the Old Testament of Egypt, of Syria, and of Assyria. Assyria is mentioned under different names -Chaldea, Babylon, Media, and Persia.

2. The most accurate researches into geography do not enable us to distinguish these territories by different and precise boundaries. The country which lay north of the Persian gulf, along the Euphrates and Tigris, was that where the great cities of Babylon and Nineveh stood, whither the Jews were carried captives, and whence only about fifty thousand of them ever returned.

3. Syria is not more exactly known-it lay to the north east of Palestine-Damascus was one of its cities; its gods were among the favourite idols of the Hebrews when they became idolaters, and frequent wars were carried on between them and the Syrians; however a more peaceable intercourse, at times subsisted among them, for in the second book of Kings it is related that Naaman, a Syrian, went confidently into Samaria to be healed by the Israelitish prophet Elisha.

4. The history of the Jews does not appear plain to most readers, but it may be readily comprehended by means of a clear notion of the country they inhabited, and by some points of time fixed in the memory.

5. The Jews derive their beginning from Abraham who was appointed by God to be the father of their nation, B. C. 1921. The descendants of Abraham were not increased to sufficient numbers to form an independent state till B. C. 1451four hundred and seventy years after the appointment of Abraham. You may easily learn their history during this time, it is briefly this.

6. Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac of

Jacob, Jacob of twelve sons who were the heads of the families of the Hebrew nation, or of the twelve tribes of Israel. The descendants of these twelve sons of Jacob lived in Egypt two hundred and fifteen years; they then left that country under the conduct of Moses, wandered about in the Arabian wilderness forty years, and conquered Canaan under Joshua B. C. 1451.

7. The Hebrews were commanded by God utterly to destroy seven nations who inhabited Canaan, and to take possession of the country, which was then to be divided into twelve parts, and allotted to the different families. Ten parts among the descendants of ten of Jacob's sons and the other two parts were to be given to half tribes, one bearing the name of Ephraim, the other of Manasseh, the sons of Joseph.

8. A map of Canaan represents the country laid out in the twelve parts, bearing the names of the tribes which occupied them. Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulon: Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Ashur, Benjamin, and the half tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The tribe of Levi had its portion among all the others.

9. The lands were divided among these tribes according to the number of families in each and these families were divided into tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands, each having leaders called princes of the tribes. The Levites or priests were distributed through the different tribes as teachers of religion, and the leaders of the tribes were magistrates who enforced the laws.

10. Moses had died before the Israelites entered the land, which is called the Promised land, because God promised Abraham that his descen

dants should possess it. Joshua established them in Canaan, though they did not destroy all the people but only a portion; enough of the original inhabitants remained for the Israelites to quarrel with, and what is worse, to instruct them in the worship of false gods.

11. Besides the heads of the tribes, the Israelites had military leaders who also judged or governed in civil affairs. The Judges acted in this double capacity, till the sons of Samuel, the last Judge, were entrusted by their father with the public concerns. These deputed judges "per

verted judgment," or governed badly; and the people demanded of the venerable Samuel to give them a king. Samuel dissuaded them from this, however they replied, "Nay; but we will have a king to reign over us ;" and he anointed Saul of the tribe of Benjamin to be king, B. C. 1075.

12. Saul's kingdom comprehended all the tribes, and was called the kingdom of Israel. Saul, David, and Solomon reigned over it successively, one hundred and twenty years. Solomon was succeeded by his son Rehoboam. Ten of the tribes revolted from Rehoboam, and left only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to his government. The ten revolted tribes were still called the kingdom of Israel, and were governed by kings of their own. The two tribes of Judah and Benjamin formed another kingdom, called the kingdom of Judah. This separation of the tribes is called the Division of the kingdom, and took place B. C. 975.

13. Though it had pleased God to reveal himself to Moses, and to give the Israelites laws and commandments to be observed, so that they might know that he alone was God; and though

he had forbidden them to make graven images, and to bow down before and worship other gods, yet in despite of this, they imitated the idolatries of their neighbours of Egypt and Syria, so that they brought upon themselves the punishments which God had denounced against them if they forsook the worship which he enjoined.

14. The people of the kingdom of Israel addicted themselves more especially to idolatry than they of Judah; and though God instructed the Israelites by his prophets, Elijah and Elisha, of their folly and wickedness, yet was this instruction lost upon them, and they exposed themselves to his just displeasure.

15. For two hundred and fifty-four years Israel subsisted as an independent kingdom, but at the expiration of that time the king of Assyria laid waste the country, and carried the inhabitants away into his dominions, where their descendants were dispersed and lost among the nations of Asia.

16. Judah continued an independent kingdom till B. C. 588, when Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and the people of Judah were carried away to captivity. They continued in this condition seventy years, till Cyrus king of Persia became master of Babylon, and permitted them to return to their own land. Zerubabel led fifty thousand of his countrymen back to Canaan: these were chiefly of the kingdom of Judah, though some Israelites accompanied them, B. C. 536.

17. The people who returned were afterwards called Jews, and their country Judea. Jerusalem was their capital-it was anciently Jebus-David took it from the Jebusites, a people of Canaan, en

larged and beautified it, and there Solomon erect、 ed the temple. Samaria was a city north of Je rusalem, and the capital of the kingdom of Israel: it was built by Omri one of the kings.

18. While the land of Israel lay desolate, abandoned by its former inhabitants, colonies from the east settled there, and were instructed by a Jew ish priest in his religion. These colonists were called Samaritans from their chief city, Samaria. When the Jews returned to Judea, and were employed in rebuilding their temple, which was destroyed by the Chaldeans, the Samaritans offered to assist them, but the Jews refused to allow this, because the Samaritans were in part idolaters, and a quarrel ensued between these people, which was kept up for many ages, and produced that mutual hatred between Jews and Samaritans which is often mentioned in the gospel.

19. Ezra, a priest of the family of Aaron, led a new colony of Jews from Babylon, and brought gifts from the king to rebuild Jerusalem, B. C. 457. Nehemiah was afterwards sent, and these good men together, re-established a remnant of their nation in peace and prosperity. This concludes the Old Testament four centuries before Christ, but other books bring down the history of the Jews to the present age.

Illustration.

i. The last lesson contains an imperfect account of the Old Testament History: the Bible