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Two Discourses On Prophecy by Samuel Farmar Jarvis, 1843
Two Discourses On Prophecy by Samuel Farmar Jarvis, 1843
Two Discourses On Prophecy by Samuel Farmar Jarvis, 1843
DISCOURSES
011
WITH
AN APPENDIX
m
SCHGIIIE, CONCERNING OW
LOXD'I
N E W YORK:
PUBLISHED B Y JAMES A. SPARKB,
No. 109 N a s s a u B t r e e t .
1&3.
w. mmmrm
lPBPlll1011
w.,PMNT.,
C
THE AUTHOR.
CONNEC~TCUT,
Jmc, 1843.
&DDLETOWN,
PREFACE:
But mould it b e
'
' ,'
'
S. F. J.
MIDDLE TOWN^ COK~CTICLIT~
Jww, 1843.
DhoBt."
10
SEBMON
11
11
ON PRmEBcY.
St.
Luke, i. 70.
;'
!: '
..
' .
4 Numbers, xxiii.
19.
meet, theae arguments are sometimes heard h m the disappointed enthusiast, as well as from the impure scoffer.
The enthusiast who has persuaded himself that his computations are infallible, doubts the truth of the revelation, because it doea not aecord with his fanciea Tbe
scoffer derides God's solemn promises because they came
not within the compass of his own personal experience.
The conduct of both proceeds from the cormpt pride and
licentious exercise of human reason ; and St. Peter, as if
he foresaw both these classes of men, warns us in the
sequel of this Epistle, against both. He tells us in the
second chapter, that as there were false prophets among
the Jews, so also shall there be false teachers among Christians, (including, of course, false interpreters of pmphecy), on whose account the way of tmth shall be evil
spoken of." He warnsus also, in the third chapter, that
there shall come in the last days scoffers, wallung a h
their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of his
coming ? for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creati,m.''t
To such he answers, in allusion, it may well be supposed,
to the language of our Lord's own admonition,$ by analogies from the fa~ciedsecurity of the wicked before the
Deluge ; and, like the prophet Malachi to the scoffers of
his time, he a~8ureathem that the Eternal changes not,
and that his very delay is an act of l o n g d e r i n g and
mercy. Distance of time makes no difference in the
truth of God's declarations-with
him one day is as a
thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.11 The
t 2 Pet. iii. 3, 4.
2 Pet. ii. 1, 2.
$ Matt. u i v . 37-44 ; Luke, xvii. 26,27 ; 2 Pet. iii. 5-7.
5 Md. iii. 6, which is an ~ 8 -to the d of the wicked k
U 2 Pet. iii. 8, 9.
chap. ii. 17.
than it can be to the fooliih. " The light of the righteous," saith Solomon, '' rejoiceth : but the lamp of the
wicked shall be put out."*
The righteous, however, as well as the wicked, dwell
in the world, and must suffer, in a greater or less degree,
from the gr0ssn.s~ of it8 atmosphere. From its influences, and the frailties of our mortal nature, they, as wen
~ r the
r
foolish, slumber and sleep. None are so FPide
awake, and so watchful, as they ought to be. Nevertheless, they do not always slumber ; but arise from time
to time and trim their lamps, heedful of the danger of
letting them burn dimly, and knowing that if not constantly trimmed, the corrupt influences of the world may
put them out. The foolish, on the other hand, slumber
on, utterly regardless of their lamps, and utterly unconcerned at the danger of being left in total darkness.
There is another diinguishing characteristic in the
conduct of the wise and the foolish. The oil with which
the lamp of prophecy is fed is knowledge. The text
mums us that prophecy does not solve its own sense.
The knowledge of God's moral government of the universe can alone untie its meaning. That knowledge
can be obtained only from the patient study of history as
to what i$ past, and a devout, and serious, and heedful
attention to the occurrences of the portentous present.
But in the etdy of history, or in thk contemplation of
that mighq diorama which is now passing by us on the
world's theatre, men look with very dierent eyes according as they are religious or irreligious. In the eontemplation of events whether past or present, the wise
tax csnstantly the hand of God, directing all things acPmv. xiii. 9.
cording to the counsel of his will, and making the passions, and the interests, and even the mimes and the follies of men subservient to the great purpose of establishing his own eternal kingdom. The foolish, on the contrary, confine their view only to second causes. The
judgments of God are far above out of their sight.. They
see not:that the whole h i r y of mankind, in the ages
antecedent to the first coming of Christ, was intended to
for that event ; and that since his first coming
the whole series of history Bas, in like manner, been .
directed preparatory to his second coming. They see
not, that the raising up or casting down of empires, of
Babylon, of Peraia, af Greece, or of Rome, were all parts
of one mighty plan, to bring men for salvation to the
Redeemer's cross ; nor that the irruption of the northern
barbarians, the destruction of old and the founding of
new kingdoms, the successes of the false prophet in the
&, or of the papacy in the west, the discovery of the new
continent, the revolutions of Germany, the convulsions of
France and Spain, the civilisation of Russian hordes, the
vast extension of British power, and the wide-spreading
intluence of the American Republic, are only so many
linLs in tee chain of causes aml effect. with which are
connected the second coming of our Lord and the triumph
of the Church in glory. Here then is the difference between these two claases ; the one seeking continually to
panr in#newknowledge into the lamp of prophecy that
it may burn brighter and brighter ; the other, from iinbelief, neglecting the acquisition and the application ofthat
knowledge, and suffering the lamp almost to expire for
want of feeding it with its proper nutriment.
But on this subject there is another and a moat important consideration. A11 the members of the two c l a w
whom I have dwribed are not competent of thenaselves
to obtain or to dispense this knowledge. It p l e d God
therefore to make a special provision for this purpose ;
before the first coming of Christ, by the Patriarchal and
the Levitical priesthood; after the first, and until the
eecond coming, by the Christian prieethood. Hence
when the voice of prophecy ceased before anr ~
a
h t corning, the latest of the prophets was inspired to
direct the people to the priesthood, and to lay upon the
priesthood that newwiry burden : " The priest's lip
should keep knowledge, a d they should seek the law
at his mouth : for he is the Messenger of the L o s ~of
. HoskMS And accordingly, when the Eastern Sages
demanded at Jerusalem where Christ should be born,
Herod thought not of applying to any other source, but
4r gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people
togetherw+ to inspect the prophecies and answer the
question. So also in the Christian Church the same
responsible duty is assigned by our Lord to those whom
he hath appointed. In that remarkable chapter in which
the nature of his kingdom is illustrated by so many and
such various similitudes, (I mean the thirteenth of
St. Matthew), after adking his disciples if they understood his meaning, he added what is in fact an awful.
admonition of the duties as well as the privileges of the
Christian priesthood ; Therefore every scribe which is
instructed unto the kingdom of Heaven is like unto a
man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of
his treasure things new and OM."$ The priesthood are
' 9
'
~~
1 Cor. ii. 7, 8.
# Mal. iii. 1.
4 DM.
a.
THE IXPOBTMCP
OF PROPHECY.
527
'
NOTE.
On comparing thie sennoa with the Appendix, the reader will obrerve that some of the dates in the sermon are not the same as those
in the Appendix. The separation of the ten tribes, for example, ie
#aid in the sermon to have taken place 975 years before Christ ;
wherean in the Appendix it ie computed to have been 988 yeam before the common Christian era. The reason of this difference iq
that in the sermon the author followed the computations of Petavim
.nd Usher; whereas in the Appendix he has gone over all the calculation~himaelf, with the advantage of being able te consult the
chronology of Dr. Hales. Where these eminent chmnologers differ,
be has examined their authorities, and assigned his reasone for his
preference.
S E R M O N 11.
OQ(
PROPHECY.
39
tion of the Northern Barbarians was compared by cont e m p o r q writers to the havoc oc~aaioned by earthquakes, conflagrations, and deluges.' This led to the
persuasion that the 70 weeks of Daniel, or the period of
490 years, was to precede the second, and not the iht
coming of Christ ; and that the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet was, only for a short space
of time, to precede the general judgment. We have
still existing a curious correspondence between St. Augustin and Hesychius, a B i o p of Dalmatia, carried 'on
about 420 years after our Saviour's birth, in which the
very same arguments are employed on either side, as are
now employed on the same subject : only with this dif*
ference, that Hesychius did not pretend to compute
exactly the day or the year of our Lord's second coming,
while Augustin quoted the words of our present text and
the subsequent prophecy concerning the Man of Sin
whom he took to be Antichrist, to show that the end
was not yet.+
It does not appear whether this opinion had many
followers ; but in the tenth century a very general e i c
prevailed, from a mistaken interpretation of that passage
in the Revelatiom in which it is foretold that Satan, who
had been bound, as they supposed, at our Lord's first
coming, should, at the end of a thousand years, again be
let loose for a little season, and then should follow the
general judgment. This opinion spread 4 a dly ovei
Europe, and gained universal credit.
A general consternation seized mankind ; many relinquished their p c # ~
sessions ; d abandoning their friends and families,
Robertson's Charlw V., see. 1, V O ~ .i. p. 9.
t ~ n g a ~. p . ed.
, Ben. Antaerp. ~ o m ii.
. c. W . ~ ~ i sIt W
. ,I i.
~
4
HJlrm's Middle
1
1
~ ~ ~ d s c a o s w ~ ~ o35a n .
To prove that Qod'e chosen people were to be punished seven prophetic times or 2520 years, Mr. Miiler relies
priacipally on the 26th chapter of Levitim. God there
denounces a curse on the nation of Israel if they should.
break his commandments ; and after threatening them
with the eore judgments of famine, pestilence and war,
he adds (v. 18), a And if ye will not yet fbr all this
hearken unto me, then I will punish you sawn tima
mare for your sins." These seven tirnea Mr. Miller
understands ae seven prophetic times or 2620 years, aad
then proceeds to &ate
80 as to make them end in
l&3.
I shill hope to show you that even if his interpretation were right (which it certainly is not) it would not
help his theory; for it would prove too much, and it
would not agree with his dates.
It would in the first place prove too much ; for
threatening of seven times is repeated in the 2 h t , 24th
and 28th verses. A series of judgments are denounced ;
begmmng with the declaration, if ye will not be reformed, then I will punish you seven times more. If the first
seven would not reform, God would inflict the second
a v e n ; if the second seven would not reform, he would
idid the third seven ; if the third seven proved in&&taal, he would inflict the fourth. Here then there are
at least four sevens, or twenty-eight prophetic times,
amounting to ten thousand and eighty years. This
threat, according to Mr: Miller's chronology, could not
have been made earlier than B. c. 1643 ; and if it had'
begun to operate immediately there would still be
remaining in this present year 6594 years of punishment ! !!
But let us allow what he assumes, that in these successive threatahgs, only one period of seven prophetic
times is meant ; the next question arises, when did thk
period begin, and when will it end ?' Mr. Miller answers
that it ends in 1843, and consequently began B. c. 677.
In that year, he saps, Manasseh kmg of Judah was carried captive to Babylon, and the ten tribes were also
oarried away by Barhaddon. All this is easily said;
snd to pemns who take his assertions without examination, they appear very plausible. But I scruple not b
m r t that he cannot prove one word of what he has so
confidently uttered. If you will attentively examine the
26th chapter of Leviticus you will see that the judg-
4.
p. 46.
2 &qp.
And as for the captivity of Manasaeh, it is very unin what year it took place, or how long it continued.
Both the scriptures and Josephus are equally dent on
the mbject. M
d began to reign B. c. 698, and continued to reign 66 years until B. c. 643. The nation
was not carried into captivity, nor could the king have
long continued a prisoner. The threateniege occasioned
by the wickednere of AIanasseh weie not brought upon
Iudah till 54 or 55 years after his death. What then
becomea of Mr. Miller's date for the commencement of
his 2620 years 2 . It has nothing to support it but conjeeture, and it wuld nwer have been aesumed, if he had
not 6rst foimed his theory and then looked about for
arguments to sustain it.
We have hitherto proceeded on the supposition that
the words " seven times" in the 26th chapter of Leviticus are susceptible of Mr. Miller's interpretation. But
they are not so. If he were acquainted with the original
language of the Old Testament, he would have seen that
the word used by Daniel which is translated by the E R ~ lish word " times" does not occur in Leviticus ; that it is,
in M,language of a later date, and that in the sense of
year or years, it .is peculiar to that prophet. The
qreeeion in Leviticus translated seven times, might as
well have been rendered sevenfold. It is in fact only a
~uperlativeto denote perfection or intensity. It .is prel
cisely analogous to the following expression in the ~ e w
Testament, lad, how oil ad my brother &I
againmc
me, and I forgive him? till seven times'? Jesus saith
unto him, I say npt unto thee, Until seven times : but, Until
seventy times seven."" Would it not be thought a mast
Matthew sviii. 21,22.
41
m B S T I I ] DAY6 OF DANIEL.
tihat they ah0 have stded their BiMm &odd hare done
ittoaoli#kpnrpaee,satobecarridawaywithallthia
~~doonfiderr;ce,dvoin~ptioaoBlmow-
4P
~ d n d k e .
Now within the territory thw b o d e d , oat of one of
the h o r n or hagdcams into which it was divided aRer
the death of Ahander, there ''came forth? it is said h
Ibe ninth
a little ham.'" The quastion arkm,
. What wrs tbis little horn ? The ancient commentatom
qpu3e-d f h t it wm htiochus Epiphanea ;t being led
ilEbP thi8 mistaln by d o u n t h g with the present visian
Dan. viii. 9.
f Comm. l. Hieronymi in Dan. Proph. e. viii. Op. Ed.Benedict.
.Rm. %. M. 4105. Maay ef the .adants, however* m & k d
h~.~uoeb.bpeofhticlu&.
t A *ht
L preps a h ( .
'
goat) came to the ram that had two horns, which I had
seen standing befwe the a m R , and ran unto him in the
fury of his power."'
That battle decided the fate of the
Persian Empire, and opened a passage into the heart of
Asia. The final battle of Arbela took place on the Isb
of October, B. c. 331. The notable horn of the goat was
soon broken. Alexander died at Babylon in the eve+$
of, May 22d, B. c. 324. He was succeeded by his halfbrother Philip Aridaeus, who was killed about the 22d
September, B. c. 318. In the course of the following i a ~
years Alexander (Egus and Hercules, the two sons of
Alexander the Great, were put to death ; and his whole
family being now extinct, Antigonus, Ptolemy, Seleucas;
Lysimachus, and Cassander, all took the title of lungs in
fhe year B. c. 306. Antigonus was slain in battle B. c.
302. But as his power had begdn to decline B. c. 305 ;
as in the same year his rival Seleucus became kmg of
Babylon and Media ; and as the reign of Ptolemy La@
is computed as be@g
in Egypt in the same year,
being the nineteenth after the death of Alexander ; we
may justly consider the year B. c. 305 as that in which
" the four notable horns came up toward the four winds
of heaven ;"t namely Cassander in the West, Lysimachus in the North, Seleucus in the East, and Ptolemy in
the South. The horn or kingdom out of which came
forth the little horn was the lungdom of Cassander, or
Macedonia, the fundamental kingdam of Alexander's
Empire. From the moment in which the Romans oonquered Macedonia, this horn of the goat began to " wax
exceeding great ;" " not by hiis own power," to use the
remarkable and expressive language of the 24th verse,
Dan. vii. 6.
t Dan. viii. 8.
1
I
I
I
47
DAYS OF DANIEL.
the same in the 26th. Why then does he interpret evening and morning in the latter verse of two distinct
years ? The angel there says, " The vision of the evening and the morning which hath been spoken, that is
truth. Wherefore do thou shut up the vision ; for it is
for many days." Of what vision does he speak ? Evidently of the viaion he had just explained, the vision of
the Ram and the He-Goat. This is called by way of
distinction the vision of the evening and the morning in
reference to the remarkable expression in the 14th verse,
that it should continue until 2300 evening-mornings,
And this is the very reason why he adds the command
to shut it up, because the fulfilment of it should be so far
distant : a strong collateral argument, as I understand it,
for thc interpretation of 2300 prophetic days. But
Mr. Miller throws the whole subject into confmion by
the arbitrary and fanciful distinction of what he calls
the evening vision and the morning vision; the one
meaning " the vision of the four beaats in the first year of
Belshazzar, Daniel vii. ; the other the vision of the
Ram and He-Goat in the third year of Belshazzar,
Daniel viii."* He might with equal propriety talk of
2300 evening and 2300 mornings as meaning two different periods of prophetic days
I
The vision of the evening and the morning being
therefore only this one vision, we must, in the interpretation of it, strictly confine ourselves within its limits, aa
to time, or territory, or events. We are not to take in
any time which preceded it; consequently we cannot
reckon the seventy weeks as a part of the 2300 days ;
because the commandment to restore and to build Jeru-
6*
my
~~
The p a m a g g l K i , v i l , i s a h o l o f I i d ~
of the ma& exact and decisive character; tfae language
of St. Pad a @g
and merely incidental remark.
A& xiii. 20.
66
BIBLE CBPONOLOOY.
480
,'
,,
"
1
I
h t i 0 which
~
are working such mischief in oiu coutitrf,
have prompted. him to run without being 'kent,and to
beoome the found- of a short-lived sect, instead of a
iively done in the Temple of God's building.
When time shall have proved to him that his theory
is wrong, and the excitement shall have passed away
with the dream which has occasioned it, I cannot but
think that he will look back with bitter remorse on his
present career, and shudder at the thought of the awful
responsibility which he has heaped upon himself. The
amount of the evils which hi rash intrusion upon the
ministry has occasioned, what man can calculate ? How
many, under the agonies of despair, have committed suicide ! How many are now in the cells of a mad-house !
How many have been led to forsake their honest callings, and impoverish themselves, and ruin the happiness
of their families ! How many " unstable souls" have
been w, " shaken in mind," as to forsake the noiseless
path of religious duty to run after a phantom by which
they have been bewildered and affrighted ! HOWmany
have been made to scoff at God's Word, by the pitiable
ignorance of a rash expounder ! How many have joined
in the sneer and the laugh, and have thus made shipwreck of the faith through which alone they can be
saved ! How many enthusiasts, wrought up into present
frenzy, when convinced that they have been deceived,
will, instead of repenting, be led to deny the Lord that
bought them ! Alas ! who can tell ?-The Lord God of
gods-the Lord God of g o 6 h e knoweth. Almighty
God in his wise providence can bring good out of the
extremities of ill. The very excesses which make
Holy Faith to become faint, and the angelic countenance
of Hope to be darkened, and tender Charity to weep
Deluge.
APPENDIX.
THBdeceit occasioned by the miacalcuhtions of Mr.
Miller will be ephemeral; but not so the consequences,
whether for good or evil ; for these will of necessity be
more permanent; and like the comin itself of our
divine Saviour, are mt for the fall and t e resurrection
of many who profew and call themselves Christians
They will vary, therefore, according to the several
clasees of individuals on whom the preseot excitement
operatea
As to the disappointed Enthusiast or profane Scoffer,
it would be useless to o&r m y remarks. Nothing
which can here be said will be likely to reduce the one
to reason or the other to serious reflection. But with
regard to the truly religious portion of the community,
it is greatly to be hoped. thnt their attention will be
roused to the importance of a more extended, and patient, and careful attention to the prophetic portions of
Holy Scripture. For the mccessful study of the prophecies a distinct and accurate knowledge d dates ia
necessary. But on this very point most readers labor
under great embarraesments. T h e n are but few great
libraries in the United States to which the Clergy and
other learned and intelligent persona can have recourse.
They are therdore obliged to take up with references
to second, third, or fourth-hand compikrs of history,
whom productions are often of very inferior character.
The mistakes of one author are transcribed by another.
Errors of the press are acaumulated, which can be c o p
rected only b reference t o original sources of inform*
i o n . Thus, r n d ~ . dof meeing with their o m ere., the
ground on r h i h ayetemr of chroadogy are h l t , they
6.
; !#
.: ,
t
1.
u e forced to receive awertions without proof, and decisions originally erroneous are often repeated b? reputable authors until they pass for undisputed verities.
It seemed, therefore, to the present writer that he could
to the religious public a more acceptable
not
present than a succinct view of those original sources
of chronological infotmation to which the interpreten
of prophec must have recourse if the wish to proceed
in their ca culations with certainty an consequent satisfaction. For this purpose he now proposes to consider,
I. The Chronology of the Book of Jud es :
11. The Chronology of the Kings of Ju ah and Israel
from the division of the Tribes after the death of
Solomon to the Babylonish Captivity :
III. The Chronology of the Ass rian Empire and the
Kingdom of Babylon to the 6onqueat of that City
' a d the transfer of Sovereignty to the Medo-Persian
Em ire :
IV. ~ f Yedo-Persian
e
Chronology to the subversion
of that Empire : and
V. The Chronology of the four Kingdoms formed
after the extinction of the family of Alexander the
Great.
In consider& theee various heads, the simplest and
most satisfactory method is to ascertain, in the first
lace, the extreme limits within which each period is t,o
comprehended. On this point we must leave nothing
to conjecture ; whereas, in adjusting the minor and ktervening dates, we may often be obliged to discuss
robabihties, and where there is np certainty, to choose
getween conflicting opinion..
&
I.-THE
&r.
.IT.
.
.
.
.
. . . .. . . . ...
.
. . . . . . .
T h e ~ ~ i a t h e W i l d ~
TheGuvernmentofJoshua
The Elders who snrvived him and anarchy
Under Chusan Rishalhaim
rc Othniel the 5mt Judge
E g b n the Kieg of Moab
" Ehud the second Judge
"
Jabin King of Canaan
"
BarakthethirdJudge
.
"
the Midimitee
a
Gideon the fourth h d g e
" Usurption of Abimeleeh
Tola the fifth Judge
" Jair the sixth Judge
the Philistines
.
Jephthah the seventh ~ l ; d ~ e
" Ibzan the eighth Judge
cc
Elon the ninth Jndge .
I
.
Abdon the tenth Judge
a
the Philistines
Eli, High Priest and eleventh Judge
" Bamwl the Prophet and t w e l u Judge
': Kingefirst King, Saul
"
second King, David
"
fonrth year of third King, Solomon
..
.
.
(a
21)
18
8
80
18
80
20
40
.
.
. . . . . . . 7
. 403
..
..
.
.
23
W
.I8
6
7
. 10
8
40
10
. . . . . ..
. .. . . .
S
40
40
mil
4
.....
~ e . ~ i ~ bnoa.belonga
. l i ~ ~
bo* the abvernrnemt of P a m
~ n U@rescnt:ilter
d
$4.tg<j~8&60td
s*
it in 18al.
?.
-.
"-.,;-,
*.
1 REG.C p . VI.
1 aumz. 1, 30, 50, 60, 70, 76, 80, 82, 8 4 89, 93, 95,
96,107,108,109, 111,125, 129, 136, 144, 150, 155, 158,
& 253, 257, 260,
170, 174, 177, 181, 191, 240, "
9'70, 282. That is, 37 manuscripts out of 163, deslgnated by the above numbers, in the second word of the
verse ~ * I V : W J omit the letter 1.-nnn 151. In the fifth
word nrtm one manuscript omits the letter ?.-mu P.100,
one manuscript omits the second nm, the sixth word of
the verse, which is a mere pleonasm.- b w 1". 95, 96,
two manuscripts omit the ninth word, an evident mi*
t a k e . - 3 . y ~ ~ 94, 102, 155-n~~~t;l19, 82, 83, 170, 1 7 2
In the thirteenth word n-ylJm which ahould be written
with two yods, three man~~scripts
opit the first, and five
omit the second. rr w;n2 .19 one manuscript omits the
words &'in the month of Zif." m > - - ~ n l ,196, one
manuscript reads "to the month" for " in the month."r?, 178-1.r 3, 4, 50, 60, 80, 89, 93, 95, 101, 107, 108, 109,
110, 111, 112, 125, 129, 136, 150, 158, 17% 181, 187,
195, 196, 223, 2?&, 240, 244, 246, 251, 253, 257, 260,
614. One manuscript omits the word Zif, and 35 inren
a superfluous yod. ttm, 93-;r sup. ras. 130. The sixteenth word is omitted by one manuseript, and in another
the first letter is written upon an erasure. mna sup.
mas. 112. The seventeenth word is, in another mann-rip\ written upon an erasure. * r m 70, 138. .The
eighteenth mmrd ia in two mnnumripts wriNea with a
*,
r'
rbnCe.
r.
MI. 'It a
*
,l.
AND BIGHTIETH.
7'
~ ]
69
APPENDIX.
- Jewisb-Hebrew Comp.
[eucc'sP'Il
Samaritan-Hebrew Cotnp. 8 pt
-,-
31 Enos
4' Cdnan
5 Mahalaleel
6 Jared
7 Enoch
8 Methuselah
9 Lamech
10 Noah
to and after the Deluge.
Epoch of the Deluge.
1656
1307
encll
I
son
.
years old. According to this statement (167+ 188+60@955) the Deluge took place in the 955th year of Methumlah. On the other hand, according to the Hebrew, Methueelah was 187 when Lamech was born, and Lamech 182
when Noah was born. Consequently (1874- 182+600=
969) the Deluge took place in or at the close of the 969th
year of Methuselah. Now, according to the Septuagint
as well as the Hebrew, Methuselah lived 969 years,
whereas according to their statement the Flood happened
in his 955th year. Therefore he must have lived fourteen
ears after the Flood, contrary to the ex ress words of
oses- en. vii. 13. According to the ebrew calcw
lation Methuselah died just before the Flood came l
Thin blunder did not escape the notice of Josephus, and
therefore with regard to Methuselah and Lamech he
adopted the Hebrew calculation. Consequently his antediluvian chronology is a mere patchwork, made out
of rcels of the Hebrew and Greek computations.
%;e shall find similar inconsistencies in the postdiluvian periods. In the passage concerning the building
of the Temple, Jose hus says that it was 1440 yearr
after the Deluge, an{ 1020 years after the departure of
Abraham from Mesopbtamia into the land of Canaan.
The difference between those two numbers (14401019=421) gives the length of the period between the
Deluge and the calling of Abraham. We will now see
how the same author represents the length of this period
in detail. In Ant. Jud., Lib. 1. c. vi. s. 5, he thus expresses himself: "I will now speak of the Hebrews.
Ragavus was born the son of Phdecus the son of Eberus.
His son was Serugus, to whom was born a son Nachores.
His son was Tharrus; and he became the father of A b
mmus, who was the tenth [in descent] from Noah, and
waB born in the 292d year after the Deluge. For Tharrus begat Abramus in his 70th year. Nachores begat
Tharrus when he himself was at the a e of 120 years.
Naehores was born to Serugus about is hundred and
thirty-second year. Ragavus had Serugus when he wct~
a hundred and thirty years old; and at the same age
Phalecus had Ragavus. Eberus begat Phalecus in his
hundred and thirty-fourth year ; and he himself was begotten by Salus when the latter was a hundred and
72
APPENDIX.
thirty years old. Him Arphaxades begat about the hundred and thirty-fifth year of his age; and Arphaxades
was the son of Semus [Shem] and was born twelve
860 wal ddxa] after the Deluge. Abrarnus had
rothers, Nachores and Aranes. Of these, Aranes
ied among the Chaldaeans, in the city called Ure of the
Chaldaeans, leaving a son Lot, and [two] daughters,
Sarra and Melcho. His sepulchre is shown even to this
day. Nachores married Melcha, and Abramus Sarra,
the daughters of their brother. Tharrus having an aversion 40 Chaldaea on account of the mournful loss of
Aranes, they all removed to Charran of Mesopotamia,
where Tharrus died and was buried at the age of 205
years."-F1.
Josephi Opera, Ed. Oberthur. Tom. 1. p. 48.
I t is unnecessary to detain the reader on the difference
of these names. They are merely Greek representations of kfebrew names; they agree for the most part
with the Septuagint; and are sufficiently near to the
Hebrew, as represented in the English Bible, to be intelligible. I proceed therefore to give, as before, a tabuhr
.view of the chronology of this period according to the
Bebrew text, the Se tuagint version, and ~ o s d ~ f i i \ ; $ ;
merely in advance cal ing the reader's attention to tke
interpolated postdiluvian Cainan in the Septuagint version, concerning whose existence Josephus and thc Hebrew Bible are equally silent.*
It will now be seen that in the passa e, A. J., Lib. 1. c.
$i. s. 5, Josephus asserts the general act of Abraham's
birth in the 292d year after the Deluge, following what
he conceived to be the computation of the Hebrew text.
whereas in the details which immediate1 follow his
eneral assertion, the Septuagint chrono ogy is em%raced, excepting only the period of the birth of Arphaxad, the interpolated Cainan, and the age of Nahor
at the birth of Terah, which he reduces from 179 to 120.
There is also a transposition of the ages of Re11 and Serug which produces no change in the sum total. How
can this inconsistency be accounted for in a writer of
such mental powers and such general accuracy ? I cannot help thinking that he is not responsible for these
'F
'II
when T e n h was
^r
A?
Pmm
lhe
1
)
j
)
78
APPENDIX.
3b
,,
,,
eih
100 years.
60
9,
86
W
46
3,
63
9,
70
3,
1,
505
f r o m Adam
- - - -
$3
to the
3689 yearn
2753 ,,
2453 ,*
- - Add to these, Moses in the Widernea And allow for Jorhna, the ryn of Nun (Nave)
-- 45040
- 40
- 4
634
40
!27
- 601
Moses,yearsof,
Jeshoa,ymmof;
Foreign servitude, and Godoniel, or Othniel, the Judge,
Foreign servitude, -and Deborah and Barak
Gideon,yearsof,
Ahimeleeh, yeam d,
Thula, or Tola, years of,
Jair.jeprsol;
Forei;n aervita&e, amd years of Jephthah the Judge,
&begon,orIbzan, years of,
Labdon,orAb3on,yearsof,
Foreiqn servitude, and Sampeon, year8
[In that time was carried on the Trojan war.]
Heli,orEli,yearsof, Snmuel and Saul, yeara of,
David,yearsof,
Years d Eolomon, until the building of the Temple
&)
27
80
40
40
3
!22
23
8 .
7
8 ,
20
40'
40
40
439
Total from Momi and the Exodus from Egypt to the building d
the Temple, 480 yearn.
From the E d u s to the building of 901omon'e Temple
480 ,
From the birth of Abraham to t h Exodus
~
606
From the Deluge to the first year of Abraham
942
From Adamto theDeluge
2-
- -- --- - - - - - 4 169
Ny object has been faithfully to condense the argument of Eusebiuq not to poiat out his defects o r correct
big mistakes. But it may be well to mention here that
ia the foregoing catalogue of Jud es, he has omitted
Elon the Zebulonite, who judged srael 10 years, and
whose name occurs between lbzan and Abdon. The
direrenre also of the sum total shows, that the object eC Eusebius was to reconcile the ahronology of the Book
of Judges with the shorter co~nputationof the Septuaint, though he appears to waver between that and the
&n er computation of the Hebrew.
#be render will now bnve seen that all Mr. Miller's
computations were considered and obviated more than
1500 years before he was born. I proceed now to show
the manner in which the chronology of the book of
Judges has been adjusted in modern times. For this
llrpose I shall here insert a letter, written before Mr.
&liller3a scheme bad seen the light, to a young lady who
had asked my assistance in the prosecution of these
hi~toricalstudies.
According to 1K i n rf.
~ 1, the fonndation af Womon'r Temple wu
laid in the 480th year aner the Exndas, i. e. 2513+480=2993, and
was
the
4th
year
of 8ulomon. His reiqn, then, commenced
this
% 9 9 3 4 = A. M. 2989, and this consequently was the rear of David'q
death, 1 K i n e ii. N. Aud a. David's whole reign was 40 years, 1
Kings ii. 11, he begaa to reign A. M. 2949, the date, conseqoentlfi
of hul's death, 2 Sam. ii. 4. Saul reigned 40 yeam, Acts riii. 2L
H e began to re*,
therefore, A. M. 2909, and the difference between
this date and 2W9, the date of the entrance into the promised Ian&,
g i v a 356 years as the Whole period of Joshus, of the anarchy which
followed his death, and of the Judges.
Afler the entrance into the promised land, the first passover W ~ B
kept in the plains of' Jericho on the 14th day of the 6rst month of the
(1st year frora the Exodus. On the 15th day the children of Is a d
bte of the old corn of the land, and the manna ceased, Josh. v. 10, 1I,
12, xi. 18. Joshua made war a long time, but finally took the whole
land and gave it for an inheritance unto Israel, and the land rested
from war ~ v 23)
.
and at this time Joshua wan old and stricken 10
w e , (xiii. 1). $be date of this division may be gathered from the
roltowin~passages. (Nnrnbern r. 11, 12.) On the llOtb day of the !U
month of the 2d year after leavinl Egypt, i. e. aner the celebration d
the 1st anniversary or %I pnssover, (ix. 1, 2, 3, comp. with 1I), the
Israelites jonrnqed from the wilderness of Sinai to that of Parani
tmd from Paran (xii. 3) the men, uf whom Caleb WMI one, were sent
to explore the promised land. At that time (Joshua xiv. 7) Caleb
was 40 yean old ; and when the divihion of the land took place he
r s s 85. If, then, he way 40 at the beginning ofthe 2d year aRer t 4
Exodus, he waq 85 at *e beginning of the 47th year d e r the Excdur
The conquest, then, of the promised land, occupied 6 yeare, and on
the 7th year the land had rest. This -8 the 1st Sabbatical yearbeginning at the vernal equinox, A. M. 2359. At this time Joshua
was old and stricken in years, Josh. xiii. I. Bat his death could not
hare followed two years after, as Archbishop Ushersupposes; for it L
said (Josh. xxiii. 1) that a long time after the Lord had given rest
unto Israel, i. e. the first Sabbatical year, Joshua waxed old, &c.,and
was going the way of all the earth, (v. 14 ) Josephns says, (Antip.>
Book v. ch. i. see. 29), that he lived 110 yearn, nnd was captain of the
Host, nner the death of Moses, 25 yearn. I aec no reason why we
shonld not admit this testimony, and nccordinqb Sir John Marsham
and Blair do admit it, as well as the Bishop of Clogher, in hie vinditation ofthe Hebrew Chronology. Thb will fix the date of his deatb
A. M. 2578, leaving a period of 331 years, to the reiqn ofSal11.
It is this period concerning which there is so much difficulty.
all the yearn of servitude, of rest, and of the government of the
Judges, be considered as snccesrive periods, it will be fonnd that the9
lmonnt at least to 430 years ; even if me include the 20 years of Samson within the forty of the Philistine oppression, the whale of Sa~uel'$
administration within the 40 years of b u l , and make no allowanca
for the eldem who o a t l i d Joghun and the period of anamhy spoken
of in the l u t five chapters of the Ba& of J d g e a We u e rednced
8.
i
I
..
T. 1.
m.
m.
. .
. . . . . . .
.. .. .
.
478 6
The ystem ofsir John Mamham, published in 1672, takes for ;td
k s m the declaratioP of Jephtbab, tbat &m f4a ectllemem of tbe 2 i
tribes beyamd Jordan till his tinre, w w a period of 308 years. Ar
their settlement took p l a a in the 40th year .I\a the Exodus, he
divides the whole period dtirne from the Exdw to the founding of
&lomoo's Temple into two inlervah.
I. From the Exodus to the time of Jephthah,
340
II. From the time d Jcphlhah tothe fourth year of801omon, 140
480
- -.
. . . . . .. . .. 2618
. 251
!BW
~ S m Empt,
m
h t r a a c e ietn the prooired land under Jonhuq
Joshua dies at the age of 110, d e r mling Israel 2 5 years,
N e w for the elden who outlived Joebur, and for the period
sf anarchy in the time of Phinebas, tb.e son of Elcazar the
Hish Priest (Jndgas XI.), w h w the disorders of Micah,
tk Lerite, the destraetioa of the tribe of Bcnj.mi0, md
othr enonnitits were committal, 16 yearn, till
I. Servitude under C n s h a for 8 years, till
Rest under Othniel for 40 p r s , ends
11 &rvitude under Eglol~,kinq of Moab, 18 Tern, endr
Rest .of the cutern t r i k under Ehud emmenera.
Philbtiaes repulsd aa the West by Sbuogu, during
the life of E h 4 suppose 6 years &r the f m d e m
snrler Ehnd,
Ehud dies, u we a n w e , ; b o n t ' f ~ y) k n k e r i e h.a
given rest,
(Jd. iv. 1.) Northern and Western
m. Aad the n m e
Ismeliter roM by Cod to Jabin, who oppresser them
90 y m n , to the year
Bisera then d e h t d , and &e k t an& D&
a d
Bank mrweeas end sontinnu M yam, ending a t
the rune time with the 80 yeam rest of the Eastern
tribes by tbe imptiom ef the
IV. Midiaaites, and the fourth servitude ubieh b e g h in
This swerc mvitude ended by Cideen, in
Eli )ara in the teoth year d ' G i n ,
Cideon diea rfter giviaj rellt for 40 yeam, in
Abimaleeh reigns 8 years and k killed,
Tola j u d p Ismel 23 y a r s a d dies,
Eli-be* 80 judge Ewd at t b age of 68;d
the
2d year d Jair,
Jeir dim A e r L a r i q
P2 yearn,
V. The p w of J U s death, the 20th of Eli, begin tho
b # e rsw&.b n.dcr thPbUidines in the Wed,d
the Ammmitu in the
which latter
for 18
m,when the hibsbcp.dJ o h n u e acni~rcdW
Jep4th.L 340 y r n r Plbr t k y Int n t t h d t i y I d .
I n * u r ( i P W ~ ~ t ' . f a.wm.au.l(
Lb.
.. . .. 2S!M
.
. .. essO
. .
.
!WS
2642
am
48s0
. Ha0
. 2747
27U
.
.
. . . e78Y
.
P798
hi1
2767
. -18
a16
. . %ES!
i
. . . .
.
..
. . -
.
. .
.
.
..
. .
.. 18JB
.. PBTII
2976
. 28B4
. 2909
2911
. . . . . . .
. .
. .
XI.-THE
2&55
2927
2949
2989
2991
CHRONOLOGY OF THE W
0
8 OF JUDAH IWD
ISRhEL.
T h b peribd
is still
'
t h e fifth year of Solomon t o the destruction of t h e Temple, according to t h e computation of Petrvius, is 423
years ~ n 6dmonths. Arehbishop Usher differs not greatly
from Petavius : T h e Temple," he says, was destroyed
towards the close of t h e y e a r of Nebuchadnezznr 19
(Jerem. lii. 1 2 ; 2 Kings xxv. 8.), at t h e beginning of
t h e first year of the 48th Oly~npiad,in the current y e a r
of Nabonassar I60 ; and after it was founded by Solomon, 424 years, 3 months, and 8 days. In t h e same
fifth month, (Jerem. i. 3), all the walls of Jerusalem
being broken down, thone who were left in the city,
those who hod gone over t o tbe king of Babylon, and
t h e residue of the common people, together with t h e
treasures of the king and the princes, and the u t e n ~ i l s
of the house of God, were carried away by Nebuzaradan
to Babylon. (Jerem. xxxix. 8,9-Iii. 14-23 ;1 Kings xxv.
10-17; 1 Chron. xxxvi. IS, 19, U)). 'Fhus was J u d a h
car-ied away captive ont of hia own land (Jerem. lii. 27;
2 Kings xuv. 21) b63 years from t h e beginning of the
reign of David, 388 years from the s e p ~ r a t i o nof the ten
tribes, and 134 years after the destruction of the kingdom of Israel."-Usher's
Annal. v. Age of the World.
Sir John Marsham, on t h e other hand, ea s : " T h e Temple of Jerusalem, from its foundation by olomon, stood,
according to our computation, 400 years. Of this time,
t h e r e a r e twointervals ; the first ending with the destrttction of the k i n ~ d o mof Israel ; the secoad ending with
that of t h e kingdom of Judah nod the 'I'emple. T h e
first contains 272 years; the last 128 years, 5 months,
and 7 days."-Chron.
Can., see. xv. p. 383, cornp. wiih
see. xvii. p. 497.
Dr. Hales, in his Analysis of Sacred Chronology,
makes the whole duration of the kingdom of Israel, frum
t h e first of Jeroboam t o the ninth of Hoshea, 271 years j
and the whole duration of t h e kingdom of Judah, from
t h e first of Rehoborm t o t h e eleventh of Zedekiah, 404
years. T h e former h e effects, first, by shortening t h e
reigns of Baasha, Elab, and Omri, three ef t h e first eight
kings of Israel, each one year, to make them rynchronize
completely with t h e 6 r r t aix kings of Judah ;aed rseaondly, by inserting twointecmgnurnsamounting t o 32 years,
'$
441years.
the reader will see at once that all the departures from
the Hebrew Scriptures in Josephus, Clemens Alexandrinus, and Eusebius, are errors. It seems difficult to
account for the prolongation of the reign of Solomon by
5'
hat
Seal
David
Solomon
Rehoboam
Abijam or
1
2
3
4
5 Asa
10 Aaaziah
11 Azariah or
Ozriah
12 lotham
'
13 Ahaz
14 HezaLlah
15 Mrnmaeh
I6 b n
17 Jo~iah
KI Jehoahsz
19 Jehoiakim
20 Jehoiachin
21 Zedekilh
--
LO
L'urrcctcd.
41
ix., c. 9, a. 3 29
ix., c. 10, s. 4 52I
"
ix.,c.12,8.1
16
-.this number is produced by counting the reign of 6010mon as 80 years. Reduce his reign to the Scripture
measure, by taking 40 from 470, and the difference between his colnputation and that of the Scriptures is at
an end.
From the departure of the people from Egypt
i t was then 1062 gears, 6 months, and 10 days." Joaephus stated as we have seen (Ant. Jad., Lib. viii. c. 3),
that Solomon begun to build the Temple 592 years after
the Exodus. The two calculations perfectly harmonize ;
and both are t o be corrected.
of Kings,
-1
'
- - - - -
-- -
2_'
So
-3513 6 10
- - - - Temple
Deduct from the foundation of the Temple
47
470 6
-And it maLee h m the Creation to the foundation
- - - - - - 3043
of the Temple
hrre.s, in Lib. viii. c. 3, the name period was
stated to be - - - - - - 3102
-
10
Y r u Montb. D a p
'
241
239
7
7
'
%'
'h
we*)
Arrllldlrlc,p
Patavlv* U
H sOh ~ rJ.
Hezekiah to the
l l t h of Zedekiah, 133y. 6m
IOd., or I n
m n d numbers, 133
---- - --
"a "'
- - - - - - - - - 16
--
yem of Beinelariye,
From the tiRh year of SoIom6n to hir death
elnaive,
Rom the reign of .Rehobam and
defxtio;
d the tern tribes, to the death of ~ h ; . i ~ and
h
~ehomm,both killed the -me day by Jehu,
J h m the usurpation of Alhaliah and the reign
of Jehu, to the sixth of Hezeliiah and ninth of
H a r h a inchive, when the kingdom of brael
~ d & ~ e d , Fmm the rewnth y e u of Hezekih to the ekven& of Zedekiah, the end of the 18th ud
beginning d t h e nineteenth y m ofNebuchda w , when the Temple wm dc8tmyed,
- - - -
at be h e t h o f 6ohmum~
I
I
g,
Ik
t?
w,
Years 3966
66d. Oh.
Om.
Y.
p"
w]
!.
.
t
EnNab. Jul. Pcr. B. C lEm Nab. Jul. Per. B. C. E r a Nab. Jul. Per. B. C .
-_----
46
16
3982 732
4012 702
3967 747
4013 701
47
Tboth. 6 11
Tboth. 19 15
Feb. 24 G
4014 700
48
Feb. 26 E
3983 731 Feb. 14
17
3968 746
2
49
7 12
4015 699
20 16
D
4016 698 i
50
D
3984 730
4017 697
18
61
3969 746
3
8 13
52
4018 696 ,
21 17
E
CB
Feb. 13
3985
4019
1
9
53
695
729
3970 '744
4
54
9 14
4020 694
Feb. 25 22 I8
DC
55
4021 693
A
3986 728
3971 743
20
56 , 4022 692
5
Thoth.
23 19
Feb. 12
G
Feb. 21
4023 .691
57
3972 742
3987 727
6
4024 690
21
68
24 I
22
3988 726
69
4015 689
F
3989 725
23
60
4026 688
24
3973 741
3990 724 Feh. l l
7
Tho~h.
4027 687
25 2
61
62
mD
Keh. 2C
4028 886 ,
3991 723
8
3974 '740
25
63
4029 685
3992 722
26
64
Feb. 24 26 S
4Q30 681 '
3993 721 Feb. 20
27
. C
3994 720
28
4031 683
9
3975 739
65
27 4
Peb. I t
66 . 4032 682
'
B r
29 , 3996 719
4033 681
67
10
3976 738
30
3996 718
4034 680
68
28 5
3997 717 Feb. 9
31
A
32
3998 716
69
4035 679
3977 737 Jeb. If
11
4036 678
70
Thoth. 1
6
3999 715
33
4037 677
71
34
vi. CaI. G F
4000 714
72
4038 676
35
4001 713 Feb. 8
, pnor
4002 712
36
Martii
73
4039 675
3978 736 Feh. 1;
74
4040 674
12
7
37
4041 673
4003 711
Feb. 2: 2
75
E
4004 710
4042 672
38
76
3979 736
39
1005 709 Feb. 7
13
3
8
4006 . 708
4043 671
40
77
D
4044 670
Feb. 16
78
3980 734
79
4045 669
14
41. 4007 707
4008 706
80
4046 668
4
9
42
4009 706 Feb. 6
C
43
81
4047 667
4010 704
44
!I6 -3981 733
n
10
Feb. 15
82
4048 666
665
BA
4049
4011 703
83
, 46
1
'
AkaNab. Jul. Par. 6. C. dCru Nil!. Jul. Pw. 8. G. Bra N.b. JuL Per. B. C.
121
4087
122 4088
123 4089
4051 663
124 4090
4052 663
4053 661 Jan. 26
125 4091
4054 660
126 4092
127 4093
4055 659
128 4094
4056 658
4057 657 Jan. 25
129 4095
4058 656
130 4096
131 4097
4059 655
132 4098
4060 654
4061 6.53 Jan. 24
4082 652 , 133 4099
134 4100
135 4101
4063 651
136 4102
4064 650
4065 619 Jan. 23
137 4103
4066 618
138 4104
139 4105
4067 647
140 4106
4068 646
4069 645 Jan. 22
141
1107
4070 644
142 4108
143 4109
4071 643
144 4110
4072 642
4073 641 Jan. 21
145 4111
4074 640
146 4112
147 4113
4075 639
148 4114
4076 638
4077 637 Jan. 20
149 4115
4078 636
150 4116
151 4117
4019 635
152 4 1 B
4080 634
4081 633 Jan. 19
153 4119
4082 632
154 4120
155 4121
4083 631
156 4122
4084 630
4 0 ~ 5 629 Jan. 18
1U)
4088 628
157 4123
I&
4124
Jan. 27
84
eb. 5
85
86
87
88
Feb. 4
89
90
91
92
Feb. 3
93
94
95
96
Feb. 2
97
98
99
100
Feb. 1
101
102
103
101
Jan. 31
105
106
107
108
Jan. 30
109
110
111
112
Jan. 29
113
114
115
116
Jan. 28
117
118
119
4050 664
627
159
160
626
625 Jan. 17
161
624
162
163
623
622
164
621 Jan. 16
620
165
16fi
167
619
168
618
617 Jon. 15
169
616
170
171
615
172
614
613 Jan. 14
173
612
174
175
611
176
610
609 Jan. 13
177
608
178
179
601
180
606
605 Jan. 12
181
604
182
183
603
184
602
601 Jan. 11
185
600
186
187
599
188
598
597 J m . 10
189
596
*190
191
595
192
594
593 Jan.9
193
692
194
.%I
195
690
I96
4125 589
4126 588
4127
4128
4129
4130
587
586
585
584
4131
4132
4133
4134
583
582
4135
4136
4137
4138
579
578
577
576
4139
4140
4141
414!2
676
574
573
572
4143
4144
4145
4146
571
570
569
568
4147
4148
4149
4150
567
566
565
564
4151
4152
4163
4154
563
4155
4156
4157
4158
659
558
557
666
4159
4160
4161
4162
A56
581
580
,562
561
560
554
5.53
552
---308
----
4273 441
Dee. 11
309
310
311
312
Dee. 10
313
314
315
316
Dee. 9
317
318
319
320
Dee. 8
321
322
323
324
Dee. 7
325
326
327
328
Dee. 6
329
330
a31
332
Dee. 5
333
334
335
336
Dee. 4
337
338
339
340
Dee. 3
341
342
343
344
Dee. 2
4274
4275
4276
4277
440
439
438
437
4278
4279
4280
4281
436
435
434
433
4282
4283
4284
4285
432
431
430
429
4286
4287
4288
4289
428
427
426
425
4290
4291
4292
4293
424
423
422
421
4294
4296
4296
4297
420
419
118
417
4B8
4299
4300
4301
416
415
414
413
4302
4303
4304
405
412
411
410
409
4306
4307
4308
4309
408
407
406
405
345
346
347
348
Dee. 1
349
350
351
352
Nov. 30
353
354
355
356
Nov. 29
357
358
359
360
Nov. 28
361
362
363
364
Nov. 27
365
366
367
368
NOV. 26
369
370
371
372
Nov. 25
373
374
375
376
Nov. 24
377
378
379
380
Nov. 23
381
382
4310
431 1
4312
4313
4314
4315
4316
4317
4318
4319
4320
4321
4322
4323
4324
4325
4326
4327
4328
4329
4330
4331
4332
4333
4334
4335
4336
4337
4338
4339
4340
4341
4342
4343
4344
4345
4346
4347
404
383
403
384
402 Nov. 22
385
401
386
387
400
388
399
398 Nov. 21
389
397
390
391
396
392
396
394 Nor. 20
393
393
394
395
392
396
391
390 Nov. 19
397
389
398
399
388
400
387
386 Nor. 18
401
385
402
403
384
404
3W
382 Nov. 17
405
381
406
407
380
408
379
378 Nov. 16
409
377
410
411
376
375
412
374 Nov. 15
413
373
414
415
372
416
371
370 NOV. 14
417
369
418
368
419
367
420
4348 366
4549 365
4350
4351
4362
4353
364
363
362
361
4354
4355
4356
4357
360
359
358
367
4358
4359
4360
4361
356
356
354
3s
4362
4363
4364
4365
362
361
350
349
4366
4367
4368
4369
348
347
346
345
4370
4371
4372
4373
344
343
342
341
4374
4375
4376
4377
340
339
338
337
4378
4379
4380
4381
336
335
334
333
4382
4383
4384
4385
332
331
330
329
r
grN.*hLb.B.
C. d h l 9 . b J u L P e r . B. C. &raIab.Jul.Pa.
--496
4461
291
B. 0.
13
Oct 2.5
497
4462 252
460
327
498
4463 261
326 Nw. 3
499 4464 2M)
461
4426 288
BP5
wo 4 6 5 249
( ~ e 4427 2(n
683
4428 286 Oct. 24
485
4390 3%
4466 248
601
464
426
4429 285
4391 338
4467 247 .
502
M
4392 822 NOT.2
603
4468 246
465
4430 284
428
4893 821
604 4469 245
466 4431 283
Nav. 11
467
4432 2m2 Oet.23
423 4 g q 320
4470 244
605
US8 4433 281
430 4395 319
4471 243
606
318 N0o.l
-1
, 4396
4472 242
317
607
469
ioe
4434 280
4473 241
508
470
Nw. 10
4435 279
816
4W
471
-8
4436 278 Oct.22
609 4474 240
434
472
4437 277
4399 315
4475 239
610
W
4400 314 Oet.31
4476 238
611
473
436 1401 313
4438 276
4477 237
5
4439 275
Ntw. 9
474
476
4402 312
437
6440 274 Oct.21
4478 236
613
476
438
4403 311
4441 273
4479 235
514
W 810 M . 3 0
4480 234
615
4448 272
477
440 4405 SdB
4481 233
516
470
Noo. 8
4443 211
47B
4444 n o oct.20
1
4406 BQI
4482 232
617
4W) 4441 24%
442
44Ol 381
4483 a31
518
4408 SO6 Oct.29
4M
4484 230
519
481
444 4409 $05
4446 288
5m 4485 439
Nm. 7
48!4
4447 ab7
dilll
189
4410 804
4448 266 Oet. 19
4486 228
621
446
484 4449 265
4411 308
4487 227
522
441
4412 rn Oet.28
4488 226
523
148
485
4450 2fl4
4413 301
6189 225
Nw. 6
524
486
4451 263
PI0
487
4452 262 Oct. 18
4414 800
450
69.5 4490 226
188 4463 481
4415 298
628
a 1
4491 223
4416 Dg8 0 6 . 3 7
4492 222
6
468 4417 297
4464 260
489
Nm. 6
528
4493 a1
490
4465 159
&S
4456 258 Oct. 17
491
4418 %96
6194
220
629
454 4419 S ' (92
4467 257
630 4495 219
(66
4420 294 Oct. 26
486
4496 218
631
493
4458 24W
W l S8
b.
4
4497 217
632
494
4459 MI5
107 U22 S 2
496
4460 254 Oct. 16
Nw. 13
4ft1
422
493
424
NW. 12
468
4886
4387
4388
4389
rM8
BsB
'
4423
4424 290
4425 289
dh.N.hJulPer. 8. C. & n N a h f S ? e r . B. G Z n I h h J u l . P k . B. C.
~~
- --- -
533
534
535
636
Oct. 15
537
W8
539
540
Oa. 14
641
542
543
644
Oat. 13
4498 216
4499 215
4500 214
4601 213
645
1146
4510 !&M
4511 203
4612 un
4613 201
547
648
Oat. 12
649
1150
651
558
Oet. 11
563
654
655
,
566
450% 21e
4503 211
4504 210
4505 U)9
4608 908
4607 207
4508 206
4509 203
4511
4616
4516
4517
208
199
188
197
4518 196
4619 196
4620 194
4621 k93
571
672
Oet. 6
573
574
675
676
Oe+ 5
677
578
579
680
Oet. 4
581
582
683
684
. oet. a
!565
686
687
588
Oet. 2
689
590
591
1192
Oct. 1
MM
694
,
Oet. 10
657
4513 192 , 695
696
658
4523 191
! 559
4624 I80 kp.30
560
697
45211 189
598
Oet. 9
!EM
561
45UI 188
go0
41i27 187
662
4528 186 &p. 29
663
564
4529 185
601
602
Oet. 8
56!5
4530 184
603
666 4531 183
604
567
4532 182 Sep. 28
805
568
4533 181
606
Oa. 7
607
569
4534 180
570
4635 179 , 608
I
4536 178
4337 177
8ep.27
809
610
611
4538 176
4539 175
612
w 174 &p.m
4641 173
613
614
4542 172
616
4543 171
610
4544 170 &p. 25
617
4645 189
618
4646 168
619
4647 187
0QO
4548 186 -24
4649 166
621
4650
4551
4552
4653
104
163
1Bt
161
4554 160
4655 159
4656 1%
4557 167
4558 166
4!i59 165
4560 154
4561 1 9
4662 152
4563 151
4Mi4 I50
4565 I49
4566 148
4667 147
4566 146
4569 145
4570
4671
4672
4573
144
143
142
141
4574
4575
4578
4677
140
139
138
137
. 4678 136
4579 185
4680 I34
4581 la8
4682 133
4583 131
4384 130
4685 IS8
4586 I S
tm mn ~n
lm
623
4588
694
4689 1 s
Scp.23
625
626
627
6S8'
hp.22
629
0 0
631
632
&p. 21
633
834
636
636
fkp.20
637
638
639
840
6ep.10
641
642
643
644
&p. 18
645
4590 124
4591 I S
4592 1!B
4593 191
4694
4595
4596
4697
120
118
111
117
4598 116
4599 115
4600 114
4601 113
4602
4603
4604
4605
112
111
110
109
4006 108
4607 107 ,
4608 lo(
106
4610 104
Sep. 17
660
4625
89
4626
4687
4628 I
4629
88
87
86
85
4630
4631
4632
4633
B1
Sep. 14
661
662
663
664
sep. 13
665
665
867
668
8ep. 12
669
670
671
672
&p. 11
673
674
675
676
Sep. 10
677
678
679
680
Sep. 9
83
82
81
4634
4635
4636
4637
80
79
78
77
4638
4639
4640
4641
76
75
74
73
4642
4643
4844
4645
72
71
70
69
I(
684
4649
65
719
4684
30
695
696
Sep. 5
697
698
699
700
8ep. 4
701
702
703
704
Seg. 3
705
706
707
708
&p. 2
706
710
711
712
&p. 1
713
714
715
716
4660
4661
64
53
730
731
732
4695
4696
4697
18
18
17
4662
4663
4664
4665
62 Aug. e7
733
51
734
50
49
735
736
48 Auq.26
737
47
738
46
739
46
740
44 Auq. 25
43
741
742
42
743
41
r144
40 Auq. 24
745
39
746
38
747
37
748
36 ' Aug.23
35
34
33
4(i98
4699
4700
4701
16
15
14
13
4702
4703
4704
4705
12
11 .
10
9
4706
4707
4708
4709
8
7
6
6
4710
4711
4712
4713
4
3
2
1
4666
4667
4668
4669
4670
4671
4672
4673
4674
4675
4676
4677
4678
4679
4680
4881
'
-4714 c,Efir#.
Yd
reel-3
11
118
APP~DB.
?'
The above canon of Rolemy is copied from the edition with vsriaus reading6 published by Petaviuq from
manuscripts in the kin of France's librbry, in the
second volume of his Bationarium Temposum. His
text accords with the '' Canon Chronicus Babylonionun
&gum ex Cod. MS. C1. Ptolemmi de Hypothesibus Plan o m e n q n &c., given by Sir John M a r s h , and first
published b Dr. Bambridge from a manuscript in the
Bodleian ~ i g r a r ~By
. the side of this I have placed
two lists from the Paris edition of Syncellus, p. 207-9.
The firm is called by that author the Astronomical Canon,
and is no other than the Canon of Ptolem corrupted.
T h e last, which he calls the Ecclesiastical mputation,
was taken by him from a work, now lost, of Julius Afri.
canna. It is srrtisfaotory t o oompare them; but the
reader must not be misled by the attempts made, either
in the Astronomical D a m , ~ the Ecclesiastical com~utatioa.to reconcile the names thev oontaih with those
in the &ripturea. Let him not forla moment suppose
that Nabonassar and Shaimaneser were the same Derson !
that the seventeenth king was Wtazar or ~el&ezzar;
or that the eighteenth, wag the same as Aatyages, ~ a r i u ;
Assuerus. or Artaxerxes. It is these unskilful atternate
- r which haie thrown the subject into so much confusion,
and occasioned among modem chronologers so many
conflicting opinions. The Canon of Ptolemy, taken by
itself, is an illustrious monument of antiquity, perfectly
in accordance with Scripture history, and furnishing the
only sure w t h o d by which we can d ' u s t its dates with
the modern cornpotations of time. Arbis, therefore,
let us confine ourselves.
There can be no doubt, I think, that the Naboeolasearns of Ptolemy is the Nebuchadnezzar of the Bible.
The Greek L and D ( A and A) are so henrly alike, tbat
a Greek oopyist 'unskilled in Hebrew names would ve
s u i l y mistake the o m for the other. For ~ a b o c o z
nassar, or, as he is called in the Se tua int, Nabocodbnbsor, it would be easy to R i t e IVaI!oco&ua*.
Furthar
ploofs will 'appear hereafter. By a similar rocem it
would not be diiKcult to change Eear Ha dod into
Aem Ad&.
L'
Equinox,
The second year OF
The first
"
The year of Nabon-
64
I6
A. Nab. 143
142
I#
a
141
141 began Jan. 22, A. J. P. 4107,~.c. 607.
11.
A. J. P.
dt"
am
ably beginshg
towards the close of the year 7 of abonassu, a. J. P.
B73, B. c. 741. P e k d reipod 20 years, and themfore
died three years after the soaersion of Absz, A. Nab
10, A. J. P. 3976, a o. 738. But by 2 Kingq xvii 4
Hoshea began to reign in the twelfth year of A h a
This was towards the close of the year 19 of Nabmaw
mar; so that the interregnum betweem Pekd and Htw
ehea was nine years, and not ten, as Dr. Haler su
s e ~
@nsequently the ninth year of H o s k w o u P S " d
towards the clom of the y e u 28 of Nabonaew, or pwt
of a year earlier than the date we arrived at in oat
~ p m r dpro eeh We must therefom place the ertino*
tion of the Engdorn of Israel in the autumn of the y a
3994 of the Julian Period, or B. c. 720. This was the
m a h year of Hezekiah, and his reign may have cam*
nrenoed towards autumn of the year 93 of Nabonasmu,
A. J. P. 3989, B. c. 725.
Before the era of Nabonassrr we count bauk thue :
Fkst, ten years of Pekah+two of Pekahhth+ten of
Menahem42 yearr. Menahem be an to re'
hdlurn, in
ing to 9 Kings, xv. 14, 17, by the eath of %"+codh e thirty-ninth year of Azariah. Therefore the first of
Menahem and thirtpninth of Azariah coincided with
A. J. P. 3945, B. c. 769 ; and the thirtyaighth year of
Azariah, in which Zachsriah reigned over Icrael,
Kings, xv. B), was A. J. P. 3944, B. c. 170. Azari
therefore, began to reign (3944-37
or 770+37) in
A: J. P. 3907 or B. C. 807: and that ear, by 2 Kings,
st. 1, was the twenty-eeventh yew o Jeroboam 11. king
of Israel. Jeroboam reigned 41 years. If t h e r e h e r. a.
P. 3907, B. c. 807, wse his twenty-seventh year, then hi.
kst year was 3901+14) A. I . P. 3921, B. c. 793. Corn
requently the ifference between A. J. P. 3944,B. c. 774
the year when Zacharinh reigned, and A. J. P. 3921,
r. c. 793, the hat ear of Jeroboam II., or twcnty-thres
arq was the pe od of interre urn in Israel b e t m a
fmboam 11. and Zschnhh and hall- .ad not twew
M.y a r s as . ( . ~ dby Dr. Hales. Them were evident&
two interregnums at least in Israeli and the nun of
Beth is equal to 3%yeerq M Dr.HJer hol, mid. Th)
5"
$
-.
HLoga ofJudah.
. A. J.P. B. C.
came ttibutary
-to Bhishak o
yeue,
. ; .if787 9a'l
5 Jehorrun a@&%, a 2 m2
6 Ahazish 1 yeat, 3820 894
-. . . . 3821 I893 .
,
Athaliah
Jehu,
.. .
- -.
90.1
9fM
FA
40 yearti,
3881 887
- -j
KhgmdIsrwl.
A.J.P.B.0,
12Hezekiah began
to reign yr. 23
The extinrtion o
the kingdom o
The extinction of
the kingdom of
Iarnel
takes
place in the
autumn, being
the elose of the
9th year of Hoshea, E. N. 28. 3994 720
place in the
autumn, being
rent year ofH
II
. -. . . . . . . . .. .. 3994
4019
14 Amon reigns 2 years, beginning E. N. 108 . . . . 4074
15 J a i a h reigns 31 years, beginning E. N. 110 . . . 4076 63
16 Jehoahnz reigning only 3 months, is not counted.
The t K i period begins after the destmction d the
kingdom of Israel,
13 Manaseeh reigns 55 years, beginning E. N. 53
..
..
1:;I
403
The ~ e m ~being
l e founded in the 4th year
of Solomon, add 40-3=37
. .37
And ir makes the duration of the Temple 440
The kingdom of Israel continued 96+174=
. 26B yeam.
The kingdom of Judah from Rehoboam to Ztdekirb 403
From David to Zedekiah, 40+40+03
. . 483
yeus.
Ed. 3.
1
I
la
I'
*act
Lj.
After whom, he 9%
them was a king of the C M deans whose name was W d u s : of whom, also, the
Biaorkal. writings of the Hebrews make mention under
t h e name of Wulur (Pul), who, h e y say, invaded t h e
ooantry.of the Jews.
"And after him Polyhistor nays that Senechcriir
was king. Bob Isaiah the prophet and the books of
the Hebrews relate that he reigned in th. time of kiog
Hezekiah. For the Divine Scripture oceedr to say,
And it cams to pass in tk fourteen%
of H e m
kiah tbe king, that Sinecberib, king of the Ass r h a ,
went up againn the fortiled cities of Judeaa a n 1 took
them.' And after the whole himtoy it adds thus : ' A d
bordan, his son, reigned in his stead.' And like&
fanher on it adds, ln that time it came to pam that
Hezekiah fell rick.'
It then relates in order that In
that time Marodaeh Baladan, king of the Babyloaims,
lent ambaasadom with a letter and prewutr to H e l a
h h . ' Them thin my the writin of the Hebrewr.
The c h d d - t ~ l a i . .L.s e a mentiom of Sine-
"tB
gY
T'
cia,
a-1
v i e that tbey p s w d 70 years in captivity, if you cempute the captivity of the Jews from tItu first year of N a b chodonoeor to Cyrus king of the Persians. Abydeoue
relates the emme thing in his history of the Chaldaeana."
I omit the extracts from Abydenuo, becauw they contain no dntee, and, M Eusebias observer above, agree in
robstance with the narrative of Polyhintor. The saccesrion of kings from Nebuchadnezzar, according to
this author, war, 1. Nabucodonosor ; 2. Amil-Marodoa
Ed. Milan. Amil-Marodach, Greek, Evil-Maluruchur
Niglisear, (Gr. Neriglissar); 4. Labossoracuq ( r.
Labaseoaraecus) ;5. Nabonedoch, (Gr. Nabannidochus) ;
6. Cyrus, &c.
I aleo omit the extracte from Josephus against Apion
B. 1, because Whiston's translation is in everybody's
hands j but as in the years of Nabopolassar the prewnt
copies of Josephue mad 29 for 21, 1 give the extract
from Berosus as it a ears in the Evangelical Preparation of Euabius, ~ i p i x c.. 40. The Armenian version
of the Cbro~iconof Eusebius has also 91 and not 29, as
the number of years of the reign of Nabopolnsmr. Tqe
mistake can easily be accounted for ; being occasioned
by writing Bvvua for Ova or 6 for a.
k.
d'
" Nabucbodonoror, warring against an insurgent, overcame him and reduced the country under his dominion.
About this time it came to pass that his father Nabopohsrar war takea ill and died in the City of Bab lon
when he had reigned 21 years. Nabuchodonosor,
in been soon informed of his father's death, arnrrged
a airs in E t and the neighboring countries, and hawing confide=
Jewish, Phmnician .ad S rim captlvto the oare of lome of his frieuda, retuxueZt0 Babylon."
Eusebius then pasws over the aeeouat extracted by
Joaephes from Beroaas, that NeblraLsdmuu built the
fameus han 'ng gatdenr and d l r of B e l o o , and proor& u foEws :
12'
6.r
9 Td
" at
-3
olem my.
8th
To return Crom h
m
i slight digrowion : Ths ha mention made of Shalmnnewr, king of A~lryria,is in h
sirth year of Herekieh, and the ninth of Hoshea, when
he destroyed the kingdom of Israel. The first mention
of Sennacherib, his succemor, is in tbe fourteenth yew
of Hezekiah, when he came up against all the fenced
oities of Judah, 2 Kingq xviii. 10, 11. It followq therefore, that Shalmaneser must have died, end Sennacherib
have succeeded him, some time during the seven intervening years. la whet precise year is uncertain. Them
i+ some confusion in the language of Polyhistor as it ir
represented in the Cbronicon, and in the attempts of
Eusebius to harmonize it with his conceptions of the
meaning of the Bible. The words of Polyhistor are,
When be had lived eighteen years (in Empire) he de=
parted this life.'' The exprerion "in E m p ~ r e " P11,
rio] enclosed in brackets, I take to be ioaerte in tho
tran~lationfrom the Armenian. becauae the trine
ktor felt the absurdity of re resenting Sennacherib a0
usebius inter rets the Ian*
living on1 eighteen yean.
p a g e of olyhistor asmeaning that Sennac erib reigned
under Hezekiah eighteen years; and this I believe u
tbe true meaning, for the fourteenth year of Hezekiah
with the fifteen y e u s during which Mr life was pro=
longed, make sixteem yearm. It is to be aherved &o
that the sum of the reigns of the three kingo omitted
by Polyhistor, together with the second interregnum
before the reign of Esrv Haddon, is nineteen yearr,
(6+ 1+4+&19);
and if tothese we add the five years of
his reign at Babylon during his father's lifetime, w have
twenty-four years after the subjugation of Belibur, or
Elibuq by Sennncherib, which must have been in E. n
48, A. J. P. 4014, B. c. 700, or tbe twenty-fifth year of
Hezekiah. I conclude, therefore, that Sennacherib
reigned from E. N. 35, A. J. P. 4001, B. c. 713, to r. a.
7% A. J. P. 4038, a c. 676 ; or from the twelfth year of
Hezekiah to the twentieth of Y.aeaaeh inclusive, a period of thirty-eight years.
It WEE ingeniously conjectured by Sir IWC Newton,
ued thai conjecture has been subreqaentl adopted by
the authors of the Universal History on8 y Dr. Hales,
E~L
6
that 'Piglath P i h e r w a ~
the elder, a d N a b . n ~ . rthe
unger son of Pul or Phnl, the M a s of the Greeks.
91, at his death, divided his kingdom betweem thew
two sm ; w that Tiglatli Filemer began to migo in Niweveh, and Nabonnsaar at Babylon, in the same year. If
his be SO, then the reigns of Tiglath Pilear and his eoa
aalmanewr occupied the first thirty-four years of the
sm of Nabonwear. Ahaa Began to reign E. M. 7, and Peknh, the son of Remaliah, king of I m d , u.as slain g. N. 10.
* Hoshea began to reign over Ierael in the twelfth year of
Ahaz, and a inst him came up Shalmameser, king of A+
+a ;and oshea beeame his servant, and gave him pra
mts." 2 Kings, xvii. 1-3. These few drt+s will enable la
to arrive by approximation at the probeble length of the
earlier reigns. Tighth Pilesn invaded the north-eastern
prut of the ten triber, and carried them into captivity in
the days of Pedcah (9 Kingq xr. 20) ; co~equentlynot
later than a. N. 10. Ahaa became tributary to T i g U
Pileaer to m u r e bimmif from the attacks of Rezin, k i q
of Syria, and Pelrah, king of Ismel; cowquently after
B. N. 7, and before B. A. 10. Sbalmaneeer came up
, e a i n s t Hoehem in or after the fimt year of the l a t ~ ,
d i c h war the twelfth of Ahaz ; conseque~tlymot ealc
Her than B. II.
19. We may t h e n k r e make the reign
ef Tiglath Pilessr eighteen, a d that of Shaimureeer sixteen yeam; for 18+ 1 6 ~ 3 4 .If, hen, we asoign twe*
five or thirty years to the reign of Pul, as he was coetemporary with Menahem, we carry up tbe origia of the
empire or kingdom of A q r i r as high as we can with
m y probability go, that is, to A. J. P. 3%2 or 3937, a.
c 77'2 or 777, during the firmt interre num in I s r d , coeval with the cemmeneement of the lympiads.
Haviag traced the Assyrian menarohy up to its ori in,
rs must n o r return to the end af the reign of &ar
Haddon, which, as we bare seen, war the year R. N. 80,
in order to determine the year in whkh Niaereh w u da
~ o y dB that event the Assyrian monarchy was t e e
minated, an the great Babyloeisa empire began, which
firmed the head of Daniel's prophetlc image, d war
tbe fimt of the four p a t empirecl deaaribed in hi. s n b
quent vkions.
8"
l3
* T h l war
~ born, a c d i n g to hertius, when D a m h VUJ
Archon of Athens 8 and his Arehonehip Diysius of Haliearaasclur
places in the second year of the thirty-Nth Olympiad, corresponding
With the lart six months of A. I. P. 4 ~ 7 5 uld
,
the first six month of
A. 3. r. 4076, a c. 639-638. The d i p r e ocenrred May 18, A. J . r.
U11,&c. 6 0 a , a ~ T h a k ~ r r 3 5 ~ o l d .
.fourteenth year of his reign ; or (35fl4) in the fortyninth year of his age.-(Clio,
Q 25-86).
The engagement in the time of Cyaxares, to which
reference is here made, was occasioned, according to
the some historian, by the protection which Alyattes
gave to some of the Scytbians who had fled from the
vengeance of their Median conqueror. As Alyattes refused to give them up, a war ensued for five years ; and
"in the sixth year," says Herodotus, in the midst of
an engagement, the dny suddenly became night." This
total eclipse had been foretold to the Ionians, b Thalee.
the Milesian. The fear which it occnaioned ed t o a
peace ; and that peace wa8 confirmed by the marriage
of Aetyages and Aryenis.-(Herod.
Clio, Q 74).
Chronologers are divided in sentiment concerning the
date of this memorable eclipse. The unerring science
of astronomy narrows the field of controversy t o
92 years; but within that bounds
the followin
eclipset~hare severally been considereyas the suppow
eclipee of ThaIes :-
-- I
-- - -
- n'~h~~~&~i:a;k
the rixth year of the war. Five solid years had ela s d
at *e l a s t ca~cu~ation
does the ~cythiansh d
conquered by Cyaxares. Making allowance of r o w
little time between the conquest aad almost entire extermination of the Scythians, and the proteetion of tbe fert
fu itives by Alyattes at Sardis whieh began the war, it
w e not be deemed ext,nt,
if we consider tbo y a p
of the battle as the seventh or eighth efter the general
expulsion of the Scythians. We may therefore lace
that event in the year e. c. 609 or 610. Now i e r o dotus tells us that it was after the Medes had tau8
naovered their lncieat importance, that they took
Nineveh, (Clio, 4 1106.) Consequently, it wasafter B. c.
609, and before the battle with the Lydians, May 18th,
a C. 603 ; and thus it is undeniably proved, that it wan
after the seventeenth year of Nnbopolassar, the father aC
Nebuchsdnezzar, and during the last four year8 of tbe
reign of that prince, that Nineveh, and the Assyriaa
empire, was destroyed.
Let the reader now revert to t h e extract from Alexander Polyhidor, and he will see confirmation strong of
these deductions. The Sardanapallus of Polyhietw,
who reigned 21 years, and was the father of Nabucodrossor, war evidently the N n b ~ l l a s e a r of Ptolemy,
He sent an army to tbe aid of Astyages the Mede, t l u
prince and ratre of the Median nation. Cyaxarea, it
10 true, was rtil the king of the Medes; but it war
towards the close of his long reign of forty years ; and
hie son Astyngw, soon to be his successor, may well
have had a daughter by one of his wiven, old enough t9
be the bride of a prince so young as Nebushadne~at
thenewas. The object of sending this army to aid the
Medes, appearr by the following exthct from the-hi*
tory of Abydenus reserved in the Armenian Chron~aon
of Euebius. I lve it in the English traoslation
Cory, from the
tin of the Armenian editor. +' After
him [i. e. Axerdis, as Mr. Cory thinks, and
npp-rr
to me most probable] Saracns reigned orer the
be was informed that a very great
rianq and &n
multitude of barbarians had c o w up from tbe eta a*
urtaek him, he rent Bamlouorur a8 Bir prud
her
!'
&.
13'
i'
&
Chinziras and P m r
606.
THE B A B Y L O W EMPIRE.
This began from the destruction of Nineveh. Naboassar appears to hnve immedintely associated his son
ebuchadnezzar with himself in the empire. This may
bave been one of the terms of the contract by which the
Median princess, the dnu hter of Astyngeq was given
to his son in marriage. hence Abydenus speaks only
of Nabuchodroseorur as succeeding to the empire ; nod
the prophet Daniel, explaining the vision of the imnge,
takes no notice of the father, but says to the king, "Thou
art this bead of gold," DM. ii. 88. Certain it is, from
Beroeus, thnt Nebuchadnezzar was sent at the head of
tbe army to effeet the conquest of Syria, Phcenicia,
Egypt, and the neighboring countries, in the first year
of the destruction of Nineveh, nnd in hie fitther's lifetime. We must, therefore, add one year to the fortythree whioh he reigned nfter his father's death, as mentioned by Ptolemy. In other words, we must count the
g a r of Nebuchadnezzar's demth as the forty-fourth of
the Babylonian empire.
Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son Evil-Meredoch, Jerem. lii. 31 ; 2 Kings, xxv. 27. That prince, in
the first yenr of his reign, released Jehoiachin, king of
Judah, from prison, in the thirty-seventh year of his
cnptivity. Jehoiaehin reigned at Jerusalem three months
and ten days, and was then taken captive to Babylon, in
the eighth y e u of Nebuehhezzar'r reign, E. N. 151, A.
RP'
J . 1. 4 117, B. a. 597. That wss the 6rrc year of his captivity, and eossequently the chirtyaeventh year was E. n.
187, A, I. P. 4 15, B. c. 561. Oa consulting the Cnaon of Ptolmy, i t will be seen that precimely in the y e a E. n. 187,
Illuerodamus began to reign. Tbir proves that the EviE
k stbe -same person as the
Merodach of rbi; ~ e r i ~ t u is
Ill~~trodamtlr,
Amil-marudosh, Evil-malurucbus, kc., of
tbe profane i i s t o r b s . Bemeus and Ptolemy agree that
b reigned enly two years, and not twelve, as incorrectly
sbtd in the Armenian extact from Polyhistor.
All the historians agree that the hushad of his sister,
Neriglimr, tbs Nwicwdaeear of Ptolem left a son
nuned Laborosoarehod, who was put to z a t h aftem a
reign of nine months. As he did not reign a whole
ses him over
Tear? Ptolerny, sncardiog to his cwtom,
m ulence, and speaks only of ~ a b o n a c s one
, of the
cwIpiratoro elected by the met as his srwzcessor. This
being &be b t king of tbe Chaldaaa dynasty, must have
bean the B e l s ~ s uof Daniel. I nay must h m bean,
notwithetanding the various conjectures uaeed by tbe
c s ~ t d i o t o r -tints
#of Daniel, Polyhistor and Beros u DopiefT e x p s d y , 1. that night w*u Belshazzar slain, and arius the M d e took the k i n g d ~ r n . ~
Dm. v. 30, 31, To what bimg 10 h
i nirenmstanees of
the case nnit &we words to be applied 'I Not to
~ v i l . r n e r ~ hlor
; that is hL Soripture mme,.od there
is ne evidcoce of his baring another ; not to Neriglisor,
for be w e a n to have died a natural death ; not to hie
6% Laborawarohod, for he
but a boy, and the cirof the feant m l d not, with any probability,
c-taeoee
w l y to him. D J a b d i u e oaly remaim ; but to him it
is, in the first place, objected, that he was one of the
wwpuatoro who dew Laboresoarchod, and was not of
tho MaQd royal ;wberear, in Daaiel, Belehazurr is spokea
of as a descendant of Nebuchadnezmr, Dan. w. S11, 13,
1% 3,. To this it laby be replied, that Nabonadius may
heve been a son or near relative of Evil-merodach, and
so a liwel deeaendaat fnom Nebuchadnezzar, which Nerisor and his eon, Leboruaoarchod, certainly were not.
is objected, eeeondiy, that Naboaadiue rurrendered
himself to Cyrus, a d WM not only kept alive, but an.
mde gwarnol ef C.rrauok for the re& of him life.
bE
But to this it may be answered, that Daniel was a contemporary writer nnd an eyewitness ; whereas Berosus
and Polyhistor lived several centuries after the event,
mnd on ti subject affecting their hationa] vanity ma have
h e n deceived by false reports. It is objected,
that Darius the Median took the kingdom, according to
Daniel, and not Cyrus, and hence it is argued that the
events could not have been the same. But, if Cyrus War
the enwal, commanding the united forces of tbe Meder
and ersians, and Darius the Mede was no other than
Cyaxares II., the uncle and father-in-law of Cyrug it war
rfectly roper to say that Darius the Median took the
Engdom, pacause it waa taken in his name ;and equally
proper to say that Cyrus took the kingdom, because he
was the general commanding. That Darius the Mediae
was Cyarares II., the son of Astyages, ~ n dbrother of
Xandane, the mother of Cyrus, is admitted by Dr. Haler.
But that eminent chronologer appears to me to indulge
too boldly in conjecture, when he makes Belshazzar the
eon and successor of Evil-merodaoh, and Nabonadius a
Babylonian nobleman, the viceroy of Darius the Mede,
B. C. 553, besieged in Borsipp, the citadel of Babylon,
B. c. 538, and finally token by Cyrur, B. C. 536 !
I prefer to follow more simply the testimony of the
Scriptures, and that of the Canon of Ptolemy, which
we hare found to be so accumte. According to these authorities, therefore, I thus arrange the dates of the Babylonian em ire, from the destruction of Nineveh to the
death of f;elshazzar, and the conquest of Babylon by the
Medea and Persians.
thirdly,
148,
Yeam. E.N.
A.J.P.
B.C.
143
4109
4110
4153
4155
606
604
561
bonuu.
E. H.
144
187
189
193 4159
--
559
556
No.
Y.
E.N.
1 Dejoeccr
2 Phraortea
53,
22
3 Cyaxam 1. 40
36
4 h y ~ y -
33
8!5
- 107
86
108.148
--- A. J. P.
147
- 182
3-9
4062
4074
4114
4061
- 4073
- 4113
4148
R. C.
715662
640
600
663
- 641
- 601
- SBb
Kiog of 1bc P a h n r
I Cgrus
. .
...
. . .
... ...
. .. ..
. .. .. ..
I 1 Aleunder thebXseko&n
TIMwhrl.. ~ ~ , I I I I I .
.
..
..
..
.
--
..
..
...
.
8
36
226
262
287
21
41
I9
324
343
389
48
21
2
4
8
410
412
416
424
.. .. 424
.
.
< \ ,
,,
3;
As t o the rnrnrner
;hat he died o n the twenty-eighth in t k evening, corrcrepoeding with t h e !?2d o r 23d of May. \ire nre
reduced, therefore, t o this dilemma : if h e died in t h e
year E. 8 . 4W,it must h a r e been a t lenst a month preceding t h e 1l.i.th Olympiad. If be died in the first yenr
of the 114th Olympiad, i t must have been In Mny, A. J. P.
W1, B. c. E3, in t h e year E N. 425, rerkelied by
Ptolemy ns t h e first year of I'hilip Aridreus. W i t h
these remnrks I proceed t o t h e secuod part of lJtolemy'r
Canon, entitled
T h e years of t h e kings who reigned after t h e death of
the king Alexander.
Philip who reigned aRer Alexander the Founder
7
Alexander Aem.
. I: 19
K i n p of the Greeks in Egypt.
1 Ptukmy Lagus
ZU
2 Ptolemy Philadelphus
38 77
.
3 Ptolemy Emergetea I.
26 102
.
4 Plolemy Philopator
17 119
,
6
6
7
8
9
10
I I
. . . . .
. ..
..
.
PtolemyEpiphaiter .
.
Ptolemy Philometor . .
P~olemyEncrgetesII. .
Plofemy Soter . . ,
Dionysius
Cleopalra
.. .. ..
Augustus
Tiberius
!CdW
Claudiua
NWO
Vespasian
Titns
Domitian
Nerva
Trnjan
Hadrian
Antoninus
...
.
...
..
.
..
..
.
.
..
.
..
..
..
..
..
.
.
..
..
,
...
..
,
..
. .
24 143
35 178
29
36
29
22
207
-643
27%
'94
.
...
...
...
...
.
...
..
. ..
. , . .
. . . . .
.. .. .. .. ..
. . .. , ..
..
..
..
.. . .. ..
.. .. .. ..
.. . .. ..
43 337
22 359
4363
14 511
14391
10 401
3404
13 419
1 420
19439
21 460
23 403
V. THE CARONOLO(3Y OF THE FOUR KIRObOMS FORMED -4FTER THE EXTINCTION OF THE F M I L Y W
UEXANllER THE GRJCAT.
1.
T E E XINGDON OF MACEDON.
I*
fY
Errs
#err
B Q thus
~
t'
I
I
Sons of Cawander,
3 6
6
1.
fmrn
4
(0
r. r.
468
,it18
poiimetes,
Pyrrhw, k. oFEpirur,
7 ) Olym. 120.4 Olym. 124.4
Lysimachus, k. of l'hrace, 5 6
Poleny,k.ol.Eqypt,
4
4
A-1.p.1434
Meleaqer his brother,
E. N.
468 E.N. 472
Antipater,
Olym. 125.1 01ym. 125.4
Bwtheoes,
dnorcb,
A.J.P. 4434
A.J.P.
4458
years 21
\ -
10 8
Z4!l-S3
Baa-l
221- 179
179-168
1B
1% 1-157 3 4tM-465
168-149
Wetrho,
10
Fascuo,
LZ
Persem,
likm
Romans,
S~do-Phikii.
Philib
r
la r
i ! w ~ s a a 149448
Aftst which, t4e Mecedonianr became tributary to 'the
Roman power.
2. THE KINGDOM OF ASIA 08 SYBIA.
(From Puacb. C h r m Arm. Ed. V .Tom. I. pp. 343468.)
In the sixth year of Philip Arideuq and the third year
of the hundred and fifteenth Olympiad, Antigonus began
to reign over Am& and he reigned 18 years, having lived
in all 86 years. He became tho m o s t formidable of all
the kin s in his time; sad he died in Phry ia, jurt
when a 1 the pnwerq through fear, bad com 'ned to
attack him, in the fourth year of the 119th Olympiad.
.His eon, Demetrius, snved himself by flight, takiag refu e
in Ephesus. Being deprived of all Asia, he was thoug t
.to be the most crael of all kings in the liege of placm,
, whence he was called Poliorcetes (the besieger).
He
reigned 17 years, having c o d e t e d 54 years of his life.
.Beginning from the 6ret year of the 120th Olympiad, he
reigned two years with hi8 hther, which are wrnbered
in the 17 years of his reign. For in the fourth war of
tbe 120th olylgpiad baing taLm by 9deuou+
we8
carried prlnner into Cilicia, where, though he wan kept
in custody, yet he was detained in a manner brfitting.4
' king, uwil be died in the fourth gear of the 124th-Olyapiad.
%,
16
the pa of
swoeeded him.
czs
"r
16.
g7
- - - - - -- - - --- - - - - - - --- -- --
YxAnE.
--
18
17
32
19
16
21
3
36
18
11
----- 21L
3
--- 2649
18
I now proceed to adjuat theme dates to modern competationm. It has been already remarked that the diffetent modes oaf computation of Ptolemy and Porphyry will
-count for tbe apparent, but not real, differences in
fee!
According to Ptolemy, the sixth year of Philip
Arldmua was B. H. 430, That year began November 11,
A. J. P. 1395,~.c.
TI
294,
.. ..
.
.
. .....
. , . . . . . . . . . G.dk. . .
TSAR&
Yeam, 21
!tY
rindpl
ERRATA.
As the author mwmble to mprintend the printiog,
several errors have crept into thir work, wbiab the d e r
is requeated to correct.
P. 14, line I, dele note after " chuitr I" mdin- it aRer CLrirt 'P
h e 3 h m top.
p. 2.6, 1. 19 and 23, dele the bnekets.
p. 43,l. 20 from top, dele t and iaclert the note ta which it den u
a part of the text at the beginning of the next p-ph.
p: 65,l. 24 for menth of Zif," read M month Zif."
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.
p.