dan. ix. 11. 13. See also Ezra vii. 14. and Jerem.
xvii. X9— 21. xxxiL 22, 23.

6 INTRODUCTION.
Zechariah : they also restored the divine worship
according to the law. About fifty years after the
temple was rebuilt, Ezra, who since the return
from Babylon, had been engaged in restoring the
Jewish church, is related by tradition to have made,
in conjunction with the great synagogue, a collec
tion of the sacred writings [n] ; and being assisted
by the Holy Spirit, he was enabled to discriminate
what was authentic and divine, and to reject such
parts as rested but on false pretensions ; this col
lection was therefore free from error, and rescued
from all accidental corruptions. It has been main
tained, indeed, that as a long residence in Chaldea,
during which the Jews were dispersed and sepa
rated from each other, had so far precluded the
use of the Hebrew letters, that they were almost
forgotten and superseded by those of Chaldea.
Ezra, partly in compliance with custom, and partly
to differ from the Samaritans, [which obnoxious
sect eihployed the old Hebrew letters^, substi
tuted the Chaldean or square letters, which we
now call the Hebrew, for those which prevailed
previously to the captivity [o], as we changed our
[nJ Nehem. viii. 1, 3, 9, Joseph. Lib, I. sect. viii. p. 1333.
Cont. Apion. Tract. Megil. in Gemar. cap. iii. Hieron. cont.
Helv. cap. i. Hilar. Prolog, in Psalm. August, de Mirac. Sac.
Scrip. Lib. II. Isidor. Orig. Lib. VI. cap. i. Gencb, Chron.
p. clxxviii. and ccli. et ad A. M. 3640. Jans ad Cap. 48.
Eccles. Buxtorf, Tiberiad, cap. xi. Com. in Masor. Theodor.
Pra;f, in Psalm. Prid. Connect. Part I. Book v. Dupin Diss.
Prel. [o] Some assert also, that Ezra introduced the points or
characters which serve to mark the Hebrew vowels ; others

INTRODUCTION. 7
old black letter for the Roman characters. There
have, indeed, been some disputes on this subject,
but this opinion seems to be the best supported [p].
To this genuine collection of Ezra, were after
wards annexed his own sacred writings, as well as
those of Nehemiah and of Malachi. These were
probably inserted into the canon by Simon the
Just, who is related to have been the last of the
great synagogue [q], and by this addition was com
pleted the canon of the Old Testament : for, from
Malachi, no prophet arose till the time of John the
Baptist, who, as il were, connected the two cove-.
maintain, that these are as ancient as the language ; and a
third class, that they were invented by the doctors of the
school of Tiberias, generally called the Masorites, about 500
years after Christ, or as some say later. The Masorites seem
to have been a succession of critics, professing a traditionary
science of reading the scripture, as the Cabalists did of inter
preting it.
[p] This account is founded on a Jewish tradition generally
received, and is related on the testimonies of Eusebius aqd
St. Jerom, but those who maintain that the square were the
ancient Hebrew letters, have attempted to invalidate these
authorities. The canon, however, was certainly pomposed
about the time of Ezra, if not by himself. Vid. Euseb. Chron.
ad A. M. 4740, Hieron, Preef. ad 2 Reg. Com. in Ezekiel, in
Prol. Gal. et Sixt, Senens. Lib. II. Biblioth. Sanct. Morin.
Cpng, Orat, Also Scaliger, Bochart, Casauboo, Vossiiis, Gro
tius, Walton, and Capellus.
[q] The great synagogue is a term applied by the Jews to
a succession of Elders, -'supposed to have amounted to one
hundred and twenty, who had the government of the Jewish
church after the captivity. They are said to have superin
tended and closed the canon of the scriptures. Vid. Prid.
Con. Ad. 292.

8 INTRODUCTION.
nants, and of whom Malachi prophesied, that he
should precede the great day of the Lord [r J
This canon of the Old Testament was by the
Jews, computed to contain twenty-two books [s],
a number analogous to that of the letters of the
Hebrew alphabet, and corresponding with tiie
catalogue of those which are received by our
Church as canonical. With the Jews, however.
Judges and Ruth were reckoned but as one book ;
as likewise the two books of Samuel, those of
Kings and of Chronicles were respectively united
into single books ; Ezra and Nehemiah were also
joined together, as the prophecies and lamentation
of Jeremiah were taken under one head : so that
if we consider the twelve minor prophets as they
"were comprehended ip the Jevvish canon, as one
book, the number of the books wiU be exactly
twenty-two. If the Prophets wrote any other
books, they are now lost, but as no more were ad
mitted into the canon, we have reason to suppose,
that no more were inspired, though many other
books are mentioned and referred to in the scrip
tures, which having no pretensions to inspiration,
were never received into the sacred list [t]. These
[r] Malach, iv. 5,
[s] Joseph, cont. .^pioa. Lib, I. sect. 8. Hieron. Prol.
Galeat. Sixt. Senens. Lib. I. c. ii. Epiphan. &c.
[t] Orig. Hom. I, in Cant. August. De Civit. Dei, Lib.
XVIII. cap. xxxviii. Quest. 42, in Numb. It has been said,
likewise, that some passages are cited by the Evangelists, as
from the prophetic writuigs, which are not extant in them,
as in Matt. ii. 23. but St, Matthew might here allude to Judges

INTRODUCTION.

twenty-two books have an unquestionable tide to
be considered as the genuine productions of those
authors, to whom they are severally assigned. They
contain prophecies and every other intrinsic proof
of their divine origin; theywere received as au
thentie by the Hebrews, and pronounced to be in
spired oracles by the Evangelical writers, who cite
them without any intimation of defect or corruption.
There was not, indeed^ any period a;t which, if fa
bricated, they could have been imposed upon the
Jews as the works of the authors whose names they
severally bear. They were Hkewise considered
as exclusively canonical in the Christian Church,
during the four first centuries, after which, some
provincial councils attempted to increase the num^
ber by some apocryphal boqks„ which, however,
they annexed only as of secondary authority, till
the council of Trent pronoiinqed them to be equally
infallible in doctrine and truth [u].
The Jews divided the sacred books into three
xiii, 6. or to Isaiah xi, I. where according to St, Jerom, " 4
branch shall go out of his root" might be translated, " a Naza-;
rite shall grow from his root," or he might refer to the prophetic
accounts in general, which had foretold, that Christ should be
consecrated to God as all the Nazarites were. The Evangelists
usually cite more according to the sense, than to the words, and
they sometimes perhaps allude to well known traditional pro
phecies, " to that which was spoken by the prophets." Se^
other instances in Eph. v, 14, 2 Tim. iii. 8, James iy, 5, Jude
14, 15. which refer to passages not now extant, or to traditional
relations. Hieron. de Opt. Gen. Interpr, Vol. I. p. 122^
[u] Preface to the Apocryphal books,

10 INTRODUCTION.
classes [x]. The first, which they called the law,
contained, as was before observed, the five books
of Moses. The second originally included thirteen
books, which they considered as the works of the
prophets. The third comprised four books, called
by the Jews Chetubim, and by the Greeks, Hagio-
grapha; these are conceived to have been the
Psalms, and the three books of Solomon [y]. The
Scriptures were so divided in the time of Jose
phus [z], probably without any respect to supe
riority of inspiration, but for distinction, and
commodious arrangement. From the time of St.
Jerom, the second class has been deprived of some
books [a] which have been thrown into the third
class, and the Hebrew doctors have invented many
fanciful refinemejits, concerning the nature and
degrees of inspiration which are to be ascribed to
the books of each class respectively. They assign
an higher iauthority to the books of the two first
divisions, though they attribute also the writings
included in the third class, to the suggestion of
the sacred Spirit [b]. It would be idle to trouble
the reader with the discussion of these, and such
like rabbinical conceits', &nd it inay be sufficient
here to remark upon this subject, that though the
[x] Prolog, to Ecclus. Philo de Yitk Contemp. p, 691 .
[yJ Sixt. Senen, Bib, Sac, cap. vi, p, 313, and Vitrin, Oh-
servat. Sac. Lib, VI, cap, vi, p. 313,
[z] Joseph, cont, Apion, Lib. I. § 8, p. 1333.
I'a] Job, Dauiel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, 2 Books of Chro
nicles, [b] Maimon. Mor. Nevoch, p. 2. ch, xxiv, and Sraith on
Prophi'vy, also Misn. Jud, c. iii. n. 5, Bava Bathra, cap, i.

INTRODUCTION. 1 1
scripture mentions different modes, by which God
communicated his instructions to the prophets, and
particularly attributes a superior degree of emi
nence to Moses, yet that these differences, and this
distinction, however they may affect the dignity of
the minister employed, cannot be supposed to in
crease, or to lessen the certainty of the things im
parted. Whatever God condescended to commu
nicate to mankind by his servaiits, must be equally
infallible and true [c], whether derived from im
mediate converse with him, from an external voice,
or from dreams or visions, or lastly from the inter
nal and enlightening influence of the Holy Spirit
The mode of communication, where the agency of
Providence is established, can in no respect exalt,
or depreciate the intrinsic character of the thing
revealed. Other divisions, besides that already mentioned,
were afterwards adopted, and the order of the
books was sometimes changed, as design or acci
dent might produce a transposition ; but no addi
tion or diminution whatever was permitted to be
made among the Jews [d] ; " never any man,"
says Josephus, " hath dared to add to, or to dimi
nish from, or to alter ought in them [e] ; though
other books were written, which deserved not the
same credit, because there was no certain succes-
[c] 2 Tim. iii. 16. 2 Pet. i. 19, 21.
f n] Hieron. Praef. m Lib. Reg. Bava Bathra, cap. i Maimon.
in Tad. Chan. p. 2. f. 95. and R, Gedalias in Scalsch hakkab.
f. 67. [e] Deut, iv. 2. and Joseph, cont. Apion. Lib. I. § 8. Euseb.
Hist. Eccles. Lib, ill. cap. ix. x. Praep. Evangel. Lib. Vlll.

13 INTRODUCTION.
sion of prophets, from the time of Artaxerxes, and
it was a maxim, ingrafted into the Jews in their
youth to esteem these writings as the oracles of
God, and remaining constant in their veneration,
willingly to die for them if necessary." Thus
were they consigned to the reverent acceptance of
posterity, and consecrated by the approbation and
testimony of Christ himself, who stamped as au
thentic, and as infallibly to be accomplished, the
law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms [fj ;
(the psalms, comprehending under that title, the
Hagiographa) [g] ; the apostles likewise confirmed
the same [h].
Besides the great temple at Jerusalem, many
synagogues were founded after the return from
the captivity, and furnished by the industry of
the rulers of the church, with copies of this au
thentic collection of the scriptures, so that though
Antiochus Epiphanes in the persecution which he
.carried ori against the religion of the Jews tore in
pieces, and afterwards burnt probably the sacred
/original of Ezra, or at least such copies as he
could procure [i] ; still, as faithful manuscripts
[f] Matt, V, 17, 18, 39. xxi. 42. xxii. 29. xxvi. 54. Luke
xvi, 16. xxiv. 27, 44. John i. 45. v, 39.
[g] Philo de Vit. Contemp, Lib. VI. Joseph, contra Apion,
Lib, I, § 8. Hieron, in Prolog, in Praef. in Dan, Epiphan.
Homil, xxix, cap, 7. '
[h] Acts iii. 18. xviii. 28, xxiv. 14, xxvi, 22, 27. xxviii. 23.
xxix. 7. Rpm. iii, 2. xv, 4. Heb. i, 1. 2 Tim. iii. 16.
1 Pet, ii, 6. 2 Peter i. 19, Acts viii, 32. Rom. iv. 3. ix. 17.
x.4. [i] 1 Mace, i. 57. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. XIL cap. 5. p. 363.
Sulpit, Sev. Hist. Sac. Lib, II.

INTRODUCTION, 13
existed in all part^, the malevolence cf his inten
tion was baffled by God's providence, and Judas
Maccabeus, when he had recovered the city, and
purified the temple, procured for it a perfect and
entire collection of the scriptures, or perhaps de
posited therein, that which had belonged to his
father Mattathias [k], and doubtless supplied such
synagogues with fresh copies, as had been plun
dered during the persecution. Many of these,
however, must have perished with the synagogues
that were destroyed by the armies of Vespasian
and Titus, though the religious veneration of tbe
Jews for their scriptures, rescued every copy that
could be saved from the general destruction which
overwhelmed their country, as the scriptures af
forded them considerable consolation in all their
afllictions, Josephus himself, we are informed,
obtained a copy from Titus [lJ, when the other
Jewish books were destroyed, and the authentic
Volume, which till this final demolition, had been
deposited in the temple, was carried in triumph to
• Rome, and placed with the purple veils in the
temple of Peace [m], so that henceforth, no copy
of the Hebrew scriptures was preserved from in
jury by the vigilance of public guardians, except
those copies which were kept in the scattered
synagogues of foreign and dispersed Jews [n]. It
[k] 1 Mac. ii, 48. iii, 48, xii. 9. 2 Mac. ii. 14. viii, 23,
XV. 9,
[l] Joseph. Vit, sect. 75. p. 944. edit. Hud,
[m] De Bell, Jud. Lib. VII. cap. v.
[nJ The Jewish synagogues in all countries were iiumerous :
wherever the apostles preached they found their. ; they were

14 INTRODUCTION,
is from this time, probably, that errors and corrup
tions crept into the sacred text. As there was no
longer any established standard of correctness, by
which the fidelity of different copies could be tried,
faults and mistakes were insensibly introduced;
the carelessness of transcribers occasioned acci
dental omissions : marginal annotations [o] were
adopted into the text ; and the resemblances be
tween different Hebrew letters, of which many are,
remarkably similar in form, contributed, with other,
circumstances too numerous to be here specified,
to produce alterations, and imperfections in the
different copies, which, from the difficulty of col
lating manuscripts for correction, were necessarily
perpetuated. Hence originated those various readings, and
occasional differences which we find in the several
manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, and these dif
ferences must have considerably multiplied, since
established by the direction of the rabbins in every place
where there were ten persons of full age and free condition.
Vid, Megiil. cap, i, sect. 3. Maimon in Tephill. Lightfoot's
Harmony, sect. 17. Exercit. in Matt, xviii.
[o] The Hebrew Bibles have marginal readings, called keri,
wliich signifies, that which is read, (the text is called cetib, that
which is written :) these marginal variations are by some as
cribed to Ezra, but as they are found in his books, as well as
in those which are inserted in the Canon after his time, they
seem to be conjectural emendations of corrupted passages by
later writers, probably by the great synagogue, or the Maso
rites ; these words amounted to about 1000, and all except a
very few, have been found ia the texts of different manuscripts.
Vid. KLiiiiicott Diss, (ieaer. Vitring. Observat. Sac. vol. ii,
cap. 19. Capellus, Morinus, V/alton, Anan. Punct. Rev.
Lib. 1. tap. V. Buxtorf. Vind. Vcrit. Heb. Par. ii, c. 4.

INTRODUCTION. 15
it was enacted by a constitution of the elders,
that every man should possess a private copy of
the scriptures. Happily, however, these are sel
dom important in their nature or consequences,
as appears from a collation of those various copies
which pious and munificent men have industriously
collected ; and it should indeed seem to be an es
pecial effect of some peculiar providence, that those
passages which relate to faith and doctrine, those
which describe the attributes and perfections of
God, and, the divine and human nature of the
Messiah, or which treat concerning our obligations
and duty, are in general preserved uniform and
uneorrupted. Secure in their integrity from the
coiisistent testimonies of every copy, we may con
fidently rely on the instructions which they reveal,
and stedfastly adhere to the principles which they
inculcate. There could not indeed be any temptation for
the Jews designedly to corrupt the doctrine of their
scriptures, before the appearance of the Messiah ;
during the greater part of which time it was watched
over by the prophets, and by different sects: and
had such a design prevailed since the birth of
Christ, the Jews would not have overlooked those
passages which so strongly authenticate our Sa
viour's pretensions [p] ; indeed such a design must
[p] When the Hebrew text differs from the Greek, it is
sometimes more unfavourable to the Jewish opinions, as in
Psalm ii. 12. The passage in tlie 16lh verse of the xx:i(l
Psalm, which has been produced as a concerted alteration, is
certainly, if really altered, only corrupted bv accident, for the
9

16 INTRODUCTION.
then have been fruiUess, since it could not be
general, and it must have been liable to immediate
detection ; for as Christianity was built on the
foundation of the Old Testament and appealed to
the Hebrew scriptures for its support, wherever
the gospel was received, the law and the prophets
were called into notice and esteem, and preserved
with as much care and vigilance as prevailed
among the Jews ; and when the christian converts
were commanded under the Dioclesian persecution
to surrender them, they stigmatized those who
complied with the requisition as betrayers [q].
Copies then must have multiplied by increasing
veneration, and however trivial inaccuracies might
proportionably prevail, contrived alteration must
have become more impracticable. Thus every cir
cumstance seems to have conspired to preserve the
integrity of the scriptures free from a suspicion of
intended corruption, or of change in any essential
point. The jealous care with which they were
preserved in the tabernacle, and in the temple, being
not more calculated to secure their purity, than
copies which differing from the Septuagint, instead of nUD,
caaru, " they pierced" my hands and feet, " read HiO, caari,"
as a lion " (they rendered) my hands and my feet," can
hardly be conceived to have been intentionally changed to a
stroiiger though figurative representation of the wounds in
flicted at the crucifixion ; nor is it probable that two verses
should have been designedly omitted from ch. xv. of Joshua,
merely because they describe as in the Septuagint, that Beth
lehem was ill the territory of Judah, a circumstance otherwise
well known.
[q] Traditorcs, ¦ 4

INTRODUCTION. 17
that reverence which afterwards displayed itself in
the dispersed synagogues, and in the churches con
secrated to the christian faith ; and hence we find
in the Scriptures only such corruptions as might
have been accidentally produced [r.] The most
ancientHebrew manuscripts which modern enquiry
has ever been able to procure, do not usually seem
to be above 600 or 700 years old, and none exceed
the age of 900. In proportion to their antiquity,
they are found to be more free from corrup
tions [s], and for the reason before assigned, that
these corruptions are but the natural effects of fre
quent transcription, the consequence of careless
haste, or casual inadvertency. In important points
almost aU correspond, or are easily reconciled with
each other, though collected at different times, and
in different places.
Not only however is the purity of the sacred
volume established by the general coincidence of
the Hebrew copies, but it is still farther proved
beyond a possibility of suspicion, by the agreement
which subsists between the Hebrew, and the Sa
maritan Pentateuch [t], and by the correspondence
[r] See Morinus, Capellus, Grotius, aiidKenuicott's Bible.
The precepts of scripture are generaUy repeated in tbe diffe
rent Books, so that errors in these must be immediately de
tected ; the mistakes are chiefly in proper names, and numbers ;
in the latter often occasioned by the use of letters for numbers.
See Irensns, Beza, &c,
[s] The best are those copied by the Jews of Spain : those
by the Jews of Germany are less correct.
[t] The Samaritans, whether the descendants of the ten
c

18 INTRODUCTION.
preserved in the Septuagint version of the Old
Testament, (as collected by Ezra) with the original
Hebrew. The Samaritan Pentateuch is a copy of the He
brew original, and according to the most general,
and best supported opinion, written in the old He
brew or Phoenician characters [u]. Though this
Samaritan copy has some variations, transpositions,
tribes, wbo seceded under the reign of Rehoboam, or of the
colony, said to have been brought from Cuthah, or other parts
of Assyria, (2 Kings xvii. 24.) professed the Hebrew religion,
and had a Temple, a Priest, and a Pentateuch. When that
Pentateuch was copied, is uncertain ; some say at the time of
their first revolt ; others contend that it was copied from Ezra's
collection, as it contains some interpolations ascribed to him.
As the Samaritans rejected the regulations established by Jo
shua, and also the authority ofthe Hebrew priesthood, they dis
regarded not only the Books which were written subsequently
to the revolt of the ten tribes, and which were addressed more
particularly to the kingdom of Judah, but likewise those that
were written previously to the division of the two kingdoms, as
the Books of Joshua, of Samuel, of David, and of Solomon.
There is still a remainder of the Samaritans who have their
high priest, said to be of the race of Aaron, and who offer up
their sacrifice upon Mount Gerizim to this day. The chief
part of this sect reside at Sichem, which was afterwards called
Flavia Neapolis, and now Naplousa. They have synagogues
in other parts of Palestine, and are numerous in Syria, and
Egypt, and some of them are dispersed in the north of Europe,
vid. Joseph. Ant. Lib. VIl, cap. 3. page 1299, Prid. Con, Part
I. Book vi, Benjamin Itiner. Gassen. in Vita. Pierescii, and
Hottinger Bib. Critic, Scalig. de Emend. Temp, Maundrell's
Journey, page 80.
[u] Scaliger, Vossius, Capellus, Univer. Hist, Book I.
ch. vii. Prid, Con. Part 1, Book vi.

INTRODUCTION. 19
and additions, which render it different in some
respects from the Hebrew manuscripts, yet these
are never of such a nature as to impeach the inte
grity of the Scripture doctrine, or to lessen our
confidence in the purity of the Hebrew copies ;
for if we except some chronological variations,
which are perhaps not utterly irreconcileable, and
a designed alteration discovered in the Samaritan
Pentateuch, which was manifestly inserted to sup
port an opinion, that Mount Gerizim |]x] was the
place which God had chosen for his temple, we
shall find that the variations of this copy are not
more than might reasonably be expected from fre
quent transcription during a period of 2000 years
{y"]; for so long a time had elapsed from the apos-
[x] Deut. xxvii, 4. They have put Gerizim iustead of Ebal
into this verse.
[t] The fathers are supposed to have had a Greek transla
tion of the Samaritan Pentateuch, but from the sixth to the
seventeenth century, no mention is made ofthe Samaritan Pen
tateuch ; Scaliger first lamented, that uo one had procured a
copy ofthe original. In consequence of this hint, the learned
Usher obtained two or three copies of it by means of Sir Thomas
Davis, then at Aleppo ; and not long after, Sancius Hariey, a
priest of the Oratory of Paris, brought home another, which he
deposited in the library of his order at Paris, from which copy
Morinus published it in the Paris Polyglot. Vid. Prid. Con,
Part. I. Book vi. The Samaritans have likewise a translation
of this Pentateuch into the language vulgarly spoken among
them, their language being now so corrupted- by foreign inno
vations, as to be very different from the original Samaritan,
This translation is published in the Paris and London Polyg
lots, and Vi so literal, that Morinus, and Walton thought, that
e2

20 INTRODUCTION.
tacy of Manasseh [z], to the introduction of this
copy into Europe.
This general agreement is the more remarkable
and exhibits the stronger evidence in support of
the purity of the Hebrew text, since the Samaritan
copy was preserved by those who from their first
separation entertained the greatest hostility against
the Jews, but who do not appear to have charged
thera with corrupting the sacred text.
This common correspondence affords therefore
a striking proof of the general integrity ofthe dif
ferent copies, and we shall be still farther con
vinced, that the sacred volume has preserved its
genuine purity in every important point, if we
consider how little the Septuagint version of the
Scriptures differs from the Hebrew copies, not
withstanding the many ages that have elapsed since
the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus, the king of
Egypt, who was the second monarch ofthe Mace
donian race, about 280 years before Christ, and
under whose reign this translation was made into
Greek. It has been raaintained indeed by some
learned men, that only the Pentateuch was tran
slated at first, and that the other books [a] were
one version would serve for both, only noting the variations.
Vid. Prid. Con. Part II, Lib. I.
[z] The son-in-law of SanbaUat, who was compelled by
Nehemiah to quit Jerusalem, and who carried away a copy of
the law to Samaria. He is called Manasses by Josephus.
Vid, Nehem. xiii, 28. Joseph, Antiq, Lib. XI. cap. 8.
page 501.
[a] Euseb. Demonst. Evang. Lib. III. «ap. ult. Hody de
Bibl. Text, Origen, &c;

INTRODUCTION. 21
rendered into Greek successively at different times ;
however this may have been, they were all tran
slated long before the birth of Christ [bJ. This
version has not many important variations from the
Hebrew, except in some chronological accounts,
occasioned probably by the carelessness of the
copyists [c^. It was used in all those countries
where Alexander had established the Grecian lan
guage, and seems' to have been admitted into the
Jewish synagogues in Judaea, and even at Jeru-
[b] The Septuagint was probably the first entire version ot
the Scriptures made into the Greek, though there are authori
ties which state that some part of them, particularly the Law
and the Prophets were translated into that language, before
the time of Alexander's expedition. Vid, August, de Civit.
Dei, Lib. XVIII. cap. XLII. and XLIII, Huet. Prop. IV. cap.
xii. sect. 3. The account of the Septuagint translation, attri
buted to Aristieas, is loaded with so many fabulous circum
stances that it has been thought entitled to but little credit.
It is, however, repeated by Philo, Josephus, and other writers.
Vid. Aristeeas, Hist, 70. Interp. Philo in Vit. Mos. Lib.
II. Joseph. Antiq, Lib, XII. cap. 2, Irenee. Lib, III. cap, 25.
The truth seems to be, that a version was begun in the reign
of Ptolemy, and perhaps finished at different times for the use
of the Alexandrine Jews, but before the time that the Book of
Ecclesiasticus was written, and consequently at least two cen
turies before Christ, Vid. Prolog, to Ecclus. Hody de Bibl-
Text. Lib. 11. cap. viii. Comp. 2 Sam. xxii. with Psalm xviii.
Other translations into Greek were afterwards made by Aquila,
Theodotion, and Symmachus. Vid, Clem, Alex, Strom, Lib,
I, cap, 22. Euseb, Praep. Evang. c. vi. Prid. Con. Part. II.
Book i.
[c] In the vth and xith ch, of Genesis, every Patriarch is said
to have lived 100 years longer, according to the Septuagint,
than in the Hebrew, except Jared, and Methusaleni.

22 INTRODUCTION.
salem, where that language prevailed ; and the
Septuagint was certainly most used there in the
time of our Saviour, for the citations in the New
Testament from the Old, seem most frequently to
have been made according to that version [d^- At
that period then it was unquestionably an authentic
copy of the inspired books, or it would not have
[d] St. Jerom was of opinion, that the evangelical writers
cited from the Septuagint when it did not differ from the He
brew, but that they had recourse to the original when there
was any difference ; but the instances which he has produced,
do not prove that they referred to the Hebrew ; and the evan
gelists sometimes cite from thc Septuagint when it differs from
the Hebrew, as in Rom, x. 18, from Psalm xix. 4. Rom, xv.
J.2, from Isaiah xi. 10. In the time of Christ, the original and
the translation agreed more exactly than they now do, as many
corruptions must have been subsequent to that period : it is
therefore in some degree uncertain, whether the citations are
made from the Hebrew, or from the Septuagint, though they
appear indeed, to be made chiefly from the latter, except per
haps by St, Matthew, who probably writing in Hebrew, might
use the Hebrew. Vid. Hieron. adv, Rufiin, Mede's Works,
p. 785. Dr. Brett imagines that our Saviour read out of a
Targum when he read the lesson inthe synagogue. Vid. Luke
iv, 18. comp. with Isaiah lxi. 1, and that he cited a paraphrase
on the cross. Vid. Matt, xxvii, 46. for Sabacthani is found
only in the Chaldaic tongue, and in the Hebrew it is 'JnatJ?
yazabtani. Christ and the Apostles probably cited what was
most known to the Jews, the sense being the same, whether
from Original, Version, or Paraphrase. The language spoken
by the Jews in our Saviour's time was the Hebrew mixed with
the Chaldaic, and Syriac, which dialects compose likewise the
basis of the modern Hebrew ; Greek however was generally
understood, Vid. Brett's Dissert, on the ancient version ofthe
Bible, Blair's Lectures, &c.

INTRODUCTION. 23
received the sanction of our Saviour, and of his
apostles ; and though since that time it has been
rejected by the Jews on account of the estimation
in which it was holden by the Christians, yet was
it for the two first centuries exclusively used, and
has ever since been regarded in great veneration
by the Christian church, as a very faithful, though
not a literal version.
Thus does the general coincidence between the
Heprew copies, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the
Septuagint version of the Old Testament, demon
strate the unaltered integrity of the Scriptures in
important points, as we now possess them, and this
integrity is stiU farther confirmed by the confor
mity which subsists between those various transla
tions of the Bible into different languages, which
have l^een executed since the time of our Sa
viour [^e]. It appears therefore that from the time
of their first inspiration, to the present day, the
sacred writings have been dispersed into so many
different bands, that no possible opportunity could
[e J The g'eneral integrity of the text is likewise confirmed
by the evidence of the Chaldee paraphrases, which are called
targums or versions ; these were translations of the Old Testa
ment from the Hebrew into Chaldee, for the benefit of those
who had forgotten the Hebrew after the captivity ; vid. Nehem.
viii. 8. The two most ancient, and authentic, are that of
Onkelos on the Law, and that of Jonathan on the Prophets ;
these were probably ma*de soon after the captivity, or at least
before the time of Christ, but they are blended with more mo
dern comments. The other targums ,are of much later date.
The targums are printed in the second edition of the Hebrew
Bible, published at Basil, by Buxtorf the Father, in 1610.

24 INTRODUCTION.
be afforded for confederate corruptions, and every
designed alteration must iraraediately have been
detected. The first Hebrew Bibles were published towards
the conclusion of the fifteenth century, by the
Jews of Ilaly [f]. Many were afterwards pub
lished at Venice, Antwerp, and Amsterdam, as
well as in other places, which have their respective
[f] The Hebrew Bible, according to Houbigant, (Proleg.
p. 94. 96,) v/as first printed by R. Jacob ben Chaim. but
Keunicott says, that this was not pubhshed till 1528, and that
therefore it was subsequent to that revised by Felix Pratensis,
published at Venice, 1517. There is still extant in Eton Li
brary, a vellum copy of the Chetubim, or Hagiographa printed
according to Dr. Pellet's account, at Naples, in 1487, and
probably designed as a second or third part to the edition of
the Prophets, printed, according to le Long, at Soncino, in
1486. See le Long and Wolfius, Bibhot. Heb. 2. 397, This
was followed by many others. See Kennicott's Hist, of the
Heb. Text. 6th period. That of Vander Hooght, published at
Amsterdam in 1705, and that of Houbigant, pubhshed in 1753,
are the most distinguished and correct. The first Bible that
ever was printed, was a Latin Bible, pubhshed at Mentz, about
A.D. 1450 or 1452. A copy of a second or third edition of
this printed at Mentz in 1462, with metal types by John Faust,
(whom some suppose to have been the first printer) and Peter
Schaffer, is in the king of France's Library, and a first volume
of this edition is in the Bodleian Library, together with a copy
supposed to be of an earlier date ; and another first volume
was brought to England in the Pinelli collection, together with
a last volume of one which had the appearance of being still
more ancient ; it had uo date. There certainly were two
Bibles published before 1462, vid, PineUi Catalogue. Michael
Maittaire, Ann. Typogr. T, 1. p. 272. Catalog. Historico.
Critic. Bibhoth, Instruct. Vol. Theol. p. 32. and 14 Vol. of
Acad, des Inscrip. p. 238.

INTRODUCTION. 25
merits and defects ; but perhap.s, the most impor
tant edition, that, which does honour to our
country, is the celebrated work of the late Dr.
Kennicott, who, a few years since, pubUshed his
Bible, containing the very accurate text of Vander
Hooght, with the vairiations of near 700 different
manuscripts, collected at a great expence, and col
lated with great labour and care [g], together with
the variations of numberl^s Samaritan manuscripts,
compared with the Samaritan text, as published in
the London Polyglot [h].
Prom the earliest ages of the primitive church,
translations have been raade into various lan
guages [i] ; but it would be foreign from the de
sign of this Introduction to enter into a particular
account of the different versions that have been
made, at different times, into other languages : we
are concerned only with our English translation,
of which it may be necessary to give some account,
after we shall have taken a short view of the pre
ceding versions, which have been made into the
language of this country.
It is possible that the first inhabitants of Britain,
who are said to have been converted to Christi-
Tg] Thc learned M. de Rossi has since pubhshed the varia
tions of many more, which he collated.
PhI The word Polyglot is derived from IIoXu? much, and
yAaria a tongue ; it means a Bible witli the texts of several
languages ; there are Polyglots published in Spain, at Antwerp,
at Paris, and London.
fi] Theod. ad Grsec, Infid. Serm. 5, Euseb, Dem, Evan.
Lib III. c. ult. Usser. Hist. Dogm. de Script, et Sac Vernac.

26 INTRODUCTION.
anity, had at least some of the scriptures in their
own tongue [k] ; but the earliest translations, of
which we have any account in our history, are
those of the Saxon writers, who enabled their
countrymen to read the scriptures in their own
language. It appears from writers contemporary
with Adelm, or Aldhelm, that there was then ex
tant, a translation of the scriptures, or of a part of
them at least, in the vulgar tongue [l] ; and it is
known that Adelm, who was the first bishop of
Sherborne, translated the Psalter into the Saxon
tongue, about A. D. 706. Ingulphus [m] speaks
of a Psalter of St. Guthlack, who was a contempo
rary of Adelm, and the first Saxon anchorite, and
who influenced Ethelbald, king of Mercia, to found
the monastery of Croyland, and this Psalter in the
Latin tongue, Lambert professes to have seen [jnJ
among the records belonging to Croyland ^o],
[k] M. Parker de Antiq. Ecc. Brit. Test. Ush. de Primord.
Eccles. Britan.
[l] The Saxon homilies exhort the people to read the scrip
tures. Vid, also Adelm. de Virginit. et Bede, Lib. Ill, cap.
5. ab An, 634.
[m] Ingulf. Cent. I. c. 83.
[n] Lambert in Respons. ad Art. 26. Epis.
[o] There is also in the public library at Cambridge, a trans
lation of the Psalms into Latin and English, and another old
Latin translation with an interlineary Saxon version was in the
Cotton Library, in the same character "with the charter of King
Ethelbald, which is dated at A.D. 736. Vid. Usser. Hist.
Dogmat. p. 104, Usher infoims us, that Mr. Robert Bowyer
was in possession of a Saxon translation of the Evangelists, by
Ecbert, (who is called also Ekfrid, Eadfrid, and Eckfrid, Bishop

INTRODUCTION. 27
This was soon foflowed by the Latin, and Saxon
translations of the Psalter, and Gospel, which in
deed frequently appeared, especially upon any
change in the language.
The Psalter and the Gospel [?], or as some say,
all the books of the Bible [q], were translated into
the Anglo-Saxon, towards the beginning of the
eighth century, by venerable Bede, who is related
to have finished the last chapter of the Gospel as
he expired [r].
The whole Bible was translated into the Anglo-
Saxon, by order of king Alfred. He undertook
the version of the Psalms himself, but did not live
to complete it. Another Anglo-Saxon version ap
pears to have been made soon after [s].
Several bodks of the Old Testament v^ere trans-
of Landisfem,) who died A.D. 721. vid. Usser. Hist. Dogm.
c. 5. Egbert wrote also, a copy of the EvangeUsts in Latin,
to which, Aldred a priest added a Saxon interlineary transla
tion, which was in the Cotton Library, -Vid, Wharton, Anglia
Sac, Pare. I. p. 695. Fox, by the encouragement of Matthew
Parter, published in 1571, a Saxon version of the Evangelists,
made from the Vnlgate, before it was revised by St, Jerom,
of which the author is unknown.
[p] Vid. Bale, [q] Fox, and Caius de Ahti Cantab, Lib. I,
[k] Fox says, that he tianslated tbe gospel of St. John a
second time, but Cuthbert, his scholar, tells us, that he finish
ed at John vi, 9,
[s] This was published with a Latin hiterlineary text, by
John Spehnan, in 1640, Dr. Brett supposes this to have been
Alfired's Psalter. There is another interlineary Psalter in the
library at Lambeth, apparently of a later period. Spelman
published, mth his Psalter, the various readings of four manu-
scripts.

28 INTRODUCTION.
lated into the Anglo-Saxon, by Eifred or Elfric,
Abbot of Malmesbury, and afterwards A.D. 995,
Archbishop of Canterbury. The Pentateuch, Jo
shua, and Judges, of this translation were pre
served in the Cotton library, and pubhshed at
Oxford in 1699, by Edraund Thwaites [t].
One of the first atterapts at a translation into
the English language, as spoken after the Con
quest, appears to have been made by Richard
Rolle, an Hermit of Hampole in Yorkshire, who
translated, and wrote a glossary upon the Psalter,
and a metrical paraphrase of the Book of Job. He
died A.D. 1349.
A complete translation of the whole Bible, in
cluding the apocryphal books, was soon afterwards
performed by John Wickliff [u]. It was a literal
version, made from Latin, with the prologues of
St. Jerom, to the books of the New Testament,
and appeared between A.D. 1360 and 1380. The
New Testament of this translation, which is still
extant in many manuscripts, was pubUshed by
Lewis in 1731. Some writers have conceived that
an English translation was made before the time
of Wickliff [x], and there are some copies of an
[t] Le Long. Calmet, et Lewis's Hist, of Transl.
[u] Huss, Replicat. con. T, Stokes Arund. Constit. Lyn-
wood"s Glossary, &c. The New Testament of Wickhff's ver
sion sold for four marks and forty pence, as appears from the
register of W, Alnewich, Bishop of Norwich, 1429, as quoted
by Fox, Vid. James, Corrupt, of Fathers, p. 277, Fox's preface
to Saxon Gospels, A, D. 1571,
£x] Dr. James was of this opinion ; see CbrrupU Fathers,

INTRODUCTION. 29
English translation at Oxford £y], which Usher as
signs to an earlier period ; but it is probable that
these may be genuine, or corrected copies of
VVickliff^s translation. Lewis is of opinion, that
John Trevisa, who is by some related to have
made an entire English version of the scriptures
about 1387, did in fact only paint a few sentences
on the chapel Avails of Berkeley Castle, and inter
sperse a fejv verses in his writings [z], with some
variations from the received translation. It is how
ever highly probable, that others besides Wickliff,
undertook this important work, and translated at
least sorae parts of the scriptures. Hitherto trans
lations were made only from the Italic version, or
from that of St. Jerom.
Great objections were, however, made to these
and aU translations, as promoting a too general,
and promiscuous use of the scriptures, which was
conceived to be productive of evil consequences,
p. 225. Bishop Bonner professes to have seen one ti'anslated
above eighty years before that of Wickliff: so little, however,
were the scriptures used in the time of Wickliff, that some se
cular priests of Armagh, who were sent by Archbishop Fitz
ralph, (the translator of the Bible into Irish) to study divinity
at Oxford, about A, D. 1357, were obliged to return, beeause
they could no where find a Latin Bible. The Clergy were then
seldom able to read. Latin. See Fox's Extracts from Long-
land's Register.
[y] There is a copy of the Old Testament of this translation
in the Bodleian Library, one at Queen's College, and one at
Lambeth ; and of the New Testament, one in the Bodleian,
and two at Cambridge, in Sydney and Magdalen Colleges.
[z] Lewis's Hist, of Translations.

30 INTRODUCTION.
and Wickliff s Bible, particularly as it was judged
to be an unfaithful translation, was condemned to
be burnt. In the time of Richard the Second, a
bill was brought into the House of Lords, A. D.
1390, to prohibit the use of English Bibles. The
bill, however, being strongly reprobated and op
posed by John Duke of Lancaster [a] was reject
ed; but about A.D. 1408, Arundel, archbishop of
Canterbury, decreed in a convocation of the Clergy
at Oxford, that no unauthorized person should
translate any text of scripture into English, or any
other language by way of book, and that no trans
lation made either in, or since Wickhff's time
should be read, tiU approved by the bishop of the
diocese, or in a provincial council. This decree
was enforced by great persecutions, and as about
the same time Pope Alexander the fifth condemned
all translations into the vulgar tpngue, they were
as much as it was possible, suppressed till the Re
formation. It appears indeed, from our bishops registers,
that in consequence of Arundel's commission, se
veral persons were burnt, on refusing to abjure
their principles, for having read the New Testa
ment, and the Ten Commandments, in Wickliff's
translation [b]. In the reign of Henry VIII, whose
[a] Usher, Parker, Linwood, aud CoUier. The Duke is
related to have said, " We will not be the dregs of all, seeing
other nations have the law of God, which is the law of our
faith, written in their own language.'' Vid. Fox's Pref. to
Saxon Gospel, A. D. 1571. Usher de Script, et Sacr. Vem.
[b] At that time the people were so little acquainted with
O

INTRODUCTION. 31
violent passions were providentially rendered con
ducive to the reformation in this country, WiUiam
Tyndal, or as he was otherwise caUed, Hickens [c],
having left the kingdom on account of his religious
principles, translated at Antwerp, by the assistance
of John Pry, or Fryth, and William Roye, the
New Testament from the Greek, and printed it in
octavo, in 1526 [p] . The written copies of Wick
liff's translation had been long known, but this was
the first time that any part of the scriptures was
printed in English. It appeared at Hamburgh, or
Antwerp, and was dispersed at London, and Oxford.
Wolsey, and the bishops, published prohibitions,
and injunctions against it as false, and heretical,
Tonstal, bishop of London, and Sir Thomas More,
bought up almost the whole impression, and burnt
it at St, Paul's Cross^ which, whether or not in
the scriptures, and so ignorant even of the language in which
they were originally written, that upon the appearance of
printed editions of the scriptures in the Hebrew and Greek
originals, some of the more illiterate Monks declaimed from
the pulpits, that " there was now a new language discovered
called Greek, of which people should beware, since it was that
which produced all heresies ; that in this language was come
forth a book called the New Testament, which was now in
every body's hands, and was full of thoms and briers. And
there had also another language now started up, which they
called Hebrew, and that they who learnt it were turned He
brews." Vid. Hody de Bibl, Text, p. 465, Erasm. Epist. Libt
XXXI. No. 42, edit. 1642.
[c] Hist, et Antiq. Oxon. Lib, ii, p. 375. voL ii,
[d] Fox's Acts. Usher de Script, p. 187. Joye's Apology.

32 INTRODUCTION.
tended to serve Tyndal [e], did most certainly
assist hira in the continuance of his designs [f].
The venders of Tyndal's work were condemned
by the star-chamber, to ride with their faces to the
horses tails, with papers on their heads, and with
the books which they had dispersed tied about
thera, to the standard in Cheapside, and they
themselves were compelled to throw them into the
fire, and were afterwards amerced by a consider
able fine[G]. The clergy now professed an in
tention of publishing the New Testament them
selves, and a proclamation was issued against Tyn-
dal's work ; but before the appearance of this
proclamation, Tyndal, by the help of Miles Cover-
dale, had translated the Pentateuch, which was
printed at Hamburgh, in sraall octavo, in 1530 [h].
In the same year he published a corrected transla-
[e] Jortin's Life of Era^. Collier's Eccles. Hist. vol. ii. p. 22.
Sir Thomas More's Engl. Works, vol. ii. p. 369. The Dutch
editions were soon published, and dispersed at a cheap rate,
at about thirteeu-pence each. The English books were sold
for about 3s. 6d. Three editions were sold before 1530. Thus
were eyes opened to the abuses of popery.
[f] Sir Thomas More objected to Translations in general,
and particularly considered Tyndal's as erroneous, especially in
matters of church government. Vid. Spelman's Papers. Bur
net, vol. i. b. 2. p. 160.
[g] Hah, Henry VIII. Fuller, &c,
[h] Mr. Thoresby speaks of a copy printed at Marpurg, in
Hesse, by Hans Luft, in 1530, Vid. Ducat. Leod, Lewis says,
that Tyndal translated this Pentateuch from the Hebrew, Vid.
Hist. Transl. p. 70.

INTRODUCTION, 33
tion of the New Testament ; and in 1531, a tran
slation of Jonah. As he had but little knowledge
ofthe Hebrew, he probably rendered chiefly from
the Latin, though he had some reference to the
Hebrew, and his work had great merit, considering
the disadvantages under which he laboured [ij.
His prefaces, which reflected on the bishops and
clergy, were chiefly complained of, though eagerly
read by the people ; and provoked Henry, at the
instigation of his ministers, to procure that he
should be seized in Flanders, where he was after
wards strangled, and his body was burnt.
In 1535, Miles Coverdale pubUshed a translation
of the whole Bible, which, as some have supposed,
was printed at Zurich, chiefly from the original
language. It was dedicated to the King, probably
by permission, though Tyndal was now in prison
for his work. Coverdale styled it a special transla
tion, and it passed under his name ; but it is sup
posed to have contained much of Tyndal's labours,
though none of his prologues, or notes [k].
When the papal restrictions were no longer re
spected in this country, it was strenuously urged,
{i] The translation of the Pentateuch was finished in 1528 ;
but Tyndal being shipwrecked in his voyage to Hamburgh,
lost all his papers, and was obUged to begin his work again.
He was strangled and bumt near Felford Castle, about eighteen
miles from Antwerp, praying thait God would open the king
of England's eyes. Vid. Fox's Martyrs. He received only
14s. Flemish for fais work.
[k] This was reprinted in large quarto in 1550, and again
with a new title in 1553. D

34 INTRODUCTION.
that if Tyndal's translation were erroneous, a new-
one should be made ; and Cranmer had sufficient
interest in convocation, in 1535, to obtain, that a
petition should be made to the King for that pur
pose. Henry, influenced partly by argument; and
partly by the interest which Queen Anne [l] had
in his affections, commanded that it should be im
mediately set about. Cranmer began with the
New Testament, assigning a portion of the tran
slation to be revised by each bishop. ,But the re
fusal of Stokesly, Bishop of London, to correct his
portion, appears to have put a stop to the work at
that time. In 1536, Croift-well directed in his in
junctions to the clergy, " that every parson or pro
prietary of a church, should provide a Bible in
Latin and English, to be laid in the choir for every
one to read at his pleasure."
In 1537 was published a folio edition of the
Bible, which was called Matthews's Bible, of Tyn
dal's and Rogers's translation ; it was printed by
Grafton and Whitchurch, at Hamburgh [m] . Tyn
dal is said to have translated to the end of Chro
nicles, or, as some state, of Nehemiah, if not all
the canonical books both of the Old and New Tes
tament [n], and Rogers completed the rest, partly
from Coverdale's translation. He had compared it
[i,] Anne Boleyn.
[m] The 1500 copies cost 500Z, then a large sum.
[n] It certainly contained his translation of Jonah. See
More!s Confutation of Tyndal's Answer, 1542; and ethers
translated different parts.

INTRODUCTION. .S5
with the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin Bibles, and
iaserted prefaces and notes from Luther, As the
name of Tyndsd, who had been burnt for an he
retic, was DOW become in some degree obnoxious,
Rogers published it under the feigned name of
Matthews. It was dedicated, and presented at
Cranmer's request, by Cropiwell, to the King, who
gave his absent that it should be printed in Eng-
}^nd> and genei^lly read ; and notwithstanding the
i^^sition of the clergy, the book was received by
the public with great joy.
Another edition was afterwards prepared, col
lected, and collated with the original, by Miles Co
verdale; and Grafton and Whitchurch obtained
Wve to publish it at Paris on account of the cheap-
pess aud superiority of the paper. But notwith
standing the French King's licence, the Inquisition
ip 1538 obliged the priuters to fly as heretics, and
yt^y few copies of the impression could be rescued
from the flames [[o].
Tbe presses however, and other printing appur
tenances, beingafterivards procured and brought to
LoadoB, tbe Bible was published tiiere in 1539 [je']
by the King's authority. This was called the Bible
ip the great or large volurae. It was published in
folio, and had a froptispiece before it, desigped by
Holbein ; but peither Coverdale's, nor Crapmep's
[Hrefa^, por Typdal's Bote§; only an account of
^p] A f^sf that a;> officer of ^e ifiquisition had sold as waste
p^per, were recftvejce^. The impression consiste<^ of 2500.
[p} Strype's Life of Cranmer, p. 444,
dS

36 INTRODUCTION.
the succession of the Kings of Judah, and direc
tions in what manner the Old Testaraent should be
read [q]. In this edition those passages in the
Latin, which were not to be found in the original,
were printed in a sraafl letter, as was also the con
troverted Text in St. John's Epistie. It was ob
jected to by the Bishops as faulty; but as they
admitted that it contained no heresies, the King
said, " then in God's narae let it go abroad among
my people." The epistles, gospels, and psalms,
of this translation, . which were inserted into our
Liturgy when corapiled, and afterwards revised, in
the reign of Edward the Sixth, were retained in it
till the restoration of Charles the Second, when the
gospels and epistles were changed for those of King
James's translation. The old psalter, however,
was retained, and is still read as excellent, and fa
mihar by long use. An order was soon afterwards
issued out, that every church should be provided
with one of these Bibles.
In 1539, a second or third edition of this was re
vised and published by Richard Taverner, which
had many marginal notes of Matthews's Bible ; and
this was followed by other editions. In 1540 ap
peared a very improved edition, corrected by Arch-
[q] This edition as well as Matthew's Bible, is divided into
five tomes. The apocryphal books, which are contained in the
fourth of these divisions, are improperly intitled Hagiographa,
as some of them are called in a secondary sense, if the text
be not corrupted by St. Jerom. Vid. Hieron. pwef. in Job.
Reinhold's Praelect. and James's Corrupt, of Fathers, Par. II.
p. 22.

INTRODUCTION. 37
bishop Cranmer. It was called Cranmer's Bible,
or the Bible of the greater volume [r]. It was re-
publihed in 1541, and countenanced by authority,
and a proclamation was issued, that every parish
church which was yet unprovided should procure
it, under a penalty, if neglected, of 40s. per month.
The Romish Bishops still continued their endea
vours, in opposition to Cranmer, and attempted to
corrupt the subsequent editions by a multiphcation
of Latin words [s] ; and though Cranmer obtained
an order that the Bible should be examined by both
universities, it appears not to have been put in
execution. In 1542, an act of Parliament was obtained by
the adversaries of translations, condemning Tyn
dal's Bible, and the prefaces and notes of all other
editions [t], and prohibiting their perusal in public,
under pain of imprisonment. Cranmer procured
an indulgence for the higher ranks to read them in
private. The use of the scriptures being very
much abused, the interdiction was continued, and
confirmed during Henry's reign.
In the short reign of Edward the Sixth, all per
sons were allowed the use of translations ; and new
editions of Taverner's and of Matthews's Bibles f u]
were published, and the Bible of the larger volume
[r] It was published in folio ; the price was fixed at 10«.
unbound, and 12*. bound ; six were placed in St. Paul's church
by Bishop Bonner.
[s] Matt. Parker Antiq. Lewis, p. 146.
[t] See an act for the advancement of true Religion. An.
34. Henry VIII.
lv] One of Taverner's in 1549, and one of Matthews's in

38 INTRODUCTION.
was ordered to be procured for churches [x]. Every
ecclesiastical person under the degree of Bachelor
of Divittity, Was enjoined to provide a New Testa
ment iP Latin and English, With the paraphrase of
Erasmus ; and Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester,
was coiPraitted to the Fleet for refusing coPipliance
with these raedsures, and persisting in his opinioPfe,
he \vas at length deprived. It was otdered also,
that the epistle and gospel should be read at high
mass on Sundays and Holidays, and a chaptef of
the NevV^ Tcstarheht in the morning, and of the
Old at evePing- sbhg.
In Mary's reign, different principles prevailed;
all bookis which were considered as heretical, as
those cOntailiirtg the Cottimon Prayer, and sus
pected copies of the Bible, were coPdemped.
The GospeUet-Si as they Were theP called, fled
abroad, and a new trattslation of the scriptures
into English by CoVerdale, GoodmaP, and othefs,
appeared at Geneva, of Vvhich the Nevt^ Testaipent
1551. Eleven impressions ofthe whole English Bible, and six
of the New Testament, Were published ; some were also re
printed from Tyndal's, Covierdale's, and CtAhtaer^s editions.
Vidi Fuller and Lewis.
[x] These were to b^ jprocUred at the expence of the parish.
Before, the impropriator defrayed half the charge of the books
used in the church, or sometimes the parson. In times of po
pery, missals, breviaries, ahd manuals^ being written, were very
expensive, dhd were bought by the rector. When rectories
were annexed to religious houses, they contifiued to be subject
to the charge of the books. There were, however, many dis.
pates upon this subject, and.the rectors often compelled the
vicars to pay for binding the books, Vid. Lewis's Hist. T^ahS,
p. 176.

INTRODUCTION. 39
was published in 1557 ; but the remainder of the
work did not come forth till 1560. It was said to
be from the original languages, was distinguished
by calvinistical annotations, and holden in high
estimation by the puritans [y].
Elizabeth was indirectly requested at her coro
nation, to countenance the translation, the Bible
being presented to her in her procession, which
she accepted with great appearance of gratitude
[y] Above thirty editions of this were published by the
Queen's and King's printers between 1560 and 1616, and others
were printed at Edinburgh, Geneva, Amsterdam, &c. The
New Testament of this is said to have been the first English
edition of the scriptures which was divided into verses. The
Greek and Latin Bibles were not antiently divided into chapters
or verses, at least not like those now used. Stephen Langton,
archbishop of Canterbury, in the reigns of King John and of
King Henry III. is said to have first contrived the division into
chapters ; others ascribe the invention to Cardinal Hugo, a Do
minican Monk, of the thirteenth century, who adopted also
sub-divisions, distinguished by the seven first letters of the al
phabet placed in the margin, as convenient for the use of the
Concordance, which he first planned for the Vulgate. About
1445, Rabbi Mordecai Nathan, alias Rabbi Isaac Nathan, a
western Jew, to faciUtate the conduct of a controversy with the
Christians, introduced this division of chapters into the He
brew Bibles, and resumed also the ancient division into verses
numerically distinguished by marginal letters at every fifth
verse ; and from him the Christians received, and improved the
plan ; and Robert Stephens, adopted the division into the New
Testament, of which he pubhshed a Greek edition in 1551.
Vide Praefat. Buxtorf. ad. Concord. Bibl. Hebraic. Morin.
jExercit. Bibl. Par. II. Exert vii. cap. iii. Praef. ad Concord.
Graec. N. Test. Fabrici. Biblioth. Graec, Lib. IV. c. v. Prid.
vol.1. Book v.-

40 INTRODUCTION.
and veneration ; and the Bishops were soon after
wards directed to prepare a translation. New edi
tions of the Geneva, and of the great Bible were
published. An act of Parliament was likewise
passed for a translation of the Bible into Welsh,
which was printed in 1556.
In 1568, Archbishop Parker's very correct and
improved translation, undertaken by the royal com
mand, and revised by the Bishops, under the di
rection of the Archbishop, and called the Bishop's
Bible, appeared in folio [z], with a preface by Par
ker. It was executed by very learned men, and
the initial letter of every translator subjoined to
his portion. Towards the conclusion of Elizabeth's
reign, Ambrose Usher, brother of the primate of
Armagh, rendered much of the Old Testament
into English, from the Hebrew ; which was never
published [a].
Objections, however, being raised against all
these translations, as well as against others made
in opposition to them, it was determined in the
reign of King James the First, when the princi
ples of the Reforraation were thoroughly estab-
[z] It was printed in a' thick quarto, and afterwards fre
quently in folio and quarto in 1569. This Bible was used in
the publick service for near forty years ; but the Geneva Bible
being more adapted to the prevailing opinions, was most read
in private. See le Long. p. 430, Lewis, &c.
[a] Daniel, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and Job, were trans
lated by Hugh Broughton. The manuscript of this version is
StiU in three tomes quarto, in the library of Trinity-coUege, in
Dubhn.

INTRODUCTION. 41
lished, to have a new version, which should be as
much as possible free from all the errors and de
fects of former translations. Accordingly, fifty-
four learned and eminent men, conversant with
the original, were appointed. Several of these,
however, either died, or from diffidence declined
the task. Every possible precaution was taken to
prevent objection to the execution of the work.
The remaining forty-seven were ranged into six
divisions [b]. They had recourse to the Hebrew.
Every individual translated the portion assigned to
the division, all of which translations were collated
together and when each company had determined
on the construction of their part, it was proposed
to the other divisions for general approbation.
They had the benefit of consulting all preceding
translations, but were directed to follow, as nearly
as it might be consistent with fidelity, the ordinary
Bible which was distinguished by the appellation
of the Bishop's Bible. The contributions and as
sistance of the learned were solicited from all parts,
and different opinions were deliberately examined
by the translators, without any regard to the com
plaints against their tardiness in the execution of
the work. The translators met at Oxford, and
Cambridge, and Westminster [c]. They began
[b] Vid. Johnson's account. Fuller, Selden, and Collier.
[c] Three copies were sent to London, aud two persons
from each company were selected to revise the whole work. It
was afterwards revised by Bilson, Bishop of Winchester, and
Dr. Myles Smith. These two persons prefixed the arguments

42 INTRODUCTION.
the work in 1607, and finished it in about three
years. The death of Mr. Edward Lively, who
was well skilled in the original languages, some
what retarded the publication. It came out, how
ever, in 1611, with all the improvements that
could be derived from united industry, and con
joined abihties. It was first published in folio, in
black latter, but a quarto edition was published in
1612, in the Roman type. It has since been re
peatedly published in both. The Romanists [d]
started many unreasonable objections against this
translation ; and the Presbyterians professed them
selves dissatisfied. It was however aUowed, even
by Cromwell's committee, to be the best extant ;
and certainly it is a most wonderful and incompa-
to the several books, and Dr. Smith, afterwards Bishop of
Gloucester, wrote the preface now prefixed to the folio edi
tions. Bishop Bancroft is supposed to have been the over
seer under his majesty, to whom it is said, in the preface, that
the Church was much bound. The marginal references,
and the chronological index annexed, which are published
chiefly in the quarto editions, were afterwards furnished by
Bishop Lloyd.
[d] The English Romanists, finding it impossible to pre
vent the introduction of translations, published the New Tes
tament at Rheims in 1582, from the Latin, in a manner as fa
vourable to their opmions as possible, and afterwards in 1609,
they published at Doway a translation of the Old Testament,
from the Vulgate, with annotations. They have therefore a
translation of the whole Bible, which, however, they are for-
bidden to read without a licence from their superiors. The
French Romanists have no authorized translation into their
language.

INTRODUCTION. 43
rable work, equally remarkable for the general
fidelity of its constructioUj apd the magnificent
simplicity of its language.
That it is not a perfect work is readily admit
ted J the great advancement made since the pe
riod of its translatioP, in the original languages ;
the improvement that has succeeded in critical
learning ; and the many discoveries that have been
struck Out in the general pursuits of knowledge,
have much tended to illustrate the sacred writings,
and enabled us to detect many errors and defects
of translation that might now be corrected and re
moved. PrecediPg versions were, perhaps, in some
instances, more successful ; and subsequent trans*-
lations of individual books may, in some parts,
have been more faithful : and, what is a still more
iraportant advantage, we are now in possession of
many hundred manuscripts that the translators
under King James had no opportunities of consult^
ingite]. We are likewise emapcipated from su
perstitious prejudices concerning the universal
purity of the Hebrew text, and from a slavish
credulity with regard to the Masoretie points.
Whenever, therefore, it shall be judged expedi
ent by Well-advised and considerate measures, to
authorize a revisal of thia translatiou, it will cer
tainly be found capable of many, and great im.-
[e] Our translation was made from manuscripts of three,
and four hundred years old, since it agrees with those only.
But more ancient manuscripts are more correct, and more
consistent with the Samaritan Pentateuch, and ancient versions.

44 INTRODUCTION.
provements [f]. As such a work, deliberately
planned, and judiciously executed, would unques
tionably contribute much to the advancement of
true religion, many pious men have expressed their
earnest wishes for its accomplishment ; and doubt
less, at some favourable time, by the blessing of
God, the prudent governors of our church will pro
vide for its execution. It is a work not lightly to
be taken in hand, and certainly no single person
is competent to the task. It is to be presumed, at
least, that when a new translation shall be coun
tenanced by public authority, it will be undertaken
with the same cautious and deliberate measures,
that were observed under King James. It should
be the production of collective industry, and gene
ral contribution ; and the prejudices and mistakes
which must characterize the works of individuals,
should be corrected by united enquiry, dispassion
ate examination, and fair criticism. They, who
already consecrate their labours to the task of
translating the whole, or any part of the scriptures,
are entitled to the public gratitude and encourage
ment ; their endeavours must at least contribute
to illustrate the sacred pages, and tend to facilitate
the great work of a national translation. Till,
however, the execution of this work shall be
judged expedient, every sincere and well-disposed
adrairer of the holy oracles may be satisfied with
the present translation, which is indeed highly ex-
[f] Bishop Lloyd's edition of our translation is improved
in some respects. Dr. Paris likewise revised it in 1745.

INTRODUCTION. 45
cellent ; being in its doctrines uncorrupt, and in its
general construction, faithful to the original. The
captious, chiefly, and such as seek for blemishes,
are disposed to cavil at its minute imperfections ;
which, however, in a work of such serious and in
teresting value, they may require correction, should
not be invidiously detailed. The few passages,
which, by being erroneously translated, have fur
nished occasion for unjust and licentious aspersions
ag-ainst the Sacred Volume, are so clearly and sa
tisfactorily explained, and vindicated by judicious
comments, that no one can be misled in his con
ceptions, who is desirous of obtaining instruction.
To amend the rendering of these passages, will
be the object of all future translators, who will un
doubtedly be desirous of adhering as much as pos
sible to the present version, and of adopting, where
they can, a construction, famiUarized by long use,
and endeared by habitual reverence ; of which the
style has long served as a standard of our lan
guage, and of which the peculiar harmony and ex
cellence could never be improved by any change
that refinement might substitute.

OP THE

PENTATEUCH.

The Pentateuch, under which titie the five Books
of Moses are usually distinguished, is a word of
Greek original [a]. It was probably first prefixed
to the Septuagint version, and was designed to
include Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronoray ; all of whieh were written by
Moses, ip his own hand, probably in the order in
which they now stand in our trMisktion, though
not distributed by their autiior into books, but
composed in one continued work, as they remain to
this day among the Jew^, with no other division
but tha* of little, and greai Parasches [b}. It is
[a] From IIefIe five, and nv^oi volume. It is called by the
Jews, >ttM3!)n, a word synonymous with Pentateuch ; also mtn,
the Law, a word which, when used in a larger sense, is applied
to the whole volume of the Scriptures.
[b^ Parasches, from »nfl, to separate. The division of the
law into parasches, or sections, is, -by some, attributed to
Moses; by others, with more probability, to Ezra; they
amounted to fifty. four, that by reading one of those portions
every Sabbath in the synagogue, the people might fulfil a fan
cied obligation to read the law once publickly every year ;

OF THB PENTATEUCH. 47
uncertain when they were divided into books, but
probably the division was first adopted in the Sep
tuagint version, as the tities prefixed are of Greek
derivation; they were however distinguished as
five books in the time of Josephus.
That thc Pentateuch was written by Moses,
we are authorized to affirm by the concurrent tes
timony of antiquity, and by the uniform report of
uninterrupted tradition. He speaks of himself in
many parts, as the appointed author of its con
tents [c] . It is mentioned as the work of Moses
the intercalated years contained fifty-four Sabbaths, and m
other years a reduction correspondent to the number of Sab
baths v^as easily made, by an occasional junction of two chap7
ters. These greater portions were subdivided into several
smaller parts, called pesnkim, or verses, which were probably
inserted by Ezra for the use of the Targumists, or CStaldee
interpreters, who after the captivity read a Chaldaic version of
the Scriptures, with the original, for the benefit of those who
had foTgottrai the Hebrew tongue, reading verse for verse
alternately. The same division was adopted in the prophetical
books, when the reading of the law was forbidden by An.
tiochus E{^ltanes, bat in them three verses were read toge
ther. These divisions are by no means the same as those in
our Bibles, The Jews read half ofthe section on the Monday,
the remainder on the Thursday, and on tbe Sabbath the whole
of the section, both evening and mornisg. Vid. Prid. sub
An. 444.
[c] Exod, xvii, 14. xxiv. A-^1, xxxiv- 27, Numb, xxxiii. 4.
Deut. xxxi. 9, 19, 22, 24. Mark xi*. 36, Abbadie, Verit6.de
la Relig. Chretien. Joseph cont. Apion, Lib. I. § 8. Proajm
Ant. ^3. 11—35. 5

48 OF the PENTATEUCH.
under the title of the Law, by almost all the sacred
writers, and cited as indisputably his work [d J,
and it was received as such by the Jews and Sa
maritans, by every sect of the Hebrew and of the
Christian church.
These books, indeed, could not have been writ
ten subsequently to the time of Moses, for they
are addressed to the Israelites as contemporaries,
" being dehvered to the Levites which bare the
ark, and unto the elders of Israel" [e] ; and they
never afterwards could have been imposed as a
genuine work upon his countrymen, whose reli
gion and government were built upon them. But
what is sufficient to establish, not only the authen
ticity of these five books, as the work of Moses,
but also their claim to a divine origin, as dictated
by the Spirit of God ; is, that the words and laws
of Moses are cited by the sacred writers, as the
words and laws of God[Fj, and that they were
appealed to by our Saviour and his Apostles, on
various occasions, as the genuine work of Moses ;
as the production of an inspired person, or pro
phet [g] ; and on a solemn occasion, Christ con-
[d] Joshua i. 7, 8. viii. 31 — 35. Judg. iii. 4. 2 Kings
xiv 6. 2 Chron. xxx. 16. xxiii. 18. Nehem. i. 7, 8. ix. and
the Psalms and Prophets passim.
[e] Deut. xxxi. 9,
[f] Nehem, viii, 14. Jerem. vii. 23. Matt. xv.4. Galat.
iv. 30. Heb. viii. 5. xi. 23. James ii. 8.
[g] John i. 45. Luke xxiv. 27. Gal. iv. 21. See also
John V. 46, 47.

OP THE PENTATEUCH. 4^
firmed every jot and tittle of the Law, and bore
testimony to the infallible accompUshment of its
designs, and promises [h].
These books, as has been before observed, were
immediately after their coraposition deposited in
the tabernacle [i], and thence transferred to the
temple, where they were preserved with the raost
vigilant care, being appointed to be read every
seventh year at public solemnities [k] ; every
expresssion was deemed inspired by the articles of
the Jewish creed. The Jews maintained that
God had more care of the letters and syllables of
the Law, than of the stars in Heaven, and that
upon each tittle of it, whole raountains of doctrine
hung; hence every individual letter was num
bered, and notice was taken how often it occur
red [l]. The Law was read every Sabbath day in the
synagogues [m], and again solemnly every seventh
year. The prince was obliged to copy it [n], and
the people were commanded to teach it to their chil
dren, and to wear it " as signs on their hands, apd
[h] Matt. V. 17, 18. Luke xvi. 17, 31.
[ij Deut. xxxi. 26. Somewhere on the outside of the ark,
Vid. 1 Kings viii. 9. 2 Chron. v. 10.
[k] Deut xxxi. 10, 11.
[l] The Jews reduced the whole Law to 613 precepts, ac
cording to the number ofthe letters of the Decalogue, intima
ting that the whole law was reductively contained therein.
[mJ Luke iv. 16. Acts xui. 15, 27. xv. 21. xxvii, 23.
2 Cor. iii, 15. Hieron. cap. vi. Bava Bathra. Maimon. pfraf,
in Chaz, Aben, Ezra, in ch. ixv. 16. R. David Kimchi. Deut.
xxxi. 10, 24, 26.
[n] Deut. xvii. 18, 19. xxvii. 3. xxxi. 10, 11.
E

60 OF THE PENTATEUCH.
frontlets between their eyes" [o]. In the corrupt
and idolatrous reigns, indeed, of sorae of the kings
of Judah, the sacred books appear to have been
much neglected. In the tirae pf Jehoshaphat it
was judged necessary to carry about a book ofthe
law, for the instruction of thepeople [p], and raany
copies might have perished under Manasseh : yet
still a sufficient number was always preserved by
God's providence. It is mentioned, indeed, in the
book of Kings [q], as a particular circumstance,
that in the time of Josiah, the book of the Law was
found by the high-priest Hilkiah ; but this by no
means imphes, that all other copies had been de
stroyed ; for whether by the Book ofthe Law there
mentioned, be understood the original autograph
of Moses, (which was probably intended [r];) or
only an authentic public copy, which might have
been taken by the priests from the side of the ark
of the covenant, to preserve it from the sacrilegious
violence of Manasseh, it cannot reasonably be sup-
[O] Exod. xiii. 9. Levit. x. 11. Deut. vi, 6 — 9, 21. xi,
18, 19, This was probably a figurative precept which the
Jews superstitiously fulfilled in a literal sense, with phylacte
ries, inscribed bracelets, &c, Vid, Isaiah xlix. 16. Buxtorf.
Synagog. Jud. c. 9.
[p] 2 Chron, xvii, 8, 9. This indeed might have been an
ancient practice, only revived by Jehoshaphat, for the Hebrews
had probably few, if any, established synagogues before the
captivity, and this account only proves, that public copies
were not generally dispersed through the cities of Judsea, Vid.
2 Chron. xv. 3.
[q] 2 Kings xxii. 8. 11,
[a] 2 Chron. xxxiv. 14.

QF THE PENTATEUCH. 51
posed to have been the only book of the Law then
extant, since every King was obliged to copy the Law
on his accession to the throne, it being the very
basis of every civil, as well as of every religious
regulation ; and not to mention private copies, Jo
siah must certainly have seen the book of the Law,
or he would not have projected the reformation of
his kingdom in the manner recorded in the book
of Kings [s]. The surprize, therefore, that Hil
kiah, and the grief that Josiah are related to have
felt, were owing either to the extraordinary cir
cumstance of finding the book in the time of cleans
ing the temple, and of their endeavours to effect a
reformation ; or to the multiplicity and importance
of those precepts, which, as they raust have been
conscious, had been violated and neglected.
Whether or not Moses wrote out twelve copies,
as is related by tradition [t] ; it is probable, that
each tribe was furnished with a book of the Law.
The schools ofthe prophets hkewise, the ten tribes
of Israel, and the Levites, who were appointed to
read the Law in all parts, must have been provided
with books; it is certain that authentic copies were
preserved during the captivity [uj, and publickly
read after the return [xJ. It may be added also^
that as scribes of the Law were at thifi time an ex-
[s] Hottinger. Hist. Eccles. N. T. sect, XVI. Pars 4.
p. 137.
[t] Huet. Prop. iv.
[c] Dan. ix, 11, 13. Tobit vi. 12. vii. 1L\
[x] Ezra i^. 2. vi. 18. Nehem.i. 8, 9.
E 2

52 OF THE PENTATEUCH.
isting order [y], there is no improbability in the
accounts, which state, that Ezra and Nehemiah
produced 300 copies for the congregation and,
synagogues, founded on the re-estabhshment of the
Jewish church. The same reverence which hence
forward occasioned a multiplication of the copies
of the Law, called forth also more numerous
guardians to watch over its purity, and the en-
creasing accuracy of the Masora, contributed still
farther to secure its integrity.
The Jews believed that Moses was enhghtened
by a much higher and more excellent inspiration
than any subsequent prophet [z], and his superiority
is expressly asserted in an eulogium on his cha
racter in the book of Deuteronoray, which raay
have been inserted by Ezra. In the New Testa
ment he is alway.s mentioned distinctly, and with
peculiar respect [a].. He conversed with God " face
to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend [a]," in
that privileged and familiar intercourse which St.
Paul promises to the heirs of future salvation [c].
Some indeed have supposed that Moses did not
literally contemplate God hiraself; for our Saviour
says, that " no man hath seen God at any time" [dJ,
and we are told that " the Law was given by
[y J Jerem. viii, 8. Ezra iv. 8.
[z] Vid. Maimon. de Fund. Legis.
-[a] Markix. 4. Luke xvi, 29. Acts vii, 35. Rev, xv, 3.
[B] Exod, xxxiii, 11,
[c] 1 Cor. xiii. 12, Smith's Discourse on Prophecy, ch. ii.
and xi.
[d] Johni. 18. v. 37. 6

op THE PENTATEUCH. 53
angels" [e]. He beheld, however, as much as it
was possible for man to behold, some apparent and
distinct representation of the divine presence, of
the Father or the Son miraculously displayed,
though veiled perhaps in a glorious cloud ; it be
ing impossible, as indeed Moses himself was in
formed, for man to contemplate the actual face, or
untempered majesty of God [f]. It must therefore
be understood that God spake to him not in visions
and dark speeches, but in clear and manifest reve
lations tg]. Moses was likewise privileged to ad-
tlress God at all times [h], without the assistance
of the high-priest, who consulted by means of the
Urim and Thummim. Prom this power of obtain
ing revelations immediately from God, proceeded
those striking prophecies which he delivered. And
these prophecies, as well as many others which he
recorded, as uttered by the Patriarchs, to whom God
disclosed his will, were gradually fulfilled in suc
cessive events, or finally accomplished in the
Messiah. Moses was hkewise eminently invested with the
power of miracles, and performed many illustrious
wonders in Egypt, and in the wilderness ; for the
truth of which he appealed to his countrymen, and
grounded the authority of his government and laws
upon them [i]. The Egyptian magicians, who were
[e] Acts vii, 38. 53. Heb, ii. 2. Gal. iii. 19.
[f] Exod. xxxiii. 20.
[g] Numb. xii. 7, 8.
[h] Numb. vii. 8, 9. ix, 8. Exod. xxv. 22.
[i] Numb. xvi. 28—35. Exod. xiv, 31. xix. 9,

54 OF THE PFNTATEUCH.
interested to defeat his measures, acknowledged
that " the finger of God" [k] was shewn in his
miracles, and the Israelites, who witnessed his
power, were so satisfied of the truth of his preten
sions (theraselves having witnessed the support
which he received frora God), that they adopted his
laws, and incorporated thera into the very frame
of their government, so that their civil and religious
policy was founded on the platform which he had
drawn. These Laws were not moulded in con
formity to any exigencies of experience, but ap
pointed in the wilderness, with a view to future
circumstances, and with fore-knowledge of the na
ture of a country of which the people were not
then in possession, and with which Moses was not
acquainted. The people could not but be inspired with vene
ration for their legislator. They beheld his extra
ordinary qualities; his open and generous temper;
his fortitude and meekness so admirably blended
[l] ; his piety and wisdora ; his zeal for God's ser
vice, and for the welfare of his people [m], which
led him to prefer " affliction to the treasures of
[k] Exod. viii. 19. Euseb. Praep. Evan. Lib. TX. cap. 10.
See Bryant's observations on the plagues infiicted on the
Egyptians, p. 244 — 248.
[l] Ecclus. xlv. 1 — 5,
[m] Exod. xxxii, 32, By entreating to be " blotted out of
God's book," Moses probably meant, that he would submit to
death, and the loss of God's promised blessings, if he could
obtain a remission of the sins of the Israelites. Com. with
Numb. xi. 15. 29.

OF THE PENTATEUCH. 55
Egypt [N]." They saw, that in obedience to God's
sentence, he continued to wander with them in a
desart, where even sustenance could be obtained
only by miracles and that he exerted the same
strenuous endeavours for the attainment ofthe pro
mised land, after it had been revealed to him that
he should not live to conduct the people to its pos
session [o]. They beheld, likewise, that disinte
rested liberaUty with which he distributed wealth,
and honours on other famiUes, while he left his
own to attend on the tabernacle in a subordinate
character [p], without any allotment of land, or provi
sion, but what raust have been deeraed precarious,
if he had not trusted in the Divine support for the
permanency of his institutions; appointing a stranger
to succeed him in the government of the people,
and' directing them to look to the tribe of Judah
for their future sovereigns, and a greater prophet
than himself [q].
If our knowledge of the truth of the existence of
these qualities be drawn from the accounts of Moses
himself, it must be recollected that he addressed his
contemporaries, who could, from their own expe
rience, judge of his veracity. His wisdom and in
tegrity are displayed likewise in the description of
his actions, and not by artful encomiums on his
own character, of which he seldom speaks, but to
[n] Heb. xi. 24 — 28. Exod. xlv. 1 — 5. Joseph. Antiq.
Lib. IV. cap. 8.
[o] Numb, xxvii. 12, 13.
[p] Numb. xi. 29. xxvii. 15 — 17. xxxiv. 17. Deut. i. 38.
[q] Gen. xlix. 10. Numb.jxxvii. 16, 17. Deut. xviii. 15.

56 OP THE PENTATEUCH.
illustrate his conduct. If, indeed, he be sometimes
provoked to assert his claim to that praise to which he
was justly entitled [r], he confesses with equal can
dour, his own faults and misconduct [s]. With the
same ingenuous regard to truth, he also recorded the
errors and sins of his own ancestors and relations [t],
and of Aaron, who acted with him ; and boldly cen
sured the disobedience ofthe people whom he ad
dressed. He uniformly represented them as a " stiff-
necked and rebellious people," reminded them of
their base ingratitude to God, and fearlessly threat
ened thera with further marks ofthe divine vengeance
[u] . He delivered his laws without respect to persons ;
spoke in the peremptory tone of one commissioned
by God, not as desirous to conciliate favour, but as
confiding in the assistance of Him, whose minister
he was, yet evidencing a tender solicitude for their
repentance. [r] Numb. xii. 3.
[s] Numb. XX. 1—12. xxvii. 12. 14. It has been a subject
oisome discussion to determine by what misconduct Moses
and Aaron provoked the divine displeasure. The text informs
us that God charged them with unbelief, and with not having
sanctified or given glory to God. In the tenth verse Moses
says, " Hear now ye rebels, shall we produce water?' Moses
was comraanded only to speak to the rock, and he smote it
twice. Vide Psalm cvi. 82, 33. Exod. iv. 13. Numb, xx, 11,
12. xi. 15, 21, 23, Numb, xxvii. 14. Deut. xxxii. 51. Vide
also Numb. xi. 11. 15, Usher's Body of Divinity, p. 8.
[t] Gen. xxxiv. 13—30. xlix. 5—7. Exod. vi. 20. xxxii. 4.
Numb, xii. 1, 2, 10. xxxii. 4. Matt. xii. 1, see also Numb.
xxxi. 8. Capell, ad A.M. 2481.
[ti] Deut. ix. 6—24. xxxii, 20—25—28.

OF THE PENTATEUCH. 57

' If the contemporaries of Moses, who were the
spectators of the works, and qualities which he
displayed, had incontestible evidence of the di
vine appointment of their legislator ; succeed
ing generations had also sufficient proofs of the
truth and authority of those writings, which he be
queathed for their instruction. They must have
been convinced that the deliverance from Egypt,
and the sustenance procured for so large a multi
tude, during the continuance in the wilderness,
qould have been obtained only by divine interposi
tion. They must have been persuaded, that their
forefathers could not have accepted the dispensation
of Moses, but in the assurance of its being revealed
from God, and they beheld permanent testimonies
of his veracity and divine commission, in the per
petual observance of the many festivals [x], laws,
and rites [v], of which he recorded the institution ;
as well as in the preservation of those standing
vouchers of the truth of his history and pretensions,
the ark and tabernacle [z], the Urim and Thum
mim, and the attestation ofthe prophets ; and lastiy
in the accomplishment of his threats and promises,
which they experienced in various vicissitudes.
This confidence was confirmed also by the cove-
[x] As those ofthe feasts of the Passover, of Pentecost, of
Tabernacles, of Sabbath, &c.
[y] As that of Circumcision.
[z J As also the rod of Aaron, which blossomed in the night ;
the preserved manna, and the brazen serpent, kept till the time
of Hezekiah. Vid. 2 Kings xviii. 4. Exod. .\vi. 33, 34.
Numb. xvii. 5 — 8. Heb. ix. 4.

68 , OF THE PENTATEUCH.
nanted protection afforded during their attendance
on God's service at their solemn feasts [a] ; by
the superfluous abundance that preceded the sab
batical and the jubilee years [b]; by the miracu
lous effects of the waters of jealousy [c] ; by the
descent of the celestial fire which consumed the
sacrifices (]d]] ; and by many other particulars,
which need not be enumerated, but which fully ac
count for those firm convictions, and for that rooted
attachment for the memory and writings of their
great lawgiver, which they have entailed on their
posterity. Moses was of the tribe of Levi, the son of
Amrara, and an iraraediate descendant of Abra
hara. He was born, according to Bishop Usher,
about A.M. 2433 [e] ; and was distinguished for
the attractive beauty of his form. He was mi
raculously preserved from destruction, and educa-
" ted in all the wisdom of the Egyptians [f]."
He displayed early marks of superior qualities, and
being selected by God for the deliverance and in
struction of the Israelites, he maturely examined
the truth of the divine appearance, and diffidently
decUned the commission [g], being, as he said,
[a] Exod. xxxiv. 23, 24,
[b] Levit. xxv, 3—22.
[c] Numb. xi. 5 — 31.
[d] 1 Kings xviii„38, 2 Chron. vii. 1. 2 Mace. ii. 10.
[k] Annal. Vet. Test. p. 18.
[f] Acts VH. 20—22. Philo de Vit. Mos. Lib. I. p. 606.
Macrobius Saturn. Lib. II. cap. 15.
[g] Exod. iii.

OF THE PENTATEUCH. 59
** slow of speech [h]," and apprehensive that he
was of too little estimation, to be appointed as the
deliverer of the Israelites. But when encouraged
by God, he accepted of the appointment, and
with a perseverance and fortitude which have never
been equalled, he contended for, and by divine
assistance effected, the deUverance of the Israelites
from their severe bondage; and conducted them
through difficulties miraculously subdued to the bor
ders of the promised land. Even then he stiU lin
gered in the wilderness in a manner which cannot
be explained but upon the supposition that he was
directed by God. He communicated to this people a
code of revealed laws, and modeUed their government
to a form adapted to the conquest and possession of
the country, and calculated in every respect to an
swer those high purposes which it was intended to
fulfil. Having accomphshed his ministry, and com
pleted the Pentateuch, that work which unfolds,
without any mysterious reserve, the wisdom of the
first dispensation, and which opened a volume of
sacred instruction to mankind ; he " in the faith"
reUnquished the prospect of Canaan ; and in the
expectation " of the recompense of an higher re
ward," resigned that Ufe which had been devoted
to God's service, in the I20th year of his age ; to
be succeeded by no equal phrophet, tiU the arrival
of the Messiah, of whom he was a signal type [i] ;
[h] Exod. iv. 10.
£i] Ezra, or the prophet who annexed to the Pentateuch
the account of Moses's death, observes, that " no prophet had

60 OF THE PENTATEUCH.
and who said of him to the Jews, that if they be
Ueved not his writings, how should they believe his
(Christ's) words [k], Moses having in many various
circumstances of his character and eventful Ufe,
obviously prefigured the spiritual Redeemer of
mankind [l].
The sepulchre of Moses, though said to have
been '' in the valley of Moab [m]," seems to have
been miraculously concealed, in order to prevent
any idolatrous veneration of it ; his character,
however, was remembered by his people, with a
reverence that approached to superstition. By the
Greeks and Romans also, and other Heathen na
tions, he was not only quoted and acknowledged
since arisen like unto Moses ;" meaning, perhaps, that the great
prophet, the Messiah, whom Moses promised, was not yet ar
rived. Deut. xviii. 18, 19. xxxiv. 10.
[k] John V. 47. Luke xvi. 31.
[l] Euseb. Demon. Evang, Lib. III. cap. 2. Jortin's Re.
marks on Eccles. Hist. Vol. I. p. 196 — 226. Heb, iii. 2.
[m] Deut. xxxiv. 6. Some Maronite shepherds were said to
have found the tomb of Moses in Mount Nebo, A.D. 1565 ; but
this is an idle fiction. Vid, Basnage's Hist, of Jews, Lib. IV.cap,
7. and Patrick in Deut. iv, 6, St, Jude, in his epistle, speaks
of a dispute between Michael and the Devil, concerning the
body of Moses, alluding probably to a tradition received
among the Jews, as possibly does St. Paul, when he mentions
the names of Jannes and Jambres, who withstood Moses, and
relates, that Moses, said he " exceedingly feared and quaked"
on the Mount Sinai ; since these particulars are not recorded
in the Old Testament. Jude 9. 2 Tim, iii. 8. Heb. xii. 21.
An account of the dispute concerning the body of Moses, was
formerly in an apocryphal book, entitled IlEf i aia>iy.-^ia{ Maaiuf,
vide Origen. ni(i nfx'-ii, Lib, III. cap, 2.

OF THE PENTATEUCH. 61
as the most ancient lawgiver [n], and as an histo
rian of unirapeached veracity [o"j; but by an
apotheosis, under which the venerable characters
of antiquity were usually reverenced, he was trans
lated araong the gods, and worshipped under dif
ferent names [p] ; for it is easy to trace the fea
tures of the Hebrew legislator, veiled under the
personage of many a pagan deity, and to discern his
qualities and actions under the borrowed attributes
and conduct which idolatry ascribed to the objects
of its veneration. So also were the customs, laws,
and ceremonies of many nations, evidently derived
from the Mosaic institutions [qJ. Every que, how
ever sUghtly conversant with the policy and reli
gion of pagan antiquity, will discover in the Pen
tateuch, the sources from whence they were often
drawn. In the heroes and benefactors consecrated
by Heathen admiration, are described the Patri
archs and illustrious persons of scripture. In the
fictions of pagan mythology, we behold the disfi
gured relations of sacred history ; and the proud
discoveries of philosophy are often but the imper-
[N] Justm Martyr, Oper. c. 73, 81, 89, 92. Edit Thirib.
Diodor. Sic. Lib. I. p. 84. and Fragm. Eclog. 40. p. 543.
Edit. Wetsten. Strabo's Geogr. Lib. XVI. p. 1103. Tacit.
Hist. Lib. V. Just. Lib. XXXVI. cap. 2. Joseph. Antiq.
Lib. I. cap. 1. § 3.
[o] To this even Porphyry bore testimony.
[p] Artapan. in Euseb. Vossius, Bochart. Huet. Prop, IV.
cap. 8, 9.
[g] Justm. cap. 39. Waterland's Charge to the Clergy of
Middlesex, May 19, 1731.

63 OF THE PENTATEUCH.
feet transcript of revealed wisdom [r]. In. short,
the historians, the poets, and the philosophers of
antiquity have enriched their several works with
distorted accounts of circumstances reported in the
Sacred Volume. The pages of successive writers
are pregnant with its relations, and the names of
numberless authors might be produced, whose
works either confirm the truth of the Pentateuch,
or bear testiraony to the character and pretensions
of its author [sj. But this has been so often
done, that it must be unnecessary to dwell on the
subject here.
In a general consideration of the character of
[r] Euseb. Praep. Evang. Lib. IX. cap. 6, 12, 14, 15. Lib.
XTII. cap. 12. Cyril cont. Jul. Lib. I. p. 8. Tatian ad Graec,
cap. 61. Joseph, cont. Apion. Lib. I. § 22. p. 1345. Clem.
Alex. Strom. Lib. I.
[s] If there were no translation of the scriptures into
Greek before that of the Septuagint, yet the Heathen writers
might have derived much sacred intelligence from colloquial
intercourse, and Plato indeed professes to have so collected
Phoenician and Syrian, that is, Hebrew accounts. Vid. Plato
in Cratyl. Nations appear to have been at first distinguished
for civil and religious knowledge, in proportion to their proxi
mity to, and communication with those countries where the
light of revelation shone. The dispersion of the Jews into fo
reign countries aftenvards opened channels of information to
the Heathen nations, and some of this people were certainly
scattered into Greece about the time when much of the Greek
mythology was composed. Vid. Joel iii. 6. Bochart's. Phaleg,
Lib, IV. cap, 24. Grotius de Verit. Lib. III. cap. 16. Huet.
Prop. cap. 2. Bryant's Mythol. Prsef, to Shuckford's Connect.
Edwards's Discour. Vol, I. Hartley's Discourse on the Truth
of the Christian Religion in Watson's Tracts, Vol. 2d.

OP THE PENTATEUCH. 63
\hz.t dispensation which is unfolded in the foUow
ing books, there are sorae reraarks which should
be stated for its illustration. In the first place
it should be observed, that we are authorized by
the sacred writers to esteem it in sorae respects im
perfect, as a particular and temporary covenant to
endure only for a season [t] ; imperfect, in conde
scension to the undisciplined stubbornness of the
Israelites [u], and imperfect as elementary and
figurative only of a spiritual covenant [x]. As a
code of laws designed for the civil governraent of
the Israelites, it was contrived with a view to the
regulation of the external conduct. It was framed
rather with intention to control the lawless and
disobedient, than to effect an inward and perfect
purity of heart.
It is to be observed, also, that as the law could
not justify mankind from the guilt of original sin,
but prescribed solemn expiations and atonements
[t] Jerem. iii. 16. xxxi. 31 — 34. Heb. vii. 18, 19. viii.
7—13. ix. 10.
[u] Exod. xxxiii. 23. Deut. xxxii. 28. Ezek. xx. 25.
Matt. xix. 8. Acts xv. 10. Gal. v. 1. 1 Tim. i. 9, 10. It
is a great mistake, however, to suppose that any ritual pre
cepts were ordained by the Mosaic law, in accommodation to
customs which prevailed in Egypt, since its design was to se
gregate the IsraeUtes from all other nations, and to wean
them from all tendencies to idolatry, and since it inculcated a
particular abhorrence of Egyptian practices. Levit. xviii. 3,
Circumcision was certainly a divine appointment first observed
as a religious rite by Abraham, Geu. xvii. 11.
[x] Heb. vii. 18, 19, Gal. iv. 3—9.

64 OF THE PENTATEUCH.
[r], and as an obedience to carnal ordinances
could not be perfect or satisfactory, the Mosaic
dispensation did not stipulate for those rewards
which are offered by Christ [z], though it held out
intimations of iraraortality, and prepared mankind
for the gracious promises which were to be raade
by the Gospel. As a covenant of works, it re
quired undeviating obedience under the severest
denunciations of wrath [AJ, and raade no allowance
for unintentional offences ; not calculated, like the
gosppl, to proffer gracious terras of reconciliation
and favour, but to point out the condition of man
obnoxious to God's wrath [b], and the insuffici
ency of his endeavours to propitiate forgiveness,
and to atone for sin [c].
It is likewise obvious to remark, that Moses,
though appointed to comraunicate a divine law,
must, with respect to the Israelites, be contempla
ted as an huraan legislator. He addresses them,
indeed, as a state subject to a theocracy ; but God
had deigned to be considered in the light of a
temporal king to his chosen people [d] ; Moses,
[y] Exod. xxx. 10 — 15. Levit. xvi, 34.
[z] Rom. iii. 20. viii. 3. Gal, ii. 16. iii. 21. Heb. viii. 6.
ix. 14, 15.
[a] Deut. xxvii, 26. Gal. iii. 10.
[b] 1 John i. 7. Rom. iv. 15. viii. 2. 2 Cor. iii. 6 — 9-
Col. ii. 14.
[c] Rom, iii, 19, 20, vii. 5—11. Gal. iii. 22.
[»] Exod. xix. 6. 1 Sam, xii, 12, 17, 19. Isaiah, xxxiii.
22. Hagg. ii. 4, 5. Warburt. Div. Legat, Lib. V. § 3.

OF THE PENTATEUCH. 65
therefore, speaking as the legislator of a civil go
vernment, and delivering his laws to the people
considered in their collective national character,
enforces them chiefly by temporal sanctions |]e] ;
on motives of present reward and present punish
ment ; thus annexing civil benefits to the observ
ance, and civil penalties to the breach of poUtical
laws, as respectively their proper and proportioned
consequences. To the dull apprehensions, like
wise, and sensual rainds of the Israelites, promises
and threats of speedy accompUshment were neces
sary, and best calculated to control them, in sub
serviency to those laws, of which the violation was
immediately hostile to the declared intention of
God, in the constitution of the Hebrew polity.
Moses also, resting on the miraculous proofs of its
divine original which accompanied the promulga
tion of the law, and confident of the divine support
in its establishment, was not under any necessity of
recomraending its acceptance by a direct appeal to
those high and important inducements which might
have been derived from the consideration of a fu
ture Ufe and judgment. As the minister, however,
[ e] Porter's Diss. p. 260. Moses had no occasion to reveal
in precise terms the immortality ofthe soul which the Israehtes
as well as all other people believed, aud which had been im
plied in God's promises to the patriarchs. La Bieterie, in a
note to the Caesars of Julian, well observes, that no nation has
received from its lawgivers the belief of another life ; the law
givers have every where found it. The persuasion of the im
mortality of the soul, as well as that of the existence of God,
is the tenet of all nations ; the faith of Mankind.
F

66 OF THE PENTATEUCH,
of a divine revelation, as a teacher of religion, (in
which light also Moses must be contemplated) ;
he undoubtedly intiraated higher encourageraents
than those of teraporal reward, and endeavoured
to aniraate his people by the display of a more glo
rious prospect. He did not absolutely propose
an eternal recompence to the righteous, but held
out the expectation of immortaUty to those who re
lied on God's promises.
Hence it is that he so particularly describes the
attributes and designs of God [f] ; so strongly in
sists on the advantage of obedience, and occasion
ally adverts to that final retribution, which should
take place after death [g]]. It was, however, not
so much by the positive declarations, as by the
figurative promises of the law, that Moses held out
the consideration of eternal recompence to his peo
ple ; for it was consistent with the typical charac
ter of the first dispensation, which was significant
in all it parts, to shadow out, rather than directly
to reveal those spiritual rewards, which were to be
annexed as more exalted sanctions to an higher
covenant f h] ; and that the promises of the Mosaic
[f] Exod. iii. 6. comp. with Luke xx. 37. Gen. i. 27. ii. 7.
iii, ]5, Numb, xxiv, 17. Deut. xxxii. 29.
[g] Deut. viii. 16. xxxii. 29. where Dnnnt\ should be trans
lated their last, or final state. Numb, xxiii. 10. Deut. xxxii. 39.
Th] Heb. viii, 6. Though the law was designed rather to
convince mankind of sin, by the severity of its requisitions, than
to impart any distinct assurance of immortality ; yet, neverthe
less, salvation was unquestionably to be obtained in virtue of
Christ's atonement, by those who fulfilled the terms of the old
covenant. Luke x. 25, 28, xxv, 42, 43. Rom. iii, 19, 20,
Gal, iii. 22.

OF THE PENTATEUCH. 67
law, were the figures and representations of "bet
ter things to corae [i]," as also, that its threats
were indicative of stronger denunciations, is evi
dent, not only from their correspondent and allu
sive character [k]], but also from the interpretations
of the prophets ; and it is certain that if the sensual
and duUer ranks were unable to discover the fuU
extent of the promises, yet the more instructed and
more enlightened persons understood and confided
in its spiritual import [l]. StiU, however, it must
be repeated, Moses does not ground his laws on
spiritual sanctions, but rather has recourse to the
strongest and most affecting motives of present
consideration, urging God's threat " of visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children [m]."
It remains to be remarked, with respect to the
laws deUvered to the people of Israel, that some
[i] Psa. cxxxiii. 3. Deut. xxx. 15 — 19. comp. with Luke
X. 25—28.
[e] Hieron. Epist. Dardan.
[l] Heb. xi, 8 — 16, The Mosaic covenant included that
made to Abraham, which was a figurative counterpart of the
gospel covenant, and of which the promises were certainly spi
ritual, and in the renewal of this covenant, together with that
made at Sinai Moses blends temporal and spiritual promises.
Vid. Gen. xvii. 7. Deut. xxix. 13. xxx. Gal. iii. 8, 17. Jude
14, 15. Acts xxiv. 14, 15, &c. Tacitus states, that the Jews
believed in the immortality of the soul. See Hist. 1. 5. § 5.
p. 549. Edit, Amster. 1685. Joseph, cont, Apion, Lib. 2, § 30.
[mJ Exod. XX. 5. Deut. v. 9. This denunciation against
idolatry applied to punishments only in the present life, for
God afterwards declared, that as to future retribution, " the
son should not bear the iniquity of the father." Ezek, xviii. 20.
f2

68 op THE PENTATEUCH.
were of a confined and temporary, others of a
general and permanent nature. They are usu
ally distinguished into cereraonial, judicial, and
raoral. The ceremonial and the judicial laws are in the
books of the Pentateuch joined together, as the
Hebrew religion and polity were built up together
in one fabrick. These laws as adapted to the par
ticular state and government of the Israelites [n],
and often incapable of general application [o],
are collectively represented as not obligatory on
other nations. Many of the laws are indeed pro
nounced by Moses, to be " laws and ordinances for
ever," " through all generations [p]," and hence
the Jews believe, that they never shall be abolished
[qJj but it seeras evident, that these expressions
must be understood to raean only, that such laws
should not be liable to abrogation by any hu
man authority, and that they should continue tiU
they had fulfilled their object; but by no means
[n] Circumcision, as a rite of distinction, was useless when
the barriers between the Jew and Gentile were thrown down,
its figurative intention to promote purity of heart was preserved
in the gospel precepts, and its actual practice in hot countries,
as conducive to cleanliness, was not forbidden, or discouraged,
but as it implied a subserviency to the ritual law.
[o] The number of the priests and Levites was limited. All
nations could not be served by the Aaronical priesthood, nei
ther could they resort three times a year to one place.
[p] Exod. xii. 14 — 17. xxxi, 21. xl. 15. Levit. iii. 17. vi,
18, vii, 36, X. 9. xxxiii, 14 — 21 — 31-41, xxiv, 3. Numb.
XV. 15. xix. 10.
[q] Vid. Maimon. Morc Nevoch. Par. II. cap. 38.
8

of THE PENTATEUCH. 69
that they should never be repealed by the autho
rity, on which they were first estabUshed [r].
The ceremonial laws were unquestionably tran
sient institutions, designed to intimate and foreshew
evangeUcal appointments. As therefore in their
nature, figurative of future particulars, they have
passed away on the accomplishment of those things,
of which they were the shadows [s]. Ritual ob
servances are now unprofitable as spiritual righte
ousness is introduced [t], and the Levitical priest
hood being changed, its appendant laws are changed
also [v^- The end of the ceremonial laws is ful
filled, and they remain only as the pictures of a
well-concerted scheme ; the prophetic testimonies
that support a more spiritual covenant.
The judicial laws, also, as far as they respected
the Israelites as a civil society, and were contrived
with regard to the peculiar and appropriate condi
tion of that people ; as far as they were suited to
the exigence of a time, and devised with a view to
the accomplishment of certain purposes now ef
fected, are no longer binding as positive laws on us.
Christ did not indeed formally, and in express
terms, repeal any part of the Mosaic law ; but
[r] The ceremonial laws were sometimes dispensed with, as
was circumcision in the wilderness, where it was of but little
use. So David eat of the shew-bread, and our Saviour justified
his conduct. Vid. 1 Sam. xxi. 6. Matt. xii. 3, 4,
[s] Coloss. ii. 17.
[t] Rom. vii. 6, Heb. vii. 18, 19, 1 Pet. ii. 5. Barnab.
Epist. 119.
[u] Heb. vii. 12.

TO OF THE PENTATEUCH.
whatever was accompUshed, did necessarily expire.
The Apostles, it is true, though they regarded the
ceremonial law as a bondage from which they were
freed [^x], still continued to observe sorae of its
precepts. This, however, was by no raeans as a
necessary service, but in compUance with the pre
judices of the proselyte Jews [vj. As the force of
education and long habit could not be immediately
counteracted, the Jews were suffered to continue
in the observance of those ritual precepts, which, if
now obsolete, were al least harmless, while they
were not set up in opposition to the pretensions of
the gospel covenant.
The Apostles, likewise, living under a govern
ment which was founded on the Mosaic establish
ment, and which had the judicial laws incorporated
into the very frame of its constitution, could not,
without violating the duties of good citizens, and
without offending against the authority of the civil
magistrate, refuse to be subservient to the regula
tions of that poUty; they must have perceived,
however, that as far as the civil were interwoven
with the reUgious institutions, they should give way
[x] Acts xxi. 21 — 27, 1 Cor. ix, 20. Gal. iv. 1_5,
[[y] Acts xvi, 3. St. Paul circumcised Timotheus, " be.
cause ofthe Jews which were in those quarters," In a coun
cil previously held, the Apostles deliberated, indeed, concern
ing the necessity of circumcision ; but they certainly under
stood, that with respect to the Gentiles at least, there could
be no obligation to observe the law, as far as it was of a tem
porary and local nature. They appear to have assembled only
to ratify by an unanimous decision, the sentiments df Paul and
Barnabas, Vid, Acts xv. 1 — 29.

OF THE PENTATEUCH. 71
to evangelical appointments. They must have un
derstood, that as the distinctions between Jew and
Gentile were now to cease, the whole of that oeco-
flomy which was contrived to keep the Israelites a
separate people, was useless and inconsistent with
the design of Christianity. Yet they knew that
it was only by the gradual operation of the Chris
tian spirit, that the Jews could be weaned frora a
long established obedience to the law, and that in
fact till the constitution of their country should be
changed or dissolved, such obedience was in sorae
degree necessary. The Aposties therefore only then
reprobated the advocates for the observance of the
Mosaic law, when those advocates sought to enforce
it as generaUy necessary, ahd as a means of justi
fication [z] : they taught that salvation was to be
obtained without the law [a], and expressly exempt
ed the Gentile converts from the necessity of re
specting any precepts but those which were en
tirely moral or partook of a iporal character [b].
[z] August, cont. Faust. Lib. XIX. cap. 17. Just. Martyr,
Dialog, pars I, c, 264, Edit, Thirl. Constit. Apostol. Lib. VI.
cap. 11, 12—20, 21, 22. Rom. x. 5.
[a] Acts xiii. 39. Rom. iii. 28. ix. 32. Gal. ii. 16.
[b] Acts XV. 10, 11. This declaration was first made iu fa
vour of the Gentile nations, (vid. Acts xv. 19.) who had neither
prejudices nor civil regulations to control them ; but the Gos
pel liberty was to extend equally to the Jews, when they should
be released from the influence of habit, and the injunctions of
civil authority. Rom. vii. 4. viii, 15. Indeed, after the de
struction of Jerusalem, most ofthe Hebrew converts to Chris
tianity renounced the Mosaic law without hesitation : a part
only adhered to it, as the Nazarenes, Ebiouites, &c. Vide Mo-
jiheini, de Rebus Christ. Ant. Constant. Sasc. 2. § 38. note *.

72 OF THE PENTATEUCH.
As to the moral laws, whether tiiose contained in
the Decalogue, or those occasionally interspersed
through the judicial and ceremonial code, it is evi
dent that these, as having in themselves an intrinsic
excellence and universal propriety, and as founded
on the relations which eternally subsist, as weU with
reference to our dependence on God, as between
man and man reciprocally, must reraain in per
petual force : for the Mosaic law was annihilated,
only so far as it was of a figurative and temporary
character. The ten Commandments which were first given,
as containing the primary principles of aU law, were
doubtless introduced with such majesty and solem
nity, that they raight retain an everlasting and irre
versible authority, which no tirae should alter, no
change of circurastance annul or invalidate. They
were uttered by the voice of God, before the whole
raultitude of Israel ; were written twice by God's
own finger [c] ; and are obviously distinguished
frora the other laws which were given to Moses
only, which were written by hira, and vvhich were
moulded in conformity to the pecuhar condition and
circumstances of the Israelites. Moses Ukewise,
(as has been observed by Hooker [d],) evidently
discriminates the moral from the ceremonial laws,
for in his recapitulation of the law, in the book of
Deuteronomy, he says, " the Lord spake unto you
[cJ Exod. xxxi. 18, That is, by God's immediate power,
and not by the act of man. Vid. Maimon. More Nevoc. Par.
I. cap. 60.
[D] Hooker's Eccles. Polit. Book III, p. 146.

OF THE PENTATEUCH. 73
out of the midst of the fire, ye heard the voice of
the words, but saw no similitude, only a voice, and
he declared unto you his covenant, which he com
manded you to perform, the ten Commandments ;
and wrote them on two tables of stone," (durable
monuments to intimate their unperishable autho
rity) ; " and the Lord comraanded me at the same
time to teach you the statutes and judgments, that
ye might do them in the land whither ye go over
to possess it J^e]." These laws, then, given for
the advantage of all mankind, founded on prin
ciples of invariable and universal propriety, com
municated it should seem in some instances before
the promulgation of the Mosaic law \j], and
stamped with the two great characters of Christian
excellence, gratitude to God, and love to man, are
properly inscribed on everlasting tablets, in the
Christian church, and must be observed as long as
any reverence for the Deity shall exist.
The other moral laws, which are intermixed with
the ceremonial and judicial precepts, and which
have entirely a general character [ol, may be con-
[e] Deut. iv. 10—14. v.
[f] The morality ofthe fourth Commandment, its primaeval
institution, and its perpetual force, (though with a change as
to the day) have been considered as unquestionable as the
author ofany other part ofthe Decalogue.
[g] Of these there are many. Vid. Exod. xxi. 19, 20, 22.
xxii. 1, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11—16, 19, 20—22, 26-28. xxin, 1—9,
12, Levit, xvii. 7. xix, 9, 10, 14, 17, 18, 29. 35, 36. xx,
9, 10, 17. xxni. 22. xxiv. 18. Numb. xxx. 2. Deut. i. 16,
17. xiv. 29. XV. 7, 8, 11. xvii. 6. xxii. 1 — 3. 14^21. xxv. 14,

74 OF THE PENTATEUCH.
sidered as corollaries from, or commentaries on, the
Decalogue. These, though blended with others
of a local and teraporary nature, and scattered
through a collection superseded, and virtually re
pealed, have, as revelations ofthe divine will, (which
is ever uniforra in the same circumstances), as weU
as frora their intrinsic character, a claim to per
petual observance, as rauch as those of the Deca
logue. They were deUvered, it is true, with less
awful circumstances than were the ten Command
ments, which suraraed up in a compendious form
the whole excellence of the moral law ; but the
other laws had not the less authority, because de
livered by the mediation of Moses, at the particular
request of the people, who trembled at the voice
of God [h] ; and no argument against the per
petuity of these secondary laws can be drawn from
the direction added, (chiefly for the sake of those
that were of a local and teraporary nature) to ob
serve them in the land of Judaea ; since those of
the two tables, though indisputably of universal
obUgation, were delivered with a similar appUca-
15. It may be deemed superfluous to contend for these, since
the same principles are inculcated in the Decalogue, but every
injunction which illustrates the moral duties, and dilates moral
precepts is important. The law and the prophets are not use
less, though we possess the " two Commandments on which
they hang," nor is the Decalogue superfluous, notwithstanding
the Gospel hath furnished a more perfect rule, and declared,
that all the law is fulfilled in one word. Matt. xxii. 40.
Gal. v. 14. Besides, the dignity of the Mosaic law is afl^ected
by these considerations.
[h] Exod. XX. 19. 5

OF THE PENTATEUCH. lo
tion, as appears from the sanction annexed to the
fifth Commandment [i]. No part of the law, as
far as it is strictly moral, is abrogated by the
gospel, any more than are the commandments of
the Decalogue. The old dispensation is declared
invalid only as a covenant of salvation, and it is
superseded in Christ, only as far as it is accom
pUshed. Christ came not to destroy, but to fulfil
the law [k.], and its moral design is still unaccom
plished, and must so continue till the end of time,
for " till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or
one tittie shaU in no wise pass from the law, till aU
be fulfiUed [[l]." Our Saviour added, stiU speaking
of the law under one general consideration, " who
soever shall break one of these least Command
ments, and shaU teach men so, he shaU be called
least in the kingdom of Heaven ; but whosoever
shaU do and teach tbem, the sarae shall be caUed
great in the kingdora of Heaven ;" and he else
where annexed the promise of life to the observ
ance of the moral law [mJ. The aposties were
[i] This annexed motive of temporal reward, as well as the
exordium prefixed to the first Commandment, and the comme
moration added to the fourth, in Deut. v. 15, had an appro
priate apphcation when addressed to the Jews, which, however,
by no means affected the universality and perpetuity of the De
calogue ; and if the direction which accompanied the other laws
be conceived to have restricted the observance to the land of
Canaan, it can apply only to those of a transitory nature,
since the others might with equal reason, have been observed
elsewhere, [k] Matt, V. 17,
[l] Matt, V. 18. Luke xvi. 17.
[m] Matt. V. 19. X, 27, 28.

76 OF THE PENTATEUCH.
SO far from considering as abolished any part of
the Mosaic law, which had a moral character, that
they expressly ratified and enjoined as necessary,
injunctions which were not contained in the Deca
logue, but which had only a moral tendency Tn].
It foUows then from these considerations, that
though the law be abrogated, as a covenant insuf-
[n] Acts XV. The Apostles in the first council holden at
Jerusalem, after having pronounced the ceremonial law to be
burthensome and unnecessary, enjoined to the Gentiles, in the
name of " the Holy Ghost," an observance of the Mosaic
law, where it had a general character and moral tendency,
and in the very terms, as well as in the spirit, of the Mosaic
law, (considered distinctly from the Decalogue) they prescribed
unto the Gentiles " as necessary things,'' that they should ab
stain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from
things strangled, and from fornication; in asmuch as these were
descriptive of a disposition to idolatry, and adopted in opposi
tion to the service of God, St. James concludes his advice,
by intimating, that these instructions were permanent precepts
of the law of Moses, which was " read in every city.'' Vid,
Acts XV. 1, 7, 10, 11, 19, 20, 21, 24, 28, 29. St. Paul, in his
epistles, asserts the abrogation of the law, only as set up in
opposition to the gospel, to which it was " a schoolmaster"
(or pedagogue). In comparison of which it was "elementary
and beggarly ;'' but in reference to which, and in its moral and
spiritual character, it was " holy, just, and good.'' Vid Rom.
iii. 20,24,28, 31. viii. 4. Gal. iii. 24. iv. 9. iTira. i. 8—10.
V. 18. 1 Cor. ix. 9, 10. where a Mosaic precept not in the De
calogue is said to be spoken " altogether for our sakes.'' Vid.
Deut. xxv. 4. In this, as in other instances, where a moral
import is couched under a figurative precept, we may say
with St. Ambrose, " evacuatiir in Christo, non vetus Testa
mentum, sed velamen ejus." Epist. 76. Deut. xxii. 10."" Rom.
vii. 14. See lastly. Acts xxxiii. 5. where St. Paul admits the
authority of a general precept, delivered in Exod. xxii, 28.

OF -THE PENTATEUCH. 77
ficient and preparatory [o], though its ceremonies
have vanished as the veil and covering of spiritual
things, and its judicial institutions are dissolved
with the oeconomy of the Hebrew government, yet
its moral pillars remain unshaken. The law then is
abolished only so far as fulfiUed' and superseded by
a more excellent dispensation. As its precepts pre
figured this, they have terminated ; as its appoint
ments prepared for this, they were exclusively con
fined to the Hebrew nation ; as its commandments
corresponded with the moral designs of the gospel,
theywere incorporated with, and should be ob
served under, the Christian covenant.
The Mosaic dispensation, inasmuch as it was re
stricted to one nation, and contrived to effect its
purpose, by partial regulations, cannot be supposed
to have been productive of that liberal and difiiisive
benevolence, which characterizes the gospel ; which
is a covenant designed to embrace all nations, and
to promote universal love. But though the peculiar
privileges, which the first covenant conferred on
the Israelites, led them to entertain an arrogant
and unreasonable conceit, it is certain that the Mo
saic law -recommended throughout as much bene
volence as was consistent with that distinction,
which it was intended to promote. The principles
on which it is framed, may be always adopted with
advantage, since it breathes throughout a fine spirit
[o] We are freed also from the curses of the law, " the
minisU'ation of death." Vid. Gal. iii. 13. 2 Cor. iii. 7- but
not from its directive power.

78 OF THE PENTATEUCH.
of moral equity ; of merciful regard to strangers,
debtors, bondsmen [p], and even to the brute cre-
tion [q] ; and tends, by its Uteral and figurative
precepts [r], to awaken benevolence and charitable
dispositions. The five books of Moses present us with a com
pendious history of the world, from the creation
to the arrival of the Israelites, at the verge of Ca
naan, a period of above 2250 years. It is a wide
description, gradually contracted; an account of
one nation, preceded by a general sketch of the
first state of mankind. The books are written in
pure Hebrew, with an admirable diversity of style,
always well adapted to the subject, yet character
ised with the stamp of the same author ; they are
all evidently parts of the sarae work, and mutually
strengthen and illustrate each other. They blend
revelation and history in one point of view, impart
laws, and describe their execution, exhibit pro
phecies, and relate their accomplishment.
Besides the Pentateuch, Moses is said to have
composed many of the Psalms, and some have,
though improperly, attributed to hira all those be
tween the 90th and the 100th inclusive. He ap
pears, however, to have been the first writer who
was inspired in the productions of sacred hymns,
and those contained in the xvth chapter of Exodus,
[p] Exod. xxi. 2, 20, 21. 26, 27. Levit. xix. xxv. Deut. v.
14, 15. XV, 12, Levit. xxv. 29. Jerem. xxxvi, 14,
[g] Exod. xxiii. 12. Deut. v, 14, xxii, 6, 7.
[r] Deut. xxii. 10. xxv. 4.

OF THE PENTATEUCH. 79
and the xxxiid of Deuteronomy, afford very beau
tiful models of his enraptured poetry. The book
of Job has been with sorae probability supposed to
have been written or translated by Moses, and
many apocryphal work^' have been ascribed to him,
by writers desirous of recommending their works
under the sanction of his name. Cedrenus trans
ferred into his history, a book, which passed under
the name of Moses, styled Little Genesis [s], and
which contained many spurious particulars. It was
extant in Hebrew in the time of St. Jerora, and was
cited by him, but condemned as apocryphal, by
the council of Trent. Others attribute to him an
apocalypse, from which they pretend, that St. Paul
copied in ver. 15 of ch. vi. to the Galatians : but
these, as well as those entitled the ascension, and
the assumption of Moses, and some mysterious
books, were probably fabricated by the Sethians
or Sethedians, an ancient sect of Gnostic heretics,
who pretended to be derived from Seth, and to
possess several books of the Patriarchs [t].
[s] As^iyeveiTK. [t] Athan. Svnop.

OF THE

BOOK OF GENESIS.

This, which is the first book in order of the Pen
tateuch, is called Beresith in those Hebrew copies,
which adopt the division of the Pentateuch into five
books [aj. This word signifies in the beginning,
and being prefixed, it g-ave rise to the Hebrew cus
tora of denorainating the sacred books frora their
initial words respectively. The book, however, is
usually entitled Genesis, from a Greek word[B],
which imports generation. It was written by
Moses, as the concurrent testimonies of all ages
declare [c], (as some suppose, in the land of Mi-
[a] Some private copies only are divided, those used in the
Jewish synagogues are not.
[b] Tsna-it;. Generation, production. It is remarkable that
the New Testament begins with the same word Bi€ao; ytntriuf
\ritrv. [c] Du Pin. Diss. Prel. Sect. I. Huet. The mention which
is made in chap. xii. 6. xiii. 7. of the Canaanites aud Perizzites
does not prove that the passages were written after the expul.
sion of those nations, as they import probably that these nations
were thus early iu possession of it. The expression also of
kings that " reigned in Edom before there reigned any over
the children of Israel," has been thought by some to refer pro-
leptically to kings, who according to divine promise, were
to reign over Israel, ch. xxxv. 11.; others imagine that it ap-

OP THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 81
dian, where Moses fed the flocks of his father-in-
law, in the wilderness), with design, it is said, to
comfort the Hebrews in their servitude, by the
example of constancy in their fathers, and by a
display of the oracles and promises of God ; as
particularly of that remarkable revelation to Abra
ham, that " his seed should be a stranger in a land
not theirs, should serve them, and be afflicted 400
years, and that God should judge that nation
whom they should serve, and that afterwards they
should come out with great substance [oj." Eu
sebius (^e3 intimates his respect for this opinion,
but Theodoret [f^ and others suppose that the
book was written in the wUderness after the pro
mulgation of the law. A third hypothesis has
been offered from the Rabbi Moses Ben Nachman,
that God dictated to Moses all the contents of the
Book during the forty days that he was permitted
to have a communication with the Deity on Mount
Sinai, and that at his descent, he committed the
plied to Moses, who was king in Jeshurun, Deut. xxxiii. 5. :
it is possible, however, that the remark was originally a mar
ginal note which crept into the text ; or that the account of the
kings of Edom, which corresponds with that in the Book of
Chronicles, was inserted by some prophet or authorized
person. [d] Gen. XV. 13, 14. From the birth of Isaac to the de
liverance from Egypt were 405 years. The 430 years men.
tioned in Exodus xii. 40. include the twenty-five years of
Abraham's sojourning in Canaan, before the birth of Isaac.
Vid. Patrick in loc.
[e] Euseb. Praep. Evan. Lib. II. cap, 7.
[f] Theod. Quaest. in Gen. Ven. Bede, &c. Exod. xxiv. 12.
G

83 OF THE BOOK OF GENESlS.
whole to writing. It is, however, as impossible, as
it is of little consequence, to determine which of
these opinions is best founded. It is sufficient for
us to know, that Moses was assisted by the spirit
of infallible truth, in the composition of this sacred
work [g}, which he deemed a proper introduction
to the laws and judgments delivered in the subse
quent books, as exhibiting the ground upon which
the divine claims to worship are established, and
the considerations upon which his statutes were
made, when God is represented as the Creator to
whom aU obedience is due.
The description which Moses gives in this book
concerning the creation, as relating to circumstan
ces, which occurred previously to the existence of
mankind, could be derived only from immediate
revelation [hJ. It was received by the Jevvs with
fuH conviction of the truth, on the authority of that
inspiration, under which Moses was known to act.
But when the book was first delivered, many per
sons then living. raust have been corapetent to de
cide on the fidelity with which he relates those
events which were subsequent to the creation.
They must have heard of and beUeved the remark
able incidents in the Uves of the Patriarchs, the
prophecies which they uttered, and the actions
which they performed; for the longevity of man in
the earUer ages of the world, rendered tradition,
in some measure, the criterion of truth. In the
[g] Rom. iv. 3. Gal, iii, 8. Jam, ii. 23.
[h] Origen Homil. 26 in Numer.

OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 83
days of Moses, the channels of information must
have been as yet uneorrupted ; for though ages
had already elapsed, even 2432 years before the
birth of the sacred historian, yet those relations
were easily ascertained, which might have been
conveyed by seven persons from Adam to Moses ;
and that the traditions were so secure from error,
we shall immediately be convinced, if we consider
that Methusalem was 340 years old when Adam
died, and that he lived till the year of the flood,
when Noah had attained 600 years [i] . In like
manner Shem conveyed tradition from Noah to
Abraham, for he conversed with both a consider
able time. Isaac also, the son of Abrahara, lived
to instruct Joseph in the history of his predeces
sors, and Amram, the father of Moses, was con
temporary with Joseph [k]. The IsraeUtes then,
must have been able, by interesting tradition, to
judge how far the Mosaic account was consistent
[i] Adam died, A.M. 930, 126 years only before the birth
of Noah, and therefore must have been seen by many of Noah's
contemporaries. Lamech, the father of Noah, had certainly
seen Adam and his children, being born fifty-six years before
Adam's death; and Noah himself might have seen several me
morials existing, to prove the truth of those events afterwards
recorded by Moses, for Noah died only two years before the
birth of Abraham ; and Isaac might have seen Shem and Selah,
who conversed with Noah many year.?.
[k] The tradition then was conveyed frora Adam, through
Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, and Am
ram to Moses, seven intermediate persons. This account of
the longevity of mankind, in the first ages of the world, is con
firmed by Manetho, Berosus, Hestiaeus, &c.
g2

84 OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS.
with the truth [l]. If the meraory of raan reached
beyond the period assigned to the creation, they
must have disbelieved the Mosaic history ; but if
through so small a number of iraraediate predecessors,
they could trace up the origin of raankind to Adam,
we need not wonder at the implicit veneration which
ratified the records of the sacred historian ; which
accepted a revelation, confirmed by every received
account, and stamped by every sanction of divine
authority. The sacred character of the book is
established also by the internal evidence of its in
spiration ; by a detail of the creation which carries
with it the presumption and the marks of truth ;
by the several predictions afterwards fuUy accom
plished; and lastly, by the suffrage of our Sa
viour and his apostles, who have cited from it
at least twenty-seven passages verbatim in the
New Testaraent, and thirty-eight accordiiig to the
sense [m].
Genesis contains the history of 2369 years to
the death of Joseph, or thereabouts, if we follow
the account of the ages of the Patriarchs, and
suppose the flood to have happened about- 1656
years after the creation. It is perhaps scarcely
worth the trouble to reraark, that some very futile
objections have been made to the period which is
assigned by Moses to the creation, as though it
were too recent to be reconciled with some physical
observations ; for it has ever been found, upon ac-
[l] Euseb. Praep. Evang. Lib. IX, cap. ult. '
[m] As Rivet has elaborately calculated.

OP THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 85
curate investigation, that though the existence of
the world, according to the Mosaical account, be
too short [n], to be compatible with the theories
of fanciful men, yet that just philosophical reason
ing has always tended to corroborate the assur
ance of the received date ofthe creation.
The extended accounts of the Chaldean, Egyp
tian, Chinese, and Hindus Chronology, which
reach far beyond all bounds of probability [o], and
the magnified calculations of some other nations
are now justly considered as the fictions of na
tional vanity, or the exaggerations of erroneous
computation. They are often in themselves
[n] The creation of the world began, according to Usher,
on Sunday, October 23 ; before the birth of Christ 4004 years,
if we follow theHebrew text. The Septuagint version places
it 5872, and the Samaritan 4700 before the vulgar sera. The
Septuagint reckons 2262 years before the flood ; the Samaritan
only 1307. Vid, Jackson's Chron. Tab. Aug, Civit. Dei. Lib.
XII, c. 10. Newton's Hist, of Antidel. Worid, p, 98. Strau-
chius Brev. Chron. translated by Sault, p. 166, 176, &c,
Capel, Chron. Sac. in Appar. Walton. Some place the crea
tion about the time of the vernal equinox, since Moses and
the sacred writers, reckon their first month Abib from that
time, Vid, Virgil. Georg. II. 1. 336. et seq. but this was in
memory of their deliverance from Egypt. The first month in
civil calculations was the first after the autumnal equinox : this
was called Tisri, and answers to part of our September.
[o] The Babylonians reckoned up 33,000 years ; the Chal
deans in the time of Cicero talked of 47,000 ; and Manetho,
jealous for the reputation of his country, carried back his
chronological accounts to 36,525 years. Vid. Cicer. de Diviu.
Lib. I. Bryant's Mythol. vol. 3. Petav, &c. Maurice's History
of Hindostan,

86 OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS.
contradictory [p^, and utterly inconsistent with all
observations on the appearance of nature ; all phi
losophical enquiry ; and the advancement of man
kind in arts, sciences, and refinement. These
iraprobable fabrications are deUvered by authors
who lived long after Moses ; whose veracity is im
peached in other instances ; and whose general
accounts are enveloped in fable, and tinctured by
credulity. The learned Halley has observed, that
the oldest astronomical observations made by the
Egyptians, of which we have any account at this
day, were later than 300 years before Christ [q].
The Chaldaean calculations are unworthy of at
tention, since they contradict the account of the
flood, and are quite irreconcileable with the gene
ral testiraony of ancient history ; and the chiraeri-
cal accounts of the Chinese, written in hierogly-
[p] Manetho professes to have transcribed his Dynasties
from some pillars of Hermes Trismegistus, As Sanchoniatho
also derived his Theology from Hermes, different accounts
must be supposed to have been drawn from the same source.
Vid. Stilling. Orig. Sac. Lib. I. cap, 2, The fountain, or the
streams must have been corrupt,
[q] Sanchoniatho, the Phcenician Historian, according' to the
most extended accounts of Porphyry, flourished long after
Moses, probably not less than two centuries. Manetho and
Berosus lived not more than 300 years before Christ. Vid.
Bochart. Geogr. Sac. Part 2, Lib. II. cap, 17. Jos, Scalig.
Not, in Euseb. Chron. p, 12, Praep. Evang. Lib. I, cap. 9.
Lib. X. cap, 9, Scalig. Can. Isag, Lib, III. Stilling. Orig.
Sac. Book I. ch. ii. § 4. Diod. Bib. Lib. I, Lact. de Orig.
Error. Lib. II. cap. 12. Voss. de Idol. Lib. I. cap. 28. Wootton's
Reflect, on Ant. and Mod, Learning, and Stackhouse's Hist, of
Bible, Book I, ch. 5.

OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS.

87

phics, and rescued imperfectly from destruction,
cannot properly be produced in support of any
theory, repugnant to raore authentic chronicles [r],
much less can they be suffered to invalidate the
chronology of the Scriptures. The incredible and
contradictory accounts which these [s-] nations have
fabricated, appear to have been sweUed to so great
a magnitude, by varying the modes of calculation,
by separating events which were contemporary,
and by substituting lunar for solar periods. They
are the misrepresentations of pride, or the errors
of inattention, and utterly unworthy to be put in
competition with the accurate reports and docu
ments of revealed information [t].
[r] One of the Chinese Emperors, about 213 years before
Christ, ordered all their historical records to be destroyed.
The Chinese have not any work in an intelligible character,
above 2200 years old ; Father Amiot considers their nation as
a colony, derived from the immediate descendants of Noah ;
and their traditional knowledge, and religious doctrines, when
freed from ignorant and superstitious additions, exhibit a cor.
respondence with the Patriarchal principles. Vid. Martini.
P. 2, 3, 9. Mem. de I'Hist. des Sciences, &c. Chinois, Vol. I.
Par, 1776.
[s] The Greeks could produce no dates beyond 550 years
before Christ, and little historical information before the Olym
piads, which began 775 years before the Christian aera, Hero
dotus, who flourished less than five centuries before our Saviour,
begins with fable ; Thucydides rejects, as uncertain, almost all
that preceded the Peloponnesian war ; and Plutarch ventured
not beyond the time of Theseus, who lived a little before the
ministry of Samuel. Vid. Plutarch's Life of Theseus. Strabo's
Geograph. Lib. XVII.
[t] Some difiiculties, equally futile and unreasonable, have
likewise been started against the probability of that account.

88 OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS.
Every circumstance, indeed, in the Mosaic ac
count, bears, if impartially considered, a striking
which derives the whole race of mankind from one common
stock, notwithstanding the diversity of complexion, , and the
separation of country. Some of those who deny that climate
and local circumstances are sufficient to account for every
dissimilarity which is discovered in the appearance of different
nations, have maintained that Ham and his descendants were
condemned by Providence to bear that mark of the divine dis
pleasure. The name of Ham an signifies hot or dark co
loured ; and the descendants of Ham have every where a
peculiar membrane under the skin, and are more or less black
or swarthy, as the Chinese, the Malays, the Phoenicians, Ly-
bians, the Hindoos, &c. The supposed difiiculties of emi
gration are likewise obviated by recent discoveries in geogra
phy : for these, demonstrate a much greater proximity in
countries, between which no communication was conceived
to exist in the earlier ages of the world, than obtains between
those from which early emigrations have confessedly been
made, and those to which they have been directed. It is now
determined, by positive examination, that the north-east part
of Asia is either connected with the north-west part of Amer
rica, or separated from it by a very inconsiderable distance ;
though, indeed, this discovery was not necessary to prove
that the savage nations of the western continent must have
derived their origin from the same common source as the
eastern nations ; since not to insist on the arguments for the
recency of their establishment, which might be drawn from
their uncivilized state, and their rude ignorance of the useful
arts, they retained the vestiges of opinions and customs, which
were so remarkably similar to those that prevailed in the East,
as evidently to point out a former connection. A reverence
for the Sabbath, and an acquaintance with many appoint
ments of the Mosaic institution, were observed to exist in
America, by the first discoverers of that country, too numer
ous indeed to be the result of accident or casual resemblance ;
all the Americans had some traditionary acquaintance with

OP THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 89
feature of probability and truth ; and the whole is
far different from the wild and inconsistent theories,
which have at different times been iraagined and
framed by fanciful men [u] ; whose crude and ex
travagant conjectures concerning the creation only
prove the impossibihty of treating such a subject
without the aid of inspiration. Moses describes
the great work of the creation, not in an exact
philosophical detail, but in a style adapted to po
pular apprehensions, and with a concise magnifi
cence, designed to impress mankind with just
notions of God, and of his attributes [xJ. The
the particulars of the Mpsaic history ; as of the flood ; of one
family preserved ; and of the confusion of tongues. The
Mexicans had a custom of tinging the threshold of the door
with blood, possibly in allusion to the circumstances that dis
tinguished the institution of the Passover, and the Canadians
had even some idea of the Messiah. Huet. Demon. Evang,
cap. vii. sect. iii. Lerii. Navig. in Brasil. cap. 16. Joann. de
Laet. Antwerp. Not. ad Dissert. Grot, de Orig. Gent. Ame
rican. Acosta's Hist. Lib. V. cap. 28. Peter Mart. Decad. iv.
cap. 8. and Decad. viii. cap, 9. Geor. Horn, de Orig, Gent.
American. Harris's Introd. to Collect. Voyages, Smith's
Essay on the Causes of Variety of Complexion and Figure in
the Human Species. Herod, 1. iv. c. 64. Sir William Jones's
Discourse on Origin and Famihes of Nations. Asiatic Re
searches, vol. iii.
[u] Cudworth's Intel, System, and Cosmog. Pref. to Univ.
Hist. Clarke's Demonst. of Being and Attributes of God.
[x] Some think that the world was instantaneously created,
though represented by Moses, as performed in succession of
time, in accommodation to our conceptions, but it is more rea
sonable and consistent with the account to believe, that it was
completed in detail. Moses speaks ofthe creation ofthe uni-

90 OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS.
account is given without any attempt to esta
bUsh system, and in a manner leveUed to all capa
cities, though universally admired for its sublimity.
It represents the whole world to be material and
created, in opposition to the prevailing notion, that
the heavenly bodies were animated by an eternal
power [y^. The divine agency is familiarised to
us under iraages and descriptions accommodated to
human conceptions, and though the real mode of
God's operation and proceedings cannot be appre
hended by us at present, they are in some measure
subjected to our understandings under analogous
representations, which iUustrate their character.
But notwithstanding the nature of God's agency
is adumbrated under terms and expressions adapted
to human actions, the account of the creation is
not to be considered as aUegorical, or merely figu
rative, any more than the history of the tempta
tion, and of the fall frora innocence; since the
whole description is unquestionably deUvered as
real, and is so considered by aU the sacred writers
[z]. In the explanation of scripture, indeed, no
interpretation which tends to supersede the Uteral
sense should be admitted : and for this reason also
it is, that those speculations which are spun out
verse, but treats of the heavenly bodies only so fiir as they re
spected the earth.
[y] Longin. de Sublim. sect. 9.
[z] John viii, 44. 2 Cor, xi. 3, 1 Tim, ii. 13. Rev. xii. 9.
Allix's Reflect, on Gen, Wateriand's Geu. Pref. to Script. Vind.
Watty's Essay towards Vindic. of Mosaic Hist. Nichol's Confer.
with a Theist. Part. I. p. 13G. Bochart de Scrip. Tentat. p. 836.

op THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 91
with a view to render particular relations in this
book more consistent with our notions of probabi
lity, should be received at least with great diffidence
and caution. To represent the formation of the
woman from Adam's rib, as a work performed in
an imaginary sense, or as presented to the mind in
vision, seems to be too great a departure frora the
plain rules which should be observed in the con
struction of scripture [a], and inconsistent with
the expositions of the sacred writers. So likewise
the wrestUng of Jacob with an angel [b], which is
sometimes considered as a scenical representation
addressed to the fancy of the Patriarch, should
i-ather be contemplated like the teraptation of
Abraham [c], as a Uteral transaction, though per
haps of a figurative character ; like that, it was de
signed to convey information by action instead of
words, of certain particulars which it imported the
Patriarch to know (]d] ; and which he readily col-
[a] Gen. i. 22, 23. This is related by Moses as a real ope
ration, though performed while Adam was in a deep sleep, and
is so considered by St. Paul. 1 Cor. xi. 8, 9.
[b] Ch. xxxii. 24, 25.
[c] Ch. xxii. The enjoined sacrifice of Isaac is properly
considered as a typical representation, which was understood
by Abraham to prefigure the sacrifice of Christ. Vid. John viii.
56. But it cannot be admitted, that the command was merely
an information by action given at the request of Abraham, as
this, notwithstanding the arguments of the learned Warburton,
must be considered as inconsistent with the passages in scrip.
ture, where God is said to have tempted Abraham. Gen. xxii,
1. Heb. xi, 17. Vide Div. Legat. Book VI. sect. 5.
[d] Ch. xxxii. 24, 25. The successful struggle which Jacob
maintained, was intended to convey to him an assurance of that

93 OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS.
lected from a mode of revelation, so customary in
the earUer ages of the world, however it may seem
incongruous to those who cannot raise their minds
to the contemplation of any economy which they
have not experienced, and who proudly question
every event not agreeable to their notions of pro
priety. Moses being eraployed by God to irapart his reve
lation to raankind, begins his work with the history
of the Fall, as of the event on which the necessity of
divine instruction and ofthe intervention of a raedi-
atorwas founded. After having related the disobe
dience of Adara, and its punishraent, softened by the
gracious proraise of a future seed, that should bruise
the seducer to sin [eJ, he describes the multiplica
tion of mankind, and the evil consequences of the
entailed corruption : the intermixture of the de
scendants of Seth " the sons of God," with the
family of Cain, " the daughters of men ;" the pro-
deliverance from the hand of Esau, which he had piously in-
treated ; it is represented as an actual event by Moses, and is
so received by Hosea, ch. xii. 4. St. Jerom understands it as
figurative of spiritual conflicts which we are to maintain.
Hieron. in cap. 6. Epist. ad. Ephes.
[e] Gen. iii. 15. It is remarkable that in this first prophecy
ofthe Messiah, he is promised as the " seed of the woman."
The Jews were at a loss to account for the restriction, of which
the reason is revealed to us in the account of the miraculous
conception of Christ by a virgin. It deserves to be noticed,
that the bruising of the Messiah's heel was literally accom
plished by the crucifixion. The head likewise of the serpent
is said to be the seat of life, his heart being under the throat,
and hence, his chief care, when attacked, is to secure his head.

OF THE BOOK OT GENESIS. 93
gress of impiety, and its punishment ; the preser
vation of Noah, and of his family, from amidst the
general destruction by the flood ; He proceeds to
treat of God's covenant with man ; of the disper
sion ofthe descendants of Noah ; of the confusion
of tongues ; of the covenant made with Abraham ;
of the destruction of Sodora and Gomorrah ; and
of such particulars in the lives of the Patriarchs, as
were best calculated to illustrate the proceedings
and judgments of the Almighty, the consequences
of huraan actions, and the rise and progress of
religion. He concludes with the interesting story
of Joseph, of the settleraent of the Israelites in
Egypt ; of the death of Jacob after uttering pro
phetic blessings relating to the Patriarchs ; and of
the future conduct and circumstances of their de
scendants multiplied into the twelve tribes of Israel,
distinctiy characterised by those features which in
subsequent times they disclosed. Thiis have we
a clear, though short, history of the first ages of
the world, which prophane writers had vainly en
deavoured to rescue from the shades of antiquity.
The whole is related with a concise and noble sim
plicity of style suitable to the dignity ofthe subject.
The sacred writer, anxious only to communicate
important inteUigence, describes the earlier periods
with rapidity, and dilates more copiously on the
interesting transactions of which the effects and
influence were recently experienced. In the brief
sketch, however, even ofthe first ages, Moses, by
the selection of individual families for considera-

94 OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS.
tion, delineates a striking picture of the manners
of each period ; and by occasionaUy descending to
the minuteness of biography, he affords a lively
illustration of the smaller features, and famiUar
manners of the Patriarchal ages.
In the course of his history, Moses describes
events as they occurred, and characters as they
appeared. The actions of the patriarchs and fa
vourite ancestors of the Jews, however exception
able, and even the deceitful cruelty of Levi, (from
whom the historian was descended), as also the
curses denounced against him [f], are related
without disguise. One circumstance must, how
ever, be remembered by those who would under
stand the scope and design of the sacred writer, in
his detail of particular relations contained in this
book, which is, that he always kept in mind the
promise of the Messiah, and was desirous of shew
ing, that the expectation of this great object ofthe
Jewish hopes was predominant in all times, and
influenced the opinions and manners of every ge
neration. The recoUection of this wiU enable us
to perceive the reason of many particulars men
tioned in the book, which raight otherwise appear
extraordinary and exceptionable. It will explain
the conduct of Lot's daughters [g] ; the violent de-
[f] Ch. xxxiv. 13 — 25. xlix. 5, 6.
[g] R. Samuel and R. Tanchumah, on Gen. xix. 32. This
incest certainly proceeded under perverted views, excited by
the malignant influence of Satan, from a desire of producing
the Messiah ; as Lot's daughters were previously distinguished
for chastity ; as it was a concerted and deliberate proceeding,
4

OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 95
sire of Sarah for a son ; the solicitude of Isaac to
remove the barrenness of Rebekah ; and the con
tention between the wives of Jacob. In confor
mity with this design also Moses relates the jea
lousies between Ishmael and Isaac ; and between
Esau and Jacob ; and raany other minute and sin
gular particulars, which an historian of his dignity
would not have condescended to describe, but
with a view to iUustrate the general persuasion of,
and gradual preparation for, the coraing of the
Messiah. The book contains likewise some signal and direct
prophecies concerning Christ, described by Jacob
as " the angel which redeemed him from all evil"
\_u\ ; and other interspersed predictions ; which by
their accomplishraent authenticate the truth of the
scripture accounts. The memorable prophecies with
respect to the enlargement of Japhet, the abode of
God in the tents of Shem, and the servitude of Ca
naan, wonderfully illustrate the fore-knowledge of
God and the economy of the divine government [i].
Moses describes also, the predictions of other per
sons, particularly of Noah and Jacob, who were
and as they v/ished to perpetuate the memory ofthe action, by
the names which they gave the children ; for Moab implies
from my father, and Ben-ammi, son of my people. Vid. Allix's
Reflect, on Gen.
[h] Gen. iii. 15. xii. 3. xviii. 18. xxi. 12. xxii. 18. xxvi. 4.
xxviii. 14. xlviii, 15, xlix, 10, 18.
[i] Compare Gen. ix. 27. with Exod, xxiii, 20, Psal, cxxxv.
4. Numb. xxxv. 34. Deut. xn. 11. John i. 14. Rom. ix. 5. Col.
ii, 2. iv. 8, 9. Heb. viii, 1, 2. Vide Fulleri MisceU. Theolog.
Sib. 2. c. 4, Oxon 1616, p. 168.

96 OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS.
occasionally enlightened by the Holy Spirit, to
unfold parts of the divine economy, and to keep
alive the confidence and hopes of mankind, " de
Uvering the prophecies which have been uttered
ever since the world began {^k].
It raay be briefly observed, that many particulars
in pagan history, as well as many circumstances in
the present appearance of the world, both natural
and moral, tend to prove the truth of the accounts
which are presented to us in this book. Innume
rable traces of the Mosaic history, and of the events
and characters which it describes, are discoverable
in almost every page of prophane authors. The
structure of the earth corresponds with the account
of the creation, and daily vestiges of the deluge point
out its extensive effects (]l]. The spot on which
Sodom and Gomorrah stood, stiU indicates a sul
phureous quality [m], and the various manners,
[k] Gen, vi. 3. ix. 25—27. xiii. 15, 16. xv. 5, 13—16.
xvi. 12. xvii. 8, 20. xviii. 14. xxi. 12, 13. xxv. 23. compare
with 2 Sam. viii. 14. and 2 Kings xiv. 7. xxvi. 4. xxvu. 28, 29,
39, &c. xxxv. 11, xl. 13, 18, 19. xh. 29—31. xlvi. 4, xlviii, 19.
xlix, 3—27, 1. 24,
[l] See Cuvier, Jamieson, &c,
[m] The lake Asphaltites is a sea of very bituminous na
ture : it throws up great quantities of asphaltos, a drug for
merly used by the Egyptians and other nations for embalming,
&c. Vid. Maundrell. Pocock. Univer, Hist. Vol, II. Book I,
ch. vii. p. 418. Keil's Exam, of Reflect, on Theor. p. 148, Wa
terland's Pref, to Vind. Jenkins's Reason, Vol. II, p, 526, also
Joseph. Antiq, Lib, I. cap. 9. and 11, Plin, Nat. Hist, Lib, V.
jcap. 16. and Taciti Hist. Lib. V. sect. 7. The account of the
9.

OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 97
customs, and superstitions of many ancient nations,
unchanged during a long succession of ages, stiU
remain to prove the fidelity and exactness of the
descriptions given by Moses {]n]] ; and in the pre
dominant genius and disposition of the raodern
Jews, we witness a vvonderful correspondence with
the iUustration of their ancient character. No
length of tirae, or difference of condition, hath
been able to efface those strong features of national
peculiarity which are imprinted on this singular
people, and which shew themselves so remarkably
in their prejudices, conduct, and raanners, in dif^
ferenl countries, and under different governments.
The reason and foundation of their observances
and ceremonies, are traced out in this book ; and
though in the subsequent parts of the Pentateuch
latter author is remarkable. Se relates that the plains where
the cities stood, were said, " olim uberes, magnisque urbibus
habitatos, fulminum jactu arsisse : et manere vestigia, terram.
que ipsam specie torridam, vim frugiferam perdidisse. Nam
cuncta sponte edita, aut manu sata, sive herba tenus aut flore,
seu soUtam in speciem adolevere, atra, et inania velut in cinerem
vanescunt." He adds, " Ego sicut inclitas quondam urbes
igne coelesti flagrasse concesserim, ita halitu lacus infici terram,
i:orrDmpi superfusum spiritum, eoque foetus segetum et autumni,
putrescere reor, solo cceloque juxta gravi." Vid. also Strabo's
Geogr. Lib. XVI. Thevenot's Travels, and Volney's Voyage ea
Syrie, &c. Vol. I. p. 281. Wood's Essay on Homer, p. 51,
note (h).
[n} His geographical accounts also are consistent with the
most authentic memorials. Vid. Josephus, Grotius, and Bo
chart. Harmer's Observations on divers Passages of Scripture,
&c. Huet, Demon. Prop. IV. Avenarius inverbo pv.
H

98 OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS.
the laws are laid down by which their civil and re
ligious conduct are influenced, yet here chiefly are
described the causes and source from which they
are derived, as raay be instanced in the cases of the
Sabbath, and of the Circuracision [o], not to men
tion other particulars. Genesis was, also, very pro
perly prefixed to those books in which Moses com
municated the divine commands, since not only are
herein displayed the most impressive proofs of God's
existence and attributes, but in it likewise is shewn
the authority from which Moses derived his com
mission as a law -giver; and it was therefore pro
bably written as preparatory to the promulgation of
the law [p]. It is also excellently serviceable to
illustrate the great design and tendency of revela
tion ; which is ever delivered in a raanner con
formable to the faUen and depraved nature of raan.
It describes the origin of a distinct immaterial
Spirit, derived immediately from God; and the
first institution of the marriage union. It points
out the true source of evil, in an account consist
ent with the divine attributes, and confirmed by
the character and appearance of mankind in every
age. Every moral discourse, as every religious
system, must be built on the foundation and con
viction that man was created in innocence, but de-
[o] Allix's Reflections on Genesis, repubhshed in Bp. Wat-
snn's Theological Tracts. Vid. xxxii. 32. Euseb. Praep.
Evan. Lib. VII. ch. ix.
[p] Euseb. Praep. Evan. ch. ii. Isid. Pelu-iiot.

OP THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 99-
graded by sin ; and hence he is susceptible of good,
and prone to evil [q] .
On account of the dignity and importance ofthe
subject, and of the serious attention which it de
served, the Jews were forbidden to read the be
ginning of Genesis till they had attained the sacer
dotal age of thirty years. A work, indeed, which
describes the first creation and lapse of man ; which
treats of God's counsels and intercourse with his
creatures ; which opens the prospect of redemption^
and the grand scheme of prophecy ; and which
exemplifies the high obligations: and interests of
man, cannot be considered with too mature and
deliberate judgment.
[9] Wolseley's Reason of Christian Religion, p, 152,

H 2

OP THE

BOOK OF EXODUS.

The titie of the second Book of Moses is, Ukewise,
descriptive of its contents. The word Exodus [a]>
which is of Greek origin, implies emigration ; and
the book relates the departure of the Israelites out
of Egypt, after a description of their state of servi-'
tude ; ofthe appointment of Moses ; and of the mi
racles by which he effected their deliverance, and
which were concerted with peculiar reference to
the rites and superstition of the Egyptians. It
presents us also with the account of their journey
through the wilderness ; of the solemn promulga
tion of the law at Mount Sinai ; of the delivery of
the Decalogue ; and of the building of the Taber
nacle. It is universally allowed to have been
written by Moses ; and words in the book of
Exodus are cited as the words of Moses, by Da
niel, David, and other sacred writers ; to whom it is
useless to refer,. since our Saviour himself always
distinguishes the law (by which the whole Penta-
[a] From eIoJ*?, a departure, or going out. It is called by
the Jews, nint» nVsi ; "and these are the names," which are
the initial words of the book.

OF THE BOOK OF EXODUS. 101
teuch is implied) from the prophets, as the work
of Moses; and Rivet has observed, that twenty-
five passages are quoted by Christ and his aposties
out of this book in express words, and nineteen as
to the sense, which wiU be found not to be an
exaggerated account.
Exodus contains an history of abT)ut 145 years,
or perhaps of a somewhat shorter period. It af
fords a very minute and circumstantial detail of
the fulfilment of the declaration made by God to
Abraham, with respect to the bondage of his de^
scendants in Egypt, the judgments to be inflicted
on the Egyptians, and their departure from thence
with great substance [b]. Many of the circum
stances therein recorded are confirmed by the tes
timony of heathen writers [cJ. This, perhaps, it
is unnecessary to mention, for our conviction of
the truth of its relations is buUt on much higher
evidence. The intrinsic marks of sincerity in the
Sacred Writings are usuaUy too numel"ous to re-^
quire any additional support.
This book contains some predictions, of which
[b] Gen. XV. 13, 14.
[cJ Nnmenius speaks of the opposition of the Egyptian ma
gicians to the miracles of Moses, The Exodus under Moses is
mentioned by Palemon and ChsBremon ; as cited by Airicanus
in Eusebius ; by Manetho ; (vid. Joseph, cont, Apion. Lib. I.)
by Trogus Pompeius ; and by Tacitus, with some absurd adr
ditions from perverted information. Vid. Tacit. Hist. Lib. V.
§ 3. Other writers, as especially Orpheus, or the author of
the verses ascribed to him, speak of the delivery of the two
tablets of the law from God, and of the institution of the He
brew rites. See also Diodor. Sic. 1. xh
4

102 OF THE BOOK OF EXODUS.
it relates also the accomplishment; as that of the
deliverance of the IsraeUtes, which Moses fore
saw [n] and effected ; and that of the support of the
divine presence which was to accompany them [e] .
It likewise describes some which were not fulfilled
till after his death, as that concerning the conquest
of Canaan [f], the future division and allotment of
the land [g] ; and its security from the desire of
its enemies to invade it, while its males three times
a year should appear before the Lord ; and farther,
also those which related to the revolutions that
were to take place in the government of the Jews ;
their future subjections, captivities, deliverances,
and returns.
It may throw some Ught upon this book, as weU
as contribute to our general admiration of Scrip
ture, if we observe, that the events recorded to
have happened under the old dispensation, are
often strikingly prefigurative of those which occur
under the new ; and that the temporal circumstan
ces of the Israelites seem designedly to shadovy
out the spiritual condition of the christian church.
[d] Exodus vii. 4, 5. xi. 8. and chap. xii.
[e] Chap, xxxiii. 14.
[f] Chap. xii. 2. xv. 14—17. xxiii. 22, 23, 28, 31. xxxiii. 2.
And see Joshua xxiv. 12.
[g] Moses (chap, xxxiv. 23, 24.) here predicted the con
stant miracles of protection during the time of worship at
the feast of the Passover, at that of Pentecost, and at that of
Tabernacles. Vid. Exod. xxxiv. 23, 24, the accomplishment
of which predictions furnished reiterated evidence of the divine
authority ofthe Mosaic law.

OF THE BOOK OF EXODUS. 103
The connection is ever obvious, and points out the
consistency of the divine purpose, and the harmony
deUberately contrived to subsist between both dis
pensations. Thus in the servitude and afflictions
of the Israelites are described the sufferings of the
church. In the deliverance frora Egypt is foreshewn
its redemption [h] ; and the journey through fhe
wilderness is a lively representation of a Christian's
pilgrimage through Ufe, to his inheritance of ever
lasting bliss. So also, without too minute a dis
cussion, it may be observed, that the manna of
which the Israelites did eat[i], and the rock of
which they drank [k], as well as the brazen ser
pent by which they were healed, were severaUy
typical of correspondent particulars that were to
obtain under the Christian establishment [l] ; as
under the sacrifices and cereraonial service of the
ehurch, of which the institution is here recorded,
was described the more spiritual worship of the
gospel [m]. It deserves also to be particularly con
sidered, in confirmation of the truth of the events
recorded in this book, as established by perma
nent proofs, that the wonderful destruction of the
first-born of the Egyptians was comraeraorated
throughout aU ages of the Jewish history, by the
[h] Zacharias applies the very words of the temporal to the
spiritual deliverance. Luke i. 68 — 79.
[l] John vi. 33 — 38, Rev, ii, 17.
[k] 1 Cor. X. 1—6. Gal. iv. 22, 24. Col. ii. 17.
[l] St. Jerom carries these ideas to a very fanciful extreme,
Vid. Hieron. de 42. Mansion dc Veste Sacerdot., tVc,
[m] Heb. X. 3

104 OF THE BOOK OP EXODUS.
redemption of the first-born [n], by the separa
tion of the Levites, and by the observance of the
passover, which ordinance also connected the He
brew with the Christian dispensation, inasmuch as
it was figurative of the sacrament of the Lord's
Supper, as instituted by Christ, Simikr obser^
vations might be raade with respect to the feast
of tabernacles, and that of the pentecost, comme^
morative ofthe sojourning in the wilderness, and
of the deUyery of the law from Mount Sinai [o].
It is necessary farther to remark, that if we
would understand the reason and intention of
many injunctions contained in this book, we must
recollect that the great design, with which they
were framed, was to preserve the Israelites a dis
tinct and independent people, and to prevent their
coraraunications with other nations; least they,
who were to be entrusted with the sacred deposit
of the inspired writings, and from whom, as from
the seed of Abrahara, the Messiah was to arise,
should catch the infection of idolatry ; or by ming
ling with the Gentiles, render the accomplishraent
of the promises doubtful. The many cautions
against idolatry, and the precepts levelled against
whatever might tend to promote its influence [pi ;
[n] E.\odus xiii. 11 — 13.
[o] See Jamieson's use of sacred history. Vol. I. p. 47 — 50.
j^p] Maimon, More Nevoch. P. II. c. xxxvii. and Levit.
xix. 19, 27, 28. xxi. 3. which passages contaui laws that were
probably directed against idolatrous and superstitious prac
tices. Vid. Ezra x. 2, 3. Spencer de Leg. Heb, c, 20.

OF THE BOOK OP EXODUS, 105
the nice discriminations, the peculiar and aliena^
ting prohibitions, which precluded the Israelites
from associating with other nations, and the politi
cal institutions designed tp attach them to their
country, were all devised with a view to the ac
complishment of this importapt design. And as
not only the country, not only the tribe, but the
individual faipily vva§ foretold, from which the
Messiah should spring, it was requisite to ascer
tain exactiy the lineage and descent of each,
Hence are the seeds of jealousy industriously sown
between the different tribes, and the younger pre-s
ferred to the elder. Under this just apprehension
the laws which were enjoined to ascertain the vir
ginity of the maidens will be judged necessary •
and the punishment decreed against adultery will
not appear disproportioned or severe. These in
stances are produced only by way of illustration.;
and by attending to the views of Gpd in the esta
bUshment of this reUgious polity, we shall always
find much cause to admire the wisdom of his laws
[]q3 ; though, indeed, we are too little acquainted
with the ancient manners of the Hebrew nation,
and of other nations with whom it was connected,
to understand the full scope and importance of
every particular injunction. The precepts them^
selves are often grounded upon events which are
recorded, and estabUsh the truth of the history.
It should be further observed, that this book is
signalized by several remarkable particulars, which
[q] Maimon, More Nevoch, Par, II. cap. xxvi. xxxvii.

106 OF THE BOOK OF EX0DU5.
indicate the intervention and foreknowledge of
God, and which exemplify the means by which he
rendered his appointments subservient to the es
tabUshment of permanent evidences and testimo
nies in support of his dispensations. It records
the revelations which God graciously imparted of
himself, under a new and characteristic designa
tion of his eternal attributes and existence [rJ.
it relates the institution of the ordinance of the
Passover, not only as a typical appointment de
signed to be figurative of the atonement of
Christ through all ages, till a sacrifice should be
perfected by his death [s] ; but which also, by a
remarkable and ever memorable direction of God,
was to be regarded as constituting a new period
figuratfve perhaps of the commencement of the
Christian aera [t], which was to take its rise from
the nativity of him whose memorial was to be
celebrated as the true paschal lamb. The regula
tions also relating to the offerings and appurtenan
ces of the tabernacle [u], and to the consecration
of Aaron and his sons[x], minutely described
with all the circumstances, demonstrate the atten
tion and care with which the pubUc appointments
and ministration of divine service, even in the wil
derness, was provided for by the Almighty.
[r] Exodus iii. 14. .xxxiv. 6, 7.
[s] Chap. xii. 3 — 20.
[t] Chap, xii, 2. 14, 1 Kings vi. 1.
[u] Cha;). xxv. xxvi.
Fx] Chap, xxviii.

OF THE

BOOK OF LEVITICUS.

The third book in the order of the Pentateuch
is caUed Leviticus [a], in the Latin and English
Bibles, because in it are described the office and
duties of the Levites ; or rather, agreeably to the
account of Bishop Patrick, because it contains the
laws of the Jewish rites and religious sacrifices, of
which the charge was committed to Aaron the
Levite, and to his descendants, who were conse
crated by divine appointment to the priesthood;
being assisted in the performance of their sacred
office by a second branch of Levi's family, which,
by an appropriate title, was caUed the tribe of Levi
[b] ; and which obtained the privilege of officiating
as a second order of the priesthood, in recompence
of the ready zeal that it displayed against idolatry,
and the worshippers of the golden calf [[cj.
[a] Aeuilwoir, in the.Greek.
[b] Godwyn's Moses and Aaron, Lib. I. ch. v. Heb. vii. 1 1.
[c] Aaron was appointed to the priesthood before the ido
latrous proceeding here alluded to. What opposition he made
to the perverse inclinations of the people is not mentioned. He
appears to have been conipelled to submit ; and probably he
flesigucd to countenance the idolaters by choosing as a symbol

108 OF THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS.
The Jews, according to their custom, denominate
the book from the first word in the Hebrew [d] ;
and imagine, in agreement with some fanciful no
tions of the Jewish Masorites, from the particular
size of one letter in the word, that it has some
mysterious signification ; but these conceits it
would perhaps be somewhat difficult to explain,
and of but littie use to discuss.
That Moses was the author of this Book is
proved, not only by the general argunjents tl^at
demonstrate him to have written aU the Penta-i
teuch, but by particular passages in other books of
Scripture, wherein it is expressly cited as his in
spired work [e J. The laws of ritps and cerempr
of the divine presence, one of those very images which they
knew to have provoked God's anger against the Egyptians.
There were th^ee orders in the Hebrew priesthood ; the Priests,
the Levites, and the Nethinims. The Levites instructed the
people, were employed in taking care of the tabernacle, and
afterwards of the temple and the sacred books ; they were like
wise joined with the priests in deciding on cases of leprosy, and
in judging ceremonial causes : they had no appropriate portion or
inheritance, but subsisted by the altar, scattered among the rest
ofthe tribes, agreeably to the prediction of Jacob. Vid, Gen.
xlix. 7. The Nethinims were descendants of the Gibeonites,
condemned by Joshua for their deceit, to menial and servile
attendance on the Priests, Vid. Joshua ix. they were called
Nethinims, from jnj, Nathan, to give; as given to the service
of the temple.
[o] «np»l, Vai-jikrah. And he called.
[eJ 2 Chron. xxx, 16. Jerem. vii. 22, 23. ix. 16. Ezek.
XX. 11. see farther Matt. viii. 4. John viii. 5. compare with
ch. xiv. 2. and xx. 20. Rom. x. 5. xiii. 9. 3 Cor. vi. 16.
Gal. iii. 12. 1 Pet. i. 16. aud Baruch ii. 29.

OP THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS. 109
nies which it contains, were delivered from God to
Moses in the first month of the second year aftef
the departure from Egypt; that is, about A.M;
3514; They are communicated in a plain and
perspicuous style; the precepts are fully and cir
cumstantially given; and their minute prarticulars
are often Repeated, and insisted on as important,
and expressive of something beyond the mere
letter. That the Levitical law had a covert and
mysterious signification, is, indeed, justly allowed
by.aU judicious commentators ; the whole service
had a spiritual meaning ; and its institutions, sa
craments, and ceremonies were unquestionably
prefigurative of gospel appointments [f j." Thus
its sacrifices and oblations which, if performed in
faith and obedience, were to conciUate forgiveness
ef ;sjns [a], have been justly considered as signifi-*
cant of the atonement to be made by Christ, The
requisite qualities Of these sacrifices were emble
matical of Christ's immaculate character. The
inode also prescribed as necessary in the form of
these offerings, and the mystical rites ordiained,
[f] John xix. 36.
' [6} Ezek. XX. 11. Rom. x. 5. Gal. iii. 12. Shuckford's
Con. vol. III. b. xi. These were to conciliate forgiveness only
in virtue of Christ's sacrifice, and ou the conditions of faith in
God's promises, and of obedience to his laws. The Jews un
derstood the conditions, however they might be ignorant of
the nature, of Christ's meritorious atonement, and however
they might have been at length misled to attribute to their
legal sacrifices a real efficacy, and power of affecting, reconci
liation and pardon in a future life.

110 OP THE BOOK OP LEVITICUS.
were allusive institutions calculated to enlighten
the apprehensions of the Jews, and to prepare
them for the reception of the gospel [h]. Thus
likewise, as might have been observed in the ac
count of the preceding book, the ark of the cove
nant, the structure of the tabernacle, the priest
hood, and its decorations, were all apposite emblems
of correspondent circumstances, appropriate to a
scheme of more perfect description [i]. So also
in a less important sense were the outward rites
and purgations enjoined by the Mosaic law, de
signed to intimate the necessity of inward purity [k].
Thus the whole service, like the veil on the face
of Moses, concealed a spiritual radiance under an
outward covering ; and the internal import bear
ing a precise and indisputable reference to future
circumstances and events, is stamped with the in
delible proofs of Divine contrivance [l]. >
These ideas, however, though just, must not 'be
overstrained, since the fancy, if unreined, is apt to
run into excess : and the interpretation of the ritual
law has been, perhaps, too uncontrouled, particu^
larly by its eariier expositors, who have sometimes
built their explanations more on fanciful aUusion,
[h] Heb. xiii. 11, 12. The Israelites must have had at
least some indistinct idea of this spiritual reference. Vid. 1 Cor.
X. 1—4.
[i] Heb. vui. 5. ix. 8, 9.
[k] Numb. xix. 13, 19. Deut. x. 16. xxx. 6. Heb.x, 22,
xii, 24. 1 Pet. i. 2. Rom. h. 28, 29. 1 Cor. vii. 19.
[l] Exod. xxxiv. 33. 2 Cor. iii, 13,

OT THE BOOK OP LEVITICUS. Hi
than on real analogy, and true connection [m].
It may be remarked also, that some of these cere
monial laws seem to have been imposed as a pu
nishment on account of the frequent transgressions
of a rebeUious people []n] ; or rather as a yoke or
curb to restrain them from idolatry [o], as well as
,to discriminate them from all other nations ; (which
purpose they effectually served in all their disper
sions and captivities ;) and interesting their affec
tions in favour of a reUgion, the practice of which
was interwoven with the whole conduct of their
life [p]. The sanctimonious observances, likewise,
and the frequent purifications enjoined by the Le
vitical law, were designed to keep up a reverential
awe of the divine majesty, which was supposed
personaUy to reside among this favoured people;
and to impress them with a conviction of the great
hoUness which was requisite to qualify them to
approach God's presence. So also the distinc
tions betweeen clean and unclean beasts, were
founded on an accurate and comprehensive know
ledge of their characteristic properties, though
often intended to be burthensome [q]. The regu-
[m] Hesych. Com.
[n] GaL iii. 19. 1 Tim. i. 8—10. Irense. Haeres. Lib. TV^
c. xxviii. Lactant. de Vera Sapient. Lib. IV. c x. Spencer
de Legib. Hebrae. Lib. I. c. iv.
[o] Lowman's Hebrew Worship, &c, Vid. ch. xix. 26, 28.
Spencer de Leg. lib. II. Ezek. xx. 24, 25.
[p] Juvenal, Sat. XIV. L 103, 194. Tacit; Hist. Lib. V,
§ 5. Grot, de Jur. Bell Lib. II. 15, 9. Chrjsost. Hom. \ti
Gen. xxxix.
[q] Acts XV. 10.

1-12 OF THE BOOK OP LEVITICUS^
lations, likewise, concerning leprosy and impuri
ties, deliberately or casually contracted, were so
minutely and forcibly enacted, in order to inculcate
into the minds of the Israelites their peculiar ap
propriation to God's service [r]. The multiplied
ceremonies, however, and (complicated rites which
were established in consequence of these designs,
were certainly so numerous, and in some instances
so embarrassing, that nothing but a conviction of
their divine origin could have influenced any peo
ple to receive them ; especially as the wisdom of
their spiritual import was not understood at first,
.but only gradually unfolded by the interpretations
of the prophets. But the ceremonial law, though
in fact " a yoke too heavy to be borne," and
completely obeyed, was, nevertheless, well [s]
adapted to the time and the circumstances under
which it was delivered, and to the dull and per
verse nation for which it was designed [tJ, It
was Ukewise perfect as to its spiritual intention
and final views, as a flgurative and temporary dis
pensation. The transient [u] character of its ce
remonies was not explained at first, lest they
should be undervalued ; but as soon as this religi
ous system was estabUshed, its true nature began
to appear to the people. The inspired teache'rS
instructed them, that sacrifices and oblations for
[k] Levit, XX. 25, 26.
[s] Acts XV. 10. Gal. v. 1.
[t] Deut. xxxii. 28. Jerem. iv. 22. Barrow's 15th Sermon
on the imperfection of the Jewish Religion. Matt. xix. 8.
[u] Psalm xix. 7 — 11. Psalra cxix.

OF THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS. 113
sin were figurative atonements of little value in
the eyes of God, if unaccompanied by that faith
and by those qualifications which he required [x] ;
as also that the outward purifications and observ
ances commanded by the Mosaic law, were de
signed to illustrate the importance of internal righ
teousness [y]|.
The sacrifices, as well eucharistical, as expiatory,
of which the regulations are prescribed in this
book, were by no means first instituted by the
Mosaic law, but appear to have been adopted,
probably by divine appointraent, as the earliest
mode of worship; and they were offered up by
our first parents as an acceptable acknowledge
ment of God's attributes, and in becoming pro
fession of human submission and humility [z].
They were established, however, under the Mo
saic dispensation, upon their true principles, and
commanded with [a] circumstances that gave thera
additional importance, and which served to illus
trate their real character and intention. They
were ordained as an atonement for the breach of
[x] Jerem vi. 20. vii. 21— 23. Isaiah i. 11— 1 7, lviii. 6, 7.
Ixiii. 1—3, Hosea vi, 6. Micah vi. 6—8. Amos v. 21—24.
Psalm 1. 8—14. li. 16, 17.
[y] Psalm 1. 8—15. li. 16, 17. 1 Sam. xv. 22. Prov. xv. 8.
Hosea vi. 6. Isaiah i, 11—17. Ivhi, 6, 7- Zech, vii, 5—10.
Rom. ii. 28, 29. Vid. also Euseb. Praep. Evang. Lib. VHI.
ch. 9, 10. et Lib. II. ch. 17.
[z] Gen. iv. 3, 4. Heb. xi. 4.
[A] Heb. ix, X. 1—14, I

114 OP THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS.
the ritual laws [b], and delivered the people from
those civil and ecclesiastical punishments to which
they were exposed from the wrath of God, con
sidered as a poUtical governor. They " sancti
fied to the purifying of the flesh," — washed away
legal defilements, but were never intended to wipe
off the stains of moral guUt, or to avert God's
anger against sin, except as figurative of that per
fect atonement at the coming of which " sacrifice
and oblation should cease [_c}." They were com
memorative acknowledgments of guilt, and typical
pledges only, of a sufficient sacrifice.
The history of the Israelites advances about one
month in this book, which, like the rest, blends
instruction and narration in one interesting ac
count. It describes the consecration of Aaron and
his sons ; the daring impiety and instant punish
ment of Nadab and Abihu ; and the stoning of
the blasphemer ; particulars which iUustrate God's
eare for reUgion, and the jealous severity by which
he kept up among the Israelites a reverence for
his name. The relation also is animated with
some signal predictions that stamp the work with
additional marks of inspiration. Moses revealed to
the people their future dispersion among the hea
then nations; their distress and decline, and deso-
[b} Falsehood, fraud, and violence, though offences against
the moral law, might be atoned for by a trespass-offering to
God as a civil ruler, but only on condition of that ample repa
ration to the injured party, which evinced a sincerity of re
pentance. Lev. vi. 1 — 7.
[c] Psalm xl. 6, 7. Dan. ix, 27. Heb. vii. 19. ix. 9.
2

OF THE Book op ehviticus. 115
lation ; and yet consoled them with tbe^ promise of
mercy to be mingled with punishmeirt, in their
rairaculous preservation [dJ. The book contams
Ukewise one most remarkable prophecy [e], the
accomplishment of which was a standing miracle
among the. Israelites, and which for many ages
continued to present an assurance of the divine
authority and inspiration of Moses. He here fore
told that every sixth year should produce super
fluous plenty to supply the deficiencies of the
seventh, or sabbatical year, when the land was to
remain " unsown, and the vineyards^ unpruned [p] ;
and this effectuaUy came to pass : the observance
of the law being invariably provided for while it
continued to be reverenced. The same assurance
was likewise given of a spontaneous supply to re
medy the inconveniences which would otherwise
have resulted from that neglect of cultivation of
the land which was enjoined for every 49th or
50th year [g] ; and to this was annexed a threat,
that the land should be brought into desolation,
and the people be scattered among the heathen,
[d] Chap. xxvi. The whole of which is a collection of pro
phetic threats, that were strikingly fulfilled. See particularly
verse 22. compare with 1 Kings xiii. 24. 2 Kings ii. 24.
[e] Chap. xxv. 20—22.
[f] Chap. xxv. 2 — 9.
[g] Chap. xxv. 8—12. 20—23. The Jubilee year either
coincided with the seventh sabbatical year, or was provided for
by additional abundance in the 48th year. Vid. Cunaeus, &c.
Repub. Heb. c. vi. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. HI. c. xii. p. 128.
Edit, Hud. J. Scaliger, dc Emend. Temp. Lib. V.
l2

116 OF THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS.
there to remain for as long a tirae as they should
have neglected the laws of the sabbath and jubilee
[h] : threats reraarkably accomplished in the se
venty years' captivity of Babylon.
[h] Levit. xxvi. 34, 35. If we suppose these laws to have
been neglected from the beginning of the reign of Saul, A.M.
2909, to the fourth year of Jehoiakim, A.M. 3398, which is
probably the true period, the seventy years' captivity will ex
actly allow time for the completion of the rest, proportionate
to the space of 490 years, during which the laws were violated.
It is remarkable, that the Jews were carried away captive to
wards the conclusion of the sabbatical year. Vid. Maimon.
Schemitta ve Jobel, cap. x. § 3.

OF THE

BOOK OF NUMBERS.

This Book is caUed the Book of Numbers, because
it contains an account of the numbering or muster
ing of the people ; or rather, indeed, of two num-
berings : the first in the beginning of the second
year after their departure from Egypt : the second
in the plains of Moab, towards the conclusion of
their journey in the wUderness [a]. The Jews
entitle the book [b], Vaie-dabber, which in the
Hebrew is the initial word ; and which some, (con
ceiving it to imply a voice from the mercy-seat,)
have supposed to intimate that the manifestations
of the divine will, herein described, were given in
form from the holy oracle, which the Jews distin
guished by the name of the word of Jehovah ; and
sorae passages from the book might be produced
in support of this opinion [cj. However this may
be, it is certain that Moses was the inspired author
of the book, and that he delivers in it nothing but
what is consistent with truth, and agreeable to the
[a] Chap, xxvi, [b] naiM, Aud he spake,
[c] Chap,' vii. 89,

118 OF THE BOOK OP NUMBERS.
divine wUl, since it constitutes part of the Penta
teuch, which in aU ages has been universally as
cribed to Moses, and it is cited as his inspired work
in various parts of Scripture [c].
The book comprehends a period of about 38
years, reckoning from the first day of the second
month after the deliverance from Egypt, during
which time the Israelites continued to wander in
the wUderness [d]. Most of the transactions, how
ever, described in this book, happened in the first
and last of these years. The date of those events
which are recorded in the middle of the book can
not be precisely ascertained.
The history presents us with an account of the
consecration of the Tabernacle, and of the offering
of the princes at its dedication. It describes the
journies and encampments of Israel under the mi
raculous guidance of the cloud ; the punishment at
Tabera ; and the signal vengeance with which,
on several occasions, God resented the distrustful
murmurs of the people, and that rebellious spirit
which so often broke out in sedition against his
appointed ministers, particularly in the affair of
Korah, which is described with great animation ;
and the memorial of which was long preserved in
the broad plates which were made of the censers
[c] Joshua iv. 12. 2 Chron. xxix, 11. xxxi. 3. Ezek. xx.
13. xliv. 27. Matt. xu. a. John vi. 31. ix. 36.
[d] The Israelites were condemned to wander so long in the
wilderness for their ungrateful murmurs and distrust in God.
Vid. Numb. xiv. 23, 33. But by this segregation many im
portant purposcs were accomplished.

OF THE BOOK OV NUMBERS. 119
of the rebeUious men for a covering of the altar [e].
The promptitude aad severity with which God en
forced a respect for his laws, even to the exemplary
condemnation ofthe man who protaned the sabbath,
were necessary,, when even a sense of the imme
diate preseittie of the Almighty, and a considera
tion of the mirades daily performed, could not in
fluence to obedience. Amidst the terrors, however,
of the divine judgments which the book unfolds,
we perceive likewise the continuance of God's
mercies in providing assistance for Moses by the
appoiotment of the seventy elders ; in drawing
water from the rock ; and in the setting up of tiie
brazen seipent. The benevolent zeal of Moses to
intercede on aU occasions for the people, even
when punished for ungrateful insurrections against
himself, deserves likewise to be considered. The
history is animated ¦with much variety of event ;
and besides the particulars above afluded to, it
contains an account of the resignation and death
of Aaron ; of the conquest of Sihon and Og ; of
the remarkable conduct of Balaam [p] towards
Balak [g] ; of the merited fate of Balaam ; of the
[e] Chap, xvi. 36 — 40.
[f] Balaam was probably a true prophet, who had been se
duced by mercenary motives into idolatrous practices, having
had recourse to heathen enchantments, when he could not
procure revelations from God. Vid. Numb. xxii. 8. xxiv. 1.
2 Pet. ii. 15. He resided at Pethor, a city of Mesopotamia,
towards the banks of the Euphrates, Pethor was afterwards
called Bozor by the Syrians. Hence in 2 Pet. ii. 15. Ba^^ta/»
TOU Boaop, " Balaam of the city of Bosor.'' Vid. Grotius in loc.
[g] God's anger appears to have been kindled against Ba-

120 OF THE BOOK OF NUMBERS.
insidious project to seduce the Israelites ; its suc
cess and effects ; and of the appointment of Joshua.
We perceive in every relation the consistency of
the divine intentions, and the propriety of the laws
which God established. When we conteraplate,
for instance, the flagrant wickedness practised by
idolatrous nations, we cannot wonder at the rigor
ous commands [h] delivered for the extirpation of
the inhabitants of Canaan ; or that the Almighty
should desire to purge from pollution a land which
was to be consecrated to his service. The book
contains likewise a repetition of many principal
laws given for the direction of the Israelites, with
the addition of several precepts, civil and religious.
It describes sorae regulations established for the
ordering of the tribes, and for the division of the
land which the Israelites were about to possess.
It should seera, that the direction was given to
distribute the land by lot, in order that the com
pletion of the divine promises expressed by Jacob
and others, with respect to the several tribes, raight
laam, as well for his general practice of divination, as for his
desire to procure " the wages of unrighteousness," by cursing
those whom God had blessed. Maimonides absurdly represents
the speaking of Balaam's ass as a circurastance executed, only
in vision, though there is uo shadow of reason why it should
not be considered as the account of a real event. Objections
fo miracles drawn from their difiiculty are preposterous, when
applied to an omnipotent Being ; and that Moses should not
stop to describe the surprize of Balaam, -vvas as consistent with
the gravity, as with the conciseness of his history. 2 Pet. ii.
15. and Jos. Antiq. Lib. IV. c. 6. Vid, Maim. More Nevoch.
Part II. c. xliii.
[h] Deut. xii. 1—6. xiii. 12 — H. xx. 10 — 18.

OF THE BOOK OF NUMBERS, 121
be fully shewn to have resulted from the arbitra
tion and controul of Providence [i]. The book
presents us also with a list of the tribes ; with that
of Levi in particular, which is reserved for a dis
tinct roU, because in possession of an order in the
priesthood. With respect to the numberings which are made
in this book, it must be observed first, that the
tribes are not reckoned in the order in which their
leaders were born, but in that of their respective
mothers, or according to their accidental or ac
quired precedence. 2dly, That only those males
who were twenty years old and upwards are
reckoned. And 3dly. That Ephraim [k] and Ma
nasseh are mentioned as two distinct tribes ; but
for the particular reasons of every arrangement in
the order and circumstances of this enumeration,
we must have recourse to the commentators at
large. From these an ample solution of the dif
ficulties which occur in considering the particulars
ofthe nuraberings raay be obtained [l].
The most signal prophecies which are contained
in this book, and bear testiraony to its inspiration,
are those blessings which Balaam [m] was con-
f i] Chap. xxvL 55. compare with Gen. xlix.
[k] In the number of the tribe of Ephraim compared with
•)iat of Manasseh, we perceive the accomplishment of Jacob's
prophecy. Comp. Numb. i. 33—35. with Gen. xlviii. 19, 20.
Comp. also for similar illustration, Numb. i. 21. with Gen. xlix.
3, 4. and Numb, i 27. with Gen. xlix. 8.
[l] Hieron. Com. Parker's Introd. to Numb. Lewis's Antiq.
Heb, L. VIH.
[m] Though God had probably rejected Balaara as an apos-

122 OF THE BOOK OF NUMBERS.
strained to utter concerning the future prosperity
of the IsraeUtes [n], and the destruction of their
several enemies [o] ; especiaUy in that distinct and
cxtatic description of the " Star which should
come out of Jacob, and of the Sceptre that should
rise out of Israel [p]." The denunciation likewise
ag^nst Moses and Aaron for their disbelief [q], as
weU as threats against the people for their mur
murs [r], and the declaration, that none but Caleb
and Joshua should enter the land, were strikingly
fulfiUed ; it may be added, that the rites of the
Passover, of which the observance is again en
joined in this book [s], were figurative representa
tions of a predictive character.
tate prophet, he designed to «mploy him on this signal occasion
as the herald of the divine oracles : to illustrate the impotency
ofthe heathen arts, and to demonstrate the power and fore
knowledge of the divine Spirit.
[n] Chap, xxiii. 8 — 10. 23. xxiv. 8.
[o] Chap, xxiv.
[p] Chap. xxiv. 17, 19. The expression of " the Star'' might
be chosen in allusion to those portentous lights which were
supposed to precede the appearance of illustrious personages ;
and it is remarkable, that, as if in exact conformity with
Balaam's prophecy, " a star in the east" indicated the time
and place of our Saviour's nativity. Vid. Matt. ch. ii. Hence
the false Christs that appeared in the earlier ages, and particu
larly in the time of Trajan, assumed the title of Bar Chochab,
that is, the Son of the Star. Talmud. Bab. Sanhedrin. i.«
Chelek. et Maimon.
[q] Chap. XX. 12. and Patrick in loc.
[k] Chap. xiv. 20—36.
[s] Chap. ix. 12. comp. with John xix. 36.

OP THE

BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY.

The fifth and last Book of the Pentateuch is dis
tinguished among the Jews by its initial word [a] ;
though sometimes the Rabbinical writers cafl it
the Book of Reprehensions ; in aUusion to the fre
quent reproaches which it contains against the
IsraeUtes. It is also denominated Thora, which
iraplies the Law ; as well as Misna, a copy of the
Law ; a word which corresponds with the title
that the seventy have given it, Deuteronomy []b3
signifying a repetition of the Law. It contains
indeed a compendious recapitulation of the Law ;
enlarged with many explanatory additions, and
enforced by the strongest and most pathetic ex
hortations to obedience ; as weU for the more for
cible impression on the Israelites in general, as in
particular for the benefit of those who being born
in the wilderness were not present at the first pro
mulgation of the Law []c]. It is a kind of manual
[a] anain n^N (Elleh _Hadbarim) these words.
[b] From ^tulsfof »ofiof, a second Law.
£c] Moses in his address to the Israelites observes, that
" Ihe Lord made not the covenant with th^ir fathers, but with

124 OF THE BOOK OP DEUTERONOMY.
of divine wisdora ; a coraraentary on the deca
logue ; and contains such laws as concerned the
people in general, as to their civil, military, and
religious government, omitting for the most part
what related to the Priests and Levites. It was
delivered by Moses, a little time previous to his
death ; to the people whom he had long governed
and instructed ; and bequeathed, with his other
writings, to the charge of the Levites [d], as the
most valuable testimony of his regard, in the forti
eth year after the departure from Egypt, A.M.
2552. The book opens with an interesting address to
the Israelites, in which Moses briefly recapitulates
the many citcurastances in which they had expe
rienced the divine favour since their departure
frora Horeb. He describes the success and victo
ries which had marked their progress, the dis
criminating course which they were directed to
those then alive ;" for though many who were present at Sinai
were now dead, many also must have been still living ; those
only having perished in consequence of God's threats, who
were twenty years old and upwards when they offended him
by their murmurs ; and even of those condemned to die in the
wilderness, many might, like Moses, be suffered to behold the
land which they were not to enter. Moses, however, may
perhaps mean only, that God made not that solemn covenant
with their forefathers, the patriarchs, but with the generation
of his contemporaries. Vid, Numb, xiv, 29. Deut. v. 3. aud
Calmet and Estius in loc.
[d] Chap. xxxi. 26. The two tables of the decalogue were
placed in the ark ; the rest of the law in the side of the ark.
Vid. 1 Kings viii. 9. Patrick in Deut. xxxi. 26.

OF THE BOOK OP DEUTERONOMY. 125
pursue [e] ; the incredulous murmurs and ingrati
tude, by which the people had incensed God ; and
the effects of the divine wrath ; especiaUy in the
inexorable decree by which he himself had been
debarred from that land, for the possession of
which he had so eamestly toiled. He proceeds
with the raost animated zeal to exhort them to fu
ture obedience ; and to rehearse in a discourse,
renewed at intervals, the various commandments,
statutes, and judgments, which had been deUvered
to them by God, that they might become " a wise
and understanding nation ;" and fulfil the terms
of that covenant which the Lord had made with
them in Horeb. He speaks with full assurance of
the conquest of Judea, and of the estabUshment
and future protection and victories of the people
[p]. This is often done with a disregard of hu
man means of defence [g], and with a considera
tion for individuals [h} which argued a reUance on
the divine aid. Moses, while he intersperses with
these laws frequent reproaches for their past mis
conduct, unfolds the glorious attributes of God [i],
and reiterates every persuasive motive to obedience.
He commands them to distinguish their first en
trance to Canaan, by a pubUc display of reverence
for God's law : by erecting stones on which aU its
[e] Compare Gen. xxxvi. 8. with Deut. ii. 4, 5. and Josh,
xxvi. 4.
[f] Chap. ix. 1 — 6.
[g] Chap. xvii. 4. 20.
[h] Deut. XX. 5 — 8.
[I] Chap. xvii. 17, 18.

126 OP THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY.
words and precepts might be inscribed [k J. He
enters into a new covenant with the people ; which
not only included that previously made at Horeb,
but which renewed also and ratified those assur
ances of spiritual blessings, long since imparted to
Abraham and his descendants [lJ. He then, in
consistency with the promises and sanctions of
both covenants, setii forth for their election " life
and good, and death and evil :" temporal and
eternal recompence, or present and future punish
ment [mJ.
In the preceding books of the Pentateuch,
Moses speaks of himself in the third person, but
here in a more animated manner, he drops as it
were the character of an historian, and is intro
duced as immediately addressing himself fo his
countrymen [n]. Hence it is, that in describing
what he uttered, he repeats the decalogue with
some slight change of expression from that which
was used at its first delivery ; a variation which,
[k] Chap, xxvii. 1 — 5. Moses expressly commands, that
" all the words of the law" should be written, which cannot
mean, as some have supposed, merely the decalogue.
\X\ Chap. xxix. 12, 13. Bishop Bull was of opinion, that
only the Abrahamic covenant was here renewed ; but it should
rather seem, that both this and the covenant of Sinai were
renewed and ratified. Vid. Bull's Diss. Post. c. xi.
[m] Maimonides, conscious tliat the Mosaic promises' of
temporal reward were figurative of future recompence, gives
this traditionary explanation of the sanction in Deut. iv. 40,
Ut bene sit tibi " in saeculo quod totum est bonum." Et pro-
longes dies, " in speculum quod totum est longum."
[n] Chap. i. 6. ii. 17. iv. 8. ix. 13. x. 3,

OF THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. 127
as it affected not the import of the commandment,
might have served to indicate, that not the letter,
but the spirit of the law should be regarded : he
Ukewise introduces some general alterations in the
code tiiat he presents, which should be considered
as supplementary additions required by a change
of time and circumstances ; and he takes occasion
to intimate that spiritual intention of the law, by
which it was designed for the inward government
of man[o]]. It should here be remarked, that the
severe spirit which pervades the law, as shewn in
the numerous exactions and declaratory curses [p],
detailed in this book, was consistently contrived to
point out the rigorous character of the divine jus
tice, wbich, in a covenant of stipulated observances,
necessarily caUed for punctiUous and universal
obedience [q]. For though the divine mercy
m^ht compassionate the weakness of human na
ture, and therefore it prescribed atonements not
[oJ Chap. X, 16.
[p] Chap, xxvii,
[q2 Deut. xxvii. 26. The law rigorously enforced the ob
servance of whatever it enjouied, though many precepts were
firamed with somewhat of lax and indulgent consideration of
what the j>erverse temper of the Israelites would bear ; thus as
they had been long accustomed to divorces, it was judged right,
rather to restrict by deliberate regulations, than entirely to
abolish them, which might have occasioned bad consequences.
Vid. Deut xxiv. 1^4. Matt. v. 31. xix. 7. Selden, Uxor.
Heb. Lib, iii, ch. 24. The laws with respect to paternal authority
were rather injunctions to controul the unbounded power
which parents, among other nations, did possess over their
children, than to invest them with new rights.

128 op the book op deuteronomy.
difficult to be paid; yet God could not, in con
formity with his relation to the Israelites, (if we
raay presume so to express ourselves,) overlook
even involuntary deficiencies pr casual defilement.
A similar spirit of stern equity appeared as to the
civil regulations of society ; and the law not only
suffered, but required an exact retaliation : " Life
for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth [rJ." A re
quisition which, while it strongly enforced God's
abhorrence of injuries, was not likely to be abused
under a government, which provided cities of re
fuge for undesigning offenders, and administered
its judgraents upon principles universally known
and accepted.
The book contains a period of nearly two months :
an history of the conclusion of the Life of Moses,
whose last days, were distinguished by increasing
solicitude, and by the most active exertions for the
welfare of his people. After a coraraemorative
hymn |^s], in which he pathetically exhorts them
" to consider their latter end ;" and after having
uttered his prophetic blessings, delivered with won
derful intuition of futurity, in solemn and appro
priate promises to the several tribes, this great
man is represented to have retired, by divine com
raand, to the top of Mount Nebo ; from whence
[r] Vide ch. xix. 21.
[s] The fine attestation to the praise of God, which is con
tained in the 4th verse of this hymn, is prefixed as a beginning
to the prayer, which the Jews repeat at the burial of their dead,
and which they call Tzidduck hadin, that is, "just judgment."
Vid. Patrick in Deut. xxxii. 4.

OP THE BOOK OP DEUTERONOMvr 121^
he had a prospect of Canaan, and foresaw the
speedy accompUshment of God's promises. He
then, in the full possession of his powers and fa
culties, " when his eye was not dim, nor his natural
force abated," died in the 120th year of his age.
The mention of Dan [t] in the first verse of
the last chapter of this book, as weU as the account
of the death and burial of Moses, and some other
seemingly posthumous particulars therein de
scribed [u], have been produced to prove, that this
[t] It has been said, that some names used in the Penta
teuch, were not applied to tbe places which they described, till
after the evejits mentioned,, or even after the death of Moses.
If the truth of this I'emark could be proved, we might suppose
the modern names to be substituted by Ezra, or some prophet
posterior to Moses, for the information of later times; but the
assertion often proceeds from mistake, or from want of distinc
tion. For instance, the Dan spoken- of by Moses, Gen. xiv. 14.
Deut. xxxiv. 1. might be different from the place so named in
Judges xviii. 29. Josephus represents it to have been one of
the sources ofthe Jordan'. Antiq. Lib. I. c. 10;
The mention also of " king« that reigned in the land of
Edom, faef(Mre there reigned any king over the children of
Israel," Gen, xxxvi. 31. was possibly a marginal note which
crept into the text ; or compare with Deut. xxxiii. 5. Judges
ix. 22. see also Gen. xiv. 5. and other explanatory intimations.
Gen. xii. 6. Numb. xii. 3. xxi. 14. Deut. xin. 14.
[uJ. There has been a frivolous cavil on chap. i. 1. of tbis
book, where MoseS is said to have written it " on this side
Jordan." The word Deebcr applies tb either side in relation
to the speaker. Vid. 1 Sam. xiv. 20. Huet. Demon. Evang.
Prop. iv. c. 14. Witsius Miscel. Sac. Lib. i. c, 14. Philo de
Vit. Mos. Lib. iii. Josephus, who omits some particulars of
the account, supposes Moses to have written it prolepticaHy,,
K

130 OF THE BOOK OP DEUTERONOMY.
chapter could not be written by Mo,ses ; and in
aU probability these circumstances might have been
inserted by Joshua, to complete the history of this
iUustrious prophet; or were afterwards added by
Samuel, or some prophet who succeeded him.
They were admitted by Ezra as authentic, and we
have no reason to question the fidelity of the
account. The book is cited as the Book of Moses in many
parts of scripture [x] ; and numberless passages
are produced from it in testiraony, by Christ and
his Aposties [y]. It deserves also to be particu
larly considered, that our blessed Saviour, when
under temptation, employed in three several in
stances, nearly or exactly the words of this book,
as of inspired authority, to repel the seduetions of
Satan [z].
With respect to the prophetic part of Deute
ronoray, it should be remarked, that the Messiah
is here more explicitly foretold than in the preced
ing books, and described as the completion of the
Jewish oeconomy. " I will raise them up a pro
phet from among their brethren, Uke unto thee,
and wiU put my words in his mouth, and he
with design to prevent his countrymen from any presumptuous
assertion that he was, on account of the greatness of his
virtue, departed to God. Antiq. Lib. iv. c. 8. p. 176.
[x] Josh. i. 5 — 7. 1 Kings ii. 3. 2 Chron. xxv. 4. Dan.
ix. 13, &c.
[Y] Matt, iv, 4. XV, 4. John i. 45. Acts iii. 22. Gal. iii. 15.
[z] Matt, iv, 4, 7, 10. compare with viii. 3. vi.l6, 13.

OP THE SgOS. O^ DEtJTERdNOMY. 131
shall spe^ unto them all that I shall command
bim [a]."
The propheties of Moses increase in number
and cleamess towards the close of his writings. As
he approached the end of his Ufe, he appieats to
have ^seemed flitttfily t^ith more exactness ; his
description of the apbstacy and corruption of the
people [b]; his dfenuhciatiolis concerning their fu
ture rewards and pttnishmtents ; their succfess, dis
persions, and desolations [c], which were to be ac
complished by events beyond the controul of human
power ; his prophetic bfessings on the tribes [d] ;
his revelation as to the captivities and idolatry of
the people and their king [e] ; his representation
of the rapid victories of the Romans [f] ; his detail
of the miseries to be sustained by his besieged
countrymen [G] ; and particularly his prophecies
[a] Deut. xviii. 15. compare with John i. 45; vi. 14. Acts-
iii. 22. vii. 37. See also a law which has a prophetic reference
to Christ, chap. xxi. 22, 23. compare with Gal. iii. 13. John
V. 46. f b] Chap. xxxi. 27 — 29.
[c] Chap. iv. 25 — 30. vii. 20. xi. 23 — 29. XXviii. xxx. xxxi;
2, 3 — 8. xxxii. and xxxiii. and Joshua xxiv. 12.
£0] Chap, xxxiii.
[eJ Chap, xxviii. 36. compare with 2 Kings xxiv. 15. xxv. 7.
Jerem. xxxix, 7. Iii. 11.
f^pyChap. xxviii. 49 — 52. The Romans are pourtrayed
under the description of an eagle, in allusion to the image with
which their standard was decorated. It is remarkable also, that
the enemy was to eome " from the end of the earth ;" and
Vespasian, in fact, came from Britain against Jerusalem.
[g} Chap, xxviii. 52 — 58. comp. with J6seph de Bell. Jud.
Lib. v. vi. see altto Antiq.. Lib. xv. c. 9.-
k2

132 OF THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY,
relative to their present conduct and condition, as
accomplished under our own observation [h], bear
a striking evidence to the truth and inspiration of
his writings and fearfully illustrate the character
of the divine attributes.
The Book of Deuteronomy brings down the sa
cred History to A. M. 2552, and completes the
volurae of the Pentateuch, of which every part is
uniforraly and consistently perfect.
[h] Chap, xxviii. in which a chain of illustrious prophecies
is delivered in one complicated denunciation, and various cala
mities are blended into one point of view, Vid. Newton on the
Prophecies, 7th Disser.

GENERAL PREFACE

HISTORICAL BOOKS.

The Historical Books of Scripture were written by
persons who composed them under the influence
of the Holy Spirit. Some of them are entitled
with the names of distinguished prophets ; and the
rest are universally attributed to writers invested
with the same character. The Hebrew annals were
kept only by privileged and appointed persons [a],
and the writers, who are occasionaUy mentioned in
scripture as the penmen of the sacred history, are
expressly denominated Prophets or Seers [b^. It
is evident, Ukewise, that the authors of the histo
rical as weU as of the prophetical books, must have
been inspired, since they every where displayed
an acquaintance with the counsels and designs of
God ; developed the secret springs and concealed
wisdom- of his government; and often revealed his
future mercies and judgments in the clearest pre-
[a] Vid, Joseph, cont, Apion, Lib. I. §. 7. p. 1333,
[b] 1 Sam. xxii. 5. 1 Kings xvi, 1, 7. ' 1 Chron. xxix. 29.
2 Chron. xii. 15. xx. 34. xxvi. 22. xxxii, 32. Jerem. xxviii. 7.

134 general preface to
dictions. They uniforraly adhere to the most eX'
ceUent instruction ; illustrate the perfection of God's
attributes, and exemplify the tendency of his pre
cepts. They invariably maintain a strict sincerity
of intention ; and in their description of character
and event, they exhibit an unexampled impar
tiaUty. Their writings were received as sacred
into the Hebrew canon, and in Ezra's collection,
they were arranged under the class of Prophetical
Books. The Books of Joshua, of Judges, (in
cluding Ruth,) of Samuel,, and of Kings, were
caUed the Books of the former Prophets [c] ; and
considered as the production not only of enUgh
tened raen of unirapeached veracity, exalted ch^
racter, and disinterested views ; but of persons vvho
were occasionally favoured with divine revelations ;
who unquestionably wrote under a divine influ
ence; and were eraployed to register the judg
raents and designs of God ; and as such, indeed,
they are cited by the evangelical writers.
It is clear frora all these considerations, that the
sacred historians wrote under the influence of the
Holy Ghost ; which, though it did not disclose to
them by immediate revelation those things that
might be collected from the common sources of in
teUigence, undoubtedly directed them in the seleC':
tion of their materials ; and enUghtened theip to
judge of the truth and importance of those ac
counts frora which they borrowed their information,
[c] Those oflsaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve mincHr
Prophets, being styled the Books of the later Prophets.

THE historical BOOKS. 135
The historical books appear, indeed, to have been
generaUy written by authors contemporary with
those periods to which they severaUy relate ; and
hence do they often describe such particulars as
the prophets themselves had witnessed ; and con
tain such minute and accurate descriptions, as none
but authors coeval with the events could have fur
nished. Some of them, however, were compiled
in subsequent times ; and then they may be sup
posed to have been in part coUected from those
authentic documents that were known and es
teemed by their countrymen ; and to have been
enlarged with such additional particulars as must
have been derived from divine communications
imparted to themselves or others. These books
are to be considered, indeed, as the histories of
revelations: as commentaries on the prophecies,
and as affording a Uvely sketch of the economy of
God's government of his selected people. They
were not designed as national annals, to record
every minute particular and political event that
occurred ; but they furnish rather a compendious
selection of such remarkable occurrences as were
best calculated to illustrate the reUgion of the
Hebrew nation; to set before that perverse and
Hagrateful people, an abstract of God's proceed^
ings, and of their interests and duties ; and also to
transmit to posterity an instructive memorial of
God's judgments, and to hold up a model of that
dispensation on which a nobler and more spiritual
government was to be erected. It is, indeed, evi-

136 oeneral preface to
dent that some more diffusive and circumstantial
records were sometimes kept by the priests, or
other publickly-appointed persons [d] ; for to such
records the sacred writers occasionally allude, as
bearing testimony to their accounts ; or refer to
them for a raore minute detail of those particulars
which they omit, as inconsistent with their designs.
These, however, not being composed by inspired
writers, were not adraitted into the sacred canon ;
and though Josephus informs us, that the priests
were accustomed after every war carefully to cor
rect and to reform their registers [eJ : and the
author of the second Book of Maccabees mentions
that Judas Maccabeus gathered together such
writings as had been dispersed [p] ; yet after the
abolition of the Jewish priesthood, and the raany
calamities, persecutions, and dispersions, which
this whole nation hath suffered, we need not
wonder that these voluminous writings have pe
rished ; and indeed it required the especial protec
tion of providence, as weU as that reverential
[d] Cont. Apion, Lib. I. § 7, 8. Josephus speaks of genea
logical registers as distinct frora the twenty-two canonical
books ; and observes, that they contained the names of the
Hebrew priests for a succession of 2000 years. He mentions
also other accounts from the reign of Artaxerxes, which were
not deemed of the same authority, as there was then no regular
succession of the priests.
[e] The keepers of these genealogies are sometimes called
Maschirim, Recorders or Memorialists. 2 Sam. viii. \G. 2
Kings xviii. 18. 1 Chron. xviii. 15. 2 Chron. xxxiv. 8.
1 Mace, xxiii. 24.
£f] 2 Mace. ii. 14.

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 137
fondness which the Jews entertained for the sacred
books, to preserve their canon from destruction or
injury. We have, however, the less reason to
regret the loss of the other Jewish writings, since
the scriptures present us with the scheme of pro
phecy, and mth the account of that peculiar eco
nomy by which the Jews were distinguished from
all other nations.
The historical books of scripture, if considered
distinctiy from the Pentateuch, and the writings
more particularly styled prophetical, contain acom-
pendiura of the Jewish history from the death of
Moses, A. M. 2553, to the reformation estabUshed
by Neheraiah after the return frora the captivity
A. M. 3595, After the death of Moses, Joshua
continued to record those rairaculous particidars
which demonstrated the divine interposition in
favour of the IsraeUtes, and to commemorate the
events that preceded and accomplished their settle
ment in the land of Canaan. The eventful period
which succeeded the death of Joshua, during
which the Hebrews were subjected to the govern
ment of the Judges, as ministers of the theocracy,
opened a large scope for the industry of the sacred
historians. Samuel, or some other prophet, ap
pears to have selected such particulars as were
best calculated to describe the period ; and to have
digested them into the Book of Judges; having
doubtiess procured much information from the
records of the Priests or Judges, some jof whom
were inspired, though prophetic revelations were

138 GENERAL PREFACE TO
" scarce in those days [o] ;" and divine communi
cations were made by means of the Urim and
Thummira[H]. From the time of Samuel, the
Jews seem to have been favoured with a regular
succession of prophets, who, in an uninterrupted
series, bequeated to each other, with the mantle of
prophecy, the charge of commemorating such im
portant particulars as were consistent with the plan
of sacred history ; and who, superior to the osten
tation of prefixing their names to their several con
tributions, took up the history where the preceding
[g] 1 Sam. iii. 1.
[h] Exod. xxviii. 30. Levit. viii. 8. Numb, xxvii. 21. The
Urim and Thummim, which words signify light and perfection,
are applied to a miraculous ornament worn on the breast-plate
of the high-priest, and are supposed by some to be descriptive
of the twelve jewels in the breast-plate, which were engraven
with the names of the tribes of Israel; but which perhaps
meant something distinct from these. Compare Exod. xxxix.
10. with Levit. viii. 8. Some imagine that they were oracular
figures that gave articulate answers ; others, that they im
plied only a plate of gold, engraven with the Tetragrammaton,
or sacred name of Jehovah. Whatever the ornament was, it
enabled the high-priest to collect divine instruction upon occa
sions "of national importance. Some conceive that the intelli
gence was imparted by an extraordinary protrusion or splen
dour of the different letters. But others, with more reason,
think that the Urim and Thummim only qualified the priest to
present himself in the holy place, to receive answers from the
mercy-seat in the tabernacle; and in the camp from some
other consecrated place whence the divine voice might issue.
Vid. Prid. Connect Par. I, Book III. Jennings's Jewish
Antiq. Lib. III. •. 9. Philo Jud, de Monarch. Lib. II.
Spencer's Urim and Tliummim.

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 139
prophet ceased, without distinguishing their respec
tive contributions. It is possible, however, that
the books of Kings and of Chronicles do not contain
a complete compilation of the entire works of each
contemporary prophet ; but rather an abridgment
of their several labours, digested by Ezra, in or
after the captivity, with intention to exhibit the
sacred history at one point of view : and hence it
is that they contain some expressions which evi
dently result from contemporary description ; and
others, that as clearly argue them to have been
completed long after the occurrences which they
relate. Hence also it is, that though particular
periods are more diffusively treated of than others,
we still find throughout, a connected series of
events, and in each individual book, a general
uniformity of style.
The object of the sacred historians was to com
municate instruction to raankind, and to iUustrate
the nature of God's providence in small, as well as
in great occurrences, in particular instances, as
weU as in general appointments; they therefore
often descend from the great out-line of national
concerns to the minute detail of private Ufe. The
relations, however, of individual events, that are
occasionaUy interspersed, are highly interesting;
and given with dramatic effect, whUe they admira
bly develope the designs of the Almighty, and the
character of those times to which they are respec
tively assigned. Those seeming digressions, Uke
wise, in which the inspired writers have recorded

140 GENERAL PREFACE TO
such reraarkable events as related to particular
personages, or such occurrences in foreign coun
tries, as tended to affect the interests of the He
brew nation, are not only valuable for the religious
spirit which they breathe, but are to be admired
as strictly consistent with the sacred plan. Thus
the histories of Job, of Ruth, and of Esther, though
apparently extrinsic appendages, are in reality con
nected parts of one entire fabrick ; and exhibit,
in minute delineation, that wisdom which is else
where displayed on a larger scale ; as they likewise
present an engaging picture of that private virtue,
which in an extended influence operated to na
tional prosperity. These books constitute, then, an
important part of the sacred volume ; which unfolds
a complete code of instructive lessons, conveyed
under every forra, diversified with every style of
coraposition, and enlivened with every iUustration
of circumstance.
While the twelve tribes were united under one
government, their history is represented under one
point of view. When a separation took place, the
kingdom of Judah, from which tribe the Messiah
was to descend, was the chief object of attention
with the sacred historians; they however occa
sionally treat of the events that occurred in Sama
ria, especially when connected with the concerns
of Judah : they draw instructive accounts of the
government of Israel, from the separation of the
ten tribes to their captivity ; and place the cir
cumstances which produced this infliction of pu-

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 141
nishment in striking colours before the inhabitants
of Judah, whose unrighteousness was afterwards
punished by a sirailar fate. Some account of the
events which occurred in Samaria, was kept pro
bably by those prophets, who were born, or la
boured among the people of that country [i] ; and
the same persons suppUed materials for the sacred
authors of the historical books who were prophets
of Judah,
The prophets who were mercifully raised up to
console the Hebrew nation during the Babylonish
captivity, have scattered among their predictions
some few Unes of contemporary history ; but they
have not communicated any particular account of
the circumstances that distinguished the condition
of their countrymen ; who, however, must have re
ceived every possible mitigation of the severity of
their affliction, from the good offices of such among
them as concUiated the favour of the Babylonish
sovereigns; and from the prophetic assurances
which opened to them the prospect of a return to
their country.
As the succession of the prophets ceased in Ma
lachi, the volume of the sacred history was closed
with the account of the restoration of the Jews,
and of their exertions to rebuild their cities, and
to re-estabUsh the order and security of their go
vernment. The last description represents them
settied and reformed by the pious zeal of Nehe-
[i] 1 Kmgs xix. 18. xi. 29. xiv. 2. xvi. 7. 2 Chron.
xxviu. 9.

142 GENERAL PREFACE TO
miah, and animated to the expectation of that
" greater glory," which should shine iri their
latter temple, when " the desire of all nations
should cdme [k]."
In possession ofthe complete volume ofthe scrip
tures, the Jews required no farther revelations of
the divine will to explain and inculcate the terms
of their acceptance. Enabled by the sacred re
cords to look back on the vicissitudes whith thelt
nation had experienced, and to cdntemplate the
character of God's jhdgmfents in the iristfuctive
scenes, they needed no lohger any Uving ptojihet
to warn them of that wrath which sin and idolatry
would provoke [l], or to assure them of that re
compense which obedience would obtain; The
design and character also of the old covenant, its
spiritual import, and its figurativie contexture, were
now unravelled fbr the instruction of mailkiiid, and
no fit subject remained for the employment of in
spired writers till the app^arancd of a new dispen
sation. Of the period^ therefore, that intervetifed
between the death of Malachi, and the arrival of
that messenger whom he foretold, no sacred ac
count exists [m]. An awful interval of expecta
tion prevailed before the cdmihg of hilfl who wa&
to appear, on which period but Uttie light is thi'oWii
by the dccasiotial accounts of apocryphal itnd pro
fane historians. The nation, howHer, seetflS ©3
[k] Haggai ii. 7, 9.
[l] Luke xvi. 29, 31.
[m] Eusebius attempts not to go beyond Zerubbabel.
7

THE- HISTORICAL BOOKS. 143
have been successively subjected to the Persian,
Grecian, Egyptian, and Syrian monarchies, tiU
rescued into liberty by the valour of the Macca
bees, in whom the successors of David were re-
estabUshed on the throne. These continued to
flourish, with diminished splendor, and in subser
viency to the Roman power, tiU the days of Herod,
under whom Christ was born, and '^the sceptre
departed from Judah [n].''
In a retrospect of the sacred history, it is obvi
ous to remark, that one design of the inspired
[n3 Gen. xlix. 10. This wonderful prophecy was delivered
before the tribe of judah was advanced to the throne. It has
been imagined by some that it was accomplished when Herod,
who was an Idnmean proselyte, assumed the government, the
descendants of Zerubbabel and the Asmonaeans haviUg been of
the tribe of Judah, though the latter by the female line; but
others conceive the sceptre not to have departed till Coponius the
lloman governor was sent into Judea, invested with power of life
and death, in the same year that Christ made his appearance in
the temple. The expectation ofthe Messiah was so general about
tbis time, that it gave rise to a sect called the Herodians, who
flattered Herod as being the Messiah ; and to the notion after
wards maintained by some, that Agrippa, the grandson of Herod
by Mariamne, (the grand-daughter of Hyrcanus the Asmonaean
priest) was entitled to that distinction, not to mention the
numberless false prophets who were called Christ. Jesus was
received as the Shiloh ; see Luke xix. 38. John xii. 12, 13.
Matt. xxL 15. When the Rulers declared that they had no
king but Caesar. Vid. Cyril. Alex. cont. JnUan Hieron. in
Sophon. c. i. Epiphan. Hsris. 20. Tertul. de Praefer. Schol.
in Fersii. Satyr, v. L 180. Baron Apparat. ad Annal. Eccles.
P. I. Joseph. Antiq. L. XIL § 8. 1 Chron. iii. Matt. i.
Luke iu.

144 GENERAL PREFACE TO
writers was to place before us the melancholy
proofs of that corruption w^hich had been entailed
on raankind ; and to exhibit in the depravity of a
nation highly favoured, miraculously governed, and
instructed by inspired teachers, the necessity of
that redemption and renewal of righteousness,
which was so early and so repeatedly proraised
by the prophets. The universal iniquity over-
whelraed by the flood [oJ ; the incorrigible per
verseness of the Hebrew nation ; the lapse of the
most upright persons, and the hai'dened and obdu
rate wickedness of confirmed sinners, are indus
triously displayed with this view ; and in a long
succession of dark scenes, no perfect character can
be found ; and but few, whose virtues could be
proposed for imitation to mankind. The sacred
writers described characters and passions as they
beheld them, without flattery or disguise, often
without comment or remark; leaving them to ex
cite those sentiments of esteem or repugnance
which they were severally calculated to awaken. In
some coraparatively righteous characters, however,
they transcribe and exemplify the purity of God's
laws ; and those precepts which they interweave
in their relations, are always excellent. ¦ In the
judgments of God they Ukewise pourtray his attri
butes ; represent him as watching over innocence ;
as indulgentiy suspending wrath ; but as finally
avenging himself on unrepented sins. They se-
[o] Gen, vi. 5,

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 145
lect from the events of their history those circum
stances which are best calculated to afford instruc
tion, and therefore often pass with rapidity over
great national events, and dilate with minuteness
on whatever may serve to shew the nature of the
divine government, or to exenqilify the interests
and duties of mankind. If they sometimes adrait
particulars, of which the design in these respects
is not obvious, it must be recoUected, that such
particulars might have had an importance among
the Jews, though we are no longer sensible of
their utflity.
The chmriological and genealogical accounts,
whidi now serve chiefly to prove the information
and accuracy of the sacred historians, formerly as
sisted to keep up necessary distinctions, and to
ascertain the exact accompUshment of prophecy.
If with regard.to these, or any other minute parti
culars, the sacred books now seem to contain any
inoMisisteBcies or errors, these must be attributed
to the negUgesrce of copyists, and to the insensible
corru^ions which, must arise from frequent trans
cription, .especiaUy in such points. The errors,
however, which industrious objection affects to dis
cover, are often imaginary ; and it is .not probable,
even if we couM suppese the authors of these
books to have been merely human, unassisted wri
ters, that they should have been so Uttle conver
sant with the history of their country, as to be
chargeable with the contradictions. which modern
L

146 GENERAL PREFACE TO
commentators have pretended to point out; and
which, if they had existed, must, as more glaring
to their contemporaries whom these writers ad
dressed, have necessarily destroyed their credit.
The truth is, that if we are sometimes perplexed
with difficulties, it is in consequence of the want
of contemporary accounts, and an effect of that
obscurity which must be supposed to overshadow
periods so long elapsed. The genealogical and
chronological differences which are said sometimes
to prevail, have arisen not only from the corrup
tions to which numbers are particularly subject, but
from the different scope which the writers took.
In the detail of Uneage, the sacred historians
have inserted only iUustrious persons, and some
times added coUateral kindred [q]. They occa
sionaUy altered names, where variety admitted pre
ference, as was customary among eastern nations ;
and in chronological accounts they calculated fre
quently in round numbers, where accuracy was not
of any consequence [r]. They Ukewise assumed
various aeras. Thus in Genesis, Moses reckoned
only by the ages ofthe patriarchs. In Exodus he,
as succeeding prophets, dated from the departure
out of Egypt ; and others, who Uved in later times,
from the building of the temple [s] ; from the
commencement of the reigns of their several kings
[q] Le Clerc Sentimens de quelques Theol. Theod. Prsef.
in Quaest. Lib. Reg. R. David Kimchi. Michael, &c.
[R] Gen. XV. 13. 1 Kings vi.l. Usser Chron. Sac. c. 12.
[s] 2 Chron. viii. 1.

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. I47
\jf\ ; from their captivities and deliverances [u]y
and other important national events [x] ; or, lastlyy
from the reigns of foreign kings [y] ; whom if they
described by names different from those under
which they are mentioned in profane history, it
was in accommodation to the titles by which they
were known to the Jews. The difficulties which
occur on a superficial perusal of the scriptures
chiefly originate in want of attention to these con
siderations ; and they who have not the leisure
and industry which are necessary to elucidate such
particulars, will do well to coUect the obvious in
struction which is richly spread through every page
of the sacred volume, rather than to engage in
speculations of delicate discussion, or to entangle
themselves in objections which result from igno
rance. The historical,, like all other parts of
scripture, have every mark of genuine and unaf
fected truth. Many relations are interwoven with
accounts of other nations, yet no inconsistencies
have been detected. A connected and dependent
chain of history, an uniform and pervading spirit
of piety, co-operating in one design, invariably
prevail in every page of the sacred books ; and the
historical unfold the accomplishment of the pro^
phetic parts.
[t] As the eariier prophets.
[u] Ezek. i. 2.
[x] Amos i. 1.
[t] Ezek. xi. 1. Dan. x. 1. Zechar. i. 1. Haggai i. I.-
i.2

OF THE

BOOK OF JOSHUA.

It has been contended by some writers, that the
Book which passes under the narae of Joshua in
all the copies, was not written by hira ; but that this
title was chosen rather as descriptive of the chief
personage of the book, than with design to inti
mate its author : in the sarae manner as the books
of Esther, of Job, or of Ruth, are so caUed, be
cause they treat principally concerning the actions
of those persons whose naraes they respectively
bear. But if we have aU the arguraents that raight
be drawn from the title, there will still remain suf
ficient grounds to conclude, that the book, or at
least the greater part of it, was written by Joshua
himself, agreeably to the general opinion. It is,
indeed, expressly said, towards the conclusion of
the book, that " Joshua wrote these words in the
book of the law of God [a]," which seems to imply,
that he subjoined this history to the Pentateuch.
a] 1 Kings xvi. 34. and compare with Joshua vi. 26. chap.
xv. 63. compare with 2 Sam. v. 6.

OF THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 149
Joshua is represented through the whole work
as appointed by God to govern and instruct his
people. He is Ukewise described in the book of
Ecclesiasticus [b], under the titie of " Jesus the
son of Nave," as " the successor of Moses in pro
phecies;" there is therefore ample reason to be
convinced, that Joshua was the author of the book,
except, perhaps, of a few verses towards the con-r
elusion ; the account of his death being added by
one of his successors, in like manner as he might
have suppUed what was necessary to coraplete the
histoiy of Moses. The ancient Talraudists, and
the voice of general tradition, attribute the book to
Joshua ; and it is expressly said in Bava Bathra,
that Joshua wrote the book distinguished by his
name [c] ; and the eight last verses of the law.
It is also added, in the same place, that Eleazar
wrote the twenty-ninth verse of the twenty-fourth
chapter of Joshua, as Phineas did the thirty-third ;
and probably all the five last verses were added
by Eleazar the high-priest, his son Phineas, or
Samuel, The principal objections made against the as
signment of this book to Joshua are, first, that in
the thirteenth verse of the tenth chapter, the cir
cumstance of the sun and moon being stayed, is
said to be written in the book of Jashir ; by which
it is meant to insinuate that the book of Joshua is
[b] Ecclus, xlvi, 1.
[c] Bava Bathra, cap. i. Spanhem, Hist, Eccl. V. T. Tom. 1.
P. 339.

150 op THE BOOK OP JfOSHUA,
only a compendious history, selected from larger
chronicles, in later times. Now to whatever book
this reference may be supposed to apply, whether
to a previous narrative, or to a song coraposed on
the occasion of the great event here spoken of, 'it
does not follow that Joshua could not be the author
of a work in which the book of Jashir is quoted ;
as probably containing a more minute and circumr
stantial account of this remarkable miracle [d].
Secondly, those expressions which have been
brought to prove that the history was written long
after the events therein recorded, as that the stones
which Joshua set up, "^^are there unto this day
[e]," with similar passages, which argue that the
relation was some time subsequent to the occur
rences described, do in reaUty only serve to shew,
what other circumstances confirm, that Joshua wrote
the book towards the conclusion of his days ; and
then, as speaking of the earher periods of his
government, he might consistently use these and
simUar expressions [f].
[d], Joshua describes this miracle according to the received
notions of astronomy, Vid, Calmet Dissert, sur le Commande-
ment, &c.
[e] Chap. iv. 9. v. 9. Vid. also chap. x. 27. Matth,
xxvii. 0.
[f] The book must have been written by a person at least
nearly contemporary with Joshua, since Rahab was living in
the author's time. Vid. chap, vi, 25, and v. 1. where the
author speaks of himself as present at the passage over Jordan.
Observe also chap, viii, 28. xv. 63. xvi. 10. and the .circujm-
stantial detail of particulars ivliich argues a contemporary
writer.

of THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 151
It has been asserted, farther, that some things
are related in this book which did not happen tiU
after the death of Joshua; as the expedition of
the Danites against Leshem [g] ; which apparently
is related as a subsequent event in the book of
Judges. Hence sorae have attributed the book to
Eleazar ; some to Samuel ; and some to Isaiah, to
Ezra, or others ; but it is not necessary on this
account to deprive Joshua of his title to the book ;
for if the relation in Judges be not the history of
a different expedition [h], we may suppose the
account in this book to be an interpolation made
by Ezra, or some prophet posterior to Joshua ; and
this is the more probable solution of the difficulty,
since the verse which records the conquests of the
Danites, appears evidently to be an extrinsic addi
tion, afterwards inserted to complete the account
of the Danites' possessions. It may be remarked
farther, that whatever is said of Othniel and Achsah,
in the book of Judges, is only a recapitulation of
what happened under Joshua [i]. The land of
Cabul mentioned in Joshua, is by Josephus dis
tinguished from that which is spoken of in the book
[g] Chap, xix, 47,
[h] Judges xviii, 27 — 29. It is possible that the Laish men
tioned in Judges was a difierent place from the Leshem spoken
of in Joshua. The accounts, indeed, vary in some circumstan.
ces. In Joshua, Leshem itself is said to have been called Dan.
In Judges, Laish is represented to have been burnt, and the
city which was built in its room was called Dan.
[i] Chap. XV. 13, 19. and Judges i. 11 — 15. or the passage
ijiight be a'subsequent insertion iuto the book of Joshua.

152 OF THE BOOK OF JOSHUA.
of Kings [k] ; and " the house of God" in this
book, does not imply the temple ; which was not
built till long after the death of Joshua ; but
raeans the Tabernacle and Ark, which, did exist in
his tirae. These difficulties being thus reraoved,
we may conclude that Joshua was the author of
the book that bears his name. It contains an ac
count of the distribution of property, which must
soon have been committed to writing. It was re
ceived by Ezra into the canon as inspired, and it
is cited as scripture by many of the sacred wri
ters [lJ, and especiaUy as the work of Joshua iu
Kings, where his words are said to be the words
of God [m], and where the accoraplishment of a
prophecy delivered by him is related.
Joshua, who was the son of Nun, of the tribe
of Ephraim, was first called Oshea, or Hosea [n],
[k] Chap. xix. 27. and 1 Kings ix. 13. The former a city
on the borders of Ptolemais, the latter a district containing
several towns. Vid. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. VIII. c. ii. Lib. de
Vita, et Huet. Demon. Evan. Prop. iv. 148. Edit. Par. 1679.
The notion that places are in this book sometimes distinguish
ed by names not adbpted till later times, is, perhaps, often
fanciful', since the origin and date of names are extremely un
certain ; but where modern names are found, they might have
been affixed by those who read, copied, or revised the book,
[l] 1 Chron. ii, 7. xii. 15. Psa. cxix. 3. Isa. xxviii. 21.
Acts vii. 45. Heb. xi, 31, xiii. 5. James ii. 25, 28. Ecclus.
xlvi. 4. 1 Mace. ii. 5, 6.
[m] 1 Kings xvi. 84. and Joshua vi. 26.
[n] ra>in Oshea a Saviour, ri^irt' Jehoshua, he shall save.
Moses appears to have made this change in the name of Jo
shua, in prophetic confidence of the victories through which
he should cdJiduct the people to their establishment in the land

OP THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 153
a name, which, as it signifies Saviour, was well
adapted to his character, as typical of our spiritual
Saviour. He is also by St. Luke, and by the au
thor of Ecclesiasticus, styled Jesus ; a just repre
sentative of that Jesus who leads us into a Canaan
of endless felicity, through the water of baptism
[o]. Joshua was " fiUed with the spirit of wis
dora," and took upon hira the governraent of Is
rael by comraand of God[p]; agreeably to the
prediction of Moses, who had proraised that " the
Lord should raise up a prophet like unto him,
as his successor [q]." The piety, courage, and
disinterested integrity of Joshua are conspicuously
displayed through the whole course of his conduct.
Independently of the inspiration which enlightened
his mind and writings, he derived divine informa
tion sometiraes by immediate revelation from God
[r] ; and sometimes from the sanctuary, and by
of Canaan. It is first mentioned on his appointraent to fight
with Amalek. Numb. xiii. 16. Exod. xvii. 9, Jennings Jew.
Antiq. Book i. cap. i. p. 32.
[o] Acts vii. 45. Ecclus, xlvi. 1. Heb. iv. 8. Grot. Com.
in Matt. i. 21.
[p] Numb, xxvii. 18 — 20. Deut. xxxi. 7, 14. xxxiv. 9.
Joshua i. 5.
[q] Deut xviii. 15. This prophecy is in a more especial
sense applicable to Christ, the archetype of the prophets.
[r] Chap, iii, 7. v. 13 — 15. It is generally supposed, in con.
formity with the sentiments of the ancient Hebrew and Chris
tian churches, that the person who, in the instance last referred
to, is related to have appeared to Joshua, was God himself, as
he is afterwards called the Lord (Jehovah in the Hebrew),
ch. vi. 2. and Joshua would not have been suffered to worship

154 OF THE BOOK OF JOSHUA.
the mouth of Eleazar the high-priest, the son of
Aaron, who having on the breast-plate, and pre
senting himself before the veil over against the
mercy-seat whereon rested the divine presence [s],
consulted God by the Urim and Thummim ; and
God answered hira by a voice which issued from
the mercy-seat. During the life of this exceUent
chief, the IsraeUtes were preserved in some obe
dience to God, and flourished under his protection ;
and we contemplate with satisfaction, the descrip
tion of a well-governed and successful people.
Joshua, the leader, as the historian of the Is
raelites, represents in lively colours, the progress
of a nation led on to rapid and great victories
by the guidance of the Lord; yet occasionaUy
checked in their career, that they might be con
vinced of their dependance on God for success,
and that it was not " their own arm" which had
procured it. He relates with all the aniraation of
one who was appointed to be an agent in the
scenes displayed, the successive miracles that fa
voured and effected the conquest of the country ;
and unfolds the accomplishment of the Mosaic
much less required to reverence, a created being. Vid. Rev.
xxii. 8, 9. It was therefore probably the divine ^070;, the
angel of the covenant, who appeared. Euseb. Hist. Lib, I. c. 2.
f s] The Shechinah was a visible symbol of the divine pre-
sence, which, after having conducted the Israelites through the
wilderness, rested in a glorious cloud between the Cherubims
in the tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple ; and hence the
divine oracles were delivered. Vide Lowman's Rationale of
the Hebrew Ritual, Part II. ch, ii.

OF THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 155
prophecies concerning the possession and division
of the promised land [t]. The line of conduct
which he observed, was such as could not have
been pursued but in the confidence of divine aid :
as for instance ; on his entrance into the country,
which he designed to conquer, he circumcised his
people. It is said, indeed, that the Canaanites
were " disraayed." This dismay is represented
by the sacred historian, as the effect of a preceding
miracle, which bears testimony to the reality of
the divine assistance. The punishments inflicted
on the idolatrous nations of Canaan, even to ex
cision, are to be regarded as judicial, and they do
not impeach the divine justice, any more than do
the exterminating accidents, or convulsions in the
natural world, such as fires, hurricanes, earth
quakes, &c.
In the course of the narrative, Joshua points out
the attention paid to the divine precepts in the
circumcision of the people £u] ; in the setting up
[t] Gen. xii. 7. xvii. 8. Exod, xv, 14 — 17, xxiii, 23, xxxiii, 2.
Numb, xxxiv. 2. Deut. i. 7, 8. xxxii. 49.
£v]] The command given to Joshua to circumcise again the
children of Israel, weis only to renew a rite which had been
omitted in the wildemess. " The reproach of Egypt," which
was thereby " rolled away," meant probably the opprobrium
incurred by the Egyptians, who might have neglected the
rite in compUance with the requisitions of the uncircumcised
Horites that over-ran Egypt, or who, perhaps might not yet
have adopted it. If we understand that the Egyptians up
braided the Israelites for the neglect of circumcision, it wUl
by no means follow, that the latter nation learnt it from the
former ; but rather that the Egyptians made it a subject of

156 OF THE BOOK- OF JOSHUA.
of the Tabernacle ; and in the appointment of the
cities of refuge. The book concludes with the
account of the renewal of the covenant ; and of
the affecting exhortation and death of Joshua,
which terminates an interesting history of about
thirty years, from A.M. 2553 to A.M. 2589 [x];
the whole of which is animated by the display of
God's attributes, and recommended by the noblest
sentiments of piety. It is occasionaUy interspersed
with prophecies [y], and distinguished throughout
by every raark of fidelity and truth. Joshua, like
his predecessor, describes the disobedience and
transgressions of the Jews, not concealing his own
errors. He conspires in the same zealous designs
with Moses, and earnestly recommends an atten
tion to the laws and statutes which that legislator
had delivered. The book must have been a most
reproach to the Israelites, that they neglected in the wilderness
what they professed to consider as a rite of distinction, and the
seal of the promises. Vid, Shuckford's Conn. Vol. III. b. xii,
and Patrick in Joshua, ch, v, 6 — 9. Spencer conceives, that
the " reproach of Egypt" was the slavery to which they had
been subjected, and from which they were now rescued and
declared free, by this token of a free people. Vide Spencer
de Leg. Heb. L. I. c. iv.
[x] Including the account of Eleazar's death, who outlived
Joshua about five or six years. This computation is likewise
grounded on a supposition that Joshua was employed seven
years in completing the conquest of the country, and that he
survived it about eighteen years. Some do not admit that he
governed the people so long. Vid. Joseph, Antiq. Lib. V. c. i.
[y] Chap. iii. 10—17. vi, 26. compared with 1 Kings xvi,
34. Josh, xxiii. 13—16.

OF THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 157
valuable possession to the Israelites, as it con
tained the earliest and most authentic documents
relative to the property of every tribe, and fur
nished to each the title of its respective inheritance.
It is necessary to remark, that there is some ac
cidental derangement in the order of the chapters
of this book, occasioned probably by the mode of
rolUng up manuscripts anciently observed. If
-chronologically placed, they should be read thus :
first chapter to the tenth verse ; then second chap
ter ; then from the tenth verse to the end of the
¦first chapter; afterwards should follow the sixth
and consecutive chapters to the eleventh ; then the
twenty-second chapter ; and, lastly, the tyvelfth
and thirteenth chapters, to the twenty -fourth verse
of the latter [z].
Joshua succeeded Moses in the government of
Israel, about A.M. S553; and died in the 110th
year of his age, A. M. 2578, at Timnah-serah ;
where he had retired, contemplating from Mount
Ephraim, the well-ordered and peaceful govern
ment which he had established [aJ ; and exhorting
[z] Bedford's Scrip. Chron. Book V. p. 590.
[a] The Vatican copy of the Septuagint version has the
following addition annexed to tbe account of Joshua's burial,
in the thirtieth verse ofthe last chapter: " There they, put
with him into the sepulchre in which they buried him, the
.knives of flint with which he circumcised the kingdom of
Israel in Gilgal, when he brought them out of Egypt, as the
Lord commanded them; and they are there unto this day.''
The Alexandrian copy has it not. Vide Harmer, Vol. IV.
p. 398. 6

158 OF THE BOOK OP JOSHUA.
the people with his last words to a remembrance of
God's mercy, and to an observance of his laws.
The meraory of Joshua, and of his victories, was
long preserved, and his reputation spread among
the heathen nations [b]. He is generally consi
dered as the original of the Phoenician Hercules ;
and the scene of his victories, as well as the con
quests themselves, is still discernible in the dis
figured accounts which are given concerning that
fictitious hero [c] . It has been coUected from
monuments still extant, that the Carthaginians
were a colony of the Tyrians who fled from the
exterminating sword of Joshua [d] ; as also, that
the inhabitants of Leptis in Africa, were primarily
derived from Zidonians, who had been compeUed
to forsake their country in consequence of cala
mities brought upon it by the conquests of this
great commander.
The Samaritans are by some writers supposed
to have received the book of Joshua ; there is still
extant a Samaritan book, entitled the Book of
Joshua, which differs considerably from the He-
[b] Some traces of the miracles of the sun and moon being
stayed for a whole day by Joshua, are discovered in the Chinese
records, as well as in the disfigured accounts of Statins aod
Ovid, Vid. Martinii Hist. Sinic. Lib. I. p. 37. Stat. Thebais,
Lib. IV. 1. 307. Ovid. Metamor. de Phaeton.
[c] Procop. Vandal. Lib. II. c. x. Polyb. Frag. 114.
Sallust. Bellum Jugurth. The Mahometans relate many fa
bulous stories of Joshua. Vid. Herbelot. Bib. Oriental, sub
voce Jeschowa.
[D] Allix's Reflect, on Books of Old Test.

OP the book op JOSHUA. 159
brew copy, containing a chronicle of events badly
compiled, from the death of Moses to the time of
the Emperor Adrian. It consists of 47 chapters
swelled with fabulous accounts. It is written in
Arabic in the Samaritan character [e]. After
having been long lost, it was recovered by ScaUger,
and deposited at Leyden, in manuscript, and has
never been published.
The Jews suppose Joshua to have been the
author of a prayer which they repeat in part on
quitting the synagogue. It is in celebration of
God's goodness for having granted them an inhe
ritance superior to that of the rest of mankind [f].
[e] Fabric. Apocryph. V. Test. p. 876, et seq.
[f] Vagen's Tela Syriac, p. 223, et seq.

OF THE

BOOK OF JUDGES.

This Book has been generally attributed to Samuel,
in agreement with the opinion of the Talmudi-
cal doctors [a]. Some writers have assigned it to
Phinehas; some to Hezekiah ; and some to Ezekiel;
[a] Bavra Bathra, c. i. Kimchi Abarb. Isid.. Lib. VI, cii.
The Talmud, from niaVn, doctrine is a Jewish book, containing
explanatory remarks on the law, and reverenced by the Jews,
as much as, or more than the law, as the great source of their
religious opinions. It consists of two parts : the Mischna, or
text ; and the Gemara, or complement. The former the Jews
profess to have received as an oral law, delivered to Moses by
God ; but in reality it consists of traditions accumulated from
the time of Simon, or Ezra, and contains some useful Instruc
tions. The Gemara is a commentary of wild fancieSiOn the
Mischna. There are two Talmuds, that of Jerusalem, and
that of Babylon ; the last of which is most esteemed. It
appeared in the sixth or seventh century, about 200 years
after the former. Maimonides published a good commentary
on it. Vid. Buxtorf. Recensio oper. Talmud. Porta Mosis, in
Pocock's Works, Vol. I. Morin. Exercit. Biblic. Lexic. Bux
torf. Rabbin, p. 2610. Prid. Con. Part I. B. V. Mark vii.
7, 8, 13. The Popes, where they have had influence, have
often procured the destruction of the Talmuds, as containing
pernicious opinions. Much truth, however, is concealed under
the chimerical expositions and accounts therein contained.

or THE BOOK OF JUDGES, 161
&nd others have supposed that Ezra coUected it
from such memoirs as every judge respectively
furnished of his own government. It seems, how
ever, most probable, that Samuel was the author ;
who, being a prophet or seer, and described in the
book of Chronicles as an historian, may reasonably
be supposed (inasmuch as he was the last of the
Judges) to have written this part of the Jewish
history ; since the inspired writers alone were per
mitted to describe those relations, in which were
interwoven the instructions and judgments of the
Lord^B^. The book appears to have been written after the
establishment of the regal government, since the
author, in speaking of preceding events, observes,
that "^ in thbse days there was no king in Is
rael [c~\ ;" which seems to imply that there were
kings when he wrote. There is also sorae reason
to think, that it was written before the accession
of David, since it is said in the twenty-first verse
of the first chapter, that " the Jebusites were still
in Jerusalem," who were dispossessed of that city
early in the reign of David [d]] . It was likewise
written before the books of Samuel [ej] ; and
therefore if the author be understood, as he is
usuaUy supposed, to speak in the thirtieth verse of
[b] Joseph, coat. Apion. Lib. I, § 7.
[c] Chap. xix. 1. xxi. 25. see also vi. 24. x. 4. xv. 19. xvii.
6. xviii. 30.
[d] 2 Sam. v. 6—8.
[e] Compare 2 Sam. si. 21. with Judges ix. 53,
M

163 OP THE BOOK OP JUDGES.
the eighteenth chapter, of that captivity [p] which
happened in the time of EU, when the ark was
captured by the PhiUstines, and the idol of Milcah
was destroyed [g] ; there is no objection to the
general opinion, which attributes the book to
Sarauel [h] ; who may be conceived to have written
it in Ramoth -Gilead, after the election of Saul.
Events in this book are referred to and confirmed
in the first book of Samuel [ij.
The book is'^roperly iuserted between those of
Joshua and Samuel, as the Judges were governors
intermediate between Joshua and the Kings of
Israel. They were illustrious princes of the house
of Judah [kJ, raised up by God, not in regular
[f] The captivity here spoken of must have happened be
fore the reign of David, who would not have sufiered the
idolatrous images to remain among his people. When the ark
was captured, many of the Israelites must have been taken
likewise ; and the Psalmist expressly calls this taking of the
ark, " a captivity," Vid, Psal, Ixxviii. 60 — 62. as the wife of
Phinehas lamented that then " the glory was departed frora
IsraeL" Vid. 1 Sam. iv. 22.
[g] 1 Sam. iv. 11. and ch. v. Selden de Syntag, I. De Diis.
Syris, cap. ii. and Calmet on Judges, ch. xviii. 30.
[h] The word «>3J, Nabia, which is used in this book, might
well be employed by Samuel, who wrote the first part at least
of the first book of Samuel. Vid. 1 Sam. ix. 9. The house
of God means the Tabernacle, as in Joshua.
[il 1 Sam. xii. 9, 10, 11. compare with Judges iv. 2. xiii. 1,
iii. 12. ii. 11, 12, 13. vi. 11. vii. 1. xi. 6.
[k] They were called a'tsaw, in the Hebrew, which sig
nifies Judges. They had the supreme power under some re-
strictions ; and without the ensigns of royaUy, being ministers
of God, subservient to the theocracy. Vid. ch. viii. 23. Some

OF THU BOOK OF JUDGES. 1 63
succession, but as eiaaergencies required, when the
repentance of the IsraeUtes influenced Him to com
passionate tiieir distress, and to afford them deli
verance from their difficulties. They frequently
acted by a divine suggesition, and were endowed
with preternatural strength and fortitude[r,].
After the death of Joshua, the people appear
for a short time to have had no regularly appointed
govemor [m], but to have acted in separate tribes.
They were for a few years retained in the service
of God, by the elders who survived Joshua, but
afterwards fell into a state of anarchy, for a period
of which we have no account, but as to those par
ticulars scattered towards the beginning, and con
clusion of this book. We find, however, that the
people pi^oceeded to the conquest of the remaining
part of the country, but that, graduaUy forgetting
the instructions of Moses> and of Joshtia, and not
withstanding a rebuke which they received from
an angel of God [n], they suffered the inhabitants
reckon- fifteen and some sixteen judges. They were sometimes
elected' by the people, on the performance of great exploits,
and generally continuecf for life.
[l] Chap, ii, 18, vi, 14, 34. xi. 29, xiv, 6, 19. The Jews
imagine, without suflicient reason, that they were endued with
the spirit of prophecy. Vid. Maimon. More Nevoch. Par. II.
e. xlv. Grot, in Jud. i. 1.
[mn] In the Samaritan chronicle, it is Said, that Joshua
appointed his nephew Abel to succeed him, upon whom the
government Mt by lot; but this is a fabulous account. Vid.
Saurin. Dissert. surHeglon Roi des Moabites. Hotting. Snieg,
Oriental, c. viii, p. 522.
[n] Chap. ii. 1. by the word ^N^n, ayyeXoi;, nuHtlus, some
u2

164 OF THE BOOK OF JUDGES.
to remain tributary among them ; who became, as
had been repeatedly predicted, " scourges in their
sides, and thoms in their eyes," and, as it were,
" snares and traps" to seduce them to idolatry [o].
For this they were punished and deprived of the
divine aid, so as to excite the complaints of their
leaders [p], and given up to their enemies, being
understand a prophet, which it sometimes signifies, as in
Haggai i. 13. But there is no reason why we should not
suppose the messenger to have been an angel, as angels un
doubtedly appeared on other occasions, the ministers of God's
miraculous government of the Israelites.
[o] Exod. xxiii. 33. xxxiv. 12. Josh, xxiii. 13. Judg. ii. 2,
The Israelites were permitted to render tributary those nations
who submitted to them, though they were to suppress their
idolatrous worship, " to break down their images, and to
destroy their groves." But those nations who in defiance of
God's declared favour, opposed them, were to be destroyed ;
and as to the seven nations of Canaan, of those, who resisted,
" nothing that breathed was to be saved alive ;" that every
trace of idolatry might be swept away. Vid. Deut. xx. 10 — 18.
vii. 1 — 6. 1 Sam. xv. b. Though this destruction was en
joined only in case of resistance, yet with no idolatrous city
whatever, were the Israelites allowed by the divine command,
to make any league or covenant ; for in these the authority of
those deities, whose sanction must have been abjured, would
have been admitted, and some toleration given to a worship
that might have tended to the seduction of the Israelites,
Vid. Exod. xxiii. 32. They were therefore enjoined, gradually,
to extirpate the civil and religious communities of the land,
and to render the people tributary and dependant as indivi
duals. All these instructions, however, the people violated,
and suflfered for their disobedience. Vid. Shuckford's Con.
vol. iii. B. XII.
[p] Chap. vi. 13.

OF THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 165
faolden eight years in servitude to Cushan, king'of
Mesopotamia, tiU God raised up Judges to deUver
them. Othniel appears to have been the first
judge ; though some writers say that Simeon, and
others that Caleb [q] preceded him in the govern
ment of the people. During the intervals between
the Judges, each tribe was governed by ils respec
tive elders ; affairs of importance being referred to
the great council, or Sanhedrim [u].
The history of this book may be divided into
two parts ; the first containing an account of the
Judges from Othniel to Samson, ending at the six
teenth chapter. The second part describing seve
ral remarkable particulars that occurred not long
after the death of Joshha, which are placed towards
the end of the book in the seventeenth and fol
lowing chapters, that they may not interrupt the
f q] Bedford's Script, Chron, Lib. V, c. iiL
[k] The great council appointed by Moses, continued pro
bably to exist, at least, till the establishment of the monarchi
cal government, though there are no proofs that its members
retained the gift of inspiration. Whether the Sanhedrim were
the same council continued, or a subsequent institution in the
time of the Maccabees, is uncertain. Like that, however, it
consbted of 70 or 72 elders : these were mostly Priests and
Levites, over which the high-priest generally, hnt not neces
sarily, presided. It decided on momentous affairs, civil and
religions, and subsisted to the time of Christ, but with authority
diminished in subjection to the Roman power. Matt, v, 21.
Mark xiiL9. Selden de Synod. Beausobre's Introduct. to Script.
There were several inferior and dependent Sanhedrims. The
word is derived from avti^^ur, a council or assembly. Numb.
xLl6.

166 OF THE BOOK OF JUDGES,
course of die history. What relates to the two
last Judges, Eli and Samuel, is recorded in the
foUowing book. The chronology of this period is
entangled with many difficulties ; but if we include
the period of 34 y^rs, which may be supposed to
have intervened between the death of Joshua and
the judicature of Othniel, the book extends its
history from A. M. 2578, to the death of Samson,
AM, 2887, and the government of the Judges
may be conceived to have continued from A-M,
2612, to the twenty -first year of Samuel's judi
cature, when Saul was anointed, A. M, 2929, that
js^ about 317 years £s].
[s] St. Paul appears to reckon 450 years ftom the division
of the land till the time of Samuel, (exclusive of Samuel's
government, which is reckoned under the 40 years assigned in
the next verse to Saul) but as this computation would be in
consistent with other statements in Scripture, and especially
with that in 1 Kings vi, 1. where the fourth year of Solomon's
reign is made to coincide with the 480th year after the deli
verance from Egypt, Usher accepts from ancient manuscripts a
differeat reading of Acts xiii, 20. according to which the 450
years are referred, not to the duration of the Judges, but to the
period which intervened between the promise of Canaan made
to Abraham, and the division of the land. , The present read
ing, however, is more agreeable to the scope of St. Paul's
discourse, -as well as best supported by authority ; and there
fore various other solutions of the difficulties that result frora
this account, have been proposed. Many chronologers have
imagined that T«-faxoa-ii>w is a mistake of the copyist of the Acts,
for Tgi»xsi7i»is ; in which case St. Paid, speaking loosely (at),
might well reckon 350 years ; for if we deduct from 480
years the 47 years which intervened between the Exodus and
the division of the land, together with the 84 years which
7

OF THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 167
The period stated in the book, if computed in
succession, woidd sweU to a much greater number
of years ; but they must be conceived sometimes
to coincide as contemporary, being reckoned from
different aeras which cannot now be exactiy ascer
tained ; and, perhaps, as ISIarsham has conjectured,
some of the Judges were coeval, reigning over dif
ferent districts.
The book of Judges presents to os a Uvely
description of a fluctuating and unsetfled nation ;
a striking picture of the disorders and dangers
which prevailed in a repubUc withotit magistracy,
when " the highwajs were unoccupied, and the
traveUers walked through by-ways [t]," when few
prophets were appointed to controul the people [u],
and " every one did that which was right in his
ovrn eyes [x]." It exhibits the contest of true
religion with superstition; displays the benefi
cial effects that flow from the former ; and repre
sents the miseries and evU consequences of impiety.
From the scenes .of civd discord and violence which
darken this history, St Paul, or the author of the
Epistie to the Hebrews, hath drawn forth some
must be assigned to Samuel, Saul, Darid, and Solomon,
before the foundation of the temple, we shall have exactly
349 years. Vid. Usher, Chron. Sac. c xii. Poh Synop. in
1 Kings vi. 1.
[t] Chap. V. &
[u] We read but of two prophets in this book. Vid. chap.
iv. 4. and ri. 8. The high-priest, however, had the power of
consnltiDg God by means of tbe Urim aad Thummim.
[xJ Chap. xvii. 6.

168 OF THE BOOK OF JUDGES.
Ulustrious examples of faith in the characters of
Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah [y].
Amidst the great vicissitude of events described
in this book, in which the justice and mercies of
God are conspicuously shewn, we are much struck
with the account of the meraorable exploits of the
Judges ; of Sisera's defeat and death ; of the vic
tory of Gideon ; of the punishraent of Abimelech ;
of Jephthah's inconsiderate vow[z]; of the actions
[Y] Heb. xi. 32.
[z] It has been a subject of endless controversy, whether
Jephthah did really oft'er up his daughter a " burnt-offering to
the Lord," or only devote her to perpetual virginity, which
might be considered as a sacrifice, when every woman looked
forward to the production of the promised seed. The Jews and
primitive churcli believed, that he did actually immolate her.
In favour of this opinion, it has been observed, that it is sup
ported by the construction of the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vul
gate versions, and by the Chaldee paraphrase ; that if the vow
extended not to the life, Jephthah might have " gone back;"
Levit. xxvii. 2 — 8. that a devotion to celibacy was uncus
tomary among the Jews, and must have been dishonourable ;
that it could not have been requisite in a dedication to God's
service, nor a sufiicient subject for that general lamentation
which prevailed on the occasion, and was continued with
superstitious observance till later times; and lastly, that if
Jephthah esteemed himself bound to give up every consi
deration, rather than violate a solemn engagement with God,
he might, for his intention, or general character, be com
mended by St. Paul, however censurable and extravagant his
promise and the performance of it might have been. See Heb.
xi. Psal. XV, 4, Joseph. Antiq. Lib. V. c. 7. § 10. Tertul. adv.
Marcion. Chrjsost. Hom. de Jeptha. Epiphan. adv. Haeres.
Lib. III. vol. i. p. 1055. and Dodwell. In support of the con
trary opinion, it has been contended that msn^, which is

OF THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 169
of Samson ; of the flagitious conduct of the Ben-
jamites, of the destruction of Gibeah ; with the
description of many other particulars that enUven
the narrative, which is Ukewise much erabelUshed
by the beautiful song of Deborah and Barak, and
the significant parable of Jotham. Many of the
sacred writers, as weU as St. Paul, aUude to, or
quote from, the book [a] ; and several relations
contained in it point out the origin of numberless
heathen fables [b]. The whole period is distin
guished by a display of extraordinary events, and
by the most glaring and miraculous proofs of divine
interposition. The history of God's government
roust necessarily be characterized by the marks
and demonstrations of his immediate agency, and
translated in ch. xi. v. 40. to lament, imports also to hold con
verse ivith, or to offer gifts. Vide R. Kimchi, Liber Rodicum.
Dr. Randolph proposes by a new reading of the text, to main.
tain that Jephthah vowed to dedicate whatsoever or whom
soever came out of the door of his house, to meet him ; and
also, to offer a burnt offering. See his Discourse, and on
Levit. xxvu. 28, 29. Conceming the Cherem, see Selden de
Jur. Nat. & Gent. c. 6, 7.
[a] 1 Sam. xii. 9—11. 2 Sam. xi, 21. Psal. Ixxxviii. 11.
Isaiah ix. 4. x. 26. and perhaps Matt. ii. 23, compare with
Jud. siii. 5.
[b] The story of Nisus's hair ; of the golden hair given by
Neptune to hb grandson Pterelaus, which rendered him invin.
cible while uncut; that of Hercules and Omphale; ofthe
pillars of Hercules ; of the death of Cleomedes Astypalxus ;
of Agamemnon and Iphigenia; and to enumerate no more,
that of the Sabbe rape, appear to have been ingenious fictions
fabricated on the foundation of the accounts m this book.

170 OP THE BOOK OF JUDGES.
the selected instruments of his wUl may weU be
expected to exhibit a succession of unprecedented
exploits. It should be observed, indeed, that some of the
actions, which in this book are represented to have
been subservient to God's designs, were justifiable
only on the supposition of divine warrant, which
superseded all general rules of conduct [c]. With
out this, the deeds of Ehud [d] and of Jael [e]
might be pronounced censurable for their treachery,
however prompted by commendable motives. And
with respect to some other particulars, it is obvious,
that the sacred author by no raeans vindicates all
that he relates ; and that the indiscriminate mas
sacre of the people of Jabesh-Gilead, and the rape
of the virgins at Shiloh, were certainly stamped
[c] God certainly may authorise what without his sanction
would be questionable or unjust ; as where he commands the
Israelites " to spoil the Egyptians," and to extirpate the nations
of Canaan. Vide Exod. iii. 22. Deut. xx. 10 — 18.
[d] We are not to conceive, because God " raised up the
Judges," that he directed them in all their actions. The rela
tion, however, seems to intimate, that Ehud on tbis occasion
acted by divine authority.
[E] Jael's conduct, like that of Kaliab, as described in the
book of Joshua, appears to have arisen from a desire of assist
ing in God's declared designs in favour of his chosen people.
As the exploit is approved in the hymn of Deborah, an in
spired prophetess, we may suppose it to have been performed
in compliance with a divine impulse, otherwise it could not
have been a subject of praise. Some, however, have thought,
that Deborah only foretels Jael's secular happiness and future
celebrity.

or THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 171
with the marks of injustice and cruelty ; and must
be condemned on those principles which the scrip
tures have elsewhere consecrated, though in the
brevity of the sacred history they are here record
ed without comment. The characters, likewise,
of God's appointed ministers, however spoken of
in this book, and in other parts of scripture, as
commendable for their general exceUence, or par
ticular merits, are presented to us in some points
of view, as highly defective and blameable. It is
easy, however, to discriminate the shades from the
Ught, and to perceive, that in the description of
such mixed characters as that of Samson, much is
detaUed as reprehensible ; and while we are led
to admire his heroic patriotism, we are taught also
to condemn his criminal infatuation and bUnd con
fidence in DeUlah.
With respect to those objections, which a mis
taken levity has suggested against the credibiUty
of some transactions recorded in the book, they
proceed either from want of attention to those con
structions which the researches of the learned have
enabled them to make [f]; or from a disregard to
[f] The relation, for instance, of Samson's setting fire to the
com of the Philistines, cannot reasonably be questioned by
those who consider the character of Samson ; and the great
abundance of foxes (or thoes or jackals) that prevailed in
Judaea, which, indeed, was so remarkable, that many cities,
and even provinces, were denominated after the word which
we translate foxes. Vid. 1 Sam. xiii. 17 Josh. xv. 28. xix,
42, Judg. i. 35. also Cantic. ii. 15. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. V.
c. viii. § 7. Some writers think that instead of schualim.

172 OF THE BOOK OF JUDGES.
the character ofthe times described, when a bound
less enthusiasm resulted from a confidence in the
divine favour.
foxes, we should read schoalim, sheaves, and translate zanab,
the extreme end, instead of the tail. Vide Bernard Repub.
des Lett, p, 407, Stackhouse's Hist, of Bib, Book V. vol. i.
The Vulpinaria, or feast of the foxes, observed among the
Romans, might have derived its origin from this transaction,
some of the particulars of which Ovid describes in a fabulous
account. Vid. Fast. Lib. IV. L. 684, et seq, Bochart. Hieros.
Lib. III. c. xiii. The extraordinary strength of Samson is not
to be considered as the physical effect of his hair, though God
judged proper to render the continuance of the former de.
pendant on the preservation of the latter, which was the mark
•of his consecration to God as a Nazarite.

OP THE

BOOK OF RUTH.

The Book of Ruth is a kind of supplement or
appendix to the Book of Judges, and may be con
sidered as an introduction to the history of David,
[a], related in the Books of Samuel. In the He
brew canon it coraposed but one book with the for
mer ; and though various opinions have been enter
tained respecting its chronology [b], it is properly
placed in our Bibles between the books of Judges,
and Samuel [c]. The famine which occasioned
Elimelech to leave his country, is said to have come
to pass " in the days when the Judges ruled ;"
hence some have assigned the beginning of the
history to the time of Gideon, who was raised up
in defence of Israel, about A.M. 3759 [d], and
[A] Euseb, Hist Lib. VI. c, xxv. Hieron. Prol. Gal. Aug.
de Doct. Chrbt. Lib. II. c. viii.
[b] Houbigant Bib. Pref. to vol. ii.
[c] The modem Jews place Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations,
Ecclesiastes, and Esther, immediately after the Pentateuch,
giving Ruth sometimes the first, and sometimes the fifth place.
[d] Patrick, in chap, i, 1,

174 OF THE BOOK OF RUTH.
under whom a famine is related to have happened
I^e] ; notwithstanding which, some Jewish writers
suppose the history to have occurred much earUer,
in the tirae of Ehud [f].
The chief difficulty which exists in settUng the
chronology of this period, arises frora a genealogi
cal account of St. Matthew [g], in which it is
stated that Boaz, who was the husband of Ruth,
and the great grandfather of David [h], was the
son of Salraon by Rachab ; for if by Rachab we
suppose to be meant, as is usuaUy understood,
Rahab [i], the harlot, who protected Joshua's
[e3 Judges vi. 3 — 6.
[f] Seder 01am. cap. xii.
[g] Matt, i. 5, 6.
[h] Ruth iv. 21, 22. and Matt. i. 5, 6.
[i] We cannot now discover any motive which should have
induced St, Matthew to mention Rachab in the genealogy of
Christ, unless she were some person previously spoken of in
scripture ; but many reasons may be assigned why she should
be introduced in the lineage, if she were the Rahab whose
conduct is mentioned by Joshua, (and who, though styled ruit,
z6nah, in the Hebrew, and «i-oj»)i, by the evangelists, is cele
brated as an example of faith), still, however, it may be diffi
dently suggested, that the chronological «Efferences would be
less considerable, if we could suppose her to have been a dif
ferent person ; and that the 400 years which intervened be
tween the birth of Pharez, and the time of Shamgar, were
filled up by Boaz and his six immediate ancestors. As. a slight
support to which, it may be remarked, thai the wife of Sal
mon is spelt Pa^aQ by St. Matthew, whereas in Hebrews xi.
31 . and is James ii. 25. the harlot's name is written Paed, as
in the Septuagint version of Joshua ii. 1. There is no men
tion in the Book of Joshua, or in any part of the Old Testa
ment, of Rahab's mamage with Salmon.

OF THE BOOK OP RUTH. 175
spies about A.M. 2553, it is difficult to conceive
that only three persons, Boaz, Obed, and Jesse,
should have intervened between her and David,
who was not born till about 2919. We must,
however, in this case conclude, either with the
learned Usher, that the ancestors of David, as
eminent for righteousness, or as designed to be
conspicuous, because in the lineage of the Mes
siah, were blessed with extraordinary length of
life [k}; or else that the sacred writers mentioned
in the genealogy, only such names as were distin
guished and known among the Jews. If however
Boaz be considered as the grandfather of David,
the history cannot be weU assigned to the time of
Eli [l], under whose priesthood it is stated to
have happened by Josephus [m], but it should be
understood to have come to pass at some earlier
period ; not so far back as Shamgar, where Usher
has placed it in the 2658th year of the world,
about 133 after the conquest of Canaan, but pro
bably about the year 2754 [n].
[k] Usser. Chron. Sac. cap. xH. Poli Synop. in Ruth. And
ia Matt. i. 5. Patrick, Whitby, &c.
[l] The famine which occasioned Naomi to reside ten years
in Moab, could not have come to pass so late as in the days
of Eli, from the tenth year of whose judicature to the birth of
David were only forty years. Vid. Ruth i. 1, 4. Acts xiii.
21. 2 Sam. v. 4. for we caunot suppose so short a space of
time only as thirtyi.nine or forty years to have intervened be
tween the birth of Obed and that of his grandson David, who
was the youngest of eight sous of Jesse. Vid. 1 Sam. xvi.
10, 11.
[m] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. V. c. 9.
[n] Chron. Sac, Par. I. c. xii. Du Pin, Lightfoot, &c.

176 OF THE BOOK OF RUTH.
The book has been by some considered as the
production of Hezekiah ; by others it has been
attributed to Ezra ; but it was in aU probability
written by Samuel, agreeably to the opinion of
many Jews and Christians [o] ; and the prophet
may be supposed by this addition to the Book of
Judges, to have brought down the history to the
time of his own birth. It certainly Avas composed
not only after the Judges had ceased to rule, but
after the birth, if not after the anointing of David
[p] ; whose descent from Judah the sacred writer
seems to have designed to certify, as according to
the prophecy of Jacob, the Messiah was to spring
from that tribe [_q] ; and with this view he traces
back the lineage of Boaz to Pharez, the son of
Judah [r], and grandson of Jacob [sJ.
The book contains ap account ofthe conversion
of Ruth, a Moabitess, and according to Jewish
tradition, of the royal race of Moab, which nation
was descended from Lot [t], and settled near the.
land of J udah, at the end of the Dead Sea, or
Lake of Asphaltites. Ruth having raarried Mahlon,
the son of Eliraelech, who had sojourned in Moab,
[oj Talmud, Schalsch, Abarb, Brentius, Huet, Drusius,
Patrick, &c,
[p] Chap. i. 1, iv, 22, It is probable that David was not
pointed out as an object of attention to the sacred historians
till he was selected for the throne.
[q] Gen. xhx. 10,
[r] Gen. xxxviii, 29.
[s] Gen. xxix. 35.
[t] Gen, xix, 37.

OF THE BOOK OF RUTH, 177
on account of a famine which prevailed in Judsa,
resolved, on the death of Mahlon, to accompany
her mother-in-law in the return to her country.
As Mahlon was of the house of Judah, Ruth relied
probably on the promises made to that tribe, and
had certainly become a proselyte to the Hebrew
religion [u] . After their arrival at Bethlehera, the
forraer residence of Naomi, Ruth was corapelled,
by her distress, to claim kindred with Boaz, who,
as the law of Moses directed [x], took her to wife>
and begat a son, from whom David descended.
It may be here observed, that the Holy Spirit,
by recording the adoption of a Gentile woman into
that family from which Christ was to derive his
origin, might intend to intimate the coraprehensive
design of the christian dispensation [v].
It must be remarked, also* that in the estimation
of the Jews it was disgraceful to David to have
derived his birth from a Moabitess ; and Shimei,
in his revilings against him, is supposed by the
Jews to have tauntingly reflected on his descent
from Ruth. This book, therefore, contains an in-
[u] Chap. i. 16.
[x] The ancient law ratified by Moses in Deut. xxv. 5. is
supposed to have applied only to the brother, or according to
the Rabbins, only to the elder brotiier by the same father.
Custom, however seems to have extended the obligation of
marrying the widow of the deceased to the next of kin. Vid.
Ruth i. 13. Boaz was only a kinsman of Elimelech, and by
his marriage with Ruth, he fulfilled the law in its extended in
terpretation, as well as that in Levit. xxv. 24, 25. Vid. Sel
den. de Success, in bona, c. xv. Uxor. Hebr. Lib. c, xii.
[y] Gen. xhx. 10. N

178 OF THE BOOK OF RUTH.
trinsic proof of its own verity, inasmuch as it re
cords a circumstance so little flattering to the so
vereign of Israel [z] ; and it is only further neces
sary to appeal to its admission into the canon of
scripture for a testiraony of its authentic character;
or to raention that the EvangeUsts in describing
our Saviour's descent, follow its genealogical ac
counts [a j.
The story related in this book is extremely
interesting: — the widowed distress of Naomi; her
aS'ectionate concern for her daughters ; the reluc
tant departure of Orpah ; the dutiful attachment of
Ruth ; and the sorrowful return to Bethlehem, are
very beautifully told. The simplicity of raanners,
likewise, which is shewn in the account of Ruth's
industry and attention to Naorai ; of the elegant
charity of Boaz [b] ; and of his acknowledgraent
of his kindred with Ruth, affords us a very plea
sing contrast to the turbulent scenes which had
been described in the preceding book. The re
spect, Ukewise, which the IsraeUtes paid to the
Mosaic law [c], and their observance of ancient
customs [d], are represented in a very lively and
[zj Hieron. in Tradit. Heb, ad 1 Kings iii. Calmet's Pre
face to Ruth, and Ruth iv. 22.
[a] Matt. i. 3—6. Luke iii. 32, 33.
[b] Chap. ii. 16. Howel's Hist, of Bible, Vol. I. Book iv.
and Thomson's Palemon and Lavinia. Strangers were allowed
to glean by the charitable precepts of the Mosaic Law. Vid.
Levit. xix. 9, 10. Deut. xxiv. 19.
[cj Chap. iv. 6, 10. Buxtorf. de Spousal, et Divort. § 27.
[d] Chap, iv, 7. The form of redemption here referred to
was apparently different from the degrading ceremony observed

OF THE BOOK OP RUTH. 179
animated raanner. It has been remarked, that
Ruth, in her wandering condition, might have
suggested to Isaiah the description which he ap
plied generaUy to the daughters of Moab, that
they should be " as a wandering bird cast out of
the nest [e]."
towards him who rejected his brother's wife, as enjoined in
Deut. xxv. 9. though Josephus seems to conceive that it was
the same concisely described, Antiq. Lib. V. c. ix. The
Chaldee paraphrase represents the kinsman to have drawn off
his right-hand glove instead of his shoe. The mark of trans
fer among the more modern Jews was an handkerchief, as R.
Solomon Jarchi informs us. Vide Selden de Jure, Nat. et
Gent. Juxt. Disc Heb. c. v. Vide also Ruth iv. 11. and
Seid. Uxor. Heb. Lib. II. c. xii.
[e] Isa. xvi. 2. Hieron. Epist, ad Paulin.

OF THE

FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL^

The relations contained in the Book of Ruth
forraed a kind of digression in the sacred history,
with a particular view ; but the general thread is
now resumed respecting the Judges of Israel ; and
we are presented in this, and in the foUowing
Book, with an account of the events and occur-
rences-which happened in the time of the two last
Judges, EU and Samuel; and of the two first
Kings, Saul and David. It is uncertain whether
these books are called the Books of Samuel, be
cause he was the author of them, or only because
his history constitutes a principal part of the
sacred account. They are in the vulgate [a]
[a] The Vulgate was a very ancient version of the Bible
into Latin, but by whom, or at what period it was made, is
not known. The Old Testament of this version was translated
from the Septuagint. It was in general use till the time of St.
Jerom, and called also the Italic version. St. Jerom's transla
tion was made immediately from the Hebrew into Latin, or
was the Vulgate corrected by the Hebrews ? It was executed
about A.D. 384, and it was gradually received into the Wes
tern Church, in preference to all preceding versions. It was
published at Paris, by Martianay and Pouget, ia 1693. The

OF THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 181
styled the first and second Book of Kings [b], as
two of those four books which contain the history
ofthe Kings of Israel and Judah.
The two books of Sarauel were in the Hebrew
canon considered but as one. The Talmudists [c]
suppose that Samuel wrote the twenty-four first
chapters of the first book, and that the rest was
suppUed by the prophets Gad and Nathan. This
opinion is founded upon these words in the first
book of Chronicles [0]. " Now the acts of David
the king, first and last, behold they are written in
the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of
present Vulgate, which is declared authentic by the Council of
Trent, is the ancient Italic version, rerised and improved by
the labours of St. Jerom and others. This is the only trans
lation allowed by the church of Rome, and it is used by that
church upon all occasions, excepting that, in the Missal and
Psalms, some passages, or the whole of the ancient Vulgate,
are retained, as are the Apocryphal Books, many of which St.
Jerom did not translate. There are two principal editions of
the received Vulgate, one published by Pope Sixtus the Fifth,
in 1590, the other by Clement the Eighth, which differs much
from the former, though both are declared authentic from the
Papal Chair, with much inconsistency, as the Protestants con
tend, but as the Papists maintain only with latitude for a cor
rected impression. Vide Kennicott's State of the printed He
brew Text, and James's Bellum Papale and Treatise on the
Corruption of Scripture. Some parts of the ancient Italic
version, of which the copies are now lost, have been recovered
from citations in the writings ofthe Fathers, and are published
with supplementary additions, in Walton's Polyglot.
[b] These and the two succeeding book« are called in the
Greek, BeuriXsiar, the books " of kingdoms."
{c] Bava Bathra, cap. i, Kimchi.
[d] 1 Chron. xxix. 29,

182 OF THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEt.
Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the
seer ;" and it is approved by raany writers of con
siderable authority [e] ; who maintain that the pro
phets were the historians of contemporary events.
It wUl appear evident, at least, that the books of
Samuel were written before either the books of
Kings or of Chronicles, if we compare them toge
ther; for in each of these last-mentioned books
many circumstances are manifestly taken and re
peated from the books of Samuel. We may there
fore assent to the general opinion, that Samuel
was the author of at least the greater part of the
first book [p] ; and probably he composed it towards
the latter end of his Ufe[G], Certain, however,
it is from its admission to the canon, as weU as
from the predictions which it contains, that the
[e] Huet. Demonst. Evang. Prop. IV. Isid. Orat. Lib. VI.
cap. ii. R. Kimchi, &c.
[f] Ptocopius Gaiaeus informs us, that the Syrians call the
book the prophecy of Samuel.
[o] Chap. V. 5. vh. 18. xxx. 25. ix. 9. In this last passage
Samuel incidentally observes, that they who in his time and in
that of Saul, were called prophets, were anciently denominated
seers. The word prophet, («'aJ) was in use, indeed, in the
time of Moses or Abraham. Vid. Gen. xx. 7. It seems then
to have implied an interpreter of the Divine will, or a man
endowed with a Divine spirit. In the time of Samuel, it was
appropriated to one who foresaw future events. Vid. 1 Sam.
iii. 20. x. 5. xix. 24. In the latter part of Samuel's life, the
word seer might have become nearly obsolete, though occa
sionally used in, and after his time. But perhaps this remark
might have been afterwards inserted for the instruction of later
times, as possibly were some few other particulars. Vid, vii.
15. xiii, 5. xxvii. 0.

OF THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 183 *
book was the production of a prophet ; not to
mention that it is referred to by our Saviour in
vindication of his disciples [h]. The first book
of Samuel contains a space of near eighty years,
if we reckon from the birth of Samuel, about or
soon after A.M. 2868, to the death of Saul, which
happened A.M. 2948.
The history opens with an account of the birth
of Samuel. It records his consecration to the mi
nistry, and his appointment to the prophetic of
fice ; the capture of the ark ; and the denunciation
and infliction of God's judgments on the house of
Eli [I] ; the curse on those who possessed the ark *
its return, and the signal punishment of such as
daringly prophaned its sanctity [k]. It relates the
election of Saul in conformity to the unadvised
desire of the Israelites for a King [l] ; the wars
[h] Comp. 1 Sam. xxi, 6. with Matt. xii. 3, 4.
[l] Chap. iii. 20. ii. 28 — 36. iii. 11. 14. compare with ch.
iv. 11. xxii. 18 — 20. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. VI. c. xii. § 4. p.
259. Edit. Hud. 1 Kings ii. 26, 27.
[k] Chap. vi. 19. The text, as it now stands, represents
50,070 men of Bethshemish to have been smitten upon this
occasion for the presumptuous violation of God's express com
mand. Vid. Numb. iv. 20. But the original words are more
properly translated by Bochart : " He smote threescore and ten
men, fifty out of a thousand men ;'* that is, the number being
1400, God smote 70, a twentieth part. Josephus understood
the passage thus ; and it must be observed, in support of this
interpretation, that Bethshemish was but a village. Vid. Pa
trick on 1 Sam. ri. 19.
[l] The impropriety of this request will be more obvious,
if we recollect that God had condescended to be holden in the
character of a temporal King to the Israelites, residing, as

184 OF THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL.
and evils which arose, as had been foretold [m], in
consequence of this change of government, iUus
trating the futiUty of dependence upon an earthly
sovereign [nJ. It describes the sins and rejection
of Saul ; the anointing of David, and the first
display of his piety and heroism [o] ; the dis
interested friendship of Jonathan and David ; the
envious and ungenerous suspicions of Saul; the
death of Samuel ; the appearance of his spirit [p],
it were, among them, and issuing his decrees from the Ta.
bernacle ; to require a King was therefore to reject the
Theocracy. Vid. chap. viii. 7. xu. 12. Joseph, cont. Apion.
Lib. II. ^ 16- p. 1376. Edit, Hudson.
[m] Chap, viii, 11—18,
[n] Chap, xiii. 6—18.
[o] The character of David is very beautifully delineated by
the sacred writer, and his actions are placed before us in a
manner well calculated to produce effect. He is first intro
duced to our notice as " a valiant and prudent man," anointed
on the rejection of Saul ; and the historian then goes back to
relate an achievement of David's youth ; for it appears that
the combat with Goliah was previous in point of time to the
driving away of the evil spirit of Saul, otherwise Saul and
Abner must have known " whose son the stripling was ;" aud
therefore the seventeenth chapter records particulars prior in
point of chronology to those related in the sixteenth chapter.
Vid. Warburt. Div. Legat. B. IV. sect. 6, note E, Such an
ticipations are not uncustomary in the Sacred Writings, and
they give much animation to the history ; and the narration
should be read in the following order ; ch. xvii, xviii. 9. xvi.
14 — 23. Some writers, however, consider the 39 verses which
are omitted in the Vatican copy of the Septuagint, as an in
terpolation introduced into the Hebrew text, and the Alexan
drian copy of the Greek version.
[p] Chap, xxviii. The most probable and best supported
opinion concerning this relation is, that God suffered Samuel's

OF THE FIRST BOOK OP SAMUEL. 185
denouncing God's judgments against the impiety
of Saul; in the accompUshment of which judg
ments the book terminates, with the account of
the miserable fate of Saiil, and of his sons. The
sacred writer iUustrates the characters, and de
scribes the events of his history in the most enga
ging manner. The weak indulgence of EU is weU
contrasted with the firm piety of Samuel. The
rising virtues of David, and the sad depravity of
Saul, under the influence and occasional possession
of an evil spirit [q], are strikingly opposed. The sen
timents and instructions scattered through the work
are exceUent ; and the inspired hymn of Hannah,
which much resembles that of the blessed Virgin
[r], discloses a grand prophecy of Christ, who is
here for the first time in scripture spoken of as
the Messiah [s], or the anointed of the Lord,
departed spirit, or a miraculous representation of his person,
to appear to Saul, and as a punishment for his presumptuous
impiety, to disclose his impending fate. The text positively
calls him Samuel, (" himself," in the original) and he prophe
sied truly : for " on the morrow," that is, soon after, Saul and-
his sons were slam, and the host of Israel defeated. The wo
man was herself terrified at a real appearance, when probably
she designed a deception, and was preparing her incanta
tions. Vid. Ecclus. xlri. 20. Calmet. Dissert. Pref. to 1 Sam.
Note in Sept. 1. 1 Chron. x. 13. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. VI.
c. xiv. Justin Martyr, Dial, Tryphon, and Commentators.
[q] See G, Sharp's Case of Saul,
[r] Compare 1 Sam. ii. 1 — 10. with Luke i. 46 — 65. see
also Psalm cxiii. 7, 8.
[s] 1 Sam. ii. 10. The Messiah and the anointed, are
synonymous, nitt^D, Mascuach, is derived from nmo, Maschach,
to anoint.

186 OF THE FIRST BOOK OP SAMUEL.
whose attributes are proclaimed as those of the
exalted sovereign and appointed judge of the earth.
Samuel, the reputed author of this book, was
obtained by the prayers of Hannah [t], and dedi
cated from his infancy to God. He appeared as a
prophet at a time when the prophetic spirit was
but rarely known ; he accepted the supreme power
in the government of his country [u] without am
bition, and executed the important duties of his
office with irreproachable integrity. When re
quired by God, he resigned his power without re
luctance ; and in compliance with the divine com
mands, elected two strangers in the government, to
the exclusion of his sons. He was much feared
and respected by Saul, and the whole nation ; and
was allowed by that monarch to judge Israel " aU
the days of his Ufe [x]." The author of Ecclesi
asticus justly celebrates him as a favoured servant
[t] The word Samuel, according to the Hebrew derivation,
signifies " asked from God."
[v] Some deny that Samuel obtained to the priesthood, as
he was not of the posterity of Aaron, and assert that he only
succeeded to the judicature. Vid. Hieron. cont. Jovin. Lib. I.
and in Psa. xcviii. others maintain that he was dignified both
by the religious and civil ofiices. Vid. August, in Psal. xcviii.
He is not reckoned in the catalogue of priests given by Jose
phus. Vid. Selden de Success, ad. Pontiff. Lib. I. cap. xiv.
[x] 1 Sam. vii, 15. Patrick observes that this verse may
mean, that Samuel was so diligent in the discharge of his duty,
that he gave himself no rest, but sat to judge causes every day.
Some consider it as a subsequent interpolation. Samuel may
be supposed to have died about two years before Saul, in the
ninety-eighth year of his age.

OP THE FIRST BOOR OF SAMUEL. 187
of God, a righteous judge, and a faithful prophet
[y]. He was addressed by raany revelations from
God [z] ; and the miraculous circumstances that
demonstrated his appointment, as well as the pro
phetic spirit which inspired him, were so con
spicuous, "that all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,
knew that Samuel was estabUshed to be a prophet
of the Lord, who let none of his words fall to the
ground." His first predictions concerning the de
struction which impended over the devoted house
of EU were literaUy fulfiUed to the second and third
generation [a], and these were followed by others
which came to pass with striking exactness [b].
[y] Ecclus. xlvi. 13—20.
[zj Chap. iii. Psa. xcix, 6, 7. Acts iii. 24.
[A] Chap. iii. 11—18. xxii. 18, 20. 1 Kings ii. 26, 27.
Vid. also Chap. ii. 34, 35. which contain prophecies that were
verified in Zadok and his predecessor Abiathar, but which
were more fully accomplished in Christ the great high-priest
" for ever," Vid, 1 Kings i, 39. ii. 26, 27, 1 Chron. xxix. 22.
Heb. V. 10.
[b] Chap. viii. 11—18. x. 2—9. xii. 25, xxviii, 19.

OF THE

SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL.

If we assent to the opinion of the Talmudists, that
Samuel did not continue the history beyond the
twenty-fourth chapter of the Pirst Book of Samuel,
we may assign this Second Book, as weU as the
latter part of the former, to the prophets Gad and
Nathan. Many learned Jews have contended,
from a fanciful resemblance of style between these
and the works of Jeremiah, that this prophet com
piled them from the meraoirs of Samuel, Gad, and
Nathan [a]. We may conclude then, either that
they were written entirely by Samuel, or partly by
him, and finished by some of those inspired per
sons who were educated in the schools of the
prophets, which he is supposed to have established.
These were colleges for the instruction of select
youths in the knowledge of the law, and the
[a] Bava Bathra, Abarbinel, Grotius, and Locke. In 2d
Mace. ii. 13. it is said, that Nehemiah gathered together the
acts of David, with other writings ; which perhaps means only
that he collected them for the library which he is there said to
have founded.

OF THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. 189
exercise of devotion [b]. Upon many of these
disciples God conferred the spirit of prophecy ;
and probably most of the subsequent prophets
were elected from these schools [c] ; not, indeed,
necessarily, but because therein fitted and pre
pared for the sacred influence. They were under
the direction of a prophet reaUy inspired, who was
considered as a father to the society ; and Samuel
was probably the first who possessed that dignified
character [d].
This Second Book of Sarauel bears an exact
relation to the preceding history, and is Ukewise
connected -with that which succeeds. We see
throughout the effects of that enmity against other
nations, which had been implanted into the minds
of the Israelites by the Mosaic Law, and which
graduaUy tended to the extirpation of idolatry.
The history contains a period of near forty
years, from about A.M. 2948 to 2988. It describes
the establishment and prosperity of David's reign,
during its first years ; which he deserved, as weU
by his generous respect for the memory of Saul, as
by the exceUency of those many other quaUties
which his maturer piety displayed. It relates the
extinction of Saul's family, and David's grateful
and unsuspicious kindness to the surviving son of
[b] 1 Sam. X. 5.
[c] For Amos informs us, that he was not, chap. rii. 14.
It was likevrise proverbially said, " Is Saul also among the
prophets Y' Is he raised to a dignity to which he was not
disciplined by his education ?
[d] Whitby's School of the Prophets ; Smith's Discourse
OB Prophecy.

190 OF THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL.
Jonathan. The inspired author then records the
fall of David; and exhibits a sad proof of the
unconscious wickedness to which the noblest minds
may be seduced by passion. He represents to us
God's anger softened, but not appeased, by David's
repentance, who was soon after punished by the
death of the chUd, and by many domestic cala
mities. The transgression of Amnon was the first
consequence of his bad example ; " the sword did
not depart from his house," and " evil rose up
against him [e]," in the ambitious intrigues and
rebeUion of Absalom. The troubles which he
personally suffered, only commenced a long train
of afflictions ; we soon behold him a degraded and
fugitive sovereign, reviled by his meanest subjects;
and severely punished for his conduct towards
Uriah, by the incestuous outrage of his son [f].
The submissive repentance, however, and restored
virtues of David, procured his pardon and re-
establishment on his throne; which he dignified
by the display of the greatest moderation, justice,
and piety. If in the exultation of his recovered
prosperity, God suffered him [g] to be betrayed
into an ostentatious numbering of the people,
" his heart smote him" to immediate repentance,
and he piously threw hiraself on God's mercy, and
intreated that he only might suffer from the indig
nation which he had provoked.
The vicissitude of events which the book describes ;
[e] Nathan's prophetic threat, chap. xii. 10, 11.
[f] Chap. xii. 10—12. xvi. 21, 22.
[g] Chap. xxiv. 1. and 1 Chron. xxi. 1,

OF THE SECOND BOOR OF SAMUEL., 191
the fall and restoration of David ; the effects of his
errors, and his return to righteousness, are repre
sented in the most interesting manner, and perpe
tuate valuable lessons to mankind. The author, in
the concise style of sacred history, selects only the
most striking features of character, and the most
important incidents in those revolutions of which
he treats On a collective view of the scattered
particulars which are disclosed, we perceive that
the character of this chosen servant of the Al
mighty, exhibits the model of a sovereign [h]), in
reverence to which succeeding sovereigns were
instructed to walk [i] ; who considered the glory
of God as the principal object of his regard,
looking to the ark as to the most sacred and
nearest concern [k], and making every prepara
tion for the temple which it was reserved for
Solomon to buUd [l]. Among the conspicuous
beauties of the book, we can never sufficiently
admire the feeling laraentation over Saul and
Jonathan [m] ; the expressive parable of Nathan ;
and the triumphant hymn of David.
The prophecies contained in the book are, first,
[h] Chap. viiL 15.
[i] 1 Kings XV. 3—5, 11. 2 Kings xiv. 3, &c.
[k] Chap. vi. 13—19.
[l] Chap. vii. 5, &c.
[m] This song is supposed to have been sung at the fuueral
of Saul and Jonathan ; it being customary among the Jews to
solemnize the obsequies of their friends with dirges accom
panied by music. 2 Chron. xxxv. 24. Matt. ix. 23. Joseph.
Antiq. Lib. III. c, 9, Maim, c, xiv, sect, 23,
6

192 OF THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL.
that which blended temporal and spiritual blessings
in the promises relative to Solomon and the Mes
siah ; the building of the Temple [n], the perma
nency of David's throne, and the perpetuity of
that kingdora which it prefigured [o]. Secondly,
the predictive denunciations of Nathan [p]; and,
lastly, the figurative descriptions in the Psalm of
David [q] ; by whom the!" spirit of the Lord spake,"
assuring him of an " everlasting covenant [r]."
This book, likewise, as well as the former,
contains other intrinsic proofs of its verity. By
describing, without disguise, the misconduct of
those characters, that were highly reverenced
among the people, the sacred writer demonstrates
his impartial sincerity ; and by appealing to monu
ments that attested the truth of his revelations
when he wrote, he brought forward indisputable
evidence of his faithful adherence to truth. The
Books of Samuel connect the chain of sacred his
tory by detailing the circurastances of an interest
ing period. They describe the reformation and
improvements of the Hebrew church established
by David ; and as they delineate minutely the life
of that monarch, they point out his typical relation
[n] Chap, vii, 13,
[o] Chap. vii. 12, 16. Heb. i. 5, David seems to have
apprehended the great extent of God's promises, and in con
sequence to have burst out in rapturous acknowledgment of
his goodness. 2 Sam, vii, 19 — 21. 1 Chron. xvii. 17.
[p] Chap. xii. 10, 11.
[q] Chap. xxii.
[r] Chap, xxiii, 2, 5.

OP THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. 193
to Christ; and likewise iUustrate remarkably his
inspired productions, which are contained in the
Book of Psalms, His triumphs over the enemies
of his country were, in some measure, figurative
of spiritual victories over the adversaries of the
church ; while, at the sarae time, they contributed
to the accompUshment of God's promises, by the
extension of the dominion of the IsraeUtes to
the utmost limits which had been holden out to
Abraham [s] ; thereby affording a pledge of the
future completion of the Divine assurances witli
respect to the universal estabUshment and glory of
the Christian church. Heathen authors have bor
rowed from the books of Samuel, or have coUected
from other sources many particulars of those ac
counts which he gives [tJ. This remark wiU
equaUy apply to the Books of Kings ; and, indeed,
to aU the books of sacred history [u] .
[s] Gen. XV. 18. xvii. 8. compare with chap. viii. 1 — 15.
[t] Eupol. ap. Euseb. Prsep. Lib. IX. c 30. Ntc. Damasc.
ap. Joseph. Antiq.
[u] Joseph. Antiq. Menand. Theophr. Lib. III. ad Autol.
Euseb. Praep. Lib. IX. Clem. Alex, Strom. I.

o

OF TBE

FIRST BOOK OF KINGS.

This and the following Book [a] were in the He
brew canon reckoned but as one. They cannot
be positively assigned to any particular author,
though some have ascribed them to Jeremiah [b],
and some to Isaiah. There are many, likewise,
who contend that they are the production of Ezra ;
and probably this opinion is most just, for they
appear to be a coUection, or historical abridgment,
selected frora the memoirs and books of the pro
phets ; which are herein frequently referred to [c],
as records, doubtless, of contemporary prophets.
Thus " the Book of the Acts of Solomon," is men
tioned in this very book[D], and was probably
written by Nathan, Ahijah the Shilonite, and Iddo
[a] The Jews call them the Third and Fourth Book of
Kings. In the time of Origen, they denominated them from
the first words " nn •fpnm," and the King David. Orig. ap.
Euseb. Praep. Lib. VI. c. xi.
[b] Bava Bathra, Grotius, Isidore, Procopius, Kimchi, &c.
[c] Diodor. in 1 Sam. ix. 9. Theodor. Praef. in Lib. Reg.
Huet. Propos. iv. p. 161. Edit. Par. 1679.
[d] Chap. xi. 41.

OF THE FIRST BOOR OF KINGS. 195
the seer [e]. Hence therefore those who by the Book
of the Acts of Soloraon have understood the Books
of Kings, have supposed that they were composed
by these prophets [f] : but we elsewhere read that
Sheraaiah the prophet was employed with Iddo the
seer, in writing the acts of Rehoboam [g]; that
the acts of Abijah were written in the story of
Iddo [h] ; the book of Jehu the prophet likewise
related the acts of king Jehoshaphat [i] ; and
Isaiah wrote the acts of Uzziah [k], of Heze
kiah [lJ, and probably of the two intermediate
kings, Jotham and Ahaz, in whose reigns he flou
rished ; so that we may conclude, that frora these
several records, as weU as from other authentic
documents, were compiled the Books, of Kings.
They appear to have been arranged by one per
son, as the style and manner are uniform ; and
therefore they may with rauch probability be as
signed to Ezra, who possibly corapiled thera during
the captivity [m].
[e] 2 Chron. ix. 29,
[f] Caijetan, Serrarius, &c,
[g] 2 Chron, xii, 15.
[h] 2 Chron, xiii, 22.
[i] 2 Chron. xx. 34. and 1 Kings xvi. 1,
[k] 2 Chron. xxvi. 22.
[lJ 2 Chron. xxxii. 32. and Isa. xxxvi. xxxvii. xxxviii. and
xxxix. where much of Hezekiah's history is incorporated with
Isaiah's prophecies. Theodor. Praef. in Lib. Reg.
[m] The Chaldaic names by which the months in these
books are denominated, were not used by the Jews till in, or
after the captivity.
o 3

196 op THE FIRST BOOK OP KINGS.
The first book comprises a period of 126 years,
from the death of David, A.M. 2989, to that of
Jehoshaphat. After the description of the decay
and death of David, we are presented with a most
striking history of the reign of Solomon; of his
wisdora and raagnificence ; of the building of the
teraple ; of his extended comraerce to Ophir [n] ;
and of the visit of the Queen of Sheba [o].
[n] Various have been the conjectures concerning the situa
tion of Ophir. Josephus places it in the East Indies, in a
country which, by his description, should appear to be Ma
lacca. Bochart contends that it was Taphrobana, or Ceilon.
Calmet places it in Armenia, Montanus in America. And
Huetius in the eastern coast of Africa. As various have been
the sentiments with respect to Tharshish, some considering it
as having been near, and others as distant from Ophir : all
that the scriptures tell us, is, that the navy of Tarshish came
in once in three years, and furnished Solomon immense wealth ;
of which we know not the amount, since we can make no
exact estimate of the value of the talents specified ; they were,
however, certainly of less value than the Mosaic talents.
Vid. Prid. Pref. to Con. Bochart Phaleg. L. II. c. xxvii.
Brace's Travels. Diss, sur le pays d'Ophir. Memoires de la
Litterature, tom. 30. p. 83.
[o] The most learned writers maintain, that the Queen of
Sheba came from Yemen, in Arabia Fehx. She is called by
Christ, " the Queen of the South," and is said by him to " have
come from the utmost parts of the earth," as the southern
part of Arabia was considered by the ancients. She is sup
posed to have been a descendant of Abraham by Keturah,
whose grandson Sheba peopled that country. She therefore
probably resorted to Solomon for religious instruction. Vid.
1 Kings x.l. and hence our Saviour's encomium, Matt. xii. 42.
She is called Balkis by the Arabians. The Ethiopians pre
tend that she was of their country, and many fabulous storie*

OF THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. 197
To this succeeds an account ofthe miserable do
tage and apostacy of Solomon; and of Ms death,
preceded by a prospect of that threatened rending
of the kingdom which was to take place under his
son[p]. In the prophecy, and in the accomplish
ment of the memorable event, we perceive the
exact adherence to the principle of respect to the
righteousness of the father, in the raitigation of
the punishraent on the son, which was looked to
in the faith of David [q], and to which the Al
mighty repeatedly declared he would have regard
in his judgraents, particularly in the case of Solo
mon [b]. Afterwards are related the accession of
Rehoboam ; his rash and impolitic conduct, and
the consequent separation of the ten tribes, which
happened about A. M. 3029. The establishment
of a distinct kingdom was effected and confirmed
by God's appointment under Jeroboam [s], whose
are told of her by different writers, under the names of Nicaule
Candace, Marqueda, &c. Vid. Ludolph's Hist, of Ethiopia.
Dr. Johnson's Disc, on Queen pf Sheba, vol. xv. Calmet,
Diet, under word Nicaule.
[p] Chap. xi. 11, 12. God is represented in scripture as
sometimes (especially in cases of idolatry) " visiting the ini
quities of the fathers upon the children," when the measure
of guilt was completed ; and in the foreknowledge that their
descendants should persist in evil, God revealed as a punish
ment to the disobedient, those calamities which awaited their
famiUes. It was declared, however, to those who repented,
that they might avert the divine vengeance. Vid. Levit. xxvi,
40 — 42. 1 Kings xxL 29.
[g] Psal. Ixxxix. 30—33.
[r) 1 Kirigs xi, 10—13, 29—36, 39. xii. 19—24.
[s] Chap, xi, 11. xii. 20, 24-

198 OF THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS.
character formed a reraarkable contrast to that of
David [t]. The divine favour which had hitherto
extended protection to the country, and even se
cured its frontiers frora invasion, while the inhabi
tants went up to worship at Jerusalera, seeras now to
have been withdrawn, and the land to have become
exposed to the incursions of its eneraies. The
account of the separation is foUowed by a concise
sketch of the history of the two kingdoms, in which
particular periods are characterized by very ani
mated relations ; as that of the disobedient prophet ;
of the widow of Zarephath ; of Elijah and the pro
phets of Baal; of Benhadad's pride and defeat; of
Ahab's injustice and punishment. In the course
of these events, we contemplate the exact accom
plishment of God's promises and threats; the wis
dom of his dispensations, and the mingled justice
and mercies of his government.
The book is stamped with the intrinsic raarks of
inspiration : of the prophecies which it contains,
sorae were speedily completed [u], but that which
foretold that Josiah, mentioned by narae, should be
born unto the house of David, and slay the high-
[t] Chap. xvi. 19, 26, 30, 31.
[u] Chap. vi. 12. xi. H~l,3, 30—39. xiv. 10, 14, xvi.
1 — 4, Jehu, in this last prophecy, foretold that God would
make the house of Baasha hke that of Jeroboam ; and it
deserves to be remarked, how exactly the threat was fulfilled ;
for as Nadab the son of Jeroboam reigned two years, so did
Elah, the son of Baasha ; and both were slain by the sword.
Vid. XV. 25 — 28. xvi. 8 — 10. Vid. also, for other predictions,
chap. xvii. 1. (compared with James v, 17.) xx, 13, xxi. 19—24,
Patrick, &c.

OF THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS, 199
priests, was not fulfilled tiU above 350 years after
it was delivered [x]. Some of its prophetic de
nunciations were uttered under figurative descrip
tion [yJ; and Micaiah, to illustrate the infatuatioa
which God had suffered to prevail in the counselss
of Ahaz, that it might mislead him to destruction ;
unfolds to the misguided monarch the danger of
his projected enterprize, under a representation
received in a vision ; in which an imaginary coun
cil, and the supposed agency of a lying spirit are.
introduced, in order to explain the divine conduct
in some analogous proceedings [z]. Both the books
of Kings are cited as authentic and canonical by
our Saviour and his Apostles [a],
[x] Chap. xiii. 1—3. compared with ? Kings xxiii. IS— 20,
Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X. c. 4. edit. Hudson.
[y] Chap. xxii. 17.
[z] Chap. xxii. 19—28, Vid. also 2 Kings vi. 17. Job i.
6—12.
[a] Matt. xii. 42. Luke iv. 25-^27i Acts viit 4?. Jloro,
xi. 2—4. James v. 17, 18.«

OF THE

SECOND BOOK OF KINGS.

Concerning the author of the Second Book of
Kings, it has been treated in the preceding prcr
face ; and it is here only necessary to repeat, that
the Second was tinited with the First Book of
Kings in the Hebrew canon, and considered but as
one with it ; and that it was corapiled by Ezra, or
some other inspired person, from the records of
former prophets.
The history contained in this Book describes
the government and actions of many successive
Kings of Judah and Israel, for the space of about
SOO years : frora the death of Jehoshaphat, A.M.
3115, to the destruction of Jerusalem and of the
teraple, A.M. 3416. The connection and occa
sional quarrels which subsisted between the two
kingdoras during part of this tirae, till the conquest
of Samaria by Shalmanezer, seem to have induced
the sacred writer to blend the two histories, as in
some measure treating of the same people. Both
nations appear to have departed with alraost equal
steps from the service of the true God ; and in
the history of each we are presented with a sue-

OF THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS. 201
cession of wicked and idolatrous kings, tiU each
had completed the measure of its iniquity.
Both Israel and Judah, though they invariably
experienced prosperity and aflBiction in proportion
to fheir obedience or disobedience, were infatuated
by their perverse inclinations ; and in a long series
of their respective sovereigns, we find a few only
who were awakened by God's judgments to a sense
of their true interest and duty. The whole period
seems to have been dark and guilty, the glory of
the kingdom being eclipsed by the calamities of
the division; and by the increasing miseries of
idolatry and ambition. Successive tyrannies, trea
sons, seditions, and usurpations, and the instant
punishm^eot which they produced, serve at once to
iUustrate the evil character of the times ; and the
vigilant equity of the divine government. The
long suffering of God is remarkably evinced in
the book, and his forewamings and judgments
were imparted and accomplished with gradual
and progressive advancement. The captivity of
Naphthali[A] preceded that of the remaining
tribes, and the invasion and conquest of Sama
ria, with the leading away of its people held out
strong, though disregarded, admonitions to Judea.
The events are described with great simpUcity,
though in themselves highly interesting and im
portant. The account of Elijah's assumption into
heaven ; of EUsha's succession to his ministry ;
and of the series of illustrious miracles performed
[A] Chap. XV. 29.

202 OF THE SECOND BOOK OP KINGS.
by Elisha ; the story of Naaman ; and of the panic
flight of the Syrians ; the history of Benhadad
and Hazael ; of the predicted death of Ahab and
Jezebel, and their children ; and of the destruc
tion of Baal's prophets, are all pregnant with in
struction, and have supplied a theme for frequent
dissertation. We perceive in these impressive
histories, the characters and qualities of men
painted with great fidelity; and the attributes of
God displayed with great effect. The particulars
and circumstances are sketched out with a brief
and lively description, and the imagination lingers
with pleasure in filling up those striking outUnes
that are presented to our view. The sacred author,
regardless of minute order, and of the succession
of events, seeras soraetlraes desirous only of pre
senting us with a view of the state of reUgion
among the people, and of iUustrating the genea
logy of Christ. In particular, we observe, how
the revolt of the ten tribes and their subsequent
captivity contributed to keep up the distinction of
the tribe of Judah ; and to make the prophecies
which foretold that the Messiah should descend
from this branch, more conspicuously accom
plished. The predictions described as delivered and ful
filled in this book, are those Avhich foretold the
death of Ahaziah [b] ; the birth of a son to the
Shunammite [c] ; the recovery of Naaman [d] ;
[b] Chap. i. 16.
[c] Chap. iv. 16.
[d] Chap. V. 10.

OF THE SECOND BOOfc OF KINGS. 203
plenty in Samaria [e] ; the crimes and cruelty of
Hazael [f] ; the success of Joash [g] ; the defeat
of Sennacherib [h] ; the prolongation of Heze
kiah's life [i] ; the Babylonish captivity [k] ; and
the peaceftil reign of Josiah [l].
After the captivity of the ten tribes, the colony
brought up from Babylon and other places, adopted
the Hebrew religion, and blended it with their own
[e] Chap, vii, 1.
[F] Chap. viii. 10,12.
[g] Chap. viii. 19.
[h] Chap. xix. 6, 7, 28, 29, 33. and Herod. Lib. II. c. 14,
Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X. c, 2. This destruction is said, in the
Babylonish Talmud, and in some Targums, to have been oc
casioned by lightning. It might perhaps have been effected
by the destructive hot winds so frequent in those parts. Vid;
Thevenot's Travels, Part II. Book I. chap. xx. B. II. ch. xvi.
Part I. Book II. ch. xx. Jeremiah speaks of a destroying wind,
where the Arabic renders it a hot pestilential wind, chap. iv.
11. li. 1. Isaiah threatens Sennacherib with " a blast," which
might possibly be called the angel of the Lord. 2 Kings
xix. 35. Isaiah xxxvii. 7. 2 Kings xix. 7.
• [i] Chap. XX, 6.
[k] Chap. XX. 17, 18. God appears to have revealed to
Hezekiah the calamities which awaited his descendants in the
Babylonish captivity, as a punishment for his ostentatious
display of his treasures, in which he seemed to confide ; and
for not having rather professed his confidence in God, whose
mercies he had so recently experienced. These prophecies,
aud those in the ensuing chapters relative to the same capti
vity, were literally fulfilled above 100 years after. Vid. chap.
xxi. 12—14. xxiii. 27. compared with ch. xxiv. 13. and Dan.
j. 1—6. [i-J Chap. xxii. 20,

204 OF THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS.
idolatries ; and henceforward, in point of time, we
hear little of the inhabitants of Samaria. The
kingdom of Judah stiU continued for above a cen
tury to provoke God's anger by its disobedience
and idolatry, notwithstanding Isaiah and many
other prophets exerted all their powers during the
period to lead the people to repentance, by every
motive of interest and fear. The good reign of
Hezekiah, though lengthened by divine provi
dence, was too soon succeeded by the " evil days
of Manasseh," in whose time the temple, and even
the volurae of the law seera to have been almost
entirely neglected. In the reign of Josiah religion
for a short tirae revived ; thepubUc copy of the law
was discovered and read [m], and idolatry for a few
months was suppressed ; but the tide of iniquity
having rolled back with accumulated force, Jeru
salem is besieged and taken, the city and temple
spoiled, and the noblest of the nation led captive
to Babylon. The book concludes with the ac
count of the second siege by Nebuchadnezzar,
which happened about eighteen years after the
first; then the city and temple [n] were burnt, and
[m] Chap, xxii. 8. xxui. 2.
[n] According to Usher's computation, the temple was
hurnt about 424 years after it was built. Josephus, who con
ceives it to have been bumt 470 years 6 months and 10 days
f;-om the time of its building, observes with astonishment, that
the second temple was burnt by the Romans in the same
month, and on the same day of the month that the first temple
was set on fire by the Chakiisans ; and the Jewish doctors

OF THE SECOND BOOK OP KINGS. 205
soon after the whole destruction completed by the
massacre, or flight of the reranant which had been
left araidst the ruined cities of Judaea.
add, probably with as little truth, that the Levites were sing
ing the same hymn in both destructions, repeating Psalm
xciv. 23. these words : " He shall bring upon them their own
iniquity, and he shall cut them off in their own wickedness,
yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off." Vid. Antiq.
Lib. X. c. 8. de Bell. Jud. Lib. VI. c. 4. p. 1279.

OP THE

FIRST BOOK OF CHRONICLES.

The Jews formerly reckoned the two Books of
Chronicles but as one [a] ; which was entitled the
Books of Diaries [b], or Journals, in allusion to
those ancient journals which appear to have been
kept among the Jews. The Books of Chronicles,
indeed, as well as those of Kings, were in all pro
bability copied, as to many of their historical rela
tions, frora these ancient chronicles of the Kings
of Israel and Judah. Such Chronicles raust un
questionably have existed, since in the books of
Kings there are frequent references to books of
Chronicles, as containing circumstances which are
not found in those so entitled in our canon ; not to
mention that these sacred books were written after
the books of Kings. The books of Chronicles
[a] They now adopt our division,- as well as in the pre
ceding books, in conformity to our mode of citation in con
cordance of wjiich they borrowed the use frora the Latin
church. [b] n'D>n nan, dibre hajjamim. Verba dierum, that is.
The words of days ; extracts from Diaries. They are called
Chronicles froui the Greek word p^onza.

OF THE FIRST BOOK OF CHRONICLES. 207
which we now possess, were so naraed by St.
Jerom : they are distinguished in the Septuagint
as the books of "things omitted [c] :" and they
are supposed to have been designed as a kind of
supplement to the preceding books of scripture ; to
commemorate such iraportant particulars as had not
been noticed, because not immediately connect
ed with the plan of former books. They are ge
nerally, and with much probabiUty, attributed to
Ezra [d3 ; who has used a similar style of expres
sion, and whose book appears to be a continuation
of them £e]. Ezra, if he were the author, might
have digested them by the assistance of Haggai
and Nehemiah ; as well from historical records, as
from the accounts of contemporary prophets.
These books were certainly compiled after the
captivity, as they mention the restoration by Cyrus,
[c] TlafaXsivoiicvm, Thus Xenophon wrote the parahpomena
of the Peloponnesian war, , as a supplement to the history of
Thucydides. [d] This book appears to have been compiled before that
of Nehemiah, by whom it is cited (Neh. xii. 23), though the
genealogy of the descendants of Zerubbabel is said to be
brought down much below the time of Ezra ; for if the Zerub
babel here mentioned were the same who conducted the peo
ple back from captivity, the account may have been swelled
by collateral kindred ; or possibly encreased by subsequent
additions. St. Matthew, however, gives, in his first chapter,
a genealogy so different, that it appears to be that of a differ
ent branch, if not of a different family. Comp. 1 Chron. iii.
19. et seq. with Matt. i. 13. et seq. and Grot, in Matt. i. 23.
[e] Comp. the last verses of 2 Chron. with beginning of
Ezra. Patrick's Comm. in 2 Chron. xxix. 21.

208 OF THE PIRST BOOK OF CHRONICLES.
and some circumstances that occurred after the
return [f']- The author, however, appears sorae
times to speak as one who lived previously to the
captivity [g] ; but this probably must have been in
consequence of his transcribing, without altera
tion, the accounts of earlier writers.
The books of Chronicles, though they contain
many particulars related in preceding books ; and
supply several circurastances omitted in preceding
accounts ; are not to be considered merely as an
abridgement of former histories, with some supple
mentary additions ; but as books written with a
particular view; in consistency with which, the
author sometiraes disregards iraportant details in
those accounts from which he might have compiled
his work ; and adheres to the design proposed,
which seeras to have been to furnish a genealogi
cal sketch of the twelve tribes deduced from the
earliest times. The objects were to point out
those distinctions which were necessary to discri
minate the mixed multitude that returned from
Babylon ; to ascertain the lineage of Judah ; and
to re-establish, on their ancient footing, the pre
tensions and functions of each individual tribe.
The author appears to have intended to afford, at
the sarae time, an epitome of some parts of the
Jewish history ; and in this first book, taking up the
account at the death of Saul, he presents his coun-
[f] 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21 — 23. xxxv. 25.
[g] I Chron. iii. 19, iv. 41—43. 2 Chron, v. 9. xxi. 20.
xxii. 26. xxv, 25, 7

OF THE FIRST BOOK OF CHRONICLES. 209
trymen with the picture of David's reign, especi
ally dilates on his zeal for religion ; and on the
preparations which he made for the building of
the teraple; probably with design to excite the
reverence and emulation of those who were about
to rebuild it. He describes particularly the regu
lations and arrangements adopted by David with
relation to the Priests and Levites ; as well as to
the appointment of the musicians and other persons
employed in the service of the temple, which Da
vid established on a great and magnificent scale :
improving it with the introduction of hymns, of
which there is a fine specimen in the sixteenth
chapter of this book.
The author, in repeating some particulars re
lated in the preceding books, specified the names
of the persons eraployed, and active on great oc
casions ; and by this means furnished each indivi
dual tribe with an account of the actions of its
respective ancestors.
The genealogical tables of this book must have
been highly important among the Jews, who were
led by the prophetic proraises to be extremely
observant of these particulars. They exhibit the
detail of the sacred line through which the promise
of the Messiah was transmitted [h]. The prece-
[h] The genealogies contained in this book are carried
back without interruption to Adam, through a period of nearly
3500 years. They afford a striking proof of the solicitude
which prevailed among the Jews to ascertain the completion
of the promises ; as also of the vigilant care with which the
sacred accounts were preserved. They could not be cor-
P

210

OF THE PIRST BOOK OF CHRONICLES.

dency of the several famiUes, likewise ; their mar
riages ; and raany advantages, were often depend
ent on the accuracy of these accounts ; and those,
who could not prove their descent, were deprived
of many privileges. A regular and unpolluted
lineage was especially necessary to those who
aspired to the priesthood ; and such as could not
produce it were deemed incapable of admission to
that high office [i], Ezra, Ukewise, by pointing
out the division of families, as recognized before
the destruction of Jerusalem, enabled each tribe,
at the return from ,the captivity, to be restored to
its appropriate inheritance. These genealogical
accounts are likewise still useful in raany respects
[r3 ; and, however they may appear sometimes
irreconcileable with raodern systems of chronology,
they were certainly considered as accurate by the
evangelical writers, as they are cited in the New
Testament [l]]. '
rupted formerly, for most of the people could repeat them
memoriter. . The veneration for thera was condemned by St,
Paul as excessive and useless, after the appearance of the
Messiah. 1 Tim. i. 4. Tit. iii. 9.
[i] Ezra ii. 61, 62, Selden de Success, ad Pontiff. Lib, II.
cap. ii. p. 156. and cap. iii. p, 161. Joseph, cont. Apion.
Lib. I^ Maimon. in Mishnah Biath. c. vi. § 11.
[k] We collect from them, araong other things, that Nathan,
from whom, according to St, Luke, our Saviour was descended,
was the son of David by Bathshua, or Bathsheba, 1 Chron. iii. 5.
[l] Matt. i. Luke iii, Joseph, cont. Apion, Lib. I. Grotius
Annot, in Lib. Carpzov. p. 292. Huet. Demonstrat. Evang.
Prop. IV. Walton Officin. Bib. p. 555, Lightfoot Chron.
Vet. Test. p. 142.

OF THE FIRST BOOK OF CHRONICLES. 211
The authority of the book is likewise established
by the accommodation of a prophetic passage se
lected from it to the character of our Saviour by
St. Paul [m] ; and by a positive prophecy of the
eternity of Christ's kingdora [n] ; as well as by
other occasional predictions [oJ. It may be added
also, as remarkable, that an inspired acclamation
of David to the praise of God in this book, breathes
the same sentiments of piety -which were afterwards
uttered in similar expressions by our Saviour, knd
which by St. John, in his enraptured visions, are
ascribed to the blessed spirits who celebrate the
praises of God in heaven [pJ.
[m] 1 Chron. xvii, 13, xxii. 10. Heb. i. 5.
[n] Chap. xvii. 14.
[o] Chap. xxii. 9, 10,
[pJ Compaire 1 Chron. xxix. 10, 11. with Matt. vi. 13. and
with Rev. v. 12, 13.

OF THE

SECOND BOOK OF CHRONICLES.

This Book, as weU as the former, with which it
was originally united, was probably compiled by
Ezra, from the writings of the different prophets
who are severaUy mentioned in scriptures as the
historians of their respective periods [a] ; as weU
as possibly from ancient chronicles which are
supposed to have existed, and which may be con
ceived to have been composed by the Priests,
some of whom are called Memorialists, or Re
corders, as Jehoshaphat [p^, and Joah the son of
Asaph [c]. The book contains many things omit
ted in the historical books which precede. It
begins with a description of the reign of Soloraon ;
and dilates with particular exactness on the rauni-
ficent piety of th^,t monarch, in the construction of
the temple ; minutely specifying its ornaraents as
typical of spiritual decorations which were to em-
[A] 1 Chron, xxix, 29, 2 Chron, ix, 29. xii, 15. xiii. 32.
XX. 34. xxxii. 32. xxxiii. 19. xxxv. 5.
[b] 2 Sam. viii. 16.
nc] 2 Kings xviii. 18.

OF THE SECOND BOOK OF CHRONICLES. 213
beUish the Christian church ; a subject highly in
teresting and useful to the Jews ; who at the tirae
when this book was composed, were preparing to
rebuild the teraple. Hence the account of the
solemn consecration of the first building; of the
noble and comprehensive prayer of Solomon ; and
of the covenanted proraises which God graciously
iraparted at the dedication, when the glory of the
divine presence was manifested [d], must have af
forded such consolation to the Jews, scarce yet
reviving from the despondence of captives. Then
is repeated from the Book of Kings, the represen
tation of the magnificence and prosperity which
Solomon enjoyed, agreeably to God's promise [e].
After this, we are furnished with a recapitulation,
of the history of the Kings of Judah, occasionally
intermixed with relations respecting Israel, when
connected with Jndah. Great part of this history
is selected either iraraediately from the book of
Kings, or both Kings and Chronicles were copied
from sorne larger annals, known under the title of
the Books of Kings ; since frequent references
are herein made to some books of Kings, and
soraetimes for circumstances not extant in the ca
nonical books [f]. These accounts, however, in
the books of Chronicles, are enriched with many
additional particulars. They present us with a
[d] Chap, vii, 1, 3. see also v. 13. vii. 22.
[eJ Chap. i. 11,12.
[r] Chap. xvi. 11, xxi. xxiv, 27. xxv, 26. x.\viii, 26. xxxii.
32. xxxiii. 18. xxxv. 27.

214 OP the second book of chronicles
Uvely picture of the state of the kingdom of Ju
dah ; and of the various vicissitudes and revolutions
which it sustained under different princes. They
serve, as the author seems to have designed,
greatly to illustrate the necessity of depending on
God fbr defence, without whose protection king
doms must faU. The advantage derived from
obedience to the laws of God, and the miseries
which resulted frora wickedness and sin, are stri
kingly shewn. The book abounds with useful ex
amples ; and the characters are forcibly displayed
by a contrasted succession of pious and corrupt
princes. The change and defection even of indi
vidual persons, and their decline from righteous
ness to evil, is shewn with much effect. In the
representation with respect to the sovereigns of
Judah, we perceive the decline of many from
obedience to idolatry, and the recovery of Ma
nasseh alofle, from unrighteousness to repentance
[g] ; the divine wrath was occasionally incensed to
the infliction of iraraediate punishment for pecu
Uar depravity, as in the instance of Uzziah, who
was punished with leprosy for invading the priestly
office, and offering to burn incense [h]. The re
beUion of Israel, and the contest between the
two kingdoras; the preservation of Joash from
the destruction which overwhelmed the rest of the
house of Judah; the struggles between idolatry
and true religion ; the opportune discovery of the
[g] Chap, xxxiii, 1 — 19.
[h] Chap. xxvi. 16—21.

OF THE SECOND BOOK OF CHRONICLES. 215
copy of the law ; with many other interesting par
ticulars which exhibit the interposition of the Al
mighty, defeating evil, and effecting his concerted
purposes, deserve to be considered with great at
tention. During this period an extraordinary
number of prophets was employed to awaken con
trition, to point out the irapendant ruin of the
country, and to open prophetic views of the king
dom of the Messiah ; their labpurs, however, were
ineffectual to convert the people, who soon beheld
successive invasions of Judea, and were finally led
into captivity.
Several predictions are scattered through the
book : as the promises made to Solomon [i] ; to
Jehoshaphat [k] ; and to others [l]. Sorae senti
ments appear to be transcribed frora it into the
N^ew Testament [m].
The varieties and apparent differences which
exist between these books and those of Kings,
with respect to numbers, names, and dates, have
deterred the Hebrew writers from commenting on
them. These, however, are to be attributed to
those various causes which have been before de
tailed [n] ; to our ignorance of periods so long
.elapsed ; to the different scope of the sacred wri
ters ; and to those mutilations and corruptions in
f l] Chap. i. 12. vii. 17—22.
[k] Chap. xix. 2. xx. 15, 17, 37,
[l] Chap, xxxiii. 8.
[m] Compare 2 Chron. ii. 5, 6. with Acts vii. 48, 49. and
xvii. 24; also 2 Chron. xix. 7, with 1 Pet. i. 17.
[nJ Introduction and Preface to Historical Books,
5

216 OF THE SECOND BOOK OF CHRONICLES.
minute particulars which have especially prevailed
in the books of Chronicles : for these books ap
pear to have been copied with unusual carelessness ;
and in none, is the punctuation so defective.
The second book contains a brief sketch of the
sacred history, from the accession of Solomon to
the throne, A.M. 2988, to the return from the
captivity, A.M. 3468 : a recapitulation not only
very useful to the Jews, but which reflects great
light on other parts of scripture, and exhibits some
coincidence with prophane accounts [o].
The two books jointly considered, present in a
connected view, a compendium of the Jewish his
tory. In almost all the Hebrew manuscripts, they
are placed as the conclusion of the bible. In most
of the versions, as in our translation, they irarae
diately succeed the Books of Kings, and precede
the Book of Ezra. This appears to be the proper
and original order, and is supported by the Cam
bridge manuscript. Dr. Kennicott supposes, that
the two last verses of the Second Book of Chroni
cles were improperly added to it by a transcriber,
who carelessly wrote down the beginning of Ezra ;
and on discovering his mistake, broke off abruptly,
and beginning Ezra again, repeated the verses
with proper distinction of place [p].
[o] Hieron, Epist, IX. ad Paulin, et Epist. ad Domnion.
St. Jerom justly remarks, that it were folly to pretend to a
knowledge of scriplure without au acquaintance with the Book
of Chronicles.
[p] See Kennicott, Dissert, on 1 Chron. xi, 1. Vo'l, I, p,
492.

OF THE

BOOK OF EZRA,

This Book was certainly written by Ezra, That
he wrote the four last chapters has never been
questioned, since, in several parts of these, he evi
dently professes himself the author, by speaking in
the first person [a]. Some critics have pretended
that the six first chapters must have been produced
by a person raore ancient than Ezra, because Ezra
is said in the seventh chapter [bJ, to have gone up
from Babylon after the events described in the six
first chapters, in the time of Artaxerxes Longima-
nus ; whereas in the fifth chapter, the author has
been thought to speak of himself as present at
Jerusalem, in the time of Darius Hystaspes [cJ-
If this be not a mistake, Ezra may perhaps be
[a] Chap. vii. 27, 28. viii. 1, 15, 24. ix. 5.
[b] Chap. vii. 1.
[c] Chap. V. 4. This verse is usually considered as an an
swer of the Jews. It may possibly, however, be regarded as
a question of Tatnai and his companions. See verse 10.
Perhaps we should read as in the Greek, Syriac, and Arabic
versions, " then said they," and the objection is removed,
and the sense amended.

218 OF THE BOOK OF EZRA.
supposed to have accompanied Zerubbabel in the
first return frora the captivity [p^ ; and he might
have been again sent -up to Babylon to counteract
the representations of those who opposed at the
Persian court the rebuilding of the city and tem
ple ; and the account of his departure, which is
given in the seventh chapter, perhaps refers only
to his going up with that coraraission and power
which he received from Artaxerxes, But whether
Ezra were or were not at Jerusalem at the time
when this answer is supposed to have been made
to Tatnai, he raay weU be conceived, either as
copying a pubUc record of the transaction, or as
relating a speech of the Jews, to have used the
expression of " We said unto them," meaning by
" we," his counfrymen ; which is surely no un
common mode of speaking. Such objections are
very futile ; and there is no reason to question the
authenticity of any part of the book, which from
the highest antiquity has been attributed to Ezra ;
who certainly at least digested it; and probably
towards the end of his days [e].
This book is written with aU the spirit and
fidelity that could be displayed by a writer of con
teraporary events. It is a continuation of the
[d] Nehem. xii. 1. If the author of this book were not the
same person with the Ezra, mentioned by Nehemiah, he might
still have gone up from Babylon to Jerusalem before the se
venth year of Artaxerxes,
[e] Huet, Demon. Evang. Carpzov. Introd. in. Lib. Hist.
V. Test. Brentii Praef. ColoniiBibl. Illust, hi Lib. Esd, Walteri
Otficin. Biblic. p. 559.

OP THE BOOK OP EZRA. 219
Jewish history,. from the time at which the Chro
nicles conclude ; and the connection of the two
accounts is evident, since the book of Ezra begins
with a repetition of the two verses which terrai-
nate the Books of Chronicles. The sacred writers
pass over the time of the captivity as a sad period
of affliction and punishment: dtiring which, if the
people were indulged in the exercise of their reli
gion, they had few events to record ; and therefore
we have no general history of their circurastances ;
and must have recourse to the books of those illus
trious prophets who flourished among the Jews in
Assyria, for the only particulars that can be ob
tained concerning their condition.
The present book begins with an account of
God's having disposed Cyrus, either by positive
injunction, or by disclosing to him his long^re-
dicted designs, to promote the rebuilding of the
city and temple of Jerusalem. It relates the ac
complishment of some illustrious prophecies in the
release [fJ of God's people, which that monarch
•granted in the first year of his reign over Babylon ;
[fj Isaiah xliv. 26 — 28. A prophecy uttered concerning
Cyjus, described by name near 200 years before he appeared :
.justly noticed with admiration by heathen writers. It should
be observed, that the two persons foretold by name iij pro
phecy, were remarkable for eminent virtues. Among the Jews,
Josiah, of whom the sacred writers declares that there was no
king like unto him, before or after his time. 2 Kings xxiii.
2, 5, Among the Gentiles, Cyrus, whose eminent qualities
are beautifuUy described by Xenophon, vide Cyropasdia.

220 OF THE BOOK OF EZRA.
and in the return of the Jews [g^ to their own
country after a captivity of seventy years [uj,
A.M. 3468. W^e then are presented with a Ust of
the leaders and with the numbers of captives who re
turned under Zerubbabel, and perceive how fataUy
the nation had been diminished and brought low by
successive defeats and dispersions [i]. We con
template the long train of an harassed people re
stored from captivity, and returning to their coun-
[g] Scaliger Isag, Lib, III. p, 260. et de Emend, Temp,
Lib, VI, p, 576,
[h] The name of Jews seems to have been derived from the
name of Judah, and it is remarkable that the Jerusalem Tar
gum renders the prophecy of Jacob, with respect to Judah —
«' Judah, to thee shall all thy children confess, and by thy name
shall all the Jews be called." The Jews returned from Baby
lon fifty years after the taking of Jerusalem ; but the seventy
years which Jeremiah predicted as the period for the duration
ofthe captivity, are reckoned from the third or fourth year of
Jehoiakim's reign, A.M. 3398. Vid. Jer. xxv, 1, 11. xxix. 10.
At this period Nebuchadnezzar first invaded Judaea, and car
ried off captives. Pan. i. 1, 3, 2 Kings xxiv, 1 — 4. 2 Chron.
xxxvi, G. Patrick in Jerem. xxv, 11, xxix. 10. Dan. i. 1.
Zech. i. 12. vii. 1 — 5. and Prid. Ant. A.C. 518.
[i] Many of the Jews remained in the countries into which
they had been carried. The Jewish writers say, that only the
dregs of the people returned. It should be remarked, that Ezra
says, that " the whole congregation together was 42,360 ;"
though if we calculate the separate numbers, they amount but
to 29,818. Ezra, perhaps, omits the detail of some individuals,
collectively reckoned : as those of the ten tribes, or those who
could not tind their registry ; or possibly the numbers are in
some instances corrupted.

OF THE BOOK OP EZRA. 221
try, which had for many years lain desolate [k].
We behold them erecting a temporary altar and
service, and laying the foundation of their teraple.
Afterwards are described the lamentations of those
who remembered the magnificence of Solomon's
buUding ; the opposition excited by the Sama
ritans and others, whose assistance had been
rejected ; the interruption occasioned by their in
trigues; and lastly, the finishing and dedication
of the temple, about A.M. 3489 [l], and the cele
bration of the Passover [m] .
[k] Since the land had lain desolate only fifty-two years from
the death of Gedaliah, some suppose that as the sabbatical
year was occasionally observed by pious princes, the Jews
had neglected the law conceming the sabbatical year, only
from the beginning of the reign of Asa ; that is, 364 years.
Vide Preface to Leviticus, p. 109, note G. Compare 2 Kings
xix. 29. Isa. xxxvii. 30. with Lev. xxv. 5 — 7, and Universal
Hist. Vol. X. p. 178.
[l] The Jews tell our Saviour, that their temple had been
forty-six years in building; which must mean the temple as
repaired and enlarged by Herod, This work was begun in the
eighteenth year of his reign ; from whence to the thirtieth year
of Christ was a period of forty-six years ; and the temple was
not even then entirely finished ; nor according to the account
of Josephus till the time of Agrippa, near sixty years after the
death of Christ. Vid. John ii. 20. Joseph. Autiq. Lib. XV.
c. xi. de Bell Jud. Lib. I. § xxi.
[m] It is necessary here to mention, that Justin Martyr in
his dialogue with Trypho, asserts that the following speech of
Ezra was in the ancient Hebrew copies of the Bible, but ex.
punged by the Jews, ^iz. " Ezra said to the people, this
passover is our Saviour, and our refuge ; and if you will be
persuaded of it, and if you shall Iiave thoroughly reflected
9

OP THE BOOK OF EZRA.
Ezra then relates his return with his companions
to Jerusalem ; confesses the disobedience of the
people to God's laws, in intermarrying with the
GentUe nations of the land ; describes his own
pious and conciliatory prayer ; the repentance of
the people, and their separation from the wives
and children, who not being of the holy seed,
might, if suffered to intermingle with the Jews,
have rendered uncertain the accomplishment of thfe
promises ; and he concludes with an enumeratioii
of those who had transgressed : stigmatizing with
impartial indignation, the names of even the priests
and rulers who had offended in his lamentable vio
lation of the law. The work should be read with
the prophecies of Haggai and Zachariah, which
illustrate the condition and conduct of the people,
and the circumstances in which they were placed.
The predictions delivered by the prophets, while
they reproved the murmurings of the people, con
soled them in their dejection and despondence, by
leading them to look forward to the glory of the
Messiah, to be displayed in the second temple [n].
upon it, and it shall have sunken into your hearts that we are
about to humble him in a sign, and after these things we
shall rest our hope in him, this place shall not be made de
solate through all time, saith the God of hosts ; but if yOu
will not believe in him, neither hearken to his preaching, ye
shall be a triumph to the Gentiles." P. 292. Edit. Thirib.
1722, The passage, however, probably never formed a ge
nuine part of Scripture, or it could not have been surrepti
tiously removed from all the copies,
[n] Haggai ii, 7—9. Zech, ii. 10, iii, 8—10,

OF THE BOOK OF EZRA, 223
The history contains a period of about seventy-
nine years : frora A.M. 3468, when C^^rus became
master of Persia, to A.M. 3547, when Ezra ef
fected the reforra described in the last chapter of
his book ; for between the dedication of the tem
ple, and the departure of Ezra frora Babylon in
the seventh year of -the reign of Artaxerxes Lon-
gimanus, is a period of fifty-seven or fifty-eight
years ; which this book passes over in silence,
only mentioning that the Jews had during that
time intermixed with the Gentiles.
This Book is written in Chaldee [^o] from
the eighth verse of the fourth chapter to the nine
teenth verse of the sixth chapter, and from the
twelfth verse of flie seventh chapter to the twenty-
seventh Verse ; for as this part of the work- eon-
tains chiefly letters, conversation, and decrees ut
tered in that language, it was consistent with the
fidelity of the sacred historian, to describe the very
words which were used ; especially as the people
recently returned from the captivity were familiai*,
and perhaps more conversant with the Chaldee,
than even with the Hebrew tongue : arid it was
probably about this time that the Chaldee para
phrases began to be used ; for it appears by Ne
hemiah's account |^p], that aU could not understand
the law, which may mean that some of them had
forgotten the Hebrew during their dispersion in
[o] The Chaldee, or Syriac, was the language then used over
all Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, &c.
[p] Neh. viii. 2, 8. Casaubon Epist. 590.

224 OP THE BOOK OP EZRA.
the captivity [q]. Some assign, Ukewise to this
time, the origin of the Jewish synagogues, though
it is possible that they existed before the capti
vity [r].
Ezra was of the sacerdotal family, a descendant
of Seraiah [s], in a right line from Aaron. He
succeeded Zerubbabel in the government of Ju
daea, by a commission which lasted twelve years,
to A.M. 3558 ; at the expiration of which term,
he either returned to Babylon to give an account
of the state of the province of Judaea ; or else re
tired into a private station in his own country ;
co-operating doubtless, in the pious designs of
Nehemiah his successor, by whom it is related
soon after, that Ezra produced and read the law
of Moses to the people at their request [t]. Ezra,
indeed, appears to have been particularly weU
skiUed in the law, to have given much attention
to the study of the scriptures, and to have been
weU versed in the interpretation of them. He
styles himself a ready scribe [u], and professes to
[9] Univ. Hist, vol x. Book II. p. 220.
[r] Psalm Ixxiv. 7, 8.
[s] Chap. vii. 1 — 5. He calls himself the son of Seraiah,
which only implies his descendant ; or at least, it is not pro
bable that he was the immediate son of the high-priest Seraiah
who was slain at the taking of Jerusalem. 2 Kings xxv. 18.
Prid. Con. Part I. B. V.
[t] Neh. viii. 1 — 3.
[u] Ezra vii. 6. The word, Ibid sopher, implies one skilful
in learning, or in the interpretation of Scripture, The origin
of the scribes is uncertain ; they were probably first employed

OF THE BOOK OF EZRA. 22S
have prepared himself to instruct the people in the
statutes of God : the tradition, therefore, of his
having made a coUection of the Sacred Writings
is probably weU founded. We know, indeed, from
Josephus, that the Jewish priests after every im
portant war, were accustomed on the establishment
of peace, to digest new registers from the ancient
records of the priests [x] ; and there can be no
doubt that they exercised also a vigilant care to
compare and to preserve the scriptures free from
corruption. Ezra, therefore, may well be supposed to have
published a correct edition after the re-establish
ment of the Jews ; and probably with the assist
ance of the great synagogue [y], which particularly
in subserviency to the prophets, and, perhaps, educated in their
schools. Judges v. 14. 1 Chron. xxvii. 32. Jerem. xxxvi. 26.
They seem to have been established as an order of men after
the captivity, and to have risen into repute after the cessation
of prophecy. They are mentioned in the New Testament as
doctors of the law, and teachers of the people. Matt, xxii, 35.
and Mark xii. 28, &c. They appear in the later times to have
corrupted the law by their traditions, and to have become de
ficient in purity of mauners. Matt. xv. 3. v. 20. Luke xx. 46.
Of the inspired scribes, of whom Simon speaks, there is no
account iu scripture.
[Xj or «7EgiXEin'o^£iro( TUV i£piuf KOt-nro. 'Bfakt* iK Ttov a^p^ccwv ypee-fA*
ftarut avtifflailai, are the words of Josephus, cont. Apion. Lib. I.
§ 7. p. 1333.
[y] Irenaeus. adv. Haeres, Lib. III. c. xxv, Tertul. de Cultu
Femmar. Lib. I. § 3. p. 151. Edit. Par, 1664. Clem. Alex,
Strom. I. p. 410. Edit. Potter. Basil. Epist ad. Chilon, &c.
Chrysost. Homil. in Epist. ad Hebrae. Herbelot Biblioth.
Orient, sub Voce Ozair. Ben. Seraiah et Koran, eap. Bacra.
Introd. p. 6. Q

226 OF THE BOOK OF EZRA.
flourished in the time of Artaxerxes Longimanus ;
not that there is any reason to imagine that the
sacred books were lost during the captivity; as
some have absurdly conceived from the fabulous
relation of a pretended burning of the law, and of
the restoration of the scriptures by divine revela
tion ; which account is given only in the apocry-
phal book of Esdras [z] : a work of little or no
authority. The copies of the law were too much
reverenced to be lost ; and Daniel [aJ we know
was in possession of, or at least refers to one
during the captivity. He likewise quotes the pro
phecies of Jeremiah [b] ; and probably other per
sons had copies of the scriptures, many of them
being favoured by the conquerors. If indeed the
sacred vessels of the teraple were so carefuUy
preserved, we may weU conceive that the authen
tic manuscripts of the Hebrew scriptures were
safely deposited at Babylon ; and perhaps restored
to Zerubbabel, or Ezra, on their return to Jerusa
lem. But wherever preserved, Ezra certainly pro
duced the Law, and read it to the people [c] ; and
the other books of scripture were coUected by him
and Nehemiah [d], or by the great synagogue,
Ezra was a most useful person to the Jews, who
reverence his memory with a regard almost equal
to that which they entertain for Moses, He is not
[z] 2 Esdras xiv. 21. Vid. Joseph, cont. Apion. Lib. I. § 8.
[a] Chap. ix. 11, 13.
[b] Dan. ix. 2.
[c] Nehem, viii, 2, and ancient Univ. Hist, voh iii. p. 418.
Xd] 2 Mace. ii. 13.

OF THE BOOK OF EZRA. 227
particularly styled a prophet in scripture ; but our
Saviour makes no distinction between the authors
of the sacred books, except that of " Moses and
the Prophets." Ezra was undoubtedly an ap
pointed minister of God ; and he wrote under the
influence ofthe Holy Spirit, or his book would not
have been admitted into the Hebrew canon ; or
received as sacred frora the earliest ages of the
christian church.
Ezra is reported by some traditionary accounts
to have died in the hundred and twentieth year of
his age, and to have been buried at Jerusalem \%\ ;
though others say that he died in Persia, and was
interred on the banks of the river Samura ; where
his tomb is shewn [f]. Besides the Books which
are ascribed to Ezra in the apocryphal part of our
Bible, there have been spurious constitutions ;
benedictions ; and prayers attributed to him ; as
likewise a revelation ; a dream ; and a prophecy
relative to the Roman empire ; together with a
calendar of pretended auspicious and unlucky days,
none of which require attention.
[f] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. XI. c. v.
[g] Benjamio Tudela.

«2

OF THE

BOOK OF NEHEMIAH.

The Book of Neheraiah being subjoined in the
Hebrew canon to that of Ezra, as a continuation
of his history, was often considered as his work [a]:
and in the Latin and Greek Bibles it is caUed the
Second Book of Ezra; but it undoubtedly was
written by Nehemiah, in a more simple style than
that employed by Ezra, and he professes himself
the author of it ia the beginning, and uniformly
speaks in the first person. It was probably ad
mitted into the catalogue of the sacred writings by
some rulers of the great synagogue [a],
Ezra appears to have continued near ten years
in the government of JudaBa, after the reform
which he mentions in the last chapter of his Book :
persisting probably in his endeavours to restore
f a] Hieron. Praef. in Reg. Euseb. Chron. ad An. 1584.
[b] When Isidore asserted, that the second book of Ezra
was not in the Hebrew canon, he meant the apocryphal book
attributed to him; for he says, that Ezra's first book con
tained the words of Ezra and Nehemiah. Isidor. Orig.
Lib. VI. c. iir

OF THE BOOK OF NEHEIVIIAH. 229
religion, and to promote the prosperity of his
country. Circumstances were, however, so unfa
vourable and adverse to his designs, that in the
twentieth year of Artaxerxes Longimanus [c],
A.M. 3559, we find, frora Nehemiah, that repre
sentations were made to him at Babylon of the
afflicted state of the Jews ; and of the ruinous con
dition of their city, of which the walls were yet
unrepaired. This book begins with an account of Nehemiah's
grief at this report; of his application to Arta
xerxes for permission to visit and rebuild Jeru
salera, " the place of his fathers' sepulchres.'"
This he obtained probably by the entreaty of
Esther, the Queen [d], who favoured the Jews.
Nehemiah then relates his departure and arrival at
Jerusalem with authority; feelingly describes the
desolate state of Jerusalem ; viewed with melan
choly contemplation in the silence of the night,
and details with affecting; interest his exertions to
repair its dismantled waUs, He records the naraes
of those patriotic men who assisted him on this
occasion; the conspiracy of the Ammonites, and
other eneraies, against the work, and the defeat of
their designs. After the finishing of the w-alls and
fortifications, Neheraiah appUed himself to other
[c] Not Artaxerxes Mnemon, as some have imagined. Vid.
Scalig. Proleg. Oper. de Emend. Temp. Lib. VI. and Patrick.
The month Chisleu, mentioned in the first verse of Nehemiah,
answers to a part of our November and December.
£d] Chap. ii. 6.

230 OF THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH.
public objects. The scarcity of the inhabitants in
the large city of Jerusalem, first excited his atten
tion. He fortunately at this time found a register
of those persons who returned from the captivity
under Zerubbabel : which he repeats in the seventh
chapter [e], in order to complete the restoration
of their possessions to the respective tribes; and
that none but the Levites and descendants of
Aaron might officiate in the service of the temple^
and of the priesthood.
Neheraiah then describes the public reading of
the Law to the people ; the celebration of the
Feast of the Tabernacles [f] ; and other reUgious
[e] Chap. vii. This genealogy differs from that given by
Ezra in the second chapter of his book, with respect to names
and numbers ; which difference Prideaux attributes to altera
tions raade by Nehemiah, in compliance with changes that
had happened since the departure firom Babylon. It is re
markable that the two accounts agree in the total amount;
and the sum of the numbers, which are separately detailed,
will correspond, if to the 29,818 specified by Ezra, we add
the 1765 persons reckoned by Nehemiah, which Ezra has
omitted ; and, on the other hand, to the 31,089 enumerated
by Nehemiah, we join the 494, which is an overplus in Ezra's
book, not noticed by Nehemiah ; both writers including in the
sum total 10,777 of the mixed multitude, which is not parti
cularized in the individual detail. The accounts unquestion
ably agreed when they were received into the canon, unless
where there might be some obvious cause for a variation;
and probably the differences that now exist, have originated m
the carelessness of the copyists. Sharp's Answer to Kennicott
and Commentators.
[f] The Scenopegia, or feast of Tabemacles, was a grand
festival in memory of the Israelites having dwelt in tents in the

OP THB BOOK OF NEHEMIAH. 23^1
appointments, observed with a pathetic commemo
ration and thanksgiving for God's former mercies,
as described in preceding books of scripture. Then
foUows an account of the renewal of the covenant
of obedience and respect to God's law, recorded as
a memorial^ with the names of those who signed it,
and with a catalogue of those who were appointed
by lot, or who consented to Uve at Jerusalem, which
was surrounded by hostUe neighbours. The book
concludes with a description of the reformation,
both civil and reUgious, which Nehemiah effected ;
the last act of which, the removal of the strange
wives, was, according to the general computation,
accompUshed about A.M. 3574 [g] ; but it could
not have happened, as Prideaux has, on very suf
ficient grounds, determined, till A.M. 3595 [h] ;
at which time he supposes the first period of
Daniel's prophecy to conclude [i], and the scrip
ture history to close.
wilderness. It began the 15th of September, and was cele
brated for eight days with great joy. The observance of it
seems to have been much insisted on by the prophets ; and as
it argued a sense of God's former mercies, it seems to have
been attended with a blessing. Vid. Zech. xiv. 16, 17.
[g] Blair's Chronology.
[h] The last act of Nehemiah's reformation took place
under the priesthood of Joiada : (for the original of chap.
xiii. 28, will not admit a construction which should represent
Eliashib as the high-priest), and Joiada succeeded to the priest
hood, A,M. 3591.
[i] Prideaux dates the period of the seven weeks from the
seventh year of Artaxerxes, An. A.C, 458; when Ezra was

233 OF THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH.
The work affords a very obvious but important
instruction. The zealous confidence felt and ex
cited by Nehemiah, which enabled him and his
people, by the divine aid, to recover the city,
and raise up its muniments from a state which
had excited the derision of its enemies, while
the people were corapelled to work with wea
pons of defence, as well as with instruments of
labour in their hands, finely iUustrates the good
effects of a trust in God ; and the success which
accompanies a reliance on that divine word, which
had foreshown by the prophet Daniel, that the
wall should be rebuilt in troublous tiraes, and had
predicted by Zechariah, that the streets should be
repeopled by its young and old [k].
Neheraiah was the son of Hachaliah ; and ac
cording to tradition, of the tribe of Judah [l1,
though it bad been fancied, frora an apocryphal
account of his offering sacrifices at the head ofthe
priests, that he was of the tribe of Levi [m]. He
appears to have been a different person from the
Nehemiah mentioned by Ezra£N], and in this book,
commissioned by a decree to rebuild the temple, and to restore
Jerusalem ; from that time, to the reformation effected by
Nehemiah, were forty-nine years, when the Church and State
were re-established in the fifteenth year of Darius Nothus.
Vid. Dan. ix. 25. Prid, Con, An, Ant. C. 409.
[k] Dan. ix. 25. Zach. viii. 4, 6.
[l] R. Abarb. in Cabal. Euseb. Chron. Can. A. 1584.
Isidore, Geneb, &c.
[m] 2 Mace, i, 18. and following verses.
[n] Ezra ii. 1. Nehem. vii. 7.

OF THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH. 233
as one who returned from the captivity with Ze
rubbabel; since from the first year of Cyrus to
the twentieth of Artaxerxes Longimanus, no fewer
than ninety-one years intervene; so that Nehe
miah must, on the supposition that they were the
same persons, have been at this time much above
an hundred years old ; at which age it can hardly
be thought [o] probable, tbat he should have taken
a journey from Shushan to Jerusalem ; and have
been capable during a government of twelve years,
and afterwards, of all those active exertions, which
in this book be is described to have made. Nehe
miah, however, the author of this book, appears to
have been bom at Babylon ; and was so distin
guished for his family and qualities, as to be se
lected for the office of cup-bearer to the King : a
situation of great honour and emolument in the
Persian court. He was Ukewise distinguished by
the title of Tirshatha, which was in general appro
priated to the King's deputies and governors [p].
By his privUege of daUy attendance on the King,
he had constant opportunities of conciliating his
favour; and he was enabled, by the wealth which
he had derived from the royal bounty, to support
his government with great magnificence at his own
private charge, and generously to reUeve his peo
ple from the burden of that expence which they
had necessarUy sustained under preceding gover-
[o] Michael. Praef. in Nehem.
[pJ Neh. viii. 9. x. 1. and Michael, iu Loc.

234 OF THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH.
nors[Q]. In every other respect, likewise, he dis"
played the most exemplary and disinterested zeal
for the prosperity of his country [b]. If Nehe
miah were not absolutely a prophet, he professes
himself to have acted under the authority and
guidance of God [s]. He seeras to have conspired
with Ezra in all his pious designs ; and probably
assisted him in the revisal of the canon [t]. The
Jews report him to have been one of the great syna
gogue. The author of the second Book of Mac
cabees attributes to him writings which are now no
longer extant [u], if they ever existed.
After a continuance of twelve years [x] in the
government of Judaea, Nehemiah appears to have
returned to Shushan, agreeably to his promise [y].
What length of tirae he continued in Persia, cannot
be ascertained. Prideaux, to allow a sufficient
interval for the corruptions that took place during
his absence, supposes at least five years ; the text
only says '' certain days [z]," which is a vague
[q] Neh. V. 14, 18, His name signified consolation.
[r] Ecclus. xlix. 13,
[s] Neh. ii. 8,18.
[t] 2 Mace. ii. 13.
[U] 2 Mace. ii. 13. Vid. Carpz. Introd. ad. Lib. Hist. Vet,
Test. p. 343, Frischmuth's Diss, de non Sperand. Restitut,
Areas. Fsedor. III. cap. x.
[x] Chap. xiii. 6.
[y] Nehem. ii. 6.
[z] Nehem. xiii. 6. In the Hebrew it is " at the end of
days," which means, perhaps, at the end of thc year.

OF THE BOOK OP NEHEMIAH. 235
expression. It is probable that he soon obtained
permission to return to his country, where he ap
pears to have ended his life. It is not possible to
determine how long he survived his return. Many
learned writers conceiving that Jaddua and Darius,
mentioned in the twenty-second verse of 'the
twelfth chapter of this book must have been the
high-priest Jaddua and Darius Codomannus, who
was contemporary with him during his priest
hood [a], and who did not begin to reign tiU
110 years after the date of Nehemiah's corarais
sion ; have reraarked that he must have lived an
extraordinary length of time to have inserted this
account; and, indeed, though it is by no means
incredible that Nehemiah might have been per
mitted by God to live 130 or 140 years, because
[|a3 Some have imagined that Darius the Persian, might
have been Darius Nothus ; but the only Darius who was con
temporary with the priesthood of Jaddua was Darius Codo-
mandus ; and the text enumerating the succession of the
high-priests, evidently speaks of Jaddua as high-priest, who
did not enter on his ofiice, till A.M. 3663 ; and therefore thc
verse must have been written above 100 years after Nehemiah
went up from Babylon, when we cannot suppose him to have
been less than 120 or 130 years of age. The text would even
lead us to suppose that it was written after the death of
Jaddua; which would tend still farther to convince us that the
passage is a subsequent interpolation. Josephus supposes
SanbaUat to have lived to the time of Alexander the Great ;
but the historian must have meant a different person from
SanbaUat the Horonite, who opposed Nehemiah : or he must
have been mistaken, Vid. Joseph, Antiq. Lib. XL c. viii.
Prid. An, Ant. Christ. 459.

236 OF THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH.
his eminent virtues were highly conducive to the
restoration of the prosperity of his country ; yet
it has been thought by some more probable to
believe, that the whole, or at least the latter part
of the register contained in the twenty-six first
verses of the twelfth chapter was a subsequent
addition [b], made by those who superintended
the canon ; that is, by some members of the great
synagogue ; the whole detail being judged to be
an unconnected and foreign interpolation.
Neheraiah frequently in this book calls upon
God not to wipe out the good deeds that he had
done; rather in pious supplication to be remem
bered on their account [c], than in any arrogance
of heart. To have concealed the actions of his
government, would have been inconsistent with
the office of a faithful historian ; and have deprived
posterity of an excellent example. The sacred
writers, conscious of their own dignity, and look
ing only to truth, are equally superior to disguise
or vanity. They record their own virtues and
their own faiUngs with equal sincerity,
Nehemiah was probably the last governor dele
gated by the Persian Kings ; who, possibly, after
his death, left the governraent of Judsea to the
high-priest of the Jews, till the Persian empire
Avas destroyed by Alexander the Great [o]. But
[b] Vossi, Chron. Sac. c. x. p. 149. Prid. Con. An, Ant.
Christ. 458.
[c] Chap. V. 19. xiii. 14, 22, 31.
[d] Cornel. Bertram, de Rep. Jud. p. 168, 173, 176,

OF THE BOOK OP NEHEMIAH. 237
little or no information can be coUected from the
sacred writers concerning the state of the Jews
from this time tiU the commencement of the period
at which the Gospel dispensation was promulgated.
It is remarkable, however, that during these ages,
many heathen authors flourished, an occasional
intercourse subsisted between the Jews and hea
then nations, and Judaea became a province of the
Roman empire; so that many particulars with
respect to the condition and circurastances of the
Jewish people, may be coUected from the profane
accounts.

OF THE

BOOK OF ESTHER.

This Book is in the Hebrew styled " the volume
of Esther :" it was received into the Jewish canon
with peculiar veneration; and esteemed above
many of the prophetic books, probably because
therein are described the origin and ceremonies
of the feast of Purim. It is caUed the Book of
Esther [a J, as it contains the history of this Jewish
captive, who, by her remarkable accomplishments,
gained the affections of Ahasuerus ; and by a mar
riage with him, was raised to the throne of Persia.
The author of the Book is not certainly known.
Some of the fathers [b] suppose it to have been
[a] The word Esther is of Persian derivation, Starith,
Astram, Eo-T£pa ; its signification is uncertain. The vowel is
prefixed for softness, according to the Hebrew idiom. Vid.
Castel. in Lexico Persico, col. 329, and Pfeiffer in Dub. Vex.
p. 468, The original word was descriptive, and signified
Dark, which was deemed beautiful by the Jews. Hilar.
CEcon. p. 621. Theocrit. Idyl. x. 26—29. Esther was called
by her own family Hadassah, which implies a myrtle, Vid.
Targum, ad chap. ii. 7.
[b] August, de Civit. Dei, Lib. XVIII. c. xxxvi. See also
Ephiphan, de Ponder, et Mensur. cap. iv. Isidor. Orig. Lib.
VL cap. ii.

OF THE BOOK OF ESTHER. 239
written by Ezra ; others contend that it was com
posed by Joachim, high-priest of the Jews, and
grandson of Josedech. The Talmudists attribute
it to the joint labours of the great synagogue [c],
which succeeded Ezra in the superintendance of
the canon of scripture. The twentieth verse of
the ninth chapter of the book has led others to
beUeve that Mordecai was the author [d] ; but
what is there related to have been written by him,
seems only to refer to the circular letter which he
distributed [eJ. There are, lastly, other writers,
who maintain, that the book was the production of
Esther's and Mordecai's united industry [f] ; and
probably they might have communicated an ac
count of events so interesting to the whole nation,
to the great synagogue at Jerusalem ; some of the
members of which may with great reason be sup
posed to have digested the information thus re
ceived into its present form [g^. We have, how
ever, no sufficient evidence to determine, nor is it,
perhaps, of much importance to ascertain precisdy
who was the author; but that it was a genuine
and faithfid description of what did actuaUy happen,
is certain; not only from its admission into the
canon, but also from the institution of the feast
[c] Bava Bathra, cap. i. f. 15.
[d] As most of the Latin fathers, and Clemens Alexandrinus
among the Greeks, Strom. Lib. I. Vid. also, Elias in Mass.
Aben- Ezra, Abrah. Hispan. &c.
[e] Chap. h. 20, 23, 26.
[f] Chap. ix. 29.
[g] Huet. Demonstrat. Evang. Prop. IV.
9

240 of the book of Esther.
of Purim, which from its first establishment has
been regularly observed as an annual solemnity [h] i
on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month
Adar, in commemoration of the great deUverance
which Esther, by her interest, had procured ; and
which is even now celebrated among the Jews with
many pecuUar ceremonies, with rejoicings even to
intoxication. This festival was caUed Purim, or
the feast of lots (Pur in the Hebrew and Persian
language signifying a lot) from the events men^
tioned in chap. iii. 7. ix. 24.
The Jews [i] maintain that this book was un
questionably inspired by the Holy Ghost ; and that
though all the books of the Prophets, and of the
Hagiographi shaU be destroyed at the coming of
the Messiah, that of Esther shall continue with
those of Moses, for Esther had said, that " the
days of Purim should not fail from among the
Jews [k]." Thi§ is raeant, however, only of that
part of the book which our church considers as
canonical ; for the six chapters which are only in
[h] 2 Mace, XV, 36, 37. Codex. Theod. Tit. de Judaeis.
The feast is called also the feast of Haman and Mordecai.
The month Adar corresponds with our February and March.
Esther and Mordecai appear to have ordained only a feast;
but the Jews observe, as they profess long to have done, a fast
on the 13th, which was the day destined for their extirpation.
Joseph. Antiq. Lib. XI, c. vi. Huet. Prop. IV, Christian
M^az. Vol. IV. p. 260. Prid. Con. Ann, 452. Buxtorf.
Synag. Jud. c. xxiv. Calmet, Diet, word Purim.
[i] Maimon. More Nevoch, Par. II, c. xlv.
[k] Chap. ix. 28. Pfeiffer. Thesaur. Hermeneut, p, 599.

OF THE BOOK OF ESTHER. 241
the Greek and Latin copies, were never received
by the Jews ; and they are rejected as apocrypha!
by us, in conformity to the sentiments of the an
cient church, for this and other reasons which will
be hereafter assigned [l]. It is to be lamented,
indeed, that the spurious chapters should ever have
been annexed to the authentic part, since they
tended to bring discredit on the sacred book ; and
it has been supposed that a disrespect for the apo
cryphal additions induced some ancient writers
to leave it out of the catalogue of the canonical
books \ji2 ' ^'^^ occasioned Luther to express a
wish that it might be expunged from the Ust [^nJ.
These, however, being rescinded, the remainder
is entitied to our reverence as canonical. It is
established by the suffrage of antiquity, and bears
every mark of authenticity and truth [o].
There has been much difference of opinion con
cerning the period which we should assign to the
events recorded in this book. It is certain, frora
many instances, that the Jews distinguished foreign
[l] Preface to the apocryphal chapters of Esther,
[m] Euseb. Hist. Eccles. Lib. IV. c. xxvi. Athan. Epist. 39.
Oper. p. 65. tom. ii. Edit. Par. 1627. Gregor. Nazianz. de
Ver. et German Script. Lib. tom. ii. p. 98. Edit. Par. 1630.
Some think that Esther was included iu these catalogues, under
the book of Ezra, as it was supposed to have been written by
Ezra. It was in the catalogues of Origen, Cyril, Hilary, Epi
phanius, aud Jerora, and in that of the Council of Laodicea.
Vid. Infra. Pref. to Apocryph. chapters of Esther. Note e.
[n] CoBviv. Serm. f. 494. and Lib de Serv. Arbit. tom. iii.
f. 82. [o] Euseb. Hist. Eccles. L. VI. c. xxv. Hilar, in Psalm i.
R

242 op THE BOOK OP ESTHER.
persons by naraes different from those which they
bear in profane history [p] ; as, indeed, all na
tions are accustomed to corrupt proper names in
conformity to the genius and pronunciation of
their own language. ScaUger upon raany consi
derations contends, that Ahasuerus was the same
with Xerxes [q] ; whose Queen, Araestris, he con
ceives, raight have been Esther. Sorae have ima
gined, that Ahasuerus was Cyaxares ; and others
assert that he was Cambyses [r]. Usher supposes,
that by Ahasuerus we are to understand Darius
Hystaspes [s] ; who resided at Susa, and whose
extent of dominion and actions corresponded with
the accounts of this book. But to each of these
opinions considerable objections may be drawn
from the accounts of profane historians [^t] ; and
probably the persuasion of Prideaux is best sup
ported, who maintains, agreeably to the account
[p] Vitringa Observat. Sacr. Vol, I. c, iv. p. 49. Edit.
Amstel. 1727.
[qJ Scaliger de Emendat. Temp. Lib. VI, p. 284. Grotius,
Miehaelis, &c. Capellus places the history so late as the time
of Ochus, who was the successor of Artaxerxes Mnemon.
[r] Targ. R. Salomon, Seder Olam Rabba, p. 86.
[s] Usseri Annal, Vet. Test. Period. Jul. An. 4193. Du
Pin, Mains CEcon. V. T. p. 1073. The advocates for this
opinion maintain, with the Rabbinical writers, that Esther was
the Artystona of Darius ; but Artystona was the daughter of
Cyrus ; and the history of Atossa by no means accords, any
more than does that of Parmis, with the account here given
of Vashti. Vid. Herod. Lib. III. p. 246. Lib. VII. p. 606,
Edit. Wesselin.
[t] Universal Hist, of Persia, B. 1. and Hist, of Jews, B,
2, Lib. XI,

OF THE BOOK OF ESTHER. 243
of Josephus [u] ; of the Septuagint ; and of the
apocryphal additions to the book of Esther, that
Ahasuerus was Artaxerxes Longimanus [x] ; whose
extraordinary fevour to the Jews might in some
measure arise from the influence of Esther. The
history, therefore, may be supposed to have com
menced about A. M. 3544 [y^, and it contains an
account of a period which extends from ten to
twenty years.
The book describes the advancement of Esther ;
who, by the interest which she conciliated with
Ahasuerus, delivered the Jews frora a great de
struction which had been contrived for them by
Haman, an insolent favourite of the King. It pre
sents an interesting description of mortified pride,
and of malice baffled to the ruin of its contrivers.
It Ukewise exhibits a very animated representation
of the vexations and troubles, of the anxieties,
treachery, and dissimulation of a corrupt court.
The vicissitudes and characters are displayed with
dramatic effect. The author seems to have been
so intimately acquainted with the Persian custoirts,
that some have conceived a notion that he tran-
[u] Joseph. Ant. Lib. XI. c. vi.
[x] Prid, Con. An. 470. Sulpit. Sever. Hist. Sac. Lib. II.
p. 307, <Jalmet, Diet, word Vashti. Lightfoot, vol. i. p. 137.
The chief objection to the period of Artaxerxes Longimanus
is drawn from Esther ii. 5, 6. but that passage may imply, that
Kish was carried away captive with Jeconiah ; or that Mor
decai was a descendant of some one of Nebuchadnezzar's
captives. [y] Petav. de Emend. Temp. Lib. VI. p. 595 — 8. Auctor
Eccles. Goth. p. 319.
r2

244 OF THE BOOK OF ESTHER.
scribed his work from the Persian chronicles [z].
It has been remarked, that the name of God is not
mentioned throughout the book; his superinten
dent providence, is however, frequently iUustrated :
it is shewn, indeed, in every part of the work;
disconcerting evU designs, and producing great
events by means seemingly inadequate. The de
scriptions vvhich it contains of the eastern court,
exhibit a remarkable consistency with the repre
sentations of heathen authors ; we perceive in
thera the exact fidelity of a conteraporary writer :
and the aniraated piety with which the historian
details the operations of the divine counsels in
defeating the raachinations of the wicked, and in
deUvering his faithful servants from destruction, is
shewn with singular impression and effect.
Calraet asserts, on the authority of Paul Lucas,
that the torabs of Mordecai and Esther are stUl
shewn at Haraaden or Ecbatana in Persia, in the
synagogue of the Jews, who are very numerous
there. [z] Hottinger. Thesaur. Philog. Lib. II. ch. i. p, 488.
Aben. Ezra, Com. in Prooem. Selden in Theolog. Lib, III.
Exercit. V. p. 486. It is to be observed, that the decree
which was issued in favour of the Jews did not repeal the
former decree, because the laws of the Medes and Persians
could not be changed, but it empowered them to defend them
selves, see chap, viii, 12, and Dan, vi, 8.

OF THE

1300K OF JOB.

Concerning the nature, and author of this Book,
various opinions have been entertained. Some, as
W'CH Christian, as Rabbinical writers, have ventured
to consider it as a fictitious relation of the parabo
lical kind, without any historical foundation [aJ ;
and others as a dramatic work, grounded on some
traditional accounts of a real personage ; or as an
aUegory, in which, under real characters and cir
cumstances, are shadowed out the Jewish nation,
and some particulars of the Jewish history during [b]
[a] Bava Bathra, Anabaptists, &c,
[b] Garnett taking some notions of Bishop Warburton,
has etched tout an ingenious allegory, in which the condition of
Job is considered as descriptive of the Jewish sufferings during
the captivity. But though he has strained every circurastance
in the history in order to accommodate his theory to this re.
presentation, he has produced no conviction. A lively fancy
may readily discover such resemblances as he has pointed out ;
but if the judgment be allowed to reflect, it will suggest un
answerable objections to the scheme, however specious it may
be. Vid. Garnett's Dissert on Joh. The Use and Intent of

246 OF THE BOOK OP JOB.
or after the Babylonish captivity [c]. But to in
dulge in such unauthorised fancies is very dan
gerous, and inconsistent with the respect due to
sacred writ ; in the present instance there is no
sufficient foundation for supposing that the book
is any other than a literal history of the teraptation
and sufferings of an actual personage [d] ; since
it has every external sanction of authority, and is
staraped with every intrinsic mark that can cha
racterize a genuine relation.
Of the real existence of Job no reasonable doubt
can be entertained, if we consider that it is affirm
ed by the concurrent testiraony of all eastern tradi
tion ; that the whole history of this illustrious cha
racter, with raany fabulous additions, was known
araong the Syrians and Chaldaeans ; that many of
the noblest famiUes araong the Arabians, are dis-
Prophecy. Diss. II. Maimon. More Nevoch, p. 3. c. xxii.
Bava Bathra, c, i. fol. 16. Sentimens de quelq. Theolog.
Holland, p. 184. , Grot. Com. in Job, Lib. I. Le Clerc, &c.
[c] Bishop Warburton iraagined, that Job was intended to
personate the Jewish people on their return from the capti
vity ; that by his three friends were meant the three great ene
mies of the Jews : SanbaUat, Tobiah, and Geshem ; and by
Job's wife, the idolatrous wives whom some of the Jews had
married, as we learn from Nehemiah : a strange conceit, of
which the improbabilities are by no means glossed over by the
elaborate reasoning, and extravagant assertions of the learned
writer. Vid. Peter's Dissert on Job. Divine Legation, vol.
iii. B. VI. § 2.
[d] Spanhem Hist. Job. Schultens Com. m Job, and Com
mentators in general.

OF THE BOOK OF JOB. 247
tinguished by his name [e], and boast of being
descended from him ; and lastly, that Job is men
tioned as a real character by Ezekiel [p] and St,
Jaraes [g].
The book of Job was likewise certainly written
as a Uteral relation of actual events; for this is
evident from the style of the author ; from his
mode of introducing the subject; and also from
the circumstantial detail of habitation, kindred, and
condition, as weU as from the names of the persons
therein mentioned ; which correspond with other
accounts of that age and country, in which Job is
generaUy supposed to have existed [u^. The book
[e] As was Zalach Eddin, usually styled Saladin, sultan of
the Mamalukes : who bore the name of Job, as did likewbe
hb father. Vid. Elmecin. Hist Saracen. The authority of Aris
totle, and other ancient writers, has been produced also to
prove the real existence of Job. There are even now traditionary
accounts concerning the place of Job's abode. Vid. Thevenot's
Voyage, p. 447. Le Roque Voyages de Syrie, tom. i. p. 239.
[f] Ezek. xiv. 14.
[g] James v. 11. Vid. also Tobit. ii. 12, 15. in Vulgate.
Clemen. Epist. ad Cor. ch. xvii. and Arast. ap, Euseb, Praep,
Evang. Lib. IX. c. xxv.
[h] It has been said, that the names of Job, and his friends
have a mystical meaning ; but most of the eastern names have
some descriptive signification. Spanheim derives the name of
Job firom an Hebrew root, 3K>, ear iro6in, amare, a word which
imports love, or beloved. And this is more probable than
the derivation sometimes given firom a word expressive of
grief: which, if accepted, must be supposed to have been a*^-
plied after Job's misfortunes. Miehaelis in his preface derives
the name of Job from a word which signifies repeutance, which

248 OF THE BOOK OF JOE.
then raust be aUowed to contain a literal history
of real events ; though agreeably to the opinion
of Grotius, the subject is poetically treated ; for
though the first and last parts of the work being
entirely narration, be expressed in a style nearly
as siraple as that of the historical books of Samuel
or of Kings ; the rest resembles rather the poetical
works of David and of Solomon.
Considering then that the work is in a great
measure poetical ; and that probably it was written
in metre ; we shall readily account for that want
of order and arrangement, which by the omission
of trivial particulars, and by the neglect of distinc
tion of times, occasionally gives an air of improba-
biUty to the book ; for many circumstances which
must have occurred at intervals, are related in a
continued and uninterrupted series by the author,
intent only on deUvering to posterity memorable
events, and sublime instruction ; and neglecting
every particular not immediately conducive to this
design [ij. It raust likewise be observed, that the
was perhaps suggested by Mahomet, who refers to sacred and
traditional accounts of Job. See Sale's Koran, vol. II. c.
xxxviii. p. 322. ; also ch. xxi. p. 162.
[i] The calamities of Job succeeded each other with a mi
raculous rapidity. His friends might have literally observed
seven days silence in ashes, from respect to his afiliction. The
artificial regularity which the learned Miehaelis conceives to
exist in the numbers mentioned in this book, does not appear
really to obtain ; except that when Job's possessions are said
to have been doubled, they are enumerated by an interesting
periphrasis. Comp. chap. i..3. and xiii, 12.

OF THE BOOK OF JOB. 249
verity of the book is not invalidated by the allego
rical raanner in which sorae things are related.
Human events are UteraUy described ; but the pro
ceedings of providence, of which we are unable to
form any apprehension, unless from figurative U-
lustratioD^ are |)erbaps here, as in other parts of
scripture [kJ^ paraboUcaUy represented under fa
miliar aUusions. Thus are " the sons of God," or
the obedient angels, described as appearing before
the presence of the Lord, as at the tribunal of an
earthly judge ; so also the discourse and agency
of Satan are indirectiy shadowed out, in a manner
agreeable to the mode of huraan intercourse ; in
order to accommodate to our .conceptions, what
would otherwise be utterly uninteUigible. The go
vernment of God, in permitting, and in restricting
the temptations of the faithful, is not immediately re
ferable to. our senses ; though his justice and mercy
may be obliquely intimated by famUiar aUegory [l].
The interlocutory parts of the book should be
considered also as descriptive of real discourse, at
least as to the substance. They are conducted
with eveiy appearance of probabiUty, and the
passions of the speakers seem to kindle as they
proceed. There is, also, no sufficient reason
why we should not suppose God (whose decision
of this important controversy had been earnestiy
[k] Gen. xxviii. 12. Isa. vi. 1 Kmgs xxii. 19 — 22. Zech.
iii. 1. Rev. xii.
[l] Le Clerc. in Loc. Codurc. Praef. in Job. Pfeiffer Dub.
Vex. Cent. iii. Loc. 31.

250 OF THE BOOK OP JOB.
desired) [m], to have actually spoken by himself
or his angel out of the whirlwind [n j ; though
some writers have chosen to consider the intro
duction of the Deity as a prophetic vision, repre
sented to Job and his friends in a trance. This
account, then, of the suffering and restoration of
Job, must be admitted as a real and authentic
history : no where aUegorical, except, perhaps, in
those parts which reveal the agency of superior
beings. The origin of Job is uncertain [o]. There is
an appendix annexed to the Greek, Arabic, and
Vulgate versions of the book, said to be taken
frora the ancient Syriac, which represents Job to
have been the son of Zareh, a descendant of
Esau; and which relates that he reigned in the
land of Ausis, upon the borders of Idumaia and
Arabia; and upon this authority many ancient
writers, and most of the fathers, concur in sup
posing that he was the same with Jobab, the son
of Zerah, mentioned in Genesis [p] ; but as this
[m] Chap. X. 2 xii. 5. xiii. 3, 21, 22, 24.
[n] The Chaldee Paraphrast taking the word whirlwind in
a metaphorical sense, renders it improperly " out of the
whirlwind of grief ;" as if God had suggested to Job, amidst
the conflict of his sorrows, the following thoughts. See
1 Kings xix. 11 — 13. a similar representation.
[o] Sixt. Senen. Bib. Lib. I. and a translation of this Ap
pendix in Wall's Critical Notes. Vid. also Athan. Synops.
Chrysost. de Patient. Hom. II. Aristaeas, Philo, Polyhistor.
Euseb. Praep. Lib. IX. cap. xxv. August, de Civit. Dei. Lib.
XVIII. cap. xlvii.
[p] Gen. xxxvi, 33. 1 Chron, xliii, 44. Spanhem in Job,
ch, iv. Mercer. Pineda, &c. There is likewise in the Greek,

OF THE BOOK OF JOB. 251
addition is not found in the Hebrew copies it is
considered as spurious ; and the learned Spanheim
has, upon very strong grounds, endeavoured to
prove, that Job, who is the subject of this history,
was a very different person from the son of Zerah;
and that he derived his origin frora Uz, the son of
Nahor, brother to Abraham [q] ; or from Abra
ham himself, by Keturah. We may assent, Uke
wise to the opinion of Bishop Lowth, that Job
dwelt in that part of Arabia Petrsea which was
caUed Edora [^r], and bordered upon the tribe of
a discourse of Job's wife, which is generally rejected as apo
cryphal. Vid. Origen. ad African, Hieron. Prsef. in Dan. et
in Job, et in Quaest. Heb. in Gen. Chrysos. Polych. Olymp.
Prooem. et ad Caten. in Job. Some have imagined that Job's
wife was Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. She is called Rach-
man by the Arabs ; and is supposed by them to have been the
daughter of Ephraim ; or according to others, of Machir, the
son of Manasseth. Vid. Sale's notes in Koran. She was pro
bably ofthe country and religion of Job, though censured by
him upon one occasion, as having spoken foolishly. Vid.
Wesley's Dissert. XXVI.
[q] Hieron. Quaest. Hebr. in Gen. Spanhem, Hist. Job,
cap. iv. Bochart, &c.
[r] Uz, was Edom. Vid, Lament, iv. 21. Numb, xxxiv. 3.
Josh. XV, 12, Jerem. xxv. 20. Lowth's Prael. Poet, xxxii.
and notes. Wesley's Diss. XXIX, Hodges conceives Job and
his friends to have lived somewhere between Chaldaea and
Judaea, Some place him in Arabia Deserta. Vitringa, Observat.
Sacr, c. iv. p. 39. tom. i. Edit. Amstel. 1727. All the country
between Egypt and the Euphrates was called East, with re
spect to !l^ypt; and the Jews who there adopted the expres
sion,, afterwards used it absolutely without reference to their
change of situation. Vid. Mede, fol. p. 467. and Matt. ii. 1.
If Moses were the author of this part, he might, in Midian,
which is to the West, properly call Edom, the South.

252

OF THE BOOK OF JOB.

Judah to the South : being situated between Egypt
and the land of the Philistines : and we raay sup
pose that his friends inhabited the country imme
diately adjacent.
Job does not appear to have been a sovereign
[s], though styled the greatest man of the East,
with respect to his possessions. He and his friends
were, however, persons of considerable rank and
importance, as may be collected from various cir
cumstances incidentally mentioned in the course
of his history. If they were not directly descended
from Abraham, they must be classed among those,
who, out of the family of Israel, worshipped God
in sincerity and truth. The exact period in which
they existed, cannot be determined. Without de
scending to rainute enquiries on the subject [tJ,
we may remark, that they appear to have lived
some time during the servitude of the Israelites in
Egypt : and that the period of their history may
properly intervene between the death of Joseph
and the departure from Egypt [u] ; which in-
[s] The crown mentioned in xix. 9. is only a figurative ex
pression for prosperity. Job and his friends are in the Greek
called sovereigns ; that is, great men.
[t] Some Talmudists have asserted, that Job was born in
the very year of Jacob's descent into Egypt, and that he died
in tbe year of the Exodus ; a conceit founded on a supposi.
tion, that as the camels and oxen were restored twofold to Job,
so the years of his life were doubled ; and that, as he lived
140 years after his affliction, he lived seventy years before it.
Vid. Bava Bathra. The Rabbins suppose that Moses alludes to
the death of Job when he says of the Gentiles, that " tiieir
defence is departed from them.'' Vid. Numb. xiv. 9.
[u] Spanhem Hist. Job, cap. vi. p, 106.

OF THE BOOK OF JOB. 253
eludes a space of about 140 or 145 years; in
which case Job might be six or seven generations
removed from Nahor. And since he survived his
restoration to prosperity 140 years, he may be
supposed to have Uved at least during part of the
time that the IsraeUtes wandered in the wUder
ness {^x]. As the age of man in that period did
not usuaUy exceed 200 or 220 years [y]. Job was
probably overwhelmed in calamities in the prime
and vigour of his life : when if possessed of the
greatest fortitude to sustain his afflictions, he was
also endued with the liveUest sensibUity to feel
them. How long his sufferings may have lasted
is uncertain ; the seven years for which some con
tend, would have been a longer period than can
be admitted. It required not such a continuance
of time to demonstrate his faith and unshaken
confidence : and God delights not in unnecessary
severity [z]. But from a consideration of particu
lars, it wUl be evident that less than a year cannot
be assigned for the duration of his distress ; and
this is agreeable to the general Hebrew calcula
tions. In deciding upon the period which we ascribe
to Job and his friends, we suppose them to have
flourished before, or about the time of Moses;
[x] Grot. Praef. Diodat. Argum. in Job.
[ y] Few of Job's supposed contemporaries hved to so great
a length of years ; but Job was blessed vrith a long life. He
is by some stated to have died about A.M. 2449.
[z] Lament, iii. 33.

254 OF THE BOOK OF JOB,
and the sentiments and religious opinions which
are maintained in their discourse, are in general
such as were consistent with the inforraation that
obtained before the Mosaic dispensation [a]. Job
appears to have worshipped God in the raanner
of the Patriarchs, before the priesthood was con
fined to Aaron ; and in the detail of his piety, he
affords a transcript of those primitive principles
which he might have derived from Abraham and
Nahor. He and his friends seem to have been
acquainted with the precepts of traditional religion
[b], as collected from occasional revelations to the
Patriarchs ; together with the deductions of that
conscience which was " a Law to the Gentiles
[c]." But it raust also be observed, that they
soraetimes displayed a greater knowledge of im
portant truths than was consistent with the gene
ral notions that must have prevailed in their time.
All of Abraham's descendants, indeed, who were
contemporary with Job, may be supposed to have
been acquainted witbthe attributes of God; and
with the use of sacrifice [d]. They might, from
tradition, have collected some knowledge of the
faU of angels [e] ; of the creation from the dust by
the breath of the Almighty [p] ; of original sin and
[a] When Elihu reckons up the modes of revelation, he
takes no account of the Mosaic.
[b] Peter's Critical Dissert, on Job, p. 151.
[c] Rom. ii. 14. and TertuU. cap. ii.
[d] Chap. xhi. 8.
[e] Chap. iv. 18.
[f] Chap, xxxiii. 4.

OF THE BOOK OP JOB. 255
its effects [g] ; of the flood [h] ; the destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah [il ; and even of a proraised
Messiah [k]. Yet still there wiU reraain sorae
particulars of which they were apprized, that ap
pear tobe above the general inforraation which the
Gentiles possessed ; and therefore we may assent
to an opinion which is maintained by raany, both
Jewish and Christian writers [lJ, that Job and his
friends were enlightened by a prophetic spirit : as
certainly some few persons among the Gentiles were
[m] ; and the conviction that Job was to be con
sidered as a patriarchal prophet, was probably the
inducement, which influenced the Jews to adrait
his work into the canon of their scripture, if we
suppose it to have been written by himself; and
not to have been compiled by an inspired author
of their own nation.
Job and his friends were unquestionably distin
guished by extraordinary marks of God's counte
nance; and we are authorized by the book to
consider them as sometimes favoured by divine
revelations. Eliphaz received instruction " from
[g] Chap. xii. 16. xiv. 4. xv. 14. xxv. 4. xxvi. 13. xxxi. 33.
X. 9. compare with Gen. iii. 19.
[h] Chap. xxii. 15, 16.
[i] Chap. xxii. 20.
[k] Chap. xix. 26. xxxiii. 23—30.
[l] Patrick's Appendix to his Paraphrase. St. Augustin
calls Job " Eximius Prophetamm."
[m] As Balaam, whom the Jews conceived to have been the
same person with Elihu.

256 op THE BOOK OF JOB.
the visions of the night [n]," and heard the voice
of a spirit in secret whispers, like the " stiU small
voice" which Elijah heard [o]. Elihu also felt a
divine power [p] ; but Job himself appears to have
been invested with peculiar dignity ; and he en
joyed pre-eminent distinctions above the GentUe
prophets. God spoke to him " out of the whirl
wind [q] ;" and it has been supposed, from the
fifth verse of the forty-second chapter, that he
beheld the manifestation of the divine presence :
as perhaps, in, a glorious cloud, for so the seventy
understood it. He undoubtedly in many places,
speaks by the suggestion of the Holy Spirit ; and
expresses himself concerning the doctrine of gra
tuitous justification [b], and of a future state, with
a clearness and information that were evidently
£n] Job iv. 13, 16. Hence R. Sol. Jarchi was led to re
mark, that the Shechinah was upon Eliphaz.
[6] 1 Kings xix. 12.
[p] Chap, xxxiu. 8, 18. xxxiii. 15, 16. The name of Elihu,
which signifies " He is my God," and other circumstances,
have led some writers to consider him as a representative of
the Messiah ; Elihu is not censured as Job's thriee friends are,
chap, xiii, 7 — 9, In chap. xl. 4, 5, and in chap. xiii. 1 — 6,
Job seems to plead guilty to what Elihu had objected to hira.
See chap, xxiii. 9, 10 ; xxxiv. 5, 6. In chap, xxxiii. 23, 24,
Elihu also speaks in a remarkable manner with respect to a
messenger or teacher, chap, xxxiii. 23, 24.
[q] So the Spirit descended on the apostles at the feast of
Pentecost, " suddenly, with a rushing mighty wind."
[r] Chap. ix. 2, 3. xiv. 4. xxv, 4. Hodge's enquiry into
the design of the Book of Job.

OF THE BOOK OP JOB. 257
the result of prophetic apprehension. We can
not indeed, attribute the precise and emphatic
declaration contained in the nineteenth chapter, to
any thing but to the effect of immediate reve
lation frora God ; and must, agreeably to the opi
nion of the most judicious writers, ancient and
modem, consider it as an evident profession of
faith in a Redeemer [s], and of entire confidence
in a resurrection and future judgment [t].
[s] It is not necessary firom this expression to conclude
that the whole mystery of the redemption was revealed to
Job ; but only that he entertained a cousolatory assurance
of some future personage, who should appear to deliver man
kind from the curse of Adam, and to judge the world in righ
teousness. [t] Chap. xix. 25 — 29, Some commentators, it is true,
consider this passage as expressive of Job's confidence only in
a present restoration ; which is to restrict the expressions, iu
a most unauthorized manner, and to interpret scripture upon
preconceived notions, Patrick supposes this temporal re
storation to be typical of a future resurrection. He professes
to follow St. Jerom's authority ; but in the place alluded to,
St. Jerom (or the author of the commentaries under his name)
does not confine the words to a figurative prediction. He
says absolutely, that Job in this passage, " resurrectionem
futuram prophetat in spiritu," prophesies in the spirit the
future resurrection. And though in other places, St. Jerom
admits, with all writers, a double sense of scripture, it by no
means follows that he does so in this place ; where, indeed,
only a single sense could be intended, for Job had uniformly
declared his despondence as to the present life, St, Jerom
hkewise, in his Epistle to Paulinus, afiirms, that Job here
prophesies the resurrection of the body in terms as clear
and exact as ever were used. " Resurrectionem corporum sic
prophetat ut null us de et, vel manifestius, vel cautius sorip-
s

258 OP THE BOOK OF JOB.
Having observed thus rauch with respect to the
period in which Job may be supposed to have
lived, it may with more facility be considered at
what time, and by whom his history should seem
likely to have been written. Upon this subject, it
is not necessary to enter into an examination of
the various arguments produced by different au
thors, in support of their several opinions ; but it
may be observed, that some, have conceived the
book to be the production of Job [u] himself;
sersit," Vid, also, Epist, 61. ad Pammach. This remarkable
passage is supposed by the Jews to relate to the restoration of
happiness iu a future life ; and certainly it contains a manifest
and direct prophecy of the future resurrection ofthe body, and
of the coming of Christ to judge the earth, as the solemnity
of the introduction ; the tenor of Job's discourse worked up
to its highest pitch ; the replies of his friends ; and every
expression (as faithfully translated in our Biblej demonstrate.
We cannot restrict the prophecy to a confidence in a temporal
restoration, without abrogating the obvious sense of the words;
and wilhout consideriug them as utterly extravagant and un
meaning. Wherefore should " they be graven with an iron
pen, and with lead in the rock for ever?" How, " after
worms should have destroyed his body," could Job " see God
in tiie flesh," except in a future life ? Why, lastly, did he
mention that his " Redeemer should stand at the latter day
upon the earth, and that " his own eyes should behold him,"
unless to declare his assurance of a future resurrection and
judgment ? To the unexampled misery of Job, and through
him to the rest of mankind, in a work to be admitted into the
canon of Scripture, God might vouchsafe the first exphcit
revelation of a luture retributive judgment ; and the first dis
tinct view of a spiritual Redeemer, See chap. xiii. 16, and
Peters's Critic. Dissert, on Job.
[uJ Orig. Cont. Cels, Lib. VL et Anonym, in Job. Ap.

OF THE BOOK OP JOB. 259
or of Elihu [x] ; whUe raany have attributed it to
Moses [y] ; and others to later prophets ; as to
Solomon [z] ; and to Isaiah [aJ. The most pro
bable opinion is, that it was composed from such
memorials as Job himself, or his friends, might
have left in the Syriac or Arabic language. The
work is written in a style agreeable to the genius
of the Arabic language. It is sublime, lofty, com
pressed, and ftiU of figures and allusive images.
It contains, Ukewise, much of that profound phi
losophy, and elevated turn of thought, for which
the Arabians were as remarkable [b], as for the
dignity and aUegorical cast of their language. It
may be added, Ukewise, that some of ~ the images
and remarks in this book appear to have been
Origen, tom. iL p. 851, Edit, Par, 1733. Gregor. Mag. in Job,
Lib. I. cap. i. Suidas in Job. Isidor. Hisp. Sixt. Senens. Hot
tinger, Walton, Bochart, Huet, &c.
[x] Lightfoot supposes Ehhu to have been the author, be
cause in the beginning of his discourse he appears to speak in
that character ; but he is only introduced, as are the other
friends, in the first person, for the sake of ornament. Chap.
xxxii. 15, &c.
[y] Bava Bathra, cap. 1. f. 15. Kimchi, Methodius apud
Photium. R. Levi Ben. Gerson in Praef. Aben-Ezra-ad. cap. ii.
11. Huet. Demonst. Evan. Polychron. and Julian. Halicar.
ap. Nicst. in catena in Job. Hieron. Epist. ad Paul.
[z] Gregor. Nazianz. Orat. ad Exaequat. Harduin in Chron.
V. Test.
[a] Philo Codercus. Praef. in Job. Scaliger. Grotius. Le
Clerc. Warburton attributes it to Ezra ; and Garnett to
Ezekiel. [b] 1 Kings iv. 30. Jerem. xlix. 7. Obad. ver. 8. Baruch
iii. 13. .2

260 OF THE BOOK OF JOB.
drawn from circumstances peculiar and appropriate
to Arabia [c] ; and that it has every characteristic
of the most venerable antiquity, and aU the ap
pearance of an original, patriachal work [d] .
That the book is drawn up in a poetical form,
and adorned with poetical embellishments, is no
proof that it was not written in great part by Job ;
for though it be inconsistent with the violence of
outrageous passion, or the freedora of aniraated
dialogue, to speak in nurabers; yet there is no
reason why Job may not be supposed to have
amused hiraself, when restored to ease and pros
perity; by recollecting the circumstances of his
affliction ; and to have described them with metri
cal arrangeraent; it being customary in the earUer
ages to compose the most important works in some
[c] Chap. vi. 15 — 17. xxxvii. 9, 22. Vid. also chap. ix. 26.
where Schultens translates the word nVJ«, by " naves papyro
vel arundine textas ;" and supposes it to signify those vessels
made of cane, or the papyrus, that were used on the Nile.
Vid. Lucan. Lib. IV. 1. 135, 136.
[d] Grey's Pref. to Job. Origen cont. Cels. Euseb. and
Selden upon Rom, ii. 14, Hottinger Smegna Orient, Job
mentions only the most ancient species of idolatry, the wor
ship of the sun and moon. Vid. chap. xxxi. 26, 27, and the
most ancient kind of writing, by sculpture. His riches are
reckoned hy his cattle ; and it is by no means clear, that the
word Kesitah, translated a piece of money, chap, xliii. 11.
does not mean a lamb. Vid. Spanhem. and Calmet in Gen.
xxxiii. 19. Or if it mean money, there is no reason to sup
pose that it might not be in use in the time and country
assigned to Job. Comp. also, chap, xliii. 8. with Numb,
xxiii. 1. Bp. Lowth considers the style as bearing evident
marks of the most remote antiquity. Vid. Praslect. 32,

OF THE BOOK OF JOB. 261
kind of measure [e]. It is consistent also with
our notions of inspiration, to suppose that its sug
gestions might be conveyed in the captivating dress
of poetry. How far Job reduced the work towards
its present form, cannot be determined ; it is con
tended only, that he left sufficient materials for
sorae Hebrew writer to digest it as it now appears.
As the Hebrew and Arabic language are derived
from the same origin : both being deduced from
Abraham's descendants, among whom the Hebrew
was preserved, and the Arabic originated, they
may weU be supposed to approximate towards their
source, and to have much resembled each other ;
as indeed they now do, with great affinity [p]. It
is therefore possible, that Job might have written
the book in the language in which it now exists [g] ;
the last verses only being added by some prophet
who received it into the Jewish canon [h]. But
[e] Isidore Orig. L. I. 27.
[f] Hunt's Clavis Pentateuchi.
[g] All the descendants of Abrahara, the Israelites, Idu-
maeans, and Arabs, probably continued long to use the same
languEige, till separation and gradual innovations produced a
change. The names of Ishmael's, Keturah's, Esau's, and Job's
famUies,' are pure Hebrew. See Sir William Jones's viiith
Anniversary Discourse, and vol. iii. of Asiatic Researches.
[h] It is uncertain when the book was received into the
canon. Some think that it was admitted with Solomon's -ivrit-
ings by the men of Hezekiah ; but probably it was iuserted
much earlier. In the Hebrew, it follows immediately after
the Proverbs ; but in the Septuagint, and by St. Jerom, it was
placed as in our Bibles. Peters suggests, that it might have
been presented to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba; and

262 OF the book of job.
if we conceive that the Hebrew language must
have differed so much frora the Arabic, in the
tirae of Job, that what he wrote must have been
translated for the use of the Hebrews, we may
suppose it to have been composed by some in
spired writer araong the Hebrews; who retained
those Syriac and Arabic expressions which are
interspersed through the work, as appropriate or
naments of the history, and as tending, perhaps,
to facilitate the versification. Sorae critics, indeed,
consider these expressions as foreign corruptions
introduced into the Jewish language after the cap
tivity ; and therefore iraagine that the work must
have been coraposed after those of David and
Solomon ; but what they consider as Chaldaisms,
are by others, with raore probability, represented
to be only Syriac and Arabic expressions [i].
The book then was probably either written by
Job, or composed from materials which he left, by
some writer who lived soon after the period of the
history herein described. They who dispute this
antiquity, raaintain, that besides the pretended
Wesley, on a conjecture as slender, fancies that it might have
been procured by Elimelech and Naomi, when in Moab, which
was in Idumsea, and near the spot where he conceives Job to
have lived. It was however, doubtless received before tbe
time of Ezekiel. Vid. Ezek. xiv. 14. Mercer, in Proverbs.
[l] Schultens, Grey's Job, p. 12. It has been disputed
whether tlie names of Job's daughters are of Hebrew or Ara
bic extraction. But as both languages have the same roots,
the dispute is idle. The word Jehovah, which was known
only to the Jews, might have been applied to the Deity by the
compiler or translator, 5

OF THE BOOK OF JOB. 263
Chaldaisms which have been before observed ra
ther to have been as Arabic and Syriac expressions,
they discover some passages in the book which
are imitations of particulars in the works of David
and of Solomon ; but if the coincidences produced
in support of this assertion be not accidental, they
do not prove that the passages were copied by
Job; since there is equal reason to suppose that
David and Solomon might have borrowed from
him, as other prophets certainly did [k] ; such
imitations of expressions for the comraunication of
similar sentiments being customary among the sa
cred writers.
If, however, we admit, as sorae have contended,
that the book contains allusions to the Mosaic laws,
and also to circurastances and events of the Jewish
history; and that these aUusions are not merely
such as refer to particulars with which Job might
be acquainted [tu], if contemporary with the ser-
[k] Huet. Prop. IV. passim.
[l] The sentiments in chap. xvii. 5. xxi. 19. xxii. 6. xxiv.
7, 9, 10. and xxxi. 9, 10, 28, produced by Warburton and
others, as allusions to the law, which escaped the author,
might surely be general remarks. All the supposed references
to the flood, and other particulars described in Genesis, only
prove that Job was acquainted with those traditions which the
descendants of Abraham must have known, without the Mosaic
account. Job might have heard likewise, of the miracles in
Egypt, and at the Red Sea, if we suppose him to allude to
them in chap, xxxviii, 15, ix. 7, 8. xii. 15. xxvi. 12. as likewise
of the wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness, and of
some other contemporary events, at wbich he is imagined

264 OF THE BOOK OF JOB.
vitude of the Israelites in Egypt ; nor consist in
exipressions which Moses, if the compiler or trans
lator ofthe book, raight have introduced [m], sup
posing him to have written it after the delivery of
the Law : though such aUusions cannot be allowed
to invaUdate the antiquity which is here attributed
to Job hiraself; or to disprove that he might have
furnished the chief materials for the work; they
certainly wUl prove that it was composed in its
present forra, long after the period in which the
history raust have occurred ; and that it was written
or translated by an author later than Moses. As
a matter of opinion, however, it raay be observed,
that no such aUusions do appear as should influence
us to reject the pretensions of Job, or of Moses [n] ;
none certainly that should incUne us to believe
that the book was not written long before the cap
tivity [o J ; since of the pretended allusions to the
(though perhaps without sufficient reason) to hint. Vid. chap.
xii. 24. xxxi. 24. xxix. 25.
[m] The expressions in chap. xx. 17. xxii. 22. xxix. 46. xv.
17, 18. might be general, or introduced by Moses. The nine
teenth verse of the fifteenth chapter may apply to Noah and
his sons. Vid. Peters's Dissert, on Job, Part I. sect. 2.
[n] Huet. Prop. IV. in Job.
[o] The passage in chap, xxxiii. 15 — 26. has been imagined
to be descriptive of God's proceedings with Hezekiah, 2 Kings
XX. 2 Chron. xxxii, as that in chap. xxxv. 8, 12. has been
supposed to coincide with the account of the punishment of
Manasseh, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11 — 13. So likewise the denun
ciation iu chap, xxxiv. 20. has been represented as allusive to
the sudden destruction of Sennacherib's army, 2 Kings xix. 3,'>.
But these passages of Job contain only general descriptions of

OF THE BOOK OF JOB. 265
regal history of the Jews, none are so evident as
to justify any conclusion to the contrary; and
there appears, indeed, to be no sufficient reason,
notwithstanding every passage has been critically
analysed for that purpose, to suppose that the book
was not written or translated nearer the period of
the history which it describes.
The opinion, indeed, raost anciently and gene
rally entertained was, that it was coraposed by
Moses ; who might have collected the inforraation
which it contained in the land of Midiin [p] ; and
no objection to this opinion can be drawn from
God's judgments, that might easily be drawn to apply to any
instance ; and the last might rather be supposed to refer to the
destruction of the first-born in Egypt, Exod. xii. 29. The
pretended resemblance between the writing of Hezekiah, Isa.
xxxviii. 10 — 17. and the lamentation of Job, chap. vii. 1 — 8.
is only a casual similarity iu the complaints of misery. It
must have been the true spirit of theory that could draw any
argument from a comparison between the description of Job's
friends, chap. xxx. 1 — 8. and the account of the Cutheans
and Samaritans in Nehemiah iv. 1 — 4. or that could fancy
that the representation of Satan's appearance. Job i, 6, &c,
was designed on the model of Zechariah's vision, Zech, iii.
1 — 5. See other resemblances as fanciful or accidental in War
burton's and Garnett's allegories.
[p] Origen Cont. Cels. Lib. VI. and in Job, Some have
conceived that Moses produced it to console the Israelites
under the hardships of their Egyptian bondage. Vid. Origen
Com. Bava Bathra, cap. i. Julian Halicar. ap Nicaet. The
book contains some passages which resemble the hymn of
Moses, Compare chap, xxix, 2 — 6. with Deut, xxxii. 7 — 14.
Grey's Praef. ad Lib. Job, and Answ. to Warburton. But if
Moses was the author, he probably wrote it in the wildemess.
No argument can be drawn from the supposed resemblance, or

266 OF THE BOOK OF JOB,
the place which is assigned to the book in the
Bible, as no accurate attention appears to have
been paid to chronology in this arrangement.
The book, however, whether written originally
in the Arabic or in the Hebrew language ; whe
ther composed or translated by Moses or any subse
quent prophet, is unquestionably to be considered
as an inspired production, since it is certainly in the
Jewish canon. The work is not, indeed, particu
larly mentioned by Josephus : because the history
which it contains was totaUy unconnected with the
Hebrew affairs, as recorded in the Hebrew lan
guage, of which he professed exclusively to treat
^q]. It must, however, be supposed to have been
included in the catalogue of twenty-two books,
which he assigned as the number contained in the
sacred list [r]. And it is cited as scriptural by the
apostles [s^ ; and was universally received as cano
nical by all the fathers, councils, and churches [t].
Though the book of Job is by no means to be
considered as a drama written with fictitious con
trivance ; or as resembling in its construction, any
of those Grecian compositions which it preceded
so long ; it may still be represented as so far dra-
difference of style between the Book of Job, and the writmgs
of Moses, as the subject affbrds such scope for fancy, and
such opposite opinions have been entertained upon it.
[q] Prooem. Antiq. Jud. et Vit. Joseph.
[r] Joseph, cont. Apion, Lib. I. § vui, p. 1333.
[s] ICor. iii. 19. James v, 11. Compare ch. v.l3. also
ch. V. 17. with Hebrews xii. 5.
[t] Gregor. Praef, in Job,

OF THE BOOK OF JOB. 267
matic, as the parties are introduced speaking with
great fidelity of character ; and as it deviates from
strict historical accuracy for the sake of efifect. It
is a complete, though peculiar work : regular in
its subject and the distribution of its parts j^u],
Mr. Locke justly pronounces it to be a perfect
poem: tbe two first chapters containing a prose
arguraent which he conceives (though without suf
ficient reason) to have been added by the com
pUer ; as also the naming of the several speakers ;
the want of which leaves the Canticles in great
obscurity. The interlocutory parts of the book
appear to be written in a loose kind of metre.
Many of Job's discourses are strict and perfect
elegies \jl]. St. Jerom maintains that the book is
composed from the third verse of the third chapter,
to the sixth verse of the forty-second chapter, in
hexameter verses, with some occasional variations,
according to the idiom of the language [y]. Of
this, however, there are no sufficient indications.
The conclusion, which relates the final prosperity
and death of Job, must have been added by the
compUer. The many exceUent qualities of Job have de
servedly rendered him to aU ages an iUustrious
example of righteousness. Eusebius has justly re-r
marked, that he was so distinguished for wisdom^,
[c] Lowth's Prasl. Poet, xxxiu.
[x] Chap, iii- vi. vii. x. xii. xvii. xix. xxix. xxx,
[y] Lowth's Prslect. xiv. and Shuckford's Connect, vol. II.
ch. ix. Hieron. Praef. in Lib. Job.

268 OF THE BOOK OF JOB.
as to have found out, by divine grace, a conduct
not unsuitable to the evangelical doctrine of our
Saviour ; and it appears from the passage, which
in sorae copies of the Septuagint is annexed to this
book fz], that the reverence which the Jews en
tertained for his character, had given rise to a
tradition, by no means incredible, according to
the opinion of Theophanes, that Job was one of
those saints who rose out frora their graves at the
resurrection of Christ ; a tradition, which, if unsup
ported by any authority, raay be still considered as
bearing a merited testitimony to his superior righ
teousness [a].
To forra a perfect notion of the great exceUence
of Job's character, we must contemplate hira in
every vicissitude of his eventful life ; and consider
his conduct under every teraptation of hazardous
prosperity, or aggravating distress. We must
judge of him, not from the unguarded expressions
which his sufferings occasionally provoked [uJ, but
[z] The addition in the Septuagint and in Theodotion runs
thus : Tey^ot'TrTcn de TraXiv avot-T^a-itr^on
AiiTon, ^eO uv aiti-^vtaiv o K.vpio,;.
The author of which must have believed that Job describes
his assurance of a future resurrection in this book, as particu
larly, in the contested passage ; for where else in the Old Tes
tament is it written that Job should rise again ? Origen ad
African, p. 16.
[a] The book of Job, it is said, was read in the ancient
church on fast days, and at Easter : Job being considered as
a figure of Christ. Vid. Origen in Job.
[b] Chap, vi, 26.

OF THE BOOK OP JOB. 269
from the deUberate strains of his piety ; and his
patient submission to the divine wiU : under every
possible affliction but the pangs of guUt, and the
terrors of despair. If the mistaken severity of his
friends sometimes provoked him, in the fervour of
controversy, to transgress the decency of an hum
ble and modest doubt of his own innocence, yet
reproof and recoUection instantly caUed him to a
confession of unworthiness, and to a becoming re
signation of the divine decrees [c]. It was, in
deed, in vindication of his own character that he
displayed the fair description of his life : eminently
distinguished as it was for integrity and benevo
lence ; and it has been a want of sufficient atten
tion to the scope of the dialogue, and to the firm
principles to which Job, notwithstanding his oc
casional impatience, ultimately adheres, that has
caused such strange misconceptions as have been
entertained with respect to his character [d] and
discourse. To obviate, however, aU erroneous objections to
an example which the sacred writers have consi
dered as exceUent [e] ; and to preclude false no
tions concerning sentiments represented as con
sistent with the divine wisdom [f], it is necessary
to advert to the provocations which Job received,
[c] Chap. viii. 20. xxxiv. 31, 32. xl. 4, 6. xiii. 3, 4.
[d] Garnett and Warburton.
[e] Ezek, xiv, 14. James v. 11, Vid, also, Tobit ii, 12.
ver. 15. Vulgate.
[f] Chrysost. Hom, v. ad. Pop. Antioch. 2

270 OF THE BOOK OF JOB.
and to the complicated distress that disconcerted
his raind, and irritated his passions. His friends,
who appear to have visited him with charitable
intentions [gJ, did in reality only aggravate his
misfortunes ; for having taken up a common, but
mistaken notion, that prosperity and afflictions were
dealt out in this life according to the deserts of
men [h], they accuse him of having merited his
extraordinary misfortunes by some concealed guUt
[i] ; and are led on by the heat of contention to
" vex his. soul by their reproaches, and to break
him in pieces with words." Job, solicitous to
refute the charge, and to vindicate the ways of
Providence, affirms, on the contrary, that adversity
is no proof of divine wrath, but often designed as
a trial [k]. That in this life the good and the
bad indiscriminately flourish, and often perish in
promiscuous destruction [l] ; and that, conse
quently, there must be some period for judgment
and equal retribution, for which the wicked are
reserved [m]. With respect to himself, he dis
claims all fear from reflecting on his past conduct,
fo] Chap, ii, 11—13.
[h] Chap, iv, 7, 8.
[i] Chap. iv. 7 — 9. viu. 13: xviii. 21. xxii, 5,
[k] Chap, ix. 22, 23. From this and other similar pas
sages might perhaps be deduced an argument that Job was
not acquainted with the temporal promises annexed with the
Mosaic Law, however his reasoning, maturely considered, may
be consistent with thera.
[l] Chap, ix, 22—24, xii. 6, xxi. 7—15,
[m] Chap, xxi. 30. xxvi. 6. xxvii. 8, 9. 19, xxxi. 3.

OF THE BOOK OF JOB. 271
appealing to the tribunal of divine justice ; and
then describes with somewhat too much of pride
and confidence, the excellency of those virtues, with
which he had " arrayed" his prosperity. With
an impatience likewise, that his sufierings, great
as they were, could not justify, he professes a
thorough despondence and disregard with respect
to the present life ; earnestly wishes [n] for death ;
and appeals to the decisions of a future judgment
for justification [o]. Por this assumption, and for
this impatience, he is justly censured by EUhu :
whose " wrath was kindled against Job, because
he justified himself rather than God." Elihu re
prehends him with apparent severity for that vin
dication of himself which seemed to reflect on the
justice of the Almighty [p]. He rests the equity
of the divine dispensations on the acknowledged
attributes of God ; and it was probably under the
influence of his admonition that Job [q] was finaUy
[n] Chap. vi. 8 — 11. vii. 7. ix. 21. x. 1. xvi, 22, xvii.
¦11_I6. These passages fully prove, that Job did not look
forward to any temporal restoration ; of which he declares also
the improbability, and laments only that he should not Uve to
see his reputation vindicated. Vid. chap. xiv. 7 — 14. vii.
8  10. X. 21, 22. Peters's Dissert, on Job, Part II. § 4. Scott's
Version of Job, Appendix II.
[o] Chap. xiii. 15—19. xiv. 12—15. xvi. 19. xvii. 15.
xxiii. 3 — 10. xxvi. 6. xxx. 23, 24. xxxi. 14. all consistently
with chap. xix. 25—29.
[p] Chap, xxxiii. 8, 9. xxxiv. 5, 9, 35.
[g] Somehave conceived thatthe opening of God's speech
was addressed as a reproof to Elihu, though the substance of
the answer was designed for Job.

272 OF THE BOOK OF JOB.
led to just convictions, so that God pronounces
that " Job had spoken the thing that was right."
God even pursues the arguraent of Elihu, and in
a style of iniraitable raajesty proclaims his own
uncontrolled power, and unfathomable wisdom to
the discountenancing of human knowledge. After
the most awful and impressive representation of his
own glorious works and attributes [r], and after
sorae reprehension of Job, for his arrogant pro
fession of innocence, the Almighty condemns the
false reasoning ofthe three friends, and ratifies the
conclusion which Job had made with respect to a
future judgraent [s].
Such is the scope of the discourse, which finely
unfolds God's designs in dealing out afflictions to
mankind [tJ ; which, when it first appeared, must
have conveyed truths that unassisted reason had
not learnt ; and have been wellcalculated to refute
the absurd notions which then began to rise con
cerning the two independent principles of good
and evil [u]. When the book was received into
[r] Chap. xl. 8, 10.
[s] Job had spoken right by having recourse to the arrange
ments of a future judgment. If the divine justice did not rest
on this foundation, it must have executed its decrees in the
present life, as the friends of Job maintained. God does not
condescend to explain the equity of his own counsels, any far
ther than by approving the convictions of Job; this was never
questioned in the controversy, but defended on both sides,
though on different principles.
[t] Job's character was fully proved and perfected by this
trial, and the pride and impatience of his temper corrected.
[u] Use and Intent of Prophecy, p. 207.

op THE BOOK OF JOB. 273
the Jewish canon, it must likewise have been weU
adapted to counteract any erroneous conceptions
that might have been formed from a considera
tion of the temporal promises of the Law : which
though they covenanted present reward to the
Hebrew nation, considered as a coraraunity, by
no means assuied to individuals a fuU and exact
remuneration in the present life [x]. The book
also admirably serves to prove, that the power
of temptation, aUowed to evil spirits, is restricted,
in merciful consideration of human weakness. It
exhibits in an interesting history, the vicissitudes
of human afiairs. It iUustrates the danger of con
tention ; the ingratitude and baseness of coramon
friendship [y] ; the vigilant care of Providence ;
and the necessity of resignation to the divine wiU.
Through the whole work we discover reUgious in
struction shining forth amidst the venerable sim
pUcity of ancient manners. It every where abounds
with the noblest sentiments of piety, uttered in
the spirit of inspired conviction. It is a work unri
valled for the raagnificence of its language, and for
the beautiful and subUrae images which it presents
[z\ In the wonderful speech of the Deity, every
[x] This is evident from the relations of sacred history ;
from the complamts of the Psalmist ; and from the sufierings
and denunciations of the Prophets.
[y] Job xhi. 11.
[z"l This book, in some of its beauties of imagery and de
scription, has been compared with, and justly preferred to, the
works of Homer. Vid, Wesley's Diss, VI, ex Gnom, Homer,_
Jacob du Port, Burke on the Sublime, P. 2. § 4, 5.
T

274 OF THE BOOK OF JOB.
line deUneate his attributes, every sentence opens
a picture of some grand object in creation [a] cha
racterized by its most striking features. Add to
this, that the prophetic parts reflect much Ught on
the economy of God's raoral government ; and
every admirer of sacred antiquity, every enquirer
after reUgious instruction, will seriously rejoice,
that the enraptured sentence of Job [b] is reaUzed
to a more effectual and unforeseen accomplishment:
that while the meraorable records of antiquity have
mouldered from the rock, the prophetic assurance
and sentiments of Job are graven in scriptures,
which no time shall alter, no changes shall efface.
[a] Various have been the conjectures concerning the Be
hemoth, and the Leviathan, which are so forcibly described in
this book. The former is by some supposed to have been the
Elephant, by others, the Hippopotamus ; it might have been
the Mararaoth ; the latter is usually represented to have been
the Crocodile. But as the descriptions exceed the charac
ter of all animals now known, they have been conceived to
contain some mystery. It is one design of scripture to con
vince mankind of ignorance ; and the difiiculties, while they
exercise sagacity, inculcate the useful lesson of humility. Vid.
Bochart Hierozoicon. Lib. V, c, xv.
[b] Chap, xix, 23.

OF THE

BOOK OF PSALMS.

The Book of Psalms, which in the Hebrew is en
titied D''7nn "IflD [a], that is, the Book of Hymns,
or Praises, contains the productions of different
writers [b]. These productions are caUed, how
ever, the Psalms of David, because a great part of
them was composed by him, who for his pecuUarly
exceUent spirit, was distinguished by the title of
" the Psalmist [c]." Some of them were perhaps
-penned before, and some after the time of David ;
but all of them, it may be presumed, by persons
under the influence of the Holy Ghost, since all
were judged worthy to be inserted into the canon
[a] la the New Testament it b called by Christ and his
apostles, St^Ao; i}">V"'- Luke xx, 42, Acts L 20. The word
Psalter is derived from -^oO^Ti^ioi, psaltery, a musical instrument,
stiled Nabal in Hebrew. It' was strung and made of wood in
the stile of a harp, and in the shape of a Greek delta, A. Vid.
1 Kings X. 12. Athaenaeus, Lib. IV. cap. xxiii. and Calmet's
Diss, sur les iostrumens.
[BJ Hieron. ad Cyprian, et Sophron. Hilar. Praef. in Psal.
Genebr. in Psal. i. R. David Kimchi.
[c] 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. Joseph. Antiq. Lip. VII. c. 12. p. 319.
t2

276 OP THE book of psalms.
of sacred writ, and are generally cited by evange
lical writers as inspired. Ezra probably coUected
them into one book, and placed them in the order
which they now preserve, after they had been pro
bably put together in part[D]. It appears that
the 150 Psalms therein contained were selected
from a much greater number, which, it raay be
presuraed, were not suggested by the Holy Spirit.
The Levites were, no doubt, eraployed to keep in
the teraple [e], aU such hymns as might be com
posed in honour of God; and of these, indeed,
there must have been a large collection ; but such
only could be admitted into the canon as were
evidently inspired compositions ; and we may judge
of the scrupulous severity with which they were
examined, since the numerous hymns of Solomon
were rejected ; and even, as it is said, some of
David's hiraself were thought unentitled to inser
tion [f]. The authority of those, however, which
we now possess, is established, not only by their
rank among the sacred writings [o], and by the
[d] 2 Chron. xxix. 25 — 30. They existed in a distinct col
lection or book long before the time of Christ. Vid. Luke xx.
42. The second Psalm is cited by St. Paul in the order in
which it now stands. Acts xiii. 33. Vid. Athan. iu Synop.
tom. ii, p. 86, Hilar. Prol. in Lib. Ezra iii. 10, 11. et Proleg.
in Psalm. Euseb, ad Psal, Ixxxvi.
[e] 1 Chron. xvi. 2. xxv. 1 — 7. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. III.
c, i. p, 98.See also Lib, VILc. xiv. p. 327.
[f] The prophets were not always empowered to write by
the suggestion of the Spirit ; though St, Ambrose thought that
David did always possess the gift of prophecy. Vid. Praef. in
Psahu. 1 Sam. xvi. 13.
[g] They arc cited as the Law. John x. 34, xii. 34,

OF THE BOOK OP PSALMS, 277
unvaried testimony of every age, but Ukewise by
many intrinsic proofs of inspiration. Not only do
they breathe through every part a divine spirit of
eloquence, but they contain numberless iUusfrious
prophecies that were remarkably accompUshed, and
that are frequentiy appealed to by the evange
lical writers. The sacred character of the whole
book is estabUshed by the testimony of our Saviour
and his apostles ; who in various parts of the New
Testament appropriate the predictions ofthe Psalms
as obviously apposite to the circumstances of their
Uves, and as intentionaUy preconcerted to describe
them. Yet, tis Dr, AJUx justly remarks, though
the sacred writers have fixed the sense of near
fifty Psalms [h], they have by no means cited all
that they might have cited ; but have only holden
out a key to their hearers, making appUcations in-
cidently as circumstances occurred.
David has, by the later Jews, been reckoned
among the Hagiographi [ij ; not being considered
by them as a prophet any more than Daniel, be
cause he lived differently from the prophets, and
amidst the magnificence of a court. He was sup
posed, however, by them, to have prophesied by
[h] New Testament, passim.
[l] R. Albo. Maam. UI. c. x. Kimchi Madrash Sillim, vol.
II. The Jewish gradations of prophecy are often very fanci
fully determined; but David must be pronounced a prophet by
the Jewish rule, since he is a true prophet who is not deceived
in foretelling future events. Vid. Maimon. de Fundam. Legis.
cap. X. § 2. Deut. xviii. 22. Jerem. xxviii. 9. Maimon, More
Nevoch. Par. II. cap. xlv.

278 OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, without any ex
terior impulse, but from some internal influence
urging, and enabling him to speak and utter in
structions on divine, as well as human subjects,
with more than his wonted powers, and in a style
superior to that of the productions of huraan abi
lities. But the prophetic character of David is es
tabUshed on much higher authority, as proclaimed
by the sacred writers [k], and the iraportance and
clearness of his predictions demonstrate his title to
the highest rank among the prophets. Many at
tempts have been made to ascertain precisely which
Psalms were derived from David's pen, and likewise
to discover the authors of the others. Some are
said to have been coraposed by Moses ; and some
were written in, or after the captivity [lJ. It is
necessary to refer to the comraentators at large for
various opinions upon this subject. Without dila
ting, to canvass the date and author of each indi
vidual Psalra, or to specify the circumstances that
occasioned its production, it may be briefly ob
served, that the Talmudists [m] and Masoretie wri
ters admit, as authors of the Psalms, Adam, Mel-
chisedec, Abraham, Moses, the sons of Korah,
David, Solomon,. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Ethan;
and that Calmet, after a judicious investigation of
[K] 2 Sam, xxi, 1. xxiii, 2, 2 Chron. xxix, 25. Nehem.
xii. 24. Ezek xxxiv. 23. Matt. xiii. 35. xxii. 43. xxvii. 35.
Mark xii. 36. Acts. i. 16. ii. 30. iv. 25. Heb, Hi. 7.
[l] Lightfoot Chron. of Old Test. Mains CEcon. V. Test.
Hammond's Patrick's, and Home's Commentaries.
[m] Bava Bathra, cap. i. Kimchi, &C. 2

OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 279
particulars, has adopted nearly the foUowing ar
rangement, if we consider them, as distributed in
the Hebrew, and in our translation.
Under the first head, are twelve Psalms, of which
the chronology is uncertain ; viz. i, iv. v. viii. xix.
Ixxxi, xc, xci. xcix. ex. cxxxix. cxiv. The first of
these was probably composed by David or Ezra ;
the Ixxxist. [n] is attributed to Asaph ; the xcth. to
Moses ; and the cxth, to David, The authors of
the others are unknown, though some of them are
inscribed to David,
Under the second head are included the Psalras
which were composed by David during the perse
cution carried on against him by Saul, or other
enemies ; these are in number twenty ; viz, vii. xi.
xvi. xvii. xviii. xxii. xxxi. xxxiv. xxxv. Ui, liv. Ivi.
lvii. lviii. lix. Ixiv. cix. cxl. cxU. cxlu.
Under the third head are placed such as David
composed on different occasions, after his accession
to the throne ; these, which amount to forty-four,
are as foUows: ii. vi. ix. xii. xx. xxi. xxiii. xxiv.
xxviii. xxix. xxxii. xxxxiii, xxxviii. xxxix. xl. xii. li.
lx, lxi, Ixii. Ixiii. Ixv. lxviii. Ixix, lxx. Ixxxvi. xcv.
xcvi. ci. ciii, civ, cv. cvi. cviii. cxviii. cxix. cxx.
cxxi. cxxii. cxxiv. cxxxi. cxxxiii. cxUii. cxUv.
The fourth head contains those which were writ
ten by David during the rebeUion of Absalom,
amounting to six ; which are the iiid. xUi. xliii. lv.
lxxi. Ixxxiv.
[n] This was probably designed to be sung in the Temple
upon the feast of Trumpets ; as also at the feast of Tabernacles.

280 OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
The fifth head includes those written from the
death of Absalora to the captivity ; these, which
appear to be ten, are the xxxth. xlv. Ixxii. Ixxiv.
Ixxvi. Ixxviii. Ixxix. Ixxxii. kxxui, cxxxii. Of these,
probably, David coraposed the xxxth. the Ixxiid,
and possibly the Ixxviiith. The Ixxvith. seeras likely
to have been produced after the rairaculous deU
verance frora the Assyrian army, in the days of
Hezekiah. The sixth head comprehends the Psalms com
posed during the distresses and captivities of the
church ; these were written chiefly by Asaph and
Korah, and their descendants. They may be
reckoned thirty in nuraber, and are the xth, xiii,
xiv. XV. xxv. xxvi, xxvii. xxxvi. xxxvii. xliv. xUx.
1. Uii. Ixvu. Ixxiii. Ixxv. Ixxvii. Ixxx. IxxxvUi. Ixxxix.
xcii. xciu. xciv. cii. cxv. cxiii. cxxv. cxxix. cxxx.
cxxxvii. To the last head are assigned those hymns of
joy and thanksgiving which were written as well
after other deliverances as upon the release from
the Babylonish captivity, and at the building and
dedication of the temple. These, which are
twenty-eight, are the xlvith. xlvii. xlviii. lxvi. Ixxxv.
Ixxxvii. xcvii. xcviii. c. cvii. cxi. cxii. cxiii. cxiv.
cxvi. cxvii. cxxvi. cxxviL cxxviii. cxxxii. cxxxiv.
cxxxv. cxxxvi. cxxxviiL cxlvi. cxivii. cxlviii. cxlix, cl.
According to Calmet's account, from which this
in some respect varies, only forty-five Psalms are
positively assigned to David; though probably
many more should be ascribed to him. It is, how-

OF THE BOOK OP PSALMS; 281
ever, of less consequence to determine precisely
by whom the Holy Spirit delivered these oracles,
since we have indubitable evidence of the sacred
character of the whole book ; for it is collectively
cited in scripture [o], and is prophetical in almost
every part [p] : and several of those persons who
are supposed to have contributed to the compo
sition of the work, are expressly represented as
prophets in scripture [q].
The name of David is prefixed to about seventy-
three ; and many persons have coUected from the
last verse of the seventy-second Psalm, which
reports, that " the prayers of David, the son of
Jesse, are ended ;" that David's hymns do there
conclude. If indeed we consider that this Psalm
was probably produced on the establishment of
Solomon on the throne of his father, it is not un
likely that it contains the last eff"usions of David's
prophetic spirit [r]; but as his compositions are
[o] The evangelical writers cite the Psalms in general under
the name of David.
[p] Gutheri Theolog. Proph. p. 98. Brentius ad- 2 Jam.
xxiii. 26.
[q] Heman, Asaph, and Jeduthun, supposed authors of
some of the Psalms, are in scripture called seers, and said to
have prophesied. Vid. 2 Chron. xxix. 30. xxxv. 16. 1 Chron.
xxv. 1 — 5. Vid. also 1 Kings iv. 30, 31, where Ethan (whom
some consider as the author of Psal. Ixxxviii. and Ixxxix.) is
spoken of as eminent for wisdom.
[k] In the prospect of the prosperity of his son's govern
ment, David, on the strength of divine promises, breaks out
into an enraptured description of the duration, extent, and
character of the kingdom of Christ. Vid. ver. 7, 1 1, 12, 17.

282 OP THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
not all placed together, many which follow in the
order of the book may have been written by him :
and we may suppose him to have been the author
of at least aU those which are not particularly as
signed to others, nor inconsistent with his time [s].
The Psalms are certainly not arranged with any
regard to chronology [t], and many which foUow
the seventy-second in the order of the book, are
inscribed with the narae of David. It must be
observed, however, that the titles prefixed to the
Psalms, some of which are not in the Hebrew ma
nuscripts, are often of very questionable authority;
and sometiraes undoubtedly not of equal antiquity
with the text, being possibly affixed as conjectural.
They were not always designed to point out the
author, but often apply to the musicians [u] ap
pointed to set them to music. They likewise some
times appear to be only terms of instruments [x],
[s] St, Peter cites the second Psalm as David's, though it
is not inscribed to him ; and others which have no title were
undoubtedly written by David. Comp, Psal. xcv. 7, 8, with
Heb. iv. 7. Psal. xcvi. with 1 Chron. xvi. 7, &c. Psal. cv.
with 1 Chron. xvi. 8. Psal, cvi. 47, 48, with 1 Chron. xvi. 35,
36. On the other hand, some which have no title, were not
written by David, as cxKxvii. which was not composed till the
Babylonish captivity.
[t] Hieron. in Jerem. xxv.
[u] Some of the names prefixed to the Psalms are assigned
to the Musicians whom David appointed. Vid. 1 Chron. xv,
16 — 22, xvi, 7. The word Lamnatzizeach is supposed to mean
" the chief Musician." It is derived from Mnatzeach, which
signifies Overseer.
[x] As, perhaps, Nehiloth, Sheminith, Gitith, Michtem,
Aijeleth Sliehar, &c. Vid. Geirus ad Psa. v. Miehaelis, &c.

OP THE BOOK OP PSALMS 283
or directions for the choice of tunes [y']. But it
must be confessed, that upon this subject the opi
nions are so various and conjectural, that nothing
satisfectory can be offered, any more than upon
the word Selah [z], which so often occurs.
Many fanciful divisions of this book have been
made. The Jews, at some uncertain period, di
vided it into five sections, probably in imitation of
the division of the Pentateuch [a]. The four first
books of this division terminate with the word
Amen ; the fifth with HaUelujah, which signifies,
" Praise ye Jehovah." The present order of the
Psalms is, perhaps, that in which they were sung
in the temple [b}, and the recitation there used
may account for the occasional repetitions.
Moses may be considered among the earUest
composers of sacred hymns |^c] ; aU nations seem
afterwards to have adopted this mode of expressing
their reUgious sentiraenfcs,^ and to have employed
hjrmns in celebrating the praises of their respec-
[y] As Neginoth. Vid. Bumey's Hist. Mus. voL i. p. 235.
Harmer's Observations on Passages in Scripture, vol. ii. ch. ii.
Observ. III.
[z] Selah is translated in the Septneigint iuf^afifui, a pause
in singing, or a change in tune. Vid. Hieron. Epist. ad Marcel.
and Calmet Dissert, sur Selah.
[a] Madrash SiUim. fol. 2. vol. L Hieron. Praef. in Psalm.
juxt. Heb. Verit. Hilar. Prol. in Psalm. Huet assigns this
division to the time of the Maccabees. Vid. Prop. IV. in
Psalm. Gregor. Nyss. in Psalm, Lib. I. c. v. Lib. II. c, xi.
2 Mace. ii. 13, 14.
[b] Euth^in. Prol, in Psalm. Comp. Psalms xiv. and lui.
[c] Exod. XV. Deut. xxxii.

284 OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
tive deities [d], on a conviction derived, perhaps,
from revealed truth, that they were acceptable to
the divine nature.
The composition of sacred hymns was carried to
great excellence by succeeding prophets ; but was
improved to its highest perfection under David;
who, if he did not first introduce, certainly es
tablished the custom of singing them in pubUc
service [e], with alternate interchange of verse, as
in our catliedral service [p]. David was, indeed,
a great patron of sacred music [g] ; he introduced
many new instruments and improvements in this
spiritual part of the Jewish worship, which was
superinduced over that of sacrifice [uj. Josephus
represents hira, when in the enjoyment of peace,
to have coraposed many hymns in different mea
sures, and to have instructed the Levites to sing
praises to God, not only on the sabbath, but on
other solemn festivals [i]. The practice of Psal
mody must have received some interruption from
the suspension of the temple service, during the
[d] Euseb. Hist. Eccl. Lib, II. c. xvii. Pharmut. de Nat,
Deor, Targ, in Cent, i, 1, Clem. Alex. Strom. Lib. VLp. 784.
Edit. Potter. Porphyry de Abstin. Lib. IV. § 8. Alex, ab
Alex. Genial. Dier, Lib, IV. c. xvii.
[e] 1 Chron. vi. 31. xvi. 6, 7. Ecclus. xlvii. 9.
[f] Ezra iii. 11.
[g] 1 Chron. xvi. 42. xxiii. 6. xxv, 1. 2 Chron. vii. 6.
xxix. 26. and Joseph. Antiq. Lib. VII. c. xii.
[h] August, de Civit. Dei, Lib. XVII. c. xiv. Codurc,
Caten. in Psalm Praep, p, 10.
[i] Antiq, Lib. VII. c. xii. p. 319. edit. Huds,

OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 285
captivity [k]. It was however restored, though
with less splendour, by Ezra [l] ; and continued
tiU it received the sanction of Christ and his apo
sties, who themselves recommended the custom by
their precept and example [m].
The hymn which our Saviour sung with his dis
ciples at the conclusion of the last supper, is gene
raUy supposed to have consisted of the Psalms that
are contained between the one hundred and thir
teenth and the one hundred and eighteenth in
clusive \jr\- This was called by the Jews the
great HaUel, or Hymn, and was usuaUy sung by
them at the celebration of the Passover. Christ
also exclaimed, in his solemn invocation on God '
from the cross, in the complaints of the twenty-
second Psalm j]o], and breathed out his last senti-
[k] Psalm cxxxvii.
[lJ Ezra iii. 11. Nehem. xii. 24, 31, 38, 40.
[m] Matt. xxvi. 30. 1 Cor. xiv. 15. Ephes. v. 19. Col.
iii. 16. Rev. xiv. 2, 3. Vid. Cahnet's Preface, Bossuet, Ham
mond, AUix, &c. All vocal and instrumental performers were
excluded firom the Jewish synagogues after the destruction of
Jerusalem. The little singing now used is of modern intro
duction. The Jews, indeed, consider it as improper to indulge
in such expression of joy before the advent of their expected
Messiah. The German Jews, however, entertain different
notions, and have a musical establishment. They have, like
wise, some melodies supposed to be very" ancient ; but it is
thought that the ancient diatonic notes are preserved more in
the Psalmody of our church, than in the Jewish synagogues.
[nJ Buxtorf. Lex. Talmud. V?n. Col. vi. 13. Lightfoot,
vol. ii. 364. 444.
[o] Comp. Matt, xxvii. 46, with Psa. xxii. 1,

286 OP THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ments of expiring piety in the words of David [p].
" No tongue of man or angel," says Dr. Ham
mond, " can convey an higher idea of any book,
and of their felicity who use it aright." The
christian church has therefore, by divine appoint
ment, adopted the Psalras as a part of its service,
and chosen from its first institution, to celebrate
the praises of God in the language of scripture [q];
[p] Comp. Luke xxiii. 46. with Psa. xxxi. 5.
[q] 1 Cor. xiv. 15. Ephes. v. 19. Colos. iii. 16. James
V. 13. Constit. Apost. Lib. II. c. lvii. Euseb. Hist. Eccles.
Lib. III. c. xxxiii. Theodl Hist. Eccles. Lib. II. c. xxiv.
August. Conf. Lib. IX. c. vi. § 2. Lib. X. c. xxxiu. § 2.
Plin. Epist. Lib. X. Epist. xcvii. Tertul. Apol, c, u, p. 3.
c. xxxix. p. 36. Fabric. Bib. Graec. vol. v. c. i. The prac
tice of psalm-singing, as used in our choir, is derived, probably,
from the ancient alternate chanting of the Jews (Ezra iii. 11,
Nehem. xii. 24.) authorized by the apostles, and adopted iuto
the earliest christian churches. It was certainly instituted at
Antioch, between A. D. 347 and 356, by Flavianus and Dio
dorus : who divided the choir into two parts, which sung alter
nately. Singing was soon afterwards introduced into the
Western church by St. Ambrose ; and adopted with improve
ments by Gregory the Great, who established the grave
Gregorian chant which now prevails in the Romish church.
Choral musick was brought into England by the companions
of Austin the Monk, A.D. 596, and first established at Can
terbury. Objections were often raade in this country to church
musick, but it was approved by the compilers of King Edward's
Liturgy ; and soon after was composed the formula that now
regulates (with little variation) the choral service, which,
though occasionally suspended till the restoration of Charles
the Second, has since been uniformly continued. Vid. Mart.
Gcrbert. Music. Sac. Bedford's Teraple Music. Hawkins's

OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS, 287
and these sacred hymns are indeed, admirably cab
culated for every purpose of devotion.
The expressions and descriptions of the Psalms
may seem to some persons to have been appro
priate and peculiar to the Jewish circumstances ;
and David, indeed, employs figures and allusions
applicable to the old dispensation. But as in
recording temporary deliverances and blessings
vouchsafed to the Jews, we commemorate spiritual
advantages thereby signified, we use the Psalms
with the greatest propriety in our church, " We
need," as an elegant commentator has observed,
"but substitute the Messiah for David, the Gospel
for the Law, and the church of Christ for the church
of Israel; we need but consider the ceremonies
and sacrifices of the Law as the emblems of spi
ritual service, of which every part hath its corres
pondent figure ; and we appropriate the Psalms to
our own use as the noblest treasure of inspired
wisdom [r]." They finely Ulustrate the connection
which subsisted between the two covenants, and
shed an evangelical light on the Mosaic dispensa
tion by unveiling its inward radiance. The vene
ration for them has in aU ages of the church been
considerable. The Fathers assure us, that in the
earUer times, the whole book of Psalms was gene
rally learnt by heart [s], and that the ministers of
History of Music, voL i, and ii. Burney's History of Music,
veL i, p. 154, &c.
[r] Bp. Home's Pref. to Com. on the Psahns.
Tsl " Pueri modulantur domi, viri foro circumferunt,"

288 OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
every gradation were expected to be able to repeat
thera from memory; that Psalraody was every
where a constant attendant at meals and in busi
ness : that it enlivened the social hours, and sof
tened the fatigues of life. The Psalms have,
indeed, as Lord Clarendon observes, been ever
thought to contain something extraordinary for the
instruction and reformation of mankind [tJ.
Numberless are the testimonies which might be
produced in praise of these admirable composi
tions, which contain, indeed, a complete epitome
of the history, doctrines, and instructions of the
Old Testament [u J ; delivered with every variety
of style that may encourage attention, and framed
with an elegance of construction superior far to
that of the finest models in which Pagan antiquity
hath inclosed its mythology. These invaluable
scriptures are daily repeated without weariness,
though their beauties are often overlooked in fa
miUar and habitual perusal. As hymns imme
diately addressed to the Deity, they reduce righ
teousness to practice, and while we acquire the
says an ancient writer. Vid. Basil, and Ambrose Prjef, in
Psalm, [t] Home's Preface, It is remarkable, that this Book of
Psalms is exactly the kind of work which Plato wished to see
for the instruction of youth, but conceived it impossible to
execute, as above the power of human abilities. TSto h flsS x
Geis Tifoj, av £»»• but this must be the work of a God, or of some
divine person. De Legibus, p. 657. Edit. Serrani.
[u] Luther called the Psalms a small Bible. The Psalter was
one of the first hooks printed, after the discovery of the art.

OP THE BOOK OP PSALMS, 289
principles, we perform the offices of piety ; as
whUe we suppUcate for blessings, we celebrate the
memorial of former raercies. The general senti
ments which are uttered, seem often applicable to
individuals, and as we read, we appropriate the re
flections, and seem to express our own feelings in
inspired language.
Here, Ukewise, whUe in the exercise of devo
tion, faith is enlivened by the display of prophecy.
David, in the spirit of inspiration, uttered his
oracles with the raost Uvely and exact description.
He expressed the whole scheme of man's redemp
tion : the incamation [x] ; the passion ; the resur
rection [y] ; and ascension of the Son of God, as
Ukewise the gifts ofthe Holy Ghost, which our Lord
obtained [z], rather as a witness, than as a prophet.
As an eminent type of his descendant, he is often
led in the retrospect of the circumstances of his
own life, to speak of those of Christ. While he is
describing his own enemies and sufferings, the
Spirit enlargeth his sentiments, and swelleth out
his expressions to a proportion adapted to the cha
racter of the Messiah. Hence even the personal
sufferings of Christ are described with rainute and
accurate fideUty ; and in the anticipated scene of
prophecy we behold hira pictured on the cross, and
surrounded by those who " stand looking and
[x] Psa. ii. 7. Acts xiii. 33. Talmud Sucah, cap. v. Aben.
EziB. R. Kimchi.
^y] Psalm xvi. 9 — 11. Compare with Acts ii. 31.
[z] Psalm lxviii. 18. U

290 OP THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
staring" upon him, under every attendant circum
stance of anguish, raockery, and horror, even to
the " parting of his garments," and to the " cast
ing lots for his vesture [a]."
David, apprised that the Messiah should spring
from his own immediate family [b], looked forward
with pecuUar interest to his character and afflic
tions. In the foreknowledge of those sufferings
which Christ should experience from his " familiar
friends," and frora the nuraerous adversaries of
his church, the Psalmist speaks with the highest
indignation against those eneraies who prefigured
the" foes of Christ ; and iraprecates, or predicts, the
severest vengeance against them [c]. So signal a
representative of Christ, indeed, was David con
sidered by the sacred writers, that our Saviour is
[a] Psalm xxii. 16 — 18. compared with Matthew xxvii. 35.
Burnet's lOth and 11th sermons in Boyle's Lectures.
[b] 2 Sam. vii. 12. Psalm cxxxii. 11, 18.
[c"} The severity with which David inveighs against the
wicked, has been erroneously considered as inconsistent with
the spirit of true religion. The passages, however, which are
objected to on this score, are either prophetic threats, or
general denunciations of God's wrath against sin, as it were,
personified. It is the spirit, rather than David, which utters
its imprecations against the unrighteous enemies ofthe church.
Forgiveness and mercy towards the person of his own enemiesi
were distinguished parts of David's character, of which we
see very beautiful proofs in 1 Sam. xxiv. 4, 10. xxvi. 7 — 13.
2 Sam. i. 17 — 27. xix. 16 — 23. He cursed only those whom
God instructed him to curse ; and the church, in its public
service, joins in these curses, as a religious society, without
violating the spirit of charity. 6

OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 291
often expressly distinguished in scripture by liis
name [o] ; and the Jews themselves perceived that
the Messiah and his kingdom were shadowed out
as capital objects in the descriptions of the Psalmist.
Sensible that what David uttered, as often not
appUcable to his own person and history [e], must
have had reference to some future character, they
traBscribed whole passages from them into their
prayers, for the speedy coraing of the great object
of their hopes ; though, in that infatuated blind
ness which characterizes their conduct with the
marks of glaring inconsistency, they deny, that
these spiritual aUusions are applicable to the per
son of our Saviour ; and therefore stiU pray in the
words of the Psalmist, for the arrival of the Mes
siah [f].
Josephus asserts [c], and most of the ancient
writers maintain, that the Psalms were coraposed in
various metres. They have undoubtedly a peculiar
conformation of sentences, and a measured distri
bution of parts. Many of them are elegiac, and
most of David's are of the lyric kind. There is
no sufficient reason, however, to believe, as sorae
writers have imagined, that they were written in
[o] Isa. liii. 3. Jerem. xxx. 9. Ezek. xxxiv, 23. Hos. liii, 5.
[e] Psa. xvi. 10. xxii. 16 — 18. Ixxii. and Justin Martyr^
Dial. 1st.
[f] Chandler's Defence, ch. iii. sect. 2. Corap. Psa. xxxii.
with 1 3th, 16th, 18th, and other prayers. Hosan Rabba.
[g] Lib. VII. c. xn. p. 329, &c. Hieron. Epist. ad Paulin.
u2

292 OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
rhyme, or exactly in any of the Grecian measures.
Some of thera are acrostic ; and though the regu
lations of the Hebrew Prosody are now lost, there
can be no doubt, frora the harraonious modulation
of the Psalms, that they were written with some
kind of metrical order, and they must have been
coraposed in accommodation to the measure to
which they were set[H]. The Masoretie writers
have raarked thera in a raanner different from the
other sacred writings [i].
The Hebrew copies and the Septuagint version
of this book contain the same number of Psalms ;
only the Septuagint translators have, for some rea
son, which does not appear, thrown the ninth and
tenth into one[K]: as also the one hundred and
fourteenth, and the one hundred and fifteenth;
and have divided the one hundred and sixteenth,
and the one hundred and forty-seventh, each into
[h] It is probable, that the Psalms were originally divided
into verses terminating with the conclusion of the sense, though
many of the Jews maintain, that the Masorites introduced the
distinction. Vid, Buxtorf, Com, Masoret, p, 38.
[i] Some persons suppose, that the points were at first
musical characters, and it is said, that they still sei-ve, not
only to mark the accentuation in reading, but also to regulate
the melody in singing the prophecies ; and that as to high and
low, as well as to long and short notes, Vid, Burney's Hist,
of Music, vol. i, p. 251.
[k] So that the Romanists, who use St. Jerom's translation,
reckon one behind us from the xth to the cxivth, and two
from thence to the cxvith, and again one from thence to
the cxh iith, from whence they continue to agree with us.

OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 293
two. In the Syriac [l] and Arabic versions, in
deed, and also in most copies of the Septuagint,
as well as in an Anglo-Saxon version, there is
annexed to the hundred and fifty canonical Psalms,
an additional hymn, which is entitled, " a Psalm
of thanksgiving of David, when he had vanquished
Goliah." This, though admitted by some [m] as
authentic, was probably (as it is not in the He
brew) a spurious work of some HeUenistical Jew ;
who might have corapiled it out of the writings of
David, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. The version of the
Ps^ms in our Bible, which was made by the trans
lators employed under Jaraes the First, is posterior
to that printed in our Prayer-books, which was
executed in 1539 [n]. This last, as very excel
lent, and famiUarized by custom, was retained in
the Liturgy, though as translated chiefly from the
Septuagint, with some variation in conformity to
£l] It is said in the Syriac, that some add twelve Psalms,
which however are there rejected as without authority.
[m] Athan. in Synop.
[n] Introduction, p. 33. This was Tyndal's and Cover-
dale's translation, corrected by Tonstal and Heath. In this,
the fourteenth Psalm contains eleven verses ; whereas in the
Hebrew, and in our Bible, it contains but -seven (or rather
eight). The three verses have been considered as genuine, as
they are in some copies of the Septuagint, and appear to be
cited by St. Paul, Rom. iii. 13 — 18. They might have been
framed from detached passages, and other parts of scripture.
See particularly Psalm v. 9. cxl. 3. x. 7. Isaiah lix, 7, 8.
Psalm xxxvi, 1, The denunciations in the cxxxviith Psalm,
which are similar to those of Isaiah, Jeremiah, aud Obadiah,
were fulfilled in the destruction of Edom and Babylon.
7

294 OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the Hebrew, Corrupted by the Masoretie points, it
does not so exactly correspond with the original as
does that in our Bibles [o].
David was the son of Jesse, of the tribe of
Judah, a descendant of that family to which God's
covenant was raade. He was born about A.M.
2920, and lived seventy years, during forty of
which he was in possession of the throne of
Israel [p], being raised by God frora an humble to
a conspicuous station, that the genealogy of the
Messiah might be displayed, and ascertained with
more clearness and distinction. He declared yi'ith
" his last words" that " the spirit of the Lord
spake by him," " that his word was in his tongue,
and that God had made with him an everlasting
covenant, which was his salvation and his desire" [q].
He was eminently distinguished for every great and
[o] Where the translators of the version published in our
prayer-books have varied from the Septuagint, and followed
the Hebrew Masoretie copies, the Hebrew text, if read without
the points, would be as consistent with the Septuagint, and
other ancient versions, as it is with the translation in our
Bible, In the instahces, then, where the authors of the ver
sion iu the Liturgy have varied, iu compliance with the Maso
retie authority, they have generally erred. Vid. Dr. Brett and
Johnson, at the eud of Holy David.
[p] He reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and
in Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years, being
anointed long before he came into possession of the throne.
Vid. 2 Sam. xxiii, 2. and Chandler,
[q] 2 Sam, xxiii, 1 — 5, The word David implies " beloved,"
Vid. 1 Sam. xiii. 14. and xxvi. 18. Bp. Porteus's sermon on
David's character.

OP THE BOOK OF PSALMS, 295
amiable quality. The particulars of his interesting
life are displayed with pecuUar minuteness in the
sacred history ; and many of his Psalms are so cha
racteristic of the circumstances under which they
were composed, that there cannot be a more en
gaging task, than that of tracing their connection
with the events of his history |^r] ; and of dis
covering the occasions on which they were seve
rally produced, in the feeling and descriptive sen
timents which they contain. If in the successive
scenes of his life, we behold him active in the
exercise of those virtues which his piety produced, .
we here contemplate him in a no less attractive
point of view. In this book we find him a sincere
servant of God, divested of aU the pride of royalty;
pouring out the emotions of his soul in privacy
and in the congregation of his people, and unfold
ing his pious sentiments in every vicissitude of
condition. At one time we have the prayers of
distress; at another, the praises and exultation of
triumph. Hence are the Psalms admirably adapted
to aU circumstances of Ufe, and serve alike for
the indulgence of joy, or the soothing of sorrow;
they stiU chase away suUen despondence and afflic
tion, and furnish gladness with the strains of holy
and reUgious rapture |^s],
[r] Delaney's Life of David.
[s] Ephes. V. 19. Col. iii. 16.

OF THE

BOOK OF PROVERBS.

The Proverbs, as we lare informed at the begin
ning, and in other parts of the book [a], were
written by Solomon, the son of David ; a man, as the
sacred writings assure us, peculiarly endued with
divine wisdora [b] , Whatever conceptions of his
superior understanding we may be led to form by
the particulars recorded of his judgraent and at-
tainraents, we shall find thera amply justified, on
perusing the works which remain in testimony of
his abihties. This enUghtened monarch, being de
sirous of employing the wisdom which he had re
ceived to the advantage of mankind, produced se
veral works for their instruction. Of these, however,
three only were admitted into the canon of the sa
cred writ by Ezra ; the others, being either not de
signed for religious instruction, or so mutilated by
time and accident, as to have been judged imper
fect. The bookof Proverbs, that of Ecclesiastes, and
[a] Vid, chap, i, 1. xxv, 1.
[B] Vid. 1 Kings iii. 12. iv, 29—31. xi, 9. 2 Chron. i, 12.

OF THE BOOK OF PROVERBS. 297
that of the Song of Soloraon, are aU that reraain of
hira, who is related to have spoken " three thou
sand proverbs [c] ;" whose '' songs were a thou
sand and five ;" and who " spake of trees, frora the
cedar that is in Lebanon, even to the hyssop that
springeth out of the wall;" who " spake also of
beasts, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and
of fishes." If, however, raany valuable writings
of Solomon have perished, we have reason to be
grateful for what still remains. Of his proverbs
and songs the raost exceUent have been providen
tiaUy preserved ; and as we possess his doctrinal
and raoral works, we have no right to raurraur at
the loss of his physical and philosophical produc
tions. This book of Proverbs contains the maxiras of
long experience, framed by one who was well
quaUfied, by his rare talents and endowments, to
draw just lessons from a comprehensive survey of
human Ufe. Solomon judiciously sums up his pre
cepts in brief energetic sentences, which are weU
[c] Vid. 1 Kings iv, 32. Josephus magnifies the account
of scripture to 3000 books of Proverbs ; and St. Jerom,
as erroneously conceives, that these 3000 Proverbs are con.
tained in the present book ; but we must admit that many of
this number have perished. Some have supposed, that the
physical books of Solomon were extant in the days of Alex
ander, and were translated by means of an interpreter into
the works of Aristotle and Theophrastus, whose collections have
perished. Vid. Antiq. Lib. VIII. c. ii. p. 339. Edit. Hud.
Juchasin. Eusebius (as cited by Anastasius) says, that King
jlezekiah suppressed them, because abused by the people.

298 OF THE BOOK OF PROVERBS.
contrived for popular instruction [d]. The wis
dora, indeed, of aU ages, frora the highest antiquity,
hath chosen to corapress its lessons into corapen-
dious sentences, which were pecuUarly adapted to
the simplicity of earlier times ; which are readily
conceived, and easily retained ; and which circu
late in society as useful principles, to be unfolded
and applied as occasion may require. The inspired
son of David had the power of giving peculiar
poignancy and weight to this style of writing, and
his works have been as it were the storehouse
from which posterity hath drawn its best maxims
[e]. His Proverbs are so justly founded on prin
ciples of human nature, and so adapted to the per
manent interests of man, that they agree with the
manners of every age; and may be assuraed as
rules for the direction of our conduct in every
condition and rank of life, however varied in its
complexion, or diversified by circumstances ; they
[d] The Proverbs of Solomon are called in the Hebrew
Meshalim, from hwo, Meshel, to have dominion. The word
may be translated xv^wt $o|a>, sententiae maxime raise, autho
ritative maxims, elevated precepts. Vid. Job xxvii. 1. Cicer.
de Fin. 1. ii. c. 7. Mains Vet. Test. p. 838, Bacon de Augm,
Scient, They are to be considered as general maxims, and
not as universally and invariably applicable, or as always
true in a strict sense without any exceptions,
[e] Many ofthe sacred writers who followed Solomon bor
rowed his thoughts and expressions ; and many heathen writers
are indebted to him for their brightest sentiments. Vid. Huet.
Prop. 4. p. 171. Edit. Paris, 1679, where imitations are pro
duced from Theognis, Sophocles, Euripides, Anaxilaus, Plato,
Horace, and Meuander.

OF THE BOOK OP PROVERBS. 299
embrace not only the concerns of private morality,
but the great objects Of political importance [f].
Subsequent moraUsts have, in their discourses on
oecumenical prudence, done little more than dilate
on the precepts, and comment on the wisdom of
Solomon. Grotius, extensive as were his own
powers, was unable to conceive that the Book of
Proverbs could be the work of one man, and sup
poses it to have been a coUection of the finest pro
verbs of the age, made in the same raanner (as
those published by sorae of the eraperors at Con
stantinople in subsequent tiraes,) and perfected
from various collections under Hezekiah [^g]. But
this opinion, founded in part on some rabbinical
accounts, cannot be aUowed to invaUdate the exclu
sive claim of Solomon, to what is usuaUy ascribed
to him. The work might, perhaps, compose part of
the three thousand proverbs which Solomon is de
scribed to have uttered, being probably digested
as far as the twenty-fifth chapter by that monarch
himself, and afterwards received into the canon
with some additions.
The book may be considered under five divi
sions. The first part, which is a kind of prefece,
extends to the tenth chapter. This contains ge
neral cautions and exhortations from a teacher to
his pupU, delivered in very various and elegant
language : duly connected in its parts ; iUustrated
[f} St. Basil says of this book, that it is if>a; it^ecimaidcc ^%s,
an universal instruction for the government of Ufe.
[g] Grotius Praef. iu Prov.

soo OF THE BOOK OP PROVERB?
with beautiful descriptions ; decorated with all the
ornaments of poetical composition, and well con
trived as an engaging introduction to awaken and
interest the attention.
The second part extends from the beginning of
the tenth chapter to the seventeenth verse of the
twenty -second, and contains what may strictly and
properly be called Proverbs, given in unconnected
general sentences [h] with rauch neatness and sim
pUcity [i] ; adapted to the instruction of youth, and
probably more immediately designed by Solomon
for the improvement of his son [k]. These are
truly, to use his own comparison, " apples of gold
in pictures of silver."
In the third part, which contains what is included
between the sixteenth verse of the twenty-second
chapter and the twenty -fifth chapter, the tutor is
supposed for a more lively effect, to address his
pupil as present, he drops the sententious style of
proverbs, and communicates exhortations in a raore
continued and connected strain.
[h] The general scope of the discourse, however, raust be
remembered, even in the explication of detached sentiments.
[i] The Proverbs generally consist of two sentences, joined
in a kind of antithesis ; the second being sometimes a redupli
cation, sometimes an explanation, and sometimes an opposition
in the sense to the first. This style of composition produces
great beauties in many other parts of scripture, where it is
employed for poetical arrangement. Vid. Lowth's Praelect. xix.
[k] Rehoboam ; though the phrase " my son" is only a
term of general apphcation. Vid. Hebrew, chap. xii. 3. Mi
chael. Praef. in Lib,

OP THE BOOK OF PROVERBS. 301
The proverbs which are included between the
twenty-fifth and thirtieth chapters, and which con
stitute the fourth part, are supposed to have been
selected from a much greater number by the men
of Hezekiah; that is, by the prophets whom he
employed to restore the service and the writings
ofthe church, as Eliakim, and Joah, and Shebnah ;
and probably Hosea, Micah, and even Isaiah [^l[],
who aU flourished in the reign of that monarch,
and doubtless co-operated with his endeavours to
re-estabUsh true reUgion among the Jews. These
proverbs, indeed, appear to have been selected by
some coUectors after the time of Solomon, as they
repeat some which he had previously introduced
in the former part of the book [m].
The fifth part contains the prudent admonitions
which Agur, the son of Jakeh, deUvered to his pu
pils, Ithiel and Ucal; these are included in the
thirtieth chapter. It contains also the precepts
which the mother of Lemuel deUvered to her son,
as described in the thirty-first chapter.
Conceming these persons whose works are an
nexed to those of Solomon, commentators have
entertained various opinions. The original words
which describe Agur as the author of the thirtieth
chapter, might be differentiy translated [nJ ; but
[l] Vid. R. Moses Kimchi.
[m] Compare chap. xxv. 24. with xxi. 9. xxvi. 13. with xxii.
13. xxvi. 15. with xxix. 24. xxvi. 22. with xviii. 8, &c.
[n] They might be translated the words of the Collector.
In the Septuagint, where this chapter is placed immediately

302 OF THE BOOK OP PROVERBS.
adraitting the present construction as most natural
and just, we raay observe, tbat the generality of
the fathers, and ancient commentators, have sup
posed that under the name of Agur, Solomon de
scribes himself, though no satisfactory reason can
be assigned for his assuming this narae [o^. Others
conjecture that Agur and Lemuel were interlo
cutors with Soloraon, but upon very insufficient
grounds, since the book has no appearance of dia
logue, for there is not any interchange of person.
It is more probable, that though it was designed
principaUy to contain the sayings of Solomon, others
might have been added by the men of Hezekiah :
and Agur might have been an inspired writer [p],
whose raoral and proverbial sentences (for such is
the import of the word Massa, rendered Prophecy
[_q]), were joined with those of the wise raan, be
cause of the conformity of their matter. So Uke
wise the dignity of the book is not affected, if we
after the xxivth, we read instead of the first verse, ra Si xiyn o
05»))g Tott 'eT.rsuncri &su, xat woitio/**!. Thus speaketh the man to
to those who believe, and I cease.
lQJ Vid. Lowth's xviiith Praelect. and Calmet.
.[p] The second and third verses, though they tend as well
as the eighth to prove that the chapter was not written by So
lomon, yet by no means invalidate the author's claim to inspi-
ration, who here describes himself as devoid of understanding
before he received the influx of divine wisdom. In the Sep
tuagint the third verse expresses a sense directly contrary, ©e«
OiS'tScc^i Hi a-olfiect xa> ytSia-n ayiut eyvaxa, God hath taught me
wisdom, and I have learnt the knowledge of the saints.
[Q] «t»D, the burden of the word ofthe Lord. Zech, ix, 1.
Job xxvu. 1. Prov. xxx. 1. xxxi. 1.

OF THE BOOK OF PROVERBS. 303
suppose the last chapter to have been written by a
different hand ; and admit the mother of Lemuel
to have been a Jewish woraan^ married to some
neighbouring prince ; or Abiah, the daughter of
the high-priest Zechariah, and mother of King
Hezekiah ; in any case, it must be considered as
the production of an inspired writer, or it would
not have been received into the canon of scripture.
But it was perhaps meant that by Lemuel we
should understand Solomon [r] ; for the word
which signifies one belonging to God, might have
been given unto him as descriptive of his charac
ter, since to Solomon, God had expressly declared
that he would be unto him a father [s].
Dr. Delaney, who was a strenuous advocate for
this opinion, declares that he took great pains to
examine the objections that have been aUeged
against it, and he assures us that they are such as
readers of the best understanding would be little
obUged to hira for retailing, or refuting. One of
the chief objections, indeed, rather confirms what
it was intended to destroy. The mother of Lemuel
thrice caUs her son. Bar, a word used in the se
cond Psalm, and in the Song of Solomon [t] ; but
this rather proves that Lemuel may have been de-
[r] Vid. R. Nathan. Prov. iv. 3, 4.
[sj 2 Sam. vii. 14.
[t] na. Ps. ii. 12. and Cant. vi. 9. Bar in the Chaldee
signifies a son. David might have used it in that sense as well
as Bathsheba in this book ; for we know not how early foreign
expressions (if it be one) might have been adopted into the
Hebrew language.

304 OF THE BOOK OF PROVERBS.
signed to denote Solomon, since the expression is
eraployed by his father and by hiraself [u]. Dr,
Delaney then, conceives that the mother of Lemuel
was Bathsheba [x], and that the commendation
annexed was designed for her, and he vindicates
her character as deserving the eulogium. Should
sorae circurastances in the description, however,
be judged inapplicable to her, there is no reason
why we should not conceive a general character
to have been intended. It appears then upon a
collective consideration, that the greatest part of
the book was composed, and perhaps digested by
Soloraon hiraself; that sorae additions were made,
principally frora the works of Soloraon, by the
men of Hezekiah ; and that the whole was ar
ranged into its present form, and adraitted into
the canon by Ezra. It is often cited by the evan
gelical writers [y], and the work, as it now stands,
contains an invaluable corapendiura of instructions.
It is suppposed to haVe been the production of
Solomon when arrived at maturity of Ufe : when
his mind had multiplied its stores, and been en-
[u] Vid, Delaney's Life of David, Book IV. chap. xxi. and
Calmet. [x] Vid. also Bedford, p. 607, Calmet and Locke, who are
of the same opinion. Prov. iv. 3. Bathsheba is by some sup
posed to have been endued with the spirit of Prophecy. Vide
chap. xxxi. 1.
[y3 Vid. Matt, xv, 4, Luke xiv. 10, Rom, xii. 16, 1 7, 20,
1 Thess. V. 15. 1 Pet. iv. 8. v. 5, James iv, 6, &c, passim.
See ch, iii. 11, 12. xxvi. 11, compare with Heb, xii, 5, 6,
1 Pet. ii, 22.

OP THE BOOK OF PROVERBS. 305
larged by long observation and experience. It
was probably written before the book of Ecclesi
astes, for it seems to be therein raentioned [z],
Solomon was born about A.M, 2971. He suc
ceeded David about eighteen years after, and
enjoyed a prosperous reign of near forty years
£a]. Under his government the kingdom was re
markable for its weU regulated oeconomy, and its
extensive comraerce. It was so enlarged by his con
quests and politic management, that " he reigned
over" or made tributary " aU the kings from the
river (Euphrates) even to the land of the Philis
tines and the borders of Egypt [b]." Illustrious
men were attracted frora all parts by his farae for
wisdom and magnificence [c]. The son of Sirach
said of him, that he was " a flood fiUed with un
derstanding ; that his soul covered the whole
earth ; and that he fiUed it with dark parables
I^d]." His character, like that of every human
being, was occasionally raarked with the stains of
sin, particularly towards the close of life, when his
enfeebled raind was seduced to corrupt affections
and idolatry. It seems to have been intended by
[z] Eccles. xii. 9.
[aJ The name of Solomon is analogous to Pacific, and is
happily descriptive of the peaceful prosperity which he enjoyed.
The Rabbins consider it as appellative.
[b] 2 Chron. ix. 26.
[c] 1 Kings x. 20.
f d] Ecclus. xlvii. 14, 15. The ancients prided themselves
much on the knowledge of parables and proverbs. Vid. Prov.
i. 6. Wisd. viii. 8. Ecclus. i. 25. vi. 35. xxix. 1 — 3.
X

306 OF THE BOOK OF PROVERBS.
God, to expose the insufficiency of the highest
endowments, without a strict reverence to the pre
cepts prescribed by him. The impotency even
of preternatural strength had been shewn in
Samson ; and the failure, even of piety, when it
yielded to the teraptation of huraan passions, had
been sadly illustrated in the trangression of David.
Solomon exempUfied the vanity of the highest gift
of divine favour, when he departed frora the com
mandments of God. He disregarded all the spirit
of those instructions which had been appointed by
the Almighty, for the government of his country.
He was misled by the love of splendor, and by
the admiration of those that resorted to his court,
to seek riches and luxuries by a foreign trade, in
neglect of tbe divine word ; he raultiplied to him
self horses and chariots, and by encreasing to a
licentious excess, the number of his wives, he was
enticed at length, by the seductions of idolatry [e],
and added another striking instance of the truth of
the inspired declaration, with respect to the sons
of men, that there is none that doeth righteous
ness, no not one. The high reputation which
he enjoyed, occasioned many spurious writings to
pass under the sanction of his name, as the Psalter,
as it is called, of Soloraon, which consists of eigh
teen Greek Psalras, and which was probably the
work of sorae HeUenistical Jew [r"], who might
[e] Deut. xvii, 16, 17. compare with 1 Kings ix, 26—28.
X. 14—23. 26—29. xi. 1—9.
[f] The HeUenistical Jews were Jews dispersed in foreign
countries, who spoke the Greek language.

OF TH5 BOOK, op PROVERBS. 307
have compiled it from! the writings of David, Isaiah,
and Ezekiel [g]|. AnotJje* book likewise, entitled^
The Cure QfX)iseases> mentioned by Kimchi [h};
The Contradictions of Solomon, condemned by
Pope Getasius ; and bis Testament, cited by M.
Gaumin ; with five other books, mentioned by Al
fred tbe Great ia his Mirror of Astrology ; and
four named by Trithemenus, whicb favour of D^t-
gical inventioia, are probaJoly all spuriious ; as well
as tbe letteist which he is: said to have written to
Hiram, and Hiram's answers, though Jos^bus
conaders, these, Ihst as authentie [i]. The magicai
writings which were attributed to Solomon, were
so as&ig^ned in, consequence of a notum whicb pne-
Vftiled iJB the East, titat Soloraon was conversant
[g^ This Psalter, which, like most of the HeUenistical
works, is foil of Hebraisms, was copied from an ancient
Greek manuscript ia the Augsburg Hbrary by Andrea Scotto,
and pu^fdied vvithaLatin version by Johu Lewis de la Cerda..
Vid* Cahnet.. Pret Gen. sur les Pseaumes. These Psalms ap-
piear from the index, at the end ofthe New Testament, to liave
been formerly in the Alexandrian manuscript, though they
have been lost or tom firom thence.
[h]- Suidas states that Solomon wrote a Treatise on Reme
dies of Diseases, of which the most excellent axioms wer-e ia--
scribed on the vestibule of the temple of Jerusalem.
[i] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. VIII. cap. ii. Josephus grounds
the authenticity of these letters on Jewish and Tyrian recordis.
Some suspected ciccumstaiices have been mentioned,, as im
peaching their claims ; particularly it has been observed, that
Hiram speaks of Tyre, as an island, whereas old Tyre, which
was contemporary with this period, was situated on the con
tinent ; but the word »« seems to be applied to ancient Tyre
in Isaiah xxiii. 2 — 6, Vide Parkhurst's Lexicon Root »«.
X 2

308 OF the BOOK OP PROVERBS,
with magic ; a notion derived, perhaps, from the
fame of those experiments which his physical
knowledge might have enabled hira to display ; but
which, however obtained, certainly prevailed ; for
we learn from Josephus, that one named Eleazar,.
in the presence of Vespasian and others, pretended
to release persons possessed, from the power of
demons, by raeans of a ring, bearing an irapression
of a root, which had been pointed out by Solomon,
and adjured them in the narae of Soloraon not to
return ; at the same tirae reciting an incantation
coraposed by hira [k], Araidst the superstitious
notions also which long afterwards continued to
delude the eastern nations, we find such iraaginary
influence over evil spirits ascribed to the narae of
Solomon. The Septuagint and other versions of this book
differ occasionally from the Hebrew original, and
contain indeed more proverbs, some of which are
to be found also in the Book of Ecclesiasticus.
The order Ukewise of the poetical books is different
in the Septuagint [lJ, and in sorae raanuscripts ;
where the metrical books run thus. Psalms, Job,
and Proverbs.
[k] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. VIII. cap. ii. p. 339.
[l] Codex Alexand. Vid. Grabe in prolog, cap i. § 2,
Melito apud Euseb. Eccles. Hist. Lib. IV. cap. .^6, &g.

OF THE
BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES ;
OB, THE
PREACHER.

This Book was unquestionably the production of
Solomon, who for the great exceUency of his in
structions was emphaticaUy styled " the Preacher."
It is said by the Jews to have been written by
him, upon his awakening to repentance [a], after
he had been seduced in the decUne of life to ido
latry and sin ; and if this be true, it affords valu
able proofs of the sincerity with which he regretted
his departure from righteousness. Some, how
ever, have ascribed the work to Isaiah [b]. The
Talmudists pretend that Hezekiah was the author
of it[c]; and Grotius upon some vague conjec-
[a] Seder Olam Rabba, c. xv. p. 41. Hieron. in Eccles.
i. 12. Vid. also chap. ii. 10. vii. 26.
[b] R. Moses Kimchi. R. Gedalias in Schalsch Hakkab.
fol. 6G.
[c] Bava Bathra, c. i, f. 15. The Talmudists suppose He
zekiah to have produced, or compiled, the three books of So.
lomon, as likewise the book of Isaiah. Vid. Peter's Praef. to
Dissert, ou Job, Svo. edit.

310 OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES.
tures, conceives that it was coraposed by order of
Zerubbabel [d]. But we shaU be convinced that
it should be assigned to Solomon, if we consider
that the author styles himself " the son of David,
the King in Jerusalem," and that he describes his
wisdom, his riches, his writings, and his works, in
a manner appUcable only to Solomon [e] ; Ukewise
that the book is attributed to him both by the
Jewish and Christian tradition. The foreign ex
pressions, if they really be such, which induced
Grotius to consider the book as a production sub
sequent to the Babylonish captivity, might have
been acquired by Solomon in his intercourse by
coramerce with other nations, or by his connec
tion with foreign woraen [f]. But the style of the
Work raust have often occasioned the introduction
of unusual words [g]. The later Jews are said to
have been desirous of excluding it frora the canon
[h], from some improprieties of representation
£d] Grotius in Eccles.
[e] Chap. i. 1, 12, 16. ii. 4—10, vii, 25—28, viii. 16. xii. 9.
See also 1 Kings viii. 46. compare with ch. vii, 20,
[f] 1 Kings xi. 12,
[g] Maimon, More Nevoch, Part II. c. Ixvii. Of the words
produced as foreign by Grotius, all are now allowed to be ge
nuine Hebrew, except two, ntre. viii. 1. and ^or Eccl. vi. 7.
which were, perhaps, Arabic or Chaldaic expressions in use iu
the time of Solomon, Vid. Calovius,
[h] Maimon. More Nevoch, P. II, c, xxviii, Madrash. Cohel.
§ 14. Aben-Ezra, Eccles. vii. 4. Hieron. in Eccles xii. 12.
Gemar in Pirke Abboth, f. 1. col. 1. Some absurdly ima
gined, that Solomon maintained the eternity of the world, in
ch, i. 4.

or the book of ecclesiastes. 311
vvhich they fancied to eiist, not considering the
scope and design of the author. But when they
observed the excellent conclusion, and its consis
tency with the law, they aUowed its pretensions.
There can, indeed, be no doubt of its titie to an
admission : Solomon was eminently distinguished
by the iUumination of the divine Spirit, and had
even twice witnessed the divine presence [i]. The
tendency of the book is exceUent when rightiy
understood, and Solomon speaks iri it with great
clearness of the revealed truths of a future Ufe,
and universal judgment.
The book is in the Hebrew denominated " Co-
heleth," a word which signifies one who speaks in
public [k] ; and which, indeed, is properly trans
lated by the Greek word Ecclesiastes [l], or the
Preacher, Solomon, as Mr. Desvoeux has re
marked, seems here to speak in a character simi
lar to that of the sophists among the Greeks ; riot,
indeed, of the sophists when degenerated into
subtle and quibbling wranglers, but of the sophists
vvho, in the dignity of their primitive character,
blended philosophy and rhetoric [m] ; and ttiade
[ij 1 Kings iii. 5. ix. 2. xi. 9.
[k] Some say, that the word Coheleth means a Collector,
iu the Ethiopick tongue it implies a circle, or cotiapaiiy of
men. [l] 'Ex.kf«iiinafrK. The Hebrew word has, however, a femi
nine termination in respect to wisdom, personified, as it were, in
Solomon ; or as abstractedly used, it seems, to imply preaching.
[m] Philostrat, ap. Muret, in Detin. II. Cicero Orat. Lib. L
c. xix.

312 OP THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES.
pleasure subservient to instruction, by conveying
wisdom with eloquence. Though Soloraon is not
hereby to be considered as having harangued, like
the coraraon orators of his tirae, yet, as there can
be no doubt that he often publickly instructed his
own people, and even strangers, Avho were drawn
by his reputation for wisdora to his court [n], it is
not iraprobable that this discourse was first deli
vered in publick ; and, indeed, some passages have
been produced frora the book in support of this
opinion [o J .
The raain scope and tendency of the work have
been variously represented. Mr. Desvoeux, after
an accurate discussion of the different opinions, has
pronounced it to be a philosophical discourse [p],
written in a rhetorical style, and occasionaUy in
terspersed with verses [q]. It raay be considered
as a kind of enquiry into the chief good; an en
quiry conducted on sound principles, and terrai-
nating in a conclusion which all, on mature reflec
tion, wiU approve. The great object of Solomon
appears to have been from a coraprehensive consi
deration of the circurastances of human life, to
demonstrate the errors of men and the vanity of
aU secular pursuits. He endeavours to iUustrate
by a just estiraate, the insufficiency of earthly en-
[n] Mercer. Praef. in Eccles.
[o] Chap. xii. 9, 12. Gregor. Mag. Lib. IV. Dial. c. iv.
[p] Desvoeux Philosophical and Critical Essays on Eccles.
[Q J The Jews do not admit that Ecclesiastes should be con
sidered as a jioelical work.

OF THE BOOK OP ECCLESIASTES. 313
joyment; not with design to excite in us a disgust
at Ufe [r], but to influence us to prepare for that
state where there is no vanity [s]. With this view
the Preacher affirms, that man's labour, as far as it
has respect only to present objects, is vain and
unprofitable [t] ; that however prosperous and flat
tering circumstances may appear, yet as he could
from experience assert, neither knowledge, nor
pleasure, nor magnificence, nor greatness^ nor un-
controUed indulgence, can satisfy the desires of
man [u] ; that the soUcitude with which some men
tod and heap up possessions for descendants often
unworthy, is especial vexation ; that it is better
far to derive such enjoyment from the gifts of
Providence, as they are designed to afford, by
being rendered subservient to good actions [x],
[r] The Manichaeans, not considering that human pursuits
are only so far vain as they terminate in a present object,
maintained the existence of an evil principle.
[s^ August, de Civit. Dei, 1. 20. c. iii. Hieron. Com, in
Eccles. []t] Compare Eccles. i. 2. with Persius Sat. I. line 1.
[u] Gregor. Nyssen. Homilia in Eccles. T. i, p, 375. Edit.
Par. 1638. Salen. Dial, in Eccles, Bib, Patav. in Eccles. tom. i.
col. 147. Castal. Praef. in Eccles. Collyer's Sacred Interp.
vol. i. p. 339. Prior's Solomon.
[x] Chap. iii. 12. Solomon recommends a moderate en
joyment of the good gifts of Providence, and thinks such
enjoyment more reasonable than an inordinate pursuit after
riches, or than those labours from which no advantage should
result to ourselves. Vid. Eccles. ii. 24. viii. 15. ix. 7 — 9.
Acts xiv. 17, 1 Tim. iv. 1—4. Drusius in Eccles. i. 1. Geicr.

314 OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES.
Solomon proceeds to observe, that in this Ufe,
" iniquity usurps the place of righteousness ;" that
man appears in sorae respects to have " no pre^
eminence above the beast" that perishes [y] ; and
that the consideration of these circumstances may
at first sight lead to wrong conclusions, concerning
the value of Ufe ; but that God should not be hastily
arraigned, for that " he that is higher than the
highest, regardeth." That even here, those who
" pervert judgment," are not satisfied by abun
dance, " but that the sleep of the labouring man
is sweet[z]." He remarks, that though the hearts
of men be encouraged in evil by the delay of
God's sentence, and though the days of the sinner
may be prolonged on earth, yet that, finally, it
shall be well only with them who fear God [a].
Solomon then sums up his exhortations to good
deeds, and to a remembrance of the Creator in the
days of youth, " or ever the silver cord of life be
loosed, or the golden bowl be broken [b] ;" when
Prol. in -Eccles, Horace Carm. Lib. II, Ode II. 1. 1 — 4. and
Wells's Help to the Understanding of the Holy Scriptures.
[y] Chap. iii. 3, 19.
{z] Chap. iii. — vi.
[a] Chap. viii. 11—13.
[b] Chap. xii. 5, 6. By the silver cord of which Solomon
speaks in this figurative description of old age, some under
stand the humours of the body, which are, as it were, the
thread of life. But the most judicious writers consider it as
an elegant expression for the spinal marrow, with the nerves
arising from it, and the filaments, fibres, aud tendons that

OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES. 315
" the dust shall return to the eartb, and the spirit
unto God vvho gave it." And the inspired teacher
bids us " hear the conclusion of the whole matter,"
which is, " to fear God, and to keep his command
ments, for this is the whole of man ; for God
shaU bring every work into judgment, with every
secret thing, whether it be gOod, or whether it be
evU[c3."
proceed from them. This white cord is loosened (or shrunk
up) when it is no longer full <^ spirits. The golden bowl is
supposed to mean the pia mater. This membrane, which
covers the brain, is of a yellowish colour. For farther expla.
nation of this beautiful allegory, consult commentators aud
Smith's T-Ti^xaiua Basff>^>x)).
[cj De Sacy Avertis. sur TEccles. De Launey, sur I'Eccles.
xii. 15. Hardouin Paraph, sur I'Eccles. Witsu MisiceL Sac.
Lib. I. c. xviii. -^ 36, 37, The whole force of Solomon's reason
ing rests on the doctrine of a future judgment, as maintaiined
in ch. xii. 13, 14. and before in chap. iii. 17. vii. 1, 12. xi. 9.
He had admitted that as to this life, there was but " one event
to the righteous and to the wicked," ch. ix. 1 — 3. The seven
following verses in the ninth chapter are sometimes supposed
to be sp(^n in the assumed character of aa Epicurean.
Compare diap. ix. 4 — 10. with Wisd. ii. 1 — 11. But Solomon
might, consistently with the scope of his own discourse, main*
tain that the only hope of man is during life, and that in this
respect, the most wretched being, a Kving dog, is better than
the greatest monarch, a dead Hon ; for ih^ living having the
prospect of death vaa.y prepare for it, but the dead have no
more opportunity of working out a reward ; that tbe gratffica-
tioB of their passions is then perished, and that they have no
longer a portion on earth. Hence Solomon proceeds to exhort
to a discreet enjoyment, and to active exertion, for that wisdoin
would find no employment in the grave : that in this life there
is no equal distribution, and that the time of departure from it

316 OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES.
In the course of his discussion of this subject,
Solomon deviates into sorae reraarks incidentaUy
suggested, in order to preclude objections, and to
prevent false conclusions. It is therefore neces
sary always to keep in mind the purport and de
sign of the discourse, which is carried on, not in
a chain of regular deductions and logical conse
quences, but in a popular and desultory manner;
and the connection of the reasoning is often kept
up by almost imperceptible links. It is necessary
also to examine what Solomon states as his first
doubts and hasty thoughts, corrected by his cooler
judgraent; and to distinguish what he says for
hiraself, frora what he urges in an assumed cha
racter ; for though the book be not, as some have
iraagined [d], a dialogue between a pious person
and one who maintained notions similar to those
afterwards professed by the Sadducees : yet in the
course of the work the Preacher starts and answers
objections ; takes up the probable opinions, as it
were, of an encircUng crowd; and sometimes
admits, by way of concession, what he afterwards
is uncertain. Soloraon concludes the chapter with a lively
illustration of the final advantage, and deliverance to be pro
duced by humble wisdom, however over-looked and despised
in the present life. Vid. chap. ix. 4 — 18.
[d] Sentimens de quelques Theolog. sur I'Hist Crit du P. R.
Simon. Amstel. 1682, Lett. XII. 272. F. Yeard's Paraphrase
on Eccles. Lond. 1701. Some writers maintain, that all these
passages which are considered as objectionable, will admit of
a good sense in consistency with the design of Solomon's dis
course.

OP THE BOOK OP ECCLESIASTES. 317
proves to be false [e]. We must be careful,
therefore, not to extend those principles which
Solomon grants, beyond their due bounds, nor to
understand them in a different sense from that in
which they are admitted by him. From want of
due consideration of these circumstances and laws,
the sentiments of Solomon have often been per
verted to countenance false and pernicious opi
nions [f] ; and from want of attention to the de
sign of the book, as here described, sorae writers
have had recourse to very extraordinary means of
reconciUng particular passages with the main scope
and pious conclusion of the work. Hence to vin
dicate it from any imputations of bad tendency,
Olympiodorus maintained that Solomon speaks
only of natural things in the book, though he in
tersperses a few moral sentiments; and St. Au
gustin endeavours to explain it by having recourse
to aUegory; but such solutions are not worthy of
much attention ; and what has been already said
wiU sufficiently account for all difficulties that may
occur in considering the work. We need but
recoUect, that the style of the book is particularly
obscure and vague, though unadorned and prosaic ;
that the question itself which is considered, is
embarrassed with difficulties ; and that the desul-
[e] Castal. Praef in Eccles. Not. Philol. Adv. Script, Loc.
in Eccles. ui. Dubardin. Reflect. Moral, sur I'Eccles. Gregor.
Mag. Dal. IV. c. iv.
[f] Witsius Miscel. Sac. Lib. I. c. xviii. p. 226. Edit. Amstel.
B. Gerherd. in Exeg. Loc. de Scrip, p. 156. and Praef. in Com.
T. iii. s. 231. Lowth's Praelect. Poet. 24.

318 OF THE BOOK OP iiCGLESIASTES.
tory mode of argument is liaUe to be mistaken,
where various opinions are introduced; and when
the author diversifies bis character, without accu
rately discriminating his serious from his ironical
remarks, or objections from his answers. It must
however be wilful delusion, or perverse sophistry,
which selects partial extracts for the encourage
ment of sin, where the dispassionate and rational
enquirer after truth wiU find genuine wisdom, and
deUberate piety.

OF THE

SONG OF SOLOMON.

The Talmudists have attributed this Book to He
zekiah [a J ; some writers, with as little reason,
have assigned it to Isaiah ; and others to Ezra.
There are, however, no grounds that should in
fluence us to reject the authority of the Hebrew
title [b], which ascribes it to Solomon ; and, in
deed, it is now almost universally aUowed to have
been the work of that monarch, and some consider
it as his Epithalamium, or Marriage Song[c], com
posed on the celebration of his nuptials with a
very beautiful woman, called Shulamite, as some
suppose, the daughter of Pharaoh, the favourite
[a] Bava Bathra. R. Moses Kimchi.
[b] The Chaldee Paraphrase has this title, " The Songs
and Hymns which Solomon the Prophet, the King of Israel,
uttered in the spirit of Prophecy before the Lord." Some
writers consider the Song as composed of a series of uncon
nected idylls.
[c] Chap. i. 4. ii. 16. iii. 4, 7, 11. Vid. also chap. viii. 5.
where MichaeUs, instead of " thy mother brought thee forth,"
reads, " thy mother betrothed thee." Vid. Not; in Lowth's
Praelect. 30.

320 op THE SONG OF SOLOMON.
and distinguished wife of Solomon [d], or as others
conceive, a Jewish wife, caUed a Salemitess (from
Salem) [e].
Solomon was eminently skilful in the corapo
sition of songs, and he is related to have produced
above a thousand [f] ; of which nuraber, probably,
[d] 1 Kings iii. 1 — 7. ix, 16—24, Cant. vi. 13. Cornel.
a Lapid. Prol. c. i. Lightfoot, Chron. &c. p. 5. Harmer's
Com. p. 27 — 44. There is some ground to maintain that the
work was written long after the marriage with Pharaoh's
daughter; vii. 4. compare with 1 Kings vi. 38. vii. 2. iu. 1.
Hence some have imagined her to be a Jewish, and some a
Tyrian woraan. The bride's raother is mentioned as at the
court of Soloraon ; ch. iii. 4. viii. 2 — 5, and her younger sister
is spoken of, ch, viii, 8 ; see Dr. Percy's new Translation of
Solomon's Song. Harmer, however, supposes a former wife of
Solomon to speak in the first instances, and that the vineyard
mentioned in ch. viii. 12. was Gezer, which Pharaoh is said in
1 Kings ix. 16, 17, to have " given for a present unto his
daughter, Solomon's wife." The bride calls herself black,
though she represents her darkness as the consequence of
exposure to the sun ; and Volney maintains, from a passage
in Herodotus, and his own observation, that the ancient Egyp
tians were black. Voyage in Syrie et Egypt, vol. i. p. 175.
If a Gentile woman, she was more appositely a figure of the
Gentile church ; and Patrick has fancifully remarked, that as
the word Sechora denotes that duskiness which precedes the
morning dawn, it may figuratively represent the Gentile dark
ness which dispersed before the rising of the Gospel light.
The word Shulamite is, perhaps, derived from that of Solo.
mon. Vid. R. Jonathan in Talkut. ad 1. Raam iii. fol. 28.
col. 3.
[e] Cant. iii. 4 — 10. viii. 5.
[f] 1 Kings iv. 32. Eccles. xlvii. 17. In the Septuagint
they are said to have been 5000.

op THE SONG OP SOLOMON. 321
this only was attributed to the suggestion of the
Holy Spirit, for this only has escaped the waste of
time [g], by being preserved in the consecrated
volume of the scriptures; into which it was re
ceived as unquestionably authentic : and it has
since been uniformly considered as canonical by
the christian church.
The royal author appears in the typical spirit of
his time, to have designed to render a cereraonial
appointment descriptive of a spiritual concern ;
and bishop Lowth has judiciously determined, that
the song is a mystical allegory ; of that sort which
induces a more sublime sense on historical truths,
and which by the description of human events,
shadows out divine circurastances [h]. The sacred
writers were, by God's condescension, authorised
to iUustrate his strict and intiraate relation to the
church by the figure of a marriage; and the em
blem must have been strikingly becoming, and
expressive to the conceptions of the Jews, since
they annexed notions of peculiar mystery to this
[g] Except, perhaps, some received into the Book of Psalms,
as possibly the cxxviith, cxxviiith, and cxxxiind. Vid. Patrick.
[h] Lowth's Prael. Poet. 31. Some have conceived it to be
entirely spiritual. Calouv. p. 12, 53. August, de Civit. Dei,
Lib. XVII. cap. xx. Bernard Serm. I, in Cant. p. 1273, vol. i.
Edit. Paris, 1719. Glass. Philol. Sac. Lib. V, c. xx. p. 1959.
Edit. Lips. 1713. : but it apparently had a reference to an ac
tual marri^^e. The book is full of allusions to the circum
stances of the marriage ceremony among the Jews. There are
particulars which apply only to thc hteral sense, as there are
others which correspond only with the figurative.iuterpretation.
Y

322 OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON.
appointment, and imagined that the raarriage union
was a counterpart representation of some original
pattern in heaven. Hence was it performed among
them with very peculiar ceremonies and solemnity ;
with every thing that could give dignity and import
ance to its rites [i]. Soloraon, therefore, in celebrat
ing the circurastances of his raarriage, was naturaUy
led by a chain of correspondent reflections, to
consider that spiritual connection which it was
often eraployed to symboUze ; and the idea must
have been raore forcibly suggested to hira, as he
was at this period preparing to build a temple to
God, and thereby to furnish a visible representa
tion of the Hebrew church.
If this account be admitted, there is no reason
why we should not suppose that the Holy Spirit
might have assisted Solomon to render this spiri
tual aUegory prophetic of that future connection
which was to subsist with more immediate inter
course between Christ and the church, which he
should personally consecrate as his bride. If the
predominant idea which operated on the raind of
Solomon, was only that of an affinity which at all
tiraes was supposed to subsist between God and
the Hebrew church; yet as that church was itself
the type of a more perfect estabUshment, the de
scriptive representation of Solomon had necessarily
a prophetic character; and the sacred spirit seems
to have often suggested allusions and expressions
[i] Cudworth's Tipheret, and Malcuth and Patrick's Pre-
face. Selden, Uxor. Heb. Buxtorf, &c.

OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 323
more adapted to the second, than to the first estab
lishment. Whether the song, however, were typi
cally or directly prophetic, it is unquestionable that
this elegant composition had a predictive as weU as
a figurative character. The whole of it is a thin
veil of aUegory thrown over a spiritual aUiance ;
and we discover every where through the trans
parent types of Solomon and his bride, the cha
racters of Christ, and his personified church ; pour
trayed with those graces and embellishments which
are most lovely and engaging, to the human eye.
This spiritual aUegory, thus worked up by Solo
mon to its highest perfection, was very consistent
with the prophetic style, which was accustomed to
predict evangelical blessings by such parabolical
figures ; and Solomon is by some supposed to have
been raore iraraediately presented with a pattern
for this allusive representation by the author of the
forty-fifth Psalm, who describes, in a compendious
aUegory, the same future connection between
Christ and his church [k].
[k] The forty-fifth Psalm has not, however, any very ob
vious and direct application to the character and circurastances
of Soloraon ; and if it was written on the occasion of Solo.
raon's marriage with the daughter of Pharaoh, the immediate
subject is referred to only by slight and doubtful allusions.
Its principal if not its direct object, seems to be the Messiah
riding on to victory ; and the establishing of his church in final
triumph. See the Psalm, ver. 2, compare with Luke iv. 22.
ver. 3. with Heb. iv. 12. ver. 4, with Rev. vi. 2. ver. 6, and
7. with Heb. i. 8, 9. ver. 17. with 1 Peter ii. 9. See also
Isaiah Ixiii. 1 — 6. Bishop Horsley's Sermons, vol. i, p. 83.
y2

324 OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON.
It was the want of sufficient attention to this
character in the Song of Solomon, which is, per
haps, the raost figurative part of scripture, that
first induced the rabbinical writers to dispute its
authority, in contradiction to the sentiraent of the
earlier Jews, who never questioned its title to a
place in the canon [l]. It raust Ukewise have
been a perverse disregard to its spiritual import,
which occasioned even some christian authors
to consider it with a very unbecoming and irre
verent freedora [m]. It has been weakly objected,
by those who would invaUdate its pretensions, that
the name of God is not mentioned throughout the
work ; but this observation raust have arisen from
want of due reflection on the design of the author,
which was to adumbrate divine instruction, and
not directly to inculcate what other parts of scrip
ture so abundantly describe. There is, in fact, no
reason to question its pretensions to be considered
as an inspired book since it was indisputably in the
Hebrew canon; and is seemingly referred to, if
[l] Though not expressly mentioned by Philo or Josephus,
it must have been one of the twenty-two books reckoned as
canonical by the latter. It was in the earliest catalogues of
the sacred books received by the christian church, in that of
Melito, in his letter written to Onesimus, about A, D. 140,
in Origen's catalogue, Vid. Euseb. Hist. Lib. IV. cap, xxvi.
Lib. VI. cap. xxv. and in the canon received by the council of
Laodicea, can. 59..
[m] As Grotius, and even the learned Miehaelis, who has
certainly given too much scope to fancy in his remarks on this
book. Vid. Not, in Lowth's Praelect. 30.

«F THE SOTSG OF SOLOMON. 325
not absolutely cited by Christ and' his aposties [n],
who as wjeU as the saCred writers of the Old Testa
ment [o], take up its aUusions, arid pursue its aUe
gory [p].
But though the work be certainly an aUegorical
representation, it must be confessed, that many
learned raen, in an unrestrained eagerness to ex
plain the song, even in its minutest and most ob
scure particulars, have too far indulged their ima
ginations ; and by endeavouring too nicely to re
concile the literal with the spiritual sense, have
been led beyond the boundaries which a reve
rence for the sacred writings should ever prescribe.
The representations which the inspired writers
afford concerning the mystical relation between
Christ and his church [q], though weU accommo
dated to our apprehensions, by the aUusion of a
marriage union, are too general to iUustrate every
particular Contained iu this poem ; which may be
supposed to have been intentionaUy decorated with
some ornaments appropriate to the literal construc
tion. When the general analogy is obvious, we
are not always to expect minute resemblance, and
should not be too curious in seeking for obscure
[n] Comp. Cant. iv. 7. with Ephes. v. 27. Cant. viii. 11.
with Matt. xxi. 33. Cant, i. 4. with John vi. 44. Cant. v. 2.
with Revel, iii. 20-. Cant. vii. 1. with Isaiah Iii. 7,
[o] Isaiah liv, 5. lxi. 10. Ixii. 4, 5. Ezek. xvi. and xxiii.
Hos. ii. 16, 19. and Prophets, passim.
[p] Matt. ix. 15. xxii. 2, 25. John iii, ?9, 2 Cor, si, 2.
Gal. iv. 22—31. Ephes. v. 23—27. Revel, xix. 7. xxii, 17.
[q] Ephes, V. 32.

326 OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON.
and recondite allusions. The Jews prudently for
bad their children to read it till their judgment
was matured [r], least in the fervor of youth, they
should give too wide a scope to fancy, and inter
pret to a bad sense the spiritual ideas of Solomon.
The book, though placed last in order of his
works, appears to have been written by that
monarch in his youth: in the full warmth of a
luxuriant imagination [s]. Solomon, in the glow
of an inspired fancy, and unsuspicious of miscon
ception,' or deliberate perversion, describes God
and his church, with their respective attributes
and graces, under colourings, familiar and agreea
ble to mankind, and exhibits their ardent affec
tion under the authorised figures of earthly love.
No simiUtude, indeed, could be chosen so elegant
and apposite for the illustration of this intimate and
spiritual alliance, as the marriage union : if consi
dered in the chaste simplicity of its first institution ;
or under the interesting circumstances with which
it was established among the Jews [tj.
Those who iraagine that Solomon has introduced
into this hymeneal song, some representations in
consistent with the refinement of a spiritual aUe-
[e] And the same restriction prevailed in the primitive
.christian church. Vid. Origen, Prol. in Cant. Hieron. in Ezech.
Theodor. Oper. tom. i. p. 198. Wolf. Bib, Hebr, p. 126.
[s] Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter towards the be
ginning of his reign. Vid. 1 Kings iii. 11.
[t] Calmet. Dissert, sur les Marriages des Hebreux. See
also Sir William Jones's Dissertation on the mystical Poetry of
the Persians and the Hindus, Asiat, Research. Vol. III.

OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 327
gory, do not sufficiently consider that the strongest
affections of the mind, if properly directed, are
chaste and honourable. The reciprocal descrip
tion of the bridegroom and bride; and the impas
sioned language in which they express their rautual
attachraent, are corapatible with the strictest purity
of conception ; and they are employed to represent
respectively, spiritual perfections, and spiritual pas
sions, with the greatest propriety. The figures
and expressions of Soloraon have, indeed, lost
their original dignity and decorura, because they
have in later tiraes been often abused to a fulsorae
and depraved sense. The judicious reader will,
however, carefully discriminate between the ge
nuine import of language, and its perverted ap
plication. The sentiments, likewise, of Solomon,
were unqestionably chastened with that reserve
and delicacy which, among the Jews, was attached
to the consideration of the marriage union; and
the book does not appear to contain any aUusions
offensive to that character of the institution which
rendered it an apt representation of the sacred
connection [u].
This book may be considered as to its form, as
a dramatical poem of the pastoral kind. There
is a succession of time, and a change of place, to^
different parts ofthe palace and royal gardens. The
personages introduced as speakers, are the bride
groom and bride, with their respective attendants ;
[d] Origen. ap. Hieron. tom, vii, fol, 63, Greg. Nazianz^
Orat. I. p. 98. tom. ii. Edit. Par. 1630.

328 OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON.
together, as sorae suppose, with the sister of the
bride [xj ; and, if the ingenious theory of Harmer
be admitted, the first and degraded wife of Solo
raon [y], whom he regards as the figure of the
Jewish church. There is certainly an interchange
of dialogue, carried on in a wild and digressive
manner, and the speeches are characteristic, and
adapted to the persons with appropriate elegance.
The companions of the bride corapose a kind of
chorus, which seeras to bear some resemblance to
that which afterwards obtained in the Grecian
tragedy [z], Solomon and his Queen sometiraes
speak in assumed characters, and represent them
selves in fictitious circurastances. They descend,
as it were, from the throne; and adopt with the
pastoral dress, that simpUcity of language which
is favourable to the comraunication of their senti-
[x] If the bride herself be considered as the figure of the
christian church at Jerusalem, the sister may be supposed to
represent the Gentile church rising into notice. The bride
groom, when consulted upon what should be done for this
sister, gives a figurative account of the measures which should
be taken to preserve her purity and safety. Some attribute
the tenth verse to the bride ; and some to the sister, profess
ing to have derived strength from the countenance of the bride
groom. Vid, chap, viii, 8 — 10.
[y] Chap. ii. 5. iii. 1. Harm. Com, p. 44, &c.
[z] The original chorus of the Greeks, which was the foun
dation on which their drama was buih, was an institution of
a religious character ; and it might possibly have been derived
from an intimation of some sacred appointment among the
Jews, whose singers in the temple service composed a sort of
chorus.

OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 329
ments [a]. The style, however, is not more simple
than elegant. The poem, indeed, abounds through
out with beauties, and presents every where a
delightful and romantic display of nature, painted
at its most interesting season with [b] aU the en
thusiasm of poetry, and described with every or
nament that an inventive fancy could furnish. The
images that embeUish.it, are chiefly drawn from
that state of pastoral Ufe in which the Jews were
much occupied ; and to which Solomon, mindful
of his father's condition, must have looked with
pecuUar fondness. It is justly entitled " a song
of songs," or most exceUent song; as superior to
any composition that an uninspired writer could
ever have produced; a song which, if properly
understood, must tend to purify the mind, and to
elevate the affections from earthly to heavenly
[a] This book was certainly known to Theocritus, who was
a contemporary with the Septuagint translators ; and who
might have been made acquainted with it by Ptolemy Phila
delphus, whose patronage and regard for literature the poet
celebrates. It is evident that many expressions, images, and
sentiments, in the Idyllia, are copied from the sacred poem.
Comp. Cant. i. 9. with Theoc. xviii. 30. Cant, vi, 10, with
Theoc. xviii. 26. Cant. iv. 11. whh Theoc. xx. 26, 27. Cant.
iv. 15. with Theoc. i. 7, 8. Cant. h. 15. with Theoc. i. 48, 49.
Cant. i. 7. with Theoc. ii. 69. Cant. v. 2. with Theoc. ii. 127.
Cant. viii. 6, 7. whh Theoc. ii. 133, 134. and Theoc. vu. 56.
Cant. ii. 8, 9. with Theoc. viu. 88, 89. Cant, viii. 7. with Theoc.
xxiii. 25, 26, Vid. Wesley in Job. Diss. IV.
[b] Haimer, from a consideration of the scenery here de.
scribed, supposes the raarriage to have been celebrated iu the
spring, wheu " the tender grape" began to appear, towards the
latter end of April. See Com. p. 154, 1-55,

330 OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON.
things. ' The book is certainly coraposed with
metrical arrangement. The Jews admit its litie
to be considered as a poem, though not, indeed,
on account of its structure or measure, but be
cause they regard it as a parable, which, accord
ing to Abarbinel, constitutes one species of the
canticle or song [cj.
There have been many different divisions of the
book ; sorae conceive that it naturally breaks out
into seven parts ; and the learned Bossuet has ob
served that it describes the seven days which the
nuptial cereraony [oj, (as indeed, alraost all so
lemnities among the Jews) lasted ; during which
time select virgins attended the bride, as the bride
groom was accompanied by his chosen friends [je] .
Bossuet's distribution of the work is as foUows
[c] The Masoretie writers, who seem to have been but
little acquainted with the nature of the ancient Hebrew mea
sure, admitted that the Psalms, Proverbs, and Job, were me.
trical, and marked them particularly as such. But other
books, equally metrical, as the Canticles, and the Lamenta.
tions, they noted with prosaic accentuation; and the Jews
consider these books as prosaic compositions. Vid. Mantissa
Diss, ad Lib. Cosri, p. 413.
[d] Gen. xxix. 27. Judg. xiv. 15, 17. Tobit viii, 19, 20,
[e] Cant, i. 4. ii- 7. v. 1. Judg. xiv. 11. Psalm xlv. 14.
Matt. ix. 15. xxv. 1, John iii. 29. The friends of the bride
groom may be considered as the represesentatives of angels,
prophets, and apostles ; and the friends of the bride are figu
rative, perhaps, of the followers of the church. They are
called the daughters of Jerusalem.
[f] Bossuet's Praef. et Con, in Cant, and New Trans, of
Solomon's Song: the learned author of which characterizes
the seven days by a difierent division.

 ii.

6.

7.

17. I.

2.
 vi.
9.
10.
 vii.
11.
12,
¦  viu.
3.
4.
14.
OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 331
The first day, chap, i,
second day, chap. ii.
third day, chap. iii.
fourth day, chap. v.
fifth day, chap. vi.
sixth day, chap. vii.
seventh day, chap. viu.
Bossuet supposes.the seventh day to be the sab
bath, because the bridegroom is not represented
as going out to his usual occupations. This divi
sion is at least probable, and it throws some light
on the book. Some have conceived [g], that these
periods are figurative of seven analogous and cor
respondent ages that may be supposed to extend
from Christ to the end of the world : which is a
very unauthorised conjecture, and justly rejected
by the most judicious commentators,
[gJ As Cocceius.
GENERAL PREFACE

TO THE

PROPHETS.

The second of those great divisions under which
the Jews classed the books of the Old Testaraent
was that of the Prophets [a]. This, as has been
before observed [b], coraprehended originally thir
teen books ; but the Talraudical doctors [c] reject
ing Ruth, Job, Laraentations, Daniel, Esther, Ezra,
Neheraiah, and the Chronicles^ as hagiographical,
reckon only eight prophetical books ; calling those
of Joshua, of Judges, of Samuel, and of Kings,
the four books of the forraer prophets ; and those
of Isaiah, Jereraiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve lesser
Prophets (coraprized in one) as the four books
of the later Prophets : by which raeans they de
prive sorae books of a rank to which they are en
titled ; and by parting Ruth, Nehemiah, and La
mentations from the books to which they were
[a] Joseph, cont. Apion. Lib. I. p. 1333. Edit. Hudson.
[b] Introduct. p. 10.
[c] Bava Bathra, c. i.

GENERAL PREFACE, &C. 333
severally united, enlarge the apparent nuraber of
their canonical books. As the rabbinical notions
concerning the degrees of inspiration cannot be
aUowed to affect the dignity of any of the sacred
Avritings [d"] ; and as the pretensions of every
book are severaUy considered in a separate chap
ter, it is unnecessary to examine the propriety of
such an arrangement in this preface ; in which it
is designed to treat in a general way, of tbe cha
racter of the Prophets, and of the nature and evi
dence of that inspiration, under the influence of
which they wrote [e].
The Prophets were those iUustrious persons who
were raised up by God among the Israelites, as
the ministers of his dispensations. They flou
rished in a continued succession for above a thou
sand years [p^ ; aU co-operating in the same de
signs and conspiring in one spirit to deUver the
same doctrines, and to prophesy conceniing the
same ftiture blessings, Moses, the first and great
est of the Prophets, having estabUshed God's first
covenant ; those who foUowed him were employed
in explaining its nature; in opening its spiritual
meaning ; in instructing the Jews ; and in pre
paring them for the reception of that second dis
pensation [g] wbich the former prefigured. Their
[d] Glassius Disput, I, in Psalm ex.
[b] Introduction, p. 10,
f f] Luke i. 70. reckoning from Moses to Malaclii.
[g] Matt. xi. 13. 1 Mace, iv, 46. Cosri Maam. uL § 39.
Massec. Sotah, cap. nIt. Maimon. Bartiner. Gem. Sanh.
cap. i, § 3.

334 GENERAL PREFACE
pretensions to be considered as God's appointed
servants, were deraonstrated by the unirapeachablo
integrity of their characters ; by the intrinsic
excellence and tendency of their instruction [h] :
and by the disinterested zeal, and undaunted for
titude [i], with which they persevered in their
great designs. Their clairas were stiU farther
confirraed by the miraculous proofs which they
displayed of divine support [k], and by the im
mediate completion of raany less iraportant pre
dictions which they uttered [l]. Such were the
credentials of their exalted character, which the
Prophets brought forward to their contemporaries ;
and we, who having lived to witness the appear
ance of the second dispensation, can look back to
the connection which subsisted between the two
covenants, have received additional evidence of
the inspiration of the Prophets, in the attestations
of our Saviour and his apostles [m]; and in the
retrospect of a germinant and gradually raaturing
scherae of prophecy, connected in all its parts, and
ratified in the accoraplishment of its great object,
the advent of the Messiah. We have still far
ther incontrovertible proof of the divine appoint
ment of these holy raen, in the nuraerous predic-
[h] Deut. xiii.' 1—3.
[i] Orig. cont. Cels. Lib. VII. p. 336. edit. Cant.
[k] Josh. X, 13, 1 Sam, xii, 18. 2 Kings i, 10. Isa. xxxviii. 8.
[l] Deut. xviii. 22. 1 Sam. ix. 6, 1 Kings xiii, 3. Isa.
xiii. 9. Jerem. xxvui. 9. Ezek. xxxiii.' 33.
[m] Luke i. 70, xviii, 31, Acts vii, 42, xxiv, 14, Rom.
xvi, 26, Ephes. ii. 20. 2 Pet, i. 21,
5

TO THE PROPHETS. 335
tions which in these later days are fulfiled, and
in those which stiU, under our own eyes, continue
to receive their corapletion.
Though many persons are mentioned in scrip
ture as Prophets, and the Talraudists reckon up
fifty-five [n], whora they conceive to have been
entitled to this distinction, we are concerned only
with those whose books have been admitted into
the canon ; who are eminently styled Prophets
[o], as they were unquestionably inspired with the
knowledge of future events ; whose writings have
been preserved for the perraanent advantage of
the church, as descriptive of the economy of the
divine government, as fraught with the lessons of
revealed wisdom, and as bearing incontestible evi
dence to the truth and pretensions ofthe christian
religion. The nature and character of that inspiration by
which the Prophets were enabled to comraunicate
divine instructions and predictions, have been the
subject of much disquisition. With respect to the
mode by which the Holy Spirit might operate on
[n] Including seven prophetesses. Vid. Gem. Mass. Megil.
I^o] Ilfoip^w, Prophets, from llfo-palo} , a Ilf iip))f«, to foretel.
The sacred writers applied the word SOJ, Nabia with great
latitude, as well to fake prophets, as to those idolatrous priests
whom they called prophets of the grove. Vide 1 Kings xviii.
19, 22. It appears, likewise, to have been sometimes used in
the same loose sense as llfotpisltis is employed by St. Paul sy
nonymously with the Latin word Vates, a musician, a poet, or
prophet. Vide Titus i. 12. Selden, de Syned. Lib. II. c. iv.
Maimon, More Nevoch, P. III. c. xxix.

336 general PREFACE
the understanding of its agents, when employed in
the coraposition of sacred writ, we can forra no
precise ideas, as we have no acquired experience to
assist our conceptions ; we can judge of it only by
its effects, for of the invisible agency of a divine
power, we can have no adequate apprehension.
There is cause, indeed, to suppose that the spirit
operated chiefly on the reasoning faculties of the
mind, however, the imagination raight be kindled
by its influence. It appears rather to have en
lightened the inteUect than to have inflamed the
fancy [p]. The Prophets theraselves, as raen, nei
ther visionary nor enthusiastic in their previous
character, and as not acting under the bias of any
glooray or superstitious notions, were not Uable to
be deceived by the delusions of a clouded or intem
perate imagination [q]. They raust themselves, by
the strong effects of the divine impulse, have been
sensible of a supernatural control, and they must
have been capable of deciding. on its character by
the clear and distinct impressions which they re
ceived. They could not but have been convinced
of their own inspiration by the discoveries of an
enlightened mind, as well as by that spontaneous
and unwonted faciUty with which they delivered
their important convictions. The people also had
a criterion to judge of the truth of their preten
sions, since if the signs of immediate accomplish
ment, Avhich they uttered, were not fulfiUed ; or if
[p] Maimon, More Nevoch, P. II, c. xxxvi.
[9] Geom. Schab, Zohar. col. 408. 7

TO THE PROPHETS. 337
their instructions were delivered in the name of
false divinities, and with design to promote the
service of other gods, they were to be rejected [r].
As to the extent of this inspiration, and whether
we are to consider it as general or restricted, it
must be remarked, that as it would be absurd to
suppose that the Spirit guided the prophets only
by occasional and desultory starts, and partiaUy
enlightened them by imperfect coraraunications,
we cannot but adrait thera to have been uniformly
under its influence ; and in consequence, to have
been invariably preserved from deception and er
ror, when engaged in the composition of the sa
cred booksi The Spirit did not certainly deprive
them of the use of their faculties so as to render
them the mere instruments of conveying the voice
of God; but it superintended and guided them in
the exercise of their own understandings ; some
times instructing them by immediate revelation,
and sometiraes directing them in the mode of im
parting to others that knowledge which they had de
rived from the ordinary sources of intelligence [s].
We are authorised, it is true, in the scripture,
to conclude, that the Holy Ghost (who, in his ap
propriate character, was more immediately an agent
in communicating inspiration) [tj, did, indeed,
" speak by the Prophets ;" but we are not, there-
[r] Deut. xiii. 1—3. xviii. 20—22.
[s] Seeker's first Sermon on the Inspiration of Scripture.
[t] Mark xii. 36. Acts i. 16. xxviii. 25. Heb. iii, 7. ix. 8.
2 Pet, i. 21. z

338 GENERAL PREFACE
fore, to consider the spirit of inspiration as one per
son of the ever-glorious Trinity, dictating to the
sacred writers every sentence and expression of
scripture ; but rather as a gift of the Holy Ghost,
a divine influence which opened their understand
ings to a discernment of the wiU of God.
This rairaculous power raay be represented to
our conceptions, as to its effects, under different
points of view ; it may be described first, as ana
logous to a light shining on the minds of the Pro
phets, and dispersing those raists, which the cor
ruption of huraan nature had engendered ; which
enabled thera to read those natural principles that
were originally engraven on the raind ; which
awakened their faculties to a more lively percep
tion of truth, and assisted their reason to act free
from prejudice and restraint. It must be consi
dered stiU farther, as instructing thera by an influx
of divine knowledge, in those truths which could
be obtained only by iraraediate inforraation from
God ; or under one collective description, it may
be represented as guiding and conducting the
Prophets, by various means, to the apprehension of
aU requisite truth, human and divine. When they
wrote historicaUy, there could be no necessity for a
revelation of those events of which the knowledge
might be obtained by their own observation, and
enquiries [u]. They recorded what they them-
[u] The Prophets were, however, sometimes enabled to
describe past events by immediate revelation ; and the word
Prophecy is applied to the discovery of past circumstances

TO THE PROPHETS.

339

selves had seen, or on sorae occasions, what they
had received frora unquestionable docuraents, or
credible witnesses, the Spirit, indeed, bearing tes
timony. The Prophets generally take care them-
sdives to inform us what they derived immediately
from God : and by different modes of expression to
distinguish what they speak in their own charac
ters as recording historical events, or even as rea
soning from the doctrines which had been revealed
unto them. StiU however it is not inconsistent to
maintain that they wrote under the influence of
uniform inspiration ; that is, they were uniformly
guided by a divine Spirit, which enabled them by
various raeans of intelligence to discover truth;
and to select and record with sincerity what raight
be subservient to their designs. And whenever
they communicated divine instruction concerning
the attributes and designs of God, describing par
ticulars which could not be the objects of human
sagacity or memory, they must have derived their
knowledge by positive revelation from above [x].
Divine revelations were obtained by various
ways ; for without dUating on the internal irradia
tion above mentioned, and without foUowing the
Jewish writers [y] in their distinctions concerning
thus obtained. Vide 1 Sam. ix. 20. 2 Kings v. 25, 26. Dan. iv,
20. John iv. 18, 19. Huet. Defin, IV. Witsius de Prophet,
Lib. I. cap. ii.
[x] Stackhouse's Preface to the Hist, of Bible, p. 26.
[y] The most leamed Jews admit three degrees of inspira
tion. 1. The Gradus Mosaicns. 2. That which is peculiarly
called Prophecy, and which was obtaiued by dreams and
z2

340 GENERAL PREFACE
the different degrees of inspiration which assisted
the authors in the composition of the prophetical
or hagiographical books respectively [zJ, we raay
observe, in agreement with the accounts of scrip
ture, that though the divine revelations were aU
equally infaUible, yet that a greater degree of illu
mination was imparted to some persons than to others
[a] ; and that this conferred a proportionate dignity
on the Prophet so favoured. The more important
communications were likewise sometiraes furnished
with raore conspicuous evidence of revelation, as
the dispensation iraparted to Moses was introduced
with a correspondent display, and superior solera^
nity. The predictions of Moses were not more
certainly fulfilled than those uttered by Isaiah, yet
is the former personage positively declared in
scripture to have been honoured by an higher re
velation in the expression of having conversed
with God " face to fece [bJ," than was Isaiah, or
any subsequent Prophet, whose iUumination was
obtained frora drearas or visions.
The revelations which are related in scripture to
have been comraunicated to the Patriarchs, some
times without any specification of an intermediate
visions. And 3. That which they call Ruach Hakkodesh, by
which they suppose the Hagiographi to have been inspired.
The Jewish notions, however, though sometimes just, are ge
nerally very fanciful. Vide Maimon. More Nevoch, P. IL
G. xlv.
[z] Abarbin. in Esaiah, ch, iv, Maimon de Fund, Leg c. vii.
[a] Numb. xii. 8. Deut. xxxiv. 10. 2 Kings ii. 9, Heb. i, 1.
[b] Exod. xxxiii, 11.

TO THE PROPHETS. 341
agent, and sometiraes by the ministry of angels,
have been frequently supposed to have been con^
veyed in dreams and visions, without any actual
appearance. But certainly some of the relations
respecting these, cannot but be understood in a
real and historical sense ; as that, for instance, in
which God is described as having addressed Adam
in Paradise [^c] ; and that, in which the angels are
represented to have appeared to, and to have con^
versed with Abraham [n] j in both of which, as well
as in some other cases [e], it must be admitted that
the absolute appearance of some divine personage,
the Deity, or his angeUcal representative, is in
tended in a strict and positive sense ; as it should
seem, likewise, that God sometimes addressed his
[c] Gen. iii. 8.
[d] Gen. xviii. also Gen. xvii. 1 — 3. It is probable, that
wherever God is said to have appeared, it is to be understood
that he appeared 'py sopie messenger, thp represei>talive of the
divine Majesty, and authorised to speak in God's name ; this
may be collected from John i. 18. and v. 37. Vid. Gen. xvi.
7, 13. xxii. 1, 11, Judges vj. 11 — 23. and other places, where
the Lord and the angel are words interchangeably used. Vid.
August, de Trinit. c, xi. It was almost universally believed
in the christian church, in the earlier ages, that all those di-?
vine appearances described in the Old Testament, whether
actual or in vision, were made by the Logos, or second person
of the Trinity. Comp. Isaiah vi. 1. with John xii. 41. Vid,
Bull's ©efens. Fid, Nic. c. i. § 1. The ancient Jews, likewise,
supposed that the intended Messiah appeared as the represen
tative of Jehovah. Vid. AlHx. Judg. of the Jew. Church, ch,
xiii. xiv. XV, Just, Mart, Dialog 249—266, 408. edit. Thirlh,
[eJ Numb. xxii. 22 — 3p,-

342 GENERAL PREFACE
servants by a voice from heaven [p], without any
visible raanifestation of himself or his angel.
When communications were obtained from an
absolute converse with the Deity, every particular
contained in thera, must have been precisely and
distinctly ascertained. And hence the instructions
iraparted to Moses were so reraarkably perspicuous
and explicit. No succeeding prophet under the
Jewish dispensation could, indeed, boast of such
intimate and unreserved correspondence with the
Deity as that iUustrious Legislator enjoyed ; though
unquestionably some were favoured with divine
revelations iraparted by the rainistry of angels ; who
seera, from the accounts of scripture, absolutely to
have appeared and conversed with them [gJ.
The Jewish writers, however, consider aU these
relations as descriptive of visionary representations ;
maintaining that God comprehended in his address
to Aaron and Miriara, every raode of revelation by
[f] Exod. XX. 22. Deut. iv. 12. This mode of revelation
was called by the Jews h\p na, Bath. Col. Filia Vocis, the
daughter Voice, or daughter of a voice, because it succeeded
the Oracular voice from the mercy-seat, or because when a
voice or thunder proceeded from heaven, an Echo, or another
voice, came out of it. Prideaux supposes superstitious prac
tices to have been grounded on the Jewish notions with respect
to this voice, which, however, certainly distinguished the dawn
of the Gospel dispensation. Vid. Matt. iii. 17. xvii. 5. John
xii. 28, 29. Lightfoot and Pirke Eliezer, Glassii Philol. Sac.
Lib. V, Tract I. cap. x. Prid, Connect Book V. p, 257.
[g] Joshua V. 13 — 15. Judges xiii. 3, 13 — 20. Job
xxxviii, 1, Dan, ix. 21, 22.

TO TME PROPHETS.' "343,
which he designed to enlighten the Prophets that
should succeed to Moses [ir].
The institution of the Urim and Thummim,
^hich was coeval with the time of Moses [i], af
forded the means of obtaining divine information
to his contemporaries, as well as to Joshua, and
Others who succeeded him, till the building of the
temple, or possibly till the captivity [k]. As we
know not in what manner this mysterious orna
ment contributed to procure divine instruction :
whether, as some have supposed, it imparted in
teUigence by the briUiancy and configuration of
its inscribed characters ; or whether, as is most
probable, it was the consecrated means appointed
for the attainment of answers by an audible voice
j^LJ] ; we are stiU certain from the nature and truth
of that information, as given upon imporfent oc
casions, that like aU other modes of divine revela
tion under the Jewish oeconomy, it was perspicuous
and convincing [^m]. As fer as it was designed
to instruct the people in public concerns, it con-
[h] Numb. xii. 6, Maimon, More Nevoch, P. II. c. xh.
[i] Exod. xxviii. 33. Numb, xxvii. 21. Mede's Discourse,
xxxv. [k] It is uncertain when the consultation by the Urim and
Thummim ceased. Some think that it was appropriate to the
theocraxjy ; some imagine that it was not used after the build
ing of the temple. It continued' possibly till the destruction
of the temple, and it was expected to revive after the capti
vity ; Ezra ii. 36. Nehem. vii. 65. though probably it did not.
[I,] Judges i, 1. 2 Sam.'v, 23, 24.
[m] 1 Sam. xxiii. 11, 12.

344 GENERAL PREFACE
veyed precise directions; and its predictions of
future prosperity or punishment were delivered^
not like those of the Pagan oracles, in ambiguous
and equivocal language, but in appropriate and
express declarations. It is certain, also, that in-
depeudently of, or in conjunction with, those comr
munications which the high-priest obtained by the
Urim and Thuraraira, God did communicate in
struction to others by an articulate voice,, which
proceeded from between the two cherubims above
the mercy-seat, in the Tabernacle [n] ; in a raan
ner aUusive possibly to the circumstance of God's
speaking by angels.
The other modes by which God vouchsafed to
reveal his instructions to the Prophets, were those
of drearas and visions [o]. With respect to drearas,
they were sometiraes imparted as admonitions from
God to persons w"bo had no title to the prophetic
character [p] . In these cases, they were doubtless
less distinct in their impression, and rather calcu
lated to strike and amaze, than to enlighten the
mind. Those who received them, either waited
their explication in the event, or applied for their
[n] Exod. XXV, 22, Levit, i. 1, Numb. vii. 89. ix. 9.
Sam. iii. 3. and following verses.
[o] It is remarkable, that Homer enumerates three modes
of obtaining divine communications, which correspond with
those appointed for the conveyance of revelations to God's
selected people. Vid. Ihad, Lib. 1. 1. 62, 63.
[p] Maimon. More Nevoch, Par. II. c. xh. Philo Judas.
¦srigi TH Seoot/awIbs tifai ofsifB?. Gcmarists in Baruchoth. c. ix.
Gen. xl. xii. Dan. iv.

TO THE PROPHETS. .345
interpretation to persons who were endued with a
portion of the divine spirit ; and the power of
explaining dreams appears to have been an emi
nent characteristic of the Prophets [q J.
The drearas which revealed future scenes to the
imaginations of the Prophets were doubtiess very
forcible, and evidently predictive. They are sup
posed by the Jews to have been introduced by the
immediate efficiency of an angel, who either ad
dressed the Prophets by a voice, or pictured re
presentations of events to their minds : but how
ever it might vary in its circumstances, this mode
of comraunication by dreams must have always
conveyed very distinct impressions. When no
voice was heard, and inforraation was to be col
lected from some parabolical scenes, the drearas
were probably characterized by a lively and regular
succession of objects, and by an accurate display
of intelligible particulars. They raust have ex
cited respect, as differing widely from the wild
and indeterminate fancies, the vague and inco
herent images that constitute ordinary dreams.
In visions, which the Jews considered as a mode
of instruction superior to drearas [r], the Prophet
was convinced of his subjection to a divine power,
by the miraculous suspension of his comraon fa
culties ; for though on these occasions the inspired
[qJ Jerem, xxiii, 28,
[r] Maim, More Nevoch, Par, II. cap, xlv. aud Bayley's
Essay on Inspiration,

346 GENERAL PREFACE
person was awake, his senses were entranced [s],
and insensible to all external objects; or so far
enraptured, as to be alive only to irapressions from
extatic representations [t]. He was likewise often
certified, as in drearas, by distinct adraonitions of
some particulars readily ascertained, and enabled
to foresee some circurastances which immediately
came to pass.
In all the cases here described, the Prophets
could not, without doubting the clearest and most
palpable evidence, distrust the truth of the revela
tions which they received ; and with respect to us,
we have araple reason frora a collective considera
tion of their writings, to be convinced that their
inspiration was accompanied with sufficient cha
racters to distinguish it frora the drearas of en-
thusiasra, or the visions of fancy [uj. The accom
plishment of their predictions, and the purity of
their doctrines, are indeed irrefragable proofs of
their divine appointraent to prophesy, and to in
struct mankind.
Upon all occasions on which the Prophets are
related to have been favoured with an intimation
of the divine will, we find that they betrayed no
symptoms of a credulous or heated imagination.
[sJ Numb. xxiv. 16.
[t] Isaiah vi. 1. Ezek. xl. 2. Dan. viii. 17, 18. x. 8.
Acts X. 11.
[u] Bishop Kurd's fourth Introductory Sermon on Prophecy.
Smith's Discourse. Jer. xxxiii. 28.

TO THE PROPHETS. 347
Cautious and deUberate in their examination of
miraculous revelations, they appear to have hesi
tated at first, as doubtful of their reality; and
they often required a sign, or some additional
evidence, to ratify the commission which they re
ceived, and to authorise their reUance on the
divine support in its execution. This calm and
rational temper, which rendered the Prophets dis
trustful of their own senses if singly addressed,
and solicitous to scrutinize the reaUty of every ap
pearance, however miraculous in its circumstances,
demonstrates clearly that they were not the dupes
of their own fancy; and that they expected no
reverence for their commission, unless conse
crated by the sanctions and authority of divine
appointment ; and very striking marks of this dis
position were displayed by the Prophets, as may
be instanced in the case of Moses [x], in that of
Samuel [y], and in that of Jonah [z].
Under the immediate influence of the irapres
sions which the Prophets received from these com
munications, they appear to have executed their
commission by uttering their instructions with a
divine enthusiasm. Enraptured by the effects of
that inspiration which had enUghtened their minds,
and urged by the efficacy of a controUing power
[a], they deUvered their predictions in an ani-
[x] Exod. iii. and iv.
[y] 1 Sam. ui.
[z] Jonah i.
£a] Isa. xxi. 3. Jerem. xx. 9. Dan. x, 8. .\mos iii. 8.

348 GENERAL PREFACE
raated and irapressive raanner, and often with some
bodily actions and gestures [b]. These naturally
accorapanied an earnest deUvery of iraportant con
victions, and as restricted in consistency with the
dignity and venerable deportment of the Prophets,
they were very different frora those frenzied and
extravagant gesticulations by which impostors have
sought to recommend and enforce their fantastic
rhapsodies [c].
The word prophecy is often used in scripture to
signify the singing of praises to God ; in hymns
doubtless of inspired exceUence, and occasionaUy
animated-with predictions of futurity [d]. The
spirit of prophecy, in this sense of the word, ap
pears soraetlraes by God's perraission, to have
coraraunicated itself to those who heard others
prophesy, the divine afflatus being conveyed by a
kind of syrapathy, and harraonious affection [e].
The Prophets who were educated in those schools
of wliich the institution is attributed to Sarauel [f],
[b] Numb. xxiv. 4, 16. Ezek. iii. 14. Habakkuk iii. 16,
R, Albo, Lib. Ill, c, x. Smith's Disc.
[c] Chrysost, Homil, xxix. in 1 Cor, Hieron. Procera. in
Nahum. and Proleg. in Habac. Lucan. Lib. V. 1. 97. Schol. in
Plutum. Aristoph. JEae'id, Lib. VI. 1. 75. Plato in Timaeum.
Jarab. de Myst. sect. 3. c. ix. Epiphan. adv. Hser, L. II, s. 1.
c. 3. p. 404.
[d] 1 Sam. X. 5. Hammond on Luke i.67. Numb. xi. 25,
The Chaldee Paraphrast translates C3>K'3J, " praising God,"
1 Chron, xxv. 1.
[e] 1 Sam. X. 5—10. xix, 20-24. Smith's Disc, on Prq-.
phecy. And Lowth's Praelect. Poet. 18. p. 22iJ.
[f] Preface to the Second Book of Samuel.
1

TO THE PROPHETS. 349
were principally emjdoyed in this spiritual service ;
and thus by being exercised in habits of piety, and
duly attuned and sanctified for the reception of the
divine spirit^ they seem to have been often fa
voured and enlightened by its su^estions. The
more remarkable prophecies, however, which re
ferred to distant periods, which received their ac
coraplishment in after ages, and stiU continue to
excite our adrairation, were delivered by persons,
ofteUj indeed, selected from these schools, but
evidently endued with a large portion of the spirit,
and more eminently distinguished by the marks of
divine favour.
Such were the principal, if not the only modes
by which God vouchsafed to reveal himself to the
prophets ; always, we have seen, in a raanner con
sistent with the greatness of his attributes, and
with the dignity of the prophetic character ; and
aU those coraraunications which in scripture are
said to have been derived from God without any
particular description [g] of the raanner in which
they were conveyed, must be understood to have
been received by one of those channels which
have been here pointed out.
[g] As when we are told, " thus saith the Lord ;" or, " the
word of the Lord came ;" which is sometimes stated to have
occurred to persous not endued with the prophetic character.
These expressions import only, that the instruction was con
veyed by the means then appointed, whether by angel, urim,
prophet, or dream. Vid. Gen. xxii. 1. with Calmet. Josh, i, 1,
1 Kings iii, 11. Jer. i. 2 — 4. Hosea i. 1, &c. Maimon. More
Nevoch, Par. II. c. xii.

330 GENERAL PREFACE
The Prophets, as might be expected from the
distinguished marks of divine approbation which
they received, seem to have been singularly quali
fied for the sacred ministry. It is not meant to
include in this consideration those persons of con
demned or ambiguous character, who are repre
sented in scripture as compeUed occasionally to
give utterance to the suggestions of the sacred
spirit ; but confining ourselves to a contemplation
of those who are declared to have been the ap
pointed servants of God, and whose inspired
writings still continue to instruct mankind, it may
be affirmed, that in the long and iUustrious suc
cession from Moses to Malachi, not one appears
who was not entitled to considerable reverence by
the display of great and extraordinary virtues [hJ.
Eraployed in the exalted office of teaching and
reforraing mankind, they appear to have been ani
mated with a becoming and correspondent zeal.
No unworthy passions, or disingenuous motives,
were perraitted to interfere with their great designs.
Not indeed, that they were always directed by the
guidance of the spirit to undeviating propriety of
[h] 2 Pet. i. 21. The Hebrew doctors collect this general
rule from a consideration of the characters of the Prophets,
that the spirit of prophecy never rested upon any but a holy
and wise man ; one whose passions were allayed. Vid. R.
Albo. Maam. iii. c. 36. Porta Mosis in Pocock's works.
Abarb. Praet in xii. Prophet, Maimon. More Nevoch, Par. II.
c. xxxvi. Vid. also, Origen cont, Cels. Lib. Yll, p. 336.
edit. Cantab. Gem. Pesac. c. vi. The rule however is not
universally true. Vid. Numb. xxiv. 1 Sam. x. 9, II.
5

TO THE PROPHETS. 351
life, since it is manifest that they sometimes acted
as unassisted men subject to error ; but notwith
standing those failings which their own confessions
have transmitted to us, it appears, that in general,
their passions were controUed in subjection to
those perfect laws which they taught, and that the
strength of their convictions rendered them insen
sible to secular attractions. When not irarae
diately employed in the discharge of their sacred
office, they lived sequestered frora the world in re
Ugious comraunities [i] ; or wandered " in deserts,
in mountains, and in caves of the earth ;" distin
guished by their apparel, and by the general sim
pUcity of their style of life [k].
The Prophets were the established oracles of
their country, and consulted upon aU occasions
when it was necessary to coUect the divine will on
any civil or religious question ; and we hear of no
schisms or divisions while they flourished, Tbey
even condescended to inform the people of common
concerns in trivial cases, in order to preclude them
from aU pretence or excuse for resorting to idola
trous practices, and heathen divinations ; and they
were always furnished with some prescribed mode
of consulting God, or obtained revelations by
[i] There were schools of the Prophets at Jerusalem,
Bethel, Jericho, Rama, and Gilgal. Vid. 2 Kings xxii, 14.
2 Kings ii. 5. 1 Sam. xix. 20. 2 Kings iv. 38.
[k] 1 Kmgs xix. 4. 2 Kings i. 8. iv. 10, 38. v. 15, 16.
Isa. XX. 2, Matt. iii. 4. Heb. xi. 38. Rev. xi. 3.

352 GENERAL PREFACE
prayer [l]; for we are not to suppose that they
were invariably erapovvered to prophesy by any
permanent or perpetual inspiration [m]. These
illustrious personages were likewise as well the
types, as the harbingers of that greater Prophet
whom they foretold ; and in the general outUne of
their character, as well as in particular events of
their lives, they prefigured to the Jews the future
teacher of raankind. Like him, also, they la
boured by every exertion, to instruct and reclaim
their countrymen ; reproving and threatening the
sinful, however exalted in rank, or encircled by
power, with such fearless confidence and sincerity,
as often excited respect. The raost interaperate
princes were soraetlraes corapeUed unwiUingly to
hear and to obey their directions [n], though often
so incensed by their rebuke, as to resent it by the
severest persecutions. Then it was that the Pro
phets evinced the integrity of their characters, by
zealously encountering oppression, hatred, and
death, in the cause of religion. Then it was that
they firraly supported " trial of cruel mockings
and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and ira-
prisonraent. They were stoned, they were sawn
[l] Jerem, xxxiu, 3.
[m] Maimon, More Nevoch, Pars. II. cap. xxxvi. et xlv.
Moses, and as some say, David, were supposed to be excep
tions to this remark, and to have been perpetually inspired.
[N] 1 Sam. XV. 13—30. 2 Sam. xii, 1—15, 1 Kings .\ii.
21—24. xiii. 2—6. xx. 42, 43. xxi. 27. 2 Chron. xxviii. 9—14.

TO THE PROPHETS. 363
asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword :
they wandered about, destitute, afflicted, tor
mented [o];" evil intreated for those virtues of
which the memorial should flourish to posterity,
and martyred for righteousness, which whenever
resentment should subside, it would be deemed
honourable to reverence [p].
The manner in which the Prophets pubUshed
their predictions, was either by uttering them aloud
in some pubUc place, or by affixing them on the
gates of the temple [^q], where they might be
generaUy seen and read. Upon some important
occasions, when it was necessary to rouse the fears
of a disobedient people, and to recal them to re
pentance, the Prophets, as objects of universal
attention, appear to have walked about pubUckly
in sackcloth, and with every external majk of hu
mUiation and sorrow. They then adopted extra
ordinary modes of expressing their convictions of
impending wrath, and endeavoured to awaken the
apprehensions of ttheir countryraen, by the raost
striking iUustration of threatened punishment.
Thus Jeremiah made bonds and yokes, and put
tbem upon his neck [r], strongly to intimate the
[o] Heb. xi. 36, et seq. James v, 10,
[p] Matt, xxui, 27—29.
[q] Jer. vii. 2, xix. 2. Howel, Lib. VI. p. 167.
[r] Jerem. xxvii. It is clear from the account in the next
chapter^ that Jeremiah put the yoke on his own neck. Vid.
chap, xxviii. 10. So also, 1 Kings xxii. 11. Acts xxi. 1 1.
But, as to send bonds and yokes may imply only figuratively
to predict captivity, it is not necessary to suppose that Jere-
Aa

354 GENERAL PREFACE
subjection that God would bring on the nations
whom Nebuchadnezzar should subdue. Isaiah
likewise walked naked, that is, without the rough
garraent of the Prophet [s], and barefoot [t^, as
a sign of the distress that awaited the Egyptians.
So Jeremiah broke the potter's vessel [u] ; and
Ezekiel pubUckly removed his household goods [x]
from the city ; more forcibly to represent by these
actions some correspondent calamities ready to faU
on nations obnoxious to God's wrath ; this mode
of expressing iraportant circumstances by action,
being customary and familiar araong all eastern
nations.
miah literally sent yokes and bonds to all the kings enume
rated in the account, but only that he foretold their fate;
perhaps illustrating his prophecy by some significant tokens.
Vid. Mede's Com. on Apocal. Part I. p. 470. Waterland's
Tracts on Jerem. xxvu. 23.
[s] Isa. XX. Harmer's Observat. voL iv. p. 402. John xxi,
7, Origen cont, Cels, Lib. VII, p. 699, Edit, Par, 1733.
[t] It is said in the text, three years, which means at
intervals during that time. Some think that we should under
stand three days ; a year being sometimes placed in prophetic
language for a day. Others maintain, that the Hebrew text,
agreeably to the Masoretie punctuation, applies the three
years, not to Isaiah's walking, but to the calamity thereby
foreshewn, and the Seventy, St. Jerom, and our old English
versions, adopt this construction. Others, lastly, consider the
account as the narrative of a transaction in vision, or as a
parable related by Isaiah.
[u] Jerem. xix. 10.
[x] Ezek. xiu 7. compared with 2 Kings xxv. 4, 6, where
the accomplishment of this typical prophecy ia related. Vid.
also, Ezek. xxxvii. 16—20.

TO THE PROPHETS. 353
The conduct of the Prophets upon these occa
sions must be considered with reflection on the
importance of their ministry ; and with great al
lowance for difference of manners in their time ;
and then wUl this mode of prophesying by actions,
appear to have been not only very striking and
impressive, but strictiy agreeable to tbe design
and decorum of the prophetic character. It has,
however, been strenuously maintained, that many
actions attributed to the Prophets, and even some
of those which have been here represented as real,
were not actuaUy performed; and that many of
these accounts should be considered as parables
related by the Prophets ; or as descriptive of trans
actions in vision, intended strongly to impress the
imagination of the Prophets, and so inform thera
symboUcaUy of those things in which they were
to instruct the people [y]. So very confident have
been tbe sentiments on both sides^ of those who
bave su{^>orted these 0|^site opinions, that it
would be presumptuous to decide on the subject.
The Prophets themsebres sometimes inform us
only of certain commands which they received,
without explaining whether they understood them
[Y j Where rt is ssM, that " tbe hand of the Lord \«as upon
the Pi't^rfjet,'' or " the word of tbe Lord eame unto him," it
is geaefally ihoBgllt, that a visioB is described; and where the
ttstroeties of the Prophet only was desigHed, the transaetkm
was probably confined to the scene of die Prophet's imagina
tion. Vid. Gen. xv. 4, S. Jerem. i. 11, 13. x*iS. I— »4. xsir.
1 — 4. Ezek, iii. 22! — 27. viii, xxxvii.
A a 2

356 GENERAL PREFACE
as figurative instructions to be described to the
people, or whether they UteraUy obeyed them.
This appears in the account given by Ezekiel, in
which he informs us, that he was directed to make
a mimic portraiture of a siege, and to continue a
great length of time lying on his side ; as also in
that, in which he declares himself to have been
commanded to shave and to consurae his hair [z].
The nature of these injunctions seems to import
only some figurative instructions given, and obeyed
in vision [aJ. At other tiraes, the Prophets de
scribe not merely the precept, but the transaction,
with particulars so minutely and circum stantiaUy
detailed, that we raight be led to admit a positive
historical sense, did not the difficulties and inade-
[z] Ezekiel iv. and v.
f a] It is not positively asserted, that these injunctions were
not literally executed, but that, probably, they never were,
since Ezekiel does not profess actually to have performed
them ; and the nature of the thing seems to prove, that they
were acted only in the imagination of the Prophet. But if
the historical sense be received, it certainly may be vindicated
from all reasonable objections. Ezekiel might have been
miraculously enabled to bear the fatigue of lying so long on
his side ; and the cavil of Maimonides against the reality of
the second transaction is frivolous, for though it was unlawfiil
for the priest to shave, (vid. Levit. xxv. 5. Ezek. xliv. 20.) the
Law might certainly be dispensed with, by God's command ;
and, as uncustomary, it must have been more remarkable as a
sign. The portraiture of the siege, as represented by the
Prophet, whether it were real or visionary, was descriptive of
the circumstances that occurred at and after the taking of Je
rusalem. Compare Ezek. v. 1—3. with Josephus.

TO THE PROPHETS. 357
quate advantage of an actual performance, tend
to demonstrate that the scene raust have been fic
titious. Thus, however circurastantial be the re
lation of Jeremiah, relative to his concealment of
the girdle, it is difficult to conceive that God
should command the Prophet to take two such
long journies [b] raerely for the purpose of this
typical iUustration [c]. Nor was it possible, with
out miracles multiplied for a purpose which might
as AveU have been effected by a prophetic vision,
that Jeremiah should raake the various nations
which he enuraerates, drink of the cup of fury,
which he professed to have received at God's
hand[D]|. These transactions, if performed in
vision, might be described by the Prophets as
[b] Jerem. xiu. " Absit," says Maimonides, in a spirit of
hasty and indignant piety, " ut Deus Prophetas suos stultis
vel Ebriis similes reddat." But this judicious writer appears
to judge too precipitately, and contrary to the opinion of his
countrymen, where he determines, that, whenever these actions
are represented by way of parable or similitude, they must be
imderstood as visionary transactions. Vid. More Nevoch
Par. II. c. xlvi, Hieron, Prooem, in Osee. Glassii Philol. Sac.
Lib. II. Par. I. Tract 2. § iv. Art. III. Stillingfleet's Letter
to a Deist, p. 131.
[c3 From Jerusalem to the Euphrates, was about 200
leagues. Bochart conceives, that as the initial letter n is often
dropped, the Hebrew word phrath, may stand for Ephrath, or
Ephratah, which was Bethlehem, not far from Jerusalem. Vid.
Bochart. Oper. Post. p. 956.
[d] Jerem. xxv. 15^29. This might be a direction to the
Prophet, instructing him figuratively to predict God's anger,
and Jeremiah raay be supposed to have obeyed it in a figurative
sense.

358 GfeNERAL PREFACfi
signs and intimations to those whom they ad
dressed. The people would not indeed be so
strongly affected thereby, as if they had reaUy
witnessed the performance of these actions ; and
it must be added^ that where the circumstances do
not absolutely authorize us to suppose that the
Prophet speaks of transactions in vision, and
where the action might reasonably and advanta
geously to the Prophet's designs, be literalfy per
formed, it is more consistent with the rules that
should be observed in the interpretation of scrip
ture, to adrait a literal and positive construction [eJ.
It is now necessary to consider raore immediately
the writings of the Prophets. It is probable from
the variety of style observable in these, that the
Holy Spirit suggested in general, only the matter,
and not the words, to the Prophets [p] ; and this
opinion is confirmed, when we reflect that our
Saviour and his apostles cited in general, more ac
cording to the sense, than to the letter of scripture,
and commonly according to the Septuagint version,
at least when it did not differ from the Hebrew
original [g]. Moses is by some supposed to have
[e] Witsius Miscel. Sac. Lib. I, cap. xii. p. 94. Edit. Amstel,
1795, Carpzovi. Introd. in Theol. Jud. c, viii, Pocock on Hosea,
ch. i. 2. Smith's Disc, on Prophecy, ch. vi. Jenkins's Rear
sonab. vol. ii. p. 60. Lakemacher Observ. Philol. vol. ii. p. 70.
Waterland's Tracts. Warburt. Div. Legat. Lib. IV. sect. 4.
[f] Maimon. More Nevoch. Par. II. cap. xxix. Origen
Epist. ad African. Abarbinel in Jer, xlix,
[g] Of 170 texts cited from the Old Testament in the New,
106 are stated to agree with the Septuagint, and 64 to differ

TO THE PROPHETS. 359
been an exception in this particular, and to have
received the very words and phrases in which the
communications that he obtained are described [h].
But this, remark must at least be confined to the
decalogue, of which the laws were graven on the
tablets by God himself ; and even in the recapitu
lation of these in Moab, Moses varies a littie in
expressions, to intimate, probably, that the sense,
and not the letter, is the important object of atten
tion. Upon aU occasions, however, when the
Prophets were addressed by an audible voice, they
doubtiess recoUected by divine assistance, every
word in which the revealed instructions were con
veyed. Where they coUected their information
from the representation of hieroglyphical circum
stances in dreams and visions, they were probably
left to express in their own language the things
which they had beholden. Hence is the style of
every Prophet more or less perspicuous, accord
ing to the nature and cleamess of the revelation
imparted to him [i], and likewise characterized
with pecuUar discriminations resulting from edu
cation, and particular intercourse and habits of
Kfe, which certify the authenticity of their works.
from that version. See Spearman's Letters conceming the
Septuagint, Edinburgh, 1759, p, 344,
[h] Bishop Hurd on Prophecy. Holden's Paraphrase on
Isaiah, Lowth on Isaiah. Whitby's Preface to Com. Gem.
Sanhed. [i] Zechariah's, Ezekiel's, and Daniel's Prophecies, are
sometimes obscure from the multitude of images represented
to their imaginations in vision. Vid. R. Albo, cap, x.
6

360 GENERAL PREFACE
It cannot however be denied, that sometimes
the Prophets were instructed in the very expres
sions which they should use [k.] ; and when com
posing under the influence of that inspiration which
dictated whatever was conducive to the promotion
of God's designs, they deUvered both sentiments
and expressions, of which they themselves under
stood not always the full importance and extent [l].
Sensible of the predominating power [m], they
communicated their divine inteUigence as the spirit
gave utterance ; conveying prophecies of which
neither they, or their hearers, probably, perceived
not the full scope, nor foresaw distinctly the spiritual
accomplishraent ; writing for the advantage of those
who were to corae after, and to afford evidence in
support of a future dispensation.
Lord Bacon [n] detects much philosophical
knowledge in various parts of scripture, which
seems to go beyond the discoveries of the period
in which, it is supposed they were written [o] :
thus for instance, Moses shows an acquaintance
with the powers of chemistry, and his precepts with
respect to the separation of unclean persops are
regulated by physical considerations which imply
an intiraate knowledge of the nature of conta-
[k] 1 Cor. ii. 13.
f l] Psalm xxii. Isaiah liii. Dan. viii. 13, 14, 26, 27. xii. 8.
1 Cor, xiii, 9—12. 1 Pet. i. 10, 11, 12.
[m] Jerem. xx, 9, Ezek, iii. 14.
[n] See Bacon, Advancement of Learning, Book I. p. 436.
[o] Exod, xxxii. 20. See Nieuwentytis Relig. Philos. vol. i.
p, 570. •

TO THE PROPHETS. 361
gion [p]. Job appears to aUude to the figure and
circumstances of the world suspended by the in
fluence of appointed laws in empty space iq] ; to
the station and constituted periods of the fixed
stars [r], and to the depression of the southern
pole{s], Isaiah also and other prophets express
themselves in a manner consistent only with just
notions of the form of the earth [t]. The expres
sions which are used are such as appertain only to
the real state of things.
The great object of prophecy was, as has beea
before observed, a description of the Messiah, and
of his kingdom £u]. The particulars with respect
to these, were gradually unfolded by successive
Prophets, in predictions more and more distinct.
They were at first holden forth in general pro
mises ; they were afterwards described by figures,
and shadowed out under types and allusive institu
tions ; as weU as clearly foretold in the full lustre
of descriptive prophecy, A coraplete explication
of the scripture types would requirie raore corapass
than can be here aUowed. It may, however, be
[p] Vfjle Levit. xiii. 13, &c.
[g] Job xxvi. 7.
[k] Job xxxvui. 31.
[s] Job ix. 9.
[t] Isaiah xl. 22. Jeremiah vi. 22. Jer. xxxi. 37. and
Relig. Philos. Book IV. p. 814.
[tj] Matt. xxvi. 56. Luke i. 70. xviii. 31. xxiv. 44. John
i. 45. Acts iii. 18, 24. x. 43. xiii. 27. xv, 15, xxviii, 23,
1 Pet. i. 10 — 12. Maimon. in Sanh. R. Solomon Jarchi, iii
Zechar. ixi Lowman on Prophecy.

362 general PREFACE
observed by way of general illustration, that the
remarkable personages under the old dispensation
were sometiraes in the description of their charac
ters, and in the events of their lives [x], the repre
sentatives of the future dispensers of evangelical
blessings, as Moses and David were unquestionably
types of Christ [y]. Persons Ukewise were some
tiraes descriptive of things, as Sarah and Hagar
were allegorical figures of the two covenants [z].
And on the other hand, things were used to sym
bolize persons as the brazen serpent, and the Pas
chal Lamb |^a], were signs of our healing and
spotless Redeemer. And so, lastiy, ceremonial
appointments, and legal circumstances were pre
ordained as significant of Gospel institutions [b].
Hence it was that many of the descriptions of
the Prophets had a twofold character: bearing
often an immediate reference to present circum
stances, and yet being in their nature predictive
of future occurrences. What they reported of the
type was often in a more signal manner appUcable
[x] Matt. xii. 40.
[y] Ezek. xxxiv. 23. Vid. also. Matt. xi. 14. Heb. vi. 20.
vii, 1—3,
[z] Gal. iv. 22 — 31. and Rom. ix. 8 — 13. See also Psalm
xxxiv. 20.
[a] John iii. 14. Comp. also, Exod. xii. 46. with John
xix. 36.
[b] 1 Cor. X. 1 — 11. Heb. viii. 5. ix. x. 1 Pet. iii, 20.
22. Euseb. Praep. Evang. Lib. VIII. c, x. Lowth's Preface
to Comm. on Prophets. Lowth's Preface to Isaiah. Vid. also,
the Accounts of Exodus and Leviticus.

•to the PROPHETS. 363
to the thing typified [c] ; what they spoke literally
of present, was figuratively descriptive of future
particulars [d] ; and what was applied in a figu
rative sense to existing persons, was often actually
characteristic of their distant archetypes [e]. Many
passages, then, in the Old Testament, which in
their first aspect appear to be historical, are in fact
prophetic, and they are so cited in the New Tes
tament, not by way of ordinary accommodation,
or casual coincidence, but as intentionally predic
tive, as having a double sense, a literal and mysti
cal interpretation [f].
This mode of wrapping up reUgious truths in
aUegory, was practised by aU nations [c]. It was
familiar to the Jews, and agreeable to their con
ceptions of the nature of the scriptures [h]. It
gives, likewise great interest and importance to
the sacred book ; in the perusal of which the dUi
gent are daily recompensed by the discovery of
more admirable contrivance, and unexpected beau-
[Cl Psalm xxi. 4—6. xl. 1, 7 — 10. Canticles. Lament, ui.
1 — 30. Psa. xii. 9. comp. with John xiii. 18. Dan. xi. 36, 37.
[d] Psalms and Prophets, passim.
[e] Psalm xxii. 16 — 18, &c.
[f]] Compare Hosea xi. 1. with Matt. ii. 15.
[g] Clem. Alex. Strom. L. V.
[h] Psalm cxix. 18. Ecelus. xlviii. 10. and Mede's Disc.
c. xxv. Acts vui. 34. Maimon. More Nevoch, Part II. c.
xliii. R. David Kimchi on Hosea i. 4. in Bemidbar Rah. iu
Voisin. in Procem. pugion. Fidei. p. 154. Edit. Lips. 1787.
M. B. Israel spes Israelis, § 25. Philo de Vit. Contem. vol.
II. p. 475. Edit. Mangey. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. III. cap. ix.
Origen. cont. Cels. Lib. II. p. 412. Edit. Par. 1733. Chand-
ler's Def. § V. ch. iii.

364 general PREFACE
ties ; the intimate analogy which was concerted
between the Jewish and the Christian church, ren
dering this figurative display strikingly proper and
curious. Besides those historical passages of which the
covert allusions were explained by the interpreta
tion of the Gospel writers, who were enlightened
by the Spirit to unfold the mysteries of scripture,
the Prophets often uttered positive predictions,
which in consequence of the correspondence esta
blished between the two dispensations were de
scriptive of a double event; however they might
be themselves ignorant of the full extent of those
prophecies which they delivered. Por instance,
their promises of present success and deliverances,
were often significant of distant benefits, and se
cular consolations conveyed assurances of evan
gelical blessings [i]. Thus their prophecies re
ceived completion in a first and secondary view.
As being, in part, signs to excite confidence, they
had an iraraediate accorapUshraent, but were after
wards fulfiUed in a more iUustrious sense [k] ; the
[i] 2 Sam. vii. 13, 14. comp, with Heb. i. 5. Pensees de
Pascal, § 10, 14.
[k] 1 Kings xiii. 2, 3. Isaiah vii. 14. and Matt i. 22.
Comp. Dan. ix. 27. aud xii. 7. with 1 Mace. i. 54. and Matt.
xxiv. 15. Vitringa Obser. Sac. Glassii Philo Sac. Lib. IL
Par. I. Tract 2. Witsii Miscel. Sac. tom. i. Lib. III. cap.
iii. and Lib. II. Diss. 1, 2. .(Econ. Feed. Lib. IV. c. vi — x.
Sixt. Senen. iu Bib. Sanct. Cunaeus Rep. Heb. Jenkins's
Reason. Pensees de Pascal, ch. .\v. n. 13. Jackson's Works,
vol. ii. B. vii. § 2.

TO THE PROPHETS. 365
Prophets being inspired by the suggestions of the
Spirit, to use expressions magnificent enough to
include the substance in the description of the
figure. That many of the prophecies in the Old
Testament were direct, and singly and exclusively
appUcable to, and accomplished in our Saviour, is
certain [l] ; and that some passages from the Old
Testament are cited only by way of accommoda
tion, to circumstances described in the New, is,
perhaps, equaUy true [vQ- But that this typical
kind of prophecy was Ukewise employed is evident,
as weU from the interpretation of the passages
above referred to, as from the appUcation of many
other parts of scripture by the sacred writers, and,
indeed, from their express declarations [n].
It requires much attention to comprehend the
fuU import and extent of this typical dispensation,
and the chief obscurities -which prevail in the sa
cred writings are to be attributed to the double
[l] Gen. xhx. 10. Psalm xxiL 18. xlv. Isaiah vii. 14. Ui.
liii. Dan. viL 13, 14. Micah v. 2. Zeehar. ix. 9. Mal. iii. 1.
Origen. cont. Cels. Lib. I. p. 39.
[m] Comp. Numb. xvi. 18. with 2 Cor. viii. 15. Many pas
sages however, supposed accidentally to correspond, seem to
have been designedly prophetic. Comp. Isaiah xxix. 13. with
Matt. XV. 7, 8. Isaiah vi. 9. with Matt. xiii. 14. Psal. IxxiL 2.
with Matt. xiii. 35. Jerem. xxxi. 15. with Matt. ii. 17.
[n] Hos. xii. 10. 1 Cor.x. 11. Heb. ix. x. Gal. iii, 24,
Clem, Alex. Strom. Lib. V. p. 659. Edit. Potter. Hilar, m
Psal. Ixiii. n. 2, 3. August de Doct. Christ. Lib. III. c. iz.
Waterland's Preface to Scrip. Vindic. and Lancaster's Abridg.
of Daubuz. 7

366 GENERAL PREFACE
character of prophecy [o]. To unravel this, is,
however, an interesting and instructive study ;
though an admiration of the spiritual meaning
should never lead us to disregard or undervalue
the first and evident signification ; for many great
men have been so dazzled by their discoveries in
this mode of explication, as to be hurried into wild
and extravagant excess; as is evident from the
writings of Origen [p], and St. Jerom [q] ; as like
wise from the commentaries of St. Augustin, who
acknowledges [r] that he had too far indulged in
the fancies of an exuberant imagination, declaring
that the other parts of scripture are the best com
mentaries. The aposties and the evangelists are,
indeed, the best expositors ; but where these infal
lible guides have led the way, we need not hesitate
to follow their steps by the Ught of clear reaa)n,
and just analogy.
[o] Pfeiffer Hermeneut. Sac. p. 633. Chand. Def. sect. 1.
Lowth's Vindic. of Old and New Test.
[p} Origen was a scholar of Clemens Alexandrinus, who
derived his taste for allegory from the works of Philo the Jew.
Vid. Phot. Cod. 105. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. Lib, VI. cap. xix.
Hieron, Epist. ad. Mag. Smallbrook's Answer to WoolstoB,
vol. i. p, 93,
[O] He professes in the fervor of youthful fancy, to have
spiritualized the book of Obadiah, before he understood it, and
prefers his historical ezpHcatioDS as a work Maturce Seneetutis.
Vid, Prooem. in Abdiam,
[r] August. Retract, vol. i. cap. xviii. He contended for a
fourfold sense of scripture. Vid. Glassii Philol. Lib. II. Par
II. Tract 2. et seq. Vitringa Observ, Sac. Bib.

TO THE PROPHETS. 367
It is this double character of prophecy which
occasions those unexpected transitions and sudden
interchange of circumstance so observable in the
prophetic books. Thus different predictions are
sometimes blended and mixed together [s] ; tem
poral and spiritual deUverances are foretold in one
prophecy ; and great and smaUer events are com
bined in one point of view. Hence likewise one
chain of connected design ran through the whole
scheme of prophecy, and a continuation of events
successively fulfiUing, and successively branching
out into new predictions, continued to confirra the
fiiith, and to keep alive the expectations of the
Jews. It was the character of the prophetic spirit
to be rapid in its descriptions, and regardless of
the order of history; to pass with quick and un
expected celerity from subject to subject, and from
period to period.
" We must aUow," says Lord Bacon [t], " for
that latitude that is agreeable and famiUar to pro
phecy, which is of the nature of its author, with
whom a thousand years are but as one day." The
whole of the great scheme must have been at once
present to the divine mind, but God described its
parts in detaU to mankind ; in such measures, and
[s3 As those which refer to the first and second restoration
of the Jews, and to the first and second coming of Christ ; the
Prophets taking occasion from the description of near, to
launch out into that of distant circumstances, as did our Savi
our in his &mous Prophecy. Vid. Matt. xxiv. Vid. Preface
to Isaiah.
[t] Bacon de Augm. Scient Lib. II.

368 GENERAL PREFACE
in such proportions, that the connection of every
link was obvious, and its relations apparent in
every point of view, tiU the harraony and entire
consistency of the plan were displayed to those who
witnessed its perfection in the advent of Christ.
It raay be further observed of prophecy as it
appears in the sacred writings, that it was " a light
shining in a dark place [u] ;" that it was not ge
nerally designed to be so clear as to excite an ex
pectation of particular events, or a desire of coun
teracting foreseen calamities [x] ; but that it was
intended in the acccompUshment of its predictions
to deraonstrate the wisdora and power of God [y].
It was sufficiently exact in its descriptions to au
thenticate the pretensions to a divine authority,
and to profluce, when it carae to pass, an acknow
ledgraent of its unerring certainty. Had it been
more clear, it must have controlled the freedom of
huraan actions; or have appeared to have pro
duced its own accompUshment, furnishing sinners
with a plea of necessity [z]. The completion of
[u] 2 Pet. i. 19.
[x] Had the Jews certainly known Christ to have been the
predicted Messiah, they would not have crucified the Lord of
life. Vid. Acts xiii. 27. iii. 17.
[y] Sir Isaac Newton on Dan. p. 251. Hurd on Prophecy,
Serm. ii. John xiii. 19. xvi, 4. Lowth's Vindication of the
Divine Authority of the Old and New Test. p. 171. The pro
phecies relative to the Messiah must have appeared very ob
scure and irreconcileable with each other before the appear
ance of Christ, as they referred both to his human and divine
character — to his earthly sufferings and future exaltation.
[z] Lowth's Vindicat. p. 77.

TO THE PROPHETS, 360
the predictions is not even in general pointed out
by the sacred writers by any direct reference, but
is to be coUected from the historical events, and
often frora the casual and scattered notices which
they afford, or which are obtained frora profane
writers. Had the period of the Messiah's advent
been at first distinctly and precisely revealed, the
Jews would have disregarded so distant an hope.
Sometimes, however, when occasion required, the
predictions of the Prophets were positive, and ex
actly descriptive [a], and occasionaUy delivered with
an accurate and definite designation of names and
times [b]. Hence, though the character and king
dom of Christ were at first holden out only in general
and indeterminate promises, yet so emphatic were
the assurances as the time approached, and so
peremptory the limitation of its period ; ^ forcible
and particular were the prophecies concerning the
Messiah, when coUected and concentrated into one
point of view, that about the aera of our Saviour's
birth, a very general persuasion of the instant ap
pearance of some great and extraordinary person
age prevailed, not only in Judsea, but also in other
countries ; as is evident from the accounts of vari
ous writers [c j, sacred and prophane [dJ.
[a] Numb. xxiv. 17. Isa. ix. 6. Zechar. ix. 9. xi. 12, 13.
Dan. ii. 88 — 45. Mal. i. 1. iii. 1.
[b] Gen. XV. 13. Numb. xiv. 33. Jerem. xxv. 11, 12.
Dan. ix. 24, 25. Micah v. 2.
[c] New Test. Passim. Vid. also, 1 Mace. iv. 46. xiv. 41.
and Preface to the Historical Books, p. 143, note [c]
[d] CicerodeDivin.L.IL554.Tacit, Histor, L.V, $13, Sueton.
Bb

370 GENERAL PREFACE
It has been very erroneously imagined, that the
Prophets and inspired writers of the Old Testa
ment, took but Uttle pains to instruct the IsraeUtes
in the doctrine of a future state ; and that in their
exhortations and threats, they confined themselves
entirely to motives of temporal reward and punish
ment. It has been as strangely asserted also, that
though the Jews thought with the rest of mankind,
that the soul survived the body, yet that they sim
ply concluded that it returned to him who gave it,
without indulging in any speculations conceming
its state of future existence [e]. But though, as it
has been before observed [f], Moses annexed only
temporal sanctions to his laws, (which by no
means excluded, but were indeed understood to be
figurative of greater promises [g]), yet the Pro-
Vespas. c. iv. Virgil's Eclog, iv, JEneid. VI, I. 791, et seq,
Justin, in Octav, c, xciv, Vossius de Sibyl. Orac. c. iv. Cud
worth's Intell. Syst. B. I. c. iv. Boyle's Lect. vol. ii. c. 516,
Nechuminas, a Jewish Rabbi, is said to have affirmed, about
50 years before the birth of Christ, that the appearance of the
Messiah could not be delayed above 50 years ; collecting his
opinion, probably, frora the prophecies of Daniel,
[E] Le Clerc, Warburton, &c. Vid. Div. Legat. Book V,
§ 6, p 476.
[f] Preface to Pentateuch, p, 61.
[g] Heb. xi. 8—16, 25, 26, Hence it is, that Maimonides
observes, " Quod ad resurrectionem autem i^rtuorum, est id
fundamentum e fundamentis, legis Mosis, quam si quis non
credat, non est ipsi in Judaeorum Religione sors aut locus ;"
(vid, Pocock's Porta Mosis, p, 60,) and yet his countrymen
considered his testimony as not sufficiently strong, as Maimo
nides confesses. Vid. also Levit. xviii, 5.

TO THE PROPHETS. 371
phets in their addresses to the hopes and fears of
their countrymen, unquestionably held out the en
couragement of eternal happiness, and the terrors
of etemal misery. It is certain also, that the Jews
looked anxiously forward to that state of immorta
lity which they expected to inherit, not merely
from the general conviction of a future existence,
wbich as an obvious trutii they in common with
aU other nations entertained ; but from the more
positive and particular information that they ob
tained from revealed accotints ; for not to mention
that the general denunciations of God's wrath
must have been understood to involve declarations
of permanent retribution, it is manifest from num
berless passages of scripture, that the Prophets
directly appealed to those convictions which the.
peojde cherished as to a future state; and that
they rested on motives of future consideration, as
on the strongest arguments to excite obedience [h].
The Prophets did not, it is true, so fiiUy insist
upon these motives, or so perfectly reveal the as
surance and character of a future judgment, as did
[h] Job xiii. 15. xix. 25 — 29. and Preface to Job. Psal. i. 5.
ix. 8. xvi. 11. xxx. 19, 20. 1. lviii. 11. Ixxui. 3 — 28. Ixxxvii. 6.
xcvi. 13. cxvi. 15. cxxxiii. 3. Prov. x. 2, 28. xi. 7, 8. xiv.
32. XV. 24. xxi. 16. xxni. 18. xxiv, 12. comp. with Rom. ii. 6.
and Rev. xxii. 12. Eccles. iii. 17, 21. xi. 9. xii. 7, 14. Isa.
ii. 17. V. 16. xxv. 8. xxvi. 9, 19. lvii. 1, 2. lviii. 8. Ixiv. 4-
comp. with 1 Cor. ii. 9. Jerem. xvu. 11, 13. Esek. xviii.
xxxii. 27. Dan. vii. 10, 18. xii. 2, 3, 13. Hosea xiii. 14.
Zephan. iii. 8. Zech. ui. 7. Mal. hi. 16, 18. iv. 1.
Bb 2

372 GENERAL PREFACE
our Saviour, who brought life and immortality dis
tinctly to view [i], and whose Gospel was entirely
grounded on those higher sanctions and better
promises [k] ; but they nevertheless did apply to
these cogent motives, and more forcibly so, as that
covenant approached to which Immortality was an
nexed as a positive and declared condition [l].
The Jews could not have believed the transla
tion of Enoch [m], and Elijah [n], the imperfect
[i] Christ is said, in our translation, to have " brought
life and immortality to light through the Gospel," 2 Tim. i.
• 10, which by no means imports that the doctrine was before
unknown, but agreeable to the sense of the original, ^ulWrlo;
{itiqn xat a^6a^a-iat, that he rendered life and immortality more
clear or diffused light on that doctrine, as the word tpcSl'^ut
signifies in John i. 9. 1 Cor. iv. 5. Ephes. iii. 9. and else
where. Vide Robertson's Clavis Pentateuchi, Praef. p, 19.
note *. Or perhaps the text means, that Christ having abo
lished death, opened to us a prospect of immortality, and dis
closed the doctrine to the Gentile world, " which sat in dark.
dess, and in the shadow of death." Christ hkewise brought
life and immortality to light by annexing them as covenanted
rewards to the Gospel. Pocock conceives that the doctrine
of the resurrection was less explicitly laid down in the Law
than in the Gospel, because the former was delivered to the
posterity of Abraham, who entertamed no doubts on the sub
ject; whereas the Gospel was communicated to nations to
whom the doctrine was not previously revealed ; whence the
remark of the Athenian philosophers conceniing the preaching
of St. Paul. Acts xvii. 18. Vide Notae Miscel, in Porta
Mosis, c. vi.
[k] Heb. viii. 6.
[|l] Bull's Harmon. Apost. c. x, § 8.
[m] Gen. V, 24. Heb. xi. 5.
[N] 2 Kings ii. 11.

TO THE PROPHETS. 373
recompence of the Patriarchs [o], and of their
great lawgiver, who had no known sepulchre, or
the accompUshment of the promises [p], to their
own advantage, without a reliance on the enjoy
ment of some future state in which they should
obtain the consummation of their reward. Those
among them whose opinions were grounded on
revelation, unquestionably buUt their fiiith on the
expectation of a future life and judgment ; as is
evident from many parts of the Old Testament [q\
as well as from express declarations of the evangeU
cal writers in the New [b] : from whatever we can
[o] The curses denounced against Adam could not be re
moved from the Patriarchs, as was promised by God's cove
nant, unless by a restoration to the prospect of etemal life ;
and the Jews must have known that their forefathers were
dead without having received the accomplishment df tbe pro
mises. Vide Heb. xi. 39, 40.
[p] The Jews must have perceived that temporal rewards
were not allotted to individuals in proportion to their deserts ;
they must have seen the righteous oppressed, and the wicked
triumphant ; and therefore in the coDviction of God's truth,
they must have looked to the completion of his promises and
threats in a future life.
[q] Gen. i, 27. ii. 7, xxxvii. 35. Numb, xxiii. 10. Deut.
xiv. 1, 2. xxxii. 39. 1 Sam. ii. 6. xxv. 29. xxviiu 8, 15. 2 Sam.
xii. 23. 2 Kiogs xsii. 20. Psalm xxiii. 4. The passages,
which seem to favour a contrary persuasion, and to import a
distrust in a future state, are only opinions brought forward for
refutation, or strong representations of the effects of death,
as to the present world. They imply that by the ordinary
laws of nature, or by man's proper force, the dead should not
be restored.
[b] Matt. xxii. 23, 29—32. Luke xvi. 31. xx. 37, 38.

374 GENERAL PREFACE
coUect concerning their opinions before [s] and
after the publication of the Gospel; as farther
from that firm confidence in a resurrection and fu
ture judgraent which they now derive from the
promises of Moses, and of the Prophets [t], and
which dispensations many expected to take place in
the tirae of the Messiah [u].
The language of the prophets is remarkable for
its magnificence. Each writer is distinguished for
peculiar beauties ; but their style in general may
be characterized as strong, aniraated, and impres
sive. Its ornaments are derived not from accu
mulation of epithet, or laboured harmony, but from
John V. 39. viii. 26. xi. 24. Acts xxiii. 8. xxiv. 4 — 16. Heb.
xi. 10, 16—19, 35, 39, 40. Luke xiii. 14. and Matt xiii.
40 — 43. and 51. The Sadducees were distinguished as a sect,
who denied the resurrection. Acts xxiii. 8.
[sJ Wisd. ui. 1, 10, 18, 19. iv. 7. v. 1, 5, 15. viii. 13.
Ecclus xhx. 10. 2 Mace, vii, 9, 11, 14, 23, 29, 36. xiv. 46.
Joseph, cont. Apion. Lib. II. § 30. The Hebrew notions
concerning the Sheol (the Hades of the Septuagint) which
was the supposed place of departed souls, often mentioned in
the Old Testament ; concerning the Rephaim, (the giants, or
ghosts of dead men, spoken of in Job xxvi. 5. and elsewhere)
and concerning ?• the gathering of the righteous ; the request
of Saul to the woman of Endor ; and, lastly, the Paradise and
the Gehenna, mentioned in the New Testament, all tend to
prove, that the Jews, before the coming of Christ, beheved
the separate existence of the soul, and a future state of reward
and punishment,
[t] Buxtorf. Synag. Jud. c. iii. Porta Mosis, p. 52. et seq.
and Pocock's notes, c. vi.
[u] Pocock. Notae Miscel. in Porta Mosis, c. vi, and Mede's
Placita Doct. Hebrae, vol, ii, B. 3,
5

TO THE PROPHETS. 375
the real grandeur of its images, and the majestic
force of its expressions. It is varied with striking
propriety, and enlivened with quick but easy tran
sitions. Its sudden bursts of eloquence, its earnest
warmth, its afiecting exhortations and appeals, af
ford very interesting proofs of that vivid impression,
and of that inspired conviction, under which the
Prophets wrote ; and which enabled them, araong
a people not distinguished for genius, to surpass
in every variety of coraposition, the most admired
productions of Pagan antiquity. If the imagery
employed by the sacred writers appear soraetimes
to partake of a coarse and indelicate cast, it must
be recoUected, that the eastern raanners and lan
guages required the most forcible representations ;
and that the masculine and indignant spirit of the
Prophets led them to adopt the most energetic and
descriptive expressions.
No style is perhaps so highly figurative as that
of the Prophets. Every object of nature and of
art whieh can afford allusions, is explored with
industry ; every scene of creation, and every page
of science, seems to have unfolded its rich varieties
to the sacred writers, who in the spirit of eastern
poetry, deUght in every kind of metaphorical em
beUishment. Thus, by way of iUustration, itis ob
vious to remark, that earthly dignities and powers
are symboUzed by the celestial bodies ; the effects
of moral evil are shewn under the storms and con
vulsions of nature; the pollutions of sin are repre
sented by external impurities ; and the beneficial

376 GENERAL PREFACE
influence of righteousness is depicted by the sere
nity and confidence of peaceful life [x].
This aUegorical language being founded on no
tions universally prevalent, and adhered to with in
variable relation, and regular analogy, has produced
great ornaraent and elegance in the sacred writings.
Sometiraes, however, the inspired penmen drew
their aUusions from local and temporary sources of
metaphor : from the pecuUar scenery of their
country ; frora the idolatries of heathen nations ;
frora their ovvn history and circurastances ; from
the service of their temple, and the cereraonies of
their reUgion; frora raanners which have faded,
and customs which have elapsed. Hence many
appropriate beauties have vanished. Many de
scriptions, and raany representations, that raust have
had a soleran importance araong the Jews, are
now considered, from a change of circumstances,
in a degraded point of view. Hence, likewise,
here and there a shade of obscurity prevails [y].
In general, however, the language of scripture,
though highly sublirae and beautiful, is easy and
intelligible to all capacities. The divine truth
which it 'contains, is presented to us in the most
clear and farailiar manner ; it assumes, as it were,
the dress of mankind, and instructs us with the
[x] Newton on Daniel. Jones's Lectures on the figurative
Language of Scripture. Vitringa in Esaiam xxxiii. and xxxiv.
chapters, p. 267. edit. Leonard, 1724. Lancaster's Abridgment
of Daubuz. Mede. Bishop Hurd's Oth sermon on Prophecy.
[y] Bundy's Introduction to the Sacred Books.

TO THE PROPHETS, 377
condescension and famiUarity of human converse.
Not designed merely for the learned and the wise,
it adopts a plain and perspicuous language, which
has all the graces of simplicity, and all the beau
ties of unaffected eloquence. In treating of hea
venly things it reveals mysteries to which the
human imagination could never have soared ; and
discloses the attributes and conduct of God in re
presentations analogous to our conceptions, with
out degrading them by any unworthy description
[z^. It presents the divine perfections incarnate,
as it were, to our apprehensions, by the iUustration
of familiar images. Thus the human affections
and corporeal properties which are ascribed to the
Deity in scripture, are level to the notions of the
vulgar, and yet are readily understood by enlight
ened minds to be descriptive only of sorae cor
respondent attributes "that consist with the excel
lency of the divine nature; so that when revela
tion accommodates its language to our restricted
intellects, it is with such faithful adherence to the
real and essential properties of the Deity, and to
the true character of heavenly things, that it is
calculated to raise the conceptions, and not to
debase the theme.
[z] *' Lex loquitur lingua filiorum hominum," was a Jewish
remark But it has been observed, that no senses which favour
of gross corporiety, are ascribed to God, as touching or tast
ing ; it being agreed, says Maimonides, " Deum non compingi
cum corporibus per contactum corporalem." Vid. Maimon.
Par. I. c. xxvi. xxxiii. xlvii.

378 GENERAL PREFACE
It remains to be observed, that the greatest part
of the prophetic books, as well as those more espe
cially styled poetical, was written in some kind of
raeasure or verse [a] ; though the Jews of very
early times appear to have been insensible of the
existence of any numerical arrangement in them [b].
As the Hebrew has been a dead languag-e above
eighteen centuries, and as it is generally thought
to be destitute of vowels, we can have no power
of ascertaining the pronunciation, or even tbe
number of its syUables. The quantity and rhythm
of its verse must therefore have entirely perished;
and there can be no mode of discovering the rules
by which they were governed [c]. That the
Hebrew poetry in general, however, was controUed
[a] The historical relations interspersed in these books are
of course excluded from this remark. So likewise the book
of Daniel, which is chiefly narrative, has nothing poetical,
nor has that of Jonab, except the prayer, which is an ode.
The gTave and elevated prophecies of Ezekiel, (whom Bishop
Lowth has characterized as an orator rather than a poet) seem
to reject metrical arrangement. The odes which are in the
books of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Habakkuk, are of a distinct and
peculiar species of poetry. Vid. Lowth's Praelect. 25, 26,
27,28. [b] Most of the prophecies in the historical books are
unquestionably written in some kind of measure, as those of
Noah, Jacob, and Balaam, and the divine hymn of Moses in
the thirty-second chapter of Deuteronomy ; all of which ex
hibit very beautiful specimens of metrical poetry.
[c] The measure of the modern Jews is very different frora
that of the sacred writings, and was probably borrowed frora
the Arabians.

TO THE PROPHETS. 379
by some kind of measure is evident; not only from
the pecuUar selection of unusual expressions and
phrases, but also from the artificial arrangement,
and regular distribution of many sentences, which
run in paraUel divisions, and correspond, as it
were, in equal periods ; but whether this measure
resulted fiom the observance of certain definite
numerical feet, or was regulated by the ear, and
the harmony of lines of similar cadence, is uncer
tain [d^. The sententious modulation, however,
which in consequence prevaUed, was so strong, as
to be transfused, and to predominate in our trans
lation. It is observable also, that the measure is
often varied; and even sometimes in the same
poem, but with a propriety which appears from
the effect to be always weU adapted to the subject.
There is nothing inconsistent with the nature of
inspiration, to suppose that its suggestions might
be conveyed in numbers. The Prophets, in the
ordinary modes of prophesjdng, were accustomed
to compose their hymns to the sound of some
[d] Lowth's Praelect. 3, and 19. et metricae Harianse Confut.
The leamed deny that correspondenee and similitude between
the Hebrew and the Grecian measures which St. Jerom, on the
authority of Josephus and Origen, mamtained to exist. Vid.
Prxlect. 18. Bedford's Temple Musick, ch. vi. Calmet, &c.
The Hebrew language hardly admitted a transposition of
words sufficient for the Grecian measures; and it appears
evident, that though the language abounds in similar termina
tions, yet that rhyme was not considered as necessary or orna
mental lu the Hebrew verse.

380 GENERAL PREFACE
musical instrument [eJ ; and there could be but
little difficulty in accommodating their effusions to
a raeasure which iraposed probably no great re
strictions in a language so free and uncontrolled
as the Hebrew. The Holy Spirit, Ukewise, while
it quickened the invention of the Prophets, and
fired their fancy, raight enable them to observe the
estabUshed style of composition.
The Prophets probably collected their own pro
phecies into their present forra ; though the author
of the lives of the Prophets, under the name of
Dorotheas, affirms in a very groundless assertion,
that none but David and Daniel did so; con
ceiving that the scribes of the teraple received
them as they were deUvered, without order ; but
they were indisputably composed and published by
those Prophets whose names they severally bear [f].
As their genuine productions, they were received
into the Jewish canon ; and were read in the
[e] The Jews conceived that musick calmed the passions,
and prepared the mind for the reception of the prophetic in
fiuence. It is probable that the Prophets ou these occasions
did not usually perform, themselves, on the musical instru
ments, but rather accompanied the strains of the minstrel with
their voice. Vid. 1 Sam, x, 5. 2 Kings iii, 15, 1 Chron. xxv. 1.
Lowth's Prielect. Poet. 18. et seq. It has been the practice
of all nations to adapt tlfeir religious worship to musick,
which the fabulous accounts of antiquity derived from heaven.
Alting. Hist. Acad. Heb. p. 23. And Smidius de Cantu Eccles.
V. et N. Test. Mart. Gilb. de Cantu et Musica Sac. R, David
Kimchi in 1 Sam, x. 5.
[f] Isaiah xxx. 8. Jerem. xxx. 2. Habak. iii. 2, &c.
7

TO THE PROPHETS. 381
Jewish synagogues, (except during the persecution
of Antiochus Epiphanes, when the reading of the
law was interdicted) to the days of our Saviour,
from whose time they have been constantly read
in the Christian churches [g]. They are with
great propriety received into our service as illus
trating the grand scheme of prophecy, and as
replete with the most excellent instruction of every
kind. The predictions ' Avhich they contain, were
principaUy accompUshed in the appearance of
Christ. Some, however, which referred to the
dispersion and subsequent state of the Jews, as
weU as to the condition of other nations, stiU con
tinue under our own eyes to be fulfiUed, and wiU
gradually receive their final and consummate rati
fication in the restoration of the jews, in the
universal estabUshment of Christ's kingdom [h],
[g] Acts xiii. 16. When the reading of the Law was re
stored after this persecution, the prophetic books furnished
detached passages for a second lesson, selected with reference
to the section read firom the Law, and read by a different
^person. The prophecies were read only in the morning ser
vice, and never on the Monday or Thursday, which days were
appropriated to the Law exclusively.
[h] A final restoration of the Jews, and a spiritual reign of
Christ to prevail after that restoration, are supposed to be fore
told in scripture, and were believed so to be from the earliest
ages of the christian church. Vid. Deut. xxx. 1 — 5. Isaiah ii.
1—4. xi. xxx. 18—26, xxxui. 20—24, xhx, 18 — 26. li, 3—23.
liv. 11 — 14. lx. Ixv. 17 — 25. Hosea iii. 5. Joel ii. and iii.
Amos ix. 11 — 15. Micah ii. 12. iv. 3 — 13. vii. 11 — 20. Zeph.
ui. 8 — 20. Jer. iii. 16—18. xvi. 15. xxiii. 3 — 8. xxx. 3 — 20.
xxxi. 4—14, 35—40. xxxiii. 7 — 11. Ezek. xx. 40 — 44. xxviii.
25, 26. xxxiv. 26 — 29, xxxvi, xxxvii. xxxviii, aud xxxix.

382 GENERAL PREFACE, &C.
and in the second advent of our Lord to " judge
the world in righteousness."
Dan. viii. 26, 27. Zechar. viii. 7, 8. Rev. xx. and xxi. &c.
passim. Vid also Matt. xx. 21. Acts i. 6. iii. 21. Barnab.
Epist. c. XV. Justin Martyr Dialog, cum Tryphon. Part II,
p. 315. Edit Thirib. Iren. L. V. c. xxxii — xxxvi. TertuL
cont. Marcion, L, III, Eyre's Observat, on Prophecy. Wot
ton Pref. to Clera. Epist. p. 15. The doctrine of the Millen
nium raay have been carried to an absured and unwarranted
excess ; but sorae of these prophecies relating to this state,
even if figuratively taken, are seemingly too magnificent to be
restricted to the effects of the first advent of Christ, and
promise at least an effectual and universal estabUshment of his
spiritual influence.

OF THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
ISAIAH.

Isaiah, who was professedly the author of this
Book, and has been universaUy so considered, in
forms us, that he prophesied during the days of
Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of
Judah, who successively flourished between A. M.
3194 and 3305. He styles hunself the son of
Amoz, by whom we are not to understand the
Prophet whose name is speUed Amos j^a], and who
was nearly coeval ^vith Isaiah himself It has
been supposed that Isaiah was of the royal blood ;
and some bave maintained that his father Amoz
was the son of king Joash, and brother to Uzziah,
or Azariah, king of Judah [b^. He certainly was
of that tribe, and of noble birth ; and the Rabbins
£a J The Prophet's name is spelt didj? ; that of the father of
Isaiah, fiDK. Vid. et Hieron. Procop, in Esai. i. 1. August.
de Civit. Dei. Lib. xviii. 27. Cyril Praef. Expos, in Amos.
[b] R. Isa. Abarb. Praef. in Isaiah. Seder Olam Zuta, et
in Gemar. Codic. Megil. fol. 10. col. 11. Joseph. Antiq.

384 OF TH13 BOOK OF ISAIAH,
pretend that his father was a Prophet, which they
collect from a general rule established among them :
that the fathers of the Prophets were themselves
Prophets when their names are mentioned in scrip
ture [c] .
Isaiah was the first of the four great Prophets,
and is represented to have entered on the pro
phetic office in the last year of Uzziah's reign,
about 758 years before Christ [d J. Some have
supposed that he did not live beyond the fifteenth
or sixteenth year of Hezekiah's reign [eJ ; in
which case he prophesied during the space of
about forty-five years. But others are of opinion,
that he survived Hezekiah, and that he was put to
death in the reign of Manasseth. There is, in
deed, a Jewish tradition, that he suffered martyr
dom by comraand of that tyrant, in the first year
of his reigri, about 698 years before Christ, being
cruelly sawn asunder with a wooden saw. On a
supposition of the truth of this relation, we must
allow that he prophesied during a space of more
than sixty years [f].
Several of the fathers have, indeed, borne testi-
[c] Hieron. in Esai. xxxvii. 2. Epiphan. de Vita et Mort.
Prophet [d] Clem. Alex. Strom. Lib. I. p. 391. edit Potter. He was
nearly contemporary with Hosea,' Joel, Amos, and Micah.
[e] Aben-Ezra Com. in Isa. i. 1. He certainly lived be
yond the fourteenth year of Hezekiah's reign. Vid. 2 Kings
XX. 1.
[f] Jothara reigned sixteen years, Ahaz sixteen, and Heze
kiah twenty-nine.

OF THE fiOOK OF ISAIAH. 385
hiony to the tradition [g] ; and St. Paul is gene
rally supposed to have referred to it in the epistle
to the Hebrevvs [h]. St. Justin the martyr af
firmed, that the Jews had erased the disgraceful
circumstance from the sacred books ; and it is not
improbable, that the bold spirit of invective, and
the high character by which Isaiah was distin
guished, might have irritated a jealous and re
vengeful monarch to this act of impious barbarity ;
though the opprobrium of the deed must be much
a^ravated, if St. Jerora be not mistaken in re
lating, that Manasseth had received the daughter
of Isaiah in raarriage [i]. It is added, also, that
Manasseth endeavoured to justify his cruelty, by
pretenchng that he condemned the Prophet for
saying, that ¦' he had seen the Lord sitting upon a
throne [k.]] ;" contrary, as the tyrant affirmed, to
what is said in Exodus, " there is no raan shaU see
me, and live [j7^ ;" thus hypocriticaUy atterapting
to veil his malice under an appearance of piety.
However this raay have been, the story was cer
tainly embeUished with many fictitious circum
stances ; as, that the Prophet was sawed asunder
in a cedar which had opened itself to receive him
[g] Tertul. de Patient. § xiv. p. 148. Edit. Par. 1664,
Origen. Epist. ad Jul, African, tom. i. p. 20. Edit. Par. 1733,
et Horn, in Isaiam. Justin, cura Tryphon. p. 148. Edit Par.
1742. Chrysost. ad Cyriac. et Hieron. Lib. in Esaiam.
[h] Heb. xi. 37. and Pearce ou this verse.
f i] Hieron in Esai. iii.
[k] Chap. vi. 1.
[l] Exod, xxxiii. 20.
Cc

386 OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH.
in his flight; and other particulars fabricated in
superstitious reverence for his meraory. Epipha
nius and Dorotheus, who give this account, add,
that he was buried near Jerusalem, under the oak
Rogel, near the royal sepulchre, on the river SUoe,
at the side of Mount Sion ; and that he reraained
in his tomb to their time; contrary to what others
report of his being carried away to Paneada,
towards the sources of the Jordan; and from
thence to Constantinople, in the thirty-fifth year of
Theodosius the younger, A. D. 442.
The name of Isaiah is, as Vitringa has remarked,
in some measure expressive of his character, since
it signifies, " the salvation of Jehovah." He has
always been considered as a Prophet of the highest
eminence [m] ; and looked up to as the brightest
luminary of the Jewish church. He speaks of
himself as enlightened by vision ; and he has been
emphaticaUy styled the evangeUcal Prophet [n J, so
copiously and clearly does he describe the Messiah,
and characterize his kingdora : favoured, as it were,
with an intiraate view of the Gospel state, from the
[m] Matt. iv. 14. Rora. x. 16, xxviii, 25. Matt. viii. 17,
Luke iv. 17. Acts xxviii. 25. also Vitringa's Proleg. p, 16,
2 Kings xix. 20. xx. 1, 2, et seq. 2 Chron. xxxii. 20. St. Paul
cites his work as part of the Law. 1 Cor. xiv. 21.
[n] Hieron. Praef. in Esaiam, Epist xvii, August, de Civit.
Dei, Lib, XVIII. c. xxix, Theod. Praef. in Esai. Holden's
Paraphrase oflsaiah. St Jerora in his epistle to PopcDaraasus,
says what was figuratively true, that the seraphira who touched
Isaiah's lips with fire, conveyed to hira the New Testament.
Isa. vi. 6, 7.

,OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH. 387
very birth of our Saviour, " to be conceived of a
virgin [o]," to that glorious and triumphant period,
when every Gentile nation shaU bring a clean of
fering to the Lord, and " all flesh shall come to
worship" before him[p]. The author of Eccle
siasticus, in his fine and discriminating encomiura
on the Prophets, says of Isaiah, that " he was
great and faithful in his vision ;" and that " in his
time the sun went backward, and he lengthened
the King's life. He saw by an exceUent spirit
what should come to pass at the last" [q]. It is
certain also that Isaiah, in addition to his other pro
phetic privileges, was invested with the power of
performing miracles [r]. Besides those that are
ascribed to him in scripture, tradition relates, that
he supplied the people besieged under Hezekiah
with water from Siloam, while the enemy could
not procure it [s]. It is remarkable, that the wife
of Isaiah is styled a prophetess [t] ; and the Rab
bins maintain, that she possessed the gift of pro
phecy. He himself appears to have been raised
up as a striking object of veneration among the
[oJ Chap. vii. 14.
[p] Chap. lxvi. 20, 23.
[q] Ecclus. xlviii. 22, 25. Vid. also, Calmet's Pref. and
Lowth's Prajlect. 21.
[r] 2 Kings XX. 11. 2Chron. xxxii. 31.
J^s] Hence, as some have supposed, was the origin of the
Pool of Siloam. The word Siloam implies seut. Vid. John
ix. 7. E\ery tradition relative lo these interesting characters
is worth recording.
[t] Chap. viii. 3,
C c2

SSS OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH,
Jews, and to have regulated his whole conduct in
subserviency to his sacred appointment. His sons,
likewise, Avere for types [u], and figurative pledges
of God's assurances • and their names [x] and ac
tions vvei-e intended to awaken a religious attention
in the persons whom they were commissioned to
address, and to instruct.
Isaiah was animated with the most lively zeal
for God's honour and service. He was employed
chiefly to preach repentance to Judah ; though
he occasionally uttered prophecies against the ten
tribes, which in his tirae constituted the separate
kingdora of Israel. In the prudent reigns of
Uzziah and Jotham, tbe kingdom of Judah flou
rished ; but in the time of Ahaz, Isaiah had ample
subject for reproach, as idolatry was established,
even in the temple, and the kingdom nearly ruined
by the impiety which the king had introduced and
countenanced. In the reign of Hezekiah, his
endeavours to reform the people were more suc
cessful ; and some piety prevaUed, tiU the seducr
[u] Isaiah viii. 18.
[x] Chap. vii. 3. aw» "inm signify " a remnant shall re
turn." Thus is summarily foretold the deliverance of Judea
from the threatened invasion of the kings of Israel and Syria,
and the return from the captivity. For the accomplishment
of this prophecy, see 2 Kings xvi. 5. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23.
Ezra i. viii. 1, 4. Tbe words |a mn hhm inn, iraply " run swiftly
to the spoil," " hasten to the prey," and refer to the destruc
tion of Damascus and Samaria, by the Assyrians ; for the com
pletion of which, see 2 Kings xv. 29. xvi, 9. xvii, 3, 6, xviii.^
10.

OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH. 389
lion of Manasseth completed the triumph of ido-
htry and sin.
There are many historical relations scattered
through this book, which illustrate the designs and
occasions of the prophecies. The prophetical parts
are sometimes considered under five divisions. The
first part, which extends from the beginning to the
thirteenth chapter, contains five discourses imme
diately addressed to the Jews and Ephraimites,
whom the Prophet addresses on various subjects,
in various tones of exhortation and reproof. The
second part, which extends to the twenty-fourth
chapter, contains eight discourses, in which the
fate of other nations, as of the Babylonians, Phi
listines, Moabites, Syrians, and Egyptians, is de
scribed. The third part, which terminates with
the thiity-fifth chapter, contains God's threats de
nounced against the disobedient Jews, and ene
mies of the church, interspersed with consolatory
promises, -which were intended to encourage those
who might have deserved God's favour [v]. The
fourth part, which begins at the fortieth chapter,
where the prophetic strain is resumed, describes in
four discourses, the raanifestation of the Messiah,
with many introductory and attendant circum^
stances. This division ends at the forty-eighth
chapter. The fifth part, which concludes the pro
phecies, describes raore particularly the appearance
[y j Isaiah, as well as Nahum, Haggai, and Zechariaii, were
deemed consolatory Prophets. Aid, .\barbeu, Praef. in Isai,
fol. 2. col. 1. Lib. I.

390 OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH.
of our Sa^viour, and the character of his kingdom.
The historical part, which begins with the thirty-
sixth, and terminates with the thirty-ninth chap
ter [z], relates the remarkable events of those
times in which God employed the rainistry of
Isaiah. With respect to chronological arrangement, it
must be observed, that the first five chapters ap
pear to relate to the time of Uzziah [a]. The
vision described in the sixth chapter raust have
happened early in the reign of Jotham, The
next fifteen chapters contain the prophecies deli
vered under Ahaz ; and the prophecies which fol
low to the end of the book, were probably uttered
under Hezekiah. Some writers, however, have
conceived that the chapters have been accidentally
deranged; and itis possible that the predictions
were not delivered by the Prophet exactly in the
order in which they now stand. Others have attri-
[z] The abrupt conclusion of the thirty-eighth chapter,
leads us to suppose that these historical chapters relating to
Hezekiah, were inserted from the Second Book of Kings, to
illustrate the preceding prophecies. Comp, Isa. xxxvi — xxxix.
chapters with 2 Kings xviii. 13. xx. 20.
[a] Some think that they belong more properly to the reign
of Ahaz. Vid, TaUor's Script, Divin, p, 328, but the repre-^
sentation of the reign of an apostate king, would, perhaps,
ha\e been still more forcible, Vid. 2 Kings xvi. 3, et seq.
The descriptions are not too strong for the time of Uzziah,
whose individual virtues (of which indeed the effect was dimi
nished hy some misconduct, 2 Chron. xxvi. 1.) could uot en
tirely reform the kingdom, or restore its prosperity. Vid,
Hierou. Com. iu Esai. vi.

OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH. 391
buted the dislocations, if there be any, to the men
of Hezekiah, who are said to have coUected these
Prophecies [b].
When Isaiah entered on the prophetic office, a
darker scene of things began to arise. As ido
latry predominated, and the captivity drew near,
plainer declarations of God's future raercies were
necessary to keep alive the expectations and con
fidence of the people. In treating of the captivities
and deliverance of the Hebrew nation, the prophet
is often led to consider those more important cap
tivities and deliverances which these temporal
events foreshewed.- Hence with promises of the
first, he blends assurances of final restoration.
From the bondage of Israel, he likewise adverts
to the bondage under which the Gentile world was
held by ignorance and sin ; and hence he exhibits
in connected representation, deliverance from parti
cular afflictions, and the general deliverance from sin
and death. The present concern is often forgotten
in the conteraplation of the distant prospect. The
Prophet passes with rapidity from the first to the
second subject, Avithout intimation of the change,
or accurate discrimination of their respective cir
cumstances; as, for instance, in the fifty-second
chapter, where the Prophet, after speaking of the
recovery from the Assyrian oppression, suddenly
drops the idea of the present redemption, and
breaks out into a rapturous description of the Gos
pel salvation which it prefigured [c].
[b] Jacob. Braudinglerus in Annal. Typ. Lib. Proph. V. T.
[c] Comp. Isa. Iii. 7. with Rom. x. 15. Isa, xi. 10, with

393 OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH.
Among the prophecies of Isaiah which deserve
to be particularly noted for their especial perspi
cuity and striking accomplishraent, are those iu
which he foretold the captivities of Israel and Ju
dah [p] ; and described the ruin and desolation of
Babylon [e]. Tyre, and other nations. He spoke
of Cyrus by name, and of his conquests, above
200 years befoie his birth [f], in predictions which
are supposed to have influenced that monarch to
release the Jews frora captivity [g], being probably
shewn to him by Daniel, But it must be repeated,
that the prophecies concerning the Messiah seem
alraost to anticipate the Gospel and the history of
the church to the consuraraation of all things, so
clearly do they foreshew the divine character of
Christ [H] ; to be beholden as God [i] ; his inex-r
plicable generation [k], yet human descent [l] ; his
Rom, XV, 12. Vid. also, chap, xxxiv, xxxv, xl. xlix. Lowth
on ch. Iii. 13. and Abarbencl, as quoted by Vitringa, on ch,
xlix. 1.
[d] Chap, xxxix, 6, 7, comp, with 2 Kings xxiv, 13. and
Dan. i.3.
[e] Chap. xiii. 19—22. xiv. 22—24. xlvii. 7, 8. and Lowth
Com. and Usser. Ann. ad A.M. 3347. ch. xxiii.
[f] Chap. xliv. 28. xlv. 1 — 5. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. XI.
c. i. St. Jerom has remarked that Xenophon's history is a
good comment on the prophecies of Isaiah.' Vide Hieron. ad
Esai. xliv. '
[g] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. XL c. i. Ezra i. 2.
[h] Chap. viii. 14. comp. with Matt. i. 18 — 23. and Luke
i. 27 — 35. Chap. vi. ix. 6. xxxv. 4. xl. 5, 9, 10. xiii. 6— If.
lxi. 1. comp. with Luke iv. 18, Ixii. 11. Ixiii. 1 — 4.
[i] Chap. xxxv. 4. xl. 9.
[k] Chap. liii. 8.
[l] Chap. xi. i-

OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH. 393
Uireefold character of Prophet [m]. Priest [n], and
King [o] ; his advent to be proclairaed by the Baptist
[p] ; his appointment to preach [q] ; his attributes
and miracles [r] ; his peculiar quaUties and vir
tues [s] ; his rejection [t] and sufferings for our
sins [u] ; his death, burial [x], victory over the
grave [y], the eff"usion of the Holy Spirit [z], the
rejection of the Jews [a], the caUing of the Gen
tile world [b], the display of his glory [c], in the set-
[m] Chap. xiii. 1, 6, 7. xlix. 1, 2, 67. lv. 4, 5.
[n] Chap. xl. 11. liii. 10. compare with Eph. v. 2. Heb-
X. 5—12.
[o] Chap. ix. 6, 1. xxxu. 1, 2.
[p] Chap. xl. 3, 4. compare with Matt. iii. 3. Mark i. 3.
Luke iii. 4. John i. 3.
[q] Chap. lxi. 1, 2.
[r] Chap. xi. 2, 4. compare with Luke ii. 52. xxxv. 5, 6.
xl. 12, 2S.
[s] Chap. xi. 2, 3. xl. 11. xliii. 1—3.
[t] Chap. vi. 9 — 12. comp. with Mark xiii. 14. Chap. vii.
14, 15. hii. 3.
[u] Chap. 1. 6. liii. 4 — 11. The Ethiopian eunuch appears
to have been made a proselyte by St. Philip's explication of
this chapter. Vid. Acts viii. 32. The whole of it is so mi-
iiutely descriptive of Christ's passion, that a famous Rabbi,
likewise, on reading it, was converted from Judaism. — Who,
indeed, can resist its evidence ?
[x] Chap. liii. 8, 9. Matt, xxvii. 57. et Vitringa.
[y] Chap. xxv. 8. liii. 10, 12.
[zJ Chap, xxxii. 15. xliv. 3.
[a] Chap. Ixv. 2, 7.
[bJ Chap. xlix. 5—12, 22—24. Ixv. 1.
[cJ Chap. xlix. 7, 22, 23. Iii. 13—15. liii. 4, 5.

394 OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH.
ting up, increase [d], and perfection [e], of his king
dom, to be preached in the four quarters ofthe globe
[f], and the manifestation in his presence in the es
tablishment of a universal Church [g] : each particu
lar specifically pointed out, and pourtrayed Avith the
most striking and discriminating characters. It is
impossible, indeed, to reflect on these, and on the
whole chain of his illustrious prophecies, and not
to be sensible that they present the most incon
testable evidence in support of Christianity.
The style of Isaiah has been universaUy admired
as the most perfect model of the sublime ; it is dis
tinguished for all the magnificence, and for all the
sweetness of the Hebrew language [h]. The va
riety of his images, and the animated warmth of
his expressions, characterize him as unequalled in
point of eloquence; and if Ave were desirous of
producing a specimen of the dignity and beauties
of the scripture language, we should immediately
think of having recourse to Isaiah [i]. St. Jerom
[n] Chap. ii. 2 — 4. ix. 7, xiii. 4. xlvi, 13.
[e] Chap, ix. 2, 7, xi, 4 — 10, xvi, 5. x.\ix. 18 — 24, xxxii,
1, xl, 4, 5, xlix. 9—13, li. 3—6. Iii. 6—10. lv. 1—3. lix.
IG — 21. lx. lxi. 1 — 5. Ixv. 25.
[f] Chap. lxvi. 19—23.
[g] Chap, xxvii. 12, 13, Ixii, Ixv. 17 — 25.
[h] See particularly the striking representation ofthe van
quished foes of Belshazzar, rising from their tombs to meet
and deride the king of Babylon when (lescending to the grave,
alter his glory had departed from him, which is unequalled in
its effect. See Lowth's Prselect. 28.
[i] The superior eloquence cf Isaiah appears remarkably

OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH. 395
speaks of him as conversant with every part of
science [k] ; and, indeed, the marks of a culti
vated and iraproved raind are stamped in every page
of his book ; but these are almost eclipsed by tlie
splendor of his inspired knowledge. In the deli
very of his prophecies and instructions, he utters
bis enraptured strains with an elevation and ma
jesty which unhaUowed lips could never have at-
on a comparison of the eleventh and thirty-fifth chapters of
his work, with the fourth Eclogue of Virgil ; in which the
Poet has introduced thoughts, imagery, and diction, strikingly
similar, indeed, to those employed by Isaiah, but infinitely in
ferior as to the effect produced. Virgil is supposed to have
borrowed from the predictions of the Cumaean Sybil, that de-
scripton of the Golden Age which he represents as ready to
commence with the birth of some illustrious personage, (as,
perhaps, the expected offspring of Octavia, or of Scribonia.)
The images, however, were so appropriate to the Messiah and
his kingdora, that they must have been derived from a sacred
source, though it is uot necessary to consider thera as the
result of iraraediate inspiration. The Sybilline verses might
have been fragments of inspired prophecies spread abroad iu
Greek verse by the HeUenistical Jews. Virgil might have
collected ideas with regard to the expected Messiah, from the
Jews in general, and particularly from Herod, who was about
this time at Rome, and whose sons when residing there were
received by PoUio. Vid. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. XV. c, x. p, 696.
Edit. Hudson. Or, lastly, the Poet, or other learned persons
among the Romans, might have had some knowledge of the
Septuagint version of the scriptures, since they were inquisi-
tive after all kinds of literature. Vid, Lowth's Pr!elect>21,
Chandler's Vindic, ch, ii. § iii, et Postscript, p. 44. and Cud
worth's Intel. Syst. c. iv. § 16.
[k] Hieron. Pra;f, iu Esai.

396 OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH.
tained [l]. From the grand exordium in the first
chapter, to the concluding description of the Gos
pel, to " be brought forth" in wonders, and to
terminate in the dispensations of eternity : from
first to last, there is one continued display of in
spired wisdom, revealing its oracles and precepts
for the instruction of mankind.
The prophecies of Isaiah were modulated to a
kind of rhythra, and they are evidently divided
into certain metrical stanzas or lines [m].
The Greek version of Isaiah appears to have
been made long after that of the Pentateuch ; it is
a very lax and inaccurate translation, and was pro
bably coraposed after the time of Antiochus Epi
phanes [n].
Isaiah, besides this book of prophecies, wrote
an account of the actions of Uzziah [o] ; this has
perished with sorae other writings of the Prophets, •
which, as probably not written by inspiration, were
never admitted into the canon of scripture. Some
apocryphal books have likewise been attributed to
hira ; araong others, that so often cited by Origen
and other fathers, entitled the Ascension of Isaiah
[l] Chap. vi. 6, 7.
[m] Vitringa. Proleg. in Esaiam. p. 8, Lowth's preface, and
Scahger's Aniraad, in Chron. Euseb.
[n] Those of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodosion, are
now lost.
[o] 2 Chron. xxvi. 22. et Vitrin. Proleg. 3. Dr. Kennicott
fancies that Isaiah composed the 89th Psalm on the approach
of Rezin and Pekah to Jerusalera.

OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH, 397
{[p] ; not to mention a later book, caUed the Vision
of Isaiah [q^, which is only a corapilation frora
bis Avorks. These are probably attributed to him
on as insufficient grounds as are the books of So
loraon and Job.
[p] Origen in Matt, xxiii, et Epist. ad African. Hieron.
in Esaiam 64. Epiphan. Haeres 40, and 67.
[q] This was published at Venice. Vid. Sixt, Senens, Bib.
Sac, iu Isaiah,

OF THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
JEREMIAH.

Jeremiah Avas the son of Hilkiah; probably not
of that Hilkiah [a] Avho was high priest in the
reign of Josiah, but certainly he Avas of sacerdotal
extraction; and a native of Anathoth, a viUage
about three railes frora Jerusalera, appointed for
the priests, in that part of Judaea, Avhich was al
lotted to the tribe of Benjamin [b]. He was
called to the prophetic office, nearly at the sarae
time with Zephaniah, in the thirteenth year of the
reign of Josiah the son of Amon, A.M. 3376.
Like St. John the Baptist and St. Paul, he Avas
even in his mother's womb ordained a Prophet to
the Jews and other nations [c]. He was not,
hoAvever, expressly addressed by the Avord of God
tiU about the fourteenth year of his age ; Avhen
[a] 2 Kings xxii, 4, Clemens Alexand. Strom. Lib. I. p.
390. edit. Potter. Sixt. Senens.
[e] Hieron. Praef. in Prophet. Josh. xxi. 13, 18, xviii, 28,
[c] Jerem. i. 6. and Hieron. iu Hierem.
9

OF THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH. 399
he diffidently sought to decUne the appointment
on account of his youth, till influenced by the di
vine encouragement, he obeyed, and continued to
prophesy upAvards of forty years, during several
successive reigns ofthe degenerate descendants of
Josiah ; to whora he fearlessly revealed those marks
of the divine vengeance Avhich their fluctuating
and rebeUious conduct drew on theraselves and
their country [[d]. After the destruction of Jeru
salem by the Chaldeans, he Avas suffered by Nebu
chadnezzar to reraain and lament the miseries and
desolation of Judsea, frora whence he sent conso
latory assurances to his captive countrymen. He
AAas afterAvards, as Ave are by himself informed,
carried with his disciple Baruch into Egypt [e],
by Johanan the son of Kareah, Avho contrary to
his advice and prophetic admonitions, removed
thither from Judaea.
Many circumstances relative to Jeremiah, are
interspersed in his Avritings, and many more Avhich
describe but little credit, have been recorded by
the Rabbins and other Avriters [f]. He appears
during his Avhole life to have been exposed to
[d] Chap, xxi, 4 — 11. xxiv. 8 — 10. xxxii. 3, 4. xxxiv. 2 — 5.
comp. with Ezek. xii. 13. and Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X. cap. v.
vi. vii. p. 441 — 447. Edit Hud. et Lib. XI. p, 468, Jer.
xxxvL 30, 31.
[eJ Chap, xliii. 3 — 7. Abarbenel erroneously asserts that
Jeremiah was carried into captivity with Jeconiah, or Jehoia
chin : contrary to the Prophet's own accouut. Vid. Abarb. in
Ezek. [f] 2 Mace. ii. 1 — 7, Euseb. Pr?ep. Evang, Lib, IX, c. xxxis
Hieron. cont, Jovinian. Lib. II. Tertull. Adv. Giioit. c. \iii.

400 OF THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH.
cruel and unjust persecutions from the Jews, and
especiaUy frora those of his own village [g], having
particularly excited the resentment of the princes
priests and false prophets, on account of the zeal
and fervour with Avhich he censured their incor
rigible sins, and predicted the judgments of the
Almighty against them ; and he is sometimes pro
voked to break out into the most feeling and bit
ter complaints of the treatment Avhich he received
[h]. The author of Ecclesiasticus [i], alluding to
his sufferings, remarks, " that they intreated him
evil, who nevertheless was a Prophet sanctified in
his mother's womb." According to the account
of St, Jerom, he Avas stoned to death at Tahpanhes
[r], a royal city of Egypt, about 586 years before
the birth of Christ : either by his own country
men, as is generally maintained, or by the Egyp
tians, to both of which people he had rendered
himself obnoxious by the terrifying prophecies
which he had uttered. The chronicle of Alex
andria relates, that the Prophet had incensed the
Egyptians by foreteUing that their idols should be
overthroAvn by an earthquake, Avhen the Saviour
[g] Chap, xi, 21. Luke iv, 24.
[h] Chap. XX. 7—18.
[i] Ecclus. xlix. 17.
[k] Jerem. xliii. 7, 9. Heb. xi. 37, Hieron. in ch. xxxiii. 9.
Tahpanhes is contracted to Hanes by Isaiah, ch. xxx. 4, It is
supposed by many to have been the city which was afterwards
called Daphr.M Pelustacae. Oiher traditions relate, that he
was thrown into a pit and transfixed with darts, Vid. Gregent,
Disput. cum He: ban, Jud,

OF THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH, 401
of the earth should be born and placed iu a man
ger. His prophecies, hoAvever, which are stUl ex*-
tant concerning the conquests of Egypt by Nebu
chadnezzar, in this respect " the servant of God,"
must have been sufficient to excite the fears and
hatred of those ag-ainst Avhom they were uttered. It
AA'as added to this account Avhich Ptolemy received,
that Alexander the Great, visiting the torab of
Jeremiah, and hearing that he had uttered predic
tions concerning his person, ordered that the Pro
phet's urn should be removed to Alexandria, and
built a magnificent monument to his memory [l].
This Avas soon rendered an object of general at
tention ; and as a reverence for the Prophet's
character encircled it Avith iraaginary influence, it
becarae celebrated as a place of miracles [m].
Other accounts, however, relate, that the Prophet
returned unto his own country ; and travellers are
StiU shewn a place in the neighbourhood of Jeru
salem, Avhere, as they are told, Jeremiah composed
his prophecies ; and Avhere Constantine erected a
torab to his memory.
Jeremiah, Avho professes himself the author of
these prophecies [n], eraployed Baruch as his
[l] .4bulfar. Hist. Orient. Dynast. III. Jean Mosque Pre.
Spirituel, chap. Ixxviii Raleigh's Hist, of the World, B. II.
p. 555.
[m] Crocodiles and serpents were supposed to be unable to
live near it, and the dust of the place is now deemed a cure for
the bite of the asp. Many other similar fictions were engen
dered by superstitious respect for the Prophet's memory.
[k] Chap. i. 1, 4, 0, 9. xxv. 13. xxi\. 1. xxs. 2. li. GO,
Dd

402 OF THE BOOK OF JEUEMIAH.
amanuensis in committing them to writing [o].
He appears to have made at different times, col
lections of what he had delivered. The first
seems to have been composed in the fourth year
of Jehoiakim, Avhen the Prophet Avas expressly
comraanded by God to Avrite upon a roll, all the pro
phecies Avhich he had uttered concerning Israel,
Judah, and other nations [p] ; this he did by raeans
of Baruch. But this roll being burnt by Jehoia
kim [q], another was Avritten under Jeremiah's
direction, with maiiy additional particulars [r]. In
the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the prophet appears
to have coUected into one book all the prophecies
that he had delivered before the taking of Jerusa
lem [s]. To this, probably, he afterwards added
such farther revelations as he had occasionally re
ceived during the government of Gedaliah, and
during the residence in Egypt, the account of
which terminates with the fifty-first chapter. The
fifty-second chapter, which is compiled from the
five last chapters of the second book of Kings [t],
was probably not Avritten by Jeremiah, as it con
tains in part a repetition of Avhat the Prophet had
[o] Chap, iv. 32. xlv. 1.
[p] Jerem. xxxvi. 2. xxv. IH.
[gj Chap, xxxvi. 23. The Jews instituted an annual fast
in commemoration of the burning of this rull, which is still
observed in December, on the 29fh day of the moutli Cisleu.
Vid. Prid. Vol. I. B. I. p. 50. fol. 1717,
[r] Chap, xxxvi, 32,
[s] Chap. i. 3.
[t] 2 Kings xxiv, 18 — 20, xxv,
9

OF THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH. 403
before related in the thirty-ninth and fortieth chap
ters of his book, and some circumstances which,
as it has been supposed, did not happen till after
the death of Jeremiah. It is evident also from
the intimation conveyed in the last verse ''' thus
far are the Avords of Jeremiah" that his book
there terminates. The fifty-second chapter AAas
therefore probably added by Ezra [u], as an exor
dium to the Lamentations. It is, however, a very
useful appendage, as it illustrates the accomplish
ment of Jeremiah's prophecies relative to the cap
tivity and the fate of Zedekiah.
The prophecies, as they are noAv placed, appear
not to be arranged in the chronological order in
AA'hich they Avere deUvered [x]. Whether they
Avere originaUy so compiled by Jeremiah, or Ezra ;
or Avhether they had been accidentally transposed,
cannot noAv be deterrained. It is generaUy raain
tained, that if we consult the dates of their pub'-
Ucation, they should be placed thus :
In the reign of Josiah, the first tAvelve chapters.
In that of Jehoiakira, chapters xiii. — xx. xxi.
ver. 11 — 14. xxii. xxiii. xxv. xxvi. xxxv. xxxvi.
xlv. — xhx. ver. 1 — 33.
In that of Zedekiah, chap. xxi. 1 — 10. xxiv.
xxvii. — xxxiv. xxxvii. — xxxix. xlix. ver. 34—
39. 1. and U,
]^u] Sixtus Senensis, without a sufficient authority, attri.
hutes it to Baruch, Bib. Lib. I.
[xJ Origen Epist. ad African. Hierou. Praef. in Hiereuj.
Planey's TransUit. of Jeremiah. pdg

404 OF THE r.O0K OF JEREMIAH.
Under the governraent of GedaUah, chap, xl,^^
xliv,
Jeremiah does not seem to have received any
revelations from God in the short intermediate
reigns of Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah^ or of Jeco
niah, the son of Jehoiakim.
The prophecies which related to the Gentiles
are contained in the forty-sixth and five foUoAving
chapters, being placed at the end, as in some
measure unconnected Avith the others. But in
sorae copies of the Septuagint [vj these six chap
ters follow immediately after the thirteenth verse
of the twenty-fifth chapter; Though the IsraeUtes
had been carried captive before Jereraiah began
to prophesy, he occasionally addressed the ten
tribes, as some remains of them Avere still left in
Saraaria. The prophecies df Jereraiah, of which the cir-'
curastantial accomplishraent is often specified in
the Old and New Testament, are of a very distin
guished and illustrious character. He foretold the
fate of Shallum, Jehoiakira, Coniah, and Zede
kiah [z] ; the Babylonish captivities ; the compli
cated miseries [a]] which were to precede and
characterize the desolation of Jerusalera, when its
teraple should be destro3'"ed, and the city be de
serted of God, like Shiloh, Avhen deprived of the
[y] As iu the Vatican and Alexandrian.
[z] Chap, xxxiv. 2 — 5. comp, with 2 Chron. xxxvi, 19.
2 Kings xxv. 6. and Jerera. hi. 11,
[a] Chap, xiv. 1—12. xxi. 3—10.

OF THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH. 405
arkj^sj ; the fate of those that remained there [c] ;
and the precise period of the detention of the people
in Assyria [d]. He described the destruction of
Babylon ; and the downfal of raany nations [b"] ;
in predictions, of which the gradual and progrest-
sive completion kept up the confidence of the
Jews for the accoraplishment of those prophecies
which he delivered relative to the Messiah and
his period [f]. He foreshewed the miraculous
conception of Christ [o] ; the virtue of his atone
ment ; ^e spiritual character of his covenant ; and
the inward efficacy of his laws [h].
Jereraiah, contemplating those calamities which
impended over his country, represented in the
most descriptive terms, and under the most ex
pressive images, the destruction that the invading
eneray should produce. He bewaUed in pathetic
expostulation, the sharaeless adulteries which had
provoked the Alraighty, after long forbearance, to
threaten Judah Avith inevitable punishraent, at the
[b] Chap. vii. 12, 14.
[c] Chap. xxv. 9. xxvii. 6 — 8.
[d] Chap. xxv. 11, 12. comp. with Dan ix. 2. xxix. 10.
Ezra i. 1. Prid. Cou. Ann. 518. Newton's eighth and eleventh
Dissert, on the Prophecies.
[e] Chap. xxv. 12, Vid. also, chap, ix, 26. xxv. 19 — ^25.
xiii. 10 — 18. xlvi. and following chapter. And Newton's
Dissert. XII.
[f] Chap, xxiii. 5, 6. xxx. 9. xxxi. 15. xxxiii. 14 — 18.
xxxiii. 9, 26. Huet. Demon. Evang. Prop, VII. § 16, p. 312.
Edit. 1679.
[g] Chap. xxxi. 22.
[h] Chap. xxxi. 31—36. xxxiii. 8.

406 OF THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH.
time that false prophets deluded the nation witb
the promises of " assured peace," and Avhen the
people, in impious contempt of " the Lord's Avord,"
defied its accompUshment [i], Jeremiah intermin
gles Avith his prophecies sorae historical relations
relative to his own conduct, and to the corapletion
of those predictions Avhich he had delivered. The
reputation of Jeremiah had spread among foreign
nations, and his prophecies Avere deservedly cele
brated in other countries [k]. Many heathen Avri-
ters have likcAvise undesignedly borne testimony
to the truth and accuracy of the prophetic and his
torical descriptions of the book [l].
The style of Jeremiah, though not devoid of
occasional splendour and sublimity, is certainly in
ferior in that respect to that of Isaiah [m] ; it is
more plain and simple than that ofany of the Pro
phets, excepting perhaps that of Obadiah. St. Je
rom [n] objects a certain rusticity of expression to
him ; but Avhich it would not be easy to point out.
His images are, perhaps, less lofty, and his expres
sions less dignified than those of some others of
the sacred writers ; but the character of his Avork,
[l] Chap, xxxvi. 22, 23. xxviii. 4—6,
[k] Alex, Polyhist. in Euseb, Prasp. Evan, Lib, IX. c. xxix,
[l] Vid. Herodotus, Xenophon Cyropsed, Joseph, Ant,
Lib. X. c. vi. Compare particularly the accounts of the taking
of Babylon, as described prophetically by Jeremiah in chap. L,
24, 38. li. and historically by Herodotus, Lib, I, c, 190, 191.
[m] Lowth's Prjelect. 21. xliii, 10 — 13.
[n] Hieron. Praef, and Cvm. in Hierem. Cunaeus de Repub^
Hebr. Lib. HI. cap. vii.

OF THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH. 407
Avhich breathes a tenderness of sorrow calculated
to aAvaken and interest the milder affections, led
him to reject the majestic and declamatory tone in
which the prophetic censures were sometiraes con
veyed. St. John, hoAvever, seems to have bor
rowed his expressions Avith respect to the fate of
Babylon, and to have appUed them to the fall
Avhich he foretold of the spiritual city, Avhich Ba
bylon prefigured [o]. The holy zeal of the Pro
phet is, however, often excited to a very vigorous
eloquence in inveighing against the frontiess au
dacity with which men gloried in their abomina
tions [p]. The first part of the book is chiefly
poetical, and, indeed, nearly one half of the Avork
is composed in some kind of raeasure. The his
torical part, towards the. raiddle of the work, is
Avritten Avith much simplicity of style. The six
last chapters, Avhich are entirely in verse, contain
several predictions delivered in a high strain of
dignity. The descriptions of Jereraiah have aU
the vivid colouring that might be expected from
a painter of conteraporary scenes. The historical
part has sorae characters of antiquity that ascer-
[o] Chap. h. 6, 59. compare with Revel, xviii.
[p] The Prophet is very animated in his admonitions
against idolatry, being willing to caution the_people against
the temptations which they would encounter in the captivity.
It is remarkable, that the eleventh verse of the tenth chapter,
which contains a pious sentiment wbich the Jews are directed
to utter as a profession of their faith, is written in Chaldee ;
that they might be furnished with the ^ery words that they
should answer to those who would seduce them.

408 OF THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH.
tain the date of its composition. The months are
reckoned by numbers ; a raode which did not
prevail after the captivity, when they were distin
guished by Chaldaic naraes. Besides the eleventh
verse of the tenth chapter, Avhich is Avritten in
Chaldee, there are likcAvise a few Chaldaic ex
pressions, Avhich about the time of Jeremiah must
have begun to vitiate the HebrcAV language.
Jeremiah has been sometimes considered as an
appointed Prophet of the Gentiles [q]. He cer
tainly delivered many prophecies relative to fo
reign nations. His name translated is " He shall
exalt Jehovah :" and his whole life was spent in
endeavouring to promote God's glory. His repur
tation was so considerable, that some of the fa
thers [r] fancifully supposed that as his death is
no Avhere mentioned in scripture, he Avas living in
the time of Christ, whom, as the Gospel informs
us, some supposed to have been his Prophet [s].
They likcAvise applied to him and Elias what St.
John mysteriously speaks of two witnesses that
should prophesy 1260 days [tJ : Avhich supersti
tious fictions serve, at least, to prove the tradi
tional reverence that Avas -entertained for the
memory of the Prophet ; Avho long afterwards
continued to be venerated in the Romish church
[q] Chap, i, 5-10,
[r] Victorin. in Apoc, cap. xi, 3, Plures apud Hilar, in
Matt. Lvin. XX.
[s] Matt. xvi. 11.
I rl Rev. xi. 3,

OF THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH. 409
as one of the greatest saints that had fiourished
under the old covenant : as having liA'ed not only
Avith the general strictness of a Prophet, but, as
was believed, in a state of celibacy [u] ; and as
having terminated his righteous ministry by mar
tyrdom, [d] Chap. xvi. 2. How far the restriction here subjoined
was of a typical, or teraporary and local nature is uncertain.
The Chaldee Paraphrase supposes the Prophet to have had
jcbildren. VicL Com. on Jerem. xxxvii. 12.

OF THE

BOOK OF THE LAMENTATIONS

JEREMIAH.

The Jews denorainate this book A-i-cah[Aj, from
the first word of the text ; or sometimes they call
it Kinoth [b], Avhich implies tears, alluding to the
mournful character of the work, of which one
would conceive, says Lowth, " that every letter
was written Avith a tear, everi^ AAord the sound of
a broken heart [c]." The Book was composed by
Jeremiah, as he informs us in the title, and as
the unvaried tradition of the church declares. It
contains passages expressive of the afflictions to
which the prophet Avas subjected [d]. The style,
indeed, itself, indicates the same hand Avhich
coraposed the preceding book. Upon what occa-
[a] n3'«, Aicah How.
[b] niJ'p, Kinoth. Spjimi, Lamentations.
[c] Also Gregor. Nazianz. Orat. xii.
[d] Chap, iii. 1 — 7, &5, 56, compare with Jer. xxxviii,
7—12.

THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREAIIAH. 411
sion these Lamentations Avere produced, cannot be
positively determined. In the second book of
Chronicles [e], it is said, that " Jeremiah lamented
for Josiah;" and Josephus [f], and other writers [g],
suppose that the Avork Avhich Ave noAV possess Avas
written upon the occasion of that raonarch's death ;
maintaining that the calamities Avhich only three
months after attended the deposition of Jehoahaz,
were so considerable as to correspond Avith the
description of the Prophet, though they are not
minutely detailed in sacred history. The gene
rality of the coraraentators.are however of a dif
ferent opinion ; and, indeed, Jereraiah here bewails
the desolation of Jerusalem ; the captivity of Ju
dah ; the miseries of famine ; and the cessation of
aU religious worship, in terms so forcible and
pathetic, that they appear rather applicable to some
period after the destruction of Jerusalem [h], Avhen,
agreeably to his OAvn predictions, every circum
stance of complicated distress overshadoAved Ju
daea [i]. But upon whatever occasion these Lamen-
[e] 2 Chron. xxxv. 25.
[f] Joseph. Antiq. Jud, Lib. X. c. v. p. 441.
[g] Hieron. in Lament. R. Selora. Lament, ch. iv. 20.
Miehaelis note in Praelect. 23. Usser. Annal. .\. M. 3294. and
Lam. ch. v. 7. which Miehaelis considers as a complaint
more just and reasonable in the time of Josiah than in that of
Zedekiah ; but neither this or ch. iv. 20. are more applicable to
the former than the latter king.
[h] Chap. i. 1, 3, 6, 12, 18. ii. 5, 6, 7, 16. iv. 6, 10, 22,
V. 0, 18.
[i] Jer, XX. 4, may allude to the fate of Zedekiah.

412 THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH.
tations Avere composed, they are evidently- descrip
tive of past events, and cannot be considered as
prophetic elegies.
Some Jewish Avriters imagined, that this was
the book Avhich Jeremiah dictated to Baruch, and
Avhich was cut and burnt by Jehoiakim [k]. But
there is no foundation for this opinion, for the
book dictated to Baruch contained raany prophetic
threats [jS] against various nations of which there
are no traces in this book. In the Greek, Arabic,
and Vulgate versions, there is a spurious argument,
Avhich is not in the Hebrew, nor in the Chaldee
paraphrase, any more than in the version of St.
Jerom, Avho foUoAved the Hebrew. It may be
thus translated : " It came to pass, that after Israel
had been carried aAvay captive, and Jerusalem be
came desolate, the Prophet Jeremiah sat Aveeping,
and bewailed Jerusalem Avith this lamentation, and
bitterly Aveeping and mourning, said as foUoAvs.'^
This Avas probably added by the Greek translators,
in lieu of the fifty-second chapter of Jeremiah's
prophecies, Avhich they rejected from this to the
preceding book[M]. The Lamentations Avere
certainly annexed originally to the prophecies of
Jeremiah, and Avere admitted Avith them together
into the Hebrew canon as one book. The modern
JeAvs, however, place this Avork in their copies
among other sniaUer tracts, such as Ruth, and.
[k] Jcreni. xxxvi. 4 — 23.
[l] Chii]?. xxxvi. 2.
[M] Iluct. Prop. IV. p, 210. Edit, Par. 1679.

THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH. 4l3
Canticles, &c. at the end of the Pentateuch, having
altered the arrangement of the books of scrip
ture from the order AA'hich they held in Ezra's col
lection. With respect to the plan of this Avork, it is com
posed after the manner of funeral odes, though
without any very artificial disposition of its sub
ject. It appears to contain the genuine effusions
of real grief; in Avhich the author, occupied by
his sorrow, attends not to exact connection be-
tAveen the different rhapsodies, but pours out
AA'hatever presents itself. He dAveUs upon the same
ideaSj and amplifies the same thoughts, by ncAv
expressions and figures, as is natural to a mind
intent on subjects of affliction. There is, hoAvever,
no wild incoherency in the contexture of the Avork ;
but the transitions are easy and elegant ; it is in
fact a coUection of distinct sentences, probably
uttered at different times, upon the same subject,
which are properly entitled Lamentations.
The Avork is divided into five parts : in the first,
second, and fourth chapters, the Prophet speaks in
his OAvn person ; or by a very elegant and inte
resting personification, introduces Jerusalera, as
speaking [n]. In the third chapter, a chorus of
[>'] In the first verse, Jerusalem is described as sitting pen
sive and solitary, as Judsea was afterwards represented on the
coins of Vespasian and Titus. Sitting was a natural posture
of sorrow; and the picture of sedentary atHictiou was familiar
to the Jews. Vid. Job ii. 13. Psal. cxxxvii 1. Ezek. iii. 15.
Addisou's Dialogues on Medals, vol. I. p. -5113.

414 THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH.
the JcAvs speaks as one person, like the Coryphaeus
of the Greeks. In the fifth, which forras a kind
of epUogue to the work, the Avhole nation of the
captive Jews is introduced in one body, as pouring
out complaints and supplications to God. Each of
these five parts is distributed into twenty-two pe
riods or stanzas, in correspondence Avith the num
ber of the Hebrew letters. In the three first
chapters, these periods are triplets, or consist of
three lines [o]. In the four first chapters, the
initial letter of each period follows the order of
the alphabet; and in the third chapter, each verse
of the same stanza begins Avith the same letter [p].
In the fourth chapter, all the stanzas are evidently
distiches [q], as also in the fifth, which is not
acrostick. The intention of this acrostick, or al
phabetic arrangeraent, Avas probably to assist the
meraory in retaining sentences not much con
nected [r,J and the same method was adopted, and
[o] There is, however, in each of the two first chapters, one
tetracolon, or stanza of four lines, in cap. i, t, in cap, ii. p.
[p] The third chapter has 66 verses in our translation, be
cause each of the twenty-two periods is divided into three
verses, according to the initial letters. It is remarkable, that
in the second, third, and fourth chapters, the initial letter ji is
placed before s, contrary to the order observed in the alpha
bet, and in the first chapter, as well as in the acrostick Psalms.
[q] The stanza D, as now read, cannot well be divided into
verses. [r] The Lamentations appear to have been sung in pub
lick service. Vid. Lowth's PrEeleet. 22. and Preface to Isaiah,
r-si.

THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH. 415
is even still used by the Syrians, Arabians, and
Persians [s]. It is remarkable also, that though
the verses of the fifth chapter are short, yet those
of the other chapters seem to be nearly half as
long again as those which usually occur in Hebrew
poetry; and the Prophet appears to have chosen
this raeasure as raore flowing, and accoramodated
to the effusions of sorrow, and therefore more
agreeable to the nature of funereal dirges [t].
This poem affords the most elegant variety of
striking images that ever probably was displayed
in so smaU a corapass [u]. The scenes of afflic
tion, the circumstances of distress, are painted Avith
such beautiful combination, that Ave contemplate
every Avhere the raost affecting picture of desola
tion and raisery. The Prophet reiterates his com
plaints in the most pathetic style ; and aggravates
his sorroAv Avith a boldness and force of descrip
tion that correspond with the magnitude and reli
gious iraportance of the calamities exposed to view.
In the instructive strain of an inspired Avriter, he
rerainds his countrymen of the grievous rebellions
that had provoked the Lord " to abhor his sanc
tuary;" confesses that it Avas of God's mercies
.that they Avere not utterly consumed ; and pomts
[s] Assemani Bibliothec, Oriental, vol, iii. p. 63, 180, 188,
328. [t] The Lamentations which occasionally occur, appear all
to be composed of this long measure, which may be supposed
to have been properly the elegiac measure of the Hebrews,
See 2 Sam. i. 19—27. Ezek. xxviii. H— 19.
[o] Lowth's PriElect. 22,

416 THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMI.4H.
out the sources of evil in the iniquities of their
false prophets and priests. He then Avith indig
nant irony threatens Edom Avith destruction for
rejoicing over the miseries of Judaea; opens a
consolatory prospect of deUverance and future pro
tection to Zion ; and concludes Avith a most inte
resting address to God, to " consider the reproach
of his people, and to renew their prosperity.
It is Avorthy to be observed, that Jeremiah in
endeavouring to promote resignation in his coun
tryraen, represents his oAvn deportment under
afflictions, in terms which have a prophetic cast,
so strikingly are they descriptive of the patience
and conduct of our Saviour under his sufferings [x].
The Prophet, indeed, in the meek endurance of
unmerited persecution, Avas an iUustrious type of
Christ. Jeremiah is represented in some titles to have
been the author of the l.S7th Psalm [vj ; as Uke
wise to haye coraposed the 65tli fz] in conjunction
Avith Ezekiel ; but probably neither of thera Avere
the production of his pen. The author of the
[x] Chap. iii. 1—30.
[y] This is ascribed to him in some Latin copies, as it for.
merly was in some Greek raanuscripts ; but it seeras to have
been written by some captives at Babylon.
[zJ The titles in the Greek and Latin copies which assign
this Psahu to Jereraiah and Ezekiel, are of httle or no autho
rity. The Psalm was probably written by David, upou the
occasion of some gracious rain after a drought, or perhaps by
Haggai, or soiiie Prophet after the return from the captivity.
Vid. CRhuet.

THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH. 417
second book of Maccabees [a], speaks of some
recorded instructions of the Prophet, which are
no longer extant. In the Vatican Ubrary are some
compositions in Greek, attributed to Jeremiah,
containing spurious letters from Baruch and Ebed-
melech to the Prophet, and supposititious answers
from him. [a] 2Macc. ii. 1—7.

Ee

OF THE
BOOK OF THE PROPBtET
EZEKIEL.

Ezekiel, who was the third of the great Prophets,
was the son of Buzi, a descendant of Aaron, of
the tribe of LcAri, that is, of the sacerdotal race.
He is said to have been a native of Sarara, and
to have been carried away captive at the age of
thirteen to Babylon, with Jehoiachin, king of
Judah, A.M. 3406 [a]. He settied, or was
placed, with many, others of his captive coun
trymen, on the banks of the Chebar [b]], a river
of Mesopotamia; where he was favoured with
the diAdne revelations which are described in
this book. He is supposed to have prophesied
during a period of twenty-one years. He appears
to have been mercifully raised up to animate the
despondence of bis contemporaries in their suffer
ings and afflictions ; and to assure them that they
[a] Pseudo-Epiphan. in Vit. Prophet. Joseph. Lib. X. c.
vi. 443.
[b] Called by Ptolemy and Strabo, Chaboras, or Aboras ;
and by Pliny, Coharis. It flows into the eastern side of the
Euphrates at Circesium, or Carchemish, almost 200 miles to
the north of Babylon.

op THB BOOK. OF EZEKIEL. 419
vrett deceived in su^osing, actwrding to tiie re
presentations of fefee pfophets, that their conmtry-
men wbo remained in Judaea were in happier
circanistances tiian themselves. With this view
he describes that meiancboly scene of calamities
wMch was about to arise in Judsea; and thence
proceeds to predict tbe universal apostaey of
the Jews, and tht tofail destroetion of (beir city
and tein|]3e ; adverting dso, occasionally, to those
punishments whitA awaited their enemies; and
interspeising assurances of the final accompUsh
ment of God's purpose, with prophetic declarations
Of -ttie adAretit of the Messiath, under whom the
preople sbonld be pureed and regeBerated to a
iiew sprrttfc].
The name of Ezekiel [ti] was happily expressive
of that inspired confidence aud fortitude which he
idli^pfayed, as well in supporting tbe adverse cir
cumstances ttf the captivity, as in censuring tie
sitis and idolatrous propenafties of his eoafltryraeii.
He began to deUver bis propbecieB about eight or
ten years aHer Darnel, in tbe fifth year «f J^oia-
chin's captivity; and as some have supposed, ia
tiie thirtieth year of his agej^E^.
[c] Chap, txxvi. 25—^88.
[d] Ezekiel, Vwpin*. The word seems to impdy tbe power of
•God girduig with stretigar. H is compounded of a verb b the
future tense, importing to bind, and of the name of God,
(*] Ezek, i. 1. Hteron. in loc. &c. Usher, Prideaux, and
others, reckon the 30 years here spotEen of, as well as the 40
days or years mentioned in chap. iv. 6. from the time t)f the
covenant made by Josiah in the l&th year of his reign. Vid.
Ee2

420 OF THE BOOK. OF EZEKIEt.
The divine instructions were first revealed to
him in a glorious vision, in which he beheld a re
presentation, or as he hiraself reverently expresses
it, " the appearance of the Ukeness of the glory
of the Lord," attended by his cherubims symboU
caUy pourtrayed. " The word of the Lord came
expressly" unto him, and he received his commis
sion by a voice, which was followed by a forcible
infiuence of the spirit, and by aAvful directions for
his conduct [f]. He appears to have executed his
high trust with great fideUty. The author of
Ecclesiasticus [g] says of him, that " he directed
them who went right;" which may be considered
as a raerited encoraium on the judgment and in
dustry with which he endeavoured to instruct and
guide his countrymen to righteousness. He is re
ported by some writers to have presided in the
government of the tribes of Gad and Dan in
Assyria; and among other fabulous rairacles to
have punished them for idolatry by a fearful de
struction produced by serpents. In addition to
these popular traditions it is reported, that bis
2 Kings xxiii. 3. according to which computation this thirtieth
year corresponds with A.M. 3410, and the fifth year of Jehoia
chin's captivity. Other chrouologists, however, conceive it
to be thirtieth year of Ezekiel's age ; or the thirtieth year of
Nebupolasser's reign ; and others the thirtieth year from the
Jubilee. Vid. Usher ad A.M. 3409. Prid. An. A.C. 594.
Scaliger Can. Isag. p. 28. Ezekiel usually dates his prophecies
from the aera of his appointraent to the prophetic office.
[fJ Chap. i. ii. and iii.
[gJ Ecclus. xlix. 9. et Arnald. 2

OF THE BOOR OF EZEKIEL. 421
Countrymen were so incensed by his reproaches as
to put him to a cruel death ^h]. In the time of
Epiphanius it was superstitiously beUeved that his
remains were deposited in tbe same sepulchre with
those of Shem and Arphaxad, wbich was supposed
to be situated between the river Euphrates and
that of Chaboras ; and which was much resorted
to l^i], not only by the Jews, but also by the
Medes and Persians : who reverenced the tomb of
the Prophet with extravagant devotion.
The authenticity of Ezekiel's book wUl admit of
no question. He represents himself as the author
in the beginning and other parts of it, and justiy
assumes the character and pretensions of a Pro
phet [k] ; as such he has been universaUy regarded.
A few writers, indeed, of very inconsiderable au
thority, have fancied, from the first word of the
Hebrew text, in which they suppose the initial
letter Vau to be a connexive particle, that what we
possess of Elzekiel is but the fragment of a larger
work. But there is no shadow of foundation for
this conjecture, since it Avas very customary to
begin a discourse in that language with the particle
[h] Hieron. in Ezech. xii.
[i] Benjamin Tudela relates, that a magnificent roof was
built to it by Jechoniah ; and likewise, that a synagogue and
library were erected there, in which was deposited a manu
script of Ezekiel's prophecies that was read on the day of ex.
piation. The pretended tomb of Ezekiel is still shewn about
fifteen leagues from Bagdad.
[k] Chap. i. I. ii. 2, 5. Clem. 1st Epist. Cor. c. 17.

432 OF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL.
Vau [l], which we properly translate, " Now it
eame to pass." It has been asserted, likewise, on
Talraudical authority, that certain Rabbins deli^
berated concerning the rejection of this book from
the canon, on account of sorae passages in it
which they conceived to be contradictory to the
princijdes of the Mosaic Law[|M]. If they had
any such intention, they were soon convinced of
their mistake, and gave up the design. But the
Jews, indeed, did not suffer the book, or at least
the beginning of it, to be read by any who had
not attained their thirtieth year[N]; and restrict
tions were iraposed upon commentators who might
be disposed to write upon itj^o].
St. Jerom hath remarked, certainly with great
truth, that the visions of Ezekiel are sometimes
very mysterious, and of difficult interpretation, and
[l] Jonah i. 1. and the beginning of most of the historical
books of scripture, also Calmet Preface sur Ezechiel.
fM] Comp. Ezek. xviii. 20. with Exod. xxxiv. 7. The
people whom Ezekiel addressed, presumptuously complained
that they were punished for the sins of their forefathers,
though in truth, they had merited their captivity by persisting
in evil. God, therefore, very consistently with his former de
clarations, threatened by Ezekiel to make such distinction
between the righteous and the wicked, that each man should be
sensible of having deserved his sufferings. And he assured
the people, with especial reference to eternal punishment, that
" the soul that sinned it should die ;" and that *' the son should
not bear the iniquity of his father ;" and that each should be
responsible for his own conduct.
[n] Calmet's Diet Herbelot. Bibliot. Orient, p. 942.
[o] Cunseus de Rep. Heb. 17. ap. Crit. Sac. tom. viii.
p. 848. Edit. Lond. 1660.

OF THS QOOK OF EZEKIEL. 4:23
that they may be Teekoned among tbe things in
scripture, which are " hard to be understood []?•],"
Ezekiel himself, weU aware of the mysterious cha
racter of those repiresent9.tions which he beheld in
vision, and of the necessary obscurity which must
attend the description of them to others, humbly
represented to God that the people accused him of
speaking darkly " in parables [qJ." It appears to
have been God's design to cheer the drooping
spirits of bis people^ but only by communicating
such encouragement as was coqsistent with a state
of punishment^ and calculated by indistinct inti-
matioHs, to keep alive a vvatchful and submissive
confidence. Fop this reason, perhaps, were Eze
kiel's prophecies, which were revealed araidst the
gloom of captiArity, designedly obscure in their
nature ; but though mysterious in themselves, tbey
are related by the Prophet in a plain and historical
manner. He seems to have been desirous of con
veying to others the stroug impressions which he
received, as accurately as tbey were capable of
being described.
The representations which Ezekiel beheld in
vision, are capable of a very interesting and in
structive iUustration from other parts of scripture :
as may be seen in the comraentaries of various
writers who have undertaken to explain their allu
sive character ; the figurative directions also, which
the Prophet received in them with relation to his
[p] Hieron. Proce. in Ezech.
[q] Ezek. XX. 49.

424 OF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL.
own conduct, were very consistent with the dignity
of his character, and the design of his mission.
Some of these directions were given, indeed, only
by way of metaphorical instruction; for when
Ezekiel is commanded to " eat the roU of pro-
phecy,'^' we readily understand that he is enjoined
only to receive, and thoroughly to digest its con
tents [r3; and when he professes to have com
plied with the command, we perceive that he
speaks only of a transaction in vision. With re
spect to some other relations of this nature con
tained in Ezekiel's book j^s^, whether we suppose
them to be descriptive of real or of imaginary
events, they are very reconcileable with what may
be conceived to have been divine intention in the
employment of the Prophet. On a supposition that
they were real, we may reasonably suppose a mira
culous assistance to have been afforded when ne
cessary; and if we consider them as imaginary,
they might be represented equally as emblematical
forewarnings revealed to the Prophets [t].
[k] Chap. iii. 1 —3. see also Jer. xv. 16. and Rev. x. 8 — 10.
[s] In the general preface to the Prophets, Ezekiel is sup
posed to have actually removed his houshold stuff, as thus
prophesying by a sign ; and this supposition seems to be au
thorized by the account. Vid. Ezek. xii. 7. and Waterland in
Ezek. So, also, when deprived of his wife, he certainly re
frained from the customary shew of grief, as a sign of the
unprecedented and inexpressible sorrow under which the Jews
should pine away on the destruction of their temple. Vid.
chap. xxiv. 16. et seq.
[t] Chap. iv. and v.

OF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL. 425
The Book of Ezekiel is sometimes distributed
by the foUowing analysis, under different heads.
After the three first chapters, in which the ap
pointment of the Prophet is described, the wicked
ness and impending punishment of the Jews, espe
ciaUy of those remaining in Judasa, are repre
sented under different parables and visions, to the
twenty-fourth chapter, inclusive; with occasional
intimations of the establishment of the christian
church [u]. The inspired writer detaUs in the
exact order of successioji, and in a raanner which
remarkably corresponds with the predictions and
relations of Jeremiah, the siege of Jerusalem ; the
famine by which it should be accompanied [x] ; the
destruction of the city [y] ; the miseries which
awaited those that should remain in Judsea, and
the avenging sword which should pursue the rem
nant which should flee into Eg3rpt[z]. The utter
removal also of the diadem, and the translation of
the sovereignty from the family of Zedekiah, the
profane prince of Israel, <to one who should be
exalted from a low degree, and whose legal right
[d] Chap. xvii. 22—24.
[x] Chap. iv. Jerem. xxix. 15 — 19. xxxvii. 21. xxxviii. 9.
Lament, v. 10.
[y] Chap. xxiv. 6 — 14. xx. 45—49. xxi. 2 — 27. Jerem. vi.
1—6. xxi. 10, 14. xxxii. 28, 29. xxxk. 1 — 9. xliv. 6. Iii. 4—7.
13, 14.
[z] Chap. V. 2, 12. Jer. xiii. 16, 17, 18. xliii. 5, 7, 8. xliv.
27. for the completion of these prophecies, consult Joseph.
Antiq. Lib. X. ch. ix. § 7. p. 454. et ch. xi. § I. p. 459. et contra
Apion. Lib. I. § 19. p. 1342. edit. Hudson,

423 OF THE PQQK OF EZE&IEL.
of inheritance it should be, that is tbe Messiah,
are most distinctly and emphatically foretold f a].
Prom thence to the thirty-second chapter, the
Prophet turns his attention to those nations who
had unfeelingly triumphed over the Jews in their
affliction : predicting that destruction of the Am
monites, Moabites, and PhiUstines, which Nebu
chadnezzar effected; and particularly, h? foretels
the ruin and desolation of Tyre [b] and of Sidon ;
the calamities and faU of Egypt [c], and the base
degeneracy of its future people, in a manner so
forcible, in terms so accurately and minutely de^-
scriptive of their several fates and present condi
tion, that it is highly interesting to trace the ac-^
compUshment of these propbecie? in the accounts
which are furnished by historians and travellers.
From the thirty-gecond to the fortieth chapter,
Ezekiel inveighs against the hypocrisy and mur
muring spirit pf his captive countrymen. Having
[aJ Chap. xxi. 25 — 27. see St. Luke i. 32. St. John i. 49.
[b] E?ek. xxvi, xxvii. apd xjcviii, Joseph. Autiq^. Lib. X,
cap. xi. copt. Apion, Lib. L Newtpn's Xlth Di^sjeft. pin jPrpy
phecy. Prid. Con. An. 573. Shaw's Travels, p. 330. Maun
drell, p. 48, 49. Volney, Vol. IL ch. xxix. Bruce's Travels,
Introd. p. 59.
[c] Chap. xxix. and xxxii. Newton's Dissert. XII. and
every history, and every account of Egypt. Herodotus parti
cularly relates the accomplishment of those prophecies which
Jeremiah and Ezekiel uttered concerning Hophra, king of
Egypt. Vid. Jerem. xliv. 30. and Herod. Lib, II. ch. 161^169.
p. 183. Edit. Wessel. Hophra is called Apries by Herodotus,
who, says the historian, was destined to misfortune. See also
the Testimonies of Meg asthenes and Berosus in Newtpn,
7

OF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL- 427
heard in Assyria the faU of Jerusalem^, he fore-
shews further inflictions of divine wrath [o], but
encourages the people to resignation by promises
of deliverance [e], by assurances that they should
be corrected (as they effectually were) from their
propensities to idolatry [if], and by intimations of
spiritual redemption [g]. In the two last chapters
of this division, under the promised victories to be
obtained over Gog and Magog [p], he appears to
predict some fearful conflicts which are to precede
[d] Chap, XXX. 21—29,
[e] Chap, xxxvi. 11. xxxvii. 12, 14, 21.
[f] Chap. xvi. 41.
[g] Chap, xxxiv. 4. xxiii. et seq. xxxvii. 24. et seq.
f h] Rev. XX. 7, 8. Some conceive that these prophecies of
Ezekiel related to the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes.
Calmet applies them to Cambyses. Gog is, however, gene
rally supposed to represent the Turks ; who derive their origin
iirom the Tartars, a race of the Scythians, who were the de
scendants of Magog, the son of Japhet. Vid. Gen. x. 2. It
has been supposed that the word Gog was applied to the
people, and Magog to the land. We learn iirom Pliny, that
Scytbopolis and Hieropohs were called Magog, after they were
taken by the Scythians. The other Prophets speak of some
future enemy of the Jews and church under a similar descrip-
tian; but in what manner this magnificent prophecy is to
receive its completion time only can explain. Vid. Lowth in
loe. Jerem. xxvii. and xxx. Joel iii. Micah v. Bev. xx. Mede
conceives that the Gog and Magog mentioned in the Revela
tion of St. John, presignify some enemies different from those
foretold under these names by Ezekiel ; and that St. John's
prophecies apply to some unconverted heathens to appear in
opposition to the church towards the conclusion ofthe Millen
nium. Vid. de Gog et Mag. Conject. Mede's Works, Vol. IL
B. iii. Rennell's Geographical System, p. iii.

428 OF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL.
the final return of the Jews from their dispersion,
to be segregated under one sovereign and one
shepherd [i] in the latter days ; with an obscurity,
however that can be dispersed only by the event.
The eight last chapters of this book detail the
description of a very reraarkable vision of a new
temple and city ; of a new religion and polity,
under the particulars of which is shadowed out
the establishment of a future universal church [k].
Josephus says, that Ezekiel left two books con
cerning the captivity [lJ ; and the author ofthe
Synopsis attributed to Athanasius, supposes that
one book has been lost ; but as the nine last chap
ters of Ezekiel constitute in sorae raeasure a dis
tinct work, probably Josephus might consider them
as forming a second book.
It deserves particularly to be reraarked, that we
are informed by Josephus, that the prophecy in
[i] Chap, xxxiv. 20—31. xxxvii. 18—28. xxxix. 23 — 29.
[k] This obscure vision of Ezekiel is generally supposed to
contain the description of a temple, corresponding in its struc
ture and dimensions with that of Solomon. The Prophet by
presenting to the captives this delineation of what had been
" the desire of their eyes,'' reminded them of the loss which
they had suffered from their unrighteousness ; aud furnished
them with a model upon which the temple might again rise
from its ruins ; as it did, with less magnificence, indeed, in the
time of Zerubbabel. Under the particulars detailed by Ezekiel,
however, we often discover the oeconomy of a spiritual temple,
which should again be filled " with the glory of the Lord"
coming from the East. Vid. chap, xliii. 1 — 4, Rev. iv. 2, 3.
xi. 19. xiv. 17, &c. Villalpandus, Capellus, and Commenta
tors at large.
[l] Joseph. Autiq. Lib. X. c. v, p. 441. Edit. Hudson.

OF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL- 429
which Ezekiel [m] foretold that " Zedekiah should
not see Babylon, though he should die there," was
judged by that monarch to be inconsistent Avith
that of Jeremiah, who predicted that ''Zedekiah
should behold the King of Babylon, and go to
Babylon J^n]." But both were exactly fulfiUed ;
for Zedekiah did see the King of Babylon at Rib-
lab, and then being deprived of his eyes, he Avas
carried to Babylon, and died there [o^. From
this account it appears, that Ezekiel's prophecies
were transmitted to Jerusalem, as Ave know that
Jeremiah's were sent to his countryraen in capti-
Afity j^p] ; an intercourse being kept up, especiaUy
for the conveyance of prophetic instruction : for
imparting what might console misery, or awaken
repentance ; and it Avas probably on the ground of
this communication, that the Talmudists supposed
that the prophecies of Ezekiel were arranged into
their present form, and placed in the canon by the
elders of the great synagogue [q^.
The style of this Prophet is characterized by
Bishop Lowth as bold, vehement, and tragical [r^ ;
[m] Ezek. xii. 13.
£n] Jerem, xxxiv, 3.
f o] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X. c, vii. p. 444. c. viii. p, 449.
[pJ Jerem. xxix. 1. and Hieron. in Ezech. xii. 7.
[q] Bava Bathra, c, i, and in Gemar. Isidor. Orig. Lib. VI.
cap. ii.
[r] The Ezekiel who is quoted by Clemens Alexandrinus
and Eusebius as the tragic poet of the Jews, was a different
person from the Prophet. Some suppose that he was one pf

430 OF tHE BOOK Off EZEKIEL.
«is often worked up to a kind of tremendous dig
nity. His book is highly parabolical, and abounds
with figures and metaphorical expressions. Eae-
kiel may be compared to the Grecian .^chylus ;
he dispfeys a rough but majestic dignity ; an un-
p6lished though noble simpUcity ; inferior, per-
hap's, in origmality and elegance, to others of the
Prophets ; but unequaUed in that force and grain-
deur for vvhich he is partitularly celebrated. He
s^bmetirftes elnphatiealty and indignantly repeats his
sentiments ; fully dilates his pictures ; and de
scribes the adulterous manner of his countrynien
under the strongest and most exaggerated repre
sentations that the Ucenee of the the eastern style
Tfould admit. The middle part of the book is ift
Some measure poetical ; and contains even some
perfect elegies [s] ; though his thoughts are in ge
neral too irregular and uncontrolled to be chained
down to mle, or fettered by language.
Some persons have conceived that Pythagoras
imbibed his knowledge concerning the Mosaic Law
from Ezekiel ; and that the Prophet was the same
person with Nazaratus [t], under whom Pytha-
the seventy translators under Ptolemy. His work, in which
be describes the Exodus of the Jews under the conduct of
Moses, is still extant. Vid, Clem. Alex. Strom- Lib. I. p. 414.
Edit. Potter. Euseb. Praep. Evang. Lib. IX. c. xxviii. Fabric.
Bib. Graec. Lib. IL c. xix.
[s] Chap, xxvii. xxviii. '12— 19.
[t] Called ^abratus, by Porphyry in Vita Pythagor. and
Zaratus, by Plutarch. Vid. Huet. Prop. IV. p. 220. Edit. 1679.

OF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL. 431
goras is related to have studied [u]. Pythagoras
certainly did visit Babylon, and according to many
calculations he was contemporary with the Pro
phet. du] Clem. Alex. Strom, Lib. I. p. 358. Some conceive that
Pythagoras iaigfat have been bom about nine years after Eze
kiel's departure for the captivity ; and that he might have vi
sited Babylon very youug, and have conversed with Ezekiel
when the Prophet was ia yeiOa.

OF THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
DANIEL..

That Daniel collected these prophecies into their
present form is evident, since in various parts of
the Book he speaks of hiraself in the character of
their author £aJ ; and has been so considered in
aU ages of the church. Sorae Jewish writers,
indeed, upon a raistaken notion that prophecies
were never committed to writing out of the limits
of Judaea, pretend that the book was composed by
the raen of the great synagogue, as likewise those
of Esther and Ezekiel [b]. It was however, un
questionably adraitted into the Hebrew canon as
the authentic production of Daniel ; and it is cited
as his work in the New Testament [c].
[a] Dan. viii. 1, 2, 27. ix. 2. x. 2. xii. 5, &c.
[b] Bava Bathra, cap. in Gemara, and Rabbins. Josephus
ussures us, that Daniel himself committed his prophecies to
writing. Vid. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X. cap. x. xi. p. 463.
[c] Matt. xxiv. 16. Mark xiii. 14.

OP THE BOOK OP DANIEL. 433
In the tirae of Josephus, Daniel was esteemed
as one of the greatest of the Prophets [d] ; but
since the period in which the historian flourished,.
the Jews, in order to invalidate the evidence that
results from the Prophet's writings in support of
Christianity, have, on the authority of a few doc
tors, agreed to class him among the Hagiographi
[e3 ; which decision, however, does not, upon
their own rules, affect his pretensions to be consi
dered as an inspired writer. The reason which,
among others, the Jews produce to authorize this
degradation is, that Daniel lived in the Babylonish
court in a style of raagnificence inconsistent Avith
the restrictions observed by the Prophets [f^ ; and
though the divine wiU was revealed to hira by an
angel, yet as the Prophet himself caUed this reve
lation a dreara, the Jewish writers, by some un
warranted distinction, consider this as a mode of
revelation inferior to any of those specified in God's
[d] Joseph. Lib. X. cap. xi, p. 464, 5.
[e] Maimon. More Nevoch, Par, II. cap. iv. v. Theod.
cap. lilt. Dan. Yet Daniel is reckoned among the Prophets
in some Talmudical books. Vide Megilla, c. ii. Jacchiades
in Dan. i. 17. In the second century, Aquila and Theodotion
placed him among the Prophets in their Greek translations,
agreeably to his rank in the Septuagint ; and Melito found
him reckoned in the same class. Vid. Euseb. Hist. Eccles.
Lib. IV, c. xxvi. Hieron. Prooem. in Dan. Epiphan. Haeres.
29. Nazar. note 7. De Pond, et Mens. u. 4. 162. Chand.
Vindic. cb. i. § 3.
[f] Grot. Prffif. ad Com. iu Esai. Huet. Demon. Evang.
Prop. IV. cap. xiv. p. 223, edit. Par. Kimchi Praef. in Psalm.
Ff

434 OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL.
address to Moses [g]. Without staying to refute
these absurd fancies, it is only necessary to ob
serve, tbat the exact accomplishment of Daniel's
many remarkable pi-edictions would have suffici
ently established his ri^t to the character of a
Prophet, even if be bad not been expressly dis
tinguished as such by the sacred writers [h] ;
and by Christ hiraself, who spoke agreeaHy to
the opinion of the Jews, his conteraporaries,
in testimony to the prophetic character of Da
niel [i].
Daniel was a descendant of the Kings of Judah,
He is related to have been bom at upper Bethoron
[k], which was in the territory of Ephraim. He
Avas carried away captive to Babylon in the fourth
year of Jehoiakim, A.M. 3398 : probably in the
eighteenth or tAventieth year of his age [l] ; and
<m account of his birth, wisdom, and accomplish
ments [mJ, be was selected to stand in the pre
sence of Nebuchadnezzar ; so that in him and his
companions Avas fulfilled .that prophecy in Avhich
Isaiah declared to Hezekiah that " his issue should
[g] Numb. xii. -6. Maimon. More Nevoch, Par. II. c. xlv,
[h] Heb. xi. 33, 34. 2 Pet. i. 21.
[i] Matt. xxiv. 15. Mark xui. 14.
[k] Josh. xvi. 5. Sixtus Senensis afiSrms, after Epiphanius,
that Daniel was born at Batheber near Jerusalem. Vid. Bib.
Sac. Lib. I. p. 40. Miehaelis considers this as an improbable
tradition. Vid. Michael Praef. p. 8.
[l] Aben-Ezra.
[m] Dan. i. 3, 4. Ezek. xiv. 14. xxv, 3. xxviii. 3.

OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL. 435
be eunuchs in the palace of the King of Baby
lon [n]."
By the signal proofs Avhich Daniel gave of an
exceUent spirit, and by the many extraordinary
qualities which he possessed, he conciliated the
favour of the Persian monarchs ; he was elevated
to high rank [o], and entrusted with great poAver.
In the Aficissitudes of his life, as in the virtues
which he displayed, he has been thought to have
resembled Josq)h : Uke him he lived amidst the
corruption of a great court; and preserved an
unshaken attachment to his reUgion, in a situation
embarrassed with difficulties, and surrounded by
[n] 2 Kings XX. 18. Isa. xxxix. 6,7. The word eunuch
formerly vras a general title for the royal attendants. The;
same phrase in the original is applied to Potiphar. Vid. Gen.
xxxix. 1. Vid. also Acts viii. 27.
[o] Daniel was styled by the angel, " the man of my de
sire, or esteem ; an epithet which Mahomed afterwards pre
sumptuously assumed. The word Daniel implies, God's judg
ments. (Vide Michael. Prsef. in Dan. and Gierus in Dau.)
The name given to him in the Babylonish court was Belteshaz-
zar, a name which, as Nebuchadnezzar remarked in his de
cree, was derived from the name of his God (Bel). Vid. Dan."
iv. 8. It was usual among the Babylonians so to denominate
persons after the names of their deities, as Nebuchadnezzar
from Nebo, and Evil-Merodach, from Merodach. Vid. Isa.
xlvi. 1. Jerem. 1. 2. It was also customary among the eas
tern nations, for the Kings to distinguish their favourites by
new names when they conferred ou them new dignities; and
the Mogul and Persian monarchs still adhere to the custom.
Gen. xii. 45. Esther ii. 7. Scaliger de Emend. Temp. Lib.
V. and VI. Cellar, ad Curtinm, Lib. VI. cap. 6.
Ff 2

436 OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL.
temptations. He pubUckly professed God's ser
vice, in defiance of every danger ; and predicted
his fearful judgraents to the very face of intem
perate and powerful tyrants [p]. It may be col
lected from the pensive cast of his writings, that
he was of that raelancholy disposition which might
be expected to characterize the servants of the
true God araidst scenes of idolatry. He experi
enced through his whole life very signal and mi
raculous proofs of divine favour ; and was looked
up to by the Persians, as weU as by his OAvn coun
tryraen, as an oracle of inspired wisdora [q] ; he
contributed rauch to spread a knowledge of God
among' the GentUe nations. Many writers have
supposed that Zoroastres, the celebrated founder
or reformer of the Magian religion, was a dis
ciple of Daniel, since Zoroastres was evidently
weU acquainted with many revealed truths, and
borrowed from the sacred AAritings many parti
culars for the iraprovement of his reUgious insti
tutes [k].
Daniel appears to have attained a great age, as
he prophesied during the whole period of the cap
tivity. He probably, however, did not long survive
his last vision concerning the succession of the
Kings of Persia, which he beheld in the third year

[p] Chap. iv. 20—28. v. 18—29.
[q] Dan. V. 11. Ezek. xiv. 14. xxviii. 3. Daniel Was very
young wheu Ezekiel bore this testimony to his praise,
[e] Weudelin. Diss, de Pythagor. Tetr.

OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL. 437
of Cyrus [s] A.M. 3470, when the Prophet must
have reached his ninetieth year. As Daniel date^
this vision by a Persian eera, it was apparently re
vealed to him in Persia ; and though some have
asserted that he retumed from the captivity with
Ezra, and took upon him the government of Syria
[jcj, it is probable that he was too old to avail
himself of the decree of Cyrus [u], hoAvever he
might have been accessary in obtaining it ; and
that agreeably to the received opinion, he died in
Persia. Epiphanius and others affirm that he died
at Babylon, and they say that his sepulchre Avas
there to be seen many ages after in the royal
cave [x]. But it is more probable, according to
the common tradition, that he was buried at Susa,
or Sushan, Avhere certainly he soraetimes resided
[y], perhaps as govemor of Persia ; and where
[^s] Chap. X, 1. xii, xiii. Michael, in Jerein. Dist, Prelim.
§21.
[t] Herbelot. Biblioth. Oriental, p. 283.
[h] The Daniel mentioned by Nehemiah, ch. x. 6. was a
diiferent person frora the Prophet, being probably the same with
Daniel, the son of Ithamar, spoken of by Ezra, ch. viii. 2. The
Belesis, likewise, mentioned by Diodorus, differed from the
Prophet in his period and character.
[x] Epiphan. Sixt. Senens. Bib. Sac. Lib. I. p. 2. It ap
pears, however, from other writers, that the sepulchre of the
Persian Kings was near Persepolis. Vid. Diodor. Sic. Re
land. in Palaest. Lib. III. p. 635. Strabo relates, that Cyrus
was buried at Persepolis, and that his monument was there
seen by Alexander. Vid. Strab. Lib, XV. p. 730. His succes
sors were perhaps buried at Susa.
[yJ Chap. viii. 2, 8. Shushan was the capital of Elam, cr

438 OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL.
he was favoured with some of his last visions.
Benjamin Tudela, indeed, informs us [z], that he
was shcAvn the reputed tomb of Daniel, at Tuster
(the ancient Susa) on the Tigris ; where likewise,
as we are assured by Josephus, was a magnificent
edifice in the form of a tower, which was said to
have been built by Daniel [a], and Avhich served
as a sepulchre for the Persian and Parthian Kings.
This, in the time of the historian, retained its
perfect beauty, and presented a fine specimen of
the Prophet's skiU in architecture.
The Book of Daniel contains a very interesting
mixture of history and prophecies ; the former being
introduced as far as was necessary to describe the
conduct of the Prophet, and to shew the design
and occasion of his predictions. The first six
chapters are chiefly historical; though, indeed,
the second chapter contains the prophetic inter
pretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream revealed to
the Prophet concerning the kingdoms which were
successively to illustrate the power of that God,
Persia, properly so called. It was taken from Astyages, King
of Media, by Nebuchadnezzar, according to the prophecy of
Jeremiah. Vid. Jerem. xlix. 34 — 39. It afterwards revolted
to Cyrus. Vid. Xenophon. Cyropaed. Lib. V.
[z] Benjam. Itiner. p. 78. et Abulfar. Hist. Ojicntal. Dy
nast. 5
[a] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X. cxi. p. 464. The present copies of
Josephus, indeed, place this edifice in Ecbatana, but probably
the historian originally wrote Susa ; for St. Jerom, who pro
fesses to copy his account, reads Susa, which was in the Ba
bylonish empire. Vid. Hieron. Com. in Dan, viu. 2.

OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL. 439
who removeth and setteth up kings, as seemeth
good to him ; and to prepare the way for the es
tabUshment, Jby an invisible hand of that dominion
which should fiuaUy break in pieces aU those na
tions, among which the Roman power should be
distributed. The four historic^ chapters which succeed, re
late the miraculous deUverance of Daniel's compa
nions from the furnace [b] ; the remarkable and
predicted punishment of Nebuchadnezzar's arro
gance, operating to contrition [c] ; the impiety
[b] In this miracle was shewn a particular proof of the ac-
¦complishment of a prophetic assurance of Isaiah, and some
mysterious representation was at the same time manifested of
the Son of God, who had called upon ser\'ants to confide in
him as their Redeemer. See Isaiah, chap, xliii. 1, 2.
[c] It has been usually supposed that the punishment in
flicted on Nebuchadnezzar was that species of madness which
is called Lycanthropy. This disorder operates so strongly on
those affected by it, as to make them fancy themselves wolves,
and run howling and tearing every thing in extravagant imita
tion of those animab. Vid. Sennerti Institut. Medic. 2 Par.
III. § 7. and § 2. c. iv. Aertius, lib, VI. c. 2. Mercur. VaL
Lect. VI. 20. Pausan. in Arcad. Ovid. Metam. Lib. I. 1. 232,
«t seq. But it should seem from the account, that the divine
threats were fulfilled in a more exact and literal sense ; and
that Nebuchadnezzar was actually driven from society, till his
affections were brutalized, and his appearance changed. Sca
liger conceives, that this Metamorphosis is alluded to by Aby-
denus, who remarks, on the authority of the Chaldaean writers,
that Nebuchadnezzar, after having uttered a prophecy relative to
the destruction ofthe Babylonish empire by Cyrus, disappeared.
Vid. Euseb. Praep. Evan. Lib. IX. c. xh. p. 467. edit. Par.
1628. Scahger's notes upon the ancient fragments in the ap
pendix to his work, de Emendatione Temporum.

440 OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL.
and portended fate of Belshazzar [d] ; and the di->
vine interposition for the protection of Daniel in
the lions' den [e]. The events which are related
Avere such as must have excited strong inpressions
araong- the heathen, of the attributes of God, and
have produced acknoAvledgraents of the irresistible
power of hira, before Avhora all the inhabitants of
the earth are reputed as nothing [f]. They de
raonstrated the still continued protection which he
afforded to his people in captivity, showing that
his care was particularly extended to those Avho
preserved an adherence to his worship, and zeal
for his service ; that he was ever ready to hear
their supplications, to deUver them frora the great-,
[d] The death of Belshazzar is related by Xenophon nearly
in the same manner as it is described by Daniel. Vid. Histor.
Lib. VII. and many other particulars recorded in this book are
represented in a similar way by heathen historians, as St. Jcron^
has shewn by many references. The eastern Kings had, how
ever many titles assumed on various occasions ; tbey are
therefore sometimes spoken of in this book, as in other parts
of scripture, under titles different from those by which they
are distinguished in profane history ; and probably the sacred
writers chose to characterize wicked princes by those obnoxi^
pus appellations which they assumed in honour of their idols ;
as in the instance of Evil-Merodach and Belshazzar. Belshaz
zar was probably the son of Evil-Merodach, by Nitocris, and
the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, whose sou (or. descendant)
he is called in scripture. Vid. Bishop Halifax's second ser^
mon on Prophecy.
[e] Daniel's deliverance from the den of lions, as well a?
that of his fnends from the flames, was long celebrated araong
the Jews. Vid. 1 Mate, ii, -5!), GO. and 3 Mate. \i. 3 — 5.
[f] Chap, ii, 47. iii. 26—29. iv. 34- 37. \ i. 26, 27.

OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL. 441
est difficulties and dangers, and to encourage a
constant reliance on hira. These relations are
followed by a remarkable record of a vision, in
which comraunication was iraparted to the Pro
phet concerning the protection afforded to the
Hebrew church during the captivity, under the
ministry of Providence, resisting the spiritual ene
mies combined against its welfare [g]. AU these
accounts are Avritten with a spirit and animation
highly interesting, and even with dramatic effect ;
we seem to be present at the scenes described.
The whole work is enriched with the most exalted
sentiments of piety ; and Avith the finest attesta
tions to the praise and glory of God.
The peculiar sanctity of Daniel's character, his
firm faith and confidence in God, manifested at a
time of great despondency, seem to have obtained
from the Alraighty many signal deliverances, cal
culated to revive the dejection of his captive coun
trymen, and many extraordinary revelations -with
respect to the advent of Christ, and the circura
stances of his kingdora. To him it Avas given to
record distinct representations of the Messiah in
his divine and huraan character [h] ; to hira it Avas
aUoAved not only to foreshew the first advent of the
Mediator who was " to raake reconciUation for ini
quity," and " to be cut off", but not for hiraself [i],"
but also to unfijld the scene, Avhen, on his ascension
[G] Chap. X. 13, 21. xi. 1. xii. 1.
[h] t^hap. iii. 25. vii. 13.
[ I ] Chap. ix. 21, 26.

443 OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL.
from the grave, he should appear coraing in clouds
to the Pather, to receive " dominion, and glory,
and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and lan
guages, should serve him [k]."
Daniel flourished during the successive reigns of
several Babylonish and Median Kings, to the con
quest of Babylon by Cyrus ; in the beginning of
whose reign he probably died. The events re
corded in the sixth chapter were coeval with Da
rius the Mede ; but in the seventh and eighth
chapters Daniel returns to an earlier period, to re
late the visions Which he beheld in the three first
years of Belshazzar's reign [lJ ; and those which
folloAv in the four last chapters were revealed to
him in the reign of Darius.
The last six chapters of this book are coraposed
of prophecies delivered at different times, all of
which, however, are, in sorae degree^ connected
as parts of one grand scherae, in which the inte
rests of tlie Hebrew and Christian Churches are
concerned. They extend through many ages ;
and exhibit under the most striking representa
tion the fall of successive kingdoms ; they cha
racterize in descriptive terras the four great rao-
narchies of the world, to be succeeded by that
kingdom which is an everlasting dominion, and
which shall not be destroyed [m] ; they point out
[k] Chap. vu. 13, 14. Matt, xxvih. 18. Acts i. 9. ii. 34.
vii. 56. Ephes. i, 20—22, Phil. ii. 9—11. Heb. i. 3. Rev.
xix. 16.
[l] Michael. Praef. in ch. vii. Hieron. Com. in c. vii,
[m] Chap, vii. 13^ 14, 27.

. OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL. 443
even intermediate subtUidsions of empire, as in
particular that of the four kingdoms into which the
empire of Alexander should be broken, and which
should " stand up, but not in his poAver [n] ;" they
predict the persecution of the Jews, under Antio
chus Epiphanes [o], the desolation of Jerusalem,
and of the sanctuary [p]. They foreshew the
power and destruction of Antichrist, in predictions
repeated and extended by St. John [q] ; and con^
elude with a distinct assurance of a general resur
rection to a life of everlasting glory, or everlasting
shame and contempt [r], when a lustre of peculiar
glory should be conferred on those by whose wis
dom many should be converted to righteousness [s].
The prophecies of Daniel Avere in many in
stances so exactiy accomplished, that those persons
who Avould have otherwise been unable to resist
the evidence which they disclosed in support of
our reUgion, have not scrupled to affirm, that they
must have been written subsequently to those oc
currences which they so faithfuUy describe [t].
[n] Chap. viii. 8, 22.
[o] Chap. viii. 9, 12. xi. 15.
£p] Chap. ix. 26. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X. ch. xi. p. 455,
456. [q] Dan. passim, and Bishop Andrews's Respons. ad Bellarm,
Apol. p. 334. et Bevel. The prophecies concerning the Anti-
chrbt are usually apphed to the Papal power prefigured by
Antiochus Epiphanes. Vid. chap. viii. 23 — 25. xi. 36 — 45.
[r] Dan. xii. 2, 13.
[s] Chap. xii. 4.
[t] Hieron. Comment, in Daniel, Vol. III. Edit. Benedict.
The first chapter has by some been thought to have been

444 OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL.
But this groundless and unsupported assertion of
Porphyry, Avho in the third century wrote against
Christianity, serves but to estabUsh the character
of Daniel as a great and Ulustrious Prophet ; and
Porphyry, by confessing and proving from the best
historians, that aU which is included in the eleventh
chapter of Daniel relative to the Kings of the
north, and of the south, of Syria, and of Egypt,
Avas truly and in every particular, acted and done
in the order there related, has undesignedly con
tributed to the reputation of those prophecies of
which he attempted to destroy the authority ; for
it is contrary to all historical testimony, and con
trary to all probability, to suppose that the Jews
would have adraitted into the canon of their sacred
Avrit, a book which contained pretended prophecies
of Avhat had already happened [u]. Indeed, it
written after the time of Daniel, because it speaks of the
Prophet in the third person, and says that he continued in the
first year of Cyrus, (that is, perhaps, to the third year of his
reign over the Medes, and to the first over Babylon ;) but
these words might well proceed from Daniel, as he lived be
yond that period. The conclusive verse of the sixth chapter
might equally have proceeded from Daniel, speaking of him
self in the third person.
[u] The names of the musical instruments mentioned in
this book, have some resemblance to those of Grecian instru
ments; but as colonies of lonians, Dorians, and .^olians, vi'ere
settled in Asia, long before the time of Daniel, technical names
niight easily be communicated from tbem to the Babylonians ;
or rather, as the East was the source of musick, and the
words appear to be of eastern etymology, they might be ori-

OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL. 445
seems impossible that these prophecies should have
been \ATitten after the reign of Antiochus Epi
phanes, since there can be Uttie doubt that they
Avere translated into Greek near an hundred years
before the period in which he lived; and that
translation was in the possession of the Egyptians,
who entertained no kindness for the Jews, or their
religion [x]. Those prophecies also, which fore
told the victories and dominion of Alexander J|y],
were shewn to that conqueror himself by Jaddua,
the high-priest, as we leam frora Josephus [z], and
the Jews thereupon obtained an exeraption frora
tribute every sabbatical year, and the free exer
cise of their laws. Many other prophecies in the
ginally derived from the East to the Greeks. Vid. Marsham.
Chron. Sasc. 13. and Chandler's Vindic. of Def. chap. i.
sect. 2.
[x] St. Jerom informs us, that the Septuagint version of
Daniel was rejected by the church, for that of Theodotion.
Vid. Hieron, on Dan. iv. 8. The Septuagint was admitted
into Origen's Hexapla, and from his time fell into discredit.
Before, it was in geueral use, the Latin \ersion seems to have
been made from it, and it was cited by the earliest writers.
The version of Daniel was therefore probably made with the
rest of the prophetical books, which there is good authority
to beheve were ail translated before the time of Euergetes II.
Vid. Prol. m Ecclus. Euseb. Dem. Evan. Lib. VIII. p. 381.
Clemens. Roman. Epist. I. c. 34. Justin Martyr, Dialog, cum
Trypho, edit Oxon, p. 87, 241. Chand. Vind. ch. i. sect. 3.
[y] Chap. viiL 5.xi. 3. Lloyd's Letter to Sherlock. Chand
ler's Vindic. chap. ii. sect. 1. Bayle's Diet. Art. Macedo. note o.
[z] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X. cap. xi. p. 504. Lib. XI. cap. viii.
Newton's Diss. Vol. II. Diss. xv. p. 36.

446 OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL.
book have likewise been fulfilled since the time of
Porphyry [aJ.
Daniel not only predicted future events with
singular precision, but likewise accurately defined
the tirae in which they should be fulfilled, as was
reraarkably exemplified in that illustrious prophecy
of the seventy weeks [e], in which he prefixed the
period for " bringing in everlasting righteousness
by the Messiah," "for seaUng up the vision and pro
phecy," and for " anointing the roost holy," as weU
as in some other mysterious predictions which pro
bably raark out the tirae or duration ofthe power of
Antichrist [c], and as some suppose, of the com
mencement ofthe miUenniura, or universal reign of
saints, which they conceive to be foretold ; for the
explanation of which we raust wait the event.
Prom the fourth verse of ^he second chapter, to
[a] Porphyry was born at Tyre, A. D. 233. Some of his
objections relate to the .spurious parts of Daniel. St, Jerom
agrees with him in applying the eleventh chapter as far as the
twenty-first verse to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. The
Prophet afterwards speaks of the Romans and of the Anti
christ, as he does of the latter in the eighth and twelfth chap
ters. Vid. Bishop Chandler's Vindic. of Def. and S< Chand
ler's Vindication of the Antiquity and Authority of Daniel's
Prophecies. [b] Chap. ix. 24—27. For computations concerning the
exact accomplishment of this amazing prophecy, vid. Usser.
Annal. V. T. ad Ann. Per. Jul. 4260. Prid. Connect. Ann.
A. C. 4-58. Lloyd's Chron. Tables, Num. 3, 4. Basnage's
Diss, on Seventy Weeks. Calmet Dissert, sur les Sept, Sera.
Petav. de Doct. Temp. Lib. XII. &c.
[c] Chap. vii. 25. viii, 14. xii. 7. Lowth, &c.

OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL. 447
the end of the seventh chapter of this book, Daniel
wrote his history originally in the Chaldaic, or
Syriac language [DJ ; and, indeed, the greatest part
of the book bears marks of the Chaldaic idiora ;
as raight well be expected from an author who had
so long resided in Chaldaea. Since all the histo
rical particulars which concerned the Babylonish
nation were probably recorded in the annals of
that government [e] ; Daniel might possibly have
extracted some passages, as, perhaps, the decree
of Nebuchadnezzar []f3, frora those chronicles;
and no testimony could be raore honourable, or
with more propriety be prefixed to his prophecies.
As the Jews also in their dispersion had separately
intermixed with the natives of Chalda;a, they aU
understood the language of the country ; and must
have received so authAitic a document of Daniel's
fideUty with particular respect. The reraaining
chapters [^oj, which were written in HebrcAv, con
tain prophetic visions, which were revealed only to
the Prophet, and related principally to the church
and people of God.
[d] These were originaUy the same language. Vid. 2 Kings
xviii. 26. Ezra iv. 7. The language of Babylon was the pure
Chaldee ; the modem Syriac is the language which was used
by the Christians of Comagena and other provinces bordering
upon Syria, when that was the language of the country.
[e] Esther ii. 23. vi. 1.
[f] Chap. iv.
[g] The first chapter of the book, and the three first verses
of the second chapter were written in Hebrew, as they form a
kind of introduction to the boot.

448 OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL.
The style of Daniel is clear, concise, simple, and
historical, though the visions which he describes
Avere of themselves of a figurative and emblemati-'
cal character. These pourtrayed future circum
stances to his imagination under representations
strikingly symbolical of those particulars which
they foreshewed ; and they- who advert to the
ensigns and armorial devices of those nations of
whora Daniel prophesied, wiU discover a very
apposite propriety in the hieroglyphical iraages
which the Prophet selects [h].
Daniel's narae, like that of raany others of the
sacred writers, has been borrowed to countenance
spurious books, besides the apocryphal additions
in our Bibles. A work entitled the Visions of
Daniel [i], was conderaned as counterfeit and ira-
pious by the decree of Gratian [k] . In this book
Daniel is said to have foretold how raany years
each Emperor should live, as weU as the events of
his reign, and the future circumstances of the
Saracens. Sorae supposititious raagical writings
[h] Chap, vui. Thus the Ram was the royal ensign of the
Persians, and was to be seen On the pillars of Persepolis, Vid,
Ammian. Marcel. Lib. XIX. Sir J. Chardin's Travels. The
Goat also was the emblem or arms of Macedon. Vid. Justin.
Hist. Lib. VIII. Mede's Works, B. Ill, p, 654, 712. Jo
seph. Antiq, Lib. X. cap, x. et xi. and Newton ou Dan. ch. iv.
Par. I.
[i] Ogao-£i; Somniaiia.
[k] Decret. Part II. Causs. 27. Qurest. 1. c. xvi. and
Alhau. Synop. Lib. II.

OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL. 449
were likewise attributed to the Prophet [l]. But
Daniel, though well versed in the Chaldsean philo
sophy, as Moses was " learned in aU the wisdom
of Egypt," yet disclaimed aU magical arts, and
relied on the true God.
[l] Jos. Alb. Fabrici. Codic. Pseudepig. V. Test. p. 1130,

s

GENERAL PREFACE

TO THE

TWELVE MINOR PROPHETS.

The writings of the twelve Minor Prophets were
in the Hebrew canon coraprized in one book,
which was caUed by St. Stephen, the Book of the
Prophets [a]. By whom they were so compiled is
uncertain ; probably, however, they were coUected
together in that forra by Ezra, or by sorae meraber
of the Great Synagogue [b] ; but certainly above
200 years before the birth of Christ ; for the
author of the Book of Ecclesiasticus, who wrote
about A. M. 3770, celebrates the raeraorial of the
Twelve Prophets under one general eulogy : as of
those who had comforted God's people, and con
firmed their confidence in God's promises of a
Redeemer [c]. The order in which the books are
placed, is not the same in the Septuagint as in the
[a] Acts vii. 42. comp. with Amos v. 25.
[b] Abarb. Praef. in Isaiah. Bava Bathra, &c.
[c] Ecclus. xlix. 10. and Arnald on the Place. Chandler's
Defen. ch. 1. § 2. p. 44. It is mentioned as the book of the
Twelve Prophets, by Cyprian. Epist. 59, p. 129. Edit. Oxon.
1682.

twelve minor prophets. 451
HebrcAv [d]. According to the latter, they stand
as in our translation ; but in the Greek the series
is altered as to the six first, to the foUoAving ar
rangement: Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Obadiah,
Jonah. This change, TioAvever, is of no conse
quence, since neither in the original, or in the .
Septuagint, are they placed vvith exact regard to -
the time in which their sacred authors respectively
flourished. The order in which they should stand, if chro
nologicaUy arranged, is by Blair and others sup
posed to be as foUows : Jonah, Amos, Hosea,
Micah, Nahum, Joel, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Oba
diah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. And this order
wUl be found to be generaUy consistent with the
periods to which the Prophets wiU be respectively
assigned in the foUowing work ; except in the in
stance of Joel, who probably Uved at an earlier
time than that in which he is placed by these chro
nologers. The precise period of this Prophet,
however, cannot be ascertained, and some disputes
might be maintained concerning the priority of
others also when they were nearly contemporaries,
as Amos and Hosea ; and when the first prophecies
of a later Prophet were delivered at the sarae time
with, or previously to some of those of a Prophet
who was caUed earlier to the holy office. The fol
lowing scheme, boAvever, in Avhich also the greater
Prophets wiU be introduced, may enable the reader
more accurately to comprehend the actual and re
lative periods in which they severally prophesied.
[d] Hieron. Proleg. Reg. in 12 Proph.
og2

452 GENERAL PREFACE TO THE
The Prophets in their supposed Order of Time, arranged accord
ing to Blair's Tables [e], «ith but httle Variation.

Bef. Christ.

Kings of Judah.

Kmgs of Israel.

Jooab,

Between
856 & 784.

Jehu and Jehoahaz, accord
ing to Uoyd; but Joash
and Jeroboam the Second,
according to Blair.

Amos,

Between
810 & 785.

Uzziah, ch. i. 1.

Jeroboam the Second,
ch. i. 1.

Hosea,

Between
810 & 725.

Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, the
third year of Hezekiah.

Jeroboam the Second,
ch. i. 1.

Isaiali,

Between
810 & 698.

Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah, chap, i, 1. anc
perhaps Manasseth.

Joel,

Between810 & 660,
or later.

Uzziah, or possibly Manas
seth.

Micab,
Between
758 & 699.
Jotham, Ahaz, aud Heze
kiah, ch. i. 1.
Pekah and Hosea.
Nalxum,
Between
720 & 698.
Probably towards the close
of Hezekiah's reign.
Zephaniali,
Between
640 & 609.
In the reign of Josiah, ch.
i. 1.
Jeremiah,
Between
628 & 586.
In tbe thirteenth year of
Josiah.
Habakkuk,
Between
612 & 598.
Probably in the reign of
Jehoiakim.
Daniel,
Between
606 & 534.
During all the Captivity.
Obadiab,
Between
588 & 583.
Betweeu the taking of Jeru
salem by Nebuchadnezzar,
and the destruction of the
Edomites by him.
Ezekiel,
Between
595 & 536.
During part of the Capti
vity.
Haggai,
About 520
to 518.
After the return from Ba
bylon.
Zechariah,
From 520
to 518, or
longer.
1
Malachi,
Between
436 & 397.
[b] See Bishop Newcome's version of Minor Prophets, Preface, p. 43.
TWELVE MINOR PROPHETS. 453
The Twelve Minor Prophets were so called, not
in respect to any supposed inferiority in their
writings as to raatter or style, but in reference to
the brevity of their works. The shortness, indeed,
of these prophecies seeras to have been one reason
for joining them together [f] ; by which means,
the volume of their contents was sAveUed to a
greatness in sorae degree correspondent to their
importance. Neither were they later in point of
time than the greater Prophets ; some having pre
ceded Isaiah; and raany of them having lived be
fore Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel [g] ; and by the
Greeks, indeed, they are placed before them. It
is a traditionary account, that of these Prophets,
such as do not fiu-nisb us with the date of their
prophecies must be supposed to have flourished as
contemporaries with, or immediately after the Pro
phets, which precede them in the order of the
books ; but this is not invariably true ; and is built
upon an erroneous supposition, that the books are
chronologicaUy arranged in the Hebrew manu
scripts. Some of the Prophets were probably born in
the territory of Israel, but most in that of Judah.
They appear, however, to have been sometimes
[f] Beth Israel relates, that Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi,
added their writings to those of the Minor Prophets, and com
posed them into one volume, lest tbey should perish. Vid.
Bava Bathra, c. i.
[g] Hieron. Proleg. 12 Prophet. Theodor. in Prooem. Aug.
de Civit. Lib. XVIII, c. xxvii.

454 GENERAL PREFACE TO THE
comraissioned to preach reciprocaUy against those
tribes among whom they were not born.
These twelve Prophets furnish us in scattered
parts vvith a lively -sketch df raany particulars rela
tive to the history of Judah and of Israel; as like
wise of other kingdoms ; they describe in pro
phetic anticipation, but with historical exactness,
the fate of Babylon, of Nineveh, of Tyre, of Sidon,
and of Damasciife. The three Mst Prophets espe
cially^ iUustrated many circumstances at a period
Avheti the historical pages of scripture were closed,
and with respect to which profane authors afford
very defective information. They foreshewed under
themoststrikingrepresentations, the advent, andthe
character of the Meissiab and of his kingdom, and
endeavoured by the most admirable instruction to
excite, those religious sentiments which must bave
fecilhatedthe reception of the Gospel. The Jewish
Prophets of. the most emihent rank at first flou
rished but as' single guides, and followed each other
in individual succession. During the continuance
of the theocracy, and perhaps sorae tirae after,
the Jevvs wer6 in possession of the. power of con
sulting, God by means of the Urim and Thummira.
But \yhen the calamities ofthe captivity approached ;
during the continuance of that affliction, and araidst
the melancholy scenes which the people contem
plated on their retiirn to desolate cities aud to a
wasted land; in these dark periods the Prophets
Avere, by God's mercies, raised up in greater
numbers for the consolation of his people; AvhO

TWELVE MINOR PROPHETS. 455
were encouraged to look forward to that joyful
deliverance by the Messiah which then approached.
The light of inspiration was coUected into one
blaze previous to its suspension ; and it served to
keep aUve the expectations of the Jews during the
awful interval which prevailed between the expira
tion of prophecy and its grand corapletion in the
advent of Christ. If in the writings of the later
Minor Prophets, we soraetlraes are perplexed at
seeing the light of revelation but faintiy gUmmer
ing through the obscurity of their style ; we must
recollect that some of them Uved when the lan
guage of the Jews began to be vitiated and to
decline ; that there are no contemporary records
to iUustrate their prophecies; that the brevity of
their works prevents us from coUating the author
with himself; and that Ave whp read them in
English, judge of them through the imperfect
medium of a translation [h].
[a] " Hebraei bibunt Fontes, Grseci Rivos, Latini Paludes,"
as-Picus Mirandula observed.

OF THE

BOOK OF THE PROPHET
HOSEA.

HoEEA has been supposed to have been the most
ancient of the Twelve Minor Prophets ; and, in
deed, by some writers he is represented as having
preceded all the prophets [a], since he flourished
about the middle of the reign of Jeroboam the
Second, the son of Joash, King of Israel, and
towards the commencement of that of Uzziah [b],
[a] Hieron. in Osee. Basil. Aoyof, 2d. in Esai. p. 812.
Edit. 1618. Rufin, &c. In the second verse of the first chap
ter it is said, " the beginning of the word of the Loixl hy
Hosea," which some have understood to imply, that when God
began to manifest himself, he addressed Hosea ; but it perhaps
means only, that " the first revelation to (a) Hosea was as fol
lows." [b] Chap. i. 1. Uzziah, or as he is sometimes called,
Azariah, and Ozias, ascended the throne of Judah in the
twenty seventh year of Jeroboam the Second, that is, accord
ing to some chrouologists, in the twenty-seventh year of his
reigui from the aera of his conju*ction with his father ; and
in the sixteenth year of his monarchy, which commenced
6

OF THE BOOK OF HOSEA. 457
who began to reign over Jerusalem about A . M.
5194, According to some accounts of no great
authority [c], he was of the tribe of Issachar, and
of the city of Beleenor [d] ; others represent him
to have been of the tribe of Judah. He was tbe
son of Beeri [e], and entered on the prophetic
oflSce some time between the years 3194 and 3219.
He continued to prophesy above sixty years : , dur
ing the successive reigns of Uzziah, Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah, Kings of Judah ; and pro
bably to about the third year of the reign of the
last; or if we reckon by the Kings of Israel,
against which nation he chiefly prophesied, he
may be described as haAring flourished during the
reign of Jeroboam and bis successors, to the sixth
year of Hosea, which corresponds with the third
year of Hezekiah. Hosea was therefor* nearly
contemporary Avith Isaiah, Amos, and Jonah. It
is probable that be resided chiefly in Samaria ; and
A. M. 3179. As Jeroboam reigned forty-one years, Hosea
must have entered on his rainistry before the twenty-fifth year
of Uzziah's reign, if he prophesied while Uzziah and Jeroboam
were contemporaries. Vid. Comm. on 2 Kings xv. 1.
[c] Pseudo Epiphan. et Doroth. de Vit. Prophet.
[d] Or Bethsome, not Beleemoth. Vid. Dms. in Osee,
c. i. 1.
[e] Not Beerah, who was taken captive by Tiglath-Pileser.
Vid. 1 Chron. v. 6. whose name is, indeed, spelt differently,
and who was a Prince of the Reubenites. The word Beeri
implies a well; or as some say, it is derived from a word
which imports teaching : whence an argument in support of
the Rabbinical fancy, that Hosea was the son of a Doctor, or
Prophet. Hosea's name s^fies the Saviour. -

458 OP THE BOOK OF HOSEA.
that he was the first prophet, of those at least
whose prophecies we possess, that- predicted the
destruction of that country; Avhich Ivvas effected
sooti after the Prophet's death by Salmarieiser,
King-of Assyria [f].
Hosea apparently compiled his. own prophecies,
and he speaks of himself in the first person in this
book [g]. Calmet, indeed,' on account of some
suppiosed chrondlogical difficultiesj questions the
authenticity of the first v^se; which he conceives
to have been' a subsequent additioh ; liiit these
difficulties may be solved without having recourse
to' siich conjectures. The book' is' cited by St.
Matthew as unquestionably ¦ the inspired produc-
tit)n of a Prophet [h], as Ukevvise by St. Paulj^i],
and, indeed, by Christ himsdf [li].
.' The prophecies of Hosea being scattered through
tBe book without date or connection, Cannot now
be ! chronologically a.rranged with any certainty.
They are, however, perhaps placed in the order in
which they were at first uttered ; and Wells, upon
some probable c6hjectures; supposes them to have
been delivered in the foUowing suecefesion, reckon
ing by the Kings of Israel.
[f] 2 Kings xviii. 10. Hieron. in Osee, cap. i. et Usser ad
A.M. 3197.
[G] Chap, iii, 1, 2, 3.
, [ii] Matt. ii. 15. from Hosea xi. 1. and Chand. Def. ch. xi.
dect.'i. 
.: [i] Rom. ix. 25, 26. 1 Cor. xv. 4. where the Apostle is
supposed to refer to a remarkable passage in Hosea vi. 2. ivhich
is evidently prophetic of the resurrection of Christ. • ' '
[k] Matt. ix. 12, 13, xii, 7.

OF THE BOOK OF HOSEA.

459

The three first chapters.

The fourth chapter.

1 The fifth chapter, to ch.
' vi. 3. inclusively.

In the reign of Jero
boara,
In the Interregnum
which succeeded the
death of Jeroboam,
In the reign of Mena
hem, or ih that of his
son Pekahiah. Ac
cording to which ac
count none are assign
ed to the short inter
mediate reigns of Ze
chariah a.nd ShaUum,
T .1 • J? T> 1 1. V From ch. vi. 4. to ch.
In the reign of Pekah, { i VH. 10. inclusively.
f From ch. vii. 11. to the
end. Comp. ch. vii.
11. Avith 2 Rings xvii.
4. AVells subdivides
this portion into two
parts, supposing the
. first Avhich terminates
In the reign of Hosea, ^ ^-^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^_
ter, to have been de
livered before the king
of Assyria took away
the golden calf that
was at Bethel ; and
the remainder after
that event.

460

-OF THE BOOK OF HOSEA.

At whatever periods the prophecies were de
livered, the object and design of them are
sufficiently clear. The author in one continued
strain of invective, declaims against the sins of
Israel ; exposes in the strongest terms the spi
ritual whoredoms of those who worshipped the
vain idols erected at Bethel and Bethaven, calUng
on Judah to shun pollutions so offensive to Je
hovah. He denounces God's vengeance against
Ephraim, (the representative of the ten tribes,)
who should vainly call on other nations for pro
tection. He points out the folly of the people
in their pursuits : teUing them, that they had
" sown the wind, and should reap the whirlwind."
He threatens them in many prophecies, from
among which we may select, as remarkable proofs
of that foreknowledge with which the Prophet was
inspired, those in which he foretold the captivi
ties, dispersion, and suflFerings of Israel [l] ; the
deliverance of Judah from Sennacherib, figurative
of salvation by Christ [m] ; the punishment of
Judah, and the deraolition of its cities [n] ; the
congregation of the Gentile converts [o] ; the con
version of the Israelites [p] ; the present destitute
[L] Chap. i. 4, 5. v. 5—7. ix. 3, 6—17. x, 5, 6, 15.
xiii. 16.
[m] Chap, i, 7. comp. with 2 Kings xix. 35. and Chand.
Def.ch.il. $].p. 70.
[n] Chap. V. 10. viii. 14.
[o] Chap. i. 10, 11. ii. 23. comp. with Rom. ix. 24, 26.
[p] Chap. xiv. 4, 8.

OF THE BOOK OF HOSEA. 461
State of the Jews |^q], and their future restoration
in the general estabUshment of the Messiah's
kingdom [rJ ; the calUng of our Saviour out of
Egypt [s] ; his resurrection on the third day [t] ;
and the terrors of the last judgment, aUuded to
under figurative representations of temporal de
struction impending over Samaria [u]. Thus, amidst
the denunciations of wrath, the people were ani
mated by some dawnings of favour ; and taught
to cultivate righteousness and mercy in expecta
tion of the blessings of the Lord [x] ; and in the
assurances of a final ransora from the power of the
grave, and of a redemption from death to be finaUy
vanquished and destroyed [y].
The style of Hosea has been considered as parr
ticularly obscure ; it is sententious and abrupt, and
characterized by a compressive and antiquated
cast. The transitions of person are sudden ; the
[q] Chap. iii. 4. Vid. Origen. Philocal. cap. i. Hieron.
in loc.[r] Chap. i. 11. iiL 5.
[s] Chap. xi. 1. comp. with Matt. ii. 15. and Hieron. Grot.
et in loc.
[t] Chap. vi. 2. comp. vnth 1 Cor. xv. 4. August, de Trinit.
cap. xxviii. Cyprian, adv. Jud. Lib. II. cap. xxv. p. 47. Ber-
nwd. Serm. 1. in Die. Sanct. Pasch. vol. I. p. 901. Edit.
Paris, 1719. Origen Homil. 5. in Exod. p. 144. Tertul. Ad
vers. Jud. c. xiii. and Commentators.
[u] Chap. X. 8. comp. with Luke xxui. 30. and Rev. vi. 16.
Hieron. in loc. and Lowth on Isaiah iL 19.
[x] Chap. X. 12. Hieron. in loc.
[y] Chap. xui. 14. comp. with 1 Cor. xv. 56. and Pocock,
in loc.

463 OF THE BOOK OF HOSEA.
connexive and adversative particles frequentiy
omitted. His figures and similitiides are rather
lively than elegant, and are; traced with raore force
than exactness [z]. His writings are aniraated with
a fine spirit of indignation, descriptive of the zeal
ous resentraent which he felt against the princes
and priests who countenanced the iniquities, of the
people; and his work may be considered as a
noble exordium against those general offences
which the Prophets who succeeded .bim more par
ticularly detailed : as well as a diffusive revelation of
those judgraents which were afterwards more mi*
nutely described.
The subject of Hosea's; marriage has been much
agitated. Many Jewish and Christian writers. con
ceive it to have been enjoinedju and, performed ia
a literal and historical sense:[A'] ; some supposing
that " a wife of whoredoms" ;may imply a wife
who should prove false [bJ ; or only a wife from
among the Israelites, who were reraarka,ble for
their idolatrous fornications;' as UkcAvise by an
adulteress [c], , .whom the Prophet is represented
[z] Lowth's Pi-aelect. 21. :
[a] Hieron. et Theodoret in loc, August. Grotius, Cal.
met's Preface. Carpzov. Introd. ad Lib, Rib. Pars, III. p. 227.
Abarben. et Basil in loc. cap. viii. p, 983. Grot, et Wells in
loc. £b] Wells, Diodati, &c. ,
[c] It is uncertain, whethe*; by the woniau spoken of in the
third chapter, is meant Hosea's wife, <whom he is commanded
to take back after her infidelity, as predicted ; or a diff'erent

OF THE BOOK OF HOSEA. 463
afterAvards to have bought, may be understood, a
woman who had apostatized from God in a spii^irt
tual sense. Those Avho contend for the historical
truth of these relations, maintain that aU impro
priety in such proceedings was done away by
God's command ; and that the iraraediate rainister
of God might, tOnsistentiy with the design of his
appointment, be employed thus to iUustrate the
scandalous conduct of the IsraeUtes. Some wri
ters however affirm that these accounts are de
scriptive of transactions in Adsion, as the expres
sion of " the word of the Lord," that carae to the
Prophet, might seem to intimate [d] ; and others
consider the relations as fictitious representations
imparted by way of parable [e]. Without presu
ming to determine on either side on a subject so
difficult, it may be observed, that it was not in
consistent with the character of a vision, or of a
paraboUcal fiction, to specify minute particulars
with narrative exactness [f]. The names, there-.
person appointed for the Prophet afl«r the death of the first
wife. Consult Pococke, and other Commentators.
[d] Aben-Ezra R. David Kimchi, Maimon. More Nevoch,
L. II. c. xlvi. Hieron. Prooe. in Com. and General Preface,
p. 333. Note V.
[k] Hieron. in loc. Aben-Ezra, Isidor, &c. The Chaldee
Paraphrast has been thought to have considered the relation
as a parable. He introduces the account thus ; " the Lord
said unto Hosea, Go, and utter a prophecy," &c. Vid. R.
Tanch. Rivet, Junius Tremelhus, Pococke, &c.
[f] Ezek. xxiii. Luke xvL 20 — 31.

464 OF THE BOOK OF HOSEA.
fore, of the personages introduced [g] in the ac
counts, cannot alford any explanation of the nature
of the transactions ; and whether real or fictitious,
they might with equal consistency be represented
as figurative.
[g] By " children of whoredoms," we are probably to un
derstand legitimate children of a woman addicted to fornica
tion ; perverse, lewd, or idolatrous children, who should imi
tate the conduct of their mother.

OF THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
JOEL.

The Book of Joel is placed in the Hebrew Bible
immediately after that of Hosea ; but in the Sep
tuagint version the books of Amos and Micab
are interposed between them. It is diflficult to
determine whether the Greek translators were
authorized by chronology to change the order,
since there is no positive criterion by Avhich the
age of Joel can be ascertained. St. Jerom, how
ever, and many of the ancients [a J, were of opi
nion, that as not any date is prefixed to the book, its
author should be supposed, agreeably to the Jewish
rule, to have flourished at the same tirae with the
Prophet who iraraediately preceded, that is, Hosea.
This rule is, however, not to be depended on;
neither can any proof of the antiquity of Joel be
[a] Hieron. Prxf. in Proph. Theodor. Procem. in 12
Proph. Clem. Alex. Strom. Lib. I. p. 390, edit. Potter, August.
de Civit. Dei, Lib, XVIII, e. xxvii.
Hh

466 OF THE BOOK OF JOEL,
drawn frora the notion supported by Usher [n] ;
who conceived that the faraine and drought of
which Joel speaks as irapending in his tirae, were
parts of the same affliction aa hich Amos represented
as actuaUy come to pass [c] ; for Joel prophesied
calamities against Judah ; and Amos described pu
nishments Avhich Avere seemingly sustained, as pe
culiar judgments only by the people of Israel.
StUl, hoAvever, there is no sufficient reason for
departing from the Hebrew order [d] ; nor is it
necessary to suppose that Joel prophesied after the
captivity of the ten tribes, raerely becanse he raakes
no mention of Israel. His coraraission probably
was confined to Judah, as that of Hosea, his sup
posed conteraporary, Avas chiefly restricted to Sa
maria; and it raight be argued rather, that if
the divine threats had been already accoraplished
against Israel, it is reasonable to suppose that the
Prophet AYOuId, like his successors, have instructed
the people to take warning by the fate of a sister
kingdom [eJ. We may therefore safely suppose
him to have liA^ed in the reigns of Uzziah, King of
Judah, and of Jeroboam, King of Israel [f], who
[b] Usser ad A.M. 3197. Lloyd's Tables.
[c] Amos iv. 7, 8.
[b] Abarben. Prsef. in 12 Proph.
[e] Israel mentioned in ch. iii. 2. means not merely the ten
tribes, but the whole nation of the Jews ; and the Prophet
speaks prophetically of a future dispersion among the nations
from which God's people should be gathered.
[f] Lryd's Tables. A French writer, (P. Pezron sur ics
Prophetctf,) fixes thc prophecy of Joel to Ihc twentieth year

OF THE BOOK OF JOEL. 467
flourished as contemporary sovereigns betAveen
A.M. 3194 and 3219; and to have deUvered his
prophecies soon after Hosea had commenced his
ministry ; though some JeAvish and Christian wri
ters have chosen to assign to him a later period
[et] ; some placing him in the reign of Jotham
I^hJ ; others in that of Joram [i] : and a third
class contending that he prophesied under Manas
seth [k], or Josiah [i,] ; the last of which mo
narchs began to reign about 640 years before the
birth of Christ.
Joel Avas the son of Pethuel, or Bethuel, and
according to some reports, of the tribe of Reu-
of Uzziah, aud the thirty-sixth of Jeroboam the Second. See
also, Joel ii. 20. which contains a prediction, that seems, at
least, in its secondary sense, to relate to the destruction of
Sennacherib's army, which happened in the reign of Hezekiah,
A.M. 3294.
f g] Poli Synopsis.
£h] August, de Civit. Dei. Lib. XVIII. c. xxvu.
[i] The advocates for tbis period maintain, that Joel fore-
shewed the impending famine which desolated Judaea, seveu
years in the reigu of Joram. Vid. 2 Kings viii. 1 — 3.
[k] Seder Olam Rabha, et Zuta, Kimchi, R. Salomo, R.
David Ganz, Drusius, aud W^eUs's Preface to Joel. Wells main
tains, that the famine or dearth of which Micah prophesied,
was to take place (and did happen) in the time of Manasseth,
Vid. Wells's Preface to Micali, and in Micah vi. 14. note a. a.
[l] Calmet's Preface sur Joel. He conceives Joel to have
been contemporjuy with Josiah, to whose reign he assigns the
drought spoken of by Jeremiah, chap. xii. 4. xiv. But the
last of these chapters, whether prophetic or descriptive, was
composed probably in the reign of Jehoiakim, the successor of
Josiah.
Hh2

468 OF THE BOOK OF JOEL.
ben [m]. He is related to have been born at Be-»
thoron [n] ; which was probably the loAver or
nether Bethoron, a town in the territory of Ben
jamin [o], betAveen Jerusalem and Csesarea/ Of
tiie particulars of his life, or of the age to which he
attained, we have not any account [p]. Dorotheus
relates only, that he died in peace at the place of
his nativity.
The book has been regarded as recording
events which had occurred, but it appears rather
to be entirely prophetic, though Joel, under the
impression of foreseen calamities, describes their
eftiects as present ; and by an aniraated represen
tation, anticipates the scenes of misery which
loAvered over Judeea [q]. Although it cannot be
positively determined to what period the descrip
tion contained in the first and second chapter
may apply, .it has been sometiraes supposed that
the Prophet blends two subjects of affliction in
one general consideration, or beautiful allegory ;
[m] Epiphan. de Vit. Prophet.
[n] Dorotheus writes Bethomeron. Huet proposes to read
Betharan, a place in the territory of Gad, adjacent to the
tribe of Reuben ; or Bethnemra in the district of Gad ; or
Bethabara ; or Beelnieon, which was beyond Jordan, in the
tribe of Reuben. Prop. IV.
[o] Josh, xviii. 13, 14.
[pj Jerom, though he supposes him to have beeu con
temporary with Hosea, conceives that he survived (as well
as Hosea, Amos, Obadiah, and Jonah) the captivity of the ten
tribes, [q] Chap. i. 4—7—10, 16, 28. and Lowth's Praelect. 15.

OF THE BOOK OF JOEL. 469
and, that under the devastation to be effected by
locusts in the vegetable world, he pourtrays some
more distant calaraities to be produced by the ar
mies of the Chaldaeans in their invasion of Ju
daa [r]. Hence a designed ambiguity in the ex
pressions. In the second chapter the Prophet proceeds
to a more general denunciation of God's ven
geance, which is delivered Avith such force and
aggravation of circurastance, as to be in some
measure descriptive of that final judgment AAhich
every temporal dispensation of the Alraighty raust
faintly prefigure. The severe declarations of Joel
are intermingled with exhortations to repentance,
and to the subsidiary means of promoting its ef
fects, fasting and prayer; as likewise with pro
mises of deliverance, and of a prosperity predictive
of evangeUcal blessings. In treating of these he
takes occasion to foretel, in the clearest terms, tho
general effusion of the Holy Spirit, which Avas to
characterize the Gospel dispensation [s] ; conclu
ding with a striking description of the destruction
of Jerusalem, which followed soon after, and pu-
[r] Those who will consult Pliny, Bochart, and the na
turalists and travellers in general, will find much cause to
admire Joel's descriptive pictures of the destruction to be
produced by locusts ; and understand with what force aud
propriety the ravages of those all-devouring enemies are made
figuratively to represent the devastation and havock of au
invading army. Shaw's Travels, vol. I. part. III. ch. ii. § r.
[s] Joel ii. 28 — 32. compare with Acts ii. 1 — 2i. and Acts
X. 44. 3

470 OF THE BOOK OF JOEt.
nished the Jews for their obstinate rejection of the
sacred influence ; speaking in terras which as Avell
as those of our Saviour that reserabled them [t],
had a double aspect, and referred to a priraary and
a final dispensation.
In the third chapter, Joel proceeds to foretel
the future assemblage of all nations into the valley
of Jehoshaphat [u], where the eneraies of God
Avill be cut off in some final excision [x]. The
Prophet concludes with the assurance of sorae
glorious state of prosperity to be enjoyed by the
church ; after the destruction of its enemies,
when the Lord God should dwell in Zion, and a
fountain should come forth out of the house of the
Lord, to purify a polluted people by an effec
tual cleansing, and to diff"use spiritual blessings
through barren wastes, poetically described under
the images of nature, and the consecrated emblems
of revelation [yJ.
In cosideration of these important prophecies,
we need not wonder that the Jewa should have
looked up to Joel with particular reverance [z],
[t] Joel ii. 30, 31. comp. with Matt. xxiv. 29.
[u] The original expression means the valley of the Lord's
judgment, from Jehovah, and Shaphat, to judge.
[x] Chap. iii. 1 — 14. The precise application of his pro
phecy mutt be shewn by the event. It is supposed to relate
to those circumstances which are predicted in Ezekiel, chap.
sxxix. .5— 11. Rev, XX. 8, 9.
[y] Chap iii. 16, 20, 21,
[z] Joel is related to have received the Cabala, or tradi
tionary explication ofthe law Siom Micah,

OF THE BOOK OF JOEL. 471
or that he should be cited as a Prophet by the
evangelical writers [a]. The work, Avhether his
torical or prophetical, whether it relate to a plague
by locusts, or to destruction by an invading array,
or both, intimates a proof and exaraple of the in
fliction of national judgments against national sins,
and the necessity of repentance to avert thera [b].
The style of Joel is equaUy perspicuous and
elegant ; obscure only toAvards the conclusion,
Avhere the beauties of his expression are somcAvhat
shaded by allusion to circurastances yet unaccom
plished. His descriptions are highly aniraated ;
the contexture of the prophecy in the first and
second chapters is extremely curious ; and the
double destruction to be produced by locusts, and
those enemies of which they Avere harbingers, is
painted Avith the most expressive force, under terms
that are reciprocaUy metaphorical, and admirably
adapted to the twofold character of the description.
{c]. The Avhole work is extremely poeticalf Her
man Von-der Hardt [d], a learned German, con
ceiving that Joel's prophecies Avere composed in
elegies, endeavoured about the beginning of the
seventeenth century, to reduce them to Iambic
verse. They undoubtedly, like the rest of the
prophecies, have a metrical arrangement.
[a] See Pococke's Comm.
Cb] Chap. ii. 32. comp. with Rom. x. 13. Acts ii. 16 — 21.
[c] Lowth's Prel. 21. Chandler, &c.
[d] Wolfii Biblioth. Heb. torn. i. p. 169. and Lowth's Pref.
to Isaiah.

©F THE

BOOK OF THE PROPHET
A mos:

Amos appears to have been contemporary with
Hosea, but it is uncertain which Avas the first ho
noured by divine revelations. They both began
to prophesy during the time that Uzziah and Je
roboara the Second reigned over their respective
kingdoms ; and Amos saw his first vision " two
years before the earthquake [aJ ;" which, as we
learn from Zechariah [b], happened in the days of
Uzziah. As there is no sufficient reason to sup
pose that this first verse was added by any writer
subsequent to Amos : since he himself might have
annexed the aera in Avhich he beheld his vision,
when he afterwards coUected his prophecies, and
comraitted thera to writing, we raust suppose this
earthquake to have happened while Uzziah and
Jeroboara were conteraporaries, or at least within
two years of that period. But little attention
therefore is due to the account of Josephus : Avho
[a] Amos i. 1. [b] Zechariah xiv, 5,

OF THE BOOK OF AMOS. 473
represents the shock to have been felt on the oc
casion of Uzziah's usurpation of the priestiy office,
when the presumptuous King transgressed against
God by ofiering incense to the Lord [c] ; Avhich
daring impiety is by some placed in the tAventv-
fifth year [d], and by sorae stiff more toAvards the
conclusion of Uzziah's reign [e] ; for according
to the most extended calculations, Jeroboam and
Uzziah did not reign as contemporary sovereigns
above tAventy-five years. Amos, hoAvever, began
to prophecy some time between A.M. 3194 and
3219. Some have confounded hira Avith the father
of Isaiah.
The Prophet Amos [f] Avas a native of Tekoa,
a smaU town in the territory of Judah, about four
leagues southAvard from Jerusalem, and six south-
AAard from Bethlehera [g] ; adjacent to a vast Avil-
[c] 2 Chron. xxiv. 16—21.
[d] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. IX. cap. x. xi. 0
[e] The sacrilegious attempt was probably made towards
the conclusion of Uzziah's reign, as upou that occasion he was
stricken with a leprosy that lasted unto the day of his death ;
and his son Jotham took upou him the government, who was
not born till after Jeroboam's death. Vid. Usser. Annal. ad
A.M. 3221.
[f] Clemens Alex. Strom. Lib. 1. p. 389, Edit. Potter,
Epiphan. de Vit. Prophet, ODS, Amos, or Hamos, signifies
Bxra^iif, portans, laden, that is, perhaps, with the burden
of prophecy, chap. vii. 10. If names were intentionally de
scriptive, they must have been providentially imposed, or as
sumed after the display of character.
[g] Amos i. 1. 2 Chron. xi. 5, 6. Epiphanus places it
iu the lot of Zebulon; hut Eusebius, C\ril, and St. Jeroui,

474 OF THE BOOK OF AMOS.
derness, where probably Araos raight have exer
cised his profession of an herdsman. Some, in
deed, think that he was not born at Tekoa, but
that he only resided there when commanded by
Amaziah to leave Bethel[H]. Amos, however, does
not appear to have regarded the arrogant injunc
tion of the Priest, but to have continued boldly to
prophesy Avherever the service of God required his
presence. Amos was by profession an herdsman, and a
gatherer of sycamore fruit [i]. In the simplicity
of former times, and in the happy climates of the
East, these occupations were by no means consi
dered in that degrading light in which they have
been vieAved since refinement hath introduced a
taste for the elegant arts of life, and established
fastidious distinctions. He was no Prophet, as he
informed -\maziah [k], neither was he a Prophet's
son -that is, he had no regular education in the
who lived near Tekoa, place it to the south of Jerusalem, in
territory of Judah. A'id. Euseb. de locis Ebraicis. Cyril.
Praef. Enar in Amos. Hieron. Prooem. in Amos, et de locis
Ebraicis. [h] Chap. vii. 12.
[i] Chap= vii. 14. The sycamore fruit was a species of
wild fig, sometimes called the Egyptian fig or date, which is
said to grow not among the leaves, but on shoots from the top.
The Septuagint translators interpret the Hebrew word a»Ep»
Dbm, ¦/.H^aa ra <rvy.ajj.im, opening the st/camine fruit ; as it was
thought necessary to open the skin of this fruit that it might
ripen. Vid. Plinii Hist. Natur. Lib. XIII. cap. vii. Theophras,
Dioscorid. Lib. I. cap. cl. et Theod. iu loc.
[k] Cliap. vii, 14.

OF THE BOOK o'f AMOS. 475
schools of the Prophets, but was caUed by an ex
press irresistible commission from God [ir\, to
prophesy unto his people Israel. The Holy Spirit
did not disdain to speak by the voice of the most
humble man; and selected its rainisters as weU
from the tents of the shepherd, as from the palace
of the sovereign [m] : respecting only the qualities
and not the condition of its agents, as capable of
inspiring knowledge and eloquence where they did
not exist.
Amos, there can be Uttle doubt, composed his
prophecies in their present form. He speaks of
himself as the author of them [[n^, and his pro
phetic character is established not only by the ad
mission of his book into the sacred canon, and by
the testiraony of other writers [oJ, but by the exact
accomplishment of many prophecies which he de
livered. The Avork consists of several distinct discoiu'ses ;
the particular period of their delivery cannot now
be ascertained [p]. They chiefly respect the king
dora of Israel, though the Prophet sometimes
inveighs against Judah, and threatens the king
doras that bordered on the proraised land [qJ ; the
[l] Amos iii. 8. vii. 15.
[m] 1 Cor. i. 27—29.
{n] Chap. vii. 8. viii. 1, 2.
[o] Tobit ii. 6. Acts vii. 42, 43. xv. lo — 17.
[p] Some have supposed that the first of his prophecies is
contained in the seventh chapter ; and that the contents of the
other chapters were afterwards delivered at Tekoa.
Tq] Vid. two first chapters. These proplicL-ic.^ v.cie fultiUcd
bv die victoiit'S of thc Kiiii;5 of Ass%ria aud Babvlou.

476 OF THE BOOK OF A.AIOP.
Syrians [r] ; Philistines [s] ; Tyrians [t] ; Edom
ites [u]; Ammonites [x] ; and Moabites [yJ, for
cruelties committed against the Israelites, in which
Avere fulfilled the predictions of forraer Prophets
[z]. He predicts in clear terras the captivities
and the destruction of Israel, to be preceded by
fearful signs on earth, and in the heavens [a] ; con
cluding with assurances that the Alraighty would
not utterly destroy the house of Jacob ; but that
after sifting, as it Avere, and cleansing the house of
Israel among the nations, God should again raise
up the tabernacle, that is, the kingdom of David;
to be enlarged to more than its first splendour by
the accession of Gentile subjects; and to be suc-
[kJ Chap. i. 3 — 5. comp. with 2 Kings xvi. 9.
[s] Chap. i. 6, 7, comp. with 2 Kings xviii. 8. Jerera,
xlvii. 1. Quint. Curt. Lib. IV. 6. Comp. also, chap. i. 8.
with 2 Chron. xxvi. 8. and Jerem. xlvii. 5.
[tJ Chap. i. 9, 10. comp. with Ezek. xxvi. 7 — 14. Joseph.
cont.^pion. Lib. I. p. 1347. and Q. Curt. Lib. IV. c. iii. et iv,
[n] Chap. i. 11, 12. com. with Jerem. xxv. 9, 21. and xxvu.
3—6. 1 Mace. V. 3. and Prid. Con. Part II. ad. Ann. A. C.
165. Joseph. Antiq. Lib, XIII. c, ix.
[x] Chap. i. 13 — 15. comp, with Jerem, xxvii. 3, 6.
[y] Chap. ii. 1 — 3. comp. Jerem. xxvii. 3 — 6.
[z j 2 Kings viii. 12. x. 32, 33, xiii. 3—7.
[a] Chap. viii. 8, 9. Usher remarks, that about eleven
ycars after the time at which Amos prophesied, there were
two eclipses of the sun ; one upon the feast of Tabernacles,
aud the other at the time of the Passover. The prophecy,
therefore, in its first aspect, might allude to the ominous dark.
iie»s which oh these occasions " turned their feasts into mourn
ing." Vid. Usser. Annal. ad A. M. 3213. Hieron. Theod. aud
Grot, iu loc.

OF THE BOOK OP AAIOS. 4l i
teeded by the establishment of that government
which the Prophet describes under poetical images
as a blessed dispensation of security, abundance,
and peace [b].
The zeal with which the Prophet reproved the
irapenitence of the people, and the severe threats
which he pronounced against the oppression, effe
minacy, and luxurious indolence that prevailed,
exasperated so much the court of Jeroboam, which
cultiAfated its idolatries at Bethel, that theA' drew
upon him the resentment of the priests and princes
of the people ; and tradition relates, that he Avas
Cc] iU treated and put to death by Uzziah, the son
of Amaziah [d], who was irritated by his pro
phecies and censures ; but Avho soon after expe
rienced the divine vengeance in the calamities
which Amos had predicted to his famUy and country.
Some writers who have adverted to the condition
of Amos, have Avith a minute affectation of eri-
ticism, pretended to discover a certain rudeness
and vulgarity in his style ; and even St. Jerom is
of opinion, that he is deficient in magnificenee
and sublimity : applying to him the words which
St. Paid speaks of himself [e] ; '' that he was rude
in speech, though not in knowledge;" and his
[b] Amos ix. 11 — ^15. Acts xv. 16. Tobit xiiu 10, 11.
Joel iii. 18. Chandler's Def. chap. ii. sect. 1. p. 168. and Com.
in loc. August, de Civit. Dei. lib. XVIII. c. xxviiL
[c] Cyrill. Praef. Expos, in Amos.
[o] Epiphan. de Vit. Proph. c. xii. Isidor. de Vita et Morte.
S. S. c. xliii. Doroth. Synop. eap. ii. Chron. Pascal, p. 147.
fs] Hieron. Com. ic Amos. 2 Cor. xi. 6.

478 OF THE BOOK OF AMOS.
authority, says Bishop Lowth, has influenced raany
coramentators to represent him as entirely rude
and void of elegance; whereas it requires but
little attention to be convinced that he " is not a
whit behind the very chiefest" of the Prophets:
equal to the greatest loftiness of sentiment, and
scarcely inferior to any in the splendour of his
diction, and in the elegance of his composition.
Mr. Locke has observed, that his comparisons are
chiefly drawn frora Uons and other aniraals, be
cause he lived araong, and was conversant Avith
such objects. But, indeed, the finest iraages and
aUusions which adorn the poetical parts of scripture
in general, are drawn from scenes of nature, and
from the grand objects that range in its walks ;
true genius ever delights in considering these as
the real sources of beauty and magnificence [f].
Amos had the opportunities and a mind inclined to
conteraplate the works of God, and his descriptions
of the Alraighty are particularly sublirae. His
whole book is animated with a very fine masculine
eloquence. [f] Lowth's Prael. Poet, 21,

OF THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
OBADIAH.

This Prophet has not transmitted to us any par
ticulars of his own origin or life, any more than
of the period in which he was favoured with the
divine revelation. That he received a commission
to prophesy, is evident; as weU from the admission
of his work into the sacred canon, as from the
completion of those predictions which he delivered.
According to some traditionary accounts [aJ, he
was of the tribe of Ephraim; and a native of
Bethacamar [b], which Epiphanius describes as in
the neighbourhood of Sichem ; but which, accord
ing to Huet, was a town in the hilly part of the
territory of Judah ; and there probably he prophe
sied, though some suppose that he Avas carried
[a] Pseudo Epiphan. Doroth. Isidor. &c.
[b] Or Bethacara, or Bethacaron. Huet proposes to read
Bethacad, a town of Samaria: but Obadiah was probably of
the tribe of Judah, and prophesied against the insultmg ene
mies of his country,
9

4S0 OF THE BOOK OF OBADIAH.
captive to Babylon ; and others that he died in
Samaria [c].
There is scarce an Obadiah mentioned in sacred
history who has not been considered by different
writers as the same person with the Prophet. The
prince Avhom Jehoshaphat employed to teach in
the cities of Judah [d] ; the governor of Ahab's
house, Avho rescued the hundred Prophets from
the vengeance of Jezebel [e] ; the captain of
Ahaziah, Avho found, favour with Elijah [f] ; the
overseer appointed by Josiah to inspect the repa
ration of the temple [g] ; each has been separately
represented as the Prophet, though not one of
thera is characterized in scripture under that de
scription ; and all of thera, except perhaps the last,
lived long before the period at which Obadiah
the Prophet must be supposed to have flourished.
[c] St. Jerom speaks of his tomb at Sebaste, formerly
Samaria, and says, that St. Paul visited it, and performed
miracles there ; this could not have contained the remains of
Obadiah, for when Jerom lived in the time of the Emperor
Julian, the Gentiles emptied the sepulchres, burnt the bones
of the Prophets, and dispersed the ashes, after mixing them
with those of beasts, about A.D. 362. Vid. Julian, Misopogon,
and Baillet Vies des Saints du V. Test. 14 Juin. 19 Nov.
[d] 2 Chron. xvii, 7. Sanct. Proleg. II. n. 5.
[e] 1 Kings xviii. 4. Hieron, in Abdian, et in Epitaph, c. vi.
Paul. R, Selomoh. Jarchi, R. David Kimchi, and R. Aben-
Ezra in Abd. 1. R. David Ganz, in Chron. Sixt. Senens in
Abd. et Mercer. Chron.
[F] 2 Kings i. 13—15. Clemens Alex, Strom, 1. p. 387.
Euseb. Chron.
£g] 2 ChroB. xxxiv. 12.

OF THE BOOK OF OBADIAH. 481
Eqa^dly unfounded are those conjectures by which
it is iraagined that he was the husband of the
widow of Zarephath [h], and a disciple of Eli
jah [i] ; as weH as that of the ancient Hebrew
doctors, who conceived that he was an Iduraaean,
who having become a proselyte to the Jewish re
ligion^ Avas inspired to prophesy against the country
of which he had forsaken the superstitions [k].
Huet, and other writers, in consideration of the
place which Obadiah holds among the Prophet^ in
the Hebrew canon, suppose him to have been con
temporary with Hosea, Araos, and Joel. In con
formity to which opinion, Huet also conceives that
the Prophet delivered his threats against the
Edoraites [l], because they took possession of Elah
after it had been conquered by Pekah and Rezin
in the reign of Ahaz, and exercised great cruelties
against the Jews [m], conspiring Avith their enemies
fn] Lyran. in 4 Reg. c. iv- initio. The widow of Zare
phath has also been represented as the mother of the Prophet
Jonah. [i] Clemens Alex. Stfom, I, p. 387, Euseb, Chron. et Aben-
Ezra. [k] R. Selemoth. Jarchi, et R. David Kimchi, in Abd. 1. et
R, Isr. Abarb. Prxf. in Prophet. Minor. Cyrill. Prsef. iu Abd.
[l] The Edomites were the descendants of Esau ; they
possessed Arabia Petnea, all the country between the Red Sea
and tbe Lake of Sodom, and some adjacent territory.
[m] Huet. Demons. Evan, in Abd. Cyrilh Praef. in Abd.
Grotius, and Lightfoot's Harmon, of the Old Test. Iu our
translation of 2 Kings xvi. 6. no mention is made of the
Edomites, but in the Vulgate it is rendered " the Edomites
came to Elah." The word i=3n« much resembles tliat of t3n«,
Ii

483 OF THE BOOK OF OBADIAH.
to harass and to cut them off when endeavouring
to escape from the Assyrians [n]. AU those writers
who imagine that Obadiah foretold the calamities
which the Edomites suffered from the invasion of
Sennacherib, maintain that he lived in the reign
of Ahaz or Hezekiah ; but it is more probable
that he flourished about the sarae tirae with Ezekiel
and Jereraiah ; and the best opinions concur in
supposing him to have prophesied a little after the
destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar,
which happened about A. M, 3416. He predicted
therefore the same circumstances which those Pro
phets had foretold against the Edomites [o], who
had upon many occasions favoured the eneraies of
Judah [p] ; and who, when strangers, carried their
forces into captivity, and when they cast lots upou
Jerusalera, had rejoiced at the destruction, and in
sulted the children of Judah in their affliction [q].
and Calmet thinks that it should be written Edom instead of
Syria, throughout the verse, as the Edomites had previously
possession of Elah, but it does not appear that the Syrians had
been masters of it, for whom it could not therefore be reco
vered. Still, however, the Chaldaean, Hebrew, Syriac, and
Arabic versions, as well as Josephus, suppose that Rezin took
Elah for the Syrians, and estabhshed them there. Vid. Joseph,
Antiq. Lib. IX. cap. xii, p. 423. Grotius, &c.
[N] Ver. 11. and 14,
[o] Comp. Obad. ver. 3, 4. with Jerem. xlix. 16; Obad.
ver. 5. with Jerem. xlix. 9. Obad. ver, 8, with Jer. xlix. 7.
Obad. ver, 16, with Jer. xxv. 15 — 21. and xlix. 7 — 12,. Vid,
Ezek. xxv. 12, 14. and ch. xxxv.
[p] 2 Chron. xxviii. 17. Joel iii. 10.
- [q] Ver. 11 — 14. Psalm cxxxvii. 7,

OF THE BOOK OF OBADIAH, 483
Tbe Prophet, after describing the pride and
cruelty of the Edomites, declares that though they
dwelt in fancied security among the clefta of the
rocks [a], yet that the " mighty men of Teman [s]
should be dismayed," and " every one of the Moiint
of Esau should be cut off by slaughter ;'-" intimating
that those who had confederated with them against
Jacob [t], and had been considered by them as their
aUies, should contribute to infiict the punishment
of their malevolence. The Prophet concludes with
consolatory assurances of future restoration and
prosperity to the Israelites and to the Jews, to whom
should arise deliverance from Zion : Saviours who
should judge the nations ; and a spiritual kingdom,
appropriated and consecrated to the Lord. These
prophecies began to be completed about five years
after, when Nebuchadnezzar ravaged Idumsea [u].
and dispossessed the Edoraites of rauch of Arabia-
Petraea, which they never afterAvards recovered.
But they were stiU farther fulfiUed in the con
quests of the Maccabees over the reraainder of
[r] The south part of Palestine, from Eleutheropolis to
Petra, (the ancient capital of Idumxa) and Elah, was full of
rocks among which the natives dwelt. Vid. Hieron. in loc.
[s] Teman, a city, or as some say, a province of Idumaea, so
called from Teman, grandson of Esau. Vid, Jerem. xlix, 7.
Amos i. 12. Vid. Hieron. et Euseb. in loc, Ebraicis,
[t] Obadiah uses the expression, " thy brother Jacob," in
reproachful allusion to Esau's hatred against Jacob, Vid.
Gen. xxvii. 41. a primary source of God's displeasure against
the Edomites.
£u] Usser ad A, M. 3419. Joseph. Antiq. Lib, X, c. ix.
ii2

484 OF THE BOOK OF OBADIAH.
the Edomites [x] ; and they received the filial ac
compUshment in the advent of that Redeemer,
tvhom preceding SaAriours had foreshewn.
Obadiah's narae implies, the servant of Jehovah^
a title equivalent to that by which Moses Avas dis
tinguished [y], and to that in which St. Paul glo
ried. The Prophet's work is short, but composed
Ivith much beauty: it unfolds a very interesting
scene of prophecy, and an instructive lesson against
vain confidence and malicious exultation.
[x j 1 Mace. V. 3, 65.
[y] Numb, xii. 7.

OF THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
JONAH.

Though Jonah be placed fifth in the order of the
Minor Prophets, both in the Hebrew and in the
Septuagint copies, he is generaUy considered as
the most ancient of aU the Prophets, not except"
ing Hosea. Jonah was the son of Amittai, of the
tribe of Zabulon ; and was born at Gath-hepber
[a^, which is supposed to have been the same
place with Jotapeta:. a toAvn remarkable for having
sustained, under the conduct of Josephus, a siege
against the Roman army. It was situated in the
[a] Vid. 2 Kings xiv. 25. The same place probably with
Gittah Hepher, Vid. Josh. xix. 13. Dorotheus erroneously
a£5rms, that he was bom at Carjathmaus, or Carjathjarim, in
the tribe of Judah ; and buried at Saar, (Tyre it» Phoenicia,)
and St. Jerom has taken the trouble to refute some who
maintained that Jonah was born at another Geth, near Lyddse,
or DiospoUs, confounding Geth with Gath-hepber, and Dioss
polis with Diocaesarea,

486 OF THE BOOK OF JONAH.
land of Zabulon, near Siphorim [b], towards Tibe
rias, where was the canton of Ophir, or Hepher.
St. Jerom informs us, that the Prophet's sepulchre
was shewn there in his time; and there the natiA'es
stiU beUeve it to exist [c]. Since this place (as
indeed aU the land of Zabulon) was in, GaUlee [p],
it may be produced in confutation of the Uliberal
assertion of the Pharisees, that " out of Galilee
ariseth no Prophet" [e]. The Orientals now show
his torab at Mosul [f], which they suppose to be
the site where Nineveh stood; and the Turks
have built a raosque there, in which they pretend
'to possess his relics : while others, who reside si
Gath-hepher, now a littie Bourgade, shew a mau
soleum of Jonah in a subterraneous chapel, in-
Tclosed in a mosque, and compel travellers to enter
it barefoot. Such are the contests of superstitious
i'everence, or the claims of mercenary rivalship.
[b] Now called Dioca?sarea. Joseph, de Bell. Jud. Lib.
III. c. vi. p. 1141. Vid. Hieron. Prooem. Com. in Jonam.
[c] Benjam. Itiner. et Brocardus Argentoratensis Descrip.
Terrae sanctae.
[d] Isaiah ix. 1. Matt. iv. 13.
[e] John vii. 52. Nahum was a Gahlean by birth, though
of the tribe of Simeon ; and Malachi, as some say.
[f] Thevenot's travels, Part II. Book I. ch. xi. p. 50. Mosul,
now the seat of the Patriarch of the Nestorians, is on the
western side of the Tigris; and is by some asserted to ha^e
been a suburb of Nineveh, which is said to have been on the
eastern side, though Pliny maintains it to bave been situated
ou the western side. Tid. Plinii Lib. VI. cap. xiii. Benjam.
Tudela, itiner, Marsham Chroo, Saec, xviii. p. 558.

OS THE BOOK OF JONAH. 487
Some Jewish writers report upOn a very ground
less fiincy, that Jonah was the son of the widow
of Zarephath, whom Elijah raised from the dead
[g] ; but Jonah represents himself as an He-
brcAV, and Zarephath was a city of Sidon j^n].
He is generaUy supposed to have prophesied in
the reigns of Joash and Jeroboam the Second>
King of Israel; the former of whom began to
teign, A.M. 3163, the latter died A.M. 3230. lu
the second Book of Kings [i], Jonah is said to
have prophesied concerning Jeroboam, that he
should "^"^ restore the coast of Israel;" which pro
phecy now not extant, Avas perhaps delivered in
the reign of Jehoahaz, the grandfather of Jero
boam, when the kingdom of Israel was greatly op
pressed by the Syrians [k] ; and therefore it is
probable that Bishop Lloyd does not place hira
much too high in supposing that he prophesied
towards the latter end of Jehu's reign ; or in tiie
{g] Hieron, et Isidor. et Quaest. ad Antioch. in Append.
ad Opef. S. Athan. Qu. Isv. tom. ii. p, 354. Edit. Paris^
1627. Jonah was the son of Amittai, which word implies
Truth in the Hebrew, and the widow had said to Elijah,
" The word of the Lord iu thy mouth is truth." Vid. 1 Kings
xvii. 24. Hence the Rabbinical conceit. Others make him
the son of the woraan of Shunem, a place in the tribe of
Issachar. Vid. 2 Kings iv. 16. Some maintain that he was
the Prophet who was sent to anoint Jehu King over Israel.
Vid. 2 Kings ix, 1, 2, R, David Kimchi, &c.
[h] Comp. Luke iv. 26. with Jouah i. 9.
f l] 2 Kings xiv. 25.
[k] Comp, 2 Kings xiii. 3 — 7. with 2 Kings sir. 26. et
Joseph.

488 OF THE BOOK OF JONAH.
beginning of that of Jehoahaz, when Hazael by
his cruel treatment of Israel, Avas verifying the
predictions of EUsha [lJ. So that though Jonah
might be contemporary with Hosea, Araos, and
Isaiah, he appears to have uttered the prophecy
alluded to, before any were delivered of those
now extant in the writings of the Prophets ; and
the prophecy concerning Nineveh, of which the
publication is related in this book, raust, contrary
to the opinion of raany writers [m}, have been de
livered long before the tirae that Obadiah prophe
sied. This book, whieh is i^hiefly narrative, presents
us with an account of the mandate that Jonah,
Avho Avas more especially a Prophet to the Gen
tiles, received to preach against Nineveh, the me
tropolis of that mighty kingdom of Assyria, which
was eraployed by God as the *' rod of his anger
against Israel and Judah [n]." It relates that Jo
nah, who was of a tiraid character [o], aware of
the pride and false confidence of a city, equally
distinguished for its raagnificence and corruption ;
for its careless merriraent, and licentious dis
sipation [p], and conscious that the Lord was
[l] 2 Kings viii. 12. x. 32, xiii. 3—9.
[m] Clem. Alex. Strom, p. 390. Euseb. Praep. Lib. X. c. xiv.
Cyrill. Praef. in Jon. August, de Civit, Dei, Lib, XVIII. c.
xxvii. Theod. Prooem. m 12 Proph.
[n] Isaiah x. 5.
[o] Jonah, or Jonas, as it is written in the Greek, signifies
a dove, a name probably descriptive of his gentle disposition.
[p] ty Zephaniah it is called the rejoicing city, KfEis-o-ai,

OF THE BOOK OF JONAH. 489
^ slow to anger," and loth to execute his threats,
was afraid to carry the message of wrath. He
knew that the Prophets were exposed to insult
from such as confidently maintained that the day
of the Lord would not arise ; and who chaUenged
God to hasten his word [q]. He resolved therefore
" to flee from the presence of the Lord," tliat is,
possibly, as some have interpreted the expression,
to flee from the council of God in the land of Is
rael; or perhaps simply to avoid the divine ap
pointment ; but in this foolish atterapt in his flight
to Tarshish [r], which he records with a very
ingenuous and repentant fideUty, he was arrested
and punished by a miracle ; and when delivered
from the jaAvs of destruction, he Avas compelled
to 'utter the doleful message, " Yet forty days,
and Nineveh" (if it continue impenitent) " shall
be overthrown." The King, who according to
Usher, was Pul, or possibly a predecessor of that
monarch, alarmed at the prophetic threat conveyed
Ni»B iv^aHami (better than merry Ninevah,) was a proverbial
comparison. Nineveh was much greater than Babylon. Vid.
Strabo. Lib. XVI. p. 1470. Edit. Oxon. 1807. Diodor. Sicu-
lust'Lib. II. cap. iii. p. 113. Edit. Wesselin. ,
[q] Amos v. 18. Isa. v. 19. Jerem. xvu. 15. Ezek. xii. 12.
[r] The Tarshish here mentioned was probably the same
place with Tarsis, or Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, where St.
Paul received his birth ; and Jonah might be cast on shore
somewhere on the coast of Cilicia. There were likewise places
of the name of Tarshish in India and in Spain. Vid. 2 Chron;
XX. 36. Bochart. Geog. sac. Lib. IV. c- xx. Stephan de Urh.
16. and Well's Geograph. of New Test. Part, II.

490 OF THE BOOK OP JONAHi
to him under such miraculous circumstancesj pro*
claimed a soleran fast and suppUcation for pardon
[s] ; and as God's threats are conditional, and his
anger ever softened by repentance, he suspended
the sentence which he had pronounced, tiU about
160 years after, when, the wickedness of the peo
ple provoked its execution. The last chapter re
presents the unreasonable displeasure of Jonah at
God's raercy, unraindful of the deliverance which
he himself had so recently experienced, and his
mortification at having been employed to deliver a
prediction AVhich Avas not to be accoraplished ;
more solicitous for his own reputation than for the
glory of God, or for the security of a kingdom..
The Almighty is described as condescending gently
to reprove the Prophet ; and to vindicate his own
conduct by a miraculous iUustration, and by an ap
peal to the compassion of the Prophet, which Jonah
records with a tacit admission of the equity and
goodness of God.
It raust be remarked, that the rairacle by Avhich
God punished the unbecoraing flight of Jonah,
was, agreeably to the figurative arrangeraents of
the Old Testament, rendered symbolical of an
event that was to occur under the New. The
Prophet, in this instance a sign of Christ [t], Avas
SAvalloAved up by a great fish [u], as our Saviour
[s] Usser. Annal. A.M, 3233. Lloyd's Tables. Newton
ou the Prophecies, Diss. IX. vol. I. p. 256.
[tJ Matt. xii. 39, 40. xvi. 4. Luke xi. 29, 30. August.
de Civit. Dei. Lib. XVIII. c. xxx.
[u] The fish is generally supposed to have been a whale,
9

OF THE BOOK OF JONAH. 491
Vas admitted into the jaws of death ; and for a
similar continuance of tirae, since both were de
tained three days and three nights [x] enclosed in
the bars of the earth, and neither of them was
sufiered to see corruption [y]. The objections
which have been raade to this rairacle are certa.inly
unworthy of attention [z], since considerations of
what may, or raay not be probable, are clearly not
applicable to works which exceed the measure of
human power, and deviate from the course of hu
man events, and which, indeed, in their proper
The word used by the apostle (Matt. xii. 40.) xulo;, Cetus,
means any large fish, as does the Hebrew word in Jonah, b^•^2
Ji, Gadol Dag. Some suppose it to have been the Canis
Chafcar-ias, the lamia, or sea-dog. The Rabbins talk of a fish
created on purpose from the beginning of the world ; and many
other absurd notions have been entertained on the subject.
Vid. Scaliger. cont. Cardan. Bochart. Hieroz. P. II. Lib. V,
c. xii. p. 742. Edit. Lon, 1663. Drusius in Jonam. Dionys.
Perieg. v. 603. Calmet's Dissert.
[x] As the Hebrew language has not any word which de-
fiiies a natural day, the Jews describe what the Greeks call
vt/KSufrtpoj, by a night and a day. The space of time, therefore,
which consists of one whole revolution of twenty-four hours,
and part of two other days, is properly expressed in Hebrew
by three days and three nights ; the length of time during
which Jonah and Christ were respectively sepulchred in the
fish and in the grave. Vid. Lowth in ch, i. 17.
[y j Chap, ii. 6. comp. with Psalm xvi, 10. and Acts ii. 31.
[z] Herman Von-der Hardt absurdly undertook to turn the
whole book into a kind of prophetic scheme or parable, though
there is not a shadow of reason to suppose it any other than a
hteral narration of actual events. Vid. Carpzov, Introd. ad
Lib. V. T. Par, III, p. 349.

492 OF THE BOOK OF JONAH.
definition, are described as unprecedented. The
miraculous preservation and deliverance of Jonah .
was surely not raore remarkable or descriptive of
alraighty power, than were the raultiplied wonders
in the Avilderness [a], the protection of Daniel, or
the resurrection of the son of the widow of Za
rephath ; all Avere positive violations of the ge
neral rules of nature.
Araong other testiraonies given to the prophetic
character of Jonah, raay be reckoned that of Tobit,
who professed a firm confidence in the accomplish
ment of Jonah's prediction against Nineveh [b],
and whose son, indeed, afterwards lived to witness
its completion. The sacred writers, likewise, and
our Lord himself [c], speak of hira as a Prophet of
considerable eminence.
As the Avord Avith which this book begins is fre
quently used as a connexive particle, sorae writers
have conceived that these prophecies are but cora-
pendious extracts frora a larger collection ; but the
book appears in its present state to be an entire
and perfect work; and the particle with which
it begins is only a coramon introductory letter,
AA'hich converts the future into the perfect or past
tense. True it is, that Jonah, as probably all the
[a] Aut omnia divina miracula credenda non sunt aut hoc
cur non credat ur causa nulla est. Vid. August. Epist. I, in
Quffist. 6. de Jona, n. 30.
[b] Tobit xiv, 4—6, 15.
[c] 2 Kings xiv, 25, Matt, xii, 39, 41. xvi. 4, Lhko
xi, 29. Vid. also, 2 Esdras i, 39, and Clement, Epist. I. ad
Kom. V. vii. p. 33. Edit, Wotton.

ot THE BOOK OF JONAH. 493
Prophets, delivered some prophecies Avhich are no
longer extant ; as appears from the passage in the
Second Book of Kings before aUuded to [o] ; and
these, as intended by their speedy completion only
to excite the confidence of conteraporaries, were
probably not committed to Avriting t such chiefly
being composed for the canon as Were designed
for the perraanent instruction ofthe church. There
is not, however, any sufficient evidence to prove the
authenticity of sorae other predictions ascribed to
Jonah by Dorotheus and others [te] : as that " Avhen
they should see a stone" (i. e. Christ the corner
stone) " bitterly laraenting, and aU the nations in
Jerusalem, then should the city be entirely de
stroyed ;" which pretended prophecy aUuded to
our Saviour's weeping over Jerusalem [[f], and to
the assemblage of the Gentiles, which preceded
the destruction of the holy city.
The style of Jonah is narrative and simple ; the
beautiful prayer contained in the second chapter
has been justiy admired. The book presents us
with a fine description of the power and mercies
of God. The record of the repentance of Nine
vah, at the preaching of one Prophet, Avas calcu
lated to afibrd strong reproof to the Jcavs, and our
Saviour declares that the men of Nineveh should
rise up in judgment at the last day, against the
generation Avhich he addressed [gJ.
[d] 2 Kings xiv. 25.
[e] Epiphan. Doroth. et Chron. Pascal.
[f] Luke xix. 41.
[g] Chap. iii. 5. Matt. xii. 41. Luke xi. 32.

494 OF THE BOOK OF JONAH.
The fame of Jonah's deUverance appears to have
spread araong the heathen nations, and the Greeks
who were accustoraed to adorn the meraory of
their heroes by every reraarkable event and em
beUishment which they could appropriate : added
to the fictitious adventures of Hercules, that of
having continued three days Avithout injury in the
belly of a dog sent against him by Neptune [h].
The fable of Arion and the Dolphin, of which the
date is fixed at a tirae nearly coeval with the period
of Jonah, is possibly a representation of particulars
recorded in this sacred book.
[h] Lycophron et Isaacus Tzetzes, Cyrill. et Theophylact.
.in Jon. Sext. Emp. adv. Gram. Lib. I. cap. xii. Phavorinus
in TgiEffWEpos, et Gazaeus in Dialog, de Immort, Anim, Biib«
lioth. Patrum. torn, ii, p, 394i

OF THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
MICAH.

Micah was unquestionably the author of this Book,
and he speaks in that character [a]. In the He
brew manuscripts he is placed the sixth, and in
the Septuagint copies the third, in order of the
twelve Prophets. He calls himself a Morasthite
[b^, and is supposed to have been a native of
Morasthi, a viUage situated near the city of Eleu
theropolis, in the southern part of Judah ; a place
distinguished by St. Jerom [c] frora Mareshah,
mentioned in this book [d], and in Joshua [e].
[a] Chap. iii. 1, 8.
[b]' Chap, i. 1. Jerem. xxvi, 18.
. (c] Hieron. Prol. in Micah. Epist. Paul. c. vL Euseb. de
loc. Ebraic. Drusius erroneously imagines that Morasthi might
be the same place with Moresheth-gath, tuentioned in Micah,
ch. i. 14.
[d] Chap. i. 15.
[e] Josh. XV. 44. St. Jerom^. however, places this town
likewise in the territory of Judah, , and says, that the ruins of

496 OF THE BOOK OF MICAH.
Micah speaks only of the Kings of Judah ; and
he prophesied in the days of Jothara, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah, contemporary Avith whom were Pekah
and Hosea, the two last Kings of Israel. Micah
then began to prophesy soon after Isaiah, Hosea,
Joel, and Amos ; and he prophesied between A.M.
3246, when Jotham began to reign, and A.M.
3305, Avhen Hezekiah died : but probably not
during the whole of that period. It is related by
Epiphanius [f^, and the Greek writers who copied
hira, that Micah was thrown frora a precipice and
killed by Jorara, son of Ahab, whom he erro
neously calls King of Judah, but who reaUy was
King of Israel ; and whose grandson Jehoram
lived at least 130 years before Micah. But these
writers [g] seera to have confounded Micah with
Micaiah the son of Imlah, who flourished in Israel,
and prophesied evil of Ahab [h] ; and Micah
does not appear to have suff'ered martyrdora, as
may be coUected frora a passage in Jereraiah [i] ;
but probably died in peace under the reign of the
good King Hezekiah. St. Jerora says, that his
torab was at Morasthi, and converted into a church
it were extant in his time, Josephus represented it to have
been in Idnmaca. Vid. Joseph, de Bell, Jud. Lib. I. c. ii.
p. 1)62. Edit. Hudson. 2 Chron. xi. 8. xiv. 10.
fp] Epiphanius erroneously calls him a Morasthite of the
tribe of Ephraim ; and says, that he was buried at Marathi.
[g] Athan. in Synop. Euseb. Chron.
[h] 1 Kings xxii. 8— 28.
t|i] Jerem, xxvi, 18, 19.

OF THE BOOK OF MICAH= 497
in his time [k.]. AndSozomen [l] adopting apopular
superstition, professes to have heard, that his body
was shewn, in a divine vision, to Zebennus, Bishop
Ol Eleutheropolis, in the reign of Theodosius the
Great, near a place caUed Berathsatia, which pro
bably might be a corruption of Morasthi, since
Sozomen describes it to have been at nearly the
same distance from Jerusalem that St. Jerom
places Morasthi [m] .
JNIicah, Avho received the divine revelations by
vision [^nJ, was appointed to preach against both
Israel and Judah ; and executed his commission
with great aniraation and zeal. One of his pre
dictions is related [o] to have saved the Ufe of Je
reraiah ; Avho under the reign of Jehoiakim would
have been put to death for prophesying the de
struction of the teraple, had it not appeared that
jNIicah had foretold the sarae thing under Heze
kiah above 100 years before [p]. INIicah indeed is
mentioned as a Prophet in the book of Jeremiah,
as having foretold this event, and Ukewise " that
[k] Hieron. Ep. xxvii. seu Epilap. Paul. c. vi.
[l] Sozom. Hist. Eccles. Lib. VII, c, xxix. p. 76. edit.
Antverp. 1578.
[ii] About ten stadia, which answers nearly to tlie two
miles of St. Jerom. Some place Micah's tomb on the decli
vity of Mount Ohvet.
[n] " The word of the Lord came to him." Vid. Dr.
Wheeler. [o] Jerem. xxvi, 18 — 24.
[p] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X. c. vi. p. 443. Micah iiL 12.
Kk

498 OF THE BOOK OF MICAH.
Jerusalem' should become heaps [q] ;" he is ap
pealed to also as a Prophet in the New Testa
ment [r]. He is imitated also by succeeding
Prophets [s], as he hiraself had borrowed the ex
pressions of those who preceded, or lived at the
sarae time with hiraself [t]. Our Saviour, indeed,
condescended to speak in the language of the Pro
phet [u]:
Dr. Wells [x] supposes Micah's prophecies to
bave been uttered in the order in which they are
bere written. He maintains that the contents of
the first chapter were delivered in the time of Jo
tham and Pekah ; and that it consists of general
invective against the sins and idolatry of Israel and
Jiidah, to be pnnished' by impending judgments.
What is coraprised betAveeii the first verse of the
second chapter and the eighth verse of the fourth,
be assigns to the reign of Ahaz, and his contem
poraries Pekah and Hosea ; and the twelfth verse
of the third chapter, which is attributed by Je
remiah to the reign of Hezekiah [y^, WeUs con
ceives to have been spoken in the year when
fo] Jerem. xxvi. 18. comp. with Micah iii, 12,
[k] Matt, ii. 5, and John vu, 42,
[s] Comp, Zephaniah iii. 19. with Micah iv. 7, And Ezek.
xxii. 27. with Mfcah iii. 11.
[TJ.Comp. Micah iv. 1 — 3. and Isaiah ii. 2 — 4. Micah
iV. 13. with Isaiah xii. 15. Micah began to prophesy rather
later than Isaiah.
[u]. Comp. Micah vii. 6. with Matt. x. 35, 36.
[x] Preface to Micah.
£y] Jerem. xxvi. 18, 19.

OF THE BOOK OF MICAH. 499
Hezekiah was partner in the kingdom with Ahaz,
in the last year of the reign of the latter ; and the
remainder of the book the learned comraentator
assigns to the reign of Hezekiah. But at whatever
period these prophecies were delivered, they con
tain raany remarkable particulars. The Prophet
predicted in clear terms, the invasion of Shaltna-
nezer [z"] and that of Sennacherib [a], and their
triumphs over Israel and Judah ; the captivities,
dispersion [b}, and deliverance [c] of Israel ; the
cessation of prophecy [d] ; the destruction of As
syria, the representative of the enemies of the
Christian church [e^; the birth of a Ruler at
Bethlehera Ephratah, " whose going forth have
been from of old from everlasting [f] ;" the estab
lishment and exaltation of Christ's kingdom over aU
nations [g] ; the promulgation of the ,Gospel from
Mount Zion, its beneficial effects [h] ; and the utter
destruction of Jerusalem [i].
[z] Chap. i. 6 — 8. and 2 Kings xvii. 4, 6.
[a] Chap. L 9—16. 2 Kings xviu. 13.
[B] Chap. vii. 8.
[c] Chap, ii, 12, iv. 10. v. 8.
[d] Chap, iii. 6, 7,
[e] Chap. vii. 8, 10, Mede's Discourses, 796.
f f] Micah v. 2. comp. with Matt, ii, 6, and John vii. 42.
[g] Chap. iv. 1, 2, 7. and Luke 1. 33. See also v. comp.
with Ephes. ii. 14. vii. 20. with Luke i. 73.
[h] Chap. iv. 1 — 8. comp. with Isa. ii. 2 — 4.
[l] Chap. iii. 12. This prophecy was fulfilled by the de
struction of Jerusalem by Vespasian, when, according to
Christ's prediction, not oue stone was left upon another. Vid.
Joseph. Bell, Jud. Lib, VI, c. ix. p. 1290. et Lib, VH. c. i.
Kk2

500 OF THE BOOK OF MICAH.
The force and beauty of Micah's style have
been much admired. Bishop Lowth has charac
terized it as compressed, short, nervous, and sharp.
It is often elevated, and very poetical, though
occasionaUy obscure from sudden transition of sub
ject. Micah, after pointing out the insufficiency of
sacrifices, of " thousands of rams, or ten thousands
of rivers of oil," and after intimating with refer
ence to a greater atonement, that if he were " to
give his first-born for his transgression, and the
fruit of his body for the sin of his soul," it would
be of no avail; observes that God hath shewed
what is good for man, and that the Lord requireth
of him " to do justly, and to love mercy, and to
walk humbly with God[K]," concludes his book
with a fine prophetic assurance of God's mercies,
who should cast away the sins of bis people, and
perform the promises which he had sworn unto
Abraham. [k] Chap. vi. 8.

OF THE

BOOK OF THE PROPHET
NAHUM.

Nahum describes himself as an Elkoshite : vvhich
Some have considered as a patronymick'' expres
sion, conceiving it to imply his being a descendant
of Elkosba ; but which is generally supposed to
intimate that he was born at Elkosh, or Elkosba,
a sraall viflagC in Galilee, of which St, Jerora pro
fesses to have seen the ruins [a], Nahura is said
to have been of the tribe of Siraeon [b] ; but
amidst a variety of opinions, it is difficult to deter
mine what precise time should be assigned fiir the
period of bis existence, Josephus [c] asserts, that
[a] Epiphanius and Dorotheus place it near Begabar, or
Bethabara, where St. John baptized his disciples. But Sf.
Jerora reprieSeBts it as at a great distance from that town. He
says that it was called Helkesai. It is not mentioned in scrip-
ture, or by Josephus.
[b] He was probably in Judah wheu he received divine re
velations. Bethabara was far from the territory of Simeon.
Ic] Joseph. Antiq, Lib. IX. cap. xi. p. 422. Edit. Hudson.

502 OF the book of nahum.
he Uved in the tirae of Jotham, King of Judah: ia
which case he may be supposed to have prophe
sied against Nineveh, when Tiglath-PUeser, King
of Assyria, carried captive the natives of GaUlee,
and other parts [d] ; about A.M. 3264. The Jews
place him so late as the reign of Manasseth [e]j.
The raost probable opinion is, that though Nahum
raight have lived in the reigns of both these Kings,
yet he delivered these prophecies in Judsea in the
reign of Hezekiah [f] ; for he appears to speak
of the taking of No-Amraon, a city of Egypt [g],
and of the insolent raessengers of Sennacherib [h],
as of things past ; he likewise describes the peo
ple of Judah as still in their own country, and
desirous of celebrating their festivals. He cannot
therefore be supposed to have prophesied before
Josephus says also, that Nahum's predictions concerning Nine
veh came to pass in 115 years after ; in which case the Pro
phet must have delivered them in the reign of Ahaz, the son
of Jotham, when Shalmaneser invaded Samaria, and rendered
it tributary.
[d] 2 Kings XV. 29.
[e] Seder Olam, Grot. Sixt. Senens, &c. Clemens Alex
andrinus places Nahum between Daniel and Ezekiel, and sup
poses him to have flourished during the captivity. Vid Strom!
I. p. 392.
[f] Hieron, Theodor, Argum, et Theophyl, Prooem, in Nahum.
[g] Chap, iii, 8. This city is called also Diospolis, and
was the same place that was styled Thebes by Homer. It was
probably first taken by Sennacherib, in his expedition to
Egypt, before he marched to Jerusalem. Vid. Calmet in loc.
Prid. Con. An. 713. It was afterwards destroyed by Nebu
chadnezzar. [h] Chap. ii. 13. comp. with 2 Kings xviii. 17. et seq.
t

GF THE BOOK OF NAHUM. 503
tbe fourteenth year of Hezekiah, since the expe
dition of Sennacherib against this Prince was in
tbe fourteenth year of Hezekiah's reign ; and
therefore he probably prophesied between A.M.
3283, when Shalmaneser carried Israel captive
into Assyria j^i] ; and A.M. 3294, when Senna
cherib was meditating the destruction of Jeru
salem. At this period of perplexity and distress, when
the fate of Samaria was present to the apprehen-
-sions of Judah; when her own cities had been
taken by Sennacherib, and Hezekiah had drained
his treasury, and even despoiled the temple in the
vain hope of averting the fury of Sennacherib [k] ;
then was Nahum raised up in consolation [l] to
Judah, and to proclaim destruction " to him that
imagined evil against the Lord [mJ." At this
time Sennacherib still continued to send arrogant
messages, and blasphemous letters : threatening
the destruction of Jerusalem ; insulting Hezekiah,
and deriding the confidence of his people, who
trusted in the Lord [yi~\. Already had Isaiah been
comraissioned to send an assurance of protection
to Jerusalem [o] ; and Nahum conspired with
him to promise deUverance to Hezekiah [p] from
[i] 2 Kings xvii. 6. Nahum, ii. 2.
[k] 2 Kings xviii. 16.
[l] Nahum signifies a comforter. Vid. Hieron.
[m] Chap. i. 11 .
[n] 2 Kings xviii. and. xix. 2 Chron. xxxii. Isaiah xxxir,
Nahum i. 7. comp. with Isa. xxxvi. 15.
[oJ 2 Kings xix. 20 — 34.
[p] Chap. i. 13.

504 OF THE BOOK OF NAHUM.
the Assyrian yoke ; and even to anticipate with
prophetic exultation, and with reference to raore
glorious tiraes, the appearance of welcome raes
sengers in the distant scene, that should bring good
tidings, and publish peace to Judah ; who should
celebrate her soleran feasts secure from invasion,
as her enemy was " utterly cut ofFTQ]."
Nahum afterwards in his two last chapters pro
ceeds to foretel the future doAvnfal of the Assyrian
empire ; renewing those denunciations of wrath
which about ninety years before, Jonah had ut
tered against Nineveh, whose repentance was but
of short duration ; and predicting in the most
descriptive manner, that final destruction which
was effected probably by Nabopalasser and Cyax
ares, A. M. 3362 [r], but certainly by the Medes
and Babylonians, after having existed above thir
teen centuries, whose confederate forces assaulted
[q] Nahum i. 15. 1 Kings xix. 35. Isa, xxxvii. 36, 37, Rom.
X, J5. Herodotus and Berosus give disguised accounts of the
miraculous destruciion of Sennacherib's army. Vid. Herod,
Lib, II, c. cxli. Berosus ap, Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X. c. i. ii.
[e] Diodorus Siculus speaks of the taking of Nineveh by
Arbaces and Belesis ; wbich must have happened at a pre
ceding time. Herodotus, however, asserts, that it was taken
hy Cyaxares ; and since the account of Diodorus minutely
conesponds with t'.ie prophetic description of Nahum, itis
probable that' the historian confounds the two captures, as he
icistakes the situatiou of Nineveh, supposingit to be on the
Euphrates. Usher places the fiual destruction of Nineveh
fourteen years earlier than Prideaux, who assigns it to A. M.
3392, Diod. Sic. Lib. II. p. 140. edit. Wetsten. Herod.
Lib. I. c. cvi. p. 53. edit, Wesselin. Marsham's -Chron. Ssec.
xviii, p, 556.

OF THE BOOK OF NAHUM. 505
the Assyrians unexpectedly, " while they Avere
folden together as thorns, and Avhile they were
drunken as drunkards [[s]." " The gates of the
river were then opened, and the palace dissolved
[t}," and an " over-running flood" assisted the con
querors in their devastation [u] ; who took an end
less store of spoil of silver and of gold [x], making
an utter end of the place of Nineveh [y~\ : of that
vast and populous city, whose walls were an hun
dred feet high [z], and capable of admitting three
chariots abreast upon them, and fortified with fif
teen hundred towers, two hundred feet in height.
So totafly, indeed, was this city destroyed, that in
the second century after Christ, not a vestige of it
remained to ascertain the spot on which it stood
[a\. Its situation has long been a matter of un
certainty and dispute \b}.
[s] Chap,!. 10.
[t] Chap. ii. 6.
[d] Chap. i. 8. Diodor. Sic. Lib. II. p. 80. edit. Stephan.
p. 140. edit. Wessel. Alex. Polyhist. ap. Syncel.
[x] Nahum ii. 9. and Diod. Lib. II. p. 81.
£¦?] Chap. i. 8, 9. and Newton's ninth Dissertation on Pro
phecies, vol. i.
[z] Diod. Sic. Lib. II. p. 65, edit. Stephan. Strabo, Lib. XVI.
p. 737. ed. Par.
[aJ Lucialt; EIIKK, pro. fin. vol. i. p. 360. edit. Amst.
1687. Lucian was a native of Samosata, a city on the
Euphrates, in a country adjacent to Nineveh.
[b] Bochart. Phaleg. Lib. IV. cap. xx. Marshami
Chronic. Saec. xvui. p. 559. The best supported opinions
concur to place the ancient Nineveh Qfor some supposed -there
were two, and some three cities of that name) on the Tigris.

506 OF THE BOOK OF NAHUM.
This iUustrious prophecy thus reraarkably ac
coraplished in little raore than a century after it
was delivered, affords a signal evidence of the
inspiration of Nahum ; and a striking lesson of
huraUity to huraan pride. It raust have iraparted
much consolation to the tribes who were carried
away captive by the King of Assyria, as well as to
those of Benjamin and Judah ; and all raust have
rejoiced in the hope of deliverance, to hear that
their conquerors should in tirae be conquered,
their city leveUed to the dust, and their erapire
overturned. Passages in the book appear to be
cited or referred to by the sacred writers of the
New Testaraent [c].
The work is considered by Bishop Lowth as a
complete and perfect poera, of which the conduct
and iraagery are truly admirable. The fire, spirit,
and sublimity of Nahura, are unequalled. His
scenes are painted with great variety and splendour.
The exordiura of his work, in Avhich he describes
the attributes of God, is august ; and the prepara
tions for the attack, as well as the destruction of
Nineveh, are represented with singular effect [nJ.
The art with which the circumstances of the imme
diate destruction of the Assyrians under Senna
cherib are intermingled with those of the future
Herod, Lib. II, c, cl. There are ruins on the eastern side of the
river, said to be those of Nineveh, Tavernier in Harris, vol. ii.
B. 11. c. iv. Probably they are the ruins of the Persian Nineveh.
[c] Comp. Nahum i. 15. with Romans x. 15, and Nahum
iii. 4. with Revel, xvii. 1.
[d] Lowth's Praelect. 21.

OF THE BOOK OF NAHUM. 507
ruin of the empire, affords a very elegant specimen
of the manner in which the Prophets delight to
introduce present and distant events under one
point of view. The aUegorical pictures in this
book are remarkably beautiful [e].
Neither history nor tradition afford us any acr
count of Nahum, or of the period of his death.
His tomb, or pretended tomb, was formerly shewn
in a viUage named Bethogabra, now caUed GibUn,
near Emmaus. [e] Chap. ii. 7, 11, 12.

OP THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
HABAKKUK.

Some writers, whose relations are probably founded
on traditionary accounts, describe Habakkuk as a
native of Bethzakar[A] ; and affirm that he was
of the tribe of Simeon. Some suppose him to
have flourished in the reign of Manasseth [b] ;
others in that of Josiah [c] ; and some have placed
him so late as Zedekiah [d]; but the raost ap
proved opinion is, that he prophesied under Jehoi
akira, who ascended the throne A.M. 3395, and
reigned over Judah eleven years.
As the Prophet makes no mention of the Assy-
[a] Epiphanius calls it Bethsocher ; Dorotheus, Biticuchar,
Bethzacharias is mentioned in 1 Mace, vi, 32. this was between
Jerusalem and Bethsura ; and Josephus describes it as a nar
row defile. Vid, Joseph, de BeL Jud. L. I. c. 1. p. 959.
Bezeth is spoken of in 1 Mace. vii. 19.
[b] Sedar Olam Rabba, and Zuta. Abarb. Joseph. Antiq.
Lib. X. c. iv.
[c] Wells, Patrick, &c.
[d] Clem. Alex. Strom. 1. p, 391. edit. Potter. Epiphan. &c.

OF THB SOOK OF HABAKKUK. 509
rians, and speaks of the Chahikean invasions as
near at hand [b], he probably lived after the de
struction of the Assyrian empire in the faU of
Nineveh, A. M, 3392, and not long before the de
vastation of Judaea by the victories of Nebuchad
nezzar. Habakkuk then was nearly contemporary
with, and predicted the same events as Jereraiah ;
and he probably Uved to witness the completion of
that part of his prophecy which related to the
afflictions of his country.
Habakkuk is said, as well as Jeremiah, to have
chosen to remain amidst the sad scenes of a deso«-
late and deserted land, rather than follow his con
quered countryraen into captivity, and even to
have refused to accompany those who afterAvards
retired into Egypt. There are no proofs, howev-er,
that, as some writers ||f] have asserted, he lived
tiU Avithin two years of the return of the Jews,
under Zerubbabel, which happened A.M. 3468;
but he appears to have died in his own country,
and possibly he was buried at Cela, in the territory
of Judah, where his tomb was shewn in the time
of Eusebius [g].
It must be observed, that some Jews have on
[e] Cl^p. i. 5. ii. 3. iU. 2, 16—19.
[f] Hieron. Procem. in Habac.
[g] Euseb. Topic, who calls it by its old name;Ceila, which
is, perhaps, the same place with Echela and Betzekar. Sozo
men says, that Habakkuk's body was discovered there in the
time of Theodosius the Elder. Vid. -Sozom. Hist. Eccles.
Lib. VII. c. xxix. The Prophet's tomb was shewn also at
Gabata, about eleven miles from Eleutheropolis.
3

510 OF THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK.
very chimerical ground, pretended that our Prophet
was the son of the Shunamite widow, whom Elisha
restored to life[H]; and the wretched biographers
of the Prophets who wrote under the. names of
Epiphanius and Dorotheus relate, that on the ap
proach of Nebuchadnezzar to Jerusalem, the Pro
phet fled to Ostracina, in the land of Ismael, and
there continued tiU after the retreat of the Chal
daeans. But these writers appear, as does also St,
Jerom, to have confounded the Prophet with the
Habakkuk of the tribe of Levi mentioned by
Daniel; who is .described in the Greek title to
Bel and the Dragon, as the author of that book ;
and who is therein related to have been snatched
up at Jerusalem by an angel, and conveyed to
Babylon that he might afford food to Daniel in the
lions' den ; as also to have returned in the same
miraculous manner. Habakkuk is said likewise,
upon no better authority, to have delivered many
prophecies not contained in the book which we
now possess ; to have predicted the return of the
Jews from captivity ; the appearance of a great
light (the Messiah) and God's glory in the temple;
and the destruction of the temple by a nation from
the West (the Romans) ; and also to have written
the story of Susanna, and that of his own convey
ance to Babylon.
This book, which was certainly composed by
[h] 2 Kings iv, 16. The name of Habakkuk had some re
semblance with the words of Elisha, who pronounced to the
woman (" thou shalt embrace a son.")

op THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK, 511
Habakkuk [i], opens with a pious exclamation, in
which the Prophet expostulates with God in the
bold terms that a zeal for his glory might suggest,
on beholding the iniquities and laAvless violence
that prevailed among the Jews, The Almighty is
represented as declaring that he would " work an
incredible work in their days," that he would
" raise up the Chaldaeans," who are described by
name; which nation though then possibly in
aUiance, if not in friendship with Judah [k], should
" march through the breadth of the land," and
take possession of its dwelhngs.
As Nahura had before predicted the faU of the
Assyrians, who had carried the ten tribes into cap
tiArity: so Habakkuk, blending probably aU the
invasions of the Chaldaeans [l] under one consi
deration, describes in the raost striking manner,
their victories, fierceness, and rapidity ; and then,
by a sudden transition, contrasts the scene : and
points out the punishment of the pride of the vic
tors, and of their fake confidence in their gods [mJ ;
fisresbewing in express terms, the change and
insanity of Nebuchadnezzar [n]. The Prophet
[i] Chap. i. 1. ii. 1, 2.
[e] 2 Eings xxiiL 29. and Prid. A.M. 610. Josiah 31st
[1,3 Chap. i. 5 — 10. The Chaldaeans invaded Judaea three
times in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar ; first, in the fourth
year of Jehoiakim, A. M. 3397 ; secondly, in the reign of
Jechoniah, A. M. 3405 ; and thirdly, in the ninth year of
Zedekiah, A. M. 3414.
[m] Chap. ii. 4—12.
[N] Chap. i. 11.

513 OF THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK.
still continues, with reverence for God's attributes,
to plead the cause of his countrymen, as more
righteous than those whora God had " established
for correction," and to enquire why the Almighty
should suffer his people to be drawn up " Uke
fishes," by a nation that attributed its success to
its own prowess. He is then comraanded to write,
on durable tablets, and in legible characters, the
vision in which it is revealed to hira first, that the
general expectation on which the living faith of
the just was built, should surely come, though it
must tarry the appointed tirae [o] ; and, secondly,
the destruction of that kingdora of Babylon which
had " spoiled raany nations ;" and of those evil
kings who gathered unto themselves aU people
[o] Ch, ii, 3, 4, Rom. i. 17. Heb. x. 37, 38. The evan
gelical writer cites the passage according to the Septuagint,
and the original will admit of the same construction. Vid.
Pearson's Prolegomena to the Septuagint. Some Greek copies
xead EIS xaipov fiaxpot, " for a long time :" the Vulgate has it,
adhuc visus procul, " the vision is yet afar off." Bishop
Chandler is of opinion, that the third and fourth verses of the
second chapter should be thus translated : " And at the end
he shall break forth, and not deceive ; though he tarry, ex
pect him, because he that cometh will come ; he will not go
beyond God's appointed time. Behold, if any man draw back,
the soul of him (God) shall have no pleasure in him ; but the
just shall live by faith." And the learned Bishop justifies
this translation by a reference to the original, and to several
versions. Vid. Chandler's Defence, ch. ii. sect, i, p, 162, 163,
note A. The spiritual deliverance included also the temporal
restoration from the captivity. The Talmudists apply the pro
phecy to the advent of the Messiah,

OF THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK. 513
with insatiable ambition, who should find that
graven images could not profit, but " the Lord"
only " in his holy temple."
The Prophet having heard the divine pro
mises and threats in fearful reverence, concludes
his work with an enraptured prayer; in which
he supplicates God to hasten the deliverance
of his people [p]. He coraraemorates in majes
tic language, the mercies which their forefa
thers had experienced from God when he deli
vered them out of Egypt, and conducted them
through the wilderness : alluding to particular cir
cumstances with a desultory and irregular descrip
tion, but with all the enthusiasra of inspired piety ;
entering at once into the raidst of the subject:
representing God's descent frora Teraan [q] ; and
now conteraplating " the tents of Cushan [r] in
[p] The ancient fathers explain this hymn and other pas
sages as allusive to the Messiah ; and the Romish church has
inserted into its offices, some parts of it as applicable to
Christ. Vid. Cyprian, adv. Jud. Lib. II. c. xxi. p. 294. Edit.
Par. 1726. August, de Trin. Lib. IV. p. 576. tom. viii. Edit.
Antwerp, 1700. Hieron. Theodoret, Cyrill. &c. Ofiice du
Vendredi Saint, Antienne de Laudes, a la Messe.
[q] Teman was a part of Seir, or Edom. Paran, according
to Ptolemy, was a district towards the extremity of the wilder
ness ; a part of it was near Kadesh. Vid. Numb. xiii. 26. and
Patrick on Deut, xxxiii. 2.
[r] Cushan may mean Chus, or Midian, a part of Arabia
Petraea, and of Arabia Felix. The Arabians were called Sce-
nitae, or dwellers in tents. The Midianites dwelt in part of
Cush, The Prophet may allude to the circumstances described
Ll

514 OF THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK,
affliction" and in terror at the approach of the
IsraeUtes. He finishes with a declaration of entire
confidence in God, expressing sentiments of resig
nation which no change of circurastance should
shake, and which should rejoice in the God of his
salvation, though the produce of the earth and
every external blessing should fail.
It should seem frora the title [s] prefixed, and
from the intimation subjoined to the last verse of
this prayer, as well as from the word Selah, which
occurs three times in the chapter, that the prayer
Avas set to music ; and perhaps performed in the
service of the teraple ; and it was possibly deli^
vered in a kind of metre. The style of the whole
book is poetical; but raore especially this beau
tiful and perfect ode ; which is decorated with
every kind of imagery and figurative embellish
ment [t].
Habakkuk sometiraes adopts the expressions of
Isaiah, he is imitated by succeeding Prophets, and
in Exod. xv. 15. Numb. xxii. 3. or xxxi. 2 — 11. or possibly
to sorae later victories, Vid. Judg. iii. 10. vii. 1, &c. Bochart.
Geogr. Sac. Lib, IV. c. ii. p. 238. Edit. Cad, 1646.
[s] The meaning of the word Sigionoth is not known. Some
suppose it to imply an instrument, some a tune. In the
margin of our Bibles it is explained " according to the variable
songs or tunes, called in Hebrew Shigionoth." The direc
tions annexed to the end of the prayer might have been added
by Josiah, if the prayer was written in his reign. The mean
ing of the word Neginoth is uncertain. Vid. title to Psalm iv.
[t] Lowth's Praelect. Poet, 21 and 28. and Green on chap.
iii, 3—10.

OF THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK. 515
is cited as an inspired person by the evangeUcal
writers [u].
[r] Hab. ii. 3, 4. comp. with Heb, x, 37, 38, Rom, i. 17.
Gal. iii. 11. Acts xiii. 41. comp. with Hab. i. 5. St. Luke,
addressing himself more particularly to a Grecian, cites this
passage according to the Septuagint; Acts xiii. 41. and Pococke
has shewn that the original will admit of the Apostle's con
struction. Vid. Pococke in Porta Mosis, c. iii. He derives
the word Bagojim, which we translate, " among the heathen,"
from the word Baga, which still signifies in the Arabic to be
*' proud or scornful ;" and the word Tamah may be translated,
*' wonder and perish."

1,12

OF THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
ZEPHANIAH.

The Prophet Zephaniah informs us that he was
the son of Cushi ; and that the word of the Lord
carae to him in the days of Josiah King of Judah.
He is supposed to have been of the tribe of Si
meon ; and as he traces back his pedigree for four
generations [aJ, he was probably of distinguished
birth [b] : though not of the royal family, as some
have iraagined [c] frora the reserablance betAveen
the naraes of Hezekiah and that of Hiskia, from
whora the Prophet professes himself to have been
a descendant ; the period which intervened be
tween King Hezekiah and the tirae in which Ze
phaniah flourished, being scarce sufficient to admit
of three interraediate ancestors to the Prophet.
Zephaniah begins with denouncing God's wrath
[a] Some of the Jews fancied that these ancestors were all
Prophets. Vid. Hieron. Com. in Sophon. init.
[b] Cyrih,
[c] R. Aben, Ezra,

OF THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH. 517
against " the reranant of Baal [d], and the name
of the Chemarims [eJ ;" against them that Avor-
shipped the host of heaven, and swore by Mal
cham [f^ ; and therefore probably, he addressed
those idolatrous priests who were not yet extir-
[d] Baal, ^j?a, was anciently a name a])plied to the true
God, and afterwards prostituted to many Pagan deities. The
.Baal whose worship Jezebel introduced from Zidon, was, ac
cording to Mede, a deified King of the Phoenicians. The name
was often given to the heavenly bodies when made the object
of idolatrous worship. Hosea ii. 16. Vid. Selden. de Dis,
Syris Syntag. II. c. i. Mede, B. I. Disc. 42.
[e] The word Chemarim is translated idolatrous^ priests,
2 Kings xxiii. 5. They were called Chemarim or Camarim, a
similar name was continued among the cruel priests of Mexico
to the Spanish conquest, and the Jews even to this day, call
the Monks anna, Camarim, meaning probably the Priests of
the Romish church, so described on account of their perse
cuting spirit. Vid. Kimchi in loc. and in 2 Kings xxiii. 5.
Black was the customary dress of idolatrous priests in piany
nations. Vid. Horace, Lib. L Sat. Mil. 1. 23, 24. Apoll,
Rhod. Lib. IIL 1.861. Apuleius, 1. 10. Miles. The black
ox, that represented Osiris among the Egyptians was covered
with a black silk or linen garment. Vid. Plutarch de Isid.
tom. ii. Par. 2. p. 494. Edit. AVyttenbach. Patrick in 2 Kings
xxiii. 5.
[f] Ch. i. 5. signifies taaVna (swearing) by their king, who
probably was Moloch, the king or god of the Ammonites.
Some suppose the Prophet to allude lo Baal, a word which
imports also Lord or Master. Malchani was the same deity
with Moloch, or Melek, a god of the Ammonites. Some
suppose him the same with Baal, as both words signify domi
nion. He was worshipped by heathens with human sacrifices,
and the Israelites dedicated their children to his service by
making them pass through the fire. Vid. Vos.sius de Orig. et
Progres. Idolaf. Lib. II. c. v. Patrick in Levit. xviii. 21, and
Calmet's Disscrtat. sur I'ldelat.

518 OF the book of zephaniah.
pated by the religious zeal of Josiah [o]]; he
foretold, also, the destruction of Nineveh, which
happened A.M. 3392. Upon these considera
tions he may be supposed to have prophesied before
the last reforraation raade by Josiah, A. M. 3381.
He may be conceived also to have entered on his
office towards the coraraencement of the reign of
that monarch, who ascended the throne A. M.
3364, since he preceded Jeremiah, who began his
prophetic ministry in the thirteenth year of Josiah's
reign. Epiphanius relates that Zephaniah was
born at Mount Sarabatha, or Baratha [h].
Zephaniah and Jereraiah resemble each other
so much in those parts where they treat of the
idolatries and wickedness that prevailed in their
time, that St. Isidore asserts, that Zephaniah was
the abbreviator of Jeremiah; but he apparently
prophesied before Jeremiah ; and the latter seeras
to speak of those abuses as partially removed,
which the former describes as present in the most
flagitious extent [i].
Zephaniah in this book appears to have con
spired with Josiah in his righteous design of
[g] Comp. Zeph. i. 4, 5 — 9. with 2 Kings xxui, 5, 6, 12, &c,
fH] Dorotheus calls the place Sabarthara. Zareth-sha-har
is mentioned in Joshua, asa mountainous place in the territory
of Reuben, c. xiii. 19, Zeredatha, or Sarthas, is spoken of
in 2 Chron. iv. 17. The place of Zephaniah's nativity might
be Saraa, near Eshthaol, in the tribe of Simeon, with the
addition of Beth, or Batha, which signifies a house or place
of residence.
[i] Comp. Zephan. i. 4, 5, 9. with Jerem. ii. 5, 20, 32. c.
iii. 4, 5.

OF THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH. 519
bringing back the people to the worship and obe
dience of the true God. His first chapter con
tains a general denunciation of vengeance against
t\\e princes of Judah and against their city, where
some disputed the divine providence [k], and threat
ens punishment also to thpse who superstitiously
observed the rites [t] of idolaters, or violently in
vaded the property of others ; and he declared
that " the great day of trouble and distress, of de
solation and darkness," Avas at hand. In the
second chapter, the Prophet predicts woe to the
Cherethites [m] ; the Moabites ; Ammonites ; and
^Ethiopians [n] ; and describes the desolation of
Nineyeb, in terras wonderfully descriptive [o].
[k] Chap. i. 8, 12.
[l] Chap. ii. 5.; see also i. 9. The Chaldee Paraphrast
applies this last verse to those who lived after the rules of the
Philistines. Vid. Bochart. Hierozoic. Lib. II, Par. 1st. c.
xxxvi. p. 366. Edit. Lond. If a superstitious practice be allu
ded to, it might be derived from the blind prejudice ofthe Phi
listines. Vid. 1 Sam. v. 1 — 5. Traces of a similar observance
may be found among other nations. Vid. Juven. Sat. VI. I. 47.
Tibul. Lib. I. Eleg. II. 1. 89, 90. Lucan. Lib. II. L 359,
[m] The Cherethites, or Cherethims, were the Philistines who.
bordered on the Mediterranean, called Cherethims. Ezek.
xxv. 16. and K^jite;, Cretans, iu the Septuagint. They are sup
posed to have been a colony removed from Crete to Palestine.
Vid. Lowth and Calmet.
[n] Chap. ii. 12, comp. with Jerem, xlvi, 2, 9. Ezek. xxx.
4 — 10. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X. c. xi. p. 459.
[o] Chap, ii. 14, 15, Some have, without sufficient reason,
imagined that this prophecy is an interpolation from Jonah ;
and that it is alluded to in Tobit xiv. 4. C. Vid. Whiston's
Authentic Records, vol. ii. Append, IV.

520 OF THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH,
These prophecies, excepting that relating to Ni
neveh, were chiefly accomplished by the conquests
of Nebuchadnezzar [p]. In the third chapter, the
Prophet returns to Jerusalera, arraigns her pollu
tions, oppressions, and corruption, which should be
visited in God's general judgraents ; and concludes,
as is usual with the Prophets, with proraises of a
reranant who should trust in the Lord's narae ; of
a return to his favour ; and of blessings partly
corapleted by the Gospel dispensations, but finally
to be accomplished in the universal restoration of
the Jews [q]. In the second and third chapters,
likewise, the Prophet magnifies his expressions in
speaking of temporal events to an iraportance
which accords only with the effects produced by
the preaching of the Gospel : in the destruction of
idolatry, and in the calling of the Gentiles to God's
service [r].
The style of Zephaniah is poetical; but it is not
distinguished by any peculiar elegance or beauty,
except as generally aniraated and irapressive.
[p] Prid. Con. in 21, 31, and 32, of Nebuchadnezzar. New
ton on the Prophecies, vol. i. ch. ix. '
[q] Chap, iii, 8 — 2Q. comp, particularly iii. 10, with ActSj
viii. 27,
fR] Chap, ii, 11, and ch. iii, 13, with Rev, xiv, 6.

OF THE

BOOK OF THE PROPHET
HAGGAL

Uaogai is generally reputed to have been born in
the captivity, and to have returned from Babylon
with Zerubbabel [aJ. He is reckoned as the tenth
in order among the Prophets, both in the Hebrew
and Greek copies ; and may be considered as the
first of the three Prophets who flourished araong
the Jews after their return to their country. He
appears to have been raised up by God to exhort
Zerubbabel [b], and Joshua the high-priest, the
son of Josedech, to resurae the work of the tem
ple : which had been interrupted near fourteen
years, in consequence of the intrigues of the Sa-r
maritans, and other obstructions excited to defeat
the edict of Cyrus [c]. He began to prophesy
in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, A.M,
[a] Ezra ii. 2. Cyrill. Lib, I. adv. Juhan. Epiphan. et
Dorotii. [b] Ezra v. 1.
[c] Ezra iv. 24.

522 OF THE BOOK OF HAGGAI,
3484, about fifteen years after the foundation of
the teraple had been laid [d]. . The Prophets, after
the captivity, sometimes reckon by the dates of
the reigns of the sovereigns to whom their country
was subjected.
Haggai begins with representing to the people
who delayed by evasive procrastinations the work
of the teraple, that they were more solicitous to
build and to adorn their own houses; than to labour
in the service of God. He informs them, that the
scarcity and unfruitful seasons which they expe
rienced, were designed as a punishment for their
selfish disregard to the glory of the Lord, His
earnest remonstfanpe and exhortations appear to
have produced tbeir effect; and the Prophet in
order to encourage those who fondly remeraberjng
the magnificence of that glorioiis structure which
had been reared by Solomon, and who, perhaps, im-
[d] Ezra v. 1. The Darius of Haggai and Zechariah
could not have been Darius Nothus, who did not begin to
reign till above 100 years after the decree of Cyrus, and be.>
fore whose time Zerubh'4bel and Joshua mu^t have bgeii dead.
as well as all those who remembered the temple in its first
glory. But as the second year of Darius Hystaspes corres
ponds with the seventeenth year after the return from the
captivity, many might have at that time been living who re
membered Solomon's temple which was destroyed only sixty-
eight years before; s^n^ we may allow the temple lo have
been rebuilt in about twenty years. Vid. Joseph. Antiq. Lib.
XI. c. iv. p. 480. Clem. Aelx. Strom. Lib. L p. 395. Witsius
Miscel. Sac. Lib. I. c. xx. Dr. AUis, with less reason, con
tends for Darius Ochus.

OF THE BOOK OF HAGGAI. 523
pressed with the description furnished byEzekiel [e],
must have lamented the comparative inferiority ofthe
present building, declares to them in the narae of
the Lord, that the glory of this latter house, though
it might appear as nothing in their eyes, yet
should be greater than that of the former : " for
thus saith the Lord of Hosts, yet once it is a little
while, and I wiU shake the heavens, and the earth,
and the sea, and the dry land : and I will shake
all nations, and the desire of all nations shall
come ; and I will fill this house Avith glory, saith
the Lord of Hosts" [f], with a greater glory, — with
a glory more apparent and manifest than was that
clouded and symbolical representation of the di
vine Majesty which overshadowed the mercy-seat
in the old teraple ; and Avhich prefigured only that
incarnate presence of the Messiah in Avhora should
" dwell all the fuUness of the Godhead bodily [g] ;"
that from this teraple, though not decorated with
silver and with gold, yet there should appear the
Prince " of Peace [h]." Haggai, after recapitu-
[e] Ezek, xl. — xlviii.
[e] Chap. ii. 6, 7. comp. with Heb. xii. 26. Hag. i. 8.
[g] Coloss. ii. 9. Joseph, de Voisin. Prooem. Pugio Fidei,
p. 166. [h] Chap. ii. 6—9. comp. with Isaiah ix. 6. Ephes. ii. 14.
and Heb. xii. 26, 27. Some writers who conceive that our
Saviour did not appear undef the second temple, but under a
third, would restrict this magnificent prophecy to an assurance
ofthe riches and splendor of the second temple, maintaining
that rnnn might be translated desirable things ; but the word,
which may be a noun feminine in expression of excellency, has
been understood by the best commentators to have an appro
priate reference to the Messiah, The Chaldee and Vulgate

324 OF THE BOOK OF HAGGAI.
lating the offences that had excited God's anger,
and which could not be atoned for till the people
should have repented of their neglect of God's
service ; and after consoling thera with a proraise
of future blessings, concludes his splendid prophe
cies, which he was enabled to deUver by four dis
tinct revelations [i], with predicting the iraportant
revolutions that should precede the great and final
advent ofthe Messiah [k], typicaUy described under
the name of Zerubbabel : when the kingdoms of
the world should become subject to his chosen ser
vant [lJ : a consuraraation foreshadowed, perhaps,
in the temporal commotions which happened be
fore the first advent of our Saviour [m],
render the verse in the singular number. Certain it is, that
neither Zerubbabel's nor Herod's temple, did ever equal that
of Solomon in magnificence ; neither could any riches have
compensated for the loss of the divine glory, of the ark and
its contents, the Urim and Thummim, the fire from heaven,
and the other wonderful distinctions by which the first temple
was characterized ; much less could they have rendered the
glory of the latter house greater than that of the former. The
solemnity also with which this prophecy is introduced, as well
as the grandeur of its description, are hyperbolical in the ex
treme, unless applied to the glorious presence of the Messiah.
Vid. parallel Text in Malac. iii. 1. Chandler's Defen. § 1.
ch. ii. Newcome, &c. The fact is, that the temple destroyed
by Vespasian, notwithstanding any addition, or alteration of
the structure, was considered as the second temple, and is so
described by Josephus de Bel. Jud. Lib. VI. c. iv. p. 1279.
[l] They are precisely marked put. Vid. ch. i. 1, ii. 1,
10, 20.
[k] Chap. ii. 22, 23.
[l] Dan. ii. 44. and Rev. xi. 15.
[m] As the Babylonian commotions under Darius; the Ma-

OF THE BOOK OF HAGGAI. 525
These signal predictions which obtained to Hag
gai the character of a Prophet [n], were supposed
by the Jews to refer to the time of the Messiah [o].
Some modern objections have, indeed, been made
to the exact accompUshment of that prophecy
which has been applied to Christ : on a pretence
that the temple in which our Saviour appeared,
was not in reality a second, but a third temple,
rebuilt by Herod ; but it is certain, that whatever
alterations and additions were made by Herod to
Zerubbabel's teraple, yet it did not constitute an
entirely new building [p] ; and the structure cora-
menced by Herod, for the enlargement and en
creased elevation of the temple, was carried on as
a gradual work of forty-six years, no nominal, dis
tinction was ever raade between the two [q] ;
both being considered in popular language, as the
second temple ; and had the Prophet adopted such
distinction, it must have led the Jews to expect a
demolition of the teraple, instead of serving to
console them. It is likeAvise undeniable, that the
JcAvs did, in consequence of this prophecy, expect
the Messiah to appear in this temple [rJ, tiU after
cedonian wars, and those between the successors of Alexander,
or the disturbances in the Roman empire, which succeeded the
death of Caesar. Vid. Orosius, Lib. VII. c. xviii. &c.
[n] Ezra v. 1. vi. 14. Heb. xii. 26.
[o] Aben-Ezra ap Degling. Obser. Sac. Par. III. Observ. 20,
[p] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. 15. c. 11. p. 700. Edit. Hudson.
-[-q] Joseph, de Bell. Jud. Lib. I.e. 21. Philo de Vei tut.
Vol. ii. p. 574. Edit. Mangey. Prid. Con. An. A.C. 534.
£r] Talm. Sanhedrin. c. xi. Maimon. in Saidi. Midr.

526 OF THE BOOK OF HAGGAI.
its destruction by Vespasian ; they then appUed it
to a third, which they stiU expect.
The style of Haggai is represented by the
learned Lowth as entirely prosaic [s] ; but Bishop
Newcome has given a translation of it on a per
suasion that a great part of it adraits of a raetrical
division [t]. Haggai, according to some tradi
tionary accounts, raust have been conversant with
metrical compositions. In sorae manuscripts of
the Septuagint, Vulgate, and other versions of the
Psalter, titles are prefixed to the cxxxviiith, cxlvith,
cxlvuth, and cxlviiith Psalras [u], by which they
are ascribed to Haggai and Zechariah. But as
these titles are not in the Hebrew copies, and as
the dates and occasion of these several psalras are
in some raeasure uncertain, we can place but little
confidence on these inscriptions. It, is however,
very probable, that these Prophets were concerned
in the coraposition of some of those hymns, which
were produced after the return from the captivity,
Haggai Avas possibly of the sacerdotal race ; and
Epiphanius relates, that he Avas buried araong the
Priests at Jerusalera. He and Zechariah are said
to have been the first persons who sung the Hal
lelujah in the temple. The Rabbins report, that
on Deut. xxxiii. 12. Ber. Ketan. on Gen. i. Par. II. Ber. Rah
on Gen. xxvii. 27, Talm, Hier. tr. Beracoth in Lightf. R. Sal.
Jarchi. Book Caphtor, quoted by Grotius de Verit. L. \ .
[s] Praslect. Poet. 21.
[t] Newcome's attempt towards au improved version of the
Twelve Minor Prophets.
[u] Prol. it) Bib, Max.

OF THE BOOK OF HAGGAI. 527
they were both of the great synagogue [x], which
they suppose to have its origin in the time of Da
rius Hystaspes.
[x] For this reason Isaac Abarbenel excludes them, as well
as Malachi, from the rank of Prophets, though their books
were admitted into the canon, and they were considered as
Prophets by the Jews, The synagogue however was admitted to
have contained sorae persons entitled to the rank of Prophets.
Vid. Maimon. More Nevoch, Par. I. c. lix. Vid. Auctor.
Beth Israel, ad Bava Bathra, c. i.

OF THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
ZECHARIAH.

Zechariah was the son of Barachiah, and the
grandson of Iddo [a] : the last of whom is sup
posed to have been a different person from the
Iddo mentioned by Neheraiah as one of the priests
Avho returned frora Babylon under the conduct of
Zerubbabel [b] ; but it is very possible that Ze
chariah raight have been of the sacerdotal race ;
[a] Chap. i. 1. Ezra v. 1. vi. 14. where sou is put for
descendant, as is usual in scripture. Vid. Dan. v. 2. Matt.
i. 1. [b] Nehem. xii. 4. St. Jerom says, that it was not doubted
that Iddo was the same person with the man of God who was
seut to Jeroboam, vid. 1 Kings xiii. 1, 2. 2 Chron, xii, 15.
but this was probably an error. It is certain, at least, that
Zechariah could not be the grandson of a man who lived above
400 years before he began to prophesy. It is doubtful whe
ther Iddo, the ancestor of Zechariah, is described in this book
as a Prophet, for that title is ambiguously placed in chap i. 1.
The Septuagint and Vulgate apply the title to Zechariah.
XoLxa^at rot tS Bx^ap^iH, viov aJ'Jw, to» ngo^ll^v.

OF THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH, 529
and when released by the decree of Cyrus from
the captivity, in which he probably was born, have
been accompanied by his grandfather in the ge
neral restoration. No certain information hoAvever
can be collected concerning the time or place in
Avhieb Zechariah was born. Some writers relate
that he Avas of the tribe of Levi, and consecrated
to the priestly office [c] ; and we are told that his
body Avas found Avith a sacerdotal Avhite robe at
Caphar, or Capher [o], at the extremity of the
territory of Eleutheropolis ; while by others we are
informed that he Avas buried at Betharia, in the
land of Noeman, about forty furlongs from Elea-
theropolis [e] ; not to mention that according to
other accounts his remains were deposited near
those of Haggai at Jerusalera [f], and that his pre
tended tomb is StiU shewn at the foot of Mount
Olivet. But Uttle reUance can be placed on these and
[c] Cyrill. Pra;f.in Com. in Zechar. Epiph. Doroth, &c
[d3 Sozomen, who relates an idle tale concerning the mi
raculous discovery of Zechariah's hody, in a perfect state at
Caphar, adds to the account, that an infant was found under
the Prophet's feet, buried with the ornaments of royalty ; apd
that about the same time an apocryphal book was also found
in which it was written that the favourite son of Joash died
suddenly ou the seventh day after that monarch had slain
Zechariah, aud that Joash considering it as a judgment, or
dered that his son's body should be buried with that of the
Prophet. Soxomeu. Lib. IX. c. ult. Niceph. Lib. XIV.
c. viii.
[e] Dorotheus.
fr] Epiphanius.
M m

530 OF THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH.
similar representations, some, or indeed all of
which, have confounded the Prophet with other
persons mentioned in the scriptures. Sozomen
iraagined that the Prophet Avas the sarae person
with Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, the wit
ness raentioned by Isaiah [g], and who appears to
have lived in the time of Ahaz, about A.M. 3262;
Others by a great anachronism, make him coeval
with Joash [h], or Uzziah [i].
The author of the present work [k] Avas unques
tionably a contemporary with Haggai; and began
to prophesy tAvo raonths after hira, in the eighth
month of the second year of Darius Hystaspes,
A.M. 3484 ; being coraraissioned as well as Hag-:
gai, to exhort the Jews to proceed in the building
of the teraple, after the interruption which the
work had suffered. W^e are inforraed by Ezra,
that the Jews " prospered through the prophesy
ing [l]," and obeyed the instructions of Zechariah,
who continued to prophesy about two years ; the
last revelation of which the date is specified in
this book, having been deUvered in the fourth day
of the ninth raonth of the fourth year of Darius
Hystaspes [m] ; Zechariah therefore probably lived
to witness the completion of the teraple, which
[g] Isaiah viii. 2.
[h] 2 Chron. xxiv. 21. Epiphau. &c.
[i] 2 Chron. xxvi. 5.
[k] Chap. i. 1. Ezra v, 1, vi, 14. Haggai i. 1.
[l] Ezrs). vi. 14.
[m] Chap. vii. 1, The month Chisleu corresponds with
part of our November and December,

OF THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH. 531
was finished in about six years ; and having con
tributed eithesr as a priesti or a member of the
great synagogue, as vveU as a Prophet, to pro
mote the viTelfare and. interests of his country, died
in peace, being, it may be presumed, a different
person from the Zechariah mentioned by Christ [n]^
Zechariah, Avho certainly collected his own pro
phecies into their present form [oj, is mentioned
as a Prophet by Ezra [p] ; and is cited as an in
spired writer by the sacred penmen of the Newr
[nJ Our Saviour, vid. Matt, xxiii. 35, imputes to the Jews
the blood, of Zacharias, the son of Barachias ; accusing them
of having slain him between the temple and the altar. By this
martyr, however, was probably meant Zecharias, the son of
Jehoiada, who is related in 2 Chron. xxiv. 21. to have been
slain by command of Joash in "the court of the Lord's house.
"There is no account of the Prophet's having beeu killed, and
in his time the temple was in rains. The names are the same
in the original, there being no vowel between the j and the a.
It is probable, therefore, that the copyists of St. Matthew
iuserted Barachiah, (perhaps first in the margin) thinking
that it must have been the Prophet whose writings were extant.
And this is confirmed, if we consider that Barachiah is not
nientioued in the parallel passage of St. Luke. Vid. chap. xi.
51. And St. Jerom assures ns, that in a manuscript copy
ofthe Gospel of St. Matthew, used hy the Nazarenes, which
he obtained permission from the inhabitants of Beraea in Syria,
to transcribe, it was written, the son of Jehoiada. Vid. Hieron.
in Matt. xxiu. et de Script. Eccles. Josephus relates, that
Zechariah, the son of Baruch, was slain in the temple, but
this was not long before its destruction, and he was not a
Prophet. Vid. de Bell. Jud. Lib. IV. c. 5. p. 1185. Edit,
Hudson. [o] Chap. i. 9. ii. 2.
[p] Ezra V. 1. vi. 14.
M m 2

532 OF THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH.
Testament [q] . The minute accompUshment of his
own iUustrious prophecies bears a signal testimony
to the truth of that infaUible spirit by which he was
inspired. He was so distinguished for the peculiar
exceUency of his predictions, as to be styled the
sun among the lesser Prophets ; it is, however,
the sun soraetimes obscured by clouds. The
senigmatical cast of his visions, which are of diffi
cult interpretation, must, indeed, be supposed ne
cessarily to produce some shades. The general
design of the work, however, is sufficiently obvi
ous ; and it is occasionally iUuminated with the
brightest and most striking passages.
Zechariah, in conformity with his first intention,
begins with general exhortations to his country
men : exciting thera to repent frora the evil ways
of their fathers, to whom the Prophets had vainly
addressed their cry ; he describes, in an interest
ing representation which he had beholden in vision,
angels of the Lord rainistring to his will, and the
angel of the covenant interceding for raercy on
Jerusalem, and the desolate cities of Judaea, which
had experienced God's indignation seventy years
[r] ; whUe other nations connected with Judah
[q] Matt. xxi. 4, 5. xxvi, 31, xxvii. 9. Mark xiv. 27.
John xiv. 15. xix. 37. Ephes. iv. 25. Rev. i. 7. and thp
marginal references in our Bible.
[r] Chap. i. 12. Zechariah reckons these seventy years
from the besieging of Jerusalem in the ninth year of the reign
of Zedekiah, and the tenth month, for which a solemn fast w^s
kept by the Jews. Comp. 2 Kings xxv. 1. with Zech. viii. 19.
this ends in the second year of Darius. If >ve reckon from

OF THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH. 533
ferere in peaOe. He announces God's displeasure
against the heathens who " had helped forward
the affliction" of the Jews^ by endeaArours to im
pede the building of the temple ; and declares,
that the house of the Lord should be buUt in Je
rusalem, and Zion be comforted [s]. The Pro
phet then proceeds figuratively to represent the
increase and prosperity of the Jews [t] : promis
ing that God should be unto thera "a waU of
fire ;" that he should be the glory in the raidst of
them, and the nations to be converted to his service
[y"] ; that the high-priest should be restored with
his former splendor in the person of Joshua, who
is declared to be the type [x] of that spiritual
servant of the Lord who should be caUed '^'^the
branch [y] :" becorae the chief corner-stone of his
the destruction of Jerusalem in the eleventh year of Zedekiah,
the seventy years will be completed in the fourth year of Da
rius.. See Zech. vii. 1,5. Prid. An. A.C. 518.
[s] Chap. i. 16, 17.
[t] Chap. ii. 4. comp; with Joseph., B. Jud. V. 4, 2. Vi
tringa, &c.
[u] Chap. ii. 10— 13. comp. with John i. 14. Rev. xxi. 23.
[x] Chap. iii. 8. The word riflio signifies a wonder, or a
type. Vid. Isa. xx. 3. Ezek. xii. 7. xxiv. 24- Chand. Def.
ch. iu. § 1, 4.
[yJ Chap. iii. 8, 9. A title of the Messiah, as descending
from the stock of David. Vid. tsa. iv. 2. Jerem. xxiii. 5.
The Chaldee Paraphrast applies these texts to Christ, whp is
eminently called God's servant. Vid. Isa. xii. 1. xlix. 3. Iii, 13.
lui. 11. Ezek. xxxiv. 23. The Seventy translate the word
riDy, (which signifies a branch rising upward from the root or
stalk) in this and other places, AraloXu, the East, or sun-rising,

534

OF THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH.

church, and remove the iniquity of the land, and
the success of wbose governraent is foreshewn
under the promised completion of Zerubbabel's
designs [z]. The Prophet then interweaves in
his discourse some instructive adraonitions : he
unfolds the ample roll of God'sf judgfeent against
theft and perjury, and such other prevailing wick
edness [aO, as had provoked the former vengeance
©f the Alraighty. He embleraaticaUy pourtrays
the four successive empires that had beeti, or
should be employed as rainisters of wrath .£b] *
a'nd is empowered to foretel the establishment lof
the Jevvish governraent under the Messiah ; and
to crown the representative of Christ, (who should
be both King and Priest,) with the erableras
of civil and religious authority united [c], which
were to be preserved in the temple as raeraorials
of the prophetic cereraony, and as expressive of
the character of the expected Messiah.
To the captives from Babylon, or other profes
sors of the Hebrew religion [d], who pharisaicaUy
thence applied to Christ. - Luke i. 78. and translated " the
day-spring." Hence, perhaps, the Jewish prophecy men
tioned by Tacitus, (ut valesceret Oriens,) Vid. Tacit. Hist..
Lib. V. c. xiii. Grot, in loc. et ad Agg. ii. 8.
[z] Chap. iv. 9, 10.
[a] Chap. V. and Deut. xxvii. xxviii.
[b] Chap. vi. The chariots and horses probably represent
the Babylonian, Persian, Macedonian, and Roman empires.
The two brazen mountains may signify God's immoveable de
crees. Vid. Psa. xxxvi. 6.
[CJ Chap. vi. 10 — 15,
' [d] Some have supposed that they who were sent to pray

OF THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH. 535
observed solemn fests without true contrition, the
Prophet recommends judgment, mercy, and com
passion [e] ; and then addressing hiraself to the
Jews, he proraises a return of righteousness and
favour to Jerusalera • assuring them, that the
mournful fasts Avith which they lamented its de
struction, should be converted into cheerful feasts ;
and that the church of the Lord should be enlarged
by the accession of many nations converted by
means of the Jews [f j .
The twelfth verse of the eleventh chapter of
this book, which exhibits a prophetic description
of some circumstances afterwards fulfilled in our
Saviour, appears to be cited by St. Matthew as
spoken by Jeremy [^g^. As this and the two pre
ceding chapters, which are connected by a kind
of continuation, have been thought to contain
some particulars raore suitable to the period of
Jereraiah^ than to that of Zechariah, or to the
design of his appointraent []h]], sorae learned wri-
before the Lord, vid. ch, vii. 2. were Persian ofiicers of Da
rius. Theodoret imagines, that they were Cutheans, or Sama
ritans. Some have supposed, that they were distant inhabi
tants of Judaea ; but probably they were Jewish captives from
Babylon, Vid. Calmet, and other Commentators,
[e] Chap. vii. 9, 10. See Matt, xxiii. 3.
[f] Chap. viii.
[g] Matt, xxvii. 9, 10.
" [h] Mede is of opinion, that the description of Tyre, in
«hap. ix. 3. was not applicable to her condition after the de
struction effected by Nebuchadnezzar ; but New Tyre might be
rising into prosperity in the time of Zechariah. The prophecies
in the ninth chapter against Damascus and the Philistines, and

536' OP THE Book of zechariah.
ters have conceived [i], that they were written- by
the forraer Prophet ; that they differ in style from'
the eight first chapters [k], and that they have beeft
accidentally transposed, or joined to those of Ze
chariah, from similarity of subject. Other writers-
are, however, of opinion; that St. Matthew in the
place referred to, might aUude to sorae traditional
prophecy of Jereraiah ; or that the narae of Je-
reray was iraproperly added or substituted- by a
mistake of the copyist of the Gospel for that of
Zechariah [l]. These writers maintain, that the
chapters concerned in this enquiry adrait of a con
struction perfectly consistent with the time of Ze-
especially against Askelon; have been judged more descriptive
of the desolation produced by Nebuchadnezzar, than of the~
circumstances which resulted from the victories of Alexander.
It may be observed,, likewise, that Assyria is threatened in
chap; Xl 11. though that empire was destroyed before the time
of Zechariah. Assyria, however, may be put for Syria, or the
enemies of God ih general. Some, also, appfy the passage in
ch. xi, 1 — 6. at least in the first instance to the destruction
of Jerusalem produced by the Babylonians ; though, perhaps,
it may refer only to those calamitous circumstances which
occurred subsequently to the time of Zechariah, as under An
tiochus or Vespasian, Vid, 1 Mace.. i. Joseph, de Bell Jud.
[i] Hammond in MaU. xxvii. Mede, Book IV. Epist. 31,,
et 6b. Kidder. Demonst. Part II. c. iii, Randolph's^ Texts
cited in N. T. n. 28.
[k] Lowth's Praelect. Poet. 21.
[lJ Matt xxvii. 9. One MS. the Syriae and Persic ver
sions, et Grod. Vere. et Veron. in Blanchini Evang. qnad. read
ha, ra wpoipils, without any name, as do some of the fathers.
St. Jerom professes to have seen a book attributed to Jere
miah, in which the prophetic passage was contained..

OF the BOOK OF zechariah. .537
chariah ; that Zechariah in them describes the
conquest of Damascus, Tyre, and Sidon, and of
the cities of the Philistines, as effected by Alex
ander [m] ; the victories of the Maccabees over
the troops of Antiochus, who was of Grecian de
scent ; with future successes to be obtained by
conversion to the true God, and deUverances sirai
lar to those of Egypt and Assyria [n]. It is fur
ther supposed that Zechariah then angry at the
little effect produced by his endeavours, denounces
the future destruction of Jerusalera, its teraple [o],
and lofty houses ; and represents himself as break
ing in vision the symbolical badges of his pastoral
office, and as assuming " the instruments of a
foolish shepherd," to foreshew the cruelties Avhich
should be exercised by wicked rulers [p] : inter
spersed with, and adumbrated by which temporal
proraises and threats, are prophecies of Christ;
who is spoken of in the raost striking manner, as
[m] Chap. ix. 1 — 16.
£n] Chap. ix. 13. x. 10, 11.
[o] Chap. xi. 1 — 3. Lebanon is supposed to mean the
temple with its cedar buildings. The Jewish writers relate,
that before the destruction of the temple, the doors, though
barred with iron, opened of their own accord. Vid. Joseph.
de Bell. Jud. Lib. VII. c. xii. when R. Johanan, a disciple of
R. Hillel, directing his speech to the temple, said, " I know
thy destruction is at hand, according to the prophecy of Ze
chariah," (open thy doors, O Lebanon.) Tacitus gives ac
count of the portentous opening of the doors. Vid. Hist.
Lib. V. c. xiii.
[p] Chap. xi. 15 — 17. Basnage's Hist, of the Jews, Book
VII. Prid. Con. Par. I. B. iii. An. 6. Ptolemv Philometor.

538 OF the book of zechariah.
with respect to his lowly entrance to Jerusalera ;
" upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an
ass [q] ;" and his being valued at thirty pieces of
silver, which is typically foreshewn in a visionary
representation [b].
Whatever raay be determined as to these three
chapters, there is no sufficient reason to suppose,
Avith sorae comraentators, that the tAvelfth, thir
teenth, and fourteenth chapters also, which con
stitute a distinct prophecy, were written before the
tirae of Zechariah ; since they contain nothing
incompatible Avith the period of that Prophet [s].
At whatever time they were composed, they were
unquestionably the production of an inspired
[q] Chap. ix. 0. comp. with Matt, xxi. 2 — 9. where the
Evangelist, perhaps, refers likewise to Isaiah Ixii. 11 . Vid.
also, John xii. 14, 15. who cites the sense rather than the words
of the Prophet.
[rJ Chap, xi. 12, 13. comp. with Matt. xxvi. 15. xxvii.
3—10. [s] It has been supposed that the Prophet in chap. xii. 11.
alludes to the mourning made for Josiah, who was slain at
Megiddo. Vid. 2 Kuigs xxiii, 29, 2 Chron, xxxv, 22 — 25.
But Zechariah might speak of this mourning as proverbially
sorrowful, though it happened before his time. Some also
have imagined, that the prediction in chap. xiii. 2 — e. was
uttered before the captivity, though the abuses of Avhich the
final extirpation is there foretold, were not so totally sup
pressed as to be unknown after the return from Babylon. The
Prophets likewise, in general, in their descriptions of the final
reformation to be produced in the church, foretel the utter
destruction of idolatry. Vid. Isaiah ii. 18, xxx, 22, xxxi. 7,
Hosea ii. 17. Micah v. 13. 1

OF THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH. 539
writer, since they are cited as such in the New
Testaraent [t]. They contain prophecies which
refer entirely to the circurastances of the christian
dispensation. They begin with the assurance of
some final victories to be obtained over the ene
mies of Jerusalem [u] ; they describe the restora
tion of the Jews, their conversion and bitter com
punction for having pierced the Messiah [x]. The
Prophet, in the desultory spbit of prophesy, then
points to the first promulgation of the Gospel,
when " a fountain should be opened to the house
of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
for sin and uncleanness [y]." With an animated
apostrophe in. the narae of the Lord of Hosts,
he caUs upon " the sword to waken against the
Shepherd and against the man that was his" (the
Lord's) " feUow [z]." He represents " the Shep
herd as sraitten, and the sheep scattered [a]," at a
ti^me when it should come to pass that in all the
fend two parts should be cut ofi", and the remain
der be left whose faith should be tried in affliction,
and should finally acknowledge the Lord their
God[B]. In the last chapter, he more minutely
[t] John xix. 37. Matt, xxi. 4, 5. xxvi. 31.
[u] Chap. xii. 1 — 9. comp. with Ezek. xxxvii. xxxix. and
Rev. XX. 9-
[x] Chap. xii. 10-
[y] Chap. xiii. 1.
[z] Chap. xiii. 7. Ti'Dr, " my associate ;" in Sept. noXirisr.
See Luke ii. 35. Philip, ii. 6. Acts ii, 23,
f a] Chap. xiu. 7. comp. with Matt. xxvi. 31. and Mark
xiv. 27.
[b] Chap. xiii. 8, 9. Joseph, de Bell. Jud. Lib. VII.

540 OF THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH.
describes the destruction of Jerusalem by thc
Romans [c], and the ultimate discomfiture of the
eneraies of the Jews[D], together with the final
and triumphant establishment of the righteous
kingdora pf Christ, who should be King over the
whole earth [e]. The Prophet describes these par
ticulars with a clearness which indicated the near
approach of the events of which he speaks.
The style of Zechariah is so reraarkably similar
to that of Jereraiah, that the Jews were accus
toraed to observe, that the spirit of Jereraiah had
passed into hira. He is generally prosaic tUl
towards the conclusion of his book, when he be
coraes raore elevated and poetical. The whole
Avork is beautifully connected by easy transitions,
and present and future scenes are blended with the
most delicate contexture.
Epiphanius attributes some predictions to Ze
chariah, which were delivered according to his
account by the Prophet at Babylon, and on the
journey in his return frora thence : but these are
not extant in scripture, and are of very question
able authority. The Zechariah to whora an apo
cryphal book is attributed by sorae writers, is sup
posed to have been a different person from the
Prophet, and according to Fabricius, he was the
father of John the Baptist [f].
[c] Chaip. xiv. 1, 2. that by Vespasian. Vid. Euseb, De
monst. Lib. VI,
[dJ Chap, xiv, 3.
[e] Chap, xiv, 8. and following vferse,
[f] Athan, Synop. Fabric, Pseudep, Script, vol, i.

OF THE
BOOK OF THE PROPHET
MALACHI.

Malachi vvas the last of those Prophets Avho flou
rished before the Gospel dispensation. Sorae
writers strangely iraagined that Malachi was raerely
a general name, signifying the angel of the Lord ;
a messenger, or Prophet, because the titie of
Malach -Jehovah, or messenger of the Lord was
often applied to the Prophets [a]. The Septua
gint version has rendered ?Dn'jID, Malachi, my
angel; and several of the Fathers have quoted
Malachi under' the title " of the angel of the
Lord ;" and hence sprae have conceited thfit he was
an angel incarnate, and not a raan[B]. Others
have supposed that under the appellative name of
[a] Isa, xliv, 26. Haggai i. 13. Maimon. More Nevoch.
Par. II. c, xii, " Propheta non raro vocatur Angejus."
[b] Origen. tom. ii, in Joan. Hieron. Prooem. in Malach.
August.de Civit. Dei, Lib. XVIII. c. xxv. Tertull. cont. Judse.
"The same idea prevailed concerning Haggai ; the Baptist, &c.

542 OF THE BOOK OF MALACHI.
Malachi, was intended Ezra[c]; and have raain
tained that Malachi is not raentioned araong the
Prophets in the book of Ecclesiasticus. But it is
very certain, that Malachi was a different person
frora Ezra. His work had a distinct place in the
Hebrew canon ; and in fact he is as rauch noticed
by the author of Ecclesiasticus, as any of the
other rainor Prophets : all of whom are celebrated
under one collective memorial [o]. The names of
the Prophets are very often expressive of their
office ; and that of Malachi was probably assumed
as descriptive of his character [e], as he Avas emi
nently distinguished for the virtues of his mind,
and for the graces of his exterior form ; it being
unquestionably the appropriate name of an human
Prophet. Malachi is represented by some traditionary
accounts, to have been of the tribe of Zabulon,
and a native of Saphafp]: to have died young,
and to have been buried with his ancestors at
Sapha, after having assisted as a member of the
great Synagogue in the re-estabUshment of order
and prosperity in his country. Usher conceives
[c] Abrah. Zacut, in Juchasin, David Ganz, Chaldee Parap.
in Malach, Buxtorf. Tiberiad. c, iii, Hieron. Praef. in Malach.
Isidor, &c.
[d] Ecclus. xlix. 10.
[e] Some inventive writers absurdly say, that an angel
visibly appeared to confirm immediately what the Prophet
uttered. Vid. Epiph. Doroth. et Chron. Alex.
[v] OrSopha, or Supha, or Socha. Vid. Epiphau. Doroth,
de.

OF THE BOOK OF MALACHI. 543
him to have flourished about A. M. 3588, which is
about twenty years later than the period assigned
to him by Blair [g]. But as it appears from the
consent of all Jewish and Christian antiquity, that
the Ught of prophecy expired in Malachi [h], we
may suppose that the termination of his rainistry
coincided Avith the accomplishraent of the first
seven weeks of Daniel's prophecy, which was the
period allotted for " sealing the vision and pro
phecy [iJ." This, according to Prideaux's ac
count, raust be assigned to A. M. 3595, but ac
cording to the calc Illations of Bishop Lloyd, to
A. M. 3607, twelve years later [kJ. Whichever
reckoning we may prefer, Malachi raust be ad^
raitted to have corapleted the canon of the Old
Testament, about four hundred years before the
[g] St. Jerom makes Malachi contemporary with Darius
Hystaspes. Vid. Hieron. Prolegom. in 12 Proph. et Procem. in
Mal, Euseb. Chron. Lib, II, Theodor, Prooem. in 12 Proph,
But if we admit Blair's account, which gives Malachi the
highest antiquity, he must rather have been contemporary
with Artaxerxes Longimanus, or Darius Nothus. Vid. August.
de Civit. Dei, Lib. XVIII. c. xxxv. Clem. Alex. Strom. I.
p. 396. Cyrill. Prsef. in Malach.
[h] Abraham Zacutus in Juchasin. David Ganz. in Zemach,
David. Seder Olam Zuta. Maimon. Massec. Sotah. c. ult,
Edict. Bartiner. Gem. Sanhed. c. i. § 13. Cosri Maam, 3. § 39.
R. Tanchum. 1 Mace. iv. 46. ix. 27. Clemens Alex. Strom.
Lib. I. Justin Martyr entertained a false notion that the spirit
of prophecy did not cease till the Christian aera. Smith on
Prophecy, ch. xii.
[i] Dan. i\. 24.
[k] Preface to Nehemiah, p. 230, note:E.

544 OF THE BOOK OF MALACHI.
birth of- Christ ; when the great designs of Pro
vidence were completed in the termination of the
prophetic rainistry ; and Avhen a scherae of pro
phecy was unfolded which in its entire contexture
Avas to be accoraraodated to, and to characterize
the Messiah.
Malachi certainly prophesied sorae time after
Haggai and Zechariah, for in his time the temple
Avas rebuilt and the worship re-estabUshed [lJ ;
his ministry coincided with or succeeded that of
Nehemiah. He censures the sarae offences that
had excited the indignation of that governor, and
Avhich he had not been able entirely to reform ; for
Malachi, speaking of God's superior kindness to
the Israelites above the Edomites, begins with
declaiming against the priests for their profane
and mercenary conduct, and the people for their
multiphed divorces and intermarriages Avith idola--
trous nations [m]: he threatens them with punish
ment and rejection ; declaring that God would
*' make his name great among the GentUes [nJ,"
[l] Chap. i. 7, 10, 12. iii. 10,
[m] Mal, ii, comp. with Neh. xiii. 23 — 27. and Mal. i. 10.
iii. 8. with Neh. xiii. 10, 11.
[N] Chap. i. 11. The latter part of this verse relative to
Mincha, or rather Ve-men-e-heh nnjpi, an oblation of bread,
to be generally offered up, was considered in the primitive
church as an express prophecy of the christian sacrifice in the
Eucharist, of which the circumstances are described uuderthe
typical rites of the Jewish worship. Hence tlie words of the
passage were inserted iuto an hymn in the liturgy of the chureh
of Alexdiidria, which is called the liturgy of St, Mark. Vid,

OF THB BOOK OF MALACHI. 545
for that he was wearied with the impiety of Israel.
From this the Prophet takes occasion awfuUy to
proclaira that the Lord whom they sought, should
suddenly come, with restoration, as it were, of the
divine presence, to his temple, preceded by that
messenger who, like an harbinger, should prepare
bis way ; that the Lord, when he should appear,
should purify the sons of Levi from their unrigh
teousness, and refine them as raetal frora the
dross [o] ; that then " the off'ering of Judah," the
spiritual sacrifice of the heart, should " be plea
sant to the Lord," as was that of the Patriarchs,
or their uneorrupted ancestors [p] ; and that the
Lord would quickly exterminate the corruptions
and adulteries which prevaUed. He proceeds with
an earnest exhortation to repentance; promising
high rewards and reraerabrance to the righteous
in that last day, when the Lord should select unto
himself a peculiar treasure, and finaUy discern be
tween the righteous and the wicked [qJ. Malachi
concludes with an impressive assurance of approach
ing salvation to those who feared God's name,
from that " sun of righteousness which should
arise with heaUng in his wings ;" and render them
triumphant : enjoining, in the solemn close of his
John iv. 21, 22. Levit. ii. Mede's Discourses on the Christian
Sacrifice, vol. i. B. II. p. 451. August, de Civit. Dei, Lib.
XVIII. c. xxxv.
[o] Chap. iii. 1 — 3. comp. with Isaiah i. 25. Mark i. 2.
Luke i. 76.
[p] Chap. iii. 4. " As in the days of old."
[g] Chap. iii. 16—18,
Nn

546 OF THE BOOK OF MALACHI.
exhortation, and uttering, as it were, the last ad
monition of the Jewish Prophets, an observance
of the Law of Moses : till the advent of Elijah
[r], the Prophet, Avho before the coraing of that
" great and dreadful day of the Lord, should turn
the heart of the fathers to the children, and the
heart of the chUdren [s] to their fathers ; " who should
produce an entire amendment in the minds of the
people. Thus Malachi sealed up the A'olume of pro
phecy in the description of that personage at
Avhose appearance the evangelists begin the Gospel
history [t] ; and He who terminated the illustrious
succession of the Prophets of the first dispensa
tion, and predicted the coming of the Baptist, was
in an especial degree entitled to a share of our
Saviour's testiraony, when He declared, in terms
which defined the objects and extent of JcAvish
prophecy, that " all the Prophets prophesied until
John[u]." Malachi is likewise elsewhere fre-
£r] Chap, iv, 5. John came in the spirit and power of
Elias. Vid. Luke i. 17. and resembled him iu office and cha
racter. Vid. Mark ix. 12. Ecclus, xlviii, 10. The Seventy
following tlie received Jewish tradition, add " the Tishbite."
In this sense John denies himself to be Elias. Johni. 21. He
was not EUas himself, but another Elias, the antitype of the
first. [s] It is proposed to translate h'S, al ; not ' to,' but ' with.'
Vid. Exod. xxxv. 22. et Kimchi. And then the passage means
not that Elijah should reconcile religious differences between
intimate relations, but that he should produce a general re
formation. Vid. Arnald. in Ecclus. xlvui. 10,
[t] Mark i. 1, 2,
[u] Matt. xi. 13, Luke xvi. 16. Jansen, iu Ecdus. xlviii. 2.

OF THE BOOK OF MALACHI. 547
quently cited as a Prophet by the writers of the
New Testament [x].
The work of Malachi was admirably calcu
lated to excite religious impressions, and an ob
servance of that LaAV which was to direct the
chosen people of God tiU a raore perfect insti
tution should be established. He calls upon the
people, in aniraated language, to testify their gra
titude and reverence for God ; he particidarly re
minds the priests of the covenant of peace which
God had made with Levi for the fear wherewith
he feared the Lord, " Avhen the laAv of truth was
in his mouth, and iniquity Avas not found in his
lips," Avhen "he Avalked Avith God in peace and
equity, and turned many away from iniquity;"
and he emphaticaUy adds, with intimation it
might seera of ordinances to be established for a
purer ministry, " for the priest's lips should keep
knowledge, and they should seek the laAv at his
mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of
Hosts [y]."
The style of Malachi has been represented as Of
the middle kind ; it is not remarkable for beauty,
as he Uved in the decline of the Hebrew poetry,
which decayed much after the JeAvish captivity.
[x] Matt. xi. 10. xvii. 10—12. Mark i. 2. ix. 11, 12.
Luke i. 17. vu. 27. Rom. ix. 13.
[ic] Chap. ii. 4—7. 2 Corinth, v. 20. The Jews, by the
messenger of the covenant, understood the Messiah. See
Raym. Martini, Pugio Fidei, cap. ix. p. 376. Edit, Lips, 1687,
See also, p. 166, on Haggai ii. 7.
N n 3

PREFACE

TO THE

APOCRYPHAL BOOKS.

The books which are admitted into our Bibles
under the description of Apocryphal Books, are
so denominated from a Greek Avord, which is ex
pressive of the uncertainty and concealed nature of
their original [aJ, They have not any title to be con
sidered as inspired writings; and though in re
spect of their antiquity and valuable contents, they
[a] Apocrypha, from airw^vifiu, to hide. The word seems
to have been first applied only to books of doubtful authority ;
or as it is used by Origen, to imply works out of the canon.
It was afterwards employed to characterize spurious and per
nicious books. It has been thought, that books of doubtful
character were first termed Apocryphal by the Jews, because
they were removed awo tij? xpvirint from the ark of the cove
nant, where the canonical books were placed, or because shut
up from the generality of readers, and concealed, as some as
sert, in a chest of the temple. In the primitive church, some
of these books, especially those of Wisdom and Ecclesiasti
cus, were imparted to Catechumens, and all of them were al
lowed to be read under certain restrictions. Athanas. Synop.
tom. ii. p. 55. Edit. Par. 1627.

PREFACE, &C. 549
are annexed to the canonical books, it is in a
separate division ; and by no means upon an idea
that they are of equal authority, in point of doc
trine, Avith them ; or that they are to be received
as oracles of faith ; to sanctify opinions, or to
determine reUgious controversies.
It is universally aUowed, that these books were
not in the canon of the Jews, to whom alone " were
committed the oracles of God[B];" and, indeed,
that they were composed after the closing of the
sacred catalogue. Some Avriters without, how
ever, a shadow of authority, have pretended
that some of them, as Tobit, Judith, Ecclesias
ticus, Baruch, and perhaps others, were received
by the Jews into a second canon [c], said to be
made by a council assembled at Jerusalem in the
time of Eleazar the high-priest, upon the occasion
of sending the seventy-two interpreters to Ptolemy
King of Egypt [dJ ; and that the rest were ca
nonized by a third council, assembled in the time
of Sammai and Hillel; but of these councils, the
Jews, tenacious as they are of traditions, have no
account or memorial; and the books in question
were composed after the cessation of the prophetic
[b] Rom. iii. 2. Joseph, cont. Apion. Lib. I. § viii. p. 1333.
Hieron. Prol. Gal. Introduction, p. 8.
[c] Hence they are sometimes called Deutro- canonical by
the Romanists.
[d] Genebard. Chron. Lib. II. p. 190. col. 2. aud p, 284,
col. 1. Maldonati de Sacram. Pcenit. q. dePurgat. p. 145.
Serar, in Mace. Praelog. iii.

530 PREFACE TO THE
spirit, by persons who displayed no characters of
inspiration ; and some of whom seem to have dis
claimed its pretensions [e]. They were not ac
cepted by the Jews as of canonical authority, nor
were they, as some have imagined, placed among
the D'iinDj Avritings, a title under which some of
the Holy Scriptures were ranged. No books,
indeed, were adraitted into the canon of the Jews,
but those of writers alloAved to be inspired, or
chronicles of their own nation, transraitted from
age to age, as the authentic records of their state
and polity [f].
Tobit and Judith were, indeed, supposed by the
Rabbinical conceits, to have been derived from
that lower kind of inspiration Avhich was caUed
Bath Col filia vocis [g]. But this was an absurd
fancy, and none of the books are cited either as
prophetic or doctrinal by our Saviour or his apos
tles [h] ; and though sorae writers have pretended
[e] 1 Mace. ix. 27. 2 Mace, ii, 30, 31. xv. 38.
[f,] The later Jews esteemed some of the prophetical books
to be Hagiographa iu an higher sense of the word; supposing
them to be derived from the second degree in their scale of
prophecy. Vid. Maimon. More Nevoch. P. II. c. xlv. Huet.
iu Judith. Prop. IV. p. 170. The word was, perhaps, first
intended to describe the uninspired productions of holy men ;
and afterwards improperly applied to fanciful distinctions of
the sacred books. Vid. Introduction to this work, p. 10.
[g] Preface to the Prophets.
[h] Index Testimon. a Christ, et Apol. citat. ex Vet. T. in
fin. BibL vulg. edit. Sixt. V, et Clemen, VIII. Venet. 1616.
Catharin. jopusc. de Script. Canon. Stapleton de Autor. S.
Sojapt. Lib. II. c. iv. § 14. and Preface to the second book of

APOCRYPHAL BOOKS. 651
to discover a coincidence between certain passages
contained in thera, and others in the New Testa
ment, it will be found that the evangelical Avriters
on these occasions only accidentally concur in sen
timent or expression with the authors of the apo
cryphal books ; or that the resemblance residts
from an imitation of passages in the sacred writings
of the Old Testament, which the evangeUcal and
the apocryphal writers might equally have had in
vicAV. But indeed, if any occasional allusion, or
borrowed expressions, could be proved, they Avould
by no means establish the authority of the apocry
phal books ; Avhich might be referred to, as were
other hooka by the sacred writers, Avithout any
design to confer on them a character of divine
authority [ij.
It is certain, that long after the time of our
Saviour, the Hebrew canon consisted but of
twenty-two books [k] ; and that at this day the
Jcavs adhere to the sarae list, though by separating
books formerly united, they increase the number;
and it is not probable, or consistent with any au-
Esdras, which was written or interpolated, after tbe publication
of the New Testament,
[i] 2 Tim. iii. 8. Heb. xii. 21. Jude, ver. 14. Origen.
Prol. in Cant.
[k] Joseph, cont. Apion. § viii. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. Lib. III.
cix. R. Asarias in Meor Enaim, p. 29, 141, 169, 175. R. Ge
daliah Ben-Jechajah iu Shalshelesh Haccabbalah. p. 68, 99,
104. R. Abrah, Zachus in Juchasin, p. 136, 138. R. Da\id
Gantz in Tsemach David, Part II. p. 10, R. Menasse Ben Is.
jael de Creatione, Prob. X. p. 45. as cited by Grabe.

56g

PREFACE TO THE

thentic accounts, to suppose, that at any time
before or after Christ, the canon which the Jews
^o religiously respected, should have been altered
by thera. It is not probable that they should have
adraitted any addition after the death of Siraon
the Just, who was the last of the great Synagogue;
or that if such addition had been allowed, they
should have expunged these writings, which con
tain nothing so favourable to Christianity as the
prophetic books which they have suffered to con
tinue inviolate. Had the books been erased before
the tirae of Christ, the sacrilege must have excited
his censures ; and since the establishment of the
Gospel, any endeavour to deface the canon must
have been detected and exposed.
These apocryphal books did not constitute any
part of the Septuagint j^version of the scriptures, as
set forth by the translators under Ptolemy, It is
supposed however that many of thera were received
by the Jewish^synagogue established at Alexandria,
which possibly might have derived its origin from
the period of that version [l], Frora the Hel
lenistic Jews they were probably accepted by the
Christian church; but by whomsoever, and at
whatever time they were communicated, it is cer
tain that they were not received as canonical, pr
enroUed among the productions of the inspired
writers ; since they are not in the earUer cata
logues [m]; and are excluded from the sacred
[l] Grabii Septuagint, Proleg, ad Lib, Hist. c. i. Prop. 24.
[m] Constit. Apost. Lib. II. c. lvii. Canon. Apost. Can. ult.

APOCRYPHAL BOOKS. 553
list by the fathers of the Greek and Latin church,
who fiourished during the four first centuries [n] ;
though they are often cited by them as valuable
and instructive works, and sometimes even as
divine, and as scripture in a loose and popular
sense [o]. In the language of the primitive church
The present copies of the canons ofthe apostles, which include
the three books of Maccabees, are evidently corrupted, the
canons having formerly corresponded with the canon of the
Council of Laodicea. Vid. Zonar. in Concil. Laodic. Can. 59.
Euseb. Hist. Eccles. Lib. IV. c. xxv. et xxvi. Cosin's Scholast.
Hist. ch. iv. sect. 45.
[n] Dionys. Hierarch. Eccles. c. iii. Melito, ap Euseb.
Lib. IV. c. xxvi. Origen ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. Lib. VI.
c. xxv. Basil in Orig. Philocal. c. iu. Ruffiu. Vers. Euseb.
Lib. VI. Tertull. advers. Marcion. Carmen. Lib. 198, 199.
who probably by reckoning Ruth and Lamentations separately,
makes the number twenty-four. Athan. Epist. 38. Athan.
Synops. Hilar. Prol. Explan. in Psalm. CyrilL Catech, IV, c,
xxxv. p. 68. Edit. Par. 1720. Epiphan. Haeres. 8. cont.
Epicur. et Haeres. 76. cont. Anomaeor, et de Pond et Mensur.
Gregor. Nazianz. de ver. et German. Scriptur. Libr. tom. ii.
p. 98. Edit Par. 1630. Amphiloc. Epist. ad Seluc. Chrysost.
Homil. IV. in Genes, et Homd. 8. in Epist. ad Hebrae.
Hieron. in Prolog, Galeat, in Lib, Solom. and Prooem, in
Esdram, et in Paralip. Cosin's Scho, Hist. Canon VI. § 73.
Ruffin. Symbl. Apost sect. 35, 36.
[o] Origen cites Tobit and the Maccabees as scripture.
Lib. VIII. in Epist. ad Rom. de Princip- Lib. II. c. i. Homil.
3. in Cant as he does likewise the Shepherd of Hennas, and
the Book of Henoch, without believing ihem to be canonical
in the strict sense of the word. Origen, indeed, believed that
the Shepherd of Hennas was inspired. Vid. Enarrat. in Epist.
ad Rom. p. 411. but this was his peculiar opinion. Vid. Phi
local, c. i. The fathers in general who cite it as scripture, use
the term only in a popular sense. As. Irenaeus adv. Haeres.

534 PREFACE TO THB
they were styled ecclesiastical [p], as contradistin
guished from those infaUible AVorks which were
canonized as unquestionably inspired, and also
from those erroneous and pernicious Avritings which
were stigmatized and proscribed as apocryphal.
The ecclesiastical books, under Avhich division
were contained other productions besides those
now termed apocryphal, as the Shepherd of
Hermas [q], the doctrine of the apostles [rJ, and
the first epistle of Clement, though considered
as human Avorks, and as subordinate to the sacred
books, were nevertheless approved and read by
the church as capable of affording much instruc
tion [s]. The Fathers quote them as pious and ve
nerable books, and as deservedly holden in great
estimation : they speak of them in high and hyper
bolical terms, as sacred, as bearing sorae resem
blance to the inspired Avritings, but not as certainly
inspired, or as of sufficient authority in points of
doctrine ; for those passages Avhich they are repre-
Lib. IV, et ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. L. IV. c. viii. et Athanasius
tie Incarnat. verb. Tom. i. p. 55. who expressly says that it is
not strictly canonical. Epist. Pasch, Tom. ii. p. 39, 49. So
Eusebius quotes Josephus and Aristeus, as well as the Macca
bees. Praep. Evang. Lib. VIH. c. ii. X. c. vii. Demonst. Evang.
Lib, IX. and X, Thus, also, Epiphanius calls the apostolical
constitutions divine. lijeres, 8. and 10. Can. Lib, V. c. 5,
[p] Ruffin, in Symbolum.
[q] Euseb. Hist. Eccles, Lib. HI. c. iii.
[r] This book was probably the work now called the apos
tolical canons. Athdu. Epist. x.\.\ix. tom. ii. p. 38. Edit. Par.
1027. [s] Euseb. Hist, Eccl. Lib, III. c. ix. and x. Lib. IV. c. xxii.

APOCRYPHAL BOOKS. 565
sented to cite from them as such, are cited in spu
rious or doubtful books, or frora sirailar places in
. sacred writ. Abundant testimonies have been pro
duced to prove that they Avere not received as cano
nical during the four first centuries ; and they have
never been generaUy admitted into the canon of
the Greek church ; nor were they judged canonical
in the sarae degree as the Law and the Prophets,
even in the Western church, till the Council of
Trent, in contempt of aU evidence and consis
tency, pronounced thera so to be. In the first gene
ral council holden at Nice, A.D. 335, none of these
books appear to have been adraitted as canonical
[t^ in any sense of that word ; and they certainly
were not received by the Council of Laodicea,
which was holden about forty years afterwards, of
which [u] the canons were accepted into the code
of the universal church j]x]], and which acknow
ledged precisely the sarae books that Ave receive.
[t] Cosin's Scholast. ch. vi. sect. 54.
[u] The Greek copies of this council reckon Baruch, the
Lamentations, and the Epistle, as composing one canonical
book with Jeremiah ; and Athanasius and Cyril have been
supposed to have received Baruch as canonical. But Baruch
is mentioned in the catalogues referred to, not probably as
¦ the apocryphal book, but for a still more fuU description of
Jeremiah's work, in which the Baruch is often mentioned, and
in the writing of which he was employed; and the epistle
may mean that contained in the twenty-ninth chapter of Jere
miah's book. Vid. Cosin's Schol. Hist. ch. vi. sect. 61. and
Preface to Baruch,
[x] Ccncil. Calced. Can. 1. and Can. 163. Concil. Con.
slant, G. in Trullo, Cnu, 2. The last council confirmed also
9

556 PREFACE TO THE
In the fifth century, St, Augustin [y] and the
Council of Carthage [z] appear to have adraitted
(chiefly in deference to popular opinion, and in
corapliance with that reverence which had arisen
from use [a]), most of the apocryphal books [b]
the council of Carthage, which admitted the apocrypha ; but
it must therefore have confirmed that canon only as it ad
mitted them in a secondary sense, otherwise it could not have
confirmed that of Laodicea, which rejected them as not equal.
Vid, Justin, Novel, 131. Justellus Praef. in Cod, Eccles, Uni
versal, [y] August, cont. Epist. Gaud. Donat. cap. xxiii. Epist. 61.
ad Dulcit. de Civit. Dei, Lib, XVIII. c. xxxvi. As to the
Maccabees, " Propter quorundam martyrum passiones vehe-
mentes atque mirabiles, qui antequam Christus venisset in
carnem usque ad mortem pro lege Dei certaverunt."
[z] The forty-seventh canon in which those books are con
secrated, , is erroneously attributed to the third council of
Carthage, which, as the title says, assembled in 397 ; for it
must have belonged to a later council holden during the time of
Boniface, to whom it is referred ; and it corresponds nearly
with a canon framed by an African council, holden under the
consulate of Honorius XII. and Theodosius VIII. in 419,
except that it receives Baruch and Maccabees, which the
latter omits. Vid. Con. Canon. Eccles. African. Can. 24. et
Binii, et Justelli, not. in Concil. Carthag. 3. Can. 47, 48.
[a] August, de Civit. Dei, Lib. XVIII. c. xxxvi. et L. XV.
c. xxiii. Epist. 9 and 10. ad Hieron. " Quia a patribus," (says
the canon) " ista accepimus legenda." Vid. Cosin's Scholast.
Hist. ch. vii. not. 82. See Concil. Roman. A.D. 494.
[b3 Neither Augustine, or the canon attributed to this
council, enumerate the fourth (that is, the second) book o{
Esdras,. Baruch, or the Prayer of Manas seth ; and the canon
omits the books of Maccabees. Vid. Justellus in Notis a
Can. xxiv.

APOCRYPHAL BOOKS. 557
as canonical; meaning, however, canonical in a
secondary sense ; as useful to be read ; and stiU
with distinction from those sacred and inspired
books which were established on the sanction of
the Jewish canon, and on the testimony of our
Saviour and his aposties. After this time, other
fiithers[c] and councils [d] seem occasionally to
have considered these books as canonical and in
ferior only to the sacred writings ; but always with
distinction, and with express declarations of their
inferiority when that question was strictly agitated
[e] ; tiU at length the CouncU of Trent, notwith
standing the testimony of aU Jewish antiquity, and
contrary to the sense of the primitive church,
thought fit to pronounce them aU, (except the
prayer of Manasseth, and the third and fourth
books of Esdras [v"],) together with the unwritten
traditions relative to faith and manners, as strictly
[c] See also the suspected epistle of Innocent I. ad Exuper.
and the decree attributed to Gelasius, ad omnes Episc. in Can.
Vet Eccles. Rom. Edit Par. 1609. Isidor. Orig. lib. VI. c. i.
et Prooem. Sap. et Ecclus.
[d] Sum .Caranzae in Decret, 7. Concil. Florent et Cosin's
Scholast. Hist ch. xvi. § 159. The council of Florence was
not properly oecumenical ; the canon which represents the
apocryphal books as inspired, is probably a forgery, as it is
only in the epitomes.
[e] Cosin's canon of scripture: where this is proved by
numberless references to the authors who flourished from the
first ages of the church, to the middle of the sixteenth century.
Vid. also Raynold's Censura Apocryphorum.
[f] Bib. Sac. Sixt V. et Clement VIII. Jussa edita Juxt
decret. Concil. Trid.

558 PREFACE TO THE
and in every respect canonical, and of the same
authority as those undisputed books which had
been copied frora the JcAvish into the Christian
canon ; and received the attestation of Christ and
his apostles : of which the inspiration was mani
fested by the character of their composers, and
proved by the accomplishment of those prophecies
which they contain [g].
This canon was confirmed by severe anathemas
[n] against all who should reject it. And from
this time the Roraan Catholics have endeavoured
to maintain the canonical authority of these books,
though their most strenuous advocates are obliged
to allow that they were not received into the canon
of Ezra. They are compelled to yield a supe
riority as to external sanctions, to those uncon-
troverted books which are exclusively canonized
in the earliest and most authentic catalogues of
the christian church [i] ; and labour to defend the
decision of the Council of Trent, as to the apo
cryphal writings, by appealing to the authority of
preceding councils, of which the canons were
never generally received, and which admitted the
contested books as canonical only in a subordinate
[g] " Omnes Libros, &c. pari pietatis affectu ac reverentia
suscipit et veneratur." Concil. Trident. Sess. 4.
[h] " Siquis autem libres ipsos integros cum omnibus suis
partibus, &c. pro sacris et canonicis non susceperit. Anathema
sit." Vid. Coneil. Trid. Sess. 4, et in Bulla P, Pii, IV, sup-
forma Juram. Profess, fid,
[i] Sixt. Senens. Bib, Lib, I. § 1. Bellarm. de Verb, Dei,
c. X, Sect, itaque, c. xiv. J 1.

APOCRYPHAL BOOKS. 559
and secondary sense. It is therefore upon the
most just and tenable grounds that our church has
framed her sixth article, where in agreement Avith
aU Protestant churches she adheres in her cata
logue to those Avritings of which there never Avas
any doubt; and in conformity to the doctrine of
the four patriarchal churches [k], as recorded by
Cyril, Athanasius, Anastasius, and Gregory Nazi
anzen, rejects those books which are styled apo
cryphal in our Bibles, though she read them, as
St. Jerom observes, did the Western church [iT^^
" for example of Ufe, and instruction of manners;"
and it must be confessed in general, that notwith
standing some passages of exceptionable tendency,
and some relations of improbable circurastances,
they are books entitied to great respect ; as written
by persons who being intimately conversant with
the scriptures, had, as it were, imbibed their
spirit, and caught their pious enthusiasm. Who
ever reads them with attention, must occasionaUy
be highly gratified by the splendid sentiments,
and subUme descriptions which they contain. They
sometimes likewise present us with passages bor
rowed from the sacred writings, and with the
finest imitations of inspired eloquence; they in
clude besides, it may be, some scattered fragments
of divine Avisdom, and some traditional precepts
[k] Those of Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, and Constao-
tinople. [l] Hieron. Prol. in Lib. Solom. ad Chrora. et Heliod.

560 PREFACE TO THE
derived from men enUghtened by a prophetic spirit.
They occasionally iUustrate the accompUshment of
prophecy; and throw Ught on the scriptures by
explaining the manners, sentiments, and history of
the Jews. The rejection of their claims to be re
ceived into the sacred canon, serves to shew what
caution was observed with respect to the admission
of books into it. They bear then an indirect and
impartial testimony to the truth of our religion ;
they are venerable for their antiquity; recom
mended by long established approbation, and in
some measure consecrated to our regard by the
commendations of the Church, and by being an
nexed to the inspired writings. Where they are
defective, they raay have been perhaps injured or
corrupted by subsequent additions, as not being
watched over with such religious care as were the
sacred books. It may be added also, that many of
those passages which appear to have a bad ten
dency, are capable of a good construction, and
tbat, perhaps, some blemishes may be attributed
to our translators, who in rendering the apocryphal
books have been accused of much carelessness [m].
[m] The leamed Du Port, then Greek Professor at Cam
bridge, was among the seven able persons employed under
King James ; but though his work has much merit, it is very
often faulty and imperfect. The translators seem to have at
tributed too little consequence to the apocryphal books, though
Dr. Geddes affirms, that the apocryphal books are translated
better than the rest of the Bible, and attributes it to the trans
lators not having been cramped by the fathers of the Masora.
7

APOCRYPHAL BOOKS. 561
They who are disposed to profit by their perusal,
wiU find it not difficult by the light of the inspired
books, to discriminate and select what is exceUent
and consistent with triith, and to reject such ob
jectionable particulars as prove them to be the
production of unassisted, and sometimes of mis
taken men.

Oo

OF THE

FIRST BOOK OF ESDRAS.

The First Book of Esdras, or Ezra []a], is gene
rally supposed to have been the work of some
Hellenistic Jew. It is uncertain at what time it
was composed ; the particulars contained in it are
related by Josephus : it was therefore probably
written before the time of that historian. The
book, though in its style it has rauch of the He
brew idiora, was probably never extant in that
language [b] ; at least it certainly was not admit
ted into the Hebrew canon. It was annexed,
however, to some copies of the Septuagint [c],
and placed in sorae manuscripts before the book
[a] The word is written «ntff in the Hebrew, and E^paj in
the Greek.
[b] Isidor. Orig. Lib. VI, c. ii.
[c] It was not in any of the Greek manuscripts used hy the
editors of the Complutensian Bible ; but it was found in some
Greek copies when Aldus was printing his Septuagint at Venice.
It was published from a manuscript in the library of St. Vic
tor, at Paris, by Robert Stephens, as also in the London
Polyglot. There is a Syriac version of this Book.

OF THE FIRST BOOK OF ESDRAS. 563
of Ezra{]D], that of Nehemiah being inserted be
tween the two. Standing in that order, it was
called the First Book of Ezra ; and the authentic
work of Ezra ; together with that of Nehemiah,
which seems to have been joined with it, was
caUed the Second Book of Ezra [e]. This ar
rangement was probably adopted in consideration
of the chronological order of the events described
in the books respectively [f]. In sorae Greek
editions it is, however, placed with more propriety
as to its character, between the Song of the Three
Children, and the Wisdom of Solomon [g].
As this book was inserted in sorae copies of the
Septuagint, it was read in the Greek church ; and
the council of Carthage, which canonized the vul
gar translation made from the Septuagint [h], ap
pears to have admitted this book, together with
other spurious editions, as canonical [i], in that
extended acceptation of the word which implied
only, worthy to be read. St, Augustin, likewise,
[d] Luc. Brug. in 3 Esdras.
[e] Bellarm. de Verb. Dei, Lib. I. c. xx. § ad de.
[f] It stands in the same order in the Alexandrian code,
and in the Syriac version.
[Ig] As in the Frankfort edidou of 1597, and in that of
Basil of 1518. The Latin manuscripts vary, in some it is
placed after Ifehemiah, and called the Second Book of Ezra.
Vid. Calmet Dissert, sur Ie Troisieme Livre d'Esdras.
[h] August de Civit. Dei, Lib. XIII. c. xxiv. p. 262.
[ij See the forty-seventh canon improperly assigned to the
third Council of Carthage, but belonging to one holden in a
later period. Vid. Preface to Apocrypha, p, 555, note [x];
oo3

564 OF THE FIRST BOOR OF -ESDRAS,
considered it as canonical in the same sense : that
is, as an ecclesiastical book, attributed to Ezra-
unless it miglit, he suggests, even be thought to
contain a prophetic passage, if by truth [k] de
scribed as conquering all things, should be under
stood Christ. The book is also cited by others of
the fathers as a work entitled, the First Book of
Esdras : as ascribed to him, and as a respectable
work [t] ; but never as of equal authority with
the canonical books [m]. St. Jerora without scru
ple, pronounced this and the foUowing books to be
visionary and spurious [n] ; and- it was rejected
even by the CouncU of Trent, thougbitwas suf
fered to continue in the printed editions as the
second or third book of Ezra, till the publication
of the Bible by Sixtus the Fifth, when it was
placed apart frora the canonical books [o] ; and
notwithstanding Genebrard [p'] still maintained its
[k] Chap, iv, 38, et August, de Civit, Dei, Lib. XVIII.
c. xxxvi. [l] Cyprian Ep. 74. ad Pompeium. p. 141. edit. Par.. 1 726.
Basil Epist. ad Chilon. p. 712. edit. Par. 1618. Athan..Osat.
UU cont. Arian. p. 391. edit.- Par. 1627. August, de Doct.
Christ. Lib. H. c. viii.
[m] Joh. Driedo m Cat. Script. Lib. I. c. iv. ad. Diffi,c. 4.
[n J Hieron. Epist.. ad Domnion, et Rogatian. Neci Apo
cryphorum tertU et quarti (Esdrae) Somniis delectetur, says
Jerom. [o] In some old copies of the Latin Bibles, this and the
succeeding book, as also the Prayer of Manasseth, were mar
ked with a non legitur: as an intimation that they were not
to be publickly read in the church,
[p] Genebrard in Chron. ad An. 3730. p. 95, 96.
1

OF THE FIRST BOOK. OF ESDRAS. 565
authenticity, the Romanists in general consider it
as apocryphal. It certainly could not have been
written by. Ezra, Avhose authentic work it, indeed,
contradicts in many particulars ; since it lias no
pretensions to be revered as the production of an
inspired; person, although great part of it be ex
tracted from the sacred Avritings.
The name of Ezra was at all times partieukrly
reverenced by. the. JcAvs, who were accustomed in
honour of his meraory to reraark, that he was wor
thy that the Law should have been given by his
hands unto Israel, if Moses had not been before
him. In consequence of this reputation, number
less suspected works were published at difiierent
times under his name ; and however they might at
first, ^whether produced before or after Christ,
have borne the palpable marks of forgery, they
were y£t received by the credulous and unlearned.
If tbe boldness of the imposture provoked opposi
tion, this was soon wearied and forgotten ; and the
books gradually rose into reputation under the
sanction of a great name£QJ.
[q] Besides the books ascribed to Ezra in our Bibles, and
other writings before mentioned, vid. Preface to Ezra, Picus
Mirandula professes to have read the Cabala of Esdras, writ
ten' in seventy books, and informs us, that they contained
many mysteries relating to Christianity. Sixtus the Fourth is
said to have projected a translation of them, but only three
were finished at his death ; the learned dispute concerning the
character, and even the existence of these books. Vid. Mirand.
Apol. p. 62. 2 Esd. xiv. 46. Fabricii Codex Pseudepig,
Pctr. Crinit. de Honest. Disoip. Lib. XXV. c. iii. Sist. Seneijs,
Pib. Lih. II. Epiphan de Pond, et Mens. § 10,

566 OF THE FIRST BOOK OF ESDRAS.
The First Book of Esdras includes a period of
about ninety years. The short historical sketch of
the time which intervened between the celebration
of the Passover by Josiah, and the captivity of the
Jews, as imparted in the first chapter of this book,
is taken chiefly from the thirty-fifth and thirty-
sixth chapters of the Second Book of Chronicles.
The strange but lively story of the three compe
titors for the favour of Darius, which appears to
have been introduced to recommend and embel
lish the character of Zerubbabel [r], might have
been founded on sorae popular traditions, as it is
related, though with sorae difference in the ac
count, by Josephus ; but it is certainly fabulous in
most of its particulars, and could not concern Ze
rubbabel, who at the period assigned was at Je
rusalem [s].
The rest of the work, which is chiefly compiled
from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, is disfi
gured by many improbable and contradictory ad
ditions, and by many circurastances which appear
to have been designedly introduced in order to
disguise and vary the relation [t]. It contains,
[r] Chap. iii. iv. v.
[s] Ezra ii. 2. Josephus erroneously says, and perhaps on
the authority of this book, that Zerubbabel returned from Je
rusalem to Darius. Vid. de Antiq. Lib. XI. c. iv.
[t] Comp. chap. ii. 15. with Ezra ii. 2. Chap. iv. 48. with
Ezra V. 13, Chap, iv, 43, 46. mth Ezra vi, I, Chap. iv. 44,
57. with chap. vi. 18, 19. and Ezra i.' 7 — 11. Chap. v. 40.
vvith Nehem. viii. 9. Chap, v, 47, 48, with Ezra i, 1, — 3. viii,
17, with Ezra i, 11, &c.

OF THE FIRST BOOK OF ESDRAS. 567
perhaps, nothing exceptionable with respect to
doctrine or precept ; but its accounts are so incor
porated with falsehood, that the compilers of our
Liturgy have not appointed any selections from it
to be read in the service of the church. Many
particulars, indeed, interspersed through the book,
and too numerous here to be produced [u], are ut^
terly inconsistent with probabiUty, chronology, and
the relations of scripture. From fictitious circum
stances, however, some instruction may be drawn,
though we cannot but regret that the author of the
fine encomium on truth [x], should have so de
parted from its principles as to fabricate a work
under the assumed character of an inspired writer.
[u] Cajmet et Arnald.
[x] Chap. iv. 38 — 40. The learned Thorndyke by truth
here spoken of, understands the truth which God by his law
had declared to his people, and supposes Zerubbabel to have
intended to encourage the King to protect it by countenancing
the building of the temple. Vid. Thomdike's Epilogue, ch.
xxxiv, p. 212.

OF THE

SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS.

Some writers have conceived that this work was
composed by the same person that assumed the
character of Ezra in the preceding book ; but
though it be equally uncertain by whom and at
what period each book was produced, there is
reason to think that they were not both derived
from one person, since they differ in style, and
i^ave no connection or agreement with each other.
Each author, however, has borrowed the sarae
titie ; and each has inserted a genealogy in the
character of Ezra : with sorae difference, indeed,
in the accounts, but both with variation frora the
lineage furnished by the inspired writer in his au
thentic book [a].
[a] The accounts in 1 Esdras viii. 1, 2. a.nd in 2 Esdras i,
1 — 3. differ from each other, and both disagree with the ge
nealogy inserted in Ezra vii. 1. They were, however, all de
signed for the same person, as is evident from the general
agreement of the six first names ; and probably the variations
arise only from accidental corruptions, or from different modes
of calculation ; indeed, the author of the Second Book of
Esdras enumerates three names more in this genealogy than
do the authors of the preceding books.

OF THE SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS. 569
The Second Book of Esdras is not novir to be
found in any Hebrew or Greek raanuscripts. It
is supposed to have been originally written in the
Greek language ; but is extant only in a few Latin
copies [b], and in an Arabic version [c]. It is
generaUy maintained that the work could not have
been the genuine production of Ezra, as it seeras
to bear some intrinsic marks of having been cora
posed after his. time, and, indeed, after the period
at which the prophetic spirit is reputed to have
ceased among the Jews [d] ; notwithstanding also
the fine spirit of piety that pervades the work,
and the author's confident -assuraption of the pro
phetic character, his pretensions to inspiration have
[b] Calmet states that it was first printed in the Latin edi
tion of Nuremberg, published in 1521. Dissert, sur le Qua-
trieme Livre d'Esdras, note 1.
[c] In the Arabic version it is called the First Book of Es
dras. This version differs much from the Latin copies, and
h^ many interpolations ; one particularly concerning the in-
termediate state of the soul.
[d] Chap. ii. 39, 40. The author in the last of these verses
speahs of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; though thetwo
former did not probably flourish as Prophets till after tbe re
turn from the captivity, and Malachi not till above 100 years
after the decree of Cyrus. Ezra, indeed, if he had been the
author of the book, might, as speaking propheticaUy, have
mentioned even in the captivity of these Prophets by name ; hut
besides other reasons that tend to prove that thc work was
written after his time, it may be remarked, that the Prophets
are here enumerated, not according to the order of the Hebrew
canon, but . according to that of the Septuagint. Vid. also,
chap. XV. 46. where Asia is mentioned, a name probably not
kuown in the time qf Ezra.

570 OF THE SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS.
not been admitted. It is not, indeed, probable
that an inspired writer would have claimed a name
to which he Avas not entitied ; or have interspersed
in his work those extravagant conceits and appa
rent inconsistencies which occasionally disfigure
and degrade this production. The book, it is true,
contains much subUme instruction; many animated
exhortations to righteousness, and many sentiraents
not unworthy of the sacred source from whence
they are related to have flowed. It represents
Ezra as commanded to reraonstrate with the peor
pie for their disobedience ; and on their contempt
of God's words, as addressing hiraself to the hear
then, whora he enjoins to prepare for that " ever
lasting light" Avhich should shine upon them. It
describes the Prophet as pleading with submissive
piety to remove the afflictions of his captive coun
tryraen ; as anxiously enquiring why the chosen
people of the Alraighty should suffer severer pu-r
nishraents for their sins than the heathen for
Avhom they were seeraingly rejected [e] ; as la
menting the effects of entailed corruption [f] ; as
bewailing the evil propensities and condition of
men, of whom a few only appear to be raarked out
and distinguished as objects of divine favour [g].
He is said to have been honoured Avith visions and
[e] Chap. iii. 28. iv. 23—31,
[f] Chap. iii. 20—22. iv. 30—32. vii. 48. The author
speaks, indeed, of the extent pf Adam's transgression with a
clearness that argues an acquaintance with the evangelical aCr
count of its effects.
[g] Chap iv, 12, vii. 4—64. ix. 15, 16,

OF THE SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS. 571
divine coraraunications in answer to those enqui
ries. The boasted revelations are described in a
lofty and prophetic style : in a raanner simUar to that
adopted by Daniel, Ezekiel, and St. John. They
discountenance with becoming dignity the presump
tuous curiosity and complaints of man [h] ; contain
very elevated descriptions of God's attributes [i] ;
and rest the equity of his proceedings on the pro
jected decisions of a future judgment. They im
part consolatory assurances of returning fiavour,
and represent in an interesting Arision, Jerusalem
re-estabUshed on its foundations [k]. The angel
likewise, in these pretended visions, reveals many
striking prophecies relative to the Messiah []lJ ;
the destruction of the lloman erapire [m] ; and the
fate of Egypt ; of Babylon [n], and of other na^
[h] Chap. iv. 5 — ^11. comp. with John iii. 12.
[i] Chap. vii. 62—70. viii. 20—23, 39. xvi. 54—63.
[kJ Chap. ix. x. 27, &c.
[l] Chap. ii. 34 — 48. et infra, p. 540, and notes.
[m] Chap. xi. xii. The prophecies relative to the ea^e
might have been written by an uninspired writer acquainted with
Daniel's book, either before or after Christ. The prophecy
concerning the lion, which denounced destruction to the eagle,
is said by the Arabic translator, to be " a prophecy of the
Lord the Messiah." Vid. chap, xu 37.
[nJ Chap. xVi xvi. In some ancient copies these tivo last
chapters seem to constitute a distinct book, called the Fifth
Book of Esdra';, and divided into seven chapters. Lee thinks
that they have all the characters of antiquity, and resemble
the prophetic style. They speak of the destruction of nations,
and of some general troubles from which the faithful only
should be delivered. The twenty-ninth and following verses
of the fifteenth chapter, have been thought to relate to the

b72 OF THE SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS.
tions, besides others of very obscure and uncertain
interpretation [o] .
So far there appears nothing incorapatible Avith
the character of Ezra ; and we should be incUned
to consider the work as his production, or at least
as a compilation of sorae fragraents written by him,
were it not for the deficiency of external sanctions ;
and for the interraixture of particulars seeraingly
inconsistent with the character and period of that
inspired writer. The author's pretensions, indeed,
to inspiration, as avcU as to the narae of Ezra, are
destroyed by raany false and absurd particulars [p],
which are so incorporated with the work, that
they cannot always be considered as subsequent
interpolations. The book was never admitted into
tbe Hebrew canon ; and there is no sufficient autho'
victories of the Saracens ; and Lee- by dragons understands
those who lived in dens and caverns of the earth. Vid. Lee
p. 45 and 156, with note annexed to the Fifth Book of Esdras.
None of the pretended prophecies, however, in this book, are
so clear and original (except those relating to the Messiah,.
which were probably written after the time of Christ) that they
might not have been framed by an uninspired writer conversant
with the prophetic books.
[o] Chap. V. 1—13. vi. 7^28,
[p] Chap. iv. 44, 45. viii. 17. compare with Ezra i. 11. v. 5.
vii. 11. xiii. 46, 47. Basnage, Hist, of the Jews, B. VI. ch. ii.
Chap. xiv. 10 — 12. St. Cyprian and others, who believed that
the enfl of the world was near at hand in their time, are sup
posed to have derived the notion from this and other passages
in this book. Vid. Cyprian ad Demetrian. p. 216. edit, Paris,
1726. George Hakewill on Providence, Loudon, 1627, fol,
Freinshcm Orat. VII. and IX. See other idle tales in chap.
xiv. 21—44.

OF THE SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS. 5[73
rity to prove that it was ever extant in the Hebrew
language [q]. Its pretended prophecies are not
produced in evidence by Christian writers, striking
as such testimony must have been, if genuine ; and
the book was never publickly or generaUy acknow
ledged either in the Greek or Latin church [r] ;
nor was it ever inserted in the sacred catalogue,
by either councils or fathers; but is expressly
represented as apocryphal by St. Jerom, who de
scribes it as rejected by the church [s].
The many wild and preposterous fancies wjth
which the work abounds, seera to prove that it
was the production of a Rabbinical Jcw^t]. The
learned Mr. Lee is inclined to think that it was
written or compiled by an Egyptian Jew before
the time of Christ; and it has been observed in
[.Q] Lee supposes that Picus Mirandula, and Leo Judaeus,
had seen, and relates, that Petrus Galatinus had heard of an
Hebrew copy ; as also, that Scaliger had boasted of having
the book or books of Esdras in the Syriac ; but the presump
tions of its having ever existed in the Hebrew are but slender,
Lee's Dissertat. p. 152 and 153.
[e] Bib. Sac. Sixt. V. and Clement. VIIL
[sJ Hieron. Epist. ad Domnion et Rogat. et Prooem. in Lib,
Esd, In answer to Vigilantius, Avhd had produced some pas
sages from this book, he says, " Tu- Vigilans dormis, et dor-
miens scribis: et proponis mihi Librum Apocryphum qui sub
nomine Esdrae, a te et similibus tui legitur," Vid. also, Athan.
Synop. de Lib. Esd. Wolfius Bib. Heb. tom.i. n, 1768. p, 941,
and tom. ii. p, 194, 196, 209. et Lib. VIII. cap. xliv. edit. Par.
1627. [tJ Chap. iii. 6, 19. v, 5, 52—55, vi. 42, 44, 49—52, 55.
Raynold's Praelect. 27.

574 OF THE SECOND BOOK OP ESDRAS.
support of this opinion, that it is cited or referred
to as a Jewish book by very ancient writers [u] ; as
farther that it raay be supposed to treat of that tra
ditional and raysterious knowledge Avhich was said
to have been derived as an oral explication of the
LaAV derived frora Moses ; and which was taught
in the Alexandrian school of the Jews. Mr. Lee
observes, that in raany particulars it resembles
other apocryphal books, undoubtedly written be
fore the time of our Saviour [x] ; and that there
is some ground for supposing that the book of
Enoch [y], and that of the Shepherd of Hermas
[u] Tertull. cont. Marcion. Carm. Lib. IV. Ime 198, 199.
Clemens Alex. Strom. Lib. III. p. 556. et Euseb. Lib. VI.
c. xxv. Ambrose de bono Mortis, c. x. § 45, p. 407. tom. i.
edit. Par. 1686. et Lib. II. iu Lucam. p. 1292. St. Ambrose
(Eites ch. vii. 32. as scripture, and he professes to cite on this
occasion from Ezra ; in order to shew that the heathens had
drawn their best maxims from our books.
[x] As to the two last chapters of Tobit, and likewise the
books of Baruch and Wisdom. The book bears, likewise^
some resemblance to passages in the ancient Targums, as
those of Jonathan and Onkelos. See Kidder's Demonstration
of the Messiah, and Allix's Defence of the Unity and Distinc
tion of the Divine Nature.
[yJ It has been imagined that this book is cited by Jude
ver. 14. if not by St. Peter, and that an interpretation of it is
borrowed from it by the Targumist Jonathan ; but as Fabricius
observes, Jude does not cite any book, but says only Enoch
prophesied. The book of Enoch is supposed to have existed
in the age of Alexander Polyhistor, about 100 years before
the time of Christ. What is now so called is a forgery, for
Fabricius informs us, that Postilus mentioned a book under
that name at Rome, written in the Abyssinian tongue, and

, OF THE SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS, 575
[z^, hiight have proceeded from the same author
as the present work.
On a supposition that this Avork was written
before the period of Christ, we must admit that
those particulars which appear to be prophetic of
circumstances relative to the Messiah and his king
dom, were collected from an acquaintance with
the inspired books of the Old Testament ; or that
the work has been interpolated by sorae Avriter
Avho lived under the Gospel dispensation [aJ. But
said to have been brought from Ethiopia, Mr. Bruce, when
in Abyssinia, procured a copy of a book under this title,
which he presented to the King of France for the Royal
Library at Parb. Dr. Woide, who had studied the Ethiopic
and Coptic languages, went to Paris several times on purpose
to examine this manuscript ; but on conversing with the late
Granville Sharp, and considering the account of Fabricius,
Dr. Woide was convinced that this manuscript was only ano
ther copy of the same spurious work. For this information,
as well as for some corrections, the author is indebted to that
eminent scholar and most valuable man, the late Granville
Sharp. [zJ The visions of Hermas much resemble those of Esdras
in many strking particulars. They are thought to have beeu
written about seventy-five years after the vulgar aera. The
book of Hermas was highly esteemed in the Greek, and
hardly known in the Western church, though now extant only
in Latin. Vid. Lee's Disc. p. 138.
[a] Mr. Lee seems to insinuate that the book might have
bee.i corrupted by the Cerinthians, or even by Ceriullius him
self who in his rehgious system, combined with the doctrines
of Christ the opinions of the Jews, and the errors of the
Guostics. Some, indeed, have imagined, that this book is the
very apocalypse of that heretic referred to by the ancients, as

576 OF THE SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS.
it exhibits, in every part, such a manifest resem-'
blance to the doctrines, sentiments, and expres
sions, of the evangelical writers; and corresponds
so rauch Avith passages of the New Testament as
to particulars interwoven in the contexture of the
book; that we must suppose it to have been writ
ten after the publication of the Gospel, unless we
adrait that the evangelical writers have borrowed
more frora this apocryphal book, than from almost
any canonical book of the Old Testaraent, since
in none except in the Psalras, can we discover
such frequent coincidence of thought and expres
sion [b^. The author also treats so clearly of
it seems to contain some notions favourable to the Cerinthian
heresy; and Cerinthus is related to have written a kind of
apocalypse upon the model of St, John's Revelation, Vid.
Lee's Diss. p. 87. Dr. AUix supposed tbat the second book
of Esdras was the production of a Jew who had adopted the
opinions of Montanus : a rigid and enthusiastic sectary ofthe
second century, who predicted calamities and destruction to
the Roman empire. Vid. AUix de Usu et Prsestant. Num.
Mosheim's Eccles. Hist. Cent, 2. Part II. § 23.
[b] Comp. chap. i. 30. wi(h Matt, xxiii. 37. Chap.'i. 32.
with Matt, xxiii. 34. and Luke xi. 49, 50, where the Evangelist
refers probably to some prophecy now lost. Chap, i, 33, with
Luke xiii. 35, &c. Chap, i, 37, with John xx, 29. Chap. h.
8, 9. with Mark vi. 11, &c. Chap. ii. 11. with Luke xvi. 9.
Chap, ii, 12, with Matt, xi, 28, Chap. ii. 13. with Matt, vii,
7. and Matt. xxiv. 22. and chap, xxv, 34. and Mark xiii. 37.
Chap. ii. 16. with John v. 28, 29. Chap. ii. 26. with John
xvii; 12. Chap. iv. 21. with John hi. 31, 32. Chap. iv. 28.
with Matt. xiii. 30. Chap. iv. 30. with Matt. xiii. 30, 39.
Chap. iv. 31, 32. with Mark iv. 28, 29. Chap. v. 1. with
Luke xviii. 8. Chap. v. 2. with Matt. xx\\, 12. Chap, v.

OF THE SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS. 577
particulars brought to light by the Gospel dispen
sation; pourtrays so expressively and characteris
tically our Saviour, who is imaged out, as " the
Son of God, exalted on Mount Sion |^c], crowning
and giving palms to them who having confessed
the narae of God, had put ofiF the mortal clothing;"
he describes likewise so fully the character and
coraprehensive design of Christ's kingdora [d], and
the death of our Saviour [e] ; and speaks so dis
tinctly of a resurrection and future judgment [fJ,
2, 3. with John xv. 1. Chap. vi. 23. with Matt. xxiv. 31.
Chap. vi. 24. with Luke xii. 53. Chap. vi. 25. with Matt.
xxiv. 13. Chap. vi. 26. with Matt, xiv, 28. Chap. vii. 7.
with Matt. vii. 14. Chap. vii. 55. with Matt. xiii. 43. Chap.
viii. 3. with Matt. xx. 16. and vu. 14. Chap, vin. 22. with
John xvii. 17. Chap. ix. 3, Matt, xxiv, 6, 7. xiii, 32, with
John vii. 19. Chap. ix. 37. with Malt. v. 18. Chap. xv. 4,
with John iii. 36. and vui. 24. Chap. xvi. 18. with Matt.
xxiv. 8. Chap. xvi. 53, 54, 76. with Luke x-vi. 15. Chapl
iii. 11. with 1 Pet, iii. 20. Chap, vii, 64. with 2 Pet. iii. 15.
Chap. viii. 39. with 1 Pet. i. 17. Chap. vui. 59. with 2 Pet.
iii. 9. Chap. ix. 15. with 1 Pet. iv. 18. and Matt. vu. 13.
Chap. ii. 41. with 2 Thess. ii. 13. Comp. also, chap. v. 4. with
Eev. vii. 10, 12. See also, the book of Revelation passim, and
many other collated references in Lee, p. 124 — 127.
[c] Chap. ii. 34 — 36. comp. with John x. 11 — 14. and
Matt. xi. 29. Esd. ii. 42—48. comp. with Matt. x. 32.
xvi. 16. Luke i. 35. 1 Pet. v. 4. and 1 Cor. xv. 53. Esd.
vii. 28. comp. with Luke i. 31. Esd. xiii. 1 — 38. comp. with
Matt. xxiv. 30. and xxv. 31. Vid. also, Esd. xiv. 9. and xv. 6.
[d] Chap. ii. 34 — 41. Chap. ii. 18, 19. where, by the
twelve trees and twelve fountains were designed, probably, the
twelve apostles.
[B] Ch^p. vii. 29.
[f] Chap, ii, 16, 23, 31. iv. 42. vi. 20—28, vii, 31—35.
Pp

o78 OF THE SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS.
that he must have been enlightened by divine in
spiration, if he lived previously to the promulga
tion of the Gospel doctrines.
That the book Avas written after the appearance
of Christ, will be deemed farther probable if we
consider the particulars of that passage in which
the author declares, in the name of the Almighty,
that " Jesus [g], his Son, should be revealed with
those that be Avith him ; and that they that remain
should rejoice within fijur hundred years ; that
after these years should his Son Christ die, and all
men that have life ;" for it is not probable that an
uninspired writer, however conversant with the
prophetic books, should have been able to etch out
a prophecy so clear and descriptive.
There appears then to be sorae reason, on a
collective consideration of these circumstances, to
suppose that the book, or at least that the greatest
part of it, was produced after the promulgation of
comp. with John v. 25, 29, and Matt. xvi. 27. and xxv, 31,
Vid. also, ch. vii. 42-r-45, 55. viii. 61. ix. 10—13. xiv. 35.
[g] Chap. vii. 28, 29. The name of Jesus is wanting in
the Arabic. Paraphrase ; but it must have been in the ancient
manuscripts, as particularly in the Latin copies in the time
of St. Ambrose, which was about 700 years prior to the sup
posed date, of the Laudean manuscript. This name, though
equivalent to the word Redeemer, is no where applied to the
Messiah in the Old Testament. Vid. Matt. i. 21. The word
Christ is synonymous with that of theJMessiah, or the Anointed ;
which words are often used by the Prophets in predictions
respecting our Saviour. Vid. 1 Sara. ii. 35. Psalm ii. 2.
Dan. ix. 25. The seventy in these places translate Mashiach,
by Xfis-T«?,

OF THE SECOND B00K_0F ESDRAS. 579
the Gospel. The work is, however, of too mixed
and mysterious a character to authorize any posi
tive determination. It is a coUection of pretended
prophecies ; cabaUstical fancies ; and allusions to
evangelical particulars. Amidst spurious fabrica
tions, and passages transcribed from the Gospel, it
may contain fragraents of works written before the
time of Christ [h] ; and many writers have consi
dered it as a compilation of pieces, of which some,
at least, may have been the genuine production of
Ezra. Among the various opinions that have been en
tertained conceming this book, some have ima
gined that it might have been coraposed soon after
the destruction of Jerusalera, by a christian writer;
who, as was custoraary araong the ancients, might.
have assumed a borrowed title, not with intention
to impose on the Avorld; but to exhibit under the
narae of Ezra, as that of a great doctor of the
Law, a speciraen of what might be said on the
principles of the Jewish synagogue, conceming
the more inward and spiritual religion that had
been concealed from common observation under
the veil of Moses ; and that the author might
design to develope the more secret wisdom of God
in his government of the world, and of his church;
with the more notable events relative to the intro-
[h] Mr. Lee conceives the two first chapters to be an ex
trinsic work. He considers them as a fragment of some book
held sacred among the Egyptian Jews, though not admitted into
the canon. They are not in the Arabic version, nor in some
of the most ancient Latm copies. Lee's Diss, p. 54.
pp2

580 OF THE SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS.
duction and establishraent of the kingdom of the
Mcissiah, in order to faciUtate the reception of the
Gospel and its raysteries.
It is probable, that the author's intention was to
proraote the success of Christianity ; and Calraet
has conjectured, that he lived during the tirae of
sorae persecution of the Christians, whora he ap
pears desirous of exciting to faith and fortitude [ij.
But however pious the design of the author, it wiU
not apologize for the guilt of endeavouring to ira-
pose a spurious, for an inspired work on the world ;
and for the presumption of speaking in the name
and with the authority of God. The work, how
ever, may be admired as a production of the raost
curious and interesting character ; as valuable for
many devout and instructive sentiraents, and for
precepts modeUed on the perfection of christian
morality [k]. It may be adraired, Ukewise, for the
beauties of its composition : for its lively and ele
gant illustrations, and for that majestic eloquence
which breaks forth through the disadvantages of a
barbarous Latin translation. The Romish church,
though it admit not its canonical authority, has
adopted sorae passages from it into its offices [l] ;
and it is properly suffered to continue in our
Bibles as a profitable book if discreetly and cau
tiously used, but not as having any authority in
point of doctrine. It may be observed, however,
[i] Chap. ii. 44—47.
[K] Chap. ii. 20—23. iv. 7.
[l] 2 Esdras ii. 36, 37. Missa in Fer. post Pentacostem.
Miss. Rom. p. 316.

OF THE SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS.

581

in vindication of the book, even in that respect, at
least in one instance, that the Roraan CathoUcs
who have endeavoured to countenance the notions
of purgatory by the authority of this writer, have
perverted his words; for the passage in which
he speaks, agreeably to the representation of St,
John [m], of the souls of the righteous, as set
apart in expectation of God's final judgment, does
not make any mentipn of purification, or of their
being placed in a state of expiatory punishment.
Clemens Alexandrinus has quoted [n] in his ex
plication of Daniel's prophecy, a passage as from
the Book of Esdras, which is no longer to be
found in this or the preceding book ; if it ever
existed in this, it must have tended stiU farther to
prove that it was written after the appearance of
Christ. The words of Clemens may be thus ren
dered : " For it is written in Esdras, and thus
was Christ the King of the Jews ruler in Jeru
salem, after the accomplishraent of the seven
Aveeks; and in the sixty -two weeks aU Judaea was
in peace, and was without wars ; and the Lord
our Christ, the most Holy, being corae, and having
fulfiUed the vision and prophecy (Prophet,) was
anointed in the flesh, by the Spirit of his Father.''
[m] Chap. iv. 35 — 41. comp. with Rev. vi. 9 — 11.
[n] Clem. Alex. Strom, Lib, I. p, 394, Edit, Potter?

OF THE

BOOK OF TOBIT.

This Book was probably written by, or at least
corapiled from the memoirs of-Tobit and Tobias
[a]: whom Raphael, the angel, had comraanded
to record the events of their lives [b]. The work
appears to have been begun by Tobit ; who in
the Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac editions, speaks
in the first person to the fourth chapter ; and by
whom other parts in the book, as the prayer in
the thirteenth chapter, are said to have been cora
posed : what he left unfinished was probably com
pleted by his son ; the two last verses of the book
being afterwards added by sorae corapiler [c], who
digested the materials into their present forra.
It is uncertain, whether this work were originally
written in the Hebrew or in the Chaldaic language
[a] The Greek calls the father TuQvir (Tobet) or Tafir
(Tobit) and the son Tagia; (Tobias) in the Chaldee both are
caUed n'lita (Tobija),
[b j Chap. xii. 20.
[c] It is called ^i^Aof raj ?,oyui,, " The Book of the Words"
or ofthe acts of Tobit, ch. i. 1.

OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT. 583
[D], with both of which Tobit and his famUy raust
have been weU acquainted. The Hebrew copies
published by Munster and Fagius, appear to be
translations coraparatively modern fs] ; but as the
book Avas extant in the Chaldaic language in the
time of St. Jerom, it is possible that it was origi
nally written in that language, though no Chaldaic
copy be now extant. The most ancient copy that
is known to exist, is a Greek version which was
probably made by some HeUenistical Jew [fJ, and
before the time of Theodotion, as it is quoted by
Polycarp [g] ; frora this our English translation,
[d] Origen states it to be notorious, that the Jews did not
use Tobit and Judith, nor even had them in their language
among the apocryphal books. Vid. Epist. ad African, tom. i.
p. 26. Edit. Paris, 1733. et de Oratione, p. 220. The names
of the angels, and of the months, are of Chaldcean derivation ;
but these might have been equally used by a Jew, as the Chal-
dasan expressions and reckonings were generally adopted dur
ing and after the captivity by the Jews. Vid. Bereschit. Rabb.
et Talmud Hier. Huet. Dem. Evau. Prop. 4. p. 168.
[e] The Hebrew obtained by Fagius from Constantinople,
and pubhshed hy him, seems to have been translated from the
Greek ; that of INIunster, which he professes to have found in
Germany, was probably rendered chiefly firom the Vulgate.
They both, however, vary from the copies from which they are
supposed to have been respectively translated. Huet was in
possession of an Hebrew manuscript, which difiiered from both ;
and especially from that of Fagius. Vid. Fabric. Bib. Graec.
Huet. Prop. 4. et Calmet. Pref. sur Tobie.
[f] Hieron. Praef. in Tobiam, and Whistou's Sac. Hist.
VoLi. [g] Polycarp, Epist. ad Philip. § 10. This Greek translation
was composed, however, long after the period assigned to the

584 OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT.
and probably the Syriac version was made : as
also the Latin version, which was in use before
the tirae of St. Jerom.
All the versions of this book vary so rauch from
each other, that they raust have suffered raany
corruptions. St. Jerora's Latin version especially,
which he professes to have translated frora the
Chaldee, differs so much from the Greek, that it
has been supposed to have been drawn from a
raore extended history of Tobit [n]. But if we
consider, that St. Jerora was at that tirae by his
own account ignorant of the Chaldee, and that he
executed the Avork by the assistance of a Jew in
one day [i], we raay attribute raany of the adven
titious particulars to inaccuracy, and to the redun
dancies that raust have resulted frora verbal cir-
curalocution. The Greek is probably raost entitled
to respect, and on that account it was preferred by
the translators of our Bible [k] ; and, indeed,
there are some mistakes in the Latin, which if not
history, for the sixth verse of the eighth chapter is transcribed
almost verbatim from the Septuagint version of Gen. ii. 18.
[h] Fabian Justiniani supposed that there must have beeu
two originals ; and Serrarius contends for three. But the va
rieties arise from corruptions iu the copies. Vid. Justin. Prsef.
in Tob. He mentions an Arabic version which corresponds
much with the Vulgate, and which was probably made from it.
[i] " Unius Diei laborem arripui, et quicquid iUe mihi He
braicis verbis expressit, hoc ego accito notario semionibus La-
linis exposui,'' says St. Jerom, vid, Praef. in Tobiam. We are
not therefore to look for accuracy in a translation so made.
[kJ Coverdale's translation appears to have been made
from that of St. Jerora, altered as in the Vulgate,

OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT. 585
rejected, would entirely destroy ail the authority
which the book might claim, and make it utterly
inconsistent with the times to which it is assigned.
This, however, is canonized by the church of
Rome. The book, if it ever existed in the Hebrew lan
guage, was certainly never in the Hebrew canon,
and has no pretensions to be considered as the
production of an inspired writer. It Avas probably
composed after the closing of the canon ; but per
haps before the tirae of our Saviour, though as far
as may be argued from the silence of PhUo and
Josephus, it does not seem to have been known to
those historians, and it is not cited in the NeAV
Testament. It is not to be found in the most an
cient catalogues of the canonical books, as fur
nished by MeUto ; Origen ; and the CouncU of
Laodicea ; and it must be added, that Athanasius
[l], Cyril of Jerusalem j^m], Gregory Nazianzen
£n3, Epiphanius [o], HUaiy [pj, and St. Jerora [q],
exclude it from the sacred code.
Thouarb Tobit has no canonical authoritv, it is
a book respectable for its antiquity and contents.
In the Alexandrian manuscript, and in the best
editions of the Septuagint, it is placed among the
hagiographical books ; and it is cited from the Greek
[l] Athan. Epist- festal, et in Synop. p. 50. Edit. Par. 1627.
[m] Cyrill. Catech. 4.
£>-] Greg. Nazianz. Carm. de Veris et German Scrip. Lib.
[o] Epiphan. de Pond, et Mens.
[p] Hil. in Prolog. Psalm.
{[q] Hierou. Prol. Gal. Prsef. in Tob. in Prov. ic. pa^m.

586 OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT.
with great respect by Polycarp [r], Clemens Alex
andrinus [s], Chrysostom and other writers [t] of
considerable authority ; and some Councils, in
deed, as those of Carthage [u], Florence, and
Trent [x], esteemed it canonical ; upon an errone
ous notion of its being dictated by inspiration, and
upon a supposition that it was classed by the Jews
araong the Hagiographa, as a work of secondary
rank [y].
Houbigant imagines, that the only reason why
it Avas not adraitted into the canon was because
being a private history, there Avere probably but
few copies ; and that these being kept at Ecbatana
[r] Polycarp. Epist. ad Philipp. p. GO. Edit. T. Smith.
[s] Clemen. Alex. Strom. I. Lib. II. p. 503. Edit. Potter.
[t] Clem. Constit. Apost. Lib. I. c. i. Lib. III. c. xv. Lib.
VII. c. ii. Cvprian. passim. .August, de Doct. Christ. Lib.
III. c. xviii. Ambros. Lib. de Tobia. Hilar iu Psalm cxxix.
B. 7. Basil. Homil. de Avarit.
[u] Coucih Carthag. III. An. 397. c, xlvii. also ConcU.
Hippon. A. 893, Can. 38. Vid. also, P. Innocent I. Epist. 3.
ad Exuper. et Cosin's Schol. Hist. § 83.
[x] CoucU. Trid. Sess. 4.
[y] Hieron. Praef. in Proverb, and in Tobit, tom. i. p. 1158.
Edit, Par. 1693. In some corrupt copies of this last preface, St.
Jerom is represented to have said that the Jews reckoned Tobit
among the Hagiographia ; but the word Hagiographa is pro
bably, as many of the Romanists allow, a corruption, and
substituted for Apocrypha. Those, however, who contend for
the authenticity of the expression, must at least admit, that
Hagiographa is used only in an inferior sense; for St. Jerom
in the same place affirms, that the Jews excluded it from the
catalogue of the divine writings, and censured him for trans
lating a book uot in their canoa. Vid. Cosin's Schol. Hist.
§ 73 p. 83.

OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT. 587
in Media, where Tobias retired, the Avork though
then written, raight not have been known to
Ezra : but, indeed, if it had been then written, and
known to the corapiler of the canon, it could have
had no title to be classed among the canonical
books as of the same authority with thera. The
author does not pretend to prophesy himself; but
coUects only what had been delivered by the Pro
phets [z] ; describing the fate of Nineveh [a] ; the
dispersion of his countrymen ; the destruction of
Jerusalem, and of the temple, in the same raanner
that Jonah and other Prophets had foretold thera.
There are no circurastances raentioned in this
book which are inconsistent Avith the period in
which Tobit is related to have lived [eJ ; nor is
there any internal objection to the supposition of
its being corapiled soon after the events therein
described, or at least before the time of Christ.
In the Vulgate, the teraple of Jerusalera is spoken
of as already burnt [c] ; and it has been supposed
[z] Chap. xiv. 4, 5.
[a] Grotius thinks that Jonas is iuserted iu chap. xiv. 4, 8.
by mistake for Nahum. But Jonah's prophecy, in ch. iii. 4. of
his book, may be .supposed to include the destruction of Nine
veh by the Medes and Babylonians. Its accomplishuient was
protracted but not frustrated.
[b] It should be remarked, that Nebuchodonosor, mention
ed in ch. xiv. 15. was Nabopolassar. vid. Joseph. Antiq.
Lib. X. c. xi. comp. with Lib. I. cont. Apion. § 19. et Jucha
sin. fol. 136, Assuerus Was Astyages, or his son, Cyaxares of
Herodotus. Nineveh was taken A.M. 3392. Vid. Prid. An.
612. Preface to Nahum, p. 474.
[c] Chap. xiv. 7. and xiii. 11. Vulgate.

588 OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT.
that part of Tobit's prophetic assurance Avas drawn
from the writings of Jeremiah ; but as in the
Greek version from which our translation is made,
that destruction is spoken of prophetically [d] as
yet to happen ; and as aU the predictions which
are here inserted might have been drawn from
Prophets who preceded the tirae of Tobit, there is
no reason to dispute the antiquity ascribed to hira
or to his book [e]. Frora the sarae sacred source of
the earlier Prophets, might have been derived those
predictions which Tobit records relative to the
calUng of the Gentiles [f] ; and the restoration of
Jerusalem to a raagnificence prefigurative of its
future spiritual glory in the establishraent of the
Christian Church [oj.
With respect to the history contained in this
[d] Chap. xiv. 4. drawn perhaps from Micah iii. 12.
[e] Aman, mentioned in chap. xiv. 10. was not Haman the
proud enemy of Mordecai and the Jews, mentioned in the book
of Esther, nor Judith's husband, but some predecessor or
contemjiorary of Tobit, with whose history we are unac
quainted. [r] Chap. xiii. 11. which perhaps alludes to the offering of
the wise men, described in St. Matt. ii. 11. The prediction
may be drawn frora David's prophecy in Psalm Ixxii. 10. of
which the very words are introduced in the Hebrew copy pub
lished by Fagius. See also chap. xiv. 6, 7. which might be
grounded on the prophecies in Micah v. 12, 14. Isaiah ii, 18,
xxxi. 7. Zechar. xiii, 2, &c.
[g] Chap, xiii, 16 — 18. xiv. 5 — 8. which passages resem
ble some metaphorical descriptions of St, John. Vid. Rev,
xxi. 10 — 27. xxii. 3 — 6, but they were probably borrowt'4
from Isaiidi liv. 11 — 17.

OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT. 589
book, there is no sufficient reason to question its
truth, at least as to the main particulars ; and the
Jcavs do not appear to haA'e entertained any doubts
on the subject [h]. It is Avritten Avith much sim
plicity, and Avith an air of truth. The characters
are described Avilh great sincerity and effect ; and
the minute detail of genealogy, of time, place, and
personal circurastances [ij, Avhile they heighten
the interest, tend to deraonstrate the truth and
reality of the relation. Tobit, then, is to be con
sidered as a real character ; he Avas born probably
during the reign of Ahaz ; he Avas of the tribe of
Nepthali, in the city of Thisbe [k], in Upper Ga-
Th] Juchasin Hieron. ad Chron. ct Heliod. Grot. Prjef. ad
Tob. Senens. Bib, Lib. VIII.
[i] Chap. V. 16. The mention of Tobias's dog has been
frequently represented as a ludicrous and unnecessary particu
lar. But there is often as much want of taste as of candour iu
criticism of this nature. The introduction of such incidental
particulars is not unusual in tlie most admired works of an.
tiquity. Vid. Odyss. Lib. II. 1. 11. iEueid, Lib. VIII. 1.
463. It deserves to be remarked, that in the eleventh chapter of
the Vulgate, the dog is said to have run before, coming as it were
a messenger ; and the Syriac version represents Anna to have
first received the dog ; and indeed, the Greek has been thought
to intimate nearly as much, fur it says, not that she saw Tobias
himself, but •a!-eo<re»oj!<7£» avloi Ejxof "o», " perceived that he was
coming," as possibly by the dog. In this there is nothing
low or ridiculous, but an incident famihar and elegant. Comp.
with Odyss. Lib. XVII. 1. 300-4.
[k] Thisbe was at the right hand (that is, to the south ;
for the Jews m the description of places, suppose the speaker
to face the east) of Kadesh. Nepthali (KuJimj, or xupnc, or
xahuf tu; Ns^SaXi) the same place perhaps, with Cades, the ca-

590 OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT.
lilee ; and he Avas carried captive to Nineveh after
the extinction of the kingdora of Israel, by Ene-
raassar, or Salmanesser, about A.M. 3383 [l].
The history of this captive, and of his faraily, is
here related in a very interesting raanner ; it is
enlivened Avith rauch variety of incident, and de
corated by the display of raany virtues. Some of
the incidents, as the rainistry of the angel, under
false serablance and assuraptions ; the influence and
defeat of the evil spirit ; as Avell as the blindness
and recovery of Tobit, have appeared so iraproba
ble to raany Avriters, that they have chosen to
consider the whole book raerely as an instructive
fiction [m], designed to iUustrate the relative and
social charities of life, and to exhibit, a pattern of
virtue exercised in trials, and recompensed in this
world ; but there are not any physical objections
to the causes assigned either for the deprivation [n]
pital of Nepthali, and possibly the Cadytes of Herodotus. It
was one of the three cities of refuge on the west side of the
Jordan. The Vulgate represents Tobit to have been born at
Nepthah. Vid. Calmet and Arnald on the place.
[l] The tribe of Nepthali in general had been carried into
captivity about twenty years before by Tiglath-Pileser. Vid.
2 Kings XV. 29. The year of Tobit's death is uncertain ; aU
the copies differ. The Vulgate supposes him to have lived
102 years ; the Greek 158. Both accounts are erroneous.
[m] Paul Fagius. It has been compared to the Cyropeedia
of Xenophon, and the Telemachus of Fenelon.
[n] Chap. ii. 10. Tobit appears to have slept in a court
yard, because polluted by the dead body which he had bu
ried, and his eyes might have been open habituaUy, or aflfected
when Tobit awoke. Sonje suppose that the bird spoken of

OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT. 591
or restoration [o] of sight to Tobit, or if they
are not naturally capable of producing such effects,
they might stiU be miraculously rendered instru
ments in the hands of Providence.
With respect to the agency of the angels, there
is nothing inconsistent with reason, received opi
nions [p], or scripture, in supposing a Umited su
perintendence of superior beings. We know,
indeed, that under the peculiar circumstances of
the Jewish economy, the ministry of angels was
manifestiy eraployed in subserviency to God's de
signs ; and that particular personages Avere occa-
was a swallow, of which the excrement is slated by naturalists
to be hot and acrimonious, and capable of causing, blindness.
Vide Plin. Hist. L. XI. c. 37. Gesner, Hist. Anim. L. III.
[o] It is uncertain of what species was the fish mentioned ia
this book. The gall of the fish caUed Callionymus is efficaci
ous in removing specks and obstructions of the sight. Vid.
Oalen de Simphc. Medicam. Facult Lib. X. c, xii. .£lian. Lib.
XIII. c. iv. Bochart Hieroz. Edit. Par. II. Lib. V. cap. xiv.
Aldrovand. Ornithol. L. XVII. Vales de Sac. Philosoph. But
this fish appears to be too small to correspond with the descrip
tion of that of Tobit. Bochart contends for the Silnrus, the
sheat-fish, or sturgeon, called also, the Glanis. This the na-
turaUsts describe as large and voracious. Vid. Ray and John
ston. And its liver was famous for removing suffusions and
dimness. Vid. Houbigant. But it is objected that this fish,
as having no scales, could not be eaten consistently with the
restrictions of the Levitical Law. Vid. Lev. xi. 10, 11. The
livers of many other fishes may have the same sanative qualities.
[p] Hesiod Oper. et Dies, Lib. I. Plato de Legibus. Lib. X.
Apulaeusde Deo Socratis. Buxtorf. Synag. Jud. c. x. Orphei
Hymn ad Mus. Plutarch in Brut. Acts xii. 15. Barnab.
Epist. c. xvui. 1

693 OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT.
sionally favoured with their famiUar intercourse.
It is Ukewise unquestionable, that before the power
and malevolence of evil spirits were checked and
restricted by the controul of our Saviour, their
open influence was experienced [q] ; and thouuh
in the accounts of this book, invisible beings be
represented as endued with corporeal affections,
and described under traditionary names of Chal
daean extraction ; and though the whole history of
their proceedings as here furnished, be in some
measure accommodated to vulgar conceptions [r] ;
yet it would be a violation of all just rules of
criticism, to consider the agency of these beings
as a mere allegorical machinery. Indeed, the
[q] Matt. iv. 24. viii. 28. Mark i. 32. Luke viii. 2.
[r] Chap. vi. 17. viii. 2, 3. The supposed effect of fumi
gation on demons was agreeable to vulgar notions. Josephus
mentions a root called Baara, which, when drawn from the
ground by a dog, was supposed to have some physical qualities
which expelled evil spirits from the bodies of those whom they
possessed, Lib. VII. c. vi. p. 1308. edit. Hudson, see also Lib.
VHI. c. in. p. 339. Athenaeus, Lib. X. p. 442. edit. Casaubon.
The perfume to which an infiuence is ascribed in this book,
was rendered efficacious by faith, prayer, and continence. See
Matt. xvii. 21. and the burning of the entraUs of the fish was
enjoined rather as a sign and intimation, than as a physical
cause of the defeat of the evil spirit, as .in John ix. 6. It
has pleased God upon many occasions, when he has exerted
a miraculous power, to enjoin some external observances as
indications of faith and obedience. See 2 Kings v. 10. John ix.
7. The flight of the evil spirit, and his being bound by Raphael,
implies only that he was circumscribed and restricted in his
power by an expulsion to the supposed sphere of demons. Vid.
Luke viii, 29. Matt. xii. 43. Hieron. in Hierem. c. xxviii.

OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT. 593
events recorded are so dependent on their sup
posed interference; and the miraculous circum
stances are so incorporated Avith the history, that
the truth of the Avhole account rests on the same
foundation, and the particular parts cannot be se
parately reraoved.
Still, "hoAvever, those Avho consider the whole
book as a raoral invention designed for the parti
cular consolation of the Jcavs in captiAnty ; or for
their general instruction and encourageraent in
affliction ; raay derive the sarae profit frora that
fine spirit of piety and benevolence AA'hich breathes
through every part of the book [s] ; and Avhich oc
casionally breaks out into those beautiful senti
ments that have been imitated by succeeding
writers, and copied out into the Liturgy of our
church [t] ; and which sometiraes approach even
the refined precepts of Christianity [u]. It must
be adraitted, however, that there are passages in
the book which express notions inconsistent with
the doctrines of Scripture. The angel appears in
some instances to be invested with a mediatorial .
character [x], in a manner injurious to the pre
eminence of Christj and tobe endued Avith attributes
of omnipotence. The Romish church has endea
rs] Chap. iii. viii. xiii.
[t] Tobit iv. 7, 8, 9. and the Communion Service.
[v] Chap. iv. 7. comp. with Luke xi. 41. Chap. iv. 15.
with MaU. vii. 12. and Luke xi. 31. Chap. iv. 16. with Luke
xiv. 13. Chap. viii. ix. comp. with 1 Tim. vi. 18, 19.
[x] Chap, xii, 15.
Q q-

594 OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT.
voured to avail itself of the authority of the book
to countenance some errors, and sorae superstitious
practices. The passage in chap. iv. 17. " Pour out thy bread
[y] on the burial of the just, but have nothing to
do with the wicked," relates probably to the en
tertainments given in honour of the dead, which
were custoraary araong the Jews [z] as well as
other nations, and soraetiraes observed even at
the sepulchres [aj of the deceased : it has been
strained, hoAvever, to countenance raasses for the
dead [b].
In the old Roraan Missal, and in the Missal of
Sarum, there is a proper raass of Raphael the
archangel ; and in the prefatory rubrick it is di
rected, that the office be celebrated for pUgriras or
travellers, and also for sick persons and dsBmoniacs
[c] ; upon notions of the archangel's character,
built on the relations of this book. Afterwards
follow two short prayers, one addressed to God,
and one to Raphael himself ; the offensive impiety
of which practice, as derogatory to the honour
of God, and the exclusive raediation of Jesus
Christ, is happily exposed by the light of the Re
formation. [y] The old Latin version, according to the Chaldee, adds,
and " the wine."
[z] Joseph. Lib. XVIL c. viii. p. 771. de BeU. Jud. Lib. II.
c. i, p. 1027, Jerem. xvi, 7, 8.
[a] Meursius de Funer. c, xxxv, VUlalpandus in Ezech.
xxiv. 17. Ecclus. xxx. 18. Eustath. in Homer. Lib, XXIII.
[b] Estius in loc.
[c] Arnald's Dissertat. on the Demon. Asmodaeus.

OF THE

BOOK OF JUDITH.

The author, and the period of this history, are
both uncertain [aJ. Some commentators iraagine
that it was written by Joacim or Eliakim, whom
they conceive to have been high-priest in the
reign of Manasseth [b] ; and that it Avas translated
into Chaldee for the use of those Jews in the cap
tivity at Babylon, who had forgotten their own
language. Others attribute the work to Joshua,
tbe son of Josedech [c], the companion of Zerub
babel. But by whomsoever, or in whatever lan
guage it was produced, the original is not now
extant. The Hebrew copy, which sorae have
professed to have seen at Constantinople [d], was
probably a work of modern composition ; and our
[a] Isidor. Orig. Lib. VI. c. ii. Serar. Prolog, in Jud. St.
Jerom seems to consider it as the production of Judith. Vid.
in Agg. i. 6.
[b] Chap. iv. 6.
[c] Pseudo-Philo. Lib. de Temp. R. Asarias, Sixt. Senens,
Jul. Roger, de Lib. Can. c. xx.
[d] Lib. Munster. Praef. in Tob. Hebraeum.
qq2

59G OF the book of judith.
English translation, as Avell as the Syriac, is made
from a Greek version which existed probably long
before the tirae of Theodotion, as it seeras to have
been known to Clemens Romanus [e]. The most
probable opinion is, that the book Avas originally
written in Chaldee [f] by sorae Jew of Babylon ;
and it raight possibly have been designed to en
liven the confidence of the Jews during the capti
vity, and to invigorate their hopes of a deliverance.
Upon a supposition of the truth of the history,
the circumstances described raust have occurred
previously to the destruction of Jerusalem, since
the Persians are represented as still subject to the
Assyrian empire [g] ; and Nineveh, which is here
mentioned as the capital of Nebuchodonosor's em
pire [h], was overthrown before that destruction ;
and upon the impending invasion of Holophernes,
the Jews are said in this book to have been
troubled, " for the city and temple of their God."
Usher, therefore, Lloyd, and Prideaux, have agreed
in considering the history as coeval with the time
of Manasseth [i] : placing it in about the forty -fourth
[e] Clemens Rom, Epist. ad Corinth, c. lv. p. 210. Edit.
Wotton. Vid. also, Polycarp. et Clem. Alex. Strom. Lib. I.p. 617.
[fJ Hieron, Prsef, in Lib. Jud,
[g] Chap. i. 7 — 10.
[h] Chap. i. 1.
[i] Some place it in the reign of Amon, or in that of Josiah,
and others contend for the time of Jehoiakim. Some writers
who place it in the reign of Zedekiah, conceive that Nebu
chodonosor was the same person with Nebuchadnezzar ; upon
which supposition, Jerusalem must have been taken in the

OF THE BOOK OF JUDITH.

597

year of his reign, A. M. 3348. Prideaux, with other
writers, after a judicious investigation of the seve
ral opinions that have been entertained upon the
subject [k], maintains that the Arphaxad of this
book was Deioces []l] : and Nebuchodonosor,
Saosduchinus, who ascended the throne of Babv-
same year that Bethulia was besieged, if we follow the ac
counts of the Greek copies of this book, which place the
expedition of Holophernes in the eighteenth year of Nebucho
donosor's reign ; for the eighteenth of Nebuchadnezzar coin
cides with the ninth year of Zedekiah.
[k] The ancient tradition among the Jews was, that the
circumstances of the history happened under the reign of Cam
byses, after he had conquered Arphaxad. Vid. Euseb. Chron.
Hist. Scholast. Dionys. Carthus. Suidas Verbo Holophernes.
Biit the capital of Cambyses was Babylon, and he reigned
but seven years and three months. Vid. Herod. Lib. III. cap.
lxvi. p. 230. Edit. Wesselin. Others attribute the history to
the time of Xerxes. Vid. Suidas Verbo Judith. Riber, in Na
hum ii. Estius and others the time of Darius Hystaspes;
and Sulpicius Severus assigns it to a stUl later period,
placing it jinder the reign of Artaxerxes Ochus, King of Per
sia. Vid. Hist. Saec. Lib. II. Bellarm. de Verb. Dei, Lib. I.
c. xii. Augustin de Civit. Dei, Lib. xviu. c. 26.
[l] Deioces founded Ecbatana; and the beginning of the
twelfth year of Saosduchinus, coincides with the last year of
Deioces. These aud other concurrent circumstances seem to
prove, that Deioces and Arphaxad must have been the same
person; though some writers relate that Deioces lived long,
and died old, in prosperity. Calmet supposes Arphaxad to
be the Phraortes of Herodotus, the circumstances of whose
life and death, as he conceives, correspond better with the
accounts of this book, and. who may be* supposed to have
finished the fortifications of Ecbatana, as described in chap. i.
2—4. Vid. Herod. Lib. I. c, cii. p. 52.

598 OF THE BOOK OF JUDITH.
Ion, A.M. 3336 ; and the learned author places the
expedition of Holophernes in A.M. 3349 : making
the twelfth year of Saosduchinus to coincide with
the forty-third of Manasseth [m].
But though the history cannot with consistency
be assigned to any other tirae than that of Manas
seth [n], there are stiU so many objections to this
period, that many writers have chosen to consider
the whole work as a religious romance. It must
be confessed, indeed, to be extraordinary, that nei
ther Philo or Josephus should raake any mention
of this signal deliverance ; for the latter espe
cially, though he professed to confine himself to
[m] Prid. Con. vol. i. Part. I. p. 28. Calmet's Preface,
Bellarm. de Verb. Dei. Lib. I. c. xii.
[n] Manasseth himself is not mentioned in this book, (nor,
indeed, any King,) whence some have supposed that the siege
of Bethulia happened during his captivity at Babylon ; or
that he was withholden from an active part from cautious or
prudential considerations ; or lastly, that he was then engaged
in sequestered repentance. But as Bethulia was on the fron
tiers, the defence of it might have been entrusted to the high.
priest. The precise situation of Bethulia is not known ; some
place it in the territory of Zebulon, in which there appears to
have been a town of that name, but Judith, Manasseth, and
Omias were of the tribe of Simeon. There might have been
a frontier town in the hilly country of Simeon, towards Syria,
named Bethulia, though we have no other mention of it in
history. We cannot, however, suppose it to have been the
same place with Bethel, or Bethuel, mentioned in Joshua xix.
4. and 1 Chron. iv. 30. without allowing that the author has
been guilty of some geographical mistakes. Vid. chap. iii.
9, 10. and iv. 6. Calmet in «hap. vi. 7. and Arnald in chap.
vi. 10.

OF THE BOOK OF JUDITH. 599
such accounts as were contained in the Hebrew,
(that is, the authentic canonical) books [o], yet by
no raeans adheres so strictly to his plan that he
raight not have been expected to have raentioned
so remarkable an interposition of God in favour of
his country ; but as this omission can only furnish
a presumptive argument against the truth of the
history ; and as the apparent inconsistencies raay
be accounted for without destroying the credibi
lity of the chief particulars ; it is more reasonable
to consider it as the history of real events [p] :
since many of its circumstances correspond with
the accounts of ancient historians [q]; and the Jews
as AveU as the earlier Christians, believed it to be a
relation of historical truths.
Many also, of the difficulties which occur in con
sidering the history ; and many of the objections
to the period which is assigned to it, are to be at
tributed to corruptions Avhich have taken place in
the Greek version [b] ; and which are among the
[o] Prooem. Antiq. et Vita Josephi.
[p] Montfaucon Verite I'Histoire de Judith. Howel's Hist.
of Bible, ch. clxxiv. Houbigant Praef. et Notes. Herod.
Lib. I. c. cii.
[q J Nebuchodonosor is stiled Saosduchinus by Ptolemy and
other writers. Nebuchodonosor was, indeed, properly the
name of the Babylonian Kings ; but the Jews seem to have
caUed aU the princes who reigned beyond the Euphrates by
that name, as in Tobit, Nabopolassar is so called. Vid. Tobit
xiv. 15.
[b] The third verse of the fourth chapter represents the
Jews as newly returned from the captivity ; but this is not in
St. Jerom's version. So likewise, the words in the sixteenth
5

600 OF THE BOOK OF JUDITH.
inconsistencies that St. Jerom professes to have
lopped off" as spurious Avhen he made his translation,
which is noAv extant in the Vulgate [s]. Some
originate in the obscurity that necessarily hangs
over a period so distant, and so little iUustrated by
the remains of ancient history [t] : and sorae must
be charged probably on the ignorance of the au
thor, who compUed the book from such materials as
he could procure ; and who, to give importance to
his history, and to magnify the characters which
verse of the fifth chapter, which speak of the temple as being
cast to the ground, are resciuded as a corruption by St. Je
rom ; though the original Greek words iyiviiri tlq s'Jaipo?, might
mean only that the temple was prophaned and trampled on ;
as it was at several times, and, perhaps, by the Assyrians,
when Manasseth was taken prisoner. The captivities and
dispersion spoken of both in the Greek and Latin, may be
understood of the Assyrian captivities under Manasseth. Vid.
2 Chron. xxxiii. 11 — 13.
[s] Chap, i. 13. which difiers five years from the date given
in chap. i. 1. In St. Jerom's version there is no apparent in
consistency. In chap. ii. 1. the eighteenth year is placed in
consequence of the same calculation, instead of the thirteenth,
as it stands in St. Jerom's version. It is, however, possible,
that there is no mistake, and that five years might have in
tervened between the preparations for war, and the attack on
Arphaxad. [t] Joacim, or Eliakim, is represented in this book as high-
priest, though no high-priest of that name is mentioned before
the captivity by Josephus, or in the scriptures, unless we attri
bute that character to the Eliakim spoken of by Isaiah, chap,
xxii. 20 — 25. But the catalogue of Josephus is corrupted,
and the scriptures no where profess to furnish an exact suc
cession of the Priests. Vid. Prid. Con. vol. i. Part I.
4

OF THE BOOK OF JUDITH. 601
he describes, has embeUished his workj sometimes
at the expense of chronology and truth [u].
If these causes of inconsistency be adraitted,
there wiU be no necessity to question the truth of
the principal circurastances in his history ; and to
have recourse to such iraaginations as Grotius [x]
and others have entertained ; who have amused
theraselves by considering it as an intructive fic
tion, or ingenious aUegory : in speculations they
may serve to prove the fertility of their invention,
but Avhich conduce but little to iUustrate truth ; or
f u^ It is said m chap. xvi. 23. that none made Israel afraid
in the days of Judith, nor a long time after her death. Now
as we cannot suppose her to have been more than forty years
old when she captivated Holophernes ; (probably not so old,
especially as she is called fair damsel, KaXij «raiJio-zj), chap. xii.
13.) and as she lived to the age of 105, there must have been
a sixty years peace at least after the deliverance ; which was a
longer space of time than intervened between the forty-fifth
year of Manasseth, and the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchad
nezzar, (not to mention the dangers under Josiah, and the de
feat and death of that monarch) ; or, indeed, than any period
of uninterrupted peace in the course of the Jewish history.
We must therefore suppose the author to have spoken hyper-
bolicaUy of the efiects of Judith's heroism.
[xj Grot. Praef. ad Annot. in Lib. Jud. Grotius fancies that
it is a parabolical, or aenigmatic fiction, written in the time of
Antiochus Epiphanes, to encourage the Jews under the per
secution carried on by him. He imagines that Judith is Judaea ;
and Bethulia the house of God ; that by Nebuchodonosor and
Holophernes, are meant the devil and his agent, and he oflFers
other whimsical conceits to explain this supposed allegory.
Vid. similar notions in Luther, Reiniccius, and Capellus, Lim-
horchi, Theolog. Lib, I. cap, iii. p. 9, Edit, Amstel. 1686.

602 OF THE BOOR OF JUDITH.
to increase our reverence for works, respectable
at least, for their antiquity and sanctions ; and va
luable for the instruction Avhich they afibrd. It
may be observed also, as an intrinsic raark of the
truth of this history, that the author appears to
speak of Achior's faraily as living at the time
when the book was written [y], and that in the
last verse of the Vulgate, it is said that the day of
Judith's triumph had ever since been celebrated
as a sacred festival [z].
It appears frora the accounts of Origen [a], and
St. Jerom [b], that the Jews reckoned this book
araong their apocryphal writings. It is no where
cited by our Saviour or his apostles [c] ; it is not
in the catalogues furnished by Melito, Origen, and
[y] Chap, xiv, 10.
[z] Chap. xvi. 31. Vulgate. This verse is not in thc
Greek, Syriac, or ancient Latin versions, nor is the festival
mentioned in any authentic Hebrew calendars. Some writers
however, suppose that it was anciently observed. Vid. Selden
de Syned. Lib. III. c. xiii. § X. Vol. i, p. 1713. Edit. Wilkins,
Scaliger de Emend, Tem. Lib. VII. p. 633, et Calmet in loc,
[a] Epist. ad African,
[b] Hieron, Preef. iu Jud. Some manuscripts of St. Jerom
read improperly Hagiographa, instead of Apocrypha. Vid.
Preface to Tobit.
[c] There is a resemblance between Elizabeth's salutation
of Mary, in Luke i. 42, and the encomium bestowed on Judith
by Ozias, in chap, xiii, 18. of this book ; as likewise between
the exhortation of St, Paul, and a passage in chap, viii. 24, 25,
of the Vulgate copy of Judith, The coincidence of expression
is probably accidental in both parallels. St. Paul in the last
aUudes to the circumstances mentioned in Numb. xxi. 6. aud
xiv, 37.

OF THE BOOK OF JUDITH. 603
Athanasius, nor Avas it received by Hilary, Gregory
Nazianzen, Cyril of Jerusalera, or the Council of
Laodicea. Being cited hoAvever with respect by
raany ancient writers [d] ; and considered as ca
nonical in a secondary sense by St. Augustin [e]
and the African church [t}, it was received indis-
erirainately, and as of the same authority with the
inspired books by the Council of Trent [g], which
canonized St. Jerom's translation ; and since that
time it has been generally reverenced as an in-
[d] Clem. Epist. ad Corinth, c. iv. p. 210. Clem. Constit.
Apost. Origen. Homil. xix. in Jerem. Vol. I. p. 271. Edit. Par.
1740. Clem. Alex. Strom. Lib. IV. p. 617. Edit. Potter.
TertuU. de Monog. c. xvu. Ambros. de Oflic. Lib. III. et de
Vid. August, de Doct. Christ. Lib, II. c. viii.
[e] St. Augustin expressly remarks, that this book was said
not to have been admitted into the Hebrew canon. Vid. de
Civit. Dei, Lib. XVIII. c. xxvi.
[f] Council. Carthag. 3. Canon. 47. See also, the suspected
epistle of Pope Innocent I. where the books of Tobit, Judith,
and Maccabees, are reckoned as scripture.
[g] Some controversialists have asserted that St. Jerom
aUowed that the book of Judith was canonized by the CouncU
of Nice. Vid. BeUar. de V. Dei, Lib. I. c. x. Baron. Annal.
itom. iii. Ann. 325. sect. 157. But in the acts of this council,
the book is not mentioned ; and in the place referred to, (vid.
Hieron. Praef. in Judit. p. 1170. tom. i. Edit. Par. 1693.) St.
Jerom only says, that the CouncU of Nice was reported (legitur)
to havereckoned this book in the number ofthe sacred writings;
and he remarks that the Hebrews (that is the Hellenists, or the
converted Jews) considered it as Apocryphal ; and elsewhere
(vid. Praef. in Lib. Salom. p. 939.) that the church, though it
read Judith, did not receive it as canonical. Vid. also in Prol.
Gal. Epist. ad Fur. et Bellarm. de Verbo Dei, Lib. I. c. x.
Erasm. in Censur. Praef. Hierou.

604 OF THE BOOK OF JUDITH.
spired work by the writers of the Romish church ;
who are, however, much perplexed and distressed
for want of arguments to support its pretensions.
The book presents an interesting scene of ara
bition frustrated, and of intemperance punished.
The history is written with great grandeur and
animation, and the Assyrian and Hebrew raanners
are well described. The prayer, and the hymn of
Judith, are composed Avith much piety [h]. The
work contains nothing exceptionable in point of
doctrine, for where Judith celebrates God's jus
tice in punishing the crime of the Shechemites [i],
she by no means atterapts to justify Siraeon for his
vindictive and indiscriminate cruelty. If the ad
dress with which she accomplished her designs,
should be thought to partake of too much of an
insidious character ; it may be permitted, at least,
to admire the heroic patriotism and piety which
prompted her to undertake the exploit; the urgency
and iraportance of the occasion, will likewise ex
cuse the indiscreet exposure of her person to. in
teraperate passions ; and in the general description
of her character, she may be aUowed to have pre
sented an exemplary display of the virtues which
become the widowed state [k].
[h] ConcU. Trid. Sess. 4.
[i] Chap. ix. 2.
[k] Ambrose de Vit. Fulgent. Epist. 2.

OF THE

REST OF THE CHAPTERS OF THE
BOOK OF ESTHER.

The chapters entitied. The Rest of the Chapters
of the Book of Esther, are not extant in the He
brew, or in the Chaldaic language, but only in
the Greek and Latin copies. Origen' was of opi
nion, that they had formerly existed in the He
brew [a], though omitted in the copies that re
mained in his time ; and Huetius, upon a very
probable supposition, conceives them to have been
the production of the great Synagogue; and, on
the aUeged authority of Origen, he represents
them to have been translated from some more
copious manuscripts by the Septuagint transla
tors I^b] ; but these translators certainly confined
themselves to the canonical books.
[a] Vid. Origen in Johan. tom. ii. et Epist. ad African.
[b] Origen,' indeed, quoting some passages from the four
teenth chapter of the book of Esther, says, " in the book of
Esther, according to the Seventy," the furious parts being
annexed to some copies of the Septuagint, though, indeed,
long after that version was made, as Origen must have known.

606 OF THE BOOK OF ESTHER.
It is at least very doubtful whether these chap
ters did ever exist in the HebrcAv language ; and
it is unquestionable that they never were in the
Hebrew canon. If, likewise, we are to rely on
the accounts of this book, there is reason to be
Ueve that even the authentic book of Esther was
not translated by the authors of the Septuagint
into Greek : for in the first verse of the second
chapter of this apocryphal part, it is said, that the
Epistle of Phurira, by which was probably raeant
the book of Esther, was interpreted into Greek
by Lysiraachus [c^ ; who was possibly an Hei-
lenistical Jew residing at Jerusalera ; and the apo
cryphal parts contained in this book Avere, perhaps,
added to the Greek translation by Dositheus and
Ptolemeus, or by some other Hellenists of Alex
andria. They appear to have been subsequent
additions interpolated in various parts of the Greek
copies by sorae persons desirous of giving erabel-
lishment to the history ; and who inserted into the
however he might think it unnecessary there to distinguish the
canonical from the spurious parts. Vid. Epist. ad African.
Origen elsewhere rejects these additions as apocryphal. Vid.
Sixt, Senens, Bib. Sanct. Lib. I. sect. 3. et Lib. V. An. 250.
[c] According to this account, it was translated in the fourth
year of the reign of Ptolemy ; Avho, if he were Ptolemy Phi
lometor, lived long after the Septuagint translation was made.
Some conceive that Ptolemy Philadelphus was meant ; in the
seventh year of whose reign that version is supposed to have
been executed ; and Huet imagines that the Seventy adopted
this work of Lysimachus into their translation of the scriptures,
on an idea that it was executed before the reign of Ptolemy
PbUadelphus.

OF THE BOOK OF ESTHER. 60?
body of the work such traditionary or fanciful cir
curastances as his enquiry or invention could fur
nish. Frora the Greek these additions were trans
lated into the old ItaUc version [dJ. They Avere
not, hoAvever, considered as canonical by the an
cient church [eJ, though they raight soraetiraes
pass uncensured as annexed to the canonical book.
St. Jerom, who confined hiraself to what Avas in
the HebrcAv, did not adrait them into his trans
lation [f] ; but represented them as rhetorical ap
pendages and erabellishraents subjoined to the
ItaUc version. Since that tirae, the most judicious
writers [g] have not scrupled to consider them as
[d] This diflTered both from the Hebrew and Greek copies.
[e] Melito ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. Lib. IV. c. xxvi. Athan.
Epist. 39. Gregor. Nazianz. Carm. de Veris et German:
Script. Libris. p. 98. Paris, 1630. Sixt. Senens, Bib.
Lib. I. sect. 3. Even the canonical book of Esther, in
deed, is not expressly enumerated in these catalogues : either
because of the spurious additions, or as the generality of
writers suppose, because the authentic book was reckoned as
one book with those of Ezra and Nehemiah ; the three being
attributed to the same author. The fathers profess to receive
the whole of the Hebrew canon exclusively ; and in the
synopsis attributed to Athanasius, the apocryphal part of
Esther, which is described as beginning with the dream of
Mordecai, is rejected ; and the authentic part is there said to
be reckoned as one book with another ; which other must
have been that of Ezra. Vid. also, Hieron. Praef. in Ezram.
et Nehem. The book is reckoned in the catalogues of Origen,
HUary, Cyril, and Epiphanius ; and in that of the councU of
Laodicea. [f] Hieron. Praef. in Esther. In the Greek church they are
StiU suflPered to constitute a part of the book of Esther.
[g] Grotius Prsefi ad Addit. Esther. Dionys. Carthus.

608 OF the book of esther.
extrinsic and spurious additions ; though they are
canonized, together with the authentic chapters,
by the CouncU of Trent ; and passages frora them
are inserted into the offices of the Romish church.
It is manifest on considering the canonical book,
that it is a coraplete and perfect Avork ; and these
apocryphal parts, which are introduced into the
Greek copies, wUl appear to be superfluous and
curabrous additions to those who take the pains to
exaraine them. They are in a different style from
that of the authentic chapters, and consist partly
of a repetition of particulars contained in them.
The first chapter, which in the Greek copies is
annexed to the tenth of the canonical chapters,
consists of an interpretation of a pretended dream
of Mordecai, which contains some fanciful con
ceits, and was furnished probably by the same
person that fabricated the dreara which foUows in
the next chapter. The intiraation contained in
the first verse of the second or eleventh chapter,
was possibly written by some Jew of Alexandria;
it was not in the ancient Italic version. The dream
which is related in this eleventh chapter, and
which in the Greek is placed before the canonical
part, is evidently the reverie of some inventive
writer ; and afterwards prefixed to the work. It
does not forra a proper introduction to the book ;
and in the fifth verse of the second canonical
Cajetan. Raynold Heidegger, Lib, II, c. x. Kenthii Proleg.
ad Lib. Apoc, V, T. p. 27. Sixtus Senensis caUs them, la
ceras Appendices et pannosa Additamenta. Vid. Bib. Sanct.

OF THE BOOK OF ESTHER. 609
chapter, Mordecai is introduced as a person not
before mentioned; and his genealogy, and other
particulars, are described there, and in the suc
ceeding verse, with a minuteness which must have
been quite redundant, if the second verse of the
eleventh chapter had been authentic.
The account of the devices, and of the discovery
of the two eunuchs who conspired against the life
of Artaxerxes, is a repetition, with some alterations,
of what is related in the second chapter of the
authentic part [h] ; and could not properly be pre
fixed (as it is in the Greek) to the canonical book
which opens the history as if nothing had been
previously communicated. The sixth or fifteenth
chapter contains a description of Esther's appear
ance and reception by .the King, which is borrowed
from the fifth chapter of the genuine history [i},
and diversified with some extraneous particulars.
So likewise the prayers of Mordecai and Esther,
contained in the thirteenth and fourteenth chap
ters I^k] ; as weU as the letter in the thirteenth [l]
chapter; and that in the sixteenth [m], which con-
[h] Esther ii. 21—23.
[l] The fifteenth chapter is in the Greek and Vulgate in
serted immediately after Esther's prayer (as given in the four
teenth chapter) instead of the two first verses of the fifth
chapter. [k] These prayers are placed in the Greek immediately after
the, seveateenth verse of the fourth chapter.
[lJ This in the Greek is added after the thirteenth verse of
the tturd chaj^ter. It m%ht be grounded on some authentic
accounts, as th^ substance of it is related by Josephus.
[m] This edict in the Greek copies follow* the twelfth verse
Rr

610 OF THE BOOK OF ESTHER.
eludes the apocryphal book, are all obviously fic^
titious inventions designed by sorae rhetorical wri
ter [n], to decorate and coraplete the history. They
are probably accounts fabricated in designed con
formity to particulars aUuded to by the inspired wri
ter in his book ; and are interwoven Avith sorae in^
genuity into the body ofthe work. The forgery is,
however, occasionally betrayed by the introduction
of circurastances incorapatible with the genuine
parts [o] ; and rather inconsistent with the period
assigned to the history [p]. Sorae Greek and
Latin copies contain still more extraneous parti
culars ; and the Chaldee Paraphrase is loaded with
ofthe eighth chapter. It appears from the style to have been
originally written in Greek, and both the letters are mentioned
in the authentic book in a manner that shews they were not
inserted in the history. Vid. Esth. iii. 14. viii. 13.
[n] Hieron. ad Paul, et Eustoch. Sixt. Senens. Bib. Lib.
VIIL [oJ Comp. chap. vi. 3. with xii. 5. Chap. v. 2. with Chap.
XV. 4. Chap. in. 12, with chap. xiii. 6. Chap. ix. 1. with
chap. vi. 8.
[p] The King is made in chap. xvi. 10. to style Aman a
Macedonian ; and afterwards to talk of his desire " to trans
late the kingdom of the Persians to the Macedonians ;" parti
culars that lead us 'to suspect an anachronism, or corruption of
the text, as they were more adapted to the sentiments and
circumstances of a later period, when the Persians and Mace
donians were at war. In the ninth chapter, indeed, of the
canonical book, Haman is in the Greek called a Macedonian,
but the Hebrew word >jJ«n, should have been rendered as' by
St. Jerom, aud in our translation,: the Agagite, thai is, of the
race of. Agag, King of the Amalekites. Josephus describes
Haman as an Amalekite. Vid. Antiq. Lib. XI.c. vi. p, 490.
Edit. Hudson. Esther ix, 24. iii. 10.

0F THE BOOK OF ESTHER, 611
accuraulated additions. The copies, indeed, vary
so rauch from each other, that Bellarmine [q] fan
cied that there must have been two original his
tories : the largest of which he conceived to com
prize the Greek additions. Our church judiciously
adheres to the chapters which are contained in the
Hebrew, which are indisputably authentic ; and
present us with an entire and valuable history.
The adventitious parts are, however, suffered to
continue in our Bibles as profitable in a subor
dinate degree. They deserve not to be incor
porated with the genuine history, though they
iUustrate the characters, and dilate on the virtues
displayed for our instruction by the sacred writer.
[g] Bellarm. de Verb. Dei, Lib. I. c. vii.

Rr2

OF THE
BOOK OF THE WISDOM OF
SOLOMON.

The works of Solomon in general, were eraphati
cally styled the Books of Wisdom, and were so
cited by the Fathers [a] ; and in ecclesiastical lan
guage, the Book of Wisdom comprehends not
only aU the authentic books of Solomon, but also
Ecclesiasticus ; and this which is called the Book
of Wisdora, or according to the Greek, the Wis
dora of Soloraon. The author of this book as
sumes the title, and speaks in the character of that
monarch [b] ; but though it may, perhaps, contain
some sentiments selected from his works, and
others ascribed to him by tradition [c], it cannot
be received as an inspired book; and it was eer-
[a] Melito ap. Euseb. Eccles. Lib. IV. c. xxvL Clem. Epist.
ad Cor. c. lvii. Origen. in Cantic. Prol. et cont. Cels. Lib. III.
Cyprian Test. Lib. til. c. xvi. Ambrose de Parad. Clem.
Alex. Strom. Lib. VI. p. 795.
[b] Vid. c. vu. 7 — 21. compared Avith 1 Kings c. iii. 13. c.
xiv. 29 — 34. Vid. c. viii. 14, 15, 19, 21. c. ix. 7, 8, &c.
[c] Barto Cocceius Bibhoth. Rabb, tom, i. p, 249.

OF THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON. 6J3
tainly composed long after the time of Solomon.
It never was in the Hebrew canon [nJ, and pro
bably never in the Hebrew language [eJ. It is
not reckoned in the sacred catalogues of the ear
Uer church ; and the generaUty of ancient writers
confess, that it is not to be considered as the work
of Solomon, It contains citations of scripture
from the Septuagint, even where that version dif
fers firom the HebreAV text [f] ; and borrows from
books written long after the time of Solomon [c].
The copy Avhich has the highest pretensions to
be considered as the original, is in Greek prose.
Some learned men have fimcied, that they have
discovered in this book, as weU as in that of Eccle
siasticus, the Hebrew measure, wbich obtains in
the authentic works of Solomon ^h]. The sen
tences have indeed often a poetical turn ; and in
the Alexandrian manuscript, tbey are written in
regular arrangement, Uke the book of Job, of
Psalms, and those of Solomon, to which this was
[d] Melito Epist. ad Onesim. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. Lib. IV.
c. xxvi. Athan. Synop. Epiphan. de Pond, et Mensur. Hieron.
ProL in Lib. Solom. Joh. Damascen. de Fid. Orthod. Lib. IV.
c. xviii.
[e] Ai^ust. de Civit. Dei. Lib. XVII. c. xx, et xxiv. Hieron.
ProL Gal.
[f] Chap. ?. 10, 11. from Prov. xxx. 19. Ch. xi. 12. from
Isaiah iii. 10.
[g] Compare Wisd. iii. 14. with Isaiah Ivi. 45. Wisd. ix.
13. with Isaiah xl. 13. Wisd. xiii. 11. with Isaiah xhv. 13.
Wisd. V. 18. with Isaiah lix. 17. Wisd. iL 6, 7. vrith Isaiah
Jvi. 12.
£h] Vid. Grabe's Proleg. tom. ult. c. i. 2. Calmet* s Diet,
in Wisd. Epiphan, de Ponder, et Mensur.

614 OF THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON.
subjoined in sorae old Latin versions, and by Dr.
Grabe in his edition.
Sorae have conceived that it was translated frora
the HebrcAV into Greek ; and some Avith less rea
son suppose it to have been rendered from the
Chaldee, in which language R. Moses Ben Nach
man professes to have seen it [i] ; though pro
bably what he saw was a translation from the
Greek into that language.
But in whatever language it was written, it has
always been deservedly esteemed as a treasure of
Avisdom. It was composed in imitation of the
style of Soloraon, though, perhaps, not designed
to pass for his work, but to communicate such in
structions as might be consistent with the assumed
character. Many ancient writers have cited it as
a work attributed to Soloraon, and as not un
worthy, frora its reserablance to his writings, to be
regarded as the perforraance of that enlightened
raonarch ; and sorae appear to have considered it as
his genuine production [k]. Lactantius, with other
writers, represents, in loose citation, the descrip
tion of the just man persecuted, which is con
tained in the second chapter, to be a prophecy
deUvered by Solomon concerning our Saviour's
writings [l]. It is certain, however, that the book
[i] R. Moses Ben Nachman, Prol, Com, in Pentat.
[k] Clem. Alex. Strom. Lib. VI. p, 800. Edit. Potter. Basil.
Hom. 5. in Princip. Proverb, p. 732. tom, ii. Edit, Par, 1722,'
Tertul. cont, Marcion, Lib, III, Origen cont, Cels. Lib. III.
§ 72- in Exod. Hieron. in Psalm Ixxiii.
[l] Lactant. de Ver. Sap. Lib. IV. § 16. Wisd. u. 12—21,

OF THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON. 615
"was not written by Solomon, as St. Augustin, who
likewise considers this passage as prophetic, al
lows [,m J. The antiquity and high iraportance of
this book, appear to have excited great reverence
in the ancient church [n] ; and sorae of the fathers
seera to have thought that the book of Wisdom,
and that of Ecclesiasticus, contained passages, at
least, that were inspired. St. Augustin afiirms,
that the christian Avriters who immediately suc
ceeded the apostles, adduced its testiraony as
divine [o] ; but it does not appear that they, or
St. Augustin himself, considered the book as really
the work of an inspired penraan, since he aUowed
that neither this work, or that of Ecclesiasticus,
were produced against gainsayers Avith the same
authority as the undoubted writings of Solomon.
fsi] August, de Civit. Dei. Lib. XVII, c, xx.
£n] St. Augustin says, " Non debuit repudiari sententia
Libri sapientiae, qui meruit in Ecclesia Christi de gradu lec-
toruni tam longi annositate recitari." From this it should
seem, that the apocryphal books were read iu a lower place
by the lectours, or inferior officers of the church. Whereas
the inspired books were read by the priests and bishops from
a more conspicuous place. De Gradu Episcoporum. Vid.
August, de Praedest. c. xiv. § 27. edit. Antwerp.
[oJ St. Augustin may be understood to mean, that they
who cited Wisd. iv. 11. cited it as a faithful sayipg, and as
grounded on divine authority. Vid. de Prsedest. Sanct. c. xiv.
.§ 28. et Cyprian. L. de Mortal, p, 415. et Testimon. Lib. IH.
p. 59. Edit. Amstel. 1700. St. Augustin says likewise of this
book. in an hyperbolical encomium, tbat it deserves " omnibus
Christianis, cum veneratione divinae auctoritatis audiri." Vid.
also, de Doct. Christ. Lib. II. c. viii. et de Civit. Dei, Lib.
XHI, cxvi.

616 OF THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON.
And he elsewhere admits, that after the death of
Malachi, the Jews had no Prophet tiU the appear
ance of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist
[p]. The fathers, indeed, in general, however
they might be dazzled by particular passages, or
consider them as fragraents of inspired writings,
regard the book of Wisdora as inferior to the
canonical books ; they esteem it as a work of ad
mirable tendency, and as of a scriptural character,
but not as absolutely derived from the suggestions
of the Holy Spirit [q].
Some partial councils [r] admitted it as canoni
cal in a secondary interpretation of that word ;
but it was always considered as inferior to the
books contained in the Hebrew catalogue, till by
the peremptory decision of the Council of Trent,
it was received as a work of equal authority with
[p] August, de Civit. Dei. Lib. XVIII. c. xxxv. et Lib.
XVII. c. xxiv.
[q] It is expressly represented as inferior to the sacred
books by many writers. Vid. Hierarch. de Divin. Nomin. c, 4.
Euseb. Hist. Eccles. Lib. IV, c, xxvi. Athan. Epist, 39. et
Synop, Epiphan. de Pond, et Mensur. Philast. de Haeres.
Prodiant. August, de Civit. Dei. Lib. XVII. c. xx. Hugo de
S. Vict, de Script, et Scriptor. Sac. c. vi. Thom. Aquinas, in
Dionys. de Divin. Hom. c. iv. Lect. IX. Du Pin. Diss. Prelim.
[r] As the third Council of Carthage, that of Sardis, and
that of Constantinople in Trullo ; the eleventh of Toledo, and
that of Florence, provincial synods, or corrupt councib, un
duly influenced, of which the canons relative to the scriptures
were sometimes afterwards forged or altered, and which were
not received by oecumenical councUs. Vid. Cosin's Schol.
Hist. Du Pin, Hist. Eccles. ct Bib. Pat. tom, i, p. i, and
Arnald's note to Ciilmcl's Preface.

OF THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON. 617
them. StiU, hoAvever, the most zealous defenders
[s] of the Romish church acknowledge, that it
never was in the Hebrew canon as corapleted by
Ezra [t] ; at the closing of which Ave have every
reason to beUeve that the spirit of inspiration
ceased. The book was probably composed by an Hel-
lenistical Jew : but whether before or after Cbrist,
has been disputed. Grotius is of opinion, that it
was originaUy Avritten in HebrcAv by a Jew who
lived at sorae tirae intermediate betAveen Ezra and
Siraon the Just; and that it was translated by a
Christian, with sorae freedom and additions of
evangelical doctrine. But the style, as St. Jerom
has observed, indicates rather the artificial contex
ture of Grecian eloquence, than the terseness and
compressive simplicity of the Hebrew language.
The book is also replete with allusions to Greek
mythol(^y, and with imitations of Grecian writers :
with whose works, and especially with those of
Plato, the author appears to have been intimately
acquainted. St. Jerom informs us, that manv ancient writers
[s] As Isidore, Nicephorus, Rabanus Maurus, Hugo, Ly
ran, Cajetan. Vid. Niceph. Lib. IV. c. xxxiii. Limborch.
Theolog. Christ. Lib, I. c. iii. Melch. Caiius Loc. Theolog.
Lib. V. cap, ult. Baron. Ann. tom. vui. ad Ann. 692, Calmet's
Preface. [t] Isidore in one place relates, that some persons reported
that it was expunged from the Jewish canon because it con
tained a clear prophecy of Christ ; an idle fable which Isidore
must have discredited. Vid. OfEc. Lib. I. c. xii.

618 OF THE WISDOM Ot' SOLOMON.
affirmed that the book of Wisdom was Avritten by
Philo Judasus; by whora the generaUty of cora
mentators [u] suppose to have been meant the
Philo senior, who is mentioned by Josephus, as
not unskilful in philosophy [x] ; and who appears
to have been born before the time of Christ,
though his life was prolonged until some tirae
after the publication of the Gospel.
There are many reasons which should lead us
to suppose that the author lived before the birth
of Christ [yJ, sorae passages in it however seem
to intiraate an acquaintance with the particulars of
the Gospel dispensation, and to be iraitative of
parts of the New. Testament. A general con-
forraity also has been observed between the doc
trines and sentiraents contained in this book and
those dispersed through the works of Philo [zJ
[u] Hieron. Praef, in Proverb. Solom, Hiiet, Prop. 4, Bos
suet Prasf, in Lib. Sap. Driedo de Eccles, Dogon. c. iv,
[x] Joseph. Antiq, Lib, XVIII., c. ix. p. 821. Josephus re
marks, that Philo,and some other historians of whom he speaks,
were entitled to indulgence, as they had it not in their power to •
become accurately acquainted with the Hebrew writings ; from
which we may collect, that he was ignorant of the Hebrew
language, and probably he was an Hellenistic Jew, which is
consistent with the account of St, Jerom, Cont. Apion, Lib,
I. p. 1351. Some poetical fragraents of Philo relative to the
Patriarchs are cited by Alexander Polyhistor, Vid, Euseb,
Praep. Evang, Lib. VII, et IX. Clem. Alex. Strom. Lib. I.
This Philo was a different person from Philo Biblius, who
fiourished under Adrian and Trajan.
[y] Origen. Hs^. A^x"'- Lib. IV. p. 192. Edit. Par, 1733,
Euseb. Demonst, Evan. Lib. I. c. vi. Selden de Pentateuch.
[z] First published at Paris by Turnebus in 1552, after-

OF THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON. 619
which we now possess, and hence sorae raodern
Avriters have assented to the opinion, that he was
the author of it [a]. Dr. Rainolds iraagines that
it was coraposed about A.D. 42, upon the occa
sion of an order frora the Eraperor CaUgula, that
his statute should be set up and adored in the
teraple [b] of Jerusalera, when Philo was sent to
Rorae by the Jews to plead against this prophana-
tion, but without effect. This supposition the
learned writer defends, as consistent with the ar
gument and drift of the book of Wisdom ; and to
this theory he refers those precepts in the first and
sixth chapters, which describe the duty of princes;
as well as the denunciations against tyrants and
idolatry ; and conceives that they were designed
to convey admonition and reproof to Caligula,
who had treated hira with rauch insult.
But notwithstanding the raany presuraptive ar
guraents that have been urged in support of this
opinion, there is sorae reason to believe that the
work was not written by Philo of Alexandria [c],
wards at London, by Dr. Mangey, in 1742, 2 vols. Vid. col
lated passages in Calmet's Dissertation sur I'Auteur du Livre
de la Sagesse.
[a] Job. Beleth de Div. Ofiic. c. lx. Whitaker's Origin of
•Arianism, p. 132—136.
[bJ Sueton. in Vita Caligulae, § xxu. Joseph. Antiq. Lib.
XVlil. c. ix. Rainolds, Censur. Apoc. Praelect. 22.
[c] This PhUo was very conversant with the saCred wri
tings, and indulged himself too much in the fanciful explica
tions of them. His works, which blend the principles of Plato
with the doctrines of scripture, are supposed 16 have been the
source at which Origen and the mystical writers imbibed an
¦-5

620 OF THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON.
but, indeed, previously to the birth of Christ.
Some passages in it appear to be cited by writers
who were nearly contemporary with Philo [d] ; and
it is probable, that a work professing to be the
production of Soloraon, was published under the
Jewish dispensation ; as, indeed, by the generaUty
of writers it was supposed to be.
The correspondence which has been conceived
to exist between this book and the works of Philo,
raight, it is said, be occasioned by the iraitations
of the latter ; and the supposed reserablances be
tween the passages in this book, and others in
the New Testaraent, raay be thought on exarai-
nation to be either imitations of similar passages
in the sacred books of the Old Testament [e]} ; or
extravagant spirit of figurative interpretation. PhUo is repre
sented to have lived iu friendship wiih St. Peter at Rome in
the reign of Claudius, to have been converted to Christianhy,
and to have afterwards apostatised. Vid. Joseph. Lib. XVIIL
c. ix. Euseb. Hist. Lib. II. c. ii. xvii. xviii. Phot. Cod. 105.
Hieron. de Script. Eccles, c. xi. Eusieb. Praep. Lib. VII. c.
xii. Some authors maintain that the book of Wisdom difl^ers
widely from the style of Philo, and contains some principles
very opposite to those laid down in his works. Vid. Calmet,
Preface, sur le Livre de la Sagesse.
[d] Barnab. Epist. j p. 61. Edit. Coteler. 1700. frora
Wisd. ii. 12, Clem. Rom, Epist. ad Coruith. c. iii. p. 124.
Edit. Cotol. from Wisd. ii. 24. c. xxvii. from Wisd. xi. 22.
and xii. 12.
[e} Thus Wisd. ii. 18. and Matt, xxvii. 43. might both be
derived from Psal. xxu. 8, 9. So Wisd. iii, 7. and Matt. xiii.
4:1. might be from Dan. xii. 3. Wisd. ii, 7, 8. and 1 Cor. xv,
32. from Isa. xxii. 13. and Ivi. 12. Wisd. v. 18, 19. and Eph.
vi, 14. from Isa. lix. 17. xi. 5. Wisd. vi. 7. and Acts x. 34,
&c. from 2 Chron. xix. 7. or from Job xxxiv. 19. and Deut. x,

OF THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON. 621
such casual coincidences [f} of sentiments or ex
pressions as may be found betAveen all works treat
ing on the sarae subject.
It need not, however, be supposed, that the
beautiful passage contained in the second chapter,
though written before the coraing of Christ, can
confer any character of inspiration on the book ;
for if we consider the description of the just man
persecuted and condemned to a shameful death
by his conspiring enemies, as bearing a prophetic
aspect to the sufferings and condemnation of our
Saviour by the Jews ; it raight still have been
framed by a: writer conversant Avith the prophetic
books {]g^, without any inspired knoAA'ledge. But
it is, perhaps, only applicable by <stsual accommo-
(ktion and undesigned resemblance to our Savi-
17. Wisd. ix. 9. and John i. 1—3, 10. from Prov. viii. 22.
Wisd.ix. 13. and Rom. xi. 34. or 1 Cor. ii. 16. from Isa. xl. 13.
Wisd. XV. 7. and Rora. ix. 21. from Isa. xlv. 9. and Jerem.
xviii. 6. Wisd. xvi. 26. and Matt. iv. 4. from Deut. viii. 3.
Wisd. iii. 8. and 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. from Dan. viu 18—22.
[fJ Comp. Wisd. vi. 3. Avith Rom. xui. 1. Wisd. vii. 26.
with Heb. i. 3. Wisd. xii. 24. with Rom. i. 23. Wisd. xiiL 1.
with Rom. i. 19, 20. There is, however, no reason why the
evangelical Avriters should not be supposed to have occasion
ally adopted the expressions, or even the sentimeuts of a pious
though uninspired writer.
[g] Comp. chap. ii. especially as cited by Barnabas, with
Isaiah iii. 10. Chap. ii. 18. with JPsal.. xxu. 8. or xxi. 9. in the
Sept|iagint. See also Matt, xxvii. 43. wdiere. David's. pcopbe.
tic expressions are used. The righteous are often caUed the
sons of God in a general sense. Vid. Exod. iv. 22. Prov. L
8, 10. And Wisd. xviu. 13. and v. S. I

622 OF THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON.
our, Avho raight be eminently styled " the jUst
man," and vvho Avas in an appropriate sense, the
Son of God, The picture seeras, indeed, to be
copied and applied to others, by subsequent wri
ters [h].
The passages in which the author seeras to per
sonify the Avord of God[i], and to attribute to it
distinct powers and effects, are not to be considered
as intentionally prophetic of the attributes and
operations of the second person in the Trinity ;
but Avere probably founded on traditionary notions,
designed as generally descriptive of God's orani-
potent proceedings ; or they raight be accidentally
figurative of Christ's character, by being borrowed
as to their expressions from parts of the sacred
writings [k]. So likewise, those splendid enco
miums on wisdora, with which the book abounds,
though written Avith a piety highly enraptured and
sublirae, are not to be considered as inspired
and concerted lUustrations of that perfect Avisdora
which dwells in an especial degree in Christ ; but
were designed only to celebrate that created wis
dora, which being derived as an eraanation frora
God, reflects his unspotted perfections ; and irra
diates the rainds of those to whora it is iraparted.
The author, however, in imitation, perhaps, of
[h] Plato de Repub. Lib. II. Cicero de Repub. Lib. IIL
Lactant. Institut. Lib. VI. sect. 17. ex Senecae Lib. Moral.
Philosoph. [l] Chap. ix. 1. xvi. 12, 13, 26. xviii, 15.
[k] Deut. viii. 3. xxxii. 39, 1 Sam. ii. 6. Psal, cvii, 20.

OP THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON. 623
Solomons's attractive iraagery [l], personifies this
divine wisdora ; and therefore the description ne
cessarily bears a reserablance to the character of
Christ, in whora the fulness of wisdora personally
resided. But though the work be not derived frora that
infaUible spirit of which the stamp and character
are to be discovered only in the sacred books, it
was evidently the production of a pious and en
lightened Avriter; of one, Avho by appUcation to
revealed wisdora, had acquired some portion of its
exceUence, and learnt to iraitate its language.
Except indeed in sorae few passages where Ave are
terapted to suspect a taint of false philosophy [m] ;
or fictitious additions to the accounts of sacred
history [n] ; there is nothing in the book incon
sistent with the accounts, or unfavourable to the
designs of revelation ; it offers rauch sublirae ad
monition to the princes and leaders of mankind ;
it refers with great efifect to the miracles of God
[o] ; it paints in very eloquent description, the foUy
and consequences of idolatry ; overthrows many per
nicious errors, and delivers just infijrmation con-
[l] Prov. viii. The magnificent description which Solo
mon here gives of the Divine wisdom, was often applied by
the ancient christians to that eternal wisdom which was re.
vealed to mankind in Christ, or rather to our Saviour's person,
who was himself the eternal word and wisdom of the Father.
But it was, perhaps, only generally applicable to God's re
vealed wisdom. Vid. Just. Mart. p. 267. edit. Thirib.
[m] Chap. vnL 20. Arnald. et Calmet.
[n] Chap. xvi. 17—19. xvii. 3—6.
[o] Chap. xix. 7.

624 OP THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON.
cerning a future Hfe and judgment. The six first
chapters, which form, as it were, a preface to the
book, are a kind of paraphrase of the nine first
chapters of the book of Proverbs ; in the seventh
and eighth chapters, the author proposes hiraself
as an example, under tiie name of Soloraon ; the
ninth chapter is a paraphrase of the prayer which
Solomon made to the Lord at the beginning of
bis reign [p] ; and frora the tenth chapter to the
end is a <i;ontinuation of the same prayer dilated ;
which though extended to a considerable length
by the intermixture of nice disquisitions and ex
traneous discourse, is still apparently imperfect.
The style of this book is various ; it is often
tragical, and sometimes turgid, and not seldom
elegant and sublirae; it abounds in epithets and
poetical iraagery. The author often iraitates the
sententious periods of Solomon, but Avith less suc
cess, says Bishop Lowth, than the writer of the
succeeding book [q].
[p] 1 Kings ni. 6 — 9.
[q] Praelect. Poet, 24.

OF THE

BOOK OF ECCLESIASTICUS.

This Book, Uke the preceding, has sometiraes
been considered as the production of Solomon,
from its resemblance to the inspired works of that
writer [a]. In the Latin church it was esteemed
the last of the five books attributed to hira. It is
cited as the work of that enlightened King by se
veral of the fathers ; was joined with his books in
most of the copies ; and like them is written with
a kind of metrical arrangement in the Alexandrian
manuscript, being supposed to have been produced
originally in metre [b]. StiU, however, it must
have been composed long after the time of Solo
mon, who with the succeeding prophets that flou
rished before and after the captivity is here men
tioned [c] ; since the high-priest Simon, who lived
a little before the Maccabees, is spoken of; since
[a] Origen. HomU. xi. in Lib. Jesu-Nava. tom. u. p. 425.
Edit. Paris, 1733. See also p. 340. et 488. Chrysost. adv.
Jiidae, p. 683. tom. i. Edit. Paris, 1718. See also p. 106. et
397. Cyprian de Mortalitat. p. 231. Episf. p. 113. Edit,
Paris, 1736. et Hilar, in Psa, cxl, p. 531. Edit. Paris, 1693.
[b] Epiphan. de Pond, et Mensur.
[c] Chap, xlvii. 13, &c.
S s

626 OF the book of ecclesiasticus.
the words of Malachi are cited [d] : and since the au
thor describes himself in circurastances which could
not have occurred to Soloraon [e]. The book
therefore can only be supposed to contain sorae
scattered sentiments of Soloraon, industriously col
lected [f] with other raaterials for the work, by an
Hebrew Avriter styled Jesus; who professes hira
self the author [g], and who is represented to have
so been by his grandson [[h] ; but who, indeed,
imitates the didactic style of Soloraon, and like
him assuraes the character of a preacher.
Jesus Avas, as we learn frora the same authority,
a man who had traveUed much in the pursuit of
knowledge ; who was very conversant with the
scriptures, and desirous of producing, in imitation
of the sacred writers, sorae useful work for the
instruction of raankind, and who, having collected
together raany valuable sentences from the Pro
phets and other writers, corapiled thera into one
work with some original additions of his OAvn cora
position. What this Jesus produced in the Syriac,
[dJ Chap, xlviu. 10. from Malach. iv. 6.
[e] Chap, xxxiv. 1 1, 12. li. 6.
[f] Drus. Observat. Lib. I. cap. xviii. Athanasius calls Je
sus 'Oira^U T8 So^oftSilof, Salomouis Assecla. Vid. Athan. Synop.
p. 116. tom. ii. Edit, Par. 1627. Bartolocc, Bib. Rabb. tom. i.
p, 249.
[g] Chap. I. 27.
[h] See the second prologue. This prologue is in all the
copies of the Vulgate, and iu the Roman edition of the Greek.
It is probably the authentic work of the grandson, though it is
not in the Syriac or Arabic versions. Vid. Euseb. in Chron.
Hieron. in Dan. ix. Epiphan, Haeres. 8, In the Roman edi
tion of the Greek it is entitled simply " the Prologue,"

OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTICUS, 627
or vulgar Hebrew of his tirae, his grandson trans
lated into Greek for the benefit of his countryraen
in Egypt, who by long disuse had forgotten the
Hebrew tongue. To this grandson we are in
debted for the possession of a valuable Avork, of
which the original is now lost, though St. Jerora
professes to have seen it [i]. The copies of which
Munster, and Paulus Fagius speak, were probably
Ben Sira's alphabet, or modern translations from
the Greek.
It has been a subject of some dispute, whether
the grandfather or grandson be the person who
should be described as the son of Sirach. The
book is entitled the Wisdom of Jesus, the son of
Sirach ; and this title it should seem must apply to
the author, as the book cannot be supposed to have
been denominated by the name of the translator.
The author, likewise, describes hiraself as the son
of Sirach in the fifty-first chapter, which appears
to be the work of the sarae author [k]. The
translator who is usuaUy caUed Jesus, is likewise
styled the son of Sirach by Epiphanius [i.'] ; and
by the author of the anonymous prologue, which
[i] Hieron. Praef. in Lib. Salom. St. Jerom informs us,
that the Hebrew copy which he saw was entitled Parables (or
Proverbs) on account probably of the proverbial and senten
tious form in which its precepts were conveyed.
[k j Grotius, without any reason, attributes it, together with
the three last verses of the foregoing chapter, to the grandson.
[l] Epiphan. de Pond, et Mensur. Isidor. de Eccles. Offic.
in Lib. I. c. xii. Hieron. in Dan. cap. ix. p. 1112. August.-
de Doct. Christ. Lib. II. cap. ii. p. 18. tom. ui. Edit. Antwerp,
1700. Grotius, Drusius, &c.
s s2

628 OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTICUS.
is supposed to have been written by Athanasius, as
it is extracted frora the Synopsis attributed to hira,
and prefixed to this book [m], in sorae Greek, and
in aU the Latin editions, as well as in our transla
tion. It is not iraprobable, that the younger Jesus
might likewise have been a son of Sirach, as names
were often entailed in families.
Genebrard [n] says, that Jesus, the author of
this book, was a priest of the race of Joshua, the
son of Josedech [o] ; and Isidore represents him
as his grandson, though he raust havie lived much
too long after Joshua to have been so nearly re
lated to hira [p]. Huet and Calraet, in agreeraent
with sorae Rabbinical writers, suppose that the
author was the sarae person with Ben Sira, a
Jewish writer, of Avhom an alphabet of Proverbs
[m] This prologue is prefixed to the Greek in the Antwerp
Polyglot, and to some other Greek editions ; but it is not in
the Roman edition, nor in the most ancient copies, nor in the
Arabic or Syriac versions. Its accounts can therefore be re
ceived only as of the same authority as that of the Synopsis,
which was probably written by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexaa-
dria, who lived between A.D. 458 and 490, above a century
after the great Athanasius.
[n] Chronol. p. 16.
[o] Haggai i. 1.
[p] Some Greek Manuscripts make the author a grandson
of Eleazar. Vid. ap. Drus. ad. ch. 1. 3. Others make him a
contemporary with Eleazar; and some writers pretend that he
was one of the seventy interpreters sent by Eleazar to Ptolemy
Philadelphus : a pferson of the name of Jesus being mentioned
in the list given by Aristaeus. Huet fancies that Jesus, the
grandson, was the same person with Josephus, the son of Uziel,
and grandson of Ben Sira.

OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTICUS. 629
is extant, both in Chaldee and Hebrew [q], which
corresponds in so many particulars with the book
of Ecclesiasticus, that Huet, and other writers,
have considered it as a corrupted copy of the He
brew work of Jesus. If, however, as others con
tend, Ben Sira is to be considered as a different
person, and according to traditionary accounts, the
nephew of Jeremiah [r], it must be admitted that
the author of Ecclesiasticus has borrowed raany
• things from his work : since such a conformity as
exists between them could scarcely be acciden
tal [s].
The author of this book is by Calmet and others
supposed to have flourished so late as under the
Pontificate of Onias the Third ; and to have fled
into Egypt on account of the afBictions brought
on his country by Antiochus Epiphanes, about 171
years before Christ, to whose persecution they con
ceive that some parts of the book refer [t j. The
passages, however, produced in support of this
opinion do not bear any direct relation to particular
calamities, but contain only general suppUcationsi
for prosperity, and for the triumphant restoration
[q] Both were published with a Latin translation by Fs^ius
at Isna, in 1542. Ben Sira's Book is said to have been re
ceived by the Jews, among the Hagiographa of secondary rank.
Vid. David in Baba Cama, C. Hachobel.
[r] Buxtorf. et Bartolocc. Bib. Rabbin.
[s] Cornel, a Lapid. Com. in Ecclus.
[T].Chap. xxxvi. Vid. also, ch. xxxiv. 12. xxxv. and li,
which, however, cont^ no particulars exclusively applicable
to the time of Antiochus.

630 OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTICUS.
of the Jewish tribes, which the people expected to
experience in the advent of the Messiah. The eulo
gium contained in the fiftieth chapter was probably
designed for Siraon the just, the first high-priest of
the narae of Siraon, whora the author appears to have
reraerabered, and who died A.M. 3711 [u] ; and
as the younger Jesus went into Egypt in the reign
of Euergetes the Second, surnaraed Physcon, who
was adraitted to a share in the throne A.M. 3835
[x], it is raore probable, that agreeably to the
calculations of other chrouologists, the book was
written about A.M. 3772 ; when the author was,
perhaps, about seventy years of age ; and that it
was translated about sixty or sixty-three years after
[y] ; nearly at the time that it is supposed by
Calraet to have been written.
The translator professes to have found the book
[u] Two Simons, both high-priests, are mentioned by Jose
phus. The first, the Son of Jaddus. See Joseph. Ant. Lib.
XI. c. vii. p. 500. et de BeU. Jud. p. 960. The second, sur
named the Just, the son of Onias, who as the last of the great
synagogue, is supposed to have revised and completed the
canon, is celebrated in this book. Vid. Joseph. Ant. Lih. XII.
c; ii. p. 512. Euseb. in Chronic. Genebr. Cornel, a Lapide.
Drusius, Prid, ad An. 292. The second Simon is mentioned
in Antiq. Lib. XII. c. iv. He opposed Ptolemy Philopater's
entrance into the sanctuary. See Third Book of Maccabees.
[x] He reigned twenty-four years in conjunction with Phi.
lometor, and twenty-eight years alone ^fter the death of his
brother. Vid. Usher's Annals, Ann. .'V.C. 145. VaUlant in
Ptolem. VII. ad An. Lagid. 192. Prid. Con. A.C. 169.
[yJ Usher supposes it to have been translated 38 years
earlier.

OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTICUS. . 631
after he had continued some time in Egypt [z],
Avhere it might have been deposited by his grand
father [aj ; it was called Ecclesiasticus [b] by the
Latins, which title, though nearly synonymous with
the Preacher, was designed to distinguish it from
the book of Ecclesiastes. In the Greek it is caUed
the Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach [c]. It is
much to be adraired for the exceUency of its pre
cepts, and none of the apocryphal books affords such
store of adrairable instruction as this. But it has no
title to be considered as an inspired work : though
it contains raany passages derived frora the sacred
writings, and especially from those of Solomon [d] ;
and sorae which have a slight resemblance to parts
of the New Testament [e], by accidental coinci-
[z] It is uncertain from what sera the eight and thirtieth
year mentioned in the prologue is reckoned. It might be that
of the translator's age. If we suppose it to have been the
thirty-eighth year of Ptolemy's reign, above 100 years must
have intervened between the time of writing and that of trans
lating the book.
[a] It is probable that Jesus by Itpi^ot, or atpojunot, meant
a copy of this book. In the anonymous prologue, it is said,
that Jesus received the book from his father, which perhaps
he might, either in Egypt or elsewhere ; for he does not say
absolutely that he found the book in Egypt, but that being in
Egypt, and having found the book, he judged it worthy a
translation. [b] Some think that it was called Ecclesiasticus by way of
eminence, as the most valuable of the ecclesiastical books.
[c] In the Roman edition it is improperly styled the Wis.
dom of Sirach.
[d] Ecclus passim, et Huet. Prop. 4.
[e3 Huet. and marginal references in our Bible.

632 OF the book of ecclesiasticus?.
dence of thought and expression ; or by concur
rent imitation of the early writers of the Old Tes
tament. The book never Avas in the Hebrew canon ;
nor was it received by the primitive church of Christ,
since it is not in the raost ancient and authentic
catalogues, and is expressly represented as an un-
canonical book by many ancient writers [f]. It is
hoAvever, referred to with great reverence by the
fathers of the Greek and Latin church [g], raany
of whora endeavoured to strengthen their religious
opinions by the sentiraents contained in a book so
deservedly and so generaUy approved. It is cited
as scripture in a vague sense of the word by raany
provincial synods, and received as in a lower de
gree canonical by sorae councils and writers [h]
after the fourth century [i]. But it Avas univer
sally considered as inferior to the books derived
from the Hebrew canon, tiU received as of equal
[f] Prol. of Jesus, Can. Apost. Can. ult. Euseb. Hist.
Eccles. Lib. IV. c. xxvi. Lib. VI. c. xxv, Athan, Epist. 39, et
Synop. Epiphan. de Pond, et Mens. PhUast. Haeres. Prodiant.
August, de Civit. Dei, Lib. XVII. c. xx. Hieron. Praep. in
Lib. Solom. Niceph. Lib. VI. c. xxxui.
[g] Constit. Apost. Lib. VII. c. xi. Clem. Alex. Padag.
Lib. II. p. 180 et 187. Origen in Lib. Judic. Hom. III. p. 464.
et copt. Cels. Lib. VI. Cyprian, de Haeret. Baptiz. p. 333.
Epiphan. Haeres. 76. cont. Aetium. August. Lib. de Grat. et
Lib. Arbit. c. ii.
[h] St. Augustin states it to have been received into autho
rity principally by the Western Church, though it was not re
garded by the learned as the work of Solomon. De Civit. Dei,
Lib. XVII. c. 20. tom. vii. Paris, 1685.
Tl] ConcU. Carth. 3 Can. 47,

OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTICUS. 633
authority by the unadvised and undiscriminating
decree ofthe Council of Trent [k].
AU the copies of this book now extant vary con
siderably frora each other ; and the Latin version,
of which the date and author are uncertain, has
many repetitions and additions introduced seem
ingly as paraphrastical omaments by the trans
lator, or some subsequent writer. The Greek
version, having been made early and iraraediately
from the original, is most entitled to consideration.
This translation, hoAvever, seems to have been
composed with too servile adherence to the ori
ginal, and has often the obscurity of a literal con
struction. The translator Avas sensible of its defects, and
apprehensive, as he has been since accused, of
misinterpreting the sense of his author [l]. There
has been a derangement of chapters between the
thirtieth and thirty-sixth [m] ; which, as weU as many
corruptions and variations, may be imputed to the
carelessness of transcribers [n]. The old English
versions, as those of Coverdale, and the Bishops'
Bible, by a too rigid adherence to the Vulgate,
adopted many errors. Our last translators, though
not servUely attached to any copy, seem chiefly to
have regarded the Complutensian : which though
suspected of conforming its Greek to the Vulgate,
[k] ConcU. Trid. Sess, 4.
[l] Prologue of Jesus, and Drusius.
[m] Calmet Comm. in chap, xxx, 27.
[n] Hsschelius.

634 OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTICUS.
is by Dr. Grabe [o], mentioned with praise, as
derived from the most ancient manuscripts. Their
version is, however, in sorae places inaccurate and
ob.scure, and soraetimes erroneous.
The work begins with an eulogium on Wisdom ;
and raany iraportant instructions are delivered to
the twenty-fourth chapter, when Wisdora herself
is introduced, and is supposed to continue to speak,
to the fifteenth verse of the forty-second chapter.
Here the collection of wise sayings, which are
obviously written in imitation of the Proverbs of
Solomon, concludes : and the author soleranly
enters upon a pious hyran, in which he celebrates
God's Wisdora, in a strain highly rapturous and
subUme : and finishes his work with a pane-
gyrick on the illustrious characters of his own
nation, and with a prayer or thanksgiving for sorae
deliverance which the author had personaUy ex
perienced [p].
This division, says Valesius [qJ, is a raanifest
copy of the method and order of Solomon's writ-
[o] Grabe's Proleg. cap. iii. §1.
[p] Prideaux with Grotius, attributes this prayer to the
grandson, because Ptolemy Physcon was a greater tyrant than
his predecessors, in whose reigns the grandfather might have
resided in Egypt ; but the author speaks only of false accusa
tion to the King, which by no means implies that the King
countenanced the persecution ; and, indeed, if he had, the
author would hardly have escaped from, or at least have com-
plained of the cruelty. The grandfather might likewise have
been accused before a King of some other country.
[q] Not. ad Script, Eccles. Lib, IV. c, xxii.

OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTICUS. 63&
ings : and presents an imitation of Proverbs, Ec
clesiastes, and Canticles ; though sorae maintain
that the author left his work iraperfect[R3. The
book contains a fine system of moral, political,
and theological precepts ; arranged in a less de
sultory manner than the Proverbs of Solomon ;
and distributed under certain heads which seera
to have been forraerly classed under different
titles : many of which are stiU extant in some of
tbe Greek copies. Some learned men have pre
tended to discover in the book the more secret and
abstruse wisdora ascribed to Solomon, and taught
in the schools of the Jewish doctors [s]. The
advocates of the superstitions of the Romish
church have attempted to vindicate masses and
prayers for the dead, from passages in this book,
which, however, relate only to a liberal regard to
the interment of the dead and consolatory largesses
to their surviving friends and the poor [tJ. It is
chiefly valuable for the famiUar lessons which it
affords for the direction of manners in every cir
curastance and condition, and for the general
precepts which it communicates towards the daily
regulation of life. Its maxims are explained by
much variety of iUustration, and occasionaUy ex
empUfied in the description of character. The
ancient writers entitled it Tlavapsrog, considering
[b] The anonymous prologue says, " almost perfected."
[s] Chap. vii. 33. See also Lee's Dissertat. on the Second
Book of Esdras, p. 58.
[tJ Jerem, xvi. 7. Tobit iv. 17.

636 OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTICUS.
it as a coraplete corapendiura of raoral virtues ; and,
perhaps, no uninspired production ever displayed
a morality more comprehensive, or raore capti
vating and consistent with the revealed laws of
God. The book iraparts, also, an instructive de
tail of the sentiraents and opinions that prevailed
in the time of the author ; it shews the impatience
that then prevailed for the appearance of the ex
pected Messiah [u] ; and the firm confidence in
the hope of a future life and judgment, which had
been built upon the assurances of the Law and the
Prophets. It serves Ukewise to prove, that as the
Gospel dispensation approached, the Jews were
prepared for its reception, by being more en
lightened to understand the spiritual import and
the figurative character of the Law.
[u] Chap, xxxvi, 1 — 17. the first part of which is cited by
St. Augustin as a kind of prophetic prayer fulfilled by the arrival
of Christ. Vid. August, de Cirit. Dei, Lib. XVIII. c. xx. See
also, chap. 1. 22, 23. These pious supplications for some
future blessings indistinctly described, proceeded from a con
fidence in the promises of the Prophets ; and the Jews who,
in the expectation of their Messiah, had at first regard only
to one advent, looked to the fuU accomplishment of the pro
phecies in his arrival, and therefore aUude in their prayers
to the expected conversion of the GentUes ; the final con
gregation of the tribes ; and their triumphant victories, which
remain yet to be fulfilled. The prayer spoken of in chap. li.
10, is stated by Mr. Whjtaker to contain an acknowledgment
of the second person in the godhead, and is adduced as a
proof of the belief of the Jews, in that essential doctrine,
before the incamation of our Lord. See the Origin of
Arianism disclosed, p. 122.

OF THE

BOOK OP BARUCH,

WITH THE

EPISTLE OF JEREMIAH.

The author of this Book professes himself to be
Baruch; a person of very iUustrious birth, and
distinguished by his attachraent to Jereraiah, He
had been employed by that Prophet as a scribe or
secretary, to write his prophecies [a] ; and on some
occasions to read them to those against whom they
were directed. St. Jerome, Grotius, and others,
are, however, of opinion, that the book was not
written by Baruch, or in the HebrcAV language ;
but by some HeUenistical Jew, who assuraed the
character of Baruch ; and that the letter which
forms a part of the book, was febricated by his
own invention [b]. But there is, perhaps, not any
sufficient reason to dispute the authenticity of the
[a] Chap. i. 1. Jerem. passim. Joseph. .Antiq. Lib. X. c. ix.
and chapter on Jeremiah.
[b] Hieron. Prom, in Com. etGrot. Com. in Baruch.

638 OF THE BOOK OF BARUCH.
five first chapters ; and the sixth chapter, Avhich is
probably spurious, did not originally belong to
this book. The Greek version of these five chap
ters abounds with Hebraisras; and the chapters
were probably Avritten in Hebrew, though not now
extant in that language, or ever adraitted into the
Hebrew cancn[c]: because Baruch, however he
might have aspired to the prophetic character, and
bave sought great things for himself [d], was not
endowed with the gift of inspiration ; though he
was on one occasion raade the subject of a divine
revelation, and honoured by a consolatory assur
ance from God.
The author in consistency with the character of
Baruch, whether rightly or falsely assumed, de
scribes himself as the son of Nerias, and as the
grandson of Maasias, who were raen of eraineRce
in their country. He affirras, that he wrote the
book at Babylon, in the fifth year, and in the
seventh day of the raonth [e], after the Chaldaeans
had taken and burnt Jerusalem ; by which must
be understood the fifth year of Jehoiachin's cap
tivity, which corresponds with the fifth year of the
reign of Zedekiah, and A. M. 3409 : when Baruch
[c] Hieron. Praef. in Hierem.
[d] Jerem. xlv. 5. which some conceive to allude to a fruit
less desire of Baruch that he might be favoured with the pro
phetic spirit. Vid. Maimon. More Nevoch. Par. IL cap.
xxxii. [e] 'The name of the month is not specified ; it probably
means the month Cisleu, or November, the same month in
which Jerusalem was taken five years before.
6

OF THE BOOK OF BARUCH. 639
accompanied his brother Seraias to Babylon [f],
who was deputed from Zedekiah to solicit the
restoration of the sacred vessels of the temple,
which had been carried away among the spoil [g].
It has been objected as inconsistent with this ac
count, that Jersusalem is in this book represented
as burnt, and in circurastances of distress greater
than should seera to have occurred at the time
that Jehoiakim was taken prisoner and slain. But
aUoAving for those aggravations which are custom
ary in the description of great afflictions, there is
no particular in the detail of circumstances that
might not have happened during the siege of
Jerusalera in the reign of Jehoiakim, : when the
Jews might have seen part of their city burnt,
[f] Some would place Baruch's journey to Babylon in the
eleventh year of Zedekiah, when Baiuch was carried into
Egypt ; when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed ; when
no high-priest remained, and no feasts were celebrated, con
trary to the circumstances of the period of this book. The
fifth year cannot be referred to Nebuchadnezzar, who had ob
tained his empire seven years before Jehoiachin was carried
into captivity.
[g] The vessels which Seraias obtained, appear to have
been sUver vessels, which Zedekiah had made to supply the
place of the golden vessels which had been carried away by
Nebuchadnezzar, the rapacity of the conquerors having soon
afterwards seized on these also, vid. 2 Chron, xxxvi. 7—10.
Jereniiah had declared that the golden vessels should not be
soon brought again, chap. xxvu. 16. and the most valuable
were not restored tUl the expiration of the captivity. Vid.
Dan. V. 2. Ezra i. 7. Grotius considers the latter part of
chap, i, 8, as an interpolation.

640 OF THE BOOK OF BARUCH.
and have suffered frora the most cruel extremities
of faraine [hJ.
It is probable that Baruch Avas raore irarae
diately comraissioned by Jereraiah to utter at Ba
bylon those prophecies which were entrusted to
Seraias [i] ; and that he actuaUy did read to Je
hoiachin, and others Avhom they concerned, the
prophecies contained in the fiftieth and fifty-first
chapters of Jereraiah which proraised deliverance
to the Jews frora their captivity, and the future
destruction to Babylon ; though when Baruch
speaks of having read the words of this book to
the people by the river *7t [k], he seems to aUude
only to the epistle which forms the chief subject of
this book, which Avas sent by Jehoiachin and his
associate captives in Babylon, to Joachim, the son
of Chelcias [l], and the people at Jerusalera ; for
[H] Chap. i. 2, ii, 2—5.
[1] Jer, li, 59—64.
[k] Chap. i. 4. This river is not mentioned by geographers.
As the Hebrew word ii, which might have been the original,
means Pride, some writers have considered it as a figurative
expression for the Euphrates, descriptive of the turgid sweU
of the river, on which some of the Jewish captives were
placed. Vid. Jerem. li, 63. Bochart thinks that the word
should be Sori or Suri, (which in the Hebrew is written in
nearly the same manner) because there was on the banks of
the Euphrates, a city called Sura or Sora (as also Mahasia)
from which that part of the Euphrates might have taken its
name. Vid, Bochart, Phaleg. Lib, I. viii. Edit. Cadora. Cel-
larii Geogr.
[l] This person was probably the same with Eliakim, or
Hilkiah, who was high-priest under Manasseth and Josiah,
and perhaps under their successors. Vid. Isaiah xxii. 20,
6

OF THE BOOK OF BARUCH, ft41
Baruch being probably employed to compose the
letter, may well be conceived to have read it to the
King and the nobles for their approbation.
The captives, who appear to have been tutored
by affliction to a sense of their own unworthiness,
and to have felt a pious satisfaction at the success
of the deputation of Seraias, sent back Avith the
sacred vessels a collection of money to purchase
bumt-offerings and incense for the altar of the
Lord; and transmitted with it a letter to their
countrymen, in which they expressed their senti
ments of humility and repentance, and their con
fident hopes of that restoration which the Prophets
had encouraged them to expect, and which pre
figured the future glories of Jerusalera [ta].
The letter, which after the short historical pre
face, begins at the tenth verse of the first chapter,
contains a confession which the captives recom
mended to their brethren, to be used upon solemn
days. It exhorts them to pray for the life of Ne
buchadnezzar, who had complied with their re
quest, and possibly been indulgent to the captives ;
to acknowledge that God's judgments were righ
teous, and that by their own disobedience they
.had provoked the accomplishment of those curses
which the Almighty had threatened [n], and which
they then experienced ; and lastiy to supplicate his
2 Kings xxu. 4 — 8. xxni., 4, 24. 2 Chron. xxxiv. 9. and
Calmet. Dissert, sur les Grands Pretres.
[m] Irenaeus Ady. Haeres. Lib. V. c. xxxv.
¦ [n] Deut. xxviii. 15 — 53. and the Pfophets passim.
Tt

643 OF THE BOOK OF BABUCtt.'
mercies with sorrow and contrition. Thiis prayet
was probably used, also, by the captives them
selves, and the sentiments which it contains were
siraUar to those which Daniel and Neheraiah con
tinued to inculcate during and after the captivity [o].
In the third chapter is contained a passage [p],
which Grotius hastily pronounces to be an addi
tion by some Christian ; and which others consider
as an inspired prophecy of the incarnation and
human intercourse of the Messiah; but which is,
perhaps, only an acknowledgment of the divine
wisdom, which had manifested itself to the Pa
triarchs, and conversed by revelation with man
kind [q]. It has, however, so far a prophetic
cast, as it is imitative of passages [r] which,
under praises of wisdom, figuratively celebrate
that eternal wisdom which dwelt among us in tbe
person of the Son of God. So likewise Baruch
speaks with an alraost prophetic confidence of those
blessings which Jeremiah and other Prophets might
have taught him to expect from " the everlasting
Saviour" who should soon appear [sJ; of that joy
[o] Comp. chap. i. 15, 17. with Dan. ix. 5, 7, 9. Chap. n.
1 — 11. with Dan. ix. 13—15. Chap. ii. 15. with Dan. ix. 19.
Chap. ii. 19. with Dan. ix. 8. Chap. ii. 7, 9, with Nehem.
ix. 32, 34. Chap. ii. 11, 12. with Zech. ix. 10.
[p] Comp. chap. iii. 35—37. with John i. 14.
[q] Exod. xxiv. 9 — 18.
[r] Comp. chap. iii. 36. with Prov. vui. 31. The passage
is perhaps in this respect, cited as prophetic by St. AugHstin,
who says, that it was by a more prevailing opinion attributed to
Jeremiah. Vid. de Civit. Dei, Lib. XVIII. c. xxxiii. p. 390.
[s] Chap. iv. 82—30.

OF THE BOOK OF BARUCH. 643
which should corae frora the East [t] ; and of the
triumphant glory with which Jerusaleni should be
exalted, and her soris assembled from aU kingdoms
in righteousness and peace. These, however, were
prospects of future exultation Avith Avhich all in the
captivity raust have consoled their affliction ; they
were general characters of the kingdom of the
Messiah which every one conversant with the
sacred writings was capable of describing, and by
no means conferred the stamp of inspiration on the
book, which was not received as canonical by the
Jews or the primitive church of Christ [u], though
it be cited with respect, and even as divine scrip
ture by many of the earlier writers [x].
Some, indeed, have imagined, that St. Atha
nasius [y], and St. Cyril, received it as canonical.
In the catalogues, it is true, of the sacred books
handed down to us by these fathers, as also in the
Greek copies of the canons of the Council of Lao
dicea, Baruch and tbe epistle are enuraerated with
Jereraiah and the Laraentations; but it is pro
bable, and generally Stt^posed, that by this exe
getical detail, were raeant only those parts of Jere-
[t] Comp. chap. iv. 36, 37. with Jerem. xxiii. 5. and Zech.
vi. 12. where tbe word " Branch" Ls in the Septuagint ren
dered 'Attiloxh, the East. Vid. also E?ek. xliii. 4. and Mal. iv. 2.
[d] Hieron. Prd. in Jerem. p. 526. edit. P^r. 1704.
[x] Clem. Alex. Paed. Lib. II. c. ifi. p. 189. Euseb. Demon.
Lib. VI. c. xix. Ambrose de Fide, Lib. I. c. ui. p. 449. edit.
Par. 1690. HUar. Prol. Com. in Psalm, p. 9. edit. Par. 1693.
Cyril, in Jul. Lib. VIII. p. 267.
£yJ Athan. Epist. 39. Vol. I. p. 962. It is described as
apocryphal in the Synopsis, Vol. If. p. 201. edit. Par. 1698. '
Tt2

644 OF THE BOOK OF BARUCH.
miah which we receive as inspired ; that the epistle
in the tAventy-ninth chapter of his prophecies is
specified as a distinct part of the work ; and that
Baruch is mentioned because he was considered as
a coUector of Jeremiah's writings, and by some
thought to have added the fifty-second chapter to
bis prophecies. It is certain, that Baruch and the
epistle are not raentioned in the catalogue of St.
Augustin, nor in that of the Council of Carthage
[z]. Baruch, with the rest of the apocryphal books,
is expressly excluded from the catalogue received
frora antiquity, by the Greek church [a] ; and the
members of the Council of Trent were more per
plexed, and deliberated longer about the admission
of Baruch, than of any of the apocryphal books
[]b], because they acknowledged (as it was not in
the Latin copies of the catalogue) that it was not
received by the Council of Laodicea ; by that of
Carthage ; or by the Roraan Pontiff's [c] ; and the
Tridentine fathers were withholden frora rejecting
it, only by the consideration that parts of it were
read in the serArice of the church.
[z] ConcU. Carthag. Can. 47, et Cod, Can, Eccles, African.
Cah. 24. in neither of which is Baruch mentioned. It is,
however, probable, that the council or councils to which these
canons belonged, received Baruch as canonical in a secondary
sense ; for though it is not mentioned in the list, it might be
included under the name of Jeremiah, and received as the
other apocryphal books.
[a] Metroph. Critopul. Epitom. Confess. Orient.
[b] History of the Council of Trent, L. II.
[c] It is not specified in the suspected epistle of Pope Inno
cent the First. Vid. Epist. 3. ad Exuper.

OF THE BOOK OF BARUCH. 645
Many ancient writers have cited Baruch under
the name of Jereraiah [d] ; not that they believed
that what we now possess under the narae of
Baruch was actually coraposed by Jereraiah, but
that they considered Baruch as a disciple of the
Prophet ; and iraagined, perhaps, that the epistle
in the last chapter of his book was really written
by Jereraiah, to whose canonical works it was
formerly joined. In the Romish church, the book
is read at the feast of Pentecost, under the name
of Jereraiah [e] ; but raany of the Roraanists do
not scruple to deny its authority [f], and it seeras to
contain some passages not likely to have proceeded
from an inspired writer, or from Baruch J]g].
Besides the Greek copy of this book, there are
two Syriac versions, one of which corresponds with,
and the other differs rauch from the Greek [h].
The letter which constitutes the sixth chapter of
this book is in some editions of the Greek, and in
the Arabic, which is translated from the Greek,
subjoined to the Lamentations. It is adraitted by
[d] Irenxus Haeres. Lib. V. c. xxxv. Clemen. Alex. Paedag.
Lib. I. c. S. p. 152. Chrysost. cont. Judae. p. 559. tom. i.
edil. Paris, 1718. Ambrose in Psalm cxviii. Serm. 18. p. 1194.
edit. Paris. Basil Advers. Eunom. Lib. IV. p. 106. edit. Paris,
1618. Cyprian. Testimon. Lib. II. c. i. p. 286. edit. Paris,
1726, see also p. 205.
[e] Office du Samedi de la Pentecote, Prophetic VI.
[f] Driedo Script, et Dogm. ad Eccles. Lib. I. cap. ult
Lyran. Dionys. Carthus.
[g] Compare chap. vi. 3. with Jerem. xxix. 10.
£h J The Latin translation also differs much from the Greek,

646 OF THE BOOK OF BARUCH.
Theodoret in his coramentary, and is not to be
found in several Greek manuscripts, and in none of
the Hebrew copies of Jeremiah's writings. It is
probably a spurious work, and is rejected as such
by St. Jerom [i] ; though cited by Cyprian [k] and
others, as an epistle of Jereraiah r and supposed
by sorae to be aUuded to by the author of the
Second Book of Maccabees [l], who, however,
only speaks of Jereraiah's general exhortations
against idolatry. The letter certainly ne\'er was
in the Jewish canon. It Avas probably fabricated
by sorae writer who had studied the character and
writings of Jereraiah ; and it contains judicious
and spirited strictures against idolatry, of which
the vanity is forcibly exposed. There is, besides
these works in the Syriac language, an epistie
attributed to Baruch, which is caUed his first
epistle : and feigned to have been written to the
nine tribes and a half, said to be carried beyond
the Euphrates. It appears to be a spurious pro
duction of a writer acquainted with the Gospel
doctrines ; and is interspersed with many fictitious
inventions; audit was possibly brought forward [m]
by sorae of those raonks who during the first ages
of the Christian church, flocked in numbers to
inhabit the deserts of Syria.
[i] Hierou. Prol. Com. iu Jerem. Jerom calls it ^svhm-
yfxtpoi.Jiom. iii. p. 526. edit. Par. 1704.
[k j Cyprian, de Orat. Domin. p. 205.
[l] 2 Mace, ii, 1, 2.
[m] Huet. Prop. 4. p. 215.

OF THE BOOK OF BARUCH. 647
Baruch, after the execution of his commission,
appears to have returned to Jerusalem ; where, in
conjunction with Jeremiah, he encountered much
persecution, and witnessed the total destruction
of Jerusalem ; after which he Avas drawn by Jo
hanan, with Jeremiah, and the remnant of Judah,
into Egypt [nJ ; from which country he possibly
retired, since Josephus states that God had re
vealed to Jeremiah, the impending fate of those
who had fled thither, and some pretend that he
went a second tirae to Babylon [o], and died there,
about A. M. 3428 [pj. In the raartyrologies, his
death is placed on the 28th of Septeraber, appa
rentiy Avithout any authority.
[n] Jerem. xliu. 5 — 7. Hieron. in Esaiam.
[o3 Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X. c. ix. p. 454. edit. Hudson, sefc
also Jerem. xliv. 27 — >30.
[1>] Talm. IVIegill. cap. i. R, Abrah. Zacut. in Lib. Juchas.

OF THE
SOJSG OF THE
THREE CHILDREN.

In sorae copies of the Greek version of Theo
dotion, and in the vulgar Latin edition of the
Bible, this book is inserted between the twenty-
third and twenty-fourth verses of the third chapter
of Daniel ; as at the beginning of the book is
prefixed, the History of Susannah, and at the end
is added, that of the Destruction of Bel and the
Dragon ; but none of these additions are to be
found in any Hebrew copy, nor do they appear
ever to have existed in the Hebrew or Chaldaic
language [a]. The pretended Hebraisras which
have been aUeged to prove their authenticity, are
such as an HeUenistical Jew raight be expected to
have used ; or were, perhaps, designedly adopted
to facilitate the reception of spurious works. These
apocryphal parts appear to have been first inserted
[AJ Origen Epist. ad African, p, 14, tom. i. edit. Par. Not. A.

OF THE SONG OF THE THREE CHILDREN. 649
in the Septuagint version [e] ; and they were cer
tainly in Theodotion's edition, though there distin
guished by an Obelus, to intimate that they were not
in the Hebrew. Itis probable, that the same author
invented, or composed from traditional accounts,
all these apocryphal additions, which he interwove
with the genuine work of Daniel. Annexed to, or
incorporated with the inspired book, they gradu
aUy rose into reputation; and being safe from
censure under the sanction of the Prophet's name,
and the approbation of the church, which suffered
them to be read for instruction of manners, they
were perhaps, soraetimes considered in a loose and
popular representation, as a part of the genuine
work of Daniel.
It is, however, universally adraitted, that they
never were in the Hebrew canon [c], and they
were rejected as spurious by Eusebius and Apol-
linarius. St. Jerora, who considers them as apo
cryphal, professes to have retained them with a
mark prefixed, lest he should appear to the unskil
ful, to have rescinded a great part of Daniel's
book; since, though they Avere not in the He
brew, they were generally dispersed and known
[d] ; and St. Jerom, under the character of a Jew,
[b] ,The Song of the Three Children is not in the Vatican
copy of the Septuagint.
[c] Hieron. Praef. in. Dan. Calmet's Preface in Dan. Du
Pin. Diss. Prelim. Lib. I. c. i.
[d] Praef. m Daniel. When St. Jerom in his apology
agamst Ruffinus, professes to have delivered only the senti
ments of the Jews, and not his own, with respect to these

660 OF THE SONG OF THS
endeavours to expose the absurdity of some par
ticulars which they contain. There can, indeed,
be no doubt that they were written long after the
time of Daniel, by sorae writer desirous of iraita-
ting and of embelUshing the sacred history, though
as they Avere not expressly severed from the ca
nonical part by any positive decree, they were
received by the preposterous decision of the Coun
cil of Trent, as genuinej and in every respect
canonical [e]. It is uncertain at what time they
were composed. They are in the Arabic and
Syriac Aversion of the scriptures, and are men
tioned very early by Christian writers.
The present book, which contains only a song
in praise of God, said to have been uttered by the
three companions of Daniel when thrown by Ne
buchadnezzar into a burning furnace, is to be
admired for its instruction and tendency. These
righteous persons, whose reputation was founded
on the authentic accounts of Daniel [f], appear
by their pious fortitude to have contributed with
the Prophet to the final suppression of idolatry.
The veneration entertained for their character, of
which the memory was highly celebrated among
the Jcavs [g], probably induced some HeUeriistie
additional parts of Daniel he does not retract his sentiments,
but evades the discussion of their authority ; and as the
Scholiast observes, " Vafre respondet." Vid. Apol. Adv, Ruff.
Lib. II. p. 431. tom. iv. edit. Par, 1706. et Scholia,
[e] Concil, Trid. Sess, 4. S. Concil. p. 747. edit. Par. 1672,
[f] Dan. iii. 23.
[g] There was an ancient tradition, that the Three Chil-
ft

THREE CHILDREN. 651
Jew to fabricate this ornamental addition to their
history. It raust have been inserted at a very
early period, as it is cited by raany ancient writers
[h]. The work is coraposed with great spirit, and
the sentiraents attributed to the holy children, are
consistent with the piety for Avhich they were dis
tinguished. The hyran resembles the I48th Psalm
of David as to its invocation on all the Avorks of
creation to praise and exalt the Lord, It was
sung in the service of the priraitive church ; and
in the Liturgy of Edward the Sixth, it was enjoined
by the Rubrick, that during Lent, the Song of the
Three ChUdren should be sung instead of the Te
Deum,
dren were descendants of Hezekiah. Vid. Nazianz. Orat. 47.
Some accounts report, that at last they suffered martyidom, as
abo, that their bodies, which had been interred at Babylon,
were afterwards removed to Rome. Some Jews at Bome
boasted of a descent from them.
[hJ Cyprian, de Lapsis, p. 187. edit. Par. 1726. et de Orat.
Domm. p. 286 et 210.

OF THE

HISTORY OF SUSANNAH.

This history, which in sorae Greek copies is en
titled the Judgraent of Daniel, is said in the short
intiraation prefixed to the Book by our translators,
to have been set apart frora the beginning of Da
niel, where it stands in the Roraan and other edi
tions of the Greek. The Coraplutensian, howeverj
and sorae Latin editions, place it as the thirteenth
chapter of that book, though certainly with less
regard to chronology ; for the history, if founded
on truth, raust be supposed to have taken place
when Daniel was very young, and probably accord
ing to sorae accounts [a], not above twelve years
of age.
The Book has not any sufficient pretension to be
considered as canonical. Some writers, indeed,
and even Origen, in a suspected epistle attributed
to him [b], have conceived that it raight first have
[aJ Ignat. Epist. ad Magnesanos, p. 50. edit. Usserii,
1694. Sulpit. Sever. Sac. Hist. Lib. II. p. 265. Edh, Lug.
Bat. 1647.
[b] Origen Epist ad Jul, African. 7

OF THE HISTORY OF SUSANNAH. 653
been written in the Hebrew or Chaldee, and drawn
from the canon by the Jews ; and that the original
manuscripts were industriously suppressed by thera,
because they contained a relation of particulars
discreditable to the Jewish nation. But there is cer
tainly not any foundation for this improbable fancy ;
for not to mention the impracticabUity of such a
measure [c], it is evident, that if the Jews could
have been tempted by any soUcitude for their na
tional character to mutilate the sacred writings,
they would rather have expunged those passages
in the inspired books which reflect on them the
disgrace — not of individual profligacy, but of gene
ral misconduct ; or those which record the crimes
aiid occasional offences of favourite characters.
But we know with what jealous veneration the
canon was preserved inviolate; and perceive in
the whole history of a perverse and disobedient
people, with what sincerity they coraposed, and
with what fidelity they preserved the records and
annals of their country.
The present book appears to have been written
in Greek, by sorae Jew who invented the history,
or coUected its particulars frora traditionary rela
tions, in praise of Daniel. And, indeed, the au
thor has been supposed to betray himself to be a
Greek, by some quibbling aUusions which do not
seem to apply in any other language than the
Greek [d], and which are not Ukely to be the con-
[c] See Introduction, p. 12, &c.
[d] When the first elder affirms that he beheld Susannah

654 OF THE HISTORY OF SUSANNAH.
ceits of a translator. There are two Syriac ver
sions, which differ in their contents.
The history might, perhaps, have some founda
tion in truth, though it is not raentioned by Jose
phus : who, indeed, has not noticed any of the
particulars contained in these apocryphal additions
to the book of Daniel. The prophet is represented
in it as a youth in the days of Astyages, though
he Avas carried to Babylon in the reign of Jehoia-
chim. The Jews in general rejected it as an im
probable fable ; and remarked, that it was an
obvious absurdity to suppose that their countrymen
in the captivity were in possession of the power
of inflicting punishment on their Judges and
Prophets [e}. They had, however, some tradi
tional accounts of the story, and raany fancied
that it was aUuded to by Jereraiah, in the twenty-
ninth chapter of his book [f] of prophecies : where
they supposed the two elders to be described under
the names of Zedekiah and Ahab : though these
persons are there said to have been put to death
by tbe King of Babylon. Origen, who defends
the truth of the history [g], maintains that the
under a. tree called o-;^;iK)», Daniel playing on the word, declares
that the angel should' a-}(i<rai, cut him iu two ; and when the
second represents the tree to have been -etpint-, Dauiel de
nounces hii sentence by an expression from wbich «rp«»i)» was
derived, e^ tcrsr.
[e] Hieron. in Hierem. ch. xxix. 22.
[f] Chap. xxix. 22, 23.
[g] Epist. ad Africane. Tract. 30. in Matl. Clem. Alex.
Strom. Lib. IV. p, 618. Athan. Synops. Sixt. Senens. Lib. V.

QF THE HISTORY OF SUSANNAH. 655
Jews were suffered to continue in the exercise of
their ov/n judicial laws, during the captivity ; and,
indeed, they appear to have experienced, in many
respects, considerable indulgence from their con
querors. Origen adds Ukewise, as a confirmation
of the verity of the account, that he had heard
from a Jew, as a popular notion, that the elders
attempted to seduce Susannah by assurances that
the Messiah should spring from her : to whieh
prophane dealing Daniel is supposed to aUude in
the fifty-seventh verse.
The book seems to have been received with
some regard by the Christian church as containing
a relation not utterly inconsistent with the sacred
history, but not as the production of Daniel :
though as forming an appendage to his work, and
as containing an account of circumstances in which
he was concerned, it was sometimes cited under
his narae [n] ; and being read by the church, was
considered Avith reverence. African us, however,
in his epistle to Origen, represents it as confess
edly spurious; and Origen hiraself allows that it
had no canonical authority [ij. Eusebius and
ApoUinarius, in answer to Porphyry, consider it
as a part of the prophecy of Habakkuk, the son of
Jesus, of the tribe of Levi : for which, however,
they do not appear to have any authority, except
[h] Irenaeus Haeres. Lib, IV, c, xliv. see also TertuU. de
Coron. p. 344. edit. Grabe, 1702. Milit. c. iv. Cyprian. Epist.
43. Ambrose in c. xiii. Dau.
[i] Origen. Epist. ad Jul, African, et Grabe de Vit. Sept.
Interpret.

656 OF THE HISTORY OF SUSANNAH.
that of the Greek titie prefixed to Bel and the
Dragon : whi(;h probably belonged exclusively to
that book [k]. It is received, together with the
other spurious additions, as canonical by the Ro
mish church; but is suffered to continue in our
Bibles only as a work from which moral improve
raent may be drawn. It illustrates the confidence
of truth, and the security of innocence. It exhi
bits by an instructive contrast, chastity in its most
attractive colours, and licentiousness in its most
hideous form.
[k] Huet. Prop. 4. in Dan. p. 227. edit. Par. 1679.

OP, THE HISTORY OF

BEL AND THE DRAGON.

This Book, which in Theodotion's version of Da
niel, and in the Vulgate is annexed as a fourteenth
chapter to the book of Daniel, is properly rejected
by our church : as not having been in the Hebrew
canon, or received as authentic by the earUer
Christians. In the Septuagint version of the
scriptures, into which these spurious parts of Da
niel appear to have been first foisted, there was
prefixed to this book a title, in which it was called,
the Prophecy of IJabakkuk, the son of Jesus, of
the tribe of Levi ^a] ; whence some attributed the
book to the Prophet whose inspired work is now
extant in the canon ; but he Uved much earUer
tiiaa the period whicb must be assigned to this
bistory, if its truth be admitted. There is reason,
however, ta suspect that this title was a subsequent
addition by some person who attributed the book
to Habakkuk, on account of the agency which is
[aJ, Hieron. Prol. Comm. in Dan. et adv. Ruffin. p. 431.
Tom. 4. Edit. Par. 1704, Sixt. Senens, Bib. Li*b. I.
Uu

658 OF the history of
assigned to hira in the history ; and Theodotion
Avas induced, probably, in consequence of such
suspicion, to change the title in his edition, though
he substituted with as little reason, that of Daniel.
If, however, the author's name really were Habak
kuk, he was in all probability some HeUenistical
JcAV, or, at least, a different person from the sacred
writer. There appears to be goodgroundto conclude, that
the book was never extant in the Hebrew language,
though it might, as Lightfoot [b] has conceived, be
a parabolical story, founded on a passage in Jeremir
ah [c], who threatens punishraent to Bel, the great
national idol of Babylon [d], in terras that might
have suggested the circurastances of his destruc
tion as described in this book.
It is certain, that in all these apocryphal addi
tions, the same Daniel Avas raeant as the Prophet
whose writings we possess in the canon : though
annexed to the suspected title before mentioned,
[b] Lightfoot Stud. p. 12.
[c] Jerem. h, 44. See also 1. 2. Isaiah xlvi. 1, 2. comp. with
Ezra i. 7, 8. v. 14. Seid. Syntag. II. de Belo et Dragon.
c. xvu. p. 403. Tom. 2,
[d] To the successor of Nimrod was given the name of Bel,
which from hs^ signifies a Lord ; Nimrod was worshipped un
der the title of " God of Nysa" a district of Arabia. He was
called Aia-vvtni; by the Greeks, and by the Latins Bacchus, a
corruption of Ber-chush or rather Ber-cush u?i3-ii son of Cush
or Cash. See Bochart's Phaleg. p. 479. Hieron. in Ezech.
xxui. p. 856. et in Osee 11. p. 1247. Tom. III. Edit. Par. 1704.
Herod. Lib. I. Lib. I. c. 150. Lib. II. c. xlviu, xlix. Diodor.
Lib, III. p, 235, See also Lib. I. p. 107. Edit. Wetsten.

BEt AND THE DRAGON. 659
which, according to St. Jerora, Avas in the Septua
gint copies [e], there is an exordium, or, as it Avere,
a first verse, Avhich describes Daniel iraproperly as
a priest, the son of Obadiah, a guest of the King
of Babylon : and inconsistently with the sacred
accounts of the Prophet, by which Daniel appears
to have been of the tribe of Judah. Still, how
ever, as that titie and exordium Avere probably
subsequent additions, we raay conceive the author
of this book to speak of the prophet Daniel; but
not as some have iraagined, that he gives us onl^
an enlarged account of the events related in thf
sixth chapter of the authentic book of Daniel : fo
the circumstances are totaUy different, except in
the particular of his being thrown into the lions
den ; and the history recorded in the sacred ac
count is assigned to the reign of Darius : Avhereas
in the first verse of this book, which undoubtedly
is properly placed there [f], the events appear to
be ascribed to the reign of Cyrus [g], Avhich,
[e] St. Jerom calls the book, on account of this inscrip
tion, -^tehmy^aipof, " falsely intitled.' It is rejected as apo
cryphal under the title of the Book of Habakkuk, (Ambacum)
by the author ofthe Synopsis attributed to Athanasius, p. 201.
Edit. Par. 1698.
[f] As it stands in the Arabic, Syriac, and Alexandrian
copies. [g] It must be observed, that the author in this verse speaks
of Cyrus, as of the immediate successor of Astyages : agree
ably to the account of Herodotus and his followers. But it is
certain frvm prophane and sacred history, that there was an
intermediate King of Media who reigned two years, called
Cyaxares, by Xenophon ; and Darius, by Josephus and Da -
U U 2

660 OF THE HISTORY OF
however, did not coraraence till the Prophet had
attained nearly his nineteenth year.
Many persons object tb the iraprobability of the
circumstances related in this work : as particularly
to the destruction of the dragon [h], and to the
conveyance of Habakkuk frora Jerusalem to Baby
lon, merely to furnish a dinner to Daniel, The
book, indeed, though it be cited as historical by
the raost respectable writers in the earliest ages of
the church [ij, is considered as fabulous by St.
Jerora ; and it must be allowed to contain some
extravagant and incredible relations. It is, never-
niel. Vid. Xenophon. Cyropced. Lib. I. p. 22. Edit. Francof.
1696. Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X. c. xi. § vii. et. Lib. XI. c. iii.
Dan. V. 31. Messieurs Du Port Royal, on a notion that the
particulars recorded in this book, are such as were not hkely
to have occurred under Astyages, Darius, or Cyrus, assign the
history to the beginning of the reign of Evil-Merodach, the
son of Nebuchadnezzar, placing it about A.M. 3442.
[h] By the Dragon is to be understood a serpent, of which,
to the triumph of our great deceiver, the worship prevaUed
among many nations in early times. Vid. JEliem. de Animal.
Lib. XI. c. xvii. et Lib. XVII. c. v. Origen cont. Cels.
Lib. VI. Valer. Max. i. 8. § 2 Ovid. Metam. Lib. XV.
Line 669, &c. W^isd. xi. 15. Fragm. PhUo, tom. ii. p. 646.
StiUingfl. Orig. Sac. B. III. c. iii. Messrs. du Port Royal
suppose, that the Dragon was burst, not by any specific power
of the composition, but by the suffocation which it occasioned
in a narrow throat. Ben Gorion gives a very different account
of the destruction. Vid. Lib. I. c. x. ap Seid. Syntag, II. c.
xvU. p. 403 . Edit. Lond. 1726.
[i] Irenaeus Haeres. Lib. IV. c. xi. Tertull. de Jejun. adv.
Psychicos, c. vii. p. 548. Edit. Lutet. Par. 1664. De Idolat.
c. xviii. Cyprian de Exhort. Martyrii p. 92, Edit, Par. 1726,
Ambrose in Epist, ad Rom. i. 23.

BEL AND THE DRAGON. 661
theless, canonized by the Council of Trent. Daniel,
probably by detecting the mercenary contrivances
of the idolatrous priests at Babylon, and by open
ing the eyes of the people to the follies of that
superstition into which they had been seduced,
might have afforded some foundation for the his
tory ; and the writer of the book appears to have
introduced some additional circumstances to en
liven the narration ; and to illustrate the providence
qf God in protecting and providing for those who
adhere to his service.

OF THE

PRAYER OF MANASSETH.

This short prayer is inscribed to Manasseth. It
is said to have been coraposed by hira during
the captivity at Babylon : where, agreeably to
God's threats by his Prophets [aJ, he was carried
in fetters, by Esarhaddon, King of Assyria and
Babylon [b], in the twenty-second year of his
reign, A.M. 3227 [c] ; and where, according to
sorae traditionary accounts, being severely treated
by the conqueror [d], and having vainly sought
protection from the false deities whom he wor
shipped, he remembered the advice which he had
received from his father in the words of Moses,
" When thou art in tribulation, if thou turn to the
Lord thy God, he will not forsake thee, neither
[a] 2 Kings xxi, 12 — 16,
[b] Prid, Connect. A, 680. Manass. XIX.
[c] 2 Chron. xxxiu. 11.
[d] Some writers fabulously relate, that he was shut up in an
heated brazen calf, that on the Prayer of Manasseth the image
burst, and that he was carried by an angel to Jerusalem.
Eutich. Alexand. Annal. p. 239. Edit. Selden, 1656.

OF THE PRAYER OF MANASSETH. 663
destroy thee [e]." It appears from the sacred his
tory, that the king was awakened by his afflictions to
a due sense of his crimes, and induced to turn with
humility and repentance to the God of his fathers ;
and that he prayed unto the Lord, who was in-
treated of him, and heard his supplication, and
brought him . again, after a short captivity, to his
kingdom, into Jerusalem : where, as he continued
stedfast in his adherence to God, and zealously
laboured to extirpate idolatry, he enjoyed a long
reign of prosperity and peace ; being permitted to
continue on the throne fifty-five years [f] ; which
was a longer period than Avas allowed to any pre
ceding or subsequent King ; and an indulgence
which serves to illustrate the efficacy of that con
trition of which the sacred writers strongly incul-,
cate the necessity, and minutely detail the effects.
The Prayer in our Bibles, though it contain
nothing inconsistent with the circurastances and
period of Manasseth, is not supposed to be the au
thentic production of that Monarch. The prayer
which he is related in the book of Chronicles to
have uttered, is there said to have been Avritten in
the book of the Kings of Israel, and in the sayings
of the Seers [g] ; in sorae larger and uninspired
[e] Deut. iv. 30, 31. Tradit. Hebr. in Paralip. et Targum
in 2 Chron. xxxiii. 1 1.
[f] 2 Chron. xxxiii. 1, 12, 13. et Joseph. Antiq. Lib. X.
c. iii. p. 437.
[GJ 2 Chron. xxxiii. 19. Or of Hozai, as it is rendered
in the margin of our Bibles. The word 'nn signifies Seers,
7

664 OF the prayer of manasseth.
records which have perished. The present work
is not in any of the Hebrew copies. It is uncer
tain in what language it was originaUy composed ;
but it cannot be traced higher than in the Vulgal«,
into which, probably, or into some Greek copies,
it was inserted by sorae writer desirous of si^ply-
ing the loss of the authentic prayer. It was not
received as genuine by any of the Fatiiers or
Councils, and was rejected even by the Council of
Trent. It is, however, written in a style of much piety
and humility : and the Greek church has inserted
it into its euchology, or collection of prayers.
The author of it speaks of repentance in a manner
soraewhat questionable, as not appointed to the
just, as to Abrahara, and Isaac, and Jacob ; but
upon this point he perhaps may be understood only
to express a reflection of somewhat simUar import to
that uttered by our Saviour, when he declared that
he came not to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance [hJ.
as the Seventy render it. Some understand it to be the name
of a Prophet, and some have thought that Isaiah is meant.
The Syriac r<Aads Hanan, the Arabic Saphan. Vid. Grot.
[h] Malt, ix, 13,

OF THE

FIRST BOOK OF THE
MACCABEES.

The First Book of the Maccabees contains a col
lection of historical particulars relating to tbe
Jews, from the beginning of the reign of Antio
chus Epiphanes, A,M. 3829, to the death of Simon
the high-priest. A, M. 3869. It is supposed to have
been originaUy written in the Hebrew, or rather
in the Jerusalem dialect corrupted by an inter
mixture of Chaldee, as used by the Jews after the
retum from captivity. The author is by some
thought to bave been Jobn Hyrcanus, the son of
Simon ; who was a prince and high-priest of the
Jews near thirty years, and who began bis go
vernment at the period at whicb this history con
cludes. Josephus [a], indeed, informs us, that the
high-priests were intrusted with tbe care of writing
the annals of their country ; and at tbe period of
the Maccabees, great attention seems to have been
[a] Cent. Apion. Lih. I. p. 332.

666 FIRST BOOK OF THE MACCABEES.
paid to preserve thera [bJ. The author of the
present book, who was probably sorae person pub
Uckly appointed to digest the history : appears to
have had recourse to the national records, and
soraetimes refers to thera [c]. He reckons frora a
Greek sera, but according to the Hebrew raode of
computation [d^. Origen gives us the HebreAV
title that appeared at the head of this Avork, tO'llIti^
bii^:2 ntr. "The Sceptre ofthe Prince ofthe Sons"
of God ; a title which obviously alludes to Judas,
the valiant defender of God's persecuted people
[e]. St. Jerora professes to have seen this work
in Hebrew or Syriac. This original, however, is
now lost. The Greek version, frora which our
English translation was raade, is denominated Mac
cabees, from the persons whose actions are de
scribed in the work. It was probably executed
before the tirae of Theodotion, for it appears to
have been used by authors, who were his contem
poraries [f]. In the Paris and London Polyglots,
there are two Syraic versions of both the books of
the Maccabees, which were made frora the Greek,
though they differ from it in sorae respects.
The two books of the Maccabees were certainly
[b] 1 Mace. xvi. 24. 2 Mace. ii. 14.
[c] Chap. xvi. 24.
[d] The author calculates from the month Nisan, (March
or April) the Greeks reckon from October.
[e] VidcOrigen. apud Euseb. L. VI. c. xxv. Hierom. Prol.
Gal. Some read the title i?« '33 10 a'a"i», The Sceptre of the
Rebels against God.
[f] As by Origen and Tertullian.

FIRST BOOR OF THE MACCABEES. 667
coraposed after the succession of Prophets had
ceased araong the Jews [g] : and were never reck
oned by them in the catalogue of the sacred writ
ings. They are not cited by our Saviour, or his
apostles; and were considered as apocryphal by
the primitive church, since they are not mentioned
in the list of the canonical books furnished by
Melito, the Council of Laodicea, Hilary, and Cyril
of Jerusalem [h] ; they are expressly represented
as works of a secondary rank by raany very ancient
writers [i] ; and were received as such by St. Au
gustin, and the Council of Carthage [k] ; not
withstanding which, they were pronounced to be
in every respect canonical by "the Council of Trent.
This first book is rauch foUoAved by Josephus,
and cited as a respectable history by the fathers [l].
It was probably written by a conteraporary author,
who had, in part, witnessed the scenes which he
[gJ 1 Mace. iv. 46. ix. 27i xiv. 41. Joseph, cont. Apion.
Lib. I. Parker's Introd. at Bib. Vossius, Kidder, &c.
[hJ Preface to the Apocryphal Books, and Cosens Canon
of Scripture.
[i] Origen ap. Euseb, Hist. Lib. VI. c. xxv. Athan. Synop,
p. 201. Hieron. Praef. in Prov. Salomon. Gregor. Mag. Moral,
Expos, in Job. Lib. XIX, Junii, African, de Part. Div. Leg.
Lib. I. c. iii.
[k] August, de Civit. Dei, Lib, XVIII. c. xxxVi. quos non
Jud%i sed Ecclesia pro Canonicis Labet. Concil. Carthag. 3.
Can. 47. In the printed copies of the pretended decree of
Pope Gelasius, only one book of the Maccabees is mentioned.
[l] Antiq. Lib. XII, cap, vi, et sequent, Tertull, adv. Jud.
c, iy, p. 187. E^it. Lutet. Paris 1664. Cyprian Epist. lv. p.
80. Edit. Par. 1726.

668 FIRST BOO*. OF THE MACCABEES,
so minutely and graphically describes ; and who,
wrote under a Uvely impression of the revolutions
which his <x)untry had recently experienced. It is
composed, at least, with great accuracy and spirit,
and perhaps approaches nearer to the style of
sacred history than any, work now extant. St.
John has been thought to substantiate the truth of
a relation herein fomished [m] ; and Josephus
appears to have oopied most of its accounts into his
Jewish Antiquities; and though the author has
been represented in a few instances as betraying
some ignorance in treating of foreign affairs [n],
yet in other respects, many heathen writers corro
borate his i-eports. It is to be observed, however,
that the first book differs in some points from the
second, and from the accounts of Josephus {o].
The book contains the history of Mattathias, and
of his family, and of the wars which they at the
head of their countrymen, maintained against the
[m] St, John represents Jesus to have been present at the
feast of the dedication : by which has been understood the
feast of the dedication of the altar, of which the institution is
recorded in this book. Some have thought, that as this feast
commenced on the twenty-fifth of December, it might have
been pre-ordained with a reference to our Saviour's birth.
The Jews celebrated this feast, which they called the feast of
the lights, for eight days, with Hluminations and great joy.
Vid. John x. 22. 1 Mace, iy. 56—59. Joseph, Antiq. Lib,
XII. c. xi.
[n] Chap. i. 5, 6. viii. 6 — 9. Rainold's Censur. Apoc. Pra-
lect, 98, 104.
[o] Comp. 1 Matic. \i. 8—16. with 2 Mace, i, 13—16, and
jx, 26,

FIRST BOOK QF TBE MACCABEBS. 669
Kings of Syria, in the defence of their religion and
lives. Prom the death of Alexander, who had
conquered Persia, and tbe countries dependent on
that empire [p], Judaea foUowed the late of Syria ;
and for a space of near one hundred and fifty
years was exposed to all the ambitious contests
which prevailed between the Kings of Syria and
Egypt. After various revolutions, and alternate
subjection to each of these kingdoms ; and alte*
having occasionaUy suffered all the oppressions and
exactions that tyranny could enferce by means ©f
the bigh^priests, and those princes who were ap
pointed by the interest, and sulgect to the control
of the conquerors, Judaea was at the time that this
history begins, a tributary province of Syria^ under
Antiochus Epiphanes; and crueUy harassed and
pillaged by him. The severe persecution which
he exercised, and his avowed designs, which tended
to exterminate the reUgion, and indeed the wbote
nationlof . the Jews [q], inflamed the zeal of Mat
tathias to resentment and revolt; and upon Ws
death, excited Judas, in compliance with the dying
injunctions of his father, to attempt-the deliverance
of his country. The successive victOTies, and pru
dent conduct of Judas and his brethren, which
effected the accompUshment of their designs^ con
stitute the chief subject of the present book. The
relation affords a Uvely picture of a nation inspired
by the patriotic heroism of its leadefSj, and strug-
[p] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. XI. c. viii. &c.
[q] Chap. i. 41—64. iii. 34—36.
t

670 FIRST BOOK OF THE MACCABEES.
gling with enthusiasm for civil and religious liberty.
It represents Judas and his brethren, anxious to
" restore the decayed estate of the people," and
to purifiy the polluted sanctuary of their God ;
as endeavouring by measures concerted in piety,
and conducted Avith steady fortitude, to conciliate
the divine countenance. It describes, likewise,
the gradual recovery of Judaea from desolation and
miseries to iraportance and prosperity [r], and at
the same time the worship of the true God re-es
tablished on the ruins of idolatry.
The author, like the sacred historians, selects
individual characters for consideration, and de
scribes the misconduct as well as the virtues of his
heroes. He treats of the affairs of other nations
only so far as connected with the circurastances of
the Jewish history ; and exhibits the changes and
vicissitudes of other governraents, as they tended
to effect the interests of his country.
The particulars recorded in the book, have been
thought often to afford a key to prophecy [s], and
[r] Chap. i. 25 — 28. iii. 42 — 51. comp. with chap, x, xii,
19—23. xiv, 8 — 23. xv. 1—9, 24, 32.
[s] Comp. 1 Mace. x. 88, 89. with Zech. ix. 13—17. and
Jackson's works, tom, ii, p. 844. Vid. also, 1 Mace. vii. 17.
where the second and third verses of Psalm Ixxix, are cited,
either by way of accommodation to the circumstances before
described ; or as intentionally prophetic (perhaps in a secon
dary sense,) of the slaughter effected by Alciraus. The He
brew word ca'Ton, indeed, which is translated saints in the
second verse of the Psalm, has been considered as descriptive
of the Assideans who were eminently pious. The Psalm might.

FIRST BOOK OF THE MACCABEES. 671
especially explain the raysterious visions contained
in the eighth and eleventh chapters of Daniel, re
lating to the horn, by Avhich emblem it is supposed
was, iri the first instance, presignified Antiochus [t],
who set up the abomination of desolation on the
altar [u], but who hiraself Avas only a type of a raore
fatal enemy ofthe church.
Mattathias, the father of Judas, was of the sa
cerdotal race, of the course of Joarib [x] : and as
is generally supposed, a descendant of Phinehas,
the son of Eleazar, to Avhora God had given the
covenant of an everlasting priesthood [rl. He
perhaps, have been historical of the calamities occasioned by
Nebuchadnezzar, and yet like many others, have borne a pro
phetic aspect to future circumstances,
[t] Joseph, Antiq. Lib. X. c. xi. p. 466. Hieron. in Dan.
c. viii.
[u] Chap. i. 54, 55. Our Saviour applies this description
to the prophanation caused by the standard of the Roman
armies, at the find destruction of the temple. By " the abo
mination of desolation,'' which as Daniel had predicted was
set upon the altar, we may understand the idol that was
placed there by order of Antiochus. It is supposed to have
been the .statute of Jupiter Olympius. Vid. 2 Mace. vi. 2.
Idols in scripture are commonly called abominations. Vid.
1 Kings xi. 5, 7. And the idol might be said to make desolate,
as it expelled the worship of the true God, and occasioned
the destruction of his servants. Comp. Dan. xi. 31, with
1 Macc..i, 54. and 2 Mace, vi, 1, 2, See Matt. xxiv. 15.
[x] Chap. ii. l. or Jahoiarib. This was the first of the
twenty-four courses which served in the temple. Vid. 1 Chron.
xxiv. 7.
[y] Numb, xxv, 11 — 13. 1 Mace. ii. 54. Jurieu's Critic.
Hist. vol. i. Part. III. c i. p. 372. ,

67S FIRST BOOK OF THE MACCABEES.
himself does not appear to have enjoyed that ex
alted office {[z] ; though it was conferred on his
sons ; and restricted as an exclusive privUege to
bis descendants tiU the typical office was virtuaUy
evacuated by the institution of a spiritual priest
hood in the time of Herod ; who, except in the
case of Aristobulus, the grandson of Hyrcanus, did
not respect the pretensions of the Asamonaean fa
raily, but conceded the priesthood to any of the
sacerdotal Uneage [aJ.
Judas, whose exploits are celebrated in this his>-
tory, has bjeea thought to have derived his title of
Maccabaeus from the initial letters of the four
words with which his standard is supposed to have
been decorated [b], and whicb were taken from
the eleventh verse of the fifteenth chapter of Exo
dus, mn» Chii2 HDDD 'D ; " Who is Uke unto
thee among the gods, O Jehovah ?" from this Ja-
das and his descendants were called Maccabeesv
They were caUed, likewise, AsamonaBans, either
[z] Calmet. Diet. Word Mattathias.
[A] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. XX. c. ix.p. 901.
[b] Others who think that Judas was named Maccabseus
before he erected his standard ; or who collect from monu
ments that a lion was imprinted on the standard of the Mac.
eabeey, derive the word Maccabaeus from 'a njo, " per me
est plaga." Vid. Godwyn de Repub. Jud. Lib. I. c. i.
Some derive it from Macchabeth, or Macchubeth, " hidden,"
because Mattathias and his companions concealed themselves
in the wildemess. Vid. chap. ii. 28—31. Others, lastly ,^ de
rive it from Makke-Baiah, which signifies " Conqueror in the
Lord." Vid. Prid*. An. 167. et Calmet. onl Mace. ii. 4, Ben
Gorion, L. Ill, c. ii.

FIRST BOOK OF THE MACCABEES. 673
because, as Josephus informs us, Mattathias was
a descendant of Asraonseus [c] ; or by an ho
nourable and eminent distinction, as the Hebrew
word signifies princes [d]. Many writers maintain,
that they were descended matemaUy from the
race of Judah [e]. Aristobulus, the son of Hyr
canus, was the first who assumed the titie of
King after the captivity. He bequeathed the
crown to his son, after whose death it became a
subject of contest to his chUdren : and on the cap
ture of Hyrcanus the Elder, by the Parthians, it
was conferred by the Romans on Herod [f].
[c] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. XII. c. vi. p. 554. Edit. Huds.
£l>] Chasamanim, Vid. Psalm lxviii. 32, It is rendered
ll^ia€tK in the Septuagint of Psalm Ixvii. p. 31. Vid. Kimchi.
Drjis. Praef. in Maccab. Euseb. Demonst. Evang. Lib. VHI.
p. 393, 4. Edit. Par. 1628. See also p. 370, &c.
[e] August, cont, Faust. Lib. I. c. Ixxii. &c. Preface to
the Historical Books.
[f] Sulpit. Sever. S. Hist. L. II. p.J3a2. Edit. Lug. B^tav.
p. 1647.

X X

op THE
SECOND BOOK OF THE
MACCABEES.

This Book contains a compilation of historical re
cords extracted from different works ; but especiaUy
an abridgment of the history of the persecutions
carried on by Epiphanes, and Eupator [a] against
the Jews, which had been written in Greek in five
books, by an HeUenistical Jew of Cyrene, named
Jason, (a descendant probably of one of those
Jews who had been placed there by Ptolemy Soter
[b],) and Avhich is no longer extant. The name
of the compiler is not known. He was doubtless
a diff'erent person from the author ofthe preceding
book. He dates from an aera six months later
than that chosen by him, and not only writes
with less accuracy, and in a more florid style,
[a] Chap. ii. 19 — 29. Clemens Alexandrinus calls it the
epitome of the Maccabaic history. Vid. Strom. L. V. p. 705.
•Edit Potter.
[b] Prid. Con. Par. I. B. VIII. An. 320. The Cyreneans
were of Greek extraction. Callimachus, the Poet of Cyrene,
wrote in Greek. Joseph. Antiq. L. XII. c. i. p. 507.

SECOND BOOK OF THE MACCABEES. 675
but likewise relates some particulars in a raan
ner inconsistent with the accounts of the first
book [jc] ; from which, nevertheless, he has in
other instances borrowed both sentiments and facts.
Some writers have attributed this second book to
Philo of Alexandria [d] ; and others to Josephus,
on grounds equally conjectural and faUacious.
Neither Eusebius or St. Jerom speak of it as
among the works of Philo ; and the discourse of
the Maccabees, or the Empire of Reason, which
Eusebius and St. Jerom suppose to have been
written by Josephus [e], is a very different work,
though it mentions many particulars contained in
thiis book.
Serarius [f] maintained that the Second Book
[c] Comp. 1 Mace. vi. 13 — 16. with 2 Mace. i. 16. and ix.
28. 1 Mace. ix. 3. 18. with 2 Mace, i 10. 1 Mace. iv. 36.
Avith 2 Mace. x. 2, 3. et Usher.
[d] Honor. Augustod. de Scriptor. Eccl, in Philone,
[e] Euseb. Hist. Eccles. Lib. III. c. x. Hieron. adv.
Pelag. Lib. I. p. 514. Tom. IV. Edit. Par. 1706. et Lib.
de Imperio Rationis, in Joseph. This book, whether properly
or improperly attributed to Josephus, is entitled, si? Max-
xaSeaat Xoy®", n TOegt avloK^alo^of Xoyio-^B. The word Maccabees
being applied to all who distinguished themselves in the cause
of religion and freedom; and sometimes, as in this instance,
to those who flourished before the time of Judas. Vid.
Scaliger in Chron. Euseb. n. 1853. p. 143. The AVork of Jo.
sephus is a rhetorical declamation on the power of reason,
acting on religious principles ; in which the author illustrates
his subject by a description of the conduct and speeches of
Eleazar, and the other martyrs whose fortitude is celebrated
in this second book of Maccabees.
[f] Serar. Prol. II. in. Mace, et Rupert, de Vict. Verb.
X X 2

676 SECOND BOOK OF THE MACCABEES.
of Maccabees was the production of Judas, the
Essenian, who is described by Josephus as a
man of great authority for his wisdom ; who, like
wise, according to the historian's account, was
endowed with the infallible spirit of prophecy [g],
and predicted the death of Antigonus, the second
son of John Hyrcanus the Priest ; and whom Se
rarius imagines to be mentioned in the fourteenth
verse of the second chapter of this book. But
that passage is generally aUowed to relate to Judas
Maccabaeus ; and affords no light with respect to
the author of this work. It is with more probabi
lity, though with equal uncertainty assigned to
Simon, or Judas Maccabaeus ; while some have
fancied that the whole book is only a letter written
by the synagogue of Jerusalem to the Jews in
Egypt : not distinguishing the historical from the
epistolary parts [h j. By whorasoever it was cora
posed, it should seera to have been originally writ
ten in Greek; and the compiler, as well as the
author, whose work he abridged, follows the Syrian
mode of computation, reckoning by the years of
the Seleucidae [i].
The two epistles which are contained in the
(g] Joseph. Antiq. Lib. XIIL c. xi. p. 589. de Bell. Jud.
Lib. I. c. iii. p. 964.
[h] Genebr. Chronol. Coteler. Not. ad Can. Apost. p. 388.
[i] Prideaux conceives, that the compiler must have been
an Egyptian Jew, since he seems to have acknowledged the
lesser temple in Egypt, for he distinguishes the temple at Je
rusalem as " the great temple." Vid. chap, ii, 19, xiv, 13,
Prid. Connect, Part II. B. Ill, p, 146.

SECOND BOOK OF THE MACCABEES. ^77
first and second chapters, and which are there said
to have been written by the Jews at Jerusalera to
their brethren at Alexandria, exhorting them to
observe the feast' of the Tabernacles, and that of
the Purification, are by Prideaux considered as
spurious ; the second, indeed, is said to have been
written by Judas, who was not living at the time
of the date [k] ; and it contains many extravagant
aud fabulous particulars. It begins at the tenth
verse of the first chapter, and terminates with the
eighteenth of the second ; from thence to the end
of the chapter is a short preface of the compUer to
the abridgment of Jason's history ; which com
mences with the third chapter, and concludes with
the thirty- seventh verse of the fifteenth chapter,
the two last verses forming a kind of conclusion to
the work.
The book contains a history of about fifteen
years, from the enterprize- of Heliodorus in the
temple, A.M, 3838, to the victory of Judas Mac
cabaeus against Nicanor, A.M. 3843. The chapr
ters are not, however, arranged exactly in chro
nological order. The work begins at a period
soraewhat earUer than that of the first book of
Maccabees. As the author appears at first to
have intended only an epitome of the history of
Judas Maccabaeus and his brethren, with some
contemporary events [l], the account of the pu
nishment of Heliodorus, which occurred under
[k] Com. 1 Mace. ix. 3, 18. whh 2 Mace. i. 10.
[l] Chap. ii. 19—23.

678 SECOND BOOK OF THE MACCABEES.
Seleucus, the predecessor of Epiphanes, as weU as
the circumstances related in the two last chapters
which happened under Demetrius Soter, the suc
cessor of Eupator, have been soraetimes repre
sented as subsequent additions by some later writer.
But since these events as connected with the tirae
of Judas, were not irrelative to the author's de
sign, there is no reason, except from a pretended
difference of style, to dispute their authenticity as
a part of Jason's history : or, at least, as a genuine
addition affixed to the epitome by the compiler.
The author had no title, any more than the writer
of the preceding book, to be considered as an in
spired historian : he speaks, indeed, of his perform
ance in the diffident style of one who was conscious
of the fallibility of his own judgment, and dis
trustful of his own powers [m]. His work was
never considered as strictly canonical till received
into the sacred list by the Council of Trent,
though exaraples are produced from it by many
ancient writers []n]. It must be aUowed to be a
valuable and instructive history ; and it affords an
interesting description of a persecuted and afflicted
people : presenting in the relation of the conduct
of Eleazar, and of the woman and her children
who suffered for their attachment to their reUgion,
Fm] Chap. xv. 38. which is written in the style of an un
inspired writer, aud resembles the conclusion of the oration of
^schines against Ctesiphon.
[n] Ambrose de Jacob, et Vita Beat, c, x. xi. xii. p. 474.
Edit. Par. 1686. et. Lib. de Offic. c. xl. xii. p. 52, August.
de cur, gerend, pro Mortuis, Lib. I. § 3,

SECOND BOOK OF THB MACCABEES. 679
an example of constancy that might have animated
the martyrs of the christian church. The author
industriously displays the confidence in a resur
rection and future Ufe [o] which prevailed at the
period of his history, and which was the encou
ragement that enabled those who were so severely
tried, to sustain their tortures. He likewise, per
haps, more particularly enforced the doctrine of a
resurrection with design to counteract the propa
gation of the Sadducean principles, which were
then rising into notice. There, are, however,
passages of exceptionable tendency in the book.
It has been thought to detract from the credi
bUity of the particulars recorded in this book, that
neither the author of the preceding work, or Jose
phus in those his acknowledged writings, in which
he treats of the persecution carried on by Antiochus
[pJ, should mention the sufferings of the martyrs
whose memorial is here celebrated. But the si
lence of these historians can furnish no sufficient
argument to deny that there was, at least, sorae
ground-work for the account of this book, Avith
whatever exaggerations we raay suppose it to have
been decorated. The description, likewise, of the
prodigies and meteorological conflicts which por
tended calamities to Judaea, ought not to invaU
date our confidence in the veracity of the writer
of this book ; since it is unquestionable from the
[o] Chap. vu. 9, 11, 14, 23, 29, 36. and xiv. 46.
[f] be BeU. Jud. L. I. c. i. Joseph. Antiq. L. XIL c. v.

680 SECOND BOOK OF THE MACCABEES.
testimony of respectable historians [q] ; and agree
able to the representation of holy writj^a], that
they should sometimes take place. And when, as
in this instance, the phaenomena are represented
by an historian^ perhaps nearly contemporary with
the events, to have continued forty days [s] ; it is
unreasonable to suspect delusion, or wilful misre
presentation. So, likewise, however improbable
those accounts may appear, in which God is de
scribed to have vindicated the insulted sanctity of
his temple [t], and to have discountenanced the
adversaries of his people by apparitions and ange
Ucal visions [u], it is certain that many philoso
phical and judicious writers bave maintained the
reality of similar appearances [x] ; and that the
popular superstitions and belief in such apparitions
may, without credulity, be supposed to have ori
ginated in the miraculous interpositions which
were soraetimes displayed in favour of the Jewish
people [y].
But though the book may, perhaps, be Arindi-
eated in general, with respect to historical truth,
it contains sorae parts of exceptionable character ;
and some passages in it have been objected to as
[q] Joseph, de Bell. Jud. Lib. IV. c. iv. p. 1181. L. VII. c.
V. p. 128. Tacit. Hist. L. V. c. xiii.
[b] Joel ii. 30. Matt. xxiv. 29. Mark xiii. 24. Luke xxi. 25.
[s] Chap. V. 1—3.
[t] Chap. iii. 24 — 29.
[uJ Chap. X. 29, 30. xi. 8.
[x] Cicero de Natur. Deor. L. II. §. 2. p. 436. Edit. Par.
See also Tuscul. Qusest, L, I,
[y] Joshua V. 13.

SECOND BOOK OP THE MACCABEES- 681
of dangerous example [«], The Roraanists, in
deed, who in deference to the decision of the Tri
dentine fathers, admit the canonical authority of
the book, have produced the last verses of the
twelfth chapter to countenance their notions con
cerning purgatory and prayers for the dead [a].
The work, as the production of a faUible and
unenUghtened man, may contain a mixture of
error ; and certainly should be read with that dis
cretion, which, whUe it seeks instruction, guards
against the intrusion of false and pernicious opi
nions. If St, Paul, in his eulogium on some iUus
trious patterns of faith, should be thought to have
established the truth, or approved the exaraples in
this history, he by no means bears testimony to the
inspiration of its author [b] ; or establishes its ge-
[z] Chap, i. 18 — 36, et Rainold's Censur. Apocryph. tom,
ii. Praelect. 133, 134. Vid, also, chap. xiv. 41 — 46. where the
furious attempt of Razis to fall on his owu sword is spoken of
with seeming approbation.
[a] Bellarm. de Purgat. Lib. II. c. iii. Some think that
Judas is commended for having prayed, not for the dead, but
that the guilt of the dead might not be imputed to the hving ;
but though the Greek be less favourable to the doctrine of the
Romish church than the Vulgate, it must be confessed that the
passage will not admit of that construction. Judas, probably,
did not dream of purgatory ; but he is certainly represented to
have prayed for the dead ; and in the Greek, as well as in the
Latin, the reconciliation is said to have been made for the pur«
pose of delivering the dead from sin.
[b] It is stated in the nineteenth verse ef the sixth chapter,
that Eleazar, aSdaiftlui im to ri^ato}) 'O^oayiyiv, And St. Paul,
speaking of martyrs who had sufiered in hopes of a resurrec
tion, says, o^Aot St trvjiteanirhirav, from which expression some
*

682 SECOND BOOK OF THE MACCABEES.
neral authority in point of doctrine. The apostles
consecrated for the direction of the christian church,
the productions of only those " religious raen who
were raoved by the Holy Ghost." St. Augustin
justly reraarked in answer to the CircumceUion
Donatists [cj, who had urged the desperate atterapt
of Razis [d], in defence of suicide : that they raust
have been hard pressed for exaraples, to have re
course to the book of Maccabees; for that this
book was of subordinate authority, as not esta
blished on the testiraony of the Jewish church, or
on that of Christ ; and as received by the Chris
tian church only to be discreetly read ; and that
Razis, however distinguished for valour, was not
to be proposed as an exaraple to justify self-raur-
der [e]. The fathers in general, indeed, cite the
book as a useful history [fJ ; but not as of au
thority in point of doctrine.
conceive that the apostle alludes to the death of Eleazar, sup
posing rvjji'natot to signify some specific engine of torture. If
the apostle did refer to the account of this book, which is a
point much controverted, it will only prove that the relation is
true. See Heb. xi. 35.
[c] These w ere a party of confederated ruffians of the
fourth century, who practised and defended assassinations, and
who recommended suicide when it could rescue them from
public punishment. Vid. Mosheim, Eccles. Hist. Cent. IV.
Part I.
[d] Chap. xiv. 41.
[e] August. Epist. 61. ad Dulcit. Cosin's Scholastical Hist.
$81.
[f] Cyprian, de Exhort. Martyr, p. 269. Testim. L. III.
f 4. p. 305. Edit. Par. 1726.

SECOND BOOK OF THE MACCABEES. 683
There are two other books entitied the Third
and Fourth Books of Maccabees, which were
never received by any church. That which is im
properly styled the third; and which in point of
time should be considered as the first; describes
the persecution of Ptolertiy Philopater against the
Jews in Egypt, about A. M, 3789 ; and the mira
culous delivery of those who were exposed in the
Hypodrome of Alexandria to the fury of ele
phants. This is a work entitled to much respect ;
it is in the most ancient manuscript copies of the
Septuagint [g], and is cited by the fathers [h], but
never having been found in the Vulgate, which
version was universaUy used in the Western
church, and from which our translations were
made, it never was admitted into our Bibles.
Grotius supposes it to have been written soon after
the book of Ecclesiasticus. The history is not
noticed by Josephus; though in the ancient ver
sion of his second book against Apion by Rufinus,
there are sorae particulars which aUude to it.
The book, which is usuaUy caUed the Fourth
Book of the* Maccabees, and which contains a
history of the pontificate of John Hyrcanus, was
first pubUshed in the Paris Polyglot as an Arabic
[g] It is in the Alexandrian manuscript in the Museum, and
in the Vatican manuscript at Rome.
[h] Euseb. Chron. An. 1800. Theod. in Dan, xi. 7. p. 606.
Edit. Lutet. Par. 1642. Canon. Apost 85. Athan. Synop.
Tom. II. p. 201. Edit. Par. 1698. Niceph. vid. Arab. Ver.
Paris Polyglot.

684 SECOND BOOK OF THE MACCABEES.
history of the Maccabees. It is supposed to have
been a translation of the work seen by Sixtus
Senensis [i] in a Greek manuscript at Lyons, and
Avhich was afterwards burnt [k] ; though according
to Calmet's account [l], it should seem to have
been a different work from that mentioned by
early writers as a fourth book of the Maccabees [m].
It appears to have been originally written in He
brew; and the Arabic writer, or the Greek transla
tor, (frora Avhose work the Arabic was made), lived
after the destruction of the second temple by the Ro
mans, as may be collected from some particulars.
The book differs in many respect from the relations
of Josephus. Calmet thinks that the Discourse on
the Power of Reason, before mentioned as the work
of Josephus, was the original fourth book of Mac
cabees, which in raany Greek manuscripts is placed
with the other three [n].
It may be added, that in two ancient Hebrew
manuscripts in the Bodleian library, as also in one
at Leipsic, there foUows after Esther, as a book of
the Bible, without any title or introduction, a
history of the Maccabees, written in Chaldee,
[i] Sixt. Senen. Biblot. L. I. et Bib. Maxim, a Fran, de hi
Haye. [k] Selden. de Success, in Pontif, Vol. II. p. 84.
[l] Calmet, Preface sur le Quatriem. Livre des Maccab.
[m] Athan. Synop. Syncell. Philastr. Vid. Coteler. Not. ia
Can. Apost. p. 117, 138.
[n] Not. Cambesis in Joseph. Lib. de Imper. Ration. Cotel
Not. in Can. Apost p. 339.

SECOND BOOK OF THE MACCABEES. 685
Sfvhich differs widely from onr apocryphal books.
It appears to have been originally composed in
Chaldee, and rendered into Hebrew. It is pro
bably a very ancient production, and contains many
remarkable particulars [o].
[o] The Hebrew copy has been published in a very corrupt
state by Bartoloccius. Vid. Kennicott, No. 18, Pentat. Psal.
Megiil. 80. p. 55, 56. on Hebrew and Samaritan manuscript,
p. 54.

THE END.

R. Gilbert, Printer. St. John's Square, London.

KEY

TO THE

NEW TESTAMENT,

GIVING
AN ACCOUNT OF THE SEVERAL BOOKS,
THEIR CONTENTS, THEIR AUTHORS,
AND OF THE
TIMES, PLACES, AND OCCASIONS, ON WHICH THEY WERE
RESPECTIVELY WRITTEN.

THE EIGHTH EDITION.

Eontion :
PRINTED FOB C. AND J. RIVINGTON; JEFFERY AND SON ;
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1825.

LONDON :
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TO THE
HONOURABLE AND RIGHT REVEREND
SHUTE,
LORD BISHOP OF LANDAFF.

MY LORD,
The favourable opinion, which your Lord
ship was pleased to entertain> of this little
Work in the first Edition, has induced me to
give it a Revisal, and, by removing some
inaccuracies, to render it less unworthy your
acceptance. That so shght a performance should have
been able to attract your notice, I must at
tribute to that vigilant, unremitted attention,
vvhich so eminently distinguishes your Lord
ship's conduct ; and makes you esteem no
attempt undeserving your regard, which has
the remotest tendency to promote the inte
rests of religion or learning.

VI DEDICATION.
That this httle manual may be of some
use, especially to the Youth of both Sexes,
I am encouraged to hope, from the candid
reception it has met with in our Universities,
where, I am told, some of the Tutors have
adopted it, as a proper compendium to be
put into the hands of the younger Students
at their entrance on a course of sacred litera
ture. If it contributes in any degree to make
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and better understood, I shall esteem it a
peculiar happiness to have had this oppor
tunity of testifying the sincere respect, with
which I am, My Lord,
Your Lordship's
Most obliged and
Faithful Servant,
Thomas Percy.
M.DCCLXXni.

PREFACE.

A CLEAR introductory illustration of the
several Books of the New Testament,
shevdng the design of their writers, the na
ture of their contents, and whatever else is
previously necessary to their being read with
understanding, is a work, that, if well exe
cuted, must prove the best of commentaries,
and frequently supersede the want of all
other. Like an inteUigent guide, it directs
the Reader right at his first setting out, and
thereby saves him the trouble of much after-
inquiry: Or, like a map of a country, through
which he is to travel ; if consulted before
hand, it gives him a general view of the
joumey, and prevents his being afterwards
lost and bewildered.
That the following little work will be
found to answer this flattering description,
the Compiler dare?: not take upon him to

vm PREFACE.
assert ; he can only say, that the contents
are chiefly extracted from two eminent
Writers, who have particularly distinguished
themselves in this branch- of sacred criticism,
and have lately thrown great light upon the
subject. The first of these is, Mr. Professor Mi-
CHAELis, of his Majesty's University of Got
tingen, whose " Introductory Lectures to
the sacred Books of the New Testament,"
translated from the German, were published,
in one volume quarto, in 1761 [a]. The
other is the Rev. Dr. Lardner, whose
" History of the Apostles and Evangehsts,
writers of the New Testament, with Remarks
and Observations on every Book," was
printed in three volumes octavo, in 1760."
The former of these has displayed so much
ingenuity and discernment, and the latter
such a depth of learning, as give the greatest
[aJ Since this translation of Mr. Michaelis's Book was
published, that eminent Writer has very much improved
and enlarged his Work in the original German : and it
will give satisfaction to the learned Reader to be informed,
that a Translation of this excellent Performance, with all
the late additions and improvements of the deceased
Author, may soon be expected.

preface, IX
advantage to such as would avail themselves
of their labours.
But as their works are not of portable
size, and contain a multitude of curious dis
quisitions not within the reach of the gene-
rahty of readers, the Editor was tempted to
give a short abstract of then* respective con
tents, cleared from all miscellaneous digres
sions, and reduced witliin a small compass for
the pocket. He has not, however, merely
confined himself to those two writers, but has
enriched his work from other authors ; thus
in the Key to the writings of the several
Evangelists, a full account is given of the
curious Hypothesis of the learned and inge
nious Dr. Owen, who, in his " Observa
tions on the Four Gospels," octavo, 1764, has
opened a new source of information, and,
by comparing the original language of the
several Evangehsts, has started many new
hints, which had escaped former inquirers.
If the Doctor should find a difficulty pro
posed, in the following pages, in respect to
one part of his scheme, he will also see a
solution offered, which the Editor appre
hends will give new strength and consistency
to the whole argument.

X PREFACE.
Besides these late writers, recourse was
occasionally had to the learned and useful
labours of Pyle, Doddridge, Bengelius,
Dupin, and other former Critics and Com
mentators ; from each of whom such parts
were selected as seemed most solid and
judicious ; forming, in the whole, what, it is
hoped, will be found a clear, concise, and
not inconsistent compilation ; in which the
Editor frankly acknowledges that very little
will be found of his own, and that he has no
other merit than that of bringing into one
compendium whatever he thought was most
excellent in so many valuable writers.
After this little work was first committed
to the press, the Editor was favoured by an
ingenious friend with the short Account of
the several Sects and Heresies that prevailed
in the time of Christ and his Apostles. A
general knowledge of those is so necessary to
our right understanding the Sacred Writings,
in which one or other of them are constantly
alluded to, that this work would have been
imperfect without it ; it is therefore pre
fixed, by way of Introduction. In com
piling this brief sketch, the writer acknow
ledges himself indebted not only to the valua-

PREFACE. XI
ble works of Godwyn, Prideaux, Calmet,
and Stackhouse, but to the very learned
System of Ecclesiastical History by Mr.
Chancellor Mosheim, of the University of
Gottingen. To the same fiiend the Editor is also in
debted for the short Analysis, or Key, to
the Prophecies contained in the Revelations,
with which this little book is concluded.

M.DCe.LXV.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

I, Of the Jewish Sects,
or Parties 
II. Of the Christian Sects,

PAGE
or Heresies  • • • • 11
A Chronology of Christ's
public Ministry  19

KEY TO THE NEW TESTAMENT.

The meaning ofthe words,
Scripture, Bible, New
Testament, Gospel • • 23
The Order of the Four
Gospels  25
St. Matthew's Gospel • • 30
St, Mark's  37
St. Luke's  43
St. John's  49
Acts df the Apostles • • 54
The Order of the Epistles 59
To the Romans  62
The First to the Corin
thians  71
The Second to the Corin
thians  74
To the Galatians  77
To the Ephesians  80
To the Philippiaus  83
To th« Colossians  84

The First to theThessalo-
lonians  • • • 86
The Second to the Thessa
lonians  89
The First to Timothy • . ¦ . 90
The Second to Timothy 93
To Titus •...  95
To Philemon  97
To the Hebrews  99
Of St. James  105
First of St. Peter  107
The Second of St. Peter 109
The First of St. John • • . • 110
The Second and Third of
St, John  112
Of St, Jude  113
The Revelation of St,
John  114
Key to the Prophecies in
the Revelation  120

INTRODUCTION.

I.
OF THE JEWISH SECTS, 'OR PARTIES ALLUDED
TO IN THE GOSPELS,
Hi
OF THE CHRISTIAN SECTS, OR HERESIES
ALLUDED TO IN THE EPISTLES.

OP THE

JEWISH SECTS,
OR
PARTIES ALLUDED TO IN THE GOSPELS.

THE PHARISEES.
The Pharisees were a sect among the Jews, that
had subsisted at least above a century and half be
fore the appearance of our Saviour. They affected
the most profound regard for the Law of God, and
the sacred Books ; but for the interpretation of
them, and the raanner in which they were to be
obeyed, they depended chiefly: ujion traditional ac
counts. These traditions encumbered religion with
a thousand frivolous observances, which drew off
the mind from the more important matters of the
Law ; and made men look upon themselves as holy
and acceptable to God, not so much from their
moral conduct, and observance of divine institu
tions, as from their conformity to certain modes
and punctilios of mere human invention, intro
duced among them under pretence of being the
Traditions of the Elders [aJ. Hence their more
[a] i. e. Ancients.
b2

¦* INTRODUCTION.
than ordinary strictness in wearing the phylac
tery, and singularity in enlarging the borders or
FRINGES of their garment [b], 'Hence their super
stition about the Sabbath, as if it had been unlawful
on that day to walk in the fields, or to pluck the
ears of corn, or to cure the sick, or to aid one's
neighbour. Hence too their peculiar zeal and
pretence to purity, in the demureness with which
they fasted, the exactness with which they paid
their tithes, the ostentation with which they prayed,
performing that duty not only aloud, but in the
most public turnings of the streets ; the ardour
with which they encompassed sea and land to
make proselytes or converts to their sect ; their fre
quent washing, not only of themselves, but of their
vestments and utensils ; and their holding at a dis
tance, or separating themselves not only from Pa
gans, but from all such Jews as complied not with
their peculiarities. To this last circumstance they.
seem to have owed the name of their sect ; the
word Pharisee being derived from a verb in the
Hebrew [c], which signifies to divide or sepa
rate. TJiis sect, however, not only held the soul
to be immortal, but had some slight notions of a
[b] The Phylagteries were little scrolls of parchment
bound to their foreheads aud wrists, on which were written
texts of Scripture, taken from Exod. xiii. 9. 16. and Deut. vi.
8. xi. 18, With regard to their borders and fringes, the
reader will find the origin of this distinction in Numb, xv, 38.
Deut. xxii. 12.
[c] tytS, Pharash, To divide.

JEWISH SECTS. 6
resuiTCction, believing that on some occasions the
soul might again re-animate a body : Whence
their conjecture about Christ upon his first ap
pearance, that he was either John the Baptist, or
Elias, or one of the old prophets ; and hence too,
notwithstanding the violence with which they had
opposed the personal ministry of Jesus, that ap
titude they displayed in after-times, beyond some
of the other Jev/ish sects, to fall-in with his Re
velation. the scribes.
The word Scribes, as that denomination occurs
in the New Testament, appears to be the title not
of any particular sect, distinguished from all others
as to their modes of practice, or belief; but a ge
neral term, applicable to all those of whatever sect,
who made the Law of Moses and the prophetical
and sacred books their peculiar study, so as to be
come capable of commenting upon them, and
thence of publicly instructing the people. This
office seems, however, to have been confined to the
descendants of Levi, who being very numerous,
and not at all times engaged in the immediate ser
vice of the temple, had leisure and opportunity
enough to qualify themselves for this duty, being
unembarrassed with secular employments, and libe
rally provided for among all the other tribes. It
appears indeed from the frequent mention that is
made in the Gospel of the Scribes and Pharisees
in conjunction, that the greatest number of Jewish

6 IXTRODUCTION.
Teachers or Doctors of the Law [d], for these are
expressions equivalent to Scribe, were at that
time of the Pharisaical sect. In the Old Testa
ment, we meet with the term Scribe in a secular
sense, as denoting sometimes a secretary of state
[e], sometimes a principal clerk in a court of judi
cature [f], and "sometimes a commissary or muster-
master in the army [g] ; and although it is proba
ble that a duly qualified man belonging to any of
the other tribes might be admitted into any of these
employments, yet the superior opportunity that the
descendants of Levi enjoyed for all sorts of literary
improvements, renders it likely that they were ge
nerally preferred, especially in ancient times, even
lo these depEfftments. the sadducees.
The most ancient sect among the Jews was that
of the Sadducees. This name may either be de
rived from the Hebrew word Sedec, which signifies
Justice ; or from a certain teacher among the
Jews called Sadoc. The former seems to have
been the origin of the appellation, according to
the account of the Sadducees themselves ; the lat
ter, according to the account given of them by
[d] So tlie original word should have been rendered, where
in our translation it is improperly expressed by the modern-
term, Lawyers.
[e] 2 Sara, viii, 17. xx. 25.
[ f] Matt, ii, 4, 1 Maccab. v. 42.
[GJ 2 Cbrou, xxvi, 11.2 Kings xxv. IU,

JEWISH SECTS. K
the Pharisees in the Talmud. If we admit the
former derivation, it assigns no fixed date of the
antiquity of this sect ; if the latter, it ascertains
their rise to have been but a few years before that
of the Pharisees. But be this as it may, the Sad
ducees seem to have been originally strict adhe
rents to the Mosaic institution, and to the Canoni
cal books, only interpreting them in tbe most literal
sense, and rejecting all other explications. The ^
superior estimation in wbich they held the Penta
teuch, or writings of Moses, to all other composi
tions in the sacred collection, gave rise in all pro
bability to the report of their adversaries, tbat they
rejected the authority of the rest : and the doubts >
they entertained about a future state, a doctrine
not clearly-revealed in the writings of Moses ; and
about any appearances of angels or spirits among
men, since the finishing of the Jewish Canon ;
seem to have at first given a handle to the Phari
sees of rendering them suspected of irreligion,
which in all probability was afterwards confirmed
by raen of loose principles sheltering theraselves
under their name. This however is certain, that
at the time of our Saviour this sect is reputed to
have held doctrines that were thoroughly im
pious [h]. For they are said to have denied the
resurrection of the dead, the being of angels, and
all existence -of the spirits or souls of men departed.
It was their opinion, that there is no spiritual Being
1_h] Vide Prideaux.

8 INTRODUCTJOX.
but God only ; that as to man, this world is his all ;
that at his death, body and soul die together never
to live more ; and that therefore, there is no future
reward nor punishment. They acknowledged that
God made this world by his power, and governs it
by his providence ; and for the carrying on this
government, hath ordained rewards and punish
ments, but that they do not extend beyond this
world. In a word, they seem to have been Epi
cureans in all respects, excej)ting only that they
allowed that God made the world by his power,
and governs it by his providence. At the same
time that they held these loose notions, they are
said to ha.ve had a bigoted attachment to the Law
of Moses ; and, whether it proceeded from this, or
their considering our Saviour as a seditious person,
they soon joined with the Pharisees in bringing
Christ and his disciples to death ; fqir^ Caiaphas,
who was of this sect, and who was High-priest of
the Jews at that time, was he who condemned
Jesus to be crucified ; and Ananus the yoimger [i],
another of this sect, put to death St. James, the
brother of our Lord. the herodians.
Op the Herodians we raeet with nothing araong
ancient writers, except in the New Testament it
self; where also mention is raade of certain Ga-
[i] Son of Annas the High-priest, meiitioned in the Gospel ;
who is also called Ananus, by Josephus.

JEWISH SECTS. y
liltEAns, whose blood Pilate mingled with their
sacrifices, and who are described elsewhere in the
New Testament as having made an insurrection
against Ihe government, and are called Murderers,
or Sicarii [it]. The learned Calmet takes an
opportunity hence of imputing to those called He
rodians whatever was done by these Galilaeans,
and thinks they were called Herodians, by tbe
other Jews, because Galilee at that time was under
the comraand of Herod surnamed Antipas. But
when we reflect that this insurrection happened
long before Christ entered upon his public minis
try, even as early as the tenth year of his age,
when the insurgents were entirely routed, and the
party dispersed ; whereas the Herodians are men
tioned as stiU flourishing at the very time when
Christ was employed in his raission ; we cannot
forbear assenting to the judicious conjectures of
Dr, Prideaux and others, who look upon the Hero
dians not as a religious sect, but a political party,
who began to become eminent in the days of
Herod the Great, as favouring his claims, and
those of his patrons the Romans, to the sovereignty
of Judea. Some of these no doubt, might be weak
enough to imagine, that Herod was the Messiah,
or wicked enough to pretend that they did, in
order to serve his cause ; and would be ready to
vindicate his conduct, when, the better to pay his
[k] Acts xxi. 38. See a further account of this Sect, or
Party, p. 22, under the name of Gaulanites.

10 INTRODUCTIGIS",
court to the Romans, he consecrated temples to
some of their false deities. And this party having
begun in the time of Herod the Great, may well
be supposed to have continued long afterwards in
favour and power, by the indulgence of the He-
rods, and influence of the Romans. That Leaven
therefore of theirs, against which our Saviour
warns his hearers [l], must in this case have been,
either their false conceptions of the Messiah, or
their pliantness and conformity to Idol-worship, or
both, [l] Mark viii. 15,

OF

THE CHRISTIAN SECTS,

HERESIES ALLUDED TO IN THE EPISTLES.

When the religion of Jesus began to be spread
abroad in the world, it had not only to struggle
with avowed adversaries, such as the Jew and the
Pagan, by whom its professors were exposed to all
manner of external disgrace and calamities ; but it
had to 'support itself in its native purity, dignity,
and excellence, against the corrupt doctrines which
many of those whom it received into its commu
nity had brought with them from the Jewish or
Pagan systems ; for under these two denomina
tions were all mankind at that time included ;
and both so very corrupt, as to be far more capable
of imparting infection, than of becoming pure.
I.
Of the Jews who became Christians, there
were, besides such as had been of the sect of the
Pharisees, &c. others that had imbibed the parti
cular opinions of the Essenes and the Gaulanites.

12 IXTRODUCTIOX. THE ESSENES.
The Essenes seem to have been of a very re
mote antiquity. They might take their rise from
that dispersion of their nation, vvhich happened
after their being carried captive into Babylon.
The principal character of this sect was, that they
chose retirement ; were sober, were industrious ;
had all things in common ; paid the highest regard
to the moral precepts of the law, but neglected the
ceremonial, any farther than what regarded bodily
cleanliness, the observation of the Sabbath, and
making an annual present to the Temple of Jeru
salem. They never associated with women, nor
admitted them into their retreats ; but gladly em
braced every fair opportunity of supporting and
enlarging their society, by rearing, breeding, edu
cating, and instructing other men's children, as if
they had been their own. By the most sacred
vows, though they were in general averse to swearr
ing, or to requiring an oath, they bound all whom
they initiated among them, to the observance of
piety, justice, fidelity, and modesty ; to conceal the
secrets of the fraternity, preserve the books of their
instructors, and with great care commemorate the
names of the angels. To them in all likelihood
the Apostle alludes, when he inveighs against
those who forbid to marry, who command to ab
stain i'rom meat, and vvho, through a voluntary
humility pay worship to angels. But a raore par
ticular description of these errors the reader will

CHRISTIAN! HERESIES. 13
find below in the account of the 1st Epistle to
Tiraothy. THE GAULANITES.
The Gaulanites were Galilaeans who had this
name given them frora* one Judas Theudas, a na
tive of Gaulan, in upper Galilee : who, in the lOth
year of Jesus Christ, which was the last of Au
gustus, and ten years after the death of Herod the
Great, excited his countrymen the Galilaeans, and
many others of the Jews, to take arms, and ven
ture upon all extremities, rather than pay tribute
to the Romans. The principles he infused into
his party were, not only that they were a free na
tion, and ought to be in subjection to no other,
but that they were the elect of God, that he
alone was their governor, and that, therefore, they
ought not to submit to any ordinance of man.
And though he was unsuccessful, insorauch that
his party in their very first attempt were entirely
routed and. dispersed ; yet so deeply had he infused
his own enthusiasra into their minds, that they
never rested, tiU in their own destruction they in
volved the city and temple. To this wild and
fanatic party seems to be addressed many of those
passages in the New Testament, wherein obe
dience to magistracy is so piously and rationally
inculcated.

14 INTRODUCTION'.
THE NAZAREENS.
The Pharisees seera to have composed the chief
body of those Christian converts, who in the
earlier times were distinguished by the appellation
of Nazareens. These, though they embraced
Christianity, yet entered so Httle into the real spirit
and genius of it, that they were still fond of the
beggarly elements and carnal ordinances of the
Cereraonial Law. To repress this their inordinate
superstition, seeras to have been the intention of
the severity with which the Law is treated in the
Apostolic writings, where not only circumcision is
exclaimed against, but we are taught to let no man
judge us with regard to meats or drinks, or the
observance of holy days, or of the new moon, or of
the sabbath ; which were a shadow of things to
come, whereof Christ is the substance [aJ.

II.

the gnostics.
¦ Of the Gentiles who were converted to Chris
tianity, the most dangerous and pernicious kind
were those who were infected with the Egyptian
Philosophy ; a system, as it was then taught, en
tirely chimerical and absurd. The Christians of
this sort assumed to themselves the name of Gnos-
[a] See Col, ii, 16, &c.

CHRISTIAN heresies. 15
TICS ; a word of Greek derivation, implying a
Knowledge superior to that of other men. This
word does not occur in the New Testament ; but
the NICOLAITANS,
of whom mention is made in the Apocalypse of St.
John [^b,3 seera to have been of the Gnostic sect ;
as were also the CERINTHIANS ;
for most of the errors [^c] maintained by Cerin
thus, and opposed in the Gospel of St. John, may
be derived frora the same source.
When we say the Gentile converts were chiefly
liable to tbe Gnostic infection, we must not be
understood to exclude those of the Jewish race,
many of whom were tainted with it, but they seem
lo have derived it frora the Essenes [d],
THE EGYPTIAN PHILOSOPHY.
The maintainers of this philosophy held, that
the supreme Being, though infinitely perfect and
happy, was not tbe creator of the universe, nor the
only independent being : for, according to them.
Matter too was eternal. The supreme Being, who
resides in the immensity of space, whicb they called
Pleroma, or fulnesSj produced from himself, say
£b] See this Sect described iu a Note to Revelations.
[c] See them described at large in the account of St. John's
Gospel. £d] See the account ofthe first Epbtle to Timothy, &c.

16 IN'TRODUCTION'.
they, other immortal and spiritual natures, stiled by
thera .^ons, [e], vvho filled the residence of the
Deity with beings similar to themselves. Of these
beings, some were placed in the higher regions,
others in the lower. Those in the lower regions
were nighest to the place of matter, which origi
nally was an inert and formless mass, till one of
them, without any coraraission frora the Deity, and
merely to shew his own dexterity, reduced it into
form and order, and enlivened some parts of it
with animal spirit. The Being who atchieved all
this, they called the Demiurgus [f]. . But such
was the perverseness of matter, that when brought
into form, it was the source of all evil. The
supreme Being, therefore, never intended to have
given it a forra ; but, as that had been now done,
he, in order to prevent mischief as much as possi
ble, added to the animal spirit of many of the en
livened parts, rational powers. The parts to whom
rational powers were thus given, were the original
parents of the human race ; the other animated
parts were the brute creation. Unluckily, however,
the interposition of the supreme Being was in vain ;
for the Demiurgus grew so aspiring, that he seduced
men from their allegiance to the supreme Being,
and diverted all their devotion to himself.
[e] Mon, in Greek, properly signities the age of man, but
having been employed by philosophers to express the duration
of spiritual and invisible beings, the Beings themselves were
afterwards figuratively called Mons, or Durations, &c.
[f] i. e. The operator, artificer, or workman.

christian heresies. 17
These are the outlines of this phantastic philo
sophy. The corruptions flowing from it, when
adapted to Christianity, were these. They held
that the God of the Jew« was the Demiurgus ;
that to overthrow and subvert the power and do
minion of this Demiurgus, Jesus, one of the celes
tial .^ons, was sent by the suprerae Being to enter
into the body of the man Christ, in the shape of
a dove ; that Christ, by his miracles and sufferings,
subverted the kingdom of the Demiurgus ; but
when he came to suffer, the .^on Jesus carried
along with hiraself the soul of CnRist; and left
behind upon the cross, only his body and animal
spirit: that the Old Testament ought to be re
jected, as having been the means whereby the
Demiurgus supported his influence among men ;
that the serpent who deceived Eve, ought to be
honoured, for endeavouring to rescue men from
their slavery to the Demiurgus; and, finally, that
we ought not to marry, or procreate children, be
cause, in so doing, we generate matter, which is
the source of all evil ; and that there is no resur
rection of the body, because the body is material.
Against this philosophy, and not against true
science of any kind, are all those texts of the New
Testament levelled, which seem to arraign philoso
phy. This is that philosophy which is there de
scribed as vain, deceitful, traditionary, formed upon
the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
These are the profane and old wives" fables; the
endless genealogies, vain babblings, and oppositions

18 INTRODUCTION.
of science falsely so called, which we are to reject,
and not to give heed to. And of these Sophists,
or Gnostics, as they called themselves, the Apostles
write, when they say, " There are certain meu
crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained
to this condemnation ; ungodly men, turning the
grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying
the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ
[fi2-" And again, " Now, if Christ be preached
that he rose from the dead, how say some among
you, that there is no resurrection of the dead \ja2 ?"

To this Introduction mai/ not improperly he sub
joined a short Abstract of the Chronology of
our Lord's public Ministry, as proposed hy Sir
Isaac Newton, and some other Critics, who
make it to have lasted Five Passovers : But the
more general opinion is, that it only continued
Three Years, and was included in Four Pass
overs. Some Critics reduce it even to a still
shorter Period. — See the controversy on this
subject between Dr. Newton, Bishop of Water
ford, and Dr. Priestley.
It is here copied from Mr. Bowyer's Conjectures
on the New Testament, Sgc. Svo. 1773, a work
equally learned and curious. See his Preface,
page xxxi.
[g] Jude, 4. [a] 1 Cor. xv, 12.

CHRONOLOGY, &,C. 19
A CHRONOLOGY OF
CHRIST'S PUBLIC MINISTRY.

The fifteenth of Tiberius began Aug. 19, in the
year 4742, of the Julian Period. [Tiberius's
reign began Aug. 19, An. J. P. a. d. 14.] So
soon as winter was over, and the weather became
warm enough, John began to baptize. Luke iii.
1. ^Suppose in Marcb.^
A.D. Tib. The first passover, Johnii. 33. Wed-
31. 16-17. nesday. Mar. 28, after Christ's bap
tism, (which was, we may suppose, an
September, the 17th of Tiberius not
beginning tiU Aug. 19;) he came
into Judea : staid baptizing there,
while John was baptizing in .^non,
John iii. 23, 23.
John cast into prison in November.
About the time of the winter solstice
(in December), four months before
the harvest, Jesus Christ went
through Samaria into Cana of Gali-
leCj Matt. iv. 12. A nobleman of
Capernaum went to hira there, and
desired he would corae and heal his
son. He did not go, but said, " Go,
thy son liveth." John iv.
c 2

20 chronology, &c.
A.D. Tib, After some time there, he passed through
the midst of the people, and dwelt in
Capernaura, Luke iv.
32. 17-18. The second passover, Monday, April
14. He called Peter, Andrew, James,
and John ; preached the Sermon on
the Mount, Matt. v. ; whither multi
tudes foflowed him from Jerusalem,
where he had been at the Feast.
When the winter was coming on, he
went to the feast of Tabernacles, in
Sept. Matt. viii. 19. 23. Luke ix. 51.
57.
He went about the villages of Galilee,
teaching in their Synagogues, and
working many miracles. Matt. ix.
Sent forth the twelve. Matt. x. Re
ceived a message from John the Bap
tist. Upbraided the cities of Chora-
zin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, be
cause they repented not. Matt. xi.
wbich shews there was a considerable
time from the imprisonment of John
till now.
33. 18-19. The third passover, Friday, April 3.
After which the disciples, going
through the <:orn-field, rubbed the
ears in their hands. Matt. xii. Luke
vi. 1. 8£WT£joo7r/oa»r(j>, " on the second
prime Sabbath," that is, the second of
the two great feasts of the passover ;
as we say. Low Sunday.

chronology, &c. 21
A.D. Tib. He healed a man on the Sabbath-day,
Matt. xii. 9. Lukevi.€.
The Pharisees consulted to destroy
bim, when be withdrew himself. Matt.
xii. 14.
He spake in a ship three parables, one
of the seedsmen sowing the fields.
Matt. xiii. ; whence we raay infer, it
was now seed-time ; and that the
feast of the Tabernacles, in Sept. or
Oct was past.
He went into his own country, and
taught in the Synagogues ; but did
not any mighty work, because of
their unbelief. The Twelve retumed,
having been abroad a year, and told
him of John's being beheaded. He
departed privately in a ship to Beth
saida. Fed five thousand in the de
sert. Matt. xiv. Luke ix. John vi, 4.
34. 19-20. The fourth passover, Friday, April
23. John vi. 4. to which he went not
up. John viL 1. Henceforward he
was found on the coast of Tyre and
Sidon ; then by the sea of Galilee,
next on the coast of Caesarea Philippi,
and lasUy at Capernaura, Matt. xv.
21. 29. xvi. 3. xvii. 34. Went pri
vately to the Feast of Tabernacles in
Auturan, John vii. 2. The Jews
thought to stone him, but he escaped.

22 chronology, &c.
A.D. Tib. John viii. 59. Went to the Feast of
Dedication in Winter, John x. 22.
The Jews seeking to kill him, he fled
beyond Jordan, John x. 39, 40, Matt.
xix. 1. On the death of Lazarus
came to Bethany, John xi. 7. 18.
Walked no more openly, but retired
to Ephraim, a city in the wilderness,
tiU
35. 20. The fifth and last passover, Wed
nesday, April 13. John xi. 53 — 55,
In the consulship of Fabius and Vi-
tellius [j2-
[i] See further, concerning the above Chronology, the 3rd
edition of Bowyer's Conjectures, 1782, 410. p. 149, compared
with Preface, p. 24 — 32,

A
KEY TO THE
NEW TESTAMENT.

The Sacred Writings, vvhich Christians receive
as divinely inspired, are called in general Scrip-
tube, or The Scriptures, a word which literally
signifies Wrfting, or The Writings. This Title
often occurs in the New Testaraent [[a], and was
commonly applied in the time of our Saviour to de
note the books received by the Jews as the rule of
faith : it has since been extended to the writings of
the Apostles [^b'2 and Evangelists, as completing the
whole of divine revelation ; so that the writings of
the Old and New Testament are indiscriminately
called by Christians, by way of distinction. Scrip
ture, or The Scriptures.
The whole collection of these Sacred Writings is
called the BIBLE : This word originally signifies
Book, and is given to the writings of the Prophets
and Apostles by way of eminence. These collec
tively are called The Book, or BIBLE, the Bookof
Books, as superior in excellence to aU others in the
world.
[a] 2 Tim. iii. 16, Luke iv, 21. [b] 2 Pet. iii. 16.

24 A KEY TO the NEW TESTAMENT.
The Holy Scriptures are divided into the Old
and New Testament, The former contains the
books written under the Old Dispensation of the
Law of Moses ; the latter those published under
the New Dispensation of the Gospel.
The New Testament (containing the inspired
books written after Christ's ascension into heaven)
is intitled in Greek H KAINH AIAOHKH, a title
which was early borrowed by the Church from Scrip
ture \jc2, and authorized by St. Paul himself [p^.
This title, according to the passages of Scripture
whence it is taken, should be rendered Covenant.
And in this view. The New Covenant signifies,
" A Book containing the terms of the New Cove
nant between God and Man." But according to the
meaning of the Primitive Church, which bestowed
this title, it is not altogether improperly rendered
New Testament : as being that wherein tbe Chris
tian's inheritance is sealed to him as a son and heir
of God, and wherein the death of Christ as a testa
tor [[e]] is related at large, and applied to our benefit.
As this tide implies that in the Gospel unspeakable
gifts are given, or bequeathed to us ; antecedent
to all conditions required of us ; the title of Testa
ment may be retained, although that of Covenant
is most exact and proper.
The Sacred Writings of the New Testament
are all handed down to us in the Greek Language,
which was that most generaUy understood at the
[c] Matt, xxvi, 28. Gal. iii. 17. Heb. viii. 8. ix. la. 20.
[d] 2 Cor. iii. 14. [e] Heb. ix. 16, 17,

A KEY TO the NEW TESTAMENT. 25
time they were written, and are part Historical,
part Epistolary, and part Prophetical [j2. Of the
former are, THE FOUR GOSPELS.
The word EYArrEAION, Evangelium, (Gospel)
signifies in Greek authors, any joyful tidings, and
is exactly answerable to our EngUsh word Gospel,
which is derived from the Saxon words God (good),
and Spel, (speech or tidings.) In the New Testa
ment this term is confined to " The glad tidings of
the actual coming of the Messiah ;" and is even
opposed to the prophecies concerning Christ, (Rora.
i. 1, 2.) So in Matt. xi. 5. our Lord says, " The
Poor have the Gospel preached to them :" i e. The
coming of the Messiah is preached to the Poor.
Hence the Church gave the narae of Gospels to the
Lives of Christ, that is, to those sacred Histories
wherein the good news of the coraing of the Mes
siah, with aU its joyful circurastances, are recorded.
The Chronological Order of these sacred narra
tives, according to the most eminent critics who
have considered this subject, is as foDows :
[f] Viz. Revelations.

26 A KEY TO THE NEW TESTAMENT,
Table of the Historical Books, vvith the Places
when and where written, according to iMr.
MiCHAELIS.
Book. Place. A.D,
St. Matthew. Judea, or near it. 61
In Hebrew, for the use ofthe Hebrews.
St. Mark. Rome. 61
For the use of the Romans who understood not
Hebrew.
St. Luke. Alexandria. 63 or 64
For the use of the Gentile Christians in Fgypt,
Greece, ^c.
St. John. Ephesus. 69
To refute the Errors of Cerinthus and the
Gnostics.
The Acts by St. Luke. Alexandria, 63 or 64
For the use of Churches every where.
Dr. Mill and Dr. Lardner concur for the most
part in these dates, &c, only the latter thinks St.
Matthew's Gospel was writ in Greek about A. D.
64 ; that St. Mark's was also penned the same
year ; and that St. Luke's Gospel and Acts of the
Apostles were first published in Greece. — Dr.
Mill thinks St, John's Gospel was written so late
as the year xcvii, not long befoie his death.

A KEY TO THE NEW TESTAMENT. 27
It is the general opinion of these and almost all
other Critics, that the first three Evangelists had not
seen each other's Gospels, when they composed
their own, except St. Mark, who is allowed to
have abridged that of St. Matthew : But an in
genious writer [g] has lately compared the several
Gospels together in the original language, and
thinks he hath discovered strong internal proofs of
the contrary : he has therefore offered a new ar-
rngement according to the following table :
A Scheme of the Times, Places, and Occasions of
writing the Gospels, according to Dr, Owen.
Gospels. Places. A.D.
St. Matthew's. Jerusalem. about 38 [hj
For the use of the Jewish Converts.
St. Luke's. Corinth. about 53
For the use of the Gentile Converts.
St. Mark's. Rome. about 63
For the use of Christians at large.
St. John's. Ephesus. about 69
To confute the Cerinthian and other Heresies.
This ingenious writer thinks St. Matthew wrote
his Gospel for the use of the Churches at Pales-
[g] Dr. Owen. See his Observations on the Four Gospels,
Svo. 1764,
[h] This and the Date of St, Luke's Gospel are controverted
in the following pages; however,the general Arrangement may
be allowed to stand here, 3

28 A KEY TO the NEW TESTAMENT.
tine, then composed of Jewish converts, and
adapted to the condition of the times, and nature
of their circumstances.
" When the Gentiles were admitted into the
Christian Church, St. Luke, as the exigence of
their state required, strengthened their faith by
another Gospel, accoramodated to their special use.
" And when the invidious distinction between
Jew and Gentile had wefl nigh ceased, St. Mark,
wisely rejecting the many peculiarities of these two
Gospels ; compacted a third out of their most im
portant contents, for tbe benefit and instruction of
Christians at large.
" And afterwards, when the Church was infested
by Heretics, St. John undertook to confute their
errors frora the life and conversation of Christ :
which produced the last of these Gospels ; and
afforded the author an opportunity of relating
several remarkable things which had been omitted
by his predecessors.
" These four Gospels he thinks, form one com
plete System of Divinity : and if we read them
in the order they are here placed in, we shall find
them improving on one another, and yet all con
spiring to one end, to a perfect representation of
revealed Religion. Each of the authors consulted
the writings of his predecessors ; and either by the
additions of facts — explanation of terms — or con
firmation of doctrine, contributed something to the
common stock and the general instruction of Chris
tians. They likewise quoted each other's words.

A KEY TO THE NEW TESTAMENT. 29
and thereby recommended each other's histories ;
by which means they become not only mutual
vouchers for the truth of these genuine Gospels,
but at the same time joint-opposers of all those
spurious ones that were impiously obtruded upon
the world. St. Luke by his quotations referred
his readers to the Gospel of St. Matthew. St.
Mark again referred to both the former. And
all three were approved of by St. John, and ap
pointed to be read in Churches. And afterwards
when he wrote his own, it was ushered into the
world with the knowledge, approbation, and per
haps testimony of all the Asiatic bishops. Thus
was the whole Evangelic History finally closed, and
the Evangelical Canon established upon the firmest
ground, and by the raost venerable authority."

OF

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
ST. MATTHEW.

This Gospel was written before the other three.
The author of it was an eye-witness of most of
the facts he relates, having been early called to the
Apostolic Office by Christ himself [a]. Besides
the narae of Matthew, he had also that of Levi,
being the son of Alpheus ; but not of that Al
pheus or Cleophas, who was the father of James,
&c, [b]. He was originally, by profession, a pub
lican, or collector of the Roman taxes : his office
consisted in gathering the customs of such commo
dities as came by the sea of Galilee, and in receiv
ing tribute from such passengers as went by water.
This lucrative post he chearfully quitted for the
sake of Christ, to whora he becarae a faithful at
tendant and eye-witness of all his miracles.
In what year St. Matthew wrote his Gospel is
not agreed by ancient writers ; some dating it in
[a] See Matt. ix. 9. Mark ii. 14. [b] Matt. x. 3.

OF THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEVY. 31
the year of Christ xli, others in xlix, and others
between the years lxi and lxiv. This last account
is gathered from Irenagus, and is what the raost
judicious raodern critics [c] are inclined to prefer ;
riot only as Irenaeus was the raost ancient of those
who have given the circurastance of time, but for
other reasons. The Hebrews suffered about that
time a heavy persecution, which almost drove them
to apostacy, and obliged St Paul to write his Epis
tle to them. In these circumstances, nothing could
be of more expediency and use to them, than a
history of the miracles and resurrection of Christ.
It is most probable therefore, that both his Gospel
and the Epistle to the Hebrews were written with
the same view, to preserve the Christians of Judea
in the faith.
Again, this Gospel contains several plain predic
tions of the miseries and desolation of Jerusalem,
and of the overthrow of the Temple, &c. besides
many other figurative intimations of the sarae thing,
which could not safely be published to afl the world
in writing, till towards the conclusion of the Jewish
state. An ingenious writer [d] has lately proposed a
much earlier date of St. Matthew's Gospel: he
indeed thinks that it was writ in a time of persecu
tion, for the use of the Jews ; but then he supposes
[c] MiCHAELIS is for the year 61. Lakdnes is for 64.
See also Basnage, &c.
[d] Dr. Owen. See his Observations on the Four Gospels,
Svo, p. 22.

32 OF the gospel of ST. MATTHEW.
it was in that first persecution, which raged in
Palestine after the death of the Martyr Stephen :
about the year of Christ 38, in the second year of
the Emperor Caligula.
There is, however, a capital objection to this
very early date; and that is, the great clearness
with whicb the comprehensive design of the Chris
tian Dispensation, as extending to the whole Gentile
world, is unfolded in this Gospel. Whereas it is
well known and allowed by all, that for a while our
Lord's Disciples laboured under Jewish prejudices;
and that they did not fully understand aU his Dis
courses [e] at the tirae they were spoken. They
could not clearly discern the extensive design of
the Gospel scherae, till after St. Peter had been at
the house of Cornelius, and there received Gentile
converts into the Church without circumcision [f] ;
nor indeed till after the Gospel had been preached
abroad in foreign countries by St. Paul and other
Apostles. Now, if we return to St. Matthew's Gospel, we
every where find the enlarged views of his divine
Master represented in too clear a manner to admit
a doubt that the writer was ignorant of their fuU
tendency and meaning. Thus he shews that the
Apostles were to teach all nations [gJ. He repre
sents the spirituality and freedom of the Gospel [h] :
[e] Vide John xvi. 12 — 14 ; and other passages.
[f] Acts, ch. X. This event is placed by chronologists abotit
the year 39.
[g] Ch. xxviii. 19. [h] Ch, xv. 10. 20.
1

OF THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTK-EW. 33
and that our Saviour was designed to be a blessing
to the Gentiles [i]. That the same Evangelist
understood the calling of the Gentiles and the re
jection of the Jews, may be inferred from several
passages [k]. He had also a distinct apprehension
of the extent of our Lord's kingdom, and the pro
gress of his doctrine, when he recorded those para
bles in chap. xiii. And it is probable he had some
knowledge of the Gospel's having been preached
out of Judea, when he put down that declaration
concerning the woman in Chap. xxvi. 13.
There is also an expression used once or twice,
intimating that some considerable space of time had
elapsed between the event and the time when this
Gospel vvas written. See Chap, xxvii. 8. and Chap.
xxviii. 15{l].
Whoever weighs all these circumstances, will
rather be inclined to fix the date of this Gospel in
the later persecution of the Jewish Christians of
Palestine about the year sixty-one, than in the
more ear^ one in thirty-eight. For it is the
unanimous opinion of antiquity, that " St. Matthew
wrote his Gospel for the service of the Jews in Pa
lestine I^m] ; with a view to confirra those vvho be-
[i] Ch. ii. ch. iii. 9.
[k] Ch. viii. 10. 12. ch. xxi. 33. 46. ch. xxii, 1. 14.
[l] See this argument handled more at large by Dr. Lardner,
Supplement, ch. v. vol. 1. The same Author has shown many
advantages of the late publication of Ihe Gospel, in his Credib.
vol. viii. p. 124. 137.
[m] Origen, apud Euseb. 1. vi. c. 25, Hieron. & Theophy
lact in Matt. Vide Dr. Owen, passi.-n.
d

34 of the gospel of st. matthew.
lieved, and to convert, if possible those who be
lieved not." This opinion is supported by several
passages of his Gospel. Thus the Evangelist be
gins with the Genealogy of Christ from Abraham ;
which, agreeably to the Jewish custom, he gives
according to the legal descent by Joseph his sup
posed father; deducing it down frora Abraham
through David, to show his title to the kingdom of
Israel. Thus also he refers often to Jewish customs ;
relates the most of our Saviour's discourses against
Jewish errors and superstitions [n]'; quotes the
greatest number of passages from the* Jewish Scrip
tures ; answers the most considerable Jewish ob
jections ; and frequently raakes use of the terms
and phrases of Jewish theology.
That this Evangelist wrote in a time of persecu
tion, appears from the many useful lessons which
he gives to comfort and support the suffering Chris
tians ; and to moderate, win over, or at least deter,
the persecuting Jews. With regard to the Chris
tians, he informs them that their afflictions were no
more than what they had been taught to expect,
and had engaged to bear, when they embraced the
Gospel [o]: that their sufferings were .useful to
them, as trials of their faith [p] : that a cowardly
desertion of the Gospel would only expose them to
greater calamities, and cut them off from the hopes
of heaven [q] : that they raight lawfully use means
];n] Ch. xxiii. 1—33.
[o] Cb. X. 21, 22, 34—36. ch. xvi. 24,
[p] Ch. v. 11. xxiv, 9—13. [q] Ch, x. 28, 32, 33, 39,
7

of the gospel of ST. MATTHEW, 35
of preservation, when consistent with innocence [r] :
that the observance of the rules of the Gospel was
an, excellent raeans to soften the fury of their ene
mies [s] : aud that it was better to suffer martyr
dom, than by any base compliance to incur God's
displeasure [t].
On the other hand,^ with regard to the unmerciful
JewSj he tries to soften their prejudices, and engage
them in the practice of meekness and charity [u] :
to this end he inculcates the amiableness of a com
passionate and benevolent disposition [^^ : its ad
vantages here and rewards hereafter [y]. He
reminds them of the judgments inflicted on their
fathers for the cruel treatment of the prophets, and
that they might expect worse if they persisted in
the ways of cruelty [z] : for that God, though long-
suffering, would at last vindicate his elect, and punish
their oppressors with a general destruction [a].
St. Matthew is said by ancient writers to have
vvritten his Gospel originally in Hebrew or Syriac ;
out of which it was early translated, either by him
self, or some other Apostolic writer, into Greek, as
being the more universal language. However,
some judicious critics araong the moderns, by eX'
[a] Ch. X, 16, 17, 23.
[s] Ch, V. 39, vii, 12, 24—27. ch. v. 13—30.
[t] Ch, xvi. 25—27. ch. x. 28.
[u] Ch. ix. 13. [x] Ch. V. 3 — 48. ch, xviii. 23— S5.
[y] Ch. v. 5. 7. 9. ch. x. 40 — 42. ch. xviii. 23—35. ch, v,
21 — 26. ch. xxv. 31 — 46,
[z] Ch. xxiii. 27—39. ch. x, 14, 15,
[a] Ch, xsiv. 1, &c.
d2

36 OF THE GOSPEL OF ST, MATTHEW.
amining the internal structure of the Greek Text,
have found reason to believe, that the ancients
were mistaken in this respect, and that the Greek
copy is not a version, but the original [b].
After all, whether the present Gospel was the
original or the translation, it is agreed on all hands
to be of divine authorit}'^, being published in the
Apostolic Age : universally received by the Chris
tian Church as authentic ; and many passages of it
being (as a learned writer has lately shown [c])
incorporated into the Gospels of St. Mark and
St. Luke, who have thereby borne testimony to its
genuine sense, and set their seals (o its authority,
[b] See Lardnek, Jortin, Doddridge, Wetstein,
Basnage, &c. However, the contrary opinion is maintained
with no slight arguments by MiCHAELIS.
[c] See Dr. Owen's Observations on the Four Gospels. By
way of specimen, compare Mark iv. 1 — 9, with Matt. xiii. 1 — 9.
And Mark xiv. 26—46, with Matt. xxvi. 30 — 50. So again,
compare Luke iii. 4 — 6, with Matt. iii. 3, &c. Luke iii. 7 — 9,
with Matt. iii. 7—10. Luke iii. 16, 17, with Matt. iii. 11, 12.
Luke xii. 22 — 31, with Matt. vi. 25 — 33. Luke vii. 20. 22—28,
with Matt, xi, 3—11, &c, &c;

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
ST. MARK.

This Gospel is agreed to have been vvritten by
that Mark whom St. Peter affectionately calls his
son, i. e. his worthy disciple [a], and whom the
ancients affirm to have been the familiar companion
of that Apostle. He is also believed to have been
the John surnaraed Mark J^b], to whose raother's
house St. Peter retired when released by the
angel out of prison [c], and who is the same John
that accompanied St. Paul and Barnabas in their
travels [d]. Mark was only his surname, vvhich
he had probably assumed in compliance vvith the
Jewish custom, while he travelled among the
heathens, to whora his Hebrew name of John
would have appeared too foreign.
His mother dwelt at Jerusalem, aud the Chris
tians assembled at her house [e] ; he was cousin to
[a] 1 Pet. V. 13.' [b] See Lardner, Michaelis, Arc.
[c] Acts xii. 12. [p] Ibid. ver.-2j.
[e] ALts iii. 1-2.

ss OF the GOSPEL of ST. MARK*
BAitlrABAS [f], and attended him and St. Paul in
their first travels among the Gentiles [g], but he
soon separated from them [h], which occasioned a
division between these two Apostles, when Bar^
Nabas took him along with him another journey [i].
However, when St. Mark lived at Rome about
the time of St. Paul's imprisonment, that Apostle
had so good an opinion of him, that he reckons
him among his fellow-labourers [k], and had
thought of sending him to Colosse [l].
St. Mark, even humanly speaking, was a very
credible witness of the Life of Christ. He was
strictly speaking, an Evangelist, i. e. a Preachei*
sent by the Apostles to Jews and Gentiles, without
being confined to any particular Church. What
Timothy tvas to St. PaIjl, Mark was to St. Peter
and Barnabas, and at last he bore the same relation
to Sti Paul himself. It was usual for such Evan
gelists to have extraordinary gifts of the Holy
Ghost [m]. Hence we have just reason to believe
that St. Mark vvrote by inspiration : and as the
primitive Church has transmitted to us his Gospel,
as a book of divine authority, without ever enter
taining the least doubts of his inspiration, we
bave no reason to consider it as a mere human
composition. St. Mark is universally allovVed to have written
llf\ Coh iv. lOi [g] Acts xii. 25.
[h] Acts xiii. 13, [i] Ch. xv, 36—40.
[k] Philem. 24. [l] Col. iv. 10.
[m] 1 Tim. iv. 14. and 2 Tim, i, 6.

OF THE GOSPEL OF ST. MARK, 39
after St. Matthew [n], and a learned writer [o]
thinks, be also wrote after St. Luke. The Gos
pels of these two Evangelists were written, that of
St. Matthew with particular reference to the Jews,
that of St. Luke with a view to the Gentiles ;
the Gospel of St. Mark (according to this sup
position) was composed last of the three, in a still
more simple forra, and for raore general use. It
was written at the request and for the use of the
Christian Church at Rome ; which was at that time
the grand metropolis and coraraon centre of all
civilized nations. St. Mark's Gospel is therefore
a simple and corapendious narrative divested of
almost all peculiarities, and accommodated to the
use of Christians in general.
As the other two Evangelists had been so full
in their accounts of our Saviour's birth and in
fancy, this will account for St. Mark's passing over
that period of the history, and confining his narra
tive to the time of our Lord's public mission.
And as this had been so well related already, he
had little more to do than to abridge the two
former Gospels, varying some expressions, and in
serting some additions, which he probably had
from St. Peter. Whoever compares St. Mark
[n] M. Miehaelis thinks that St. Mark had St. Mat
thew's Gospel chiefly before him, and wrote principally with a
design of publishing in a more known language (sc. the Greek)
that which St. Matthew had written in Hebrew.
[o] Dr. Owen. See his Observations on the Four Gospels
raentioned above in the Introduction.

40 OF the GOSPEL OF ST. MAUK.
with the other two Evangelists will find that he
copies largely from both [p,J and takes one or
other of them constantly for his guide ; but chiefly
St. Matthew : the order, vvhich is his ovvn, is very
close and well connected. In his account of facts
he is clear, exact, and critical ; for he wrote for the
perusal of a learned people : And he proceeds with
caution, as it were to clear his Gospel from ail
objections. His Exordium is singular ; for whilst other
Evangelists style our Saviour " the Son of Man,"
he calls him expressly " the Son of God :" an au
gust title, the more likely to engage the attention
of the lordly Romans. With the same view pro
bably he omits such particulars as might be of
more use to his countrymen than to foreigners : as
the genealogy of Christ ; the massacre of the chil
dren of Bethlehem ; the account of Jesus's birth ;
the Sermon on the Mount, which exposes the false
morality of the Pharisees, to which the Gentiles
were strangers : and in general the quotations of
[p j See Dr. Owen's Observations, &c. passim. Compare in
the Greek Mark iv. 1 — 9, with Matt. xiii. 1 — 9; where tlie
Parable ofthe Sower is taken from St. Matthew. So again in
the explanation ofthe Parable, ver. 15 — '20, he had his eye on
St. Matt, ver, 19 — 23, till he comes to the conclusion, ver. 21,
22, 25, where he makes a transition to St. Luke viii. 16 — 18.
Compare also St. Mark.i. 21 — 28, with Luke iv. 31 — 37, &c.
&c. This co-incidence proves at least that one of these two
Evangelists (St. Mark and St. Luke) had seen the other when
he wrote. Which of iheni wrote first niti^t be collected from
other proofs.

OF THE GOSPEL OF ST. MARK. 41
certain prophecies of the Old Testament, On the
other hand, he adds some things for the sake of
the Gentiles, to enable them to understand the
History of Christ. Thus in Chap, viii. 2. he ex
plains what was the meaning of " defiled" or
" common" among the Jews : and in ver. 3, 4.
instructs his readers in the Jewish customs, which
was unnecessary in St. Matthew. In Chap. xv.
21. having mentioned Simon the Cyrenian, he
adds, that he vvas " the father of Alexander and
Rufus," because both these persons resided at
Rome, and were known to the Roman Chris
tians [q]. And perhaps the young man mentioned
in Chap. xiv. 51, 52. was a Roraan, whose curio
sity might lead him to know the cause of the
tumult, and being a stranger raight be the sooner
suspected, and therefore apprehended. He had
perhaps often told the story at Rome ; and the
Evangelist thought proper to confirra it. In this
light it makes a good arguraent. All internal
raarks of this sort confirm the report of the an
cients, that St Mark wrote his Gospel chiefly for
the use of the Roraans.
The time when he wrote it appears [r] to have
been about the end of the year lxii, or lxiii, the
ninth of the Emperor Nero, when the Church
stood in need of all the consolations of Religion,
to support it under the afflictive \jeight of a raost
dreadful and cruel persecution. -
[q] See Rom. xvi. 13,
[r] See Dr. Owen's Observations, p. 76 — 80. Mill, &c.

42 OF THE GOSPEL OF ST. MARK.
The Greek language was at that time more in
request at Rome, than the French is araong us ;
so that the raost familiar letters of the Eraperor
Augustus (which are still extant) are commonly
either in Greek, or intermixed with Greek. We
are not therefore to wonder that St. Mark, a
foreigner, wrote his Gospel in that language for
the use of the Christian Church in general.

6t
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
ST. LUKE.

This Gospel is generally allowed to have been
written by that " beloved Physician," who is
mentioned by St. Paul in Col. iv. 14. and who ap
pears from that passage to have been a Gentile [a j.
Consequently he was neither one of the Seventy
Disciples, nor an eye-witness of our Saviour's
Miracles, as hath been soraetimes supposed [b] ;
but we know that he was intimately acquainted
with apostolical persons.
That St. Luke travelled with St. Paul to Rome,
and there assisted him some time, appears from
several passages of Scripture [c]. Prom hence
he is affirmed, by the ancients, to have gone into
Africa, and to have preached the Gospel at Thebes
in Egypt. His intercourse with the Apostles and
eye-^witnesses of the works of Christ, renders him
an Unexceptionable witness, as a man ; especially
since he assures us, that he investigated every
[a] Col. iv. 11. compared with ver. 14. [B] Luke i. 3.
[c] Acts xxviii. 13^16. Col. iv. 14. Philem. 24.

44 OF THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE.
thing diligently [d], and had drawn it from the
fountain head [e]. And it is no more objection to
the divinity of his book, that he wrote frora the in
formation of others, than it is to the inspiration of
Moses, that he took his first book frora ancient re
cords, and sometimes refers to other books [f] :
and therefore we may well receive the universal
testimony of the Christian Church, that St. Luke,
under the direction of the Holy Ghost, committed
to writing those particulars, which he had received
from infallible witnesses.
It has been the common opinion, that St, Luke
wrote later than St. Matthew and St. Mark: but
the ingenious writer so often quoted [g] thinks that
St. Mark wrote last of the three ; and this, as we
have seen, has great appearance of reason \ji2-
St. Jerom affirms, that St, Luke penned his
Gospel on the borders of Achaia and Boeotia, which
should seem to be at the time when he was attend
ing St. Paul in his travels through Greece; under
whose care and inspection he probably wrote it.
It is agreed to be this Evangelist whom that Apos-

[d] 'Axg(6u?. [e] "Am^n. [f] Numb. xxi. 27.
[g] Dr. Owen. See his Observations on the Gospels. He
fixes the date of St. Luke's Gospel in A. D. 63 ; if so, it must
have been written before St, Matthew's (see above, p. 39).: but
as the contrary seems demonstrable from the passages of St,
Matthew copied by St. Luke (see below), we must assign a
later date to St. Luke's Gospel : unless we date St, Matthew's
Gospel in 41, or 49.
[h] p. 47.

OF THE GOSPEL OF ST, LUKE. 45
tie e.\pressly styles, " the brother whose praise is in
the Gospel [i]." And that St. Luke wrote agree
ably at least to St. Paul's sense, will be evident to
any one that compares the two passages quoted in
the margin [k], where the Apostle and Evangelist
have both used the very same words in Greek to
describe the institution of the Lord's Supper : this
coincidence shews the agreement of their senti
ments, whichever of them is supposed to have writ
ten first.
St. Matthew's Gospel being intended chiefly
for the Jews, it was highly expedient that some in
spired apostolical person should write such a history
of our Saviour's Life, as might satisfy the enqui
ries, and be adapted to the situation of the Gentile
converts. — This accordingly appears to have been
the peculiar view of St. Luke in his Gospel : for,
writing to those who were far reraote from the
scene of action,' and ignorant of Jewish affairs, it
was requisite for him to descend to many particu
lars, and touch on many points, which would have
been unnecessary when writing to the Jews.
Hence he begins his history so much farther back
than the rest, and is so careful in specifying times
and places. Hence he gives the genealogy of
Christ,. according to the natural descent frora the
Virgin Mary[L], and carries it up to Adara: shew-
[i] 2 Cor. viii. 18.
[k] Luke xxii. 19, 20. with 1 Cor. xi. 23—25.
[l] By interposing an easy parenthesis, the pedigree in St.
Luke is naturally connected with the family of Mary, " And

46 OF the GOSPEL OF ST, LUKE.
ing he was that seed of the woman, who vvas pro
mised for the redemption of the whole world.
With regard to the general construction of St.
Luke's Gospel, it seeras to be forraed nearly on the
same plan with that of St, Matthew, whose very
words are sometimes copied [m]. Indeed as the
Gentile converts suffered the same things from their
countrymen that the Jewish Christians did frora the
Jews,it was necessary St. Luke should adopt much
the same points of instruction, both to support the
poor persecuted Christians [nJ, and to soften and
convert their malicious adversaries, of whom the
Jews residing in the several countries were still the
chief [o]. But as the rage and envy of the Jews
proceeded now from another cause (for they perse
cuted the Gentile Christians for laying claim to the
privileges of the Gospel,) we shall accordingly find
St. Luke's narrative peculiarly adapted to remove
their prejudices, and obviate their objections ; to
soften and enlarge their minds, and deter them
from their malicious proceedings [p].
¦" Jesus began to be, or was, when he began his ministry, about
" thirty years of age, being (as was supposed, the sou of Jo-
" seph, but) in reality the son of Heli, who was the father of
" Mary." — Kidder,
[m] See instances referred to above, in page 36 ; aAd others
may be seen in Dr, Owen.
[n] Ch. vi. 20—23. xii. 4—12. 31, &c. xviii, 28—30,
[o] Ch. vi. 24—26. x. 12. xiii. 1—5. xix. 14 — 44.
[p] Vide ch. iv. 25 — 27- ch, xx, 9— 16. ch. xv. 11—32.
ch. xviii. 7, 8. ch. xiii. 1—5. xxi. 5, &c, cb. xiii. 28-^30,
xiv, 16—24,

OF THE GOSPEL OF^^T. LUKE. 47
St. Luke wrote in Greek, and (as appears from
the beginning both of his Gospel and Acts of the
Aposties) at the request of a Christian of distinc
tion, whose name was Theophilus. He calls him
icparis-E, or EXCELLENT, as WC address certain per
sons with the title of excellency. The same titie
in Greek is given in the Acts to the Roman Gover
nor [q], and was equivalent to the Latin Optimus
or Optimas, which the Romans addressed to their
principal Senators ofthe most ancient famihes. A
great critic,[R3 thinks this was some nobleman who
dwelt in Upper Egypt, and that St. LvitE's Gospel
was written about A. d. lxiii. in that country, near
Thebes ; which he supposes St. Jerom raistook for
Thebes in Boeotia. He observes that the Syriac
subscription represents the Gospel to have been
published at Alexandria in Egypt, and he iraagines
many things in it were particularly expressed with
a view to confute the falsehoods of the "Egyptian
Gospel; an erroneous narrative, whence Mahoraet
is believed to have extracted many of those false
particulars of our Saviour's history, which he has
inserted in his Alcoran.
Perhaps St. Luke's Gospel was first written in
Greece, and republished along with the Acts when
he afterwards was in Egypt. Be that as it may,
the date assigned above is probably the true one ;

[q] Ch. xxiii. 26. xxiv. 3. xxvi. 5.
[r] M. Michaelis. See his Lectures on the New Testa
ment.

48 OF THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE.
at least it appears prett}' evident that St. Lukes
Gospel was written about the year lxi, if that be
admitted to have been the date of St. Matthew's
Gospel.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
ST. JOHN.

This Gospel is universally agreed to have been
written after all the rest, with a view of completing
whatever was deficient in them' all. This Evange
list, independent of his divine inspiration, raust be
allowed to have had a raost perfect knowledge of
the facts he relates; and as he undoubtedly ex
amined all the other Gospels before he wrote, he
is an authentic witness to their veracity. He was,
according to the testimony of the ancients, of our
Saviour's near kindred. Before he became ac
quainted with our Lord, he was a disciple of John
the Baptist, and probably one of those two whom
he sent to Christ [a]. Our Saviour honoured
him with the most intimate confidence, and loved
him beyond his other Disciples. He and Peter
and James were (exclusive of the rest) witnesses
of the raising Jairus's daughter, of Christ's trans
figuration, and of his agony in the Garden. He
was the only Apostie who stood under the cross
[a] John i. 37—42.

50 OF the GOSPBL of ST. JOHN.
when Christ was crucified. So that he vvas better
quaUfied than any other to describe the Miracles
and History of Jesus Christ. A very discerning
writer [b] thinks that St. John in the life-time of
his blessed Master wrote down some of the heads
of his discourses : at least that his style perfectly
resembles that of those who relate the discourses
of another from short heads taken down while they
were spoken.
But we are to consider this Gospel not only as
an historical narrative, but also as a controversial
treatise designed to confute various Heresies. For
no sooner was the Christian Church established,
but its doctrines were obscured, debased, and cor
rupted by errors and heresies of various kinds:
the first Heretics assumed the name of Gnostics,
i. e. " knowing ones," pretending to superior light
and knowledge. They were afterwards followed
by the Nicolaitans, whose false tenets were pro
pagated by Ebion and Cerinthus. These heresies
prevailed most in Asia. Wherefore the Asiatic
Bishops desired St. John to dtaw up a refutation
of thera : and he, in corapliance with their request,
coraposed his Gospel with a view to put those
Heretics " to shame, and to shew that there is one
God, who by ' Christ' his Word made all things,
and that the Creator and Pather of our Lord were
not, as they pretended, distinct beings [c], &c."
Wherefore he does not relate the birth and parent-
[b] Michaelis. See his Lectures on the New Testament.
[c] Irenaeus, contra iiaeres. L. iii. c. "2.

OF the GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN. 51
age of Christ, or even those facts df which he,
Peter, and James, were eye-witnesses, exclusive
of the other Apostles ; but he chiefly collects such
discourses and miracles, as confirm the doctrines
laid down in the first Chapter, which were counter-
positions to those of Cerinthus and other heresies,
who maintained the grossest errors concerning
Christ. Cerinthus is said to have thought, L That the
most high God was entirely unknown before the
appearance of Christ, and dwelt in a remote heaven
called Pleroma, with the chief Spirits or JSons [d].
2. That this supreme God first generated an only
begotten Son, who again begat the Word, vvhich
was inferior to the first born. 3. That Christ was a
still lower JBo«, though far sup6^rior to some others.
4. That there were two high Mons distinct from
Christ; one called. Life, and the other. Light.
5. Tfhat from the JEons again proceeded inferior
orders of spirits; and particularly one Demiur
gus, who created this visible world out of eternal
matter. 6. That this Demiurgus was ignorant of
the supreme God, and much lower than the Mons,
which were wholly invisible. 7. That he was
however the peculiar God and protector of the
Israelites, and sent Moses to them; whose laws
and injunctions were to be of perpetual obligation.
8. That Jesus was a mere man, the real Son of
Joseph and Mary. 9. That the Mon Christ de
scended upon him in the forra of a Dove, when he
[d] See the Introduction.
e2

52 OF the gospel of ST. JOHN.
was baptized ; revealed to him the unknown Father,
and impowered him to work Miracles. 10. That
the Mon Light entered John the Baptist in the
same manner; and therefore John was in some
respects to be preferred to Christ. 1 1. That when
Jesus had propagated the knowledge of God, and
come to suffer, Christ left him, and fled to the
uppermost heaven. 12. That Jesus Christ should
reign on Earth a thousand years, and his disciples
enjoy all sensual delights. — Some of the Cerinthian
sect denied also the Resurrection of the dead ; and
many of them raaintained that Jesus Christ was
not yet risen.
Now we shall find St. John's Gospel divided
into three Parts.
The 1st contains doctrines laid down in opposi
tion to those of Cerinthus [eJ.
The 2d delivers the proofs of those doctrines in
an historical raanner [f].
The 3rd is a conclusion or appendix, giving an
account of the person of the writer, and of the view
he had in writing [g].
In what year this Gospel was- written is not
agreed araong the ancients. It should seem to
have been before the destruction of Jerusalem,
which happened in the year of our Lord cxx, for
St. John speaks of that city as still subsisting:
" There is at Jerusalem by the sheep-market a
[e] Ch. i. 1—18. [f] Ch. i, 19.— XX, 19.
[g] Ch. XX. 30, to the end.

OF THE GOSPEL OF ST, JOHN. 63
pool, &c. [h]". On the other hand it appears,
from the Gospel itself, to have been written after
the death of St, Peter, which is generally placed
in the year lxviii. For the other Evangelists,
. when they relate the cutting off the high-priest's
servant's ear, conceal the name of Peter, lest the
Jews should have a legal pretence to prosecute
hira, and deliver hira to the Roraans to be capitally
punished. Whereas St John raentions hira ex
pressly by narae [i]. Nor could St John probably
have interpreted the words of Christ, " Thou shalt
stretchforth thy handsandanothershall gird thee[K],"
concerning the manner of St Peter's death, if it
had been written before the Crucifixion of that
Apostle : for before that time the words were am
biguous. This liraits the writing of this Gospel
to the year Lxrx, a year expressly specified by an
ancient writer. Others give the date of it so late
as a. d. xcvii, but this is plainly confuted by the
above arguraents.
According to every coraputation, St. John is
allowed to have closed the whole Gospel History,
to have ratified and confirraed the forraer Gospels,
and to have established the Evangelical Canon on
the firraest ground and most venerable authority.
[h] Ch. V. 2. [i] Ch. xviii. 10, [k] Ch, xxi, 18.

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.

This forms a central or intermediate Book to con
nect the Gospels and the Epistles. It is an useful
Postscript to the former, and a proper Introduction
to the latter.
This divine History is evidently a second part or
continuation of St. Luke's Gospel, as appears from
the very beginning of it : and that both were
written by the same Evangelist, is attested by the
raost ancient Christian writers. The subscriptions
at the end of some Greek MSS. and of the copies
of the Syriac Version, testify that St. Luke wrote
the Acts at Alexandria hi Egypt.
As the narrative reaches down to the year of
Christ lxiii, the Acts cannot have been written
earlier than that year; and that they were not
written much later, raay be inferred from the sub
ject being continued no farther, which otherwise it
would probably have been : at least St. Luke
would have been apt to have given the issue of
St. Paul's imprisonment at Rome, as what the

OF THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 55
Christian reader would have been curious to have
known. Considered as a mere huraan witness, St. Luke
was better able than others to draw up an authen
tic history of the Apostles, as he had accorapanied
St Paul in so many of his journeys. As he was
a Physician by profession, he was able to form
a sound judgment of the Miracles of St Paul
wrought upon the diseased, and to raake a credible
report of them. But he seems not to have had the
gift of bealing himself ; for in Ch. xxvii. 8, 9: St
Paul, and not he, healed the sick His accounts
are generally So full and circumstantial, that the
reader is perfectiy enabled to examine the facts him
self, ahd to judge whether they were attended with
any deception or not.
St Luke appears not to have intended to write
a complete Ecclesiastical History of the whole
Christian Church during the first xxx years after
Christ's Ascension. For he almost wholly omits
what passed araong the Jews after the conversion of
Paul; though the labours and sufferings of the
other Apostles could not but have afforded interest
ing materials.
If we examine the contents of this Book, we
may observe two ends pursued in it.
1st To give an authentic relation of the effu
sion of the Holy Ghost, and the first Miracles by
which the truth of the Christian Religion was
established. An authentic account of this was in-

56 OF the acts OF THE APOSTLES.
dispensably necessary, since Christ had so often
proraised the Holy Ghost to his Disciples : and if a
Heathen were to receive this Gospel, he would
naturally inquire, how it had been first promulged
at Jerusalem.
2d. To impart those accounts which evince the
claira of the Gentiles to the Church of Christ : a
point particularly contested by the Jews about the
tirae of St. Luke's writing the Acts. St. Paul was
at that very tirae a prisoner at Rome, upon the
accusation of the Jews, who became his enemies
for having adraitted the Gentiles into the Church.
Hence it is, that St. Luke relates [a] the con
version of the Samaritans, and [b] the history of
Cornelius, who, though he was not of the Circum
cision, had, in consequence of a divine command,
been instructed in the Gospel by St. Peter himself,
to whom St Paul's opponents appealed [c]. For
the same reason he relates. Chap. xv. what was de
creed by the first council at Jerusalem concerning
the Levitical Law ; and treats most fully of the con
version of St. Paul, and of his mission and trans
actions among the Gentiles. '
The Acts of the Apostles may very properly be
divided into seven parts, viz.
I. The account of the first Pentecost after
Christ's death, and of the events preceding it,
contained in Chap. i. ii.
[a] Ch. viii. [b] Ch. x. .xi. [c] Gal, il, 6—21,

OF THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 57
II. The Acts at Jerusalem, and throughout
Judea and Samaria, among the Christians of the
Circumcision. Chap. iii. ix. xii.
III. The Acts in Cesarea, and the receiving of
the Gentiles. Chap. xxi.
IV. The first circuit of St Barnabas, and St.
Paul among tbe Gentiles.
V. The Embassy to Rome, and the first Council
at Jerusalem, wherein the Jews and Gentiles were
admitted to an equality. Chap, xv,
VI. The second circuit of St Paul. Chap. xvi.
xix. VII. St Paul's third journey to Rome. Chap.
K. 21—28.

XIX

OF

THE EPISTLES.

The sura and substance of the Christian Religion
is contained in the history of the life and death,
the doctrines and discourses of our Lord in the
Four Gospels. The epistolary writings of the
Apostles were occasional, being intended to confirm
the several churches to whora they are addressed,
in the sarae rules of Gospel-faith and practice as
they had been before instructed in ; and accommo
dated to the disputes and controversies, errors and
false notions, that prevailed among them.
The general raethod observable in these Apos
tolic Letters, is, first, to discuss the particular
point debated in the Church, or araong the persons,
to whora they are addressed, and which was the
occasion of their being written ; and in the next
place to give such exhortations to every Christian
duty and virtue, as would be at all tiraes, and in
every Church, of necessary and absolute impor
tance ; paying a particular regard to those virtues,
which the disputes that occasioned the Epistle
might tempt thera to neglect. Now the former
part of these epistolary writings cannot be rightly
9

OF THE EPISTLES. 59
understood, but by attending carefully to the slate
of the question there determined. Therefore, the
errors and vain disputes concerning Faith 'and
Works, Justification and Sanctification, Election
and Reprobation, &c. which have so long vexed
and distracted the minds of Christians, have all
arisen from one grand mistake of applying to thera
selves or other particular persons now, certain
phrases or passages which plainly referred tp the
THEN state and condition, not of particular persons,
but of whole Churches, whether Jewish or Gentile,
of those tiraes. Perplexed and puzzled with these
knotty points, many well-ineaning Christians have
been drawn aside from paying a due regard tp those
moral and weighty exhortations, which are most
easy to be understood, and of infinite obligation to
be put in practice [a~].
Of the Episties, xiv are by St. Paul, which are
not placed according tp the order of time in which
they were written ; but according to the precedent
or supposed rank of the Churches and persons to
whom they are addressed : it will be proper there
fore to exhibit here their Chronological Order, ac-
(i^idiDg to two eminent critics.
[A] Vide Pyle.

60 OF THE EPISTLES.

The CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER of the Epis
tles, &c. according to Mr. Michaelis, and some
others. Epistle to, or iy, Places where written. A.D.
1 PETER  JERUSALEM  49
GALATIANS  THESSALONICA  51
1 THESSALONIANS .... CORINTH  52
2 THESSALONIANS .... CORINTH  52
1 CORINTHIANS  EPHESUS  57
2 CORINTHIANS  MACEDONIA  58
1 TIMOTHY    58
ROMANS  CORINTH  Endof 58
JAMES  uncertain  61
PHILEMON  -V
^r/sfi^l!.:;;: :::::: HOME  «
PHILIPPIANS  3
HEBREWS  ROME  63
TITUS  NICOPOLIS  uncertain
2PETER'  uncertain  67
JUDE  uncertain  uncertain
2TIM0THY  ROME  67
3 EPISTLES OF JOHN •• uncertain  70
REVELATIONS  PATMOS  j ^*
(.96

OF THE epistles. 61
A Table of St. PAUL's Epistles, with tbe Places
where, and Times when written, according to
Dr. Lardner.
Epistles. Places. A.D.
1 THESSALONIANS CORINTH  52
2 THESSALONLA.NS CORINTH  52
GALATIANS  { "^"TpS'^;;; • • • T " '^^ 1 M
\ or EPHESUS, • • heginning of 53
1 CORINTHIANS • . EPHESUS,  the beginning of 53
1 TIMOTHY ...... MACEDONIA  56
TITUS  (MACEDONIA,
I or near it,  belore end or 56
2 CORINTHIANS • • MACEDONIA, • • about October 57
ROMANS  CORINTH, .... about February 58
EPHESIANS  ROME,  about April 61
2TIMOTHY  ROME,  aboutMay61
PHILIPPIANS .... ROME  before the end of 62
COLOSSIANS  ROME,  before the end of 62
PHILEMON  ROME,  before the end of 62
HEBREWS  ROME, or ITALY, in Spring of 63

A Table of the CATHOLIC EPISTLES and the
REVELATION, according to Dr. Lardner.
Epistles. Places. A.D.
C  61
JAMES  JUDEA ....| ^^^^^^^^^2
TheT woEpistles of PETER ROME  -  64
IJOHN  EPHESUS  about 80
 _^,„ f between .. 80
adandSdofJOHN .... EPHESUS ..J ^nd.... 90
JUDE  unknown  <54 or 65
REVELATION ........ PATMOSior EPHESUS 95 or 96

OF

THE EPISTLE TO THE
ROMANS.

This celebrated Epistie was written by St. Paul
from Corinth, when he was setting out for Jerusa
lem with the supplies which had been collected in'
Macedonia^ and at Corinth ; that is, according to
some critics [a], in the beginning, or, according to
others, towards the end of the year lvii ; which
was the 4th of the Emperor Nero,
, The Christian Church at Rome appears not to
h^ve been planted by any Apostle : wherefore St.
Paul, lest it should be corrupted by the Jews, who
theri swarmed in Rome, and of whom many were
converted to Christianity, sends them an abstract
of the principal truths of the Gospel, and endea
vours to guard them against those erroneous no-
tion.s, which the Jews had of Justification, iand of
the Election of their own nation.
[a] So Dr. Lardner, who thinks St, Paul came to Corinth in
November, A.D. 57 : and wrote this Epistle in February fol
lowing. The other opinion is that of Michaelis, Vide Rom,
XV, 2.5—27.

OF THE epistle TO THE ROMANS. 63
Now the Jews assigned three grounds for Jiis-
tification. First, " The extraordinary piety arid
merits of their ancestors, and the covenant raade
by God with these holy men." Thfey thought
God could not hate the children of siich meritori
ous parents ; and as he had raade a covenant with
the Patriarchs to bless their posterity, he was
obliged thereby to pardon their sins. Secondly,
" A perfect knowledge and diligent study of the
Law of Moseis." They made this a plea for the
remission of all their sins and vices. Thirdly,
" The works of the Levitical Law," which vve're
to expiate sin, especially circumcision and sacri
fices. Hence they inferred that the Gentiles must
receive the whole law of Moses in order to be. justi
fied and saved.
The Jevvs' doctrine concerning Election was,
" That as God had promised to Abraham to bless
his seed, to give him not only spiritual blessing, but
also the land of Canaan, to suffer him to dwell
there in prosperity, arid to considet him as his
Church upon earth :" That therefore this blessing
extended to their whole nation, and that God was
bound to fulfil these promises to them, whether
they were righteous or wicked, faithful or unbe
lieving. They even believed that a prophet ought
not to pronounce against their nation the prophe
cies with which he was inspired ; but was rather to
beg of God to expunge his name out of the book
of the living. ' '
These previous remarks will serve as a key to

64 OF THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.
unlock this difficult Epistle, of which we shall now
give a short Analysis [u].
I. The EpisUe begins with the usual salutation,
with which the Greeks began their letters [c].
2. St Paul professes his joy at the flourishing
state of the Church at Rome, and his desire to come
and preach the Gospel [d]. Then he insensibly in
troduces the capital point he intended to prove, viz.
3. The subject of the Gospel [e], that it reveals
a righteousness- unknown before, which is derived
solely from Faith, and to which Jews and Gentiles
have an equal claim.
4. In order to prove this, he shews [f] that both
Jews and Gentiles are " under sin," i. e. that God
will impute their sins to Jews as well as Gentiles.
His arguments may be reduced to these syllo
gisms [g]. " The wrath of God is revealed against
those, who hold the truth in unrighteousness : i. e.
who acknowledge the truth, and yet sin against it.
" The Gentiles acknowledged truths ; but partly
by their idolatry, and partly by their other detestable
vices, they sinned against the truth they acknow
ledged. " Therefore the wrath of God is revealed against
the Gentiles, and punisheth them.
" The Jews have acknowledged more truths than
the Gentiles, and yet they sin.
[b] See Michaelis. [c] Ch. i. 1—7.
[D]Ver. 8— 19. [b] Ver. 16, 17.
[f] Ch. i. 18— iii. 20. [g] Ch. ii. 1, 17—24.

of the EPISTLE TO THE KOMAXS. - 65
" Consequently, the Jewish sinners are yet more
exposed to the wrath of God [hJ."
Having thus proved his point, he answers certain
Objec4:ions to it.
Objection I. " The Jews were well grounded in
their knowledge, and studied the law." He an
swers, if the knowledge of the law, without observ
ing it, could justify them, then God could not have
condemned the Gentiles, who knew the law by na
ture [i].
Objection II. " The Jews were circumcised."
Answer. That is, ye are adraitted by an outward
sign into the Covenant with God. This sign will
not avail you, when ye violate that Covenant [k].
Objection III. " According to this doctrine of St.
Paul, the Jews have no advantage before others."
Answer. Yes, they still have advantages ; for unto
them are committed the oracles of God. But their
privileges do not extend to this, that God should
overlook their sins, which, on the contrary. Scripture
condemns even in the Jews [l].
Objection IV. "They had the Levitical Law and
Sacrifices." Answer. From hence is no remission,
but only the knowledge of sin [m],
5. From all this St. Paul concludes, that Jews
and Gentiles raay be justified by the same means,
namely, without the Levitical Law, through Faith
iu Christ: and in opposition to the imaginary advan-
[h] Ch. ii.l— 12. [i] Ch. ii. 13—16.
[KlCh. ii.25— end, / [l] Ch. iii. 1—19,
[m] Ch. iii. 20,

66 of the EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.
tages of the Jews, he states the declaration of Ze
chariah, that God is the God as well of the Gen
tiles, as of the Jews [n].
6. As the whole blessing was promised to the
faithful descendants of Abraham, whom both Scrip
ture and the Jews call his Children, he proves his
former assertion from the example of Abraham,
who was an idolater before his call, but vvas declar
ed just by God, on account of his faith, long before
his circumcision. Hence, he takes occasion to ex
plain the nature and fruits of faith [o].
7. He goes on to prove frora God's justice, that
the Jews had no advantages over the Gentiles, with
respect to justification. Both Jews and Gentiles
had forfeited life and immortahty, by the means of
one coramon father of their race, whom they them
selves had not chosen. Now as God was willing to
lestpre immortality by a new spiritual head of a
covenant, viz. Christ, it was just that both Jews
and Gentiles should share in this new representative
of the whole race [p], — Chap, v. ver. 15, 16,
amount to this negative question, " Is it not fitting
that the free gift should extend as far as the of
fence ?"
8. He shews, that the doctrine of Justification,
as stated by him, lays us under the strongest obli
gations of hohness [q].
9. He shews, that the Law of Moses no longer
conceans us at all; for our justification arises from
[Nj Ch. iii. 21. [o] Ch. iv. 1. v. 11.
[p] Cli. V. 12, [q] Ch. vi. 1— end.

OF THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, 67
our appearing in God's sight, as if actually dead
with Christ, on account of our sins ; but the Law
of Moses was not given to the dead. On this oc
casion he proves at large, that the eternal power of
God over us is not affected by this, and that whilst
we are under the Law of Moses, we perpetually
become subject to death, even by sins of inadver
tency [r"].
10. Hence he' concludes, that all those, and those
only, who are united with Christ, and for the sake
of his union do not live according to the flesh, are
free from all condemnation of the Law, and have
an undoubted share in eternal life [s].
II. Having described their blessedness, he is
aware, that the Jews, who expected a teraporal
happiness, would object to him, that Christians not
withstanding endure much suffering in this world.
He answers this objection at large [tJ.
13. He shews that God is not the less true and
faithful, because he doth not justify, but rather re
jects and punishes those Jews who would not believe
the Messiah {[u]. In discussing this point, we may
observe the cautious manner in which, on account
of the Jewish prejudices, he introduces it [x], as
well as in the discussion itself.
He shews that the promises of God were never
made to all the posterity of Abraham; and that
God always reserved to himself the power of chasing

[r] Ch. vii. 1 — end.

[s] Ch. viii. 1—17.

[t] Ch. viii. 18— end.

[u] Ch. ix. X. si.

[x] Ch. ix. 1—5.

F 2

6S OF the epistle to the R0MA^TS.
those sons of Abraham, whom, for Abraham's sake,
he intended to bless, and of punishing the wicked
sons of Abraham ; and that with respect to tempo
ral happiness or misery, he was not even deter
mined in his choice by their works. Thus he re
jected Ishmael, Esau, the Israelites in the desart
in the time of Moses, and the greater part of that
people in the tirae of Isaiah, making thera a sacrifice
to his justice [y].
He then proceeds to shew, that God had reason
to reject most of the Jews then living, because they
would not believe in the Messiah, though the Gospel
had been preached to them plainly enough [z.]
However, that God had not rejected all his people,
but was still fulfilling his proraise upon raany thou
sand natural descendants of Abraham, who believed
in the Messiah ; and would, in a future period, fulfil
them upon more ; for that all Israel would be con
verted [aJ. And he concludes with admiring the
wise counsels of God [b].
13. From the Doctrine hitherto laid down, and
particularly from this, that God has in mercy ac
cepted the Gentiles ; he argues that the Romans
should consecrate and offer themselves up wholly to
God. This leads hirn to mention in particular some
Christian duties [c], viz.
14. He exhorts them to be subject to Magistrates
[d] ; the Jews at that time being given to sedition.
[y] Ch. ix. 6—29. [z] Ch. ix. 30.— x. end.
[a] Ch. xi. 1—32. [b] Ver. 33— end.
[c] Ch. xii. [d] CIi. xiii. 1—7.

OF "EHE epistle TO THE ROMANS. O
15. To love one another heartily [e]. And
16. To abstain from those vices, which were
considered as things indifferent among the Gen
tiles [p].
17. He exhorts the Jews and Gentiles in the
Christian Church to brotherly unity [o],
18. He concludes his Epistle with an excuse for
having ventured to admonish the Romans, whom he
had not converted ; with an account of his journey
to Jerusalera ; and with some salutations to those
persons, whom he meant to recommend to the
Church at Rome [h^.
[k] Ver. 2 — 10. [f] Ver. 11 — end,
[«] Ch, xiv. 1. — XV. 13. [h] Vide Michaelis.

OF

THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE
CORINTHIANS.

Corinth was a wealthy and luxurious city, situa!ted
in Achaia, upon the Isthmus or neck of land which
joins Morea to the rest of Greece. Near it were
celebrated those Isthmian games, to which St.
Paul alludes in this Epistle. In this city St. Paul
had spent two years, planting a Christian Church,
which consisted, like raost of the others, of a mix
ture of Jewish and Christian converts. But having
been absent frora them about three years, they
were over-run with great disorders, and split into
various sects and factions.
This occasioned the following Epistle, which
was written by St. Paul, just before his departure
from Ephesus [a], about Easter [b], in the year of
Christ lvii, in the third of the Emperor Nero.
[a] Acts XX. 31. 1 Cor. xvi. 8, 9.
[b] So Michaelis infers from ch. v. 7, 8. " Ye are un
leavened," which he interprets, " Ye are now keeping the
feast of unleavened bread."
Dr. Lardner dates this Epistle a year sooner.
9

THE FIRST epistle TO THE CORIXTHIANS. 71
It was intended partly to correct some corruptions
and abuses among the Corinthians, and partly to
answer certain queries they had proposed to him.
In his Introduction [c], he expresses his satisfac
tion at all the good he knew of them, particularly of
their having the gift of the Holy Ghost for thie con
firmation of the Gospel.
And first, he corrects their corruptions and
abuses, I. He rebukes the Sectaries among thera, and
defends hiraself against one or raore false teachers,
who had alienated most of the Corinthians from
him [d].
2. He considers the case of a notorious offender,
who had married his father's wife, i. e. his own
step-mother : orders them to excommunicate this
person, and to acknowledge no public fornicator as
a brother [e].
3. He reproves them for their covetous and liti
gious temper, which caused them to prosecute
their Christian brethren before heathen courts of
judicature [f].
4. He cautions them against fornication, a vice
to which they had been extremely addicted before
they were converted, and which some of them still
reckoned among the things indifferent, or which
might be practised or let alone without breach of
morality [g].
[C] Ch. i. 1—9. [d] Ch. i, X, iv.— eud.
{e] Ch. V. 13. [f] Ch. vi. 1—9.
[g] Gh. vi. 10— eud.

72 or THE first epistle
In the NEXT place, he answers certain queries
they had proposed.
And, first, he determines some questions relating
to the marriage-stale [hJ.
2. He instructs them how to act with respect to
idol-offerings [i]. It could not be unlawful in it
self to eat the raeat which had been offered to
idols ; for the consecration of flesh or wine to an
idol did not make it the property of the idol, an
idol being nothing, and therefore incapable of
property [k]. But some Corinthians thought it
lawful to go to a feast in the idol-temples, which
at the same time were places of resort for lewd
ness ; and to eat the sacrifices whilst praises were
sung to the idol [l]. This was publicly joining
in the idolatry. — He even advises to abstain from
such participation as was lawful, rather than give
offence to a weak brother ; which he enforced by
bis own example, who had abstained from many
lawful things, rather than create offence to the
Gospel, 3. He answers a third query, concerning the
manner in which woraen should deliver any thing
in public, when called to it by a divine impulse [m].
And here he censures the unusual dress of both
sexes in prophesying, which exposed them to the
contempt of the Greeks, among whom the men
usually went uncovered, and the women veiled.
[h] Ch. vii. 1 — end. [i] Ch. viii. 1. xi. 1.
[k] Ch. X. 25—30. [l] Ch. viii. 10, x, 20—22.
[m] Ch, xi, 2—17, ver, 18—34. g

to the CORINTHIANS. 73
He also takes occasion here to censure the irre
gularities committed at their love-feasts, &c. and in
the exercise of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy
Ghost, &c. [n].
4. He asserts the .resurrection of the dead; which
some among the Corinthians doubted, and others
denied [o].
He then concludes with some directions to the
Corinthian Church concerning the manner of col
lecting alras ; promises them a visit ; and salutes
some of the members [p].
[n] Ch. xii. xiii. xiv, [o] Ch, xv,
[p] Ch, xvi. Vide Michaelis.

OF

THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE
CORINTHIANS.

St. Paul's first Epistie had wrought different
effects among the Corinthians : Many of them
entered into themselves : they excoraraunicated the
incestuous raan ; requested St. Paul's return with
tears, and vindicated hira and his office against the
false teacher and his adherents. Others of them
still adhered to that adversary of St. Paul, expressly
denied his Apostolical Office, and even furnished
themselves with pretended arguments from that
Epistle. He had formerly proraised to take a jour
ney frora Ephesus to Corinth, thence to visit the
Macedonians, and return frora them to Corinth [a].
But the unhappy stale of the Corinthian Church
made hira alter his intention [b], since he found he
must have treated them with severity. Hence his
adversaries partly argued, 1st, That St. Paul was
irresolute and unsteady ; and therefore could not be
a prophet. 2dly, The iraprobabihty of his ever com
ing to Corinth again, since he was afraid of them.
[a] 2 Cor. i. 15, 16, [b] Ver. 23.

THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORIXTHIAXS. ib
Such was the state of the Corinthian Church
when St. Paul, after his departure from Ephesus,
having visited Macedonia [c], received an account
of the above particulars frora Titus [d], and there
fore wrote them his second Epistle about the end
of the same year [e], or the beginning of lviii.
The contents of this Epistie are these.
1. He gives the Corinthians an account of his
sufferings to that time, and of the comfort he deriv
ed firom meditating on the Resurrection [f].
2. He vindicates himself against those who would
not consider him as a true Apostle, because he had
altered his resolutions [g].
3. He forgives the incestuous man [b~\ ; and
tells the Corinthians how much he longed for their
amendment [i].
4. He treats of the office committed to him of
preaching the Redemption ; and highly prefers it to
preaching the Law ; to which probably his adver
saries had made great pretences. They had ridi
culed his sufferings ; which he shews to be no dis
grace to the Gospel or its ministers : and here he
gives a short abstract ofthe doctrine he preaches [k.J.
5. He shews it to be his office, not only to preach
[c] Acts XX. i. [d] 2 Cor. vii, 5, 6.
[e] So Dr. Lardner, who dates it from Macedonia about
Sept, or Oct, xvii,
[f] Ch, i, 1—11, [g] Ch. i. 12— ii. 4.
[h] Ch. ii. 5—11. [i] Ver. 12, 13,
[k] Ch, ii. 14. v.— end.

76 the second epistle to the CORINTHIANS.
the Redemption by Christ, but to inculcate certain
duties, and particularly that of flying from idolatry
(an oblique censure of those who attended the idol-
feasts [lJ).
6. He endeavours once more to win their confi
dence, by teUing them how affectionately he was
disposed towards thera, and rejoiced at their amend
ment [m].
7. He exhorts them to a liberal collection for the
Christians in Judea [n].
8. He vindicates himself against those who
thought him deficient in the evidences of his Apos
tleship, and imputed his caution, when at Corinth,
to his consciousness ofmotbeinga true Apostle [o].
[l] Ch. vi. [m] Ch. vii, 1—16,
[n] Ch. viii. 1. ix. 15.
[o] Ch. X. to the end. Vide Michaelis.

THE EPISTLE TO THE
GALATIANS.

The Galatians were ^descended from those
Gauls, who had formerly invaded Greece, and
afterwards settled in Lower Asia. St. Paul had
preached the Gospel among them in the year li,
soon after the council held at Jerusalera [a]. Asia
swarraed at that tirae with zealots for the law of
Moses, who wanted to impose it upon the Gentiles
[b]. Soon after St. Paul had left the Galatians,
these false-teachers had got araong them, and want
ed them to be circumcised, &c. This occasioned
the following Epistle, which an eminent critic [c]
thinks was written in the same year, before St.
Paul left Thessalonica : though others [d] date it
about the end of the year lii, or in the very begin
ning of liii, before St. Paul set out to go to Jeru
salem by way of Ephesus.
The subject of this Epistle is much the same with
that of the Epistle to the Romans ; only this ques-
£a] Acts xvi. 6. [b] Acts xv. 1 .
£c] Michaelis. [p] Dr. Lardner, &e.

78 OF THE epistle TO THE GALATIANS,
tion is more particularly considered here, "Whether
Circumcision, and the full observance ofthe Leviti
cal Law, were necessarv to the salvation of a Chris-
tian convert ?"
It seems these Judaizing Christians, whose in
direct views St, Paul exposes [e], at first only
laboured to represent Circumcision as necessary to
salvation, without obliging the Gentiles to observe
the whole Levitical Law [f] ; yet they insisted upon
the Christians receiving the Jewish festivals and
sabbatical years [g].
Their principal arguments were,
1 , " That the Apostles at Jerusalem, St, Peter
in particular, and the whole Church at Jerusalem,
considered Circumcision as necessary ; that St,
Paul was only a deputy frora that Church, and his
doctrine only to be regarded so far as it agreed
with that of the Church of Jerusalera,'' This
obhged St. Paul to declare, not only that the
Apostles at -Jerusalera perfectly concurred with
him, but also that he was an immediate Apostle of
Christ, 2. " That St. Paul himself had changed his
opinion, and now preached up the Levitical
Law [h]." They urged perhaps that he had caused
Timothy to be circumcised just before he came to
them [i].
[e] Ch, vi. 12, 13. [f] Acts xv. 1. Gal. v. 3. 9,
[g] Ch. iv. 10. [h] Gal. i. 8. 10. v. 11.
[i] Acts xvi. 3. Gal. ii. 3.

of the epistle to the galatiaxs. 79
3. " That all the promises of God were raade to
the sons of Abrahara ; and that whoever would par
take of Abrahara's blessing, raust, like hira, be cir-
curacised." This objection he fully answers [k].
4. " That Isaiah foretold an approaching con
version of the Heathens, and proraised children
frora among thera to Sion, or Jerusalera ; and
therefore, if the Gentiles desired to be children of
the Church of Jerusalera, they ought to conforra
to the rites of that Church." In answer to this
the Apostle shews, that these children were not
promised to the Jewish, but to the ancient or
Jebusite Jerusalem [l].
St. Paul frequentiy directs Christians to bear
with the weakness of those Jewish converts who
observed the Levitical Law [m]. But the Galatian
Church consisted of Gentiles ; and the whole im
port of this Epistie is, that they should not be
circumcised. In the two last chapters are sorae practical ex-
,hortations, designed chiefly against the animosities
and partialities which these disputes had bred
among them.
[k] Gal. iii. 7. iv. 18.
[l] Ch. iv. 19 — 31. The words, ver. 2i>, " Sinai is a mount
in Arabia," are thought to be a gloss crept into J;Iie text.
[m] Rora. xiv. Acts xxi. 23, 24, 26,

OP

THE EPISTLE TO THE
EPHESIANS.

Ephesus was the chief city of all Asia on this side
Mount Taurus. St. Paul had passed through it in
the year liv^, but without making any stay [a]. The
following year he returned to Ephesus again, and
stayed there three years [b]. During his abode
there, he corapleted a very flourishing Church of
Christians ; the first foundations of which had been
laid by some inferior teachers. As Ephesus was
frequented by persons of distinction frora all parts
of Asia-rainor, St. Paul took the opportunity of
preaching in the ancient countries [c] ; and the
other Churches of Asia were considered as the
daughters of the Church of Ephesus ; so that an
Epistie to the Ephesians was, in effect, an Epistle
to the other Churches of Asia at the same time.
In the year lxi, St. Paul was carried prisoner
to Rome for the first time ; and during his corifine-
[a] Acts xviii. 19— 21. [b] Ch. xix. '
[c] Ver. 10.

OF THE epistle TO THE EPHESIANS. 81
ment there, which was not very close [d], he wrote
the Episties to Philemon, the Colossians, the
EpHEsiANS, and Philippians.
Hence all these Episties bear so great a resera
blance in their style and raanner. Of these four, a
learned writer [e] thinks the Epistie to the Ephe
sians was first written by the Apostle in the spring
A. D. LXI, as soon as conveniently could be, after
his friends at Rorae had taken a lodging for him,
and he was settled in it.
This Epistle was intended to establish the Ephe
sians in the faith ; and to this end, to give them
more exalted views of the love of God, and of the
excellence and dignity of Christ : To shew them
they were saved by grace, and that the Gentiles
(however wretched they had been once) had now
equal privileges with the Jews : To encourage
them, by declaring with what steadiness he (St.
Paul) suffered for the truth, and with what earnest
ness he prayed for their establishment and perse
verance in it ; and finally to engage them to the
practice of those duties, which became them as
Christians [f].
The city of Ephesus vvas distinguished by pecu
liar vices and sins, which are alluded to in this
Epistle, and in those to Timothy.
1. It vvas the genuine seat ofthe idolatrous wor
ship of Diana, who was called 2QTEIPA, or the
[d] Acts xxviii. 31, 32. [e] Dt: Lardner,
[f] Vide Doddridge.

83 OF the epistle to the EPHESIANS.
Saviour Goddess : in opposition to which St Paul
calls the true Deity 2QTHP, or the Saviour God, in
his Epistie to Timothy [g].
2. The Ephesians were remarkable for the prac
tice of superstitious arts [h].
3. They were vain in their dress [i].
4. They were remarkable for lewdness and
drunkenness, and gloried in obscenity of lan
guage [k].
An eminent "critic [l] thinks the Christians of
Ephesus were also tainted with the errors of the
Essenes ; an account of which the reader will find
below in the Introduction to the First Epistle to
Timothy.
[g] 1 Tim. i. 1. ii. 3. [h] Acts xix. 18, 19.
. [i] See 1 Tim. ii. 9, 10. [k] Eph. ch. v.
[l] M. Michaelis. See his Lectures on the New Testament.

OF

THE EPISTLE TO THE
PHILIPPIANS.

Philippi was a city of no great extent, in Mace
donia, near the borders of Thrace. The Christian
religion was first planted there about the year li,
by St Paul [a], who left St. Luke and Timothy
to carry on the work. He afterwards paid them a
second visit |^bJ, and, it is probable, saw them
afterwards a third time.
This Epistle was seut at the same tirae with the
preceding, viz. a. d. lxii or lxiii. The design of
it seeras to be. To corafort the Philippians under
the concern they bad expressed for his imprison
ment at Rome ; To check a party spirit that had
crept in among them ; and to promote on the con
trary, an entire union and harraony of affection ;
To guard them against being seduced frora the pu
rity of the Christian faith by judaizing teachers j
To support them under the trials with which they
struggled ; And, above all, to inspire them with a
concern to adorn their holy profession by the most
eminent attainments in the divine life [c].
[a] Acts xvi. [b] Acts xxi. 6. [c] Vide Doddridge.
g2

OF

THE EPISTLE TO THE
COLOSSIANS.

CoLossE, (or, as it was anciently written, Colassae)
was a considerable city of Phrygia in Asia-rainor.
St. Paul hiraself had not been at this city when
he wrote this Epistle [a], though he had sorae
years before travelled through Phrygia. However,
Epaphras had founded a Christian Church at Co
losse, and probably in the neighbouring cities of
Laodicea and Hierapolis [b]. It is probable that
sorae Colossians, who had heard St. Paul preach at
Ephesus [c], might be converted by him ; and
among thera Philemon, to whom St. Paul ad
dressed his Epistle so intituled.
Now the Churches of Colosse, Laodicea, and
Hierapolis, were exposed to raore imminent danger
of being seduced by false teachers, as they had not
received the GQspel iraraediately from an Apostle,
but from Epaphras ; and as they might question,
[a] Col. ii. 1. [b] Col. i.'*7. iv. 12, 13.
[c] Acts xix. 10.

OF THE epistle TO THE COLOSSIANS. 85
whether Epaphras did not err in some respects ;
this occasioned St Paul's anxiety for them [d],
and induced him to confirm the doctrine of Epa
phras by this Epistle [e], which was written from
Rome about the sarae tirae with the preceding,
A.D. LXII or LXIII. A learned writer ^f] thinks
this and the Epistle to Philemon were sent away
together by Tychicus and Onesimus, although that
to Philemon was probably first delivered.
The more immediate occasion of writing to the
Colossians, was an Epistle St. Paul had received
FROM the Laodiceans [g~\, which an erainent critic [h]
thinks contained sorae written queries relating to
the doctrines of the Essenes, and this Epistle was
intended to answer them. What those doctrines
were, see in the Introduction to the first Epistle
TO Timothy.
This Epistle to the Colossians, is so like that to
the Ephesians, both in language and contents, that
the one will greatly illustrate the other.
[d] Col. ii. 1. [e] Col. i. 7, iv. 12, 13.
[j] Lardner. See ^Iso Michaelis.
[G]Ch.iv. 16. [h] Michaelis.

OF

THE FIRST^EPISTLE TO THE
THESSALONIANS.

Thessalonica was in St. Paul's tirae the capital
of Macedonia. St. Paul had preached the Gospel
there in the year li [a] : sorae few araong the
Jews received the Gospel ; but a great multitude
of those Heathens, who confessed one only true
God [b], became converts to Christ. Hence the
majority of the Church consisted of native Heathens,
who had formerly been idolaters [c]. The Jews,
ever jealous ofthe admission of the Gentiles to the
same privileges with themselves, raised such a dis
turbance, that St. Paul, with Silas, was obliged
suddenly to withdraw : they even pursued him to
Berea. He left Silas and Timothy there, and
fled to Athens, ordering them to follow hira [d].
Timothy did not long continue there with St.
Paul, but was sent back to Thessalonica [e], and
when he returned, found St. Paul at Corinth;
[a] Acts xvii. [b] St^oftenoi "EMrvE?.
[c] 1 Thess. i. 9. [d] Acts xvii. 14, 15.
[e] 1 Thess, iii. 1, 2,

FIRST epistle TO THE THESSALONIANS* 87
where he resided a year and a half [f] ; and in the
former part of that time this Epistle was probably
written, WIS, about A, D, LII.
With regard to the state of the Church of Thes
salonica, the knowledge of which is requisite to
understand these two Epistles.
I, It consisted chiefly of Gentiles, and of some
Jewish merabers. It is probable that the teachers
mentioned in the fifth chapter [g^, were converts
from Judaism ; at least such Greeks as had before
been proselytes to the Jewish religion.
2. This Church being still in its infancy, and
oppressed by the powerful Jews, required to be
established in the faith. St. Paul therefore in the
three first chapters endeavours to convince the
Thessalonians of the truth and divinity of his Gos
pel, both by the miraculous gifts of the Holy
Ghost, which had been imparted ; and by his own
conduct when araong them.
3. An error prevailed with respect to the doc
trine of the last Judgment The Thessalonians,
like most of the primitive Christians, thought the
day of Judgment would happen in their time.
They imagined those, who lived to see it take
place, would have great advantage over the de
ceased faithful, which was probably to consist ©n
[f] St. Paul came tl> tre before the end ofthe j'ear51, and
staid till the beginning >.< 53. Lardner.
[g] Ver. 12. 9

88 FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS.
their entering immediately on the Millenium. This
error he combats in the fourth chapter.
4. Some of this Church who refused to subject
themselves to the teachers, had at the same time
given themselves up to disorder ; and they seem
to have carried on this unruliness, under a pretence
of teaching or edifying others . On this account,
the Apostle gives the admonitions in the fifth
chapter [h]. [h] Ver. 11—14.

OF

THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE
THESSALONIANS.

The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians was sent
from Corinth soon after the First, viz. a. d. lii.
St. Paul found the Thessalonians still considered
the day of Judgment as at hand, and that the dis
orders before reproved were stiU carried on among
them. He therefore in this second Epistle shews,
that the last day was still distant, from some pro
phecies not yet fulfilled; and gives them more
particular directions how to conduct themselves
towards those disorderly persons.
M. Michaelis thinks that 2 Thess. ii. 2. refers to
some Epistles forged in St. Paul's name to propa-
gjate the [above error ; and to certain calculations
and false prophecies applied to the same purpose.

OF

THE FIRST EPISTLE TO
TIMOTHY,

We have an account of Timothy in the Acts of the
Apostles [a], and in other parts ofthe New Testa
ment [b], from which he appears to have been a
youth of raost excellent qualities, and almost con
stantly the companion of St, Paul.
This First Epistle to hira is by some dated, a. d.
LXV, but by others on better grounds j^c] aboiit
A. i). LVi, or LVIII, at the time of St Paul's journey
into Macedonia [d]. This Apostie being obliged
to retire from Ephesus earlier than he intended, on
account of the insurrection raised by Demetrius [e],
left Timothy behind him to restore perfect order in
[a] Acts xvi. 1 — 3.
[b] 2 Tim. i. 5. Acts xiv. 2 Tim, iii. 10, 11. 1 Tim. iv. 14.
2 Tim. i, 6. 1 Tim. iv, 12. Heb, xiii. 23. See also the address
to 2 Cor. Philipp. Coloss. 1 and 2 Thess. Philem.
[c] See Michaelis, Lardner. The place where this Epistle
was written is not certainly agreed ; though it is likely St, Paul
was either in Macedonia, or near it,
[d] Acts .\x, 1. [e] Acts xix.

OF THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 91
the Church, to fill the Ecclesiastical Offices, and to
withstand False Teachers.
As some of the Ephesians would not obey him,
and others attempted to force themselves upon him
as Bishops and Ministers, St. Paul wrote this Epis^
tie, which he might lay before them as his corarais
sion ; so that it is rather to the Ephesians than to
Timothy [f].
An eminent critic j^G^ thinks this first Epistie to
Timothy, and those to the Ephesians and Colos
sians, were levelled against certain errors prevalent
among them, which the Essenes (a Jewish sect)
had borrowed from oriental Philosophers : They
held, 1. That God was surrounded by Demons or
Angels, who were mediators with God, and there
fore to be worshipped. 2. That the soul is defiled
by the body ; that all bodily enjoyments hurt the
soul ; which they believed to be immortal, though
they seem to bave denied the" resurrection of the
body, as it would only render the soul sinful by be
ing reunited to it. 3. That there was a great
mystery in numbers, particularly in the number
Seven ; they therefore attributed a natural holiness
to the Seventh or Sabbath day, whicb they observed
more strictly than the other Jews. They spent their
time mostiy in conteraplation ; abstained frora mar
riage, and every gratification of the senses; used
washings, and thought it sinful to touch certain
things ; regarded wine as poison, &c.
[f] See 1 Tim. iii. 18. iv. 6. 12, 13, v. 23.
[g] M, Michaelis.

92 OF the FIRST epistle TO TIMOTHY.
In opposition to these, St. Paul, in these three
Epistles, shews the superiority of Christ to the
Angels, and warns Christians against worshipping
them. He censures the observation of Sabbaths ;
rebukes those who forbade raarriage, and the touch
ing of certain things ; and who delivered coraraand
ments of men concerning meats, and prohibited
them. He permits Timothy to drink vyine ; blaraes
those who abstain frora nourishing their bodies ;
and enjoins bodily exercise. He cautions against
a philosophy, which teaches all these things ; and
against persons, who assurae a great appearance of
wisdom and virtue. He delivers HymenaBus over
to Satan, because he pretended there was no resur
rection of the flesh.
The sarae learned writer thinks the errors of the
Essenes had found their way into -these Churches
through ApoUos [h], who was of Alexandria, in the
neighbourhood of which the Essenes prevailed; and
also through the twelve Christians raentioned in
Acts xix [i], who appear but iraperfectiy acquainted
with the Christian doctrines. He conjectures that
"the vagabond Jews, Exorcists [k]," were of
this sect.
[h] Acts xvii. 24, xix, 1—7, [i] Ver, 1—7.
[k] Ver, 13,

ov

THE SECOND EPISTLE TO
TIMOTHY.

This Epistle, according to some critics [a], was
written by St Paul, at Rorae, during his first im
prisonment there, and was sent to Timothy in the
summer of the year lxi. But others [b] rather
think it was written during the Apostle's last impri
sonment there, not very long before he sealed the
truth with his blood ; which is coraraonly placed
about A. D. LXVI or lxvii.
That Timothy was at Ephesus, or in Lesser
Asia, when this Epistle was sent to him, appears
from the frequent mention in it of persons residing
at Ephesus. The false teachers, who had before
thrown this church into confusion, grew every day
worse : insomuch that not only Hymenaeus, but
Philetus, another Ephesian heretic, now denied the
Resurrection of the dead. They were led into this
error by a dispute about words. At first they only
annexed various improper significations to the word
[a] So Dr. Lardner, [b] So M. Michaelis, and others.

94 OF the .second epistlf. to timothv.
Resurrection, till at last they denied the thing ;
pretending that the Resurrection of the dead was
only a Resurrection from the death of sin, and so
was already past. This error was probably derived
from the Eastern philosophy, which placed the
origin of sin in the body. This Epistle consists
chiefly of affectionate advices to Timothy, thence
forward to be active in opposing those false teach
ers, and in propagating the Gospel.

05

THE EPISTLE TO
TITUS.

This may be called an Epistle to the Cretans.
For St Paul meant not so much to instruct
Titus, as to furnish him with a rule to lay before
the Cretans, to which he might appeal, whenever
unworthy and unqualified persons attempted to ob
trude themselves into the Episcopal office.
Titus was a Greek [a], and probably owed his
conversion to St Paul [b] ; who fourteen years
after, took him with him to Jerusalem, to the Great
Council held there in the year xlix. And as Titus
was of Gentile parents, St. Paul would not suffer
hira to be circumcised, that he raight not abridge
the liberty of the Gentile converts [c]. Some years
after, St. Paul dispatched him to Corinth, to bring
him an account ofthe state of that Church [d]; and
afterwards sent hira thither again, to hasten the
collection for the poor Christians in Judea [e].
After this we hear no more of him, till he is men
tioned in this Epistle as having been with St Paul
in Crete.
[a] Gal. ii. 3. [b] Tit. i. 4, [c] Gal. ii. 1—3.
[d] 2 Cor. xii. 18. vii. 6. 13. [e] Ch. viii. 6.

96 OF the epistle to titus.
This Epistie, according to Dr. Lardner, was
written towards the end of the year lvi, while St
Paul was in Macedonia, or near it. But M. Mi
chaelis and others think it was more probably writ
ten in St. Paul's last progress through the Asiatic
Churches, between his first and second imprison
ment at Rorae, though the precise year they are
not able to determine. Titus had been left at
Crete, to settle the Church which St. Paul had
probably estabhshed there in his first joumey to
Rome [fJ, and afterward [g]. The Churches in
Grete had not hitherto had any Bishops and Minis
ters : Titus was to appoint them : but he was to
be upon his guard against some of the circumcision,
who aspired to ecclesiastical offices.
The Island of Crete was the parent of Roman
and Greek idolatry ; and Cretans so far excelled
other nations in inventing Gods, that they were
called The Liars. They were also distinguished
for unnatural vices and a spirit of sedition.
The Cretan converts to Christianity were indeed
obliged to forsake idolatry and the worship of im
ages : but as the Cretans were Egyptians by descent,
and had long intermixed the whims of Egyptian
philosophy with Judaism, and as they had embraced
Christianity very early, no Church was in greater
danger of adopting the absurd and heathen genea
logies of God, of his only begotten Son, and of the
/Eons. Hence St. Paul warns them against these
errors [h].
[f] Acts xxvii. 8. [g] Tit. i. 5.
[h] Tit. i. 14. iii, 9. V ide Michaelis.

of

THE EPISTLE TO
PHILEMON.

Philemon seeras to have been a substantial man at
Colosse, who had a spacious house, in which a
part of the Christian Church asserabled, and in
which travelling Christians were entertained [a].
The want of public inns araong the ancients raade
this hospitality needful; and it was particularly en
joined to Christians, to receive one another hospita
bly : but, as every individual was not in a condition
to entertain Christian strangers, the Churches seem
to have appointed one or more of their principal
merabers for this purpose [b]. This was the office
of Deacons, so that Phileraon had an office in the
Church ; and indeed he is by sorae of the ancients
entitied Bishop of Colosse. Whatever his minis
terial office was, he is by St. Paul called "his
fellow-labourer [c]." His son Archippus, to whom
this Epistle is also addressed, had just before been
[a] Ver, 22. [b] Rom. xvi. 22.
[c] ^'er. 1, 2. h

98 of the epistle to Philemon.
Deacon in the Church of Colosse [d] ; he is accord
ingly mentioned with honour by St Paul, who not
only styles hira his fellow-labourer like his father,
but also his fellow-soldier.
Philemon seems to have been one of St. Paul's
first fruits ofthe Church of Ephesus, and not to have
been converted like the rest by Epaphras, but by
St. Paul himself [e] ; having probably come to
Ephesus while St. Paul was there.
This Epistle was written from Rome (at the same
time with the Epistles to the Colossians, Philippians,
&c.) about a. d. lxii, or lxiii. The occasion of
it was this : Onesimus, Philemon's slave, had
robbed him, and fled to Rome. There St. Paul
meeting with hira, converted him to the Christian
Faith, and having kept him some tirae to be satisfied
of his reforraation, sends him back to his master
with this letter ; which has always been admired
for its delicacy of sentinnent and masterly address,
and may be considered as a fine model of Epistolary
writing. [d] Col. iv. 17. [e] Col. iv. 19,

THE EPISTLE TO THE
HEBREWS.

This apostolic letter, according to the best authors,
both ancient and modern, was the genuine work of
St Paul [a] ; and, according to the ancients, was
originally written in the Hebrew or Syriac lan
guage ; out of vvhich it was translated into Greek by
some Apostolic person, who is believed to have been
either St.LuKE or Clement. Some eminent critics,
however, among the moderns, find reason to think
our present Greek copy was not a translation, buf
the originsd ; and that the ancients were raistaken
in this respect.
¦ St. Paul, contrary to his usual custom, did not
prefix- his name to this Epistle, for a very obvious
reason, that he might not too early awaken the pre
judices conceived agaiilst him by the Jevvish con
verts, which might have led them to throw it aside
[a] Many proofs of this may be collected from this Epistle
itself. It is evident, from chap. ii. 3. that the writer was not
one of Christ's Disciples. See Dr. Lardner, who has fully
discussed tbis point, and finds reason to give it to St. Paul.
H 2

loo

OF the epistle to the hebrevvs.

iinperused. It was written towards the end of (or
soon after) St. Paul's imprisonment at Rome [b],
A. D. LXIII, to the converted Jews of Palestine, here
called Hebrews, as distinguished frora the Hellenists,
or foreign Jews. A severe persecution had deprived
them of the Apostle St. James, and had rendered
almost that whole Church wavering in the faith.
To confirm some, and to recover others from their
apostacy, was the purport of this Epistle.
As the zealous defenders of the Mosaic Law
would naturally insist on the divine authority of
Moses, on the majesty and glory attending its
promulgation by the Ministry of Angels, and the
great privilege it afforded those who adhered to it :
The Apostle shews,
I. That in all these several articles Christianity
had an infinite superiority to the Law.
This topic he pursues frora chap. i. to xi. wherein
he reminds the believing Hebrews ofthe extraordi
nary favour shewn them by God, whose glory was
far superior to that of Angels [c] ; very naturally in
ferring from hence, the danger of despising Christ
on account of his humiliation, which, in perfect con
sistence with his dominion over the world to corae,
was voluntarily submitted to by Him for wise and
iraportant reasons : particularly to deliver us from
the fear of death, and to encourage the freedom of
our access to God [d]. With the same view, he
[b] Ch. x. 34. xiii. 22, 23. [c] Qh. i. throughout.
[d] Ch, ii. throughout.

OF the epistle to the hebrevvs. 101
magnifies Christ as superior to Moses, their great
legislator; and from the punishment inflicted on
those who rebelled against the authority of Moses,
infers the danger of contemning the promises of the
Gospel [e]. And as it was an easy transition to call
to mind on this occasion that Rest in Canaan, to
which the authority invested in Moses was intended
to .lead them ; the Apostle hence cautions them
against unbehef, as what would prevent their enter
ing into a superior state of Rest to what the Jevvs
ever enjoyed [p]. This caution is still further en
forced by awful views of God's omniscience, and a
lively representation of the High-Priesthood of
Christ [g]. In the next place, he intiraates the
very hopeless situation of those who apostatise from
Christianity [h] ; and then, for the comfort and
confirmation of sincere believers, displays to them
the goodness of God, and his faithful adherence to
his holy engagements ; the performance of which
is sealed by the, entrance of Christ into Heaven as
our Forerunner [i]. Still further to illustrate the
character of our Lord, he enters into a parallel
between him and Melchizedec, as to their title and
descent ; and, from instances wherein the Priest
hood of Christ surpassed that trader the Law [k].
From these premises the Apostle argues, "ftiat the

[e] Ch. iiL 1—13. [f] Ch, iii. 14. iv. 11.
[g] Ch. iv. 12. V. 14. [h] Ch. vi. 19.
¦ [i] Ch. vi. », to the end. [k] Ch, vii. 1—17.

102 OF the epistle to the hebrevvs.
Aaronical Priesthood was not only excelleil, but
consummated by that of Christ, to which it was
only introdiictory and subservient ; and of course,
that the obligation, of the Law was henceforth dis
solved [l]. Then recapitulating .what he had
already demonstrated concerning the superior dig
nity of Christ's Priesthood, he hence illustrates the
distinguished excellence of the New Covenant, as
not only foretold by Jeremiah, hut evidentiy en
riched with much better promises than the Old [|ti]:
Explaining further the doctrine of tjie priesthood
and intercession of Christ, by comparing it with
what the Jewish High-Priests did on the great day
of atonement [a"]. Afterwards he enlarges on the
necessity of shedding Christ's blood, and the suf
ficiency of th^ atonepient made; by it [o]. ; and
proves that the kgal Ceremonies could not by any
means purify the conscience.: whence he infei^ tbe
in^suffic^ncy of the Mosaic Law^, and the necessity
of looking beyond it [p]: He then urges the
Hebrews to improve the privileges, which such an
High-Priest and Covenant conferred upon them, to
the purposes of approacWflg God withconfidencei,
to a coistant attendance on his worship, and most
benevolent regards to each, other [q].
The j Apostle having tkus obviated the insinua
tions and objections of the Jews; for the satisfac-
[l] Ch, vii, 18, to the end, [m] Ch, viii, through9ut.
[n] Ch. ix. 1—14. [o] Ch. ix. 15, to the end.
[p] Ch. x. 1—15, [q] Ch, X, 1.3—25^

OF the epistle to the HEBREWS, 103
tion and establishment of the believing Hebrews,
proceeds II. To prepare and fortify their minds against
the storm of persecution, which in part had al
ready befallen tbem, and wasJikely to continue,
and be often renewed. He reminds them of those
extremities they had endured, and of the feital
effects which would attend their Apostacy [r];
calling to their remembrance the eminent examples
of faith and fortitude exhibited by Holy Men and
recorded in the Old Testament [s]. He concludes
his discourse with glancing at many other illustrious
Worthies ; and besides those recorded in Scripture,
refers to the case of several, who suffered under
the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, 2 Maccab.
chap. viii. &c. [t].
Having thus finished the argumentative part of
the Epistle, the Apostie proceeds to a general appli
cation ; in which he exhorts the Hebrew Christians
to patience, peace, and holiness [u]; cautions them
against secular views and sensual gratifications, by
laying before them the incomparable excellence of
the blessings introduced by the Gospel, which even
the Jewish CEconomy, glorious and magnificent as it
was, did by no raeans equal [x] ; exhorts thera to bro
therly affection, purity, compassion, dependance on
[r] Ch. X. 26, to the eud. [s] Ch. xi. 1—29.
[t] Ch. xi. 30. xii. 2. [u] Ch. xii. 3—14.
[x] Ch. xii. 15—29.

104 OF the' EPISTLE TO THE HEBREVVS.
the divine care, stedfastness in the profession ofthe
truth, a life of thankfulness to God, and benevolence
to man [y] : and concludes the whole with recom
mending their pious rainisters to their particular re
gard, intreating their prayers, saluting them, and
pronouncing on them a solemn benediction [zJ.
[y] Ch. xiii, 1—16. [z] Ch. xiii, 17, to the end.

THE CATHOLIC EPISTLE OF
ST. JAMES.

This and the following Episties are probably called
Catholic or General, because most of them were
written, not to particular Churches, but to the
Faithful dispersed throughout whole countries. The
SECOND and third Epistles of St. John are added to
them, only because they were written by the sarae
hand that. wrote the first, and would have been lost
had they been copied separately.
This Epistle was written by St. James the Less,
the son of Alpheus or Cleophas, styled the brother,
i. e. kinsman of our Lord, who statedly resided at
Jerusalem, and is said by the ancients to have been
the first Bishop of that city : where he is believed to
have suffered martyrdom in the former part of the
year lxii ; and to have written this Epistle a short
time before his death : which a learned writer [a]
thinks might be partly occasioned by the offence
taken at this Apostolic letter.
It is generally understood to be addressed to the
[a] Dr. Lardner.

106 OF the catholic epistle of ST. JAMES.
Jewish Converts to Christianity dispersed abroad in
the more distant regions : and that the Apostle's
design is partly to exhort the Christian Converts to
constancy in suffering, and partly to warn them
against certain Jewisb vices.
But Dr. Lardner thinks that this Epistle was
written to aU Jews, of every denomination through
out the world, whether Christians or otherwise : for
this reason the Apostie does not wish them grace or
peace from Jesus Christ, though he does not dis
semble his own character ; nor does he conclude
with any Christian benediction : And though a large
part of the Epistle is applicable to Christians, there
are several paragraphs, which seem particularly ad
dressed to unbelieving Jews [bJ.
[b] €liap. iv, 1—10. Cb. t. 1—6, *c.

OP

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF
ST. PETER.

This Apostolic Letter is probably addressed to
such Gentiles as had forsaken Idolatry and believed
in the true God, without having been circumcised,
and who afterwards became Christians; such as
Cornelius the Centurion: i e. Christians from
among the Proselytes : " Elect (or deckred to be
sucb) through sanctification of the Spmt [a}." The
whole Epistle abounds in assurances that these con
verts were regenerate and become children of God,
without Levitical sacrifices, merely through Christ.
This Epbtle was written from a city called by
S|. Pbtbr, Babylon ; this some think tq have been
Babylon in Assyria, whicb, thougb demolished,
might possibly have some few Christians in its
neighbourhood ; however the generality, both anci
ents and moderns, suppose it to have been a figura
tive narae for Rorae. But M. Michaelis proposes a
query. Whether Jerusalem might not be shadowed
under that name : He also thinks it was written so
early as the year xlix, soon after the great Coun-
[aI Vide ch. i. 2, compared with Acts x. 44 — 47. xi. 15 — 17.
6

108 of the first epistle of ST. peter.
cii held there. But the more received opinion is,
that it was rauch later ; either in the year lxiii or
lxiv, or at latest lxv [b^.
St Peter's chief design is, to confirm the doc
trine of St Paul, which the false teachers pretend
ed he was opposing ; and to assure the Proselytes,
that they stood in the true grace of God [c]. With
this view he calls thera elect, and mentions, that
they had been declared such by the effusion of the
Holy Ghost upon them [d]. He assures them that
they were regenerate without circumcision, merely
through the Gospel and Resurrection of Christ
[e] : and that their sufferings were no arguraent
of their being under the displeasure of God, as the
Jews iraagined [f]. He recommends it to them,
to hope for grace to the end [g]. He testifies, that
they were not redeemed by the Paschal Lamb, but
through Christ, whom God had pre-ordained for
this purpose before the foundation ofthe. world [hj.
[b] Dr. Lardner. [c] Ch. v. 12.
[d] Ch. 1. 1, 2. [e] Ver. 3, 4, 21—25.
[f] Ver. 6—12. [gJ Ver. 13.
[h] Ver. 18—20.

or
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF
ST. PETER.

This second Epistle is supposed to have been writ
ten raany years after the forraer, viz. in a. d. lxvii,
a short time before St. Peter's martyrdom, which
happened in lxviii, and to which he alludes in one
or two places [a3.
The general design of this Epistle is, to confirm
the doctrines and instructions delivered in the
forraer Epistle ; " To excite the Christian Converts
to adorn and stedfastly adhere to their holy Religion
as a Religion proceeding frora God, notwithstanding
the artifices of false Teachers, whose character is at
large described ; and notwithstanding the persecu
tion of their bitter and inveterate enemies."
The genuineness of this Epistle has been doubted,
from the peculiar style of the 3d Chapter, which is
different from the other parts of St. Petter's writ
ings. Bishop Sherlock supposes that the Apostle,
describing in that Chapter the character of such
seducers as endangered the faith of the Christian
Converts, adopts the language and sentiraents of
some Jewish author, containing a strong description,
in the Eastern manner, of some false prophets in
that, or an earlier age.[a] Ch. i. 13, 14.

Of
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF
ST. JOHN.

This Epistle of St. John (if it is not rather a httle
Treatise) appears, as well as his Gospel, to have
been written against Cerinthus : In it he also, alludes
to the pernicious doctrine of the other Gnostics,
especially in the admonitions to walk in the light,
to keep undefiled from sensual sins, and to abstain
from idols. For whilst Cerinthus taught, that the
law of Moses was abolished ; the others raaintain
ed that eating things offered to idols, and fornication,
were indifferent acts.
In opposition to those errors, St. John lays down
three positions: I. That it is necessary to walk in
the light, and keep clear of fleshly lusts, in order
to partake of the kingdora of God. 2. That it is
necessary to keep the new coramandment of loving
one another. 3. That Jesus was Christ and the
Son of God, not only in his baptism, but also at the
'shedding of his blood.
This little Treatise or Epistle is directed to all
[aJ So Dr, Lardner.

OF the first epistle of ST. JOHN. Ill
Christians, wheresoever dispersed ; and is supposed
to have been written before the destruction of Jeru
salem, by such critics as apply c. ii. 18, to the last
time of the Jewish state. Others suppose it to have
been written after the Jewish war [a], about the
year lxxx ; and others even so late as the year
xci, or XCII. [a] So Dr. Lardner.

of

THE SECOND AND THIRD EPISTLES OF
ST. JOHN.

These are improperly denominated Cathohc or
General, being inscribed to two single persons, the
one to some lady of distinction, the other to Gaius,
or Caius ; probably the same person whom St. Paul
at Corinth styles his host [a], and who is celebrated
for his hospitality to his brethren. But a learned
writer [b] rather thinks he was an eminent Chris
tian, who lived in sorae city of Asia not far from
Ephesus, where St John chiefly resided after he
had left Judea.
These Letters are conjectured to have been sent
about the same time with, or soon after, the former.
[a] Rom. xvi, 23, 1 Cor, i. 14. [b] Dr. Lardner,

THE CATHOLIC EPISTLE OF
ST. JUDE.

This was written by Jude, or Judas, the brother
of James the Less. The remarkable sirailarity be
tween this and part of the second Epistle of Peter
was probably owing to both writers drawing their
character of the false teachers from the descrip
tion given of the false prophets in some ancient
Jewish author : and it is also possible that St. Jude
raight have the second Epistle of St Peter before
him. They both prove, against certain heretics
(probably the Gnostics,) that a great day of judgment
.is irapending, and conclude, from the judgments of
God formerly exerted, that God will be an avenger
of evil.
This is believed to have been written after most
(if not afl) the other ApostoKcal Episties'; when St.
Jude was arrived at a very old age. Dr. Mill
even dates it a. d. xc : others suppose it to have
been written much earlier ; yet after that of Si.
Peter, about a, p. lxv, or lxvi.

OF

THE REVELATION OF
ST. JOHN.

This prophetical book is agreed to have been writ
ten by St. John the Evangelist, who, according to
Eusebius, was banished to Patmos, an Isle in the
JEgean Sea, and there received the visions contained
in this book, in the last year of tbe reign of Domi
tian, about the year xcvi. Others suppose it was
written before the destruction of Jerusalera. This
is the opinion of M. Michaelis, who dates it so early
as the time of Claudius or Nero, long before St
John's Gospels or Epistles. In this he follows the
opinion of Sir Isaac Newton, who concludes it must
have been composed in an early period of St. John's
life, because the style, he thinks, abounds with
Hebraisms, and is not penned in such good and
fluent Greek as the Gospels and Epistles ; which he
supposes were written when the Apostle had ac
quired a more perfect knowledge of the Greek
tongue. Other critics however do not allow so
great a difference of language between this and St.
John's other writings ; at least not raore than what

OF THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 1 I :>
they think may be occasioned by the difference of
subject, arising from allusions to the prophetic books
ofthe Old Testament, or frora the abruptness and
obscurity of the prophetic style. It is again urged,
that the Revelation mentions no other heresy, as
flourishing, but that of the Nicolaitans [a], which
subsisted long before that of Cerinthus, against
vrhich St. John wrote his Gospel between a. d. lxv
and lxviii, and therefore the Revelation must have
been vvritten long before. In opposition to this, it
is doubted whether tbe Seven Churches of Asia
were founded so early as the times of Claudius or
Nero ; or had at least undergone such great changes
and revelations as are alluded to in this Book. It
has likewise been thought improbable tbat the Apos
tle should give this prophetic and mysterious Book
before ever he had delivered a plain and simple nar
rative of the Life of his Master ; the latter, as it
would be of the greatest use to Christians, would
naturally be first afforded them ; and the Apostles
would be most likely to lay down tbe great and fun
damental doctrines of Christianity in general, before
they would think of entering into the state of par^
ticular Churches, or describe the events of future
times, whether near or remote.
[a] The Nicolaitans, according to ancient writers, were a
sect who taught the lawfulness of lewdness aud idolatrous sacri
fices ; they were so called from one Nicolas tiieir founder. By
Nicolaitans in Scripture are thought to be meant, in general,
lewd and profligate persons, who aim at nothing but their own
secular advantage.

116 OF THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHX.
Some other arguments for the more early date of
this book are given by IM. Michaelis, and others ;
hut, as they allow them all to be subordinate to that
urged above from the uncommon prevalence of the
Oriental idioms in this book beyond what are found
in the other writings of St John, this will not be
judged very decisive, if, after all, it should appear
that this is no more than the natural consequence of
the subject; and that St. John, expressing in Greek
the images of the ancient Hebrew Prophets, had a
particular reason for adopting their phraseology and
idioms, as being inseparable from the prophetic
style [b] ; so that, upon the whole, perhaps, we may
reasonably abide by the express testimony of Ire
naeus [c], that this sacred Book was vvritten in the
reign of Doraitian ; as that ancient Father was a
Disciple of Polycarp, vvho had been a Disciple of
St John hiraself
But at whatever period of his Life the Revelation
was composed, there is strong internal Evidence [d]
as well as the most convincing positive Testimonv,
that this book vvas vvritten by St. John the Evange-
hst [e]. It is no less obvious that the contents are
[bJ See what is urged ou the Subject of Prophetic Style, in
Dr. Hurd's Lectures, referred to below. See particularly Ser
mon the ninth.
[c] Advers. Haeres. lib. vi. cap. 30. p. 449. ed. Grab. See
also Eusebius, Chron. lib. i. Ed. Seal. p. 80. Vide etiam p.
164. lib. posterions, and Chron. Can. p. 208. Hist. Eccles. lib.
iii. cap. 18. Bp. Newton on the Prophecies, rol. iii. p. 14, 15.
[d] Sec Dr. Twells, M. Michaelis, &c.
]]ii] ^t e Lardner, Doddridge, &c.

OF THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 117
of a prophetic nature, and that they exhibit a series
of visions, descriptive of very important events that
were to succeed in the course of ag-es.
Many ingenious and learned men have undertaken
to illustrate this sacred Book, and even to put out
very precisely the particular events predicted by
its inspired Author; but their success has not al
ways been answerable to their sanguine expecta.
tions. Perhaps a complete and perfect Commentary
must be reserved for future ages, when many ofthe
events have taken place, which are predicted in it
but remain at present unaccomplished.
- However, the pious student ought not to be dis
couraged frora the perusal of these divine Prophe
cies : and it is certain that he could never sit down
to consider thera with so rauch advantage as he can
at present, when he is furnished with so excellent
an Introduction to the Study of these and all other
Prophecies, which regard the Christian Church, in
the Lectures lately published by the learned and in
genious Preacher at Lincoln's Inn [fj.
To this admired writer, it will be sufficient here
to refer the Reader, and he will lead him to as ex
cellent a Commentator in the great and admirable
Joseph Mede ; to whose works these new Lectures
are a most useful Introduction. It will be sufficient
here to give a short extract from the latter, to assist
[f] Introduction to the Study of the Prophecies coiicerning
the Christian Church, and in particular conceming the Church
of Papal Rome, in xii Sermons, &c. by Kichard llunl, D. D.
London, 1772, 8vo. 1

IIS OF THE REVELATION OF SX. JOHN,
the reader in forming a distinct idea of the method
in which the whole Book of the Apocalypse is dis
posed ; which he will readily do, if he observes that
it is resolvable into three great Paris.
The first Part is that of the Epistles to the Seven
Churches, contained in the first three chapters.
This, as containing little or nothing prophetic, is not
at all considered by Mr. Mede.
The second Part (with which Mr. Mede begins
his Commentary) is that of the sealed Book, from
chap. iv. to chap, x, and contains the fates of the
Roman empire, or its Civil Revolutions ; yet with a
reference still to the state and fortune ofthe Chris
tian Church.
The third Part is that of the open Boor, with
what follows to the end ; and exhibits, in a more
minute and extended view, the fates of the Christian
Church, especially during its apostacy, and after
its recovery frora it.
This third Division raay, further, be considered
as consisting of two Parts,
The first contains in Chap, xi. a summary view of
what should befafl the Christian Church, contem
porary with the events deduced in the second Part,
concerning the Empire; and is given in this place,
in order to connect the second and third Parts, and
to shew their correspondence and contemporaneity.
See Mr. Mede's Clavis, p. 424, and Comment.
Apocalypt p. 476,
The second Part of the last Divis>ion (from chap,
xii, to the end) gives a detailed account of what

OF the revelation of ST. JOHX. 119
should befall the Christian Church in distinct and
several of them synchronical Visions.
*0* Here we should conclude ; but as the curious Reader may
desire to be informed how the Predictions revealed in this Book of
St. John have usually been interpreted and allied by Protes
tants, we shtdl, consistent with our subject, subjoin, A KE Y TO
THE PROPHECIES CONTAINED IN THE REVELA
TION. This is extracted from the learned Dissertations of Dr.
"Newton, Bishop of Bristol [g]: to which the Reader is referred for
a more full illustration of the several parts, as the conciseness of
«ur plan only admits a short analysis or abridgment qfthem.
[c] Dissertations on the Prophecies whicb have remarkably
been falfilled, and at tbis Time are fulfilling in the World, vol.
Si. &?o.

A KEY TO THE PROPHECIES CONTAINED
IN THE REVELATION.
Nothing of a prophetical nature occurs in the
first three Chapters, except, 1. what is said concern
ing the Church of Ephesus, that her " Candlestick
shall be removed out of its place," which is now
verified, not only in this, but in all the other Asiatic
Churches which existed at that time ; the light of
the Gospel having been taken from them, not only
by their heresies and divisions from within, but by
the arms of the Saracens from without : And, 2.
concerning the Church of Smyrna, that she shall
" have tribulation ten days ;'' that is, in prophetic
language, ten years ; referring to the persecution
of Diocletian, which alone of all the general perse
cutions lasted so long.
The next five Chapters relate to the opening of
the Seven Seals; and by these Seals are intiraated
so raany different periods of the prophecy. Six of
those Seals are opened in the sixth and seventh
Chapters. The first Seal or period is meraorable for con
quests. It comraences with Vespasian, and termi
nates in Nerva ; and during this time Judsea was
subjugated. The second Seal is noted for war and slaughter.
It comraences with Trajan, and continues through
his reign, and that of his successors. In this period,
the Jevvs were entirely routed and dispersed ; and

A KEY TO THE REVELATION'. 121
great was the slaughter and devastation occasioned
by the contending parties.
The third Seal is characterised by a rigorous
execution of justice, and an abundant provision of
corn, wine, and oil. It commences with Septimius
Severus. He and Alexander Severus were just and
severe emperors, and at the sarae tirae highly cele
brated for the regard they paid to the internal
felicity of their people by procuring them plenty
of every thing, and particularly corn, wine, and
oil. This period lasted during the reigns of the
Septimian family.
The fourth Seal is distinguished by a concur
rence of evils, such as war, famine, pestilence, and
wild beasts ; by all which the Roman empire was
reraarkably infested frora the reign of Maximin to
that of Diocletian.
The fifth Seal begins at Diocletian, and is sig
nalized by the great persecution, from whence
arose that memorable Mva, the ^Era of Martyrs.
With Constantine begins the sixth Seal, a period
of revolutions, pictured forth by great commotions
in earth and in heaven, alluding to the subversion
of Paganism, and the establishment of Christianity.
This period lasted from the reign of Constantine the
Great to that of Theodosius the first.
The seventh Seal includes under it the remaining
parts of the prophecy, and comprehends seven
periods distinguished by the sounding of seven
Trumpets. As the Seals foretold the state of the Roman em-

123 A KEY TO THE EEVELATION.
pire before and till it becarae Christian, so the
Trumpets foreshow the fate of it afterwards ; each
Trumpet being an alarum to one nation or other,
rousing thera up to overthrow that empire.
Four of these Trumpets are sounded in the
eighth Chapter.
At the sounding of the first, Alaric and his Goths
invade the Roman empire, besiege Rome twice,
and set it on fire in several places. At the sound
ing of the second, Attila and his Huns waste the
Roman provinces ahd compel the Eastern Emperor
Theodosius the Second, and the Western Emperor
Valentinian the Third, to submit to shameful terms.
At the sounding of the third, Genseric and his
Vandals arrive from Africa : spoil and plunder
Rome, and set sail again with iraraense wealth and
innuraerable captives. At the souiiding of the
fourth, Odoacer and the Heruli put an end to the
very name of the Western Empire ; Theodoric
founds the kingdom of the Ostrogoths in Italy ; and
at last Italy becomes a province of the Eastern Em
pire, Rome being governed by a Duke under the
Exarch of Ravenna.
As the foregoing Trumpets relate chiefly to the
downfall of the Western Empire, so do the two
following to that of the Eastern. They are sound
ed in the ninth, tenth, and part of the eleventh
chapter. At the sounding of tbe fifth Trumpet, Mahomet
that blazing star appears, opens the bottomless pit,
and with his Locusts the Arabians darkens the sun

A KEY TO THE REVELATION, 123
and air. And at the sounding ofthe sixth, a period
not yet finished, the four Angels, that is, the four
Sultanies, or Leaders of the Turks and Othmans,
are loosed from the river Euphrates. The Greek or
Eastern Empire was cruelly " hurt and tormented"
under the fifth Trumpet; but under the sixth, it
was " slain," and utterly destroyed.
The Latin, or Western Church being in no wise
reclaimed by the ruin of the Greek or Eastern, but
still persisting in its idolatry and wickedness; at
the beginning of the tenth Chapter, and under the
sound of this sixth Trumpet, is introduced a Vision
preparative to the Prophecies respecting the Wes
tern Church, wherein an Angel is represented
having in his hand a little Book, or Codicil, de
scribing the calamities tbat should overtake that
Church. The measuring ofthe temple, &c. shews,
that during aU this period there will be sorae true
Christians, who will conform themselves to the rule
of God's word, even whilst the outer court, that is,
the extemal and raore extensive part of this Temple
or Church, is trodden under foot by Gentiles, i. e.
such Christians as, in their idolatrous worship and
persecuting practice resemble and out-^o the Gen
tiles themselves. Yet against these corrupters of
religion, there will always be sorae true witnesses
to protest, who, however they may be overtiorne
at tiraes, and in appearance reduced to death, yet
will arise again from time to tirae, till at last they
triumph and gloriously ascend. The eleventh

124 A KEY TO THE REVELATION.
Chapter concludes with the sounding of the seventh
Trumpet. In the twelfth Chapter, by the Woman bearing a
man-child is tobe understood the Christian Church ;
by the great red Dragon, the Heathen Roman
Empire ; by the man-child whora the woman bore,
Constantine the Great ; and by the war in Heaven,
the contests between the Christian and Heathen
religions. In the thirteenth Chapter, by the Beast with
seven Heads and ten horns, unto whora the Dragon
gave his power, seat, and great authority, is to be
understood, not Pagan but Christian, not imperial
but papal Rome ; in submitting to whose religion,
the world did in effect submit again to the religion
of the Dragon. The tein-horned Beast therefore
represents the Romish Church and state in general;
but the Beast with two horns like a lamb is the
Roman clergy ; and that image of the ten-horned
Beast, vvhich the two-horned Beast caused to be
made, and inspired with life, is the Pope ; whose
number is 666, according to the numerical powers
of the letters constituting the Roman name Aaruvog,
Latinus, viz.
A, 30. A, 1. T, 300. E, 5. I, 10, N, 50. O, 70. 2, 200. (666). Or ils
equivalent in Hebrew, Jl^'iDT), Rcmiith, viz. % 200. \ 6. O, 40. 1, 10.
\ 10. /1, 400. (666).
Chapter xiv. By the Lamb on Mount Sion is
meant Jesus ; By the hundred forty and four thou
sand, his Church and followers; By the Angel
preaching the everlasting Gospel, the first principal

A KEY TO THE REVELATION, 125
effort made towards a reforraation by that public
opposition forraed against the worship of saints and"
iraages by Emperors and Bishops in the eighth and
ninth ''centuries ; By the angel crying, " Babylon
is fallen," the Waldenses and Albigenses, who
pronounced the Church of Rome to be the Apo
calyptic Babylon, and denounced her destruction ;
and b)' the third angel, Martin Luther and his fel
low Reformers, who protested against all the
corruptions of the Church of Rome, as destructive
to salvation.
Here we may put a period to this short Analysis
of the Revelations, as what follows seems not to
be of such obvious interpretation as the preceding,
and therefore the curious Reader will consult the
Bishop's Dissertations themselves. In reading
those or any other illustration of the Prophecies
contained in this mysterious Book, he will do well
always to have before him the judicious work of
Joseph IMede, above quoted.

THE END.

Prioted b? R. Gilbert, St John's Square, London,

WORKS IN DIVINITY,
PUBLISHED BY C. & J. RIVINGTON,
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1. A KEY to the OLD TESTAMENT and APOCRYPHA ; ur
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Svo. 13s.
2. The CONNECTION between the SACRED WRITINGS
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Gottingen, &c. Translated frora the Fourth Edition of the Ger
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HERBERT MARSH, D.D. F.R.S. Lord Bishop of Peterborough,
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7. The SAME WORK, Part IV. (on the Interpretation of
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3 9002 00484 8454

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