87 



whether of Judah or Zebulua, both to the West, (Jud. 12. 

 V. 10.) Elon, of Zebuhin, (v. 11.) Abdon, of Pirathon, " in 

 the land of " Ephraim, (v. 13. 15.) 



3d. If the Western tribes were oppressed by the PhiHstines 

 in the time of these Judges, how can he add, " The country 

 enjoj'ed peace during their government?" 



4th. If, in the time of Jepthah, Ephraim was in subjection 

 to the Philistines, how could he, in the civil war, destroy 

 42,000 of them, without the Philistines interfering in defence 

 of their subjects and tributaries. 



5th. In fine, he makes four Judges contemporary, as we 

 have seen, without any scriptural authority, which we can 

 by no nieans admit, as the whole tenor of the scripture, (ex- 

 cept perhaps, in one instance,) marks the Judges as succes- 

 sive. (Vide Judges passim.) 



It could not be supposed that so many errors and unsup-. 

 ported assumptions, in the hypotheses of these great men, 

 would not have been perceived and pointed out by those 

 who followed and examined them. In effect, what has been 

 attributed, with justice, to Locke, in metaphysics, inay be 

 applied to Usher and his illustrious co-adjutor, in chronology. 

 They have themselves thrown so brilliant a light on the sub- 

 jects of their science and pursuit, that the subsidiary rays col- 

 lected and concentrated by their genius, have enabled us to 

 point out the path from which they deviated, and to detect 

 the errors which misled them. These objections which I have 



VOL. XI. N urged 



