read every sabbath day. From this time, also, must the erection of synagogues be dated; for as the people were to assemble in their several cities to hear these public readings; houses for that purpose would be absolutely necessary in the winter season. The manner of reading the portion appointed for each sabbath was this:-First, a verse was read in the original Hebrew; then it was interpreted, by an appointed minister, into the Chaldee; and lastly, the sense was explained by another person, who was one of the readers.* The division of the sacred scriptures into verses is supposed to have been made about the time of Ezra, for the more convenient interpretation of them, period by period. This reading of the law was continued during many years, till it was prohibited by Antiochus Epiphanes; and then sections of the prophets were substituted for it. But when the Jews were afterwards delivered from his persecution, and the law was restored, the reading of it was resumed, as a first lesson; and the section from the prophets retained, as a second lesson. That both were thus read in the synagogues in the time of our Lord and his apostles is evident, from several passages in the New Testament. The great work of Ezra was the setting forth a correct and complete edition of the Hebrew Scriptures, as far as the book which bears his name. In all of which he doubtless had the special guidance of God's Holy Spirit: for as "all scripture is given by inspiration of God," for the use of his church; so has it been preserved from error and the corruptions of men, in all ages, by his Spirit; as well as were joined together, several times; so as to complete the reading of the whole, in the course of the year. * See Note J. t.Luke iv. 16. Acts xiii. 15. rescued from their enmity, and attempts to destroy it, by his providence. The Jews reckoned the number of the books of scripture, which were of divine authority, to be twenty-two. . But they did this merely to make it agree with the number of letters in their alphabet : counting several (the twelve minor prophets for instance) as one book. According to the list given by Josephus, they consisted of the same as those in our translation of the Old Testament; though not arranged in the same order. The law, consisting of the five books of Moses, had the first place; the second was occupied by the prophets, which included all the other books of the Old Testament, except the Psalms, the Proverbs, Eccle siastes, and the Song of Solomon: these four, under the title of Holy Writings, * were placed last. wwhei the scriptures of the Old Testament were divided into verses, they were not, as at present, distinguished by numerical figures. This, as well as their division into chapters,t is a modern improvement, the origin of which is as follows. Cardinal Hugo, who flourished about the year 1240, was much engaged in the study of the holy scriptures, on which he wrote a Commentary. In the course of his work the usefulness of a concordance occurred to him, and he consequently invented the first book of that kind. With the assistance of the monks' of his corder, he soon completed this useful work, in' the application of which he found it needful to divide the sacred books into sections; and this was the origin of the chapters, as we now have them. These sections These four were called by the general name of psalms, and as such are referred to by our Lord. See Luke xxiv. 44. The psalms were always divided as they now are. # He had been a Dominican monk. the Cardinal subdivided into smaller portions, to which he referred by the first seven letters of the alphabet using all of them when the chapter was long, and only some of them when it was shorter. When this Concordance was published, all who desired to use it divided their bibles as he had done, to make them agree with it. About the year 1430, a famous Jewish rabbi, named Isaac Nathan or Mordecai Nathan, being conversant with many learned christians, and frequently disputing with them, came to the knowledge of Hugo's Concordance, which by this time had been greatly improved by other hands. The benefit of this work was so apparent, that he determined to have one for the use of the Jews; and accordingly began a Concordance to the Hebrew Bible, which he finished in seven years. He followed the plan of Hugo, in dividing the sacred books into chapters; but he made an improvement on the subdivisions: using for them the ancient verses, to which he now affixed numerical figures. This work of Rabbi Nathan was finished just after the invention of printing; by means of which it came into general use among the Jews; and it had the same effect on the Hebrew Bibles as Hugo's Concordance had on the Latin, by causing the division of the several books into chapters. Nathan's improvement, of numerical figures, with the ancient verses, was soon after adopted into the Latin Bibles; and the Greek New Testament underwent divisions and subdivisions similar to those of the Old Testament, in order to make it agree with a Concordance published about the same time by Stephanus. Such is the account of the order and arrangement of our bibles, as we now have them. Of course I need not tell you when and how we obtained the blessing of read ing and hearing in our own tongue the precious word of God. But I would have you observe how wonderfully Jews and christians, Roman catholics and protestants have been rendered instrumental in carrying on that work of God, by which we may hope, ere long, the whole world will be evangelized, according to his gra cious promises. LETTER XXIV. As we have no longer the authority of the sacred scriptures for our guide, we must henceforth be content with such information as can be obtained from the apochryphal writers, and others, who have transmitted to us the histories of the several kingdoms to which the people of Israel were tributary, after their return from Babylon. No specific history of the Jews was written at this time that by Josephus was not composed till after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus; and consequently not before the seventieth year of the christian era. He is an author not to be implicitly relied on, as he states many facts which common sense must reject; and many others which must have happened, as to time and manner, very differently to his account of them. Artaxerxes Longimanus died in the forty-first year of his reign; about four years after Nehemiah obtained his second commission, He was succeeded by his son Xerxes, who retained the crown only forty-five days; being murdered by his brother Sogdianus. This unnatural conduct, with some other atrocities of Sogdianus, having rendered him hateful to his people, he sought to destroy the rest of his brothers, lest any of them should be raised to the throne. One of them, named Ochus, gaining some intimation of his designs, raised an army, and being supported by the principal nobility and governors of provinces, deposed Sogdianus, and put him to death; to avenge, as he said, the death of Xerxes. Ochus having thus obtained the crown, changed his name to Darius; to which historians have added the surname of Nothus. I shall not relate the events of his reign, any farther than our principal subject demands. Nehemiah, as I have before intimated, was left in the undisturbed possession of his government, to carry on the reformation of the Jewish church and state. Eliashib the high priest, after having held his office forty years, died in the eleventh year of Darius, and was succeeded by his son Joiada. About this time Egypt revolted from the Persians under Amyrtæus, who made himself king of that country. Nevertheless, according to the declaration of God, by the prophet Ezekiel, it never became eminent as before; but continued a "base kingdom" during fifty years only, when it was again brought into subjection to Persia. The completion of Nehemiah's reform is placed in the fifteenth year of Darius Nothus, and is very properly considered as a fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy of seven weeks;* for from the appointment of Ezra to this work of restoration, till the year above-mentioned, was exactly forty-nine years. To this period also must be referred the building of the Samaritan temple, on Mount Gerizim; for on the expulsion of Manasseh the son of Joiada, who had married the daughter of Sanballat, he took refuge with his father-in-law; and it is inferred that many other Jews who had married strange women, * Daniel ix. 25. |