a reckoned up in their feveral families in Ezra, amount only to 29,818, and in Nehemiah to 31,031. The meaning of which is, they are only the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, that are reckoned by their families in both these places, the reft being of the other tribes of Ifrael, are numbered only in the grofs fum, and this is that which makes the grofs fum fo much exceed the particulars in both the computations. But how it comes to país, that the particulars in Ezra differ from the particulars in Nehemiah, fince there are feveral ways how this may be accounted for, and, we can only conjecture which of them may be the right, I fhall not take upon me to determine. с Of the 24 courfes of the priests that were carried away to Babylon, only four returned, and they were the courses of Jedaiah, Immer, Pafhur, and Harim, which made up the number of 4289 perfons. The reft either tarried behind, or were extinct. However, the old number of the courses, as established by King David, were ftill kept up. For, of the four courfes that returned, each fubdivided themselves into fix, and the new courses taking the names of thofe that were wanting, ftill kept up the old titles; and hence it is, that after this Mattathias is faid to have been of the courfe of Joarib, and Zacharias, of the courfe of Abia, though neither of these courfes were of the number of thofe that returned. For the new courfes took the names of the old ones, though they were not defcended from them, and fo they were continued by the fame names under the second temple, as they had been under the firft, only the fifth courfe, though of the number of thefe that returned, changed its name, and for that of Mal chijah, under which it was first established, took the name of Pafhur, that is, the name of the fon, inftead of that of the father; for, Pafhur was the fon of Malchijah. It is a common faying among the Jews, that they were only the bran, that is, the dregs of the people, that returned to Jerusalem after the end of the captivity, and that all the fine flower ftaid behind at Babylon. It is moft certain, that, notwithstanding the feveral decrees that had been granted by the kings of Perfia for the return of the Jews into their own land, there were a great many that waved taking the advantage of them, and continued ftill in Chaldea, Affyria, and other Eastern provinces, where they had been carried; and it is most likely, that they were of the best and richeft of the nation that did fo: fo: for, when they had gotten houses and lands in thofe parts, it cannot be fuppofed, that fuch would be very forward to leave good fettlements to new-plant a country that had lain many years defolate. But of what fort foever they were, it is certain a great many staid behind, and never again returned into their own country. And if we may guess at their number, by the family of Aaron, they must have been many more than those who settled again in Judea; for of the 24 courses of the fons of Aaron, which were carried away, we find only four among those that returned, as hath been already taken notice of; and hereby it came to pass, that, during all the time of the second temple, and for a great many ages after, the num ber of the Jews in Chaldea, Affyria, and Perfia, grew to be so very great, that they were all along thought to exceed the number of the Jews of Palestine, even in those times when that country was beft inhabited by them. An. 535. Cyrus 2. Those who made this first return into Judea, arrived there in Nifan, the first month of the Jewith year (which anfwers to part of March and part of April in our kalendar); for the 2 fecond month of the next year is faid to be in the second year after their return; and therefore, they must then have been a whole year in the land. As foon as they came thither, they difperfed themselves according to their tribes, and the families of their fathers, into their feveral cities, and there betook themselves to rebuild their houses and again manure their lands, after they had now, from the deftruction of Jerufalem, and the flight of the remainder of the people into Egypt, on the death of Gedaliah, lain defolate and uncultivated 52 years, according to the number of the fabbatical years, which they had neglected to obferve; for, according to the Mofaical law, they ought to have left their lands allow every feventh year. But, among other commandments of God, this alfo they had neglected: and therefore, God made the land lie defolate without inhabitants or cultivation, till it had enjoyed the full number of its fabbaths that it had been deprived of. And this tells us how long the Jews had neglected this law of the fabbatical year for it is certain, the land was defolated only 52 years, that is, from the death of Gedaliah till the end of the 70 years captivity, in the first year of the empire of Cyrus. And 52 fabbatical years make 52 weeks of years, which amount to 364 years; which carries up the computation to the beginning of the reign of Afa; and therefore, from that time the Jews having Ezra iii. 8. Ezra ii, 1. ii. 70. & iii. 1. Neh. vii. 6. c Lev. xxv. 2-4. d Lev. xxvi. 34. 35-43. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21. ving neglected to obferve the fabbatical years, till they had de prived the land of 52 of them, God made that land lie defolate, without cultivation or inhabitants, just so many years, till he had restored to it that full reft, which the wickedness of its inhabi tants had, contrary to the law of their God, denied unto it. If we reckon the whole feventy years of the captivity into those years of defolation, which were to make amends for the fabbatical years that the land had been deprived of, then we must reckon the obfervation of them to have been laid afide for 70 weeks of years, that is, 490 years. But this will carry back the omif fion higher up than the days of David and Samuel, in whofe time it is not likely that fuch a breach of the law of God would have been permitted in the land. On the feventh month, which is called the month Tifri, ail the people which had returned to their feveral cities gathered together at Jerufalem, and there, on the first day of that month, celebrated the feaft of trumpets. This month began about the time of the autumnal equinox, and was formerly the first month of the year, till it was a changed at the time of the coming up of the children of Ifrael out of Egypt; for that happening in the month of Abib, afterwards called Nifan, that month, for this reafon, had the honour given it, as thenceforth, to be reckoned among the Ifraelites for the first month of the year, that is, in all ecclefiaftical matters. Before this time Tifri was reckoned every where to begin the year, because from thence did commence (it was thought) the beginning of all things; it being the general opinion among the an cients, that the world was created, and firft began, at the time of the autumnal equinox. And for this reafon the Jews do ftill, in their æra of the creation of the world, as well as in their æra of contracts, compute the beginning of the year from the first of Tifri, and all their bills, and bonds, and all other civil acts and contracts, are still dated among them according to the fame computation. And from this month alfo they began all their jubilees and fabbatical years. And therefore, although their ecclefiaftical year began from Nifan, and all their feftivals were reckoned according to it, yet their civil year was still reckoned from Tifri, and the firft day of that month was their new-year's a Ezra iii. 1. b Ezra iii. 6. Levit. xxiii. 24. Numb. xxix. 1. Exod. xxiii. 16. and xxxiv. 22. d Exod. xii. 2. * Chaldee Paraphraft on Exodus xii. 2. day; f Vide Scaligerum de Emendatione Temporum, lib. 5. c. De Conditu Mundi, p. 366, &c. 4 Levit. XXV. 9. |