Pilgrimage, Book 2 · Chapter 11
CHAP. XI.
A Chronologie of the Iewish Historie from the beginning of the world, briefly collected.
THe Floud happened (as Moses reckoneth the parcells in the Ages of the Patriarchs) in the yeare of the world 1656, 1656.which are thus accounted. Adam at the 130 yere begat Seth. Seth at 105 begat Enos. Enos at 90 Kainan. He at 70 Mahalaleel, who at 65 begat Iared. Iared being 162 yeares old begat Henoch, who at 65 begat Methuselah: and he at 187 begat Lamech, who in his 182 yeare begat Noah: in the six hundreth yeare of whose life the Floud came.
The second age of the world is reckoned from the Floud to Abraham: whose birth was after the Floud 292 yeares: Sem two yeres after the Floud begat Arphacsad. He at 35 yeres Selah, who in his thirtieth yeare begat Heber. Heber at 34 Peleg, who being thirty yeres old begat Regu, and he at 32 Serug, in whose thirtieth yeere Nahor was borne, who at 29 begat Terah, who at 70 yeares begat Abram. Thus Scaliger; Calnisius, Buntingus, Arias Mont. Genebrard, Pererius, Adrichomius, Opmeerus, &c But Iunius, Bronghton, Lydyat, Codomannus &c. adde 60 yeares more. For Moses saith, Gen. 11. 32. That Terah died in Charan, aged 205 yeres, and then Abram (as it is in the next chapter) was 75 yeres old; so that Terah, when Abram was borne, was 130 yeres old. Whereas therefore he is said at 70 yeres to beget Abram, Nabor, and Haran; it is to be vnderstood, that he then began to beget: *A…no mundi …008. Abram borne.Abram being named first for diuine priuiledge, not because he was eldest. The like phrase is vsed Gen. 5. 32. Noah being fiue hundred yeres old, begat Shem. Ham, and Iaphet: and yet neither were they all borne at once, nor was Shem the eldest; let the Reader chuse whether of these opinions he best liketh.
In the 75 yeere Abram went out of Charan, hauing receiued the promise: from whence, to the departure of the Israelites out of Aegypt, are numbred 430 yeares. Rather herein we are to follow Pauls interpretation of Moses, then Genebrards, who Gal. 3. 17. accounts those 130 yeres mentioned by Moses, Exo. 12. 40. from the premise made to Abraham, and not from the time that Iacob went downe with his familie into Egypt. So that the departure out of Egypt, after Scaligers computation, and some others, Perkins, Adrichomius &c. hapned in the yere of the world 2453; whereto if we adde those sixtie yeres of Terahs life before mentioned, it amounteth to 2513. And so Broughton reckoneth. Iunius and Lydyat account 2509. The difference seemes to arise from hence, that one accounteth from Abrams departing out of Vr of the Chaldees; the other from his departure from Haran after his fathers death about fiue yeres after. But it were an endlesse work to reconcile Chronologers in their different computations. Some reckon the 25, aIos.Scaliger annot.in Euseb.Scaliger the 15 of Aprill, the day of their departure. And then the Hebrews beganne their yere at the Spring Aequinoctiall, which before they beganne in Autumne.
From this departure, to the building of Salomons Temple, bIos.Scaliger De Em.T.libr.5. 2933. Lydyat, 2988.Scaliger reckneth 480. yeeres, whose first foundations (he saith) were laid the 29 of Maie, being Wednesday; Anno Mundi 2933, and of the Great Iulian Period (which differeth 764 yeares from the yeare of the world) 3697. In this computation of 480 yeares betwixt the departure and foundation of the Temple, many Chronologers agree, Arias Montanus, Adrichomius, Broughton, Perkins. Lydyat, &c. although some dissent much. The summe ariseth of these parcells. Moses died fortie yeres after their deliuerance. Ioshua ruled seuenteene; Otbonicl forty; Ehud foure score; Gedeon forty; Abimelech three; Thola twenty three; Iaer twenty two; Iephte six; Ibsan seuen; Elam ten; Abdon eight; Sampson twentie; Heli forty; Samuel and Saul forty; Dauid forty; Salomon in the fourth yere and second month began to build his Temple, after which he raigned thirtie seuen yeares.
*An.M.3360.From thence to the destruction of the Temple vnderunder Zedekids are accounted 427. This agrees with cEzek.4.5. Lydy.3417.Ezekiels account, reckning a day for a yere, 390 daies of yeres after the apostacie of Israel frō God, the rebellion against the house of Dauid in the beginning of Rehoboams reigne, by the means of Ieroboam; to which if we adde 37 yeares which Salomon reigned, after the foundation of the Temple, the summe is 427. The same appeareth thus; Roboam reigned 17 yeres; Abiam three; Asa 41; Ichoshaphat 25; Iehoram eight; Ahaziah one; Athaliah six; Ioash forty; Amazia 29; Azaria or Vzzia 52. Betwixt Amazia and Azaria the kingdome was ruled eleuen yeres by the states, as some gather out of 2. Reg 15. 1. (others reckon it not.) Iotham 16. Abaz sixteene, Ezekiah 29. Manasses 55. Amon 2. Iosias 31. Iehoahaz three months; Eltakim or Iehciakim eleuen yeeres; Iehoiachin 3 months; Zedekiah or Mattaniah eleuen yeres. The little difference from the former number may be ascribed to the current and vnfinished yeres of some of their reignes.
From this time of Sedekias ruine, some begin the reckoning of the seuentie yeeres captiuity; in which time others comprehend all Sedekias reigne, and account the returne vnderunder Cyrus to be fifty nine yeres after this desolation; and from thence 108. to the Edict of Darius Nothus; from which time are numbred 259 to the Dedication of Iudas Maccabeus; and from thence 162 yeres to the birth of CHRIST. So dScal, de Em. libr.7.Scaliger.
It were a worke irksome to my selfe, and tedious to the Reader, to recite the variable opinions of Chronologers, or to trauerse their arguments about these points.
To recite here their high Priests and later Kings, with the time of their pontificalitie and reigne, out of Arias Montan. I holde not vnfit. First Iesus returned with Zorobabel, & built the Temple, whose time of priesthood, after Scaliger, Iunius, and those that reckon vponupon the Edict of Darius Nothus, must needes be very long eThey which list to see the varietie of opinions of Iewish, Greek, Latine, old and new Chronologers, may see Genebr.chron. lib1.in fine. Likewise, see our 4. Booke chap, 4.. To leaue that therefore, his son Ioacim fIoseph.Antiq. & Car.Sigo.de republ.bebr.lib.5. hauehave set downe the catalogue of hie Priests, from the first to the last.succeeded in the priesthood 28. yeares, besides twenty yeares, with his father. Eliasib held the priesthood 41 yeres; Ioiada 25; Ionathan 24; Ieddoa 27. till the time of Alexander; Onias 27, after Philo; but Eusebius saith 23; Simon Iustus 13; Eleazar twentie; Manasses twenty seuen; Onias thirtie nine.
Afterwards the Syrian Kings appointed high Priests: of whom, Iason was Priest 3 yeares; Menelaus twelue yeres; in whose seuenth yere, Iudas Maccab. began to administer the common-wealth. Ionathas brother of Iudas ruled eighteen yeres; Simon his brother was both Priest & Captaine eight yeares; Ioannes Hircanus his sonne 31.
Aristobulus, son of Hircanus, first after the captiuitie called himselfe King, & reigned one yere; Ioannes Alexander his brother 27: after him, his wife Alexandra nine; Hircanus her son, three months; Aristobulus his brother, three yeres. Ierusalem was taken of Pompey and Hircanus recouered the Priesthood, which he held 22 yeares; Antigonus by aid of the Parthians possessed Iudaea fiue yeres; and in his second yeere Herod was proclaimed King by the Romans, who tooke the citie the fift yeare of Antigonus, and reigned foure and thirtie.
Scaliger ascribeth gCan.Isagog.l.2to Herods kingdome the number after Eusebius account, reckoning from the birth of Abram 1977; he died 2016. Archelaus his sonne was made, by Augustus, Tetrarch of Ierusalem 2016, and was banished 2025. Agricola was made King by Caligula 2053. Agrippa his sonne, by Clandius 2060, and died 2116, thirtie yeares after the destruction of the Temple. The Dynasty of the Herodians lasted 139 yeares. Thus Scaliger. He attributeth the natiuity of CHRIST to the 3948 yere of the world.
Heere we must leaue the Chronologers contending of the yeare of the world, in which this blessed Natiuitie hapned; some adding many more yeares, some not allowing so many. It is certaine by the Scripture, that he was borne in the 41 or 42 of Augustus; baptized in the fift of Tiberius, then beginning to be about thirty yeres of age: in the 33 yeare he was crucified. In the 72 as Baronius, and 71 yere of CHRIST, as Buntingus, & Liuely account, Ierusalem was destroyed by Titus, in the second of Vespasian. Ar. Mont. reckoneth this the yere of the world 3989, and saith, that the Hebrews reckon it the 3841, which must needes be false. The fault ariseth from the false computation of the Persian & Graecian monarchies hIos.Antiq.lib. …0.18.. Iosephus counteth from the time of Herod, to the destruction of the Temple. 28 high Priests, and 107 yeeres. After Scaliger in his Can. Isag. li. 3. this yere 1612 is the 1614 of CHRIST, of the world 5561, after the Iewish account of Hillel 5372, of the Armenians 1061, of the Iulian Period 6325, of the Hegira 1021; Anno 4. Olymp. 597.