CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX. B.C. in the seventh year of that king, he sets out with a great Ezra viii. 460 455 When arrived in Jerusalem, he obliges all those who had Neb. ii. viii. ix. x. In the twentieth year of this same Artaxerxes, Nehemiah, 09 In a few years after this (but it is impossible to ascertain Here he continued, according to Prideaux, till the time v. 14. xiii. 6, 7. HISTORICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. B. C., in this Sketch, as in the preceding Index, signifies "Before Christ," or, rather, before the common Christian Era, usually marked A. D. § I. FROM THE TIME OF NEHEMIAH TO THE MACCABEES. HAVING arrived at the end of the History of the Old Testament, we find a blank of somewhat more than four hundred years, before the New Testament History commences. Knowing that those years were full of interesting events, we judge it will be acceptable to our readers, if we present them with a brief account of those events, so far as they relate to the affairs of the Jewish Church. Those who wish for a fuller narrative, will find all the information that history can furnish, in the valuable "Connection" of the learned Dean PRIDEAUX; or in Mr. Stackhouse's well known History of the Bible,” of which an improved edition has lately been published in quarto, by Bishop Gleig. The materials of both works, however (as well as ours), are confined to the two first Books of the Maccabees; and to the writings of Philo Judæas and Josephus, with some fragments of Greek and Latin authors. We left Nehemiah in the government of Judea, to which he had been permitted to return, but how long he there continued, we are not able to ascertain, though we think it probable, as we have stated, that it might be to the utmost limit of our Old Testament History. The events which seem most to have grieved Nehemiah, were the mixed marriages of the priests, the gross profanation of the holy sabbath, and the HISTORICAL CONNECTION. neglect of a necessary provision for public worship. But Nehemiah being a servant of Artaxerxes, if we even suppose him to have survived the above limit, his authority must of course have terminated with the government under which he acted. About 335 years before Christ, Philip, king of Macedonia, being treacherously murdered, his son, Alexander the Great, succeeded him, at not more than twenty years of age, and had the command of all the Greek forces. His first object was the subjugation of the Persian empire, which he speedily attained. Soon after, he besieged Tyre, which detaining him some time, in the mean while he sent to demand both submission and supplies from the Jews, and other neighbouring provinces; but the former excused themselves, by pleading their oath of allegiance to Darius. At this, Alexander, always impatient of contradiction, was offended; and, after having subdued Tyre, immediately marched toward Jerusalem, B. C. 332. Upon hearing of his approach, the High Priest Jaddua, who had previously offered prayers and sacrifices for the divine protection; and, as it was said, had been so directed by a divine vision, went out to meet him in his full robes, and with his sacred mitre, followed in solemn procession by the other priests, and by many of the inhabitants, in white. When they met the Conqueror, to the great astonishment of all, he bowed with reverence to the High Priest, and saluted him with a religious veneration. His favourite, Parmenio, ventured to inquire how it was, that he whom all men adored, should thus reverence a Jewish Priest; when he received for answer, that some time since, while in Macedonia, he had seen in a dream the same person so arrayed, who had encouraged him to come into Asia, and promised him, in the name of his God, success: that, therefore, he did not bow to the priest himself, but to the God whose sacred name he bore upon his mitre. After this, turning again to Jaddua, Alexander embraced him very kindly, and going with him to the temple, he offered sacrifices to Jehovah; and the High Priest showed him the prophecies of Daniel, wherein had been predicted the overthrow of the Persian empire by a Grecian king, from which Alexander immediately concluded that he should be the person. (See Dan. viii. 20, 21, with our Exposition.) The next day, calling the Jewish elders again around him, he bid them ask what they pleased; whereupon the High Priest only requested that they might enjoy the laws of their forefathers; that their brethren in Babylon and Media might be permitted to do the same; and that they might be excused from paying tribute on the seventh, or Sabbatic year. (Jos. Ant. bk. xi. ch. 8.) HISTORICAL CONNECTION. Alexander having left Jerusalem, was soon after met by the Samaritans, whose capital was then Shechem, or Sychar, near Mount Gerizim; when San ballat, who had taken with him 7000 men to join his army, requested per mission to build a temple on Mount Gerizim, and to make his son-in-law, Manasseh, the high priest, who had been driven from the temple of Jerusalem for marrying a heathen wife, To these requests there seems to have been no objection; but when they desired an exemption from taxes every seventh year, on the pretence of their being Jews, Alexander demurred, promising to consider farther of the subject on his return. In the mean time, he took the troops which Sanballat had brought with him into Egypt, and settled them in Thebais. On going into Egypt, Alexander made Andromachus, one of his favourite captains, governor of Syria and Palestine, who going to Samaria on publis business, was burnt by the Samaritans in his own house. This so enraged Alexander, when he heard of it, that after executing the murderers, he drove out the Samaritans, and planted in their city a colony of Macedonians, while the exiles fled to Shechem, and made it their future capital. The reign of Alexander was, however, but of short duration, being only twelve years in all; one half of which he reigned as king of Macedon, and the other as Conqueror of the World; and yet this mighty conqueror could not subdue his lust of liquor, but died, as is now generally believed, in consequence of a fit of drunkenness. After his death (B. C, 323) the commanders of his army quarrelled among themselves, until they were all destroyed except four, who agreed to partition the whole of his dominions into separate kingdoms among themselves. (Jos. Antiq. bk, xii. ch. 1.) In this division, Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, whom the Greeks call Sofer (or the Deliverer), obtained Egypt for his territory; and thinking that the provinces of Syria, Phoenicia, and Judea, would afford him a convenient barrier, sent Nicanor, one of his captains, with an army into Syria, while he invaded Phoenicia with a fleet, and thereby made himself master of those provinces. The Jews, however, as in the case of Alexander, made a difficulty in transferring their allegiance to a stranger; and would, perhaps, have effec tually withstood him, had he not learned their rigid adherence to the Sabbath, which led him to storm the city on that day, very unexpectedly, when none of the inhabitants would defend its walls. At first, Ptolemy Soter treated the Jews with rigour, and carried above 100,000 of them into Egypt; but reflecting on their fidelity to their former masters, he afterwards employed them in his garrisons and army; and confirmed HISTORICAL CONNECTION. to them all their former privileges and immunities, on which the whole nation cheerfully submitted to his government. In this reign, Simon the Just, so called from the integrity of his character (Eccles. i. 1-12), succeeded to the High Priesthood, in which he continued nine years, and by his whole conduct much endeared his memory to this nation but what has chiefly handed down his name to posterity, is the completion of the sacred canon of the Old Testament, by adding thereto the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and the prophet Malachi, and others of the later prophets; some of which containing allusions to the time of Alexander, it is agreed, could be added by no person so probably as by this good priest. The fact, however, rests chiefly on tradition. Ptolemy Soter was succeeded by Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 277 years before Christ. He is chiefly celebrated as the founder of the Alexandrian Library, and for the pains he took to adorn it with the Old Testament in Greek, which is said to have been the work of 70 (or 72) translators, taken from the different tribes of Israel; but this narrative has been mixed up with so much fable, that it is very difficult to ascertain the truth exactly. Such a translation was certainly made, under the name of the Septuagint, for it still exists; but how much of it was done at this time, or by how many hands, we presume not to decide. (See Joseph. Antiq. bk. xii. ch. 2.) This Ptolemy had also the honour of setting at liberty many of the Jews whom his predecessor had enslaved. (Jos. bk. xii. ch. 2.) The next Ptolemy was surnamed Euergetes, or the Benefactor; and better answered to his name than is often the case: but his son, Philopater, who was, indeed, suspected of poisoning his father, was rash enough, after offering sacrifices at Jerusalem, to attempt to press into the Holy Place, and even the Most Holy; and being prevented by the Jews, on his return he published a decree, forbidding any person from having access to him who refused to worship his idol; and another, enjoining every Jew, under penalty of death, to receive (by a hot iron) the impression of an ivy leaf, which was the badge of his god Bacchus. He even went so far as to collect a great number of Jews in the Hippodrome of Alexandria, with the avowed design of letting loose his elephants to destroy them: the elephants, however, by a special providence, avoided them, and turning their rage upon the spectators, destroyed great numbers. This circumstance had such an effect upon the king, that he set the Jews at liberty, and restored to them their privileges. (Jos. Antiq. bk. xii. chap. 14.) This tyrant (B. C. 204) was succeeded by Ptolemy Epiphanes, a child of only five years old; and this circumstance induced Antiochus the Great to march an army into Coelo-Syria and Palestine, both which readily submitted |