Chapter IV Errors of the Ancient Chronographers
1. Authority of the Scripture texts superior to that of the ancient chronographers—The testimony of the latter chiefly in favour of the Septuagint—The testimonies of Josephus, Theophilus, Africanus, Eusebius, and the author of the Paschal Chronicle selected for examination—Table I. Containing their statements relating to the First age of the world—Errors of Josephus—Corruption of his text—Mr. Cunninghame’s detection of his blunders in regard to the first age—His discovery of the truth from the titulary statements of the first and second books of Josephus—His explanation of the Jewish fraud to which this author appears to have been accessory—Error of Theophilus, and accuracy of Africanus in this age—Similar error of Eusebius and Syncellus, and accuracy of Epiphanius and the author of the Paschal Chronicle.
Although the chronology of the Septuagint receives the strongest confirmation from the writings of the ancient chronographers, it must not be concealed that some of them have committed very strange and unaccountable errors in the computation of the different ages of the world; while, the works of others have come down to us in such an imperfect and corrupted state, that implicit dependance cannot be placed in the chronographical statements which they now contain. The latter remark is peculiarly applicable to the writings of Josephus, whose authority, notwithstanding all his errors, has been followed by many modern chronologers in preference even to that of the sacred Scriptures. Surely the question of chronology lies between the Hebrew text and the Septuagint version, and not between either of these and the works of the chronographers whether ancient or modern. By a fair examination, however, of their Sacred Chronology, we shall find that the testimony of the oldest and best chronographers is almost entirely in favour of the chronology of the Septuagint, and that wherever they differ from it in their works, they commit errors which in general, can easily be detected and accounted for, unless the passages in question have been so entirely vitiated by the wilful mistakes of transcribers as to render it impossible to determine what were the real and actual statements of the author. We shall select for this purpose, the names of five authors who possess the greatest influence among the learned on the subject of chronography, and whose statements are more or less followed by all later writers on the same subject: namely, Josephus A.D. 90, Theophilus A.D. 180, Africanus A.D. 220, Eusebius A.D. 315, and the author of the Paschal Chronicle.70
The names of these chronographers have been particularly selected indeed, and their statements tabulated by Mr. Clinton himself, as the best authorities, at least so far as regards the first two ages of the world. We do not follow him, however, in placing their statements on a level with those of the ancient texts and versions of Scripture; but we class them together as possessing the next claim to our attention. The following table, which for the sake of comparison, is marked by the same number as the corresponding table in our first Part, contains the Antepaidogonian ages of the Antediluvian Patriarchs, and the Extent of the First age of the world according to each chronographer:
| TABLE I. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antediluvian Patriarchs. | Josephus. | Theophilus. | Africanus. | Eusebius. | Pasch. Chron. |
| A.P. ages. | A.P. ages. | A.P. ages. | A.P. ages. | A.P. ages. | |
| From Creation | |||||
| Adam | 230 | 230 | 230 | 230 | 230 |
| Seth | 205 | 205 | 205 | 205 | 205 |
| Enos | 190 | 190 | 190 | 190 | 190 |
| Cainan | 170 | 170 | 170 | 170 | 170 |
| Mahalaleel | 165 | 165 | 165 | 165 | 165 |
| Jared | 162 | 162 | 162 | 162 | 162 |
| Enoch | 165 | 165 | 165 | 165 | 165 |
| Methuselah | 187 | *167 | 187 | *167 | 187 |
| Lamech | *182 | 188 | 188 | 188 | 188 |
| Noah | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| To the Flood | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| First Age | 2256 | 2242 | 2262 | 2242 | 2262 |
Besides their respective statements above tabulated, these chronographers generally give in their works some additional statements which, with some exceptions, serve to rectify their errors, and to corroborate and confirm the true chronology. Josephus, however, in the present text, is made to say that the period from Adam to the flood is 2656 years; whereas the summation of the Antepaidogonian ages gives only 2256 years! On this point, some advocates of the Hebrew chronology argue that the original number was 1656 years, and that δισχιλιών has been put for χιλιών, or two thousand for a thousand; but this is mere assertion; for it is just as easy to say that the original number was 2256 years, and that ἑξακοσιών has been put for διακοσιών, or six hundred for two hundred. Now the proof that the latter assertion is the true one, is that the number 2256 agrees entirely with the summation of the numbers given in detail; whereas the number 1656 does not agree, and must consequently be erroneous. Moreover, there are some MS. copies of Josephus in which we find the true reading ἐτων δισχιλιών διακοσιών πευτήκοσταἑξ, or two thousand two hundred and fifty six years; and this reading is also to be found in some ancient authors who have followed Josephus in chronology, such as, Eutychius Alexandrinus, Josephus Christianus, Anianus Asceta, &c.71 A few various readings relating to the Antepaidogonian ages are also to be found in the different MSS. to which we have referred, but they are of minor importance and not sufficient to invalidate the authenticity of the tabular numbers. The same may be said of his statements regarding the Postpaidogonian ages and whole lives; but as the chronology does not depend on these statements, it is unnecessary to make them the subject of discussion.
It is a very remarkable thing that Josephus differs here from the Septuagint only in the Antepaidogonian age of Lamech, and that in this point he agrees with the Hebrew text. Nor are we aware of the existence of any various reading which would lead us to suppose that it had been otherwise in the text of Josephus. This circumstance alone, though there be many others, would almost lead us to conclude, with Mr. Cuninghame, Preface to his “Synopsis,” p. vii., “that the corruption of the Chronology must have taken place at an earlier period” than is commonly supposed by the learned. He believes “it to have been in the interval between our Lord’s death and the beginning of the Jewish war. This allows more than 30 years for the purpose, which is quite sufficient.” He also conceives “that it must have been well known to Josephus, and the end for which it was done;” and he adds, “It was, however, yet of too recent an origin for him to venture upon the bold experiment of openly substituting it [the corrupted chronology] for the universal chronology of his own, as well as other nations, and the Christian church, and therefore he has introduced both schemes, namely, the short and the long [computation], in such a manner as to perplex and utterly confuse the whole subject, and to draw from some of our most learned men, the acknowledgment that his chronology is involved in hopeless obscurity.” The following explanation of the discrepancy between Josephus and the Septuagint in regard to the Antepaidogonian age of Lamech will be to the general reader more satisfactory than that to which we referred in our first Part, p. 23. “Josephus, who in all the other Antediluvian generations follows the Greek, does in this of Lamech follow the Hebrew, and the effect of it is, that his Diluvian period from Creation is 2256, while that of the best copies of the Seventy, and of Demetrius, is 2262 years. This difference of 6 years, therefore, goes through his whole Chronology. At the beginning of the 1st book of his Antiquities [that is in the Title to the Book] he tells us, that it contains a period of 3833 years, to which, adding the 6 years above mentioned to make it accord with the Greek chronology of Demetrius, the sum is 3839 years. If the reader will next turn to the Table in the Fulness of the Times, p. 34, he will see that this period of 3839 years, measures exactly the interval, from Creation, to the end of the year B.C. 1640, when the children of Israel left Egypt. Now as it is in the nature of things impossible that this most remarkable coincidence should have been unknown to Josephus, the necessary and the legitimate conclusion is, that the above period of 3833 years is his authentic chronology from Creation to the Exodus. It divides itself as follows:
| Years. | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st. | To the Deluge | 2256 |
| 2nd. | To the Birth of Abraham | 1072 |
| 3rd. | To the Exodus | 505 |
| ——— | ||
| Total from Creation to the Exodus | 3833 |
It, moreover, necessarily includes the disputed generation of Cainan, proving that it was in his text originally; and it excludes Usher’s addition of 60 years to that of Terah. But the narrative of the 1st book of the Antiquities comes no lower than the death of Isaac, which was 226 years before the Exodus, and the 2nd book contains the history from the death of Isaac to the Exodus. Yet Josephus, after having at the beginning of his 1st book already given the period which measures the narrative of both books, does nevertheless at the commencement [that is, in the Title] of his 2nd Book, tell us that it contains a period of 220 years in addition to the former, and to this extent his chronology of the whole period from the Creation to the Exodus is forged.” For the rest of his remarks on the delinquencies of Josephus, and the detection of his errors, we must refer our readers to the Preface to Part II. of Mr. Cuninghame’s “Fulness of the Times,” pp. x, et seq. whence the above extract is taken.
It is proper, however, to add the promised explanation, as abridged as possible. Mr. Cuninghame, in his “Fulness of the Times,” pp. 138, 139, shows that in curtailing the true chronology, the Jews preserved the Jubilean Series from the birth of Enos to the departure of Jacob to Padan-aram; for, according to the Septuagint, this interval is 3136 years, or 64 Jubilees; but, according to the Hebrew text, and Usher, 2009 years, or 41 Jubilees; the difference, therefore, is 1127 years or 23 Jubilees. Now this difference consists of the following periods struck off in the Hebrew chronology:
| Years. | |
|---|---|
| From the birth of Enos to the Flood | 406 |
| From the Flood to the birth of Terah | 720 |
| Antedate of Jacob’s departure | 1 |
| ——— | |
| Total 23 Jubilees, or | 1127 |
Mr. Cuninghame argues from the cyclical nature of this period, that the Rabbis who curtailed the true chronology, “were well aware that from the birth of Enos to the departure of Jacob for Padan-aram, there was an exact series of Jubilees, and that in corrupting the Sacred text, they have, with profound artifice, contrived to preserve a series of complete Jubilees, by subtracting exactly 23 Jubilees, or 1127 years.” He adds the following proof regarding the single year; in the true chronology, the birth of Abraham is B.C. 2145, and the departure of Jacob, B.C. 1908,—interval, 237 years; in the curtailed chronology these events are respectively dated B.C. 1996, and B.C. 1760,—interval, 236 years; hence, the antedate is one year. Now in the preceding interval from the birth of Enos to the flood, the period of 6 years which was subtracted from the Antepaidogonian age of Lamech, is an essential element in the argument; otherwise that interval would be only 400 years instead of 406, and the whole of the argument would then fall to the ground. Another argument, in favour of the 6 years is, that if the longer chronology of Josephus be so far correct, which is proved from the Septuagint, it is surely proper to follow the authority of that version in regard to the 6 years, as well as in regard to the 600 years; if we trust to its accuracy for the greater number, we may also trust it for the less! It seems ridiculous and absurd to take the evidence of the highest authority at second hand, and to reject a small part of that evidence, because it is not fairly brought forward by the same hand; although it be pressed on our notice by many other witnesses! Surely in regard to these 6 years, the testimony of the Septuagint and the whole Christian Church, is before that of Josephus.
In reference to the tabulated statements of Theophilus, we find only the very singular and unaccountable error of 20 years in the Antepaidogonian age of Methuselah, which the Vatican codex, if we may trust the editions of the Septuagint said to have been taken from it, appears to have retained. That this chronographer has evidently read 167 years instead of 187 years, can scarcely be doubted from his subsequent statements, and particularly from his statement respecting the extent of this age, that “all the years till the flood were 2242.”72
The statements of Africanus as to the Antediluvian period, entirely agree with those of the Septuagint, which shows that he had taken his numbers from a more correct copy of that version, and one that agreed in this respect with the celebrated Alexandrine codex now deposited in the British Museum. He confirms the truth of his particular statements by the following summary ones: first—“Therefore, from Adam till the birth of Enos all the years are 435;” second,—“Therefore, from Adam till Noah and the flood are 2262 years.”73 As to the statements of Eusebius, and the author of the Paschal Chronicle, they are of a later age, and must therefore have been copied from one or other of the former authors, or from the copies of the Septuagint extant in their time. From the notes upon the Chronicon of Africanus, added by Routh,74 it is evident that both Eusebius and Syncellus adopted the numbers in the preceding table which we have arranged under the name of the former; and that Epiphanius and the author of the Paschal or Alexandrine Chronicle adopted the correct numbers of the Septuagint, which we have placed under the title of that work. After stating that according to Africanus, “there were 3000 years from Adam to the death of Peleg;” Syncellus adds, “but according to Eusebius, 2980 years;” the difference between these numbers is 20 years, which is precisely the same as the difference between their dates of the year of the flood, viz: A.M. 2262, and A.M. 2242. Moreover, although Syncellus states that Africanus gives the former of these dates, as the true epoch of the deluge; he adds his own opinion, that “from Adam to the flood there were 2242 years,” and “contra Africanum pugnat,” fights against Africanus, in favour of the erroneous number. The author of the Paschal Chronicle says explicitly, that “in the 100th year of Shem, the 600th of Noah, and the 2262d year of the world, the flood was upon the earth; and this is the exact number which Africanus exhibits at this epoch since the correct copies of Genesis shew 187 years as the age of Methuselah when he begat Lamech.” Epiphanius, in his first book “against Heretics,” after narrating that Noah was saved in the ark, says “and thus the 10th generation extended to the 2262d year [of the world,] and the flood brought it to an end.” Thus it appears to have been the general opinion of the oldest and best writers that the First age of the world was of the precise length which we have assigned to it; and that the only difference among them was, whether it were not shorter by 20 years, in consequence of some foolish mistake committed by an early transcriber in the Antepaidogonian age of Methuselah; for in this age, the correct copies of the Septuagint perfectly agree with the Hebrew text.
2. Table II., Containing the statements of the ancient chronographers relating to the Second age of the world—Absurd errors of the text of Josephus—The discrepancy between his detailed numbers and his sum total, the work of an enemy to the truth—Proof that the true sum was in his text originally—Errors of Theophilus and Africanus in this age due to Jewish influence—Notion entertained by the ancient chronographers regarding the bisection of the Mundane period at the death of Peleg—The genealogy of Shem, like that of Melchisedec, in the chronology—Reference to Mr. Clinton—Error of Eusebius, rectified in the Hieronymian version of his Chronicon—Accuracy of the Paschal Chronicle, with the exception of the biennial period—Valuable Testimony of Eusebius and Africanus, preserved by Syncellus in his Chronographia, on the extent of the first two ages.
We now proceed to notice the errors of these chronographers, in their statements regarding the Second age of the world. The following table, which should be compared with Table II. in our first Part, contains the Antepaidogonian ages of the Postdiluvian Patriarchs, and the Extent of the Second age, according to each chronographer.
| TABLE II. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postdiluvian Patriarchs. | Josephus. | Theophilus. | Africanus. | Eusebius. | Pasch. Chron. |
| A.P. ages. | A.P. ages. | A.P. ages. | A.P. ages. | A.P. ages. | |
| From the Flood | *12 | *0 | *0 | 2 | *0 |
| Arphaxad | 135 | 135 | 135 | 135 | 135 |
| Cainan | *0 | *0 | *0 | *0 | 130 |
| Salah | 130 | 130 | 130 | 130 | 130 |
| Heber | 134 | 134 | 134 | 134 | 134 |
| Peleg | 130 | 130 | 130 | 130 | 130 |
| Reu | 130 | 132 | 132 | 132 | 132 |
| Serug | 132 | 130 | 130 | 130 | 130 |
| Nahor | *120 | *75 | 79 | 79 | 79 |
| Terah | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 |
| To the Call of Abraham | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| Second Age | 1068 | 1011 | 1015 | 1017 | 1145 |
In regard to the Extent of this age, Josephus is made to say, in the present text, that Abraham “was born in the 292d year after the flood;”75 while the summation of the Antepaidogonian ages gives 993 years, to which adding the age of Abraham at the Call, we have 1068 years! As we can scarcely suppose Josephus to have been guilty of so extraordinary an absurdity as to commit an arithmetical error of this magnitude, we cannot only attribute the discrepancy to the evil design of his transcribers, and say “an enemy hath done this!” Moreover, the same wicked hand that dared to alter this and other numbers of our author, has no doubt, also dared to omit here the genealogy of the Second Cainan. Nor can we see what good purpose it could serve to make him say that “Arphaxad the son of Shem, was born 12 years after the flood,” instead of 2, as in the Sacred text; and that “Nahor when he was 120 years old begat Terah,”76 instead of 79, as in the Septuagint. But since in these details, Josephus has in general adopted the numbers of the Septuagint, it is plain that he must have followed the same authority in their sum total, and that the sum of 292 years must have been inserted instead of the true sum of 1072 years, by some early advocate or supporter of the Hebrew chronology. Besides, we have shown in our preceding remarks on the Extent of the First age, that Josephus has prefixed a number to his first Book, which in reality belongs to his first and second Books, and which includes the extent of the first three ages, all but 6 years. That number is 3833 years, a period wholly inexplicable on any other principle than that which Mr. Cuninghame has laid down. To him, we are therefore justly indebted for its true and satisfactory explication; and he has clearly shown that Josephus must have originally inserted in his Antiquities, the true number of 1072 years, from the Deluge to the birth of Abraham; although the text is now so vitiated that it cannot be made out from the place in question.
The errors of Theophilus in this age are both strange and unaccountable, except on the principle of Jewish influence, when we consider that his error in the first age, was only 20 years, while here it amounts to 132 years. He states that from the Creation “till Abraham, there are 3278 years,”77 that is, to the birth of Isaac as appears by the context. If from this number we subtract his extent of the first age, viz. 2242 years, the remainder is 1036 years, or his period from the flood to the birth of Abraham; and from this period, deducting 25 years, the time which elapsed from the Call to the birth of Isaac, we obtain a remainder of 1011 years, which is the extent of the Second age, according to Theophilus. Hence, it is plain that he omits the Second Cainan, the 2 years after the flood previous to the birth of Arphaxad, and 4 years in the Antepaidogonian age of Nahor. The second omission is manifest also from the context, where he says, “but immediately (ἐυθέως) after the flood, Shem being 100 years old, begat Arphaxad.” We shall see that he endeavours to make up for these omissions, by a curious balance of some of these errors in the succeeding age. In addition to the tabular statements, Africanus says that, “Arphaxad begat Salah in A. M. 2397; Salah begat Heber in A. M. 2527; and Heber begat Peleg in A. M. 2661.” He says also that “Peleg at the age of 130 begat Reu, and having lived other 209 years, died;” so that “from Adam to the death of Peleg there were 3000 years.”78 According to the true chronology, Peleg died in A. M. 3132; hence, from the dates of Africanus, if correctly reported, it appears that he omits the genealogy of the Second Cainan, and the two years after the flood previous to the birth of Arphaxad. The difference between the dates of Africanus and those derived from the Septuagint, is therefore 132 years; and this number must be added to the subsequent dates of Africanus, until other errors appear, in order to obtain the true dates. If this be done, we shall find that throughout the whole of this age, the dates of Africanus will perfectly agree with those of the true chronology. Connected with the tradition of the renovation of the world at the end of 6000 years, there appears to have been an idea current among the early chronographers, that the period from the Creation to the Advent of Christ was exactly bisected at the death of Peleg; because the Scripture says that “in his days the earth was divided,” by which they seem to have understood the whole period of its existence! Hence, the apparent reason of the omission of the Second Cainan’s generation, and the Postdiluvian biennial period.79 Africanus further states that “in A. M. 3277, Abraham entered the promised land;” consequently, an interval of 277 years had elapsed since the death of Peleg; but this corresponds exactly with the interval of the Septuagint, for 3409 − 3132 = 277; see Tables V. and VIII. of our first Part. Moreover, he states that “from the flood and Noah to the descent of Abraham into the promised land, were ten generations or 1015 years, and from Adam, twenty generations or 3277 years.”80 We have sufficiently discussed the question of the number of generations here mentioned, in our first Part, pp. 34–40; it is quite unnecessary therefore, to resume the subject; suffice it to say that Shem was an Antediluvian, and therefore his generation could not be reckoned in the number of generations after the flood; neither was it reckoned in the number before the flood: for Noah was reckoned the tenth from Adam, and Abraham the tenth from the flood. In this respect, therefore, Shem was like Melchizedec, as far as the generations or genealogies on which the Chronology depended, was concerned, viz., “Fatherless, motherless, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, being assimilated to the Son of God,” who “remains a priest for ever;” and who “hath made us [true believers in Christ] kings and priests unto God even his Father; to” whom “be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Heb. vii. 3; and Rev. i. 6.
The statements of Eusebius and the author of the Paschal Chronicle respecting this age are taken from Mr. Clinton’s “Fasti Hellenici,” vol. i. p. 287; he appears to have very carefully sifted these numbers, in order to arrive at the exact truth concerning the opinions of their authors. He gives the following extract from the Chronicon of Eusebius; “From the flood to the first year of Abraham are collected 942 years;” if to this number we add 75 years, the age of Abraham at the Call, we have 1017 years for the Extent of the Second age according to Eusebius. The author of the Paschal Chronicle appears to have omitted the two years after the flood; hence, the preceding 75 years being added to 1070 years, the period which he assigns between the flood and the birth of Abraham, we have 1145 years for the Extent of the Second age according to that work. Routh, however, justly remarks that “in the Hieronymian version of the Eusebian Chronicle, the years of this [the Second] Cainan are still extant;” hence, even according to Eusebius, the true extent of the Second age appears originally to have been 1147 years. The following testimony collected by Syncellus in his Chronographia, from the works of Eusebius and Africanus, in support of the computation of the Septuagint before the flood, and of the Septuagint and Samaritan after the flood, we extract from Dr. Russell’s “Connection,” vol. i. pp. 96, 97, on account of its important bearing on the Extent of the first two ages:—“Since, according to the most ancient Hebrew copy preserved among the Samaritans, and which agrees with the Septuagint translation, they who lived after the flood down to Abraham did not beget children till after the age of 100 years and more, what reason can be assigned that their predecessors before the flood, whose lives were longer by many years, should begin to beget children sooner, and not rather at the ages set down in the Septuagint? On mature consideration, we must incline to the latter computation, and necessarily conclude, that the Jewish-Hebrew reckoning of the times from Adam to Abraham is wrong in all the ages excepting three, Jared, Methuselah, and Lamech; and that the Samaritan-Hebrew computation is also wrong in the period from Adam to the flood; for in the years from the flood to Abraham it agrees entirely with the Septuagint. But the error of the Jewish-Hebrew text is evident from hence, that it makes Abraham and Noah contemporaries, which is inconsistent with all history: for since according to the Hebrew text, there are no more than 292 years from the flood to Abraham, and since, according to the same text, Noah lived 350 years after the flood, it is evident that he lived to the 58th year of Abraham!”
3. Table III., Containing the statements of the ancient chronographers relating to the Third age of the world—The testimony of Josephus to the true chronology very explicit—Misinterpretation of prophecy the cause of wavering in Josephus and blunder in Theophilus—The testimony of Africanus correct—Eusebius, Demetrius, and the author of the Paschal Chronicle correct—Explanation of the period of 400 years.
The following table which contains the statements of the chronographers, regarding the Third age of the World, ought to be compared with Table VIII. in our first Part; as it contains the Chief Patriarchal Eras and Intervals according to each chronographer:
| TABLE III. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patriarchal Eras. | Josephus. | Theophilus. | Africanus. | Eusebius. | Pasch. Chron. |
| Intervals. | Intervals. | Intervals. | Intervals. | Intervals. | |
| From the Call | |||||
| The Eisodus | 215 | 215 | 215 | 215 | 215 |
| To the Exodus | 215 | 430 | 215 | 215 | 215 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| Third Age | 430 | 645 | 430 | 430 | 430 |
The testimony of Josephus to the Extent of this age is very explicit. He states that the Israelites “left Egypt in the 430th year after that our father Abraham came into Canaan, and in the 215th year after the Eisodus of Jacob into Egypt;”81 and he mentions some of the minor intervals, in a very clear and distinct manner, in his 2nd Book. It is evident indeed that he rightly understood the testimony of Scripture as to the true intervals of this prophetic period; although he seems to waver from the truth in the 9th chapter of that Book, where he speaks of the afflictions of the Israelites in Egypt for a period of 400 years, according to Gen. xv. 13. The latter text, however, appears to have been the stumbling block of Theophilus in his chronology; for he agrees with the Scriptures, as regards the intervals from the call to the Eisodus; and then he says that “the sojourning of the Hebrews in Egypt was 430 years!”82 He seems therefore to have confounded the period of 400 years with the period of 430 years, and to have applied the whole period to the sojourning of the Israelites in Egypt alone, exclusive of Canaan, contrary to the testimony of the Septuagint, Exodus xii. 40, Alexandrine edition, and that of St. Paul, Galatians iii. 17. By this means, he increases the Extent of the Third age to 645 years, making it greater than the true Extent, by 215 years! It would almost seem, therefore, as if he had intended this error to compensate in some measure for those which he committed in the preceding ages; inasmuch as it is of an entirely opposite character. This excess of 215 years makes up not only for the omission of the 20 years in the Antepaidogonian age of Methuselah before the flood, of the 130 years of the generation of the Second Cainan, of the 2 years after the flood, and of the 4 years in the Antepaidogonian age of Nahor; but gives a surplus of 59 years at the end of the Third age in his chronology. For, adding the 40 years wandering in the Wilderness to his amount of the first three ages, he says that “all the years are 3938,”83 from the Creation of the world to the entrance of the Israelites into the promised Land. By a reference to Table X. of our first Part, it will be seen that the true date of this entrance is A.M. 3880, and making allowance for the single year we have added to this date, on the ground specified at p. 65, it follows that the date of Theophilus is erroneous in excess by 58 years.
The statements of Africanus respecting this age have not been preserved in a perfect state; but from the following fragments, it will appear that he took the correct and Scriptural view of its Extent and Intervals. Syncellus says that according to Africanus, “Joseph was 40 years old in the 130th year of Jacob; consequently, Joseph lived 70 years after the arrival of Jacob in Egypt;” and that “from Adam to the death of Joseph, were 23 generations, and 3563 years.84” Now, if to the latter number, we add 132 years, for reasons already mentioned p. 244, we shall have 3695 years for the correct number according to the true Chronology; see Table VIII. of our first Part. Again, he says, “it has been shown that there were 1020 years from Moses and Ogyges to the first Olympiad, that is, from the Passover or first year of the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt, when the flood of Ogyges happened in Attica.”85 Here, if we take the last year of the first Olympiad as that to which Africanus refers, namely B.C. 773, and add to it the preceding number, we shall have B.C. 1793, for his date of the Exodus; but as this chronographer constantly reckons the period from Creation to the Birth of Christ as 5500 years,86 it is evident by subtraction, that his Mundane date of the Exodus is A.M. 3708; to which, adding the constant number 132 as before, we shall obtain A.M. 3840, or B.C. 1639, for the date of the Exodus according to the true system of chronology. Again, if we take the difference between either the dates of Africanus, or the true dates of the death of Joseph and the Exodus, which we have deduced from his by the addition of a constant quantity, we shall obtain the interval of 145 years, which, added to the period of 70 years above mentioned, makes 215 years as his interval between the Eisodus and the Exodus; consequently, his interval between the Call and the Eisodus must have been the same amount, and his whole extent of this age 430 years.
Mr. Clinton has given a very full extract from the Chronicon of Eusebius, in which he states that from the first year of Abraham to the Exodus were 505 years; that Abraham left Charran in the 75th year of his age; and consequently, from that year to the Exodus were 430 years. He then states the Scriptural intervals from the Call to the birth of Jacob, and traces through his genealogy, the intervals from thence to the birth of Moses and the Exodus; but since, as Mr. Clinton remarks, his “distribution of the last 215 years is more correct than in the account of Demetrius, but still erroneous,” we need not repeat his enumeration in this place; suffice it to say, that his estimate of the whole period is correct. Mr. Clinton also cites the following passage from the Paschal Chronicle, which shows that its author’s estimate of the Extent of this age was likewise correct: “Joshua, the son of Nun, 27 years;—Chushanrishathaim, 8 years; in all, 3912 years.” For, adding to the latter number, the two years which he omits after the flood, we shall have 3914 years; and from this, subtracting the 35 years just cited, we shall have 3839 years, and consequently, A.M. 3839 for his date of the Exodus, which is within a year of the true date for reasons already alluded to; he, therefore, must have reckoned the period of 430 years from the ingress of Abraham into Canaan, to the egress of Israel out of Egypt.
The adjustment of the period mentioned in Gen. xv. 13, can occasion no difficulty to the careful reader of Scripture, for it is evident that the commencement of this period must be reckoned from the day that Isaac was weaned, or perhaps a year or two after; inasmuch it related specifically to the seed of Abraham which were to be strangers in “a land not theirs,” and to be “evil entreated 400 years;” Acts vii. 6. This evil treatment began when Isaac was a child, and was able to play, say at 5 years old, with the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, the son of the bondwoman, who was not to be heir with the son of promise and of laughter. Isaac was his name; but Sarah saw Ishmael Isaaking or laughing at her son, and mocking him, and accordingly, she demanded that the “bondwoman and her son” should be cast out,—a striking emblem of the punishment that shall befal all the mockers of and laughers at the people of God; for the Apostle truly says “but as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now:” Galatians iv. 22; yea, and the term “Saints,” or “Holy ones” of God, is become a term of mockery, of scorn, and of reproach, in this very age in which we now live; although it be written that “without Holiness no man shall see the Lord!” Precisely then, for the space of 400 years did this affliction and persecution continue against the seed of Abraham, till God brought them out of the land of Egypt “with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm;” and precisely in the same manner shall all the true Israel of God be rescued from their enemies, and be in due time delivered from the land of darkness and of death.
4. Table IV., Containing the statements of the ancient chronographers relating to the Fourth age of the world—The testimony of Josephus to the extent of this age highly satisfactory—Proof that it was 612 years—Strange errors of Theophilus—Method of rectifying them—Compensating errors of Africanus—His date of the foundation of Solomon’s Temple correct—Errors of Eusebius—His Præparatio correct in amount, his Chronicon wrong—He confutes himself and adopts the Hebrew chronology—Comparison between him and Usher—Errors of the Paschal Chronicle—The author coincides with Josephus—Hesitancy of Mr. Clinton—Table V., The first four ages of the world, and date of Solomon’s Temple according to the different chronographers.
The following table, which exhibits the statements of the chronographers regarding the Fourth age of the world, should be compared with Table X. in our first Part; as it contains the Critarchal Eras, and Intervals according to each chronographer. With regard to this period, we omitted to observe that the reading in most of the MSS. and editions of the Septuagint, in 1 Kings vi. 1, is 440 years instead of 480 years.
| TABLE IV. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critarchal Eras. | Josephus. | Theophilus. | Africanus. | Eusebius. | Pasch. Chron. | |
| Intervals. | Intervals. | Intervals. | Intervals. | Intervals. | ||
| From the Exodus | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| Joshua and Elders | 27 | 27 | *55 | *30 | 27 | 27 |
| 1st Servitude | 8 | 8 | 8 | *0 | 8 | |
| Critarchate of Othniel | 40 | 40 | *50 | 40 | *32 | |
| 2nd Servitude | 18 | 18 | 18 | *0 | 18 | |
| Cr. of Ehud and Shamgar | 80 | *8 | 80 | 80 | 80 | |
| 3rd Servitude | 20 | 20 | 20 | *0 | 20 | |
| Cr. of Deborah and Barak | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | |
| 4th Servitude | 7 | 7 | 7 | *0 | 7 | |
| Cr. of Gideon | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | |
| Of Abimelech, Tolah, and Jair | 48 | 48 | 48 | 47 | 48 | |
| 5th Servitude | 18 | 18 | 18 | *0 | 18 | |
| Cr. of Jephthah | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | |
| Of Ibzan, Elon and Abdon | 25 | 25 | 25 | *15 | 25 | |
| 6th Servitude, (Samson) | 40 | 40 | 490 | *60 | *20 | *60 |
| Critarchate of Eli | 40 | *81 | 40 | 40 | *80 | |
| 7th Servitude | 20 | *0 | *0 | *0 | *0 | |
| Cr. of Samuel | 12 | 12 | 90 | *0 | *0 | *20 |
| Reign of Saul | 40 | *20 | 40 | 40 | *20 | |
| Reign of David | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | |
| To the Foundation of Solomon’s Temple | 3 | 3 | 70 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| 612 | 541 | 745 | 613 | 479 | 632 | |
With regard to this much disputed period, the testimony of Josephus is, in several places of his works, highly satisfactory. First—In the title of the fifth book of his Antiquities, which records the history of the interval from the death of Moses to that of Eli, he states that it contains a period of 476 years; and in the title of the 6th book, which records the history of the interval from the death of Eli to that of Saul, he states that it contains a period of 32 years. These intervals taken together make a period of 508 years; to which, if we add the 40 years in the wilderness, the 40 years of David, and the three years of Solomon, we have 591 years; this period wants only about 20 years to make it correspond with the true chronology, and these 20 years appear to have been omitted in the Seventh Servitude; for the short period of 32 years is manifestly erroneous. The truth is, that the longer interval should be only 456 or 457 years, in order to correspond exactly with Acts xiii. 19, 20; and the shorter interval 72 years, in order to correspond with Acts xiii. 21, and 1 Samuel vii. 2.87 These intervals would then make together 529 years; to which, if the numbers above mentioned be added, the true amount is 612 years, as in the Table. Second,—That 612 years is the true Flavian Extent of the Fourth age of the world is evident from the 20th book of the Antiquities x. 1, where the author says “but the number of the years which the thirteen [high priests] ruled, from the day our fathers left Egypt, Moses being leader, until the foundation of the temple which Solomon the king built in Jerusalem, was 612 years.”88 From this distinct statement of the true extent of the Critarchal age, it is evident that the text of Josephus, in books 5th and 6th of the Antiquities, must have originally contained the true Scriptural numbers, although now we find the following errors have supervened. The first error is in Book vii. 5, 4, where, speaking of the form of the Hebrew Government under Moses and Joshua, he says, “but after his [or their] death, for the whole 18 years, anarchy ruled their people.”89 The words τοῖς πᾶσι, the whole, seem plainly to indicate that a connecting sentence has been omitted here; and that these 18 years must have been part of the government of Joshua and the Elders, which appears to have been so mild and Patriarchal, after the division of the land, when “the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about,” that humanly speaking, they were without government, although they were living under the best of all governments—a Theocracy. After the death of Joshua and the Elders, indeed, there must have been a short period of anarchy, perhaps about two years,90 when the children of Israel “forsook the Lord and served Baal and Ashtaroth,” and when “an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim” to reprove them for their Idolatry, (Judges ii. 1–5,) previous to their being “sold into the hand of the King of Mesopotamia;” (iii. 8.) This anarchal period of two years, with the 18 years of rest under Joshua, and the 7 years of his active government during the war and the allotment of the land, will clearly make up the number of 27 years, a period to which all the ancient chronographers bear the most distinct and unequivocal testimony;—“Frequens tamen opinio est 27 annis eum [Jesum] Hebræis præfuisse.”91 A further proof of the opinion we have here advanced respecting the 18 years, is that Josephus does not make the slightest mention of them at the proper place in the history, where he speaks of the death of Joshua, and the accession of Judah to power according to the Divine word, Judges i. 2; but incidentally introduces them into a reflection which he makes on the different forms of the Hebrew government, on the occasion of the renewal of the Kingdom to Saul at Gilgal; 1 Samuel xi. 14.
The second error relates to the critarchate of Shamgar, which is usually reckoned at one year by those who undertake to expound the chronology of Josephus; but there is no warrant for this either in the Scriptures, or in Josephus; for he merely says, in v. 4, 3, that “Shamgar died in the first year of his government,” which might have been at the very commencement of it, and perhaps in the 80th year of Ehud. The next error of Josephus is the total omission, in the present text of the Critarchate of Tolah, who succeeded Abimelech, and preceded Jair; this omission amounts to 23 years; but it must have been reckoned by Josephus, otherwise he could not have recorded such numbers as he has done in every place for the whole length of the period. Again, the name and progeny of Abdon are mentioned in v. 7, 15; but the years of his critarchate are omitted, in the present text, evidently by mistake or oversight. Lastly, an error has been attributed to Josephus by some chronologers,92 in making Saul reign only 20 years; but this is a mistake on their part; for he distinctly states in vi. 14, 9, that “he reigned 18 years while Samuel was alive, and 22 years after his death,” which clearly makes 40 years in all. Further, he states in vi. 13, 5, that “after the death of Eli, the high priest Samuel alone ruled the people 12 years; and after Saul was king, 18 years;” thus plainly, as in the present text, omitting the Seventh Servitude, when the ark was at Kirjathjearim for the space of 20 years; 1 Samuel vii. 2. Third,—in his 2d Book against Apion, Sect. 2, Josephus says, “But Solomon himself built the Temple, 612 years after the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt.”93 This is a very important testimony, occurring as it does in an argumentative treatise concerning the “Antiquity of the Jewish Nation,” in opposition to the pretensions of the Greeks, Egyptians, and Chaldeans, to a vastly more remote origin than the Hebrews. Here, Josephus, or his transcribers, having no particular end to serve in reference to dates, has allowed the simple fact concerning the true length of the period to remain on record. Most likely it has escaped their notice, otherwise it might have shared the fate of the dates and periods of his Antiquities, which have been by wilful alteration, thrown into such inextricable confusion.
Having thus shown that Josephus originally held the true chronology of this period, we may select some other instances of the manner in which it has been misstated either by himself or others in the present text of his works, the error being in general a period of about 20 years, either above or below the truth. In the Antiquities vii. 3, 2, he says “But all the time from Joshua being commander of the expedition against the Canaanites, until David expelled them from Jerusalem, was 515 years.”94 Now adding to this number the 40 years in the Wilderness, the 33 years which David reigned in Jerusalem (2 Sam. v. 5, 6, 7), and the 3 years of Solomon, we have 591 years as before, a period which is deficient by about 20 years. Again, in viii. 3, 1, he says, “But Solomon began the building of the Temple in the 4th year of his reign, 592 years after the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt;” but according to Tostatus, cited by Hudson, the number found in some copies was 612 years.95 Next, in ix. 14, 1, he says, “Therefore the Ten Tribes of Israel migrated from Judea 947 years after the time when their forefathers, having left Egypt, possessed the land; but after the time when, having rebelled against Rehoboam, the grandson of David, they transferred the kingdom to Jeroboam, 240 years, 7 months, 7 days;”96 now, if we reckon the captivity of the Ten Tribes from the Foundation of the Temple, by allowing, according to Josephus, viii. 7, 8, for the reign of Solomon 80 years, taking off 3 years, and adding the remaining 77 years to the latter interval above mentioned, neglecting the months and days, we have 317 years for the amount; and if we subtract this amount from the former interval, we have 630 years for the remainder, which is evidently the period here reckoned between the Exodus and the Foundation of the Temple, and it errs in excess by 18 years. Lastly, in x. 8, 5, he says, “But the temple was burned 470 years, 6 months, and 10 days after it was founded; and 1062 years, 6 months, and 10 days after the Exodus of the people from Egypt;97 hence it follows, that the period from the Exodus to the Foundation of the Temple is here reckoned 592 years, which is deficient as above by 20 years. The object of the author, or of his corrupters, appears to have been to make the chronology square as much as possible with the extended reign of Solomon, and to throw back upon this period a moiety of the surplus years which he has thought fit to add to the length of this reign; but we shall see more evidence on this point in the next section.
The intervals of Theophilus, according to the text extant, must have been strangely corrupted, when we find that they make the extent of this age only 541 years. If we restore to the Critarchate of Ehud the period of 80 years instead of 8, a mistake which might easily occur in the Greek, by the writing of Η for Π, and omit the single year allotted to Samira,98 out of place, and void of authority, we shall at once have the true number 612 years. We can scarcely, however, attribute the corruption of the text of Theophilus to simple mistake in this manner; for we find that he reckons from the entrance of Israel into the promised land “till the [end of the] reign of David, all the years were 498:” now if to this interval, we add the 40 years in the Wilderness, and the 3 years of Solomon, we shall have the precise period inserted in the preceding Table, as his extent of the Fourth age. Theophilus has committed other errors, which however balance each other, and produce no effect on the whole period. After stating that “the Philistines ruled” the Israelites “40 years,” he says that “Samson judged them 20 years;” thus forgetting the Scriptures which says, that “he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines 20 years;” Judges xv. 20. He then says that “there was peace among them for 40 years,” an assertion wholly unauthorized by Scripture, and by the whole crowd of chronographers.99 These errors are compensated for by allotting to Eli only “20 years” instead of 40 years, by omitting the seventh servitude of 20 years, and by putting only “20 years” instead of 40 years, for the reign of Saul.100 Dr. Russell, in his “Connection,” vol. i. pp. 128, 129, gives a view of the chronology of this period according to Theophilus, where he strangely misdates the age in which he lived, and contrary to the copy of his work to which Mr. Clinton or ourselves have referred, makes out that his Extent of the Critarchal age is 612 years! He makes no remark whatever about the error of Theophilus in regard to the years of Ehud, but assumes them at once at 80; he retains the one year of Shamgar, and puts him in his proper place; and he makes the years of Tolah 22 instead of 23; thus he easily obtains the correct number, but by no means in a satisfactory manner, when compared with the text of the author. Indeed, trusting to the view which Dr. Russell has given in the passage referred to, we have at p. 71 stated, and at p. 92 considered, that the extent of this period is, according to Theophilus, 612 years; but we now have some doubts whether this was his genuine number, seeing that he has included the erroneous number of 541 years in his subsequent dates and intervals, as will be shown in another section.
In this age also, we have to regret the deficiency of the intervals of Africanus, owing to the fragmentary state in which his works have reached us. The testimony of Eusebius, both in his Chronicon and his Præparatio Evangelica, as well as that of Syncellus, enables us to exhibit the chief Intervals and the whole Extent of the Critarchal age according to this Chronographer. In the extracts of his third book, which have been preserved, he says “From the Exodus of Moses to Cyrus, who reigned after the Captivity, were 1237 years; for the remaining years of Moses were 40; the years of Joshua, who succeeded him as leader, 25; the years of the Elders, the Judges after Joshua, 30; the years of those contained in the book of Judges, 490; the years of the High Priests Eli and Samuel, 90; then, the years of the Kings of the Hebrews, 490; [and the years of the captivity, 70;] the last year of which was the first year of the reign of Cyrus, as we have before said.”101 The sum of these numbers is only 1235 years, instead of 1237 years, which shows that he must have originally written 27 years for Joshua instead of 25 years.102 From this passage we learn that the interval from the Exodus to the accession of Saul is, according to Africanus, 675 years. From Syncellus, we learn that “according to Africanus, the years from Adam till the last of the Judges and the first of Eli the High Priest, were 4292;” and that “from Adam till his [Solomon’s] 8th year, there were, according to Africanus, 4457 years.”103 Taking 5 years from the latter number, we have A.M. 4452 for the date of the Foundation of the Temple, being the 4th year of Solomon. The difference, therefore, between this date and the first year of Eli, is according to Africanus, 160 years; and the difference between the latter number, and the 90 years allotted by him to Eli and Samuel, is 70 years; hence, if we add this difference to the interval of 675 years above mentioned, we have 745 years for the Extent of the Critarchal age, according to Africanus. Eusebius in his Chronicon, cited by Mr. Clinton, p. 308, makes this period 744 years, the difference being “only a single year,” which may have arisen from a slight difference in the mode of computation, and accounts for its elongation by the addition of 100 years, which are wholly unauthorised by Scripture: viz.—the 30 years ascribed to the Elders who outlived Joshua, the 40 years of supposed anarchy after the death of Samson, and the 30 years of imaginary peace which succeeded the anarchy. The grand object of Africanus in the chronology of this age, appears to have been to make up at once for the deficiency of the generation of the Junior Cainan, and the two years after the flood, by the enlargement of the period from its true length 612 years, to his surreptitious length of 744 years; for the difference between these numbers is just 132 years, the precise difference between the dates of Africanus and the true dates of the epochs in the two former ages. By the manufacture of the intervals of the Fourth age, therefore, he has contrived to bring about the true date of the Foundation of Solomon’s Temple in his Chronology, and to compensate for his former errors in such a manner as to restore the ancient computation of Scripture at this important and well-known epoch.
Of the Extent of the Critarchal age, and the length of its Intervals, as Mr. Clinton remarks, Eusebius has three accounts. For the account taken from his Præparatio Evangelica, Lib. x. c. 14, and the account taken from his “Chronicon,” which we have placed side by side in the preceding table, we are partly indebted to Russell and partly to Clinton.104 As Dr. Russell has endeavoured to make the former account, by the correction of some of its intervals, speak the language of the “Chronicon” in a passage, for the citation of which we are indebted to Mr. Clinton;105 we have thought it right to restore the original numbers, in order to show what was the real opinion of Eusebius, respecting this age, on the occasion of writing his “Gospel Preparation.” According to his opinion, therefore, the Extent of the Fourth age was 613 years, the difference between this number and the Scriptural one, being only a single year! The author, however, commits a number of errors in detail, which balance each other, and in their summation, bring out almost exactly the true period. The chief errors are, the omission of the Seventh Servitude, 20 years; and of the Critarchate of Samuel, 12 years. In order to compensate for these omissions, he reckons the Critarchate of Samson, apart from the 6th Servitude, 20 years; he adds 10 years to the Critarchate of Othniel; and gladly seizes upon the 30 years for Joshua and the Elders instead of 27 years; in order to bring out the correct number for the whole period, as nearly as possible, as he well knew that it was 612 years. That this was his real opinion, is also evident from the following passage in his “Chronicon” already referred to: “The amount of the time during which the judges bore rule until Samuel, was altogether 450 years, our apostle himself testifying it by his declaration, [Acts xiii. 20]. There are, however, besides this reckoning, the periods of Moses and Joshua his successor, as well as of Samuel and Saul. But let us pass, in the meantime, the periods of Samuel, and Saul, and Joshua. Now from the testimony of the Apostle, the 40 years of Saul must be added to the 450 years of the judges, to which number the 40 years of David and the 4 years of Solomon being added, the sum of the years amounts to 534; which is, in fact, the apostolical tradition. Then, the 40 years which Moses led in the desert, and again the 27 years of Joshua the son of Nun, to which the Jews themselves agree, being added, the years amount to 600.” This is a very important and clear statement of the truth, with the exception of the 12 years of Samuel, “which,” Mr. Clinton says, “he supposed to be included in the years of Saul.” We do not agree with Mr. Clinton in this point; we think the passage bears evident marks that he had the separate period of Samuel in his mind; particularly, from his cunning “interim seponamus,”—“let us pass in the mean time.” In fact, he only pretends to forget it; for he knew that if he had added it, along with the periods of Joshua and Saul, he would have had the correct number at once, namely, 612 years! His accommodation to the spirit of the age in which he lived, by the insertion of the Hebrew chronology of this period in his Tables, instead of the Septuagint or ancient chronology which he has so clearly established by Apostolical tradition, exhibits a degree of vacillation and imbecility wholly unworthy the character of an able historian and chronographer, and quite unbecoming an ardent advocate of the Truth. We have sufficiently refuted this chronology in our first Part; and it is unnecessary to go over the same arguments, or attempt to strengthen them by the admissions of our opponents. Suffice it to remark that the Hebrew intervals of Eusebius amount only to 479 years, instead of 480 years, which it ought to reach according to 1 Kings vi. 1, and that even the Hebrew intervals of Usher amount only to 478½ years, p. 68; and although these amounts differ only by half a year, the details of their intervals exhibit a very surprising difference. Thus, Eusebius allows 27 years to Joshua and the Elders, Usher none, with the exception of 6⅓ years for the war and the division of the land; Eusebius reckons the Critarchate of Gideon at 40 years, Usher at 49⅙ years; Eusebius reckons the Critarchate of Tolah at 22 years, Usher at 23 years;106 Eusebius omits the Critarchate of Ibzan 10 years, and of Samuel 12 years; Usher admits the former, and reckons the latter 21 years; Eusebius reckons the Critarchate of Samson 20 years, and Usher omits it altogether. Eusebius and Usher are indeed very fit authors to be classed together: both no doubt pious men and exemplary Christians; but both too much given to yield to the pressure of the times as historiographers and chronographers; and too much influenced by the bold assertions of the Jews respecting the immaculate purity of the Hebrew Text.
The Extent of the Fourth age and the lengths of the Intervals, according to the Paschal Chronicle, are given by Mr. Clinton, but in such a rambling manner that we have had some difficulty to expiscate them from his extracts. As to the extent, the author of the Chronicle says “the whole time, from the 81st year of Moses, in which the Exodus from Egypt took place, to Solomon and the Foundation of the Temple amounts to 630 years.”107 We have seen that this is the number collected from Josephus Book viii. 7, 8; but the intervals given by the author of the Chronicle, amount to 632 years. The first error he commits is making the Critarchate of Othniel only 32 years; or, which is the same thing, including the 1st Servitude in the 40 years of that judge;108 the next is reckoning the years of Samson distinct from those of the 6th Servitude, and interposing an unauthorised period of 40 years peace between Samson and Eli;109 and the last is omitting the 7th Servitude, reckoning the critarchate of Samuel 20 years, and reducing the reign of Saul to 20 years.110 The author probably reckoned only 39 years of Moses and 2 of Solomon, when he calculated the whole period at 630 years. But from the Chronicon itself, the number of 632 years is clearly made out; for the 81st year of Moses is reckoned A.M. 3837, and the 3rd of Solomon A.M. 4469. The coincidence between its author and Josephus, which we have remarked above, is very singular, and seems to indicate that this error of putting 630 years for 612, on the part of both, had a common origin. Mr. Clinton also particularly investigates the statements of Clemens Alexandrinus, and Syncellus, regarding this period; but as we do not attach so much importance to their statements as to those we have already discussed, we have thought proper to omit them; suffice it to remark in general, that they strengthen and confirm the lengthened chronology of the older chronographers. The concluding observations of Mr. Clinton, p. 312, appear to us surprising, considering the mass of evidence he has brought forward in favour of the true period of 612 years. He says that “it fluctuates between the 600 years of Eusebius, and the 628 years arising out of the corrected numbers of Josephus. The truth lies somewhere between these points. We may assume 612 years as the most probable.” There appears to us to be no probability in the case; we have seen that the statements of Josephus, Theophilus, Eusebius, and the author of the Paschal Chronicle, when corrected for obvious errors, according to the authority of Scripture, all speak the same language and announce the invariable period of 612 years. The details of the period assigned by Africanus are lost; but his case is peculiar; he was evidently desirous to make this period compensate for former errors; and he has effected his purpose to a single year. His date, therefore, of the Foundation of the Temple is correct; and this appears to have been his chief aim. According to their estimate of the extent of the different ages of the world up to this epoch, their respective dates, according to the preceding Tables will stand thus:—
| TABLE V. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ages of the World. | Josephus. | Theophilus. | Africanus. | Eusebius. | Pasch. Chron. |
| Years. | Years. | Years. | Years. | Years. | |
| 1st Age | 2256 | 2242 | 2262 | 2242 | 2262 |
| 2nd Age | 1068 | 1011 | 1015 | 1017 | 1145 |
| 3rd Age | 430 | 645 | 430 | 430 | 430 |
| 4th Age | 612 | 541 | 745 | 480 | 632 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| To Solomon’s Temple | 4366 | 4439 | 4452 | 4169 | 4469 |
Had we corrected these dates on grounds already stated, and which by many would have been deemed sufficient, we could have shown a much nearer coincidence between them and the true date; but our object was to show what the details of the different authors really are as exhibited in their works now extant. It is satisfactory, however, to observe that the difference between the latter and either of the former, is very small, and in the case of the greatest magnitude, is very easily accounted for on the principle of Rabbinical authority and influence.
The following remark of Mr. Clinton, p. 313, is much more in point than the former above cited; our only wonder is that he seems to think the extent of the period itself not sufficiently established: “This extended term of 612 years is inconsistent with the date in the Book of Kings (1 Kings vi. 1), which reckons the foundation of the Temple in the 4th year of Solomon to be in the 480th year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt. But the computation of Paul, delivered in a solemn argument before a Jewish audience, and confirmed by the whole tenor of the history in the Book of Judges, outweighs the authority of that date; and we may agree with Jackson and Hales in rejecting it.” To this he might have added, and we ought rather to agree with the whole Christian Church in adopting the extended period, than with the Jews, the persecutors and vilifiers of that Church, in adopting the curtailed period, and thus giving countenance to their interpolations of Scripture.
5. Table VI. Containing the statements of the chronographers relating to the Fifth age of the world—The errors of Josephus peculiar—His elongation of the reign of Solomon—Disagreement of his titulary periods with the summation of the reigns in Books Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth—Proof that the former is nearly correct—Table VII. Monarchal Periods of Josephus—Comparison with the True Chronology—Evidence that these periods have been manufactured—The true Chronology of this age detected in his works—Table VIII. True Flavian Periods, showing the Scriptural extent as originally held by Josephus—Proof that he knew the true epoch of the Captivity—The errors of Theophilus in this age few—He is also mistaken as to the epoch of the Captivity—Africanus diminishes the true extent of this age—He is misrepresented by Syncellus—The statements of Eusebius taken from the Hieronymian and Armenian versions of his Canon—Those of the author of the Paschal Chronicle from that work itself—Their errors pointed out—The difference between their Extent of this age and the true Extent only 3 years.
The following Table which exhibits the statements of the Chronographers regarding the Fifth age of the World, should be compared with Table XII. in our First Part; as it contains the Monarchal Eras and Intervals according to each chronographer.
| TABLE VI. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monarchal Eras. | Josephus. | Theophilus. | Africanus. | Eusebius. | Pasch. Chron. |
| Intervals. | Intervals. | Intervals. | Intervals. | Intervals. | |
| Foundation of Solomon’s Temple | *77 | 37 | 37 | *33 | |
| Rehoboam | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | |
| Abijah | 3 | *7 | 3 | 3 | |
| Asa | 41 | 41 | 41 | *44 | |
| Jehoshaphat | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | |
| Jehoram | *8 | *8 | *8 | *10 | |
| Ahaziah | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Athaliah | 6 | 6 | *7 | 6 | |
| Jehoash | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | |
| Amaziah | 29 | *39 | 29 | 29 | |
| Interregnum | *0 | *0 | *0 | *0 | |
| Uzziah | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 | |
| Jotham | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | |
| Ahaz | 16 | *17 | 16 | 16 | |
| Hezekiah | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | |
| Manasseh | 55 | 55 | 55 | 55 | |
| Amon | 2 | 2 | *12 | *12 | |
| Josiah | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | |
| Jehoahaz | 0¼ | 0¼ | 0¼ | 0¼ | |
| Jehoiakim | 11 | 11 | *12 | *12 | |
| Jehoiachin | 0¼ | 0¼ | 0¼ | 0¼ | |
| Zedekiah | *11 | *11 | 420 | *11 | *11 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| Fifth Age | 470 | 445 | 420 | 442 | 442 |
The principal errors of Josephus in this age, are his addition of 40 years to the reign of Solomon, and his omission of the interregnum between Amaziah and Uzziah. The former error appears to have been peculiarly his own; the latter he seems to share in common with most, if not all, the ancient chronographers. In his Antiquities, Book x. 8, 5, he says, “the temple was burned 470 years 6 months and 10 days after its foundation;”111 and this period is clearly made out from the summation of the years of the reigns of the kings of Judah as laid down by him, in Books Eighth, Ninth and Tenth. Moreover, these books contain the history of the Jews from the accession of Solomon to the end of the Babylonish captivity; but we find, by the summation of the titulary periods prefixed to them, that the whole amount of this period is only 502½ years; and, deducting from this amount, the first 3 years of Solomon’s reign and the 70 years of the Captivity, we have 429½ years for a remainder, which is a totally different result. In order to arrive at the proper explanation of the difference between this number and the former, we shall exhibit the comparison of the summation of his periods and his reigns in these Books with the true chronology in the form of a table; premising, that the history of the VIIIth Book extends from the accession of Solomon to the death of Ahab, in the 19th year of Jehoshaphat’s reign; of the IXth Book, from the same year to the Captivity of the Ten Tribes of Israel, in the 6th year of Hezekiah’s reign; and of the Xth Book, from this same year to the end of the Babylonish Captivity. In the following Table, the first column exhibits the periods announced in the titles of the different books, the second the amount of the years of the different reigns they contain, and the third the amount of the same years according to the true chronology:
| TABLE VII. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Monarchal Periods. | Josephus. | True Chronology. | |
| Periods. | Reigns. | ||
| The VIIIth Book comprehends | 163 | 160 | 119 |
| The IXth Book „ | 157 | 180 | 190 |
| The Xth Book „ | 182½ | 203½ | 185 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| Total, including Captivity | 502½ | 543½ | 494 |
| Deduct the three years of Solomon | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| 499½ | 540½ | 491 | |
| Deduct the years of the Captivity | 70 | 70 | 52 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| Extent of the Fifth age | 429½ | 470½ | 439 |
Here the discrepancy between the amount of the Periods and the amount of the Reigns is manifest; and the cause of the discrepancy is plainly the 40 years surreptitiously added to Solomon’s reign; for if this number be subtracted from 470½ years, the result of the reigns, the remainder is 430½ years, which agrees with the result of the periods to a single year, and this year may have been added for the 1st of Cyrus. The latter amount, however, still differs from the true period by 10 years; and this difference evidently arises from the omission of the interregnum of 12 years, and the addition of 2 years to the reign of Jehoram. The extraordinary want of agreement between the different periods and the corresponding amount of the reigns, shows that the former must have been manufactured to serve some particular purpose, the most probable being the concealment of the error of 40 additional years in the reign of Solomon. This is so far ingeniously done, and might deceive a cursory reader; for the first period of 163 years is his exact interval from the Foundation of the Temple to the end of Jehoshaphat’s reign; the second period of 157 years is exactly 40 years less than his interval from the end of Jehoshaphat’s reign to the end of Hezekiah’s reign; and the third period of 182½ years is only 2 years more than his interval from the end of Hezekiah’s reign to the end of the captivity.
That this tortuous chronologer and historian must have originally reckoned his periods in this age according to the true system of chronology, is manifest from the following passage in Book x. 4, 4; where, speaking of the fulfilment of the prophecy concerning the idolatrous altar at Bethel (1 Kings xiii. 1), he says, “and he [Josiah] burned the bones of the false prophets upon the altar which Jeroboam first built,” and “these things were fulfilled after a period of 361 years.”112 Now, according to the testimony of Scripture (2 Chronicles xxxiv. 3), cited by Josephus (x. 4, 1),113 we find that this fulfilment took place in the 12th year of the reign of Josiah; and from the 1st year of Jeroboam, when the altar was built, to the epoch in question, the interval, according to the chronology of Josephus in the preceding Table, is only 351 years; but, according to the true Chronology, it is exactly 361 years. It is plain, therefore, that Josephus in this passage, must have reckoned an interregnum of 10 years between Amaziah and Uzziah: and, if we reckon the reign of Jehoram only 6 years as in the true chronology, instead of 8 years as in that of our author, and add the surplus of 2 years to these 10 years, we shall have the correct Interregnum of 12 years, as stated at p. 74, under the head of the Septuagint; see 2 Kings xv. 1.114 It is true that the 10 years which we have thus detected in the Antiquities, might have been added by Josephus, as by Theophilus and Clemens, to the reign of Amaziah, but this would not alter the total amount. Some chronologers, as Polyhistor cited by Eusebius,115 have added 10 years to the reign of Amon instead of to that of Amaziah; but in either case the effect is still the same,—to make the whole period more consistent with the true chronology. Thus we have expiscated the truth concerning this period even from the unwilling pages of Josephus; for the rest of the computation concerning the Fifth age will be clearly seen from the following Table, which harmonizes with the previous result:
| TABLE VIII. | |
|---|---|
| True Flavian Periods. | |
| Years. | |
| From the 1st of Jeroboam to the 12th of Josiah | 361 |
| The rest of Josiah’s reign | 19 |
| The remaining Jewish reigns | 22 |
| ——— | |
| From the 1st of Jeroboam to the 10th of Zedekiah | 402 |
| The previous years of the Reign of Solomon | 37 |
| ——— | |
| Extent of the Fifth Age | 439 |
Although Josephus in his “Antiquities” has generally reckoned the 70 years of the Captivity from the Destruction of the Temple to the 1st year of Cyrus, which is contrary to the true chronology and to the Canon of Ptolemy, yet we have evidence in his “Jewish War” that he was perfectly acquainted with the correct period of 52 years, which we have shown in our first Part, at pp. 80, 81, to be the true interval. Thus, in Book vi. 4, 8, of the latter work, when speaking of the Destruction of the Temple, he says, “and from the first foundation which King Solomon laid, till the present destruction, which happened in the 2d year of the Emperor Vespasian, are reckoned 1130 years 7 months and 15 days; but from the second, which Haggai effected in the 2d year of Cyrus the king, till the destruction under Vespasian, 639 years and 45 days.”116 Not to dwell on the glaring anachronism of referring the foundation of the temple in the 2nd year of Cyrus (Ezra iii. 8), to the renewal of the work of building it in the 2nd year of Darius (Ezra iv. 24, and v. 1), it is plain that the difference between the two periods mentioned in this passage, viz. 491½ years, is the true interval from the destruction of Solomon’s temple to the foundation of the second Temple in the 2nd year of Cyrus; for omitting the half-year, as the 2nd year had just commenced at the latter epoch (Ezra iii. 8), and subtracting the 52 years above mentioned, from 491 years, we have the remainder 439 years, for the true Extent of the Fifth age as before. The proof, however, that he was acquainted with the true interval, at least within a year or two, is manifest from a passage which occurs in his 1st Book against Apion, sect. 21; where he says, “For it is written in them [the Hebrew Scriptures] that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed our temple in the 18th year [the 19th year, 2 Kings xxv. 8] of his reign, and it was in ruins for 50 years; but in the 2nd year of the reign of Cyrus, the foundations were laid, and in the 2nd again of the reign of Darius they were finished.”117 The difference of 2 years is easily accounted for by supposing that he took the reign of Cyrus in Babylon at 9 years, according to some copies of the Canon of Ptolemy, instead of 7 years, according to Scripture, that is, by supposing his reign to have begun 2 years earlier than the true period. He appears, however, to have tacked these two years to the true interval in question, in another chapter of the same book, viz. “Jewish War,” vi. 10; where, speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, he says “David, King of the Jews, having expelled the people of the Canaanites, made his own inhabit it; and 477 years 6 months afterwards, it was destroyed by the Babylonians.”118 Now as David reigned 33 years in Jerusalem, and the temple was founded in the 4th year of Solomon, if we subtract 36 years from the preceding number, we obtain 441½ years for the period from the foundation of the temple to its destruction, which is only 2½ years more than the true period, a surplus which appears to have arisen from his unwarrantable addition to the true period of the 10th Book of the Antiquities. The last passage which we shall adduce from this extraordinary historical production, so full of chronological errors, is from the 20th Book, where speaking of the High Priests, he says, Nebuchadnezzar “took Josedek the High Priest captive; and the time of their hierarchy was 466 years, 6 months, and 10 days, during the reigns of the Jewish kings.” Now Josedek was taken captive, not when the temple and city were burned, as Josephus erroneously says in the context, but when the “king of Babylon took Jehoiachin in the 8th year of his reign,” and “carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen, and all the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land;” 2 Kings xxiv. 11–16, and 1 Chronicles vi. 15. But as Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in the 19th year of his reign (2 Kings xxv. 8), the difference of time between the first, or Jehoiachin’s captivity, and the second, or Zedekiah’s captivity, is evidently 11 years, which being added to the preceding period, makes a total of 477½ years as before. In these two passages, therefore, Josephus is consistent with himself, and he differs from the true chronology in this period only by the small interval of about 2 years; a difference which, as we before remarked, may be due to his mistake in reference to the Scriptural commencement of the reign of Cyrus, King of Babylon. For a more extensive inquiry into this period of the Chronology of Josephus, we refer to Mr. Cuninghame’s “Fulness of the Times,” pp. 27–60, to which we have been indebted for some suggestions in the preceding discussion.
The errors of Theophilus in the intervals of the Fourth age are few, and chiefly of a compensating nature; and his error in its extent amounts only to about 6 years. He states the reign of Abijah at 7 years instead of 3; of Jehoram at 8 years instead of 6; and of Amaziah at 39 years instead of 29; but the two latter errors make up for his omission of the interregnum of 12 years. He next reckons the reigns of Ahaz and Zedekiah, each a year too much, which, with the error in the reign of Abijah, makes the whole period erroneous in excess by about 6 years, its Extent being 445 years, according to the Table. This Extent is confirmed by the following statement in his general summary: “from the death of David, till the [end of the] sojourning of the people in the land of Babylon, were 518 years, 6 months, 10 days.”119 Now, if from this period, we subtract the first 3 years of Solomon, and the 70 years of the captivity, we shall have for the remainder 445 years, the period from the foundation to the destruction of the Temple, according to Theophilus. Again, he says, all the time, from the beginning of the world till the end “of the sojourning in the land of Babylon, is 4954 years, 6 months, 10 days.”120 Now, if we add together his different ages up to this epoch, including the 70 years of the captivity, we shall have this precise amount; thus, 2242 + 1011 + 645 + 541 + 445 + 70 = 4954 years. This confirmatory statement, therefore, shows the accuracy of our estimate of the chronology of Theophilus; and thus we see that like other chronographers, he has, contrary to Scripture, reckoned the period of the 70 years’ captivity from the destruction of Jerusalem to the 1st year of the reign of Cyrus. The errors of Africanus in the intervals of the Fourth age cannot be detected, owing to the loss of this part of his Chronicon; we can only decide upon the inaccuracy of his statement regarding its Extent from the extract already cited at p. 265, where he assigns 490 years as the whole period of the Jewish Kings. We have seen at p. 266, that 70 years of this period belong to the former age, according to Africanus; it follows, therefore, that 420 years must be his Extent of the Monarchal age, which we have accordingly inserted in the Table. We have scarcely any means of confirming the correctness of this result, until we show, from his remaining fragments concerning the succeeding age, that it is quite consistent with his great Mundane period from Adam to Christ. It is necessary, however, to make one remark on this subject, namely, that Syncellus has committed an error in stating that “Africanus reckoned the 70 years of the captivity from the 1st year of Zedekiah,”121 as we shall see in the sequel.
The statements of Eusebius, in the preceding Table, are taken from the Hieronymian122 and Armenian123 versions of his Canon; those of the author of the Paschal Chronicle from that work itself.124 The former places the foundation of the temple in the 4th year of Solomon; the latter erroneously in his 8th year. Both authors in several places of their works, state the extent of the Fifth age at 442 years, and in order to preserve this number entire they appear to have manufactured two or three of the reigns. Thus, Eusebius reckons the reign of Jehoram at 8 complete years instead of 6, that of Athaliah at 7 instead of 6, and that of Amon at 12 instead of 2. In the Armenian version the reign of Jehoiakim is reckoned at 12 years instead of 11, which seems necessary to make up the total 442 years. In the Paschal Chronicle, the reign of Asa is reckoned at 44 years instead of 41, that of Jehoram at 10 instead of 6, that of Jehoiakim at 12 instead of 11, and that of Amon at 12 instead of 2. Abating the errors thus pointed out, and admitting the interregnum, both authors testify to the true length of this period, which, notwithstanding the former, they have only overrated by 3 years.
6. Table IX. Ethnocratic Eras and Intervals according to Ptolemy’s Canon and the ancient Chronographers—Accuracy of the Canon—Josephus erroneous but consistent in the Sixth age—His remarkable coincidence with the true Chronology in the Mundane period—Theophilus follows the Roman Chronology in this age—Africanus the prophetic—Both erroneous—Errors of Eusebius, and accuracy of his Extent of this age—Errors of the Paschal Chronicle considerable and unaccountable—Table X. Summation of the Six ages of the world according to the Septuagint and the ancient chronographers—Table XI. Summation of the Periods of the Christian Chronographers, adopted by themselves—Chronological Table of the Principal Epochs and Events from the Creation to the Advent of Christ.
The following Table exhibits the errors of the chronographers in regard to the Sixth age of the world. In our first Part, we have denominated the Eras of this age Hierarchal, Table XIV. p. 80, to indicate the internal form of Government which prevailed among the Jews during the period from their return to their own land to the Advent of the Messiah; here we style them Ethnocratic, to indicate the Iron rule which the Heathen Kings exercised over the remnant of the ancient people of God, till “in the days of these kings the God of Heaven set up a kingdom which should never be destroyed,” but “should break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and stand for ever.” In this table, we have introduced an additional column, showing the periods of the Four Great Monarchies or Empires foretold in the book of Daniel, in as far as they relate to the Sixth age, according to the Canon of Ptolemy, which is accounted by chronologers as one of the most valuable and precious relics of Antiquity.
| TABLE IX. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnocratic Eras. | Ptolemy. | Josephus. | Theophilus. | Africanus. | Eusebius. | Pasch. |
| Intervals. | Intervals. | Intervals. | Intervals. | Intervals. | Intervals. | |
| From Solomon’s Temple. | ||||||
| The Assyrian Empire. | 52 | |||||
| Jewish Captivity. | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | |
| Roman Regifugium | 54 | |||||
| Persian Empire | 205 | 230 | 190 | 206 | ||
| Jewish Hierarchy | 414 | |||||
| The Asamonean Dynasty. | 125 | |||||
| Grecian Empire | 302 | 298 | 301 | 296 | ||
| Roman Republic | 453 | |||||
| To The Roman Empire. Birth of Christ | 28 | 33 | 46 | 30 | 27 | 29 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| The Sixth Age | 587 | 642 | 623 | 628 | 588 | 601 |
In this Table the extent of the Ethnocratic age is 587 years according to the Canon of Ptolemy;125 this is 2 years more than we assigned at p. 80, owing to the reign of Cyrus being estimated at 9 years instead of 7, which brings the Sixth age up to the vulgar era of the Birth of our Saviour. The Canon assigns 43 years respectively to the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar and Augustus Cæsar; hence the former reigned 25 years after the taking of Jerusalem,126 and the latter 28 before the Christian era;127 thus the extreme intervals of the first column of the table were obtained. The intervals of Josephus were determined from the following passages:—Book XI. 1, 1, “In the first year of the reign of Cyrus, and this was the 70th from the day that it befell our people to remove from home to Babylon;”—Book XX. 10, 1, “After the period of the 70 years’ captivity, &c. Joshua the Son of Josedek, took the office of High Priest; and his posterity, in all 15, held the democratic form of government for 414 years, till the reign of Antiochus Eupator;”—Book XIV. 16, 4, “Thus ceased the government of the Asamonean [race] after 126 years;”—Book XVII. 6, 3, “for 125 years during which they [the Asamoneans] reigned;”—and, Book XVII. 8, 1, “Having reigned, after he [Herod] caused the death of Antigonus, 34 years, and after he was appointed by the Romans, 37 years.”128 Now, taking the period of the Asamonean dynasty at 125 years, and the years of the reign of Herod before Christ was born, at 33, we have, from the preceding extracts, the intervals in the Table, and the extent of the whole period 642 years, according to Josephus. This result receives a striking confirmation from the summation of the periods contained in the Titles of the different Books of the Antiquities which relate the History from the 1st year of Cyrus to the death of Herod. Thus,
| Years. | |
|---|---|
| The Captivity continued | 70 |
| The XIth Book comprehends | 253 |
| The XIIth Book „ | 170 |
| The XIIIth Book „ | 82 |
| The XIVth Book „ | 32 |
| The XVth Book „ | 18 |
| The XVIth Book „ | 12 |
| The XVIIth Book to the year before the death of Herod, comprehends | 5129 |
| ——— | |
| Total | 642 |
Thus it appears that Josephus, or his corrupter, conscious that by the omission of the Second Cainan, he had curtailed the length of the true age of the world, has compensated for this generation, by enlarging the Postdiluvian biennial period, the Antepaidogonian age of Nahor, the reign of Solomon, and the extent of the Hierarchal age; for, we shall see that by the summation of the different ages as we have now determined them from the Antiquities, we obtain the true period from the Creation to the Christian Era, viz. 5478 years!
The extent of the Sixth age according to Theophilus, is obtained from the following extracts: “The 70 years being finished, Cyrus king of the Persians, in the 2d year of his reign,” proclaimed the return of the Jews; “then, Cyrus having reigned 29 years died,” U. C. 220; “at which time Tarquin surnamed Superbus began to reign” at Rome, “who reigned 25 years. After whom, the Consuls and Tribunes reigned 453 years.” To these, succeeded the Emperors, “First Caius Julius, 3 years, 4 months, 6 days; then Augustus, 56 years, 4 months, 1 day.”130 From these extracts, it is evident that Theophilus reckoned 54 years from the end of the Jewish captivity to the Regifugium at Rome; and 46 years from the beginning of the Roman Empire to the Christian Era.131 Thus, according to Theophilus, the whole extent of this period is 623 years; and consequently, the period from Creation to the Christian era, 5507 years. We obtain the extent of the Sixth age according to Africanus, from the following fragments of his work:—“For after the 70th year of the captivity, Cyrus having sent” the Jews to rebuild the temple, “we find the kingdom of the Persians extending to 230 years, and that of the Macedonians to 300 years; and thence to the 16th year of Tiberius Cæsar, 60 years.” Again, “the whole time of the Macedonian empire, was 300 years wanting 2,” from its commencement till its termination with Cleopatra, the last of the Ptolemies, in the 14th year of the Roman monarchy;—“all the years from Adam being 5472.”132 Here, Africanus appears to have forgotten himself, and after saying that the period of the Grecian Empire was 298 years, he still reckons it 300, and thus obtains the number of 5472 years from the Creation. Taking 298 years for the correct period of that Empire, and 30 years as the true interval from its termination to the Christian era, we have 628 years for the extent of the Sixth age, according to this chronographer; and consequently, the whole period from the Creation to the Christian era, 5500 years.
The extent and intervals of the Sixth age according to Eusebius in his Chronicon, were obtained from the same sources as before, see p. 286. He dates the proclamation of Cyrus in the 30th year of the Captivity, and his death in the 60th year. He next dates the 70th year of the Captivity in the 2nd of Darius Hystaspes, and thus annihilates 40 years of the Persian Empire before that epoch; consequently, only 190 years remained after it, as he reckons the whole period 230 years. He next reckons 6 years of the reign of Alexander the Great, independently of the Grecian Empire, which he estimates at 295 years under the Ptolemies; thus making the whole period of the Macedo-Grecian empire 301 years. Lastly, he dates the Birth of Christ in the 42d year of Augustus Cæsar, his 15th year being reckoned coincident with the 22d of Cleopatra, the last of the Ptolemies; hence, the period from the end of the Grecian Empire to the Christian era, is 27 years, and the extent of the whole period under discussion, 588 years. Thus Eusebius, by an admixture of the Hebrew and Septuagint Chronologies in his Canon, makes the period from Creation to the Christian era, 5199 years. The intervals and extent of the Sixth age, according to the author of the Paschal Chronicle, were obtained from his work, see p. 286. He follows Eusebius in his epochs of the 1st of Cyrus and the end of the Captivity; but he reckons the whole period of the Persian Empire at 246 years, and thus makes the remainder 206 years after the Captivity. He estimates the period of the Grecian Empire at 296 years, including Alexander; and the reign of Augustus Cæsar as sole Emperor, at 44 years; thus making the period from the end of the Grecian empire to the birth of Christ 29 years, and the extent of the whole period in question, 601 years. According to this author, therefore, by the summation of his periods the number of years from the Creation to the Christian era, is 5512; but he states it himself at 5507 years. He seems to have obtained this period, by annihilating 2 years in the extent of the 4th age and 3 years in that of the 5th age, in order to make it coincide with that of Theophilus.
The following table exhibits the summation of the Six ages of the world, according to their extent, as determined in the preceding pages, from the works of the ancient chronographers; including those of the Septuagint, with the Sixth age as determined by the Canon of Ptolemy.
| TABLE X. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mundane Ages. | Septuagint. | Josephus. | Theophilus. | Africanus. | Eusebius. | Pasch. Chron. |
| Years. | Years. | Years. | Years. | Years. | Years. | |
| First | 2262 | 2256 | 2242 | 2262 | 2242 | 2262 |
| Second | 1147 | 1068 | 1011 | 1015 | 1017 | 1145 |
| Third | 431 | 430 | 645 | 430 | 430 | 430 |
| Fourth | 612 | 612 | 541 | 745 | 480 | 632 |
| Fifth | 439 | 470 | 445 | 420 | 442 | 442 |
| Sixth | 587 | 642 | 623 | 628 | 588 | 601 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | |
| Total | 5478 | 5478 | 5507 | 5500 | 5199 | 5512 |
The following table exhibits the summation of the different periods into which the four Christian chronographers subdivide the Great Mundane period, from Creation to the Era of Redemption.
| TABLE XI. | |
|---|---|
| 1. Eras and Intervals according to Theophilus.133 | |
| Years. | |
| From Creation to the Flood | 2242 |
| From the Flood to Abraham | 1036 |
| From Abraham to Moses | 660 |
| From Moses to David | 498 |
| From David to the Captivity | 518 |
| From the Captivity to Aurelius | 744 |
| ——— | |
| From Creation to Aurelius | 5698 |
| From the Christian Era to Aurelius | 191 |
| ——— | |
| From Creation to the Christian Era | 5507 |
| 2. Eras and Intervals according to Africanus.134 | |
| Years. | |
| From Adam to the Flood | 2262 |
| From the Flood to Abraham | 1015 |
| From Abraham to Joseph | 286 |
| From Joseph to Eli | 729 |
| From Eli to the Captivity of the Ten Tribes | 458 |
| From the Captivity to the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ | 781 |
| ——— | |
| 5531 | |
| From the Birth to the Resurrection and | |
| Ascension of Christ | 31 |
| ——— | |
| From Adam to the Christian Era | 5500 |
| 3. Eras and Intervals according to Eusebius.135 | |
| Years. | |
| From Adam to the Flood | 2242 |
| From the Flood to Abraham and Ninus | 942 |
| From Ninus to Moses and Cecrops | 505 |
| From Cecrops to the Fall of Troy | 329 |
| From the Fall of Troy to the 1st Olympiad | 406 |
| From the 1st Olympiad to Darius | 256 |
| From Darius to the 15th of Tiberius | 548 |
| ——— | |
| From Adam to the 15th of Tiberius | 5228 |
| From the Nativity to the 15th of Tiberius | 29 |
| ——— | |
| From Adam to the Christian Era | 5199 |
| 4. Eras and Intervals according to the Paschal Chronicle.136 | |
| Years. | |
| From Adam to the Flood | 2262 |
| From the Flood to the Exodus | 1575 |
| From the Exodus to the Temple | 614 |
| From the Temple to Cyrus | 480 |
| From Cyrus to Alexander | 249 |
| From Alexander to the 15th of Tiberius | 356 |
| ——— | |
| From Adam to the 15th of Tiberius | 5536 |
| From the Nativity to the 15th of Tiberius | 29 |
| ——— | |
| From Adam to the Christian Era | 5507 |
We shall now conclude this work, with a Chronological Table of the principal epochs and events from the Creation of the World to the Advent of our Saviour. The epochs of Sacred History determined according to the true Chronology, are printed in Roman letters, and the epochs of Profane History in Italics. In the former, Cuninghame is our best authority; in the latter, Clinton, with occasional reference to Russell, or Hales. Some dates that seem to be well founded, are taken from Julius Africanus. The epochs marked with a Star are either traditional or conjectural. The Critarchates, Reigns, Missions, Commissions, &c., are all dated at their respective commencements; and the extent of each of the two former may be determined from the table, by taking the difference of the dates of any two consecutive Critarchates or Reigns.