Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

Several

Jewish years.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

S. 10. Because the fews made ufe of Solar years, but Lunar Months, they muft of neceflity, befides farts of the the 12 ordinary Months, have interpofed at certain' times an extraordinary one: From whence it comes that they divided their years into the common years. And whereas their Months confifted by turns of 30, and 29 days; the firft are called the compleat, the last the defective Months: And to prevent any Confufion which might arife from this alternate change in the Tranflation of the Feria's, they were obliged either to augment or diminish the number of days of certain Months; fo that the years of the Jews were divided into fix feveral forts: For,

The Common Year was divided into

[blocks in formation]

Thefe varieties of years proceeding from the interpolation of days affected only the three Months Adar, Marchefvan and Caflen: For in the Embolifmean year there were two Months of Adar, and in the abounding year the Month Marchefvan was always compleat, as in the defective year the Month Calen was always defective: So that in the firft there were always three fucceffive compleat Months, in the laft always three fucceffively defective.

S. 11. If any fewift year be propofed, you may ca- How to fily distinguish whether 'tis Common or Embolimal, now whe by finding out the Character of the Lunar Cycle. In ther a proa word, divide the given Number by 19; the Quoti- pafed Jewent gives the Lunar Cycles elapfed fince the commence- ifh year is ment of their Epocha; and the Remainder gives you Common or the Character of the Lunar Cycle for that year. If Embolifnothing remains the Character is 19. Now the Cha- mal. being found, the queftion is easily refolved, by confi dering that in the decennoval progreffion the following years were Embolifmal, viz. 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17,

19.

CHA P. III.

Of the Epocha of the Deluge.

RULES.

1. This Epocha ought in all refpects to be congruous to the Hebrew Text written by Mofes.

2. According to the 2th and 7th Chapters of Geneis the Distance betwixt this Epocha and that of the World, ought to be 1656 years.

3. It must agree in all respects with the other Intervals of Time, till the beginning of the vulgar Chriftian Epocha, which contain 2293 years.

4. Care is to be taken that none of the Patriarchs be involved in the Waters of the Deluge.

5. Thus the Deluge will fall in the year of the Julian
Period 2420, in Autumn, Cycle ©. 12. ). 7.
6. And fince therefore there are 1419 years and near
10 Months difference betwixt the Beginning of the.
Julian Period and the Epocha of the Deluge, if
the laid Sum be added to the number of years fince
the Deluge, the Product will be exactly correfpon-
dent to the year of the Julian Period. But if
the aforefaid Number of years and Months be fub-
ftracted from the year of the Julian Period, the
Refidue fhews the year and Month of the Epocha of
the Deluge.

Whether S. 1.PLiny in his Natural Hiftory, Diodorns Siculus

He years

archs

monthly gears.

Bibl.l.1. as likewife Macrob.us Saturn l. I. c. the Pa. 12. with many others,relate that among the Egyptians their years were in moft ancient times fometimes of one Month, fometimes of two, three or four Months; which has perhaps moved Varro (according to Lactan. tius his Teltimony l. 2. c. 13.) to interpret the Computation of Mofes not of Solar years but Lunar years or Alonths. But this may be fufficiently confuted fince mention is made in Genefis 8. 13. c. 7. v. 11. c. 8. v. 5, 14. of the first, fecond and feventh Months, which deftroys this Notion. Befides that according to this fuppofition the Patriarchs must have procreated Children at the Age of five, fix and feven years, as is most evident in Gen. 11.26. where Thara the Father of Abraham, is faid to have begot Abraham in the 70th year of his Age. Not to mention that at this rate the Patriarchs must have been very short lived.

Bether

Solar or

§. 2. As moft Chronologers agree in this Point, that they were the years ufed by the Patriarchs were not much different from thofe of the Julian Calendar; fo they Lune So are divided in their Opinions, whether in thofe anciham years. ent Times they made their Computations by Luna-So

lar or Solay years. The Jews are of Opinion that the year ufed at the Deluge was the fame with their ordinary year,confifting of 12 Months,according to theMotion of the Moon. Some of their Rabbi's have been vain enough to pretend to perfwade the World that during the time of the Deluge, the two great Luminaries stood

[ocr errors]

ftill in the point they happened to poffefs when the Deluge began, and that Noah diftinguifh'd the times of the days, nights, months and years, partly by the natural inftinct that was in fome Beafts within the Ark, of distinguishing the Times, as the Afs, Cock, Crow, c. partly by a certain Gem of the fame Nature with that by which, they fay, Mofes knew the exact difference of Times when he converfed with God for 40 days. But that Notion apart, there are not a few among the Chriftians, efpecially Henricus Buntingus and William Lange, who agree with the Jems in their Suppofition concerning the Luna-Solar years. But Scaliger is quite of another Sentiment, being perfwaded that before the Babylonian Captivi ty there were not the leaft Footsteps of thefe LunaSolar years to be met with in the Holy Scripture; becaufe it is faid of David and Solomon, That they had twelve Officers which provided Provifions for the King and his Houfbold; and that each Man made Provifion for his Month in the year: And that therefore if the Luna-Solar year had been in ufe among the fews at that time, there must have been thirteen Officers by reafon of the Embolifmean year, confifting of thirteen Lunar Months. It is for this reafon that Scaliger as well as Johannes Behmius, Ubbo Emmius, Sethus Calvifius and others, plead for the Solar year at the time of the Deluge,each Month,like thofe of the Egypti ans, confifting of 30 days, with an addition of five days at certain Intervals. I must confefs 'tis of no great confequence as to the Hiftorical Truth, whether we admit the Luna Solar or Solar years; yet it cannot be denied but that there are strong probabilities to be met with in the Hiftory of the Deluge, which appear on behalf of the Solar years. It is faid in Genefis Chap. 7. v. 11. That on the 17th day of the second Month all the Fountains of the Earth and the Windows of Heaven were opened, and cap. 8. v. 3. that the Waters began to abate after the end of an hundred and fifty days; and cap. ib. v. 4. that the Ark rested on the Jeventeenth day of the feventh Month. From whence it is evident that these could be no Lunar Months, each of which confitting only of 29 days and 12 ininutes, could not anake up the number of 150 days. It is therefore most probable, that they regulated

then

The diffe

themselves at that time according to the fame Calendar, which afterwards was called the Egyptian, each Month of which contained exactly 30 days; and at the end of every year an Addition of five days, be"" fides that of fix days at the end of every Age,consisting of 120 years, (of which alfo mention is made in Ge nefis c. 6. v. 3) In which point alfo Dionyfius Petavius Lib. 9. c. 9. de Doct. Temp. feems to agree with Scaliger, though in most other matters he is contradictory to his Opinion:

5. 3. The following Table reprefents the vast dif rence be- proportion betwixt the Greeks on the one, and the twixt the Hebrews and Latines on the other fide, concerning the Hebrew & number of the years of the Antediluvian Patriarchs. Greek

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Various O- 5. 4. Both the ancient and modern Authors are expintonston-tremely divided in their Opinions concerning this vaft cerning difproportion betwixt the Hebrew and Greek Text. bis diffe- St. Auftin Lib. 19. c. 43. de Civ. Dei. alledges, that

rence.

fome being pre-poffelsed with an Opinion that the years of the Patriarchs were to be understood of Lunar or Monthly years, had inferted these Alterations in the Verfion of the LXX Interpreters. Morinus with fome others, on the other hand maintain that the Hebrew Text is corrupted. But among all the modern Authors, Haacus Voffius and Bryon Walton plead moft ftrongly for the Authority of the Greek Verfion; and ac

cufe

« ZurückWeiter »