born, because they had seen his star in the east. Herod inquired what time the star appeared, and slew all the children from two years and under, according to that time. Therefore the star had appeared two years before, and Jesus was born at or near that time.

Nor can the supposed distance between the appearing of the star, and the arrival of the wise men, weaken this calculation. There might be many reasons to hinder their undertaking the journey immediately: possibly, they apprehended no necessity of setting out sooner. For allowing the truth of the fact, that they had seen a star, by which they understood the birth of a king in Judea, they could not well make any doubt of his living, or of their having an opportunity to worship him, though they delayed a year or two. But, whatever were the reasons of their delay, we have no right to depart from the words of St. Matthew; who intimates very plainly, that it was two years from the appearing of the star, to the time in which Herod ordered the children to be slain.

Add these two years to the fore-mentioned year, which Herod lived after the slaughter of the children, and it will appear, that according to St. Matthew, Jesus was born three years before Herod's death.

2. It may be proved from Tertullian, that Jesus was born above two years before the death of Herod: for he says, that the census or tax made in Judea, at the time of which Jesus was born, was made by Sentius Saturninus. But Josephus assures us, that Quintilius Varus was come into Syria as successor to Saturninus, before the death of Herod. It may not be easy to determine exactly from Josephus the time of Varus's arrival in Syria: but there are in being some ancient coins or medals of the city of Antioch, the capital of that province, that demonstrate the time of his government. One of these coins has on the reverse a figure representing the city of Antioch, and the name of Varus with a date in Greek numerals, xxv. And there are others with the same figure and inscription, with the numerals xxvi. xxvii. The first of these coins assures us, that Varus was in Syria before September, A. U. 748. For the f Adv. Marc. lib. iv. cap. 19. See above, p. 343. Ant. lib. xvii. cap. 5. sect. 2. et alibi. Scripsit ad me Card. Norisius, exstare in scrinio illustrissimi Marchionis Ricardi nummum minimæ magnitudinis caput Jovis in anticà repræsentantem, in cujus posticà habetur, EUI OYAPOY ANTIOXEON, mulier sedens pede super figuram Orontis fluminis, tenens dextrâ palmam : et in medio EK. id est, Anno xxv. Pagi, Appar. ad Bar. n. 136. vid. omnino Noris. Epoch. Syromaced. Dissert. 3. cap. 7. et Memoires de l' Academie des Inscrip. Tom. iv. p. 181. ed. Amst.

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æra which the Antiochians used at that time was that of the Actiac victory, which was obtained, A. U. 723. The 25th year of this æra enued the second of Sept. A. U. 748. is therefore manifest, that Jesus was born before September in that year, if Saturnious made the census of which St. Luke speaks, or if it was made in his time: and if it be supposed, that Jesus was born on the 25th of December, then his nativity must necessarily be placed as far back as the 25th Decemb. A. U. 747.

3. I expect likewise to be here reminded of some things advanced by me in the first chapter of this book; and that it will be urged; If the oath which Josephus says was taken by all the Jews to Augustus and Herod, relating to the census or enrolment which St. Luke speaks of, then Jesus must have been born three years before the death of Herod.

Possibly the objection may be stated in this manner:

It cannot be less than ten inonths from the commencement of the inquiries made by Herod into the cause of Pheroras's death, and the crimes of Antipater, to the death of Herod. When the first discoveries were made, Antipater was at Rome: Herod sent for him in a very pressing but kind manner, dissembling all suspicions concerning him, that he might not delay to return to Judea. Josephus says, that when Antipater returned, he knew nothing of the accusations which had been brought against him, though seven months had then passed from the first discovery of his crimes. In a day or two after Antipater's return to Judea, Herod calls a council in which he himself and Varus, governor of Syria, presided. Antipater is brought before them, convicted, and remanded to prison. But Herod not daring to pronounce sentence on Antipater without leave from Augustus, expresses were sent to Rome with an account of what had passed. After that these messengers were sent away from Judea, a letter was intercepted, which was written to Antipater by Acme a Jewish woman at Rome, in the service of the empress Livia, in which letter were fresh proofs of Antipater's designs. Hereupon Herod sent away fresh despatches to Rome. These return to Judea, and bring word, that Acme had been put to death by Augustus,

Allix supposes, that the Antiochian æra of the Actiac victory does not begin till A. U. 724. Vid. Dissert. de J. C. Anno et Mense natali, p. 102. It is not my business to enter into dispute upon this head: the other opinion seems to me most probable. Vid. Noris. ubi supra. Pagi. Apparat. n. 103, 104. * Και τοι μεταξύ των ελεγχων και της επανοδε διελθοντων έπτα μηνων. De Bell. Lib. i. c. 31. p. 1034. v. 27. 1 Ibid. cap. 32.

and that the emperor left it to Herod to do with Autipater as he thought fit. Soon after this Antipater was put to death, and in five days after Herod died.m

As there was a second embassy sent to Rome after the trial of Antipater, and this returned before Herod died, with an account that Acme had been put to death, upon informations they had carried with them to Rome; it is impossible to assign less than three months for the interval between the arrival of Antipater in Judea, and Herod's death, which added to the former seven make ten months.

It being supposed in the first chapter, that the execution which Herod made in his own family happened at the same time with the slaughter of the children at Bethlehem; it must next be considered, how long time that execution preceded the first inquiries into Antipater's designs. The facts mentioned by Josephus in this interval stand thus.

Herod having put to death several of his courtiers and servants, calls his friends together, charges Pheroras's witė with creating disturbances, and insists upon it that Pheroras put her away. Pheroras loving his wife too well to comply with this demand, the two brothers fall out. Pheroras leaves Herod, and goes to his tetrarchy, withal swearing solemnly never to come to Herod more. About this time, as it seems, Antipater, with his father's consent, left Judea and went to Rome. Soon after Pheroras was gone home, Herod fell sick; but though Herod sent for Pheroras, he would not come to him. Not long after, Pheroras is sick; Herod goes to see him, they are reconciled, Pheroras dies. Herod has him brought to Jerusalem and buried there."

When Pheroras was buried, some of his servants made application to Herod, desiring him to inquire into the manner and causes of Pheroras's death. These inquiries open a horrid scene of wickedness. And it appears, that a conspiracy had been formed by Antipater to poison his father Herod; and that he had committed the execution of this design to Pheroras, and servants of his own, whom he had left behind him when he went to Rome, and who were to obey Pheroras's directions."

It will not be easy to allot less than three months for the facts just now mentioned, in the interval between the execution in Herod's family, and the first inquiries into the cause of Pheroras's death. Three months added to the former ten make thirteen.

m Vid. Jos. de Bell. 1. i. c. 30-33. Ant. l. xvii. c. 3-8.

Joseph. de Bell. lib. i. cap. 29. sect. 4. Ant. lib. xvii. cap. 3.

• De Bell. ibid. cap 30. Ant. ibid. 4.

-The execution spoken of by Josephus, and the slaughter of the children mentioned by St. Matthew, being allowed to have happened both at the same time, the interval between the birth of Jesus and this execution is already computed. It cannot be less than a year and nine or ten months, that is, near two years; consequently, we have a fresh argument that Jesus was born three years before the death of Herod: but how inconsistent this is with Jesus being" about thirty years of age" in the fifteenth year of Tiberius, appears from what has been said already.

Having now stated these objections, and given them their full force, as I imagine; before I proceed to offer a reply, I would make two or three reflections upon some particulars contained in them.

I do allow that it appears to me highly probable, that Herod did live a year at least after the slaughter of the infants.

But as for Tertullian's testimony, that the tax in Judea was made by Saturninus, I think it is not of much weight; since he is the only person that has said this, and he flourished not till about two hundred years after the event. Besides, though Tertullian was well skilled in the Roman laws and customs, he has committed many gross blunders in history. The reader may see several of them collected by P Dodwell in his Dissertations upon Irenæus. One of them is the computation Tertullian has made of the time, from the nativity of Jesus to the taking of Jerusalem by Vespasian; which, according to him, was not full fifty-three years. And in reckoning up the reigns of the several emperors, he has quite omitted that of Claudius, and allotted not quite ten years to the reign of Nero. He, who could make such mistakes in the history of the Roman emperors, might very easily be ignorant who was president of Syria at the time of our Saviour's nativity.

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Nor am I satisfied with the proofs offered in these objections, that Jesus was born two years before the slaughter of the children at Bethlehem. Whitby questions whether απο διετές και κατωτέρω, should not be rendered from year old" and under, rather than from "two years old" and under. But let dierns signify two years, yet I think no conclusion can be made about the precise time of the birth of Jesus from Herod's orders. It is most likely, that this star appeared some time before the birth of Jesus, and that it was understood by the wise men to pre-signify it. Herea Vid. Tertul, advers. Jud. cap. 8.

P Dissert. iii. sect. 13.

Matt. ii. 16.

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by they were prepared for their journey, and it is highly probable, that these wise men came into Judea to worship this King, as soon as they could, after they concluded he was born, and that they arrived at Jerusalem in a very few months after his birth. But since their inquiry was, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" Herod, whose cruelty had in a manner no bounds, orders all children near Bethlehem to be slain who had been born since the appearing of the star; or perhaps even for some space before the time, at which, after an exact inquiry of the wise men, he perceived it had appeared.

As there appears not any proof from St. Matthew, that Jesus was born two years, or near two years before the slaughter of the infants; so, I think also, that there are no proofs in Josephus, that the oath taken by the Jews had preceded two years, or near two years, the execution made in Herod's court. The oath and the execution are related by Josephus both together. The reader is referred to that passage, as also to the charge brought against Pheroras's wife immediately after that execution was over: among other things in the charge Herod says, 'That she did all 'she could to create a difference between him and his brother; that the fine imposed upon the pharisees had been ' evaded by her means; and that in the present affair nothing had been done without her.' This present affair I suppose to relate to the predictions given out by the pharisees, that God would take away the kingdom from Herod and his children. The payment of the fine is the last crime she is charged with before this affair, which had preceded the execution; it certainly therefore is not a crime of two years' standing. Herod, in so long a time, might have found out some new fault in a woman he was so much offended with. We may be pretty well assured from this account, if I mistake not, that this oath had preceded the said execution and predictions but some few months only.

Supposing then the execution to be truly dated in the objection, at about thirteen months before the death of Herod, we may infer, that the oath in Josephus, and the description in St. Luke, was made, and that Jesus was born about a year and six or seven months before Herod's death.

If indeed Antipater had been at Rome two years before he was recalled by his father, as some learned men have thought, then this execution must have been made above

• Neque vero sequitur, si Herodes, omni modo caveus ne puer elaberetur, latius sævitiam extendit, non minus in ætate quam loci ratione, ideo stellam quoque tanto ante apparuisse. Grot. ad Matt. ii. 1.