ing to the restored text of Manetho ;* and a canon of the Assyrian, Persian, Greek, and Roman kings, according to the Ptolemaic Canon, as preserved and continued by Theon, down to the end of the second Sothic Cycle, which terminated A. D. 138 of the common era, or A. D. 135 of the true era. To the first of these we add the year from the Exodus: to the second, the year of the Egyptian empire; to the third, the year of the era of Nabonassar; and to all the corresponding years B. C. the chronology of St. Paul, Acts xiii, gives to the wanderings in the wilderness, forty years, to the judges four hundred and fifty years, to Saul forty, to David forty, and to Solomon four years; that is, five hundred and seventy years from the Exodus, to the building of the temple, exclusive of the time which Samuel judged Israel after the death of Eli, before the accession of Saul, which is generally reckoned twenty or twenty two years; making the whole period five hundred and ninety two years. (2.) The chronology which Josephus followed gave five hundred and ninety two years. (Ant. 8:3. 1.) (3.) The Jews in China, who separated from their brethren in the first century of the christian era also read five hundred and ninety two years. Jahn, Heb. Com. c. 4. §33. N. 1; on authority of Michaelis, Alt. Orient. Bibl. Th. V. No. 71, S. 81, etc. *The correction, or restoration of the text of Manetho, was made in Vol. 9, pp. 198-210. The principle of correction was deduced from the history and present state of the text of Manetho, and consisted in comparing all the copies of his lists of kings, as preserved in the various historians, and assuming the highest number of years given to the reign of each king, as the probable ORIGINAL number of Manetho. This number is no where definitely settled in Scripture. The best chronologists assign to it 17 years. No names are given by Manetho in this dynasty, but its extent is limited by dates in the Cynic The same may be said here, as in the preceding note. The interregnum is rejected by Calmet, but retained by Usher and Hales. But the principles upon which we proceed, that of taking the chronology of the Bible according to the literal reading of the text, compels us to admit it. The proof is made out thus :-Jehoash of Israel, reigned sixteen years, (2 K. 13:10.) Amaziah of Judah began to reign in the 2d year of Jehoash, and reigned twenty nine years, (2 K. 14:1, 2.); that is, fifteen years after the death of Jehoash, (2 K. 14: 16.) Jehoash was succeeded by Jereboam, who was cotemporary with Amaziah fifteen years. Amaziah was slain by conspirators, and was subsequently succeeded by his son Azariah, in the 27th year of Jeroboam, (2 K. 15 : 1.); that is, eleven years after his father's death. No names are given in this dynasty. The old chronicle gives 228-Afric. 135-Euseb. Gr. text, 178-Arm. 172. * See Vol. 9, pp. 204-206, for the reasons of this classification. For the authority for making Sethos and Sesostris identical, see ante pp. 281-285, Sesostris the Hornet of Exodus, 23:28, Deut. 7:20, Josh. 24 : 12. Comp. also Ker. B. 2: cc. 102-210. This dynasty covers the era of the Trojan war; and hence it is in vain to seek the PROTEUS of the Greeks, or any of his immediate predecessors or successors, in any of Manetho's lists. This dynasty, according to the chronology of Manetho, extended from B. C. 1366 to B. C. 1138; and Troy was taken, according to Eratosthenes, Dionysius Argivus, P. Cato, Dionysius Halicar., Diod. Sic., Tatian and Eusebius, B. C. 1183; according to Apollodorus Solinus, and the Greek chronologists referred to by Eusebius, 1184; but Timæus says, 1193; Parian Chronicle, 1209; Diæarchus, 1212; the life of Homer, ascribed to Herodotus, 1270; and Duris Samis, 1335. Of these fifteen historians, it will be seen that all place the Trojan war within the period covered by this dynasty. |