down the Jordan valley we come to Tubukat Fahil or "Terrace of Fahil," standing out in front of the hills, and several hundred feet above the plain below; here, on a mound affording a level area of four or five acres, are considerable ruins, which in all probability mark the site of the ancient city of Pella, to which, as Eusebius informs us, the Christians withdrew, in consequence of a Divine admonition, before the siege and destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. A fine fountain bursts forth at the foot of the mound, and much of the ground is cultivated by the Bedawin. About three miles south of Fahil, the Wady Yabis, still bearing the name of the ancient Jabesh-gilead, that stood on its banks, descends to the plain, and below this is the ravine of Wady Ajlun, containing many fine fountains, which Dr. Robinson considers to be Bithron, through which Abner ascended to reach Mahanaim (2 Sam. ii. 29). Still further south, and almost midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, the Nahr Zerka, called in the Bible the "brook" Jabbok, and once the river of Gad (2 Sam. xxiv. 5), breaks through the mountains by a deep wild chasm, and flows off to join the Jordan near the ford of Damieh. The Zerka separates Jebel Ajlun (Mount Gilead) from the Belka, and drains a large portion of the eastern plateau; it receives several tributaries, of which the principal one runs down from the springs at Amman (Rabbath Ammon), and the stream is perennial, swelling so much in winter that it becomes impassable in the lower portion of its course. The earliest mention of the river is when Jacob "passed over the ford Jabbok" (Gen. xxxii. 22), and after wrestling all night with the angel, received the name of Israel; the Jabbok is also mentioned as the border of the children of Ammon, and afterwards as the boundary between the kingdoms of Og and Bashan, as also between the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Lower down the Jordan valley the Wady Shueib falls in, and below this is the mound of Nimrin, the Nimrah or Beth-nimrah of the Bible. Still further to the south the Wady Hesban brings down the drainage of the country round Heshbon, and immediately beyond rises Jebel Nebbeh, the ancient Mount Nebo, whence Moses before his death gazed on the Promised Land which he was forbidden to enter. On the slopes of Jebel Nebbeh Dr. Tristram believes that he has found the site of Zoar in some ruins called Ziara, but these remains, situated 3,000 feet above the valley, can scarcely represent the Zoar to which Lot escaped, as that town was one of the Cities of the Plain, not far from Sodom, and originally intended to share its fate, being only spared on Lot's intercession. On the plain at the foot of Jebel Nebbeh the Israelites camped before passing over Jordan, their tents stretching over the Seisaban and in front of Jericho from Abelshittim to Beth-jeshimoth; and it was from the heights above that Balaam looked down on the vast encampment, and blessed those whom he had been asked to curse; and there, too, before the "true prophetic light flashed o'er him," he may have "Watched till morning's ray On lake and meadow lay, And willow-shaded streams, that silent sleep Where by their several signs The desert-wearied tribes in sight of Canaan sleep." 冠 MEASURES, WEIGHTS, AND COINS OF THE BIBLE. LARGER MEASURES OF TIME (continued). THE SEPTENNATE AND THE JUBILEE. N order to furnish the student of the Scriptures with the most convenient method of determining the date of any event recorded by the sacred writers, a table has been prepared, on the data mentioned in the preceding article on the subject. It has been the aim of the author to insert in this table every important event mentioned in the Bible, the Talmud, and the Wars and Antiquities of Josephus, of which the date is indicated with exactitude. A few leading dates in Egyptian history, which illustrate that of the Old Testament, are added, on the authority of Brugsch. The regnal years of the kings of Babylon have been inserted from the Regal Canon, which also has been relied on for the Persian and Roman dates. The Assyrian dates are those which are contained in the terra-cotta records of the British Museum, and which have been determined, by Sir H. Rawlinson, by an eclipse of the sun, B.C. 763. The Regal Canon has been verified by comparison with the dates of eclipses given in the Almagest. The first column of the table contains the year of the sacred reckoning from the beginning of the Book of Genesis. The second refers to the system of septennates, or weeks of years, and of jubiles, or weeks of such weeks, which was instituted by the Law. The third contains the name of the king or political head of the Jewish nation. During the existence of the kingdom of Israel, in order to economise space, the names of the kings of Judah are printed in small capitals, and those of the kings of Israel in italics. It will be observed that from the time of Nehemiah, who was the Tirshatha, or Pasha, appointed by the Great King, as the king of Persia was styled, no prince of Judah or of Israel is named in history until the time of the Maccabees. It will also be noticed that the list of high priests terminates with Aristobulus, the last hereditary Pontiff. OUTLINE OF THIRTY-FOUR SEVENS OF SEPTENNATES, CALLED JUBILEES, FROM THE EXODUS, 1541 B.C., 3859 12 0 3 d. ABIJAH 3860 12 0 4'd. Jeroboam 3861 12 0 5 a. Nadab 3385 12 4 1 d. Baasha 3886 12 4 2 d. Elah d. Zimri 3887 12 5 6 d. Omri 3900 12 6 2 d. Asa 3901 12 6 3 3918 13 1 6 d. Ahab 3919 13 1 7 d. Ahaziah 3921 13 2 2 Jehoram 3924 13 25 3925 13 2 d. JEHOSHAPHAT Johanan I. Azariah II. Amariah 1486 Second Sabbatic year, "Rest" (Josh. xxi. 44). 3933 13 37 d. JEнORAM Ahitub II. 1477 Ant. v. 1, § 29. d. Jehoram 1401 Second Servitude. 3934 13 4 1d. AHAZIAH Eglon (Judg. iii. 14). Jehu (Ant. v. 4, § 3; Note by Whiston). Jabin (Judg. iv. 3). 1365 Death of Sisera. 1315 Fourth Servitude (Judg. vi. 1). 1308 Rest for forty years (Judg. viii. 28). 1353 Rest for eight years 3940,13 4 7 d. ATHALIAH 1375 Third Servitude. || 3959 14 0 5 1263 Judg. viii. 32. 1265 Judg. ix. 22. Jotham 1242 Judg. x. 2. 1220 Fifth Servitude, 18 an. (Judg. x. 8). 1202 300 years from conquest of Bashan, in 3308 (Judg. xi. 26). 1196 Judg. xii. 7. 1189 Judg. xii. 9. 1179 Judg. xii. 11. 1171 Sixth Servitude, 40 an. (Judg. xiii, 1). 1151 Judge " in the days of the Philistines," 20 an. (Judg. xv. 20). 951 1 Kings xv. 2. 9501 Kings xiv. 20. 949 1 Kings xv. 25. 925 1 Kings xv. 33. 921 1 Kings xvi. 8, 15. 923 1 Kings xvi. 28. 910 909 ASSYRIAN CANON Com. mences. Bil. Anir II. 892 1 Kings xvi. 29. 891 A.S. (1 Kings xxii. 51). 889 Ac. Tiglath Bar. 886 Ac. Ashur Izir-pal. 885 1 Kings xxi. 42. 877 2 Kings iii. 1; viii, 17. 876 2 Kings ix. 27. 870 An. Sab. Day of Atonement fell on Sabbath (2 Kings xi. 4). 858 Ac. Shalmaneser II. (Black Obelisk.) 851 Defeat of forces of Syria, Egypt, Arabia, and Palestine, at Aroer. Sasank III. King of Egypt. 847 2 Kings x. 36. 843 d. Benhadad. 841 War with Hazael, King of Syria. 832 2 Kings xiii. 1. 830 2 Kings xii. 1. 828 CYCLE II. OF ASSYRIAN EPONYMES. 823 Ac. Shamsi Bil. 816 2 Kings xiii. 13. 810 Ac. Bil Anir III. Ac. Twenty-third Dynasty in Egypt-Tanite 4009 15 0 6d. AMAZIAH Zechariah II. 801 2 Kings xiv. 2. 4015 15 1 5: 3719 9 1 2 d. Eli 3739 i 9 4 2 Samuel d. PhinehasII. 1091 1 Sam. iv. 18. Ark taken. 1071 1 Sam. vii. 2. Ark in Kirjath-jearim. [num 3745 9 5 1 Ac. SAUL Ahiah 4035 15 4 4 Interreg4038 15 5 7 795 Assyrians in Syria and N. Palestine. 781 Ac. Shalmaneser IIL 777 ERA OF OLYMPIADS. Full moon in Cancer. 4034 on Ol. A. a. 775 2 Kings xiv. 23. 772 Assyrians in Hamath and Arpad. 771 Ac. Ashur Dan. 765 Assyrians in Hadrach. 764 2 Kings xv. 8. 763 Eclipse of sun, June 15, Assyrian records. 755 Assyrians in Hamath and Arpad. 754 A.U.C. ERA OF ROME. ! City founded, 11th Kal. Maii, 4057. 753 Ac. Ashur Anir. 752 2 Kings xv. 23. 749 2 Kings xv. 27. 748 ERA OF NABONASSAR, Thoth fell on 17th Feb. anno ereunte, 745 Ac. Tiglath Pileser IL in Nineveh. Year of Sac. Rec. Week. Jubilee. Year. 4068 16 2 1 4076 16 3 3 4077 16 3 4d. JOTHAM 4078 16 3 5 4083 16 4 3 4088 16 5 1 4089 16 5 2 Ac. Hoshea 4093 16 5 6d. AHAZ 1095 16 6 1 4099 16 6 5 4100 16 6 67 4107 17 0 614 HEZE 4108 17 0 7 4117 17 2 2 4122 17 3 1d.HEZEKIAH 4129 17 4 1 4140 17 5 4bate 4142 17 5 4146 17 G 3 4163 18 1 6 4170 18 26 4177 18 3 6d. MANASSEB 591 ERA OF SEVENTY YEARS' AFFLICTION. "Nebuchadnezzar sends bands" (Jer. XXV. 11; 2 Kings Σχίν. 2). 589 Captivity of Jeconiah, 588 First deportation (2 nezzar at Babylon. 577 FALL OF JERUSALEM 563 Death of Nebuchad- 562 A. S. and A. Jub. 21. 1 Evil Merodach. (Canon.) 560 1 Nerikassolassar 531 1 Kambatt (Cambyses, or Ahasuerus of Ezra iv. 6). 526 Ac. Persian dynasty (27th) in Egypt. Bl 522 Ac. Darius, son of Hystaspes. 521 END OF SEVENTY YEARS' AFFLICTION (Zech. i. 12). 182} years from 14 Hezekiah (Ant. x., Epigraph). 517 Temple finished. 3 Adar (Ezra vi. 15). 486 Ac. Xerxes (Canon). (Ahasuerus of Book of Esther). 475 Feast of Purim esta- 466 Ac. Artaxerxes Longi- ara 434 ERA OF METONICCYCLE. 4693 29 0 4 4696 29 07 4699 29 1 3 31S ERA OF SELEUCIDE. Ac. Seleucus Nicator. 305 Ac. Ptolemy I., son of Lagus. 302 Ac. Antiochus (I.) Soter. 185 Ac. Ptolemy (II.) Philadelphus. Coins of Eleasar extant. 277 LXX. Version of the Law. 4582 26 5 5 4585 26 6 1 225 Ac. Antiochus (III.) 4588 26 6 3 222 Ac. Ptolemy (IV.) Philopater. 219 Ac. Ptolemy (V.) 205 Joseph farms taxes 4775 30 5 1 (Ant. xii. 4, § 10). 199 Jose Ben Joasar, Pres. Sanhedrin. 181 Ac. Ptolemy (VI.) Philometor. 176 Invasion by Antiochus | (IV.) Epiphanes. 174 Eclipse of moon, Almagest, 7 Philometor. 172 170 A.S. Antiochus takes Jerusalem without fighting (Ant. xii. 5, §3). 168 Desecration of Temple post ii. annos dierum. (1 Macc. i. 30.) 165 Restoration of Temple. Feast of Lights (Ant. xii. 7, § 7). 164 Ac. Antiochus (V.) Eupator. 163 A.S. Antiochus Eupa- 4846 32 1 3 Agrippa I. tor takes Jerusalem by fraud, 414 years after capture by Nebuchadnezzar (Ant. xx. 10,§1). 162 Ac. Demetrius, Seleuci filius. 153 Ac. 160 Joshua Ben Pherakee, Presid. of Sanhedrin. Alexander Beles fil. Antiochi Epiph. 146 Ac. Ptolemy VII., Evergetes II. 143 Ethnarch of the Jews (Ant. xiii. 6, § 7). 139 Akra, the Millo of Solomon, taken by Simon. 138 Ac. Antiochus Sidetes. | Coins of Hyrcanus extant. 136 Endof1stBook of Macc. 131 Demetrius Nicator restored. Judah Tabbei, Pres. San. 128 Ac. Alexander Zebina. 126 Ac. Antiochus Gry- 4944 31 1 3 phus. 117 Ac. Ptolemy Soter. Priest. Coins extant. 63 A. S. Pompey takes 37 Herod takes Jerusa- d. Aristobulus 35 Last hereditary High As some of the determinations of date, given in the preceding tables, differ from those ordinarily cited, it may be desirable to recall the fact, that certain fixed and positive cycles run back through all ancient history; and that no date is reliable as to which any discrepancy with either of these cycles can be shown to exist. On the contrary, the coincidence of different cycles gives either an approximate or a mathematical proof of correct determination. The days of the week, the years of the Septennate, the course of the moon, and the course of the Egyptian year, are four definite and positive cycles. If any event, which is historically referred to either of them, does not accord with this order, it must be wrong. Thus one date given for the Exodus is B.C. 1652, while another is B.C. 1322. A reference to our tables will show that it is mathematically impossible that either of these dates is correct, as neither of them falls on the first year of a week. Again, the 14th of Nisan, B.C. 1652, fell in the Egyptian month Mecheir, and in B.C. 1322 it fell in the Egyptian month Pachion. Josephus says that it fell in the Egyptian month Pharmouthi. In B.C. 1541 the week of years begins, and the 14th Nisan falls on 28th Pharmouthi. BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. JOB. BY THE REV. A. S. AGLEN, M.A., INCUMBENT HE Poem of Job stands in our Bible at the head of the five poetical books. This position is the one assigned to it by the LXX. The Jews themselves were undecided whether to place the book among the Prophets or to include it in the collection called the "Sacred Writings." Indeed, its reception into the Canon at all appears to have been a matter of hesitation and doubt. It shared at first the fate of so many of the noblest works of human genius which have been held in little esteem by the age which produced them. Un-Jewish in form, and fiercely hostile to the orthodox beliefs, it was likely rather to shock the pious sentiment of Hebrews than to exert much influence over them. Of unknown authorship and date, it came recommended by no great prophetic name. It is never alluded to in the Scriptures,' and very rarely quoted. It is, therefore, by the greatness of its own inspiration alone that the wonderful work has lived. Its own internal majesty has compelled not only acknowledgment, but a breathless and astonished reverence. Before this mysterious monument of the genius of an unknown and unnamed Eastern sage, even when they recognised no diviner flame than that of genius, the greatest intellects of the modern world have bowed in speechless admiration, not unmixed with awe. It is without exaggeration that one in our own time has written of this extraordinary book as a book of which it is to say too little to say it is unequalled of its kind, and which will one day, perhaps, when it is allowed to stand its own merits, be seen towering up alone upon far away above all the poetry of the world." By whom was this marvellous book written? What age produced it? In what part of the Eastern world did its author live? These are the questions which meet at the threshold of his inquiry the student who desires to master the difficulties of the work, and under 1 M. Renan mentions two allusions in the Apocryphal books: one conjectural (Ecclus. xlix. 9), the other in the Latin text of Tobit ii. 12, 15. Of the echoes of the Book in other O. T. writings, the chief, besides the passages from Proverbs referred to below, are Isa, xix. 5 (cf. Job xiv. 11); Jer. xx. 14-18 (cf. Job iii.). OF ST. NINIAN'S, ALYTH, N.B. stand its relation to the rest of Holy Scripture. But the answers that can be given amount to little more than conjectures, and of them so many and so various have been started that they show of themselves on how slight a foundation the best of them rests. Happily, the contents of the book are independent of inquiries into its date and authorship. It would be interesting to know them. We long to know something of one whose sublime conceptions lift him to such a height above the most gifted mortals. His habitation, name, appearance, would interest us deeply. "The very spot where his ashes rest, though marked by no monument, we long to gaze upon. But in vain. The great poem itself is all we have. And it is enough." Its author lives in the imperishable monument of his genius. With his unsullied name," says Herder, "he has consigned to oblivion all that was earthly; and leaving his book for a memorial below, is engaged in a yet nobler song in that world where the voice of sorrow and mourning is unheard, and where the morning stars sing together." There is also an advantage gained when we can refer a work of this supreme excellence to the period which gave it birth, and study it by the light thrown by contemporary persons and events. But a certain fitness 66 "3 2 There are as many as six different traditional tombs of Job. (1) Job himself. Dr. Lee supposes an ancient work from Job's pen to have been brought to the notice of Moses by Jethro, and by him put into the shape in which we have the book. (2) Moses. This is the view of the Talmud, and of many rabbins; in moderu times of Michaelis and others. (3) Elihu. (4) Baruch. This is the conjecture of Bunsen. Delitzsch suggests Heman, the reputed author of Ps. lxxxviii. 4 It is out of the scope of this paper to enter closely into the question of the date of this poem, but it may be well to state in a note the reasons which incline the best modern scholars to refer it to a period not preceding the age of Solomon. Those who wish to see the patriarchal date ably maintained should Job, and Canon Cook's article " Job," in Smith's Bib. Dict. consult Dr. Lee's Introduction to his Translation of the Book of The whole question is stated at length in Davidson's Introduction. Keil, Hävernick, Hahn, Delitzsch, and others, refer the poem to the reign of Solomon. Renan prefers the first half of the eighth century; Ewald brings it down to the beginning of the seventh century. The following arguments are adduced in common by all these scholars : (1.) The scenes amid which the poem is placed, so remote from |