Josephus's Antiquities, and in contradiction to them, was determined to produce such idle stories about the Jews, and since one of those idle stories is much the same with that published in Josephus against Apion, from Manetho and Lysimachus, and no where else met with so fully in all antiquity, it is most probable that those Antiquities of Josephus were the very occasion of Tacitus giving us these stories, as we know from Josephus himself, contr. Apion, B. 1. § 1. that the same Antiquities were the very occasion of Apion's publication of bis equally scandalous stories about them, and which Josephus so thoroughly confuted in his two books written against them. And if Tacitus, as I suppose, had also read these two books, his procedure in publishing such stories, after he had seen so thorough a confutation of them, was still more highly criminal. Nor will Tacitus's fault be much less, though we suppose he neither saw the Antiquities, nor the books against Apion, because it was so very easy for him, then at Rome, to have had more authentic accounts of the origin of the Jewish nation, and of the nature of the Jewish and Christian religions, from the Jews and Christians themselves, which he owns were very numerous there in his days; so that his publication of such idle stories is still utterly inexcusable.

VIII. It is therefore very plain, after all, that notwithstanding the encomiums of several of our learned critics upon Tacitus, and hard suspicions upon Josephus, that all the (involuntary) mistakes of Josephus, in all his large works put together, their quality, as well as quantity, considered, do not amount to near so great a sum, as do these gross errors and misrepresentations of Tacitus's about the Jews amount to in a few pages, so little reason have some of our later and lesser critics to prefer the Greek and Roman profane historians and writers to the Jewish, and particularly to Josephus. Such later and lesser critics should have learned more judgment and modesty from their great father Joseph Scaliger, when, as we have seen, after all his deeper inquiries, he solemnly pronounces, De Emend. Temp. Prolegom. p. 17. That

Josephus was the most diligent and the greatest lover of "truth of all writers :" and is not afraid to affirm, That "it " is more safe to believe him, not only as to the affairs of "the Jews, but also as to those that are foreign to them, than "all the Greek and Latin writers, and this because his fidelity and compass of learning are every where conspicuous."

TABLE of the JEWISH WEIGHTS and MEASURES, particularly of those mentioned in JOSEPHUS'S WORKS.

Of the JEWISH Measures of LENgth.

Stater, Siclus, or shekel of the sanctuary, the standard

Tyrian coin, equal to the shekel

Bekah, half the shekel

2220

07/1/

01 3

6633

Drachma Attica, one-fourth

Drachma or Alexandrina, or Darchmon, or Adarchmon, one-half

JEWISH WEIGHTS, COINS, AND MONTHS.

Gerah, or Obolus, one-twentieth

Maneh, or Mna-100 shekels in weight-21900
grains Troy

Maneh, Mna, or Mina, as a coin-60 shekels
Talent of silver,-3000 shekels

Drachma of gold not more than ·

427

0 0 1

7 10 0

375 0 O

648 0

Table of the Jewish Months in Josephus, and others, with the names of the Syromacedonian names Josephus gives them, and of the Julian or Roman months corresponding to them.

Hebrew names. Syromacedonian names.

Roman Names.

March and April
April and May

Dæsius

May and June

(4.) Tamuz

Panemus

June and July

(5.) Ab

Lous

(6.) Elul

July and August

Gorpiæus

(7.) Tisri

August and September

Hyperberetæus

(8.) Marhesvan

Dius

September and October
October and November

(9.) Casleu

Apellæus

November and December

(10.) Tebeth

Audinæus

(11.) Shebat

Peritius

(12.) Adar

Dystrus

() Ve Adar, or

the second Adar, intercalated.

December and January
January and February
February and March

INDEX.

The first number is that of the respective Volume, the second
refers to the Page.

Abishag, a virgin, David's nurse, i, Ader, or Hadad, an Idumean, i. 438.