—— on 
252 
tions in a place, without regard to their 
denominations: and, in another column, 
diftinguifhes fuch of them as are Bap- 
tilts. 
Mr. Neal’s lifts, colleéted into a quarto 
volume, and now, by the favour of Mr. 
Thompfon, penes me, give the names of 
the minifters, and the time of their or- 
dination; and, in many inftances, the 
fucceilion of minif&ers, and their re- 
movals, or deaths. - Jam, fir, 
Your conftant reader, 
JosHua TouLMIN. 
Taunton, April 5, 1797. 
ae - - 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
A” your Mifcellany appears to be cpen 
to literary communications, in gene- 
ral, I make no epology for troubling you 
with the following remarks on a chro- 
nological paper which appeared in the 
Magazine, for January: 
J find it difficult to believe, that before 
Jemfhid, king of Perfa, men 
wholly unacquainted with the year of 
twelve months, becaufe the moft igno- 
rant barbarians muft have noticed the 
regular fucceffion of the feafons. Homer, 
who, atcording to moft chronclogers, 
flourifhed about the year goe before 
Chrift, and, therefere, could not have 
derived his knowledge of the period in 
gueftion from the Perfian, frequently 
mentions it, and in fuch terms, as to 
leave no room for fuppofing him to mean 
any other period for computing time: 
AAA ore Oy patives Te x, njeepers sEerEAedelo 
Ad WEPITEAAOLASVS ETEOS Ky EarnAL Sor wEas, 
Op. L. 293. 
But vour correfpondent is fo much at- 
tached to his hypothefis, that the plaineft 
and moft connected parts of ancient hif- 
tory are made to give way to it. Thus 
the Pentateuch, in which the computa- 
tion by twelve months is familiarly ufed, 
being compiled under Solomon, that 
prince, it feems, muft therefore have 
been pofterior to the vear 888, 
Admitting, that the return from the 
captivity is the earlieft date of fcripture 
hiftory which ¢an be fatisfaétorily afcer- 
tained, it does not appear to be, by any 
means, proved that this event is ante- 
dated in the received fyftem. From 
the firfi chapter of Ezra it appears, that 
an edict was iffued for the building of 
Jerufalem, in the firft year of Crus, 
Keng of Perfia; and, in the’ fucceeding 
chapters, we have a detail of the num- 
Chronology. 
WETE - 
[April, 
bers of thofe whe left Babylon for that 
purpofe, together with an account of their 
proceedings; from which it appears, 
the foundations of the temple were then 
laid, she altar ereéted, and focia) wor- 
fhip re-eftablithed. Then follows an 
account of the vexations and hindrances 
fuftained by the fettlers, durmg’. the 
reigns of feveral fucceeding kings of 
Perfia, till the completion and dedication 
of the temple, in the fixth year of 
Darius’ Hyftafpes. 1t was long’ after 
this that Ezra led up a new colony, 
which, on its arrival at Jerufalem, foand 
the place inhabited, and the temple 
built (chap. vin. 32, &c.) | 
I fuppofe it is with a view of obviat- 
ing the objection arifing from this por- 
tion of hiftory, that your correfpondent 
confounds the Corefh, faid to have been 
governor of Babylon, under Artaxerxes, 
with the Cyrus mentioned by Ifaiah 
and Ezra’ But, befides that it is im- 
probable a mere governor of Babylon 
fhould, im a public inftrument, ftyle 
himfelf ‘King of Perfia,” and be alfo 
{fo ftyled by his cotemporaries, it is evi- 
dent, prima facie, from the whole of the 
hiftory, that the Cyrus of the Jews 
was not a fubjeét of Artaxerxes Longi- 
manus, but his predeceffor in the, em- 
pire, at a confiderable interval. 
From the particular account given by 
Ezra (chap. 11.) and Nehemiah (chap. vil. 
and xu.) of thofe who returned to Jeru- 
falem in the time of Cyrus, it 3s evident, 
the colony then led up by Zerubbabel, 
was, beyond compare, more numerous 
than any fubfequent one. It may, 
therefore, reafonably be fuppofed, the 
Jews would reckon their return from 
that time. Accordingly, Jofephus in- 
forms us (Ant. Lib. xi. c. 1) the feventy 
yéars’ captivity terminated in the firft 
year of Cyrus. Now the firft year of 
Cyrus correfponds with 536 before 
Chrift ; confequently, the captivity muft- 
have commenced 606. About that 
time we find Nebuchadnezzar, having 
defeated the king of Egypt near the 
Euphrates (Jerem. xlvi. 2) and driven 
h*m back to his own dominions (2 Kings, 
XxIV. 7) carried Jehotakim to Babylon, 
with three thouland of the principal 
Jews (Jof. Ant. x. 8); and, fhortly 
after, Jehoiachin with upwards of 
10,000 more, the flower of the youth of 
Jerufalem, fhared the fame fate (Jof. x. 
9). If, therefore, according to Falcon- 
er’s Chronological Tables, we allow 
375 years between the death of Solomon, 
and 
