OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS: BEING A SUMMARY VIEW OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS OF THE PERIOD FROM THE CLOSE OF THE SACRED CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, UNTIL THE TIMES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. TAKEN FROM "THE COMPREHENSIVE BIBLE," IN WHICH WORK THE NUMEROUS AUTHORITIES ARE FULLY GIVEN. more than £1700 per annum. The payment of this fine, however, continued only till the death of Artaxerxes Mnemon, which happened seven years after; which having made a change in the governor of Syria, he who succeeded Bagoses in that province no longer exacted it. But the Jews were not long allowed to enjoy a state of peace and prosperity in the reign of Ochus, who succeeded Artaxerxes; for, in the eighth son Jehoiada, or Joiada, the father B. C. year of his reign, having subdued the greater Manasseh whom Nehemiah forced Je to Samaria, on account of his ent to his idolatrous wife. It is in how long Nehemiah lived at Je after his important reformations; Be his death Judea seems to have ded to the prefecture of Syria, and Fabject to the governor of that prounder whom the high-priest dictated forced such general laws of policy Bought proper. Darius Nothus was ded on the Persian throne by ArMnemon; & in the thirty-fourth fwhose reign, Jeshua being appointed joses, the Persian governor of Syria, ersede his brother Johanan, or Jona 405. c B. C. 359. 341. part of Phoenicia, with which Lesser Asia and Syria had revolted on his accession to the throne, he marched into Judea, besieged and took Jericho, and carried away a great number of captives; part of whom he sent into Egypt, and settled the rest in Hyrcania, along the shores of the Caspian Sea. After an interval of ten years, died Johanan the high-priest, in the eighteenth year of Ochus, and the thirty-second of his pontificate; and was succeeded by his son Jaddua, who held it twenty years. About three years after his event, the Persian monarch was poisoned by the eunuch Bagoas, who placed the late king's youngest sou, Arsaces, or Arses, on the Persian throne; but, being who had succeeded his father Joiada B. C. also poisoned by the same Bagoas, about high-priesthood, was slain by him in der court of the temple. For this act, the governor imposed a fine y drachmas on every lamb that should ered in sacrifice; the total amount of 4 has been calculated at somewhat] three years afterwards, he was succeeded by the unfortunate Darius Codomannus. He had not long ascended the throne, before the infamous Bagoas, finding he was not one who would answer his purpose. resolved to remove him by the same means he had used to destroy his two predecessors. But Darius, being apprised of his design, made him drink the poisonous draught he had prepared for him, and thereby became firmly settled in the kingdom, without farther difficulty. At this eventful period, Philip, king of Macedon, having been killed by Pausanias, his son Alexander the Great, at the age of Having kindly embraced Jaddea, be es tered Jerusalem, and offered up sacr to God in the temple; where the bigger having shewn him the prophecies of Den which predicted the overthrow of the e sian empire by a Grecian king, he was thence with greater assurance of soc not doubting but he was the persona in the prophecies. At his deportua, be B.C. granted the Jews, at the request of la 334. the free exercise of their rela twenty, succeeded to his throne, and caused himself to be appointed general of the Grecian forces against the Persians. With an army consisting of only 30,000 foot and 5000 horse, he crossed the Hellespont, and passed into Asia; and having within a few days after put to flight the immense army of Darius, about five times the number of his own, at the river Granicus, he speedily made himself master of all Asia Minor. The next year Darius advanced to meet him with an army of 600,000 men; but instead of waiting for his opponent on level ground, where he might have brought his numerous forces into action, he led his army into the narrow passes of Cilicia, near Issus, where he was utterly defeated by Alexander. The battle of Issus was followed by the reduction of all Syria and Phoenicia; and Alexander marched into Judea, to punish the Jews for granting the Tyrians supplies of provisions, and refusing them to him, during the siege of Tyre. While he was rapidly advancing to the metropolis, the high-priest Jaddua, as well as the great body of the people, by sacrifices, oblations, and prayers, humbly besought God to avert the threatened danger. It being communicated to Jaddua in a dream, that he should go and meet the conqueror in his pontifical robes, at the head of all the priests in their proper habits, attended by a numerous body of the people dressed in white, he ordered the gates of the city to be thrown open, and marched in solemn procession to an eminence called Sapha, which commanded a prospect of B. C. Phoenicia, had been given to Lamed the temple and of the whole city. As soon as the king approached the venerable pontiff, he was struck with profound awe at the spectacle, and hastening forward, saluted him with a religious veneration. While all stood amazed at this behaviour, Parmenio asked the reason of such unexpected homage; to which Alexander replied, that it was not offered to the priest, but to his God, in grateful acknowledgment for a vision with which he had been favoured at Dio, in Macedonia; in which this very person, and in this very habit, appeared to him, promising him the empire of Persia. b B. C. 320 After the death of Alexander, 100 murder of all his family, his empre length divided into four kingdoms. his four remaining generals. Cassant Macedonia and Greece; Lys Thrace, Bithynia, &c.; Seleuca V bad Syria, Armenia, and othe countries; and Ptolemy Lagus had fa Libya, &c. In the first parties empire, Palestine, with Calestia Mitylene, one of Alexander's gear followed them of their own accord. It six years afterwards, he was de 314. overthrown in battle; but the latter, hearing that his brother Antiochus, was pre d of Judea, Cœle-Syria, and Phoenicia, a B. C. paring to join Seleucus against him, came satigonus; and having again made If master of these provinces, be imstely afterwards lost them by the de€ Cilles, one of his generals. They med in the possession of Antigonus defeat and death at the battle of by the confederated forces of Ptolemy, ader, Lysimachus, and Seleucus; which they were assigned to Ptolemy, with Egypt, Libya, and Arabia. Some fter the recovery of Judea by Ptolemy, imon the Just, son of Onias, and high B. C. 312. c B. C. 292. to an agreement with him; and peace was concluded between them for ten years.4 The Jews at this time were subject to Ptolemy, and Judea was taxed at the annual tribute of twenty talents; the withholding of which by the avaricious pontiff Onias II. who had succeeded his uncle Manasseh, would have proved the ruin of his country, had it not been for the wisdom and prudence of his nephew Joseph. Seleucus having been killed in Parthia, where he was a prisoner, by a fall from his horse, of the Jews, in the ninth year of his B. C. was succeeded by Seleucus Ceraunus, & who, Cate; and was succeeded by his t Eleazar. He was distinguished for dom and virtues; and is said to have Red the sacred canon of the Old Tes Ptolemy Philadelphus having sucLhis father on the throne of Egypt,'| s found in him as generous a proas they had experienced in Ptolemy e B. C. two years afterwards, being poisoned, was succeeded by his brother Antiochus the Great. Not long after died Euergetes king of Egypt, and his son Ptolemy Philopater ascended the throne; and Antiochus, taking advantage of the accession of this profligate prince, seized upon Cale Syria, and, after a truce, returned and defeated & During his reign was made the B. C. the Egyptian forces." In the spring of the 261. dat translation of the Old Testament Breek, afterwards called the Septuaersion; which event has tended more following year, Ptolemy marched against him with a powerful army, defeated his numerous forces at Raphia, and forced him minate the knowledge, and confirm B. C. to retreat to Antioch. On the retreat of thenticity of the Sacred Scriptures, by other which happened from the Etheir completion to the commencefthe Christian æra. Antiochus Theos Succeeded his father Antiochus Soter, Seleucus, on the throne of Syria,/ ined a long and sanguinary war toleiny Philadelphus, which they at 249. A B. C. Antiochus, all the cities which had been taken by force, opened their gates to the conqueror, to whom they sent presents, and promised allegiance. Ptolemy having thus regained these provinces, made a progress through them; and coming to Jerusalem, he offered a great number of victims, and made some valuable presents to the temple. greed to terminate by a treaty of B. C. But having been hindered from entering the ; in which it was stipulated, that as was to divorce his wife Laodice, arry Berenice, Ptolemy's daughter, the death of Philadelphus, about B. C. parted to Egypt full of rage against the 225. in afterwards, Antiochus put away Jews; and having there deprived them of ce, and recalled Laodice; who, fearthe privileges they enjoyed, he assembled other change, caused him to be poimultitudes of them together at Alexandria cut off Berenice, her son, and all her to be devoured by wild beasts; but the dan attendants, and placed her own furious animals, instead of hurting the Jews, allinicus on the throne. Ptolemy turned upon the heathen spectators, and petes, who had succeeded his father! destroyed a great number of them. Ptolemy, throne of Egypt, and had hastened that he might be left to the uninterrupted enassistance of his sister Berenice with B. C.joyment of his pleasures, having made peace ge force, in revenge for her death, Laodice, and subdued all Syria and a; and returning to Egypt laden with be passed through Judea, and offered Dacrifices in the temple at Jerusalem, Cateful acknowledgment to the God Bad for his late successes. Callinicus, years afterwards, in attempting to re#his dominions from Ptolemy, was IB. C. 218 n B. C. with Antiochus upon very easy terms, his subjects were discontented, and broke out into rebellion; and some time afterwards, he died, worn out by intemperance and debauchery, and was succeeded by his infant son Ptolemy Epiphanes." Antiochus thinking this a favourable opportunity, entered into a league with Philip, king of Macedon, to divide the dominions of the king of Egypt between them; and Antiochus having) marched with an immense army into Cale Syria and Palestine, he speedily subdued those provinces. Soon afterwards, however, the Egyptians took advantage of Antiochus being engaged in war with Attalus, king of Pergamos, and sent Scopas with an army into Palestine and Cole-Syria; where he was remarkable for little else thar was so successful, that he took several cities, a B. C. them; but, when on the post of enter 199. the sacred temple, the Syrians WE HA reduced all Judea, and put a garrison in Jerusalem. But the following year, Antiochus having desisted from his war with Attalus, by the interposition of the Roinans, marched against Scopas, overthrew him near Paneas, shut him up in Sidon, where he forced him and his men to surrender; and soon rendered himself master of all Cœle-Syria and Palestine. Among others, the Jews willingly submitted to him; and B. C. heard of the death of his brother, val rendered him such essential services, that he gave orders that their city should be repaired, and that those who had been dispersed should return and inhabit it; and, among other important favours, confirmed them in all the privileges which had been granted by Alexander the Great. After this, being intent on his war with the Romans, he married his daughter Cleopatra to Ptolemy Epiphanes, and gave in dowry with her the provinces of Cale-Syria and Palestine, upon condition of the revenues being equally divided between the two kings. Having in vain endeavoured to corrupt her to betray her husband's interests, he fitted out a fleet of 100 large ships of war, and 200 other smaller vessels, and subdued most of the maritime places on the coast of Asia, Thrace, and Greece. But not long afterwards, Acilius the Roman consul routed the army of Antiochus at the straits of Thermopyle, and expelled him from Greece; Livius and Emilius beat his fleets at sea; and Scipio finally obtained a decisive victory over him in Asia, near the city of Magnesia, at the foot of mount Sipylus, stripped him of all his dominions on this side of Taurus, and condemned him to pay 12,000 talents for defraying the expenses of the war. Covered with shame and disgrace, he retired to Antioch; and afterwards, being under great difficulties how to raise the money which he had stipulated to pay the Romans, he marched into his eastern provinces, to collect tribute, and amass what treasure he could; and attempting to rob the rich temple at Elymais, he was assaulted and slain by the inhabitants of the country." Antiochus was succeeded on the Syrian throne by his son Seleucus Philopater, who 188. e B. C. 187. d B. C. B. C. 172. attempt of Heliodorus to usurp the t 2 not to give unto him the honou kingdom,' as the prophet Danset ad told; he applied to Eumenes, kang di gamus, and Attalus bis brother, al flattering speeches,' and great p of friendship, prevailed with them him against Heliodorus. Hav means suppressed the usurper, be wa placed on the throne; and with opposition, he peaceably obtami 1*) dom, as had been predicted in the phecy. Upon his accession të De he took the name of Epiphanımı, orta trious; but being in every respec person, as Daniel foretold of is fully borne out by the chars him by ancient historians, he wis name of Epimanes, or the Ma was scarcely seated on the throt being pressed by the Romans to heavy tribute, among other mear posed the good and pious high pres and sold the pontificate to his best for the yearly sum of 360 talents, adi wards he deposed Jason, and sed brother Menelaus for 660 talents." or that Leunæus and Euleus, the c** young Ptolemy, should have demum their master, the provinces of 55 Cole-Syria, and Palestine, wh assigned for the dowry of basses patra, but it seems, had never bem up, Antiochus, having repaired reTM cations of these countries, marched Itoward the frontiers of Egypt, and mo |