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know that we have all knowledge. We know that an idol is nothing, &c. 1 Cor. x. 29. latter clause, and verse 30., are parenthetical; as also are 2 Cor. ix. 9, 10. which are so printed in our version. A still more signal instance of parenthesis occurs in Eph. iii. where the first and fourteenth verses are connected, the twelve intermediate verses (2 to 13) being parenthetical; as also is 1 Tim. i. verses 3. to 17. inclusive. "In this passage," says Professor Franck, "taking occasion from the false teachers, Saint Paul speaks of the law according to the Gospel committed unto him; and having given vent to the feelings of his heart, he returns, in verse 18. to the scope he had in view in the third verse, where he intimates, by using the comparative particle, as (kadws), that the completion of the sense was to be expected in the subsequent verses. The whole of the discourse connects thus: --"As I besought thee to charge some that they teach no other doctrine, but seek after godly edifying; and that the end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned, &c.: so now I commit the same charge unto thee,-that thou mayest hold faith and a good conscience," &c.1

Another instance of the parenthesis we have in Phil. i. 27. to ch. ii. 16. inclusive: in which the apostle discusses a subject, the proposition of which is contained in ch. i. 27.; and afterwards, in ch. ii. 17. he returns to the topic which he had been treating in the preceding chapter. "In conformity with this statement we find (ch. i. 23.), that Saint Paul says, he is influenced by two things — a desire both of life and death; but he knows not which of these to choose Death is the most desirable to himself; but the welfare of the Philippians requires rather that he may be spared a little longer; and, having this confidence, he is assured that his life will be lengthened, and that he shall see them again in person. Then, after the interruption which his discourse had received, he proceeds (ch. ii. 17.) as follows: "Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all." The intervening charge is happily and judiciously introduced by the apostle, in order that the Philippians might not remit their ex ertions until his arrival, but contend for the faith of the Gospel with unity and humility; as will be evident to those who examine the point with attention and candour."2

In 2 Tim. i. 16-18. we have a beautiful example of the parenthesis. The apostle, acknowledging the intrepid affection of Onesiphorus — who, when timorous professors deserted him, stood by him and ministered to him — begins with a prayer for the good man's family; The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chains, but, being in Rome, very carefully sought me, and found me out. Saint Paul then stops his period, and suspends his sentence, to repeat his acknowledgments and prayer with renewed fervour and gratitude (The Lord grant that he may find mercy from the Lord in that day,) and in how many instances he ministered to me at Ephesus, you very well know. If we peruse the choicest authors of Greece and Rome, we shall scarcely find, among their many parentheses and transpositions of style, one expressed in so pathetic and lively a manner, nor for a reason so substantial and unexceptionable.3

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Additional instances might be offered, to show the importance of attending to parentheses in the examination of the context; but the preceding will abundantly suffice for this purpose. The author has

1 Franck's Guide to the Scriptures, p. 188. By the judicious application of the parenthesis, that very difficult passage in Rom. viii. 19-21. has been rendered perfectly easy and intelligible by a learned divine of the present day. He proposes to translate and point it thus:- The earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God: (for the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who subjected it) in hope that the credtion itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Those who are acquainted with the original language will, on consideration, easily perceive the justice of this translation. For the reasons on which it is founded, and for an able elucidation of the whole passage, see "Sermons preached at Welbeck Chapel by the Rev. Thomas White," sermon xx pp. 363-380. Griesbach has printed in a parenthesis only the middle clause of verse 20. ("not willingly, but by reason of him who subjected it"); which certainly does not materially contribute to clear up the difficulty of this passage. 2 Franck's Guide, p. 189.

3 Blackwall's Sacred Classics illustrated, vol. i. pp. 68, 69. 3d edit.

been led to discuss them at greater length than may seem to have been requisite, from the circumstance, that less attention appears to be given to the parenthesis, than to any other species of punctuation, in the different works on the study of the Scriptures in our language, that have fallen under his notice.1

6. No explanation must be admitted, but that which suits the context. In direct violation of this self-evident canon of interpretation, the church of Rome expounds Matt. xviii. 17. if a man neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and as a publican, of the infallibility and final decisions of all doctrines by the (Roman) Catholic church. But what says the evangelist ? Let us read the context. "If," says our Lord, "thy brother shall trespass against thee, go, and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear, take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of one or two witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. (verse 15 -17.) That is, if a man have done you an injury, first admonish him privately of it; if that avail not, tell the church; not the universal church dispersed throughout the world, but that particular church to which you both belong. And if he will not reform upon such reproof, regard him no longer as a true Christian, but as a wicked man with whom you are to hold no religious communion, though, as a fellow man, you owe him earnest and persevering good-will and acts of kindness. Through the whole of this context there is not one word said about disobeying the determination of the Catholic church concerning a disputed doctrine, but about slighting the admonition of a particular church concerning known sin; and particular churches are owned to be fallible.2

7. Where no connection is to be found with the preceding and subsequent parts of a book, none should be sought.

This observation applies solely to the Proverbs of Solomon, and chiefly to the tenth and following chapters, which form the second part of that book; and are composed of separate proverbs or distinct sentences, having no real or verbal connection whatever, though each individual maxim is pregnant with the most weighty instruction.3

From the preceding remarks it will be evident, that, although the comparison of the context will require both labour and unremitting diligence, yet these will be abundantly compensated by the increased degree of light which will thus be thrown upon otherwise obscure passages. The very elaborate treatise of Franzius, already referred to, will supply numerous examples of the Holy Scriptures which are rendered perfectly clear by the judicious consideration of the context.

1 Christopher Wollius published a very valuable treatise, De Parenthesi Sacra, at Leipsic, in 1726. 4to. The same subject has also been discussed in the following works, viz. Joh. Fr. Hirt, Dissertatio de Parenthesi, et generatim, et speciatim Sacrâ, 4to. Jena, 1745. Joh. Gottl. Lindneri, Commentationes Duæ de Parenthesibus Johanneis, 4to. 1765. Ad. Bened. Spitzneri Commentatio Philologica de Parenthesi, Libris Sacris V. et. N. T. accommodata. 8vo. Lipsia, 1773.

Whitby on Matt. xviii. 15-17. Bishop Porteus's Confutation of the Errors of the Church of Rome, pp. 13, 14.

3 J. B. Carpzov. Prím. Lin. Herm. pp. 36, 37. Bauer, Herm. Sacr. pp. 192-200. Pfeiffer, Herm. Sacr. c. x. (op. tom. ii. pp. 656-658.) Franzius, Pref. pp. 8-11. Tract. pp. 48-51. Morus, in Ernesti, tom. i. pp. 161-163. Viser, Herm. Nov. Sacr. pars iii. pp. 189-194. Wetstein et Semler de Interpret. Nov. Test. pp. 116 -120. Franckii Prælectiones Hermeneuticæ, pp. 61-94. Rambach, Inst. Herm. pp. 197-216. Jahnii Enchirid. Herm. Generalis, pp. 51-71. Chladenii Institutiones Exegetice, pp. 366-374. J. E. Pfeifferi Institutiones Herm. Sacr. pp. 464 -468. 507-534. Schefer, Institutiones Scripturistice, pars ii. pp. 56-62.

SECTION VI.

ON HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCES.

Historical Circumstances defined.-I. Order.-II. Title. -III. Author.-IV. Date of the several Books of Scripture. — V. The Place where written. -VI. Chronology.-VII. Occasion on which they were written.-VIII. Scope or Design.-IX. Analysis of each Book.-X. Biblical Antiquities, including, 1. The Politi cal, Ecclesiastical, and Civil State; -2. Sacred and Profane History;-3. Geography; —4. Genealogy; -5. Natural History; and 6. Philosophical Sects and Learning of the Jews and other nations mentioned in the Scriptures.

HISTORICAL Circumstances are an important help to the correct understanding of the sacred writers. Under this term are comprised: -1. The Order; 2. The Title; 3. The Author; 4. The Date of each of the several books of Scripture; 5. The Place where it was written; 6. The Chronology or period of time embraced in the Scriptures generally, and of each book in particular; 7. The Occasion upon which the several books were written; 8. Their respective Scopes or designs; and 9. An Analysis of each book. 10. Biblical Antiquities, including the Geography, Genealogy, Sacred and Profane History, Natural History and Philosophy, Learning, and Philosophical Sects, Manners, Customs, and private Life of the Jews and other nations mentioned in the Bible. How important a knowledge of these particulars is, and how indispensably necessary to a correct interpretation of the inspired volume, we are now to consider.

I. A knowledge of the Order of the Different Books, especially such as are historical, will more readily assist the student to discover the order of the different histories and other matters discussed in them, as well as to trace the divine economy towards mankind, under the Mosaic and Christian dispensations.

This aid, if judiciously exercised, opens the way to a deep acquaintance with the meaning of an author; but, when it is neglected, many things necessarily remain obscure and ambiguous.

II. The Titles are further worthy of notice, because some of them announce the chief subject of the book

As Genesis, the generation of heaven and earth — Exodus, the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, &c.; while other titles denote the churches or particular persons for whose more immediate use some parts of the Scriptures were composed, and thus afford light to particular passages.

III. A knowledge of the Author of each book, together with the age in which he lived, his peculiar character, his sect or religion, and also his peculiar mode of thinking and style of writing, as well as the testimonies which his writings may contain concerning himself, is equally necessary to the historical interpretation of Scripture.

For instance, the consideration of the testimonies concerning him self, which appear in the second epistle of St. Peter, will show that he was the author of that book: for he expressly says, 1. That he

1

was present at the transfiguration of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. i. 18.); 2. That this was his second epistle to the believing Jews (iii. 1.); and that Paul was his beloved brother (iii. 15.); all which circumstances quadrate with Peter. In like manner, the coincidence of style and of peculiar forms of expression, which exist between the second and third epistles of Saint John, and his other writings, prove that those epistles were written by him. Thus we shall be able to account for one writer's omitting some topics, and expatiating upon others—as Saint Mark's silence concerning actions honourable to Saint Peter, and enlarging on his faults, he being the companion of the latter, and writing from his information. A comparison of the style of the epistle to the Hebrews, with that of Saint Paul's other epistles, will show that he was the author of that admirable composition.1

IV. Knowledge of the Time when each book was written sometimes shows the reason and propriety of things said in it.

Upon this principle, the solemn adjuration in 1 Thess. v. 27. which at first sight may seem unnecessary, may be explained. It is probable that, from the beginning of the Christian dispensation, the Scriptures of the Old Testament were read in every assembly for divine worship. Saint Paul, knowing the plenitude of the apostolic commission, now demands the same respect to be paid to his writings which had been given to those of the antient prophets: this, therefore, is a proper direction to be inserted in the first epistle written by him; and the manner, in which it is given, suggests an argument that the first epistle to the Thessalonians was the earliest of his epistles. An accurate knowledge of the date of a book is further of peculiar importance in order to understand the prophecies and epistles ; for not only will it illustrate several apparently obscure particulars in a prediction, but it will also enable us to ascertain and to confute a false application of such prediction. Grotius, in his preface to the second epistle to the Thessalonians, has endeavoured to prove that the Emperor Caligula was the man of sin, and Simon Magus the wicked one, foretold in the second chapter of that epistle; and has fruitlessly laboured to show that it was written a. D. 38; but its true date, a. D. 52, explodes that application, as also Dr. Hammond's hypothesis that Simon Magus was the man of sin, and the wicked one.

V. Not unfrequently, the consideration of the Place, 1. Where any book was written; or, 2. Where any thing was said or done, will materially facilitate its historical interpretation, especially if regard be had, 3. To the nature of the place, and the customs which obtained

there.

1. For instance, it is evident that St. Paul's second epistle to the Thessalonians was written, shortly after the first, at Corinth, and not at Athens, as its subscription would import, from this eircumstance, viz. that Timothy and Silvanus or Silas, who joined him in his first letter, were still with him, and joined him in the second. (Compare 2 Thess. i. 1. with 1 Thess. iii. 6. and Acts xviii. 1-5.) And as in

1 This topic has been ably proved by Braunius, in his Commentarius in Epistolam ad Hebræos, pp. 10-21.; by Pritius, in his Introductio in Novum Testamentum, cap. iv. iii. pp. 47, 48., and by Langius in his Commentatio de Vita et Epistolis Pauli, p. 157. Le Clerc has some pertinent remarks on the same subject, in his Ars Critica, pars iii. sect. ii. cap. vi. p. 372.

2 Rambach, Inst. Herm. Sacr. p. 116.

this epistle he desired the brethren to pray that he might be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men (2 Thess. iii. 2.), it is probable that he wrote it soon after the insurrection of the Jews at Corinth, in which they dragged him before Gallio the proconsul of Achaia, and accused him of persuading men to worship contrary to the law. (Acts xviii. 13.) But this consideration of the place where a book was written, will supply us with one or two observations that will more clearly illustrate some passages in the same epistle. Thus it is manifest from 2 Thess. iii. 8. that Saint Paul could appeal to his own personal labours for his subsistence with the greater confidence, as he had diligently prosecuted them at Corinth (compare Acts xviii. 3. with 1 Cor. ix. 11, 12, 13.) : and, to mention no more examples, it is clear from 2 Thess. iii. 1, 2. that the great Apostle of the Gentiles experienced more difficulty in planting a Christian church at Corinth, and in some other places, than he did at Thessalonica. In a similar manner, numerous beautiful passages in his epistles to the Ephesians will be more fully understood, by knowing that they were written at Rome during his first captivity.

2. Thus our Lord's admirable discourse, recorded in the sixth chapter of St. John's Gospel, which so many disregarded, is said (v. 59.) to have been delivered in the synagogue at Capernaum, consequently in a public place, and in that very city which had witnessed the performance of so many of his miracles. And it is this circumstance of place which so highly aggravated the malice and unbelief of his hearers. (Compare Matt. xi. 23.)

3. The first Psalm being written in Palestine, the comparison (in v. 4.) of the ungodly to chaff driven away by the wind will become more evident, when it is recollected that the threshing-floors in that country were not under cover as those in our modern barns are, but that they were formed in the open air, without the walls of cities, and in lofty situations, in order that the wheat might be the more effectually separated from the chaff by the action of the wind. (See Hosea xiii. 3.) In like manner, the knowledge of the nature of the Arabian desert, through which the children of Israel journeyed, is necessary to the correct understanding of many passages in the Books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which were written in that desert.

VI. Chronology, or the science of computing and adjusting periods of time, is of the greatest importance towards understanding the historical parts of the Bible, not only as it shows the order and connection of the various events therein recorded, but likewise as it enables us to ascertain the accomplishment of many of the prophe cies. Chronology is further of service to the Biblical critic, as it sometimes leads to the discovery and correction of mistakes in numbers and dates, which have crept into particular texts. As considerable differences exist in the chronology of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Septuagint version, and Josephus, different learned men have applied themselves to the investigation of these difficulties, and have communicated the results of their researches in elaborate systems. Some one of these, after examining their various claims, it will be desirable to have constantly at hand.

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