squarers.] Instead of stonesquarers the margin very properly reads Giblites, ; mon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build [Heb., built] the house of the LORD. See notes on Judges iii. 11, pp. 174— and refers to Ezek. xxvii. 9, where we find the inhabitants of Gebal celebrated for their knowledge in ship-building. Some suppose that these Giblites were the inhabitants of 176. Biblos, at the foot of Mount Libanus, north- Pool. This chronological difficulty is too ward of Sidon, on the coast of the Medi- vast and comprehensive to be fully discussed terranean Sea; famous for its wines; and here, or to be determined by unlearned now called Gaeta. Both Ptolemy and Ste-readers; and for the learned, I refer them to phanus Byzantinus speak of a town called what is largely digested in my Latin SyGebala, to the east of Tyre: but this was different from Gebal, or Biblos. It seems more natural to understand this of a people than of stone-squarers, though most of the versions have adopted this idea which we follow in the text. 5/1 Gesen. · 523 (i. q. J, Jebel, mountain, see r. No. 1,) Gebal, pr. n. of a Phenician city between Tripolis and Beirût, situated on a hill, and inhabited by seamen and builders, Ez. xxvii. 9; comp. 1 Kings v. 32 [18]. Strabo XVI., p. 755, Casaub. It was called by the Greeks Búßλos, see Strab. Ptol. Steph. Byz., rarely Bißλos. The Arabs still call it, Jebeil dimin., i. e., little mountain.-Gentile n., Giblite, plur. , 1 Kings v. 32 [18]. CHAP. VI. 1. nopsis upon this place. It may suffice at present to suggest these particulars: 1. That Israel's coming out of Egypt is variously understood in Scripture, and with some latitude, so as not only to note the time when first they came out of Egypt, but the time of their being in or coming out of the wilderness; as is manifest from Deut. iv. 45, where the words in the Hebrew are not after, &c., as we translate it, but in their coming forth out of Egypt; and Psalm cxiv. 1-3, When Israel came forth, &c., Heb., in their coming forth, &c. And it is not impossible it may be so understood here, after they were come out, &c., to wit, completely, i. e., towards into Canaan. Nor doth the difference bethe end of their expedition out of Egypt tween the Hebrew prepositions lamed and beth, which a learned man objects, hinder this sense; for as beth signifies (as he saith) after, so also doth lamed, Gen. vii. 4, 10; Numb. xxxiii. 38. 2. That whereas the difficulty, there are many things which will וַיְהִי בְשְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וְאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת times of the judges do chiefly cause this שָׁנָה לְצֵאת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ־מִצְרַיִם relieve us therein; as, 1. That divers of the בַּשָּׁנָה הָרְבִיעִית בְּחֹדֶשׁ זַי הוּא הַחֹדֶשׁ years there mentioned belong to one and הַשְׁנִי לִמְלֹךְ שְׁלֹמֹה עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּבֶן 16 καὶ ἐγενήθη ἐν τῷ τεσσαρακοστῷ καὶ τετρακοσιοστῷ ἔτει τῆς ἐξόδου υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, τῷ ἔτει τῷ τετάρτῳ ἐν μηνὶ τῷ δευτέρῳ βασιλεύοντος τοῦ βασιλέως Σαλωμών ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ, 17 καὶ ἐνετείλατο ὁ βασιλεὺς ἵνα αἴρωσι λίθους μεγάλους τιμίους εἰς τὸν θεμέλιον τοῦ οἴκου, καὶ λίθους ἀπελεκήτους. 18 καὶ ἐπελέκησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Σαλωμών, καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ Χιρὰμ, καὶ ἔβαλαν αὐτούς. 1 Ἐν τῷ ἔτει τῷ τετάρτῳ ἐθεμελίωσε τὸν οἶκον κυρίου ἐν μηνὶ Ζιοῦ, καὶ τῷ δευτέρῳ μηνί. Au. Ver. 1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solo the same time, as is evident from Jair's twenty-two years, within which fell out, as divers learned chronologers agree, the eighteen years of the oppression of the Ammonites, and several years of the Philistine tyranny, who oppressed Israel in the west, whilst the Ammonites vexed them in the east; and the like might be observed in other cases. 2. That the years of rest are not necessarily to be understood of so many distinct years, besides those of war and servitude; and those words which are generally rendered the land had rest forty or eighty years, or the like, may be thus rendered, and that very agreeable to the Hebrew, The land had rest, or began to rest, or recovered its rest, in the fortieth or in the eightieth (the cardinal numbers being frequently put for the ordinal, especially where the number exceeds ten) year, to be computed from | gether in an arbitrary manner; to suit a some remarkable time; and so that phrase mistaken hypothesis, and a corrupt number doth not note how long a time, or till what in 1 Kings vi. 1, without regard either to the time, the rest continued, but at what time plain sense of Scripture, or the judgment of it began. As for instance, in Judg. iii. 11, the most ancient writers, Jewish and the land had rest, not forty years, as it is in Christian; nor have any been hitherto able our translation, but in the fortieth year, to to clear this era from the difficulties with wit, from and after their first rest in, or which it is embarrassed, or to settle the true quiet possession of the land of Canaan, number of years which it contains. I shall which Joshua gave them; which time may therefore endeavour to set this period in a very probably be made up of the days of true and clear light by following the plain Joshua, after he had settled them in a state narration and sense of Scripture concerning of rest; and of the elders that outlived him, the times of the judges and of the several Judges ii. 7, and the time of their corruption captivities which intervened, and shall disafter the death of those elders; and the tinguish the years of the one from those of eight years of servitude under the king of the other; and I shall also demonstrate that Mesopotamia. So Judg. iii. 30, The land the number in 1 Kings vi. 1 which makes had rest in the eightieth year, to wit, from this period no more than 479 years, is a and after that rest which Othniel obtained Jewish interpolation or corruption, and was for them, ver. 11. And Judg. v. 31, It not known to the ancient Jewish and rested in the fortieth year, to wit, after that Christian writers, &c., &c. [vol. 1., p. 133— rest got by Ehud, Judg. iii. 30. And Judg. 145]. viii. 28, It rested in the fortieth year, to wit, from the last rest got by Deborah. And thus the computation of years is more plain and certain, being thus made from rest to rest, than theirs that proceed the other way. And this is the more considerable, because it was the opinion of that famously learned and pious bishop of Armagh. All which considered, it will be very easy to contain all the parts and passages of sacred story, From the exodus to the from the coming out of Egypt to this time, within the compass of four hundred and eighty years; of the several parcels whereof, see my Latin Synopsis [see below p. 744]. And as for other scriptures, which some conceit to be contradictory to this, I shall by God's help vindicate them in their several places. Therefore, the years from the exodus of the Israelites, or their going out of Egypt, to the foundation of Solomon's temple, are upon the foregoing evidence, to be reckoned as follows, viz. : : death of Moses First servitude under After this Othniel was judge the Moabites.. most a year, reckoned Barak... After this Debora and the Midianites Jackson's Chronology, vol. i., p. 133.-There is no period in the Scripture history in which Shamgar was a judge alboth the ancient and modern chronologers so much differ and mistake as in this, from the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to the foundation of Solomon's temple. Eusebius has given occasion to most of this confusion and difference by following a groundless tradition of the Jews, and including the times of their captivities in the times of their judges, and thereby shortening this period an hundred years. The modern chronologers, Archbishop Usher, Bishop Lloyd, and others have been led by his example into the greatest perplexity and confusion; and have made successive times contemporary and confounded years of rest and bondage to VOL. II. was judge... After Gideon, Abimelech Ammonites judge judge After Jephthah, Ibzan was Carried over Government. Years of the World. Years before Christ. 40 3833 1593 27 3873 1553 8 3900 1526 iii. 9, 10, 11 40 3908 1518 18 3948 1478 80 3966 1460 5 B x. 2 " X. 3 ", X. 8 Years of Government. Years of the World. Years before Christ. 408 Jud. xii. 13, 14 viii., ix., &c. 40 4249 1177 more years than others did; but not one of them followed the number mentioned in the before-cited text, or made it 479 years, till Eusebius mentioned its being wrote in the first book of Kings; whereas had this 8 4241 1185 number been originally there, it would undoubtedly have appeared in the version of the Septuagint; and the ancient Greek writers would have followed it unanimously and without variation. That this number is spurious, and a corruption of the text, where it is written, will be demonstrably shown in the following sheets. And that it was not originally either in the Hebrew or Greek text, may with great certainty be inferred from the computations of all the ancients, both Pagan, Jewish, and Christian writers, &c. [see Jackson's Chronol., vol. i., p. 147–162]. 20 4289 1137 20 4309 1117 3 4409 1017 vi. 1 579 Josephus had no number in his Hebrew copy of the Book of Kings, because, as he never fails to mention his chronological numbers, he would undoubtedly have taken notice of this, had it been in his copy, and would also have made his computation by it. But in the place where he gives the account of the building of the temple, he says, fourth year of his reign, in the second month, after 592 years from the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt." Could Josephus have said this if he had found in the text the number 480, as it is found at present? and that 592 is the genuine number of Josephus (though he has 612 years in two or three other places) is evident from several observations made before his chronology; and chiefly from the distinct particular numbers of the years of Joshua, and of every judge, set down in his fifth book of Antiquities, and which stand as follows, &c. [see Jackson's Chronol., vol. i., p. 148-150]; making in all 592 years. By the computation above, the temple was begun 579 years after the Exodus, and in the year of the world 4,412, and in the year before the Christian era 1,014. There were besides seven months more which I" Solomon began to build the temple in the have mentioned, but have not reckoned, to keep the numbers in entire years, and this is sufficiently exact. It is certain from the Scripture account of the times of the judges, that the term from the exodus to the temple could not be fewer years than I have computed them; but yet we find in the present Hebrew copies of. 1 Kings vi. 1, that it came to pass in the four hundred and fourscore year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord. This number has puzzled all our modern chronologers, and put them to make several absurd hy- Syncellus, p. 175, tells us that 600 years potheses, in order to reconcile the history of was the computation of Eusebius; and it the Judges to it; but it gave no trouble to appears to be so from the preface to his the most ancient Jewish and Christian chro- Chronicon, where he says, the Hebrew nologers, because they found no such number numbers of the Book of Judges amount to either in the Hebrew or Greek copies. And this sum; but this interval he says, was only as they had no other rule to compute this 479 years, according to the lesser number of famous era by, but only the years of the the Book of Kings, in which it is said to be judges, in which calculation there was room in the 480th year after the exodus that for the difference of a few years, in the times Solomon began to build the temple, 1 Kings of some of them, which are not expressly set vi. 1, and this lesser number he follows in down in Scripture, as I have observed; so his Chronicon. If we deduct from the aboveaccordingly we find that some writers made stated number of Eusebius, viz., 600, one this term from the exodus to the temple year from Tola, and twenty years from Samson, which are a part of the preceding of Solomon's reign, and the month when he forty years, as hath been frequently observed, began to build his temple, but says nothing we have the true number as reckoned by the of the year from the exodus, or the Israelites Book of Judges, which is, as before proved, going out of Egypt; nor is this year 579 years if Tola has twenty-two years, or mentioned in the parallel place of the Book 580 if he has twenty-three years; but I of Chronicles, where the building of the have chosen the former number. temple is related. And this is the more That which imposed upon Eusebius, and observable, because, wherever the years were engaged him to follow and to put into his added in the Books of Samuel and of the Chronicon the lesser number of 479 years, Kings, and the same transactions are related was a pretended ancient traditional interpre- in the Chronicles; the years are always set tation (which he there speaks of) amongst down in the Chronicles as well as in the the Jews of the numbers of the Book of Books of Samuel and the Kings, and also Judges, by which they included all the years exactly in the same manner; only, we may of servitude which they reckoned to be 120 except that the years of the building (though they are but 111) in the years of of the temple, and of the king's own the Judges, and so reduced the 600 years of house, are set down in two distinct numbers, the Book of Judges, as Eusebius reckoned [the first seven years, the latter thirteen them, to 480 or 479 years, in order to reconcile years,] 1 Kings vi. 38; vii. 1, but in them to that number which was inserted into 2 Chronicles viii. 1, the two sums are added the Book of Kings; and which number it is together and called twenty years, as they are very probable was there first inserted to also called 1 Kings ix. 10, and the former support this absurd traditional interpretation. distinct numbers are not mentioned at all in And this I take to be one of the contrivances the Chronicles. So that this is no real exof the Jews to shorten their chronology in ception to what is observed; and it is highly opposition to the computations of the Chris- improbable, that so remarkable a number of tians from the plain sense and express years, as that from the exodus to the buildnumbers of both the Hebrew and Greek text ing of the temple, should be set down in the in the Book of Judges. This fictitious history of the kings, and yet not be mentioned number first added by the Jews to the in the chronicles of the same kings, where the Hebrew text of the Book of Kings they had time of the same building is mentioned, very nearly got inserted before the time of both the year of Solomon's reign, and the Eusebius into some copies of the Septuagint, month of the year. And it is next to imwhich have 440 instead of the Hebrew possible to suppose, had the number been number 480; and which number is now re-set down, as we now find it, in the Book of tained in most, if not all the Greek copies, Kings, that no ancient writer, either Jewish except the Complut. or Christian, before Eusebius should have But it is very evident from the computa- found or observed it, but should always tions of the most ancient Scripture historians, reckon the years from the exodus to the and particularly Demetrius, who lived many temple by the times of the judges and kings years before the Christian era, and also from to Solomon, whose computations are very the calculation of the oldest Christian writers, different from the sum inserted in the Book Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, Clemens of of Kings, which sum is utterly irreconcileable Alexandria, and Africanus, that they had to the numbers of the years of the judges. no such number as either 480 or 440 in the Nothing is plainer than that the history of Septuagint version, or in the Hebrew text, the judges always clearly and expressly and it is as evident from the reckoning of distinguisheth the years of the several serviJosephus that he had no number in his tudes of the Jews, from the years of the Hebrew copy; and it will presently appear government of their judges after each dethat St. Paul knew of no number either in liverance from servitude; and it is highly the Hebrew or Greek text. Therefore this absurd to include the years of peace and corruption of the Hebrew and Greek copies rest in the years of war and bondage; and is not probably older than the middle of the all the Christian writers (except Eusebius) third century. For Origen cites the text unanimously distinguished them. And Eu1 Kings vi. 1 in his commentary on St. sebius himself distinguished them in his John's Gospel, where he mentions the year other writings; though in his Chronicon he has followed the lesser corrupted numbers of not from the Israelites going out of Egypt, the Jews of his time, for which he is very as the text expressly says, but from their justly found fault with by the learned chro- entering into the land of Canaan forty years nologers and historians Anianus and Pano- after their coming out of Egypt. But had dorus, who wrote in the latter end of the this been the meaning of the text, it would, fourth century, and by Syncellus after them. no doubt, have been said, After the children But that the Jews had no ancient tradition of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt for interpreting the history of the judges, so INTO THE LAND OF CANAAN. Farther this as to make the years of servitude a part of learned chronologer, to reconcile his hypothe years of the government of the judges, thesis both to the number of the Book of may from hence be certainly concluded, Kings, and to St. Paul's reckoning of 450 that Josephus all through the history of years from the division of the land by Joshua the judges reckons the years of servitude unto Samuel, is forced to suppose St. Paul distinct from those of the government of to reckon not from the division of the land, the judges. though his words immediately refer to it, And it is observable, though neither but to reckon from the exodus spoken of Josephus nor any of the ancient Christian three verses before; than which there canwriters took notice of it, that the twenty not be a more absurd interpretation. For years of Samson, in which he judged Israel, as he admits the present position of the are expressly said to have been in the days text, Acts xiii. 19, 20, it is evident that the of the Philistines, as being a part of the words of the twentieth verse, after that he forty years in which the Israelites were sub-gave them judges, &c., must mean, after the ject to the Philistines; that we might not completion of the forty years in the wilthink these years distinct from, and subse-derness, ver. 18, and also, after the division quent to those of their servitude, as the of the land, ver. 19, nor will his interpretayears of all the other judges are related to be. tion answer his purpose; for after all he is Our learned Archbishop Usher takes ano- again forced to make St. Paul mean, not ther method to make the history of the times precisely 450 years, but only 437 years. To of the judges agree to the supposed 480th such difficulties the most learned men are year from the exodus to the temple; and put to support a corruption of Scripture would have the text, where it is said that which they do not suspect. Having shewn upon the deliverance of the Israelites by from the calculations of the most ancient Othniel (and so of the rest) that the land Jewish and Christian writers that the interval had rest forty years, to mean not that the between the exodus and the temple exceeded Israelites enjoyed a peace of forty years 480 years by an hundred years at least; and under Othniel; but only that the land began that it is highly probable that the foundation to rest in the fortieth year after the rest of the temple was laid in the 580th year which it had under Joshua. And thus by a after the exodus; to put this important part different way of interpretation he leaves un- of Scripture chronology out of all reasonable counted all the years of the several servi- doubt, I shall produce at large the testimony tudes, or includes them in those of the of St. Paul, who says, The God of this judges. But this interpretation is forced people of Israel chose our fathers and exalted and unnatural; and is, as before shown, the people, when they dwelt as strangers in contrary to the unanimous sense of the the land of Egypt, and with an high arm ancients, both Jews and Christians; and is brought he them out of it. And about the to be esteemed a mere hypothesis of this time of forty years suffered he their manners great man, void of all foundation. Many in the wilderness. And when he had deof the most learned modern chronologers, stroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan as Joseph Scaliger, and others, have followed he divided their land to them by lot: and the scheme of Eusebius, not suspecting an after that he gave them judges, by the space error in the number of the book of Kings. of 450 years, unto Samuel the prophet: and The learned Petavius also follows this afterward they desired a king; and God gave scheme with respect to some of the last unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the judges, though he rejects it as absurd, with tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty regard to most of them. He reckons the years.-Acts xiii. 17-21. This is the plain 480 years of the Book of Kings to commence, natural construction of the apostle's words, |
