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It may be mentioned, as a fact of minor, but still of some, importance to our present subject, that these books are not always placed in the same order: the Greek translation, called the Septuagint, and the Latin, called the Vulgate, differ in their arrangement from the Hebrew and English Bibles and from one another. Neither do they agree wholly in their contents; for the Hebrew Bible excludes all those books which in England are called Apocryphal; the Vulgate or Latin version admits only Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, with the First and Second books of Maccabees: the Greek Bible admits the First book of Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, and the two books of Maccabees, to which is added a third book of Maccabees, not to be found in either the Hebrew, Latin, or English Bible.

Let us now briefly review the contents of these books one after the other, principally for chronological purposes ; as we shall hereafter have occasion to refer to this subject, and such a summary will save the reader from the necessity of consulting the books themselves, except on important points, in the argument, which will presently be unfolded.

1. Genesis.

This book relates the history of the World from the Creation to the time of Abraham, who is thought to have lived nineteen hundred years before Christ; after which it takes up the history of the Israelitish people only, and brings it down to the death and burial of Joseph, which are supposed to have happened about the year before Christ 1635.

2. Exodus.

The book of Exodus continues the narrative, begun in Genesis, to the Delivery of the Law from God to Moses, about the year 1490.

3. Leviticus.

The contents of this book are limited almost wholly to

legislative enactments. A few historical facts, connected with the principal subject of the book, such as the ordination of Aaron and his sons, are mentioned incidentally; the period occupied by these events is supposed not greatly to exceed one month.

4. Numbers.

The book of Numbers comprehends the space of thirtynine years, being, in fact, the whole period of the Israelitish wanderings in the wilderness from the year 1490 to 1451 before Christ. From the absence of chronological data it is impossible to ascertain the exact time of the events which happened in the interval between the Exodus of the Israelites from Canaan, and their entry into the promised land.

5. Deuteronomy.

The time occupied by the events mentioned in Deuteronomy is limited to one year at the utmost, the 1451st year before Christ, in which the Israelites, having wandered forty years in the Desert, at length prepare to invade the land of Canaan. The last events related in this book are, the death of Moses and the succession of Joshua as leader of the Israelitish people.

6. Joshua.

The book of Joshua comprehends a period of about 25 years, from B. c. 1451 to B. c. 1425, during which the able captain, from whom the book takes its name, subdued the Canaanitish nations, and divided their territories among his followers.

7. Judges.

The chronology of the book of Judges is more uncertain than that of the preceding: it comprehends, probably, about the space of three hundred and ten years, i. e. from 1425 to 1115, but the want of chonological connection between the events which it relates renders it impossible to arrive at any more accurate conclusion.

8. Ruth.

This book gives us an account of the fortunes of Ruth and her family, during a space of ten years, immediately preceding the time at which the book of Judges ends.

9. 10. The books of Samuel.

The first of these books records the history of Samuel, who judged Israel immediately before the election of a king, together with the reign of king Saul, a period as is supposed of about 115 years, from 1170 to 1055.

The second book of Samuel comprises the reign of David, which lasted 40 years, from 1055 to 1015.

11. 12. The two books of Kings.

The narrative is continued from 1016, the year of David's death, in the first of these books, down to the death of Jehoshaphat, in 889, and, in the second book of Kings, from the year last-named, to the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachim king of Judah, coinciding with the 562nd year before Christ.

13. 14. The two books of Chronicles.

The first book of Chronicles contains a series of genealogical tables, followed by a variety of events that happened in the reign of David, which is stated to have lasted 40 years, from 1055 to 1015. The second book of

Chronicles contains the whole Jewish history from the accession of Solomon in 1015 to the decree of Cyrus in 536. Many of the facts which it relates are mentioned in the books of Kings; but others are new.

15. Ezra.

The book of Ezra comprehends the space of 80 years from the decree of Cyrus to the year в. c. 456.

16. Nehemiah.

This book takes up the history ten years after the conclusion of Ezra, i. e. in 446, and brings it down to about the year B. c. 434.

17. Esther.

This book comprises the history of only 12 years from

B. c. 521 to 509.

A book, purporting to be the conclud

ing portion of Esther, is found in the Apocrypha.

18. Job.

The chronology of this book is altogether unknown ; and it partakes of a didactic, if not a poetic, rather than of an historic character.

19. Psalms-20. Proverbs-21. Ecclesiastes-22. Solomon's Song.

These four books contain few direct historical allusions : they are supposed to have been mostly written by David and his son Solomon; i. e. between the years 1056 and 975 before Christ; though some are of a later date, as for instance the 137th Psalm, which was certainly written after or during the Babylonish Captivity.

23 to 39. The seventeen prophetical books.

The seventeen prophetical books contain many historical facts, though they are not of a strictly historical nature. They are not arranged chronologically in our Bibles, but as they will be cited in this work for historical purposes only, it will be useful to place them in the order of time, as follows:

Jonah is said to have written between 856 and 784

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As the present enquiry is not extended to the Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament, it is unnecessary to include them in this chronological summary.

CHAPTER III.

THAT THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT ARE NOT 39 IN NUMBER, BUT 17 ONLY.

Although the Old Testament is divided into 39 parts or books, yet we must not understand that it contains 39 separate works, unconnected in their subjects, or written by 39 different authors. In the Hebrew Bible are 22 books only, which is also the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. These 22 books were divided “into three classes; the first class consisted of five books, namely

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