man to be termed a prince. called by Ephron, the Hittite. A So was Abraham suppose the 70 kings which Adonibezek, king of Bezek, conquered, and cut off their thumbs, and great toes; the 60 kings' sons, put to death by Jehu; the 31 kings on the other side Jordan, destroyed by Joshua; and the 30 sons of Jair, who were made princes over 30 cities. Innumerable other instances might be produced, both from the books of Joshua and Judges; and we shall find a very much greater number of kings recorded in the race of Ham, during the time of Joshua, (who was born 100 years before the reign of Cambyses), than is presumed by the Egyptians, even according to these authors. We do know that the period allotted by the Hebrews, from the creation to the general deluge, was 1656 years; and we might know, if we would receive their records, as they offer them, that the Hindus, Chaldeans, Chinese, and Egyptians, place that great epoch at 1680 prophetic years, which answers to 1656 Julian ones, from the creation; and that, during that period, each of these nations record ten generations of patriarchs, of whom six only, exclusive of Adam, became kings, or governors of the world, before the deluge. Although each nation details innumerable kings, or dynasties of rulers over provinces, whose collective reigns would form a period of, perhaps, 100000 years, yet neither nation pretends, on this account, to procrastinate the epoch of the deluge. Mr. Maurice informs us that "it was during this period, that the stars had four times changed their course, and the sun had set twice in the east of which assertion the astronomy is as bad as the chronology is false; since, had these events really taken place, they could not have happened within the limits of so contracted a period." From the above he draws the following inferences: that the dynasties of Egyptian sovereigns were on a par with those of the Indians; "nothing more than the children of the sun and moon, and the vast period of their reigns, the revolutions of the celestial bodies." 4a 12. Appendia C. Herodotus, indeed, informs us, that in the time of their most ancient kings, or from the period of the first settling of the descendants of Ham, in Egypt, the sun had twice changed it's rising and setting. This is, perhaps, what our author alluded to; forgetting that Thoth or Athothes, the grandson of Ham, and second king of Egypt, rectified the year about the middle of his reign, said to have commenced A. M. 1911. Some authors if this date be account of He place the alteration at A. M. 1955; made A. M. 1944, we shall find the rodotus correct. Egypt is said to have been first peopled about A. M. 1807. Now, as in 137 Julian years there are 139 Egyptian years of 360 days, so in 140 years would the beginning of any particular month have so changed its place, as to run twice through the signs of the ecliptic, and return to the point where it at first was: consequently, adding 140 years to A. M. 1807, when Egypt was first peopled, we shall find, that even supposing the period when Thoth changed the Egyptian year, to have been eleven years sooner than it is represented, yet, that the Sun might with truth be said, to have twice changed its rising and setting, without the "astronomy being bad, or the chronology false." Nevertheless a tradition so generally known is given as "one of the most daring vaunts of this vain-glorious people:" it is added, "still however these mighty vaunts of their antiquity however wildly extravagant they may appear, are comparatively moderate when we advert to another remarkable passage in Cicero; from whose relation we may conclude, that these assumptions of the astronomical periods of Asia, were not unknown in the capital of the Roman Empire: for he acquaints us that the Babylonians and those that contemplated the heavens from Caucasus, by whom he must mean the elder Persians and Indians, had a series of observations extending back for 473000 years." It is difficult to determine on the epoch from whence these 473000 years are VOL. I. D reckoned.-The "elder Persians, and Indians,” is a vague expression, which admits of great latitude. Babylon, we have reason to believe, was one of the first places, in which a regular government was established, after the deluge; and the Chaldeans are admitted, without controversy, to have brought astronomy to greater perfection, than any of their contemporaries, in the infant state of the postdiluvian world. If Callisthenes, the philosopher who accompanied Alexander, when he took Babylon, found regular astronomical observations there for 1903 years, and this has never been disputed, it carries the period of their commencement back to about A. M. 1776, or 119 years after the deluge. With a view of giving the greatest possible latitude, let us suppose that, as this improved, or regular system, commenced A. M. 1776, the 473000 years were reckoned from that period: and this we are warranted to suppose, as it was the period, when the early Babylonians were in the zenith of their power, about ten years before they were dispersed: consequently, they would date their improved system from that period, and give the dates in real numbers; it being antediluvian records only that were written in cyphers. Now we shall find, reading days for years with the prophet Daniel, that 473000÷360 1313 prophetic, or 1295 Julian years; so that the informa tion, given by Cicero, amounts to nothing more than that astronomical observations were carried back by the Chaldeans so far as A. M. 481. We learn from the most ancient authors, that about this period Seth had organized and brought astronomy to a somewhat regular form. Those that have the least faith in the Mosaic account, must admit that Adam had some knowledge of astronomy; otherwise there had been no note of time; yet it is not probable that it was brought to perfection, or even to a regular system at so early a period. On the contrary, we must suppose that the first reckoning was by a period of time, marked by the rising and setting of the Sun, afterwards called Days; and it is so marked by the Hindus to this day. Four Samans of three hours being considered as a day, and the like number as a night. From which we may infer, that the seventh day being commanded by God, to be kept holy, the division of time was extended to weeks, and so on. It is not however my intention to trace the rise and progress of Astronomy, but to point out that all Eastern, particularly Jewish, writers expatiate on the proficiency that this science had attained to about the fourth century of the world: Although Enoch is admitted by them all to have subsequently brought it to the highest perfection which it reached in the antediluvian world. Jose |