THE

SACRED INTERPRETER.

PART I.

CHAP. I.

OF SOME MATTERS NECESSARY TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE FIRST PLACE.

SECTION I.

An Account of the Four Ancient Monarchies; necessary for the understanding of the State and Condition of the Jews, and thereby of the Holy Scriptures.

As in the several ages of the world a great many particular countries were governed by their respective kings, so there were four principal or great monarchies, which succeeded each other, and which had the chiefest authority and power, and the largest dominions in subjection under them: in the histories of which, those who read the unexpected and most surprising success on the one hand, and at other times the no less wonderful disappointments, cannot but observe the providence of God, both in the first establishment of, and also in the periods put to, each of them, and the changes made from the one

to the other when the Divine pleasure had once been accomplished, and the ends brought about for which they were at first supported, and afterwards discontinued".

These principal monarchies were, the Assyrian, the Persian, the Grecian, and the Roman.

First, the Assyrian, founded by Nimrod, about the year of the world 1771, who had his seat at Babel, or Babylon, on the river Euphrates, whence the country was called Babylonia; and also at Nineveh, so called from his son Ninus, on the river Hiddekel, the same with Tigris. This empire continued above fourteen hundred years, till a conspiracy being entered into by Arbaces and Belesis, the deputy-governors of Media and Babylon, against Sardanapalus, an effeminate prince, a d division was made of the monarchy in the year of the world 3257; when Arbaces, governor of Media, called in Scripture Tiglathpileser, one of the chief conspirators, seized upon Media and Persia, and the neighbouring provinces; and also, upon Sardanapalus' destroying himself in a funeral pile at Nineveh, he was owned king of Assyria, and resided at Nineveh. Belesis, the other of the conspirators, governor of Babylon, called

a So visible also, in other ages, was the hand of God in the subversion of the Greek Church, (which was become very corrupt in faith and practice,) and in the conquest of the Grecian emperors, at the first enterprised by a small number of undisciplined Arabians, or Saracens, under Mahomet and his successors, the caliphs, till at length they became masters of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, and extended their conquests as far as Persia. See Ockley's History of the Saracens, part i. To these afterwards, the Turks, another fierce nation of people, opposed themselves, till at length they became their masters, (having embraced the Mahometan religion, which they found so agreeable to their own tempers and manners,) and transferred the imperial authority to themselves.

b Gen. x. Usher, Annal, A. M. 1771. c Gen. x. 11. the marginal reading. Bochartus apud Poole et Patrick in loc. d Usher, A. M. 3257. * 2 Kings xv. 29.

Nabonassar, and in Scripture Baladan, made himself king of Babylon, in Chaldea; and there his successors resided for sixty-six years, till the year 3323; when the seed-royal failing at Babylon, Esarhaddon, then king of Assyria, obtained Babylon too, and reunited it to the ancient Assyrian monarchy, which is also called by the name of the Babylonian or Chaldean monarchy, from those kings who kept their court at Babylon, a city of Chaldea, as those especially did who succeeded Esarhaddon. This monarchy is reckoned to have lasted near seventeen hundred years, either in a larger or smaller extent, from the first beginning thereof by Nimrod, to its period by Cyrus.

Many of the Assyrian and Babylonian kings were as scourges in the hands of God, to chastise both the kingdoms of Judah and Israel for their sins: such as Pul, who is supposed to be the father of Sardanapalush, and Tiglathpileser, who subdued and carried into captivity a great many from the northern parts of the kingdom of Israel, as about Galilee and Gilead; and Salmaneser, and after him Esarhaddon, made captive the rest of the ten tribes : and at length Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, carried away also the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which is called the Babylonian captivity'.

The second monarchy was the Persian, or of the Medes and Persians, established by Cyrus, the son of Cambyses, king of the Persians in the year of the world 3466; which continued about two hundred and eight years, till Alexander put an end to it by conquering the Persians.

This Cyrus was chosen general of the Medes and Persians, in their war against the Assyrians, or Ba

f 2 Kings xx. 12.

Usher, A. M. 3323. h2 Kings xv. 19. 1 Chron. v. 26. i 2 Kings xv. 29. k2 Kings xvii. 6, 24. compared with Ezra iv. 2, 10, 12 Kings xxiv.

bylonians. At length he took the city of Babylon, Belshazzar, the king thereof, being slain. For the present Cyrus left the city and kingdom of Babylon to his uncle Cyaxares, the king of Media, called in Scripture Darius the Median". But after his death Cyrus had the possession of the whole eastern empire, his father Cambyses, king of Persia, being also dead; so that now Cyrus was the first Persian monarch in the year of the world 3468. He released the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, and his successors permitted them to settle again in their own land, as in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

The third monarchy was the Grecian, founded by Alexander the Great, king of Macedon in Greece, after he had overthrown the Persian army, in the year 3674. This monarchy lasted about three hundred years, till Augustus was made emperor of Rome. Alexander being dead, each of his captains seized on what share they could of his vast dominions; of which four kingdoms were the most considerable, viz. Egypt, Syria, Greece, and the Lesser Asia, or Pergamus, which continued till the Romans subdued them. Whilst Alexander lived, the Jews were permitted their own laws and religion in peace; but under his successors, especially the kings of Egypt and Syria, they often suffered much, though they were sometimes favoured by them.

The fourth monarchy was the Roman, established in the year 3976, when Octavius, afterwards surnamed Augustus, had the sole administration of the Roman government conferred on him, about twentyseven years before Christ: for the better understanding whereof it may be here observed, that at the first the Romans had been governed by kings, and afterwards for many ages in the form of a commonwealth, wherein there were senators or magistrates,

m Dan. v. 31.

(somewhat like unto our parliament-men,) as also two chief officers, yearly chosen, called consuls. But at length discords and factions among themselves, and the ambition. of some of their generals, occasioned civil wars, which were managed chiefly between two great men, who headed the rest, viz. Julius Cæsar and Pompey. Such was the ambitious spirit of these two, that it was remarked of them, that neither could Pompey endure an equal, nor Cæsar a superior. At length it came to a battle in the plains of Pharsalia, in Thessaly, where Pompey being beaten, fled into Egypt; but there, instead of being succoured, he was basely murdered. Cæsar, being quit of his rival, managed his interest so at Rome, that he was by degrees made perpetual dictator. The dictator among the Romans was an officer having absolute power for a short time on great and urgent occasions; but Cæsar being made perpetual, put an end thereby to the old form of government, and the chief authority of the senate, and became in effect as sole emperor; but he was soon after slain in the senate-house by some who affected the ancient liberty of the commonwealth. This occasioned new disturbances, and a new civil war between Octavius, called also Octavianus, the nephew and adopted son of Julius Cæsar, and Anthony, one of the consuls : but after some time, Octavius, partly by his wit and policy, and partly by his valour and good success, with some mixture of severity towards his opponents, having vanquished Anthony, gained so much upon the senate, as to have the whole authority put into his hands, to do whatsoever he pleased; and also a new title conferred on him, which was that of Augustus; a term, which in their language was wont to be applied to what was sacred to their gods,

n

n Dion. Cassius, 1. 51. ad initium, TOTE ęwToy о Kaιong тo прaτos παν μόνος εσχεν, Autoxpatwę ovtws, Dion. Cassius, 1. 53. p. 591.