205 



as " spurious and interpolated," from the fact of it being omit- 

 ed in another, where it niigiit naturally occur: but waiving 

 these obvious considerations, we find, 1 may remark,thatin the 

 account of the dedication of the temple, (1 Kings, 8. 21.) that 

 Solomon in his affecting address to the congregation of Israel, 

 assembled to witness the ceremony, informs them that he has 

 now " set a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the 

 Lord wliich he made with our fathers, wlien he brought them 

 out of the land of Egi/pt;" and in the parallel passage, (11. 

 C. 6. 11.) the latter part of the verse is completely omitted. 

 Is it then inconsistent or extraordinary, that the book refer- 

 ring so particularly to the exod, should determine the exact 

 interval elapsed i'rom that great event;. the conmiencement 

 of tlie Jewish polity ; and the epoch of the national sepa- 

 ration, as the chosen people of God. Is it surprising, that 

 relating the grand completion of the edifice of the popular 

 faith, the last best consummation of the promises of God, 

 — the final expectation of Israel, — and the point to which all 

 the ceremonials of religion ultimately converged; he should 

 refer to the period adopted and used as the great epoch of 

 their history and annals ? rather it is so familiar, agreeable, 

 and consistent with the usual style and genius of the Hebrew 

 records : It is so far the characteristic of the Eastern writers,^ 

 that I should much sooner suppose, the interval was omitted 

 by the mistake of the transcriber and copyist, in the book of 

 Chronicles,. than draw a conclusion from this casual omission, 



against 



