A DISSERTATION
IN WHICH IS DETERMINED
Cfcronotogp of tfte
CKEATION TO THE CHEISTIAN EEA,
BY PROFESSOR WALLACE.
1 Mundum tradidit disputation! eorum."
ECCLES. iii. 11. Lat.Vulg.
LONDON:
SMITH, ELDER AND CO. 65, CORNHILK
1844.
London :
Printed by STEWART and MCRRAY,
Old Bailey.
PREFACE.
THE following Dissertation treats of a subject
which has divided the opinions of the learned
world from the third century till the present time;
namely, the discrepancies which exist between
the present Hebrew text and the Septuagint ver-
sion of the Old Testament, respecting the gene-
rations of the Ante and Postdiluvian Patriarchs.
It treats also of the similar discrepancies, which
exist between the Hebrew and the Samaritan
texts, and of the testimonies of Josephus and
other ancient historians and chronographers, in
favour of the accuracy of the Septuagint on this
point. These discrepancies, with others of minor
extent, which are here also duly considered, oc-
casion a difference between the Hebrew and the
Septuagint as to the chronology of the period
from creation to the Birth of Christ, amounting
in all to nearly 1500 years, the difference be-
tween the modern and ancient computation of the
true, age of the world.
IV PREFACE.
This question, which has never been satisfac-
torily settled, notwithstanding the efforts of the
ancient chronographers Theophilus, Africanus,
Eusebius and Syncellus, and the labours of the
modern chronologers, Petavius, Usher, Jackson,
Hales, Russell and Clinton, has acquired fresh
importance from the late discoveries of Astro-
nomers and Geologists, and the recent investiga-
tions of learned writers on the prophecies and the
millennium. The startling announcements made
by Geologists regarding the antiquity of the earth,
which, according to their discoveries, amounts to
millions of millions of years ; and the curious
statements of Astronomers respecting the ages of
time required for the transmission of the light of
the stars, the continual development of new
nebulae in the heavens, and the gradual formation
of new suns and systems in the universe ; are
sufficient causes, why a new inquiry into the
chronology of the Bible has become both popular
and necessary, and why the question concerning
the discrepancies between the Hebrew text and
the ancient Greek version has been revived.
The interest attached in these latter days, by
pious and learned men, to the study of the pro-
phecies of Daniel, and of the Apocalyptic visions
of John, tends greatly to increase the popularity
of chronological inquiries respecting the Mundane
PREFACE.
Times. The late researches of writers on this
subject into the mystic numbers of days or years
appointed by the Great Creator for the fulfilment
of these prophecies and visions, naturally leads to
the investigation of the true age of the world ; and
this again, if properly conducted, conduces to the
settlement of the dates of all the great events both
in sacred and profane history. The Christian
Church, having once established these epochs on
a firm chronological basis, can then look calmly
forward, as from an elevated vantage ground, to
the rapid accomplishment of all the prophecies
both of the Old and New Testament ; and par-
ticularly to the downfall of the Papacy, the
destruction of the Mohammedan Imposture, the
overthrow of Infidelity, the return of the Jews to
the Holy Land, the battle of Armageddon, the
supervention of the Millennium, and the Second
Advent of the Messiah in the clouds of Heaven.
It is no mean and uninteresting inquiry, there-
fore, to attempt to ascertain from the Sacred
Scriptures, the true date of the present year from
the creation of the world ; and to determine which
of the modern computations is the most correct,
or whether any of them be in exact accordance
with the unerring testimony of the word of God.
For, according to the chronology of the modern
Jews, we now live in the year of the world 5604 ;
VI PREFACE.
according to that of the Church of England,
founded on the authority of Archbishop Usher's
interpretation of the Hebrew text, in A.M. 5848 ;
according to that of the Church of Rome, founded
on the authority of Eusebius, and the later chro-
nographers, in A.M. 7044 ; but, according to that
of the most learned of all Christian churches, and
particularly the recent writers, Jackson, Hales,
Russell and Cuninghame, founded on the authority
of the Septuagint, corrected according to the best
and most ancient codices of that version, and
tested by Astronomical and Jubilean Cycles of
time, in A.M. 7322.
In the First Part of this Dissertation, a critical
analysis is given of the construction of the dif-
ferent Ages of the world previous to the Mes-
sianic age, as determined by the supreme autho-
rity of the Sacred Scriptures, which the author
places above and beyond that of the statements and
the testimonies of all human writers. The learned
chronological works of Mr. Cuninghame have been
particularly brought under his review, and have,
in fact, formed the basis of his investigations ;
namely, A Synopsis of Chronology, London, 1837 ;
The Septuagint and Hebrew Chronologies Tried,
London, 183s ; The Fulness of the Times, second
edition, London, 1839 ; A Chart of Sacred Chro-
nology, London, 1842, &c. The following im-
PREFACE. Vll
portant chronological treatises have also been
specially brought under his notice ; namely,
Scripture Chronology, being Appendix V. to Vol. i.
of Mr. Clinton's very learned work, the Fasti
Hellenici, Oxford, 1834; and Chronographia LXX.
Interpretum Defensio, being Treatise V. in Vol. iii.
of the Cours Complets D'Ecriture Sainte et De
Theologie, a laborious, learned and valuable work
in 50 volumes, published by M. L'Abbe Migne,
Paris, 1841. Frequent references are likewise
made to the well-known chronological works of
Usher, Jackson, Hales, and Russell.
In the Second Part, a critical inquiry has been
instituted into the evidence, Scriptural, Historical
and Physical, for the universal diffusion among
mankind of the Great Primeval prophecy concern-
ing the Renovation of the world, and its bearing
on the question of the true period of the Advent
of our Saviour, and the Extent of the Mundane
ages. This inquiry leads to a short discussion on
the origin of Idolatry, the Source of the Heathen
names of the Deity, and the notions entertained
by the ancient mythologists and poets concerning
the Seven ages of the world. This discussion
brings to light some evidences of a curious and
striking nature in favour of the true Chronology.
The work concludes with an investigation of the
errors of the most eminent of the ancient Chrono-
Vlll PREFACE.
graphers, and an elucidation of their clear and
united testimony to the authenticity of the com-
putation of the Septuagint.
To complete the object of this Dissertation, the
author intended to review the Astronomical and
Geological evidence for the antiquity of the globe ;
but the Scriptural and Historical evidence for the
true age of the world, appeared to him of such
paramount importance, and of so overwhelming a
nature, that he was compelled to devote his best
attention to its development and elucidation. If
he has been successful in this attempt, it will be
to him a source of no small gratification, and no
small reward for his labour ; it will also be a
powerful inducement to prosecute his intended
investigations, having, in this work, only very
slightly touched on the Geological question, and
not at all on the Astronomical, except in what
relates to the cyclical character of the Mundane
Times, which may be considered as only the
germ of this magnificent subject. Impressed
with the idea that the True Age of the World
is written in the Heavens by the finger of
God, and that the revolutions of the Solar
System, if rightly investigated, must lead to its
discovery ; the author made some astronomical
calculations of which at present, he can only
communicate the results. Assuming that at the
PREFACE. IX
Creation of the world, there was a Grand Helio-
centric conjunction of all the Planets, arid that at
some subsequent period of its history, the same
phenomenon would at least be partially visible
from its surface, he endeavoured to determine the
period or cycle which must elapse before a second
conjunction would happen. He found by these
calculations, that this cycle was nearly 2401 years,
a period which according to the language of Scrip-
ture i$ a Jubilee of Jubilees; and, that reckoning
from the era of Creation determined in this work,
the Second conjunction took place about B. c.
3078, which is within a few years (24) of the date
generally assigned to the Hindoo epoch of the
Calyougham. He found also, that the Third con-
junction took place about B. c. 677, when the
remnant of the Ten Tribes was carried away into
a long captivity, and the kingdom departed from
Israel ; and, that the Fourth conjunction took
place in A.D. 1725, when on the 17th of March,
at Pekin in China, the planets Mercury, Venus,
Mars and Jupiter, were all seen in the field of
the same telescope at the same instant, by the
Jesuit Missionaries Gaubil, Jacques and Kegler.
In confirmation of the same epoch of Creation, he
also found that the longitude of Sirius, the largest
and brightest of all the Stars in the Heavens, and
by some supposed to be the central point of at-
X PREFACE.
traction to our Sun, was 0' 0'' on the 2 1st of
March B. c. 5478, according to the most recent
determination of the precession of the equinoxes ;
but the discussion of these curious results and
other topics to which he has already alluded,
must form the subject of a future volume.
London, Sept. 2nd, 1844.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PART 1.
INTRODUCTION.
1. State of the World at the Birth of Christ Tradition concerning
his Advent Its epoch determined from Prophecy . . page 1
2. Short history of the Septuagint Version of the Old Testament
Discrepancies between the Hebrew and the Septuagint Their effect on
Sacred Chronology ....... 4
SECTION I. AGES AND EPOCHS OF THE WORLD.
CHAPTER I. EXTENT OF THE FIRST AGE OF THE WORLD.
1. Discrepancies of the Hebrew, Septuagint, and Samaritan Texts
Solution of the difficulty by the chronographers of the middle ages
Consistency of the Septuagint and the New Testament Numerical
errors of the Hebrew text . . . . . .9
2. Origin and effect of various readings The immaculate purity and
miraculous preservation of the Hebrew text, a figment Consistency of
the word of God . . . . . . .12
3. Tables of the Discrepancies of the three texts with regard to the Ante-
diluvian Patriarchs : Table I., In their Antepaidogonianages Table II.,
In their Postpaidogonian ages Table III., In their whole lives* Inter-
nal evidence afforded by the Tables in favour of the computation of the
Septuagint The Discrepancies of the Hebrew and Samaritan the work
of design Proof of this fact from the Scriptures . . .14
4. Reasons assigned for the alterations in the Hebrew and Samaritan
Accuracy of the Septuagint demonstiated An objection to its chro-
nology removed Utility of the publication of fac simile editions of the
codices Late origin of the printed Hebrew text Its original agree-
ment with the Septuagint proved . . . . .20
Xll CONTENTS.
CHAPTER II. EXTENT OF THE SECOND AGE OF TUB WORLD.
1. Discrepancies of the three texts Unfounded hypothesis of Usher
Agreement of Josephus with the Septuagint Authority of this
Version in the Church Its chronology confirmed by the most authentic
Chinese annals Reasons why the Jews altered the Hebrew text . 28
2. Tables of the Discrepancies of the three texts with regard to the
Postdiluvian Patriarchs : Table IV. In their Antepaidogonian ages
Table V. In their Postpaidogonian ages Table VI. In their whole
lives . . . . . . .31
3. Authenticity of the Second Cainan Dilemma of the Venerable
Bede Mistake of Mr. Clinton and Mr. Home Usher's Dissertation
Inconsistency of authorized translations of the Bible Rashness of
Beza The Second Cainan in the most ancient Codices Mistake of
Bede, Hales, and other chronographers . . . .34
4. Internal evidence afforded by the Tables in favour of the computa-
tion of the Septuagint Omissions in the Hebrew and Septuagint
retained in the Samaritan Accordance of the Septuagint with
nature and providence Mr. Cuninghame's argument from analogy
The alterations of Origen in the text of the Septuagint . .41
5. Mistake of Usher, adopted by Hales and Clinton, as to the Ante-
paidogonian age of Terah Mr. Cuninghame's arguments unanswerable
His proof of the chronology of the Seventy from the discovery of its
Cyclical character Testimony of Eusebius to the true date of Abra-
ham's birth Table VII. Extent of the first two ages of the world . 45
CHAPTER III. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HEBREW AND
SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGIES.
1. Argument against the shorter computation, founded on the propor-
tion between the Antepaidogonian Ages and whole Lives of the
Patriarchs Reasons for the enlargement of this ratio, and the diminu-
tion of the length of human life . . . . .50
2. Argument founded on the regular succession of human generations
Anomalies and Paradoxes of the Hebrew text Remark of Eusebius
.Objections of learned men unanswered . . . .52
3. Argument founded on the inconsistency of the co-existence of
idolatry and the worship of the true God, in the same family, and within
a short period from the flood Remarks on the building of Babel Mr.
Clinton refuted Mr. Cuniughame's argument from Scripture The
judgments of God forgotten . . . . .55
4. Argument founded on the inconsistency of the accounts of Sacred
and Profane History Remark of Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Isaac
Newton's objection refuted Epoch of the Foundation of the kingdom of
Egypt ...... .^ . . 57
5. Arguments founded on the deficiency of the numbers of mankind
Epoch of the occupation of Babylon by the Medes Calculation of the
numbers of mankind ou the Eulerian ratio Mr. Clinton refuted . 59
CONTENTS. Xlll
6. Argument founded on the alteration of the Hebrew text by the
Jews Testimony of the early Fathers on this point Mr. Clinton's ad-
mission as to the prophecies His refutation as to the chronology
Motives of the Jews for shortening the genealogies . . 60
7. Motives ascribed to the Seventy Interpreters for enlarging the
chronology Pretensions of the Chaldeans and Egyptians to a remote
antiquity Insufficiency of the scheme adopted by the Interpreters
Self- refutation of Mr. Clinton's hypothesis. . . .62
CHAPTER IV. EXTENT OF THE THIRD AGE OP THE WORLD.
Table VIII. Patriarchal Eras and Intervals from Usher Table IX.
Extent of the first three ages of the World Date of the Exodus of
Israel from Egypt . . . . . . .64
CHAPTER V. EXTENT OF THE FOURTH AGE OF THE WORLD.
Palpable Forgery of this period in 1 Kings vi. 1. Table X. Cri-
tarchal Eras and Intervals, from Usher and Cuninghame Object of
Usher in determining this period Testimony of Paul and the Book of
Judges as to its true extent Testimony of Origen Table XI. Extent of
the first four ages of the world Verification of the true extent of the
fourth age by Chronographers Agreement on this point between Mr.
Clinton and Mr. Cuninghame. . . . . .67
CHAPTER VI. EXTENT OF THE FIFTH AGE OF THE WORLD.
Table XII. Monarchal Eras and Intervals, from Usher and Cuning-
hame Correction of the mistakes of chronologers as to the true extent
of this period, by Mr. Cuninghame Table XIII. Extent of the first
five ages of the World Confirmation of the true extent of the fifth age
from sacred history and prophecy . . . . .73
CHAPTER VII. EXTENT OF THE SIXTH AGE OF THE WORLD.
1. Table XIV. Hierarchal Eras and Intervals, from Usher and
Cuninghame Determination of the Intervals from Scripture Period of
the Seventy years Captivity Period of the Seventy prophetic weeks of
Daniel Table XV. Date of the Crucifixion determined Truth of the
Ancient Tradition respecting the First Advent of the Messiah demon-
strated . . . . . . . .79
2. Determination of the Epoch of the Birth of Christ Labours of
Mr. Cuninghame on this point Coincidence of the extent of the period
of Patriarchal Pilgrimage withthatof Hierarchal Bondage Table XVI.
Extent of the Six Ages of the World Difference between the true and
vulgar dates of the Nativity Mr. Cuninghame's dates of the Nativity
and Public Ministry of Christ deduced from the chronology of the
Septuagint . . . . . . . .84
XIV CONTENTS.
SECTION II. CONFIRMATION OF THE GREAT EPOCHS OF
THE WORLD.
CHAPTER I. HISTORICAL CONFIRMATION OF THE TRUE
SYSTEM OF CHRONOLOGY.
Testimonies of the ancient chronograpbers and historians before and
after Christ, in favour of the chronology of the Septuagint Demetrius.
Eupolemus, Josephus, Justin Martyr, and all the early fathers of the
first three centuries Theophilus, Hippolytus, Africanus, Origen,
Cyprian, Lactantius, Epiphanius, Ambrose, Ephrem Syrus, Augustine,
Chrysostom, Sulpicius Severus, Annianus, Syncellus, Eutycbius, the
author of the Paschal Chronicle, and the Council called " Synodus in
Trullo" Probable cause of minute variations among the aucient chro-
nographers ... .... page 90
CHAPTER II. REDUCTION OF THE MUNDANE ERA OF RE-
DEMPTION.
Errors of Eusebius, Jerome, and the western churches Consistency
of the eastern and southern churches to the latest period Chronology
of the Russians and Armenians, that of the Septuagint Testimony of
Abulpharajius Chronological innovations of the Venerable Bede His
denouncement as a heretic on this account Chronology of the Roman
Church different from that of the Latin Vulgate The chronology of the
Masoretes an abridgement of the true The chronology of the Roman
Martyrology preserved by Pontifical authority to the present day
Extract from Strauchius An important testimony in favour of the true
chronology . . . . . . .95
CHAPTER III. CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH SYSTEMS OF CHRO-
NOLOGY ERRONEOUS.
Chronology of the English Bible erroneous Usher influenced by the
Masoretes Tradition of the House of Elias Its complete refutation
both from Scripture and fact Utility and application of Mr. Cuning-
batne's " Chart of Chronology'' Reasons assigned by the Jewish
Rabbis why their expected Messiah is not yet come Their curse upon
all who calculate the Times . . . . .99
CHAPTER IV. CYCLICAL CHARACTER OF THE MUNDANE
TIMES.
1. The revolutions of the heavenly bodies appointed for cycles
Origin of the cycles of the year and the month The subject of Enoch's
CONTENTS. XV
prophecy Mr. Cuninghame's discovery of the cycle from the Creation
to the Era of Redemption Scriptural cycles of frequent occurrence
The numbers of Jubilee and of Pentecost of pilgrimage and persecu-
tion of omnipotence, glory and wisdom; and of mystery, vengeance
and forgiveness The prophetic numbers of Daniel Discovery of their
connection with the higher cycles of astronomy, by M. de Chesaux and
Mr. Cuninghame ...... page 102
2. Lengths of the tropical year and the synodical period of the moon,
according to Sir John Herschel Application of the method of con-
tinued fractions to the determination of their approximating ratios
Various lunisolar cycles The Octaeteris of the Greeks The cycle of
nineteen discovered by Melon, but probably known to the Hebrews
The period of Calippus Proof that the numbers of Daniel are luni-
solar cycles Remarks of Mr. Birks in his " Elements of Prophecy"
Observations of Mr. Cuniughame in his " Scientific Chronology"
Proof that the prophetic month and the jubilean period are lunisolar
cycles . . . . . . . .106
CHAPTER V. DISCOVERY OP NEW MUNDANE CYCLES.
1. Mr. Cuninghame's discovery of the mystical signification of the
seventy years' captivity Its connection with the era of the French Revo-
lution Confirmed by the sentiments of the modern Jews Prediction
of Rabbi Joseph Crool Prediction in the Hebrew Tract " Explanation
of the Times/' published in 1794 The latter prediction not fulfilled
Hope concerning Israel ...... Ill
2. Mr. Cuninghame's discovery of seven streams of time, of seventy
jubilees each, in the true system of chronology This test wholly inap-
plicable to any other system His discovery of five streams of time of
different Jubilean periods Utility of his " Fulness of the Times''
where these discoveries are developed Notice of his more recent
works . . . . . . . .113
3. Various cycles which enter into the true system of chronology-
Mr. Cuniughame's discovery of the trinal fraction Its explanation and
application by an Algebraic formula Original form in which it was
discovered Its superiority to the formula of the figurate numbers
Remarkable instance of its application to Scriptural and other numbers,
and to lunar and solar cyclical numbers Mr. Cuninghame's definition
of the trinal fraction the most correct The series deduced from its
formula possesses curious properties . . . .115
4. Application of the theory of the trinal fraction to the discovery of
the meaning of the Number of the Beast in the Revelation of John
Proof that the number 666 is the number of a Man Its indication of
CONTENTS.
spiritual and tecular dominion of tyranny and persecution Recent
efforts to raise the Beast again to power A warning to Protes-
tants . . . > . . . .119
CHAPTER VI. DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE SEPTUAGINT CHRO-
NOLOGY.
1. Mr. Cuninghame's application of the lunisolar cycles and septen-
nary periods to the settlement of chronological questions The Septua-
gint proved to be the exact truth by a complex harmony of scientific
time His " Synopsis of Chronology" recommended _ . 122
2. Evidence in favour of the Septuagint and Hebrew Chronologies
compared and tested by Mr. Cuningbame His detection of the scheme
of fraud invented by the Jewish Rabbis for shortening the chronology
of the Scriptures His exposition of this scheme in three distinct act*,
and the result of the whole ..... 123
3. Recommendation of Mr. Cuninghame's " Septuagint and Hebrew
Chronologies Tried" His description and table of the great periods of
1838 His table of both Chronologies His appeal to the disciples of
Usher His view of their chronological difficulties and paradoxes His
call to them to produce their evidence in favour of their system . 126
4. Recommendation of Mr. Cuninghame's Inter works Summary of
the remarkable and original subjects of which they treat His remarks
on the Theories of modern Geologists recommended Their large
demands upon time not warranted by the simplicity of the Mosaic nar-
rative The authority and authenticity of the Inspired Record endan-
gered by their speculations Another mode of solving geological
difficulties recommended A boon of 1500 years additional granted to
Geologists Recommendation of Mr. Morison's " Religious History of
Man' 1 Mr. Cuninghame's discoveries concentrated in his " Chart of
Chronology*' and " Essay," and in the Appendixes to the fourth
edition of his " Dissertation on the Apocalypse" . . 128
CONTENTS. XVli
PART II.
CHAPTER I. TIIE TESTIMONY OF JESUS THE SPIRIT OF
PROPHECY.
Primeval prophecy concerning the Messiah Errors in the translation
of it, iu different versions Correct in the Septuagint Tradition of this
prophecy in the Ante and Post Diluvian ages Its clearer development in
the Patriarchal Age Dr. Lamb's explanation of the word Shiloh Pro-
phecy of Balaam in the Critarchal Age Predictions of Moses and Han-
nah The glorious revelations of the Monarchal Age The testimony of
the Psalms to the Messiah Explanation of the last words of David
from Kennicott Application of the term Sun to Jehovah Testimony of
the Prophecies to the Messiah Isaiah, the Evangelical Prophet The
predictions at the close of the Monarchal and the commencement of the
Hierarchal Age Testimony among the Heathen. .... ,' . 135
CHAPTER II. TESTIMONY OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH
TO THE SUBJECT OF PROPHECY.
1. Object of the Disposition of the Cherubim at Eden Its disap-
pearance from the earth The remembrance of its glory transmitted to
the Postdiluvians Its occasional re-appearance to Abraham, to Moses,
to Israel, to Elijah, and to Isaiah Identity of the visions of Isaiah, Eze-
kiel, and John Similarity of the visions of Daniel, John, the Three
Disciples, and Paul Object of these glorious representations in heaven
and on earth Known among the Heathen, and grafted on their religious
worship Origin of Zabaism, and its spread over the world . 146
2. The Sun worshipped by the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans,
under the names of Baal, or Beelsamen By the Egyptians, under the
names of Orus and Osiris Connection between the Sun and Sirius
The Sun and his Satellite worshipped by the Israelites, under the names
of Molech and Remphan, Baal, and Ashtaroth, during the Critarchal
age The Zabian idolatry set up at Jerusalem in the Monarchal age
The partial Reformation of Josiah The ancient Persians, Sun and Fire
worshippers Origin of Mithras The gods of Phenicia, Elioun, and
Adonis or Tammuz . . . . . . 152
3. The gods of the Hindoos, Vishnu, Buddha, Brahma, and Seeva,
form no Trinity The theft of their names and attributes from the
Hebrew evinced by their meaning Buddha an avatar of Vishnu Ori-
gin of Fohi, the god of the Chinese Druidical, Peruvian, Mexican, and
Parsee worship Origin of Surya, Suras, and Asuras Russell's citation
of Macrobius on the worship of the Solar god The concentration of
Paganism . . . v . . . *' . 158
a
XV111 CONTENTS.
4. Origin of the Greek and Latin names of the Supreme God Inge-
nious derivation by Dr. Hales Confutation of that given by Francoeur
in his " Uranographie' 1 Origin of the New Testament titles of Christ
Citation of Theophilus on this subject Irrefragable prcfof of the
Divinity of our Lord Original temple of the Sun Connection of
Religious worship and Astronomical observation Antiquity of the
Hindoos and Chinese ...... 163
CHAPTER III. TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL AGES OP THE
WORLD.
1. Tradition concerning the Seventh Age Prophecy of the Universal
Saviour Traditions of the Jews Opinion of Irenseus and the Chris-
tian Church in his time Dr. Russell's opinion confuted Testimony
of the Heathen to the Tradition of the Seven Ages Digression on the
Corruptions of the Septuagint and the Hebrew text Arguments
against the numerical accuracy of the latter Remarkable prophecy
contained in the names of the Ante-diluvian Patriarchs Opinions of
Augustine and Abulfarajius Notion of Dr. Isaac Barrow Important
admission of Eusebius Opinion of Ephrem Syrus . . 168
2. Description of the Ages of the World from Hesiod Error of Newton
The Golden Age corresponds to the Antediluvian The Silver to the
Postdiluvian The Brazen, Heroic and Iron ages, to the Patriarchal,
Critarchal and Monarchal These ages relate chiefly to Greece Refe-
rences to Scripture history in all The Sixth or Cumzean age corresponds
to the Hierarchal Wisdom of the Heathens Their expectation of a
Divine Instructor Socrates, Plato, Eupolis, Virgil, and others, antici-
pate his glorious Advent The close of the Sixth age indicates the arrival
of the Seventh, or the return of the Golden age. . . .193
CHAPTER IV. ERRORS OF THE ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPH EKS.
1. Authority of the Scripture texts superior to that of the ancient
chronographers The testimony of the latter chiefly in favour of the Sep-
tuagint The testimonies of Josephus, Theophilus, Africanus, Eusebius,
and the author of the Paschal Chronicle selected for examination
Table I. Containing their statements relating to the First age of the
world Errors of Josephus Corruption of his text Mr. Cuning-
hame's detection of his blunders in regard to the first age His dis-
covery of the truth from the titulary statements of the first and second
books of Josephus His explanation of the Jewish fraud to which this
author appears to have been accessory Error of Theophilus, and
accuracy of Africanus in this age Similar error of Eusebius and Syn-
cellus, and accuracy of Epiphanius and the author of the Paschal
Chronicle ..... . 229
CONTENTS. XIX
2. Table II., Containing the statements of the ancient chronographers
relating to the Second age of the world Absurd errors of the text of
Josephus The discrepancy between his detailed numbers and his sum
total, the work of an enemy to the truth Proof that the true sum was
in his text originally Errors of Theophilus and Africanus in this age
due to Jewish influence Notion entertained by the ancient chronogra-
phers regarding the bisection of the Mundane period at the death of
Peleg The genealogy of Shem, like that of Melchisedec, in the chro-
nology Reference to Mr. Clinton Error of Eusebius, rectified in the
Hieronymian version of his Chronicon Accuracy of the Paschal
Chronicle, with the exception of the biennial period Valuable Testi-
mony of Eusebius and Africanus, preserved by Syncellus in his Chrono-
graphia, on the extent of ilw first two ages . . . 240
3. Table III., Containing the statements of the ancient chronograph-
ers relating to the Third age of the world The testimony of Josephus
to the true chronology very explicit Misinterpretation of prophecy the
cause of wavering in Josephus and blunder in Theophilus The testi-
mony of Africanus correct Eusebius, Demetrius, and the author of the
Paschal Chronicle correct Explanation of the period of Four Hundred
years ........ 248
4. Table IV., Containing the statements of the ancient chronographera
relating to the Fourth age of the world The testimony of Josephus
to the extent of this age highly satisfactory Proof that it was 612
years Strange errors of Theophilus Method of rectifying them
Compensating errors of Africanus His date of the foundation of
Solomon's Temple correct Errors of Eusebius His Prceparatio cor-
rect in amount, his Chronicon wrong He confutes himself and adopts
the Hebrew chronology Comparison between him and Usher Errors
of the Paschal Chronicle The author coincides with Josephus
Hesitancy of Mr. Clinton Table V., The first four ages of the world,
and date of Solomon's Temple according to the different chrono-
graphers ........ 254
5. Table VI. Containing the statements of the chronographers re-
lating to the Fifth age of the world The errors of Josephus peculiar
His elongation of the reign of Solomon Disagreement of his titulary
periods with the summation of the reigns in Books Eighth, Ninth and
Tenth Proof that the former is nearly correct Table VII. Monarchal
Periods of Josephus Comparison with the True Chronology Evidence
that these periods have been manufactured The true chronology of this
age detected in his works Table VIII. True Flavian Periods, showing
the true Extent as originally held by Josephus Proof that he knew the
true epoch of the Captivity The errors of Theophilus in this age few
He is also mistaken as to the epoch of the Captivity Africanus dimi-
nishes the true extent of this age He is misrepresented by Syncellus
XX CONTENTS.
The Statements of Eusebius taken from the Hieronymian and Armenian
Versions of his Canon Those of the author of the Paschal Chronicle
from that work itself Their errors pointed out The difference between
their Extent of this age and the true Extent onlj 3 years . . 274
6. Table IX. Ethnocratic Eras and Intervals according to Ptolemy's
Canon and the ancient Chronographers Accuracy of the Canon Joae-
phus erroneous but consistent in the Sixth age His remarkable coinci-
dence with the true Chronology in the Mundane period Theopbilus
follows the Roman Chronology in this age Africanus the prophetic
Both erroneous Errors of Eusebius, and accuracy of his Extent of this
age Errors of the Paschal Chronicle considerable and unaccountable
Table X. Summation of the Six ages of the world according to the Sep-
tuagint and the ancient chronographers Table XI. Summation of the
Periods of the Christian Chronographers, adopted by themselves
Chronological Table of the Principal Epochs and Events from the Crea-
tion to the Advent of Christ . .287
A
DISSERTATION
ON
THE TRUE AGE OF THE WORLD.
INTRODUCTION.
1. State of the World at the Birth of Christ Tradition concerning his
Advent Its epoch determined from Prophecy.
THE Christian era was ushered into notice, by
a state of peace among all nations, unprecedented
in the history of the world. The temple of Janus
at Rome was shut, after the lapse of seven centu-
ries of incessant warfare. At this period, a very
general belief prevailed among men, that the long-
expected Saviour of the world was about to
appear. Many incontestable proofs of this fact
are to be found in ancient history. Soter or
Saviour, had indeed become a common appellation
among kings, both in Syria and Egypt ; and the
foreshortened shadows of coming events indi-
cated the near approach of the " Desire of all na-
tions." Poets anticipated his happy reign ; his-
torians longed for the promised age of miracles ;
B
INTRODUCTION.
and philosophers panted for the Advent of a
heaven-born Instructor of mankind. The epoch
assigned, by universal tradition, for the epiphany
of this wonderful personage, was the Sixth Age
of the world ; or, according to the ancient Hebrew
chronology, the middle of the Sixth Millennium
or Chiliad of years from the creation of the world.
Respecting the true origin of the assigned
epoch, a considerable difference of opinion exists.
It is, however, generally referred to the ancient
tradition among the Jews, that the world was
destined to last for a period of seven millenaries
of years, the first six corresponding to the six days
of creation, and the seventh to the Sabbath or day
of rest ; and that previous to the last millennium,
the Messiah should appear in great power and
glory. Traces of this tradition may be found in
the vaticinations of the Sybilline oracles, and in
the writings of the Greek theogonists and cosmo-
gonists. The prevalence of the same tradition in
the time of our Saviour and his Apostles, had
evidently led the disciples to associate, as con-
temporaneous events, the first Advent of Christ,
and the restoration of all things. See Matthew
xxxiv. 2, and 2 Thessalonians ii. 1 .
Although there be no foundation in Scripture
for the Jewish tradition itself, yet the fact of its
existence at an early period of the Christian era,
added to the universal belief among ancient
writers, that the Messiah did appear at the as-
INTRODUCTION. 3
signed epoch, affords a strong presumptive proof
that it was the true one. Theophilus, bishop of
Antioch, who flourished in the second century,
ingeniously unites the historical fact and the
Jewish tradition, when he intimates that as the
Jirst Adam came into existence on the sixth day
of creation, so the second Adam came into the
world on the sixth day of the Chiliads, each day
being reckoned as " a thousand years" It is
evident, however, that this early father had de-
rived his knowledge of the true epoch from its
original and only source ; for, he says, " the
whole time, even all the years" from the Creation
to the Crucifixion, " are shown" in the Scriptures,
" to those who are willing to obey the truth."* Ac-
cordingly, we assert that it was possible to ascer-
tain at a very early period, almost five centuries
before Christ, the true length of the whole
interval in question, by a careful examination of
the Sacred Records ; the exact period from the
rebuilding of Jerusalem to the Crucifixion, being
assigned in the prophecies of Daniel ; while, the
period from Creation to the Return of the Jews
from Babylon, can be determined from the other
books of the Old Testament. Before we proceed
to demonstrate the truth of this assertion, we must
shortly glance at the history of these Books.
* *O 7TUS J^JOl/OS KO.I TO. TJ $f.lKVVTO.l, TOVTOIS fioV\OflVOils TTfl-
Qeerdat rrj a\r)6eiq.. Theoph. ad Autol. Lib. III. p. 273, Oxon.
1684.
B 2
INTRODUCTION.
2. Short history of the Septuagint Version of the Old Testament Discre-
pancies between the Hebrew and Septuagint Their effect on Sacred
Chronology.
It is universally admitted that the Penta-
teuch was translated into Greek about three cen-
turies before Christ, for the use of the dispersed
tribes of Israel, and particularly of the Jews,
who had settled in Alexandria, and other parts of
the Grecian Empire. Although the history of
this translation given by Aristeas, Josephus, and
others, savours too much of the marvellous for
modern belief, yet all antiquity agrees that it was
executed in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus,
and, according to some, at his request, by seventy-
two interpreters selected from the most learned
and eminent men among the Jews by the High
Priest and Sanhedrim at Jerusalem. It is more-
over asserted, that the other books of the Old
Testament were translated about a century later
than the Pentateuch ; and this assertion is in
some measure proved by a considerable diversity
of style and sentiment. It is quite certain, how-
ever, that the Greek version of the whole of the
Hebrew Scriptures, now called the Septuagint,
was in public use at least a century before the
Christian era ; and that the Evangelists and
Apostles made citations from this version in the
New Testament, in preference to the original text.
Such being the origin and authority of this
INTRODUCTION. 5
ancient and venerable version, its value cannot
be too much appreciated ; for, without it, the
Christians would have been entirely at the mercy
of the Jews, as to the authenticity, the integrity,
and the meaning of the Holy Scriptures ; first, of
the Old Testament, on account of their ignorance
of the Hebrew, and the danger of the glosses and
traditions of their opponents ; and second, of the
New Testament, on account of its being the com-
plete elucidation and fulfilment of the Old. Be-
sides, although the Jews were for ages the
appointed custodiers of the Hebrew text, and are
generally considered to have been faithful to their
trust ; yet we must not conceal the fact that it
now differs considerably from the Septuagint in
many important places, particularly in the pro-
phecies relating to the Messiah ; and, that its
chronology of the whole period from the creation
to the first advent, is completely at variance with
that of the Greek version.
The chronological discrepancies between the
Hebrew and the Septuagint, which amount in all
to nearly fifteen centuries of difference in regard
to the true age of the world, have occasioned
disputes among the learned ever since the third
century. The Christian Church, however, has
always followed the longer computation of the
Seventy, from the earliest period of its history till
the era of the Reformation ; while the Jewish
Church has retained the shorter chronology of the
6 INTRODUCTION.
Hebrew text from the second century till the
present day. Archbishop Usher, the great
modern authority in chronology, endeavoured to
fix and determine the true epoch of the birth of
Christ from that text alone. Dr. Hales, a later
and more accurate authority, made a similar
attempt, founding his computation on the Septua-
gint. As this subject has been lately revived by
writers of considerable eminence on both sides,
we shall endeavour to place the whole Scriptural
evidence before our readers, in the following cri-
tical analysis of the question.
SECTION I.
AGES AND EPOCHS OF THE WORLD.
THE whole period from the Creation to the
birth of Christ, whatever may be considered as its
real extent, is generally divided by chronologers
into six subordinate periods, called Ages. The
first, which is reckoned from the Creation to the
Deluge, is called the Antediluvian age ; the second^
from the Deluge to the Call of Abraham, the Post-
diluvian age ; the third, from the Call of Abraham
to the Exode of the Israelites from Egypt, the
Patriarchal age ; the fourth, from the Exode of
the Israelites to the foundation of Solomon's
Temple, the Critarchal (or, judge-ruling) age ;
the fifth, from the foundation to the destruction
of Solomon's Temple, the Monarchal age ; the
sixth, from the destruction of Solomon's Temple
to the birth of Christ, the Hierarchal age. We
have, for the sake of distinctness and brevity,
given to the last four ages, names derived from
the four different states of the Hebrew Polity,
namely, the governments of the Patriarchs, the
Judges, the Kings, and the High Priests; the
government of the latter terminating in Judea
becoming a Roman province.
8 AGES AND EPOCHS OF THE WORLD.
Besides the great epochs which limit the six
ages of the world, there are many intermediate
eras of very considerable importance in the settle-
ment of disputes both in chronology and history,
sacred as well as profane. Thus : in the first
age, we have, the fall of Adam, the births and
deaths of the Patriarchs, and the translation of
Enoch ; in the second, the confusion of tongues,
the foundation of Babel and Nineveh, and the
eras of the Calyougham of the Hindoos, and the
Chinese emperor Yao ; in the third, the destruc-
tion of Sodom, the migration of the Hebrew
Patriarchs into Egypt, and the foundation of the
Greek kingdoms of Sicyon and Argos ; in the
fourth, the servitudes of the Israelites in Canaan,
the foundation of Athens and Jerusalem, and the
destruction of Troy ; in the Jifth, the eras of the
Olympiads and Nabonassar, the foundation of
Rome, and the captivities of Israel and Judah ;
in the sixth, the return of the Jews from cap-
tivity, the destruction of Babylon, the death of
Alexander the Great, and the eras of the Seleu-
cidse and the Caesars.
<J
CHAPTER I.
EXTENT OF THE FIRST AGE OF THE WORLD.
1. Discrepancies of the Hebrew, Septuagint and Samaritan Texts Solution
of the difficulty by the chronographers of the middle ages Consistency
of the Septuagint and the New Testament Numerical errors of the
Hebrew text.
THE extent of the Jirst, or Antediluvian age,
is ascertained from the text of Genesis, v. 3-32,
and vii. 6, by summing up the ages at which the
Patriarchs begat their eldest sons, including the
date of the flood from that of Noah. This amount
is, according to the Hebrew text, 1656 years ;
according to the Septuagint version, 2262 years ;
and according to the Samaritan Pentateuch, 1307
years. This astonishing discrepancy, which is
found in all the codices of the three texts, is a
Gordian knot, which has puzzled the Christian
Church for more than fifteen centuries ! The
difference of the three computations is the more
remarkable, inasmuch as all the three texts are
considered to have been very carefully preserved !
The Samaritan Pentateuch rivals the Hebrew text
in point of antiquity, and is reckoned by some to
be the nearest to the true Mosaic text ; while, the
10 EXTENT OF THE
Septuagint version is rendered almost sacred, by
the authority of the Apostles and the early Fathers
of the Church. Which then, is the true computa-
tion ? So difficult of solution was this question
deemed in the middle ages, that chronographers,
in order to reconcile the difference between the
Hebrew and the Septuagint, even argued the pos-
sibility of both texts being equally correct ! The
Hebrew computation, however, has been followed
in modern times chiefly on the authority of the
Latin vulgate, which is said to have been trans-
lated by St. Jerome. The Samaritan computation
has had comparatively few supporters ; while that
of the Septuagint, which was universally followed
by the ancient chronographers and historians, both
sacred and profane, has never been wholly aban-
doned by the Church even to the present day.
With regard to the evidence of the two principal
witnesses, it is manifest that the citations from the
Old Testament, which are to be found in the
New, are, in general, not only in more perfect
accordance with the Septuagint version than
with the Hebrew text (at least, as we now have
it) ; but they are more consistent with the
general tenor of the Sacred Writings. There
is, on this account, therefore, an & priori pre-
sumption in favour of the accuracy of the nu-
merical statements of the Septuagint. This pre-
sumption is strongly confirmed by a reference
to several passages not at all connected with
FIRST AGE OF THE WORLD. 11
chronology, of which the following are striking
instances. Thus, the day on which God ended,
that is, finished, or completed the work of crea-
tion, is said to be the 7th in the Hebrew, and the
Cth in the Septuagint ; but the latter statement is
plainly the correct one, being confirmed by the
context; see Genesis ii. 2, and i. 31. Again, the
number of persons present at the Eisodus of
Israel into Egypt, is said to be 70 in the Hebrew,
and 75 in the Septuagint ; but the latter number
is unquestionably the true one, because it is con-
firmed by the New Testament ; see Genesis
xlvi. 27, and Acts vii. 14. In general, it may be
observed, that the numerical statements of the
Hebrew text, in many places differ materially
from those of the Septuagint, and even from those
of other places of that text, where we are certain,
from the nature of the context, that they ought to
be precisely the same. The following instances,
taken at random, (and their number might be
greatly increased,) will confirm this assertion, by
a comparison of the different passages, even in
our own version : Exodus xii. 37, and xxxviii.
26, with Numbers i. 46, and ii. 32; Numbers
xxxv. 4, with Numbers xxxv. 5 ; 1 Samuel xviii.
27, with 2 Samuel iii. 14 ; 2 Samuel xv. 7, with
1 Kings ii. 11 ; 2 Samuel xxiv. 13, with 1 Chron-
icles xxi. 12 ; and 1 Kings ix. 28, with 2 Chroni-
cles viii. 18.
12 EXTENT OF THE
2. Origin and effect of various readings The immaculate purity aud mira-
culous preservation of the Hebrew text, a figment Consistency of the
word of God.
From the occurrence of such discrepancies as
these, both in the original texts and the ancient
versions, it is evident, that the authenticity of
each numerical statement must be carefully exa-
mined per se, and tested by the multiplied means
for the discovery of the truth which we possess
in modern times. For, although the providence of
God has watched over the Sacred Scriptures in a
very remarkable manner, yet still they are found
liable to the same causes of textual error as all
other writings; so true is the Apostle's humbling
remark, that, " we have this" heavenly "treasure
in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power
may be of God and not of us." Accordingly, from
the necessity and frequency of copying the MSS.
(Deuteronomy xvii. 18) during so many ages
previous to the invention of printing, and from
the inaccuracy and inadvertency of uninspired
scribes, have arisen what are called " Various
Readings" in the Scriptures, both of the Old and
New Testament ; and, although these, and other
discrepancies above-mentioned, do not in the
slightest degree affect the grand question of
salvation, yet they have a serious influence on
important questions in sacred history and chro-
nology, and in the interpretation of prophecy.
FIRST AGE OF THE WORLD. 13
Indeed, the extraordinary and multiplied col-
lations of Hebrew MSS. and editions of the Old
Testament, accomplished by the indefatigable
labours of Kennicott and De Rossi, have brought
to light such a host of variations in the original
text, as completely to put to flight the anti-
quated notion of the " immaculate purity " and
"miraculous preservation" of the Hebrew Verity,
which was so long and so strenuously maintained
by critics and divines, and which held fast its
position in their hermeneutical Canon, even so
late as the 18th century. Moreover, it is mani-
fest a priori, that it is quite impossible for two
different numbers, or sets of numbers, both re-
lating to the same facts, and in precisely the same
manner, to be perfectly accurate and authentic !
We shall feel no hesitation, therefore, in preferring
the Septuagint version to the Hebrew text, or the
Hebrew text to the Septuagint version, according
as the evidence for the truth, appears to us, to pre-
ponderate in favour of the one document or the
other. It is even possible that the true number
connected with some important event, though ori-
ginally in both documents, cannot now be found
in either. We shall, in such a case, feel perfectly
justified in adopting that number which can be
demonstrated to be the true one, whether it be
discovered in an ancient version or commentary,
history, or chronicon. The word of God, like all
truth, must be perfectly consistent with itself;
14 EXTENT OF THE
and if through the lapse of ages, any part of that
word has been corrupted or lost, it becomes a
Christian duty, as well as a philosophic employ-
ment, to make all possible search for its recovery,
not only that our own faith may be strengthened
and confirmed, but that the mind of every sincere
enquirer may be satisfied.
3. Tables of the Discrepancies of the three texts with regard to the Ante-
diluvian Patriarchs : Table I., In their Autepaidogonian ages Table II.,
In their Postpaidogonian ages Table III., In their whole lives Inter-
nal evidence afforded by the Tables in favour of the computation of the
Septuagint The Discrepancies of the Hebrew and Samaritan the work
of design Proof of this fact from the Scriptures.
We now proceed to state our arguments in
favour of the computation of the Septuagint,
which we consider as that of the original and
genuine chronology of the Sacred Scriptures. As
we shall have frequent occasion to refer to the
ages at which the Patriarchs began to beget their
children, and to the residues or remaining por-
tions of their lives, we shall adopt a phraseology
sanctioned by the example of Usher,* and call the
former their Antepaidogonian ages, and the latter,
their Postpaidogonian ages. The following Table,
relating to tbejirst age, exhibits the discrepancies
of the three texts, with regard to the Antepaido-
* See his " Syntagma de Septuaginta," p. 13, Lond. 1655,
and his " Chronologia Sacra," p. 46, Oxon. 1660. In our
subsequent citations, these editions are followed ; the latter is
denominated " Opus Posthumum hucusque d
FIRST AGE OF THE WORLD.
15
gonian ages of the Antediluvian Patriarchs, and the
Anni Mundi, or years of the world, in which they
were born :
TABLE I.
ANTEDILUVIAN
PATRIARCHS.
HEBREW.
A. P ages. Born A. M.
SEPTUAGINT.
A. P. ages. Born A.M.
SAMARITAN.
A. P. ages. Born A.M.
From Creation
Adam ....
130
1
230
1
130
1
Seth
105
130
205
230
105
130
Enos ....
90
235
190
435
90
235
Cainan ....
70
325
170
625
70
325
Mahalaleel . . .
65
395
165
795
65
395
Jared ....
*162
460
162
960
62
460
Enoch ....
65
622
165
1122
65
522
Methuselah . . .
*187
687
187
1287
67
587
Lamech ....
*182
874
188
1474
*53
654
Noah ....
500
1056
500
1662
500
707
To the Flood . .
100
100
100
FIRST AGE . 1656 years. 2262 years. 1307 years.
The numbers marked with a star in this and
subsequent Tables, are those in which the dis-
crepancies are the most striking, and produce the
most anomalous or absurd results in Chronology.
The following auxiliary Table exhibits the dis-
crepancies of the three texts with regard to the
Postpaidogonian ages of the same Patriarchs, and
the A.M., or years of the world in which they
died :
1C
EXTENT OF THE
TABLE II.
ANTEDILUVIAN
PATRIARCHS.
Adam . . . .
Seth
Enos ....
Cainan ....
Mahalaleel . . .
Jared ....
Enoch translated .
Methuselah . .
Lamech . .
Noah
HEBREW.
SEPTUAOINT.
SAMARITAN.
P.P. ages. Died A.M.
P.P. ages. Died A.M.
P.P. ages. Died A. M.
800
931
700
931
800
931
807
1042
707
1142
807
1042
815
1140
715
1340
815
1140
840
1235
740
1535
840
1235
830
1290
730
1690
830
1290
800
1422
800
1922
*785
*1307
300
987
200
1487
300
887
782
1656
782
2256
653
*1307
595
1651
565
2227
600
1307
350
2006
350
2612
350
1657
Lastly, the following Table exhibits the dis-
crepancies of the three texts with regard to the
Whole Lives of these Patriarchs, and the number
of their generations from Adam :
TABLE III.
ANTEDILUVIAN
PATRIARCHS.
HEBREW.
W. lives. No.
SEPTUAGINT.
W. live*. No.
SAMARITAN.
W. lives. No.
Adam ....
930
1
930
1
930
1
Seth
912
2
912
2
912
2
Enos
905
3
905
3
905
3
Cainan ....
910
4
910
4
910
4
Mahalaleel . . .
895
5
895
5
895
5
Jared ....
962
6
962
6
*847
6
Enoch ....
365
7
365
7
365
7
Methuselah . .
969
8
969
8
720
8
Lamech ....
777
9
753
9
*653
9
Noah
950
10
950
10
950
10
FIRST AGE OF THE WORLD. 17
Let us now examine the internal evidence
afforded by these tables in favour of our argu-
ment. On looking at Table III., we perceive that
the whole lives of these Patriarchs, with the ex-
ception of that of Lamech, are all exactly the
same, both in the Hebrew and the Septuagirit ;
but that in the Samaritan, three of them are very
considerably different, namely, those of Jared,
Methuselah, and Lamech. It is plain, therefore,
that we must prefer the testimony of the two
former witnesses to that of the latter. Moreover,
it is evident that the lives of the three Patriarchs
in question have been shortened in the Samaritan,
in order that their deaths should be represented
as all occurring in the year of the flood, see Table
II. ; for, had their lives been preserved as entire
in this text, as in the other two, they would,
contrary to the express words of Scripture, have
survived the flood by 115, 249, and 100 years
respectively ! The evidence of the Samaritan
text being thus clearly excluded, we have only to
settle the claims of the other two witnesses on the
question of the life of Lamech. As in this case
all the witnesses differ in their statements, we
are deprived of the evidence of double testimony,
and we must resort to another test of the truth.
In the mean time it is proper to observe that the
date of the flood from creation will not, in the
slightest degree, be affected by the discrepancy
of the three texts on this point.
c
18 EXTENT OF THE
The most striking discrepancies, however, are
to be found in the first two Tables. On looking
at Table I., we perceive that six of the Hebrew
Antepaidogonian ages, namely, the first five, and
the seventh, have been diminished by the exact
number of 100 years ; for, omitting that of
Noah, which is the same in all, the remaining
three agree with those of the Septuagint, with the
exception of six years only, in that of Lamech.
Again : On looking at Table II., we perceive
that the sir Hebrew Postpaidogonian ages, corres-
ponding to the six former ages, have been in-
creased by the exact number of 100 years; for,
the remaining three, corresponding to the three
former ages, agree with those of the Septuagint,
with the exception of 30 years in that of Lamech.
It is manifest, therefore, on the slightest con-
sideration of the question, that the centenary
increase of the six Hebrew Postpaidogonian ages
was made to balance the centenary decrease of the
six Hebrew Antepaidogonian ages, in order to
preserve the integrity of the whole lives of the
Patriarchs. These discrepancies, especially the
regular centenary difference which occurs six times,
have led to the uniform opinion among almost all
chronologers, from the period of their first dis-
covery, in the second century, till the present
day, that they were the work of design or artifice,
and not the offspring of chance or mistake!
The regularity of the Antepaidogonian ages of
FIRST AGE OF THE WORLD. 19
the Septuagint, argues very strongly in favour of
their accuracy ; while, the irregularity of those
of the Hebrew text militates powerfully against
the supposition of their being correct. For, in
accordance with the language of Scripture, and
the experience of all ages, " generation comes,
and generation goes, and the earth continues
stationary for the age," (Ecclesiastes i. 4) ;* little
change is therefore likely to have taken place in
the Ante and Post Paidogonian ages and whole lives
of those almost millenarian patriarchs, except by
the special interposition of God, and for some
specific purpose, which he would have con-
descended to reveal unto man. Hence, we find
that when the Patriarch Enoch, " the seventh
from Adam," was appointed, as the first Prophet
on record, to announce to the old world the
mingled news of redemption and judgment, he
was afterwards translated to heaven without
dying, before three of his ancestors (according to
the Septuagint), and about six centuries before
the usual term of human life in that age of won-
ders ; so soon and so strikingly did the Lord
sanction the message of his faithful servant, and
admit him at once to his eternal and glorious
reward.
* This translation, which is from the Septuagint, may be
considered as too free by some ; but we conceive that it ex-
presses the true meaning of the passage, which is not conveyed
in our common version ; for the earth abideth not for ever !
c 2
20 EXTENT OF THE
4. Reasons assigned for the alterations in the Hebrew and Samaritan Ac-
curacy of the Septuagint demonstrated An objection to its chronology
removed Utility of the publication otfac simile editions of the codices
Late origin of the printed Hebrew text Its original agreement with
the Septuagint proved.
Moreover, the remarkable circumstance that
three of the Hebrew Antepaidogonian ages, namely,
those of Jared, Methuselah, and Lamech, exceed
other three, namely those of Cainan, Maha-
laleel, and Enoch, by a difference of about 100
years, although the former partriarchs stood so
nearly related to the latter, argues that some
good reason must have existed in the minds of
those who dared to make the alterations, for not
abstracting the usual centenary difference from the
former. Accordingly, we find that if this altera-
tion had been effected on the Hebrew Antepaidogo-
nian ages of Jared, Methuselah, and Lamech, in
order to make them uniform with the rest in this
respect, the flood would, according to that text,
have taken place in A.M. 1356, their Postpaido-
gonian ages would have been 900, 882, and 695
years, and they would, contrary to Scripture,
have survived the flood by 66, 200, and 95 years
respectively! This anticipated result affords the
strongest presumptive evidence that the Hebrew
Antepaidogonian ages must all have been originally
the same as those of the Septuagint ; and that to
serve some particular purpose, a century was
abstracted from six of them, but not from the
FIRST AGE OF THE WORLD. 21
remaining three ; because if this had been done,
either the integrity of the whole lives corresponding
to them would have been destroyed, or the three
patriarchs in question would have been falsely
represented, as having long survived the deluge.
The Hebrew text (as it now exists), represents
Methuselah as dying in the very year of the
flood, although only forty days of it had elapsed
when Noah entered the Ark ! Thus, according
to that text, the only man of that age who
" walked with God," and was "righteous before
him in that generation," would have, in addition
to the distressing cares and the unutterable sym-
pathies attending the arrival of God's awful
judgment, the personal and relative sorrow of
heart arising from the death and burial of his pious
and aged grandfather ; but we know that God
" doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children
of men ;" and we have much reason, therefore, to
question the accuracy of this coincidence ; for, to
suppose with some, that Methuselah was swept
away by the deluge, would be to contradict the
Scripture, which affirms that Noah was " just and
perfect in his generations."
This difficulty is entirely removed by the accu-
rate copies of the Septuagint, which places the
death of Methuselah six years before the flood.
Again, by the Hebrew text Lamech is repre-
sented as having died five years before that ca-
tastrophe, and consequently before Methuselah,
22 EXTENT OF THE
being the only instance in the generations of the
righteous from Adam to Noah, in which the son
paid the debt of nature before the father. But
this anomaly evidently arises from the alteration
which was made in the Hebrew Antepaidogonian
age of Lamech, by the abstraction of six years,
the difference between it and that of the Septua-
gint ; for, if the original number had been retained
as in the case of Methuselah, Lamech would then
have been represented as surviving the deluge by
one year ! According to the present text of the
Septuagint, Lamech is indeed represented as having
died twenty-nine years before his father; but if
his Hebrew Postpaidogonian age be considered as
the correct one, his death would then have taken
p\acQJive years before the flood, and one year after
that of his father ; thus, the natural anomaly
would be removed, and the difference between
the years of his whole life, in the Hebrew and the
Septuagint, reduced from thirty years to six, the
amount of alteration in his Hebrew Antepaidogo-
nian age. The whole question is ably and fully
discussed in Mr. Cuninghame's " Fulness of
the Times," pp. 138, 139, and his " Septuagint
and Hebrew Chronologies tried," pp. 36 45, on
the supposition that Lamech's Postpaidogonian age
and whole life, as given in the Septuagint, are
strictly correct ; but his reasoning is of so length-
ened and recondite a nature that we must refer
FIRST AGE OF THE WORLD. 23
our readers to the works themselves for complete
satisfaction on the subject.*
The Samaritan text is more consistent than the
Hebrew with regard to the centenary decrease of
the Antepaidogonian ages ; all of them but that of
Noah, having been submitted to its operation.
This alteration alone, however, was found to be
totally inadmissible ; because, as formerly re-
marked, the text would then have represented
three of the Patriarchs as long surviving the
deluge ; it was therefore necessary to make a
farther alteration, but on what principle it is
difficult to divine. We only know that two of the
Antepaidogonian ages, those of Methuselah and
Lamech, were reduced still more, namely from
87 and 82 years, to 67 and 53 years respectively ;
thereby occasioning a corresponding decrease in
the Postpaidogonian ages of Jared, Methuselah,
and Lamech, namely, from 900, 882, and 695
years, to 785, 653, and 600 years respectively, in
order to shorten their whole lives, and to bring the
dates of their deaths to coincide with the year of
the flood I Moreover, the idea thus conveyed, that
these three Patriarchs, either all died within forty
days of that event, or were swept away in the
common ruin, is, as we have shown in the case
of the Hebrew text, so contrary to nature arid to
* The reader will find an explanation of Mr. Cuninghame's
argument in the second part of this Dissertation.
24 EXTENT OF THE
Scripture, that it cannot be entertained for a
moment. Whatever, therefore, may have been
the object of these complicated alterations in the
Samaritan, it is plain that they have been made
with much less skill and ingenuity than those of
the Hebrew, the clumsy artifice being so easy of
detection. Thus, we are forced, by internal evi-
dence alone, to conclude that the numerical state-
ments of the Hebrew and Samaritan texts, with
regard to the Antepaidogonian ages, on which
their chronology is considered entirely to depend,
have, with very few exceptions, been manu-
factured to serve some particular end or design ;
and that those of the Septuagint are not only
entirely free from any appearance cf this kind,
but being perfectly natural and consistent with
themselves, possess all the marks of genuineness
and authenticity.
It has been objected to the accuracy of the
chronology of the Septuagint, that some copies of
that version, were found at an early period of the
Christian era, having 167 instead of 187 years
for the Antepaidogonian age of Methuselah, and
802 instead of 782 years for his Postpaidogonian
age, whereby this Patriarch was represented as
surviving the flood by fourteen years ! Common
sense, however, teaches that this discrepancy
must have been purely owing to a mistake in the
transcribers of these copies ; because, other copies
were extant at the same period which contained
FIRST AGE OF THE WORLD. 25
the correct numbers. Mr. Clinton, in his " Fasti
Hellenici," vol. i. p. 286, proves by extracts from
the early chronographers and historians, that some,
as Theophilus, Eusebius, Augustine, and Syn-
cellus, had the faulty reading in their copies ;
while others, as Demetrius, Josephus, Africanus,
Epiphanius, and the author of the Paschal
Chronicle, followed the correct copies ; and he
states that although " Augustine had the faulty
reading in his copies," yet " he judiciously applied
the proper remedy, and adopted the better read-
ing." This difference in the copies has even
reached our own times, and is found in the two
oldest and most complete manuscripts of the
Septuagint at present known to exist, namely,
the Vatican and Alexandrine codices ; the edition
of the Scriptures printed from the former having the
faulty reading, and that printed from the latter
having the true one. The librarians of the
British Museum have indeed, conferred an in-
valuable boon on the world, by the publication of
the fac simile of the Alexandrine codex ; and we
most anxiously hope that ere long, the Pope will
permit * the fac simile of the Vatican codex to be
published, especially as it is already printed and
ready for circulation ! The acknowledged fact
that discrepancies exist between this manuscript
and the editions printed from it,| increases the
* Revelation xiii. 17. f Ibid. xxii. 19.
26 EXTENT OF THE
solicitude of all the pious and learned in this
country for its immediate publication. Would
that we could purchase even a single copy !
The last argument we shall adduce here in favour
of the chronology of the Septuagint, and it ap-
plies both to the Ante and Post Diluvian ages, is
derived from the deliberate opinion of Dr. Kenni-
cott. In his valuable posthumous work, entitled
" Remarks on Select Passages of the Old Testa-
ment," p. 16, he says, " It has been proved from
Eusebius, that some Hebrew copies" of the Old
Testament, " having the larger numbers, existed
in the fourth century ; and others, on the autho-
rity of Jacob Edessenus, as late as the year 700 ;
whilst others much later, are mentioned in the
chronicle of Ecchellensis. And though such
manuscripts are all perhaps now lost, yet are
these testimonies confirmed by the traditions still
preserved among the Jews themselves, as to Seth
being born a hundred and thirty years after Abel's
death /" Moreover, it is acknowledged by biblical
critics, that all the copies of the present Hebrew
text were taken from manuscripts of date later
than the ninth century ; and, that the striking
uniformity which all the printed editions exhibit,
is to be attributed to the fact, that they were all
copied from the same codex. Dr. Hales also
gives citations from Eusebius, from the Jewish
Targums, and from other works, in which decided
reference is made to the larger numbers as they
FIRST AGE OF THE WORLD. 27
anciently existed in the Hebrew.* In fine, Mr.
Cuninghame, in his " Dissertation on the Apo-
calypse," p. 535, fourth edition, proves, on the
authority of ancient Jewish tradition, that Adam
was two hundred and thirty years old when he
begat Seth ; consequently, by the argument ex
uno disce omnes, we conclude that the whole of
the Antepaidogonian ages are correctly given in the
Septuagint, and that the true extent of the ANTE-
DILUVIAN AGE, is 2262 years.
* Dr. Hales says. " The Targutn of Jonathan Ben Uzziel,
of the highest authority among the Jews, thus paraphrases
Gen. iv. 25: 'And Adam knew his wife when 130 years were
completed after Abel was killed.' And the same account is
furnished by the Bereshith Rabba, More Nevochim, Midrash
Tanchuma, Solomon Jarchi, Elias, and others of their prin-
cipal writers." See his " Analysis of Chronology," vol. i.
p. 80. Indeed, the whole of the second article of the second
section of his Introduction, is well worth perusal, being full of
very curious and interesting matter, all tending powerfully to
prove that the longer computation of the Septuagint was the
true and original computation of the Hebrew text. His com-
parison of the Masorete and Samaritan texts in regard to
Genesis xi. 10 32, is very valuable; see p. 82.
28
CHAPTER II.
EXTENT OF THE SECOND AGE OF THE WORLD.
1. Discrepancies of the three texts Unfounded hypothesis of Usher
Agreement of Josephus with the Septuagint Authority of this Version
in the Church Its chronology confirmed by the most authentic Chinese
annals Reasons why the Jews altered the Hebrew text.
THE extent of the Second, or Postdiluvian Age,
is ascertained from the text of Genesis x.
21 25; xi. 10 32, and xii. 4 ; by summing up
the Antepaidogonian ages of the Postdiluvian Patri-
archs, including the date of the Call of Abraham
from that of Terah. This amount is, according
to the Hebrew text, and the Latin Vulgate, 367
years ; according to Usher's view of that text,
427 years; according to the Septuagint, 1147
years; and, according to the Samaritan, 1017 years.
This enormous discrepancy is another Gordian
knot of equal difficulty with the former, and
requiring for its resolution, a similar process of
investigation and argument. Before resuming
the discussion, however, it is proper to notice a
very able and logical article in the " Cours Com-
plet de Theologie" of M. L'Abbe" Migne, entitled
" Chronographiae LXX Interpretum Defensio."
SECOND AGE OF THE WORLD. 29
The author of this dissertation enters fully into
the critical history of the Septuagint version, and
investigates the causes of the existing discrepan-
cies between it and the Hebrew text. He power-
fully vindicates the authenticity and authority of
the Septuagint ; he clearly 1 refutes the absurd
suppositions which have been advanced from time
to time by critics in order to account for the
numerical errors which the advocates of the
Hebrew verity suppose it contains ; and, he com-
pletely demolishes the unfounded hypothesis of
Usher as to the fancied existence of two Greek
versions, both of which were ascribed to the
Seventy interpreters ! * He next discusses the
authority of the Samaritan Pentateuch, and proves
that it, as well as the Hebrew, originally contained
the same numerical statements as the Septuagint ;
and shews that it is entitled to be heard as an
additional witness in regard to the Postdiluvian
age, notwithstanding its error in the matter of
the Junior Cainan. He treats, in a very full and
impartial manner, of the authority of Josephus as
an historian and chronographer, and institutes a
careful and searching inquiry into his numerical
statements, which are universally admitted to be
so puzzling and contradictory. He clearly elicits,
however, the undeniable fact that the numbers of
Josephus originally agreed with those of the
Septuagint, both before and after the flood ; but
* " Syntagma," cap. iv. p. 34.
30 EXTENT OF THE
he avows that they have been so vitiated by care-
less or designing copyists, that it is impossible to
establish a perfect coincidence.
The author then shows that in the first ages
of Christianity, the Septuagint translation was
esteemed a divine production ; that by the cita-
tions made from it in the New Testament, it has re-
ceived the stamp and seal of Christ and his Apos-
tles, as a genuine and faithful witness of the truth ;
and that the ancient chronology of this version
was reckoned authentic by the whole Christian
Church till the ninth century. He next inquires
into the authenticity of the chronological state-
ments of profane historians, particularly among
the Chinese and the Egyptians ; and shows that
the true and ancient records of these nations are
wholly irreconcileable with the shorter chrono-
logy. Thus, the era of the Emperor Yao, accord-
ing to the most authentic Chinese annals, is B. c.
2357 ; so that, according to the Hebrew chrono-
logy, even as expounded by Usher, he flourished
thirteen years before the flood ! While, accord-
ing to that of the Septuagint, he flourished in the
ninth century after the flood, or forty-one years
after the division of the earth among the primitive
founders of the nations.*
* We refer here to the date of the division of the earth as
determined by Mr. Cuninghame ; see the Preface to his
" Synopsis of Chronology," pp. 18 22, and his "Fulness of
the Times," p. 44. In these works, he makes out that the
SECOND AGE OF THE WORLD. 31
The author next refutes some popular objec-
tions to the computation of the Septuagint,
founded, first, on the supposed immaculate purity
and miraculous preservation of the Hebrew text;
secondly, on the supposed antiquity of the Chaldee
paraphrasts, the Syriac version, and the Indian
and Chinese copies of the Pentateuch ; and
thirdly, on the decree of the Council of Trent,
in reference to the paramount authority of the
Latin Vulgate. He concludes by offering some
reasonable conjectures on the causes of the dis-
crepancies in question ; and, he shows that the
early Fathers were generally of opinion that the
Jews had violated and mystified the numbers of
the sacred text, in order, to disturb and confuse
the times which related to the Advent of the
Messiah, and thereby to confute the Christians,
by pretending to prove from that text, that Jesus
Christ could not be the true Messiah, because he
had appeared before the period predicted by the
prophets, namely, the middle of the sixth millen-
nary from Creation. Such is but a short and
hasty sketch of one of the ablest treatises we
have yet seen, on the Ante and Post Diluvian
chronology of the Septuagint.
division commenced in A. M. 3081 or B. c. 2398 ; that it con-
tinued during a jubilean period, or forty-nine years; and, of
course, that it terminated in A. M. 3130, or B. c. 2349. We confess
that we do not see the necessity of allowing so long a period for
the division of the earth ; and we think it more likely to have
been finished than to have been begun at the former date.
32 EXTENT OF THE
2. Tables of the Discrepancies of the three texts with regard to the Post.
diluvian Patriarchs : Table IV., In their Antepaidogonian ages
Table V., In their Postpaidogouiau ages Table VI., In their whole
Lives.
The following Table relating to the Second Age,
exhibits the discrepancies of the three texts, with
regard to the Antepaidogonian ages of the Postdi-
luvian Patriarchs, and the years of the world, in
which they were born :
TABLE IV.
POSTDILUVIAN HEBREW.
PATRIARCHS. A.P. e. Bom A.M.
From the Flood . 2
SEPTUAOINT. SAMAHITAN.
A.P. *ges. Bom A.M. A.P. ages. Bora A.M.
2 2
Arphaxad . . .
Cainanf ....
Salah . . . .
35
30
1658
1693
135
130
130
2264
2399
2529
135
130
1309
1444
Heber ....
34
1723
134
2659
134
1574
Peleg
Reu
30
32
1757
1787
130
132
2793
2923
130
132
1708
1838
Serug ....
Nahor ....
Terah
30
29
70
75
1819
1849
1878
1948
130
79
70
75
3055
3185
3264
3334
130
79
70
75
1970
2100
2179
2249
To the Call of Abra- 1
ham . . J
SECOND AGE . 367 years. 1147 years. 1017 years.
The following auxiliary Table exhibits the dis-
crepancies of the three texts with regard to the
Postpaidogonian ages of the same Patriarchs, and
the years of the world in which they died :
t This name is marked in this and the two following Tables,
on account of its omission in the Hebrew and Samaritan texts.
SECOND AGE OF THE WORLD. 33
TABLE V.
POSTDILUVIAN HEBREW. SEPTUAGINT. SAMARITAN.
PATRIARCHS. p.p. ges. Died A.M. P.P. Age*. Died A.M. P.P. ages. Died A.M.
Arphaxad ... 403 2096 403 2802 303 1747
Cainan f . . . . 330 2859
Salah. .... 403 2126 303 2962 303 1877
Heber 430 2187 270 3063 270 1978
Peleg 209 1996 209 3132 109 1947
Reu 207 2026 207 3262 107 2077
Serug 200 2049 200 3385 100 2200
Nahor .... *1 19 1997 *129 3393 *69 2248
Terah .... *135 2083 *135 3469 *75 2324
Abraham ... 75 2123 75 3509 75 2424
Lastly, the following Table exhibits the discre-
pancies of the three texts with regard to the whole
lives of these Patriarchs, and the number of their
generations from the flood :
TABLE VI.
POSTDILUVIAN
PATRIARCHS.
Arphaxad . .
Cainan f . .
Salah . . . . , *.
Heber 464
Peleg .....
Reu . . . \
Serug . . . .'
Nahor . . .
Terah ....
Abraham .
HEBREW.
W. livet. No.
438 1
SEPTUAOINT.
W. lives. No.
538 1
SAMARITAN.
W. lives. No.
438 1
460
2
433
2
433
3
433
2
464
3
404
4
404
3
239
4
339
5
239
4
239
5
339
6
239
5
230
6
330
7
230
6
*148
7
*208
8
*148
7
205
8
*205
9
*145
8
175
9
175
10
175
9
D
34 EXTENT OF THE
3. Authenticity of tbe Second Cainan Dilemma of the Venerable Bede
Mistake of Mr. Clinton and Mr. Home Usher's Dissertation Incon-
sistency of authorized translations of tho Bible Rashness of Beza
The Second Cainan in the most ancient Codices Mistake of Bede,
Hales, and other cbronographers.
Let us examine the internal evidence again
afforded by these Tables, in favour of our argu-
ment. On comparing their different columns, we
find that the name and generation of one of the
Postdiluvian Patriarchs, called by chronologers the
Second or Junior Cainan, has been either entirely
lost or wilfully omitted in the Hebrew and Sa-
maritan texts. This assertion we make with the
utmost confidence, because in Luke iii. 36, this
Cainan is distinctly enumerated in the genealogy
of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and his name is found
in all the MSS. of the New Testament, with the
exception of the Codex Bez<E, which it is well
known has been corrupted in this place. The
hallucinations of commentators and chronologers
on this point, are perhaps the most extraordinary
which the annals of Criticism can furnish. To
refer no farther back than to the days of the
venerable Bede, we find him, in the preface to
his commentary on the Acts, confessing himself
unequal to the task of solving this difficult ques-
tion ; and, he greatly marvels why " ten genera-
tions only, from the flood to Abraham, are found
in the Hebrew verity," while the inspired Luke
chose to put " ekven in his Gospel, Cainan being
SECOND AGE OF THE WORLD. 35
added according to the Seventy Interpreters."
In his exposition of that Gospel, he touches on
the same question, and says with singular naivete",
" but which of these is the truer, or whether both
can be true, God knoweth !"* Modern critics ap-
pear to have had much less difficulty in settling
this important matter.
Mr. Clinton, " Fasti Hellenic!," vol. i. pp.
288 -297, after citing all the testimonies of the
ancient chronographers for and against the gene-
ration of the second Cainan, hastily concludes
that it is a " spurious addition to the text;" and,
although he admits its existence in the " Greek
copies," yet he entirely omits to cite the testimony
of St. Luke, who must have been better acquainted
with the genealogy of Christ than any of the chro-
nographers ! His silence on this point would seem
to indicate that he had some doubts of the authen-
ticity of the text in question. He has, however,
given an extract from Syncellus, affirming that the
second Cainan was in all the copies of the Septu-
agint in his time, censuring Eusebius for omitting
him, and stating that St. Luke reckons him the
13th from Adam. Syncellus, in this passage,
very properly includes Shem in the genealogy,
although he is necessarily omitted in the chrono-
logy ; because, he was an Antediluvian by birth,
his Antepaidogonian age being entirely omitted in
the Scriptures, and the birth of his son being
* Usher's " Chronologia Sacra," cap. vi. p. 87.
D 2
36 EXTENT OF THE
reckoned from the flood. Hence, we find that all
the ancient writers reckon Noah the tenth from
Adam, and Abraham the tenth from the flood,
Shem being evidently the eleventh from Adam,
and Abraham the twenty-Jirst. With feelings of-
the greatest respect for the extensive learning and
deep research of Mr. Clinton, we would seriously
advise him to consult the Codex Alexandrlnus in the
British Museum, and convince himself by ocular
demonstration, as we have done, of the genuine-
ness and authenticity of the testimonies of the
Evangelist and the Seventy Interpreters to the un-
deniable fact of the existence of the Postdiluvian
Cainan. Dr. Hales, " Analysis of Chronology,"*
vol. i. p. 90, appears to have strongly felt the
weight of St. Luke's authority on this point,
although, following the recent Masorete and Sa-
maritan texts, he rejects this generation.
Mr. Home, " Critical Introduction to the Holy
Scriptures," vol. iii. p. 561, 7th edition, asserts
that " St. Luke wrote for those Christians who
read the Greek version more than the original
Hebrew, and consequently he preferred their
version, which adds the name of Cainan to the
genealogy of Shem !" The desire to humour
the prejudices of any set of readers, by adding a
spurious generation to " the genealogy of Shem,"
is too serious a charge to bring against the Evan-
The citations from Dr. Hales* work are referred to the 4to.
edition, Lond. 18001812.
SECOND AGE OF THE WORLD. 37
gelist ; but when we consider that this would
be, in fact, adding a spurious generation to " the
genealogy of Christ," the charge becomes infi-
nitely more serious ! The attempt of chronologers
to mutilate this authentic document, by the exclu-
sion of one of the ancestors of our Lord, is so great
an injury to the Christian verity, that we do not
wonder at the pointed question put by Mr. Cun-
inghame, " Fulness of the Times," p. 200, " Did
St. Luke prefer a lie to the truth, to please men ?"
In order to satisfy his own mind, and to vindicate
his system of chronology from the charge of having
unwarrantably omitted this generation, by follow-
ing too closely the Hebrew verity, Usher deemed
it necessary to write in his " Chronologia Sacra,''
a prolix Dissertation, entitled " De Cainano Ar-
phaxadi filio, &c.," to which our limits permit us
only to refer. The whole question, however, is
discussed in a very clear and satisfactory manner,
in Dr. Russell's "Connection of Sacred and Pro-
fane History," vol. i. pp. 158-167. There is also
a most admirable summary of the arguments in
proof of the existence of this Cainan, in Mr. Cun-
inghame's work above cited, where our readers
will find some -very judicious strictures on the
" Scripture Chronology " of Mr. Clinton ; see
pp. 187-207.
A candid perusal of these works must lead to
the inevitable conclusion that the name of the
Second Cainan ought not to have been rejected
38 EXTENT OF THE
from the Sacred Text. It is strange, however, to
observe that in our authorized version of the
Scriptures, this generation has been excluded
from the Old Testament, while it has been ad-
mitted into the New. Such a manifest inconsist-
ency should have been avoided in a version
intended for public use in all the churches, and
sanctioned by royal authority ! The Latin Vul-
gate, published by the " supreme authority" of
the Roman Pontiff, is equally liable to the same
charge of inconsistency ; while Theodore Beza,
in his Latin version of the New Testament, has
omitted this generation altogether ! For this bold
step, Beza had no other authority than the
" Codex Graecolatinus," which, from having been
in his possession, bears his own name ; and
which, while reckoned of " little critical value,"
is the only manuscript of the New Testament
discovered to be deficient in this respect. The
Second Cainan is, moreover, found in all the Greek
manuscripts of the Old Testament, both in Genesis
x. 24, and xi. 13 ; and, also in many copies, in
1 Chronicles i. 18 and 24, this chapter being
imperfect in the Vatican Codex, but complete
in the Codex Alexandrinus.
In confirmation of our argument, it is proper to
state, that there exists a fragment of a very an-
cient codex, which lays claim even to a higher anti-
quity than either of these codices, being described
in the words of Usher, " Syntagma de Septua-
SECOND AGE OF THE WORLD. 39
ginta,"cap. ii. p. 18, as "omnium qui uspiam hodie
extant vetustissimus," and known by the name
of the " Codex Cottonianus." Of this codex,
unfortunately, a certain portion of Genesis only
remains; but it is of immense " critical value,"
as it confirms the true readings of the Ante and
Post Paidogonian ages of Methuselah, and of the
passages relating to the second Cainan. In the
collation of this fragment " cum editione Ro-
mana," that is, with the Vatican edition, by Dr.
Grabe, posthumously published by Dr. H.
Owen, there are two fac simile engravings of a
portion of the manuscript, exhibiting the old,
uncial Greek letters, unaccented and unspirited,
like the codex Alexandrinus, and (curious to
remark) exhibiting also the effigies of four of the
Postdiluvian Patriarchs, spoken of in the adjacent
text, one being the very identical personage,
whose existence is not recognized by the Maso-
rete and Samaritan texts, and is therefore so
stoutly denied by the defenders of the Hebrew
verity ! We copy from the preface, the explana-
tion of one of the pictures, the plates of which
were engraven at the expence of the Antiquarian
Society of London, in 1744 : " Figurarum Ex-
plicatio. Tabula Prima. Fig. II. Arphaxadus,
Semi films, cum uxore sua et filio Cainane. Gen.
xi. 12, 13."*
* Collatio Codicis Cottoniani Gen sees, &c. Lond. 1778,
p. xiii.
40 EXTENT OF THE
The unaccountable mistake committed by Bede,
in supposing that Abraham would be the eleventh
generation from the flood, if the Junior Cainan
were admitted into the text, has been copied by
a host of chronologers since his time, including
both Dr. Hales and Mr. Clinton ! Nothing, how-
ever, is more surprising than the pertinacity of
error, especially when it rests on the authority of
an esteemed or a learned man. We have seen
that when the Second Cainan is admitted into
the text, Abraham must be reckoned the tenth
generation from the flood ; consequently, if he be
rejected, Abraham must be reckoned only the
ninth, contrary to the united voice of antiquity,
both sacred and profane ! Hales and Clinton
have both cited extracts in proof of this argument,
from the most ancient chronographers, particularly
Berosus, Josephus, and Philo, shewing that
Abraham was universally reckoned the tenth
generation after the flood. The subterfuge adopted
by the advocates of the Hebrew verity, in reckoning
Shem, an Antediluvian, as one of the genera-
tions after the flood, in order to make up their
number, is too weak to require any comment.
There is no doubt, therefore, that both Hales and
Clinton are in the wrong; and, that Jackson,
Russell, and Cuninghame, who admit the Second
Cainan, are " in the right." The ancient testi-
monies which the former authors cite in favour of
their own argument, most decidedly confirm that
SECOND AGE OF THE WORLD. 41
of their opponents ; consequently, they have the
merit of drawing "opposite conclusions from
the same facts," conclusions alike opposite to
the truth, and to the New Testament.
4. Internal evidence afforded by the Tables in favour of the computation
of the Septuagint Omissions in the Hebrew and Septuagint retained
in the Samaritan Accordance of the Septuagint with nature and pro-
vidence Mr. Cuninghame's argument from analogy The alterations
of Origen in the text of the Septuagint.
With reference to the three Postdiluvian
Tables, we find that the discrepancies of the
three texts exhibit greater irregularities in
Tables V. and VI. than in Table IV. It is
manifest that these discrepancies are also the
work of design or artifice, and not the offspring
of chance or mistake. The regular centenary
difference between the Hebrew and the Septua-
gint, occurs in siv of the Antepaidogonian ages,
namely, thejirst seven, omitting the second, which,
as we have seen, is wanting both in the Hebrew
and the Samaritan ; while, singular to remark, in
these six ages, the Samaritan agrees exactly with
the Septuagint ! To counterbalance this regular
centenary decrease in the Antepaidogonian ages in
the Hebrew, we should have expected, as in the
former case, that there would be a regular cen-
tenary increase of the corresponding Postpaidogo-
nian ages, in order to preserve the integrity of the
whole lives. This appears, however, to have been
42 EXTENT OF THE
considered as a matter of no moment in regard to
the whole lives of the Postdiluvian Patriarchs, be-
cause the usual obituary statements regarding
them have been entirely omitted both in the
Hebrew and the Septuagint, while they have
been preserved in the Samaritan. Accordingly,
we find that the Samaritan, in the Postpaidogonian
ages, agrees only in two out of the six with the
Septuagint, and in none at all with the Hebrew.
Moreover, the difference between the Samaritan
and the Hebrew, is an exact centenary in Jive out
of the six ; while the Hebrew coincides entirely
with the Septuagint in four, one of the remain-
ing two, being the only case in which there is an
exact centenary increase to balance the centenary
decrease in the corresponding Antepaidogonian age.
In the corresponding whole lives, the Samaritan
agrees with the Hebrew mfive out of the six, while
the Septuagint and the Hebrew agree only in one.
The assimilation of the Samaritan to the Hebrew
in the whole lives, and its almost perfect agreement
with the Septuagint in the Antepaidogonian ages,
while it differs so much from both in other re-
spects, render its testimony as an uncorrupted
witness quite inadmissible ; yet, as it contains
manifest traces of the truth, especially in regard
to the latter statements, on which the chronology
mainly depends, we deem the double testimony
of the Septuagint and Samaritan of very consider-
able importance to our argument. This importance
SECOND AGE OF THE WORLD. 43
is greatly increased, when we consider that the
statements respecting the whole lives in the three
texts cannot be compared, because they are now
only to be found in the Samaritan, and, even in it,
in a mutilated form ; the Hebrew and Septuagint
columns of Table VI. having been obtained from
those of Tables IV. and V., by the simple process
of addition. We, therefore, entirely agree with
Dr. Hales* in the opinion, that they must have
originally existed in all the texts ; first, because
they are given in all in the Antediluvian period,
and no sufficient reason can be assigned why
they are not also given in all in the Postdiluvian
period ; and secondly, because, though no trace
of them is left in the Hebrew, yet there is some
in the Septuagint, the latter still containing
the last clause of each statement, in the words
/cat a?re0av, " and he died."
An important argument in favour of the longer
computation is derived from the consideration that
the decrease in the duration of human life after
the flood, for the first ten generations, is more
natural and progressive in the Septuagint than
in the other two texts ; for, in the latter there
are greater leaps between the terms of the pro-
gression, and some of the differences even become
negative, which is not the case in the former.
Moreover, the decrease in the Greek series of
lives, seems to be more in accordance with the
* " Analysis of Chronology," vol. i. p. 84.
44 EXTENT OF THE
usual proceedings of God's providence, and with
the history of the human race, instances of lon-
gevity having slowly and gradually diminished
both in number and extent, according as mankind
approached a greater degree of civilization and
refinement. In the preface to part second of Mr.
Cuninghame's " Fulness of the Times," p. xvii.,
the author has discussed this question in a very
full and satisfactory manner. He shews that, in
the Septuagint, " there are deep analogies ob-
servable in the gradual diminution of human life."
Thus, " from Arphaxad to Serug are seven gene-
rations," and " from Nahor to Kohath are seven
generations." Now, from his observations, it
appears that the lives of the first and last of both
septenaries, constitute, with the highest average
of human life in the days of Moses (Psalm xc. 10),
a series of terms very nearly in geometrical pro-
gression, namely, 538, 330, 208, 133, and 80, of
which the approximate ratio is *62 ; but if the same
test be applied to the Hebrew lives, namely 438,
230,148, 133, and 80, (the two latter terms being
the same in both texts,) the regularity of the pro-
gression utterly fails ; for, if the ratio of the first
two terms were continued, the succeeding terms
would be so much reduced, that the highest ave-
rage of human life would become less than half
its true length ! The omission of the statements
respecting the whole lives in the Septuagint, can
only be accounted for, on the principle of undue
SECOND AGE OF THE WORLD. 45
deference to the Hebrew text and to Jewish pre-
judices, after the era of the publication of the
Hexapla, the Octapla, and the Enneapla of the
celebrated Origen. This daring innovator in the
Church of God, so altered the original form of the
Septuagint, in order to make it correspond with
the Hebrew text, which he appears to have first
received from the hands of the Jews with the
most unsuspecting confidence, that the complete
restoration of the autograph of the Seventy inter-
preters, is, at this immense distance of time, a
question extremely problematical.
5. Mistake of Usher, adopted by Hales and Clinton, as to the Antepaido-
gonian age of Terah Mr. Cuuinghame's arguments unanswerable
His proof of the chronology of the Seventy from the discovery of its
Cyclical character Testimony of Eusebius to the true data of Abra-
ham's birth Table VII. Extent of the first two ages of the world.
The extraordinary hallucination of Usher in
adopting the unfounded opinion of some of the
later chronographers, that Abraham was born
when Terah was 130 years old,* is implicitly fol-
lowed by Mr. Clinton, although he admits that
" all the authorities which have been quoted " by
him, adhere to the Scriptural number, 70 years ;
and he argues in favour of the former, by con-
jecturing without a shadow of evidence, that the
Samaritan text was altered in Genesis xi. 32,
from 205 years to 145, in order that Terah's
" death might be adapted to the supposed time
* " Chronologia Sacra," cap. vii. p. 120.
46 EXTENT OF THE
of the Call." This time is distinctly marked in
Scripture, and therefore requires "no supposi-
tion " at all. It is plain, from Genesis xii. 4, that
Abraham was 75 years old, when he obeyed the
Call ; and, from Genesis xi. 26, that he was born
when Terah was 70 years old. It is, therefore,
justly inferred that Terah was 145 years old, at
the time of the Call ; but as he died before Abra-
ham left Charran (Acts vii. 4), then 1 45 years was
also his age at his death, as in the Samaritan, and
not 205, as in the other two texts. The inconsis-
tency of the latter number, however, cannot by
any means affect the chronology, so long as the
authenticity of the former numbers is maintained.
The addition of 60 years, therefore, to the Ante-
paidogonian age of Terah, in order to preserve the
consistency of the number 205, is an unwarrant-
able assumption on the part of Usher and his
followers, and demonstrates that they have vir-
tually altered the Hebrew text in Genesis xi. 26,
from 70 years to 130, in order that Terah's age
at the birth of Abraham might be adapted to the
supposed time of his death ! There is no doubt
that both Hales and Clinton, who follow human
conjectures on this point, are again in the wrong ;
and, that Jackson, Russell and Cuninghame, who
follow the plain statements of Scripture, are " in
the right." In the preface to Part II. of the
" Fulness of the Times," p. xv., the author has
placed the inconsistency of Usher's scheme in
SECOND AGE OF THE WORLD. 47
such a clear light, that further argument on the
subject is needless ; the following is his unan-
swerable conclusion: "the greatness of Abra-
ham's faith, in believing that he should have a
son at 100, is every where spoken of in the
Scriptures " as miraculous, " while he himself, on
this scheme, is procreated by his father at 130 !"
The author has, moreover, shown in this work,
that "the whole chronology of the Seventy is
arranged in various parallel series of Astronomical
time, Jubilees, Metonic cycles, and the larger
cycles of the universe ;" and, that these " depend
upon the exclusion of the 60 years added to
Terah's generation by Usher ; for if that period
be inserted, they are all destroyed. This, then, is
complete evidence that the f ranter of the Septua-
gint chronology, did not consider the 60 years as
any part of the chronology of the book of Genesis,
which is utterly incredible, had it then existed.
Therefore, it did not exist" On the other hand,
he has shown that " in the formation of the
Hebrew chronology, the insertion of the 60 years
was essential to the preservation of a Jubilean
character ; therefore, since there was a time
when " this period was ' ' not a part of the chro-
nology, the unavoidable and necessary inference
is, that the Greek, and not the Hebrew, is the ori-
ginal chronology."
From the Postdiluvian tables, it appears that
the birth of Abraham took place, according to
48 EXTENT OF THE SECOND AGE OF THE WORLD.
the Masorete text, 292 years after the flood ; but,
according to Usher's interpretation of it, 352
years. The Samaritan text gives 942, and the
Septuagint 1072 years ; the latter number being
that given by Eusebius, at the beginning of his
Chronicon, translated by Jerome, as testified by
Scaliger in his "Thesaurus Temporum," p. 10,
and referred to by Usher,, in his " Chronologia
Sacra," cap. vi. p. 97; although in some of the
finest copies, we have seen it absurdly printed
1720 years, by an unaccountable transposition of
the figures ! See the edition by H. Stephans, in
1542. The following table exhibits the whole
amount of the discrepancies of the three texts, in
the first two ages of the world :*
TABLE VII.
AGES OF THE WORLD. HEBREW. USHER. SEPTUAOINT. SAMARITAN.
Years. Years. Years. Years.
Antediluvian Age . . 1656 1656 2262 1307
Postdiluvian Age . . 367 427 1147 1017
FIRST Two AGES . 2023 2083 3409 2324
* It is remarkable that both Hales and Russell, notwith-
standing their acknowledged veneration for the Holy Scriptures,
have chosen to follow the testimony of Josephus, in regard to
the extent of the first two ages of the world ; but " their witness
agrees not together ;" for the 'former makes it 3333 years, and
the latter 3403 years !
49
CHAPTER III.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HEBREW AND
SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGIES.
THUS, it appears that there is a difference of
thirteen centuries and a-quarter between the
Hebrew-Usher and the Septuagint chronologies,
at the epoch of the Call of Abraham, a differ-
ence which is increased by another century and
a-half, in the remaining ages of the world up to
the birth of Christ, making in all, a difference
of fourteen and three-quarters exactly, or nearly
Jifteen centuries ! To account for this difference,
the advocates of the longer computation not only
impugn, as we have seen, the accuracy of the
Hebrew text, but adduce various important and
conclusive arguments against the shorter compu-
tation, in order to show the inconsistency of its
statements. Mr. Clinton, in citing these argu-
ments, chiefly from Jackson and Hales, endeavours
to rebut them, and to defend the Hebrew chrono-
logy, especially in the first two ages of the world ;
although he is forced to yield to the mass of evi-
dence against it, in the period of the Judges.
50 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HEBREW
1. Argument against the shorter computation, founded on the proportion
between the Antepaidogonian Ages and Whole Lives of the Patriarchs
Reasons for the enlargement of this ratio, and the diminution of the
length of human life.
The first argument, which is, that " the
shorter generations are repugnant to the course of
nature," is neither placed in a clear light, nor
fairly answered by Mr. Clinton ; Fast. Hell. vol.
i. p. 292. Although the extraordinary longevity
of man both before and after the flood, has no
parallel in the subsequent history of the world,
and we are therefore deprived of a satisfactory
means of comparison ; yet we perceive a suitable
proportion in the Greek numbers, between the
Antepaidogonian ages and whole lives of the
Patriarchs in the first two periods, which entirely
fails in the Hebrew numbers. Thus, taking the
averages of the six Antepaidogonian ages which
occasion the great discrepancy in the Antedilu-
vian period, and the corresponding whole lives,
we find that the former is about one-Jifth part of
the latter in the Septuagint, and about one-ninth
part in the Hebrew. If these ratios be applied
to the present average duration of human life, we
find that men, according to the former text, would
beget children at the age of fourteen years; but,
according to the latter, at the age of eight years !
Again, taking the averages of the siv Antepaidogo-
nian ages which occasion the chief discrepancy
in the Postdiluvian period, and the corresponding
AND SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGIES. 51
whole lives, we find that the former is about one-
third part of the latter in the Septuagint, and
about one-eleventh part in the Hebrew. Apply-
ing these ratios as before, we find that men,
according to the former text, would beget children
at the age of twenty-three years ; but according
to the latter, at the age of seven years ! On the
supposition, therefore, which we think not unrea-
sonable, that in these periods, the development
of the powers of the human frame was propor-
tional to the length of human life, it is manifest
that there is a propriety and consistency in the
Greek numbers, which are not only totally want-
ing in the Hebrew, but which render the idea of
generation at the ages now to be found in that
text, utterly impossible. It may be objected
even to the Greek numbers, that the ratio in the
Antediluvian period is rather premature, but it is
not impossible ; and we see in the enlargement
of the ratio, and in the diminution of the length
of life in the Postdiluvian period, according to
the Septuagint, the wise arrangement of an over-
ruling Providence ! For, the wickedness which
led to the destruction of the old world, appears
to have had its origin in the premature and un-
lawful connections which were formed between
" the sons" of the worshippers of the true God,
" who kept not their first estate" or original prin-
ciples, and " the daughters" of those sensualists of
the Cainitish race, who are, with them, " reserved
E2
52 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HEBREW
in perpetual chains under darkness to the judg-
ment of the great day !" In order, therefore, to
prevent such a fearful superabundance of vice in
future ages of the world, we see that the duration
of the life, as well as the development of the
natural powers of man, was reduced to narrower
limits.
2. Argument founded on the regular succession of human generations
Anomalies and Paradoxes of the Hebrew text Remark of Eusebius
Objections of learned men unanswered.
The second argument, which is, that the
shorter computation is inconsistent with the
regular succession of human generations, is rather
too quickly passed over by Mr. Clinton ; nor do
we wonder at his haste, for in our opinion, this
argument possesses very great weight, and is very
difficult to answer in a satisfactory manner. In
the Postdiluvian age, where he admits that it is
more cogent, there were, according to the Hebrew
chronology, no less than ten generations all alive
on the earth at the same time, contrary to the
principles of providential government so often
referred to in Scripture, and the following strange
anomalies and paradoxes took place. The last
two Antediluvian Patriarchs were contemporary
with all the Postdiluvian ; and after having wit-
nessed the destruction of the old world, they
were doomed to behold the violence of Nimrod,
the rebellious, the wicked project of the building
AND SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGIES. 53
of Babel, and the judgment of God in the con-
fusion of tongues and the sudden dispersion of
mankind. Noah also survived the deaths of
Peleg and Nahor ; so that, contrary to the express
words of Scripture, the earth was divided in the
days of Noah instead of the days of Peleg.
Eusebius has even remarked that Noah was the
contemporary of Abraham for jifty-eight years !
To avoid this obvious inconsistency was no doubt
a strong reason for Usher's adoption of the sixty
years additional to Terah's Antepaidogonian age,
the Hebrew chronology standing so much in need
of this extra time at the point of its greatest
poverty. Shem, the Antediluvian, survived the
deaths of all the Postdiluvian Patriarchs, except-
ing Heber ; he was alive at the marriages of
Isaac, Ishmael and Esau ; and, having buried
nine generations of his descendants, including
the Father of the Faithful, witnessed the destruc-
tion of Sodom, and died without partaking of the
Covenant of Circumcision! Terah, the father of
Abraham, was an idolater ; while Noah, the living
witness of God's judgment on the old world, and
a preacher of righteousness, and his son Shem,
the heir of his father's blessing, both Terah's
ancestors were still alive ! The promise made
to Abraham, that he should "go to his fathers in
peace," and be " buried in a good old age," most
distinctly implies that all those fathers, the
Postdiluvian Patriarchs, were dead and buried
54 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HEBREW
before him ; but, according to the Masorete text,
Shem, the Antediluvian, and seven of the Post-
diluvian Patriarchs, all his ancestors, were alive
at his death ; and the same Antediluvian, with
two of the Postdiluvians, Salah and Heber, even
survived him ! But it is quite unnecessary to
dwell on these paradoxes so contrary to the ordi-
nary providence of God, and to the whole tenor
of holy writ. Enough has been adduced to show
the inconsistency of the shorter computation, and
the difficult problems which its advocates have
yet to solve, in order to establish it on a secure
foundation, and to meet the unanswered objections
of the host of learned and pious men in all ages,
who have, either wholly or in part, adopted or
defended the Septuagint chronology ; such as,
the early chronographers, and historians down to
Syncellus, the early Christian Fathers, and in
later times, Morinus, J. Vossius, Pezron, Raleigh,
Stillingfleet, Walton, Kennicott, Jackson, Hales,
Horsley, and Russell. This argument is ably
enforced by Mr. Cuninghame in the " Essay" to
his " Chart of Sacred Chronology" pp. 17, 18,
the " Discourse," in his " Dissertation on the
Apocalypse" pp. 533 536, and his other Chro-
nological works.*
* See the Prefaces to the " Synopsis of Chronology ;" the
" Chronology of Israel ;" the " Hebrew and Septuagint Chro-
nologies Tried ;" the " Scientific Chronology of the year 1839,"
and its Supplement; and the " Season of the End."
AND SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGIES. 55
3. Argument founded on the inconsistency of the co-existence of idolatry
and the worship of the true God, in the same family, and within a short
period from the flood Remarks on the building of Babel Mr. Clinton
refuted Mr. Cuninghame's argument from Scripture The judgments
of God forgotten.
The third argument is, that the Hebrew
computation is inconsistent with the co-existence
of idolatry and the worship of the true God, in
the same family, and within so short a period
from the flood. This argument has been partly
anticipated ; but it receives additional strength
from the following considerations. If the short
account of the building of Babel, Gen. xii. 1 9,
be critically examined, there can be no doubt
that this politico-religious project, which was
headed by Nimrod, the " Great Intolerant before
the Lord," was the earliest attempt on record to
establish the Zabian system of idolatry. For the
arguments in favour of this opinion, we must, for
brevity's sake, refer to a work recently published,
alike remarkable for the novelty of its views and
the Scriptural simplicity of its style, entitled
the "Religious History of Man," by Mr. D.
Morison, pp. 157 168. Mr. Clinton sees
" nothing wonderful" in the fact that " idolatry
should have sprung up during the lives of Noah
and Shem ;" and he accounts for it on the princi-
ples of the fecundity of mankind and their dis-
persion at the confusion of tongues. It is very
strange, however, that Terah, who is mentioned
56 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HEBREW
in Joshua xxiv. 2, as the only idolater among the
Postdiluvian Patriarchs, should have dared to
follow the practices of the Heathen, while all his
pious ancestors were yet alive ! And, that, as
Mr. Cuninghame justly remarks, " the Scriptures
should tell us nothing" of the matter, seeing that
the sacred historians invariably record such awful
apostacies in the families of the righteous, as a
warning to all future generations. Idolatry, in
fact, sprang up in the family of Ham, in the third
generation ; but, not in that of Shem, till the
ninth ; shewing that the example and the memory
of pious ancestry had the effect of so long retard-
ing the influence of surrounding evil among their
descendants. The whole history of the period,
indeed, indicates that ages not a few, had elapsed
between the flood and the Call of Abraham ; and,
that during that interval, the remembrance of the
judgment of the old world was almost obliterated,
the worship of the true God virtually superseded,
and the memory of the early Patriarchs practically
forgotten. Moreover, the remarkable interposition
of Providence in the confusion of tongues and the
dispersion of mankind, calculated so deeply to
renew in the minds of men the recollection of
former judgments, and to put a stop to farther
progress in idolatry, appears in the lapse of time
to have shared the common oblivion, and to have
failed in producing that striking impression which
AND SEPTUAQINT CHRONOLOGIES. 57
was sure to be felt among cotemporaries and their
immediate successors.
4. Argument founded on the inconsistency of the accounts of Sacred and
Profane History Remark of Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Isaac Newton's
objection refuted Epoch of the Foundation of the kingdom of Egypt.
The fourth argument is, that the shorter
computation is inconsistent with the credible ac-
counts of profane history, and the existence of so
many populous kingdoms and empires in the days
of Abraham. The insuperable difficulties in re-
conciling the chronology of sacred and profane
history, which have perpetually puzzled modern
historians, are in a great measure removed by the
longer computation. The often-cited passage of
Raleigh,* which contains his cutting remark on the
danger of " paring the times too near the quick,"
lest thereby "the reputation of the whole story
might perchance bleed," has, in fact, never been
fairly answered on the principles of the Hebrew
chronology. The history of the battle of the
" four kings against five," in Genesis xiv., implies
a very great degree of populousness and civiliza-
tion in a single region, and more than can be
admitted on the shorter computation ; nor can
Sir Isaac Newton's answer to this objection be
considered as decisive, in which he implies that
the numbers of the allied armies must have been
small, because they were overcome by Abra-
* " History of the World," pp. 228, 277.
58 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HEBREW
ham with a very small force ; for, the Scriptures
inform us that it was " the Most High God that
delivered his enemies into his hand," and that it
is His province " to save by many or by few."
The account of Egypt, at the descent of Abraham,
in Genesis xii. 10 20, indicates that it was then
an ancient, populous, and long-established king-
dom ; and the profane records of its history,
though mingled with much that is fabulous, con-
tain well-attested facts which reach to a period
far beyond that assigned by the Hebrew text.
In an excellent article, entitled " Annotations
Ge'ologiques a la Genese," vol. iii. of the " Cours
Complet," it is shewn, by a careful and critical
analysis of the historical notices of Egypt, in
Manetho, Herodotus, Diodorus, Artapan, Jose-
phus, Eratosthenes, Pliny, the author of the Old
Chronicle, and Syncellus, that its various dynas-
ties were not consecutive but collateral ; and,
from the unsuspected agreement of the reigns
of different kings, it appears that " the epoch
B.C. 2900," or A.M. 2579, " may, in fact, be con-
sidered as that of the foundation of the king-
dom of Egypt." This epoch, according to the
Septuagint, corresponds to the patriarchate of the
Junior Cainan, about 300 years after the birth of
Mizraim, and about/i/h/ years after that of Salah ;
now, it is universally admitted that Egypt
or Mizraim (Genesis x. 6) was one of the first
kingdoms founded after the flood. According
AND SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGIES. 59
to the Hebrew, however, the same epoch cor-
responds to the patriarchate of the Senior Cainan,
upwards of 500 years before the flood, and long
before Mizraim was in existence !
5. Arguments founded on the deficiency of the numbers of mankind Epoch
of the occupation of Babylon by the Medes Calculation of the numbers
of mankind on the Eulerian ratio Mr. Clinton refuted.
As to the argument founded on the " num-
bers of mankind," Mr. Clinton has proved, Fast.
Hell., vol. i. p. 282, that an army of Medes occu-
pied Babylon about B.C. 2233, that is, according
to the Hebrew-Usher computation, 115 years,
and according to his own, partially interpolated
from the Septuagint, about 250 years after the
flood, when, as he says, " the population of the
earth would amount to many millions ;" and yet,
in the same page, he remarks, it is not likely
that " 101 years " after that event, the population
"would exceed 50,000 persons, and this number
it would certainly have reached within 160 years
of the flood !" Now, even on the Eulerian ratio,
cited from Malthus, this number would increase
only to about 6 J millions,* in his interval of ninety
* The Eulerian ratio here referred to, is that the numbers of
mankind are doubled every 12|- years. Now, in 90 years, the
doubling would occur about 7 times, which would occasion the
original number to be increased 128 times; because the 7th
power of 2 is 128. Hence, 50,000 multiplied by 128, gives
6,400,000, which is nearly 6| millions. If the calculation be
performed with the greatest mathematical nicety, the result will
only be 6,540,256, which is rather more than 6 millions.
60 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HEBREW
years, which is far from "many millions;' while,
in the Usherian interval, on his own showing, it
would have barely reached the former number !
Such are only a few of the difficulties attending
the shorter computation, and such some of the
shifts to which its abettors and followers are
driven for its support. The simple and consistent
chronology of the Septuagint places the above-
mentioned event at the distance of nearly 1000
years after the flood, and rather less than a cen-
tury previous to the birth of Abraham ; so that in
his days the world had had sufficient time to reach
a state of populousness and civilization correspond-
ing to the history of the period, as recorded both
by sacred and profane authors.
6. Argument founded on the alteration of the Hebrew text by the Jews
Testimony of the early Fathers on this point Mr. Clinton's admission
as to the prophecies His refutation as to the chronology Motives of
the Jews for shortening the genealogies.
Mr. Clinton states that " Jackson and Hales
impute great alterations in the Hebrew copies " of
the Scriptures, " to the Jews of the second cen-
tury." It would have been more correct to have
said that Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Epiphanius,
Ephrem Syrus, Eusebius, Syncellus, and Abulfa-
rajius imputed such alterations to the Jews, not
only in the passages which applied to Christ,
which he considers " very probable," but also in
the numbers relating to the Ante and Post Dilu-
AND SEPTUAGINT CRONOLOOIES. 61
vian genealogies ; because the testimonies of these
ancient authors are either cited or referred to by
the former. Mr. Clinton adds, that " it is difficult
to imagine what adequate motive the Jews could
have had for shortening the genealogies" Not
more difficult, in our opinion, than to imagine
what adequate motive the Jews could have had
for shortening the life of Jesus Christ ! A diffi-
culty, however, "to imagine an adequate motive"
for any transaction, is no proof that it did not take
place. The Jews did not attempt " to shorten
the genealogies," that is, to corrupt the chrono-
logy of the Scriptures, till all the witnesses were
dead who knew Jesus, and who had " companied
with them that were witnesses of his resurrec-
tion !" But when they found afterwards that the
Christians constantly proved out of the Septua-
gint, that Jesus was the Messiah, they had then a
sufficient motive for "shortening the genealogies,"
if they could make it appear, from the Hebrew
text, that our Lord had come about fifteen cen-
turies earlier than the time fixed by tradition ; and
that, as the chronology of that text did not agree
with the chronology of the Septuagint, the epoch
of the true Messiah's advent had not yet arrived !
They have accordingly continued to assert, in con-
tradiction even to their own Scriptures, and up to
the present day, that Jesus of Nazareth was not
their Messiah !
vu ^buKndO blO adi.hii ,\iij
62 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HEBREW
7. Motives ascribed to the Seventy Interpreters for enlarging the chronology
Pretensions of the Chaldeans and Egyptians to a remote antiquity
Insufficiency of the scheme adopted by the Interpreters Self-refutation
of Mr. Clinton's hypothesis.
Mr. Clinton finally asserts that " the first
translators of the Hebrew Scriptures had a very
obvious motive for enlarging the chronology,"
because the " Chaldeans and Egyptians laid
claim to a remote antiquity !" The wished-for
inference is, that the Jewish translators, from a
very natural desire not to be behind their neigh-
bours in these pretensions, went upon an opposite
tack, and " lengthened the genealogies !" This
statement, for argument it cannot be called,
proves a great deal too much ; because the
scheme which they adopted, falls immensely
short of the end proposed. We have seen
that the difference between the Hebrew and
Septuagint chronologies, is only about fifteen
centuries ! This difference was, indeed, quite
sufficient for the purpose of the Jews, in denying
the advent of the true Messiah ; but, it was wholly
insufficient, nay, utterly useless, for the purpose of
coping with the pretensions of "the Chaldeans
and Egyptians to a remote antiquity." For, it
appears, from the testimony of Cicero, Diodorus,
and others, that Berosus claimed for the first
Chaldean kings, an antiquity of no less than
470,000 years ! And, from the fragments of
Manetho and the Old Chronicle, preserved by
AND SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGIES. 03
Syncellus, that for the first Egyptian kings, an
antiquity is claimed, of 36,525 years ! But,
what are fifty -five centuries of antiquity, to 365
centuries, or to 4,700 centuries ? To add fifteen
centuries was to add nothing ! The Jews should
have added 1500 or 15000 centuries, in order to
meet the exigency of their "obvious motive!"
The argument, therefore, founded on the suppo-
sition that the Seventy Interpreters enlarged the
chronology of the Scriptures, in order to place the
claims of the Jews to " a remote antiquity," on a
par with those of the Chaldeans and Egyptians,
is so very absurd, that it completely refutes itself:*
* The pretensions of any nation to a remote antiquity could
only arise from ignorance of the sacred 'records, and of the true
traditions of its ancestors, or from a bold disbelief of both.
The Jews cannot be charged with either of these, their charac-
ter being remarkably the reverse until Christ came. Hence we
cannot suppose that the Seventy Interpreters would wilfully shut
their eyes to the glaring facts, that the true age of the world
was well known to their countrymen, that many of them were
then living in the hope of the fulfilment of the prophecies con-
cerning the Messiah, and that they were then accustomed " to
calculate the times." Any attempt on their part, therefore, to
increase that age by 1500 years, would have been looked upon
with abhorrence ; nor could they hope to escape detection and
severe reprobation ; unless, indeed, we can suppose that they
had assembled all the Jews " from every nation under heaven,"
and made them privy to the transaction ! Before the advent,
therefore, such an alteration in the sacred text was impossible ;
but after that event it was not only possible, but actually took
place, not in the Greek but in the Hebrew, the former being
read all over the world, but the latter being confined to the
Jewish synagogue.
64
CHAPTER IV.
EXTENT OF THE THIRD AGE OF THE WORLD.
Table VIII. Patriarchal Eras and Intervals from Usher Table IX. Extent of
the first Three Ages of the World Date of the Exodus of Israel from
Egypt.
THE extent of the Third, or Patriarchal age, is
ascertained from the text of Exodus xii. 40 and
41. That this passage originally stood in the
Hebrew as it now stands in the other two texts,
is evident from Galatians iii. 17 ; and as all com-
mentators and chronologers are now agreed that
the commencement of the 430 years was reckoned
from the date of the Call, or the year following,
it is unnecessary to revive former disputes on this
point. The following table, partly from Usher,*
who distinctly enumerates all the texts of Scrip-
ture on which their determination depends, ex-
hibits the intervals, between the Patriarchal eras
of this period, and the corresponding years of the
world, according to the Hebrew and Septuagint
computations :
* Chronologia Sacra, pp. 162 and 171.
EXTENT OF THE THIRD AGE OF THE WORLD. 65
TABLE VIII.
PATRIARCHAL
ERAS.
From the Call . .
HEBREW.
Intervals. A.M.
. . 2083
SEPTUAOINT.
Intervals. A.M.
3409
Birth of Isaac . .
. . 25
2108
25
3434
Birth of Jacob
. . 60
2168
60
3494
The Eisodus . .
. . 130
2298
130
3624
Death of Joseph .
Birth of Moses . .
. . 71
. . 64
2369
2433
71
64
3695
3759
To the Exodus . .
. 80
2513
80
3839
THIRD AGE
430 years.
430 years.
In the above and following tables we omit the
Samaritan computation, and adopt the Hebrew as
interpreted by Usher, as the question of the true
chronology in modern times is considered to lie
between the latter and the Septuagint. The next
table exhibits, according to these two systems, the
extent of the first three ages of the world.
TABLE IX.
AGES OF THE WORLD.
First two Ages
Third Age . .
HEBREW. SEPTUAGJNT.
Years. Years.
2083 3409
430 430
FIRST THREE AGES
2513
3839
Mr. Cuninghame, " Fulness of the Times,"
p. 36, gives an ingenious explanation of " the
sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt,"
and shows that, strictly speaking, the period of
430 years should be reckoned from the date of
F
66 EXTENT OF THE THIRD AGE OF THE WORLD.
Abraham's descent into that land, after his arrival
in Canaan, or one year later than the date of the
Call. Hence, the Exodus took place in A.M.
3840, according to the computation of the Sep-
tuagint.*
* Although the extent of the third age is clearly established
by the reference of Paul to the period of 430 years, from the
confirmation of the covenant to Abraham to the promulgation of
the law from Mount Sinai, yet it will be satisfactory to observe,
that the passage cited from the book of Exodus originally stood
as follows : " And the sojourning of the children of Israel,
which they and their fathers sojourned in the land of Egypt
and in the land of Canaan, was 430 years. And it came to
pass, after the 430 years, that all the host of the Lord went out
of the land of Egypt by night ;" see the Septuagint, Alexandrine
edition, and the Samaritan Pentateuch, Exod. xii. 40, 41. The
words in Italics in this passage are omitted in the Hebrew text,
and the words " even the self-same day," are interpolated.
That this is an interpolation is quite evident, for even in the
Hebrew, in the very next verse, we are twice told that " It is a
night much to be observed unto the Lord," for this great de-
liverance. Thus, by the testimony of three witnesses against
one, the true reading is established. Nevertheless, Archbishop
Usher calls the passage just cited from the Septuagint a para-
phrastic explanation of the words of Moses ; and he says that
the corresponding passage in the Samaritan text is interpolated
from the Greek version ! " Chronologia Sacra," cap. viii. p.
127. Biblical critics and commentators, in general, now admit
that these texts have preserved the true reading ; see the note
on this passage, by the editor of the Religious Tract Society's
Commentary on the Bible, from Henry and Scott. Mr. Clin-
ton also very properly defends the right interpretation of the
passage ; for he says, " some modern writers have very unrea-
sonably doubted this portion of the Hebrew chronology ;" see
" Fasti Hellenici," vol. i. page 299.
67
CHAPTER V.
EXTENT OF THE FOURTH AGE OF THE WORLD.
Palpable Forgery of this period in 1 Kings vi. 1. Table X. Critarchal Eras
and Intervals, from Usher and Cuuinghame Object of Usher in deter-
mining this period Testimony of Paul and the Book of Judges as to its
true extent Testimony of Origen Table XI. Extent of the first four
ages of the world Verification of the true extent of the fourth age by
Chronographers Agreement on this point between Mr. Clinton and
Mr.. Cuninghame.
THE extent of the Fourth, or Critarchal age, is
ascertained from the books of Joshua, Judges,
Samuel and Kings, and confirmed by Acts iii.
17 22. Many disputes have arisen as to the
true length of this period, in consequence of the
interpolation of a passage in 1 Kings vi. 1,
both in the Hebrew and Septuagint, which is
now very generally admitted to be a palpable
forgery! The following table, partly from Mr.
Cuninghame, " Synopsis of Chronology," p. 15,
and partly from Usher, " Chronologia Sacra,"
p. 203, both of whom distinctly enumerate all the
texts of Scripture on which their determination
depends, exhibits the intervals of the Critarchal
eras, and the corresponding years of the world,
according to the two systems :
F 2
68
EXTENT OF THE
TABLE X.
CRITARCHAL
ERAS.
From the Exodus . .
Passage of Jordan . .
Division of the Land
1st SERVITUDE
Critarchate of Othniel .
2nd SERVITUDE
Cr. of Ehud and Sham gar
3rd SERVITUDE
Cr. of Deborah and Barak
4th SERVITUDE . .
Critarchate of Gideon .
Of Abimelech, Tolah and Jair 48
5th SERVITUDE
Critarchate of Jephthah
Of Ibzan, Elon and Abdon
6th SERVITUDE (Samson)
Critarchate of Eli ...
7th SERVITUDE . .
Critarchate of Samuel . .
Reign of Saul
Reign of David ....
To the Foundation of Solo-
mon's Temple . . .
FOURTH AGE
The object of Usher in determining the Hebrew
computation of this period, as given above, was
evidently to square or fashion the intervals so that
their sum should not exceed the interpolated period
of 480 years ! This he has effected by the
HEBREW.
Intervals. A.M.
2513
SEPTUAGIWT.
Intervals. A.M.
3840
40
2553
40
3880
6^
r 2559
7
3887
28
3915
40
2599
40
3955
18
3973
80
2679
80
4053
20
4073
40
2719
40
4113
7
4120
49J
I 2769
40
4160
r 48
2817
48
4208
18
4226
6
2823
6
4232
25
2848
25
4257
)
40
2888
40
40
4297
4337
20
4357
21
2909
12
4369
40
2949
40
4409
40
2989
40
4449
3
2992
3
4452
479
years.
612
years.
FOURTH AGE OF THE WORLD. 69
omission of the intervals of all the SERVITUDES,
which are expressly recorded in Scripture, the
interpolation of 9 years between the critarchates
of Gideon and Abimelech, and the addition of
nine years to the critarchate of Samuel. The
remark, therefore, of Mr. Cuninghame, in treat-
ing of the distinguishing marks of the true and
false systems of chronology, " Fulness of the
Times," p. 141, is no less just than severe : " it is
plain that had Usher given to this part of his
chronology the title of An attempt to pervert the
testimony of the Book of Judges, it would have been
a just description of it !" Moreover, Paul, when
he addressed the Jews at Antioch in Pisidia, with
the book of the Law and the Prophets in his
hand, must have been perfectly well acquainted
with the period in question? and his summary of
the intervals completely confirms the reckoning of
the Septuagint, which was followed by all the
ancient chronographers, notwithstanding the inter-
polated passage, which is manifestly the work of
a later age. In this summary, he marks out the
intervals of "forty years in the wilderness," of
the judges "about 450 years" from the division
of the land, " until Samuel the prophet," and of
the reign of Saul "forty years," the amount of
which is 530 years. If to this be added the
intervals of the Jive years' war (Joshua xiv. 10)
of the two years for the completion of the con-
quest of Canaan and the division of the land, of
70 EXTENT OF THE
the twenty years' abode of the ark at Kirjath-
jearim, of twelve years for the critarchate of
Samuel, of i\\Q forty years' reign of David, arid of
the first three years of Solomon's reign, making
in all eighty-two years, the whole amount is
exactly 612 years. The only one of these intervals
not now mentioned in Scripture, is the critarchate
of Samuel at Mizpeh, which has fortunately been
preserved by Josephus and Theophilus, both of
whom, without doubt, had more perfect copies of
the Hebrew and Septuagint texts, and who state
its length at twelve years. Independently, how-
ever, of this interval, the Book of Judges clearly
establishes the true period as far as 600 years, and
completely overthrows the forged period of 480
years. It is worthy also of remark, that Origen
cites the immediate context of the interpolated
passage, giving the sentences both before and
after it, but making no mention whatever of the
number itself ; * which clearly shows that it was
not in the Hebrew text in his time. The follow-
The following is the passage as written by Origen, in his
commentary on the Gospel of St. John : ytypairrcu yap iv rjj
rpt'rjj TMV /3astXctwv, is i/rot'/iaaav TOVS X/0ovs, KCU ra vXa rpialv
'irtaiv' iv ci ry rerapry crti, prjvi Ctvripy, fiaaiXtvovros rov
pacri\i(i>s SoXojUiWros lirl Icrpa^X, ivtrtiXaro o /jaaiXtvs, c.r.X. ;
which reads thus : It is written in the third [book] of
Kings, so they prepared stones and timber for three years ;
and in the fourth year, in the second month, of the reign of
King Solomon over Israel, the king commanded, SfC. 1 Kings v.
18; and vi. 1.
FOURTH AGE OF THE WORLD. 71
ing table exhibits, according to the two systems,
the extent of the first four ages of the world :
TABLE XI.
AGES OF THE WORLD. HEBREW. SEPTUAOINT.
Years. Years.
First three Ages 2513 3840
Fourth Age 479 612
FIRST FOUR, AGES . . 2992 4452
In the learned works of Russell, Clinton, and
Cuninghame, will be found numerous and im-
portant verifications of the true extent of the
fourth period, from different authors, ancient and
modern, of which the following are the most im-
portant. Josephus makes it 612 years in two
different places of his works, and 592 in another,
where he omits the 7th Servitude ; Dr. Russell, 592
years, following Josephus in the latter number ;
Theophilus, 612 years, some of his intervals being
inaccurate, but the errors balancing each other;
Eusebius, 613 years in his " Preparatio," and 600 in
his " Chronicon," where he omits the critarchate
of Samuel ; Jackson, 579 years, by the omission
of both ; and Hales, 621 years, by the interpola-
tion of an interregnum of ten years ; lastly, Mr.
Clinton, 612 years, his intervals being very nearly
the same as those of Mr. Cuninghame. Thus,
by the double testimony of Scripture, and by the
admission of the ablest defender of the Hebrew
verity in modern times, it is manifest that the
forged period of 480 years current, or 479 com-
72 EXTENT OF THE FOURTH AGE OF THE WORLD.
plete, falls short of the truth by 133 years ! Hence,
Mr. Clinton places the creation of the world in
the year B. c. 4138, instead of the Usherian year
B. c. 4004.*
* Mr. Cuningharae's remarks on Usher's system, in his " Synop-
sis of Chronology," pp. 18-20, are very appropriate. We are
forced to abridge them as follows : " I have in my former works,
shown that the learned prelate's Chronology of this period is
manufactured; and in this conclusion I have the support of the
most eminent writers, including the names of Hales, Kennicott,
Dr. Russell, Mr. Clinton, added to the whole of the ancient
chronographers. The latest attempt made to prop up or patch
his system as a whole, is that of the author of the Chapter on
Chronology, in the last edition of Mr. Bickersteth's Guide to
the Prophecies. But while this learned chronographer thus
sets his seal to the almost exact truth of Usher's sum total of
years, he no less sets his seal to the fact that Usher has filled
up the period by & false chronoloyy. According to this learned
writer, it is therefore undeniable that Usher's chronology of the
period from the Exodus to the first of Solomon is, as to its par-
ticulars, manufactured and erroneous. Now it is quite a fair
question to Mr. Bickersteth and his friend, to ask them by
what arithmetical process they have found out that the scheme
which they thus bear testimony to be false as to its particulars,
is yet true as to its sum total. Is it a newly discovered prin-
ciple that many falsehoods make one truth ? As to the scheme
of particulars substituted for that of Usher in these tables, it is
like that of the learned prelate himself, utterly opposed to the
narrative and testimony of the book of Judges. There is one
part of the scheme, however, which merits even more severe
animadversion. The author of the Table makes the period in
Acts xiii. 20, expire at the return of the ark from Kirjath-
jearim. Are we then to conclude that he has clipped down St.
Paul's 450 to 350 ? I can see no other mode of explaining his
calculation."
73
CHAPTER VI.
EXTENT OF THE FIFTH AGE OF THE WORLD.
Table XII. Monarchal Eras and Intervals, from Usher and Cuninghame
Correction of the mistakes of cbronologers as to the true extent of thia
period, by Mr. Cuninghame Table XIII. Extent of the first five ayes
of the World Confirmation of the true extent of the fifth aye from
sacred history and prophecy.
THE extent of the Fifth, or Monarchal Age, is
ascertained from the Books of Kings and Chro-
nicles, and confirmed by chronological notices of
the Prophets. The difference between the He-
brew and Septuagint chronologies in this period,
amount only to about fifteen years, which is
chiefly owing to an interregnum between the
reigns of Amaziah and Uzziah not acknowledged
by Usher and his followers. The following table,
from Usher's " Chronologia," pp. 2 23, and Mr.
Cuninghame's " Synopsis," p. 73, where the
texts of Scripture containing them are distinctly
enumerated, exhibits the intervals of the Monar-
chal Eras, and the corresponding years of the
world, according to both systems :
74 EXTENT OF THE
TABLE XII.
MONARCHAL
HEBREW.
SEPTUAOINT.
ERAS.
Intervals.
A.M.
Intervals. A.M.
From the Foundation
of Solomon's Temple
Death of Solomon .
}
. 37
2992
3029
37
4489
Reign of Rehoboam .
Abijah . .
Asa . . .
. 17
3
. 41
. 25
. *4
3046
3049
3090
3115
3119
17
3
41
25
*6
4506
4509
4550
4575
4581
Jehoshaphat
Jehoram .
Ahaziah .
. .
-'* 1 l
3120
1
4582
Athaliah .
. .
6
3126
6
4588
Jehoash
. .
. 39
3165
*40
4628
Amaziah .
. 29
*0
3194
3246
3262
29
12
52
16
4657
4669
4721
4737
Reign of Uzziah . .
Jotham
. 52
. 16
Ahaz . .
. .
. *15
3277
16
4753
Hezekiah .
>
. 29
3306
29
4782
Manasseh .
. .
. 55
3361
55
4837
Amon . .
. .
2
3363
2
4839
Josiah . .
.
. 31
3394
31
4870
Jehoaliaz, Jehoiakim,
and Jehoiachin
} .
. 11
3405
11
488!
To the Destruction of
Solomon's Temple
}
3416
10
4891
FIFTH AGE . . 424 years. 439 years.
The discrepancies in the different columns of
this table, have been very carefully and laboriously
investigated by Mr. Cuninghame, in his " Chro-
FIFTH AGE OF THE WORLD. 75
nology of Israel," pp. 1839, 87, 88, 115 and
116 ; and in his "Fulness of the Times,'* part i.
pp. 193197, and part ii. pp. 3249, and 56
60, where the errors of Usher, Lightfoot, Hales,
Russell and Clinton, and of the " Seder Olam
Rabba,"* are clearly pointed out and refuted on
Scripture authority ; and, by the correction of
obvious mistakes of two or three current years in
their computation, the testimonies of Josephus,
Clemens, Theophilus, and Eusebius in favour of
the true chronology, are satisfactorily established.
By excluding the interregnum, and reckoning the
years of each reign complete, Dr. Russell and
Mr. Clinton, both estimate the length of this
period at 430 years ; the latter, however, in his
tabular view, p. 329, vol. i., ultimately reduces this
number from 430 current, to 426 complete years,
by reckoning from Rehoboam to Zedekiah 389
years. Jackson reckons this period at 428, and
Hales at 441 years. The true extent of ihejifth
age being determined at 439 years, the following
table exhibits according to the two systems, the
extent of the jirst Jive ages of the world :
* This is the Hebrew title of the most famous Jewish work on
chronology, and signifies " The Great Chronicle of the World.''
Dr. Hales says, " This was the first curtailed system of Jewish
chronology, fabricated by Rabbi Josi, under the auspices of
Rabbi Akiba, the abettor of the rebel-impostor Barchochab,
A.D. 130, in the reign of Adrian." See his " Analysis," p. 13.
76 EXTENT OF THE
TABLE XIII.
TH* WOELD. HEBREW. SEFTUAGIHT.
Years. Years.
First four Ages 2992 4452
Fifth Age -.,, 424 439
FIRST FIVE AGES . . 3416 4891
The true extent of the fifth age is strongly con-
firmed by Ezekiel iv. I 8, where, in the fifth
year of Jehoiachin's captivity, or in A. M. 4885,
the prophet is commanded to predict in a striking
manner the siege of Jerusalem, and to lie on his
left side 390 days, according to the number of the
years of the iniquity of the house of Israel ; and,
on his right side forty days, according to the num-
ber of the years of the iniquity of the house of
Judah ; EACH DAY FOR A YEAR. The sum of these
prophetic days, namely 430, is therefore, the
whole number of the years of the iniquity of Israel
and Judah. This number of years singularly
coincides with that of the period appointed for
the " sojourning of the fathers and children of
Israel," and has no doubt a very extensive pro-
phetic signification. But the period of 390 years
more particularly points at some great general de-
fection, when the iniquity of Israel was particularly
prominent. This iniquity in fact, rose to its
highest pitch, when the Ten Tribes separated
themselves from the house of Judah, and took to
FIFTH AGE OF THE WORLD.' 77
the worship of the golden calves. Now, it ap-
pears from 2 Chronicles xi. 13 17, that the
general defection from the worship of the true
God, both in Israel and Judah, did not take place
till three years after the accession of Rehoboam
to the throne of David, and the election of Jero-
boam to the kingdom of Israel. For a period,
therefore, of forty years after the foundation of
the Temple, the iniquity of the Twelve Tribes was
restrained, and an apparent desire to worship God
aright, prevented the full manifestation of their
idolatrous propensities. After this, however,
" Rehoboam forsook the law of the Lord, and all
Israel with him," (2 Chron. xii. 1.); and by this
time the subjects of Jeroboam had become more
accustomed to the " new gods that came newly
up " at his accession, and had begun to think that
it was indeed " too much for them to go up to
Jerusalem " to worship ; and accordingly, they
went to worship a golden calf, " even unto Dan,"
(1 Kings xii. 30). If from this epoch, A. M. 4491,
therefore, the period of 390 years be computed,
it will terminate in the first year of the captivity
of Jehoiachin, A. M. 4881 *, and, if the whole pe-
riod of 430 years be computed from the epoch
of the completion of the Temple, A. M. 4459, it will
terminate in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign,
A. M. 4889, when the holy city was besieged by
Nebuchadnezzar ; and when, according to Eze-
kiel's prophecy, "he and all his host came against
78 EXTENT OP THE SIXTH AGE OF THE WORLD.
Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts
against it round about," (2 Kings xxv. 1). More-
over, in two years after this epoch, in A. M. 4891,
and when the 439 years from the Foundation of
the Temple in A. M. 4452, were completed, the
" city was broken up," the " walls were broken
down," and the Temple was " burned with fire !"
(2 Kings xxv. I 10). Thus, the true extent of
thejifth age is established by Sacred History, and
confirmed by prophecy. On this subject, see Mr.
Cuninghame's " Synopsis," p. 47, and " Fulness
of the Times," p. 195.*
* " I have endeavoured to shew," says Mr. Cuninghame, in
the former of the places cited, " that the periods of 390 and 40
mystic days, during which Ezekiel was commanded to lie on his
sides, bearing the iniquity of Judah and Israel, are a period of
430 years, computed from the finishing of the Temple, B.C.
1020, to the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem, B.C. 590.
But it now appears to me that the 430 years may with equal
probability be computed from the first Passover in the Temple.
The dedication was in the month Tisri of B.C. 1019, which is
exactly 91 jubilees from the creation; the first Passover was
therefore in Nisan B.C. 1018, whence to the taking of the city
in Ab B.C. 588, are 430 years and three months ; and com-
puting back from B.C. 588, the second period of 40 years, it
brings us to B.C. 628, the 13th of Josiah, and the very year,
according to Prideaux, of the commission of Jeremiah. * * *
Whether, therefore, we compute the period of 430 years from
the finishing of the Temple B.C. 1020, to the beginning of the
siege B.C. 590, or as above, from the first Passover to the taking
of the city, it comes out with equal exactness."
79
CHAPTER VII.
EXTENT OF THE SIXTH AGE OF THE WORLD.
1. Table XIV. Hierarchal Eras and Intervals, from Usher and Cuninghame
Determination of the Intervals from Scripture Period of the Seventy
years Captivity Period of the Seventy prophetic weeks of Daniel
Table XV. Date of the Crucifixion determined Truth of the Ancient
Tradition respecting the First Advent of the Messiah demonstrated.
THE extent of the Sixth, or Hierarchal age,
is ascertained from chronological notices inter-
spersed in the Historical and Prophetical Books
of Scripture, and confirmed by the Astronomical
Canon of Ptolemy.* The difference between the
Hebrew and Septuagint chronologies in this
period, amounts only to two years, its length,
according to Usher's " Chronologia," p. 44, being
583 years, and, according to the following table,
585 years. This table, in which we have taken
the Hebrew dates and intervals from Usher's
" Annals," because they are wanting in the
Chronologia, exhibits only the Scriptural inter-
* See a full account of this Canon, in Dr. Hales' "Analysis,"
vol. i. pp. 275 288 ; and a short account of it, in the " Brevi-
arium Chronologicum" of Strauchius, translated by Sault, pp.
262264, 3rd edition, Lond. 1745.
80 EXTENT OF THE
vals of the Hierarchal eras, and the corre-
sponding years of the world, according to both
systems :
TABLE XIV.
U n f | 3416 4891
e . . J
HIERARCHAL HEBREW. SEPTUACINT.
ERAS. Intervals. A.M. Intervals. A.M.
From the Destruction
Solomon's Temple
The Edict of Cyrus 52 3468 52 4943
The Commission of Ezra . . . *69 3537 *78 5021
The Commission of Nehemiah . 13 3550 13 5034
The Return of Nehemiah . . 12 3562 12 5046
To the Birth of Christ . . . *437 3999 430 5476
THE SIXTH AGE . . . 583 years. 585 years.
The first interval in this table is determined
from the following texts : Jeremiah xxv. 12, and
xxix. 10; 2 Kings xxiv. 1, and xxv. 2; 2 Chron.
xxxvi. 21 ; and Daniel ix. 2 ; from these, it
appears that the seventy years' captivity in
Babylon commenced in the fourth year of Jehoia-
kim, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar ; and, that
it preceded the destruction of the Temple by
eighteen years. Consequently, it terminated ex-
actly jifty-two years after that epoch, namely, in
the Jirst year of Cyrus, when, by his permission,
the Jews " went up out of the Captivity," in
A.M. 4943. The second interval is determined
in the following manner : from Zechariah vii. 5,
it appears that in the fourth year of Darius,
SIXTH AGE OF THE WORLD. 81
seventy years had elapsed from the destruction of
the Temple ; consequently, eighteen years must
have elapsed from the first of Cyrus. This compu-
tation agrees with that of Ptolemy's Canon, which
gives seven years to Cyrus, and eight to Cam-
byses, or Ahasuerus, making, with the three
complete years of Darius, the same amount.
Again, we find, from Ezra vii. 8, that in the
seventh year of Artaxerxes, A. M. 5021, Ezra
received a commandment from that king, to
establish the Jews in their own land, and to
beautify the Second Temple. Now, Ptolemy's
Canon gives thirty-three years for the rest of
Darius's reign, and twenty -one for that of
Xerxes, making, with the six complete years of
Artaxerxes, the amount of sixty years ; conse-
quently, the whole interval, from the Jirst of
Cyrus to the seventh of Artaxerxes, is seventy-
eight years. That the epoch of Ezra's com-
mission is the commencement of the prophetic period
of seventy weeks, or 490 years, is evident from
Daniel ix. 24 27. Hitherto, the Jews had been
hindered in the building of the city and temple ;
the latter was indeed built and dedicated ; but
the walls of the city were still in ruins, and the
inhabitants were exposed to the insults and in-
roads of their enemies ! Now, by the liberal
decree of Artaxerxes, Ezra was furnished with
money and means to forward the work at Jerusa-
lem ; and their enemies were not only silenced,
G
82 EXTENT OF THE
but compelled to assist in carrying the king's
order into execution. This was, therefore, the
epoch of " the going forth of the commandment
to restore and to build Jerusalem," and the be-
ginning of the period " determined upon the
people and the holy city," until the time, when
" the Messiah, the Prince," should " be cut off,
but not for himself;" when " the transgression
should be finished or consummated " in his cru-
cifixion ; and, when "reconciliation" should be
made "for iniquity," by his death and resur-
rection.
The third and fourth intervals in the table are
clearly pointed out in Nehemiah ii. 1 ; v. 14 ; and
xiii. 6 ; the date, indeed, recorded in the latter
text, being the last note of time to be found in the
present Hebrew text. At this period, or very
soon afterwards (according to Mr. Cuninghame,
in A.M. 5055),* the Old Testament Canon was
closed by the prophecy of Malachi, and a long
night of darkness reigned, "until at length the
Day-spring from on high " visited the world.
Thus we have proved, from Scripture evidence
alone, that at the date of Ezra's commission,
which was upwards of 5000 years from Creation,
and even before that period, the Jews were in
possession of a prophecy extending nearly 500
years into futurity, and pointing to the Advent of
a mighty Saviour who should restore all things,
See his " Chart of Sacred Chronology."
SIXTH AGE OF THE WORLD. 83
and "bring in everlasting righteousness." The
date of the passion of Christ is fixed and deter-
mined as in the following table :
TABLE XV.
The Date of Ezra's Commission A.M. 5021
The period of seventy weeks, or 490 years 490
THE DATE or THE CRUCIFIXION, A.M. 5511
Hence, it is clearly demonstrated that the general
belief among all nations, that the Messiah should
appear in the middle of the Sixth Millenary from
Creation, had its real origin in a knowledge of
the true chronology of the sacred Scriptures !
In arriving at this conclusion, we have been
obliged, in order to establish the exact lengths
of the Critarchal and Hierarchal ages, to borrow
twelve years from the writings of the ancient
chronographers, and seventy -eight from the canon
of Ptolemy, amounting only to ninety years in
all, a period which may be considered as al-
most evanescent in the long range of 5500
years. Probably the Scriptures originally con-
tained notices even of these intervals, and in the
course of ages, they may have been either lost,
through the negligence of transcribers, or omitted
through the wilfulness of enemies to the truth.
G 2
84 EXTENT OF THE
2. Determination of the Epoch of the Birth of Christ Labours of Mr. Con-
inghame on this point Coincidence of the extent of the period of
Patriarchal pilgrimage with that of Hierarchal Bondage Table XVI.
Extent of the Six Ages of the World Difference between the true
and vulgar dates of the Nativity Mr. Cuninghame's dates of the
Nativity and Public Ministry of Christ, deduced from the chronology
of the Septuagint.
The determination of the dates of the Nati-
vity and Passion of our Lord, is a question of
considerable difficulty, and of great importance
in the true system of chronology ; but much has
been written upon it to very little purpose. We
agree, however, with Mr. Cuninghame, in the
conclusion to which he has arrived, after a very
laborious and complete investigation, in his
" Fulness of the Times," parti, pp. 60107, and
part ii. pp. 1 27, and in his " Season of the
End," pp. 73 90, where he refutes the opinions
of Newton, Hales, Gresswell and others, and
demonstrates that the Passion of Christ took place
in the thirty-ffth year of his age, that is, accord-
ing to the vulgar reckoning in A. D. 33 : and,
that consequently, the true date of his Nativity
was B. c. 3. The Scriptural evidence for this
conclusion recommends itself to the mind, both
by its simplicity and sufficiency. It appears
from Luke iii. 23, that Christ was baptized when
he was thirty years of age ; and from Luke iv.
16 24, that soon after that period, he began his
public ministry. Moreover, from the whole of
SIXTH AGE OF THE WORLD. 85
the Gospel history, particularly that of John, it
appears that he was present at four, if not Jive,
public celebrations of the Passover ; and conse-
quently, that his thirty-jifth year was coincident
with the date of the Crucifixion. Hence, it
clearly follows, that the epoch of the, birth of Christ
was coincident with the 455th year of the pro-
phetic period of seventy weeks, this being the
difference between 35 and 490 years. Again,
the intervals of thirteen years between the com-
missions of Ezra and Nehemiah, and of twelve
between that of the latter and his return to the
court of Artaxerxes, amounting to twenty-five
years in all, being deducted from the 455 years,
gives the last interval of 430 years to the Nativity.
Thus, we perceive a singular coincidence in the
period of the pilgrimage and afflictions of the
Hebrews in Canaan and Egypt, till the time of
Moses ; and that of the persecution and sufferings
of the Jews in Syria and Egypt, till the Advent
of the Messiah ! The following table exhibits,
according to the two systems, the extent of the
six ages of the world :
TABLE XVI.
AGES or THE WORLD. HEBREW. SEPTUAGINT.
Years. Years.
First Five Ages 3416 4891
Sixth Age 583 585
THE Six AGES . . 3999 5476
86 EXTENT OF THE SIXTH AGE OF THE WORLD.
Usher states in his " Chronologia Sacra," p. 45,
that the true period from Creation to the Birth of
Christ, is 3999 years, two months, four days, and
sir hours ; but, according to the vulgar reckoning
4003 years, two months, eleven days, arid six
hours ! Hence, according to his computation, the
true date of the Nativity in current years is A.M.
4000, and the vulgar date A.M. 4004. It is
indeed admitted by all chronologers that an error
of two or three years was committed by Diony-
sius Exiguus, who first introduced the Christian
era, in A.D. 532 ; and, by Bede, who followed
him, in A.D. 720. Accordingly, Mr. Cuning-
hame very properly places the commencement of
the vulgar era" in A.M. 5478 ; and that of the
Public Ministry of Christ, in A.M. 5508, which
was in fact the true period of his appearance to
the world ! In the whole of this interesting
inquiry, now approaching a close, we must can-
didly acknowledge the invaluable assistance we
have received from the learned and original works
of Mr. Cuninghame, which have been, as it were,
our guide through the labyrinth of chronological
difficulties, till we have at last arrived at the open
field of well-known History.
87
SECTION II.
CONFIRMATION OF THE GREAT EPOCHS.
THE epochs of the Nativity and Epiphany of
Christ, determined in the preceding Section, re-
ceive very strong confirmation from the histories
and chronicons of ancient writers both sacred and
profane, from the writings of the early Fathers,
and from the prophetic arrangement of "the Times
and the Seasons " by the Great 0eoe, or Supreme
" Disposer " of all human events. It is plain,
however, that a multiplicity of views both of the
Hebrew and the Septuagint chronology may be
taken, according as more or fewer of the errors,
which we have pointed out in the computation of
the different ages of the world, are either adopted
or rejected. Dr. Hales, in his " Analysis," vol. i.
pp. 3 7, gives a list of more than a hundred and
twenty different dates of the birth of Christ, under
the title of " Epochs of the Creation ; " and he
adds that the list might be swelled to the number
of three hundred! In such a multitude of dis-
cordant dates we might, at first sight, despair of
88 CONFIRMATION OF THE
ever arriving at the truth ; but let us remember
that error is a hydra-headed monster, which in
chronology as well as in more sacred subjects, can
only be successfully destroyed by the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God.
It is easy to see the source of the differences of
opinion among the learned, in regard to the point
under consideration. Instead of taking the sacred
Scriptures as their guide, men have chosen rather
to follow their dwn fancies ; and, because discre-
pancies were found to exist in the ancient texts,
they have with one consent agreed to abandon the
light of internal evidence, and to take refuge in the
obscure glimmerings of heathen tradition or the
doubtful testimony of Jewish writers and Chris-
tian fathers. Hence, we have all varieties of
dates, from the bold conjecture of Alphonsus,
king of Castile, who supposed that the Mundane
Cycle of 7000 years had nearly expired at the
birth of Christ, to the traditionary epoch of the
Chronicle of Axum in Abyssinia, which, accord-
ing to Bruce, places that event in the year of the
world 5500 ; and, from the Alexandrian or Con-
stantinopolitan era, which, according to the com-
putation of the Greeks, places it in A. M. 5508, to
the Jewish epoch of the " Seder Olam Rabba,"
which according to Ganz, dates it in A.M. 375 J.
The following Table of the extent of the dif-
ferent ages of the world according to the three
texts, will serve the double purpose of showing
GREAT EPOCHS. 89
the leading varieties in the computation of the date
of the Nativity from Creation, and of bringing
before our readers, at a single glance, a condensed
view of the result of our investigations in the pre-
ceding pages. As the Samaritan text compre-
hends only the chronology of the first two ages,
the extent of the remaining four ages is borrowed
from the Hebrew.
TABLE XVII.
AGES OF THE WORLD. HEBREW. SEPTUAGINT. SAMARITAN.
YEARS. YEARS. YEARS.
1. Antediluvian age . . . 1656 2262 1307
2. Postdiluvian age ... 427 1147 1017
3. Patriarchal age ... 430 431 430
4. Critarchal age .... 480 612 480
5. Monarchal age ... 424 439 424
6. Hierarchal age ... 583 585 583
Birth of Christ . . A.M. 4000 5476 4241
Error in the Sixth age . 2 2
Error in the Vulgar date .2 2 2
Extent of the Six ages . 4004 5478 4245
In the preceding Table we have reckoned the
date of the Birth of Christ in current years, and
included the year of Abraham's sojourning in
Egypt in the Patriarchal age of the Septuagint
computation. See page 66 of this Dissertation.
CHAPTER I.
HISTORICAL CONFIRMATION OF THE TRUE SYSTEM
OF CHRONOLOGY.
Testimonies of the ancient chronographers and historians before and after
Christ, in favour of the chronology of the Septuagint Demetrius, Eupo-
lemus, Josephus, Justin Martyr, and all the early fathers of the first
three centuries Theophilus, Hippolytus, Africanus, Origen, Cyprian,
Lactantius, Epiphanius, Ambrose, Ephrem Syrus, Augustine, Chrysos-
tom, Sulpicius Severus, Annianus, Syncellus, Eutychius, the author of
the Paschal Chronicle, and the Council called " Synodus in Trullo "
Probable cause of minute variations among the ancient cbronographers.
IN confirmation of the true epoch of the birth of
Christ, and the accuracy of the Septuagint chrono-
logy, we select the following examples of ancient
testimony, for which we are chiefly indebted
to the learned works of Russell and Clinton,
" Connection of Sacred and Profane History,"
vol. i., pp. 113 120, and "Fasti Hellenici,"
vol. i., pp. 286 291. Demetrius, who lived
B.C. 220, and is cited by Eusebius and Polyhistor,
states that " from Adam to the Eisodus, were
3624 years ; from the flood 1360 ; and from the
Call of Abraham 215." It follows, that he
reckoned the Antediluvian age 2264 years, and
TRUE SYSTEM OF CHRONOLOGY. 91
the Postdiluvian 1 145 ; adding two years to
the former, and taking them from the latter
by mistake, but preserving the correct sum of
both 3409 years, and the true epoch of the
Eisodus A.M. 3624, see Tables VII. and VIII.
Eupolemus, who lived B.C. 174, and is cited
by Clemens Alexandrinus, states that " from
Adam to the 5th year of Demetrius [Polior-
cetes], the 12th of Ptolemy [Soter], were 5149
years." If to this number, as Dr. Russell
remarks, we add 296, as the date B.C. of the 5th
of Demetrius, the epoch of the nativity is, accord-
ing to Eupolemus, A.M. 5445. From the works of
Josephus, who flourished A.D. 90, both Russell
and Jackson have determined the same epoch at
A.M. 5481. Justin Martyr, who wrote A.D. 140,
speaking of the prophecies concerning Christ,
says, '* some were delivered 5000 years before
his appearing, some 3000, some 2000 ; and, some
again 1000, and others 800 years."* Ignatius,
Clemens Romanus, Irenseus, Polycarp, Tertullian,
and all the early fathers of the first three centuries,
held similar opinions respecting the antiquity
of the prophecies, and the appearance of the
Saviour of the world in the sixth millennium.
Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, A.D. 180,
placed the epoch of the Nativity in A.M. 5507,
according to Kennicott ; and Clemens Alexan-
drinus, who lived A.D. 194, placed the same
* See his "Apology, &c.," translated by the Rev. T. Cheval-
Her, B.D., p. 221, Cambridge, 1833.
92 HISTORICAL CONFIRMATION OF THE
epoch in A.M. 5444, according to Clinton and
Cuninghame, on the supposition that he follows
Eupolemus. Mr. Cuninghame, however, has
shown, in his " Fulness of the Times," Part ii.
pp. 59, 60, that by correcting an error of thirty-
four years, the epoch of Clemens is A.M. 5478 ;
and, by the most indefatigable scrutiny of his
numbers, that the epoch of Josephus is A.M. 5472,
the difference of six years arising from his well-
known error of this amount in the Antediluvian
age. Hippolytus, A.D. 200, states that " the first
advent of our incarnate Lord took place in the
5500th year of the world." Julius Africanus
(apud Syncellum) A.D. 220, says that " the Jews
have transmitted to us, from the extant Hebrew
histories, the number of 5500 years from creation
to the epiphany of the Saviour," a conclusion,
which, as Syncellus remarks, was received by all
the learned Christians of his day. It is also
remarkable, that although both Theophilus and
Africanus seem to omit the second Cainan in the
Postdiluvian age, yet their dates of the foundation
of Solomon's temple agree with that of Mr.
Cuninghame to a year or two ; thus showing that
an error of 130 years in relation to an epoch
so generally known, was wholly inadmissible
into any system of chronology pretending to
be founded on the sacred writings. Origen,
A.D. 230, states that " our Lord descended from
Heaven for the salvation of man, 6000 years after
TRUE SYSTEM OF CHRONOLOGY. 93
the Almighty had formed the first of the human
race." Cyprian, A.D. 250, says that " 6000 years
are already almost accomplished since the devil
made his first assault on man." Lactantius,
A.D. 300, says, " philosophers who calculate the
thousands of ages from the beginning of the world,
must know that the 6000th year [that is, the
sixth millenary,] is not yet finished." Epipha-
nius, A.D. 368, says "the preaching of Christ
began in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, in
the 30th year of his age, which was in the
5509th year of the world's creation." This date
differs only by one year from that which we have
assigned to the same epoch. Hesychius, a con-
temporary of Jerome, says, " the incarnation of
the Redeemer took place nearly 6000 years from
the foundation of the world." Ambrose, bishop
of Milan, A.D. 375, says, " but now more than
6000 years are counted from the foundation of
the world." Ephrem Syrus, A.D. 378, says, " the
Saviour was to appear after 5500 years, [from,
creation,] to deliver man." Augustine, A.D. 398,
says, " since from the first man, 6000 years are
not yet completed." Chrysostom, his contem-
porary, says, " after 5000 years and more, Christ
came as the substitute of our race." Sulpicius
Severus, A.D. 400, makes the date of the Nativity
A.M. 5469, according to Clinton. Annianus
A.D. 405, Syncellus A.D. 792, Eutychius A.D. 937,
and a host of later writers, adopt the epoch
94 HISTORICAL CONFIRMATION, ETC.
A.M. 5500, following Africanus. The author
of the " Paschal Chronicle," makes the epoch
A.M. 5507 ; and the meeting of the council, called
" Synodus in Trullo," A.D. 691, reckoned it
A.M. 5508, which is the same as our date of the
Epiphany. In short, the epochs of the Nativity,
the Epiphany, and the Resurrection, (^ irapovala,
ft firityavtia, /cat ^ ava<rra<Tce) appear to have been so
inseparably connected in the minds of the ancient
writers, as to make them sometimes put the one
for the other ; a circumstance, which may account
for not a few of the small varieties in their com-
putation of the year of the world which was the
commencement of the Christian era.*
* Mr. Cuninghame says that " Mr. Gresswell produces a
mass of quotations from the Fathers, scarcely two of whom
entirely agree, to prove that they nearly all held that our Lord's
death was in one of the years 29 or 30, [A. M. 5507 or 5508], or
some of them in 31, [A. M. 5509] ; yet with respect to some of
his witnesses, he is obliged to exclaim, ' So little solicitous do
these writers seem to be about verifying their dates, before they
allowed them to remain on record.' If he were to give us 100
volumes of such passages to wade through, which is merely
wading through a mass of contradictions, they can avail nothing
against the unequivocal testimony of St. Luke, that in the 15th
of Tiberius our Lord was 30 years of age, and was therefore born
in B. c. 3, QA. M. 5476] ; and the other fact, founded on the
unerring principles of Astronomy, that from the year 28 to 33,
[A. M. 5506 to 5511], no Passover could possibly have fallen on
a Friday ; and, therefore, the death of our Lord is pinned down
to A. D. 33, [A. M. 5511]." " Season of the End," p. 85.
CHAPTER II.
REDUCTION OF THE MUNDANE ERA OF REDEMPTION.
Errors of Eusebius, Jerome, and the Western churches Consistency of the
Eastern and Southern churches to the latest period Chronology of the
Russians and Armenians that of the Septuagint Testimony of Abul-
pharajius Chronological innovations of the Venerable Bede His de-
nouncement as a heretic on this account Chronology of the Roman
church different from that of the Latin Vulgate The chronology of the
Masoretes an abridgement of the true The chronology of the Roman
Martyrology preserved by Pontifical authority to the present day Ex-
tract from Strauchius An important testimony in favour of the true
chronology.
HAVING shown by incontestable evidence, that
the computation of the Septuagint was universally
received as the true chronology of the Church of
Christ from the earliest periods of its history, and
that it was also received by the Jews themselves,
at least two centuries before the Christian era ;
let us now shortly inquire how it came to be
abandoned, and the chronology of the Masorete
Hebrew text adopted in its stead. Eusebius of
Cesarea, A.D. 325, or some one for him, acting
under Jewish influence, reduced the era of Re-
demption from A.M. 5478 to A.M. 5200, by the
exclusion of the Postdiluvian Cainan, the adoption
96 REDUCTION OF THE
of the forged period for the Critarchalage, and the
omission of Jifteen years in the Monarchal. In
these errors, he was followed by Jerome,* A.D. 378,
and some of the Western churches ; but his
system was resolutely opposed by all the Eastern
and Southern churches, in which the chrono-
logical authority of Africanus and Epiphanius
prevailed. This opposition has indeed preserved
the true chronology in some countries to a very
late period ; for we find that the Russians,
who received it from the Greeks, still reckon that
the Christian era commenced in A.M. 5509, as
may be seen by reference to their native his-
torians. The remoter Eastern churches, with
some slight variations, also adhered to the longer
chronology ; as testified by Abulfarajius, the cele-
brated Armenian historian, who flourished in the
thirteenth century, and who reckoned the same
epoch at A.M. 5586, apparently to adjust it to the
birth of Peleg, in A.M. 2793, the former number
being just double the latter; for, "in his days
was the world divided," at the command of (9>c
rwv otwvwv) the God of the ages, or the worlds.
The Western Churches indeed, can scarcely be
said to have followed the chronology either of Euse-
bius orof Jerome, till the timeof the venerable Bede,
A.D. 720 ; and the innovations of the latter were
so ill received by his contemporaries, that he was
* Jerome even went further than this, and adopted the cur-
tailed system of the Jews in some of his writings, if not in all.
MUNDANE ERA OF REDEMPTION. 97
denounced as a heretic, because he dared to
assert, in opposition to all the fathers of the
Church, that Christ was not born in the sixth
millenary of the world; see Usher's "Chrono-
logia Sacra," p. 50. The chronology of the
Roman Church appears to have remained in this
state during the dark ages till the meeting of the
Council of Trent, A.D. 1563, when the Pro-
testants, under the double influence of prejudice
against the errors of the Church, and overweening
confidence in the Hebrew text, adopted the
modern and corrupted chronology of the Jews !
The Roman chronologists had, however, abridged
\J * * O
the true computation of the ancient Church of
Christ only by 278 years ; while the Masoretes
and their followers had abridged it by no less
than 1474 years ! The system of the former con-
tinues to prevail in the Church of Rome, though
contrary to the Latin Vulgate, and the system of
the latter in the Reformed Churches, even to this
day. In the " Roman Martyrology," published
by the authority of Pope Gregory XIII., in
A.D. 1582, and revised by command of Pope
Urban VIII., in A.D. 1640, we find the following
statement, which according to Strauchius, " Bre-
viarium Chronologicum," p. 382, is read in the
churches every year on the 25th of December :
"In the 5199th year from the creation of the
world, when God created heaven and earth ; and
the 2957th after the deluge ; the 2015th from the
H
98 REDUCTION OF THE MUNDANE ERA, ETC.
birth of Abraham ; the 1510th from the time of
Moses and the Israelites leaving Egypt ; and the
1032nd from the time of David being anointed
king ; in the 65th annual week of Daniel ; in the
194th Olympiad; in the 752nd year since the
building of Rome ; in the 42nd year of the Emperor
Octavius Augustus, when the whole world was
blessed with peace ; in the sixth age of the
world ; Jesus Christ, Eternal God, and Son of
the Eternal Father, conceived from the Holy
Ghost, was born of the Virgin Mary, in Bethlehem
of Judea." * There are several contradictions
among the synchronisms contained in this state-
ment, which are acknowledged by Roman Catholic
writers themselves, as may be seen in the works
of Baronius and Petavius ; but, it is a noble
public testimony to the true faith of the Church of
Christ, and an important public evidence in
favour of its ancient chronology.
* The Birth of Christ took place according to
The Septuagint.
In the 5476th year from Creation ;
the 3215th from the Deluge; the
2143d from the birth of Abraham;
the 1637th from the Exodus ; and
the 1068th from the accession of
David ; the 65tb prophetic week of
Daniel; the 193d Olympiad; the
751st year of Rome ; and the 42d
of Augustus.
The Hebrew Text.
In the 4000th year from the Crea-
tion ; the 2344th from the Deluge ;
the 1992d from the birth of Abra-
ham ; the 1487th from the Exodus;
and the 1051st from the accession of
David ; the 65th prophetic week of
Daniel; the 193d Olympiad; the
749th year of Rome ; and the 40th
of Augustus.
99
CHAPTER III.
CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH SYSTEMS OF CHRONOLOGY
ERRONEOUS.
Chronology of the English Bible erroneous Usher influenced by the Ma-
soretes Tradition of the House of Elias Its complete refutation both
from Scripture and fact Utility and application of Mr. Cuninghame's
" Chart of Chronology" Reasons assigned by the Jewish Rabbis why
their expected Messiah is not yet come Their curse upon all who cal-
culate the Times.
FROM the whole of the preceding testimony and
argument, it must appear evident that the chro-
nology of Usher, which places the Christian era
in A.M. 4004, which is adopted in all the larger
editions of the English Bible, and which is still
strenuously maintained by English divines, is but
of comparatively recent origin, and rests upon a
very unsound foundation. We have no doubt
that the pious and learned Archbishop was in-
fluenced in his determination to adopt the
Masorete chronology, contrary to his better
judgment, by a tradition current among the Jews
from a very early period, which appears to be
only a corruption of the more ancient one referred
H 2
100 CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH
to at the beginning of this Dissertation. After their
rejection of Jesus Christ as the true Messiah, the
Jews, in order to cover their retreat from the
truth, gave out in their Talmud the following
gloss on the universal belief of the Church :
" Traditio Domus Eliae : Mundus sex millibus
annis durabit ; duobus millibus inauitas; duobus
millibus lex ; duobus millibus tempus Messiac ;"
the meaning of which is, that according to the
tradition of the house of Elias, the world shall
last 6000 years ; of which 2000 shall pass without
the law ; 2000 under the law ; and 2000 under
the Messiah. It is proper to observe that the
inventor of this tradition was neither Elijah the
Tishbite, nor his antitype, John the Baptist, but
a certain famous doctor of the Jewish schools,
who flourished after the Messianic age ; and, that
not the slightest trace of the tradition itself is to
be found in the Holy Scriptures ! As some
writers, however, consider it a confirmation of the
modern Hebrew chronology, v/e may show that
it is not only quite erroneous, but inconsistent
with itself, even in its details. Referring to Mr.
Cuninghame's " Chart of Sacred Chronology,"
in which he lias arranged the Hebrew and Septua-
gint chronologies in parallel columns, and ex-
hibited the most remarkable events in ancient
history, both according to the years of the world
and before Christ, we see that according to the
Masorete text, the law was delivered on Mount
SYSTEMS OF CHRONOLOGY ERRONEOUS. 101
Sinai in A.M. 2513, more than 500 years after the
time said to be predicted by Elias ! Hence, it
follows that the interval from that epoch till the
end of the next 2000 years, is less than 1500
years, and terminated in A.M. 4000, when, ac-
cording to the tradition, the Messiah was expected
to appear ! With respect to the 2000 years
allotted to the reign of the Messiah, they are, on
their own showing, nearly past ; inasmuch as
1844 years of this period have already elapsed,
and yet, according to their opinion, he is not come /
The reason assigned by the Jewish Rabbis for
this long delay, is that their sins have prevented
his coming! This grievous falsification of their
famous Doctor's prediction, has made them so
ashamed of their traditions, that they have pro-
nounced a curse upon all who dare to calculate
the times : *?E? ^rmnsn ^QETO pp " Animam ex-
halent illi qui supputant terminos." On this and
other curious matters relating to the Hebrew chro-
nology, see Father Le Quien's " Defense du Texte
Hebreu et de la Vulgate," reprinted in the "Cours
Complet," vol. iii. pp. 15251586.*
* Rabbi Salomon Jarchi, qui nous a donne Fexplication de
cette tradition, dit que les deux mille ans de Tohu, ou d'/w-
anite, ont dure depuis la creation du monde jusque vers la cin-
quante ou soixantieme annee d'Abraham, et que les deux
rnilles ans de Loi ont commence vers ce terns-la, lorsque Dieu le
fit sortir de Chaldee, et lui donna des lois pour lui et pour toute
sa posterite, principalement celle de la circoncision ; et qu'ils
ont fini vers la destruction de Jerusalem par Titus. II ajoute
enfin ces paroles : Mais nos pcches sont la cause que le Mtssic
nest point venu au bout des quatre mille ans. p. 1527.
102
CHAPTER IV.
CYCLICAL CHARACTER OF THE MUNDANE TIMES.
1. The Revolutions of the Heavenly bodies appointed for Cycles Origin of
the cycles of the year and the month The subject of Enoch's prophecy
Mr. Cuninghame's discovery of the cvcle from the Creation to the
Era of Redemption Scriptural Cycles of frequent occurrence The
numbers of Jubilee and of Pentecost of Pilgrimage and Persecution
of Omnipotence, glory, and wisdom ; and of mystery, vengeance, and
forgiveness The prophetic numbers of Daniel Discovery of their
connection with the Higher Cycles of Astronomy, by M. de Chesaux
and Mr. Cuningbame
THE true system of chronology receives its
grandest confirmation from the cyclical character
of the times appointed by (o irariip TWV atwvwv)
the Father of the ages. In Genesis i. 14, the
word of God created two luminaries in the firma-
ment of Heaven, for giving light upon the earth,
and for separating day and night ; and, for signs,
and times, and days and years ! Thus early were
the phenomena of the sun and moon appointed to
indicate the arrangements of Divine providence,
as well as to regulate the ordinary periods of
time. Before man, however, could understand
the nature of these periods as they were gradually
CYCLICAL CHARACTER OF THE MUNDANE TIMES. 103
unfolded by the revolutions of the heavenly bodies,
or by the still higher cycles of prophecy which
were afterwards revealed to God's chosen people,
the natural division of the day, and the sacred
division of the week were appointed for his
observance. The origin of the year is considered
by the learned as involved in obscurity ; but we
think there is a striking indication of its length in
the life of Enoch. This favoured Patriarch lived
a year of years on earth, that is, a year of 365
prophetic days ; and he himself was a prophet,
who, by the Spirit of God, was enabled to see far
into the womb of futurity. It is also very remark-
able that, according to Mr. Cuninghame's singular
discoveries, the birth of Him, who was the great
subject of Enoch's prophecy, took place at a
period of fifteen years of years, or fifteen years of
prophetic days from the creation ! The origin of
the month is referable to the same age ; for
we recognize the month of thirty days in the
account of the year of the Deluge ; and, a period
of four prophetic months, or 120 prophetic days,
is visible in the 120 years of grace before that
awful catastrophe. The sacred period of seven
days also assumed a prophetic character. In
Pharaoh's dream, the seven years of plenty, and
the seven years of famine, were vividly depicted.
After seven days previous warning, the Diluvian
rain descended in torrents for forty days. After
Jericho was encompassed seven days, the last
104 CYCLICAL CHARACTER OF THE
day seven times, by seven priests with seven
trumpets, the walls were levelled with the ground.
The number forty is prophetic; the Israelites
wandered forty prophetic days, that is, forty
years, in the wilderness ; Moses was in the
mount forty days ; and, Christ was tempted forty
days. In forty days, Nineveh was to be de-
stroyed ; Christ was seen of his disciples forty
da^s after his resurrection ; and, in forty years,
after his baptism, was Jerusalem destroyed. The
number of seven days and seven years, with their
multiples and higher powers, perpetually recur
in the Mosaic institutes ; and the period of seven
times seven, or forty-nine days and forty-nine
years, is particularly signalized in the feasts of
the Jews. Balaam, who knew the sacredness of
the number seven, in the divine institutions, at
three different times and places, built seven altars,
and slew seven oxen and seven rams, in order to
propitiate the favour of God. In the land of
Canaan, seven nations were destroyed in seven
years. Solomon's temple was seven years in
building, and in 430 years after the celebration
of the first passover within its walls, it was de-
stroyed. The latter number, as we have seen, is
highly prophetic, corresponding to the 430 pro-
phetic days of Ezekiel, and having a mysterious
reference to the 430 years of promise to Abraham,
the 430 years of Gentile persecution, and the
three times 430 days, or 1,290 years of Daniel.
MUNDANE TIMES. 105
But time would fail us to speak of the seven
spirits of God, the seven eyes, the seven lamps,
the seven stars, the seven golden lamp-stands, the
seven churches, the seven angels, the seven seals,
the seven vials, the seven plagues, the seven
heads, the seven crowns, the seven mountains,
and the seven kings ; the seven times, yea and
the seventy times seven the perfect numbers of
omnipotence, glory and wisdom ; and, of mystery,
vengeance and forgiveness !
We have already seen the prophetic nature of
Daniel's seventy weeks, and it now only remains
to notice his other prophetic periods. In Dan. xii.
14, mention is made of " a time, times and half a
time," which should be accomplished, before the
wonders he had seen should come to an end. This
period is clearly shown by writers on the prophe-
cies, to signify three and a-half prophetic years,
forty-two prophetic months, or 1260 prophetic days;
and this view is confirmed by the mention of 1290
and 1335 prophetic days, in the context. Again,
in Dan. viii. 14, we read of 2300 prophetic days,
after the lapse of which, " the sanctuary shall be
cleansed." That these periods are all connected
with each other, and that they each signify so
many years, has been long known and generally
admitted ; but, that they are connected with the
revolutions of the heavenly bodies, appears to be
but a very recent discovery ! Mr. Birks, of Tri-
nity College, Cambridge, in his " Elements of
106 CYCLICAL CHARACTER OF THE
Prophecy," just published, has very properly
remarked, in p. 368, that, " It seems to have
been first unfolded by M. de Chesaux, a French
writer, purely as a curiosity of science ; but it is
Mr. Cuninghame who has revived attention to this
interesting topic." The fact is, that the original
work of M. de Chesaux might have lain for ever
on the shelves of the library of the University of
Lausanne, had not Mr. Cuninghame searched it
out with his wonted industry, and republished
the author's discovery anew in his work on the
" Jubilean Chronology." We shall endeavour to
give our readers some idea of this curious dis-
covery.
2. Lengths of the tropical year and the synodical period of the moon, ac-
cording to Sir John Herschel Application of the method of continued
fractions to the determination of their approximating ratios Various
lunisolar cycles The Octaeteris of the Greeks The cycle of nineteen
discovered by Melon, but probably known to the Hebrews The period
of Calippus Proof that the numbers of Daniel are lunisolar cycles
Remarks of Mr. Birks in bis " Elements of Prophecy'' Observations
of Mr. Cuninghame in.his " Scientific Chronology" Proof that the
prophetic month and the jubilean period are lunisolar cycles.
The latest determinations of the lengths of the
tropical year, and the lunar month, or synodical
period of the moon, are, according to Sir John Her-
schel, 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 49'7 seconds;
and 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 2'87 seconds.
"Astronomy," pp. 205, 224. By the method of
Continued Fractions* we find that the continually
* The rules for the determination of the approximating ratios
MUNDANE TIMES.
107
approximating ratios of these periods are repre-
sented by the following series of fractions :
Numberi. (1) (2) (3) (4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
. &c -
where the numerators represent the numbers of
years, and the denominators the numbers of luna-
tions, necessary to bring the sun and moon
again into the same relative position, very nearly
at the same point of time in the tropical year.
of any two numbers by the method of Continued Fractions, are
very clearly explained, on Algebraical principles in Hind's Al-
gebra, 5th edition, pp. 273 292; and, on Arithmetical prin-
ciples in Thomson's Arithmetic, 16th edition, pp. 241 246.
We subjoin the operation, as much abridged as possible, by
which the preceding series of fractions was obtained. Reducing
the above lengths of the year and the month into seconds, we
have the numbers 31556929-7 and 2551442-87 ; hence,
12
2
2
1
1
255144287
187923052
3155692970
3061731444
67221235
53480582
93961526
67221235
13740653
12999638
26740291
13740653
741015
402383
12999638
12597255
338632
&c.
402383
Quotients, 12, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 17,
Ratios, T V, &, *V,
17
1,
&c.
, &c.
Unmathematical readers will find a much more simple, but
of course, a more lengthened explanation, of these ratios in
Mr. Cuninghame's " Synopsis of Chronology," pp. 6 10, and
5460.
108 CYCLICAL CHARACTER OF THE
Of these ratios, some have been long known ; the
fourth is the Greek cycle called Octaeteris, dis-
covered B.C. 600, and is a very rude approxima-
tion : the sixth is the famous cycle re-discovered
by Meton B.C. 432, but probably known to the
Hebrews from the earliest ages, as the lives of
Seth, Methuselah and Noah are exact multiples
of this cycle, as well as the Antediluvian age itself,
and is a remarkably near approximation to the
truth ; four times this ratio gives the period of
Calippus, which Was rectified by the omission of
one day in seventy-six years. These approxima-
tions, however, are much inferior in accuracy to
the higher terms of the series ; from which, in
fact, any number of approximate ratios may be
deduced by the following principle : If a series
of fractions be all equal to each other, the sum or
difference of the numerators and denominators of
any pair will constitute a new fraction equal to
each ; and the same is true of fractions whose
numerators and denominators are equi-multiples
of those of any of the given or derived fractions.
Hence, from the terms of the preceding series, we
derive the following additional ratios, whose de-
gree of approximation, of course, depends on that
of the fractions of which they are composed.
From the eighth and ninth ratios, by addition,
we obtain the ratio iW<rV, which is so remarkably
correct, that the approximation is within about
three-quarters of an hour of the truth. From
MUNDANE TIMES. 109
the sixth and seventh ratios, by subtraction, we
obtain, the ratio -fflfo = T V 2 A, which shows that
the prophetic period of 1260 years is a scientific
lunisolar cycle. From the two new ratios thus
obtained, by addition, we have a third new ratio
sW^T, which proves that the prophetic period
of 2300 years is another scientific cycle, in
which the approximation is nearly twelve hours.
Mr, Birks, in his "Elements of Prophecy," pp.
368 372, distinctly acknowledges the " Cyclical
character of the Prophetic Times," and gives the
numerators of the above series of ratios. He adds
a very ingenious explanation of these cycles, and
remarks that, " the highest prophetic period, 2300
years, is perhaps the only secular cycle, composed
of centuries, known to exist!" The secular cycle
of 5200, though not, as far as we are aware, a
prophetic period, is " composed of centuries ;"
and being Jive times the cycle of 1 040 years, is so
close an approximation to the truth, that it is
within about 3| hours, and is therefore consider-
ably more accurate than the cycle of 2300 years !
What then does Mr. Birks mean in this passage ?
Perhaps the following sentence from Mr. Cuning-
hame's " Scientific Chronology of the year 1839,"
will supply the answer : " Moreover, 2300 years
is the only centurial number, which is an original
cycle in astronomy ; for though we have a cycle
of 5200 years, it is only as the multiple of the
perfect one of 1040 by 5." From the fifth and
110 CYCLICAL CHARACTER OF THE MUNDANE TIMES.
sixth ratios in the series, we obtain those of
and /inr, which shows that thirty years, the pro-
phetic month, and forty-nine years, the jubilean
period, are also scientific cycles, but not possess-
ing such close approximation to the truth as the
larger cycles. In the same way, it may be easily
proved, that the periods of 1290 years and 1078
years are scientific cycles ; the former being three
times the prophetic period of pilgrimage and trial,
namely 430 years, which is also a cycle of an in-
ferior degree of approximation ; and the latter
being exactly twenty-two jubilees.*
* We have much satisfaction in giving the following abridge-
ment of the remarks of Mr. Birks, on this interesting subject ;
pp. 371, 372. Thus, he says, "A fresh light is thrown upon
the words of the Psalmist, He appointed the moon for seasons.
A divine ladder of time is set before us, and, as we rise suc-
cessively from step to step, days are replaced by years, and
years by millenia ; and these, perhaps, hereafter, in their turn,
by some higher unit, from which the soul of man may measure
out cycles still more vast, and obtain a wider view of the im-
measurable grandeur of eternity. Human science has strained
its utmost efforts in calculating the actual motions of the Moon
and the Earth ; but the determining causes which fixed at first
the proportion of their monthly and yearly revolutions have
altogether eluded its research. Yet these elements of the na-
tural universe are linked in, by these sacred times and celestial
cycles, with the deepest wonders of Providence, and the whole
range of Divine prophecy. How glorious, then, must be the
inner shrine, lit up with the Shechinah of the Divine Presence,
when the approaches themselves reveal such a secret and hidden
wisdom !"
Ill
CHAPTER V.
DISCOVERY OF NEW MUNDANE CYCLES.
1. Mr. Cuuinghame's discovery of the mystical signification of the Seventy
years' Captivity Its connection with the Era of the French Revolution
Confirmed by the sentiments of the modern Jews Prediction of
Rabbi Joseph Crool Prediction in the Hebrew Tract, " Explanation of
the Times," published in 1794 The latter prediction not fulfilled
Hope concerning Israel.
BESIDES developing the original views of M. de
Chesaux, and applying them in a very remark-
able manner to the great epochs of the Sep-
tuagint chronology, Mr. Cuninghame has sug-
gested and confirmed the important discovery,
that the period of seventy years' captivity in
Babylon "has a mystical signification," as well
as a literal one, " and probably represents the
whole period of the captivities and dispersions of
Judah, until the final redemption of the nation."*
He has more fully developed his ideas on this
subject, in his " Chronology of Israel," and in his
" Fulness of the Times ;" in which he shows, that
the mystical interpretation is a period of seventy
* See his work " On the Jubilean Chronology of the Seventh
Trumpet of the Apocalypse," pp. 1 3, and 19 26.
112 DISCOVERY OF
jubilees, or 3430 years in Spiritual Babylon,
at the expiration of which " the Redemption of
Israel draweth nigh." Reckoning this period to
commence at the epoch of the first Redemption
of Israel, the Exodus from Egypt, he finds that
it terminates at the era of the French Revolution,
A. D. 1792. This opinion is strongly confirmed
by the sentiments of the modern Jews. Thus,
in a book entitled " The Restoration of Israel"
published in 1812, by Rabbi Joseph Crool,
Teacher of Hebrew, in the University of Cam-
bridge, the author says, p. 59, " By this calculation
we may learn that the Jubilee of the Restoration
of Israel has begun already these twenty years
back, that is, just when the Revolution began in
France; at that very time, the seventy jubilees
were at an end." The following is still more
curious, p. 60 : " There are yet thirty-sir years
to the end of the Jubilee of Israel, and before the
end of these thirty-sir years, Israel will be restored,
and the Messiah will take possession of his empire ;"
that is, in A. D. 1848! Mr. Cuninghame, in his
" Chronology of Israel," p. 69, refers to a Hebrew
tract, published in 1794, entitled " Explanation
of the Times," in which the Advent of the
Messiah is placed at the end of 112 jubilees
from Creation, an epoch which, according to the
true chronology, was A.M. 5488, and corresponded
exactly to the fourteenth year of Christ, when,
according to the law, he first appeared in his own
NEW MUNDANE CYCLES. 113
person in the Temple, and was no longer a child.
It is also worthy of remark, that, if this period be
reckoned according to the curtailed system of
Jewish chronology, which is even shorter than
that of the modern Hebrew text, placing the
birth of Christ in A. M. 3760, the advent of their
Messiah was expected in A. M. 5600, that is, ac-
cording to them, in A. D. 1840! The Jews, in this
calculation, erroneously reckon the Jubilee at fifty
years instead of forty-nine; for 50 multiplied by
112, gives the product 5600. The epoch being
now past, which, according to the latter compu-
tation was to be the era of their Redemption, let
us hope that they will no longer look for the first
advent of the Messiah, seeing that it has long
since taken place ; but that, embracing the reli-
gion of the New Testament, which is virtually the
same as that of the Old, they will turn with their
whole heart to seek " the angel of Jehovah's pre-
sence, who saved them ;" who, "in his love and
pity redeemed them ;" and, who " bare them and
carried them all the days of old."
2. Mr. Cuninghame's discovery of seven streams of time, of seventy jubilees
each, in the true system of chronology This test wholly inapplicable to
any other system His discovery of five streams of time of different
jubilean periods Utility of his " Fulness of the Times," where these
discoveries are developed Notice of his more recent works.
Mr. Cuninghame proves that the periods of
all the great eras in the history of the Israelites
and Jews, are measured by great jubilean and
114 DISCOVERY OF
astronomical cycles. In his " Fulness of the
Times," he demonstrates the existence of seven
streams of jubilean time from the era of the
Exodus and establishment in Canaan, each con-
taining a period of seventy jubilees, in the true
system of chronology ; and that these seven
streams are marked at their beginning and end,
and at several intermediate points, by great eras
in history. He shows also that all other schemes
of chronology, particularly those of Usher, Hales,
and the Jewish Rabbis, cannot stand this test of
accuracy and perfection, and consequently, none
of them can be the true system. To these great
streams of jubilean time, he adds other five streams,
consisting of different periods of jubilees, which he
has discovered in the true system, all marked, in
like manner, by remarkable historical events. In
the course of his laborious investigations, in order
to establish these general streams of cyclical time,
he touches on many interesting and disputed facts
both in sacred and profane history, which renders
the work a complete storehouse of information on
chronological questions ; while the Supplements,
Prefaces, Dissertations, and Appendixes, to which
we had such frequent occasion to refer, partake so
much of the same general character, as to make it
a work of universal reference. In the general
preface to the second edition, the author an-
nounced some new discoveries in regard to the
cyclical character of the mundane times. These
NEW MUNDANE CYCLES. 115
he has more fully developed and applied with the
most extraordinary industry and ingenuity, in the
following recent works : "The Scientific Chro-
nology of the year 1839;" "A Supplement to"
the preceding work, "comprising the Arithmetical
Solution, and Chronological Application of the
Number 666 ;" " The Season of the End ;" " A
Chart of Sacred Chronology," with an " Essay to
accompany" it; "A Dissertation on the Apo-
calypse," with "A Supplement in two Parts: I.
On the Scientific Chronology, as a Test of Apo-
calyptical Interpretation ; II. On the Scientific
character of the Great Numbers of Daniel ;" also
"A Discourse on the Scientific Measures of the
Mundane Times, and the Reasons for the Greek
Chronology ;" and, " A Table of the Greek and
Hebrew Chronologies from Creation to the end of
the Jewish War," 4th Edition. We shall now
endeavour to give a short notice of these dis-
coveries.
3. Various cycles which enter into the true system of chronology Mr.
Cuninghame's discovery of the trinal fraction Its explanation and
application by an Algebraic formula Original form in which it was
discovered Its superiority to the formulae of the figurate numbers
Remarkable instance of its application to Scriptural and other numbers,
and to lunar and solar cyclical numbers Mr. Cuninghame's definition
of the trinal fraction the most correct The series deduced from its
formula possesses curious properties.
It has been already shown that according to
the will of Him, Who (rovg atwvac 7TOirj(Tv) COH-
structed the ages, the septenary cycle, with its
i 2
116 DISCOVERY OF
multiples and higher powers, and the lunisolar
cycles, with their sums, differences and multiples,
including the Metonic, the Jubilean, the Prophe-
tic and the Secular, enter into the structure of the
true chronology. To these, Mr. Cuninghame
adds the Duodenary cycle, and its multiples and
higher powers ; the Undenary cycle, which is also
Lunisolar ; the Quinary cycle, which is indicated
no less than four times in the formation of man ;
and the Trinal fraction, which alone seems to
require explanation. The author was led by cir-
cumstances detailed in " The Scientific Chrono-
logy" pp. 5 8, to give the name of " Trinal
fraction" to the general term of a series of num-
bers of which each is composed of the root, its
square, and unity, that is, in Algebraic language,
n* + n+ 1 ; an expression, in which n may be zero,
unity, or any whole number whatever, and giving,
by the substitution of 0, 1,2, 3, &c. as roots, the
series itself, namely, 1, 3, 7, 13, 21, 31, 43, 57,
73, &c. To the discovery of this series, as new
in mathematics, of course, he makes no claim ;
because, a mere tyro in that science could write
out a hundred such in as many minutes ; see
" Dissertation on the Apocalypse," fourth edition,
pp. 522, 523 ; but, to the discovery of its appli-
cation to the cyclical character of the mundane
times, he has a decided claim, and we think he
has fully substantiated it by a reference to chro-
nological facts.
NEW MUNDANE CYCLES. 11?
As to the formula itself, its most general form
i s !5 + + n as originally discovered by the author;
and in this form it is manifestly more simple and
general than any of the formula? of the figurate
lumbers ; for, if n be taken equal to zero, in any
of the latter, the value of the vanishing fraction
is always equal to zero ; but, in the former, it is
equal to unity, the first term of the series, and
the basis of all numerical calculation. Let us
take some other examples of its application : the
sacred number 3, is the trinal fraction of unity,
and although it includes the higher powers of the
root, is only the sum of three units, mysteriously
indicating a trinity in unity. The sacred number
7, is the trinal fraction of 2, which is the basis of
the binary system of numeration so natural to
man. The number 13, is the trinal fraction of 3,
and is a lunisolar cycle of years, the hebdomadal
measure of the seasons of the year, and the actual
number of the tribes of Israel. The number 21
is the trinal fraction of 4, and the product of the
sacred numbers 3 and 7, the trinal fractions of 1
and 2. The number 31, is the trinal fraction of
5, the basis of the Quinary scale so incorporated
with the human frame, and is the measure of the
life of the Jirst man. The number 57, is the
trinal fraction of the sacred number 7, and three
times the Metonic cycle of nineteen years, being
an element of the Mundane Times. Lastly, the
number 73, is the trinal fraction of 8, a lunisolar
118 DISCOVERY OF
cycle of years, and gives, when multiplied by 5,
the number of days in the solar cycle.
The trinal fraction has been compared also
with the formula n" n + 1, which is only a par-
ticular case of it, namely, where n is negative. It
is true, that if in this formula, 1, 2, 3, &c.,
be taken for values of n, it will still give the series
of trinal fractions ; but it does not therefore fol-
low that the two formulae are the same; for, if in
the latter, n be taken equal to zero, it will give
the same result as when n is taken equal to 1 !
The definition given by Mr. Cuninghame, is there-
fore the most accurate, simple, and general, and
one which can be easily comprehended without
any reference to the formulaB of the Figurate
Numbers. Moreover, the author has shown in the
works last referred to, that the series of trinal
fractions possess higher properties of science,
mathematically, astronomically, and chronologi-
cally, than the triangular numbers, from which
it is pretended that they have been derived. To
some very curious properties and applications of
the trinal fractions, the author has added a
"Table of the Trinal Fractions from 1 to 85,
showing the sums of the Roots and Fractions at
each Pentad," p. 519 of the " Dissertation ;" and
he has shown how these numbers enter so ex-
tensively and so mysteriously into the whole
structure of the Mundane Times!
NEW MUNDANE CYCLES. 119
4. Application of the Theory of the Trinal Fraction to the discovery of the
meaning of the Number of the Beast in the Kevelation of John Proof
that the numher 666 is the number of a Man Its indication of Spiritual
and Secular dominion Of Tyranny and Persecution Recent efforts to
raise the Beast again to power A warning to Protestants.
We may just give another example of the ap-
plication of this theory to the discovery of the
meaning 1 of a very much disputed number both
in chronology and history. If we look into
Mr. Cuninghame's table, we find that the number
111 is the trinal fraction of 10 ; and if it be mul-
tiplied by the mathematically perfect number 6,
the number of blessing and cursing (Deut. xxvii.
12, 13,) it will give the product 666, the number
of the Beast (Rev. xiii. 18). Now, we have seen
that the number 10, or 5 + 5, is a number indi-
cated in the formation of man ; it is also the base
of the Denary system of numeration employed by
all mankind ; it is plain, therefore, that the
number of the Beast, to which was also given " a
mouth speaking great things and blasphemies'," is
thus discovered to be the " the number of a man;"
the two jives indicating both hands, with which this
human beast grasped at both spiritual and secular
dominion over the saints of God. But, we know
that when he attempted to use a third and a
fourth five, by putting his feet upon their necks,
and trampling them under him, his wrath was
mercifully restrained by a higher Power, and he
lost one jive, that is, one hand, even the secular
120 DISCOVERY OF
dominion ! Nevertheless, we find that now he is
endeavouring to use both hands, and is making a
mighty effort to recover strength in the " withered
hand." He has, however, been compelled to
abandon the use of the foot, and to declare aloud
to Christendom, not only that it is perfectly
innocuous at present, but that it shall never
be used again ! Let Protestants beware ; if once
he recovers the use of the lost hand, he will be
sure again to employ the deeping foot ! The
solution of the problem is due to the author, the
commentary upon it is ours. For an extensive
and curious application of this number in the true
system of Chronology, see the " Supplement to
the Scientific Chronology of 1839."*
* Dr. Hales, in his " Analysis," vol. ii. p. 1354, gives the
following explanation of the " enigmatical number of the
name of the second Beast, in its second stage, after the
image was made," from Fuardentius, an early Romish writer,
followed by Walmsley. The number 666 is the numeral
amount of [Mahomet] the False Prophet's name, written
Moa^erts or Mao/item, by the Greek Historians Zonaras and
Cedrenus :
M, A, O, M, E, T, I, 2.
40 + 1 + 70 + 40 + 5 + 300 + 10 + 200 = 666.
This is very curious, and indicates the strong likeness between
Popery and Islamism, in some grand point, namely, the Spirit
of Persecution ! ! John xiii. 35. The following explanation
of the number of the Beast, is taken from Mr. Cuninghame's
" Supplement to the Scientific Chronology of the year 1839,"
pp. 28, 29. " In my Dissertation on the Seals, I have adopted
NEW MUNDANE CYCLES. 121
the usual Protestant Solution and application of this number,
as being found [first by Irenseus] in the name of LATINUS, the
founder of the LATIN KINGDOM, written with the epsilon,
Aareivos, according to the ancient Greek orthography; or,
if it be written without the e, according to the later usage,
then we owe to Mr. Clarke the important discovery, that is
found in the name of the LATIN KINGDOM, 'H AartV?? Bo-
tn'Xeia.
A
=
30
TT
8
B
=
2
a
=
1
a
=
1
T
=
300
A =
30
<r
=
200
=
5
a =
1
t
=
10
I
=
10
T
300
\
=
30
V
=
50
t =
10
e
=
5
O
=
70
V =
50
i
=
10
s
=
200
~n =
8
a
=
1
666 = 407 + 259
Now, without in the least departing from this interpretation, I
remark, that while it correctly ascertains the PERSON or POWER
to whom this number belongs, namely, THE LATIN EMPIRE,
BOTH SECULAR AND SPIRITUAL; yet it does not COUNT or
COMPUTE the number itself, or discover to us its ROOT in arith-
metic. The expression, Let him that hath understanding
COUNT, " ^Tj^iffarw," the number of the Beast, cannot mean
to find the number itself, for this is given ; nor does it merely
signify to find out the name which expresses that number ; but
it also means that the root of the number must be found, and
the number computed from it ; and further, it signifies, I appre-
hend, that we must apply the number to the chronology of the
Beast himself, in connection with that of the World, in which
he exercises his dominion."
122
CHAPTER VI.
DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGY.
1. Mr. Cuninghame's application of the Lunisolar cycles and Septenary
periods to the settlement of chronological questions The Septuagint
proved to be the exact truth by a complex harmony of scientific time
His " Synopsis of Chronology " recommended.
IN his "Synopsis of Chronology," Mr. Cuning-
hame very fully developes the nature of the
Lunisolar Cycles and Septenary Periods, settles
several important chronological questions by
means of this touchstone of accuracy, and gives a
great many remarkable series of historical events,
whose intervals are all measured by complete
cycles from the era of Creation, from the births
and deaths of the Ante and Postdiluvian Patriarchs,
and from the Exodus and occurrences in the life
of David the King. In this manner, he shows
that the Septuagint chronology " is proved to be
the exact truth by such a complex harmony
of scientific time, or in other words, of great
astronomical periods, which do, as the web and
the woof, intersect and intertwine each other with
multiplied and variegated harmony of arrange-
DEMONSTRATIONS, ETC. 123
ment, knitting together all the great eras of the
world, and the most ancient antediluvian periods
with the events of our times, as to make it
manifest that it is the workmanship, not of a finite
mind, but of Him who set forth the sun and moon
in their courses ;"* see page 25. The author next
recapitulates the series of great periods to the
birth and death of Christ, shows the use of the
scientific chronology in refuting false dates, &c. ;
and gives astronomical evidence of the near
approximation of the larger lunisolar cycles to the
exact truth. He then terminates this work with
a series of the most valuable tables of chronology
from Creation to A. D. 1837, including a curious
table of the great periods which expire in that
year.
2. Evidence in favour of the Septuagint and Hebrew Chronologies compared
and tested by Mr. Cuninghame His detection of the Scheme of Fraud
invented by the Jewish Rabbis for shortening the chronology of the
Scriptures His exposition of this Scheme in three distinct Acts, and
the result of the whole.
,(f f .' i\', :'. ,liJ .' . i.
In his work, entitled "The Septuagint and
Hebrew Chronologies Tried," he very carefully
sifts the evidence in favour of both systems, by a
minute analysis of the Jubilean series from the
Greek era of Creation B. c. 5478, and from the
Hebrew era, B. c. 4004, and demonstrates, by
a comparative estimate of both series, that the
former must be the true chronology ; he then
* See Note A. p. 130.
124 DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE
applies the test of the lunisolar cycles to the same
era in both systems, and to other eras of marked
importance, illustrating the whole in a tabular
form ; establishes the accuracy of the Greek
series in the most irrefragable manner ; and,
finally, detects the scheme adopted by the Jewish
Rabbis in shortening the chronology of the
Scriptures, showing that, though it be one of deep
and artful contrivance, it will not stand the test of
scientific investigation. The following is their
scheme of fraud which the author has detected,
and which they have employed for this nefarious
purpose. The Jirst act of the Rabbis in cor-
rupting the chronology, was to determine the
total sum of years to be annihilated. The second
act was to divide it among the great subdivisions
of the Mundane Times. The third act was to
distribute it among the reigns and administrations
so as most effectually to conceal the fraud. They
Jirst determined to place the Mundane era at the
birth of Lamech B. c. 4005. This comes out at
the 1st of Nisan, of his first year B.C. 4004.
Thus they annihilated 1474 years. Their second
act was to divide this sum of 1474 years, by
abstracting periods equal to the following from
the great subdivisions of the Mundane ages :
I. Before the Deluge ; 1st, A period equal to
that from Noah's birth B. c. 3817, to the flood
B.C. 3217, namely 600 years: 2nd, From the
death of Methusaleh to the Deluge, six years ;
SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGY. 125
making the total curtailed from the Creation to the
Flood, 606 years.
II. From the Flood to Abraham ; a period
equal to the interval from the death of Noah
B. c. 2867, to the year before the birth of Abra-
ham B.C. 2146, (' Fulness of the Times," p. 138,)
721 years.
III. From the Exodus to the foundation of
Solomon's Temple ; a period equal to the interval
from the Exodus B. c. 1639, to the administration
of Ehud B. c. 1506, 133 years.
IV. From the foundation of Solomon's Temple
to the Captivity; a period equal to the interval
from the Captivity of Jehoiachin B. c. 598, to the
carrying away the last remnant of the people
B. c. 584, (Jer. lii. 30 ; " Dissertation on the
Apocalypse," p. 504,) 14 years.
The total sum of all the years thus abstracted
in these four periods is 1474 ; for in the
1st Period are . . 606 years.
2nd . . . 721
3rd ^'.'.\ . 133
4th 14
and the effect is, as above stated, to make the era
of Creation, B.C. (5478-1474)=B. c. 4004.*
* This abstract of his arguments was communicated to the
author by Mr. Cfuninghame.
126 DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE
3. Recommendation of Mr. Cuninghame's " Septuagint and Hebrew Chro-
nologies Tried " His description and Table of the Great Periods of
1838 His table of both Chronologies His appeal to the disciples of
Usher His view of their chronological difficulties and paradoxes His
call to them to produce their evidence in favour of tbeir system.
This work concludes with a description and
Table of the Great Periods which terminate in
and mark the year 1838, as the point of time
which sums up and concentrates, as in a focus,
the chronology of past ages. These he divides
into four great classes, viz., Mundane, Patriarchal,
Mosaic, and Intermediate Eras, illustrating the
whole with tables and arguments, and ending
with " A Comparative Table of the Septuagint
and Hebrew Chronologies from the Creation to
the accession of Uzziah, B. c. 810, showing their
Jubilean difference to the Christian era at each
date." The inconceivable labour which the au-
thor has undergone to find out the true system of
chronology, and his triumphant success in estab-
lishing it on the double evidence of Scripture
testimony and Mathematical and Astronomical
Science, entitle him to make the following de-
cided appeal to the disciples of Usher, " Septua-
gint and Hebrew Chronologies Tried," pp. 88, 89.
" They, it seems, possess the true chronology !
incumbered indeed with a few awkward difficul-
ties and paradoxes ; as that the people, whose
sins St. Paul declares to have been filled up, who
had crucified the Messiah, and were the perse-
SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGY. 12*7
cutors of his Church, and are the chronological
forgers who have corrupted the times of Daniel's
prophecy of the seventy weeks, telling us in their
almanacs, as I see from that of their year of the
world 5598, answering to 1837 8, now open be-
fore me, that from the destruction of the first
temple by Nebuchadnezzar, to that of the second
by the Romans, were only 490 years, the true
chronology being 657 years, are yet more worthy
of credit than the apostles of the Lord, and the
first churches, and the text of St. Luke ! As that
Abraham was born only two years after the death
of Noah, and was the cotemporary of Shem, Ar-
phaxed, Salah, Eber, the last of whom actually
survived him ; and thus that there were different
arid discordant economies of the world co-existent
and co-etaneous ! As that, it is better to twist,
and crucify, and reject the chronological testi-
mony of the whole book of Judges, than expressly
to admit that the immaculate Rabbis have inter-
polated in a single text, 1 Kings vi. 1., a single
false number! Yet, notwithstanding these few
and awkward difficulties, we repeat it the dis-
ciples of Usher can have no difficulty, seeing they
possess the truth ! in producing from their hidden
treasures, greater and more stupendous concentra-
tions of the true chronology, at some given point
of time, than has now been evolved from the
Septuagint!"
128 DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE
4. Recommendation of Mr. Cuninghame's later works Summary of the
remarkable and original subjects of which they treat His remarks on
the Theories of modern Geologists recommended Their large demands
upon time not warranted by the simplicity of the Mosaic narrative The
authority and authenticity of the Inspired Record endangered by their
speculations Another mode of solving Geological difficulties recom-
mended A boon of 1500 years additional granted to Geologists
Recommendation of Mr. Morison's " Religious History of Man " Mr.
Cuninghame's discoveries concentrated in his " Chart of Chronology "
and " Essay," and in the Appendices to the fourth edition of his " Dis-
sertation on the Apocalypse.*'
The views developed by Mr. Cuninghame, in
the preceding work, are still more fully exem-
plified and applied in his later works. In these,
he gives, 1st, A Table, accompanied with nume-
rous cyclical demonstrations, of the great periods
which expire in 1839 ; a further elucidation of
the four great classes of Eras, the Mundane, the
Patriarchal, the Ecclesiastical, and the Propheti-
cal ; and remarks on the great periods which
expire in 1840 and 1841. 2nd. Tables of the
whole Eras from Creation to the last year of
Christ's personal ministry, and of years subse-
quent to that event, from which simple Trinal
Fractions being reckoned, terminate in 1839.
3rd. Table of the Great Periods which expire
in 1840, with remarks and illustrations ; Division
of the Mundane period from Creation to 1840,
into eleven subordinate periods or ages, marked
by perfect cycles of scientific time ; the arrival
of the time of the End, and of the Restoration of
SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGY. 12Q
Israel.* To the latter work, he prefixes some
pertinent and pungent remarks on the modern
Theories of Geology as opposed to the Scriptures,
in which we entirely coincide ; and, though our
space will not permit us to enter into any dis-
cussion, we cannot avoid remarking, that the
principle of interposing, between the first and
second verses of Genesis, chap. i. " millions of
ages " " unlimited drafts upon antiquity " " an
unutterable period " " unnumbered ages,"" &c., is
wholly unwarranted by the truth and simplicity
of the Mosaic narrative, and extremely dangerous
to the authority and- authenticity of the Inspired
Record. Instead of demanding "millions of
ages," therefore, we would seriously advise Geo-
logists Christian Geologists, at least, to be
content with the extraordinary rapidity of che-
mical operations and electrical developements,
within a very limited period of time, and to en-
deavour to explain their Geological phenomena
in a manner more in accordance with the known
chronology of the world, to the common estimate
of which must now be added nearly 1500 years on
the authority of Scripture ! But on this subject
we must refer to the author's work, " Season
of the End," pp. viii xiii., and to Morison's
" Religious History of Man," ch. ii. pp. 25 46.
In fine, we observe, that the results of Mr. Cun-
inghame's labours and discoveries are concen-
* See Note B. p. 132.
K
130 DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE"
trated in the "Chart of Chronology" and " Essay,"
and in the fourth edition of the " Dissertation on
the Apocalypse."
NOTE A.
The number and variety of the author's proofs of this gene-
ral proposition are so great, that we can scarcely dip into a
page of his chronological works without meeting them ; the
following are some of the most remarkable instances.
From Creation B.C. 5478, to the birth of Enoch B.C. 4357,
are 1121 years, a number which is 59 times the cycle of 19
years, to the Deluge B.C. 3217, are 2261 years, which is 119
times or 17 weeks of the cycle of 19, to Noah's Egression
from the Ark B.C. 3216, are 2262 years, which is a Lunar
cycle, the moon fast 15 hours, to the birth of Arphaxad B. c.
3215, are 2263 years, which is the product of the Trinal Frac-
tions 31 and 73, and from the death of Adam B.C. 4548, to
the birth of Arphaxad, are 1333 years, which is the trinal frac-
tion of 36, and the product of the trinal fractions 31 and 43.
To the Dedication of Solomon's Temple B. c. 1019, from
Creation, are 4459 years, which is 91 Jubilees or 13 cubes of 7,
or the product of the cube of the trinal fraction of 2 by the
trinal fraction of 3 ; otherwise, it is 13 weeks of the Jubilee, 91
and 13 being both trinal fractions, as well as 343 the week of
the Jubilee, from the birth of Arphaxad, are 2196 years,
which is 12 times the trinal fraction 183, from the birth of
Abraham B.C. 2145, are 1126 years, which is the sum of the
trinal fractions 993 and 133, from the birth of Isaac B. c.
2045, are 1026 years, which is 54 times the cycle of 19, from
the birth of Ishmael B. c. 2059, are 1040 years, which is a per-
fect Lunar cycle, and from the Exodus B. c. 1639, are 620
years, which is 20 times the trinal fraction 31.
From Creation, to the foundation of Rome B. c. 753, are
4725 years, which is 15 times the Lunar cycle of 315 years,
SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGY. 131
to the taking of Babylon by Cyrus B. c. 538, are 4940 years,
which is 260 times the cycle of 19, to the taking of Jerusalem
by Pompey B.C. 63, are 5415 years, which is 15 times the
square of the cycle of 19, to the death of Christ A. D. 33, are
5510 years, which is 290 times the cycle of 19, and from the
Deluge to the death of Christ, are 3249 years, which is 9
times the square of the cycle of 19, or the product of the
squares of 3 and 19.
From the death of Noah B. c. 2867, to that of Shem B. c.
2715, are 152 years, which is 8 times the cycle of 19 ; thence,
to that of Arphaxad B. c. 2677, 38 years, which is 2 times the
cycle of 19 ; and thence, to that of Cainan II. B. c. 2620, 57
years, which is 3 times the cycle of 19, to the birth of Abra-
ham, are 722 years, which is 2 times the square of the cycle 19,
to the death of Joseph B. c. 1784, are 1083 years, which is 3
times the square of the cycle of 19, to the birth of David B. c.
1100, are 1767 years, which is 93 cycles of 19, and to the
French Revolution of A. D. 1789, are 4655 years, which is 245
cycles of 19, or 95 Jubilees. From the flood to the death of
Salah B.C. 2517, are 700 years; and from the death of Noah
to the same, are 350 years.
From the birth of Judah B. c. 1903, to the attempt to esta-
blish a Christian church at Jerusalem A. D. 1842, are exactly
3744 years, which is two times the square of 12, added to 3
times the cube of 12. From the capture of Jerusalem by
David B.C. 1063, to A. D. 1842, are exactly 2904 years, or 2
times the square of 1 1, added to 2 times the cube of 11. Hence,
from the birth of Judah to the capture of Jerusalem, are 840
years, which is the product of 70 and 12, or of 7 and 120.
From the Exodus B.C. 1639, to the capture of Jerusalem, are
576 years, which is 4 times the square of 12, and to A. D. 1842,
are 3480 years, which is 2 times 12 added to 2 times the cube
of 12; and from the entrance of Israel into Canaan B.C. 1599,
to A. D. 1842, are 3440 years, which is 8 times 430, (see
Exodus xii. 40.)
K 2
132 DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE
NOTE B.
It is utterly impossible to give our readers any correct idea
of the extraordinary labour which the author must have had
in the construction of these Tables, or of the astonishing coinci-
dences which he has discovered in the cyclical periods of time
which connect remote events in the history of the world with
those which are passing under our own eyes in these latter days ;
we must positively refer our readers to the works themselves,
particularly the " Season of the End." We shall take however
one event from this work, as an example of the rest, namely, the
" Accession of Victoria," A. D. 1837, and show how he connects
it with past history in the true system of Chronology. From
the birth of Seth, B. c. 5249, are 7085 years, which is the sum
of the triual fractions 6973, 91, and 21 ; the corresponding
epochs being a Grand conjunction of the Planets in A. D.
1725, the first year of General Peace in A. D. 1816, and the
Accession ; or, the sum of the trinal fractions 6963, 91, and 31,
the corresponding epochs being the Rebellion of A. D. 1715,
the fall of Prussia in A. D. 1806, and the Accession.
From the birth of Enos B. c. 5044, are 6880 years, which
is the sum of the trinal fractions 6807 and 73. From the
death of Seth B. c. 4337, are 6173 years, which is the sum
of 5932, or 4 times the fraction 1483, and the fraction 241 ;
the corresponding epochs, being the Divine defeat of the
Spanish Armada in A. D. 1596, and the Accession. From
the birth of Methuselah B. c. 4192, are 6028 years, which
is the sum of the fractions 6007 and 21, the corresponding
epochs being the General Peace in A. D. 1816, and the
Accession. From the birth of Japhet B. c. 3317, are 5153
years, which is the sum of 4820, or 20 times the frac-
tion 241, and 333, or 3 times the fraction 111. From the
Egression of Noah from the Ark B.C. 3216, are 5052 years,
which is the sum of 4995, or 45 times the fraction 111,
and the fraction 57 or 3 times the cycle of 19.
From the death of Eber B.C. 2416, are 4252 years, which is
SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGY. 133
the sum of the fractions 4161 and 91, the corresponding epochs
being the defeat of the Pretender at Culloden in A. D. 1746, and
the Accession. From the Call of Abraham B. c. 2070, are 3906
years, which is the sum of 3885 or 35 times the fraction 111 and
the fraction 21, the corresponding epochs being the General
Peace in A. D. 1816, and the Accession. From the beginning
of the 3rd servitude of Israel B.C. 1426, are 3262 years, which
is the sum of 3219, or 29 times the fraction 111, and the
fraction 43, the corresponding epochs being the fall of Robes-
pierre A. D. 1794, and the Accession. From the captivity in
Babylon B. c. 606, are 2442 years, which is 22 times the frac-
tion 111, and terminates at the epoch of the Accession. From
the birth of Christ B. c. 3, are 1839 years, which is the sum of
1776, or 16 times the fraction 111, and 63, or 3 times the frac-
tion 21, the corresponding epochs being the Accession of Louis
XVI. in 1774, and the Accession of Victoria I. But we must
stop here, having cited only 12 instances out of 30 given by the
author, in which the latter event is shown to be linked to great
events in the former history of the world by curious and remark-
able cycles of time.
ON
THE TRUE AGE OF THE WORLD.
part H*
CHAPTER I.
THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY.
Primeval prophecy concerning tbe Messiah Errors in the translation of it,
in different versions Correct in the Septuagint Tradition of this pro-
phecy in the Ante and Post Diluvian ages Its clearer development in
the Patriarchal Age Dr. Lamb's explanation of the word Shiloh Pro-
phecy of Balaam in the Critarchal Age Predictions of Moses and Han-
nah The glorious revelations of the Monarchal Age The testimony of
the Psalms to the Messiah Explanation of the last words of David
from Kennicott Application of the term Sun to Jehovah Testimony of
the Prophecies to the Messiah Isaiah, the Evangelical Prophet The
predictions at the close of the Monarchal and tbe commencement of the
Hierarchal Age Testimony among the Heathen.
IN the Introduction to the first part of this Disser-
tation, we very shortly alluded to the tradition
and prophecies concerning the first Advent of the
Messiah, which were prevalent in the world be-
fore the era of Christianity. That, in consequence
of the prophecies, traces of such a tradition, from
a very remote period, should be found among all
nations, will not be deemed improbable by those
136 THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS
who attentively read and sincerely believe the re-
cords of Inspiration. There indeed, we find that
the first sweet note of Jubilee which sounded in
the ears of Fallen Man, was the distant promise
of Redemption by the hands of a Mediator, an-
nounced in the Divine prediction of the punish-
ment to be inflicted on the Author of Sin by the
Seed of the woman : " HE shall bruise thy
Head, and thou shalt bruise his Heel;" Gen. iii.
15. The meaning of this very remarkable pas-
sage is greatly obscured in our vulgar translation
by the use of the neuter pronoun It (Ipsum), in-
stead of the masculine He (Ipse), which clearly
refers to the Seed of the woman, who is Christ.
The Seventy Interpreters have correctly employed
the masculine pronoun He (auroc) in the Greek
Version ; while, in the Latin Vulgate, the femi-
nine pronoun She (Ipsa) has very absurdly been
inserted, as if the prediction referred to the Woman
herself and not to her Seed ! Some have attri-
buted this error to Josephus; but we do not think
it is at all borne out by the passage referred to in
his Antiquities, although it is quite evident that he
was utterly ignorant of the true meaning of the
prophecy.* To us, it appears to savour more of a
* In L'Estrange's Translation of Josephus, p, 10, he says
" God commanded Eve to tread upon his [the Serpent's] head,
both as the fountain of all our woes, and as the part where he
most easily receives a mortal wound." Reland says " Quia
interpres vettis hsec reddit, ut mulicr ejus capiti playas
THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY. 137
Rabbinical or Roman Catholic gloss ; be this, how-
ever, as it may, it is evident that had the transla-
tors or editors of the Latin version remembered
that " the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of pro-
phecy," they would not have committed such an
egregious mistake.
With the reign of sin, began the reign of mercy.
Thus early was it declared that the Messiah
should come to destroy the works of the Devil ;
and thus early was it announced that the Christ
should suffer and enter into his glory ! All the
attempts of the Wicked One for ages have never
been able to obliterate this first and glorious pro-
phecy of God from the remembrance of the human
mind. Onward it has passed from father to son,
and from patriarch to patriarch, gathering fresh
vigour and clearness in its descent ; brightly did it
beam, even in the Antediluvian age, through the
righteous preaching of Enoch and of Noah ; and
having survived the deluge, anew did it shine
forth in the Postdiluvian age, in the glorious anti-
cipations of the ancient Idumean prince, and in
the Divine revelations vouchsafed to the great
Father of the Jewish nation. " I know," said
Job (xix. 25), " that my Redeemer liveth, and that
he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth."
inferret, &c. Nulla apud Josephum est mentio mulieris, nee
ullum hactenus codicem Joseph! conspectum rnemini, in quo
hoc loco mulier commemoratur." Hudson's Josephus, vol. i.
page 8, note c.
138 THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS
Again, " to Abraham and his seed were the pro-
mises made ;" for, God said not " And to seeds, as
of many ; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is
Christ." See Genesis xiii. 15; xv. 18; xviii. 7;
xxii. 18; and Galatians iii. 16.
The divine predictions concerning the person
and work of the Messiah were more clearly de-
veloped in the Patriarchal age. To Isaac and
to Jacob, they were at first announced in terms
very similar to those in which they were conveyed
to Abraham; Genesis xxvi. 3; xxviii. 13; and
xxxv. 10. But to Israel, was it given, to declare
to the Twelve Patriarchs, while uttering his dying
benediction, the celebrated prophecy concerning
Shiloh, which was fully verified in the Advent of
our Saviour, whatever may be deemed the true
interpretation of the name ; Genesis xlix. 10.
Although we cannot agree with Dr. Lamb, in his
theory of the existence of a Hieroglyphic language
previous to a Phonetic one, we think that he has
struck out the real meaning of this term Shilok,
when he says, " The word is literally tl?, ' who' or
'who is' m^ (Jelovah), the very same word as
mrf ' Jehovah,' with the original *? restored.
Thus Jacob points out the Messiah by a title
which could be applied to no other individual,
and declared the Divinity of our Saviour about
seventeen hundred [1838] years before his birth.
The three words, (omitting D" 1 which implies an
attribute of omniscience)
THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY. 139
Alovah, The Creator,
miT Jehovah, The God of Israel,
m^ Jelovah, The Promised Messiah,
are one and the same. We need no farther com-
ment upon the 58th verse of the 8th chapter of St.
John I 'Afjiriv, 'Apjv, Xiyw vfjiivj Trpiv'Aflpaap. ytvfaBai, eyd>
ii/M. " Verily, verily I say unto you, Before Abra-
ham was I am." See his work entitled " Hebrew
Characters derived from Hieroglyphics," p. 86.
During the Critarchal Age, the predictions con-
cerning Christ were less numerous ; but it com-
menced with the brilliant prophecy of the Star
which was to come out of Jacob, and terminated
with the first announcement in Scripture of the
name of the Messiah. To Balaam it was per-
mitted to foresee in splendid vision, the glory of
Israel in the latter days, and the rise of a Sceptre
or King who should possess universal dominion ;
see Numbers xxiv. 17. Dr. Gill, in his comment
on this passage, seems to think that the Star which
the Eastern Magi saw at the birth of Christ, is
here clearly foretold, and that the Jews them-
selves were at that period in expectation of such
a phenomenon. That this universal King was to
be a Jew, is manifestly the opinion held by the
Seventy Interpreters ; for in their version, the
prophecy is thus rendered, " A star shall .arise out
of Jacob, and a man shall be raised up, or shall
raise himself up, out of Israel." How strongly
does this passage remind us of our Saviour's own
140 THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS
words, when speaking of his Mission, he said, " I
have power to lay down my life, and I have
power to take it up again;" John x. 18. Moses,
who had so often spoken to the children of Israel
concerning Jehovah their God, and the " Angel of
his presence," was at last commissioned to pre-
dict the Advent of Christ in the following words :
" I will raise them up a Prophet from among their
brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words
in his mouth;" Deuter. xviii. 15. To this pro-
phecy is added an awful sanction, to which our
Saviour plainly alluded when speaking of the un-
believer he said, "the word that I have spoken,
the same shall judge him in the last day;" John
xii. 48. But to the mother of Samuel, the pro-
phet, was it first given to announce in holy prayer
and song, the name of the Messiah, the anointed
of the Lord; for she said "Jehovah shall judge
the ends of the earth, and he shall give strength
unto our king, and exalt the horn of his Messiah ;"
1 Samuel ii. 10.
The clearest revelations of this divine person-
age, however, were reserved for the glory of the
Monarchal Age, the acm6 of the Levitical dis-
pensation, which all along prefigured the good
things to come. In the Psalms written by David
the king, " the sweet Psalmist of Israel," we find
the brightest anticipations of the happiness and
universality of Christ's kingdom, accompanied
with the most distinct intimations of his estate of
THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY. 141
humiliation and exaltation. We refer particularly
to the 2nd Psalm, which speaks of him by name
as the Messiah; the 8th, of his assumption of our
nature ; the 16th, of his resurrection and ascen-
sion; the 22nd, of his words and his feelings on
the cross ; the 24th and 68th, of his reception and
glory in heaven ; the 40th, of the union of his
divine and human nature ; the 45th and 72nd, of
the eternity and glory of his reign ; the 91st of
his temptation ; the 97th of his adoration by the
angels; the 102nd and 110th, of his divinity, per-
petual priesthood, and eternal duration; the 118th,
of his rejection by the Jews; the 132nd, of his
name and office as the Messiah ; and, the 146th,
of his final and everlasting dominion. Moreover,
in the last words of David, as elucidated by the
critical industry and acumen of Dr. Kennicott, we
have a remarkable prophecy of the coming of
Christ, couched in one of the most splendid and
pleasing figures which can be drawn from the
phenomena of the natural world : " And as the
light of the morning, shall arise Jehovah the Sun,
a morning without clouds, with the glittering of
the dew on the tender herb of the earth ;"
2 Samuel xxiii. 4. In this passage of the printed
Hebrew text the word Jehovah has been omitted ;
but the corresponding words 0eoc and Kupoc have
been preserved in the Septuagint ; and Dr. Ken-
nicott found the word miT Jehovah, which is
wanting in the printed text, in one of the oldest
142 THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS
Hebrew MSS. in the Bodleian library, marked
by him No. 2; see his "Dissertation" entitled
" The Printed State of the Hebrew Text, &c."
vol. i. pp. 468 47 1 . As U? Shin or Sin, in the
Hieroglyphics of Dr. Lamb, signifies the Sun,
being the first and last letter of the Hebrew word
tt/Qttt, Shemesh, the Sun, it is possible that even
the term H^tt) Shiloh, which he has so ingeniously
explained, may have originally signified the Sun
Jelovah : and hence, the origin and propriety of
some of the figurative and prophetical expressions
to be found in the Psalms and the Prophets.
Thus, in Psalm Ixxxiv. 11, "The Lord God is a
Sun and shield:" in Isaiah xix. 18, "One shall
be called the City of the Sun ;" xxx. 26 : " the
light of the Sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of
seven days, in the day that the Lord biiideth up
the breach of his people ;" Ix. 20 : " thy Sun shall
go no more down, neither shall thy moon with-
draw itself, for the Lord shall be thine everlasting
light;" and, in Malachi iv. 2, " But unto you that
fear my name, shall the Sun of righteousness arise
with healing in his wings."
Almost all the predictions concerning Christ to
be found in the writings of the prophets, were
delivered to the Jews during the Monarchal
age ; and so clearly and distinctly have some of
the prophecies, particularly those of Isaiah, pointed
out his generation, his person, his office, his char-
acter and his sufferings, that rather than yield to
THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY. 143
conviction, infidels have even dared to assert that
the descriptions which they contain were written
after the events took place ! This Evangelical
prophet first unfolded the true meaning of the
primeval prophecy, by announcing, in the 7th
chapter, that he should be born of a Virgin, and
that his name should be called Immatiuel, or God
with us; by ascribing to him, in the 9th, the
names and attributes of Deity; by declaring, in
the llth, his descent from David according to the
flesh; by describing in the llth, 32nd, and 61st,
his offices as a prophet, priest and king ; by fore-
telling, in the 40th, the words and the office of his
Forerunner, John the Baptist; in the llth, and
49th, the calling of the Gentiles to his kingdom ;
and, in the 49th, 60th, and 65th, their willingness
to receive him as the Messiah ; in the 52nd, and
53rd, his external appearance and circumstances ;
in the 6th, 8th, and 28th, his unbelieving recep-
tion and final rejection by the Jews; in the 53rd,
the gracious design of his sufferings, and the
striking manner of his trial, death and burial :
and by declaring in the 35th, 40th, and 55th, his
glory as the Almighty conqueror, the compas-
sionate Saviour, and the righteous Judge of all ;
in the 9th, his heirship to the throne of David, as
the beloved king of all the true Israel of God ; and
in the 35th, 62nd, and 65th, his glorious reign in
the new Jerusalem above, in the heavenly and
eternal Zion, as the King of kings and Lord of
144 THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS
Lords, the Omnipotent Creator, the everlasting
Ruler, and the immortal Preserver of Angels and
of Men.
Towards the close of the Monarchal age, during
the Babylonish captivity, and near the beginning
of the Hierarchal age, many splendid predictions
of the Messiah, were vouchsafed to the Prophets,
for the comfort of those who mourned in Zion for
the abominations of the land and the sins of Judah,
and for the solace of those who piously submitted
to the righteous judgments of God. Thus, in the
23rd chapter of Jeremiah, we have a prophecy of
the future elevation of a king of the house of
David, whose name should be called The Lord our
Righteousness ; and in the 33rd, of the perpetual
humanity of the final heir to David's throne ; in
the 34th and 37th, of Ezekiel, of the ultimate ac-
cession of the Antitype David as the Shepherd and
Prince of his people ; in the 7th of Daniel, of the
everlasting dominion of the Son of Man over all
the kingdoms of the world, given to him by the
Ancient of Days; in the 8th and 12th, of the op-
position to the kingdom of the Prince of Princes,
and of the Time of the End disclosed by the Won-
derful Number er ; in the 9th, 10th, and 12th, of
the coming of the Messiah the Prince, and of the
Defence of his people by Michael the great and
sole Archangel; in the 2nd of Haggai, of the Ad-
vent of the Desire of all nations, and the Glory of
the Second Temple ; in the 3rd and 6th of
THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY. 145
Zechariah, of the springing up, in due time, of the
righteous servant of Jehovah, denominated The
Branch ; in the 13th, of the mystery of the Incar-
nation, and the circumstances attending the Cruci-
jlxion; and, in the 3rd and 4th of Malachi, of the
Mission of John the Baptist, and the unexpected
appearance of the " Angel of the Covenant" in the
Temple at Jerusalem.
In the midst of all these glorious predictions
from the fall of Adam to the close of the Old Tes-
tament Canon, comprising a period of more than
5000 years,* we cannot suppose that the Heathen
were left utterly ignorant of their existence and
their meaning ; or, that the people of God did not,
in some way or other, make known to the nations
by whom they were surrounded, the glory of his
grace and the manifestations of his eternal power
and Godhead. It is certain, indeed, that Jehovah
never left himself without a witness to his truth,
his mercy and his goodness, in any age of the
world ; and we shall now proceed shortly to en-
quire by what means this testimony was begun
and carried on among mankind, by the perpetual
exhibition of the natural and supernatural pheno-
mena, which accompanied the revelations of his
will to his chosen people in all ages.
* For the accuracy of this number we have the testimony of
Josephus in two different places of his works, which have
escaped the alterations made in the text of his Jewish Antiqui-
ties, by wicked and designing persons. See the Prooemium to
that work, paragraph y; and the Prologue to his first Book
against Apion.
L
146
CHAPTER II.
TESTIMONY OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH TO
THE SUBJECT OF PROPHECY.
1. Object of the Disposition of the Cherubim at Edeu Its disappearance
from the earth The remembrance of its glory transmitted to the Post-
diluvians Its occasional re-appearance to Abraham, to Moses, to Israel,
to Elijah, and to Isaiah Identity of the visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and
John Similarity of the visions of Daniel, John, the Three Disciples,
and Paul Object of these glorious representations in heaven and on
earth Known among the Heathen, and grafted on their religious wor-
ship Origin of Zabaism, and its spread over the world.
THE setting up of the Cherubim, and a Flaming
Fire, likened to a sword, as the emblems of the
Divine glory and presence, in the garden of Eden,
after the expulsion of Adam, was an evidence of
God's mercy and favour to fallen man, and a
symbolical indication of the ultimate fulfilment
of the primeval prophecy ; Gen. iii. 24. As God
set the Bow in the cloud to be a memorial of his
covenant with all flesh regarding the future pre-
servation of the earth from the waters of a flood,
so he set the Shechinah in paradise to be a me-
morial of his covenant with man regarding the
future destruction of his implacable enemy, and
TESTIMONY TO PROPHECY. 147
the future restoration of himself and his posterity
to innocence and happiness, through the Almighty
power of Him who dwelt between the Cherubim.
That man was appointed to reside in the vicinity
of Eden, and to worship before this supernatural
evidence of the divine glory, is manifest even
from the very short notices of the history of the
Antediluvian world, which now remain. The
sacrifice of Abel is supposed to have been con-
sumed byjire from the Shechinah, as a proof of
its acceptance through faith in the promised
Saviour ; and the punishment of Cain appears to
have consisted chiefly in his banishment from the
face or presence of the Lord at Eden. There,
indeed, did men first begin to call on the name of
Jehovah ; and thence, no doubt, was Enoch first
translated to the kingdom of glory.
The flood at last came, and the Shechinah
disappeared from the earth ; but the remem-
brance of its supernal glory was preserved in the
family of Noah. There was nothing, however,
in nature with which it could be compared, for
beauty and for dazzling brightness, but the Sun
itself, or a Flaming Fire most terrible to the be-
holders. Such, indeed, have always been the
terms of comparison used by those whom God
hath favoured with the heavenly vision; and
such, no doubt, was the description of the ap-
pearance of the Edenic Cherubim, given by the
sons of the great Antediluvian to their posterity
L 2
148 TESTIMONY OF THE HEAVENS AND
In the appearance of Jehovah to Abraham, the
divine presence was accompanied by a flame, a
smoking furnace, and lamps of Jire, Gen. xv. 17;
to Moses in Horeb, by a flame of jire out of the
midst of a bush, Exodus iii. 2 ; and to Israel, in
the wilderness, by a pillar of cloud by day, and
a pillar of jire by night, xiii. 21 ; at Sinai, by
thunders and lightnings, devouring jire, and
smoke as the smoke of a furnace, xix. 16. and
xxiv. 17 ; and at the setting up of the tabernacle
of the congregation, by cloud and Jire, and the
glory of the Lord, the Insessor of the Cherubim,
Ix. 34. At the destruction of the priests of Baal,
God answered Elijah* by Jire, 1 Kings, xviii. 38 ;
at the dedication of Solomon's Temple, the
glory of the Lord appeared with cloud and Jire,
2 Chronicles vii. 1 ; and, in the year that King
Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the glory of Christ, and
spake of Him ; then was the house filled with
smoke, and His glory filled the temple and
the whole earth ; and then was that glorious
Trisagium pronounced by the Seraphim, in the
hearing of the prophet, and afterwards repeated
* This eminent Prophet was favoured with a vision of God's
glory, which, though preceded by storm, and earthquake, and
fire, was accompanied with a still small voice. This was the
voice of love and mercy, whose sweetest notes were heard at
Calvary without the gate ; for the Septuagint says, KUKE'I
Kvptos, and the Lord was there; 1 Kings xix. 12. See the
Alexandrine edition.
THE EARTH TO PROPHECY. 149
by the four Living Creatures in that of the beloved
disciple, which establishes for ever in the mind
of the believer, His eternal power and Godhead,
Isaiah vi. 1 4 ; John xii. 41 ; and Rev. iv. 8.
In the land of Chaldea, by the river of Chebar,
and in the Temple of the Lord at Jerusalem,
Ezekiel saw the glory of the God of Israel, ac-
companied with a great cloud and a Jire infolding
itself, and a brightness about it. like the rainbow ;
the appearance of the Living Creatures, which he
knew were the Cherubim, was like burning coals
of Jire, like the appearance of lamps, and out of
the^re went forth lightning ; and the voice of the
Almighty was like the noise of many waters, and
the earth shined with his glory, Ezek. i. x ; Ixiii.
In his night visions at Babylon, Daniel beheld
the glory of the Ancient of Days, having a throne
like the Jiery flame, wheels as burning Jire, and a
Jiery stream issuing from before him, vii. 9 ; and
by the side of the river Hiddekel, he saw a man
whose face had the appearance of lightning, and
his eyes as lamps of Jire, his arms and feet like
polished brass, and his voice like the voice of a
multitude, x. 6. Peter, James, and John saw the
glory of Christ on the mount of transfiguration,
when his face did shine as the Sun, and his rai-
ment was white as the light, and a bright cloud
overshadowed them, Matthew xvii. 2, 5 ; Paul,
at mid-day, saw his glory as a light from heaven
above the brightness of the Sun, Acts xxvi. 13 ;
150 TESTIMONY OF THE HEAVENS AND
and he declared to the Hebrews of that age, as
Moses did to the children of Israel 1700 years
before him, in language of the strongest meta-
phor, that Jehovah our God is a consuming Jire,
Heb. xii. 29, and Deut. iv. 24. John, who said
that God is light and in him is no darkness at all,
and that Christ is the Light of the World, saw, in
the Isle of Patmos, his eyes as a flame ofjire, his
feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a fur-
nace, and his countenance as the Sun shineth in
his strength, and heard his voice as the sound
of many waters, Rev. i. 1416; he beheld the
mighty angel clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow
over his head, and his face as it were the Sun,
and his feet as pillars of Jire, x. 1 ; and he saw
the Faithful and True Witness, whose eyes were
as a flame of fire, and on whose head were many
crowm y who possesses the. Incommunicable Name,
and who is called the Word of God, the KING OF
KINGS, and the LORD OF LORDS, xix. 11 16.
From all the splendid and glowing imagery,
which is thus employed in Scripture, to shew
forth the glory of Christ, and under which human
language, though the gift of God, seems to labour
and groan as under an insupportable burden, it is
manifest that He, who is the brightness of his
Father's glory and the express image of his
person, hath, by symbolical representations of
himself, both under the Old and the New Dis-
pensations, declared the being and attributes of
THE EARTH TO PROPHECY. 151
God from the beginning of the world. The
Angel of Jehovah has, in fact, in all ages, made
the heavens declare the glory of God, and the
firmament shew forth his handy work ; in them,
he hath set a tabernacle for the Sun, to demon-
strate the wonders of his grace ; and, he hath
ordained the moon and the stars, not only to rule
the night and direct the seasons, but to utter all
his praise in a universal language, which he has
imparted to all nations under the whole heaven ;
Deut. iv. 19 ; Psalm viii. 3; and xix. 3. Thus it
appears, that even among the heathen, the re-
membrance of the true God and his Son the
Redeemer, was kept up by tradition and by
symbol ; and that traces of the grand truth first
announced in the primeval prophecy, and after-
wards gradually developed to God's chosen peo-
ple at sundry times and in divers manners, are to
be found in the history of the religious worship of
mankind in all ages, and from the remotest times.
Before the flood these traces are no doubt very
obscure, but they are not altogether obliterated.
Soon after the deluge, however, was the light of
the Sun of Righteousness bedimmed in their gross
minds by that of the natural emblems of his
glory ; and soon was " the truth of God" changed
into *' the lie" of the devil; for they began to
worship and serve the creature more than the
Creator, who is God over all, and blessed for ever.
Hence, arose the earliest and the most extensive
152 TESTIMONY OF THE HEAVENS AND
system of idolatry ever known in the world, the
worship of the Sun, and the Moon, and all the
Host of Heaven ; with this also was connected the
worship of Fire, Light, and Ether, and of all those
symbolical representations of these natural pheno-
mena, which are to be discovered in the ancient
records of the Babylonians, Assyrians, Chaldeans,
Egyptians, Phenicians, and Persians, as well as
in the early histories or traditions of the Chinese
and the Hindoos or Eastern Indians of the Old
Continent, the Britons, and the Celts or Gauls
who overspread Europe, and the Peruvians and
Mexicans or Western Indians of the New World.
2. The Sun worshipped by the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans,
under the names of Baal, or Beelsamen By the Egyptians, under the
names of Orus and O'siris Connection between the Sun and Sirius
The Sun and his Satellite worshipped by the Israelites, under the name*
of Molech and Remphan, Baal, and Ashtaroth, during the Critarchal
age The Zabian idolatry set up at Jerusalem in the Monarchal age
The partial Reformation of Josiah The ancient Persians, Sun and Fire
worshippers Origia of Mithras The gods of Fhenicia, Elioun, and
Adonis or Tainmuz.
It is of some importance to our general argu-
ment, to refer to a few of the evidences of this
universal species of idolatry, which are still to be
found in the names ascribed to the gods which
these different nations worshipped. Among the
Babylonians, the Assyrians, and the Chaldeans,
there existed from the age of Nimrod to the
destruction of Nineveh and Babylon, the worship
of Baal, in Hebrew bjQ Lord, which signifies,
THE EARTH TO PROPHECY. 153
astrologically speaking, Lord of the Ascendant;
this term is in fact the same as *?1, Bel, or Belus,
/37JAoe, /3fXtc, or 'HAtoc, and signifies the Sun, who
is called in Chaldee pEtt^SD, jSstXaa/ufv, or Beelsa-
men, the Lord or Master of the Heavens, and
Leader of the Heavenly Host. Among the Egyp-
tians arose, at a period perhaps prior to, or, at
least, coeval with the age of Nimrod, the worship
of Orus and Osiris, and at a later period, their
attendant or identical gods, Isis, Apis, Serapis,
Anubis, &c. ; yea, " all the gods of Egypt." The
earliest of these is Orus, from the Hebrew D'Vf
Eres, or Din Heres, the Sun ; or from TIN Aur,
or TIN!! He Aur, the Light, or Fire, a term also
applied to the Sun ; whence, evidently comes
the Greek wpoc,* and wpa, or Horus, Hora, and
Era, Time, a period of Time, and the begin-
ning of Time, all of which are measured by the
revolutions of the Sun. Next comes Osiris, from
the Hebrew D"lH, Eres~\ inverted, that is Sere, the
Sun, or from "Wil and IDH, He Ser, the Prince or
Chief; whence also, o Ze/p and o Sa'ptoc, the Sun,
or Sirius (and the English terms Sir, or Sire,
and Sirrah], the former denoting the Chief, or
King of Heaven, and the latter, his Satellite or
* A name of Apollo, or the Sun ; hence, perhaps, Opos,
a mountain, because the morning sun first appears ,on the
mountain-tops.
t This inversion, or Metathesis, is not uncommon in Hebrew,
see Joshua xix. 50, and xxiv. 30, compared with Judges ii. 8, 9,
where it occurs in this very word in composition.
154 TESTIMONY OF THE HEAVENS AND
Companion, in Hebrew D^ID, Seris, a Double,
or himself, as in Hesiod, " Opera et Dies "
line 417, where he is called 2ptoc ocm)c;
otherwise, the terras 26i'p and -lintm- may be
derived from IJTt J2eer, Zzg-^f ; "lilt!? Seher, Morn-
ing ; or mt Zereh, the East or Sun-rising. All
these terms, both in Hebrew and Greek, have
evidently an intimate connection with each other,
and indicate that there was originally some astro-
nomical relation between the Sun and Sirius, the
largest and brightest of all the stars in the firma-
ment. The term St/ptov, Sirion, indeed, derived
from SE/pior, Sirius, is applied indiscriminately to
every star, because all the stars were either sup-
posed to follow the Sun in his daily course, or to
borrow their light from that luminary, From
this source, there can be little doubt that the
Israelites, during their period of bondage in
Egypt, borrowed their Y?D, Moloch, or DSD^ft,
Moltkem and Milcom, that is, their king, and the
Star of their god Remphan or Chiun JVD ; whence
comes Kuwv, or Canis and Canicula, the Dog-star
or Sirius, idols of which they made to themselves
figures to worship in the wilderness, Amos v. 26 ;
Acts vii. 43.
This kind of idolatry appears to have been
pursued with more or less obstinacy by the chil-
dren of Israel, during the whole period of the
Critarchal and Monarchal ages ; notwithstanding
the strict prohibitions of the First and Second
Commandments, and the awful sanctions with
THE EARTH TO PROPHECY. 155
which their promulgation was accompanied at
Mount Sinai. Passing over the rebellion of the
Golden Cfl/fand the sin in the matter of Baalpeor,
in the wilderness, we find that the Israelites for-
sook Jehovah, after the death of Joshua and of
all the elders who outlived him, and served
Baalim, or Baal and Ashtaroth, o |3aaA and rj |3aaA,
the King and Queen of Heaven ; and as often as
they repeated this iniquity, so often were they
punished for it, by subjection to the yoke of their
enemies ; Judges ii. 13 ; iii. 7 ; vi. 30 ; and
ix. 46. After the worship of the true God was
set up in all its magnificence and glory in the
Temple at Jerusalem, how soon, alas! was it
forgotten, and that of Moloch or Milcom, Chemosh
and Ashtaroth adopted in its stead ; and how con-
soling must it have been to the real worshipper of
Jehovah, to be informed, that even in the worst of
times, there were 7000 in Israel who had not bowed
the knee to Baal; 1 Kings, xi. 5 ; and xix. 18.
Nevertheless, Israel was at last cut short for his
idolatry, in making images and groves, worship-
ping all the Host of Heaven, and serving Baal ; and
Juclah, being seduced by Manasseh to commit
precisely the same abominations, was threatened
with a similar captivity ; 2 Kings, xvii. 16 ; and
xxi.3. A temporary suspension of this sentence,
however, took place ; and a respite of forty years
was granted to the house of Judah, because of the
reform which was effected in the days of King
156 TESTIMONY OF THE HEAVENS AND
Josiah. For, he put down them that burned
incense to Baal, to the Sun, and to the Moon, and
to the Planets, and to all the Host of Heaven ;*
and he took away the horses that the kings of
Judah had given to the Sun, and burned the
chariots of the Sun with fire ; but, after his death,
they mocked the messengers of God, and des-
pised his words, and misused his prophets, until
the wrath of the Lord arose against his people,
and there was no remedy : until, in fact, Jerusa-
lem was destroyed, and Judah carried captive
into Babylon ; 2 Kings xxiii. 5 ; and 2 Chronicles
xxxvi. 16.
Among the ancient Persians, the worship of
the Sun and Fire appears to have existed from a
period so remote, that no record remains of its
commencement, though there can be no doubt that
it was an offshoot from the Babylonish idolatry.
For ages, it appears to have existed in Persia, in a
state of greater purity than in Chaldea, if such a
term can be applied to a corruption of the worship
* The construction of this sentence in the original, indicates
that Baal and the Sun are to be considered as one and the
same ; for the copulative 1 Vau, is not put between them as it
is between the remaining words; thus, and the Moon, and the
Planets (or, more literally, and Mazzaroth), &c." The latter
term, which occurs also in Job xxxviii. 32, is understood by
most critics, to signify the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac ; if this
be its real meaning, the doctrine of the Celestial Sphere must
have had a very early origin, and long anterior to the famous
sphere of Chiron or Eudoxus.
THE EARTH TO PROPHECY. 157
of the true God ; and to have been mingled with
more intellectual notions of the being and attri-
butes of Deity, than were to be found among
other heathen nations. The Persians, indeed,
appear to have had a more distinct idea, though
still a very obscure one, of the method by which
the human race were finally to be rescued from
the power of the Evil One, and raised to a con-
dition of purity and bliss. They worshipped the
Sun under the name of Mihr, Mithr, or Mithras ;
the latter term, according to Mr. Morrison,* sig-
nifying the wounder or bruiser of the head, and if
derived from the Hebrew tiJNVJDD, Muthras,
Lord of Death, conveying a beautiful allusion to
the primeval prophecy, and to him who, long
afterwards was declared in apocalyptic vision*
to have the keys of hell and death, and who
" openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and
no man openeth " the gates of Paradise. Among
the Phenicians, we find, according to a fragment
of their ancient historian, Sanchoniatho, pre-
served by Eusebius, that one of their earlier gods
was called Elioun, from p^y, the Most High,
who was also considered Man ; and that 'Ovpavog
icai FT), the Heavens and the Earth, were gene-
rated or created by him. They also worshipped
the Sun, under the names of Adonis and Tammuz ;
the former evidently from the Hebrew WTN,
Adonai, Lord ; and the latter from the name of
* " Religious History of Man," p. 248, second edition.
158 TESTIMONY OF THE HEAVENS AND
the Hebrew month appointed for the celebration
of his orgies. In the weeping for the absence, or
eclipse of Tammuz, Selden sees the lamentations
for Osiris, which originated in Egypt, and were
observed in Phenicia ; and in the rejoicing for his
return or resuscitation, Parkhurst discovers a pre-
lude to the joy of the nations at the advent of the
the promised Saviour, the true Adonai, or Lord of
all ;* Ezekiel viii. 14 ; and 1 John ii. 8.
3. The gods of the Hindoos, Vishnu, Buddha, Brahma, and Seeva, form no
Trinitj The theft of their names and attributes from the Hebrew-
evinced by their meaning Buddha an avatar of Vishnu Origin of
Fohi, the god of the Chinese Uruidical, Peruvian, Mexican, and
Parsee worship Origin of Surya, Suras, and Asuras Russell's citation
of Macrobius on the worship of the Solar god The concentration of
Paganism.
Proceeding farther eastward, to nations whose
origin is so remote and so involved in dark-
ness, that all traces of their derivation from the
Noachian stock is lost, we find in their ancient
traditions similar evidences of the truth, buried
under a mass of the grossest and most debasing
idolatry. In the avatars, or transformations of
Vishnu and Buddha, the gods of the Hindoos, we
perceive the awful perversion of the primeval
prophecy, and its stupid admixture with more
recent revelations concerning the Messiah, which
have been purposely mystified and defaced by
the agents of the Evil Spirit, in order that poor
* Russell's " Connection," vol. i. p. 401.
THE EARTH TO PROPHECY. 159
besotted mortals might be led away from the
truth as it is in Jesus. But their own traditions
testify against the Hindoos, and show, that in not
seeking to know him who had placed his witness
in the physical heavens, they were without ex-
cuse ; for when they knew God, they glorified
him not as God. The names of their chief gods,
Brahma, Vishnu and Seeva, plainly indicate their
Hebrew origin and meaning. Brahma signifies
the great Creator, and is evidently derived from
the word Nil Bra, He created, which occurs in
Genesis i. 1, and DM or Q^N, Am or Aim, terrible ;
and Vishnu or Veeshnu, the Preserver, from the
copulative 1 Ve or Vau, and "OttTN, Aishnu or Ishnu,
the Man for us; these two, therefore, constitute
a Binity or Duad, by reason of the copulative
particle between them, and not a Trinity or Triad
in conjunction with Seeva, as is generally supposed
by mythologists. As to the latter name, which
signifies the Destroyer, it is derived from rwit!?,
Seevah, Storm, or Destruction, or from JHtt?, Seeva,
the noise which accompanies it, thus exemplifying
the idea of the poor untutored Indian, who sees
God only in the fearful storm, and hears Him only
in the thunder's dreadful roar ; or, perhaps, from
Mitt?, Seeva, a dream or vain error, an " insubstan-
tial pageant," or even an idol, which is nothing in
the world. The exhibition of this triple absurdity
in the temples of Hindoostan, not like Janus at
Rome, with two faces, but like Cerberus in Hell,
160 TESTIMONY OF THE HEAVENS AND
with three faces, shows not a Trinity, or Sacred
Three in One, in which Christians believe, but
a threefold exhibition of the same God, as the
Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer, in
which the Hindoos, like the devils, believe and
tremble. These are, in fact, the attributes of the
true Deity ; for He is Jehovah, and there is none
else ; there is no God besides him ; he forms the
light and creates darkness ; he makes peace and
creates evil ; but, inasmuch as " they had not the
sense to acknowledge God (literally to have God
in acknowledgment), God gave them over to a
senseless mind, to do those things which are not
lawful (i. e. not appointed by God) ; Romans
i. 28.
In the name of Boodh or Buddha, an avatar of
Vishnu, the principal God worshipped in the
Transalpine, or Ultra-Gangetic regions and
islands of Asia, we again trace the early idea of
a Saviour of celestial origin. This name is evi-
dently derived from the Hebrew JHB or me,
Phudah, to deliver or redeem, by interchange of
the labials 1 and D ; and from the same roots
are derived a variety of words, signifying either
Redemption, or the Price of Redemption, and
reminding us delightfully of Him, who, by his
own blood entered once for all into the holy
place, having obtained eternal Redemption for
us; Heb. ix. 12. In the name of Fohi, the chief
god, worshipped in China from the earliest times,
THE EARTH TO PROPHECY. 161
we discover also, by its Hebrew origin from
Phohe, Prince or Governor, the foreshadowing of
Him whom God sent to be a light to lighten the
Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel ; Luke
ii. 32. The Druids of ancient Europe were wor-
shippers of the Sun and Fire, and the name of
their god was Hems, most probably derived from
the Hebrew ttfl&n, Hesus, burns up or consumes,
emblematic of the physical objects of their de-
votion, but still prefiguring the advent of Him
whose fan is in his hand, who will thoroughly
purge his floor, and burn up the chaff with un-
quenchable fire; Matt. iii. 12; and Isa. v. 24.
Among the Peruvians and the Mexicans were
found similar traces of Sun and Fire worship,
accompanied with the apparatus of the Incas or
Children of the Sun, and the Vestal or Solar vir-
gins, as in ancient Rome. Nor should we omit
that the Parsees, the most learned sect among
the Hindoos, are worshippers of the Sun, which
is called in their language Surya, evidently of a
similar origin with the Greek 2ap and 2aptoc;
moreover, in their fabulous histories of the " War
between the Gods and the Giants," the spirits,
who were the worshippers or children of Light
or the Sun, are called Suras, and the demons of
darkness, Asuras, A being evidently privative in
Sanscrit as in Greek. In fine, the names of the
gods which were worshipped among the Greeks
and the Romans, as every classical reader knows,
M
162 TESTIMONY OF THE HEAVENS AND
carry abundant evidence of their having been bor-
rowed from the earlier systems of idolatry already
described. Dr. Russell remarks, that "in the 1st
book of the Saturnalia, from the 17th to the 23rd
chapters inclusive, Macrobius establishes, from
the writings of the philosophers, as well as of the
poets, that all the gods of Assyria, Egypt, and
Greece, were mere personifications of the Solar
influence ; and, moreover, that all their names,
however varied, might be resolved into some
attribute of the Sun.' 1 He further states, that all
the nations of the East acknowledged originally
but one deity, the Sun, and he ingeniously ac-
counts for the rise of Hero-worship and Poly-
theism ; he also observes that, however the titles
of the gods may be separated and distinguished
from each other, they are all plainly resolvable
into those of the Solar deity. The same is to be
observed of the gods of the Romans. Indeed, it
is well known that the magnates of the Pantheon,
Apollo, Phoebus, Bacchus, Jupiter, &c.,* were all
severally addressed by the poets, as possessing
the power supposed to reside in the Sun, to direct
* Dr. Russell gives the following curious extract from the
Canon Chronicus of Sir John Marsham : " Plures in Oriente
Joves est investigare, Grsecis Romanisque longe recentioribus,
null us datur hie locus. Varro trecentos Joves introducit : Nos
originem quaerimus, non multitudinem. Sane omnis de Jove
theologia ex Egypto derivata est ; nee Jovis solum, sed
omnium etiam deorum numina inde petenda sunt." See his
" Connection," pp. 389406.
THE EARTH TO PROPHECY. 163
the seasons of the year, lo give success to the
operations of agriculture, to decide the fates of
nations, and to influence all the affairs of men.
4. Origin of the Greek aud Latin names of the Supreme God Ingenious
derivation by Dr. Hales Confutation of that given by Francoeur in his
" Uranographie " Origin of the New Testament titles of Christ
Citation of Theophilus on this subject Irrefragable proof of the
Divinity of our Lord Original temple of the Sun Connection of
Religious worship and Astronomical observation Antiquity of the
Hindoos and Chinese.
Thus it appears, that the heathen nations have,
in all ages and countries, borrowed the names
and attributes of Jehovah, the God of Israel, and
applied them to the absurd creations of their own
imagination, the physical objects of the world
around them, or the stupid fabrications of their
own hands. The origin of the name Zewc or Ale
in Greek, and Jupiter in Latin, as applied to the
supreme God, appears to be distinctly traceable
to the Hebrew. Dr. Hales endeavours to deduce
the former of these from the Phenician form of
, Jehovah, or Jahok, which in Greek letters is
, or law ; and he cites the answer of the oracle
of the Clarian Apollo, to the enquiry " Which
of the gods is he to be reckoned, who is called
<I>paO TOV, TTaVTWV UTTOTOV OfOV kfJifJitV IAQ.
Learn this, that JAH is greatest God of all.
This derivation is ingenious ; but it is more spe-
cious than solid. The name Ate, which gives its
M 2
164 TESTIMONY OF THE HEAVENS AND
oblique cases to Zsuc, is evidently derived from
the Hebrew 'H, Di, the Sufficient, or Self-sufficient
One, or, with the relative, "HE, Sdi or Shaddai, He
who is Self -sufficient, the Almighty, a Scriptural
name of God ; Genesis xvii. 1. From the former
comes Ate, and from the latter Ztuc,* by the ad-
dition of the Greek terminations. The derivation
of Jupiter from Jah pater is obvious ; while the
oblique cases Jovis, Jovi, &c., clearly show their
descent, or rather theft from the Hebrew word
Jehovah. These observations on the origin of the
Greek arid Latin names of the Supreme Being are
rendered the more necessary, in consequence of
the following most extraordinary attempt on the
part of an eminent French writer, to give a dif-
ferent, and we hesitate not to say, a very absurd
account of their derivation. M. Francoeur, in
his very curious and useful work on Astronomy,
entitled " Uranographie," p. 382, 5th edition,
says, " Each PLANET was denoted by a letter ;
arranging these bodies in the order of their sup-
posed distances, these representative characters
were :
Saturn. Jupiter. Mare. The Sun. Venus. Mercury. The Moon.
Q, Y, O, I, H, E, A.
The Sun seemed to be placed in the middle of
the motions, in order to regulate their march ;
* The inversion and amalgamation of the letters "1 and tl?
producing Z.
THE EARTH TO PROPHECY. 165
thus he governed the universe. It was supposed
that the planets revolved round the earth in crys-
talline concentric spheres. The world was de-
noted by the extreme letters A and Q ; the letter
I, of the Sun, united to these, formed the name
IAQ, of the god of light, of Bacchus, of Osiris, &c. ;
whence was derived the words Jevo, Jeova, Jovis,
Jovis pater, or Jupiter ! T It is a sufficient refu-
tation of this learned derivation, that the name of
Jehovah was known among the Hebrews at least
1000 years before the doctrine of the crystalline
spheres was invented ; and that the answer of the
Clarian oracle itself, instituted before the fall of
Troy, testified its well-known antiquity. The
Latin term Deus, God, is evidently derived from
the Greek Oeoc, by interchange of the dentals
O and A, and not from At? or Zci/c ; and the term
0oc itself, from TtU^u, Pono, to place, order, or
arrange, the old form of which, 0w, signifies to
dispose or create. This appellation, Ge'oc, the Dis-
poser or Creator, is peculiarly applicable to Him
into whose hands the Father hath delivered all
things, and who of old created and arranged the
universe ; John i. 3 ; and iii. 35. Theophilus,
Bishop of Antioch, has given the same derivation
in the following eloquent passage, to which we
can never give the spirit of the original : " But
God is called Geoe, because he hath reposed all
things on his own infallibility, and because he
created [all things] ; for to create, is to originate, and
166 TESTIMONY OF THE HEAVENS AND
put in motion, and work upon, and put together,
and prepare, and direct, and put life into, all
things ; and he is called Kwptoc. because he rules
over the whole universe, &c."* Now, our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ is perpetually called in
the New Testament, o Kupioc o Bcoc, the Lord, the
Disposer or Creator ; hence, his Divinity is estab-
lished beyond dispute ; his Unity with the Father
is demonstrated ; and his claim to the title of the
Sun of Righteousness, is placed on the triple testi-
mony of the Heavens, and the Earth, and the
Everlasting God.
From the observations of this chapter, we
draw the conclusion that all the various kinds of
idolatry which have existed in the world, can be
traced to a common source, namely, the Satanic
substitution of the worship of the Sun, Fire, or
Light, which was the emblem of the glory of
God, for the worship of the Great Insessor of the
Cherubim, who dwelleth in the Light which no
man can approach unto ; whom no man hath
seen, nor can see ; and who only hath immor-
tality. We further conclude, that the tradition
respecting the Shechinah, or glorious emblem of
his Divine presence, passed through the family of
Noah, and on it was grafted the idolatrous scheme
* 0EO2 8* \c-ycrai, 5ta TO TE0EIKENAI ra TT&VTO. cirl
rfj favrcv do-^aXcia, KOI 8ta ro 0EEIN' TO 8e 0e'ai> COTI TO
rp\ctv, KOI Kivelv, Kal fvfpyf.lv, /cat rpf<pfi.v, /cat iipovof.lv,
Kal Kvfifpvqv, *cai faoiroiflv TO. Tiavra. KTPIO2 bt ori, 8ia
TO KTPIETEIN dvTor T&V oXcor, K.T.X. Theoph. ad Autoly-
cum, p. 10., Oxon. 1684.
THE EARTH TO PROPHECY. 16?
which raised a temple to the Sun at Babel ; that
traces of the existence of this worship among
Europeans and Asiatics, and Indians of both
hemispheres, from the remotest times, are to be
found in their traditions respecting the heavenly
bodies, and in the names and attributes ascribed
to their false divinities ; and that the antiquity of
the Hindoos and Chinese, as nations, within the
limits of the true system of Chronology, is no
more to be doubted than that of the Babylonians,
Assyrians, and Egyptians. In fine, the astrono-
mical observations and religious worship of the
former appear to have been so intimately con-
nected, that, as we shall see in a subsequent
chapter, a higher degree of credence must be
yielded to the ancient records or traditions of
both, than they have hitherto received among the
learned world.*
*The celebrated historian of Astronomy, Delambre, following
the opinions of Sir William Jones and Mr. Bentley in the
" Asiatic Researches," sneers at the supposed antiquity of the
Hindoo Astronomical Tables contained in the Surya Siddhanta,
and ridicules Bailly and Playfair for maintaining such an opi-
nion. But ridicule is not a test of truth ; and after all, his
conclusion is only this, that the question seems to be settled !
Without insisting on the antiquity of the Tables, it may be
urged on very satisfactory grounds, that some of the observa-
tions to which they refer, were real and not fictitious. De-
lambre has brought no proof of his own to shew that they must
be fictitious, but has merely copied the statements and argu-
ments of Mr. Bentley. For these, we refer to his work entitled,
" A Historical View of the Hindu Astronomy," London, 1825,
1G8
CHAPTER III.
TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL AGES OF THE WORLD.
1. Tradition concerning the Seventh Age Prophecy of the Universal
Saviour Traditions of the Jews Opinion of Irenaeus and the Chris-
tian Church in his time Dr. Russell's opinion confuted Testimony
of the Heathen to the Tradition of the Seven Ages Digression on the
Corruptions of the Septuagint and the Hebrew text Arguments
against the numerical accuracy of the latter Remarkable prophecy
contained in the names of the Ante-diluvian Patriarchs Opinions of
Augustine and Abulfarajius Notion of Dr. Isaac Barrow Important
admission of Eusebius Opinion of Ephrem Syrus.
THE idea that the improvement and the happiness
of the human race is progressive, and that the
succeeding age is always to be superior to the
present, appears to have prevailed in every clime
and in every age of the world. Such a sentiment
seems indeed to be interwoven with our very
nature and constitution ; and the words of the
Poet are true, not only of each individual of
the species, but also of every successive genera-
tion :
" Hope springs eternal in the human breast,
Man never is, but always to be blest."
When we take an extensive review of the past, we
also find that there have been ages of the world
previous to our own, in which mankind enjoyed
AGES OF THE WORLD. 169
a length of days, and a degree of innocence and
happiness, now altogether unknown. All have, in
fact, heard of the blessedness of the Paradisaical
state, and all sigh for its return. The restoration
of man to this state, has been the subject of pro-
mise, and the theme of prophecy and song ; the
sentiment has been found in all countries, and
under every Dispensation ; and many of the
Divine appointments, both of nature and of Pro-
vidence, seem to have had an express reference
to the accomplishment of this glorious and benig-
nant purpose. The Septenary division of time
was impressed on the human mind from the era
of creation ; it was perpetuated in the Mosaic
institutions ; and a constant succession of Sep-
tennial changes in the frame of man himself from
his birth to his death, has tended to keep alive
the idea that the Great period of the Restoration
of all things is measured by the number Seven.
Hence, arose the universal opinion, corroborated
by tradition, that the World was to continue for
Six successive ages, appointed ages of trial and
probation, and that the Seventh age would be a
state of never-ending felicity and joy. Poets and
philosophers, always the most sanguine of our
race, have in every nation seized upon this idea,
and by the splendid efforts of their genius, en-
grafted it upofc the early history of their respective
countries. Thus, compositions which were at first
admired only as the production of superior intel-
170 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
lect, became early incorporated with the popular
creed, and were at last admitted by all as the
true records of antiquity.*
The Jews, with whose forefathers no doubt
the true ideas concerning the various ages of the
world originated, had, as we have seen, divided
the Grand Interval from Creation to the time
assigned by prophecy for the coming of the
Messiah, into six subordinate periods, the true
extent of which we have already determined.
More than a thousand years, however, before the
latter event took place, the great Hebrew Warrior
and King prophesied in Sacred Song, concerning
the only begotten Son of God, who was to receive
the Heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost
parts of the Earth for his possession ; concerning
Him who was to be fairer than the children of
men, and whose throne, like that of the Eternal,
was to be for ever and ever ; whose dominion
should be from sea to sea, and from the river to
the ends of the earth ; and before whom all kings
should fall down and worship, and whom all na-
tions should serve and call the Blessed and only
Potentate; Psalms ii., xlv., Ixxii. About three
centuries later than the time of David, Isaiah
received his Divine Commission to deliver the
prophecy concerning Him of whom Moses and
* Even the splendid creations of Milton's genius, in his
" Paradise Lost" have been often substituted for the truths of
Sacred Inspiration.
AGES OF THE WORLD.
the Prophets did write, in which He was de-
scribed as " the Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty
God, the Prince of Peace, and the Father of the
Future or Everlasting Age."* During the Fifth
or Monarchal Age, therefore, the idea had spread
abroad, not only among the Jews, but among all
nations, that the Renovation of the World would
be accomplished in the Sixth or succeeding age,
and that the Great King, called in Scripture,
Swrrjp or Saviour, would then set up his kingdom
in eternal justice, and establish his dominion with
everlasting peace ; and nation should no longer
lift up the sword against nation, neither should
they learn the Art of War any more.
According to the Jews, however, who lived in
the time of our Saviour, the grand object of the
mission of the promised Messiah was not to be
consummated till the Seventh age, when should
commence, to use the words of the Apostle, who
applied them very differently, the keeping of the
eternal " Sabbatism which remaineth for the peo-
ple of God." This notion of a Seventh age was
not entirely unknown to the Heathen, for we find
some traces of it in their writings ; but it seems
to have originated in the mysticism or glosses of
those who at that period, had made " the word of
God of none effect through their traditions." It
TOV jueAAwros ai&vos : Isaiah ix. 6 ; See the
Alexandrine edition of the Septuagint.
172 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
is of great importance to our argument, to give
some instances of this mysticism, as it inciden-
tally proves that the Jews originally held the
longer computation. One of the reasons assigned
by their Rabbins for the tradition of the Seven
ages, from time immemorial, is that because the
Hebrew letter N Aleph, which (pointed) stands
with them for a thousand, is found to occur sir
times in the 1st verse of the 1st chapter of
Genesis ; therefore, the world is to last in its
corrupt or fallen state for six thousand years ; and
that then it is to be restored and purified as at the
beginning ! Another reason, to which indeed, we
have already adverted in our First Part, is that
because God employed sir days in the work of
Creation, and rested on the Seventh day ; there-
fore, there are to be Seven ages of the World, each
containing a thousand years! Such notions as
these appear to have been current among both
Jews and Christians in the days of the Apostles ;
and we find them transmitted with even a higher
degree of mysticism, to the first age of Apostolical
Succession! Irenaeus, who flourished A. D. 170,
in commenting on the number of the Beast,
endeavours to connect the Six ages of the world,
with the number Sit', which occurs in the units,
tens, and hundreds of that number, and adds, "For
in as many days as the world was made, in so
many thousand years is it being brought to an end.
And on this account, the Scripture says and the
AGES OF THE WORLD. 173
heavens and the earth were finished and all their
garniture ; and on the Sixth day, God finished the
works which he made ; and on the Seventh day,
God ceased from all his works but this is a nar-
ration of the prototypes of things, and a prophecy of
things that shall come to pass ; for the day of the
Lord is as a thousand years : but in Six clays the
creation was finished ; it is manifest, therefore,
that its consummation is the sLr thousandth year.*
In this curious passage, it is evident that the
disciple of John, the beloved Apostle, has fol-
lowed the ideas of the Jews rather than those of
his inspired Master, and has mingled up the
mystical notions of the Rabbins with the sacred
truths of Revelation.
While we admit, however, that the followers
of Christ and his Apostles had erroneous views
respecting the Jewish tradition, which we have
thus traced to its real source, we cannot adopt
the opinion of Dr. Russell, p. 103, vol. i. of
* 'O(rats...^ju,epais eye'vero 6
crwreAeirai. /cat bia TOVTO (prjcnv fi ypa^rj' " /cat
6ricrav 6 ovpavbs Kal % yr\ /cat TTCLS 6*007x0? avr&v. KCU arwcrlA-
f<Tfv 6 debs fv rfj fjntpq rrj r ra epya O.VTOV, a eirotTjo-e ; Kal
KaTtTtavcrfv 6 6ebs tv rr\ ^ju,e'pa rfi anb TTCLVTM T&V epyuiv av-
TOU." TOVTO 8' eort TU>V TTpoyfyovoTtov oiriyrjcns, Kal riav etro-
fj,V(av Trpo(pr]Tia. ->] -yap r]jj,fpa Kvpwv w?a er?j' ev e ovv f)fJ.t-
pats <ruvTT\(r6ai ra yeyorora* (fravepbv ovv, OTI f) o-wreAeta
avT&v TO p eras Icrrtv. Irenseus contra omnes Haereses ;
pp. 444, 445, Grabe's edition, Oxon. 1702.
174 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
his "Connection," that the apostles themselves
wrote under the influence of such views, or that it
formed any part of their theological system, al-
though it entered deeply into those " of the age
which witnessed the introduction of our holy
faith." They wrote under the influence of that
Spirit which Christ promised to send, in order to
lead and to guide them into all the truth ; it is
impossible, therefore, to imagine, that the Apos-
tles Paul and John in their writings, " partook of
those impressions relative to the speedy arrival
of the first resurrection, and the beginning of the
Messiah's reign, which prevailed among their coun-
trymen;" nor, can we agree, as he does, "with
Grotius, who hesitates not to state that St. Paul
thought it possible that he might be alive at
the time of the general judgment," as we see no
evidence for such a statement in any part of the
New Testament. The reply of our Saviour, while
yet on earth, to the inquiry put by his disciples,
" When shall these things be, and what the
sign of thy coming, and of the end of the
world ?" sufficiently points out their mistake in
supposing, as the unbelieving Jews did, that the
first advent of the Messiah and the consummation
of all things, were contemporaneous or approxi-
mate events: and clearly shows that instead of
the " general judgment " after or upon his advent,
there would only be a particular one, namely, the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and that
AGES OF THE WORLD. 175
it would be fulfilled in the experience of that ge-
neration, for their rejection of the true Messiah,
as the filling up of the measure of the iniquities of
their fathers. So much hold, however, had the
tradition in question taken on the minds of the
Jews as a nation, that we find the words of Paul,
in 1 Thess. iv. 15 17, respecting the resurrection
of the dead, and the Second Advent of Christ,
were either misunderstood or misinterpreted by
some of those to whom they were addressed.
Hence, he was obliged to address them a second
time, in the following words ; 2 Thess. ii. 1 :
" Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering
together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in
mind, or troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word,
nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ
is at hand." The rest of the Apostle's warning
advice in this chapter, plainly indicates that many
ages were to elapse before the epoch of the Second
advent, and the arrival of the end of the world.
The time, indeed, necessary for the fulfilment of
the prophecies, of both the Old and New Testa-
ment, especially those contained in the books of
Daniel and the Revelation of John, must have
clearly evinced to the minds of well-informed
Christians, as well as those of the Apostles them-
selves, that many predicted events had yet to
receive their accomplishment ; and, that God's
controversy with the nations, and particularly
176 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
with his ancient people Israel, required a longer
interval than that which the Judaizing teachers
among them had dared to assign, and which, to
give it greater currency, it appears that they were
desirous to father upon the great Apostle of the
Gentiles.
Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that a very
considerable degree of plausibility might attach
to such sentiments among the early Christians,
from the occurrence of such expressions as
the following in the writings of the Apostles :
2 Peter iii. 8, " One day is with the Lord as a
thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day." This expression, however, merely exhibits
in words suited to our ordinary conceptions, the
great truth which should ever be present to our
minds, that all time appears but as a single mo-
ment to the eternal Jehovah, who sees the end
from the beginning, and to whom the ideas both of
space and time, as they exist in our finite under-
standings, are altogether unknown. The same
sublime sentiment, similarly expressed, is also to
be found in one of the Psalms, the authorship of
which is ascribed to Moses, the man of God :
thus, "a thousand years in thy sight, are but as
yesterday, when it is past, and as a watch in the
night." It is evident, therefore, from the ex-
treme generality of the expressions employed,
that no specific conclusion can be drawn from
these and similar passages of Scripture, respect-
AGES OP THE WORLD. 1?7
ing the true period of the world's duration. Their
simple intent is to convey to our minds an idea of
the eternity of the Almighty, and they are of the
same import as the following, which proves the eter-
nal Divinity of our Lord ; namely, " Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Hence,
it is plain that the idea, entertained by many
divines, of the duration of the world for a period
of only Seven thousand years, (a period, which, in
fact, as we have shown in our First Part, it has
already passed) is a figment of the human imagi-
nation, which has no foundation in real tradition
or prophecy, and which is contrary to the express
revelations of Scripture. In a note to this para-
graph, consisting chiefly of references to the au-
thors who have treated of or touched upon the
opinion of Irenasus and the whole Christian
church after the Apostolic times, the learned
reader will find sufficient ground for the belief
that the longer or Septuagint chronology was
universally held by ancient writers both before
and after the Christian era.* We proceed to
* Haec Irensei sententia de mundi permansione, tot tan-
tosque liabet vindices et confirmatores, ac plausibiles persua-
siones, modo divinse potestati nihil temere praescribatur, ut in
earn lubens descenderem. Primo enim Ethnicorum omnium
clarissimos et antiquissimos scriptores, Hydaspen Medorum
Regetn ; Mercurium Trismegistum, ac Sybillas hoc prsecinuisse
et finnasse, testis Lactantius, lib. vii. cap. 14, 15 et 18. He-
braeos idem sequi, testimonio est oraculum, quod Heliae nomine
N
178 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
notice the evidence on this point, which may be
gathered from the testimony of the Heathen.
"The belief of this singular notion," concerning
the Seven ages," says Dr. Russell, p. 76, vol. i. of
his Connection, "has been detected in the writings
of Heathens, Jews, and Christians. It is traced
in the Sybilline oracles, in Hesiod, in the work
circumferunt Thalmudistte, libro Sanhedrin, capite Helec : et
lib. Havoda Zara, cap. liphne-edehen : cujus verba recitantur,
nee refelluntur, a doctis et Catholicis Authoribus, Galatino
libro iv. cap. 20., Pico Mirandulano lib. vii., Heptapli cap. 4.
et Francisco Veneto lib. de Hannonia Mundi Cant. iii. Tono 7,
cap. 7. Oraculum hoc declarant, ac conjecturis multis et non
spernendis confirmant insignes Rabbini Selomo et Isaac. Ex
Latinis Ecclesiasticis Patribus, sententiam bane amplectuntur
et tuentur Lactantius lib. vii. cap. 14., Hilarius in cap. 17.
Matth., Hieronymous Epist. ad Cyprianum, et Comment in
cap. iv. Micheee, Gaudentius Brixianus Tract, x. de Lectione
Evangelica. Refert eandem et Augustinus lib. xx Civitat. Dei
cap. 7, ut verisimilem, licet alibi illam impugnaverit. Glossa
etiam, quee Ordinaria vocatur constanter affirmat, in 5 cap.
Genes. Inter Greecos vero placuit hasc opinio Justino Martyri,
seu cuivis alteri Authori Queestionum ad Orthod. Queest. 71.
Sex istis millibus quingentos annos addere visum est Hippolyto,
Cyrillo, et Chrysostomo, ut author est Germanus Constantino-
politanus libro de theoria rerum Eccles. Perspectum mihi, est
hanc sententiam oppugnari ab Augustino Comment, in Psal. 6 et
89. atque Epist. 89. insuper a Beda in Psal. 89. an vero illam
expugnent, viderint docti et acuti eorum Lectores. Heec autem
ni fallor, aliquod emolumentum adferent ad eorum reprimendos
clamores, qui temere nullaque ratione B. Martyri hac de re vehe-
mentius insultant, et lapsos, quos putunt, Patrum aliquanto
contumeliosius insectantur. Feuardentius." Grabe's Irenaetis,
pp. 444, 445.
AGES OF THE WORLD. 179
ascribed to Darius Hystaspes the King of the
Medes, and in Hermes Trismegistus, the cele-
brated founder of Egyptian learning and science.
Plato quotes from Orpheus the same mystical
doctrine ; handing down to more recent times the
persuasion of the first generations of the human
race, that the earth, which was given to them for
a habitation during Six ages, was doomed in the
Seventh to be consumed by fire."* Dr. Russell
discovers in the prevalence of these opinions and
expectations, however ill-founded and absurd
they may seem, the principal motive which actu-
ated the Jews about the beginning of the Second
century, in their attempt to vitiate the most an-
cient of their chronicles. " Their rejection of
Christ," says he, " rendered necessary an exten-
sive change in their dates and calculations ; and
if we may trust to the assertions of Justin Martyr
and other primitive apologists for our holy faith,
we cannot doubt that their fraudulent purpose
was realized to a considerable extent. ' I entreat
you to remember,' says the Father now named,
when addressing Trypho the Jew, ' that your
Rabbis have taken away entirely many texts of
Scripture from that version which was made by
the Elders who were at the court of Ptolemy, in
which it was declared, that Jesus who suffered
death upon the cross was both God and man : and
* 'E-nra cv yevf.fi KarctKavcrerai Kocrp-os aei7ys. Philebos,
p. 157., cited by Dr. Russell, p. 77 of his " Connection."
N 2
180 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
wherein it was also predicted that he was to be
crucified and submit to the power of the grave.
These texts, because I know that your nation
now rejects them, I will not insist upon in the
course of our inquiries, but shall content myself
with appealing to those prophecies and descrip-
tions respecting the divine power, which are still
allowed to remain in your sacred books.' After
quoting a passage from Jeremiah, which the
Christian author applies to the point in discus-
sion, as an argument in favour of the views
adopted by the Church, he reminds his antagonist,
that the text now in question was still found in
certain copies of the Old Testament which con-
tinue to be read in the Synagogues ; for, says he,
this portion of Holy Writ has been but lately
expunged by your doctors ; and that on account
of the unanswerable demonstration founded upon
it, in regard to the conduct of the Jews towards
Christ, against whom it was predicted that they
would take counsel, and afterwards put him to
death." Archbishop Usher, in reference to this
passage of Justin Martyr, says, in his " Syn-
tagma," pp. 44, 45, that this Father produces/ow
testimonies concerning Christ the Saviour which
he affirms were abstracted from the version cf the
Seventy Elders : the second of which is still found
entire in all our books, namely, Jeremiah xi. 19.
But the first, abstracted from the book of Ezra,
chap vi., which is testified by Lactantius, lib. 4.
AGES OF THE WORLD. 181
Institut. cap. 18, is as follows : And Ezra said unto
the people, This passover is our Saviour and our Re-
fuge ; and if ye did consider, and it came up into your
heart, that we shall humiliate him in a sign, and if
afterwards ye shall believe upon him, this place shall
never be left desolate, saith the Lord of Hosts ; but
if ye will not believe on him, nor hearken to his
preaching, ye shall be a laughing-stock to the
Heathen. The third testimony, which is found in
Irenasus, lib. 5, cap. 26, is said to have been cut out
of Jeremiah : But the Lord God of Israel remem-
bered his dead who slept in the land of heaps, and
descended to them to declare unto them the good news
of his salvation. The fourth and last is taken from
Psalm xcv. (or xcvi. according to the Hebrew)
v. 10, where the reading should be, Declare among
the Heathen, The Lord reigned from the tree; the
words "from the tree" are said to have been erased
by the Jews, although they are to be found in the
ancient editions of the Latin Psalter, and are cited
by several ancient authors whose names and
works the Archbishop enumerates.
The best proof, however, that the Jews have
tampered with some passages of Scripture, is to be
found in the discrepancy which exists between
most of the passages which are cited in the New
Testament out of the Old, and which agree more
nearly with the Septuagint, mutilated as it has
been, than with the present Hebrew Text. The
most striking case of this kind is to be found in
182 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
the passage cited by Paul, Hebrews x. 5, from
Psalm xl. 6 ; where instead of the words " mine
ears hast thou opened" as in the Hebrew, we have
" A body hast thou prepared me," as in the Sep-
tuagint. The straining of commentators to make
these totally different readings signify exactly the
same thing is perfectly astonishing, when we con-
sider that the simple admission of the corruption
of the Hebrew text in this passage at once solves
the difficulty ! Another remarkable case is the
passage cited by the same Apostle, Romans iii.
10 18, from Psalm xiv. 3, where the greater
part of the quotation, from v. 13 to v. 18 inclu-
sive, is entirely omitted in the present Hebrew
text, but is to be found verbatim in the Sep-
tuagint, Vatican edition. The reason assigned
by Dr. Wall for its insertion in this edition, and
its omission in the Alexandrine MS., is not at all
satisfactory ; because it does not in the least ac-
count for the full quotation of the passage by the
Apostle ; it does not at all answer the question,
where did St. Paul get the verses ? A third case
is that of the celebrated passage in Psalm xxii.
17, where, instead of the words " they pierced
my hands and my feet," as in the Septuagint,
the Hebrew has to this day, the reading " as a
lion my hands and my feet ;" but as this passage
had no sense or meaning, the English translators
were fain to avail themselves of the reading of
the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate. But it
3! AGES OF THE WORLD. 183
is unnecessary to multiply discrepancies of this
kind ; enough has been adduced to show that
implicit reliance is not to be placed on the pre-
sent Hebrew text. As to the discrepancy in Gen.
ii. 2, between the Hebrew and Septuagint, regard-
ing the day on which " God ended his work," it
can only be accounted for on one or other of the
following principles : either a mistake has been
committed in transcribing the Hebrew text ; or,
a change has been wilfully introduced into that
text. For it is quite inconsistent with the fact,
and with the preceding context, to say that God
ended his work on the Seventh day ! In that con-
text, Gen. i. 31, we are told that " God saw ALL
that He had made, and behold it was very good ;
and the evening and the morning were the Sixth
day." It is manifest that to end work on the
Seventh day, would be to perform a part of it on
that day; and, consequently, the whole of the
Sabbath could not be said to have been devoted to
rest, nor wholly blessed and sanctified on this ac-
count* It is easy to see that a loop-hole is thus
given, by an error in that text and in our trans-
lation, we fear more wilful than accidental on the
part of the Jews, to the partial observance of the
Sabbath, and to the notion acted on by many in
former ages, and by multitudes in the present,
that it is only that part of the Sabbath devoted to
religious services in public, which is to be ac-
counted sacred ; the remainder of the day being
184 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
devotable either to work, to literary pursuits, or
to sensual enjoyment. Mankind, both Jews and
Christians, has in all ages been too anxious to
throw off the strict and unalterable obligation of
keeping the Sabbath holy to the Lord; but the true
Christian, he who is a " Jew inwardly," though
l( not outwardly," feels his highest enjoyment in
the Scriptural employment of that Holy Day, con-
sidering it as a foretaste and an earnest of the
glorious and eternal Sabbath in Heaven.
A strong argument against the accuracy of the
present Hebrew text, is derived, as we have seen,
from the different accounts of the census of the
Hebrew Patriarchs and their families, at the
epoch of their migration into Egypt, to be found
in the Old and New Testaments. In Acts vii.
14, we find that the martyr Stephen, in his de-
fence before the High Priest of the Jews, gives
this census, including the grandsons and great
grandsons of Joseph, who, as well as his sons,
had previously migrated in their father's loins, as
amounting in all to "threescore and fifteen," or
"75 souls." On referring to the Mosaic narrative,
Gen. xlvi. 27, we find, according to the Hebrew
text, that this census amounts only to " three-
score and ten," or " 70 souls ;" but, according
to the Septuagint, that it amounts to '* 75 souls."
Here, assuredly, the authority of the Septuagint
must be reckoned superior to that of the Hebrew
text, inasmuch as that version not only perfectly
AGES OF THE WORLD. 185
agrees as to the census with the reckoning of
St. Stephen in the place now cited, but in the
same chapter, it enumerates the names of the
three grandsons and the two great-grandsons of
Joseph, making up thejive persons whose names
are totally omitted in the Hebrew. The census
of the Septuagint also agrees with that of the
New Testament, in other places where Moses has
occasion to remind the Israelites of the smallness
of their number when their fathers went down
into Egypt; see Exodus i. 5; and Deuteronomy
x. 22. It is proper to remark, however, that the
number in the latter citation agrees with the
Hebrew, in the Vatican edition of the Septuagint ;
but, not in the Alexandrine codex, or the Grabian
edition, where it is correctly given as in the other
places which have been cited. Dr. Hales, in his
" Analysis," vol. ii. p. 159, has grievously mis-
taken the composition of the census in question ;
for, he includes in it, the wives of Jacob's sons,
amounting to nine persons in all, according to his
account. The Sacred text, however, includes
Jacob, and Joseph with his two sons, in the num-
ber 70 ; now if the nine wives were also included,
the census would amount to the number 79 ;
because the names of the 70 men are all distinctly
enumerated even in the Hebrew text itself. In
order, therefore, to get rid of this difficulty, and
reduce the number from 79 to 75, the Dr. ex-
cludes the.four men just mentioned, and includes
186 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
the nine women, whether they are kindred or not
kindred! His solution, however, does not agree
xvith the express words of Scripture, which, in
fact, excludes the women, the words being accord-
ing to the Septuagint, x w p*c iv yuvaucwv, "without
the wives ;" and includes the men, in the number
75, the words of Stephen being " his father Jacob,
and all his kindred," descended, c rwv /ujpwv mm>u,
" out of his loins."
In reference to the numerical statements of the
Hebrew text, the disingenuity of modern com-
mentators renders the following remarks neces-
O
sary, for the sake of truth and common sense. It
is well known that the numbers which occur in
the Old Testament are always expressed in words
at length, and not in abridged characters or arith-
metical symbols ; hence, the possibility of tran-
scribers mistaking one character or symbol for
another, in consequence of the similarity of the
letters, is completely removed. It is an unfair in-
ference, therefore, to say, because the Jews em-
ployed the letters of their alphabet to denote
numbers in their later writings, or to indicate
chapters and verses in the sacred writings, and
because some of these letters are extremely simi-
lar, though they denote very different numbers ;
that numerical errors might arise from this cause
in those parts of the Scriptures where no such
arithmetical characters or symbols were ever
used. Among unfair reasoners of this, class, may
AGES OF THE WORLD. 187
also be placed those who maintain that all know-
ledge of the ancient Hebrew is lost, because for-
sooth it has been preserved in Chaldaic charac-
ters, and mystified by the Masoretic points ! It
does not follow, however, that the language itself
is lost, because the characters are changed in
their form, even supposing this to be the fact. If
so, then we might as well assert that the English
language is lost, because we have changed the
Old English character for the Roman ; that it has
become utterly unintelligible to us by the
change ; or that the accented, punctuated and
mispelt words of Orthoepists must render every
genuine English word of doubtful meaning !
Moreover, it has likewise been gravely said that
because some Hebraists choose to assert that the
same word in Hebrew signifies both to bless and
to curse ; therefore, all or most of the words of
that language may be translated so as to mean
any thing you please ; this is at least the conclu-
sion which would be drawn from such random
assertions on the part of Lexicon writers and com-
pilers of Hebrew dictionaries. We ask such per-
sons, if they know any thing at all of Hebrew, to
arrange the names of the Antediluvian Patriarchs
in one line, so as to form a Hebrew sentence, and
to try whether, among the " thousand and one"
varieties of rendering of which it is affirmed the
words are capable, it will not bear the following
translation, demonstrative of the fact that the
188 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL.
Antediluvians were, during the days of God's
grace, and in addition to the tradition of Enoch's
prophecy, taught the knowledge of a Divine
Saviour, even by the symbolical names which
the Patriarchs were directed by the Spirit of
God, to impose upon their children :
.TO yfi rftsnns TOH IT ^N^rro p^p tn: nr DTK
"Man was appointed miserable and wretched,
but the blessed God shall descend, teaching that
his death shall send to the afflicted, Rest." The
consolation which a sentence like this was calcu-
lated to give to the Patriarch Noah, and to his
family, in the near prospect of the " end of the
world that then was," may be more easily con-
ceived than described ; nor let it be forgotten
that in continuation of this Divine nomenclature,
the Patriarch was instructed to call his son, who
was to be the progenitor of the wonderful Being
whose coming is predicted in this sentence, by
the name of Shem, in prophetic anticipation of the
future development of that glorious Name, in
which both Jews and Gentiles were afterwards to
trust, and on which the salvation of both worlds
was suspended.
To return from this lengthened digression ; it is
manifest that there is great reason to suspect
that the numbers contained in the Hebrew text
which have reference to dates and to the age of
the world, have been systematically and exten-
sively altered. Dr. Russell cites a passage from
AGES OF THE WORLD. 189
the celebrated Abulfarajius, in which he asserts
that the Jews, believing it to have been foretold
that the Messiah was to have been sent in the last
times, altered the chronology in order to be able to
produce a reason or apology for their rejection of
Jesus Christ. Thus they made it appear by their
new computation, that Christ was manifested in
the very beginning of ihejifth millennium, near to
the middle of the period to which the duration of
the earth was to be limited, that is, according to
their glosses upon Scripture, not more than 7000
years in all. But the computation of the Septua-
gint, he observes, showed that Christ did actually
come in the sixth millenary age of the world ; the
very time at which the prediction of the Old Tes-
tament led mankind to expect his advent. The
learned Dr. refers also to the candid Augustine,
who states that the Jews were suspected of having
corrupted their copies of the ancient Scriptures,
and particularly of having altered the generations
and lives of the Antediluvian patriarchs, out of dis-
like to the Christians, and in order to weaken the
authority of the Septuagint, which was used not
only in their churches during divine service, but
also in their writings and controversies with the
Jews. Though Augustine saw that the temptation
to vitiate the sacred text lay with the Rabbins,
and that the Greek translators had no inducement
to alter the original, he was unwilling to believe
that either party could have intentionally altered
190 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
the Scriptures ; thinking it more probable that
the differences between the Hebrew and the Sep-
tuagint, had originated in the wish entertained by
an early transcriber, to render the generations of
the patriarchs more natural, and less dispropor-
tioned to the total length of their lives.* This
disproportion, as we have remarked in our First
Part, was only partial in the Hebrew, and the
discrepancy in this respect is a strong argument
in favour of the more natural proportion of the
Septuagint. But men in all ages have endea-
voured to reduce the Antediluvian standard of
human life and generation, without regard to the
actual record of Holy Scripture. Some curious
specimens of reasoning on this point will be found
in Usher's " Syntagma," cap. ii. p. 13 et seq.
What, for instance, can be more ridiculous than
the following remark on this subject by the
learned Dr. Isaac Barrow? "No one," says he,
" can pretend to assert, as a certainty, that the
age of Methusalem [Methuselah !] himself, who
lived a thousand years wanting one, [999 instead of
969 !] was really longer than that of a man, who
now dies at a hundred ! Why might not the Sun,
being then younger and more vigorous, have per-
formed his periods ten times sooner than at this
time?" See his "Geometrical Lectures," trans-
lated by Stone, 1735. Credat Judaus !
* Augustine de Civit. Dei, lib. xv. c. 11 13; cited by
Russell, p. 81 of his " Connection."
AGES OF THE WORLD. 191
Dr. Russell states that Augustine was not aware
that 400 years had elapsed from the time when
the Septuagint version was made, before any dis-
crepancy between the Greek and the Hebrew
Scriptures was ever imagined to exist ; and that
there flourished in that interval, the chronograph-
ers Demetrius, Philo, Euphorus, Eupolemus, and
Polyhistor, in whose writings, compiled from the
books of Moses, we find the events, numbers,
dates and proper names, agreeing with the Septu-
agint, but differing from the modern Hebrew.
The ignorance of this early Father in reference to
these writers, though it were admitted, for which
however we see no good reason, and his want of
reference to the works of Josephus, form no
ground of objection whatever to the facts of the
case ; nor can we conclude from his silence re-
garding their testimony that he was not biassed
in favour of the Jewish system of chronology in
consequence of the high authority of Jerome in
the Christian Church. Dr. Russell gives a very
full and clear account of the manner in which this
system originated. He states that the publica-
tion of the Seder Olam Rabba in A.D. 130, may
with certainty be regarded as the epoch at which
the Jews altered their genealogies and changed
the dates of the great events which are recorded
in their Sacred Books ; and that Theophilus,
bishop of Antioch, was the first Christian chrono-
loger who attempted to compute the age of the
192 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
world from the facts and dates only which are
contained in the Bible. He judiciously remarks
that the bishop must have possessed a copy of
the Hebrew Scriptures or at least of the Penta-
teuch, which had escaped the innovations of the
Jews ; for his dates of the deluge and the birth of
Abraham differ from both the Hebrew and the
Septuagint.* Moreover, we find that Eusebius,
in the middle of the fourth century, who was well
aware of the discrepancies between the Hebrew
and the Septuagint in the matter of chronology,
still writes as follows : " On all sides therefore the
version of the Seventy, being demonstrated to have
been translated from an ancient, as it appears,
and a correct copy of the Hebrew, we have with
reason made use of it in the present chrono-
graphy, and the more especially since the church
of Christ spread through the whole world adheres
to it alone, the Apostles and disciples of our Sa-
viour having from the beginning delivered that it
is to be used."f Dr. Kennicott, in his " Disser-
Russell's " Connection" pp. 8084.
\ YlavraxoOcv roiyapovv Trjs T&V 6 c/j/xr/yeuzs K iraAcuas,
l abiaarpcxfrov 'E/Spcuooy ypa<f)T)s /iera/3e'/3A77<r#cu
s, eiKcmos Tai/rr/ KCU ^pteis K^Kprip.cda Kara TT\V ra-
povvav xpovoypatyiav, ore juaXiora KCU f) tad* 6A.7js rijs OLKOV-
fji^vrjs f]TT\(ti(rp.{vTj X/HOTOU (KK\rj(rCa Tairrrj fjiovij Trpoo-e'xei ru>v
TOU crwrijpos f]fJ.<MV aTTooroAwi' re KCU fJ.adi]Tu>v ap\ij6cv raiirrj
\pij<rOat. 77apa8e8a)Kora>i>. Eusebius, cited by Syncellus, p.
89, Bonn, 1829.
AGES OF THE WORLD. 193
tatio Generalis," Sect. 83, p. 37, also cites the
words of Ephrem Syrus, who flourished near the
end of the same century, in which he charges the
Jews with having abstracted 600 years from the
generations of the Antediluvian patriarchs in
order that their own books might not convict
them concerning the coming of Christ, who had
been predicted to appear for the deliverance of
mankind after 5500 years.
2. Description of the Ages of the World from Hesiod Error of Newton
The Golden Age corresponds to the Antediluvian The Silver to the
Postdiluvian The Brazen, Heroic and Iron ages, to the Patriarchal,
Critarchal and Monarchal These ages relate chiefly to Greece Refe-
rences to Scripture history in all The Sixth or Cumasan age corresponds
to the Hierarchal Wisdom of the Heathens Their expectation of a
Divine Instructor Socrates, Plato, Eupolis, Virgil, and others, antici-
pate his glorious Advent The close of the Sixth age indicates the arrival
of the Seventh, or the return of the Golden age.
The Greek and Roman Poets borrowed their
sublime ideas concerning the Ages of the World,
from the Sacred writings and traditions of the
Jews ; and alas ! they transmuted the fine gold
of Mount Sion into the base metal of Helicon and
Parnassus. Hence arose the Poetical appella-
tions of the first Six ages which are to be found in
the most ancient and celebrated writings of the
Heathen. The distinct recognition o the Seventh
age appears not to have been very general, at
least among the poets ; or rather, it seems to
have been frequently confounded or identified
with the Sixth age. The following, however, is
an enumeration of the Poetical ages which is
o
194 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
clearly to be traced in the writings of the oldest
authors ; to each, we have added the names of
the corresponding Scriptural Ages, for the sake of
comparison and connection. First, the Golden
Age which corresponds to the Antediluvian; Second,
the Silver Age, to the Postdiluvian ; Third, the
Brazen Age, to the Patriarchal; Fourth, the
Heroic Age, to the Critarchal ; Fifth, the Iron
Age, to the Monarchal; and Sixth, the Last or
Cum&an Age, to the Hierarchal. In this enume-
ration, we do not mean, of course, to convey the
idea that each of the Poetical Ages is precisely
limited by the epochs which serve to fix and de-
termine the Scriptural Ages of the Jews ; but
merely to indicate that there is such a connection
between them as serves to prove their common
origin, and to establish the chronology of both on
a secure and authentic foundation. There seems,
however, to our mind, such a striking analogy
between the real and thefeigtied events ascribed
in history to the different periods above mentioned,
as to justify us in drawing the parallelism close,
and in allotting to the various ages of the world,
the appellations which have been ingeniously
assigned to them by the poets and historians of
Greece and Rome. One of the oldest Heathen
writers, whose authentic works have reached our
times, is the poet Hesiod, who, according to some
authorities, was the contemporary of Homer, and
who, according to Mr. Clinton, flourished from
AGES OF THE WORLD. 195
859 to 824 B. c. His description of the Six Ages
contained in the poem entitled 'Epya /cat 'Hjuepat,
or Works and Days, is in many parts unquestion-
ably borrowed from Scripture History. Dr. Hales
has advanced and defended this opinion in his
" Analysis," vol. i. pp. 38 46 ; after having
shewn, in pp. 35 38, that Sir Isaac Newton has
mistaken, and consequently misrepresented He-
siod's ages, in his " Chronology of Ancient
Kingdoms," by confounding the word yevoc, a
race, employed by the poet to denote an age, with
yevsa, the usual word for a generation ; and that
this error has not only deranged all his dates of
Grecian history, but has vitiated his entire system
of ancient chronology. With the opinions of Dr.
Hales on the subject of Hesiod 's Ages of 'the World,
we in general coincide ; but we think that he has
neither carried out the above-mentioned analogy
sufficiently far, nor applied it in so clear and
distinct a manner as he might have done, to the
illustration of the connection between Sacred and
Profane Chronology. It may be of some im-
portance, therefore, to enlarge a little upon this
interesting point.
The description of the First or Golden Age
given in the Works and Days, extends from v.
108 to v. 126,* and as Dr. Hales justly remarks,
bears no relation at all to Grecian history. It
* We refer to Robinson's edition of Hesiod's works, qua
supersuut, cum notis Variorum, Oxon. 1737.
o 2
196 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
refers to the time when " The immortal gods and
mortal men were as members of the same family,
and (/lEpoTrwv) partook of the same likeness ; when
Saturn (Kpovoe, quasi ^povoc, Time) reigned in
Heaven, and men lived as gods, with minds free
from care, without labour and sorrow, or the
feebleness of old age ; and always the same
(TroSae /cat x ^P a O m strength and activity, they
enjoyed continual feasting, free from all evils,
rolling in wealth, and beloved by the blessed
gods ; they died as overcome by sleep ; to them,
all things were good ; and the fertile field spon-
taneously brought forth varied and abundant
fruit ; seeking only their own ease, they mingled
their operations with innumerable pleasures ; and
when (-yam) the green sod covered their bodies,
they became good angels, by the will of mighty
Jove, and were confined to the earth, as the
guardians of mortal men ; they became observers
of good and bad actions, and inhabiting the aerial
regions, they everywhere roamed through the
earth, the dispensers of riches ; such indeed was
the royal honour which they obtained." This
description is a curious admixture of the tradi-
tions concerning the Antediluvian age to be found
in the early history of all ancient nations, and of
the lofty but extravagant imaginings of the Poet
derived from the absurd mythology of ancient
Greece. It evidently alludes to the creation of
man in the likeness of God, and to the Sacred
AGES OF THE WORLD. 197
communion which Adam held with his Creator in
the garden of Eden ; to the wonderful length of
human life, amounting in the case of the Patri-
archs, in general, to nearly a thousand years, when
indeed Time might be said to reign, and Death for
ages to be disappointed of his prey ; to the gene-
ration of sons and daughters to a late period of
the lives of mankind ; and to the piety of the
righteous generations of the line of Seth, who
were called the " Sons of God," some of whom
had communion with God, and received peculiar
marks of his favour. The description of the
" royal honour" of the happy dead, seems to
have had its origin also in the Scripture record of
the frequent appearance of angels in the likeness
of men in the Postdiluvian and Patriarchal ages,
and of the promises which God gave to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, regarding the number, the
wealth and the glory of their seed ; and of the
appearance of Samuel to Saul, when he predicted
his speedy fall and admittance to Hades : of the
divine appearance to Solomon, when he was pro-
mised riches and honour, so that no king was
like to him : and of the divine vision of the
young man in Samaria, who saw the mountain
full of horses and chariots of fire round about
Elisha : with many others of the very singular
and preternatural phenomena which were divinely
vouchsafed to the chosen people of God in all
ages, before that in which the Poet himself flou-
198 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
rished. Hesiod is also cited by Josephus among
the ancient writers who before his time recorded
that the men of the Jirst age of the world lived a
thousand years ; but Dr. Hales observes that this
statement is " no where to be found in his pre-
sent [extant] works."
The description of the Second or Silver age,
extends from v. 127 to v. 142, and refers to the
time after the flood, when as the Poet says, " the
men were much inferior to those of the Golden
age, being unlike them both in body and mind ;
then, indeed, the boy of a hundred years was
brought up by his careful mother, as a child,
passing much of his time at home ; but when he
grew up and reached the age of puberty, his life
was speedily shortened, being embittered by
ignorance ; for they manifested injurious pride
towards each other, and refused to serve the
immortal gods, or to sacrifice at their sacred altars,
which was the customary rite among civilized
people ; these, therefore, Jupiter the son of
Saturn buried, being incensed because they ho-
noured not the blessed gods who inhabit Olympus;
and when the green turf had covered their bodies,
then the blessed dead confined to the earth, were
called Secondary angels ; thus, they also had their
share of honour." This description contains in-
ternal proof that it refers to the Postdiluvian age,
in opposition to the sentiments of some modern
writers, who have supposed that the Golden age
AGES OF THE WORLD. 199
referred solely to the Paradisaical state, and the
Silver age to that which immediately succeeded
it. The Golden age must have evidently included
the Post -Paradisaical state, because the Poet con-
templates men as mortal, which they had become
in consequence of their loss of perfect innocence,
and speaks of them as having increased in num-
bers, or in other words, become " multiplied on
the face of the earth," which took place only after
the expulsion of the great progenitors of the race
from Paradise. The Silver age must have been
after the flood, because the usual period of human
life had not been diminished till after that event,but
had in fact been rather increased just immediately
before it, as in the case of Methuselah; and Noah
himself the connecting link of both worlds, was
longer lived than Adam. Moreover, the Poet's
account of the Antepaidogonian age of mankind,
corresponds in a very remarkable degree to the
statements of the Septuagint, the Samaritan Text,
and Josephus, on this point, and proves almost to a
demonstration that the Hebrew Text originally con-
tained the longer computation; for the traditions
concerning the Postdiluvian age were, of course,
known to Hesiod, about Six centuries before the
Septuagint was in existence. The causes assigned
by the poet, for the shortening of human life,
seem clearly to refer to the breaking up of the
ecclesiastical polity of Nimrod at Babel ; and the
destruction of the impious, to the later event, the
200 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
overthrow of the "cities of the plain," and the
formation of the Lake Asphaltites. The distinc-
tion drawn between the fate of the good, and the
fate of the bad in this age, evidently refers to the
selection of a few among mankind, as the deposi-
tories of Sacred Revelation, and to the appoint-
ment of others as the friends of God, and the
Fathers of the faithful to all generations. Such
statements as these plainly indicate a belief in the
immortality of the soul, or, at least, its existence
after death in a separate state, and forcibly re-
mind us of the argument which our Saviour held
with the Sadducees, in proof of the resurrection
of the dead : " Have ye not read in the book
of Moses, how in the bush God spake to him,
saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? He is not the
God of the dead, but the God of the living : ye,
therefore, do greatly err ;" Mark xii. 26. The
conclusion was indeed manifest ; Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob are still alive, as to their souls; there-
fore, their souls are immortal. Because God
lives, they live also; for he is still their God.
But life and immortality were brought to light
by the Gospel ; and because Christ rose from the
dead, they shall also rise from the dead ; for he
has become the first-fruits of them that slept.
From the preceding remarks, it is evident that
Dr. Hales is in error, both when he limits the
" termination of the Silver age to - the days of
AGES OF THE WORLD.
Peleg; and when he refers the latter clause of
the Poet's description to the " first and purest
Patriarchs of this age ;" for the upright and
blessed Job lived in the latter part of it ; and
the divinely honoured Abraham left Ur of the
Chaldees at its close.
That Hesiod's description of the three subse-
quent ages appears to relate entirely to the history
of Greece, is the opinion of Dr. Hales. Without
disputing the general accuracy of this opinion, we
still think that we can perceive traces of the his-
tory of other countries. The allusions to Scrip-
ture are, it is true, more obscure in this part of
the poem ; but they are not wholly imperceptible.
Indeed, the ingenuity of the " cunningly devised
fables " which it contains, would not be deemed
complete without the admixture of some sacred
truth, without the addition of some egregious per-
version of the Inspired records. The description of
the Third or Brazen age, extends from v. 143 to
v. 155, and refers to the time when the men,
" wholly unlike those of the Silver age, were
strong and mighty in the use of the spear, re-
joicing in war and deeds of rapacity ; they ate
not (<rtrov) the food of culture, but, unyielding in
their disposition, they had minds as hard as ada-
mant ; possessing immense force and unpolished
hands, nature furnished them with powerful
limbs, from the shoulders downwards ; they had
brazen armour, brazen houses, and they worked in
202 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
brass ; for iron was not yet in use ; these, indeed,
slain by their own hands, went to the dark do-
mains of gloomy Pluto, unrecorded in song ; for
sable death seized them, though mighty in
strength, and they left the shining light of the
Sun." This passage seems very clearly to de-
scribe the state of the world in the days of Abra-
ham. The battle of the four kings against five in
the Vale of Siddim (Destruction), the slaughter of
the kings and the sacking of their cities, the cap-
ture of Lot and all his family and property, as
recorded in Genesis xiv., is a sufficient proof of
the warlike and rapacious character of this age ;
and then, no doubt, originated the migration of
those marauding parties which, proceeding from
Assyria, Phenicia, and Egypt, spread themselves
over Greece and her islands for colonization and
settlement, and founded the early kingdoms of
Sicyon and Argos. The testimony of the Greek
historians Herodotus and Thucydides, respecting
the state of society during this period, confirms
the description of the Poet ; arid, according to
Dr. Hales, the rape of lo, the daughter of Inachus,
which was followed more than a century after-
wards by that of Europa, the daughter of Agenor,
king of Tyre, are instances of the wicked conduct
of those whom Jove is reported to have sent a
flood to destroy, at the close of the Brazen age.
Dr. Hales, however, is in error when he refers
this flood to the age of Deucalion ; it appears
AGES OF THE WORLD. 203
more clearly to belong to that of Ogyges, who
was earlier than Deucalion by more than two
centuries, and in whose reign, according to Dr.
Russell,* the inhabitants of Boeotia were compelled
to leave the plains of their native country, which
was that of our poet, and to seek an asylum in the
mountains of Attica.
The description of the hardihood of the men
of the Brazen age corresponds also to that of the
King of Egypt, when he expressed his fears
concerning the increase of the children of Israel.
The very weak argument of Sir Isaac Newton
against the longer computation, which he draws
from the speech of Pharaoh, Exodus i. 9, respect-
ing Egypt being " thinly peopled " before the
birth of Moses, is very satisfactorily answered by
Dr. Hales in his explanation of the succeeding
verse ; " Analysis," p. 88. The correct transla-
tion, however, of the former verse, according to
the Septuagint, which appears to have retained
the true meaning of the passage, renders even
Dr. Hales' explanation unnecessary. Thus, "And
he said to his nation, Behold the race of the sons
of Israel is a great multitude, and their (bodily)
strength is greater than ours !" This observation
will appear both natural and just, when we con-
sider that the Egyptians, as a nation, must have
by this time reached a degree of luxury and
refinement, the consequences of extensive empire
* " Connection," vol. ii. p. 465.
204 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
and early civilization, which rendered them more
effeminate or less robust than the hardy sons of
Israel. The dread, therefore, of the increase of
such a nation, which they held in cruel bondage,
and which, though vastly fewer in numbers, was
greatly superior to their own in individual and
personal strength, was a sufficient reason for the
precautionary policy announced from the throne,
by which the rigour of the bondage of the Israel-
ites was to be increased, in the expectation of
thus diminishing their numbers. This policy,
however, having failed, the king resorted to one
still more cruel and sanguinary ; but the very
cause which he had assigned as a reason for the
adoption of cruel measures towards an unoffend-
ing race, was wisely ordained, so as to render
those measures completely abortive; and, we
thus perceive, from its acknowledged truth, an
additional force and beauty, in the simple defence
made before the king, by those heroic females who
bid defiance to his wrath, by refusing to become
the detestable instruments of his cruelty ; Exod.
i. 19.
That the Greeks from a very early period were
distinguished from other nations by the use of
Brazen Armour is well known ; and it is remark-
able that in Scripture prophecy this characteristic
is selected by the Spirit of God to point out the
nation to which it belongs, and to predict the rise
of that Universal empire which it once maintained
AGES OF THE WORLD.
over all the kingdoms of the known world. In
the description of the different parts of the great
Image which King Nebuchadnezzar saw in his
dream, Daniel ii. 31 45, and which prefigured
the four Great Monarchies or Empires of anti-
quity, we find the Assyrian or Babylonian Empire
denoted by the head of gold, the Medo- Persian by
the breast and arms of silver, the GREEK or Mace-
donian by the belly and thighs of 'BRASS, and the
Roman by the legs and feet of iron. Moreover,
the Greeks are commonly denominated by Homer
in his Iliad, the yaXicoyjiTuvig A^aiot, or Brazen-
coated Achaians, that is, wearing brazen coats of
mail ; and they are described in Herodotus, ac-
cording to the words of the oracle, as ^aA/cEwv
avSpwv ETrt^avfVTwv, or men glittering in Brazen
armour. Hence, it may be truly said with the
poet, that they lived in brazen houses, and per-
formed their works in brass; for, they spent all
their time in deeds of arms, perpetually seeking
to increase their wealth, and to form new settle-
ments, at the cost of the native inhabitants of the
soil, the natural consequence of such predatory
incursions was premature death in battle ; and
until they had gained a complete footing in
Greece, by a series of splendid victories, it could
not be supposed that their names would be trans-
mitted to posterity with renown. Thus the hosts
of original adventurers belonging to this age, ac-
cording to the poet, descended to the grave,
TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
(pro 'Avwviyioe,), without name and without
fame, receiving no share of honour like the men of
the former ages, but sinking into irretrievable ob-
livion, both in this world, and in the world of
souls.
The description of the Fourth or Heroic age,
which Dr. Hales remarks is included by Ovid in
the Brazen age, extends from v. 157 to v. 174,
and refers to the time when the men " spread
over the boundless earth, were more upright and
more just than those of the former age, and re-
ceived the name of Demigods ; these also, calami-
tous war and tremendous battle destroyed ; some
before the seven-gated Thebes, in the territories
of Cadmus, fighting for the wealth of (Edipus :
but others before the walls of Troy, having been
transported across the broad sea in ships, on ac-
count of the fair-haired Helen : to the former,
death brought final destruction ; to the latter,
father Jupiter, the son of Saturn, having granted
life and a settlement apart from mankind, he
planted them at the ends of the earth, far from the
immortal gods, where Saturn reigns their king ;
and these happy heroes, having minds free from
cares, dwell in the Islands of the Blessed, near
the deep deep Ocean ; to them, the fertile soil
produces ripe fruit, as sweet as honey, three sea-
sons of the year." In this description there
seems to be a very considerable want of incident,
when we compare it with the history of Greece
AGES OF THE WORLD. 207
during the Heroic age. For, it was in this age,
that the Kingdom of Athens was founded ; that
the flood of Deucalion took place ; and that the
chief founders of the Greek nation made their
descent into the country itself, namely, Danaus,
Pelasgus, Cadmus and Pelops. It was in this
age also, that the events most celebrated in his-
tory and poetry took place ; such as, the birth
and the labours of Hercules ; the expedition of
the Argonauts ; the wars at Thebes and the fall of
Troy, which the poet has particularly noticed ;
the Return of the Heraclidae ; and the -/Eolic and
Ionic Migrations. The meagreness of detail in
this portion of the poem, therefore, would lead us
to adopt the opinion of many critics, that it has
not reached us in a perfect but in a fragmentary
state ; enough of it, however, remains to enable
us to determine the limits of the poetical ages.
We have seen that the flood of Ogyges was the
event which, according to the testimony of the
ancients, terminated the Brazen age, and of course,
formed the commencement of the Heroic age;
now, according to the testimony of Julius Afri-
canus and others, this event was coeval with the
Exodus from Egypt ; and, according to the testi-
mony of Eratosthenes and others, as expiscated
by Mr. Clinton, the Ionic migration was a few
years earlier than the foundation of Solomon's
temple, and may, therefore, be considered as the
event which terminated the Heroic age, and not
208 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
the fall of Troy, as stated by Dr. Hales, which,
according to the best authorities, occurred about
a century and a-half before the Scriptural era in
question. No shorter period than this at least
would be sufficient to settle all the mighty events
which resulted from the iAee KOKWV, or multitude
of evils springing from the Trojan war, and the
final catastrophe of the ancient city of Priam ;
and in no less a time, would the heroes who sur-
vived this great event, and who went in quest of
new settlements and peace, far from the scenes
of strife, be able, in the name and power of their
posterity, to build cities and plant vineyards, and
to form new states and create dynasties in foreign
lands.
" Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem."
The description of the men of this age as
" divine," and the idea of giving to heroes the
name of Demigods, thus commingling earth and
heaven, seems to have originated in the Sacred
history of the wars of the Israelites in Canaan,
at the beginning and during the progress of the
Critarchal age. The remarkable interpositions of
Providence which accompanied this people, under
the guidance of Moses in the wilderness, under
the command of Joshua in the promised land, and
under the government of the Judges when settled
there, would lead all the Heathen nations around
them to ascribe to their leaders more than mortal
AGES OF THE WORLD. 209
power ; hence would naturally arise the title of demi-
god. Moreover, the history of the transactions re-
corded in "the book of the wars of Jehovah"
(Numbers xxi. 14), of which no doubt our poet
had '* heard by the hearing of the ear," would
inspire him with feelings and language similar to
that which the Philistines uttered when they
heard that the Israelites had brought the ark of
God into their camp : " Woe unto us ! who shall
deliver us out of the hands of these mighty Gods?
these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with
all the plagues of the wilderness;" (1 Sam. iv.
8). The extraordinary exertions of the Judges
to deliver their countrymen from a foreign yoke,
roused and assisted as they always were by the
hand of God, might well strike terror into the
hearts of their enemies, and give rise to the name
and the notion of their being of supernatural
origin. For instance, the remarkable atmospheric
and celestial phenomena which occurred under
the leadership of Joshua, when " the Lord cast
great stones from heaven" upon the enemy, and
when, at the voice of a man, the Sun and Moon
"stood still" in the heavens for "a whole day,"
would not be soon forgotten among the Heathen ;
because " there was no day like that before it or
after it, for the Lord fought for Israel ;" (Josh. x.
13, 14). Again, we are told in the song of De-
borah and Barak, that " the stars fought from
heaven ; the stars in their courses, fought against
p
210 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
Sisera;" and when we consider that the Heathen
worshipped the heavenly bodies, including the
stars, as divinities, we see how the idea of gods
and demigods fighting the battles of men, would
naturally arise in their minds from the recital of
such a song as this ; and we can thus trace the
origin of the mythological machinery which is so
finely wrought and so eloquently described in the
pages of Heathen poesy.
In like manner, we find that the description of
the settlement of the " Happy Heroes in the
Islands of the Blest," at the close of this age,
savours strongly of the lofty ideas and the poetic
language to be found in the prophecies concern-
ing the future happiness of God's chosen people.
The establishment of the Israelites in the pro-
mised land, so long the subject of prophecy, was
no doubt the great prototype, which the Poet had
in his " mind's eye" in this description ; and the
fame of God's gracious dealings with them having
spread abroad throughout the whole world, was
no doubt the inciting cause which led mankind in
general to think of improving their condition, and
to make those frequent descents and migrations
into other countries, which were so common in
this and the preceding age. Our Poet had no
doubt heard of the blessing of Jacob, which pre-
dicted the coming of Shiloh and the happiness of
the tribe of Judah, who, as its representative,
should " wash his robe in wine, and his cloak in
AGES OF THE WORLD. 211
the blood of grapes ;" and whose " eyes should
sparkle with wine, and whose teeth should be
whiter than milk ;" also, the felicity of the tribe
of Joseph, who, in like manner, should be blessed
" with blessings of heaven above, and blessings
of the earth beneath, blessings of the breasts and
of the matrix, and blessings of his progenitors,
which should prevail beyond the everlasting
hills."* But the Song and the Blessing of Moses,
which belonged to a later age, and which height-
ened the expectations of the twelve tribes by a
clearer revelation, were still more likely to have
reached the poet's ears through the traditions of
those early times. From the former, he would
learn that the " Lord's portion is his people ;"
and "Jacob the lot of his inheritance;" that
" the Lord alone did lead them," and " there was
no strange god with them;" that " he made Israel
ride on the high places of the earth, that he might
eat the increase of the fields ; and he made him
to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the
flinty rock ; butter of kine, and milk of sheep,
with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Ba-
shan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat;
and he drank the pure blood of the grape ;" Deut.
xxxii. 12 14. By the latter, he would be in-
* Genesis xlix. 11, 12, 25, 26. The above passages are im-
proved a little by reference to the Septuagint, of which see a
Translation according to the Vatican edition, just published by
Bagster and Sons, from the pen of Sir L. C. L. Brenton, Bart.
p 2
212 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
formed that Jehovah " was King in Jeshurun,
when the heads of the people, the tribes of Israel
were gathered together;" that "the land" of
Joseph was Blessed of the Lord, " for the preci-
ous things of heaven, for the dew, and for the
deep that coucheth beneath ; and for the precious
fruits of the changes of the Sun, and for the
precious things produced by the month, and for
the chief things of the ancient mountains, and
for the precious things of the lasting hills, and for
the precious things of the earth and fulness there-
of, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the
Bush;" that "there is none like unto the God of
Jeshurun, he who rideth upon the heaven thy
helper, even the most glorious of the sky ;" and
that " Israel should dwell alone : the fountain of
Jacob should be in a land of corn and wine ; and
his heaven should drop down dew." In the con-
templation of such a glorious prospect, he might
be led to say with the great lawgiver himself:
" Happy art thou, O Israel : who is like unto
thee, O people, saved by the Jehovah, who is the
shield of thy help, and the sword of thy excel-
lency !" Deut. xxxiii. 5, 13, 26. Truly as the
poet said " the Eternal (Kpovoc, Time without end)
now reigns their King."
The sudden transition of the Poet from the
description of the Fourth age, to that of the Fifth,
with his rapid glance at the Sixth, which extends
from v. 174 to v. 201, shows that his mind must
v AGES OF THE WORLD. 213
have been wrought up to a great pilch of feeling
and sublimity, in reflecting on the glorious deeds
of the past age, and the splendid anticipations of
the future. With the description of the Fifth
or Iron age in which he himself lived, we cannot
but deeply sympathise, feeling as we do that it
has returned in our own days, arid that its fea-
tures are precisely the same as those which now
characterize this age of Bronze.* " Oh ! how I
* The character of the present age, which is remarkable for
vulgar Infidelity, and the entire worship of Mammon, especially
in the metropolis, has made many of the people of God sigh and
cry for the abominations of the land, and fear that the Apoca-
lyptic vials of wrath are about to be poured out upon this
devoted country; for to whom much is given, of them much will
be required. The crying sin, in our estimation, is that which
makes a gain of godliness, and which puts men into the priest's
office for a piece of bread ; for by this craft they have their
IvTTopia, wealth, Acts xix. 25; or, as it might be rendered,
respectability. This age indeed makes vast pretensions to
respectability, but it is only that whicli arises from wealth.
Now it is very remarkable that the letters of the Greek word
iviropia, which was used by the craftsmen who made silver
shrines for Diana, when they complained of the spread of the
Gospel, and set Ephesus in an uproar for two hours, added up
according to their value in the Greek system of notation,
make the sum of 666, the well-known number of the Beast !
Thus :
E Y n O P I A
5 + 400 + 80 + 70 + 100 + 10 + 1 = 666.
What does this indicate, but that the beast reigns triumphant
in the present age ; for the whole world has gone a wondering
after him, and the image which he has set up ? And what is
214 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
wish," says he, " that I had not lived in the Fifth
age (irtfnrToiai avSpamv), but had either died before
it, or lived after it ; for, now indeed is the Iron
age; and they will rest neither day nor night
from labour and misery, corrupting each other ;
but the gods shall give them unutterable sorrows ;
still even to these shall good and evil be inter-
mingled ; but Jupiter shall destroy the men of
this age, for they shall become grey-headed soon
after their birth ; because the father will not live
in unity with his children, nor the children with
the father ; the guest with his host, nor the friend
with his companion ; and the brother will be no
longer affectionate, as in former ages ; and soon
shall they dishonour their parents growing old ;
then also shall the wicked attack them, speaking
cruel words, and not fearing the wrath of the
gods ; nor shall the lawless then yield to their
aged parents the rewards of their education ; but
one shall destroy the city of another ; and no
favour shall be shown to the pious, or the just,
or the good ; but they will rather honour the evil-
doer, and encourage injustice ; nor shall there be
any justice or modesty in their hands; and the
this image but wealth or respectability, which all are so anxious
to acquire and maintain? Let Christians beware of falling into
this snare, and let them attend to the warning voice of the
beloved Apostle ; Rev. xviii. 4. For the discovery of the above
singular numerical coincidence, we are indebted, through the
publisher, Mr. Bagster, to the author of a work just published,
entitled " WEALTH, The Name and Number of the Beast, &c."
AGES OF THE WORLD. 215
wicked man shall injure the good, addressing him
with hard speeches, and even be guilty of per-
jury ; and croaking envy of hateful countenance,
rejoicing in evil, shall pursue the whole race of
miserable mortals ; and then shall blushing Mo-
desty and indignant Virtue, clothed in their white
robes, having forsaken mankind, pass from the
spacious earth to Olympus, to mingle with the
immortal gods ; then shall they leave direful woes
to mortal men ; and there shall be no help for
the evil/' In this description, the Poet, who,
according to the best authorities, lived about the
end of the first century of the Iron age, seems to
have partly borrowed his description from the
sacred poetry of the Jews, and having himself
experienced the evils of injustice at the hands of
his own kindred, to have partly anticipated the
wickedness of the age, in a fine prophetic vein.
Solomon, with whose glorious reign the Monarchal
or Iron age began, uttered sentiments concerning
the wicked, to which the ideas of our poet have a
striking similarity : "For they," said he, "sleep
not, except they have done mischief; and their
sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to
fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and
drink the wine of violence;" Prov. iv. 16, 17.
The following passages in the book of Proverbs,
to which we shall only refer, with others which
might be cited, would almost lead us to imagine
that Hesiod had been familiar with the writings
216 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
of Solomon: Prov. i. 11 19; v. 314; vi. 16
19; ix. 1318; xxiii. 27 35; xxiv. 1,2, 15
22; and xxx. 11 23; but in the psalms of
David, we find a more vivid and sustained de-
scription of -the wickedness of the wicked, and
one to which that of the Poet bears a more marked
similarity than any of the passages yet cited :
thus, "The fool hath said in his heart, there is
no God. They have corrupted themselves, they
have done abominable works, there is none that
doeth good, there is not even one. The Lord
looked down from heaven upon the children of
men, to see if there were any that did understand,
or seek after God. They are all gone out of the
way, they are together become useless, there is
none that doeth good, no not one. Their throat
is an open sepulchre ; with their tongues they
have used deceit ; the poison of asps is under
their lips : whose mouth is full of cursing and
bitterness : their feet are swift to shed blood :
destruction and misery are in their ways : and
the way of peace they have not known : there is
no fear of God before their eyes." Psalm xiv.,
according to the Septuagint. When we consider
that even on the lowest computation, the poet
Hesiod must have preceded the prophet Micah,
by at least 100 years, we cannot but be struck
also with the similarity of their descriptions of this
age in which they both lived, and we cannot but
admit that the description of the former written
AGES OF THE WORLD. 217
as it is in the future tense, partakes strongly of
the character of inspiration. " The good man,"
says the latter, " is perished out of the earth :
and there is none upright among men : they all
lie in wait for blood ; they hunt every man his
brother with a net. That they may do evil with
both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the
judge asketh for a reward ; and the great man, he
uttereth his mischievous desire : so they wrap it
up. The best of them is a brier, the most up-
right is sharper than a thorn hedge : the day of
thy watchmen and thy' visitation cometh ; now
shall be their perplexity. Trust ye not in a friend,
put ye not confidence in a guide : keep the doors
of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter
riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law ; a man's enemies are
the men of his own house ;" Micah. vii. 2 6.*
This passage, which was frequently appropriated
by our Saviour when on earth, as describing the
effects of his Mission upon the wicked, to whom
the Gospel is the savour of death unto death,
(Matt. x. 21, 35, 36 ; Luke xii. 53 and xxi. 16,)
was eminently descriptive of the Iron or Mo-
narchal age, from its beginning to its end, Hesiod,
Micah and Ezekiel, as well as all the prophets,
being Judges; (Ezek. xxii. 613; and 2931).
* The similarity of this description to that of Hesiod, is in
some points, even more marked in the Septuagitit.
I
218 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
The Poet's description of envy is strikingly just,
and is manifested in a powerful degree in every
unregenerate human heart ; and to their shame
be it said, it is not completely rooted out of the
hearts even of Christians, till death has done its
part : see the confession and exclamation of Paul,
and the pointed description of James, to which
the heart of every one must fully respond : Rom.
18 25; James iv. 1 5. The idea of the flight
of Modesty and Virtue to heaven, leaving nothing
but sorrows behind them, is also conceived in the
finest vein of true poetry, which is always correct
in its descriptions ; nor is there any remedy for
the evil until (as the Poet perhaps said, had we
his works entire,) the return of the Golden age,
when earth shall be as heaven.
With regard to the Sixth age, it is true, as Dr.
Hales remarks, that Hesiod does not expressly
announce that it shall succeed the Iron age, nor
that it should be a state of regeneration or a revi-
val of the Golden age ; but his language strongly
implies that it would be superior to the Fifth age,
inasmuch as he earnestly expresses his wish that
it had been his lot to have lived after the latter, in
the words T) i-Ven-a -yevEffflai. Moreover, in his ad-
dress to his brother Persa, we find a description
of the happy effects which would result from doing
justice, extending from v. 225 to v. 237 ; and this
description corresponds exactly to the language
used by the poets of the succeeding age, in de-
AGES OF THE WORLD. 219
scribing the return of the Golden age at the close
of the Sixth: thus, " But they who grant strict
justice to strangers and citizens, and depart not in
the least from equity, shall have a flourishing
city, and flourishing people within its walls; and
peace, the nurse of the young, shall dwell in the
land ; and Jupiter who sees afar, shall never
bring upon them the horrors of war ; neither shall
famine or destruction annoy men strictly just ; to
them also the earth shall bring forth plenteous
subsistence ; and on the mountains, the pines
shall produce apples at the top, and honey at the
middle ; and the fleece-bearing sheep shall be
laden with wool ; and wives shall give birth to
children like their parents ; and they shall flourish
among the good with perpetual bloom ; and there
shall be no need of navigation ; for the fertile
ground shall produce all manner of fruit."
It is to the poets and other writers of the Sixth
age itself, however, that we are to look for the
prophetic anticipations of the glorious event which
was to illuminate its close. At the beginning of
this age, flourished the Seven Wise Men of Greece,
whose laconic, but excellent aphorisms, indicated
the approach of better times. To them we owe,
according to Plato, the celebrated maxim TvuOi
afavTov, Know thyself; but even to know himself
was more than man could attain, without a reve-
lation from heaven ; how much more necessary
was it, therefore, that the knowledge of the ever-
220 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
lasting God should emanate from the same source !
Accordingly, we find in the Scriptures, the follow-
ing maxim perpetually inculcated, which is as
much above that of the Seven Sages, as the
Heavens are above the earth. " The fear of the
Lord is the highest wisdom ;"* to which we may
add, with Solomon, David, and Job, who all
uttered the same aphorism " And to depart from
evil is understanding;" (Prov. i. 7; Psalm cxi. 10;
and Job xxviii. 28.) and it is easy to give it the
laconic form, if this be any recommendation to the
admirers of the wisdom of the Heathen, who
prefer to drink at their muddy streams, and
neglect the fountain of truth ; for we have only to
say TvwOi OEOV, Know God ; and we concentrate in
these two words, all that is necessary for man's
happiness, both in this world, and that which is
to come : " And this is life eternal, that they
might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom thou hast sent ;" John xviii. 3. He
indeed, who knows God, knows himself also ; for
he knows that in the sight of God, he is "wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked;"'
and that he must buy of God, through Jesus
Christ, "gold tried in the fire," that he may be
rich; and "white raiment," that he may be
clothed, and that the shame of his nakedness may
<ro<j>ias which is the same as r\}TT rPu. <l N"% signifies
literally the beginning or summit of wisdom, and consequently
the highest wisdom.
AGES OF THE WORLD. 221
not appear ; and " eye-salve" to anoint his eyes,
that he may see ; Rev. iii. 17, 18.
When a century and a-half of the Sixth age had
passed away, arose Socrates, the wisest of all the
Greeks, who, as Cicero remarks, brought philo-
sophy down from heaven to earth, and taught all
that man could know about Divine things, which,
according to his own confession, was positively
nothing, with the exception of some obscure ideas
which he had learned from primitive tradition.
He indeed appears to have had just views of
man's ignorance, and according to Plato, his
illustrious disciple, who survived his master half a
century, he considered that there was no real way
of rinding out the truth concerning God, but by a
revelation from Heaven, by the hand of a Divine
Messenger. This appears evident, both from
some passages in Plato's Dialogue, entitled the
" Phredo," and from the following remarkable
passage in that entitled the "Second Alcibiades ;
or, of Prayer" which we copy from the 2nd vol.
of Dr. Hales's "Analysis," p. 1231.
" SOCRATES. We must needs wait then, Alci-
biades, until we can learn how we ought to behave
toward GOD and men. ALCIBIADES. When shall
this time come, SoCraletJ and who shall be the
instructor? for I long to see this man (TOVTOV TOV
avOpuirov*) whosoever he is. SOCRATES. He it is who
carethfor thee (M /IE A a irtpi <rov) ; and I think, that
as Minerva in Homer (Iliad 5, 127) removed the
222 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
mist from the eyes of Diomedes, that he might well
know both gods and men ; so it is necessary in the
first place, that He should remove the mist from
your soul that is now attached thereto ; and next
that He should apply the means by which you
shall know both good and evil in future ; for now
indeed you seem not to be able. ALCIBIADES.
Let him remove the mist, or whatever else it is,
since I am prepared to decline none of his direc-
tions, whosoever this man is, (otmr TTOT' iariv o
avfyxoTToe), provided I may be able to become better.
SOCRATES. Truly that same person (/ca^tvoc) hath
a wonderful regard for thee. ALCIBIADES. I think
then, the best way will be to postpone sacrificing
until that time. SOCRATES. You think right, for it
is safer than to run so great a risk [of sacrificing
improperly.] ALCIBIADES. Then indeed, shall we
give to THE GODS crowns and other legitimate offer-
ings, when I see that day coming, and it will come
in no long time, THE GODS willing." From the
same work, to which we have been so much
indebted, we cannot avoid extracting the following
lines to the same purport, taken from the Hymn of
Eupolis, another disciple of Socrates, as translated
by Wesley, not the founder of Methodism, but
his father, Dr. Hales remarks : -
" And yet, a greater Hero far
(Unless great Socrates could err)
Shall rise to bless, some future day,
And teach to live, and teach to pray."
AGES OF THE WORLD. 223
Dr. Hales has also given, at p. 1378, the following
striking description from Plato, of the sufferings of
the JUST ONE, and of the reception he should meet
with from a heedless and ungrateful world. " He
shall be stripped of every possession, except his
virtue ; stigmatized as wicked, at a time when he
exhibits the strongest proofs of goodness ; endowed
with patience to resist every temptation, and reverse
of fortune, but inflexibly maintaining his integrity ;
not ostentatious of his good qualities, but desiring
to be good rather than to seem so. In fine the
recompense which the JUST ONE so disposed
(OUTW Sm/cet/uevoc o Si/ceuoc), as I said, shall receive
from the world is this ; he shall be scourged, tor-
tured, bound, deprived of his eyes, (/uaortywaerat,
oTf>|3A<i(TTat, SfSijfferat, EKKauOrjaerai rto o00aA^ua)), and
at length, having suffered all sorts of evils, he shall
be crucified (avaayiv SuAt0ri<TTai) ; [Works] vol. ii.
p. 361, 362, Edit. Serrani" He adds, "Plato
who travelled into Egypt, unquestionably collected
this singular character and sufferings, of the JUST
ONE, from the Hebrew Scriptures, of the Psalms,
Isaiah, Daniel, and Zechariah, with the last of
whom, he was nearly contemporary."
As the time, the long-expected, and eagerly-
wished for time, drew nigh, when the Messiah
was to appear, and as (the o-wTeAtia rav atwvwv) the
consummation of the ages hastened on, we find that
the expectations of the Heathen for this Divine
Instructor, this mighty King and Saviour, increased
224 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
in magnitude and intensity, a certain proof that
the arrival of the Seventh, or the return of the Golden
age, was the subject of their calculation, as well
as the theme of their song. On this subject we
need only refer to the works of Virgil, who
flourished B.C. 40, in the reign of Augustus
Caesar, and particularly to the celebrated Eclogue
entitled " Pollio" in which he gives a condensed
summary of the prophetic anticipations of all
preceding poets and philosophers from the days
of Hesiod to his own. To those who may not have
viewed the fourth Eclogue in this light, the follow-
ing extract of a poem so well known, may not be
unacceptable :
" Now the last age of Cumic song has come :
A cycle vast of ages new appears ;
Virtue returns, and Saturn's former reign :
Now a new race descends from lofty heaven.
O chaste Lucina, hail the coming prince,
Who shall the death of Iron rule* behold,
And resurrection of the Golden age :
For in this age, the Great Apollo reigns.
This glorious year, O Pollio, is thine ;
And now the vast lunations are begun.
This year, if any trace of crime remain,
With its destruction, fear forever flies.
* Here Virgil, by a Poetic licence, melts the Iron age and
the Cumaan age into one. This was natural for him to do, as
a Roman ; for no doubt he was aware that the ascendancy
of the Roman Power had been predicted in ancient prophecy
under the figure of Iron Rule : and lie might hope that the
Fifth Monarchy would spring from the same source.
AGES OF THE WORLD. 225
That prince, on earth, the life of gods shall lead,
Heroes with gods in council he shall see,
And they with wonder shall behold his deeds :
While with paternal sway, the world he rules.
O, prince ! to thee spontaneous earth shall bring
Her early fruits, and sweetest smelling shrubs,
On velvet flowers thy infant feet shall tread ;
Before thy face, the serpent shall succumb,
And poisoned herbs their baneful power shall lose :
The Rose of Sharon everywhere shall spring.
In early youth thou shalt delight to read
The praise of heroes, and thy father's deeds,
And all that tends to form the virtuous mind ;
Soon shall the fields be to the harvest white,
And prickly thorns be changed to blushing vines,
While honey sweet the knotty oak shall yield.
Yet traces of man's early sin shall rise,
And lead him to renew his toils at sea,
To wall his towns, and cultivate the ground.
Again, the Argonauts shall skim the main ;
Again, the Theban war shall be begun ;
Again, to Troy, shall Peleus' son descend."
This description has a manifest reference to
Hesiod's account of the different ages of the world,
and forms a complete supplement to that interest-
ing relic of antiquity. Here we trace the last, or
Sybilline age, in which Hesiod wished he had
lived, the commencement of a great succession of
ages, the return of the virgin Nemesis or Astrcea,
the Goddess of Justice, whom we have denomi-
nated Virtue, and who fled at the close of the
Iron age ; the return of Saturn s reign, which was
to begin with the Seventh, or Golden age revived;
Q
226 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL
and the reign of Apollo, who was the representa-
tive of the Sbfar deity, and the reviver of all things.
The humanity and the divinity of the expected
prince, is strangely shadowed forth by the poet,
in his allusion to his intercourse with gods, demi-
gods and heroes, according to the Greek mythology.
The misapplication, however, of the Cumaean or
Sybilline prophecies, which were evidently bor-
rowed or stolen from the Hebrew Scriptures, to
the expected son, of Pollio according to some, or
of Augustus according to others, is a proof that the
time of our Saviour's advent at the close of the
Sixth age was known to be near ; and that while
there were some who, like aged Simeon, waited
for the consolation of Israel ; or, like Anna, the
prophetess, departed not from the temple at
Jerusalem, in earnest expectation of Him who
suddenly came to it, and gladdened their eyes ;
so there were some even among the Heathen who,
like Virgil, had heard of the expected Saviour,
and who gladly hailed his approach, although
they were mistaken as to the signs of his coming,
and were ignorant of the distinguishing charac-
teristics by which he was to be known. It can
scarcely be doubted indeed, that in this Eclogue,
Virgil had the prophecy of Isaiah in his mind, in
which the Messiah is described as a " rod out of
the stem of Jesse, and a Branch out of his roots,"
and which he might have even read in the Greek
version of the Seventy. The following are some of
AGES OF THE WORLD. 227
its more striking points of similarity : " With
righteousness he shall judge the poor, and convince
the meek of the earth : and he shall smite the
earth with the word of his mouth, and with the
breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. The
wolf also shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard
shall lie down with the kid ; and the young calf,
and the bull, and the lion shall feed together;
and a little child shall lead them. And the ox
and the bear shall feed together ; and their young
ones shall be together: and the lion shall eat
straw like the ox. And an infant shall put his
hand on the holes of asps, and on the nest of young
asps. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my
holy mountain : for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the
sea ;" Isaiah xi. 1 9 ; taken partly from the
Septuagint. In a similar passage of the same pro-
phet, which is perhaps still more to be admired
on account of the richness of its promises to the
people of God, and its striking resemblance to
some passages in the book of Revelation, we find
a very singular remark which seems, to our dark
and finite understandings, to mar the beauty of
the description; we refer to Isaiah Ixv. 17 25.
At v. 20, the prophet says, " but the sinner, being
a hundred years old shall be accursed ;" but for
this sentence, we should have taken the whole
passage for a figurative description of the happi-
ness of the heavenly state allotted for the righteous
Q 2
228 TRADITIONARY AND POETICAL AGES, ETC.
after death. In imitation, perhaps of this singular
passage, our poet introduces into his description of
the renewal of the Golden age, the acute remarks
with which the preceding extract terminates, and
in which it seems as if he had anticipated the
wars which have since desolated Christendom.*
* This learned and illustrious poet, who had no doubt,
borrowed his " priscce vestigia fraudis" 'f from the 2d Chapter of
Genesis, might have also anticipated the gross wickedness
which should continue to prevail, notwithstanding the advent
of the Divine Instructor, until death should put an end to mortal
strife, and the spirits of the just be made perfect. It is lamen-
table in the present Age of Respectability, to behold so many of
these vestigia as the newspapers exhibit, those daily records of
crime and debauchery, murder and suicide ; to read the reports
of the police, inquest, and law courts, one would scarcely
believe that he lived in a Christian country, but rather that he
dwelt in the midst of Pagan Rome. It is our deliberate opinion
that the publication of such reports is injurious to the morals of
the country, and that an immediate stop should be put to it by
legislative enactment. The reading of newspapers is now so
universal, and the taste for The Horrible so rabid, especially
among the lower orders, that we are fully persuaded that the
perusal of the reports of trial for crime, under the temptation of
the Devil, and the pressure of similar circumstances, too fre-
quently leads to its commission. It would serve all the good
purposes that can possibly be gained by publicity, merely to
record the names and crimes of the offenders, without entering
into all the shocking details, so disgusting to the truly humane
and Christian portion of the community.
t " Traces of Man's early sin."
229
CHAPTER IV.
ERRORS OF THE ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS.
1. Authority of the Scripture texts superior to that of the ancient chro-
nographers The testimony of the latter chiefly in favour of the Sep-
tuagint The testimonies of Josephus, Theophilus, Africanus, Eusebius,
and the author of the Paschal Chronicle selected for examination
Table I. Containing their statements relating to the First age of the
world Errors of Josephus Corruption of his text Mr. Cunning-
hame's detection of his blunders in regard to the first age His dis-
covery of the truth from the titulary statements of the first and second
books of Josephus His explanation of the Jewish fraud to which this
author appears to have been accessory Error of Theophilus, and
accuracy of Africanus in this age Similar error of Eusebius and Syn-
cellus, and accuracy of Epiphanius and the author of the Paschal
Chronicle.
ALTHOUGH the chronology of the Septuagint re-
ceives the strongest confirmation from the writings
of the ancient chronographers, it must not be
concealed that some of them have committed very
strange and unaccountable errors in the computa-
tion of the different ages of the world ; while,
the works of others have come down to us in such
an imperfect and corrupted state, that implicit
dependance cannot be placed in the chronogra-
phical statements which they now contain. The
latter remark is peculiarly applicable to the
230 ERRORS OF THE
writings of Josephus, whose authority, notwith-
standing all his errors, has been followed by many
modern chronologers in preference even to that of
the sacred Scriptures. Surely the question of
chronology lies between the Hebrew text and the
Septuagint version, and not between either of
these and the works of the chronographers whe-
ther ancient or modern. By a fair examination,
however, of their Sacred Chronology, we shall
find that the testimony of the oldest and best
chronographers is almost entirely in favour of the
chronology of the Septuagint, and that wherever
they differ from it in their works, they commit
errors which in general, can easily be detected
and accounted for, unless the passages in question
have been so entirely vitiated by the wilful mis-
takes of transcribers as to render it impossible to
determine what were the real and actual state-
ments of the author. We shall select for this
purpose, the names of five authors who possess
the greatest influence among the learned on the
subject of chronography, and whose statements
are more or less followed by all later writers on
the same subject : namely, Josephus A.D. 90,
Theophilus A.D. 180, Africanus A.D. 220, Eusebius
A.D. 3 1 5, and the author of the Paschal Chronicle.*
* The works of these authors to which we shall chiefly refer,
are, the "Jewish Antiquities " of Josephus, the treatise "To
Autolycus" of Theophilus, the remains of the " Chronicon "
of Africanus, the mutilated " Chronicon " of Eusebius, and
the " Chronicon Paschale."
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 231
The names of these chronographers have been
particularly selected indeed, and their statements
tabulated by Mr. Clinton himself, as the best
authorities, at least so far as regards the first two
ages of the world. We do not follow him, how-
ever, in placing their statements on a level with
those of the ancient texts and versions of Scrip-
ture ; but we class them together as possessing
the next claim to our attention. The following
table, which for the sake of comparison, is marked
by the same number as the corresponding table in
our first Part, contains the Antepaidogonian ages
of the Antediluvian Patriarchs, and the Extent of
the First age of the world according to each
chronographer :
TABLE I.
ANTEDILUVIAN
PATRIARCHS.
JOSEPHUS.
THEO-
PHILUS.
AFRI-
OANUS.
EUSEBIUS,
PA SCH.
CH ON.
A. P. ages.
A. P. ages.
A. P. ages.
A. P. ages.
A. P. ages.
From Creation .
Adam ....
230
230
230
230
230
Seth .....
205
205
205
205
205
Enos ....
190
190
190
190
190
Cainan . . .
170
170
170
170
170
Mahalaleel . '.*'
165
165
165
165
165
Jared ....
162
162
162
162
162
Enoch . . . /
165
165
165
165
165
Methuselah . .
187
167
187
167
187
Lamech
*182
188
188
188
188
Noah ....
500
500
500
500
500
To the Flood . .
100
100
100
100
100
FIRST AGE . 2256 2242 2262 2242 2262
Besides their respective statements above tabu-
232 ERRORS OF THE
lated, these chronographers generally give in
their works some additional statements which,
with some exceptions, serve to rectify their
errors, and to corroborate and confirm the true
chronology. Josephus, however, in the present
text, is made to say that the period from
Adam to the flood is 2656 years ; whereas
the summation of the Antepaidogonian ages gives
only 2256 years ! On this point, some advo-
cates of the Hebrew chronology argue that
the original number was 1656 years, and that
^(T^tXtwv has been put for ^tXiwv, or two thousand
for a thousand ; but this is mere assertion; for it
is just as easy to say that the original number
was 2256 years, and that taKoaiwv has been put
for SmKOffiwv, or sir hundred for two hundred. Now
the proof that the latter assertion is the true one,
is that the number 2256 agrees entirely with the
summation of the numbers given in detail ;
whereas the number 1656 does not agree, and
must consequently be erroneous. Moreover,
there are some MS. copies of Josephus in which
we find the true reading TWV St<r^tXiwv Sia/totnwv
7rVTT}/co<rTat, or two thousand two hundred and fifty
sir years ; and this reading is also to be found in
some ancient authors who have followed Josephus
in chronology, such as, Eutychius Alexandrinus,
Josephus Christianus, Anianus Asceta, &c.* A
few various readings relating to the Antepaidogo-
nian ages are also to be found in the different
" See Hudson's Josephus, vol. i. pp. 13, 14 ; note a.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 233
MSS. to which we have referred, but they are of
minor importance and not sufficient to invalidate
the authenticity of the tabular numbers. The
same may be said of his statements regarding the
Postpaidogonian ages and whole lives ; but as the
chronology does not depend on these statements,
it is unnecessary to make them the subject of
discussion. \ ,
It is a very remarkable thing that Josephus
differs here from the Septuagint only in the Ante-
paidogonian age of Lamech, and that in this point
he agrees with the Hebrew text. Nor are we
aware of the existence of any various reading
which would lead us to suppose that it had been
otherwise in the text of Josephus. This circum-
stance alone, though there be many others, would
almost lead us to conclude, with Mr. Cuning-
hame, Preface to his " Synopsis," p. vii., "that
the corruption of the Chronology must have
taken place at an earlier period" than is com-
monly supposed by the learned. He believes "it
to have been in the interval between our Lord's
death and the beginning of the Jewish war. This
allows more than 30 years for the purpose, which
is quite sufficient." He also conceives " that it
must have been well known to Josephus, and the
end for which it was done ;" and he adds, " It was,
however, yet of too recent an origin for him to
venture upon the bold experiment of openly
substituting it [the corrupted chronology] for the
234 ERRORS OF THE
universal chronology of his own, as well as other
nations, and the Christian church, and therefore
he has introduced both schemes, namely, the
short a/id the long [computation"], in such a manner
as to perplex and utterly confuse the whole sub-
ject, and to draw from some of our most learned
men, the acknowledgment that his chronology
is involved in hopeless obscurity." The follow-
ing explanation of. the discrepancy between
Josephus and the Septuagint in regard to the
Antepaidogonian age of Lamech will be to the
general reader more satisfactory than that to
which we referred in our first Part, p. 23.
"Josephus, who in all the other Antediluvian
generations follows the Greek, does in this of
Lamech follow the Hebrew, and the effect of it
is, that his Diluvian period from Creation is 2256,
while that of the best copies of the Seventy, and
of Demetrius, is 2262 years. This difference of 6
years, therefore, goes through his whole Chrono-
logy. At the beginning of the 1st book of his
Antiquities [that is in the Title to the Book] he
tells us, that it contains a period of 3833 years,
to which, adding the 6 years above mentioned to
make it accord with the Greek chronologr of
O v
Demetrius, the sum is 3839 years. If the reader
will next turn to the Table in the Fulness of the
Times, p. 34, he will see that this period of 3839
years, measures exactly the interval, from Crea-
tion, to the end of the year B.C. 1640, when the
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 235
children of Israel left Egypt. Now as it is in the
nature of things impossible that this most remark-
able coincidence should have been unknown to
Josephus, the necessary and the legitimate con-
clusion is, that the above period of 3833 years is
his authentic chronology from Creation to the
Exodus. It divides itself as follows :
Years.
1st. To the Deluge ,/, . . . 2256
2nd. To the Birth of Abraham . . 1072
3rd. To the Exodus 505
Total from Creation to the Exodus . 3833
It, moreover, necessarily includes the disputed
generation of Cainan, proving that it was in his
text originally ; and it excludes Usher's addition
of 60 years to that of Terah. But the narrative
of the 1st book of the Antiquities comes no lower
than the death of Isaac, which was 226 years
before the Exodus, and the 2nd book contains the
history from the death of Isaac to the Exodus.
Yet Josephus, after having at the beginning of his
1st book already given the period which measures
the narrative of both books, does nevertheless at
the commencement [that is, in the Title] of his
2nd Book, tell us that it contains a period of 2LO
years in addition to the former, and to this extent
his chronology of the whole period from the Cre-
ation to the Exodus is forged" For the rest of
his remarks on the delinquencies of Josephus, and
the detection of his errors, we must refer our
236 ERRORS OF THE
readers to the Preface to Part II. of Mr. Cuning-
hame's " Fulness of the Times," pp. x, et seq.
whence the above extract is taken.
It is proper, however, to add the promised
explanation, as abridged as possible. Mr. Cun-
inghame, in his "Fulness of the Times," pp. 138,
139, shows that in curtailing the true chronology,
the Jews preserved the Jubilean Series from the
birth of Enos to the departure of Jacob to Padan-
aram ; for, according to the Septuagint, this inter-
val is 3136 years, or 64 Jubilees; but, according
to the Hebrew text, and Usher, 2009 years, or 41
Jubilees ; the difference, therefore, is 1 127 years
or 23 Jubilees. Now this difference consists of
the following periods struck off in the Hebrew
chronology :
Years.
From the birth of Enos to the Flood * . 406
From the Flood to the birth of Terah . . 720
Antedate of Jacob's departure **;''" .. *" /" 1
Total 23 Jubilees, or . . 1127
Mr. Cuninghame argues from the cyclical
nature of this period, that the Rabbis who cur-
tailed the true chronology, " were well aware
that from the birth of Enos to the departure of
Jacob for Padan-aram, there was an exact series
of Jubilees, and that in corrupting the Sacred
text, they have, with profound artifice, contrived
to preserve a series of complete Jubilees, by sub-
tracting exactly 23 Jubilees, or 1127 years."
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 237
He adds the following proof regarding the single
year ; in the true chronology, the birth of Abraham
is B.C. 2 145, and the departure of Jacob, B.C. 1908,
interval, 237 years ; in the curtailed chronology
these events are respectively dated B.C. 1996, and
B.C. 1760,' interval, 236 years ; hence, the ante-
date is one year. Now in the preceding interval
from the birth of Enos to the flood, the period of
6 years which was subtracted from the Antepaido-
gonian age of Lamech, is an essential element in
the argument ; otherwise that interval would be
only 400 years instead of 406, and the whole of
the argument would then fall to the ground.
Another argument, in favour of the 6 years is,
that if the longer chronology of Josephus be so far
correct, which is proved from the Septuagint, it is
surely proper to follow the authority of that
version in regard to the 6 years, as well as in
regard to the 600 years ; if we trust to its accu-
racy for the greater number, we may also trust it
for the less! It seems ridiculous and absurd to
take the evidence of the highest authority at second
hand, and to reject a small part of that evidence,
because it is not fairly brought forward by the
same hand ; although it be pressed on our notice
by many other witnesses ! Surely in regard to
these 6 years, the testimony of the Septuagint and
the whole Christian Church, is before that of
Josephus.
In reference to the tabulated statements of
238 ERRORS OF THE
Theophilus, we find only the very singular and
unaccountable error of 20 years in the Antepaido-
goman age of Methuselah, which the Vatican
codex, if we may trust the editions of the Septua-
gint said to have been taken from it, appears to
have retained. That this chronographer has
evidently read 167 years instead of 187 years,
can scarcely be doubted from his subsequent
statements, and particularly from his statement
respecting the extent of this age, that " all the
years till the flood were 2242."*
The statements of Africanus as to the Antedilu-
vian period, entirely agree with those of the Sep-
tuagint, which shows that he had taken his
numbers from a more correct copy of that version,
and one that agreed in this respect with the cele-
brated Alexandrine codex now deposited in the
British Museum. He confirms the truth of his
particular statements by the following summary
ones: first "Therefore, from Adam till the
birth of Enos all the years are 435;" second,
" Therefore, from Adam till Noah and the flood
are 2262 years."! As to the statements of
Eusebius, and the author of the Paschal Chro-
nicle, they are of a later age, and must therefore
have been copied from one or other of the former
authors, or from the copies of the Septuagint
extant in their time. From the notes upon the
* Lib. Hi. ad Antolycum, p. 262, Oxon. 1684.
f See Routh's Reliquiae Sacree, vol. ii. pp. 126, 129.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 239
Chronicon of Africanus, added by Routh,* it is
evident that both Eusebius and Syncellus adopted
the numbers in the preceding table which we
have arranged under the name of the former; and
that Epiphanius and the author of the Paschal or
Alexandrine Chronicle adopted the correct num-
bers of the Septuagint, which we have placed
under the title of that work. After stating that
according to Africanus, " there were 3000 years
from Adam to the death of Peleg;" Syncellus
adds, " but according to Eusebius, 2980 years;"
the difference between these numbers is 20 years,
which is precisely the same as the difference
between their dates of the year of the flood, viz :
A.M. 2262, and A.M. 2242. Moreover, although
Syncellus states that Africanus gives the former
of these dates, as the true epoch of the deluge ;
he adds his own opinion, that " from Adam to the
flood there were 2242 years," and "contra Afri-
can um pugna.t," Jights against Africanus, in favour
of the erroneous number. The author of the
Paschal Chronicle says explicitly, that " in the
100th year of Shem, the 600th of Noah, and the
2262d year of the world, the flood was upon the
earth ; and this is the exact number which Afri-
canus exhibits at this epoch since the correct
copies of Genesis shew 187 years as the age of
Methuselah when he begat Lamech." Epipha-
nius, in his first book " against Heretics," after
* Ibid, pp. 242, 243. 248, 250.
240 ERRORS OF THE
narrating that Noah was saved in the ark, says
"and thus the 10th generation extended to the
2262d year [of the world,] and the flood brought
it to an end." Thus it appears to have been the
general opinion of the oldest and best writers that
the First age of the world was of the precise length
which we have assigned to it ; and that the only
difference among them was, whether it were not
shorter by 20 years, in consequence .of some
foolish mistake committed by an early transcriber
in the Antepaidogonlan age of Methuselah ; for in
this age, the correct copies of the Septuagint
perfectly agree with the Hebrew text.
2. Table II., Containing the statements of the ancient cbronographers re-
lating to the Second age of the world Absurd errors of the text of
Josephus The discrepancy between his detailed numbers and his sum
total, the work of an enemy to the truth Proof that the true sum was
in his text originally Errors of Theophilus and Africanus in this age
due to Jewish influence Notion entertained by the ancient chronogra-
phers regarding the bisection of the Mundane period at the death of
Peleg The genealogy of Shem, like that of Melchisedec, in the chro-
nology Reference to Mr. Clinton Error of Eusebius, rectified in the
Hieronymian version of his Chronicou Accuracy of the Paschal
Chronicle, with the exception of the biennial period Valuable Testi-
mony of Eusebius and Africanus, preserved by Syncellus iu his Cbrono-
graphia, on the extent of fae first two ages.
We now proceed to notice the errors of these
chronographers, in their statements regarding the
Second age of the world. The following table,
which should be compared with Table II. in our
first Part, contains the Antepaidogonian ages of the
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 241
Postdiluvian Patriarchs, and the Extent of the
Second age, according to each chronographer.
TABLE II.
POSTDILUVIAN THEO- AFRI- -p, PASCH.
PJOSEPHUS. LUSEBIUS. f ,
ATRIARCH8. PHILUS. CANUS. L-HRON.
A.P. ages. A. P. ages. A.P. ages. A.P. ages. A. P. ages.
m the Flood *12 *0 *0 2 *0
From the Flood
12
*0
*0
2
*0
Arphaxad
Cainan ....
Salah
135
*0
130
135
*0
130
135
*0
130
135
*o
130
135
130
130
Heber ....
134
134
134
134
134
Peleg
Reu
130
130
130
132
130
132
130
132
130
132
Serug ....
Nahor ....
132
*120
130
*75
130
79
130
79
130
79
Terah
70
70
70
70
70
To the Call of Abra- |
ham . . . y
75
75
75
75
75
SECOND AGE. 1068 1011 1015 1017 1145
In regard to the Extent of this age, Josephus is
made to say, in the present text, that Abraham
" was born in the 292d year after the flood ;"f
while the summation of the Antepaidogonian ages
gives 993 years, to which adding the age of
Abraham at the Call, we have 1068 years! As
we can scarcely suppose Josephus to have been
guilty of so extraordinary an absurdity as to
commit an arithmetical error of this magnitude,
we cannot only attribute the discrepancy to the
t Hudson's Josephus, vol. i. p. 26.
R
242 ERRORS OF THE
evil design of his transcribers, and say " an
enemy hath done this!" Moreover, the same
wicked hand that dared to alter this and other
numbers of our author, has no doubt, also dared
to omit here the genealogy of the Second Cainan.
Nor can we see what good purpose it could serve
to make him say that " Arphaxad the son of Shem,
was born 12 years after the flood," instead of 2,
as in the Sacred text ; and that " Nahor when he
was 120 years old begat Terah,"* instead of 79,
as in the Septuagint. But since in these details,
Josephus has in general adopted the numbers of
the Septuagint, it is plain that he must have
followed the same authority in their sum total,
and that the sum of 292 years must have been
inserted instead of the true sum of 1072 years, by
some early advocate or supporter of the Hebrew
chronology. Besides, we have shown in our
preceding remarks on the Extent of the First age,
that Josephus has prefixed a number to his Jirst
Book, which in reality belongs to his first and
second Books, and which includes the extent of the
Jirst three ages, all but 6 years. That number is
3833 years, a period wholly inexplicable on any
other principle than that which Mr. Cuninghame
has laid down. To him, we are therefore justly
indebted for its true and satisfactory explication ;
and he has clearly shown that Josephus must
have originally inserted in his Antiquities, the true
* See Hudson's Josephus, pp. 26, 27.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 243
number of 1072 years, from the Deluge to the
birth of Abraham ; although the text is now so
vitiated that it cannot be made out from the place
in question.
The errrors of Theophilus in this age are both
strange and unaccountable, except on the prin-
ciple of Jewish influence, when we consider that
his error in the first age, was only 20 years,
while here it amounts to 132 years. He states
that from the Creation " till Abraham, there are
3278 years,"* that is, to the birth of Isaac as
appears by the context. If from this number we
subtract his extent of the first age, viz. 2242 years,
the remainder is 1036 years, or his period from the
flood to the birth of Abraham; and from this
period, deducting 25 years, the time which elapsed
from the Call to the birth of Isaac, we obtain a
remainder of 1011 years, which is the extent of
the Second age, according to Theophilus. Hence,
it is plain that he omits the Second Caman y the
2 years after the flood previous to the birth of
Arphaxad, and 4 years in the Antepaidogonian age
of Nahor. The second omission is manifest also
from the context, where he says, " but immediately
(cvflcwc) after the flood, Shem being 100 years old,
begat Arphaxad." We shall see that he endeavours
to make up for these omissions, by a curious ba-
lance of some of these errors in the succeeding age.
In addition to the tabular statements, Africanus
* Lib. iii. ad Autolycum, p. 262.
R 2
244 ERRORS OF THE
says that, " Arphaxad begat Salah in A. M. 2397 ;
Salah begat Heber in A. M. 2527 ; and Heber
begat Peleg in A. M. 2661." He says also that
" Peleg at the age of 130 begat Reu, and having
lived other 209 years, died ;" so that "from Adam
to the death of Peleg there were 3000 years." *
According to the true chronology, Peleg died in
A. M. 3132; hence, from the dates of Africanus,
if correctly reported, it appears that he omits the
genealogy of the Second Cainan, and the two years
after the flood previous to the birth of Arphaxad.
The difference between the dates of Africanus
and those derived from the Septuagint, is there-
fore 132 years ; and this number must be added
to the subsequent dates of Africanus, until other
errors appear, in order to obtain the true dates.
If this be done, we shall find that throughout the
whole of this age, the dates of Africanus will
perfectly agree with those of the true chronology.
Connected with the tradition of the renovation of
the world at the end of 6000 years, there appears
to have been an idea current among the early
chronographers, that the period from the Creation
to the Advent of Christ was exactly bisected at the
death of Peleg ; because the Scripture says that
" in his days the earth was divided," by which
they seem to have understood the whole period of
its existence ! Hence, the apparent reason of the
omission of the Second Cainan s generation, and the
* Routh's Reliquiae Sacrse, vol. ii. p. 130.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 245
Postdiluvian biennial .period.* Africanus further
states that " in A. M. 3277, Abraham entered the
promised land ;" consequently, an interval of 277
years had elapsed since the death of Peleg ; but
this corresponds exactly with the interval of the
Septuagint, for 3409-3132=277 ; see Tables V.
and VIII. of ouvjirst Part. Moreover, he states
that " from the flood and Noah to the descent of
Abraham into the promised land, were ten gene-
rations or 1015 years, and from Adam, twenty
generations or 3277 years." t We have suf-
ficiently discussed the question of the number of
generations here mentioned, in our Jirst Part,
pp. 34 40 ; it is quite unnecessary therefore, to
resume the subject ; suffice it to say that Shem
was an Antediluvian, and therefore his generation
could not be reckoned in the number of generations
after the flood ; neither was it reckoned in the
number before the flood : for Noah was reckoned
the tenth from Adam, and Abraham the tenth from
the flood. In this respect, therefore, Shem was
like Melchizedec, as far as the generations or
genealogies on which the Chronology depended,
was concerned, viz., " Fatherless, motherless,
without genealogy, having neither beginning of
days nor end of life, being assimilated to the Son
of God," who " remains a priest for ever ;" and
* On this point, see the " Cours Complet de Theologie,"
torn. iii. p. 1538 ; and " Chronicon Paschale," p. 340, Venet.
1729.
f Routh's Reliquiae Sacra;, vol. ii. p. 131.
246 ERRORS OF THE
who " hath made us [true believers in Christ]
kings and priests unto God even his Father ; to "
whom " be glory and dominion for ever and ever.
Amen." Heb. vii. 3 ; and Rev. i. 6.
The statements of Eusebius and the author of
the Paschal Chronicle respecting this age are
taken from Mr. Clinton's " Fasti Hellenici," vol. i.
p. 287 ; he appears to have very carefully sifted
these numbers, in order to arrive at the exact truth
concerning the opinions of their authors. He
gives the following extract from the Chronicon
of Eusebius; "From the flood to the first year
of Abraham are collected 942 years ;" if to this
number we add 75 years, the age of Abraham at
the Call, we have 1017 years for the Extent of the
Second age according to Eusebius. The author
of the Paschal Chronicle appears to have omitted
the two years after the flood ; hence, the pre-
ceding 75 years being added to 1070 years, the
period which he assigns between the flood and
the birth of Abraham, we have 1 145 years for the
Extent of the Second age according to that work.
Routh, however, justly remarks that " in the
Hieronymian version of the Eusebian Chronicle,
the years of this [the Second] Cain an are still
extant;" hence, even according to Eusebius, the
true extent of the Second age appears originally
to have been 1 147 years. The following testimony
collected by Syncellus in his Chronographia, from
the works of Eusebius and Africanus, in support
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 247
of the computation of the Septuagint before the
flood, and of the Septuagint and Samaritan after
the flood, we extract from Dr. Russell's " Connec-
tion," vol. i. pp. 96, 97, on account of its impor-
tant bearing on the Extent of the^r^ two ages:
" Since, according to the most ancient Hebrew
copy preserved among the Samaritans, and which
agrees with the Septuagint translation, they who
lived after the flood down to Abraham did not
beget children till after the age of 100 years and
more, what reason can be assigned that their pre-
decessors before the flood, whose lives were
longer by many years, should begin to beget
children sooner, and not rather at the ages set
down in the Septuagint ? On mature considera-
tion, we must incline to the latter computation,
and necessarily conclude, that the Jewish-Hebrew
reckoning of the times from Adam to Abraham is
wrong in all the ages excepting three, Jared, Me-
thuselah, and Lamech ; and that the Samaritan-
Hebrew computation is also wrong in the period
from Adam to the flood ; for in the years from
the flood to Abraham it agrees entirely with the
Septuagint. But the error of the Jewish-Hebrew
text is evident from hence, that it makes Abraham
and Noah contemporaries, which is inconsistent
with all history : for since according to the
Hebrew text, there are no more than 292 years
from the flood to Abraham, and since, according
to the same text, Noah lived 350 years after the
248 ERRORS OF THE
flood, it is evident that he lived to the 58th year
of Abraham !"
3. Table III., Containing the statements of tbe ancient cbronographers
relating to the Third age of the world The testimony of Josephus to
the true chronology very explicit Misinterpretation of prophecy the
cause of wavering in Josephus and blunder in Theophilus The testi-
mony of Africanus correct Eusebius, Demetrius, and the author of the
Paschal Chronicle correct Explanation of the period of 400 years.
The following table which contains the state-
ments of the chronographers, regarding the Third
age of the World, ought to be compared with
Table VIII. in our first Part ; as it contains the
Chief Patriarchal Eras and Intervals according
to each chronographer :
TABLE III.
PATRIARCHAL J O8EPHU8 . THEO- AFBI- PASCH.
JHUC. PHILUS. CANUS. CHRON.
Interval*. Intervals. Interval*. Interval*.
From the Call . .
The Eisodus . .
215
215
215
215
215
To the Exodus . .
215
430
215
215
215
THIRD AGE . 430 645 430 430 430
The testimony of Josephus to the Extent of this
age is very explicit. He states that the Israelites
" left Egypt in the 430th year after that our
father Abraham came into Canaan, and in the
215th year after the Eisodus of Jacob into
Egypt ;"* and he mentions some of the minor
* Hudson's Josephus, vol. i. p. 111.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 249
intervals, in a very clear and distinct manner, in
his 2nd Book. It is evident indeed that he
rightly understood the testimony of Scripture as
to the true intervals of this prophetic period ;
although he seems to waver from the truth in the
9th chapter of that Book, where he speaks of the
afflictions of the Israelites in Egypt for a period
of 400 years, according to Gen. xv. 13. The
latter text, however, appears to have been the
stumbling block of Theophilus in his chronology ;
for he agrees with the Scriptures, as regards the
intervals from the call to the Eisodus ; and then
he says that " the sojourning of the Hebrews in
Egypt was 430 years !"* He seems therefore to
have confounded the period of 400 years with the
period of 430 years, and to have applied the
whole period to the sojourning of the Israelites
in Egypt alone, exclusive of Canaan, contrary to
the testimony of the Septuagint, Exodus xii. 40,
Alexandrine edition, and that of St. Paul, Gala-
tians iii. 17. By this means, he increases the
Extent of the Third age to 645 years, making it
greater than the true Extent, by 215 years! It
would almost seem, therefore, as if he had in-
tended this error to compensate in some measure
for those which he committed in the preceding
ages ; inasmuch as it is of an entirely opposite
character. This excess of 215 years makes up
not only for the omission of the 20 years in the
t Lib. iii. ad Autolycum, p. 262.
250 ERRORS OF THE
Antepaidogonian age of Methuselah before the
flood, of the 130 years of the generation of the
Second Cainan, of the 2 years after the flood, and
of the 4 years in the Antepaidogonian age of
Nahor ; but gives a surplus of 59 years at the
end of the Third age in his chronology. For,
adding the 40 years wandering in the Wilderness
to his amount of the Jirst three ages, he says that
"all the years are 3938,"* from the Creation of
the world to the entrance of the Israelites into
the promised Land. By a reference to Table X.
of our Jirst Part, it will be seen that the true date
of this entrance is A.M. 3880, and making allow-
ance for the single year we have added to this
date, on the ground specified at p. 65, it follows
that the date of Theophilus is erroneous in excess
by 58 years.
The statements of Africanus respecting this
age have not been preserved in a perfect state ;
but from the following fragments, it will appear
that he took the correct and Scriptural view of
its Extent and Intervals. Syncellus says that
according to Africanus, " Joseph was 40 years
old in the 130th year of Jacob; consequently,
Joseph lived 70 years after the arrival of Jacob
in Egypt;" and that "from Adam to the death
of Joseph, were 23 generations, and 3563 years.f"
Now, if to the latter number, we add 132 years,
* Lib. iii. ad Autolycum, p. 265.
f Routh's Reliq. Sacr. vol. ii. p. 15,5.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 251
for reasons already mentioned p. 244, we shall
have 3695 years for the correct number according
to the true Chronology ; see Table VIII. of our
Jirst Part. Again, he says, " it has been shown
that there were 1020 years from Moses and
Ogyges to the first Olympiad, that is, from the
Passover or first year of the Exodus of the
Hebrews from Egypt, when the flood of Ogyges
happened in Attica."* Here, if we take the last
year of the first Olympiad as that to which
Africanus refers, namely B.C. 773, and add to it
the preceding number, we shall have B.C. 1793,
for his date of the Exodus ; but as this chrono-
grapher constantly reckons the period from Crea-
tion to the Birth of Christ as 5500 years,! ft * s
evident by subtraction, that his Mundane date of
the Exodus is A.M. 3708 ; to which, adding the
constant number 132 as before, we shall obtain
A.M. 3840, or B.C. 1639, for the date of the
Exodus according to the true system of chrono-
logy. Again, if we take the difference between
either the dates of Africanus, or the true dates of
the death of Joseph and the Exodus, which we
have deduced from his by the addition of a con-
stant quantity, we shall obtain the interval of 145
* Ibid, p. 136.
\ Mera TOV aXrjOovs Sia TOV Mcocrecos Trvfyfj-aros St^a^eyres,
fK T T&V \onra>v EfjfNUK/iw laropi&v, apiQ^ov tr&v TrevraKis
XiAicou TrevraKocTictiv ets rr)v fraufidvciav TOV 2a>rT//nou Aoyou TTJV
7:1 rrjs fj.ovap%[as rcoy Kato-apcoy taipvtrt^ofj^vrjv 7rapa8e8wKaam
Routh's Reliq. Sacr. vol. ii. p. 132.
252 ERRORS OF THE
years, which, added to the period of 70 years
above mentioned, makes 215 years as his interval
between the Eisodus and the Exodus; conse-
quently, his interval between the Call and the
Eisodus must have been the same amount, and
his whole extent of this age 430 years.
Mr. Clinton has given a very full extract from
the Chronicon of Eusebius, in which he states
that from the first year of Abraham to the Exodus
were 505 years; that Abraham left Charran in
the 75th year of his age ; and consequently, from
that year to the Exodus were 430 years. He
then states the Scriptural intervals from the Call
to the birth of Jacob, and traces through his
genealogy, the intervals from thence to the birth of
Moses and the Exodus; but since, as Mr. Clinton
remarks, his "distribution of the last 215 years is
more correct than in the account of Demetrius, but
still erroneous," we need not repeat his enumera-
tion in this place ; suffice it to say, that his esti-
mate of the whole period is correct. Mr. Clinton
also cites the following passage from the Paschal
Chronicle, which shows that its author's estimate
of the Extent of this age was likewise correct :
" Joshua, the son of Nun, 27 years ; Chushan-
rishathaim, 8 years; in all, 3912 years.'* For,
adding to the latter number, the two years which
he omits after the flood, we shall have 3914 years ;
and from this, subtracting the 35 years just cited,
we shall have 3839 years, and consequently, A.M.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 253
3839 for his date of the Exodus, which is within
a year of the true date for reasons already alluded
to ; he, therefore, must have reckoned the period
of 430 years from the ingress of Abraham into
Canaan, to the egress of Israel out of Egypt.
The adjustment of the period mentioned in
Gen. xv. 13, can occasion no difficulty to the
careful reader of Scripture, for it is evident that
the commencement of this period must be reckoned
from the day that Isaac was weaned, or perhaps a
year or two after; inasmuch it related specifi-
cally to the seed of Abraham which were to be
strangers in " a land not theirs," and to be " evil
entreated 400 years ;" Acts vii. 6. This evil
treatment began when Isaac was a child, and was
able to play, say at 5 years old, with the son of
Hagar, the Egyptian, the son of the bond-woman,
who was not to be heir with the son of promise
and of laughter. Isaac was his name; but Sarah
saw Ishmael Isaaking or laughing at her son, and
mocking him, and accordingly, she demanded that
the "bondwoman and her son" should be cast out,
a striking emblem of the punishment that shall
befal all the mockers of and laughers at the people
of God ; for the Apostle truly says " but as then
he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that
was born after the Spirit, even so it is now :"
Galatians iv. 22 ; yea, and the term " Saints," or
" Holy ones" 1 of God, is become a term of mockery,
of scorn, and of reproach, in this very age in which
254 ERRORS OF THE
we now live ; although it be written that "without
7 O
Holiness no man shall see the Lord !" Precisely
then, for the space of 400 years did this affliction
and persecution continue against the seed of
Abraham, till God brought them out of the land
of Egypt " with a mighty hand and with an out-
stretched arm ;" and precisely in the same manner
shall all the true Israel of God be rescued from
their enemies, and be in due time delivered from
the land of darkness and of death.
4. Table IV., Containing the statements of the ancient chrouographers
relating to the Fourth age of the world The testimony of Josephus
to the extent of this age highly satisfactory Proof that it was 612
years Strange errors of Theophilus Method of rectifying them
Compensating errors of Africanus His date of the foundation of
Solomon's Temple correct Errors of Eusehius His Prteparatio cor-
rect in amount, his Chronicon wrong He confutes himself and adopts
the Hebrew chronology Comparison between him and Usher Errors
of the Paschal Chronicle The author coincides with Josephus
Hesitancy of Mr. Clinton Table V., The first four ages of the world,
f' and date of Solomon's Temple according to the different chro-
nographers.
The following table, which exhibits the state-
ments of the chronographers regarding the Fourth
age of the world, should be compared with Table
X. in ouTJirst Part ; as it contains the Critarchal
Eras, and Intervals according to each chronogra-
pher. With regard to this period, we omitted to
observe that the reading in most of the MSS. and
editions of the Septuagint, in 1 Kings vi. 1, is
440 years instead of 480 years.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS.
255
TABLE IV.
CRITARCHAL T THEO- AFHI-
T JOSEPIIUS.
ERAS. PHILUS. CANUS.
T, PASCH.
EUSEBIUS. CHRQN<
Intervals. Intervals. Intervals.
Intervals. Intervals*
From the Exodus .
40
40 40
^ " ^
40
40
40
Joshua and Elders .
27
27 *55
*30
27
27
1st SERVITUDE
8
8
8
*0
8
Critarchate of 1
40
40
*50
40
*32
Othniel . . /
2nd SERVITUDE
18
18
18
*0
18
Cr. of Ehud and \
80
*8
80
80
80
Shamgar . j
3rd SERVITUDE
20
20
20
*0
20
Cr. of Deborah |
and Barak . j
40
40
40
40
40
4th SERVITUDE
7
7
7
*0
7
Cr. of Gideon . .
40
40
40
40
40
OfAbimelech,To-l
lah, and Jair . f
48
48
48
47
48
5th SERVITUDE
18
18
18
*0
18
Cr. of Jephthah
6
6
6
6
6
Of Ibzan, Elon, |
and Abdon . )
25
25
25
*15
25
6th SERVITUDE, 1
(Samson) . j
40
40 490
*60
*20
60
Critarchate of Eli .
40
81
40
40
*80
7th SERVITUDE
20
*0
*0
*0
*0
Cr. of Samuel . .
12
12 90
*0
*0
*20
Reign of Saul .
40
*20
40
40
*20
Reign of David
40
40
40
40
40
To the Founda--\
tion of Solo- >
mon's Temple J
3
3 70
3
4
3
612 541 745 613 479 632
256 ERRORS OF THE
With regard to this much disputed period, the
testimony of Josephus is, in several places of his
works, highly satisfactory. First In the title of
the fifth book of his Antiquities, which records the
history of the interval from the death of Moses to
that of Eli, he states that it contains a period of
476 years ; and in the title of the 6th book,
which records the history of the interval from the
death of Eli to that of Saul, he states that it
contains a period of 32 years. These intervals
taken together make a period of 508 years ; to
which, if we add the 40 years in the wilderness,
the 40 years of David, and the three years
of Solomon, we have 591 years; this period
wants only about 20 years to make it correspond
with the true chronology, and these 20 years
appear to have been omitted in the Seventh
Servitude ; for the short period of 32 years is
manifestly erroneous. The truth is, that the longer
interval should be only 456 or 457 years, in order
to correspond exactly with Acts xiii. 19, 20; and
the shorter interval 72 years, in order to correspond
with Acts xiii. 21, and 1 Samuel vii. 2.* These
intervals would then make together 529 years ; to
which, if the numbers above mentioned be added,
the true amount is 612 years, as in the Table.
Second, That 612 years is the true Flavian
* The 20 years taken from the former period, and the 20
years of the servitude omitted, being both added to the short
period, will make it exactly 72 years.
ANCIENT CIIRONOGRAPIIERS. 25?
Extent of the Fourth age of the world is evident
from the 20th book of the Antiquities x. 1,
where the author says " but the number of the
years which the thirteen [high priests] ruled,
from the day our fathers left Egypt, Moses being
leader, until the foundation of the temple which
Solomon the king built in Jerusalem, was 612
years."* From this distinct statement of the
true extent of the Critarchal age, it is evident that
the text of Josephus, in books 5th and 6th of the
Antiquities, must have originally contained the
true Scriptural numbers, although now we find
the following errors have supervened. The first
error is in Book vii. 5, 4, where, speaking of the
form of the Hebrew Government under Moses and
Joshua, he says, " but after his [or their] death,
for the whole 1 8 years, anarchy ruled their people. "f
The words TOIQ iram, the whole, seem plainly to
indicate that a connecting sentence has been
omitted here ; and that these 18 years must have
been part of the government of Joshua and the
Elders, which appears to have been so mild and
Patriarchal, after the division of the land, when
"the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all
their enemies round about," that humanly speaking,
they were without government, although they were
living under the best of all governments a Theo-
cracy. After the death of Joshua and the Elders,
indeed, there must have been a short period of
* Hudson's Josephus, vol. i. p. 979. f Ibid, p. 322.
S
258 ERRORS OF THE
anarchy, perhaps about two years,* when the
children of Israel " forsook the Lord and served
Baal and Ashtaroth," and when "an angel of the
Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim" to reprove
them for their Idolatry, (Judges ii. 1 5,) previous
to their being "sold into the hand of the King of
Mesopotamia;" (iii. 8.) This anarchal period of
two years, with the 18 years of rest under Joshua,
and the 7 years of his active government during the
war and the allotment of the land, will clearly
make up the number of 27 years, a period to
which all the ancient chronographers bear the
most distinct and unequivocal testimony; " Fre-
quens tamen opinio est 27 annis eum [Jesum]
Hebraeis praefuisse."t A further proof of the
opinion we have here advanced respecting the 18
years, is that Josephus does not make the slightest
mention of them at the proper place in the history,
where he speaks of the death of Joshua, and the
accession of Judah to power according to the
Divine word, Judges i. 2 ; but incidentally intro-
duces them into a reflection which he makes on
the different forms of the Hebrew government, on
the occasion of the renewal of the Kingdom to
Saul at Gilgal ; 1 Samuel xi. 14.
The second error relates to the critarchate of
Shamgar, which is usually reckoned at one year
by those who undertake to expound the chrono-
* Russell's " Connection," vol. i. p. 147.
t Sulpicius Severus in Hist. Sacr. i. 44,3 ; cited by Clinton.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 259
logy of Josephus; but there is no warrant for this
either in the Scriptures, or in Josephus ; for he
merely says, in v. 4, 3, that " Shamgar died
in the first year of his government," which might
have been at the very commencement of it, and
perhaps in the 80th year of Ehud. The next
error of Josephus is the total omission, in the
present text of the Critarchate of Tolah, who
succeeded Abimelech, and preceded Jair ; this
omission amounts to 23 years ; but it must have
been reckoned by Josephus, otherwise he could not
have recorded such numbers as he has done in
every place for the whole length of the period.
Again, the name and progeny of Abdon are men-
tioned in v. 7, 15 ; but the years of his critarchate
are omitted, in the present text, evidently by
mistake or oversight. Lastly, an error has been
attributed to Josephus by some chronologers,* in
making Saul reign only 20 years ; but this is a
mistake on their part ; for he distinctly states in
vi. 14, 9, that "he reigned 18 years while Samuel
was alive, and 22 years after his death," which
clearly makes 40 years in all. Further, he states
in vi. 13, 5, that " after the death of Eli, the
high priest Samuel alone ruled the people 12
years; and after Saul was king, 18 years;" thus
plainly, as in the present text, omitting the
* See Russell's " Connection," p. 128 ; where he gives a
very erroneous view of the critarchate of Samuel and the reign
of Saul. He is also mistaken as to the critarchate of Samson.
s 2
260 ERRORS OF THE
Seventh Servitude, when the ark was at Kirjath-
jearim for the space of 20 years ; 1 Samuel vii. 2.
Third, in his 2d Book against Apion, Sect. 2,
Josephus says, " But Solomon himself built the
Temple, 612 years after the Exodus of the Jews
from Egypt."* This is a very important testimony,
occurring as it does in an argumentative treatise
concerning the " Antiquity of the Jewish Nation,"
in opposition to the pretensions of the Greeks,
Egyptians, and Chaldeans, to a vastly more
remote origin than the Hebrews. Here, Josephus,
or his transcribers, having no particular end to
serve in reference to dates, has allowed the simple
fact concerning the true length of the period to
remain on record. Most likely it has escaped
their notice, otherwise it might have shared the
fate of the dates and periods of his Antiquities,
which have been by wilful alteration, thrown into
such inextricable confusion.
Having thus shown that Josephus originally
held the true chronology of this period, we may
select some other instances of the manner in
which it has been misstated either by himself or
others in the present text of his works, the error
being in general a period of about 20 years,
either above or below the truth. In the Antiqui-
ties vii. 3, 2, he says " But all the time from
Joshua being commander of the expedition against
* Hudson's Josephus, vol. ii. p. 470.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 261
the Canaanites, until David expelled them from
Jerusalem, was 515 years."* Now adding to
this number the 40 years in the Wilderness, the
33 years which David reigned in Jerusalem
(2 Sam. v. 5, 6, 7), and the 3 years, of Solomon,
we have 591 years as before, a period which
is deficient by about 20 years. Again, in viii. 3,
1, he says, " But Solomon began the building of
the Temple in the 4th year of his reign, 592 years
after the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt;"
but according to Tostatus, cited by Hudson, the
number found in some copies was 612 years. ^
Next, in ix. 14, 1, he says, "Therefore the Ten
Tribes of Israel migrated from Judea 947 years
after the time when their forefathers, having left
Egypt, possessed the land ; but after the time
when, having rebelled against Rehoboam, the
grandson of David, they transferred the kingdom
to Jeroboam, 240 years, 7 months, 7 days ;"J
now, if we reckon the captivity of the Ten Tribes
from the Foundation of the Temple, by allowing,
according to Josephus, viii. 7, 8, for the reign
of Solomon 80 years, taking off 3 years, and
adding the remaining 77 years to the latter in-
terval above mentioned, neglecting the months
and days, we have 317 years for the amount; and
if we subtract this amount from the former in-
terval, we have 630 years for the remainder, which
* Hudson's Josephus, p. 371. f Ibid, p. 422.
I Ibid, p. 506.
262 ERRORS OF THE
is evidently the period here reckoned between the
Exodus and the Foundation of the Temple, and it
errs in excess by 18 years. Lastly, in x. 8, 5, he
says, " But the temple was burned 470 years, 6
months, and 10 days after it was founded; and
1062 years, 6 months, and 10 days after the
Exodus of the people from Egypt ;* hence it
follows, that the period from the Exodus to the
Foundation of the Temple is here reckoned 592
years, which is deficient as above by 20 years.
The object of the author, or of his corrupters, ap-
pears to have been to make the chronology square
as much as possible with the extended reign of
Solomon, and to throw back upon this period a
moiety of the surplus years which he has thought
fit to add to the length of this reign ; but we shall
see more evidence on this point in the next
section.
The intervals of Theophilus, according to the
text extant, must have been strangely corrupted,
when we find that they make the extent of this
age only 541 years. If we restore to the Cri-
tarchate of Ehud the period of 80 years instead
of 8, a mistake which might easily occur in the
Greek, by the writing of H for n, and omit the
single year allotted to Samira,* out of place, and
void of authority, we shall at once have the true
* Hudson's Josephus, p. 528.
t Probably intended for Shamgar ; see Lib. iii. ad Au-
tolycum, p. 266.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 263
number 612 years. We can scarcely, however,
attribute the corruption of the text of Theophilus
to simple mistake in this manner ; for we find
that he reckons from the entrance of Israel into
the promised land " till the [end of the] reign of
David, all the years were 498 :" now if to this
interval, we add the 40 years in the Wilderness,
and the 3 years of Solomon, we shall have the
precise period inserted in the preceding Table, as
his extent of the Fourth age. Theophilus has
committed other errors, which however balance
each other, and produce no effect on the whole
period. After stating that " the Philistines ruled"
the Israelites " 40 years," he says that " Samson
judged them 20 years ;" thus forgetting the Scrip-
tures which says, that " he judged Israel in the
days of the Philistines 20 years ;" Judges xv. 20.
He then says that " there was peace among them
for 40 years," an assertion wholly unauthorized
by Scripture, and by the whole crowd of chro-
nographers.* These errors are compensated for
by allotting to Eli only " 20 years " instead of 40
years, by omitting the seventh servitude of 20
years, and by putting only " 20 years " instead of
40 years, for the reign of Saul.f Dr. Russell, in
his " Connection," vol. i. pp. 128, 129, gives a
view of the chronology of this period according
to Theophilus, where he strangely misdates the
* Clinton's " Fasti Hellenic!," vol. i. p. 306, note d.
t Lib. iii. ad Autolycum, p. 266.
264 ERRORS OF THE
age in which he lived, and contrary to the copy
of his work to which Mr. Clinton or ourselves
have referred, makes out that his Extent of the
Critarchal age is 612 years ! He makes no re-
mark whatever about the error of Theophilus in
regard to the years of Ehud, but assumes them
at once at 80 ; he retains the one year of Sham-
gar, and puts him in his proper place ; and he
jnakes the years of Tolah 22 instead of 23 ; thus
he easily obtains the correct number, but by no
means in a satisfactory manner, when compared
with the text of the author. Indeed, trusting to
the view which Dr. Russell has given in the pas-
sage referred to, we have at p. 71 stated, and at
p. 92 considered, that the extent of this period is,
according to Theophilus, 612 years; but we now
have some doubts whether this was his genuine
number, seeing that he has included the erroneous
number of 541 years in his subsequent dates and
intervals, as will be shown in another section.
In this age also, we have to regret the deficiency
of the intervals of Africanus, owing to the frag-
mentary state in which his works have reached
us. The testimony of Eusebius, both in his
Chronicon and his Prseparatio Evangelica, as well
as that of Syncellus, enables us to exhibit the
chief Intervals and the whole Extent of the Cri-
tarchal age according to this Chronographer. In
the extracts of his third book, which have been
preserved, he says " From the Exodus of Moses
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 265
to Cyrus, who reigned after the Captivity, were
1237 years ; for the remaining years of Moses
were 40 ; the years of Joshua, who succeeded
him as leader, 25 ; the years of the Elders, the
Judges after Joshua, 30 ; the years of those con-
tained in the book of Judges, 490; the years of the
High Priests Eli and Samuel, 90 ; then, the years
of the Kings of the Hebrews, 490 ; [and the years
of the captivity, 70;] the last year of which was the
first year of the reign of Cyrus, as we have before
said."* The sum of these numbers is only 1235
years, instead of 1237 years, which shows that he
must have originally written 27 years for Joshua
instead of 25 years. f From this passage we
learn that the interval from the Exodus to the
accession of Saul is, according to Africanus, 675
years. From Syncellus, we learn that " according
to Africanus, the years from Adam till the last of
the Judges and the first of Eli the High Priest,
were 4292;" and that "from Adam till his
[Solomon's] 8th year, there were, according to
Africanus, 4457 years."J Taking 5 years from
the latter number, we have A.M. 4452 for the date
of the Foundation of the Temple, being the 4th
year of Solomon. The difference, therefore,
between this date and the first year of Eli, is
according to Africanus, 160 years; and the
* Routh's Reliq. Sacr. vol. ii. pp. 160, 161.
f Clinton's " Fasti Hellenici," vol. i. p. 308, note q.
t Routh's Reliq. Sacr. vol. ii. pp. 167, 169.
ERRORS OF THE
difference between the latter number, and the 90
years allotted by him to Eli and Samuel, is 70
years ; hence, if we add this difference to the
interval of 675 years above mentioned, we have
745 years for the Extent of the Critarchal age,
according to Africanus. Eusebius in his Chronicon,
cited by Mr. Clinton, p. 308, makes this period
744 years, the difference being " only a single
year, which may have arisen from a slight differ-
ence in the mode of computation, and accounts
for its elongation by the addition of 100 years,
which are wholly unauthorised by Scripture: viz.
the 30 years ascribed to the Elders who outlived
Joshua, the 40 years of supposed anarchy after
the death of Samson, and the 30 years of imagi-
nary peace which succeeded the anarchy. The
grand object of Africanus in the chronology of
this age, appears to have been to make up at
once for the deficiency of the generation of the
Junior Cainan, and the two years after the flood,
by the enlargement of the period from its true
length 612 years, to his surreptitious length of
744 years ; for the difference between these
numbers is just 132 years, the precise difference
between the dates of Africanus and the true dates
of the epochs in the two former ages. By the
manufacture of the intervals of the Fourth age,
therefore, he has contrived to bring about the
true date of the Foundation of Solomon's Temple
in his Chronology, and to compensate for his former
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 267
errors in such a manner as to restore the ancient
computation of Scripture at this important and
well-known epoch.
Of the Extent of the Critarchal age, and the
length of its Intervals, as Mr. Clinton remarks,
Eusebius has three accounts. For the account
taken from his Praeparatio Evangelica, Lib. x. c.
14, and the account taken from his " Chronicon,"
which we have placed side by side in the preced-
ing table, we are partly indebted to Russell and
partly to Clinton.* As Dr. Russell has endea-
voured to make the former account, by the cor-
rection of some of its intervals, speak the language
of the " Chronicon" in a passage, for the citation
of which we are indebted to Mr. Clinton ;-f we
have thought it right to restore the original
numbers, in order to show what was the real
opinion of Eusebius, respecting this age, on the
occasion of writing his " Gospel Preparation."
According to his opinion, therefore, the Extent of
the Fourth age was 613 years, the difference
between this number and the Scriptural one,
being only a single year ! The author, however,
commits a number of errors in detail, which
balance each other, and in their summation,
bring out almost exactly the true period. The
chief errors are, the omission of the Seventh
* Russell's " Connection," pp. 130, 131 ; and Clinton's
"Fasti Hellenici," vol. i. pp. 303310.
f See the vol. last cited, p. 310, note x.
268 ERRORS OF THE
Servitude, 20 years ; and of the Critarchate of
Samuel, J2 years. In order to compensate for
these omissions, he reckons the Critarchate of
Samson, apart from the 6th Servitude, 20 years ;
he adds 10 years to the Critarchate of Othniel ;
and gladly seizes upon the 30 years for Joshua
and the Elders instead of 27 years ; in order to
bring out the correct number for the whole period,
as nearly as possible, as he well knew that it was
612 years. That this was his real opinion, is also
evident from the following passage in his " Chroni-
con " already referred to: "The amount of the
time during which the judges bore rule until
Samuel, was altogether 450 years, our apostle
himself testifying it by his declaration, [Acts xiii.
20]. There are, however, besides this reckoning,
the periods of Moses and Joshua his successor, as
well as of Samuel and Saul. But let us pass, in
the meantime, the periods of Samuel, and Saul,
and Joshua. Now from the testimony of the
Apostle, the 40 years of Saul must be added to
the 450 years of the judges, to which number the
40 years of David and the 4 years of Solomon
being added, the sum of the years amounts to
534: which is, in fact, the apostolical tradition.
Then, the 40 years which Moses led in the desert,
and again the 27 years of Joshua the son of Nun,
to which the Jews themselves agree, being added,
the years amount to 600." This is a very im-
portant and clear statement of the truth, with
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 269
the exception of the 12 years of Samuel, " which,"
Mr. Clinton says, " he supposed to be included
in the years of Saul" We do not agree with Mr.
Clinton in this point; we think the passage bears
evident marks that he had the separate period of
Samuel in his mind ; particularly, from his cun-
ning "interim seponamus," " let us pass in the
mean time" In fact, he only pretends to forget
it ; for he knew that if he had added it, along with
the periods of Joshua and Saul, he would have had
the correct number at once, namely, 612 years !
His accommodation to the spirit of the age in
which he lived, by the insertion of the Hebrew
chronology of this period in his Tables, instead of
the Septuagint or ancient chronology which he
has so clearly established by Apostolical tradition,
exhibits a degree of vaccillation and imbecility
wholly unworthy the character of an able histo-
rian and chronographer, and quite unbecoming
an ardent advocate of the Truth. We have suffi-
ciently refuted this chronology in our first Part ;
and it is unnecessary to go over the same argu-
ments, or attempt to strengthen them by the
admissions of our opponents. Suffice it to remark
that the Hebrew intervals of Eusebius amount
only to 479 years, instead of 480 years, which it
ought to reach according to 1 Kings vi. 1, and
that even the Hebrew intervals of Usher amount
only to 478J years, p. 68 ; and although these
amounts differ only by half a-year, the details of
270 ERRORS OF THE
their intervals exhibit a very surprising difference.
Thus, Eusebius allows 27 years to Joshua and
the Elders, Usher none, with the exception of 6J
years for the war and the division of the land ;
Eusebius reckons the Critarchate of Gideon at
40 years, Usher at 49^ years ; Eusebius reckons
the Critarchate of Tolah at 22 years, Usher at 23
years ;* Eusebius omits the Critarchate of Ibzan
10 years, and of Samuel 12 years ; Usher admits
the former, and reckons the latter 21 years ;
Eusebius reckons the Critarchate of Samson 20
years, and Usher omits it altogether. Eusebius
and Usher are indeed very fit authors to be classed
together : both no doubt pious men and exem-
plary Christians ; but both too much given to
yield to the pressure of the times as historio-
graphers and chronographers ; and too much
influenced by the bold assertions of the Jews
respecting the immaculate purity of the Hebrew
Text.
The Extent of the Fourth age and the lengths
of the Intervals, according to the Paschal Chroni-
cle, are given by Mr. Clinton, but in such a
rambling manner that we have had some difficulty
to expiscate them from his extracts. As to
the extent, the author of the Chronicle says
" the whole time, from the 81st year of Moses, in
* We have observed the correct number in the series of the
Judges prefixed to the Armenian copy of the Chronicon of
Eusebius.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 271
which the Exodus from Egypt took place, to
Solomon and the Foundation of the Temple
amounts to 630 years."* We have seen that this
is the number collected from Josephus Book
viii. 7, 8 ; but the intervals given by the author
of the Chronicle, amount to 632 years. The
first error he commits is making the Critarchate
of Othniel only 32 years ; or, which is the same
thing, including the 1st Servitude in the 40 years of
that judge;! the next is reckoning the years of
Samson distinct from those of the GthServitude, and
interposing an unauthorised periodof 40 years peace
between Samson and Eli ; J and the last is omitting
the 7th Servitude, reckoning the critarchate of
Samuel 20 years, and reducing the reign of Saul
to 20 years. The author probably reckoned
only 39 years of Moses and 2 of Solomon, when
he calculated the whole period at 630 years. But
from the Chronicon itself, the number of 632 years
is clearly made out ; for the 81st year of Moses is
reckoned A.M. 3837, and the 3rd of Solomon
A.M. 4469. The coincidence between its author
and Josephus, which we have remarked above,
is very singular, and seems to indicate that
this error of putting 630 years for 612, on
the part of both, had a common origin. Mr.
Clinton also particularly investigates the
statements of Clemens Alexandrinus, and Syn-
cellus, regarding this period ; but as we do not
* Clinton's Fast. Helle. p. 310, note z. t Ibid, p. 304.
\ Ibid, p. 305. Ibid, p. 305, note z.
2?2 ERRORS OF THE
attach so much importance to their statements
as to those we have already discussed, we have
thought proper to omit them ; suffice it to remark
in general, that they strengthen and confirm the
lengthened chronology of the older chronographers.
The concluding observations of Mr. Clinton,
p. 312, appear to us surprising, considering the
mass of evidence he has brought forward in favour
of the true period of 612 years. He says that
" it fluctuates between the 600 years of Eusebius,
and the 628 years arising out of the corrected
numbers of Josephus. The truth lies somewhere
between these points. We may assume 612
years as the most probable." There appears to
us to be no probability in the case ; we have seen
that the statements of Josephus, Theophilus,
Eusebius, and the author of the Paschal Chro-
nicle, when corrected for obvious errors, according
to the authority of Scripture, all speak the same
language and announce the invariable period of
612 years. The details of the period assigned by
Africanus are lost ; but his case is peculiar ; he
was evidently desirous to make this period com-
pensate for former errors; and he has effected his
purpose to a single year. His date, therefore, of
the Foundation of the Temple is correct ; and
this appears to have been his chief aim. Accord-
ing to their estimate of the extent of the different
ages of the world up to this epoch, their respective
dates, according to the preceding Tables will
stand thus :
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 2?3
TABLE V.
AGES THEO- AFRI- ^, PASCH.
, JOSEPHUS. LuSEBIt'S. r,
OF THE WORLD. PHILVS. CANUS. CHRON.
Years. Years. Years. Years. Years.
1st Age . . . 2256 2242 2262 2242 2262
2nd Age . . . 1068 1011 1015 1017 1145
3rd Age ... 430 645 430 430 430
4th Age ... 612 541 745 480 632
To SOLOMON'S TEMPLE 4366 4439 4452 4169 4469
Had we corrected these dates on grounds
already stated, and which by many would have
been deemed sufficient, we could have shown a
much nearer coincidence between them and the
true date; but our object was to show what the
details of the different authors really are as exhi-
bited in their works now extant. It is satisfac-
tory, however, to observe that the difference be-
tween the latter and either of the former, is very
small, and in the case of the greatest magnitude,
is very easily accounted for on the principle of
Rabbinical authority and influence.
The following remark of Mr. Clinton, p. 313,
is much more in point than the former above
cited ; our only wonder is that he seems to think
the extent of the period itself not sufficiently
established : " This extended term of 612 years is
inconsistent with the date in the Book of Kings
(1 Kings vi. 1), which reckons the foundation of
the Temple in the 4th year of Solomon to be in
the 480^ year after the children of Israel were
come out of the land of Egypt. But the computa-
T
274 ERRORS OF THE
tion of Paul, delivered in a solemn argument
before a Jewish audience, and confirmed by the
whole tenor of the history in the Book of Judges,
outweighs the authority of that date ; and we may
agree with Jackson and Hales in rejecting it."
To this he might have added, and we ought
rather to agree with the whole Christian Church
in adopting the extended period, than with the
Jews, the persecutors and vilifiers of that Church,
in adopting the curtailed period, and thus giving
countenance to their interpolations of Scripture.
5. Table VI. Containing tbe statements of die chronographers relating to
the Fifth age of the world The errors of Josepbus peculiar His elon-
gation of the reign of Solomon Disagreement of his titulary periods
with the summation of the reigns in Books Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth
Proof that the former is nearly correct Table VII. Monarchal Periods
of Josephus Comparison with the True Chronology Evidence that
these periods have been manufactured The true Chronology of this age
detected in his works Table VIII. True Flavian Periods, showing the
Scriptural extent as originally held by Josephus Proof that he knew the
true epoch of the Captivity The errors of Tbeophilus in this age few
He is also mistaken as to the epoch of the Captivity Africanus diminishes
the true extent of this age He is misrepresented by Syncellus The
statements of Eusebius taken from the Hieronymian and Armenian
versions of his Canon Those of the author of the Paschal Chronicle from
that work itself Their errors pointed out The difference between their
Extent of this age and the true Extent only 3 years.
The following Table which exhibits the state-
ments of the Chronographers regarding the Fifth
age of the World, should be compared with Table
XII. in our First Part ; as it contains the Monar-
chal Eras and Intervals according to each chrono-
grapher.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS.
275
TABLE VI.
MONARCHAL
ERAS.
JOSEPIIUS.
THEO- AFRI
PHILUS. CANU:
Intervals.
Intervals. Intervi
Foundation of
Solomon'sTemple
i *77
37
Rehoboam . .
. 17
17
Abijah . . .
3
*7
Asa ....
41
41
Jehoshaphat . .
. 25
25
Jehoram . . .
. *8
*8
Ahaziah .
1
1
Athaliah . . .
6
6
Jehoash .
. 40
40
Amaziah .
. 29
*39
Interregnum . .
. *0
*o
Uzziah . . .
. 52
52
Jotham . . .
. 16
16
Ahaz .
16
M7
Hezekiah . .
. 29
29
Manasseh . .
. 55
55
Amon . . .
2
2
Josiah . . .
. 31
31
Jehoahaz . .
01
01
Jehoiakim . .
. 11
11
Jehoiachin .
. OJ
oi
Zedekiah
. Ml
Ml 420
-r, PASCH.
.LUSEBIUS. n
CHHON.
Intervals. Intervals. Intervals.
37
*33
17
17
3
3
41
*44
25
25
*8
MO
1
1
*7
6
40
40
29
29
*0
*0
52
52
16
16
16
16
29
29
55
55
M2
M2
31
31
04
Oi
M2
M2
Oi
04
Ml
Ml
442
442
FIFTH AGE . 470 445 420
The principal errors of Josephus in this age, are
his addition of 40 years to the reign of Solomon,
and his omission of the interregnum between
Amaziah and Uzziah. The former error appears
to have been peculiarly his own ; the latter he
T 2
276 ERRORS OF THE
seems to share in common with most, if not all,
the ancient chronographers. In his Antiquities,
Book x. 8, 5, he says, " the temple was burned
470 years 6 months and 10 days after its founda-
tion ;"* and this period is clearly made out from
the summation of the years of the reigns of the
kings of Judah as laid down by him, in Books
Eighth, Ninth and Tenth. Moreover, these
books contain the history of the Jews from the
accession of Solomon to the end of the Babylon-
ish captivity ; but we find, by the summation of
the titulary periods prefixed to them, that the
whole amount of this period is only 502^ years ;
and, deducting from this amount, the first 3 years
of Solomon's reign and the 70 years of the Cap-
tivity, we have 429J years for a remainder, which
is a totally different result. In order to arrive at
the proper explanation of the difference between
this number and the former, we shall exhibit the
comparison of the summation of his periods and
his reigns in these Books with the true chrono-
logy in the form of a table ; premising, that the
history of the Vlllth Book extends from the
accession of Solomon to the death of Ahab, in
the 19th year of Jehoshaphat's reign ; of the IXth
Book, from the same year to the Captivity of the
Ten Tribes of Israel, in the 6th year of Hezekiah's
reign ; and of the Xth Book, from this same year
to the end of the Babylonish Captivity. In the
* Hudson's Josephus, vol. i. p. 528.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 277
following Table, the first column exhibits the
periods announced in the titles of the different
books, the second the amount of the years of the
different reigns they contain, and the third the
amount of the same years according to the true
chronology :
TABLE VII.
MONARCHAL PERIODS. JOSEPHUS. TRUE
e A ^ CHRO-
Periods. Reigns. NQLOGY.
The VIHth Book comprehends ... 163 160 119
The IXth Book .... 157 180 190
The Xth Book 182s 2034 185
Total, including Captivity 502 543 494
Deduct the three years of Solomon . . 3 3 3
499| 540| 491
Deduct the years of the Captivity . . 70 70 52
Extent of the Fifth age .... 429 470 439
Here the discrepancy between the amount of the
Periods and the amount of the Reigns is mani-
fest ; and the cause of the discrepancy is plainly
the 40 years surreptitiously added to Solomon's
reign ; for if this number be subtracted from 470
years, the result of the reigns, the remainder is
4301 years, which agrees with the result of the
periods to a single year, and this year may have
been added for the 1st of Cyrus. The latter
amount, however, still differs from the true
period by 10 years ; and this difference evidently
arises from the omission of the interregnum of J2
278 ERRORS OF THE
years, and the addition of 2 years to the reign of
Jehoram. The extraordinary want of agreement
between the different periods and the correspond-
ing amount of the reigns, shows that the former
must have been manufactured to serve some par-
ticular purpose, the most probable being the con-
cealment of the error of 40 additional years in
the reign of Solomon. This is so far ingeniously
done, and might deceive a cursory reader ; for
the first period of 163 years is his exact interval
from the Foundation of the Temple to the end of
Jehoshaphat's reign ; the second period of 157
years is exactly 40 years less than his interval
from the end of Jehoshaphat's reign to the end of
Hezekiatis reign ; and the third period of 182^
years is only 2 years more than his interval from
the end of Hezekiah's reign to the end of the
captivity.
That this tortuous chronologer and historian
must have originally reckoned his periods in this
age according to the true system of chronology,
is manifest from the following passage in Book x.
4, 4; where, speaking of the fulfilment of the pro-
phecy concerning the idolatrous altar at Bethel
(1 Kings xiii. 1), he says, " and he [Josiah] burned
the bones of the false prophets upon the altar
which Jeroboam first built," and " these things
were fulfilled after a period of 361 years."*
Now, according to the testimony of Scripture
* Hudson's Josephus, vol. i. p. 518.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS.
(2 Chronicles xxxiv. 3), cited by Josephus (x.
4, 1),* we find that this fulfilment took place in
the 12th year of the reign of Josiah ; and from
the 1st year of Jeroboam, when the altar was
built, to the epoch in question, the interval,
according to the chronology of Josephus in the
preceding Table, is only 351 years ; but, accord-
ing to the true Chronology, it is exactly 361
years. It is plain, therefore, that Josephus in
this passage, must have reckoned an interregnum
of 10 years between Amaziah and Uzziah : and,
if we reckon the reign of Jehoram only 6 years
as in the true chronology, instead of 8 years as in
that of our author, and add the surplus of 2 years
to these 10 years, we shall have the correct Inter-
regnum of 12 years, as stated at p. 74, under the
head of the Septuagint ; see 2 Kings xv. !.)
It is true that the 10 years which we have thus
detected in the Antiquities, might have been
added by Josephus, as by Theophilus and Cle-
mens, to the reign of Amaziah, but this would
not alter the total amount. Some chronologers,
as Polyhistor cited by Eusebius,J have added 10
years to the reign of Amon instead of to that of
* Ibid, p. 516.
t On this point, see Clinton's " Fasti Hellenici," vol. i. p.
316 ; where the author makes a wrong citation from the Sep-
luagint, viz., 4 Reg. xiii. 10.
t Euseb. Chron. Canon. Book I. 5, 2, ex Haicano Codice,
Mediolan. 1818.
280 ERRORS OF THE
Amaziah ; but in either case the effect is still the
same, to make the whole period more consistent
with the true chronology. Thus we have expis-
cated the truth concerning this period even from
the unwilling pages of Josephus ; for the rest of
the computation concerning the Fifth age will be
clearly seen from the following Table, which
harmonizes with the previous result :
TABLE VIII.
TRUE FLAVIAN PERIODS.
Years.
From the 1st of Jeroboam to the 12th of Josiah . 361
The rest of Josiah's reign ..... 19
The remaining Jewish reigns ..... 22
From the 1st of Jeroboam to the 10th of Zedekiah . 402
The previous years of the Reign of Solomon . . 37
Extent of the Fifth Age , ff . . . 439
Although Josephus in his " Antiquities" has
generally reckoned the 70 years of the Captivity
from the Destruction of the Temple to the 1st
year of Cyrus, which is contrary to the true
chronology and to the Canon of Ptolemy, yet we
have evidence in his " Jewish War" that he was
perfectly acquainted with the correct period of
52 years, which we have shown in our Jirst Part,
at pp. 80, 81, to be the true interval. Thus, in
Book vi. 4, 8, of the latter work, when speaking
of the Destruction of the Temple, he says, "and
from the Jirst foundation which King Solomon
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 281
laid, till the present destruction, which happened
in the 2d year of the Emperor Vespasian, are
reckoned 1130 years 7 months and 15 days; but
from the second, which Haggai effected in the 2d
year of Cyrus the king, till the destruction under
Vespasian, 639 years and 45 days."* Not to
dwell on the glaring anachronism of referring the
foundation of the temple in the 2nd year of Cyrus
(Ezra iii. 8), to the renewal of the work of building
it in the 2nd year of Darius (Ezra iv. 24, and v. 1),
it is plain that the difference between the two
periods mentioned in this passage, viz. 49 1^ years,
is the true interval from the destruction of Solo-
mon's temple to the foundation of the second
Temple in the 2nd year of Cyrus ; for omitting
the half-year, as the 2nd year had just commenced
at the latter epoch (Ezra iii. 8), and subtracting
the 52 years above mentioned, from 491 years,
we have the remainder 439 years, for the true
Extent of the Fifth age as before. The proof,
however, that he was acquainted with the true
interval, at least within a year or two, is manifest
from a passage which occurs in his 1st Book
against Apion, sect. 21 ; where he says, " For it
is written in them [the Hebrew Scriptures] that
Nebuchadnezzar destroyed our temple in the 18th
year [the 19th year, 2 Kings xxv. 8] of his
reign, and it was in ruins for 50 years ; but in the
2nd year of the reign of Cyrus, the foundations
* Hudson's Josephus, vol. ii. p. 387.
282 ERRORS OF THE
were laid, and in the 2nd again of the reign of
Darius they were finished."* The difference of
2 years is easily accounted for by supposing that
he took the reign of Cyrus in Babylon at 9 years,
according to some copies of the Canon of Ptolemy,
instead of 7 years, according to Scripture, that is,
by supposing his reign to have begun 2 years
earlier than the true period. He appears, how-
ever, to have tacked these two years to the true
interval in question, in another chapter of the same
book, viz. " Jewish War," vi. 10; where, speaking
of the destruction of Jerusalem, he says " David,
King of the Jews, having expelled the people of
the Canaanites, made his own inhabit it ; and 477
years 6 months afterwards, it was destroyed by
the Babylonians."! Now as David reigned 33
years in Jerusalem, and the temple was founded
in the 4th year of Solomon, if we subtract 36
years from the preceding number, we obtain
44 H years for the period from the foundation of
the temple to its destruction, which is only 2|
years more than the true period, a surplus which
appears to have arisen from his unwarrantable
addition to the true period of the 10th Book of
the Antiquities. The last passage which we
shall adduce from this extraordinary historical
production, so full of chronological errors, is from
the 20th Book, where speaking of the High
Priests, he says, Nebuchadnezzar " took Josedek
* Hudson's Josephus, vol. ii. p. 452. t Ibid, p. 400.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 283
the High Priest captive ; and the time of their
hierarchy was 466 years, 6 months, and 10 days,
during the reigns of the Jewish kings." Now
Josedek was taken captive, not when the temple
and city were burned, as Josephus erroneously
says in the context, but when the " king of
Babylon took Jehoiachin in the Sth year of his
reign," and "carried away all Jerusalem, and all
the princes, and all the mighty men of valour,
10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen, and all
the smiths ; none remained, save the poorest sort
of the people of the land ;" 2 Kings xxiv. 11 16,
and 1 Chronicles vi. 15. But as Nebuchadnezzar
destroyed Jerusalem in the \9tk year of his reign
(2 Kings xxv. 8), the difference of time between
the first, or Jehoiachin's captivity, and the second,
or Zedekiah's captivity, is evidently 11 years,
which being added to the preceding period, makes
a total of 477^ years as before. In these two
passages, therefore, Josephus is consistent with
himself, and he differs from the true chronology
in this period only by the small interval of about
2 years ; a difference which, as we before re-
marked, may be due to his mistake in reference to
the Scriptural commencement of the reign of
Cyrus, King of Babylon. For a more extensive
inquiry into this period of the Chronology of
Josephus, we refer to Mr. Cuninghame's " Fulness
of the Times," pp. 27 60, to which we have been
284 ERRORS OF THE
indebted for some suggestions in the preceding
discussion.
The errors of Theophilus in the intervals of the
Fourth age are few, and chiefly of a compensating
nature ; and his error in its extent amounts only to
about 6 years. He states the reign of Abijah at
7 years instead of 3; of Jehoram at 8 years
instead of 6 ; and of Amaziah at 39 years instead
of 29 ; but the two latter errors make up for his
omission of the interregnum of 12 years. He next
reckons the reigns of Ahaz and Zedekiah, each a
year too much, which, with the error in the reign
of Abijah, makes the whole period erroneous in
excess by about 6 years, its Extent being 445
years, according to the Table. This Extent is
confirmed by the following statement in his
general summary : " from the death of David, till
the [end of the] sojourning of the people in the land
of Babylon, were 518 years, 6 months, 10 days."*
Now, if from this period, we subtract the first 3
years of Solomon, and the 70 years of the capti-
vity, we shall have for the remainder 445 years,
the period from the foundation to the destruction
of the Temple, according, to Theophilus. Again,
he says, all the time, from the beginning of the
world till the end " of the sojourning in the land
of Babylon, is 4954 years, 6 months, 10 days."f
* Lib. III. ad Autolycum, p. 281.
t Lib. III. ad Autolycum, p. 269.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 285
Now, if we add together his different ages up to
this epoch, including the 70 years of the captivity,
we shall have this precise amount ; thus, 2242 +
1011 + 645 + 541 + 445 + 70 = 4954 years.
This confirmatory statement, therefore, shows the
accuracy of our estimate of the chronology of
Theophilus ; and thus we see that like other chro-
nographers, he has, contrary to Scripture, reckoned
the period of the 70 years' captivity from the
destruction of Jerusalem to the 1st year of the
reign of Cyrus. The errors of Africanus in the
intervals of the Fourth age cannot be detected,
owing to the loss of this part of his Chronicon ;
we can only decide upon the inaccuracy of his
statement regarding its Extent from the extract
already cited at p. 265, where he assigns 490
years as the whole period of the Jewish Kings.
We have seen at p. 266, that 70 years of this
period belong to the former age, according to
Africanus; it follows, therefore, that 420 years
must be his Extent of the Monarchal age, which
we have accordingly inserted in the Table. We
have scarcely any means of confirming the cor-
rectness of this result, until we show, from his
remaining fragments concerning the succeeding
age, that it is quite consistent with his great
Mundane period from Adam to Christ. It is
necessary, however, to make one remark on this
subject, namely, that Syncellus has committed an
error in stating that " Africanus reckoned the 70
286 ERRORS OF THE
years of the captivity from the 1st year of Zede-
kiah,"* as we shall see in the sequel.
The statements of Eusebius, in the preceding
Table, are taken from the Hieronymianf and
Armenian^ versions of his Canon ; those of the
author of the Paschal Chronicle from that work
itself. The former places the foundation of the
temple in the 4th year of Solomon ; the latter
erroneously in his 8th year. Both authors in
several places of their works, state the extent of
the Fifth age at 442 years, and in order to pre-
serve this number entire they appear to have
manufactured two or three of the reigns. Thus,
Eusebius reckons the reign of Jehoram at 8 com-
plete years instead of 6, that of Athaliah at 7
instead of 6, and that of Amon at 12 instead of 2.
In the Armenian version the reign of Jehoiakim
is reckoned at 12 years instead of 11, which
seems necessary to make up the total 442 years.
In the Paschal Chronicle, the reign of Asa is
reckoned at 44 years instead of 41, that of Jeho-
ram at 10 instead of 6, that of Jehoiakim at 12
instead of 11, and that of Amon at 12 instead of
2. Abating the errors thus pointed out, and
admitting the interregnum, both authors testify to
the true length of this period, which, notwith-
standing the former, they have only overrated by
3 years.
Routh's Rel. Sac. vol. ii. p. 174. t Ven. 1483.
I Mediolan. et Ven., 1818. Ven. 1729.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 287
6. Table IX. Ethnocratic Eras and Intervals according to Ptolemy's Canon
and the ancient Chronographers Accuracy of the Canon Josephus
erroneous but consistent in the Sixth age His remarkable coincidence
with the true Chronology in the Mundane period Theophilus follows
the Roman Chronology in this age Africanus the prophetic Both
erroneous Errors of Eusebius, and accuracy of his Extent of this age
Errors of the Paschal Chronicle considerable and unaccountable
Table X. Summation of the Six ages of the world according to the Sep-
tuagint and the ancient chronographers Table XI. Summation of the
Periods of the Christian Chronographers, adopted by themselves Chro-
nological Table of the Principal Epochs and Events from the Creation
to the Advent of Christ.
The following Table exhibits the errors of the
chronographers in regard to the Sixth age of the
world. In our Jirst Part, we have denominated
the Eras of this age Hierarchal, Table XIV.
p. 80, to indicate the internal form of Govern-
ment which prevailed among the Jews during the
period from their return to their own land to the
Advent of the Messiah ; here we style them Eth-
nocratic, to indicate the Iron rule which the Hea-
then Kings exercised over the remnant of the
ancient people of God, till " in the days of these
kings the God of Heaven set up a kingdom which
should never be destroyed," but " should break
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and
stand for ever" In this table, we have introduced
an additional column, showing the periods of the
Four Great Monarchies or Empires foretold in the
book of Daniel, in as far as they relate to the Sixth
age, according to the Canon of Ptolemy, which is
accounted by chronologers as one of the most
valuable and precious relics of Antiquity.
ERRORS OF THE
TABLE IX.
ETHNOCRATIC p TOLEMy- J OSEPHUS . THEO- Ami- EuSEBIU8> PASCH.
J&KA8. PHILUS. CANUS. CHKON.
Interval!. Interval!. Intervals. Intervals. Intervals. Intervals.
From Solomon's 1
Temple. J "
THE ASSYRIAN "J
v 52 .. .. .. .. ..
EMPIRE. )
Jewish Captivity ... 70 70 70 70 70
Roman Regifugium . . . . 54
PERSIAN EMPIRE 205 .. .. 230 190 206
Jewish Hierarchy . . 414 . . . . .
The Asamonean "I
> .. 125
Dynasty. }
GRECIAN EMPIRE 302 . . . . 298 301 296
Roman Republic . . . . 453 . .
To THE ROMAN -\
EMPIRE. V 28 33 46 30 27 29
Birth of Christ )
THE SIXTH AGE 587 642 623 628 588 601
In this Table the extent of the Ethnocratic age
is 587 years according to the Canon of Ptolemy ;*
this is 2 years more than we assigned at p. 80,
owing to the reign of Cyrus being estimated at
9 years instead of 7, which brings the Sixth age
up to the vulgar era of the Birth of our Saviour.
The Canon assigns 43 years respectively to the
reigns of Nebuchadnezzar and Augustus Caesar ;
hence the former reigned 25 years after the taking
* See Hales's " Analysis," vol. i. pp. 276278.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHER8. 289
of Jerusalem,* and the latter 28 before the Chris-
tian era ;f thus the extreme intervals of the first
column of the table were obtained. The inter-
vals of Josephus were determined from the follow-
ing passages: Book XI. 1, 1, " In the first year
of the reign of Cyrus, and this was the 70th from
the day that it befell our people to remove from
home to Babylon ;" Book XX. 10, 1, "After the
period of the 70 years' captivity, &c. Joshua the
Son of Josedek, took the office of High Priest ;
and his posterity, in all 1 5, held the democratic
form of government for 414 years, till the reign
of Antiochus Eupator;" Book XIV. 16, 4, "Thus
ceased the government of the Asamonean [race]
after 126 years;" Book XVII. 6, 3, "for 125 years
during which they [the Asamoneans] reigned ;"
and, Book XVII. 8, 1, " Having reigned, after
he [Herod] caused the death of Antigonus, 34
years, and after he was appointed by the Romans,
37 years/'J Now, taking the period of the Asa-
monean dynasty at 125 years, and the years of
the reign of Herod before Christ was born, at 33,
we have, from the preceding extracts, the intervals
in the Table, and the extent of the whole period
642 years, according to Josephus. This result
receives a striking confirmation from the summa-
tion of the periods contained in the Titles of the
different Books of the Antiquities which relate the
* 2 Kings xxv. 4. t Luke iii. 1, 23.
t Hudson's Josephus, vol. i. pp. 547 979.
U
290 ERRORS OF THE
History from the 1st year of Cyrus to the death of
Herod. Thus,
Years.
The Captivity continued . .>.,, 70
The Xlth Book comprehends . . 253
The Xllth Book . ! . 170
The XHIth Book ' ! V ' '> J 82
The XlVth Book . ,.<i . 32
The XVth Book ,-.-.: 18
The XVIth Book .',. 12
The XVIIth Book to the year before )
f 5*
the death of Herod, comprehends )
Total 642
Thus it appears that Josephus, or his corrupter,
conscious that by the omission of the Second
Cainan, he had curtailed the length of the true
age of the world, has compensated for this gene-
ration, by enlarging the Postdiluvian biennial
period, the Antepaidogonian age of Nahor, the
reign of Solomon, and the extent of the Hierarchal
age ; for, we shall see that by the summation of
the different ages as we have now determined
them from the Antiquities, we obtain the true
period from the Creation to the Christian Era,
viz. 5478 years !
The extent of the Sixth age according to Theo-
philus, is obtained from the following extracts:
" The 70 years being finished, Cyrus king of the
Persians, in the 2d year of his reign," proclaimed
the return of the Jews; "then, Cyrus having
* See Dr. Hales's " Analysis," vol. ii. p. 652.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 291
reigned 29 years died," u. c. 220; "at which
time Tarquin surnamed Superbus began to reign"
at Rome, " who reigned 25 years. After whom,
the Consuls and Tribunes reigned 453 years."
To these, succeeded 1 the Emperors, " First Caius
Julius, 3 years, 4 months, 6 days ; then Augus-
tus, 56 years, 4 months, 1 day."* From these
extracts, it is evident that Theophilus reckoned
54 years from the end of the Jewish captivity to
the Regifugium at Rome ; and 46 years from the
beginning of the Roman Empire to the Christian
Era.f Thus, according to Theophilus, the whole
extent of this period is 623 years ; and conse-
quently, the period from Creation to the Christian
era, 5507 years. We obtain the extent of the Sixth
age according to Africanus, from the following
fragments of his work: "For after the 70th year
of the captivity, Cyrus having sent" the Jews to
rebuild the temple, " we find the kingdom of the
Persians extending to 230 years, and that of the
Macedonians to 300 years ; and thence to the 16th
year of Tiberius Caesar, 60 years." Again, " the
whole time of the Macedonian empire, was 300
years wanting 2," from its commencement till
its termination with Cleopatra, the last of the
Ptolemies, in the 14th year of the Roman monar-
chy ; " all the years from Adam being 5472."
* Lib. iii. ad Autolycum, pp. 268277.
t Luke iii. 1, 23 ; and p. 89, Part /.
I Routh's Rel. Sac. pp. 181, 186, 187.
u 2
292 ERRORS OF THE
Here, Africanus appears to have forgotten himself,
and after saying that the period of the Grecian
Empire was 298 years, he still reckons it 300, and
thus obtains the number of 5472 years from the
Creation. Taking 298 years for the correct
period of that Empire, and 30 years as the true
interval from its termination to the Christian era,
we have 628 years for the extent of the Sixth age,
according to this chronographer ; and conse-
quently, the whole period from the Creation to
the Christian era, 5500 years.
The extent and intervals of the Sixth age ac-
cording to Eusebius in his Chronicon, were
obtained from the same sources as before, see
p. 286. He dates the proclamation of Cyrus in
the 30th year of the Captivity, and his death in
the 60th year. He next dates the 70th year of
the Captivity in the 2nd of Darius Hystaspes,
and thus annihilates 40 years of the Persian
Empire before that epoch ; consequently, only
190 years remained after it, as he reckons the
whole period 230 years. He next reckons 6
years of the reign of Alexander the Great, inde-
pendently of the Grecian Empire, which he esti-
mates at 295 years under the Ptolemies ; thus
making the whole period of the Macedo-Grecian
empire 301 years. Lastly, he dates the Birth of
Christ in the 42d year of Augustus Caesar, his
1 5th year being reckoned coincident with the
22d of Cleopatra, the last of the Ptolemies; hence,
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS. 293
the period from the end of the Grecian Empire to
the Christian era, is 27 years, and the extent of
the whole period under discussion, 588 years.
Thus Eusebius, by an admixture of the Hebrew
and Septuagint Chronologies in his Canon, makes
the period from Creation to the Christian era,
5199 years. The intervals 'and extent of the
Sixth age, according to the author of the Paschal
Chronicle, were obtained from his work, see
p. 286. He follows Eusebius in his epochs of the
1st of Cyrus and the end of the Captivity ; but he
reckons the whole period of the Persian Empire
at 246 years, and thus makes the remainder 206
years after the Captivity. He estimates the
period of the Grecian Empire at 296 years, in-
cluding Alexander; and the reign of Augustus
Caesar as sole Emperor, at 44 years ; thus making
the period from the end of the Grecian empire to
the birth of Christ 29 years, and the extent of the
whole period in question, 601 years. According
to this author, therefore, by the summation of
his periods the number of years from the Cre-
ation to the Christian era, is 5512 ; but he states
it himself at 5507 years. He seems to have
obtained this period, by annihilating 2 years in
the extent of the 4th age and 3 years in that of
the 5th age, in order to make it coincide with
that of Theophilus.
The following table exhibits the summation of
the Six ages of the world, according to their ex-
294
ERRORS OF THE
tent, as determined in the preceding pages, from
the works of the ancient chronographers ; in-
cluding those of the Septuagint, with the Sixth
age as determined by the Canon of Ptolemy.
TABLE X.
MUNDANE
AGES.
First .
SEPTTA-
GINT.
Years.
2262
JOSEPHUS.
Years.
2256
THEO-
PHILUS.
Years.
2242
AFRI-
CA NUS.
Years.
2262
EuSEBIUS.
Years.
2242
PASOH.
ClIRON.
Years.
2262
Second .
1147
1068
1011
1015
1017
1145
Third .
431
430
645
430
430
430
Fourth .
612
612
541
745
480
632
Fifth 1
439
470
445
420
442
442
Sixth .
587
642
623
628
588
601
Total 5478 5478 5507 5500 5199 5512
The following table exhibits the summation of
the different periods into which the four Christian
chronographers subdivide the Great Mundane
period, from Creation to the Era of Redemption.
TABLE XI.
1. Eras and Intervals according to Theophilus.*
Years.
From Creation to the Flood . . . 2242
From the Flood to Abraham . : t *| . 1036
From Abraham to Moses , fl , . ... 660
From Moses to David . . ,. . , 498
From David to the Captivity . . . . 518
From the Captivity to Aurelius . .' 744
From Creation to Aurelius . . . 5698
From the Christian Era to Aurelius . 191
From Creation to the Christian Era . 5507
* Lib. iii. ad Autolycum, pp. 276281.
ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHER8. 295
2. Eras and Intervals according to Africanus.*
Years.
From Adam to the Flood . . . 2262
From the Flood to Abraham . . .1015
From Abraham to Joseph . . . 286
From Joseph to Eli . . . 729
From Eli to the Captivity of the Ten Tribes 458
From the Captivity to the Resurrection "J
I Ijfg]
and Ascension of Christ . . )
5531
From the Birth to the Resurrection and 1
I 01
Ascension of Christ . . /
From Adam to the Christian Era 5500
3. Eras and Intervals according to Eusebius.^
Years.
From Adam to the Flood . . . 2242
From the Flood to Abraham and Ninus . 942
From Ninus to Moses and Cecrops 505
From Cecrops to the Fall of Troy . . 329
From the Fall of Troy to the 1st Olympiad 406
From the 1st Olympiad to Darius . ' . 256
From Darius to the 15th of Tiberius . 548
From Adam to the 15th of Tiberius . 5228
From the Nativity to the 15th of Tiberius 29
From Adam to the Christian Era . - . 5199
* Routh's Reliquiee Sacrae, vol. ii. pp. 129 193.
f Seethe Hieronymian version of his " Chronicon," Ven. 1483.
296 ERRORS OF THE ANCIENT CHRONOGRAPHERS.
4. Eras and Intervals according to the Paschal Chronicle.*
Years.
From Adam to the Flood . . . 2262
From the Flood to the Exodus ' o; . 1575
From the Exodus to the Temple ' '. >';' :.' 614
From the Temple to Cyrus ;-t ' &.*. v 480
From Cyrus to Alexander . .;.-.'. 249
From Alexander to the 15th of Tiberius . 356
From Adam to the 15th of Tiberius . 5536
From the Nativity to the 15th of Tiberius 29
From Adam to the Christian Era . . 5507
We shall now conclude this work, with a
Chronological Table of the principal epochs and
events from the Creation of the World to the
Advent of our Saviour. The epochs of Sacred
History determined according to the true Chro-
nology, are printed in Roman letters, and the
epochs of Profane History in Italics. In the
former, Cuninghame is our best authority ; in
the latter, Clinton, with occasional reference to
Russell, or Hales. Some dates that seem to be
well founded, are taken from Julius Africanus.
The epochs marked with a Star are either tradi-
tional or conjectural. The Critarchates, Reigns,
Missions, Commissions, &c., are all dated at their
respective commencements ; and the extent of
each of the two former may be determined from
the table, by taking the difference of the dates of
any two consecutive Critarchates or Reigns.
* See " Chrouicon Paschale," p. 179, Ven. 1729.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
FIRST AGE OF THE WORLD.
A.M. B.C.
21 Traditional Epoch of the Creation . ',.,, . 5500
21 "Higher Astronomical Epoch of the Brahmins . 5500
1 True Epoch of the Creation . 5478
100 *Death of Abel . . . . ' /,V. . . 5379
230 Birth of Seth . ... '.^0 . . 5249
435 Birth of Enos . . . . . ."V . 5044
625 Birth of Cainan 1 4854
765 Chronological Epoch of the Julian Period . 4714
795 Birth of Mahalaleel . ..., . . . 4684
931 Death of Adam .' . . ' . : ; . 4548
960 Birth of Jared . . . . ,/;' . 4519
1070 *Apostacy of the Sons of God . . ^ '-, ^ . 4409
1086 Samaritan Epoch of the Creation . '-..,. . 4393
1122 Birth of Enoch . . . .\;Vi . 4357
1142 Death of Seth . . ... 4337
1179 Lower Astronomical Epoch of the Brahmins . 4300
1286 *Astronomical Revelations of Uriel . . .4193
1287 Birth of Methuseleh . . ,' . ... . 4192
1340 Death of Enos. . . 'M; ? :, . V. . 4139
1406 Astronomical Epoch of Laplace . . . 4073
1474 Birth of Lamech . . . : '. . . 4005
1475 Hebrew Usher Epoch of Creation . / . 4004
1487 Translation of Enoch . , r . '.,.,... > . 3992
1535 Death of Cainan I. . ". . . . . 3944
1662 Birth of Noah. . . V " / . . 3817
1690 Death of Mahalaleel . '':,',; 3789
1719 Modern Jewish Epoch of Creation " ( . (J V" . 3760
1922 Death of Jared . . "^': fl) - ; , f . 3557
2142 Prediction of the Flood . .'/' " ,/' :".." . 3337
2162 Birth of Japhet or lapetus . .'.''!'. ' . 3317
2164 BirthofShem. . .. " >r *.. . . u ^ 3315
2165 BirthofHam . > . " . ".' , ' - 3 31 4
2227 Death of Lamech . . . *.'" & - 3252
298 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
A.M.
B.C.
2256 Death of Methuselah ....
. 3223
2256 Flavian Epoch of the Flood .
2262 True Epoch of the Flood ....
. 3223
. 3217
SECOND AGE OF THE WORLD.
2263 Descent of Noah from the Ark .
. 3216
2263 First appearance of the Rainbow .
2264 Birth of Arphaxad
2377 Hindoo Epoch of the Calyougham .
2399 Birth of Cainan II. . . ' .
. 3216
. 3215
. 3102
3080
2401 First Jubilee of Jubilees from Creation
. 3078
2526 Chinese Epoch of Fohi . . .
2529 Birth of Salah . . . . .
. 2953
. , 2950
2579 Foundation of Egypt by Mizraim . . ,
2612 Death of Noah " . > . . '.' '.'
. 2900
, 2867
2659 Birth of Eber . . . . : ..'. .V|
. 2820
2764 Death of Shem
2793 Birth of Peleg or Phalec . ; .' '. !
. 2715
2686
2677
2859 Death of Cainan II. . : '. '" . '. ;
2620
2923 Birth of Reu or Ragau . . .' , .
2962 Death of Salah . . , .
. 2556
. 2517
3018 Chinese Epoch of Tchouen-Hiu . '.
3055 Birth of Serug . . ^ .' .
3063 Death of Eber . . .'.
. 2461
. 2424
. 2416
3079 *Foundation of Babel ....
. 2400
3081 *Confusion of Tongues ....
3081 *Division of the Earth ....
. 2398
. 2398
3122 Chinese Epoch of Yao . . : ~ ' . '
3132 Death of Peleg . . " . .
3152 Foundation of Memphis by Menes .
3185 Birth of Nahor . . . .
. 2357
. 2347
. 2327
. 2294
3249 *Birthof Job . . .. . . .
. 2236
3246 Babylon taken by the Medes y
3246 Chaldean Astronomical Epoch .
3262 Death of Reu . . * . . - .
. 2233
. 2233
2217
3264 Birth of Terah
. 2215
3297 Foundation of the Assyrian Monarchy
3334 Birth of Abraham
. 2182
. 2145
3343 "Trial of Job
. 2136
3385 Death of Serug
3406 "Abraham arrives in Haran
. 2094
. 2073
3409 Death of Terah
. 2070
3409 True Epoch of the Call of Abraham .
. 2070
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 299
THIRD AGE OF THE WOULD.
A.M. B.C.
3410 Descent of Abraham to Egypt .... 2069
3418 Canaan promised to Abraham .... 2061
3420 Birth of Ishmael 2059
3433 Covenant of Circumcision .... 2046
3433 Destruction of Sodom . . . . . 2046
3434 Birth of Isaac 2045
3471 Death of Sarah . . ..( /.- . . . 2008
3474 Marriage of Isaac . . ;.<;: . . . 2005
3483 *Deathof Job . . . . >,. = . .1996
3494 Birth of Jacob and Esau . * ' . . . 1985
3509 Death of Abraham . V . , . .' , 1970
3522 Foundation of Sicyon . . .' .'.x. . 1957
3534 Marriage of Esau . ...'. . . 1935
3557 Death of Ishmael .... >'>. 'I/ . 1922
3571 Jacob goes to Padanaram . . !,;. . 1908
3571 Marriage of Jacob . ..v . . *.** . 1908
3572 Birth of Reuben . . . . .'> . 1907
3574 Birth of Simeon ; . .,v. . to.> <.< . 1905
3575 Birth of Levi . . . ..:'. --.\^ . 1904
3576 Birth of Judah . . . . ..--v 1903
3587 Foundation of the Assyrian Empire . '- . 1892
3591 Jacob returns to Canaan . . .i, - 1 V -'.- 1888
3598 Birth of Benjamin . . ttjihWj WM . 1881
3602 Joseph carried into Egypt . . '.< . 1877
3614 Death of Isaac . . . ,/ ',w . 1865
3615 Joseph made Regent of Egypt . *': u-vj . -t . 1864
3616 First Year of Plenty . ...-. . \$*ti . 1863
3622 Birth of Kohath . tif.A . : ....W:v -v 1857
3624 Eisodus of Jacob into Egypt . . . i\'J 1855
3641 Death of Jacob ^. . : .i'i i '.-,- fci* . 1838
3684 Birth of Amram . . ,.. 'i^ .)-'- V 1795
3695 Death of Joseph . V- T .. ..-> .v . 1784
3712 Death of Levi . . . V- . *-V. 1767
3726 Descent of Phoroneus . . ,v-^ . ''* 1753
3755 Death of Kohath . . . . v : . 1724
3756 Birth of Aaron . . . '.;'.i. . 1723
3759 Birth of Moses . >vi *-,.;. . v^V ' 1720
3787 Foundation of Argos . . . -. . 1692
3799 Moses flies to Midian . . . v "- r " *& 1680
3837 Flood of Ogyges . . ^:*<-. .-\ -: '& << . 1642
3840 True Epoch of the Exodus . i-^-. '.... * 1639
300 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
FOURTH AGE OF THE WORLD.
A.M. B.C.
3840 The Law proclaimed at Sinai ; -, > . 1 >+ :i*i! 1639
3879 Death of Aaron and Moses . inr<vi!f.ifia# 1600
3880 Passage of the Jordan . . . . ; U dtu. 1599
3886 Division of Canaan by Lot -:;.<> u. M*,n v 1593
3896 Death of Joshua . . * . rfc^Sj . 1583
3894 Foundation of Athens .... i. - r j 1585
3907 First Servitude of Israel . . ;,i. -.'.;..' . 1572
3915 Critarchate of Othniel . ,-u . v >.^ 1564
3955 Second Servitude . . . . . - : 41 1524
3973 Critarchate of Ehud . ;/.';:,!<. . . 1506
3988 Indian Astronomical Epoch . '<v\ . . 1491
4013 Descent of Danaus and Pelasgus . . . 1466
4043 Flood of Deucalion . . - -.! . . 1436
4043 Third Servitude . . . .' i : .. !; . 1426
4073 Critarchate of Deborah and Barak . oq^ift .. 1406
4096 Reign of Dardanus and Erectheus ! ..t . '? 1383
4113 Fourth Servitude . . . . . ' . 1366
4119 The Sphere of Chiron or MUSCBUS . . .1360
4120 Critarchate of Gideon . . . H ,'. . 1359
4146 A za, Aphidas and Elatus, in Arcadia . . 1333
4160 Critarchate of A bimelech .... 1319
4163 Critarchate of Tolah . . . -,' .1316
4166 Descent of Cadmus 1313
4186 Critarchate of Jair ;.}..' . ; .':. . 1*93
4196 Descent of Pelops . . . \>. '- . 1283
4208 Fifth Servitude . . ; . . . .1271
4218 Birth of Hercules . . W. . . .1261
4226 Critarchate of Jephthah . . . [ : f. '.: . 1253
4232 Critarchate of Ibzan 1247
4239 Critarchate of Elon 1240
4249 Critarchate of Abdon . . . U ; . 1230
4254 Argonautic Expedition . . v-. -..;"' . 1225
4257 Sixth Servitude . . . ~U- t : .',, . 1222
4266 First Theban War . . . . . .1213
4292 Destruction of Troy . . . >.K ,>v 1184
4297 Critarchate of Eli ... .; : * ' . 1182
4303 Reign of Orestes at Argos . . ". 1176
4337 Seventh Servitude . ' . ,' . ; * 1142
4355 Aeolic Migration . . . -* ;': r ' 1124
4357 Critarchate of Samuel . . . v, ". 1122
4369 Reign of Saul . i:^ .;; 1110
4375 Return of the HeradidoE . . . '. .1104
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 301
A.M. B.C.
4379 Birth of David . . . .--. 1100
4405 Reign of Aletes at Corinth .... 1074
4409 Reign of David . . . . .1070
4417 Capture of Jerusalem 1062
4435 Ionic Migration 1044
4449 Reign of Solomon 1 030
4452 Foundation of Solomon's Temple . . . 1027
FIFTH AGE OF THE WORLD.
4459 Completion of Solomon's Temple . . . 1020
4464 Foundation of Smyrna . . . . .1015
4489 Revolt of the Ten Tribes of Israel . . . 990
4489 Reign of Jeroboam and Rehoboam . . . 990
4492 Lapse of the Twelve Tribes into Idolatry . . 987
4494 Invasion of Shishak . . . ;. t ': . 985
4506 Reign of Abijah 973
4509 Reign of Asa 970
4511 Reign of Nadab 968
4512 Reign of Baasha 967
4517 Acme of Homer . . . . 962
4520 Asa defeats the Ethiopians .... 959
4535 Reign of Ela ._ 944
4536 Reigns of Zimri and Omri . . . ' :^ 943
4537 Acme of Hesiod 942
4540 Foundation of Samaria 939
4546 Reign of Ahab . 933
4550 Reign of Jehoshaphat 929
4553 Jehoshaphat appoints Judges .... 926
4555 Mission of Elijah 924
4558 Destruction of the Prophets of Baal V . . .921
4568 Reign of Ahaziah . . . ... 911
4569 Translation of Elijah . . '..*. :. 910
4569 Mission of Elisha . ... .!,,,. 910
4570 Reign of Joram . .. . .V-. . . . 909
4575 Reign of Jehoram . . . . . . -, * . 904
4581 Reign of Ahaziah . . . .>E. Y\ 898
4582 Reigns of Athaliah and Jehu j^*jl . . .. 897
4588 Reign of Jehoash . . . ^.k, i.-r*:., . 891
4595 Olympiad of Iphitus . . HMb-V 884
4604 Mission of Jonah ,. : .': . . ? } v ., :.< '..' . 875
4610 Reign of Jehoahaz . . . ;<">. ;i . 869
4627 Death of Elisha . / . . . . . 852
4627 Reign of Joash . . >. . . .852
4628 Reign of Amaziah . . , ..u. . .851
302 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
A.M. B.C.
4633 Reign of Jeroboam II. .- . . 'V'. . 836
4657 Interregnum in Judah V , . 822
4669 Reign of Uzziah . .-.-.:. . 810
4684 Interregnum in Israel . ^ . . . 795
4684 Missions of Hosea and Amos . . > > 795
4703 Era of the Olympiads .... 776
4706 Reigns of Zechariah and Shallum ,<* . . 773
4708 Invasion of Pul . , . ' . . . . 771
4718 Reign of Pekahiah . . . . ... 761
4719 Mission of Isaiah . '\ . ' .' . . 760
4720 Reign of Pekah . . . . . '.759
4721 Reign of Jotham ' .' . V i . \ 758
4726 Foundation of Rome . ;' . * >. 753
4729 Mission of Micah ^ . U u 750
4732 Era of Nabonassar . -. . - *V- ' . . 747
4737 Reign of Ahaz ....... 742
4739 Captivity of the Transjordanic Tribes . . 740
4740 Interregnum in Israel . j& * 4V) 739
4745 Foundation of Syracuse . . ' "vl 734
4750 Reign of Hoshea . ..''./"> i 729
4752 Mission of Nahum . . . .iiv . 727
4753 Reign of Hezekiah . .M'-.^ > . . 726
4758 Captivity of the Ten Tribes ''.{* . v. . 721
4766 Invasion of Sennacherib . '. .' ,'', 713
4767 Destruction of the Assyrian Army 'i '" -> -e ' ' 712
4768 Revolt of the Medes . . - 4 ' l u- . 711
4782 Reign of Manasseh . . F:v*jt; , . 697
4792 Foundation of the Median Empire . . -. 687
4796 Creon First Annual Archon at Athens * ' 683
4802 Captivity of Manasseh . . . :* v '; 677
4802 Second Jubilee of Jubilees from Creation . . 677
4802 Captivity of the Remnant of Israel *r ; Ml|> ^77
4822 Foundation of Byzantium .... 657
4837 Reign of Amon ' .- . ^.. . . w 642
4839 Reign of Josiah . . . . , . ftl 640
4840 Birth of Thales . . . .1-^4 639
4850 Josiah reforms the Land . /r . ; V . > i. 629
4851 Mission of Jeremiah . ^'. . fi ._:**. 628
4856 The Book of the Law found . ' i . -.:**.'.:;. 623
4856 Mission of Zephaniah . rf?- . . '* 623
4858 Legislation of Draco . . . ,'\ 621
4859 Missions of Joel and Habakkuk . . .*. 620
4863 Reign of Pharaoh Necho . . . .616
4867 Destruction of Nineveh . . . .612
4868 The acme of Sappho 611
4869 Reigcn of Jehoahaz 610
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 303
A.M. B.C.
4869 Birth of Anaximander . -, "< . 610
4870 Reign of Jehoiakim - . -f < . . *i .- . 609
4873 Reign of Nebuchadnezzar .... 606
4873 Era of the Babylonish Captivity . . .606
4874 First Vision of Nebuchadnezzar . ..-> . 605
4876 Rebellion of Jehoiakim 603
4876 Epoch of the Eclipse of Thales . . -. 603
4880 Reign of Jehoiachin .... "^T. 599
4881 1st year of Jehoiachin's Captivity . . 598
4881 Reign of Zedekiah 598
4884 Birth of Croesus ...... 595
4885 Mission of Ezekiel ..... 594
4885 Legislation of Solon ..... 594
4889 Siege of Jerusalem 590
4891 Destruction of Solomon's Temple . . 588
SIXTH AGE OF THE WORLD.
4891 The BABYLONIAN or ASSYRIAN EMPIRE . 588
4893 Celebration of the Pythian games . . 586
4893 Era of the Seven Sages of Greece . . 586
4907 Acme of Esop 572
4918 Reign of Evil Merodach .... 561
4937 Release of Jehoiachin . .... 562
4920 Reiyn of Neriglissar ..... 559
4920 Reiyn of Cyrus in Persia .... 559
4924 Reign of Nabonadius or Belshazzar . . 555
4924 The First Vision of Daniel .... 555
4924 The Second Vision of Daniel . 557
4931 Anaximenes flourished ... . . . 548
4931 Cyrus takes Sardis \&, .... 548
4939 Pythagoras flourished ;1 <, . . . 540
4941 Cyrus takes Babylon . . v.;\i 538
4941 Xenophanes flourished .... 538
4941 Reign of Darius the Mede .... 538
4941 The Third Vision of Daniel . . . .538
4943 M EDO-PERSIAN EMPIRE .... 536
4943 1st year of Cyrus the Persian .... 536
4943 Commission of Zerubbabel and Joshua . . 536
4944 Foundation of the Second Temple . . 535
4945 The Fourth Vision of Daniel it -U 534
4948 Anacreon flourished . V* \ . . .531
4950 Reign of Cambyses or Ahasuerus '<' . 529
4954 Cambyses conquers Egypt .... 525
4954 Birth of Mschylus . W,, . .525
304 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
A.M. B.C.
4957 Usurpation of the Persian Throne .' W v . 522
4958 Reign of Darius Hystaspes :-;.- . - . 521
4959 Missions of Haggai and Zechariah . ':.>,. . 520
4959 The Second Temple re-founded . . . 520
4961 Birth of Pindar '; iil 518
4963 The Destruction of Babylon . . . .516
4963 The Second Temple completed ^ * . . 516
4970 The Roman Rcgifugium i. . ' o v'- . . 509
4971 Expulsion of the Pisistratida . .. ; . . 510
4979 Birth of Anaxagoras . s.:,' . : > ." ' . 508
4984 Birth of Sophocles . . ..." i .V; . 495
4989 The Battle of Marathon ',' , ; : V" .. 490
4994 Reign of Xerxes the Great . ' , ' . v 485
4995 Birth of Herodotus . ;. . . '. 484
4996 Ostracism of Aristides . . .1 . 483
4999 Battle of Salamis 480
4999 Birth of Euripides 480
5008 Birth of Thucydides n ! . * : : . 471
5011 Birth of Socrates ,468
5015 Reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus .'.> ; . 464
5015 Zeno flourished . . . * . . 464
5019 Births of Democritus and Hippocrates . . 460
5021 The Commission of Ezra . . ' . . 458
5021 The Isi Week of Daniel begins fcs3 . .., i, 458
5024 Empedocles flourished . . . - . 455
5028 The Roman Decemviri . . . v*i..,' . 451
5030 Restoration of the Consuls . . v**-^ * 449
5034 The Commission of Nehemiah , . 445
5035 Military Tribunes at Rome * . . ,'u . 444
5046 Nehemiah returns to Artaxerxes '. . . . 433
5047 Meton flourished . .1 u^. . . -. 432
5048 The Peloponnessian War w . . .431
5049 Mission of Malachi 430
5050 Birth of Plato ji. 429
5051 Aristophanes flourished . . . .-. */. 428
5055 Close of the Old Testament Canon . . , r i , . 424
5056 Reign of Darius Nothus . . &i* v .>. . 423
5070 The 7th Week of Daniel ends ;.., . . :< 409
5075 Reign of Artaxerxes Mnemon . \i 404
5075 Ly sander takes Athens .... / 404
5078 The Anabasis of Xenophon : ; .. * ,.-.: . 401
5081 Ctesias flourished . ': '* . ,. . -; ... 398
5089 Rome burnt by the Gauls . **. i v ',; J ., . 390
5095 Birth of Aristotle .-.>.-;.-.!* ," tj.. , ... 384
5108 Battle of Leuctra . . rwK^i - .371
511] Eudoxus flourished .... 368
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 305
A.M. B.C.
5113 Consuls restored at Rome .... 366
5119 The 14th Week of Daniel ends . . . 360
5120 The accession of Philip . . . ... 359
5121 Reign of Ochus . . . . , . *' 358
5123 Birth of Alexander the Great . . . 356
5138 Birth of Epicurus .... V- . 341
5139 Demosthenes flourished . . . ' ". '' . 340
5141 Battle of Charonea ..< . . v . . 338
5142 Reign of Arses . . . . *' . 337
5143 Reign of Alexander in Macedon w . 336
5144 Reign of Darius Codomannus . ... 335
5145 Alexander crosses the Hellespont . . . 334
5147 Tyre taken by Alexander . . v ' . 332
5147 Alexandria founded . . . * , . 332
5148 Battle of Arbela . . . . ;. .> 331
5150 MACEDO-GRECIAN EMPIRE . . . <- . 329
5156 Death of Alexander . . . V . 323
5159 Ptolemy takes Jerusalem . . . i ; 320
5168 The 21st Week of Daniel ends . . ; . 311
5167 Era of the Seleucidse or Contracts . '.. ' . 312
5174 Reign of Ptolemy Lagus . . . '>' . 305
5180 A rcesilaus flourished . . . > -.; . 299
5194 Reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus . . V 285
5199 Reign of Antiochus Soter . . . . . 280
5200 Irruption of the Gauls into Greece v* ' " '-. 279
5202 Epoch of the Septuagint Version . . i- 277
5215 First Punic War . . . ; .- ' ;' 264
5217 The 28th Week of Daniel ends . . . ' 262
5218 Reign of Antiochus Theus . > v i 261
5232 Reign of Ptolemy Evergetes .... 247
5233 Reign of Seleucus Callinicius .... 246
5238 Sicily ceded to Rome \ . . . . .241
5254 Reign of Seleucus Ceraunus .... 225
5256 Reign of Antiochus the Great . . . / 223
5257 Reign of Ptolemy Philopator . Y" ';' . '.V 222
5261 Second Punic War . . . > V . : 218
5263 Battle of Cannae . . . >v'>. - : .- 216
5266 The 35th Week of Daniel ends . . . .213
5274 Reign of Ptolemy Epiphanes . . . v 205
5289 The Romans cross the Hellespont . . .190
5292 Reign of Seleucus Philopator . . . .187
5298 Reign of Ptolemy Philometor . . . ?- A v 181
5304 Reign of Antiochus Epiphanes . . . V 175
5304 Antiochus persecutes the Jews 10 years . . 175
5304 End of the Jewish Hierarchy . ' . . ^.? 175
5309 Antiochus sacks Jerusalem . . . '- J' 170
306 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
A.M.
B.C.
5311
Macedon subdued by the Romans
. ' 168
5312
Martyrdom of the Maccabees .
. . 167
5313
The Asamonean Dynasty
. 166
5313
Reign of Judas Maccabeus
. 166
5315
Reign of Antiochus Eupator
. 164
5315
The 42d Week of Daniel ends .
164
5317
Reign of Demetrius Soter
162
5318
The Jews allied with the Romans
. 161
5329
Reign of Alexander Balas
150
5330
Third Punic War ....
. 149
5333
Reign of Demetrius Nicator
. 146
5333
Reign of Ptolemy Physcon . , .
146
5333
Destruction of Carthage .
. 146
5336
Reign of Antiochus VI. Epiphanes
. 143
5337
Reign of Trypho . . . n 1 .
. i 142
5341
Reign of Antiochus Sidetes
. 138
5351
2d Reign of Demetrius Nicator .
128
5354
Reign of Alexander Zebina . *i.i .
. 125
5356
Reign of Antiochus Grypus
. 123
5362
Reign of Ptolemy Soter .
. 117
5364
The 49th Week of Daniel ends .
115
5374
Africa made a Roman Province
. '/.;. 105
5384
Reign of Seleucus Nicator
95
5387
Reign of Philip . TV
92
5389
Cicero flourished ....
90
5396
83
5397
Sylla made Perpetual Dictator
82
5398
Reign of Ptolemy Auletes *
81
5410
Birth of Virgil ....
69
5410
Reign of Antiochus Asiaticus . \*\ f \
69
5413
The 56th Week of Daniel ends'. , .-. -
66
5414
Birth of Horace . . . , , .\ , ,
-.'' . 65
5414
Syria made a Roman Province . ' .
: * r . 65
5416
Jerusalem taken by Pompey . *.;?
. . 63
5419
First Roman Triumvirate . ',*/',
60
5421
Birth of Livy . . ,* , , . : V,.-.
58
5421
Julius Caesar invades Gaul
58
5425
Julius Ccesar reduces Britain .
54
5428
Reign of Cleopatra ....
51
5431
Battle of Pharsalia . .
48
5434
The 59th Week of Daniel ends .
45
5434
The Julian Era
45
5435
Death of Julius Casar
44
5436
Second Roman Triumvirate
43
5437
The Battle of Philippi
42
5441
The 60th Week of Daniel ends .
38
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 307
A.M. B.C.
5441 The Spanish Era 38
5442 Reign of Herod ..... 37
5442 End of the Asamoneans '. *' . . 37
5448 The 61st Week of Daniel ends . . . . 31-
5448 The Battle of Actium . . . , ' 31
5449 Egypt made a Roman Province ... 33
5449 THE ROMAN EMPIRE .... 30
5449 Reign of Augustus Caesar .... 30
5452 The Augustan Era .... 27
5455 The 62d Week of Daniel ends .... 24
5455 THE TEMPLE OF JANUS SHUT . . 24
5462 The 63d Week of Daniel ends . 17
5462 The Temple at Jerusalem rebuilt by Herod. . 17
5476 The 65th Week of Daniel ends ... 3
5476 BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST . . . 3
5478 Reign of Archelaus ..... 1
A.D.
5478 VULGAR ERA OF CHRISTIANITY ... 1
5486 Judea made a Roman Province ... 8
5492 Reign of Tiberius Cesar . . . . 14
5504 The 69th Week of Daniel ends ... 26
5505 Pontius Pilate procurator of Judea . .' . 27
5506 BAPTISM OF CHRIST .... 28
5511 The 70th Week of Daniel ends ... 33
5511 THE CRUCIFIXION AND ASCENSION . . 33
5511 THE FIFTH EMPIRE 33
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