The Offer

the Allyri

mention is made in Genefis c. 10. v. 9, 10. was the fame Belus whofe Name is fo famous in prophane Hiitory. 'Tis true, Eufebius Lib. 1. Chron. mentions alfo one Saturn, but he adds exprefly that he believes him to be the fame with Belus. As to what concerns the two Principalities, which Scaliger and Schetanus (according to Africanus) pretend to have been before the time of Belus, they are to be looked upon as meer Fictions; as being contradictory to the facred Writ, and the true Epocha of the Deluge it felf, or at leaft to its Univerfality.

ufe.

S. 9. Scaliger l. 3. Can. Ifag. has made a very ion of ful Obfervation conderning the Affyrian Empire,viz. Scaliger that it is more famous for its Antiquity than for its cerning Greatness: For though its Power and Extent was vean Monar ry vaft in the Beginning, yet the Affyrian Monarchs sky. giving themselves over afterwards to all manner of VoJuptuoufnefs and becoming careless of the publick Welfare, many of the Conquered Nations fhook off the Arian Yoke. So that what fome gather from the Books of the Judges and of the Kings in the Sacred Writ, of the King of Babylon and the Syrians and fome other Nations bordering upon Palaftina, their not acknowledging the Jurifdiction of the Arian King, feems to be underflood, not of the most ancient Affyrian Monarchy when in its flourishing State, under the Naines of Nimrod and Ninus, but of its later times, when this Monarchy began to be in a declining Condition. Of which fee Dionyfius Halicarnaffeus Lib. 1. Antiq. Rom.

Political

ons con

cerning

this Mo

narchy.

§. 10. The Obfervations made concerning the PoObfervati licy of the ancient Affyrian Monarchy by Rob. Baily ought not to be paffed by in Silence; For after Ninus and Semiramis with their vaft Armies had overpowered far diftant Nations, their Succeffors chief Maxiins of State tended only to this; How to keep what they had got, and not to inlarge their Conquefts: For which reafon they built the most magnificent Palace of Ninive, where they always kept themselves very clofe, being feldom feen by any body but their nearest Servants, whereby they imprinted upon the Minds of the People an extraordi hary Character of their Majefty, as having fome thing much above the common Rank of Mankind,

whilft they devoted themfelves wholly to all manner of voluptuouincis. Befides this, they drew every year a va number of soldiers out of the Provinces under their Jurifdiction, who being quartered in and about the City of Ninive, and commanded by fuch a General as was thought moft faithful: The Forces ftruck a terror both in the Subjects living in the Centre the Empire, and the other Nations under their Ju if diction. This Army was alfo disbanded, and the General as well as the Governours of the Provinces changed every year, by which means they itified all Confpiracies, a year being too narrow a compass of time for the hatching of fuch things among different Nations not to mention that the Soldiers being fent home every year, carried with them the awful News of the numerous Troops about Ninive. 'Twas by fuch Contrivances that the Ayrian Empire continued for 1300 years, till the time of Sardanapalus, when the Medians put an end to this Monarchy.

CHA P. V.

Of the Epocha's of the Years of Abraham.

RULES.

1. The time of the Birth of Abraham must be looked for in the 11th Chapter of Genesis, which contains an exalt Account of the Ages of the Patriarchs after the Deluge.

2. The year of the Birth of Abraham ought to be coincident with the feventieth year of Thara, Gen.

II. V. 26.

3. According to the Mofaick Computation, the Interval betwixt the Deluge and Abraham amounts to 292 years.

4. Abraham was born when the Affyrian Monarchy flour fhed in Afia, according to St. Austin lib. 16. s. 17. de Civ. Dei.

5. The Vocation of Abraham was in the 75th year of his Age. Gen. 12. V. 4.

6. From the 75th year of his Age, (being that of his Vocation) begins the Epocha of the time of the Children of Ifrael's abiding in Egypt, being 430 years, till the time of their going out of Egypt; from whence to reckon backwards to the Nativity of Abraham, there are 505 years. Gal. 3. v. 17. Jof. 1. 2. c. 6. Antiq.

7. Ifaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old. Gen. 21. V. 1,5.

8. Abraham died when he was 175 years old. Gen.

25. V. 7.

9. According to this Computation Abraham was born in the year 2712 of the Julian Period, in the 24th Cycle of the Sun, and the 16th of the Moon. The Vocation of Abraham hapned in the year 2787 of the Julian Period, the Birth of Ifaac in the year 2812 of the Julian Period, and the Death of Abraham in the year 2887 of the fame Period.

10. If therefore from any certain year of the Julian Period be fubhracted 2711 years for the Nativity of Abraham, 2786 for his Vocation, 2811 for the Birth of Ifaac, and 2886 years for the Death of Abraham, the Refidue will shew the defired year of the Epocha of Abraham. On the other hand, if the above-mentioned Numbers of years be added to the year of the Epocha of Abraham, the Products will be correfpondent to the years of the Julian Period.

§. I. THE

§. 1.THE following Table reprefents the feveral of the Com Computations of the Interval betwixt the putation of

Deluge and the Birth of Abraham.

the Interval betwixt the Delugeand the Birth of Abraham.

The whole Sum of

years from the 292 Del. to Abrah.

79 129 Verse 24
70 130Verse 25

|1072/1192

Both the Computation of the LXX Interpreters and that of Jofephus is taken out of Ifaacus Voffius Differt. de atat. Mundi c. 8. and Chrono!. Sur. p. 108. who, as well as Bryon Walton,follows in the Intervals of years, both before and after the Deluge, the Computation of the Greeks.

§. 2. Ifaacus Voffius follows the Footsteps of Fofe- Whether phus in the time of the Birth of Arphaxad, being of Arphaxad Opinion that in Genefis 11. v. 10. where it is faid was born Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad in the2d or two years after the Deluge, it should be faid twelve; 12th year which Error he attributes to the careleffnefs of the after the Amanuenfes For, fays he, Chron, Sacr. p. 107. how Delugej elfe could Arphaxad have two elder Brothers, Elam and Affur? For among the Sons of Shem, Arphaxad is men tiened in the third place: And to suppose that these Q

three

1

three Suns, and perhaps as many Daughters, were all
born in two years time, is ridiculous. But this Com
putation of Jofephus is free from all these difficulties,
efpecially concerning the Age of Shem. To this it is
anfwered by fome, that the Opinion of Voffius being
contrary both to the Hebrew Text, and the Tran-
flation of the Septuagint, it may rationally be fup-
pofed, that the two elder Brothers of Arphaxad were
Twins born in the first year after the Deluge; or that
Shem's Wife conceived whilft fhe was in the Ark,
and immediately after brought forth the eldeft, and
in a years time after the fecond. There are alfo
fome who believe Arphaxad to have been the First-
born; because it is faid in Genefis 11. 11. that Shem
after he begat Arphaxad, begat Sons and Daughters,
and not before.

of Cainan S. 3. There is another difficulty in the Genealogy
who is put of the Poft-Diluvian Patriarchs, relating to Cainan,
betwixt who in the Tranflation of the LXX Interpreters is
Arphaxad
and Salah. Put betwixt Arphaxad and Salah. Thefe are the
Words in Gen. 10. v. 24. And Arphaxad begot Cai-
nan, Cainan begot Salah. And in the 11th Chapter
V. II. And Arphaxad lived 130 years and begot Cai-
nan. And the first of the Chronicles, Chap.1.v.27. And
Arphaxad begot Cainan, and Cainan begot Salah, Cai-
nan is alfo mentioned in Luke 3. 35. which was the
Son of Salah, mhich was the Son of Cainan, which was
the Son of Arphaxad. Not only the Syriack, Latin,
German, Low Dutch, and English Tranflations fol-
low the Example of the LXX Interpreters in this
Point, but alfo among our Modern Authors, Alphon-
fus Salmero, Anguftes Torniellus, Jacobus Salianus,
Ifaacus Vojins and Brvon Walton, who relying upon
the Authority of St. Luke, agree with them in this
Opinion. but there are very weighty reasons which
have moved others to contradict this Affertion. For,
firft, in the Hebrew Text no mention is made of Ca:-

2. In fome of the moft ancient Tranflations of
the Bible, efpecially in the Samaritan, as also in Jo-
fephus, otherwife a ftrict Adherer to the Chronology
of the Septuagint, no mention is made of Cainan.
In lone ancient Copies of the Gospel of St. Luke,
Cainan is likewife not mentioned; as in that of Theo-
derns Ecza, where Arphaxad is put inmediately af

3.

ter