Moon which was then on the thirteenth day of March Kepl. in his Silva Chro. annexed to his book De novis stellis and Petav in his Doctr. Temper lib. 11. cap. 1. for in the 42 Iulian year was an Eclipse of the Moon on the thirteenth day of March about three houres before Sun-rising continuing two hours 47 minutes the digits eclipsed being six as Kepler Petavius have observed Now this they think to be that Eclips which Josephus speakes of in his Antiquities lib. 17. cap. 8. But in case Iosephus should there meane a naturall Eclipse of the Moon yet could not this be it for there was too small a space between the thirteenth day of March and the Easter of this year which was on the eleventh of Aprill to have all those things done which Josephus mentions to be done between that time of the Moones darknesse and the death of Herod Inter enim crematos Rabbinos Paschatis festum contigerunt tam multa variaque ut ad ea non paucularum hebdomadum sed multorum mensium tempus requiratur Vossius de Teâ—b Naâ—iv Christi Quod cuivis Iosephum legenti apertissimum erit as saith a famons Authour Adding moreover That every darkenesse and obscurity of the Moon deserves not the name of an Eclipse unlesse the Earth be placed between the Sun and the Moon howbeit it is vulgarly called an Eclipse when without that cause the palenesse and darknesse of a Star of light hath the shew of an Eclipse As happened at the death of * Maro primo Georg. Plin. lib. 2 cap 30. Et Plutarch in vita Caesaris Iulius Caesar or when his Nephew Octavius hearing of his death came to Rome and entred the City Of which Calvisius also speaketh saying Nullibi hoc anno hisce diebus quando Octavius urbem ingressus est Eclipsis Solis invenitur quam anxiè inquirit Harwartus ab Hohnburg Concludendum igitur fuisse aliquod Phaenomenon in Sole c. So also when Xerxes moved from Sardes there was as saith Herodotus a great darknesse of the Sun in a cleare aire which almost all Chronologers taking to be meant of an Eclipse at that time have grievously tormented and vexed themselves to finde it out but fayling to finde any at the right time they have moved this march of Xerxes some to one year and some to another that thereby they might fit it to an Eclipse when indeed there was no Eclipse meant but onely some Phaenomenon strange sight or miraculous disappearing of the Sunne for a season Beside if that Eclipse of the Moon in the two and fortieth Iulian year must serve as a true Character to shew the time of Herods death then how shall the years of his reigne be made good for in the beginning of that year Herod had reigned but 36 years from his first beginning and not 33 from his second beginning The two and fortieth Iulian year could not therefore be the yeare of Herods death no evasion can serve to bring it up so high but upon necessity it must be in the year next after and that was the three and fortieth year As much also doe they erre who bring his death downe to the 44 Iulian year for it is directly against the testimony of Iosephus to say that Herod was not made King by the Romans till a little before the end of the sixth Iulian year Antiq. lib 14. cap. 25.26 It was Winter time indeede when he hazarded himselfe upon the Seas to come to Rome where the Senate made him King but it was not the Winter that entred near the end of the sixth Iulian year for then the Olympiad was not 184 but 185. Now we know it from Iosephus that Herod was made King by the Romans in the 184 Olympiad as well as when Domitius Calvinus and Asinius Pollio were Consuls for if we take onely this and not likewise that we lay hold but upon halfe our testimony And if in the 184 Olympiad then before the Winter which entred near the going out of their Consulships The series therefore of the passages in Iosephus which concern this Antiq. lib 14. c. 24 25. 26. standeth thus namely that at the Pentecost of the fifth Iulian year Herod was in Iudea at Autumne he purposed to goe from Alexandria to Rome but was hindred by a great tempest and came not to Rome till a good part of the Winter was entred and that the new Consuls were in their Offices who entring on the first day of Ianuary tell us plainely that it was in the beginning of the sixth Iulian year when the Senate made him King I commend Calvisius therefore in this particular for he hath here faithfully delivered the minde of Iosephus though he afterward wrong him as much in setting the death of Herod in the 45 Iulian year which is two years after the end of those 37 years that Iosephus giveth him But there was an Eclipse of the Moon in the 45 Iulian year on the ninth of Ianuary at the thirteenth houre which lasted for the space of foure houres and that 's the reason why Scaliger and Calvisius kept Herod alive till then Howbeit it is not that will serve their turne for Herods longest time of reigne being but 37 years from his first beginning will have him dead two years before the time that they mention doe what they can And as Herods owne yeares be against them so are the yeares also of his sonnes Archelaus and Philip. For first Archelaus had but nine yeares compleat after his Father and was banished in the tenth and that 's the reason why Josephus in one place gives him nine years and in another place ten telling us moreover that he was banished in the seven and thirtieth yeare of the Actium fight Ant. l. 18. c. 3. The seven and thirtieth yeare of which fight began in the fifty one Iulian yeare on the second of September and ended at the same time in the next year in the beginning therefore of the 52 Iulian year was the banishment of Archelaus a little after he had begun the tenth yeare of his reigne which still sheweth the death of Herod to be at the time aforesaid This is also further confirmed by Dion lib. 55. writing that Herod of Palestine being accused of his brethren was banished beyond the Alpes when Emilius Lepidus and Lucius Arruntius were Consuls which was in the 51 Iulian year By which difference between him Josephus I take to be meant that the accusation against Archelaus came to Rome neare the end of the 51 Iulian year and that then the Emperour decreed his banishment but before it could be effected and he take notice of it by being actually put out of his Kingdome and the President sent to confiscate his Goods both the two and fiftieth Iulian year and tenth year also of his reign was begun And note also further that by this Testimony of Dion it well appeareth that Archelaus
July the third on the 27. day of October the fourth and the last on the 25. day of January by which I meane that there the fourth or last Quarter of the yeare began and was not ended till the 23. day of April next after was finished And why they be not still on those dayes is because the Equinoctiall and Solstitiall points have anticipated and not kept their places on those dayes and Moneths they were at the first which anticipation is not in regard of any errour or irregularity that is in the motion of the Sun but because the Julian year agreeth not thereunto but is a little longer then of right it should be For the true Solar year in the meane measure thereof doth not consist of 365. dayes and full six hours but rather of 365. dayes five hours 48 minutes 39 seconds and 41 thirds By which length of the Tropicall year we finde in one year an anticipation of eleven minutes twenty seconds and nineteen thirds which though it be at the first but a little will neverthelesse in many years amount to the number of no few dayes as we see it doth For by the end of 127 years will be twenty four hours gained with thirteen thirds thereby declaring that the day of the Vernall Equinox in the beginning of the World even till 95 years were ended was in the common years on the 23 day of Aprill though it be now on the tenth day of March and the Autumnall Equinox on the 27 day of October though it be now on the 13 day of September Thus I say it was in the common years though in the Bissextile one day sooner And why I allow but ninty five years at the first for the alteration of a day is not because twenty four houres are gained in that time but because the time of the first Equinox was at the * At wch time the first day of the World began reaching the very evening of the 2 c. day evening of the 23 day And therefore though at the first ninty five years will bring the Equinox to a new day according to the Julian account which begins the day from Midnight yet afterwards we must not reckon that these Tekupha's change their places so as to be on a new day after the same account till the end of the 127 years after I conclude therefore this rule observed that the Tekupha's change their places one day by the end of 127 years and must be therefore set either backward or forward according to the time propounded wherein we seek them which the late Jews not observing have them now not in their right places although by them they still divide the year into four Quarters But of this enough onely let me adde a Table therein to shew how much the anticipation commeth to in any year desired from one to six thousand And after that another Table for the more ready finding the particular day of either Equinox A Table by which may be found how much the Equinoctiall anticipateth in any year desired from one to six thousand Years Dayes Houres Minutes Seconds Thirds 1 0 0 11 20 19 2 0 0 22 40 38 3 0 0 34 0 57 4 0 0 45 21 16 5 0 0 56 41 35 6 0 1 8 1 54 7 0 1 19 22 13 8 0 1 30 42 32 9 0 1 42 2 51 10 0 1 53 23 10 20 0 3 46 46 20 30 0 5 40 9 30 40 0 7 33 32 40 50 0 9 26 55 50 60 0 11 20 19 0 70 0 13 13 42 10 80 0 15 7 5 20 90 0 17 0 28 30 100 0 18 53 51 40 120 0 22 40 38 0 127 1 0 0 0 13 200 1 13 47 43 20 300 2 8 41 35 0 400 3 3 35 26 40 500 3 22 29 18 20 600 4 17 23 10 0 700 5 12 17 1 40 800 6 7 10 53 20 900 7 2 4 45 0 1000 7 20 58 36 40 2000 15 17 57 13 20 3000 23 14 55 50 0 4000 31 11 53 26 40 5000 39 8 52 3 20 6000 47 5 50 40 0 Another TABLE more readily to finde the day of either Equinox by knowing either the year of the WORLD year of the Julian Period or common year of CHRIST Year of the World Year of the Julian Period Vernall Equinox Autumnall Equinox Yeare of Christ 1 710 Aprill 23 October 27 0 96 805 Aprill 22 October 26 0 223 932 Aprill 21 October 25 0 350 1059 Aprill 20 October 24 0 477 1186 Aprill 19 October 23 0 604 1313 Aprill 18 October 22 0 731 1440 Aprill 17 October 21 0 858 1567 Aprill 16 October 20 0 985 1694 Aprill 15 October 19 0 1112 1821 Aprill 14 October 18 0 1239 1948 Aprill 13 October 17 0 1366 2075 Aprill 12 October 16 0 1493 2202 Aprill 11 October 15 0 1620 2329 Aprill 10 October 14 0 1747 2456 Aprill 9 October 13 0 1874 2583 Aprill 8 October 12 0 2001 2710 Aprill 7 October 11 0 2128 2837 Aprill 6 October 10 0 2255 2964 Aprill 5 October 9 0 2382 3091 Aprill 4 October 8 0 2509 3218 Aprill 3 October 7 0 2636 3345 Aprill 2 October 6 0 2763 3472 Aprill 1 October 5 0 2890 3599 March 31 October 4 0 3017 3726 March 30 October 3 0 3144 3853 March 29 October 2 0 3271 3980 March 28 October 1 0 3398 4107 March 27 Septemb. 31 0 3525 4234 March 26 Septem 29 0 3652 4361 March 25 Septem 28 0 3779 4488 March 24 Septem 27 0 3906 4615 March 23 Septem 26 0 4033 4742 March 22 Septem 25 29 4160 4869 March 21 Septem 24 156 4287 4996 March 20 Septem 23 283 4414 5123 March 19 Septem 22 410 4541 5250 March 18 Septem 21 537 4668 5377 March 17 Septem 20 664 4795 5504 March 16 Septem 19 791 4922 5631 March 15 Septem 18 918 5049 5758 March 14 Septem 17 1045 5176 5885 March 13 Septem 16 1172 5303 6012 March 12 Septem 15 1299 5430 6139 March 11 Septem 14 1426 5557 6266 March 10 Septem 13 1553 5684 6393 March 9 Septem 12 1680 CHAP. V. Of the Periods of Time by which the Yeares of the World may be truly reckoned As also of the Jubilees how to account them where also to begin and end them THe first Period is from the beginning of the Creation in the latter end of October to the end of Noah's Flood and containeth the number of 1657. yeares compleat the full end not being till the yeare 1658. was begun The second is from the end of the said Flood when Noah came out of the Arke to the promise made to Abraham at the time of his departure from Charran into Canaan and is a Period of * Which in adding the Periods together must be added to 1658 and not to 1657. 427. yeares almost ended The third is from the promise at Abrahams departure from Charran to the comming of the Israelites out of Egypt and doth containe
speak therefore of the divine institution of naturall dayes we are to say that the evening as well as the morning is pertinent to one and the same day but make not up the whole day for the whole day naturally is that which we call in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and is a day of day and night together And therefore in that phrase of Moses the Evening and the Morning were the first Day is a Synecdoche by which the beginning of the night and of the day is put for the whole night and day a◠by that before pointed at in Leviticus may be seen for there the day is reckoned from even to even as being that which if we respect the progresse of the Worlds Creation naturally and indeed is a true day although the artificiall day be but from the Sun-rising to the setting thereof This being premised I take the beginning of the Creation to be according to the Julian account on the twenty three day of Aprill at evening so that the first day of the World was not ended till the evening of the twenty fourth day The second day was after the same manner Aprill the twenty five The third Aprill the twenty six The fourth Aprill the twenty seventh On which day the Sun Moon and Stars were made and set in the firmament of Heaven The Sun probably in that part thereof which we now call the fourth degree of Aries The fifth day was Aprill the twenty eight The sixth Aprill the twenty nine that being the very day when the Sun and Moon were first of all in Conjunction which was therefore the first day of the moneth and might well by Adam be accounted so because it was also the very first day that ever he saw Of Adam and his fall Now that on this Day Adam sell divers of the Learned both Jews and Christians think but it is a Tenet scarcely probable not onely in regard of the multitude and variety of things don on the day that he was made both before and after his Creation but also because this sixth day concluded by Moses with these words And God beheld all that he had made and loe it was exceeding good So the Evening and the Morning were the sixth day Gen. 1.31 More like it is that Adam fell on the twelf day of May toward * Gen. 3.8 Evening when the fourteenth day of the first moneth was ending and the fifteenth which was on the sixth day of the week ready to begin which time and day agree very well to the institution of the first Passeover Exod. 12. as also to the eating of the last Passeover and crucifying of Christ on the sixth day of the Week and fifteenth day of the moneth For on that day Christ dyed even as on that day 4037. years before Christ was promised to Adam who had fallen as it were the day before towards evening as already hath been said In this year the Cycle of the Sun was ten the Dominicall letter B. the Cycle of the Moon seven the Equinox at evening on the twenty three day of Aprill when the creation began and the New Moon or first day of the first moneth on the nine and twenty day of Aprill feria sexta which was the sixth day of the Week as hath been said and is exactly true according to Calculation Also to the year of the Julian Period 2366. The Flood when the Flood came the Cycle of the Sun was 14. the Dominicall letter D. and the Cycle of the Moon ten The Vernall Equinox was on the tenth of Aprill and the Autumnall on the fourteenth of October By which is gathered that the first day of the first moneth in this year of the Flood was on the twenty one day of Aprill feria tertia the beginning of every moneth ordinarily being according to the Phasis or first vision of the Moon which in the Land of Israel and the parts thereabout might for the most part be by eleven hours and thirty minutes after the time of the mean Conjunction And at no time could she be hid longer then 28. hours and 30. minu as the learned Jews have told us Now the first day on the first Moneth being on the 21 day of Aprill sheweth that the 17. day of the second Moneth when the Flood began was on the fifth of June feria sexta even on the same day of the weeke on which the Beasts and Man was made So that as on the sixth day of the week both Man and Beast were created in like manner on the very same day of week the Flood began by which they were destroyed Know also that this first Moneth or the first Moneth of this yeere had but 29. dayes The Second third fourth fifth and sixth had 30 dayes a peice The seventh 28. the last of which was on the 13 day of October The eighth had 30. The ninth 29. The tenth 30. The eleventh 29. And the twelfth 30. the last of which was on the tenth day of Aprill in the yeare of the Julian Period 2367. So that the 27 day of the second Moneth in the said yeare was on the same day that the Flood began in the yeare before even on the fifth of June which now was Sabbath day on the which Noah came out of the Arke and offered Sacrifice at the very time of a full year of dayes after the Flood began Gen. 8.14 The reason of which reckoning thus is this namely Note this it is no meane Character of a right time That though the Ancients even in the times of Noah and Abraham used to begin their Moneth à prima 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or from the 1. sight of the Moon yet if the Moon could not be seen by reason of clouds they then accounted 30 dayes for every such Moneth though to some of them there would have been but 29 if the first sight of the Moon had been hindred Now in such a wet cloudie time as we may certainly conceive it to be when the Flood came the Moon must needs be obscured and hid for many dayes not only the 40 dayes and nights when it rained continually but even to the end of the CL. on which if some raine had not fallen but that the skie had been clear without clouds there would in all probability have been an abatement of the waters before those 150. dayes were ended but no abatement was till then if the words be taken as they Originally signifie in Gen. 8.3 And now why the seventh Moneth here mentioned had but 28 dayes is because after the 150. dayes were ended the Aire began to be cleare insomuch that Noah knew when to begin the next Moneth by sight of the Moon upon which I believe it was that Berosus said Noah ordered the yeare to the course of the Sun and the Moneth to the course of the Moon For as Wolphius truly gathereth out of Gen. Wolph De Temp. lib. 1. pag. 21. 8.22 Noah
by accounting nine and twenty dayes to the first Moneth fell into the seventh day of the weeke on which the Israelites murmured had Quailes at even and on the morrow morning Manna which they gathered six dayes but on the seventh day they found none Exod. 16.26 By which we see not onely the two and twentieth day of the second moneth was Sabbath day but also that the first Manna fell on the first day of the Week now called the Lords day in memory of our Saviours Resurrection and hath been the Christians Sabbath ever since and for the first moneth to have but 29 dayes Let this be remembred for it is a Rule to me in all the moneths in every year is more consentaneous to the motion of the Moon then to have 30 before the odd houres arise to a day which is not till the second moneth The first moneth therefore hath but 29 dayes though the second hath 30. For in one moneth according to the meane motion of the Moon from one Conjunction to another we have but 29 dayes 12 houres 44 minutes three seconds and 12 thirds I account therefore that the Israelites came out of Egypt when the nine and twentieth day of April was ending and the thirtieth beginning I account likewise that the first Manna fell on the thirtieth day of May feria prima and consequently that the nine and twentieth day of May and fifth of June were Sabbath dayes the one on the fifteenth day of the second moneth and the other on the two and twentieth That which I shall mention next is the year of the Julian Period 3703. The Temple founding and year of the World 2994. in which year King Salomon laid the foundation of the Temple on the second day of the second moneth The Cycle of the Sun was seven the Dominicall letter F. the Vernall Equinox upon the one and thirty day of March and the Cycle of the Moon seventeen By which is gathered that the first day of Nisan was on the last day of March feria prima and consequently that King Salomon began to build the Temple on the last day of Aprill which was the second day of the second moneth feria tertia for on the second day of the second moneth this great work was begun as may be seen in 2 Chronicles 3.2 This was the fourth year of King Salomon and after the comming out of Egypt the 480. not compleate but current For indeed there were but 479. years fully finished which with respect had to the place of the Sun at both times and the anticipation of the Equinoctiall from the comming of Egypt to this time of the Temple doth shew the end of their reckoning to be on the twenty six or twenty seventh day of Aprill three or four dayes and no more before the Temple was founded Thus then from the comming out of Egypt to the beginning of the building of the Temple were 479. years and about four dayes it was founded therefore in the 480. year after the comming out of Egypt as is mentioned in 1 Kings 6.1 The next that I shall mention is the year of the Julian Perion 3710. The Temple dedicated It was the eleventh year of King Salomon and year when the Temple was dedicated 1 Kings c. 6. ver 38. and Chap. 8.2 The Cycle of the Sun was 14. the Dominical letter D. the Cycle of the Moon five the Vernall Equinox March the 31. and the Autumnall Equinox October the fourth By which is gathered that the first day of the seventh moneth called Tisri was on the fifth day of October feria secunda and that the Dedication began Octob. the eleventh feria prima This was 3000. years after the Creation even in the year of the World 3001. The Kalender of which Moneth is as followeth TISRI October Tisri the seventh moneth An. Mundi 3001. anno Per. Jul. 3710. Cyclo ☉ 14. ☽ 5. In which Yeer and Moneth the Temple was dedicated 1 Kin. 8.2 1 5  E  2 6  F  3 7  G  4 8  A  5 9  B  6 10  C Sabbath-day  7 11  D 1. The first day of the Dedication 8 12  E 2. The second day 9 13  F 3. The third day 10 14  G 4. The fourth day This being the 10. day of the moneth was the Expiation day 11 15  A 5. The fifth day 12 16  B 6. The sixth day 13 17  C 7. ☜ The 7th d. of the Dedicat. which was also Sab. Day 14 18  D 8. The 8th d. on which was a solemn Assembly 2 Chr. 7.9 15 19  E 1. ¶ The first day of the Feast of Tabernacles Levit 23.24 16 20  F 2. The second day 17 21  G 3. The third day 18 22  A 4. The fourth day 19 23  B 5. The fift day 20 24  C 6. The sixt day of the Feast which was now Sabbath-day 21 25  D 7. The seventh day 22 26  E 8. The last and great day of the Feast 23 27  F On this day being the 23. of the moneth Salomon sendeth the People away 2 Chron. 7.10 24 28  G  25 29  A  26 30  B  27 31  C  28 1 Novemb. D  29 2 E  This seventh Month being ended there was nothing wanting to the Temple for the quite compleating of it whereupon it is as Codoman noteth that in 1 Kings 6.38 the Temple is said to be finished in the eighth Moneth in the eleventh year of King Salomon That is It was then finished in all the parts thereof and according to all the fashion and Ordinances of it both within and without Or as the marginall reading in our last translation expresseth It was then finished with all the appurtenances and with all the Ordinances therof Which is as Bucholcerus observeth It was dedicated saith he in the Moneth Ethanim and in the following Moneth Bul it was finished with all the Vtensils thereof All which considered we shall not need to drive the dedication into the twelfth yeare of King Salomon as some have done for if it were not dedicated till then it must necessarily follow that it lay void for a whole year together after it was finished which is very unlike Beside that this was the right year of the dedication I can further demonstrate by the courses of the Priests which served in the Temple till Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it for we may easily beleeve that in the first Sabbath of the dedication the course of Joarib began which we here see to be on the seventeenth day of October To which time if we add 224. Julian yeares in which space the courses returne to the same day againe we shall come to the year of the Julian Period 3934. on the seventeenth day of October After which we have 192. years more before we can come to the year
which must therefore make it to be in the thirtieth yeare of Herod and this not the thirtieth since he first began to reigne but the thirtieth since the death of Antigonus at the taking of Ierusalem And as for the Olympiad that will also appeare to be 193 in the first year whereof was the thirtieth year of Herod as aforesaid And why 193 is in regard Caesarea was not dedicated after it was built untill Drusus was dead as Iosephus also in the place above cited hath declared Now Drusus was Consul and alive in the fourth year of the 192 Olympiad but dyed in the same year as Velleius sheweth lib. 2. cap. 97. All which considered will make it very plain and manifest that I have rightly explained Iosephus in this particular as also that the building of the Temple by King Herod was not begun untill his twentieth year for there must be as much difference between the true and ordinarie account as is between ten and twelve That which concernes the Kalender is nothing else but the joyning of severall Moneths together which without wrong to Iosephus cannot be understood of the Hebrew and Iulian Moneths but of the Hebrew and Macedonian Moneths for their dayes accord in the Kalender but not the other The Kalender is for the yeare of the Iulian Period 4783. when Jerusalem as I have already said was destroyed by the Romans The Cycle of the Sun then was 23 the Dominicall letter G. and the Cycle of the Moon 14. By which is gathered that the first day of the first Moneth namely Nisan was on or near the last day of March for the meane conjunction of the Luminaries at Jerusalem was on the thirtieth day of March 24 minutes past two in the afternoon And therefore the Moneth being according to the Vision of the Moon could not begin untill the next day at the soonest And so also for the fifth Moneth Ab the Conjunction was on the six and twentieth day of July about 24 minutes past five in the afternoon the first day of Ab was not therefore till the twenty seventh day and consequently the ninth of Ab not till the fourth of August which day was Sabbath day But the ninth of Ab faith Scaliger was feria prima agreeing therein to the testimony of Rabbi Iose who writeth that the Temple was destroyed by Titus on the ninth of Ab and evening of the Sabbath day See Master Lively in his Persian Monarchy p. 151. which I understand of the evening ending the Sabbath Which also the Seder Olam Rabba sheweth saying when the first Temple was destroyed that day was the next after the Sabbath and the next after the weeks end and the Course of Iehoiarib and the ninth of Ab and in like manner was it at the destruction of the second Temple We have already found it to be so at the destruction of the first Temple and by these testimonies it should be so at the destruction of the second Temple And indeed the late time of the day when the Luminaries were in Conjuction do rather cast the beginning of the fifth Moneth into the day that the Seder Olam noteth then into the day before Scaliger therefore makes here a two fold calculation and approves best of that which makes the ninth of Ab to be on the first day of the weeke I shall therefore begin the first day of the first Moneth on the first of April and the first of Ab on the 28th day of Iuly as in the Kalender following may be seen And why I give it the title of a Macedonian Kalender is because the Iewes accounted the Macedonian Moneths as they did their owne changing them as other people did who had been * Postquam vero Menses bi Macedonum una oum victoribus in Asiam penetraverunt mutationem quandamsubiâ—re Quamvis enim apud plurimos Graeiorum tales manerent quales pr ncipio suerant ab aliis tamen immutati sunt et ad cujusvis populi annum civilem accommodati Quippe Judaei quibus Neomenia non à jugo sed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dependebat etiam Mecedonum Menses inde inchoanent Hanc obcausam menses Judaici Macedonici ita inter se conferuntu ut plane pro iisdem habeantur Quartus decimus namque Nisan apud Josephum cum 14. Xanthici quartus decimus Tisri dum quarto decimo Hyperberetaei plane conveniunt Larg De annis Christi lib. 1. pag. 184. conquered by the Grecians to make them serviceable to their owne account This we may see in the Antiquities of Iosephus lib 3. c. 10. An Hebrew Julian and Macedonian Kalender for the yeer of the Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in the year of the Julian Period 4783. The Cycle of the Sum then was 23 the Dominicall letter G and the Cycle of the Moon 14. The first Moneth Aprill Nisan or as Josephus calleth it Xanticus This was the first Moneth 1 1 1 G Note that in the Kasender of this year osephus joyneth the Hebrew and Mecedonians Moneth together and makes his account by them And why I every where account but 29. dayes to the first moneth See before Chap. 7. I beleeve it was not otherwise untill the Kalenders of the later Jewes came in use in which we have indeed the sirst 30. the second 29. the third 30 c.  2 2 2 A  3 3 3 B  4 4 4 C  5 5 5 D  6 6 6 E  7 7 7 F Abijah The eighth course 1 Chron. 24.10  8 1 8 G  9 2 9 A  10 3 10 B  11 4 11 C  12 5 12 D  13 6 13 E  14 7 14 F Jeshua The ninth course 1 Chron. 24.11 And now was the Passeover at which time Jerusalem began to be besieged  15 1 15 G  16 2 16 A  17 3 17 B  18 4 18 C  19 5 19 D  20 6 20 E  21 7 21 F Shechaniah The tenth course 1 Chron. 24.11  22 1 22 G  23 2 23 A  24 3 24 B  25 4 25 C  26 5 26 D  27 6 27 E  28 7 28 F Eliashib The eleventh course 1 Chron. 24.12  29 1 29 G  An Hebrew Julian and Macedonian Kalendar for the yeer of the Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in the yeer of the Julian Period 4783. The Jecod Marleek May. Ijar the second Moneth which with the Macedonians was Artemisius 1 2 30 A  2 3 1 B  3 4 2 C  4 5 3 D  5 6 4 E  6 7 5 F Jakim the twelsth course 1 Chron. 24.12  7 1 6 G  8 2 7 A  9 3 8 B  10 4 9 C  11 5 10 D  12 6 11 E  13 7 12 F Huppah the thirteenth course 1 Chron. 24.13  14 1 13 G  15 2 14 A  16 3 15 B  17 4 16 C  18 5 17
the Passover even as on the next day after the Passeover Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us to free us from the bondage of sinne and Sathan Nor in this yeare would that character which we have in Exodus from the history of the Quailes and Manna be forgotten For as we read in the sixteenth chapter on the fifteenth day of the second moneth the people murmured for lacke of meate whereupon God sent them Quailes at Even and on the morrow morning Manna which they gathered six dayes but on the seventh day they found none Exod. 16.26 By which we see not onely that the 22 day of the moneth must be Sabbath day but also that the first Manna fell on the first day of the weeke now called the Lords Day in memory of our Saviours Resurrection and hath been the Christians Sabbath ever since Which is exactly true in the yeare that I account if but 29 dayes be reckoned for the first moneth awd 30 for the second which as I have shewed before in place convenient is more consentaneous to the motion of the Moon then to have 30 for the first before the odde houres arise to a day for this could not be before the second moneth The first moneth therefore in any yeare hath but 29 dayes the second 30 the third 29 the fourth 30 c. For in one moneth according to the meane motion of the Moon from one conjunction to another we have but 29 dayes 12 houres 44 minutes three seconds and 12 thirds I account therefore that the Israelites came out of Egypt when the 29 day of April was ending and the 30 beginning which was Feria sexta I account likewise that the first Magna fell on the 30 day of May which was the 16 day of the secrnd moneth Feria prima and consequently that the 29 day of of May and fifth of June were Sabbath dayes the one on the 15 day of the second moneth and the other on the 22. And thus is this yeare truly found by the correspondence we see it hath with these characters The like confirmation I find for the yeares in which I account the Temple to be founded and dedicated by King Salomon and aster that burnt by Nebuchadnezzar For first it being true that the Israelites came out of Egypt in the yeare of the Julian Period 3224 it must needes follow that King Salomon laid the foundation of the Temple in the yeare of the same Period 3703 for it must be in the fourth yeare of King Salomon on the second day of the second moneth 480 yeares current after the comming out of Egypt as we are taught in the 1 Kin. 6.1 And that being the yeare when it was dedicated being seven yeares after must needs be in the yeare of the same Period 3710 which was not onely seven yeares after but was also the eleventh yeare of Salomon as we are likewise taught it should be in the 1 Kin. chap. 6. verse 38. and chap. 8.2 Now this I confirme both by the time that the Temple stood and also by the courses of the Priests which served in the said Temple till Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it The first of these is abundantly proved by me to be 423 yeares and some odde moneths which therefore casteth the destruction thereof into the yeare of the Julian Period 4126. Over and above which proofes of mine I have seen that since which I do much admire namely that some of the skilfull Rabbins have said and recorded it that the same number was heretofore read in the Heavens from such letters as the Starres in their position made For as Gaffarell a learned French man hath told us R. Rapoll Chomier and Abjudan have delivered to posterity the deepe secrets of a caelestiall writing and Reading which discovers many strange things to them who are able to understand it and among the rest this is one namely That a little before this Temple we now speake of was destroyed and burnt by Nebuchadnezzar it was observed that eleven of the Starres that were most verticall to it composed for a pretty while together five Hebrew Letters which being joyned together made up this word reading it from the North towards the West Hikschich which signifieth to reject and forsake without any Mercy and the number of three of them added together amounted to 423 the very space of Time that this stately piece of building had stood All this I finde in the unheard-of curiosities of James Gaffarell at the 13 chapter which whil'st I mention I look upon mine own proofes with the more confidence and though I professe no skill in such curiosities yet I will embrace truth wheresoever I finde it This then for the time of the Temple being thus the Character which I have to confirme all else about it is this namely the courses of the Priests which served in the Temple from the first Sabbath of the Dedication till Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it For we may easily believe that in the first Sabbath of the Dedication the first course which was the course of Joarib began which I have elsewhere proved by the Hebrew and Julian Kalender of that yeare which was the yeare of the Iulian Period 3710 to be on the 17 day of October To which time and yeare if we adde 224 Iulian yeares in which space the courses returne to the same day againe we shall come to the yeare of the Julian period 3934. on the 17 day of October After which we have 192 yeares more before we can come to the yeare of the Julian period 4126 in which the Temple was destroyed noting these 192 yeares to end on the 17 of October likewise And in 192 yeares we finde 417 courses with 72 dayes over and above which 72 dayes being taken out of the number of dayes which were from the beginning of that yeare of the Julian period to the said 17 day of October do direct us to the sixth day of August which then was Sabbath day and the course of Joarib even that very course of his in which the Temple was destroyed as before in the seventh Chapter pag. 44.45 c. may be seen But I cannot forget the 423 so strangely found out by Chomier for the time of the Temple Gaffarell out of him hath other periods not impertinent found out also by the foresaid Reading of the Stars as that the Kingdome of the Jewes from the beginning of the 40 yeares given to Samuel and Saul in the Acts of the Apostles to the deplorable condition of Zedechia should be 505 yeares for so indeed it was if we reckon from the beginning of the 40 yeare aforesaid to the time that Nebuchadnezzar laid his last siege against Jerusalem 430 dayes before the City was taken This number of 505 he saith was signified by five stars which composed three mysticall letters out of which was made an Hebrew word whose signification was to breake cast downe and to drive out the Number arising from those letters being 505.
must lie on his right side 40. dayes more to beare the iniquity of Judah and yet in the next year on the fifth day of the sixth moneth he is said to sit againe among the Elders of Israel chap. 8.1 Which could not be unlesse there were a moneth intercalar For 40. dayes added to 390. doe make 430. which was a greater space then could be any way from the twelfth day of the fourth moneth in the fifth year to the fifth day of the sixth moneth in the following year unlesse there were I say a moneth intercalar Nor is this a strange collection for though these things perhaps were done in a vision yet that the Prophet might not tell the people a vaine vision nor deliver unto them an unwarrantable Prophecy he must upon necessity lie hid and be absent from them so long as was the number of those dayes And indeed by putting this upon tryall by calculation I find all fully cleared For in the year of the Julian Period 4119. which was as shall be afterwards proved the fifth yeare of Jechoniah's Captivity the first day of Nisan was on the twentieth day of March that year therefore must be annus Embolimaeus and have thirteen moneths or 384. dayes For if it had been twelve moneths or 354. dayes then must the first of Nisan in the following year be on the eleventh of March which could not be because the fourteenth day thereof must not be before the Vernall Equinox which then was on the twenty seventh day of March. And therefore the first of Nisan in the first of these two years was on the two and twentieth day of March and in the next on the tenth of Aprill so will there be space enough by the fifth day of the sixth moneth for all the dayes that the Prophet mentioneth to be accomplished otherwise not And thus I am glad of this objection seeing it hath occasioned a further confirmation of the moneths mentioned in Scripture to be Lunar The next thing objected Object is the History of the Flood in which the moneths are found to be Solar because from the seventeenth day of the second moneth to the seventeenth day of the seventh moneth were an hundred and fifty dayes that is five moneths of thirty dayes a peece Whereto I answer Answ that this hinders nothing as afterward when I come to speake of the Flood shall be plainly shewed In the meane time this I adde that twelve moneths of but thirty dayes a peece amount in the whole to no more then 360. dayes whereas in a full Solar year are more by five dayes and about six hours But to help this they say that the old Patriarchs had either an epact of five dayes to be added to every year or else that in every six years they made of those five dayes an intercalar moneth to which also the six houres would reach in one hundred and twenty years at which time they had also one moneth more then in their ordinary and common years Now this time Scaliger saith was called by the name of Cheled but doth very unaptly apply it to his purpose as Petavius proves against him For Cheled is no more applyable to an age of an hundred and twenty years then to any other time or age be it either more or lesse and is onely belonging to the time or age of mans life of what length soever it be as may be seen in Psal 39.5 where that very word is used Nor again is that space of an hundred and twenty years in the sixth chapter of Genesis spoken for any other purpose then to shew the patience and long suffering of the Lord to the old World which the Apostle Peter calleth the waiting of God on them in the dayes of Noah while the Ark was preparing 1 Pet. 3.20 Beside which this is also certaine that if the sixth year forementioned were to have an intercalation in respect of the six hours there would be two intercalar moneths together I meane in every one hundred and twentieth year as is apparant by dividing the said year by six For 120. divided by six hath twenty times six in it and nothing remaining whereupon will further follow that in every one hundred and twentieth year must be 420. dayes which were very absurd to grant Nay further were it so that the ancient Patriarchs to avoid this absurdity should be thought to reckon the five dayes at the end of every year and defer the six houres till the one hundreth and twentieth year by the which time those houres amount to the space of one moneth yet still is all built but upon conjecture and that so weakly as there is little or no shew of probability in it for if there were then would there be from the Creation to the Flood no odd years but equall divisions of 120. years apiece which we know is otherwise in regard that when we divide the year of the Flood by 120. we have 95. remaining They therefore reckon far better who doe not onely account an Epact of five dayes at the end of every common year but doe also intercalate a day in every fourth year making the Epact then to be six which in the common year was but five Howbeit this still is no better then meer conjecture and cannot clearely be affirmed to be so indeed till after ages and then not so among the Jews but among some other Nations for the moneth among the Jews was Lunar as by the words used in Scripture for a moneth beside our other proofes already mentioned doth well appeare But thirdly Object it is objected out of the seven and twentieth Chapter of the first book of the Chronicles that David appointed twelve Captaines of ordinary Legions to be over the Provinces into which the whole body of the Kingdome was divided and these to serve in their courses severally throughout the twelve moneths of the year Or rather thus King David appointed twelve Captains of ordinary Legions to be the life-guard of his person and these to serve severally in their courses throughout the twelve moneths of the yeare no more moneths being mentioned for according to the number of the moneths so was the number of the Captains Salomon likewise appointed as many Stewards to provide provision for the royal Family and these as the former to serve severally throughout the twelve moneths of the year as in the fourth Chapter of the first book of the Kings may be seen The year therefore in those times had no more then twelve moneths for if there were thirteen then for one moneths space both the Kings person must be unprovided of a Guard and the royall Family destitute likewise of Provisions for their sustenance Scaliger I remember Answ once made this Objection but afterwards upon his better thoughts he cryed out against it saying Ridicula est objectio Scal. in Isag can It is a ridiculous objection and an objection qua pertinaces contendunt mensem veterem Hebraeorum lunarem
Jeremiah that Nebuchadnezzars yoke must not be endured 70 years but that within two full years it must be broken Which story is at large set downe in the 27 and 28 Chapters of Ieremiah and by Scaliger referred to the first year of Zedechia who indeed supposeth it to be the fourth year after a year of Rest of which I see no reason because the whole scope of the four and thirtieth Chapter doth demonstrate that year to be a year of Rest when Nebuchadnezzar laid his seige against Ierusalem which we know to be the ninth year of Zedechia and tenth day of the tenth moneth Ier. 52.4 Now this was in the year of the Julian Period 4124. on the seventh of Ianuary feria tertia at which time the ninth of Zedechia was still running on and was not ended till about the beginning of the fourth moneth next after Nebuchadnezzar therefore began to beseige Ierusalem on the seventh day of Ianuary in the year of the Julian Period 4124. which year was Sabbathicall from the Autumne before till the Autumne thereof and was that Sabbathicall year in which the Jews let their servants goe free in the beginning thereof thereby encouraging them to fight against the Chaldeans who then were come into the confines of Iudea ser 34.1 and fought againg the Cities thereof Ierusalem not excepted but had not yet laid their seige against it for that was not untill the time before mentioned How long this continued before the Egyptians came with an Army to succour Zedechia by raising this first seige is not expressed Jer. 37.5 but that they came and that the seige thereupon was raised is certaine This when the Jews perceived and saw that the Chaldeans were gone from them to fight against the Egyptians Jer. 37.10 they took their freed servants againe into bondage vainely perswading themselves that the Chaldeans would come back no more which proved farre otherwise For Nebuchadnezzar having put to flight the Army of Pharaoh returns againe to Ierusalem and on the fourth day of May in the year of the Julian Period 4125. renewes his seige against it * viz. by reckoning first 390. and then forty dayes Ezek. 4.5.6 for these put together doe make 430. end on the eighth day of July they must therfore begin on the fourth of May in the year next before that year in which they ended 430. dayes before the City was broken up as may be gathered out of the fourth Chapter of Ezekiel This fourth day of May was on the two and twenty day of the second moneth feria tertia from whence the seige continued without any further interruption untill the City was taken which was as I said before on the eighth day of July When therefore we read in Ier. 32.1.2 that Nebuchadnezzars Army lay before Ierusalem in the tenth year of Zedechia and eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar it is to be understood of his lying against it after this renewing of his seige and before the beginning of the fourth moneth for about the end of the third moneth or beginning of the fourth was the beginning of Zedechia's eleventh year and likewise of all the other years of his reigne insomuch that his ninth year began at the same time in the year of the Julian Period 4123 and was Sabbathicall from the Autumne thereof untill the Autumne next after From whence I conclude that if any part of Zedchia's ninth year was Sabbathicall then could to his first year be the fourth after a Rest but the sixth Hananiah therefore dyed in no other then the fourth year of Zedechia having resisted the Prophet Ieremiah from the beginning of Zedechia's reigne till then as Iearned Iunius in his Annotations upon the place well observeth And as for the burning of the Temple take this note further viz. that the Temple was burnt before the full end of Nebuchadnezzars ninteenth year 2 Kin. 25.8 For though at that time Zedechia had reigned eleven years compleat yet was not Nebuchadnezzars ninteenth year fully finished in regard that Nebuchadnezzar began his reigne something later in the year then Zedechia did for Zedechia began about the beginning of the fourth moneth and Nebuchadnezzar began not till after the seventh day of the fifth moneth at the soonest whose first year was in the end of Jehoiakims third year and beginning of his fourth in the year of the Julian Period 4107. at the Summer time of that year For in the Spring time of the year of the Julian Period 4104. towards the end of the second moneth Iosiah was slain Dan. 1.1 Jer. 25.1 Towards the end of the third the seige began but not till the fourth was entred did God give Jehoiakim into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar 2 Chro 36.6 after whom Iehoahaz reigned three moneths Then in the Summer time of the same year Iehoaikim began in the end of whose third year and beginning of his fourth was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar as comparing the Prophet Daniel to the Prophet Ieremy may be seen at which time his Father was alive as Berosus sheweth Moreover in this year in the ninth moneth and that 's the reason why the Jews fast then God gave Iehoiakim into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar he was thereupon his prisoner and bound in chaines to be carryed to Babylon but went not for afterwards by an argreement of servitude he was released and sent home viz. in the * But not till near the entring of the Spring quarter beginning of the year of the Julian Period 4108. and so became his servant 2 Kings 26.1 from whence the 70 years in Ieremy do undoubtedly take their beginning Ier. cap. 25.2 and cap. 29.10 After this Nebuchadnezzar prosecuting his victories takes all that belonged to the King of Egypt between the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates and in the mean while his Father dyed after he had reigned one and twenty years as Berosus and Ptolomy in his Mathematical Canon have declared And now upon this Nebuchadnezzar is sent for home into Babylon where he takes the whole Empire upon him and reigneth from hence 43 years as is testified by the Authours aforesaid of which more shall be spoken * viz In cha 11. An Eclipse in the fifth year of Nabopollassar afterward And note that in the Julian Period 4093. was an Eclipse of the Moon noted by Ptolomy to be in the year of Nabonassar 127. and fifth year of Nabopollassar and so indeed there was For though in this year of the Julian Period the sixth year of Nabopollassar began yet the Eclipse was whilst the fifth year was still running on for the Eclipse was on the 23 day of Aprill 29 minutes past five in the morning the sixth yeare not beginning untill some time after Shall I add any thing more A list of the Kings of Babylon from the beginning of Nabonassar then take a list of the Kings of Babylon and their years from the beginning of Nabonassar till the death
Syrians who succeeded Alexander and Alexander also himselfe are said to reigne as Grecians and not as two Kingdomes divers from one Monarchy Whereupon we read in the eighth Chapter of Daniel that the two horned Ram is expresly meant of the Medes and Persians verse 20 and that the Goate fignifieth the whole Kingdome of the Gecians Dan. 8.20.21.22 viz. of Alexonder and his successours For at the one and twentieth verse The Goate is the King of Grecia and the great horne which is betwixt his eyes is the first King Now that being broken whereas four stood up for it four Kingdomes shall stand up of that Nation but not in his strength If then there be a first King there must be no more then one and if more then one the Monarchy could not end in Alexander and if the Monarchy did not end with Alexander then the Seleucian or Syrian Kings must necessarily be part of the third Monarchy and they being part of the third Monarchy the fourth and last is the Monarchy of the Romans And now also lest it should be thought that the third Beast of the seventh Chapter doth not likewise comprehend the whole Kingdome of Grecia both of Alexander and his successours the words of the sixth verse stand thus After this I beheld and loe there was another like a leopard which had upon his back four wings of a fowle the beast had also four heads and Dominion was given him These wings were Emblems of Alexanders speedie conquests together with that suddain division of one body into four parts soone after the great horne was broken off The four heads are his four successours even as is seen in the eighth Chapter and signified there by the four hornes of a Goate By which it appeareth that both Alexander and his successours are comprehended under both Beasts for what the one expresseth by foure heads is in the other also meant by four horns then which there can be nothing plainer Thirdly Antiochus Epiphanes is described by that little horn which came fourth of one of the foure hornes of the Goate Chap. 8.9 Which beast is taken as hath been already seen for Alexander and his successours answering to the third beast of the seventh Chapter But if Antiochus belonging to the Seleucian Kingdome be a part of the third Beast he cannot also signifie the fourth or any part thereof for then one Beast should be both the third and fourth Monarchy Fourthly the Kingdome of this fourth Beast endeth with the destruction of that little horne which came up among the ten horns Chap. 7.11 and then the everlasting Kingdome of Christ succeedeth but the Kingdome of the Seleucians ended not with Antiochus many of that line succeeded afterwards and there was almost as many years from Antiochus Epiphanes death unto the comming of Christ as there were from Alexanders death to Antiochus Fifthly it is said that the life of each Beast was prolonged for a certaine time and season Dan. 7.12 But Alexanders reigne lasted no longer then six years and a few moneths after the destruction of the second Beast or Persian Monarchy And in so short a season what Periods or conversions of times could be observed Sixthly Saint Johns Beast in the Revelation is described according to the pattern of Daniels fourth Beast having ten horns and a mouth speaking great things and reigning also under the regiment of that blasphemous mouth for the space of 42 moneths or for a Time Times and halfe a Time as may be seen in the thirteenth and seventeenth Chapters of the Revelation Wherefore seeing one and the same Beast is described in both Prophecies neither in Daniel nor in the Revelation can be signified by either of them the Kingdomes of the Seleucians and Syrians For look what things concerning this Beast are told to Daniel more succinctly and abstrusely the same are revealed to Saint John more largely and as it were with a kinde of explanation And may not the ten toes in the feet of the Image serve as certaine tokens to shew that although the Beast had always ten horns in respect of the principal Provinces under it yet the ten hornes called by the name of ten Kings are not to be looked for in the first dayes of the Monarchy but in the declining estate and weakned times of the Empire as the toes signifie Seventhly it is said Dan. 2.28 There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets and hath shewed to the King what shall be in the latter dayes But the latter dayes are the dayes since the first comming of Christ this time being the last houre and the last age 1 Joh. 2 18. as Saint John hath told us whereas the Syrians or Seleucians both began and ended long before Christ was born The latter dayes therefore were not come till they were gone and the prolonging of their kingdom come to an end for as I said before the life of each Beast was prolonged for a certaine time and season Dan. 7.12 Eighthly in the dayes of these Kings or Kingdomes viz. before they be all destroyed the God of heaven shall raise up the eternall Kingdome of Christ and of his Saints Dan. 2.44 But if the fourth Kingdome be interpreted of the Seleucians then these kingdomes were all extinguished before Christs kingdome began whether we reckon it from his first or second comming whereas on the contrary Christs birth fell into the reigne of the Romans who are not utterly to be destroyed in all and every relique till his comming againe to judgement Which is manifest by that of Daniel also in the seventh Chapter namely that there shall remaine some shew or relicts of the fourth Beast untill the thrones be set verse 9. and the Books be opened verse 10. and till the son of Man come in the cloudes of heaven verse 13. and till he get all dominion and honour and Kingdomes and that all People Nations and tongues may serve him verse 14. and untill the Ancient of dayes cause judgement to be given verse 22. and till his everlasting Kingdome come which never shall have an end verse 27. All which doe properly belong unto the day of judgement and second comming of Christ and therefore the fourth Monarchy must needs be meant of the Roman Empire and not of the Syrian or Seleucian Kingdome which was decayed and gone before Christ was born for it fell first of all to Tigranes King of Armenia and afterwards to the Romans in the dayes of Lucullus and Pompey Yea and at the death of Cleopatra Augustus was sole Monarch the longest surviver of the four heads and hornes being then expired in the losse of Egypt And so the fourth Beast trampled the rest under his feet as was foretold Dan. 7.7 And note that the Iews in not expecting the comming of the Messiah untill the Roman Monarchy be destroyed have put a false glosse upon Daniel For it is as Helvicus well observeth a vaine interpretation which they bring For Daniel in
Passover to be understood of the Lamb rather then of any other thing eaten by them at that Feast But how will that place in Iob. 19.14 be answered where the day of Christs death is called the Preparation of the Passover It is called there the Preparation of the Passover not in regard of the Passover but in regard of the Sabbath in the Passover as Master Perkns observeth In Marke therefore chap. 15. verse 42. it is called the Preparation not of the Passover but the preparation which went before the Sabbath And in Luke 23.54 It was the Preparation saith the Evangelist and the Sabbath drew on Which Sabbath was an high day because of the Chagigah Passover which was then to be eaten ae well as on the day before Or else thus The forenoon of the day of Christs death was the Preparation to the eating of the Passeover Bullocke and in the afternoone was the Preparation of the Sabbath And thus is this Text answered From it also appeareth that the translation of dayes which Scaliger speaketh of was not in use so soone as these times For though the late Iewes tell us that the constitutions thereunto belonging were set forth by Eleazar in the beginning of the second Temple and that they have a book treating of the motion of the Sun the Moon said to be written by Rabbi Gamaliel in which this translation of dayes is confirmed although I say they tell us these things yet will the whole be found inventions of a later age For when the Authors of the Mischna and Thalmud lived the sixteenth day of Nisan might be on the Sabbath day as is written Cod. Pesachim cap. 7. And if the sixteenth were and might be Sabbath day then both was and might the fifteenth be feria sexta as it was in this year of our Saviours Passion Learned Langius hath gallantly declared this howbeit he agreeth with those who say Christ and the Iewes kept not one and the same day And the reason of their difference he taketh to be in regard of two chief Sects among the Iewes viz. the Karraeans and the Thalmudists who though they both began their Moneths according to the Phasis or Vision of the Moon yet in regard of the manner of their observation they did sometimes differ a day each from other insomuch that that which to the Karraeans was the second day of the Moneth The Thalmudists accounted but the first And so it was saith he in that year when Christ suffered Now Christ following the Karraeans did therfore eat the Passover one day sooner then the rest of the Iewes who followed the Thalmudists But I doubt much of the truth of this opinion not only because all the Iewes kept one and the same day as I have already shewed but also because it maketh Christs Passion as he accounts the difference now and in this yeare to be on the Thursday and fifth day of the weeke which is contrary to the Scriptures and to all the Creeds of the Christian Church I confesse him indeed to be a man of full deepe learning much reading and great knowledge in the Tongues but in this I doe beleeve he will have but few to follow him especially considering what the Apostle saith in 1 Cor. 15.4 namely That Christ rose againe the third day according to the Scriptures wheras by his opinion he must not arise untill the fourth day If then the third be according to the Scriptures the fourth is not but is to be refused of all them who will be guided by the Scriptures CHAP. XXIII The times of Vespasian and Titus together with the Destruction of Jerusalem WHen the reignes of Galba Otho and Vitellius had well neare measured the length of a year then was Vespasian advanced to the Empire in the second yeare of whose reigne his sonne Titus destroyed the City and Common-wealth of the Jewes this destruction falling out to be in the yeare of the Iulian Period 4783. and seventyeth yeare of Christ according to the Vulgar and common account The Ancients as Egesippus Clemens of Alexandria Eusebius Hierom and others say that it was 40 yeares after Christ's Passion and the reason of that I take to be because many of the Fathers accounted Christ's Baptisme to be in the twelfth yeare of Tiherius and his Passion in the fifteenth which was certaine an absolute error as I have already plainly shewed I take it therefore for granted that this was the yeare when Jerusalem was destroyed and have already proved it so in the seventeenth Chapter It was without doubt a dismall overthrow and sundry were the Signs and tokens that went before it of which we read at large in Josephus De bello Judaico lib. 7. cap. 12. as also in Eusebius his Eclesiasticall History lib. 3. cap. 8. There was a terrible blazing Starre or Comet fashioned like a Sword which for a years space in threatning manner hung over the City The Moon suffered an Eclipse for twelve nights together Before the Warre in the Feast of Sweet-bread upon the eighth day of April in the night a clear light as bright as day was seene in the Temple abiding the full space of halfe an houre And upon the same Feast day a Calfe being prepared for the Sacrifice brought forth a Lamb in the middle of the Temple The East Gate of the inward Temple being a Gate of Brasse fast locked and barred opened by its own accord this was about the middle of the night and much labour there was to shut it up againe Some few dayes after upon the 21. day of May a little before Sun-setting in the Skies were seen Armies of men fighting and Horses and Chariots running too and fro And on the day of Pentecost the Priests entring into the Temple according to their custome heard a terrible voice sounding out these words Let us go hence But that saith Josephus which was more terrible then all these was the crie of one Josus the sonne of Anani He was a man of the common sort of people and brought up in the Country who in the dayes of Albinus the Roman Governour of Judea Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles four yeares before the beginning of their Warres suddainly as he was in the Temple began to cry after this manner A voice from the East a voice from the West a voice from the four Winds a voice against Jerusalem and the Temple a voice against the Bridegroomes and Brides and a voice against the whole multitude of the City In which manner he continued crying day and night up and downe the streets without any hoarsnesse or wearinesse for the space of seven yeares and five Moneths but chiefly on the Feast dayes neither cursing them that hurt him nor thanking them that releeved him and being brought before the Deputy by the Magistrates and Nobles of the City they whip this flesh to the very bones for which he neither wept nor craved mercy but at every stroke cried Woe woe