the ancient Canaan, and under the Persians and Macedonians, (that is, during our present Division,) they were in a state of semi-subjection, yielding allegiance and paying tribute to a foreign Monarch, but being immediately and practically governed (so far at least as we know) by their own fellowcountrymen, and enjoying for the most part liberty to use their own political and religious institutions: finally, in the period succeeding our present Division they attained once more to complete independence, and to the rank of a Sovereign state. Thus, there is a tripartite parallelism between the period comprehended within the bondage in Egypt and the overthrow of the Jewish monarchy, and that within the Captivity in Babylonia and the final subversion of the Jewish dominion by the Romans.

(3).

DIVISION C. FROM THE ASSERTION OF INDE-
PENDENCE TO THE ACCESSION OF HEROD.

THE Aσapovεia OF JOSEPHUS.

[1]. 546. The rule of the Maccabees or Asmonæans so obviously presents itself as proper to form the next Division of our present Period that no remarks can be necessary to shew the propriety of such a distribution. It is moreover marked out by Josephus more than once as a separate period (See Ant. XIV. xvi. 4 and XVII. vi. 3). And in the passage, from which the series of particulars which follows is taken, he makes a remarkable distinction between this and the other Divisions. In this he mentions by name each successive high priest; in the rest he lumps them together in one sumtotal. Why he made this distinction does not clearly appear. It may be conjectured that it was, because the details of the chronological successions were not, in this instance, to be obtained from the ordinary sources; the Sacred Writings not extending over this space of time, and the works of Profane Authors taking no cognizance of the internal administration of Judæa. In the regular course of his history, Josephus varies in some particulars from the summary, of which we have been speaking.

547. These variations are shewn in the Table which follows.

Jewish Ara.

Seleuc.

No.

Accessions

B.C.

Events.

[2]. Table No. 12. Asmonæan High Priests being Civil Rulers.

XIII. x. 7.
Wars I.ii.8.

Complete Independ.|

In 160th year E.S. Alexander Bala made war on Demetrius. Demetrius reigned 11
years from B.c. 162 (XIII. ii. 4), (others say 13 years.) In 165th year Demetrius II.
attacked Alexander (XIII. iv. 3). Alexander Bala reigned 5 years (XIII. iv. 8).

Simon took the citadel on the 23rd of 2nd month in 171st year (1 Macc. xiii. 51).
Demetrius went into Media in 172nd year.+
Simon spent 3 years in level-

ling the hill of the citadel (Ant. XIII. vi. 7).

Antiquities: Book XX. Chapter x.

[138]140

The upper numbers shew the dates given by Josephus's numbers in Col. 5. Those in () the dates assigned by Usher and Hales. Those in [] the dates given in Major Bell's tables.
(1 Macc. xiv. 27).
An inscription on tables of brass was set upon pillars in Mount Zion in honour of Simon "the 18th day of Elul (6th month) in the 172nd year . Sel. being the 3rd of Simon."
the like before XII. vii. 6."
both Greek and Latin, have here a gross mistake, when they say that this 1st year of Hyrcanus.
No. 4. The 162nd Olymp.=B.C. 132-129. So that if this statement be correct John Hyrcanus could not have begun to reign before B.C. 132. But Whiston says "Josephus's copies,
.... was in the 162nd Olymp., whereas it was for certain the 2nd year of the 161st

See

[3]. REMARKS ON TABLE No. 12.

i. THE DECAD OF NAMES.

548. Again a decad of successions is found to occur. And the very discrepancies which are met with at the beginning of this Division afford indications that there has been an effort made to bring about this coincidence. But, before proceeding to notice these, it must be observed, that while it is evident from several chronical admeasurements that the years of Jacimus have been brought into this Division, it is no less evident from the following considerations that his name has not been introduced into the list of Maccabæans.— (1). He was not of the Asmonæan race, to which this Division is distinctly limited by Josephus.—(2). He belonged to the opposite faction, having been appointed and kept in office by the Syrian monarchs:-in short, he was the chief of those stigmatized as "the wicked" and "the vile renegades." Consequently he could not be included in the list of "the saints,"" the righteous," the heroes upon whom Jewish tradition delighted to dwell.-(3). Having been installed into the High Priest's office by A. Eupator a short time before the victory, from which we suppose this Division to commence, his name might be properly considered to belong to the previous one, though nearly the whole of his time in office (more nominal than real) would fall in this.— (4). The characteristic of this Division was that it was a time of independence (to a certain extent) and of government by native princes, but Jacimus was the leader of those who strove to maintain the Syrian supremacy and oppression. Nevertheless, some difficulty was felt in determining how the successions should be so arranged as to make them amount to the chosen number 10. Josephus in one place (as our Table shews) places an interregnum of 7 years between Jacimus and Jonathan, and says nothing of Judas; while in another he assigns 4 years to the high priesthood of Judas. The Book of Maccabees, again, makes Jacimus outlive Judas.

However, our concern with these high priests in this place is in their capacity as civil rulers; and in this point of view there can be no doubt that Judas was the first, and Jonathan the second of the Asmonæan chiefs who governed the Jews after their assumption of independence. Consequently, there were 10, and only 10 princes of the Maccabæan line.

*Comp. 570 with Table No. 12.

7 of the Asmonæan family. We may note here by the way that the founders of the Asmonæan dynasty were made to amount to the sacred number 7 by including Mattathias and his wife. This appears from the 7 pillars which Simon placed in the splendid mausoleum erected by him in memory of his parents and 4 brethren, and himself.

ii. PARALLELISM BETWEEN JUDAS MACCABÆUS AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT.

No. 1. 549. In commencing our Table No. 11, it struck us as singular that both Josephus and the compiler of the 1st Book of Maccabees should take notice that Alexander the Great reigned 12 years. There appeared to be nothing pertinent to the Jewish history in this fact; since he was supreme ruler of the Jews during a part only of this time. Nor did there seem any reason why his years should be mentioned, while those of the greater number of the Egyptian and Syrian kings, who were the immediate sovereigns of the Jews, were omitted. On arriving at the epoch of Judas's death, a clue to the intention appeared. From the full establishment of Alexander's empire at the death of Darius in B.C. 330 to the end of the Antiochian oppression and dynasty in 162 was 168 years, or a cycle of years corresponding to the Sacerdotal. And now we observe that from the death of Alexander B. c. 323 to the death of Judas in 155 was a similar period of 168 years. This fact has led us to conjecture that a parallelism was intended between the Macedonian and the Jewish heroes. And we find it fully borne out. The former was the great conqueror who established the 4th prophetic kingdom: the latter was the successful chieftain, who, while restoring the Jews to independence, was in fact doing the work of "the stone cut out without hands," the Roman power, by breaking to pieces a portion of the Syro-Grecian Empire. As by the countenance of the Romans, Judas was strengthened in his resistance to Syria, so by the instrumentality of Judas, Rome first obtained a pretence for interfering in the affairs of the East. Thus, Alexander and Judas occupied a parallel position in respect of introducing a new power on the theatre of prophecy. And so also, in respect of their personal exploits,

According to the statements which assign to Jacimus 4 years after B. C. 162, and to Judas 3 years after Jacimus.

each on his allotted scale and sphere of action. Again, their periods of rule were of the same length, and similarly divided. Alexander reigned 5 years previously to the full establishment of his empire, and 7 years afterwards. Judas was general of the Jews 5 years before they actually threw off their allegiance to Syria, (that is, from the time he succeeded his father in 167,) and he was their acknowledged civil ruler for 7 years after that event.-Alexander, like Judas, was a great benefactor of the Jews. On this account, as well as because of Alexander's great fame, it is probable that Jewish historians would love to note coincidences between their favourite hero and great deliverer, and the conqueror of the world; and hence would be led on to produce as great a degree of parallelism between the two as could by any means be made out. It may be added, as some confirmation of the opinion we have advanced, that Josephus makes the deaths of Alexander and of Judas the closing events of his 11th and 12th Books.

iii. DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THE YEARS ATTRIBUTED TO JACIMUS, JUDAS, AND JONATHAN.

Nos. 1 and 2. 550. The Table shews that Josephus, in his summary of the high priests' years, gives for the three first items 3+7+7=17 years. But, in the regular course of the history, he has 4+3+4+4=15 years. Again, he makes Simon's first year conumerary with the 170th of Jewish Ær. Seleuc.; which shews an interval of 19 years. How are these discrepancies to be reconciled? Taking, first, the period ending at the accession of Jonathan. The two passages give as its durations 10 years and 11 years. It might be conjectured that the difference arises from the one including Jacimus's whole time, while the other omits that portion of it which preceded the extinction of the Antiochian dynasty and the virtual declaration of independence. It may also be surmised that the three items in Ant. XII. have been reckoned

as 3 half-weeks 10 years. But this reduction of the one series of numbers to meet the other would leave on the whole a greater discrepancy than existed before. For there would then remain a difference of 3 years in regard to the time of Jonathan's high priesthood, one passage stating it at 4 years, and another at 7 years:- nay, a comparison of the dates in Maccabees gives fully 10 years. The "7 years" of Ant. XX. x. is confirmed by a coincidence from the sum-total of this Table shewn in ¶570, and by the title-number of