9. The temple of Solomon had stood, according to the Jews, four hundred and thirty years; and both at this time and afterwards, by Titus, Jofephus obferves that it was burned in the fame month, and the fame day of the month. As no mention is here made of the ark, it was probably burned together with the temple, tho' the gold with which it was covered would, no doubt, be taken off.

11. There were in all eight hundred and thirty two perfons. Jer. LXii, 29.

17. These two pillars are more particularly defcribed 1 Kings, vii, 5, and in Jer. Lii, 21. They must have been thought very extraordinary to deserve so particular a defcription.

22. Ahikam was the great friend of Jeremiah; and by his advice, he, or his sons, might fly to the king of Babylon,

25. He had then been governor two months. The ten men were probably chiefs who had others under them. Ishmael, being one of the royal family, might hope to make himself king.

26. This was contrary to the advice of Jeremiah, who gives a particular account of all thefe tranfactions. By this desertion of the country it became wholly defolate; only fome of the neighbouring nations feem to have fettled in fome parts of it. Jer. xii, 14. Ez. xxxvi, 4, 5,

27. From this it appears that Nebuchadnezzar reigned forty five years. For Jehoiakim was carried captive in the eighth year of his reigu, and had been a prifoner thirty feven years. But according to the canon of Pto

lemy

lemy he reigned only forty three years, and therefore, it is fuppofed that he reigned two years along with his father.

30. The reafon of this diftinction is not mentioned, and unless this favourable treatment was continued in the next reign it could not have been long, for Evilmerodach is not fuppofed to have reigned more than two years; but as it is faid to have continued as long as Je hoiakim lived, it is probable that it did extend beyond the reign of Evilmerodach.

NOTES ON THE FIRST BOOK Oor

CHRONICLES.

THE books that bear this title were evi

dently compiled from others, and those written at different times, fome before, and others after the Babylonish captivity. They begin with tables of genealogy, collected from the books of Mofes and other records; but having been often transcribed, much confusion has been introduced into many of the names, which it is now impoffible to clear up. The foundation, however,

was

was evidently a real history, and real genealogies. For fuch particulars of names, and other circumstances, would never have been invented by any perfon, as no imaginable purpose could be answered by it; and the hazard of making mistakes, and being thereby expofed when they were first published, would have been very great.

The history is chiefly confined to that of the kings of Judah, little notice being taken of thofe of the ten tribes. It was, therefore, probably extracted chiefly from the records of that kingdom, written by the highpriests, or perfons appointed for that purpose. Many of the prophets too appear to have been writers, and their writings contained many hiftorical circumstances, as do those of Ifaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, which are

now extant:

Ch. I. 36. Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz, and by her he had Amalek, v. 39.

38. Seir was the antient lord of the country, and they are his defcendants that are here mentioned.

Ch. II.7. As an example of a change of names by mistaking one letter for another, it may be fufficient to obferve that this Zimri is in Josh. vii, 18 called Zabdi, ther and din Hebrew being eafily mistaken the one for the other, tho' the b and the m are more unlike.

11. There is a chaẩm here, but there is no means of fupplying it. There is another v. 14, and alfo v. 15, and infuperable difficulties in v. 17. Ho.

49. The term father is fuppofed to be used in this place for prince, or chief, because both Madmannah and Gibea are names of cities.

VOL. II.

D

Ch. III.

Ch. III. 1. This Daniel is called Chileab. 2 Sam. iii, 3.

3. Eglah is thought to be the fame with Michal, the daughter of Saul. She is called his wife by way of eminence, as the first that he had, and intitled to peculiar privileges.

13. Johannan is fuppofed to have been the eldest fon, but to have died before his father.

19. It is much queftioned whether this Zerubbabel be the fame with him that was governor after the return from Babylon.

24. Here mention is made of thirteen generations after the captivity, which at a moderate computation will bring the history to the time of Alexander the Great. And as mention is made of Jadua, Neh. xii, 11, who was high priest when that conqueror came to Jerufalem, it is probable that foon after this time the laft hand was put to the canonical books of the Old Teftament: It would be natural for a transcriber to continue the genealogies to his own time; as with refpect to them there would be no danger of making any mistake, and this would be much easier than to continue the history of events.

Ch. IV. 1. Here the word sons evidently means descendants, for Hezron was the fon of Pharez, and the father of Carmi, the fame with Chelubai, and Caleb, Ch. ii, 9, 18.

2. Zora was the name of a place in the tribe of Judah.

10. The piety of Jabez being noticed in this place,

it is probable that about this time many others fell into idolatry.

17.Miriam appears to have been the name of men as well as of women.

27 The increase of the tribe of Judah is very remarkable, compared with that of the other tribes.

39. There was a place of this name in the tribe of Judah, Josh. xv, 58, and another place called Gadera, v. 36. Perhaps the Simeonites conquered it from the Canaanites.

40. The Simeonites, wanting room, feem to have conquered a tribe of Arabs, and alfo fome part of the land of Edom, and to have taken poffeffion of them.

43. These people being in the Southern part of the country, and mixed with the Arabs, were perhaps left unmolested at the Babylonish captivity.

Chap. V. 2. He had a double portion of the inheri tance, which was one right of the first born; but Judah had the pre-eminence with respect to authority, which likewise appertained to the first born.

6. It appears from this that some one person was always confidered as the chief of every tribe; probably prefiding in their councils, and commanding them when they went to war.

9. Their right extended to this river, but much of the country was a fandy defert.

10. Several historical circumstances are recorded in thefe tables of genealogy which we do not find in any other part of the hiftory. These Hagarites, or Ifhmaelites, were not of the devoted nations, but there might be other just causes of war with them.