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every Sabbath-day, Act. xiii. 27. The Books of Fofhua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, have the Title of the former Prophets, in the Hebrew Bibles, to diftinguish them from the Books which they fet out under the Title of the latter Prophets, Ifaiah, Jeremiah, &c. The Books of Joshua and Judges have been already spoken of. The Books An of Samuel were written by Samuel, Nathan and Dets, Gad, i Chron. xxix. 29. from whence we may OW conclude, that the First Book of Samuel, to the

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25th. Chapter, was written by Samuel himself; the and the reft of that,and the whole Second Book, hap by Nathan and Gad: but Samuel being a Person ted fo much concerned in the former part of the Hiftory,and having written fo much of it out of afo refpect to him, the whole Two Books go under Zhis Name: though, indeed, the Jews anciently 0 reckoned both the Books of Samuel as one Book; and Aquila (as Theodorit has obferved) made no diftinction between the First and Second Books of Samuel, following the Hebrew Copies of his time and in our Hebrew Bibles, though they are diftinguished, yet they are not diftinguished in the fame manner as the two Books of Kings and of Chronicles are: and it is no wonder,that a Book begun by Samuel,and continued by other Prophets, fhould bear the Name only of Samuel. From 1 Chron.xxix.29. we may likewife learn, that the Beginning of the First Book of Kings must be written by one of these Prophets, Both the Books of Kings, as far as Hezekiah's Reign, were written before Jofiah's time;

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for, 2 Kin. 18. 5. it is faid of Hezekiah, That he trufted in the Lord God of Ifrael: So that after him was none like him of all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him: And of Jofiah, it is said, 2 King. xxiii. 25. That like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, &c. For it is evident, that Jofiah, in his Reformation, exceeded Hezekiah; and from hence it appears, that the History of Hezekiah must be written before Joftab's time; or elfe it could not have been, with truth, faid of Hezekiah, That there was no King after him who was like him, or equalled him, of all the Kings of Judah. From 1 Chron. iv. 43. it ap pears, that it was written before the Captivity; though the Genealogies were transcribed afterwards out of the Records, as we learn from 1 Chron. ix. I. That the Second Book of Chronicles, as well as the First Book of Kings, was written before the Captivity, we may conclude from 2 Chron. v. 9. 1 King. viii. 8. for the Ark was not remaining after the Captivity. The laft Chapter of the Second Book of Kings, gives fo particular an account of the manner of carrying them away Captive, in every material circumftance, that it seems to have been written at that very time; and is an argument, that Memoirs were conftantly taken and preferved of all that happened. The Second Book of Chronicles concludes with the First Year of Cyrus, in the fame words with which the Book of Ezra begins, being added by him at the time when

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when Cyrus gave out his Proclamation: for the Prophets, from time to time, made Continuations to the Histories of their Predeceffors, by inferting what related to their own Times; and it was no unusual thing, among the Ancients, as Grotius obferves) to begin one Book with the Conclufion of another.

The Pfalms are quoted under the Title of the Prophets, Mat.xiii. 35.& xxvii.35. and from the first penning,they were used in the Publick Service of God, 1 Chron.xvi.7. 2Chron.v.1-3.& vii.6. & xx.21. Fer.xxxiii.11. Ezra iii. 10,11. This was known, even to their Enemies, in their Captivity, Pfal. cxxxvii. 3. and fome of them were written by the Prophets under it. And Leffons er out of the Law and the Prophets, with Hymns out of the Pfalms, and Prayers, made up the 0 Jewish Form of Worfhip. Mofes and the Prophets, are put for the whole Old Testament, Luke xvi. 29. Acts xiii. 15.

And if both the Law and the Prophets, comprehending all the Books of Scripture written before the Captivity, were ftill extant, and well known, and made ufe of by pious Men, during all that time, and the People had Copies of them, or had means and opportunities of being acquainted with them, as the Prophet Zechariah fuppofes, Zech. vii. 7. there is no reason to imagine, that they had not fufficient knowledge of the Hebrew Tongue at their Restoration, many being still alive, who were firft carried away Captive and the Writings of the Pro

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phets, during the Captivity, fhew that the People did understand it; for they all wrote in the Hebrew Language, except upon fome particular occafions, where their Prophecies more immediately concerned the Babylonian Affairs. Both Men and Women could understand Ezra, when he read the Law; And the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law, Neh.viii.3. And it was not the Language, unless in some Particulars, which in all Languages will want explication to the Vulgar, who are Natives, but the Sence and Meaning, that was interpreted, ver. 7, 8. And in the fame manner, the Letter of Artaxerxes was both written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue, Ezra iv. 7. Nehemiah particularly complains, that the Children of those who had married ftrange Wives, could not speak in the Jews language: which fuppofes that the Children of other Parents, as well as the Parents themselves, were taught to speak the Hebrew Tongue, Neb. xiii. 24. And the Decree of Abafuerus in favour of the Jews, was written unto every province, according unto the writing thereof; and unto every people, after their language; and unto the Jews, according to their writing, and according to their language, Eft.viii. 9. which feems to imply, that the Jews ftill retained not only their Language, but their manner of Writing it, or the form and fashion of their Letters, under the Captivity.

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Not long after the Captivity, the Scriptures were tranflated into the Greek Tongue; and were dispersed into fo many hands, among the Jews and Profelytes, that the Copies could not be destroyed, either in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, or at any other time, by the malice of Perfecutors, or any other accident. And though the Jews were fo fond of their Traditions, as to make the Word of God of none effect by them; yet they never added any Books to the Canon of Scripture, in favour of those Traditions which they were fo zealous for; but when they had no longer any Prophets among them, they durft not place any other Books in the fame Rank and Authority with those which the Prophets had left behind them. All the Canonical Books were written by Inspired Authors, and have been in conftant ufe among the People of the Jews, in their private Houses, and publick Affemblies, even from the first writing them; for they were preferved during the Captivity, and both understood and used by the People: but their other Books, written under the Second Temple, though never fo ufeful and pious, were never received with the like esteem and veneration; they pretended to no more than Humane Compofition, and were never ranked with those of Divine Authority.

CHAP.

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