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the enquiry, is Josephus. Josephus was born at Jerufalem four years after Christ's ascension. He wrote his history of the Jewish war some time after the destruction of Jerufalem, which happened in the year of our Lord seventy, that is, thirty-feven years after the ascension; and his history of the Jews he finished in the year ninetythree, that is, fixty years after the afcenfion.

At the head of each article, I have re ferred, by figures included in brackets, to the page of Dr. Lardner's volume, where the section, from which the abridgement is made, begins. The edition used is that of 1741.

I.

(p. 14.) Mat. xi. 22. "When he (Jofeph) heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea, in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned afide into the parts of Galilee."

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In this paffage it is afferted, that Arche

laus

to

laus succeeded Herod in Judea; `and it is implied, that his power did not extend Galilee. Now we learn from Josephus, that Herod the Great, whose dominion included all the land of Ifrael, appointed Archelaus his fuccessor in Judea, and assigned the reft of his dominions to other fons; and that this difpofition was ratified, as to the main parts of it, by the Roman emperor *.

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:

St. Matthew says, that Archelaus reigned, was king in Judea. Agreeably to this, we are informed by Josephus, not only that. Herod appointed Archelaus his fucceffor in Judea, but that he also appointed him with the title of king; and the Greek verb βασιλευα, which the evangelift uses to denote the government and rank of Archelaus, is used likewife by Josephus †.

The cruelty of Archelaus's character, which is not obfcurely intimated by the

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evangelist, agrees with divers particulars in his history, preserved by Josephus. the tenth year of his government, the chief of the Jews and Samaritans, not being able to endure his cruelty and tyranny, presented complaints against him to Cesar*."

II. (p. 19.) Luke iii. 1. "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cefar-Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and of the region of Trachonitis-the word of God came unto John."

By the will of Herod the Great, and the decree of Augustus thereupon, his two fons were appointed, one (Herod Antipas) tetrarch of Galilee and Peræa, and the other (Philip) tetrarch of Trachonitis and the neighbouring countries. We have therefore these two persons in the situations in which St. Luke places them; and also, that they were in these situations in the fifteenth

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year of Tiberius, in other words, that they continued in poffeffion of their territories and titles until that time, and afterwards, appears from a passage of Jofephus, which relates of Herod, " that he was removed by Caligula, the successor of Tiberius *; and of Philip, that he died in the twentieth year of Tiberius, when he had governed Trachonitis and Batanea and Gaulanitis thirty-feven years t.

III. (p. 20.) Mark v. 171. " Herod had fent forth, and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison, for Herodias' fake, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her."

With this compare Jos. Ant. l. xviii. c. 6, fec. 1. "He (Herod the tetrarch) made a visit to Herod his brother-Here, falling in love with Herodias, the wife of the said Herod, he ventured to make her proposals of marriage*."

: Again, Mark vi. 22. " And when the daughter of the faid Herodias came in and danced"

With this also compare Jof. Ant. l. xviii. c. 6. fec. 4. "Herodias was married to Herod, fon of Herod the Great. They had a daughter, whose name was Salome; after