Esth. 3: 4:-10: Neh. 1:-4: b:-11: 13:6 ried contrary to the law of Moses. After this, he continued in authority during several years, of which there is no history extant. \A M.IB.C. Mordecai, refusing to bow in adoration to Haman, the Agagite; Haman, in revenge, plots the destruction of all the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Persia And obtains from Ahasuerus a decree for that purpose This project is defeated by means of Esther, and ends in the destruction of Haman and his family, and of the enemies of the Jews; in Mordecai's advancement to the highest authority under the king, and in the great prosperity of the Jews; in remembrance of which, the feast of Purim is instituted, which is observed by the Jews to this day Nehemiah is sent governor to Jerusalem, with extensivel 3548 456 3550 454 3551 453 Alexander the Great is born in Macedonia. 3648 356 3559 445 powers, and a commission to build the walls of the city; which he immediately attempts, and effects notwithstanding great opposition. He proceeds prosperously to execute his commission; to repeople Jerusalem; and to reform both the civil and ecclesiastical state of the nation. He goes to the Persian court But returning, as it is supposed, with a renewed commission, he finds that many corruptions had crept in during his absence; and proceeds zealously to enforce reformation; in effecting which he banished the grandson of Eliashib, the high priest, who had married the daughter of Sanballat, the Heronite; who in consequence excited Sanballat and the Samaritans to build a temple on mount Gerizim, in opposition to that at Jerusalem; which augmented and perpetuated the enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans Some, however, place this last act of Nehemiah much later. -In the time of Nehemiah, it is recorded, that Ezra prepared and set forth a correct edition of the scriptures, as extant at that time. Being himself an inspired writer, he no doubt did this under a special superintendency of the Holy Spirit: and it is evident, that our Lord and his apostles sanctioned the sacred volume, which was edited at this! time, as "the oracles of God;" with no other variation, as far as it can now be found, than the insertion of the book of Nehemiah, and the prophecy of Malachi, after Ezra's decease. Some think, that Malachi prophesied towards the end of the time, during which Nehemiah was governor; others think that he was raised up, soon after his removal. Plato the celebrated philosopher is dorn Artaxerxes dies, and, after some bloody contests, Darius Nothus succeeds to the throne of Persia 3960 444 3571 433 3572 432 victory over Darius, at Arbela 3673 331 Soon after, Darius is slain; and the Medo-Persian empire is terminated, and succeeded by the Grecian, or Macedonian;] as denoted by the belly and thighs of brass, in Nebuchadnezzar's dream; (Dan. 2:3239.) the leopard in Daniel's first vision, (Dan. 7:6.) and the he-goat in his second, (Dan. 8:5-8.) 3674 330 Alexander the Great dies at Babylon; whose vast dominions and conquests, after many dreadful conflicts between his captains, form four kingdoms, Macedonia, Thrace, Syria, and Egypt Ptolemy, afterwards called Soter, gains possession of Jerusalem, and carries a great number of Jews into Egypt,| where they form a colony a Alexandria This year, Jaddua, the high- 3681 323 3684 3.0 370-11 300 1A MIB. C. 3694 310 301 Seleucus Philopater dies, and is succeeded by builds Antioch in Syria, (Acts 9:19-26. 13:1.) 3704 300 Epicurus begins to teach his profligate philosophy. The dominions of Alexander are formed into four kingdoms; Egypt, under Ptolemy Soter;| Macedonia, under Cassander; Thrace, under Lysimachus; and Syria, with all the east, 3703 under Seleucus. Thus Daniel's visions were exactly fulfilled. (Note, Dan. 7:5. 8:8.)-The Jews, however, had little concern, except with the kingdoms of Egypt and Syria; between which their country was situated. At this time they formed a part of Ptolemy's dominior. Seleucus, king of Syria, builds Seleucia, on the Tigris, which tended greatly to depopulate Babylon Simon the just dies, and is succeeded, in the high priesthood, by his brother Eleazar.. The light-house, or watch-tower, of Pharos, near Alexandria, one of the wonders of the world, is finished by Ptolemy Soter In the same year Ptolemy Soter dies, and is succeeded by his son, Ptolemy Philadelphus Seleucus, king of Syria, is slain, and succeeded by his son, Antiochus Soter A multitude of emigrated Gauls, after many defeats and disasters, pass over out of Greece into Asia Minor; and there obtain a settlement, in the country afterwards called Gala tia Antiochus Soter, of Syria, dies, and is succeeded 3833 171 Menelaus, Jason's brother supplants him, by buying the high priesthood of Antiochus 3832 172 Onias, the elder brother of Jason and Menelaus, is put to death at Antioch: and Lysimachus, 3711 293 Menelaus's deputy, is slain in a tumult at Jerusalem 3713 291 Antiochus Epiphanes begins to persecute the Jews; putting a stop to the daily sacrifice, and the worship at the temple; and building a fortress on mount Acra, to curb the inhabitants of Jerusalem 3720 284 But Mattathias, and his sons, take arms against 3836 168 3725 279 The Romans, having conquered Perseus, the 3727 277 3753 251 3743 261 Judas vanquishes Lysias, Antiochus's deputy, Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, dies, and Seleucus Callinicus is vanquished, and taken 247 3758 246 3774 230 He dies in Parthia, and is succeeded by his son, Who is poisoned by his attendants, 3779 225 And is succeeded by his brother Antiochus, af- 3783 221 3728 216 3800 204 Having made peace with Antiochus, he attempts The Romans send M. Emilius Lepidus into Antiochus the Great passes over into Europe, to Menelaus, the usurping high priest, is slain, and Demetrius, the son of Seleucus Philopater, slays 3838 166 3839 165 3940 164 3841 163 13842 162 3843 161 3846 158 3851 153 3854 150 3855 149 Alcimus, the high-priest, dies, and Bacchides leaving Jerusalem, the Jews enjoy peace.. 13845 159 Bacchides, returning into Judea. is routed by Jonathan, and Simon his brother; and makes peace with the Jews 3787 217 Jonathan, the brother of Judas Maccabeus, is made high priest, by Alexander Balas, who claimed the kingdom of Syria against Demetrius: and whom Jonathan greatly assisted From this period, the high priesthood continued in the Asmodean, or Maccabean family, till the time of Herod the Great. Demetrius is vanquished and slain by Alexander Balas, who succeeds him. . Onias, the son of Onias, who had been high priest, builds a temple in Egypt, like that at Jerusalem. Jonathan, after various successes, in support of the son of Alexander Balas, against his competitor Demetrius, the son of him who was slain by Alexander Balas, is treacherously murdered by Tryphon: and is succeeded in the high priesthood by his brother, Sin.on;} who, declaring for Demetrius, is made als sovereign ruler of Judea. 3809 195 He takes the fortress, which Antiochus Epiph anes had erected to curb Jerusalem, demolishes it, and levels the hill on which it stood 3862; 142| 3812 192 The sovereignty of Judea is confirmed to Simon, 3813 191 202 3803 201 his son John, surnamed Hyrcanus. John Hyrcanus asserts his independency against the Syrians; and destroys the temple on mount Gerizim He conquers the Idumæans, or Edomites, and, compelling them to be circumcised, incorporates them among the Jews. From this time the name of Idumaans is scarcely mentioned in history. Aristobolus and Antigonus, sons of John Hyr-| canus, lay siege to Samaria Antiochus Cyricenus, at that time king of Syria, (that kingdom being enfeebled by perpetual conflicts with the Ptolemies, kings of Egypt, by incessant internal contests and revolutions, and by the overwhelming power of the Romans,) in vain attempts to relieve Samaria, which falls into the hands of Hyrcanus, with all Galilee. Hyrcanus, hitherto supported by the sect of the Pharisees, recently formed among the Jews; forsakes them, and joins the Sadducees, their opponents .... He dies, and is succeeded by Aristobulus, his A.M. B. C. 3874 dictator, the empire of the Cæsars commences. 3875 129 3895 109 3896 108 3897 107 After many losses, and successes, he takes the Herod makes Anamelus, an obscure person, 3898 106 Being in danger of a capital punishment for this 3909 He subdues the inhabitants of Gilead and the She makes her eldest son, Hyrcanus, high 3925 3926 The Pharisees, managing the affairs of Alex- Herod the Great is born. ... Alexandra dies. Hyrcanus seizes the kingdom: 13965 39 3973 ४ 3974 3975 3976 29 $8 3978 56 3979 25 3928 72 76 Augustus Cæsar acquires absolute dominion 3930 248 3934 70 He builds Herodium. 3981 3935 19 65 After two years' preparation, he enters on the work 3987 17 3939 63 He puts to death the two sons, whom he had by son...... In this year, the angel Gabriel promised to The same angel shews the Virgin Mary, that 3941 63 947 3950 He is vanquished and slain by the Parthians 3951 53 3956 Antipater, an Edomite, by the favour of Caesar, 3957 47 In the same year, Herod in vain attempts to ner. Archelaus succeeds Herod his father, in Judea, 3999 4000 H of Egypt, settle at Nazareth in Galilee.. The Christian Era begins, 4 years after the real time at which our Lord was born Archelaus, the son of Herod, having been convicted of mal-administration in his government, is deposed, and banished into Gaul: and Judea is made a province of the Roman empire, by Quirinius, or Cyrenius, governor of Syria, who first levied the taxes, according to the census, or register, before made; and Coponius is placed over it. Thus the sceptre was departing from Judah, for Shiloh was come, though not manifested. In this year, Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and at the temple sat in the midst of the teachers of the law, both hearing them and asking them questions.. Marcus Ambivius succeeds Coponius, as procu rator of Judea Tiberius is admitted to share the authority with A.M. B. C. 4062 4004 4012 2 Otho murders himself, and is succeeded by Vi-| tellius, . 4074 70 A.D. 8 Who is speedily cut off, and succeeded by Vespasian; In the beginning of whose reign Jerusalem is taken by the Romans, under Titus, the son of Vespasian, and all the awful predictions of our Lord, as well as those of the ancient prophets, are exactly accomplished.-The city is desolated; the temple destroyed, so that not one stone was left on another; 1100,000 persons perished miserably in the siege; and the remnant of the Jews are scattered into al cations, and dispersed among them. Vespasian dies, and is succeeded by his son Ti-| 4014 10 Augustus, whence his 15 years dated. (Laike 3:1.) 4016 12 Annius Rufus succeeds Marcus Ambivius 4017 13 Judea 4019 15 Valerius Gratus removes Annas, the high priest, and substitutes Ismael, the son of Fabus Eleazar, the son of Annas, is made high priest instead of Ismael Titus dics, and is succeeded by Domitian, his brother 4083 79 4085 81 4027 23 4100 96 4028 24 Simon, the son of Camith, is made high priest, in the place of Eleazar. 4023 25 4030 26 Joseph, surnamed Caiaphas, the son of Annas, is made high priest, instead of Simon. Pontius Pilate is made procurator of Judea; and in the same year John begins his ministry.. 4031 27 Not long after, our Lord is baptized by John, and after his temptation in the wilderness, begins to exercise his public ministry, being 30 years of age. (Luke 3.23. John 1:2951.) 4037 33 4041 37 Christ is crucified, under Pontius Pilate, when Tiberius was the Roman emperor. Tiberius dies, and is succeeded by Caligula Caligula makes Herod Agrippa, grandson of king Herod by his son Aristobulus, and nephew to Herod Antipas, who beheaded John the Baptist, and brother to Herodias, and father to king Agrippa, tetrarch, or king, of Galilee. 4042 38 4045 41 Caligula dies, and is succeeded by Claudius Claudius makes Herod Agrippa king of Judea, in addition to his former territories Herod puts James the brother of John to death, and purposes to kill Peter also, who is miraculously preserved: and soon after Herod, smit • .. Domitian is slain, and succeeded by Nerva Nerva dies, and is succeeded by Trajan ... 14102 98 Trajan dies, and is succeeded by Adrian 4121 117 N. B. This carries on the chronology of the Roman emperors considerably beyond the termination of the New Testament: and therefore it is here closed.-It may be observed by the reader, that the author has not attempted to arrange into a table, either the date of our Lord's discourses and miracles, &c., or the history contained in the Acts of the apostles. In fact, he is not competent to add any thing to what has been already advanced in the notes: a table on these particulars must have assumed an appearance of certainty, or at least satisfaction, as to the date of the several events, which he does not possess: those to whom such matters appear important, will find this already done by many writers, according to their several computations, with sufficient exactness: and after all, to the generality of readers, the precise time when this or that sermon was preached, or miracle wrought, or epistle written, is not a matter of very great consequence. At least, the author, probably for want of the proper turn of mind, or ability, must be permitted to devolve this service on others; as incapable of performing it to his own satisfaction. [807 THE END |