Commentary on the Holy Bible

Verse 19. They burnt the hmae qf Cod] Here was an end to the temple; the moat superb and cosily ed^ce enr erected by man.

Destroyed ail the goodly veeatla^ Beat up all the ■! W and gold into masses, keeping only a fbw of the fioeat in their own shape. See ver. 18.

Verse 22. Now in Vu firtl mar ^ <^nu\ lUs and the following verse are supposed to mve beoa writxen hf mistake from the Book tf Exra, vrtuch b^ins in the same way. The Book of the Qvrmidea, properly apeaking, does dose with die tmniy-Jbvt verae, as then tba BabrlcmiA captivity commeaeea: and these two veram apMS of ibe trwiaactions of a period aeveniy yam qfttr. This was in Uw first yev of the reign of Cjnm ont the empira «f the Ba^ whksh is reckcmed to be A. M. 3468L But he was king cf Paroia from the y«ar 3M1 cr 5. 8m CUmelud Uaahar.

23 ■ Thus raith Cynu kiiie of Persia, All the build him a house in Jenualem, which is in Jth Ungdonuol the earth hath the Lord God of dah. Who MtA/reamooffvouof all his people? heaven given me; and he hath charged me to the Lord his God be with him, and let him go ap

Tme 23. Tiu Lord kit God be vUk hini\ " Let the WoBD of liw Lord be bia helper, and let him go up." Turgum. See the notes on the bennning of Ezra.

Tuva enda the hieiory of a people the most fickle, the moit ungrateful, and, perhape, on the whole, the most ainful that ever exiated on die face of the earlh. But what «diaplay doea all thia give of the power, juatice, mercy, and long-auflering of the Lord! There waa no people like thia pec^ and no Ood like their God.

"Rm mm of the vent* in both booka of Cbronielea ia 1666. MidtUe verse, 1 duoa. zxviL 26. lu Hasoretic aectiona Iwmty-Jlee.

Having made particular remarka on every thing which I judged of importanee im these and the preceding hiatoricu book% and in the course of thia work baving often finnd the vant of a dimwdogical list of the Ungs of

Israel and Judab, in the consecutive order of their reigns; for the reader's information I have brought atl the bcu into a aynopaia or general view, so that ne may aeeat once the coutemporary reigns in those two kiDgdoms, as well as the leading facta by which their reigna were diatinguished. In thia table will be seen, at one view, the year of the world; the year before Chriat; the year before and after the Firat Olympiad j the year before and from the building of Rome t and under them the Jewiah hWtoiy, from ita first kings till the tins in which ita regal atate was Mitirely abolished, and both kingdomB led into eaufttivity, never more to arise (o any political consequence till dtey acknowledge the Lion of the tribe of Judan, and take Jesus the Christ, the son and only legitimate heir of David, for their Saviour and their l^ord. I hope that the table which ia here aubjoined, will be found in every poini of view both iniereatiDg and inatructive. A. Cuuua. Mmroeki Dac0mbtr 7, 1819.

4 Jeboisda the priMt bora about tbto tiim. H« ltv«d 9 In eight J«wiih relfu; vtt. tkoee of BebobcMUO

5 About tUa lime flourlahed the propbeu Jeha, Ha 3 nani, and Aaeriah. Baaeha beffOB bie raifn by eztlrpatiM tbe whole honaa of Jeroboam. The ifnattf V./cvtaaM laated not quite 34 reara; and fa followed by that of Baaaha, which con tinuea till tba death of Elah, a period of not qnlteMyeua.

19 of Alba, la the S4Bth year Oxmi the deatnictfon 90 of Troy. Ba la named by Bueebiui, Ckiiieiui

94 IKLAH. X^odtyoara. ZDNRI raigned 7 daya. 9 1 omi andTlBNI rein tocBtber aboat 5 yeara. s OoBuneneaaMBl of the UM ^nua^r fcrthaaeeca. 3 aion of Omri to Um IliroBe.

REROBOAM. Reigaed 17 yeaia. Foreabag tbt counael of tbe old men, ton trihw revoU ftm under hia government; ud an Ibf ed lata a dialinct kingdom.

Bhlabak, king of Egypt,, (tboogbt by Sir Imae Newton to bare bean tba same with the ttmam Seaoelrla^ inradea Jodea, and takca aw^ tba Bbieldaof gold oat of tha Umpla.

Zerah, with an tmmenae iMOt of Etfaiopiane aal Lnbima, lovadea Judea. Aaa onretmt* Mm la the valley of Zepbatbah at Uartvhah, abolithn bloUlry ont of Judea, and cnjoye a peace ft m yean. Tiie niimbar of awa to ZenhS ar«y la aiatcd to ban amasntad 10 a mUbaa. % Ona.

Baaaha eomea op arninat Jadah, and bagiae » baltd Ramtht Mt la dtvertad ftov Wa j brthapcrilerorABa. Thia li alatad in r iTi.LtohBMr "■ ttora la atoat

■▼a been la Um 30>h year ef A«:M MMt ■aniftatly a comaiiaa In iha It: aae onl Kmaa xt. H.

8 C«lp«tafl in tbe Uudnm of Alb«, ud raigBed fl 8 yean. Tto river liber wi> w Munod tnm 10 tliia king.

4 AbcMil thle time AgripM Sjlvloa ■neoeeda Tlbe- 3 riana Bflviua In Um felngdOM oT Aiba, and 0 felgaed 40 yam.

19 The widows' aon ralaed to life.

13 The propbeu of Baal alai a bv Elijah, at the bnok

14 Kiabon. Terminaiio* of iho long jdnragbi. 19 Gnat An of nOn im Ifea laid of brad.

10 I'he Byiiarn agala defeated bf Atabi

9 1 JOBAH. m JEHj»A 3 Aaauinpuon of Eiyab Ib Um Arat yoat of thia 3 i^fa. EUaba lueaoBda bin la Ibo fnpbatie

0 DIogDetua aueeaada Magaeilai ia tba parpetoal 7 arcbonBUfitftbBAtb«ilaB8,andralaa9B^arB.

Jeba tMaa hla reign 1^ ilaying all tbe poateiity of Abab, and deatrojrlBg tbe woralilppert of Baal. About thia Ubm LTCuma, 49 yenra of age, astaUtabea faia lawa at Laeedsnion; and, togetber with Iphlttta and Cleoatheoea, reatorea Iba Olraqlc gaaMO at EUa, about U8 reara before tba ara aaaallT callad the firat Olympiad. AwAd deilh «f jMabal, tbe wift of Abab.

95 taiaty in the date of thla evaat. Wabota Mlow 90 the aiargin of ooi SagUife BlUaa.

4 In the kingdom of Alba. He reigned 37 yean,

4 about thli Um«; and la aocceeded by Ua aon ■3 Benhadad. EUaba diea In tbe aeeoad year of

39 Hrncle* aueceada Pborbaa In tbe perpetual ai- 30 coonsblp of the Albenlana, and rulea 30 yeua.

8 Polydaetua, (of the bmlly of Uw ProelidB,) aa- B eeeda Bunoouia in tbe tbnao of laiwdiiBW, 10 and rdgoed 9 yeara.

19 AJiabla alalB at Um aiege of BaaoUi^lg 90 agraeaUy to tbe prophanr of Weaiaht aadfea SI dogiIkknphUbl(io«riKIagazili.»-».

9 nuity of tbe Jewlah worahip dnriag tbe Lilbof Jahoiada, the high prieat. In the fourth yearof thla reign AUadiul Sylvina aueeeoda Agrippiiit

1 AUAZIAU. Signed 90 yean. Boon aftir tba eonaMBoenwnt of hla lelcB Im alew all tM aervanu who bad kUlad bia fttbu^.

8 bare taken place aboai tkie time. Ar- V baeee fbunda Ibe enpira of the Medea ID opon tbe riuoa at tHe Aaajrlan empire.

35 Arbacea in Ibecovernnieiitof the Medea 3S aUMit Ihia time; but the chrontrioffy of

40 The trirenea flrat invented by tbe Corin-

After Jeraboam'a death an laterregnum of 11 year* and a half ia anppoaed to bare taken place: for ZaebaiiaJi, tbe ion of Jeroboam, did not commence hii reign liti tbe 3Sth year of Axariab, or Uaziaii, kini of Judab. See S Kinn xz. & The fturih dyuMfCf of laraelitbh monarclw, Btb that of Jelm, ia terminatnd by tin deiUior ZMhariah, B. 0. 773.

by Amasiab in the Valley of Salt; and ten thousand precipitated from the lop of a rock, and dashed to ptecea. laMtiab. proud of his victory over the Edonltes,

Krokes tbe Israelitkfa king uj fantun, I following year Jehoaah omtnmm Um, takes him prisoner, bmka down (bar hundred cubits of the wall of Jerwalem; and having spoiled the maple and the king's bouae or a raat twaaana. ntwoa to BaMurift,

M Afi— rtar ■oaciads Tbespiens In tbe mr- U ABaUni Sylvias and Nnmiior snccssd Pro- cas in tbe kingdom of Alba, tbe famer of whom reigned 44 yemrv Nnmlter leignod aloaa 8 yMia, and was their 1m1 king. HediadnboolTSiaa

1 PEKAH. ftelgaed SO yenrs. Hen begins 9 the mntl bntlUitk dynoMy. that of 3 MenaiMm bavtag aobsialad 18 years.

17 The drat Memenian War begins} and con-

30 Pekab slain In tbe dtb Tear of Abas by Hoabaa. the nn of Elah. An anareby is tuppoaad to have snsflisdiii Itr mm»

39 The monarchical goveranient aboliabed al

34 yean after, jGschylua euceeeds Agsmswor In the perpetual arcbonsbip of tbe Atbs-

yenn, u Hoilwa i* Mid BOt to hmve coromcneed hi* rpifn before the 13ib jrear of Ahu, 9 KInf ivii. 1. Tbo be* finning of Hoshsa'a nifn fa placodtWA yoan later, thai hia 0th rear tur ayndinmtis with ilciaklBli% Stb.

nOSHEA. Relvned 0 jeara. Here bt^gina I be «i/AU ud M rfyiMMjr of Israeli tiah klnga.

6 la iliR listh year of Hezeliiah (wbieh waa HBZEKIAH. the Biiilh year of Hoabea, the aon of

Eiab,} BhalmaneUT, Irtnc of Aaayria. look Bamnrin. carried the braeiit«a inlo cap* tMty, and ao pat an END TO THE KINGDOM OF ISKAEL. 9S4 yaaii aft« tba nvolt of the UB Hibea trnm Beboboan.

- [ISjeara. Aboat ttaia time Ccrdiccan lucceeda Mrdidua in the ([nvernmenl of tbe Hedn, and rnlet Sennacbertb, hinf of AMyria. cornea up axalnit Judah, and talcea acreral of in fenced cilie*; but ia pacifled by a tribute. Hezckiah falling aick, ia miraculoualy natored to health.

Bennacberib again InvadingJadea, itiewbcdeAftbe Aaayrlan army, conalatiogof leSMS men, ia dealroyed in 'one night by an angel of tbB L«d. Birik of UanaMh, whn Mwccedod HeKkiali iv tbe kln|dom of Judah.

CoTcyra bnilt by the CorintMana. Ibar yeara aflor ttw balldlng of Tarentum by the Par^ Leoeraloa. the aueceaagrof Blnottw"™! dying, ApMndniflaaceaeda him In Om Atbenlaa

Drioee*. governor of the Medea, atntmea the title of king, and reigna 53 yean. Bcb^ tana wbh built in Ihia relen, BECording to HerodoIUB. 1 MANAS6BH. Beifned SS yeaia. Thia ia the longeat raign in the Jewiafe annate.

Anaxidamnb aneeeMla Ma tktber ZnxHamna In the ibrotta of LaeadMDon, and nl|Ml 39 yeaiB. So waa of Ihe race of the Proclids.

Tbeawond Heaaentaa war begina t and eonliniiet 14yean,to theUkingoflra, after* aiege of 11 yeara.

ArgCDt, king of Macedon, begina hia relifn.. Hanaaaeb, on account of hii Impiety, la carried into captlTity by the Aaayrlana; haX, upon hi* repentance, Ood reatorea him to Ida liberty and kingdom.

End of tlM aecond Meaeenian war, which confirmed tbe Meaaeaiana under the power of tbe Laecdcmonlana. Tho Me*a«niana attempted a third time to ftee tbemaelvea tnm tbe power of Laeed«mon, B. C 4U; bat It waa not till 370 a C. that the deacendania of ttie Meaaenlana Anally roturiwd Into tbe Foloponueoua, allor a long banldnnentor upward* of 300 yesra.

Battle of tbe Horaili and CuriatiL Death of Metioa Suffbtioa, the Alban dictator.

Alba deitroyed, and tbe fnbaUtanu carried to Kome. Birth of Amoa, aon ofMana^wl^, king of Judah.

Cypaelna nnirM the gornnmant of Corinth, and kerpa it An- 30 yoara. The fnRowfog year Byaantlnm ia aald to bavo been bnilt by a colony of Arglvea, or Athenians. Pa. tercnlaa aayi it waa ftaanded by the Hiledana; Jnatln that It waa fbnndad by tba Lacodanoninna; and Ammianna that It waa flranded by the AUienlaBB. Bysaatlnn ia tbe aatne with what wna afterward calM Conaiantlno^.

Phraorloa saceaada Dotoeeo In Um kiafdoM of Media. Thla ■onarah la ani the iaBM with tba Arpbaiad niaatlonad In laditb.

C^raMna, arCjrirmm, neeaidi PlirBOfIn ii) Ibe hiiirdonof Mridii ind Pcfua, ui jDsiah main the Unpir. dcalroyi Use vmkIi of Bbal a.ad ABberah. 4d«ii lip

83 ATyaiies II. the hrt^Wy nf t\te MFimnwic find Tniber i>f vha iucuedt 10 IbH Lrdiin ihiniie, tml riMj^ne 57 yajiri. 'J'tili kior riani fhHn Aila, Md mpda war ■■■InH ijia Ue#«. An ediMB oT iBiMnH

4 Jeramiih fi>rei«I1a the 70 yeara' captivtiT. WeiMchailin^w bifiiM Ida I NiiMVfth UhMi Md drairoyod by C/axare* and bia alllM. • Atuielaa aveaeeda to iba Ihroaa of Luedrnion. aad r«ina U raan,

0 leniaeleni beeieirod tf Nebaehadnenar i aiidlwoymnafter.f**i. toihalMyaaraf 10 Nebvebadaawr, Jer. Hi. 13.) the city ia Uken. the tenpto barat, aad Iba paMle carried ewny Into captivity. Thua eiiila THK KINGDOM OF JVDAB.aftar il b^ flood nvm the death of Bolonon seryeara, and from the caiwlTit* of ibe ua iribn UByeara. Abwil thia ttoe flonrWied CMIo. A aaefcawto. Thaler t|lwialdii.»t*ML

AT tlie flonclanoa of 2 Kin^ and also of Qi« pncedrAg book, 2 Chroniclei, we haTe seen the itata of miaerf aod deik)latiun to which the kinj(danu of Imel and Judui were reduced throc^h their anparalleled ingratitun toCha^ •ltd their innumerable badcaKdinca and nbdlioiu. Theae at laat iaaued in their eaAtivity; the inhabiBau of die ftraer ooufktry being carried away by the Aaavriani^ and dioae of the latter hr the Chaldeant. The former neTer recoriywl (hdr SQcient tenitoriea; ^wl were ao aiapoaed of by their enemiea, that they either beeana amalganwtad wilk the beodiea pationa, to u to be utterly Vndiatmguiriiabte, or they were tnuuported to Mffle fimign BBareehiae place « MBtttement, that the plaoe of Ibdr exiatenee, aoQsh repeated^ gueaaed at, haa, for more than two VtauHMi ytart, toes totally unknown.

In maroT to the 'leaa polluted inhabitanta of Ae kingdom of Jndah, though deHwed up into the handa of befr enemiea, God had promiaed, hf his prophet, that at the erpiration of wMiuy year* they Aould be onlarsed, ind reatored to their own comitry. Thia fn^iction waa moat literally fulfilled; and the booka of B^ra, Smtr, tod JVAomiak, inform iia how the divine rnidneu aoeompliahed thia moot graoioua deaign, and the fiioMra and whom be emplt^ed cm the occasion. Tfie writer of the followiw book waa-vndoubtedly the chief agent under Gad » and hia hiatory, aa found in ihe noet authentic writing! of the Jewi^ ia too Marly ooniweted with thia book, and bo mipartant in every point of view, to be paaaed by. No nan haa written ea dita amiiect with auch perqacoi^ aa Deaa I*ridtaux; and from hia invaluable work, TIm eoniueted Hiwtary ^ th» Old andNm Taabwunlf^ I aball &«ay borrow whatever may be beat calculated to throw light upon the eiwuiflg hiMory.

"In die beginning of the year 468 befbre the Ckriatian era, Etim obtained of Kmg Artaxerxeo, and hia aeva Monaallora, a very ample commiaaion for hii return to Jemaalem, with all hia notion were willing to accompany hia thither; giving him fiill authority there to restore and settle thealate, and reform dweburch of the Jewa, and toregulaa and govwn boih according to their own lawa. Thia eztnordmary fcvow, not being likely to have been obtained ba by aome more than ordinary meona, appeara to have been granted vf King Artaxerxea to the aolicitatione of Eathei; whc^ duMgh not at that time advanced to the digni^ of hia ^ueen, waa yet the beat beloved of hie oaooubioea.

" Ezra waa of the deacendaota of i9«rata&, the Ugh prieol, who waa slain by Nebuohadneatar, when be burnt tbt ■ample and city of Jerutaiem.

"Am Ezm was a very holy, ao also was he a very learned man, and especially skilled excelleotly in the knowledge of the Holy Scripiurea; and, therefbre, he is said tonava been a very ready acrilie in the law of Qoi^ for which ha yrm «o eminent, that Artoxences takes particular notice of ic in hia oommiasion. He bogan his journey from Bat^lon, a die first dav of the first month, called Msan, whieh might fall about the middle of our Harolt; and, havirw, halted t ttie river of Ahava till the rest of his company was eotna up to him, be there, in a solemn fuL recommended himsell and oil that were with him to the divine proceeiion: and tnen, on the Uee^fOt day, aet forward fbr Jerusalem, ^Aney aL having spent./our months in their journey from Babylon thither. On nis arrival he delivered up to the temple tha oifoings whieh had been made to it by the king and his nobles, and the rest of the people of Israel that stayed belundj which amounted to a hundred talmU of gold, with twenty basins of gold of the value of a ikmuaad danes, and aia kundrtd and Itfly talenta of silver, with vessels of silver of the weight of a, hundred talents more: and then, having eommunioared nis commission to the king's lieuteoanu and governors throughout all Syria and Paleatine, he betow himself to the executing of the eonients of it, whereby he waa fully empowered to setila both the church aiid the statt •f the Jews, according to the law of Moeee; and to appoint magistrates and judges to punish all such as should bl refractory; and that not only by iraprisoninaHt, and oonfiseation of gpod% but ahio with banishment and death, aooorditm aa their erimes should be fmind to deserve. And all thia power Esra wa inveaiad with, and continued fiiithfully tc flxeeuU it for die apaoe of thirltn yea^^ till Nelujitiah arrtmd with a new ooaunisaion from the Peraian court, for thi. same w<m^ JStto, having found in the teoond year of his govemment (Ezra ix. and z.) that many of the people hoc taken Strang wivea, contrary to the law, and that several of the priests and Levilea, aa well as the chief men of Judah and Benjamin, had transgresaed herein, after be had in fasting and prayer deprecated Ood's wrath for it, he caused proolamation to be made for all the people of Israel that had reuimed from the captivity to galber tbemaslvea logethar at Jemailem, under the penalty of exeonununicatton, and forfeiture of all their goods. And when they were met, ha nade them aanaible of their sin; and engaged them io promiae and myvenaot beMto Ood, to depart from it by putting away their strange wives, and ait audi aawm bom of (ban, that the seed of larael might not be polhitad with aoebaa mtdiM eommizture; and thsnon eonmiaatoMn wara a|ifwinlad to incpiin into thia matter, and oooaa «raiy nuut to do

"And they sat down the^rif day of the lwn& month to examine into this matter, and made an e^ly the day artbe.;lrsf month; so that in three months' time, that is^ in the teift, tUventh,vidlwtlfA months oRie Jewish year, a thoraurii refonnation waa made of thia tranagreesioo i iriiieb tttr»4 months answer to January, ^Vnvary, Baa AbrcA, of our year.

"About this time, (Esther ii. 21.) Bigthan and Jeuah, two eunuchs of the palaoa, entered into a een^ra^ ngainat Ae life of King Artaxerxec Host likely'they were of thoos who bad attenwd Queen Vaahti; oncL being ntrw out of BMir oflieeaby the degrading of their mtsttesa^ and the advnaoHur of another io her ploes, took such a disgust at ihi% as to resolve to revenge themselves on the kii^ for it; of which Mordeoai, having got the knowledge^ made diaoovan to Queen Esther, and she in Moideeai'a name to the king; whereon inquiry being made into the mailer, and the whole treaaon laid open and disoovered, the two traitors woe both emoifled for and the luitoiy of the whole matter was entered on the public registers and amials of the kingdom.

"Ezra continued in 1M govemment (tfJudea till the end of the year 446; amL by virtue of the commission he had from the king, and the powers granted him thereby, he ralmmed the whole state of the Jewish church, according to the knr of Moses, in irtiich he waa ezoeltently leaned, and aauled it upon thtX bottom tmon which it afterward stood till dte tinm of our Saviour. Tha two chief things whieh he had to do, ware to restore the oboervanea of the Jewish law aeoording to the aaoient wf^rtmd osages whieh had bsen in practioe before the eaptivtty, under the directtona of the prophets; and to collect tegethM- onaset forth a oorreet edition of the Holy Scriptures; in the perfonnonea of both whieh the Jews inform as, he had the anaismnnn nf what they call the Great Synagogue, which ihey tell us was • •oavaaiioa, eonaisting of ena Atuwb^ and ttemty nan; who lived all at the same time under tha preaideney of Ezra, gdaarietsd him in boih of tbaoa two works; and aawog these tbey name Danial and hia three Irisnda, Shadraql^

"But the whol« conduct of the work, nod th« glon of accomplMhing it, ji, by the Jevs, chie^v atuibuted to Kin^' under whoae preaideacy the; tell ui it was done; and, therefore, they look upon him u another Howa; for the bv, tber lay, wu nven by Hoeea; hut it was reviewed and restored by Ezra, after it hud in a maooer been extinguiahco and l4it in the Babyltmiah captivitv. And, therefor^ they reckon faim as the second founder of it t and it is a commoa i^iawn amonf them that ha was Maladii (he pr(^>het: mat be was called Bzra as his proper name, ajtd Halartu, (irtiich signifies an angel or messenger,) from hts'omo^ because he was sent as the tatm and messenger of Om to restore again the Jewish religion, am establish it in the same manner as it was before the captivny, on dw foondotioa oT the law and the prophets. And, indei>d, by virtue of that ampte cummission which he had frcnn King Artaxerxes, he had an opportunity of doing more herein than any other of his notion; and he executed all the powers thereof to the utmost he w&a able, for the resettling both of the ecclesiastical and potiticol state of the Jews in uie best posture they were then capable of; and from hence hia name is in so high esteem and veneratiooamong the Jew% that It is a common saying among their writers, 'That if the law bad not be^ given by Moses, Ezra was worthy by Whom it should have been given.' As to the aricient and approved usages of the Jewish diuroh, which had been in practice before the captivi^, they had by Joshua and Zerubbaoel, with tlie chief eldera then contempoiariea, and by others that after socoeeired them, been gathering together from their first return to Jerusalem, as they could be recoveted from the memories of the ancients ot their nation, who had «itber ae«n them practised themselves before the captivity, or who had been informed concerning them by (heir parents or others, who had lived before them.

"All these, ami whatsoever else was pretended (o be of the same nature, Ezra brought under a re^'iew; and, after due esapuoation, allowed ewh of them as were to be allowed, and settled them by bis approbation and outhw-ity: tluj ^ve Urih to what the Jews now call their Oral Law: for they own a twofold law — the/rsi, the Written Law, which is recorded in the Holy Scriptures; and the seamd, the Oral Law, which they have only by the tradition of their elden. And iDtb these, they say, were given them by Moses from mount Sinai, of which the former only was committed to vritiig, and die other deliverra down to them from generation to generation bv the tradition of the elders: and, therefere, holding them both to be of the eome authority, as having both of diem the same divine original, they think ^mMlves to be bound as much by the latter oa the former, or mther much more; for the Written Law is, they nr, in manj places, obscure, scanty, and defective, and could be no perfect rule to them without the Oral Law; wWh «oaMining, aoeording to them, a full, eoniplett ttai perfea interpretation, of all. that written in the other, supplies aU lie defects, and solves all the difficulties of it) and, therefore, they oba^e the Written Law no otherwise than according as it is explained and expounded by theic Oral Law. And hence it is a common saying among them, ' That the tovenaat was made with diero not upon the Written Law, but upon the Oral Law;' and, therefore, th^ dt^ in a nssner, lay aside the former, to moke room for the latter, and reaolve their whole keuoiox into their tradition^ in the aaae manner as the Romanists do theirs, having no farther regard to the Written Word of God than as it agrees with thsr traditionary explications of it, but always preferring them thereto, though in many particulars they are quiie cMtradiclory to it; which is a eofruption that nad grown to a great hei^t among them, even in our Saviour's time; foihe charra them with it, and tells them, That mty make Uu leord qf God <if none efai through Atir tradition*, Uirk vii. 13. But ih«r have done it much more since, professing agreater regard to the latter than to the former: aad hence it is said that we find it so often said in their writings, ' Imt the words of the scribes are lovely above the mrds of the law; that the werds of the law are weighty and light, but the words of the scribes are all mighty: that tie words of the elders are weightier than the wor& of the propnets; (where, by the words of the scribes, and ihe '«orda of the elders, they mean Uieir traditions, deUvered to them by their scribes and elders.') And in other plKea, That the written text is nnly as water t but the B^^Ana and Ttumtid, in which are contained the traditions, ore as fine and hiwocraa.' - And again, "That the written Law is only as salt, but the Muhna and T^mud as pepper and «veet spicefl.^ And in many oth^ swings, very common among them, do they express the very high veneraiion whidi »ey bear towatd the Oral or Traditionary Law, and tbe-little regard which they have to the Wriuen Word of God in ctnparison of it^ making nothing of the fatter but as expounded by the former; as if the Written Woid were no mm ihn the dead letter, ana the Traditionary Law slone the soul thai gives it the whole life and essence.

f'And this being what they hold of their traditions, which th^ call their Oral Law, the account wluch they gin of in original is as follows: for ih^ tell us that, ' At the same time when God gave unto Moses the law in mount Staa^ is gave unto him alte the interpretation of it, commanding him to put the former in writing, but to deliver the other aly by word of moudi, to be preserved m the memories of men, and to be transmitted down 1^ them from generation t geneiration by tradition only; -and from hence the former ia called the Written, and the otheft the Oral Law.' Anl « this day all me detenninations and dictates of the latter are lermedj by the Jews, ' Constitutions of Mows from mouat

{inai because ihey do as firmly believe that he received them all from God in his forty days' converse with him ta at mount, as that he then received the Written Tpxt itself. That on his return from tliis converse he brought both 4 these laws with him, and delivered them unto the people of Israel in this manner: — Aa soon as he was returned to Ss tent) be called Aaron thither unto him, and first delivered unto him the text, which was to be the Written Law, 4fed after that, the interpretation of it, which was the Oral Law, in the same order as he received both fi-om God ia tie mount. Then Aaron arising, and seating himself at the right hand of Mosea, Eleozar and Ithamar his eons went ftxt in; and, being laught both these lava at the feet of the prophet, in die same manner a> Aaron had been, they also rose and seated themselves, the one on the left hand of Moses, the other on the ri«^t hand ot Aaron t and then the anaUf ■eders, who constituted the sanhedrim, or great senate of the nation, went in, and being taught 1^ Moses both these lawa b the same manner, they also seated themselves in the tent; and then entered all such of the people aa weredentouaot blowing the law of God, and were tau^t in the same manner. After this, Moses withdrawing, Aaron repeated the Thole of the law, as he heard it/rom him, and also withdrew; and then Eleaxar and Ithamar repeated the aame; an^ m dieir withdrawing, the seventy elders made the same repetition to the people then present; eo that each of ibo^ "iavinv heard both these laws repeated to them four times, they all had it thu«by fixed in their merooriea: asd Ifaat thfen they dispersed themselves among the whole oongregatton, and communicated to all the people ol Israel what had thus been delivered to them by the prophet of God. 'Hiat they did put the text into writing, but the inter|»«tBtiOD of it they delivered dtmn only by word of mouth to die suceeeiraig generations; that the written text contained the sir hundred and IkirUen prectpts, into which they divide the taw and the unwritten interpretations, all the-maaarra w^s, and circumstances, that were to be observed in the keeping of them; thu after this, toward the end of (he fortiA year from dieir coming up out of the land of Egypt, in the beginning of the tlevmth mtmih, (which fell about tht Kginnihg of our June]) Moeea calling ell die people of Israel together, acmialnled ihem'of the approarhing time ef his death, aivl therefore ordered, mat if any of them had fowot aught of vniat he had delivered to them, they should repair to him, and he would repeat to diem what had slipped their memories, and farther explain to them evety ditficnltyasd doubt which might arise in their minds concerning what he had taught them of the law of their God; and that heiM they applying to him, all the remaining time of hia lifs, that is, from the said beginning of the etaimA month till ibe aixA day of the twelfpv month, was employed in instructing them in the text which they call the Written Law, and in the interpretation of^it, which th^ call the Oral Law; and that, on the said tixlh day, having delivered nnio dMH Otirteen, Mptea of the Written IjKfr, all cojued out with his own hand, from the beginning of Ocoena to da end of Deuteronomy, one to each of die twelve tribes, to foe kept h? them throughout their generatjoDs^ and Oiirletnth to the Leviies, to be laid up by them in the tabernacle before dieXiord; and having, moreover, repeand the Oral Law to Joehua his successor, he went, on the tevmth day, un Into mount Piebo, and there died; tte aifier his deatli Joshua dt^livered the same Oral liiw to the elders, who after succeeded him, and they deUvered it la Ijie prophets, and the prophets transmitted it down m each other, till it eame to JersmtoA, who dehvered itio AmeA, and Bamdi to Ezi-a, by whom it was delivered to the men Ot die Cireat Synagogue, the last of whom was Stmmt. the Jutt 1 that by him it was delivered to Antigonus of Soeho. uul }rj him to Atse the sim of Jochanan, and by him lo Jom the son of Joeser, and by him to Nathan the Arbeltte, am Jostna the son «r Borachiah, and by him lo Judsh ihe sea of Jabhai, and Simeon die. acm of Skauh, and by them to Shenwiah and AUtulion, and tfaen to HiHel. and ky Hillel to Shneon hia "P^^^ i* »VV»^ to have been Oie Mine wha took oar Saviour iolo hi* wma when ha waa

bmgtit to thfe temple to be diera preemted to the Lord at the time of hii mother's purification; and by Simeon it waa delivered to Gamaliel hia son, the name at whose feet Paul was brous^t up, and hy him to Simeon his son, by him to OamaKel hiraon, and by him to Simeon his son, and by him to Rabban Junad Hakxadosh his son, who wrote it into the hook called ihe Uishna. But all this ia mere fietiottj spun out of the fertile inventkm of the TWmudists, widiout the)«aat foundation, either in Scriptnn or in ftfly tuithenM niatory, for it. But sinOe all tibiafaM made apart of the Jewish creed, th^ do as firmly believe thek tradMrns thus to have come from Ood, in the manner I have reUitecLas th^ do dte Written Word itself; and have now, as it were, wholly resolved their religioa into these traditions, "niere is no understanding what their religion at present ia without it j uid it is for this reason I have here inserted it.

"Bntthe truth is this: after the death of Simon Via fiut, there arose a sort of men whom tliey call The Jarmain. *r4bt Uishnical doctors, thu made it their business to study and descant upon those traditions which had been reoeivM Aid allowed Ezra and the men of the great B;jm^ogue, and to draw iniereneea and consequences ftom Ifaem, all of which they ingrafted into the body of these anoent traditimi^ aa if they had been as authentic as the olheri which enn^ile being followed hy those who after succeeded them in dtn profession, they contiiiually added ibeir own imaginaHoita m what they had received from those who went befbre tbem, whereby the traditions becoming as a snowban, the ferther they rolled down from one generation to another, the more ihey gathered, and the greater the bulk of (hem grew. And thus it went on till the middle of the second century after Christ, when Antontniwl^us governed the RomM empire, by which time they fbuod it necessary to put all these troditions into writing, for diey were Aen grown fo so great a numoer, and enlarged to bo huge a heap, as to exceed ibe possibility of being any longer preserved in the memory of men. Aim, besides, in the Mcond destruction which iheir country had undergone from the Koniana, a little before, in the reign of Adrian the preceding emperor, most of their learned men having been cut off, and the chiefest of their schools DToken up and dissolved, and vaatnumbere of their people disaipsted, and driven out of dieir land, thie Msual method of preserving their tradiiioni had then, in a great measure-, failed; and, therefore, tiiere being danger lhat under these disadvantages they mivht be all forgotten and lost, for the preservation of them it was resolved that ihey should be all collected together, and pat into a book; and Rabbi Judah, the son of Simeon, who. from the repu- Ml sanctity of hi«i life, was called Hnkkadoih, that is, The Holy, and was then rector of the school wnich they had at Tiberias, in Galilee, iind president of the sanhedrim that thm sat, undertook the work, and compiled it in six booki^ each c<Hisisting of several tracts, which aJtovether made up the number of aixfy-ihree, in which, under their propw hmds he methodically digested ail that had hiiherto been delivered to them of their law and their religion, by the tradition of their ancestors. And this is the book called The Mithna, which book was forthwith received by the Jewa with great veneration throughout all their dispersions, and has ever since been held in hig^i estimation among them: for their oinnion of it is,- that fall the paMieulars diereln contained were dictated by Ood himself to Motes from mount Sinaii fla well aa the Written Word itself; and ooaaeqnently must be of the same divine authority with it, and oii^t to 'bo as sacredly observed. And, therefore, as soon as it waapubltshed, it became the subject of the studies of alftheir learned men; and the chiefest of ihem, both in Judea and Bed^lonia, einployed themselves to tnake comments on it; and ^ese. with the Miihna, make up both their Talmuda; that is, the Jerusalem Tklmud, and the Bahylooish Tidmud. These comments they call the Oeman, i. o. The Complement, because by them the Mii^na.ia fully explained, and the whole traditioioaTy doctrines of their law and their religion completed. For the MiiAna is the Uxt; and the Gtmara the eomnien^; and both together is what Oiey edl the l^almud. That made by the Jews of Judea ia called tlM Jerusdem Talmud; dintly die Jewa of Babykmia is called the Babylonish Talmud. The former was completed about the year of our Lord 300, and is puUished in one large folio; the latter was publii^ed about lti>o hundred years after, in the Asginnfng' ^ the rixOi eemmy, and has had several editions since the Invention of printing. The last, published at Amsterdam, is in twelw folios; and in these two Talmuds, the law and the prophets being in a manner «itite jostled out of diem, is contained the whole of die Jewish reli|pon that is now professed among Uiem: but ihe ffabvlonish Talmud, is thafwfoidi they chiefly follow; for the other, that is, the Jerusalem TUmud, being obscnre, and hard to be understood, is not lunr mtich regarded by them. But this and the Mishoa, being the most ancient booka which they have, except the Chaldee Paraphrases of Onkelos and Jomlhan, and bout written in the language and e»le of the Jews of Judea; oar eooBtrrmtm, Dr. Lightfoot, has made very giiod use of them, in explaining several places of the New Testament by parallel pfffasee ana sayings out of them. For the one being composed about ttie OTte hundred and Jlftietk year of our I<oid, and the other e£out the three hundredth, the idioms, proverbial sayings, Mid phraseologies, used in our Saviour's time, might very well be preserved in them. But the other Talmud being written in the language and style of Babylonia, ana not compilttd till about die Jive hundredth year of our Lord, or, aa some will have it, much later, this cannot so well serve for this purpose. However, it is now the Alcomn of tlie Jews, into which th^ have resolved all their foith, and all their religion, although framed almost with the same imposture as that of^Mohammed out of the doctrines felsely pretended to be brought from heaven. And in this book all diat now pretend to any learning among them place their studies; and no one can be a master in their echools, or a teacher in thcnr synagogues, who is not well fnatructed and vereed herein j dnit is, not only in the text, which ii the Mishna, but also in the comment thereon, which is die Gemara; and this comment they so highly esteem beyond the other, diat the name of Gemara is wholly engrossed by it; the Gemara of the Babylonish Talmud being fliat only which they now nmially understand by that word; for this, with the Mishna, to which it is added, they tiiirk truly completes and makes ug the whole of their religjon, as fully and perfectly containing all the doctrines, rules, and rites thereof; and therefore, tt is, in dieir opinion, the most deserving of that name, which signifies what complete^ fills up, or perfects: for this is the meaning of the word in the Hebrew langu^;e.

"Tney who professed dils sort of learning, dmt Is, taught and propngatcd this traditionary doctrine among ihenh have been distinguit^ed by several dtfierent titles and appellations, aeeoraing to the diflf^nt agesin which they lived. From the time of the men of the Great Synagogue to the publishing of the Mishna, they were called Jarmam; and Ihey are flie JMWniral doctors, tnit of wfiose doctrines and traditions the Mishna was composed. And from the time of the publishing of the Mishna to die publishing of the Babylonish Talmud, they were called Amoralm; and they ere the aemarioil doctors, out of whon doctrines and traditions the Gemara was composed. And for about a hundred years afterihe publisbiOR of the Talmud, tliey were called Seburaim, and after that Georim. Aad these were the several classes in which their learned men have been ranked, aerordin!r to the several ages in whiclWieT lived. But, for these latter limes, the general name of rabbt is diet only whereby their learned men arc called, there oeing no otlier title whereby they have been distingriished for near teten hundred y>^rs past.

"For, about the year 1040^ all their schools in Mesopotamia, where only they enjoyed these high titles, being destroyed, and all their learned men diencc expelled and driven out by the Mohammedan princes, whogovemedin tlwse rnrti; diey have since that, with the greatest number of their people, flocked into the ^Ystem parts, especially into Spain, France, and England; and from that time all these pompous titles which they affected in tne Best Ming dropped, they have retained none other for their learned men from toot time butthatof iiiabM; ezceptiug only that those of ihem who minister In their synagogue are called Oiacurat, i. e. Wiee Men.

" But the great work of Ezra was, hta collecting together and eettini^ forth a correct edition of the Ho!y Seripturej, whir^he laboured much in, and went a great way in the perifeeting of it. Of this both Christians and Jews give him the honour: and many of the ancient fetners attribute more to him in (Ws particular than the Jews themselves j foi they bold lhat all the Scriptures were lost and destroyed in the Babylonish rnptivity, and that Ezra reatored them all a^in bvdivine revelation. Thus »ay^ Irenusu*, and thus says 7Vr/w//iJ3n,'Clemern" Alexudrinus, Butil, and others. But rti»Tr had no other foundation for it dian that febulous relation which we liave of it in the fourteenth chapter of the ■eeond Apocryphal Book of Esdrns j a book too absurd tor the Romanints themnelve" to receive into their canon.

" IndsM, in The time of Josiah, through the itnpiety of the (wo preceding reigns of Manaseeh and Amon, the book of the Inw ii'ss snd'-^roved and lost,' that besides the copv of it which niUruiA is said to have found, and the grief whi^ Joaiah eniressed at the bearing of it read, do plahily show, that neither of them hod ever seen it before.

" And if die king and the high priest, who were both men nf eminent pietyr.wen; without this part of the Roly Beriptur^ it ssot aeareety be tboupn tfait nj one eln ftms had it. But ao religwiM a priacf its King lodah cottM dm loam dill Ions itonraedicd. hit ordm eopia vara written eat ftrom lhk«rigiwilt •xlwcih batag Mai* Ik al difl other parU af Holy Scripture, both in tb« oolltgw ot tha aona of lb* frt^U, and >U other pUoea vbaca eould be found, care wm token for traiueriplB toba nude outaf then aboi and ihaoDafnth bmiu •£ the whols haoaat multiflied amons the people: all ihoae vAioweredcMrouaof knowing tha laws of dieir Godaitbcr writiorthaMatt dnmaelToa, or procuring; others to do it for them; ao diu within a few reara after the Htrfy City and Tampto wen da- ■ itroved, and die authentic copy of the law, which waa bid up before die Lord, waa bufntand canaimed with than j ja^ hy ihii time, manr copiea, bath of the law and die prophea, and all die other Sacred Whtinga, wcra got mta pfmtt hands, who carriea them with them into caplivity.

" 'ntat Daniel had a copy of the Holy Scripturea with hin in Babylon ia certain f ibrbequotea tba law, lad aho knakea mention of the propnaciea of the prophet Jeremiah, whieh haeould not do had be naivar asea them. JmA in iba muk flhapterof Ezraitis aaid, diaton the finishing of dte temple, in the aixlik year of Daring On priaata aad OiaLaTilii were aettledin their reapective lunctiona, according aa it ia written in dwlAWof Mosaa. ButJtow could ttwy da ddi aeoording to the Written Law, if tbey had not oopieaof dw law dien amoiv than? And thia waa nearly aix^ ycam before iSra eame to Jerusalem.

"And ftrdier, in chop. vii. of Nehemiah, die people called for dte Law of Moaea, to haTe it read to tbem, whiA di* Lord bad commanded to larael; which plainly diowa that the book waa then well known lo have been extant, and nat to need such a miraculous expedient as that of thedirine revehition for ite reaioratlon j all that Ezra did in ibiaiaaow vaa to gat togedier as many copies of dte Sacred Writimn aa ha could, aad out of then tllaalferthaeotTeetadilioaiia <k performance of whidi be took of dte following partieidars t—nnt. Ha oorrectad all lha drron diat had onat iai» 'Ibeaa copies through die neglioenceor mistakes <» tranKribeni for, by comparing diamooa widi (be other, baioaao jiU the true reading, and aet allat rights. Whedier die Aert M<&tb, or Tsiioaa rewi&iga, that are in our present Hilmw Bhiea, were of these corrections, Idare not say. The generality of the Jewish writers tell us that they were: sad otMM unong diem hold them as much more ancient: rebrring diem, widi absurdity «nou^ as tu back aa die liBMa of Aa:%at writers of tha books in which thayare found, aa if diey themaslvaa had deawnedly made tfacas varisoa Bmmif> fcr di« sake of some mysteriea comprised under diem. It is moat probable that tbey had tbair origiaal fron ■£Bpfcea of the tranaeribera afler the tioM of Ezra, and the ofaaervaliona and omeetions irf Ota-JUiMeHte saada 'iHm». Ifai^af themwereofthoaaandamTBriouBtcadingiirtiMdibadbeeaobaervadlyEmbbuelfiDABeM^ '^nig of tboae eopiea be collated on this oceaaion, and ware by hin amiazad in die margin aa ootraetioBa at Aasa «rrars which he found in the text, it is certain those could not be of that number whidt are now in ihoae Sacred Boaka nat were written by himael^ or taken into the oaaoa after his time; for Oiere are keri eiAib in ihem as veil as iniha odier books of die Hebrew Scripturea. Saeondly, He eollecied together all the books of which die HolrScnBtBeB did then consist, and disposed them in their proper order { and settled the canon of Scripture for hia time. Tbeae booka be divided iiilo three pcvts— 1. The Law.— 2. The Prophets.— 1 The Cttubiin, « HagiografAa i i. «. tha Ho^ Writings: which division our Saviour himself takes notice o^ Luke xxiv. 44. where he Ba3rs, T^aea ore As warm vhlAImake unto you, vhU» f was yal mlk you, Oat att A»nga mi^ beJ'uifiUad vAiek art wriUai m As Lam, mad in me ProphtU, tatd in Ou P«atm$, eonearning n& Vor there 1^ die Psalms he means the whole third aait fldlad dte Hagiograpba; for, that part beginning widi the Padma, die whole was for that reaaon ibeo eommonlycallsd by duU name t a^ usually wUh tl\e Jews, the partieular books are named from the words with which tbey begin. Thua widi diam Oeneaia ia ealled BereAith, Exodua Siemoth, Levitioua V^fUcra, Ao. becausa th^ be^ widi dis*. Helvew words.

"Aad Joaephua makes mention of diis same division ( Ibr ha my*, in hiifiratbook againat Apion, Wtkattemfyim and twnty todfes vikidi art to be bHUoad or qf diviiu autJwity, ^ vekiA Jive ore the Booke ^ Matm. /Vsai Aa deaAnf MoHt to 0t» reign ^Arlaxa'xea^Aewni^Xerxu, long qf Perwia, Ae propA^fa, tsiw were lAa siiaeeseer* ^Smet, have wrtUen in thirteen bo<^. TTu remaining fimr booia eontam kymne to Ood and doaimmtM

Aeueeqf men, ia which diviaion, according, to him, use law contain* Oeneti*, JSxodtUf Leviticue, Numbere, and l)euteronomy. Tbe writings of the prophets, JothUa, Judgee, with Huili, Samuel, Kinge, Aaiah, ^ertmiah, widi his Lamtntatume^Exekid, DaTtieJ, the twelve minor prophets, Job. ExTa,Nekemiak,EtnertutiibieHagiagT^a, ^ e. die PmoIjju, Proverbt, Eecltnaetes, and Song fff Soiomott, wKich, idtoeetber, make two and twenty boon. IUb aviaion waa made for the sake of reducinr the books to the numbsr of dtair alphabet, in which were tioetUy-ino iMiaA But atpreaent tbey reckon these books to be ftHn/yr/bur, and dispose of diem in diia order: Jlrs^ tha law, whidtcantaina Oeneeie, Esodue, UevUietta, Mtrafrcra, and Deuteronomy. Secondly, Tha writings of iba prqthets, which Ihif divide into the Former PropheU and the Latter P^opheta: die booka of the Former PrtMrfiata are, JoeluuhAdget, Bamuel, and Kinge; the booka of tha Latter Propheta, baiah, Jeremiah, and Bzekid; the twelve Hisor Proweta) dw Bhgiograpka, which are the Pealme, Proverb*, ^b^the Song qf Salomon, which tbey caD tha Song of Scag^ JtaA, the iMmmiaiiona, Ecelenaeiee, Eether, Daniel, Exra, and tne Chronidee. Under lha name oCETra imt wmprahend the book of Nthemiah; for the Hebrmoe, and alao the Qredce, anciently reckoned Bxra and NArmiA but as one book. But this order haa not been alwaya obaerved among the Jews; neidier ia it ao now in all plaeea. for ibna haa bean great varie^ as to this, and that not among the Jews only, but alto among the Chriattana^ aa waD aa tba Qreeka and Latina; but 00 variattMt herein ia of any moment, fbria what order aoeverUte booka an plaeai^ Aw aiaatill die Word of Qod: and no change as to ihiacan nukaan^changa aa to that divine anthwi^ which ia ■"t'^tH vpm diein. But all iheae booka were not received into the canon m JCzra'a times ^ Mahuhi it is stq^ioeed limf after him I and in JVaAemioA aaanlion ia made of Jaddua aa high prieat, and of Daritu Codomannue aa king of Pnaia; who wan at least a huntb-ed yeare after hia time. And in chap. iii. of die First Book of Chronicles the gena^ory of tha aona of Zerubbabel is canied down for ao many geneiatiooa, as must neceaaarily make it reach to the time of Ajeundar Aie Oreat: and therefore die book could not be put into die canon till after his time.

" It ia moat likely d>-u the two booka of CStroniclee. Ezra, N^umiah, and Eeiher, aa well aa ItAlaehi, were afterward added in the time of Simon Ae Attt, and that u waa not till then that die Jewiah oanwi of the Him Ui i i|nwaa waa fillip completed; and, indeed, theae laat books seem very much to want the exactneas and akill of Ezra m dtair niUicaUfflD, they bd\mt( (or short of the correctneaa which is in the other parta of the Jewish Scripturea. Tite fna woka of lh« latf^re divided into jf/Iv^/our aectiona. This division many of the Jews hokl to be oaoof tha Coosdmtioos of Hoses from mount Sinai,- but others, with more likelihood of trudi, atuibute it to Esra, It waa made fcr dia use of their sjmagogues, and die better instructing of die people diere ia the law irf'Ood; fbr every aabfaoth d^caa of theaa aections was read in their nnagoguea: and uiia^ we are assured in die Ada <ifAe ApotUa, waa done aaoag them qf old time, which may well be interpreted from die time of Bxra. They ended the last sectj<m with the laat werda of i>«tfer(»u»ny on the sabbath of the feast of Tabemaclea, and then recommenced widi the first section froa die beginning of Qmtaia the next sabbath after: and bo went on round in this circle every year, tba number of A* Motions waa J{fly-J<r>tr t because in their intercalated years, (a month being dien added,) tbere were./I/ty-,^«raalil»dw. |8aa eomriate taUea of these in all dieir variations at the end of thia comment on die book of Deutaronomy.]

"On other ^raara tbey reduced them to the number of the sabballia whidi were iq those yeara, joinii^ two rftort onea aevera) bmea into one; for diey held diemselvea obliged to have the whole law thus read over to them in Aair aynagiwues every year. Until die time of lha persecution of An/iocf^ EjAphanaa, tbey read only dte law; but bcsig wen lonnd to read it any more, in the room of me J^fty-fmr seetiona of the taw, they substituted J&tJt:fintr wffitiims M of die prophets die reading of which t^iCT'ever after continued. So that when die reading oiF the htw waa ^aia nttored Ity tbeHaoctiwea the aeetion which waa read every aabbath o)it of die law aervod for their firat leaaoait and tha aaction out of the propheta (br dMaeeond leaaon; and ao it waa practised in die Itioe of die uoatlea. Aod,tharefta4 whok Pa»a entered into dta synagogue at AnfiocA, in Piaidia, it ia aaid diat As afood im to preath s/Her the reading

As tavandAa prophets; diat is^ after die reading of die first lesson out of die law, and dis second leaam out of Asa ffopheta. And, m tlwt very aermon which be disn preached, be tells them, That IkaprmhaU ware re€ui ml Senium mm/aabbatK day; that U, in dtooe laaaona which were taken out of die prophela.

aaetienawere dindad-intOTarse% whioh tha J*wa eaU iMsuMm; diciy wan otaAad out in ttw Bdmw BSto lynrtgiMpoittaMte«adorth«tB,MlladErambeaMMp&-«a^ IfBintbimMlfm Ml Mitfaor of thii divirion, (m moat my,) it was not long Ma bim that it was introduced ( for oeminl; it is tmy ■ MCmM. It is most likely dtat it was introduesd for (he sake of the TargumUU or Ckaidee interpreters) for aftsr tha Bahrev language had ceased to be the mother tongue of tha Jews, aoo the Chaldee grew up into use among them instead of It, (as was the oase aAsr their raturn from the Babjlonish captivity,) their usage was that, in the puUio nadtn^ of oa hw to the people, it ma read to iben, first, in the origioal Hebrew, and after that rendered by tea inters

Kter into dteChaMeebmgi^^dMt so all might fidlyunderstand the lamei awl tbiswM ■ refere, that these periods might be the betwr distiiwuiabed, and the reader more certainly know how much to reao at every interval, and the interpreter know bow much to interpret at evny inienrBl, there wasa necessity that some marks shouM be invented for their direction herein. Tie rule given in the andeot books is, that in the law the render waaloreedone verse, attd then the intenveter was to render the same into Cbaldee: but that in the jvoi^eta the reader was to read diree vereea togeiber, and then the interpreter was to render the «me three verses into Chaldee, in the auu manner; which manSsstly proves that the division of the Scriptures into verses must be as ancient as the way inierpnting them into the Chaldee hutgoage in their synagtigues i which was from the very time that the synagogues vara erected, and the Scriptures publicly read in tbem, anertba Babylonish oaptivity. Thii was at first dom only ia the law I for, till the time of the Maccabees, the law otUy was read in their sjmagoguea; but afterward, in imitation of Inis, the nme was also done in the prmriieta, and in the Hagiografha especially. After that the profuiets also b^an to be publicly read among them, as well as the law t and from benee the divisioirof the Holy Scriptuns into verse^ it is moat likely, was first made; but without any numerical figune annexed to them.

" Hm nunner whereby iJoej are now distinguished in their oommon Hebrew Bibles is, by the two great poinU called mjkjtamue riwvB mentioned; but whether thii ia the ancient way is by some made a queauto. Hie objection anin^ n M ^ t— If the diaitnetion of verses was tntrodueed fbr the sake of the Chaldee interpreters io tbeir synagogua^ and anM therefore be held as aixuent as that way of interpreting the Scriptures in them, it must then have place iK fiitax Mcredsroaraical botdcs; fi»-noae others were tued, either by their rmders or their interfffslers, in dwit- p(d|UMi0Bk> Uiea. But it has been anoently held as a rule among them, that any points or aocents written into these E^MyMjtai pollute and proftmediem: and, therefore, no coot', eiuier of the law or tb* pnipbels now used in their synagoN^gM any poiat or accents written in it To tfiis I answer: Wb«tto<ver be the practice of die modem Jews, this is iB flMHf let OS know what was the ancient pract)** wnong diem t since in many particulars they have varied from tbe aMNK' lisagea as they now do froes mmA odjer, according to the dilTerent parts <» the world in \rtiiah they dwelL For iiiniilBi Is made ef them in the JMUbw; and that the reason for this division was for the direotioii of the mder^ and Hm Chaldee interpreters, is also iben implied; and, therefore, supposing a division for this use, it must neoestanly follow, that there must have been some marks to set it out i otherwise it would Itot have aiwwered the end intended.

" It is most likely that anciently the writing of thoae booka was in long lines, from one side of the parchtnent to tha other; and that the verses in tbem were distinguished in the same manner as the ttiAi afterward were in the Ore^ Bibles) for the manner of their writiag (hose ttidii was, to allow a line to every slicAus. and then to end the writing where they ended theslieAtw, leaving the rest of the line void, in the same manner as a line ia left at a break; but this Mag too much of the ptudunmt, utd making dte book loo bulW, for the avoidii^ of bodi these inconvenieDces^ the way aftervaid wia to p«t a pcnnt at the cod m every jtfcAtur,^ and so continue the writiii^ widiout leaFingsny part of dta line void as benre. And in the tatna mafiner, I eonoeive, the penMm, or verses of the Hebrew Sibley wer^ Anciently written. At first they allowed a line to every verse, and a tine drawn from one end of the parchment to tba other, of the lengtb as above mentioned, was sufficient to contain any verae that is now in the Hebrew Bible; bat many verses falling short of diis length, they found the same inconveniences that the (Greeks after did in the first way of wriliag their $ticki; and, therefore, came to the same remedy, that is, ibey did put the two points above mentitme^ ^bieh diey call sopA-nosuA^ at die place where die former verse end^, and eontmued the writing of the next verse in UwsameKne^ widiontleavii^anyTotdqiace at^l in theline. Andso tbeir manner has continued evw since; ezcepting only that between their aactiona^ as well the smaller as the larger, there is some void space left, to make the distinetiMl between diem: and I am the more inchned to think this to be the truth of the matter; that is, that anciently die verses of the HebrewBibleweresomanylinea; because among die ancients of other nations, about the same time, the lines in the writinga of pnae audwrs, as well as of poets, were termed versea; and hence it is that we are told that Zoroa8tei*a works contain tw> mittUm* of verses; and AriMloUe'» Jour hundred and farly-Svt ikmiaand two Jam^red ana wmmii/! diough neither uf them wrote any thing but in prose; and so aleo we find uie wriliiu|s of TuUy, of Origm, of ZjoetarUiv, and othera, who were all proae writers, reckoned by the number of verses, wbioi could be no otliM- duo ao many lines. And why, then, might not the Bible verses anciently have been of the same nature also 1 I mean when - written in long lines as aroreiaia. But the lodg lines often occanoning, tliat in reading to the end of one verse, tbey lost the beginning of the next, and so often did lead wrong, either by skipping a tine, or oeginning the sama again i for tha avoiding of which they came to the wav of writing in column^and in short lines, as above mentioned. But all this I mean of tbeir Sacred Synagogical Books. In their common Bibles they are not tied up to mA rulM| but write taA print diem so as they may serve for dieir instruction and convenience in common use.

" But the division of the Holy Scriptures into ehxpten, as ve now have them, itotm ranch later date. The Fnlm^ indeed, were always divided as at present; fbr St. Paul, in his sermon BtAotiod),in Piridil, quotes the second Paalm: botf aa to the rest of die Holv Scriptures, the division of tbem into such chapters as we find at present, is a matter ot which the ancients knew nothing: Some attribute it to Slqjhen Langton, -Hbo waa anhbUiwp^ Canterbury, in tha reigns of King John and King Henry ItJ. his son. But the true audior of thia invention was Bvgo de ^awto Garo^ who being fi^m a DotniiUcan monk advanced (0 the dignity of a cardinal, and die first of diat order diat waa so, ia commonly called Bwo Carditutlit.

" "Rie third thing £at Ezra did about die Holy Scriptures ia his edition of rhem was:— He added in several placei^ throughout the books of this edition, what appeued necessary for the illuatrating, correcting, or completing of them, wherem he was aaslstad by the swne Spirit by which tbey were at fint written. Of diia sort we may reckon the last chapter of Deuteronomy, which giving an account of the death and burial of Mosei^ and of the succession of Joehua after him, it could not be written^ Moses himself, who undoubtedly was the peomao of all die rest Cf that book. It ■eems moat probable that it was aoded by Ezra at tbia time: and such also «a may reckon the several intarpoladona which occur in many plaeea of the Holy Scripture*. For that diere are such interpolations la undeniable, thece being many passages throi^ die whole sacred writers which create diffieultiea which can never be solved without the allowing of diem: as, for instance, Oen. xii. 6., it is remarked on Ahrahtm'M coming into the land of Canaan, thai tha CanaaniUt wera Jfte» in Ou land: which is not likely to have been said till after the time of JUbses, when dw ConaoTiifs^ beti^ extirpated by Jbsbio, were dien no longer in die land: a^ day. In ihs mount the Lord U ahaU b« seen. But mount Moriah, which is the mount there spoken was not called tha motmt of the Lord till the temple was built on it many hundred years after; and diis being hare qtunn of aa a proverbial saying that obtained among the Israelites in i^r agea, the whole style of tha text manifesdy points at • time after JUbses, when they were in tlw poaaession of the land in which this mountain atood t and, ihesifore, both these particulars prove tha words cited to nave been an interpolation. Gen. xxxvL 3. it is written. And tAsss ar$ As Unga that reigiud in the land t^Edam b^fbra Our* reirntd any king over tha land^ItraeL vdiich oould not hav* been said till after diera had been a kii^ in bra^i andiharalbre tbey canoot be JldbMs" wortu, but must have beaa interpolated afterward. Exod. xvL M. the worda of the text are, And UteiMldrm of brad Ad eat matmaforif Tlfari,tilllfuycamttoalandinhtil>it4d. T^didtalmatinatitllheyeameinlolhelordereqf Ike land qf Canaan, But Jlibau waa dead before the manna ceaaed ( and, therefore, these cannot be hia words, but must have been inserted afterward. DauL ii. ll it is aaid, Tfte Horima aue dwM ia Seir btforeiime,but the AUdren ^ Beau niowdtd Asm lahsn they had deatroyed t&sm before Asm, and dwelt in their atead, aa Itrael did unto ffie land t(f &u poa> aMeteft trticft the Lord gov* unto Am. Which eould not have been written fay JMbsss, Israel having not till after hie daadi eolend into the land ef hie poaeaenMi, wbiA dw Lord gava tmto tbem. OeuL iii. 2. it ie mM, Only kinr^Badian, reni^ntd^th»Twmantqfgiant»: frt&oM, ht» haMaad wm a badtltai ^ im. Jt tt natlm JiabMl tflh* ehUdrm ^Ammon 7 The whotf atjHc and Btmin oT which text, e^iecittUy thu of the lut gImm of il, jbIbIdIj BpeflJifl it to have been vritten a long 'vhile after thta king waa,fllaini and, therefore, U could not have bcai «ritUB br JMbtM, who ^od within five monthe after. la the same dapier, veree 14. it U said, Jb«r, the mmrf MoMMtm, took all the oountry qf Argvb unto t/u evatU qf Gethuri and Maachathi } and ttalUd them i^tr &M«n» ttame, Bathan-havotit-jair, unto this day. Where the phrase unto thi» day apeaki -a much greater diatanoe of time after dte fact related thaa tlioae few monthi in which Motet survi\-ed after (he oooqueet; and, therefore, what ia tbeiv written muit have been ineeried bv some other hood llian that of jlUoiea, and long u ter his death. And in the Book of fwrbty which WSJ cerutintr Einr Sotomibn^a f in the beginnina; of the twatty'^fiflh chapter,' it ia vrittan, Thnt mn mUoproverbt qf SoloTnon, tekiA men ^ HtzekUA king of Jadak e^tUdout. Which muat oertain^ have been added many a^ after Salomon; fbr Hezektah waa (he Iwetflh generation in deecent from him.

" Maiqr more inattuices of mich interpolated pauagee mi'ght l» given; for (broughout the whole Scripture* they have been fi^uentlv cast in by way of parentheais; where thev have appeared neccseary for the explaining, connecting, or illiutrating the text, or supplying what was wanting in it: but thoae already mentioned are nifficiant to prove the thing. Of which m(er)iolationa undoubtedly Ezra woa the author, in all the booka which pasaed bia e»aaiinatina; •od Simon (he Juat in all the rest whkh were added afterward; for thev all aeem to refer to those latter times.

. " But theae addituHn do not at all detract from tlw divine audwrity of the whole, because they were all ioseHed by the direction of the Mine Holy Spknt which dictated all the rest. Tiut, as to Ezra, is without dispute ^ he Wine himself one of the divine peraona ofthe Holy Scripntres: for be was most cert^nly the writer of that book m the Oil Tes(ament which bears his name: and he is, upon good grounds, euppoaed to be the author of two more, that is, of the two books of Chroni^,'9M perchance he was alao of ihe Book of Eilher. And if the booka written by him he if divine Rulhority, why may not every thing else be so which he has added to any of the rest, since there is reason.for as to suppose that he was as much directed by the Holy Spirit of Ood in the one, as in the other 7 The greci imparlance of the work proves the thing; for as i( was necessary ror the church of Ood that this work should be done, so alse it was necessary for the work that Am person called thereto should be thus aaaliled in the completing of it

" Fourthly, He changed the names of Mveral places that were grown obsolete, putUng instead of them the new names by which they were at that time called, that the pMple miglu die beUer understand what was writun. Tbo^ Oen. xiv. 14. Mraham is said (O have pursued the kings who earried Lai away captive as far as Dan, whereoa dw name of that place was Laith till the Danitu, long after the deadi of Motea, poaBomd themselves of it, and called it Dan, qfUr Ine name qf thtir father; and, therefore, it could not be called Dm in the ori^nal copy of JlSottt, but thai name roust have been put in afterward, instead of that of Zjaitk, on this review. And so in several places in Gtnttia, and also in Numbera, we find mention made of Hebron, whereas the name of that city was Kiriatit^arba, till CaUk, having the possession of it after the division of the land, called it Hebron after the name of jEfefrron, one of his bobk and therefore, that name could not be had in the text, till placed there loi^ after the tiote of JMne^byway^ezdwiBa for diat qS Siriaai'aTba, which it is not to be doubted, was done at the time of this review.

" And many other like examples of this may be given; whereby it appears that (he aUidy of those wb» governed (ha diurdiof Ood at those times was to reader the Scriptures as plamaiw intelligible tothe people as diey could; and sot 10 hidie and conceal any of it from (hem.

" FifUdy, He wrote out the whole in (he Oialdee character; for that havine now grown wholly into use azsong Ihe people uler the fo^IonuA captivity, he changed die old He&reio character lor it; which hath tinea that time been retamea only by the &tinarUana, amone whom it is preserved even to this day. "Dus was the old Pkmititn characler, from which the Greek* borrowed theirs i and the old Ionian alphabet bears some similitude to it, as SaUiger shows in his notes upon Euaebiu^e Chronieon. In this Mmu and the other prophets recorded the Sacred Otades of God t and in this the finger of God himself wrote the tea commandments in the two tables of stone. EuMtbimM, in bia Chrmtoon, tells us soy and SL Jerom doth the same \ and so do also both the Talmude; and the generality of karncd men, as well among the Jews as Chnstianot hold this opinion.

" Whether Ezra on this review did add (he vowel points, which are now in the Hebrew Bibles, is a hard qnestioo u be decided i it went without oontradiction in the affirmative, till Eliae iMvita, a German Je», wrote «gaiiut it abont the beginnii^ of the Reformation. Buxtorf, the foiher, endeavoured to refute his argunehts: but CapeUut, a Protestant divine, of the Prtnek church, and professor of Hebrew in (heir univecain at Sanmur, hath, in a very elaborate discourse, made a lliorou^ reply to all that can be said on this head, and very strenuouafy nasi i tul m contrary. Buxtorf, the son, in vindieatioa of his btber's opinion, has written an answer to it, but not vidt ifatf auisfitelioa to the learned world as to hinder the generality of them from going jnto the other o^nnioa.

" 'ntere is jo the church of SL Dominie, in BononiOy a copy of the Hebrew Scriptures, kept with a great deal of care, which they pretend to be the original copy written bv Ezra himself; and,, therefore, it is there valuedat so high a rate that great sums of money have Been borrowed bj.Sononunu upon the pawn of 1^ and again repaid tor im fedemptien. It is written in a very (air charaeter, upon a sort of leather] and mada itp inn rol^aeeonungto the ■neient manner: but it having (he vowel ptuntt and the writing being frerik and fair, widiout any deosy, bodi

** But ^t^^Eara's government over all JiuCoA and /mtMlm expired with this year, 446; ]ret bis labour u> serve fte church oi God did not end here; for atill he went on as a preacher of righteousness, aiod a skilful scribe in the la« of God, to perfect the reformation which he had begun, both in preparing for the people correct editions of the Scr^ tures, and aJso in bringing all things in church and state to be conformed to Scripture rules. And this he eontbued te Oo BO long as he lived, and in this he was ihorou|^ly assisted and supported by the next governor, wlu^ coming ta jftruso/sm wiUi the same mtention, and (he same zeal, (br promoting the honour of Ood, and (he weliare of his people in iwbhaad Jerusalem, as Eoa did, he stnu^ in hearti^ with Ezn in the work, so that Ezra weiit on stUltodedM MOM things tn the autbont^ of the new gnveroor, whioh he before did by his own; and \iy their thus joining together m the nme goly uinertaking, end their mutually assisting eodi other, it exceedingly prospered in dteir buid, till at Iragth, ncrtwimatanding alt oppowtion both from within and without, it was brougjit to full perfection /brfy-mn« yeait after it had been begun by Ezra. Whedier Ezra lived so long ia oneertain; but what he bad not time to do was eonplitad Ihe piety and zeal of his suecesior."

See the Introduction to the Book of Ndiemiah; and see Pridesu^s Cooneziona, toI. L edit. 172&. For all other matters relative to the text, see the notes as they occur.

Chrmologieat Notf rehiirt to Ikim Book.

NOW in Uie first year of Cyrus king of Pereia, that the word of the

be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of CyruB lung of Persia, '> that he * nuule a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,

2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms

In the preface of this book, the reader will find the hiitory of Ezra detailed at conaiderable lenzlh. It in only necessary to My here, thax he ii generally alfowed among ihe Jews to have been of the sacerdotal iamily, and therefore he ia called i icfMvf, (hnprie$t, by the Sepluagint. Amone the mbbiiu he panes lor a moat extraordinary eritie, divinely auihorized lo collect and arrange the different portiona of the Sacred Writingi, and digeit them into a Hyitem. How tu ali ihey aay on ihia subject is true, we cannot tell: iw was, beyond all controversy, a very eminent man; and, in all diat he did, acted under the lounediaie direetion and ina^ration of the Almighty.

This history contains the transactions of about «^Uy-/uw yaara; from the ^firtt year of Cyrus in Babylon, accjsrding to Archbishop Ussher, A. M. 346S, to the nineteenth year of Ard^eer Direx Dett, or Artaxerxea LonijimantUf who sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem, about A. M. 3550. For all othar particulara aee the introdtidion.