And if it be replied, that Luke, as well as Matthew, gives an account of Joseph’s genealogy, and therefore this answer is not sufficient: we may observe, that it is said, Luke iii, 23, 24. that _Jesus was, as it is supposed, the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, &c._ the meaning is, he was, indeed, the supposed son of Joseph, but he really descended from Heli, the father of the virgin Mary; and nothing is more common in scripture than for grandsons to be called sons; and if we observe the meaning of the Greek words, which we render, _which was the son, &c._ it may better be rendered, who descended from Heli, and then there is not the least absurdity in it, supposing Heli to be his grandfather; and therefore there is no appearance of contradiction between these two scriptures. _Object._ 2. It is pretended, that there is a plain contradiction between these two places, 2 Sam. xxiv. 24. and 1 Chron. xxi. 25. in the former whereof it is said, that David bought the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite, to build an altar on, and the oxen for burnt-offerings, that the plague might be stayed, _for fifty shekels of silver_; but in the other, _viz._ in Chronicles, it is said, that _he gave him for the place six hundred shekels of gold_; therefore they pretend that one of these places must be wrong, inasmuch as they plainly contradict one another. _Answ._ The answer that may be given to this objection, is, that David paid Araunah (who is otherwise called Ornan) for his threshing-floor, where he built an altar, and for the oxen, which he bought for sacrifice, fifty shekels of silver, as it is expressed in Samuel. But, beside this threshing-floor, he bought the whole place, as it is said in Chronicles, _i. e._ the whole tract of ground, or mountain, on which it stood, whereon he designed that the temple should be built; and therefore he saith concerning it, 1 Chron. xxii. 1. _This is the house of the Lord God_, _i. e._ this place, or tract of land, which I have bought round about the threshing-floor, is the place where the house of God shall stand; _and this is the altar of burnt-offering for Israel_, which was to be built in that particular place, where the threshing-floor was: now, though he gave for the threshing-floor but fifty shekels of silver, (which probably was as much as it was worth) yet the whole place, containing ground enough for the temple, with all its courts, and the places leading to it, was worth a great deal more; or, if there were any houses in the place, these were also purchased to be pulled down, to make room for the building of the temple; and, for all this, he gave six hundred shekels of gold, and we can hardly suppose it to be worth less; so that there is no real contradiction between these two places,