A dissertation on the true age of the world : $b in which is determined the chronology of the period from creation to the Christian eraWallace, R. (Robert)
Religion
A dissertation on the true age of the world : $b in which is determined the chronology of the period from creation to the Christian era
Wallace, R. (Robert)
Bible; Chronology; Chronology, Historical
The intervals of Theophilus, according to the text extant, must have
been strangely corrupted, when we find that they make the extent of this
age only 541 years. If we restore to the Critarchate of Ehud the period
of 80 years instead of 8, a mistake which might easily occur in the
Greek, by the writing of Η for Π, and omit the _single year_ allotted to
_Samira_,[98] out of place, and void of authority, we shall at once have
the true number 612 years. We can scarcely, however, attribute the
corruption of the text of Theophilus to simple mistake in this manner;
for we find that he reckons from the entrance of Israel into the
promised land “till the [end of the] reign of David, all the years were
498:” now if to this interval, we add the 40 years in the Wilderness,
and the 3 years of Solomon, we shall have the precise period inserted in
the preceding Table, as his extent of the _Fourth age_. Theophilus has
committed other errors, which however balance each other, and produce no
effect on the whole period. After stating that “the Philistines ruled”
the Israelites “40 years,” he says that “Samson judged them 20 years;”
thus forgetting the Scriptures which says, that “he judged Israel _in
the days of the Philistines_ 20 years;” Judges xv. 20. He then says that
“there was peace among them for 40 years,” an assertion wholly
unauthorized by Scripture, and by the whole crowd of chronographers.[99]
These errors are compensated for by allotting to Eli only “20 years”
instead of 40 years, by omitting the _seventh servitude_ of 20 years,
and by putting only “20 years” instead of 40 years, for the reign of
Saul.[100] Dr. Russell, in his “Connection,” vol. i. pp. 128, 129, gives
a view of the chronology of this period according to Theophilus, where
he strangely misdates the age in which he lived, and contrary to the
copy of his work to which Mr. Clinton or ourselves have referred, makes
out that his Extent of the Critarchal age is 612 years! He makes no
remark whatever about the error of Theophilus in regard to the years of
Ehud, but assumes them at once at 80; he retains the one year of
Shamgar, and puts him in his proper place; and he makes the years of
Tolah 22 instead of 23; thus he easily obtains the correct number, but
by no means in a satisfactory manner, when compared with the text of the
author. Indeed, trusting to the view which Dr. Russell has given in the
passage referred to, we have at p. 71 stated, and at p. 92 considered,
that the extent of this period is, according to Theophilus, 612 years;
but we now have some doubts whether this was his genuine number, seeing
that he has included the erroneous number of 541 years in his subsequent
dates and intervals, as will be shown in another section.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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