to the fifth year of Demetrius Soter, king of Syria, and the twelfth of Proleiny Physcon, 5149 years, which ad. ded to 158 from thence to the time of Christ, make 5307 years. This calculation is farther from the Septuagint than the two others, because he abridged the time of the departure out of Egypt to the building of the Tem. ple, as Eusebius did afterwards. Josephus excuses them for not giving an exact calculation, "Demetrius sane Phelerus, et senior Poilo et Eupola. mus, non multum a veritate aberraverunt; quibus dare veniam dig. num est; non enim inerat eis ut nos tras litteras possint omni scrupulositate sequi." Jos: L: Contra Apian : longe post medium.

CORNELIUS POLYHISTOR, (called so on account of the number of histories which he wrote) wrote also a history of the Jews. He reckons 3624 years from Adam to the entrance of Jacob into Egypt, and 1360 from the deluge, which is somewhat near the Septuagint. "Fuisse affirmat (says Eusebius Prop: Evang: L: 5: C: 4) ab Adam usque in transmigrationem Jacob in Egyptum an"nos ter mille sexcentos viginti qua "tuor; a diluvio vero annos milla ter66 centos sexaginta."

6. This opinion on chronology was that of the whole Jewish nation before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans. No author can be quoted who held one different. We have already mentioned Philo the Elder and Eupolemus. Let us now see Josephus. He gives us the proof that the ancient Hebrew text was conformable to the calculation of the Septuagint which was also his own. "Præsens vero opus aggressus sum, ratus Græcis omnibus "injucundum non fore: complectitur "enim universam gentis nostræ anti"quitatem formamque reipublicæ ex "Hebraicis litteris translatam:" An

tiq: Jud: Præf: et Lib: 20: Cap: ult: et bis Lib: cont: Apian: alibi. Speaking of the deluge he says, (Ant: L: 1 C: 4.) "Tempus illud ab "Adamo, homine primo fuit Anno"rum 2256," and he adds, " hoc

spatium temporis relatum est in sa"cros codices illustrium virorum na“tali & obitu ibi deligentissime nota"tis" and then having related the age of each Patriarch, the time of their having sons, and their death, he says; Hi anni in unam summam contracti, suprascriptum tempus 2256 conficiunt." This is exactly the reckoning of the Septuagint as in the table subjoined.

7. The authority of Josephus alone is of the greatest weight. He was a Jew, well acquainted with every thing that related to his own nation or to that of the Greeks; he lived in the time of the republick and he held in it some of the highest offices. He was one of the twenty-four Priests or Sucrificators who were the first after the high-Priest. He had it in his power to consult the original Hebrew of the Scripture, kept in the Temple and written in letters of gold, and as the Jews from the age of fourteen consulted it on the difficulties of the law we cannot suppose that Josephus did not avail himself of the advantage which he possessed. He must have accordingly written his history (which he translated into Greek for the use of those of his countrymen dispersed in upper Asia,) from the most authentic and exact copies of the Scripture, We cannot rationally suppose that he could have any motive for deceiving them in the chronology of this history, and even had he, some of his cotemporaries would have taken notice of the attempted cheat, as they had recourse to the original. There is the same conformity between Josephus and the Septuagint after as well as before the deluge, except that he

omits

omits the name of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad,

But it is evident that the omission of his name is an error by calculating the years from the deluge to Abraham in the correct copies where he is mentioned, by the computation of Demetrius, of whom Jo ephus speaks, and even Usher allows that Cainan is found in some of the fragments of Polyhistor, Origen has his name also, but by reason of it not appearing in the Hebrew copy, the omission has been perhaps occasioned. Cainan istum, (ays George Syncella the chronologist pag: 79 and 85) Eusebius, corrupto Hebreorum exemplari, non recensuit, ac propterea annis 130 hallucinatus est. Africanus pariter, non numerato, a vero aberravit. St. Augustine mentions Cainan in his city of God L: 3: C: 3 & 10. It is plain then that the text which Jo sephus used was not different from that of the Septuagint,

8. The authority of the ancient Fathers ought to be of great weight as none of them anterior to St. Jerome were of a different opinion. St. Justin the martyr says in his Oratio adhortoria ud gentes, that "Moyses the first doctor "of his religion was more ancient "than all their philosophers, Poets or "Statesmen according to the Grecian "histories themselves. For they place "Moyses about the time of Ogyges "and Inachus, and speak of him as "the prince and chief of the Jewish "nation."

2. Tatian, (Oratio contra græcos.) "Certainly if the affairs of Greece be64 gan to be known and given to his"tory after luachus, the same also "must have begun after Moyses: "For it is evident that Moyses is of an "older date than the heroes of ancient "times." Thus Talian, and it is plain that these two authorities differ from Eusebius who by following the chronology of the modern Hebrew

text is obliged to place Moyses after Cecrops, later than Inachus by 300 years,

3. Tertullian speaks thus in his Apology Ch: 29: "You have," (said he addressing himself to the idolaters who pretended that their worship was more ancient than the Christian religion.) "You have accustomed yourselves to reckon on this argument and you wish for the darkness of antiquity on which to found your Idolatry. You think your long series of years an autho rity for the reverence you pay to yout Gods, but we have much more reason to pride ourselves on the same cause. For the books of one alone of our prophets are by many ages older than all, even the most ancient amongst you. Have you not heard of Moyses the great prophet? He lived in the time of Inachus, 383 years before Danaus, the most ancient cele. brated person you can boast of. All the other prophets since him and even the last, are cotemporary with your earliest men, either legislators or his torians." St. Cyprian in his Exhortation to the Martyrs declares to them "that they must fight courageously

against the assaults of Satan who "for six thousand years was mak"ing war against mankind." Sex mille annorum jam fere complentur ex quo hominem diabolus impugnat: omnia genera tentandi, & artes atque insidias, usu ipso vetustatis edidicit.

Julius Africanus, though not considered a father of the church is yet a great authority on this point. He lived in the third century and wrote a Chronicle to shew that the Christian religion which was accused of no. velty, was as ancient as the world itself being that of the Patriarchs, the just men, the kings, the prophets and having lasted for 6000 years; whilst that of the Greeks existed but for two and that of the Romans for one thousand years; produced by the ignoLi2

rance

He is left out in the modern Hebrew and the reason is obvious. For the word Caru foderunt; Caari, Sicut Leo have been substituted which are nonsense. Many other alterations have been made and are taken notice of by St. Justin (Dial: cum Trephon :) St. Iren: (Heres: L 3: C: 24 :) Tertullian (de habitu melieb. Cap 3.) Origen (Hom. 12 in Jerem. et epistota ad African.) Chrysostom (Hom. 5 et 6 in Math.) Julian. (Toled. L. 1 & 3 contra Judæos. Euthymius in Math.)

V. The Jews had a strong motive for altering the ancient chronology of the Hebrew text. The Messiah was promised in the last days and the Jewish tradition fixed the time of his coming about 6000 years from the creation of the world and about 2000 after the publication of the law, so it is related in the Talmud. The Messiah whom they did not own, really came and it was expedient therefore to persuade the people that the time was not completed and accordingly they found it necessa. ry to retrench 2000 years. The exist. ence of this tradition is proved by Julian the Archbishop of Toledo and by the learned Arab Abulpharagus in his history of the Dynasties translated by Pocock, 7 pag. 72. These are his words, from the creation unto "the Messiah, according to the calcu"lation of the law in the hands of the แ 'Jews, there have been 4220 years; "but according to the computation "of the Septuagint version which the "Greeks and all the other Christian sects except the Syrians, make use "of, there have been 5550 years; making a surplus over the former by 1330 years. This deficiency is as"cribed to the Jewish Doctors. For "whereas it was foretold in the law "and the prophets, that the Messiah "would come in the last days, and the "Rabins having no better grounds whereby to reject Christ, than to

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"change the ages of those men by "which the period of the world was "calculated, they subtracted from the "life of Adam 100 years before the "birth of Seth and added them to the "residue of his years, and did the "same with all the rest of Adam's "children to the time of Abraham. "And thus it would appear by their

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computation that the Christ was "manifested about the 4000th year of "the world, i. e. in nearly the middle "of the duration of time, all which "according to them would be but 7000 years. For, said they, we are as yet only in the middle of time. As yet the time for the coming of the "Messiah is not fulfilled. But the "Septuagint version shews that Christ "was manifested about the 6000th year and that the time for his coming was complete."

"

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Besides the testimony of the author whom we are after quoting, which proves the motive and the fact of the alteration of the text, we can add Eu polemus, Philo and Josephus whose opinions we have before given and and who followed the ancient Hebrew text. This falsification must have taken place after the destruction of the temple and towards the time of Adrian, when the objection concerning the time of the accomplishment of the law was pressed with the greatest force againt the Jewish doctors.

The antiquity of the world, as reckoned by the Chronology of the Septuagint, was therefore admitted by all the authors sacred and profane, and by all the churches until the time of Eusebius of Cæserea; at least not even one can be quoted of a contrary opinion. He used the Hebrew text which was perhaps at that time altered.-He departed from Julius Africanus, of whom in many places he is the mere copyist, in order to shorten the dates and to make Moyses, contrary to the opinion of the

ancients,

ancients, cotemporary with Cecrops. They placed Moyses in the time of Inachus about 300 years before; he also abridged the time of the law by 300, which even the Talmud allou's to have been 2000 years, and contrary to the express authority of Jo sephus" Natus est enim (Moyses) ante annos bis mille. Antiquit. Prof. Pontificum successiones recensuimus continuatas per duo annorum millia, Antiq. Jud. L. 20. Cap. Ult. & contra Apion L. 1.

Of the coexistence of Moyses and Inachus we have many proofs, and even Eusebius says, that the most learned men, such as Clemens, Africanus, and Tatian, amongst the Gentiles, and Josephus amongst the Jews, did think that they were cotemporary.

St. Justin quotes many of the same opinion. "Apion, the son of Possi"donius, in his commentary against "the Jews, and in the fourth book of "his history says, that in the reign of "Inachus, Moyses at the head of the "Jews seceded from Amasis king of Egypt. Ptolemy Mendesius, who "wrote the history of the Egyptians, "held the same opinion, as did Hel. “lanicus and Philocorus who wrote "histories of the Athenians; also "Costos, Tallus and Alexander Po

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lyhistor or Multiscius." St. Justin, Cohort. ad Græ.

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Behold still the words of Tatian on the subject:" There are extant an"nals of the Egyptians, compiled "with the utmost diligence, the interpreter of which is Ptolemy, not "the king, but the priest Mendesius. "He, in relating the histories of the "kings testifies that the Jews, under "Amasis of Egypt, did migrate from "thence with Moyses their leader, "but (says he) Amasis was cotemporary with Inachus."-Tatian. Oratio, contra Græc.

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The chronology of all the ancient states cannot be reconciled with Eusebius, on account of the shortness of the dates; but by adding, as the septuagint does, 1500 or 2000 years to the age of the world, all the events in history can be explained as the suc cession of the different dynasties appear in the subjoined table.

It was St. Jerom, who, by hastily translating the Chronicle of Eusebius in compliance with the requests of his friends Vincent and Gallienus, brought this chronology into repute. Afterwards followed the rage for the Hebrew text which, until the time of the version, was scarce known. Amongst the moderns this system of chronology has been supported by Usher, Scaliger, and all the Protestants.

Age of the World.

Before Jesus Christ.

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