VIII. The first remarkable occurrence after the flood was the attempt to build the Tower of Babel (Gen. xi. 1-4.); and this is not omitted in pagan records. Berosus, the Chaldee historian, mentions it, with the following additional circumstances, that it was erected by giants who waged war against the gods, and were at length dispersed, and that the edifice was beaten down by a great wind. According to Josephus, the building of this tower is also mentioned by Hestiæus, and by one of the ancient sibyls,1 and also, as Eusebius informs us, by Abydenus and Eupolemus.2 The tower of Belus, mentioned by Herodotus, is, in all probability, the tower of Babel, repaired by Belus II., king of Babylon, who is frequently confounded by the ancient historians with Belus I., or Nimrod. That it was constructed with burnt bricks and bitumen (as we read in Gen. xi. 3.) is attested by Justin, Quintus Curtius, Vitruvius, and other heathen writers, and also by the relations of modern travellers, who have described its ruins.,3 rah Is expressly attested by Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Solinus, Tacitus, Pliny, and Josephus; whose accounts mainly agree with the Mosaic narrative; and their reports concerning the physical appearance of the Dead Sea are confirmed in all material points by the relations of modern travellers.4 X. Berosus, Alexander Polyhistor from Eupolemus and Melo (writers more ancient than himself), Nicolaus Damascenus, Artapanus, and other ancient historians cited by Josephus and Eusebius, make express and honourable mention of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, agreeing with the accounts of Moses; and Josephus states that Hecatæus wrote a book concerning Abraham, which was extant in his time, though it is now lost." of Kolzum, that is, of destruction.9 "The very country, indeed, where the event is said to have happened, bears testimony in some degree to the accuracy of the Mosaical narrative. Still is the scriptural Etham denominated Etti; the wilderness of Shur, the mountain of Sinai, and the country of Paran, are still known by the same names ;10 and Marah, Elath, and Midian are still familiar to the ears of the Arabs. The grove of Elim yet remains; and its twelve fountains have neither decreased nor diminished in number since the days of Moses."11 XII. Further, the HEATHEN WRITERS BORROWED IMAGES from the accounts communicated in the Scriptures, and attributed to their deities distinctions similar to those which are ascribed to the Divine Majesty, when God manifested himself to the world. Thus, both poets and historians represented the heathen deities to be veiled in clouds, as Jehovah appeared. Many of their religious institutions were likewise evidently deIX. The History of the DESTRUCTION of Sodom and Gomor-rived from the Mosaic appointments, as that of marriage and the observance of stated days, particularly of the Sabbath, among the Greeks and Romans, and, indeed, among almost all nations. The rite of circumcision, which was appointed by God as a sign of a distinctive covenant with Abraham, and designed to be expressive of spiritual purity,12 was adopted by several nations not descended from that patriarch, as the Egyptians, Colchians, and others.13 There are likewise other particulars in which the Greeks and Romans appear to have borrowed customs from the that the time of the sun setting on the mountains should be Jews. Thus, Solon, conformably to the Jewish practice, decreed deemed the last hour of the day. This law was copied into the laws of the twelve tables, and observed by the Romans; whose laws concerning the inheritance and adoption of children, retribution in punishment of corporeal injuries, and other points, seem to have been framed on principles sanctioned by Moses; and traces of resemblance between the Hebrew and Roman codes are still to be discovered in the Institutes of Justinian. The Jewish custom of orphan girls marrying their next of kin also obtained among the heathens. The appropriation of a tenth part of the spoils, of the produce of lands, and of other things, to religious purposes, is mentioned by many pagan writers. Lycurgus distributed the possession of lands by lot, and rendered them inalienable. Those feasts, in which servants were put on an equality with their masters, were apparently borrowed from the Jews, and from the feast of tabernacles: and the reverence which the Jews paid to the state of the moon also influenced the Lacedemonians, who are supposed to have been early connected with the Jews; and who, in consequence of their superstition, having delayed the march of their army till after the new moon, were thus deprived of participating in the honour of the celebrated battle of Marathon, as they did not arrive till the day after it had taken place.14 XI. That Moses was not a mythological person (as has recently been affirmed, contrary to all history), but a real character and an eminent legislator, we have already shown in a preceding page. To the testimonies there adduced, we may add, that the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, and their miraculous passage of the Red Sea, is attested by Berosus, Artapanus, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, Numenius, Justin, and Tacitus. Of these, the testimonies of Artapanus and Diodorus are particularly worthy of notice. According to Artapanus, the Heliopolitans gave the following account of the passage of the Red Sea :-"The king of Egypt, as soon as the Jews had departed from his country, pursued them with an immense army, bearing along with him the consecrated animals. But Moses having by the divine command struck the waters with his rod, they parted asunder, and afforded a free passage to the Israelites. The Egyptians attempted to follow them, when fire suddenly flashed in their faces, and the sea returning to its usual channel, brought an universal destruction upon their army.": A similar tradition, though less minutely particular, is mentioned by Diodorus, as subsisting even at the time when he wrote. He relates, that among the Ichthyophagi, the natives of the spot, a tradition is given, which is preserved from their ancestors, that by a great ebb of the waters, the whole bosom of the gulf became dry, disclosing its weeds, the sea rolling upon the opposite shore. But the bare earth having been rendered visible from the very bottom of the abyss, the tide returning in its strength restored the passage once more to its former condition.s Nor is the old tradition of the country even yet extinct. According to a learned and respectable modern traveller, the inhabitants of Corondel and its neighbourhood (on the eastern side of the Red Sea) to this day preserve the remembrance of the defiverance of the Israelites; which event is further confirmed by the Red Sea being called, by the Arabian geographers, the sea 1 Josephus, Ant. Jnd. lib. i. c. 4. (al. c. 5.) § 3. * Eusebius, de Prep. Evang. lib. ix. c. 14. The preceding statements and facts are surely sufficient to satisfy any candid inquirer, that the principal facts related in the books of Moses do not depend upon his solitary testimony; but that they are supported by the concurrent voice of all nations. Upon what principle can this coincidence be accounted for, if Moses had not been a real person, and if the events recorded by him had not actually occurred? XIII. Many other things, which the Old Testament relates to have happened, subsequently to the giving of the law until the Babylonish captivity, are to be found among profane writA few of these shall be adduced:-Thus, ers. 1808. Dr. Shaw's travels in Barbary and the Levant, vol. ii. pp. 99, 100. Edinb. 10 Niebuhr's Travels, vol. i. pp. 189. 191. 11 Faber, vol. i. pp. 189-191. See also Huet's Demonstratio Evangelica, prop. iv. vol. i. pp. 73-153., where very numerous additional collateral testimonies are given to the credibility of the Mosaic writings. 12 Compare Gen. xvii. 12. Rom. ii. 28, 29. Phil. iii. 3. 13 A modern opposer of the Bible has affirmed, contrary to all history, that the Jews borrowed the rite of circumcision from the Egyptians. From an obscure passage in Herodotus, who wrote several hundred years after Moses (and who collected his information from the Egyptian priests, whose extravagant claims to antiquity have long since been refuted), some learned men have conjectured that the Hebrews derived it from the Egyptians; but conjectures are not proofs. Indeed, so little dependence can be placed on the historical traditions of the Egyptians, the falsehood of which has been exposed by Sir John Marshain, that it is more than probable that the Egyp tians derived it from the Hebrews or Ishmaelites; although, at this distance of time, it is impossible to account for the way in which circumcision be came established among the Egyptians. It is, moreover, worthy of remark, The testimonies above noticed are given at length by Mr. Faber, Hora Mosaicæ, vol 1. pp. 146-170. See also Dr. Hales's Analysis, vol. i. pp. 350 -355. and Mr. Rich's Memoirs on the Ruins of Babylon, 8vo. 1818; and parbilarly Sir R. K. Porter's Travels in Georgia, Persia, &c. vol. ii. pp. 308332 where these ruins are described as they appeared in November, 1818. • Diod. Sic. lib. xix. c. 98. tom. viii. pp. 418-421. edit. Bipont. Strabo, lib. xvi. pp. 1087, 1088, edit. Oxon. Solinus, c. 36. Tacitus, Hist. lib. v. c. 6. (al. 7) Puny, Hist. Nat. lib. v. c. 16. lib. xxxv. c. 15. Josephus, de Bell. Jud. lib. . c. vili. § 4. Faber, vol. i. pp. 171-174. Josephus. Ant. Jul. lib. i. c. 7. Eusebius, Præp. Evang. lib. ix. cc. 17-that the practice of this rite among the Hebrews differed very considerably 2. The passages above referred to are given at length in Mr. Faber's Bore Mosaicæ, vol. i. pp. 174-186. See pp. 34, 35. supra. from that of the Egyptians. Among the former, it was a religious cere mony performed on the eighth day after the birth of the male child; but among the latter it was a point of mere decency and cleanliness, and was not performed until the thirteenth year, and then upon persons of both sexes. See Marsham's Chronicus Canon Ægyptiacus, and Spencer, de Le Eusebius, Præp. Evang. lib. ix. c. 27. This circumstance (Mr. Faber remarks) of the Egyptians being struck with lightning, as well as being overwhelmed by the waves, is mentioned in Psal. Ixxvii. 17., although un-gibus Hebræorum. uced in the Pentateuch. • Diod. Sic. lib. ii. c. 39. (vol. iii. p. 279. edit. Bipont.) 14 Bp. Gray's Connection between Sacred and Profane Literature, vol. i. pp. 187-193. Huet, Demonstratio Evangelica, ut supra. 1. From the story of Moses's rod (Exod. iv. 17.) the heathens | siderations and facts we may add, that the manners of the perinvented the fables of the Thyrsus of Bacchus, and the Caduceus sons mentioned in the Scriptures are characterized by that of Mercury. simplicity and plainness, which is also ascribed to the first ages of the world by pagan writers, and both of them concur to prove the novelty of the then present race, and consequently the deluge. XIV. Lastly, the FERTILITY OF THE SOIL OF Palestine, which is so frequently mentioned in the Scriptures, 2. The circumstance of Jephthah's devoting his daughter gave rise to the story of Iphigenia being sacrificed by her father Aga memnon. 3. The story of Scylla having cut off the purple lock of her father Nisus, king of Megara, and given it to his enemy, Minos (with whom he was then at war), and by that means destroyed both him and his kingdom, was in all probability taken from the history of Samson's being shaved. Is confirmed by the unanimous testimony of ancient writers,5 as well as of most, if not all, the travellers who have visited that country. Its present reduced and miserable state, therefore, furnishes no ground for the objection which some modern opposers of revelation have raised against the Bible. Were Palestine to be as well inhabited and as well cultivated as formerly, its produce would exceed all calculation. 4. When Herodotus, the father of profane history, tells us, from the priests of Egypt, that their traditions had informed them, that in very remote ages the sun had four times departed from his regular course, having twice set where he ought to have risen, and twice risen where he ought to have set; it is impossible to read Besides these attestations from natural and profane history, this most singular tradition, without recollecting the narrative in we may consider the Jews themselves as bearing testimony the book of Joshua, which relates, "That the sun stood still in to this day, in all countries of the world, to the truth of the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole their ancient history, that is, to the truth of the Old and New day;" and the fact related in the history of Hezekiah, "that the Testaments. Allow this, and it will be easy to see how they sun went back ten degrees, on the dial of Ahaz." The priests should still persist in their attachment to that religion, those of Egypt professed to explain the revolutions of the Nile, the fer-laws, and those predictions which so manifestly condemn tility of their country, and the state of public health, by the in-them, both in past times and in the present. Suppose, howfluence of the sun; and, therefore, in mentioning the unexampled ever, that any considerable alterations have been made in traditional phenomena alluded to, they adverted to a circum- their ancient history,—that is, any such alteration as may stance, which to them appeared as remarkable as the facts them- answer the purposes of infidelity, and their present state selves, that those singular deviations of the sun from his course will be inexplicable. had produced no sensible effects on the state of the river, on the productions of the soil, on the progress of diseases, or on deaths. The circumstances are not mentioned in the same form by Joshua and Herodotus, but they are in substance the same in both the § 2. TESTIMONIES OF PROFANE WRITERS TO THE CREDIBILITY narratives. And, supposing the traditions to have been founded on facts, it can scarcely be doubted that they relate to the same events; especially when we recollect, that where so much was ascribed to the influence of the sun, such remarkable deviations from the course of ordinary experience could not fail to be handed down through many ages.、 5. Eupolemus and Dius, as quoted by Eusebius and Grotius, mention many remarkable circumstances of David and Solomon, agreeing with the Old Testament history;2 and Herodotus has a remarkable passage which evidently refers to the destruction of the Assyrians in the reign of Hezekiah, in which he mentions Sennacherib by name.3 As we advance further to the Assyrian monarchy, the Scripture accounts agree with the profane ones rectified; and when we descend still lower to the æra of Nabonassar and to the kings of Babylon and Persia, who are posterior to this æra, and are recorded in Ptolemy's canon or series of them, we find the agreement of sacred and profane history much more exact; there being certain criteria in profane history for fixing the facts related in it. And it is remarkable, that not only the direct relations of the historical books, but also the indirect mention of things in the prophecies, correspond with the true chronology; which is an unquestionable evidence for their genuineness and truth. The history contained in the Old Testament is throughout distinct, methodical, and consistent; while profane history is utterly deficient in the first ages, and full of fictions in the succeeding ages; and becomes clear and precise in the principal facts, only about the period when the Old Testament history ends: so that the latter corrects and regulates the former, and renders it intelligible in many instances which must otherwise be given up as utterly inexplicable. How then can we suppose the Old Testament history not to De genuine and true, or a wicked imposture to be made, and not only continue undiscovered, but even to increase to a most audacious height in a nation, that, of all others, kept the most exact accounts of time? It is further worthy of remark, that this same nation, who may not have lost so much as one year from the creation of the world to the Babylonish captivity, as soon as they were deprived of the assistance of the prophets, became the most inaccurate in their methods of keeping time; there being nothing more erroneous than the accounts of Josephus and the modern Jews, from the time of Cyrus to that of Alexander the Great: notwithstanding that all the requisite aids might easily have been borrowed from the neighbouring nations, who now kept regular annals. Whence it appears that the exactness of the sacred history was owing to divine assistance.* To the preceding con 1 Herodotus, Euterpe, pp. 144, 145. edit. Vallæ. Eusebius, Præp. Evang. lib. ix. cc. 30-34. 39-41. Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. viii. c. 2. Lib. ii. c. 141. The various proofs of the facts above stated may be seen in Dr. Edwards on Scripture, vol. i. pp. 193-223. Sir H. M. Wellwood's Discourses, pp. 18, 19. Hartley on Man, vol. ii. p. 116. OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. I. Testimonies of Jewish and Pagan Authors to the account of Princes and Governors mentioned in the New Testament.-II. Testimonies to the character of the Jewish Nation, which are either directly mentioned or incidentally alluded to therein.-III. Similar Testimonies to the Character of heathen Nations.-IV. Testimonies of Jewish Adversaries to the Name and Faith of Christ.-1. Of Josephus.-2. Of the Talmuds.-V. Testimonies of heathen Adversaries to the character of Jesus Christ.—1. Pontius Pilate.-2. Suetonius.-3. Tacitus.-4. Pliny the Younger. -5. Ælius Lampridius.-6. Celsus.-7. Porphyry.-8. Julian.-9. Mohammed.—Testimonies of heathen Adversaries to the doctrines, character, innocency of life, and constancy of the First Christians in the profession of their faith.-1. Tacitus, confirmed by Suetonius, Martial, and Juvenal.-2. Pliny the Younger and Trajan.—3. Celsus.— 4. Lucian.-5. Epictetus, Marcus, Antoninus, Galen, and Porphyry.-6. Julian.—VI. Refutation of the objection to the Credibility of the Scripture History, which has been raised from the silence of profane historians to the facts therein recorded.—That silence accounted for, by the facts, -1. That many of their books are lost.-2. That others are defective.-3. That no profane historians now extant take notice of all occurrences within the period described by them.-4. Reasons why they would slight the facts relating to Jesus Christ as fabulous.-Result of the preceding facts and arguments.-No history in the world is so certain as that related in the Old and New Testament. STRIKING as is the evidence for the credibility and truth of the facts and events related in the Old Testament, furnished by natural and civil history, the books of the New Testament are verified in a manner still more illustrious; these books being written, and the facts mentioned in them being transacted, during the times of Augustus, Tiberius, and the succeeding Cæsars. The learned and most exact Dr. Lardner has collected from profane writers a variety of important testimonies to the truth of the New Testament, in the first part of his "Credibility of the Gospel History," and also in his "Jewish and Heathen Testimonies;" from which elaborate works the following particulars are chiefly abridged. The results of his observations may be arranged See Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. v. c. 1. § 21. lib. xv. c. 5. §1. De Bell. Jud, lib. i. c. 3. $ 2. and Hecatus in Josephus, contr. Apion. lib. i. $ 22. Pliny. Hist. Nat. lib. v. c. 17. Tacitus, Hist. lib. v. c. 6. Justin, lib. xxxvi. c. 3. and Ammianus Marcellinus, lib. xiv. c. 26. See particularly the testimonies of Maundrell and Dr. Shaw, collected in Dr. Macknight's Harmony, vol. i. discourses vi. and vii. Dr. E. D. Clarke's Travels, part ii. pp. 520, 521. 4to. or vol. iv. pp. 233-285, Svo. edit. See also vol. ii. part i. chap. ii. sect. ii. § iii. infra. • Hartley on Man, vol. ii. p. 117. under the following heads; viz. Testimonies of Jewish and Pagan authors to the account of princes and governors mentioned in the New Testament;-Testimonies to the character of the Jewish and heathen nations, which are either directly mentioned, or incidentally alluded to therein;-Testimonies of Jewish adversaries to the name and faith of Christ;Testimonies of Pagan adversaries to the character of Jesus Christ, and also relative to the doctrines, character, innocency of life, and constancy of the first Christians in the profession of their faith. I. TESTIMONIES OF JEWISH AND PAGAN AUTHORS TO THE ACCOUNT OF PRINCES AND GOVERNORS MENTIONED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. Josephus and various heathen writers mention Herod, Archelaus, Pontius Pilate, and other persons, whose names occur in the New Testament; and they differ but little from the evangelical historians, concerning their offices and cha racters. 1. From the New Testament we learn that Jesus was born at Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of HEROD the king; and Josephus informs us that a prince of that name reigned over all Judea for thirty-seven years, even to the reign of Augustus. Concerning this Herod, Matthew (ii. 1-16.) relates that he commanded all the male children in Bethlehem and its immediate vicinity to be put to death; because he had heard, that in that place was born one who was to be the king of the Jews. To us, who are accustomed to the finer feelings of Christianity, this appears almost incredible; but the character of Herod, as portrayed by Josephus, is such a compound of ambition and sanguinary cruelty, as renders the evangelical narrative perfectly credible. Herod left three sons, Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip, among whom his territories were divided. According to Josephus, Herod by his will appointed Archelaus to succeed him in Judea, with the title of king; and assigned the rest of his dominions to Herod Antipas as tetrarch of Galilee, and to Philip as tetrarch of Trachonitis and the neighbouring countries; and, according to the narrative of Luke (iii. 1.), these two princes were tetrarchs in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Carar. 2. The will of HEROD, however, being only partially confirmed by Augustus, Archelaus was appointed ruler over Judæa and Idamea with the title of ethnarch, the regal dignity being withhed until he should deserve it. But Archelaus soon assumed the title; and Josephus, who has given us an account of this Excitation, calls him the king that succeeded Herod, and has used the verb reigning with reference to the duration of his government. It likewise appears from the Jewish historian, that Archelaus was a cruel and tyrannical prince. All these circumstances attest the veracity of the evangelist Matthew, who says (i. 22.) that when Joseph heard that Archelaus did REIGN in Judæa, in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither, and turned aside into the parts of Galilee, which were under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas. 3. Luke relates (Acts xii. 1-3.) that HEROD the king stretched forth his hand to vex certain of the church, and that he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword, and because he saw that it PLEASED the Jews, he proceeded further take Peter also. The correctness of this statement is also confirmed by Josephus, from whom we learn that this Herod was a grandson of Herod the Great, whom the favour of the emperors Caligula and Claudius had raised to royal dignity, and to whom nearly all the territories that had been possessed by his grandfather were gradually restored. He was also exceedingly zealous for the institutions and customs of the Jews; and this zeal of his accounts for his putting James to death, and causing Peter to be apprehended. The death of this monarch is related by Luke and Josephus with so much harmony, that, if the latter had been a Christian, one would have certainly bebeved that he intended to write a commentary on that narrative. This haughty monarch had deferred giving an audience to the Tyrian and Sidonian ambassadors, who had solicited peace with him, until a certain day. And upon a set day2 Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne,3 and made an oration 1 Josephus (Ant. Jud. lib. xviii. c. 8. §2.) has not mentioned this particukr circumstance; but he informs us, that the termination of the king's Ire succeeded a festival which had been appointed in honour of the cmpefor Caudius. Hence we may conceive why Herod deferred to receive the ambassadors from Tyre and Sidon until that particular day, viz. that he it show hunself with so much greater pomp to the people. 1Jsephus determines this day expressly. It was the second day of the which were exhibited at Cæsarea, in honour of the emperor. • Josephus says that he came into the theatre, early in the morning, dressed in a robe or garment made wholly of silver (oloanu evduouμivos i1⁄2 unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, “It is the voice of a God, and not of a man."4 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory. And he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost (Acts xii. 20-23.) Both historians relate the fact, as to the chief particulars, in the same manner. Luke describes the pride of the king, as well as the nature of his illness, more circumstantially; and omits a superstitious addition which is recorded by Josephus :-a proof that the former surpasses in fidelity, accuracy, and judgment, even this learned historian of the Jews.8 Herod had three daughters, Bernice, Mariamne, and Drusilla; the last of whom, according to Josephus and Luke, was married to Felix, who was appointed governor of Judea on the death of Herod. It was 4. According to the testimonies of Tacitus and Josephus, this FELIX was an oppressive, avaricious, and tyrannical governor, who had persuaded Drusilla to abandon her lawful husband, Azizus, king of the Emesenes, and to live with him. not unnatural for such a man to tremble, when Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, and to hope that the Apostle would have given him money to liberate him. (Acts xxiv. 25, 26.)9 5. Luke (Acts xviii. 14-16.) gives an honourable character of the temper and manners of GALLIO;10 and this account is confirmed by Gallio's brother, the celebrated philosopher Seneca, who represents him as a man of a sweet and gentle disposition, and of much generosity and virtue." Gallio is styled by the evangelical historian, in our translation, the deputy, but in the original Greek, the proconsul of Achaia.12 The accuracy of Luke, in this instance, is very remarkable. In the partition of the provinces of the Roman empire, Macedonia and Achaia were assigned to the people and senate of Rome; but, in the reign of Tiberius, they were at their own request transferred to the emperor. In the reign of Claudius (A. v. c. 797, a. d. 44), they were again restored to the senate, after which time proconsuls were sent into this country. Paul was brought before Gallio, A. D. 52 or 53, consequently he was proconsul of Achaia, as Luke expressly terms him. There is likewise a peculiar propriety in the name of the province of which Gallio was proconsul. The country subject to him was all Greece; but the proper name of the province among the Romans was Achaia, as appears apgrupo Tiny HAZAN) of most wonderful workmanship; and that the reflection of the rays of the rising sun from the silver gave him a majestic and awful appearance. In a short time (says Josephus) his flatterers exclaimed, one from one place and one from another (though not for his good), that "he was a God;" and they entreated him to be propitious to them, saying, "Hitherto we have reverenced thee as a man, but henceforth we acknowledge that thou art exalted above mortal nature." after, looking up, perceived an owl sitting on a certain cord over his head, Josephus has here inserted a superstitious story, that Herod, shortly which he held to be an evil omen. The fact itself he thus relates:-Immediately after, he was seized with pains in his bowels, extremely violent at the very first, and was carried to his palace!! The very same cause is assigned by Josephus, viz. Because the king had neither reproved his flatterers, nor rejected their impious adulation. that Herod died, worn out by the excruciating pain in his bowels. Luke Josephus has not described the disease so circumstantially: he relates states that he was eaten of worms. These narratives are perfectly con sistent. Luke relates the cause, Josephus the effect of his disease; on the nature of which the reader may consult Dr. Mead's Medica Sacra, c. 5. Less on the Authenticity of the New Testament, pp. 314, 315. The proofs of all the above particulars are stated, at length, by Dr. Lardner, in his Credibility of the Gospel History, part i. book i. chap. i.— Works, vol. i. pp. 11-31. 8vo. or vol. i. pp. 9-20. 4to. 10 From the conduct of Gallio on the occasion described by the evange list Luke in Acts xviii. 14-16. the terms "Gallionism" and "Gallio like" have been invented, and are not unfrequently though erroneously used, to denote utter indifference to religion. But that he took not cognisance of the cause which was brought before him proceeded not from his stu pidity, indolence, or negligence, but from his strict adherence to the Roman laws."...."It is well known, that the affairs of religion were always a principal part of the care of the Roman magistrates and senate; and as they had many laws on that subject, so we frequently read of their execution. The true reason, why Gallio did not interpose in the affair brought before him, was, because the senate and emperors had by various decrees, and particularly the then reigning emperor Claudius, allowed the Jews every where under their dominion to govern themselves according to their own laws in all matters of religion. This being such, he esteemed it not such matters: had you accused this man of injustice, violence, or crimes of his cognizance: therefore he says (verse 15.) 'I will be no judge of against the state, I would willingly have heard you; but I am not sent here yourselves." Biscoe on the Acts, p. 55. Oxford edition, 1829. as a judge of your religious differences: these are to be rectified among p. 55. 11 "Solebam tibi dicere, Gallionem fratrem meum (quem nemo non parum amat, etiam qui amare plus non potest), alia vitia non nosse, hoc etiam (i. e. adulationem) odisse.-Nemo enim mortalium uni tam dulcis est, quam hic omnibus.-Hoc quoque loco blanditiis tuis restitit, ut exclamares invenisse te inexpugnabilem virum adversus insidias, quas nemo non in sinum recipit." L. Ann. Seneca, Natural. Quæst. lib. iv. in præf. Op. tom. iv. p. 267. edit. Bipont. The learned John Selden, in a letter to Archbishop Usher, has collected the various passages, which are to be found in the ancient classic authors, relative to Gallio. Seldeni Opera, tom. ii. part ii. cols. 1712 and 1713. 19 Γαλλίωνος ΑΝΘΥΠΑΤΕΥΟΝΤΟΣ της Αχαίας. Acts xviii. 12. from various passages of Roman historians, and especially from | But the whole difficulty is removed by a passage in the second the testimony of the Greek geographer Pausanias, which are given at length by Dr. Lardner.1 II. Equally striking with the preceding testimonies to the credibility of the New Testament history, is the agreement between the evangelical historians and profane writers, relative to the SECts, Morals, and CUSTOMS OF THE Jews. 1. Thus it appears from Josephus, that they enjoyed the free exercise of their religion, with the power of accusing and prosecuting, but not of putting any man to death. In consequence of this power, they importuned Pilate to crucify Jesus; and when he commanded them to take him and crucify him, they said, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death. (John xviii. 31.) 2. Further, it appears from Philo, Josephus, and other writers, that the Jews were dispersed into many countries, before the destruction of Jerusalem; and Luke tells us, in different parts of the Acts of the Apostles, that Paul preached in the Jewish gogues at Antioch, Iconium, Thessalonica, Athens, Ephesus, and Rome. syna 3. The accounts related by the evangelists, of the sects of Pharisees, Saducees, and Herodians, as well as of the depravity of the Jewish nation, in the time of Christ, and of the antipathy that subsisted between the Samaritans and the Jews, are all confirmed by Josephus; and the Roman mode of treating prisoners, and crucifying criminals, as mentioned in the New Testament, is corroborated by the testimonies of Cicero, Plutarch, and other writers, who have incidentally mentioned it.2 According to Luke's narrative (Acts ix. 36.), the person whom Peter raised from the dead at Joppa was named Tabitha or Dorcas; and it appears from Josephus that this name was at that time in common use. The same evangelist relates, that there was a great famine throughout the land of Judea, in the reign of the emperor Claudius (Acts xi. 28, 29.): Josephus also mentions this calamity, which began in the fourth year of that reign, but raged chiefly in the two following years; and says, that many persons died for want of means to procure food. 4. When Paul was taken prisoner, in consequence of an uproar which the Jews at Jerusalem had excited against him, the Roman chiliarch, according to the relation of Luke (Acts xxi. 38.), asked him-Art thou not that Egyptian, which before these days (or a short time since) madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men, that were murderers? Josephus has recorded at length the transaction here incidentally mentioned. During the government of Felix, and consequently at the time alluded to by Luke, an Egyptian, who pretended to be a prophet, led into the wilderness several thousand men, and marched against Jerusalem, promising that the walls should fall down at his command. But Felix marched out of the city with a strong force, and attacked the impostor, who escaped with only a small part of his army. There is a remarkable agreement between the chiliarch or chief captain in the Acts and Josephus. The former says, Art thou not THAT EGYPTIAN? Josephus has nowhere mentioned the name of this man, but calls him THE Egyptian, and THE EGYPTIAN false prophet. 5. In Acts vi. 9. the sacred historian "speaks of a synagogue at Jerusalem belonging to a class of persons whom he calls Aceptivo" (in our version rendered Libertines), "a term which is evidently the same with the Latin Libertini. Now, whatever meaning we affix to this word (for it is variously explained)whether we understand emancipated slaves, or the sons of emancipated slaves, they must have been the slaves, or the sons of slaves to Roman masters: otherwise the Latin word Libertini would not apply to them. That among persons of this description there were many at Rome, who professed the Jewish religion, whether slaves of Jewish origin, or proselytes after manumission, is nothing very extraordinary. But that they should have been so numerous at Jerusalem as to have a synagogue in that city, built for their particular use, appears at least to be more than might be expected. Some commentators, there fore, have supposed that the term in question, instead of denoting emancipated Roman slaves, or the sons of such persons, was an adjective belonging to the name of some city or district: while others, on mere conjecture, have proposed to alter the term itself. Lardner's Credibility, part i. book i. chap. i. § xii.-Works, vol. i. p. 32. 8vo. or vol. i. p. 20. 4to. 2 The above noticed particulars are illustrated, infra, Vol. II. Dr. Lardner has treated them at full length in his Credibility, part. i. book i. chapters ii.-x. Works, vol. i. pp. 33-237. 8vo.; or vol. i. pp. 20-130. 4to. 3 Ottii Spicilegium ex Josepho ad Novi Testamenti illustrationem, pp. 278, 279. 8vo. Lug. Bat. 1741. Ant. Jud. lib. xx. c. 2. fine, and c. 5. § 2. book of the "Annals of Tacitus;" from which it appears that the persons whom that historian describes as being libertini generis, and infected (as he calls it) with foreign—that is, with Jewish-superstition, were so numerous in the time of the emperor Tiberius, that four thousand of them, who were of age to carry arms, were sent to the island of Sardinia; and that all the rest of them were ordered, either to renounce their religion, or to depart from Italy before a day appointed. This statement of Tacitus is confirmed by Suetonius, who relates that Tiberius disposed of the young men among the Jews, then at Rome (under pretence of their serving in the wars) in provinces of an unhealthy climate; and that he banished from the city all the rest of that nation, or proselytes to that religion, under penalty of being condemned to slavery for life, if they did not comply with his commands. We can now therefore account for the number of Libertini in Judæa, at the period of which Luke was speaking, which was about fifteen years after their banishment from Italy. III. The CHARACTERS AND PURSUITS OF THE HEATHEN NATIONS, which are incidentally introduced into the New Testament, are equally corroborated by the testimonies of profane writers. 1. The diligent investigation and pursuit of wisdom formed the general character of the Greeks. Thus Paul declares,-the Greeks seek after wisdom (1 Cor. i. 22.): and this account of them is amply attested by all the authors of those times, who take notice of their avidity in the cultivation of philosophy and literature. Not to multiply unne cessary evidence, we may remark that there is a passage in Herodotus, which most strongly corroborates Paul's character of them. He says, that the Peloponnesians "affirm, that Anacharsis was sent by the Scythian monarch into Greece, for the express purpose of improving himself in science; and they add, that at his return he informed his employer, that all the people of Greece were occupied in scientific pursuits, except the Lacedemonians."s To this general character of the Greeks, there are many allusions in the writings of Paul. He informs us, that they regarded the Christian doctrine with sovereign contempt, as foolishness, because it was not ornamented with wisdom of words, and with the figures and flowers of a vain and showy rhetoric; and he urges this very circumstance as a signal proof of the divine truth and authority of the Christian religion, that it made a rapid and triumphant progress in the world, and even among this very refined and philosophical people, though totally divested of all those studied decorations with which their several schemes of philosophy were so industriously embellished. Thus he tells the Corinthians that when he first published the Gospel among them, he studied not to ornament it by elegance of diction, or by the display of superior wisdom; for it was his fixed determination to disclaim all knowledge among them, except the knowledge of Jesus Christ and his crucifixion; that he appeared among them in tremour and diffidence, in a plain, artless, and undisguised manner; and that his public discourses did not recommend themselves by any elaborate persuasive arts of human erudition, but were confirmed to them by spiritual gifts and by miracles; so that their conviction of the truth of the Gospel did not stand in learned arguments philosophically expressed, but in the power of God.? 2. With regard to the ATHENIANS in particular, St. Paul represents them as very devout, greatly addicted to religious practices, and entirely devoted to the worship of the multiplicity of deities which they had received; and he takes notice that their city was full of idols. (Acts xvii. 22, 23.) To the correctness of this description of the Athenian character, all antiquity bears testimony; and that they adopted the gods of all nations, and crowded into their capital all the divinities of the then known world. Their streets were encumbered with statues, so that it was said to be easier, at Athens, to find a god than a man.10 The account given of the Athenians by St. Luke,-that all the Athenians and strangers which were in their city spent their time in nothing else, but to tell or hear some new thing (Acts xvii. 21.),—is confirmed by the testimony of Demosthenes, who describes them as loitering about and in 10 Dr. Harwood's introduction to the New Test. vol. ii. p. 69. The passage of Demosthenes above alluded to occurs in his first Lardner's Credibility, part i. book ii. chap. viii. Works, vol. i. pp. oration against Philip king of Macedon, and is noticed by Longinus (sect. 414-419. Svo.; or vol. i. pp. 225-228. 4to. 18.] as a fine specimen of the use of interrogations in the sublime.-"Is quiring in the places of public resort, if there be any news? Κρήτες από ψεύσται, κακα θηρία, γαστέρες αργαι. The ly explained by the fact of the words poet and prophet being often used promiscuously by the Greeks and Romans,-probably because their poets pretended to be inspired, and were by some believed to be so. The Apostle adds, that the testimony of Epimenides is but too true,-this witness is true. How true the first part of it is, with respect to their deceit and lying, the following facts will attest. From the time of Homer, the island of Crete was regarded as the scene of fiction. Many authors affirm, that as a people, its inhabitants were infamous for their violation of truth; and at length their falsehood became so notorious, that Kper, to cretise, or imitate the Cretans, was a proverbial expression among the ancients for LYING. with malicious insinuations against Jesus Christ, refer to his nativity, relate his journey into Egypt, and do not deny that he performed numerous eminent miracles. But they absurdly ascribe them to his having acquired the right pronunciation of the Shemmaphoresh, or the ineffable name of God, which (they say) he clandestinely stole out of the temple; or they impute it to the magic arts, which he learnt in Egypt (whence they affirm that he brought them, having inserted them in his flesh), and exercised with greater dexterity than any other impostor ever did! They call him Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Mary, the daughter of Eli, whose son he was without the knowledge of her husband. After this, they say, he fled into Egypt, and there learned those magic arts, by which he was enabled to perform all his miracles. Again, they own The general import of which passage is, that the Cretans were that he was crucified on the evening of the passover. Mention two witnesses were suborned to swear against him, and declare a false people; and united in their character the ferocity of is also made in these writings of several of his disciples, of Matthe wild beast with the luxury of the domesticated one. circumstance of Paul's styling Epimenides a prophet is sufficient-thew, Thaddeus, and Bauni, the name of him who was afterwards called Nicodemus, and of whom, as a very great, and good, and pious ruler, much is related in these books. In one of them Eliezer tells his friend Akiba, that he met with James, a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth, in Zippor, a town in Galilee; who gave him the interpretation of a passage in the Old Testament, which he had received from Jesus, and with which Eliezer was at that working miracles, and the gift of healing, in the name of their time pleased. That the disciples of Jesus had the power of Master, is confessed by these Jews; who give an instance of it in the grandson of Rabbi Joshua, the son of Levi, who being in him in the name of Jesus. This power is again acknowledged great danger, one of the disciples came and would have cured in the case of the son of Dama, grandson of Ishmael, who was dying of the bite of a serpent, when James, the same who had the conference with Eliezer, came and offered to cure the young man, but the grandfather forbad it, and he died. In a much later work of the Jews (the Toledoth Jesu), and that the most virulent of all the invectives against Jesus, his power of raising from the dead, and healing leprous persons, is repeatedly acknowledged. Further, it appears from the Talmuds, that Christ was put to death on the evening of the passover, and that a crier "This man comes forth preceded him for forty days, proclaiming, to be stoned, because he dealt in sorcery, and persuaded and miracles, of his preaching, and of his suffering as a malefactor, seduced Israel." But the Talmudical acknowledgments of the are blended with most virulent aspersions of his character, of his mother Mary, and also of the Christians. The falsehood of these assertions has been well exposed by Professor Vernet. Concerning the destruction of Jerusalem by Vespasian and Titus, the testimony of the Talmuds is very valuable. IV. THE TESTIMONIES FURNISHED BY JEWISH ADVERSARIES TO THE NAME AND FAITH OF CHRist are further CORROBORATIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 1. Thus JOSEPHUS,-in a passage of his Jewish Antiquities which the opposers of Christianity (unable to resist its force) have, contrary to all evidence, affirmed to be spurious,-bears the following testimony to the character, miracles, and doctrines of Jesus Christ.3 After relating a sedition of the Jews against Pontius Pilate, which the latter had quelled, he says,-" Now there was about this time Jesus a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he performed many wonderful works. He was the teacher of such men as received the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him many of the Jews, and also many of the Gentiles. This was the Christ. (O Xpotos citos nv)—And when Pilate, at the instigation of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him from the first did not cease to adhere to him. For he appeared to them alive again, on the third day; the divine prophets having foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe (or sect) of Christians, so named from him, subsists to this time." 2. The TALMUDS, though blended with much falsehood, and it," says the orator,-"Is it your sole ambition to wander through the pub- p. 306. and without ballast. Iamblichus, De Mysteriis, sect. vii. § 5. Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. xviii. c. 3. 53. That the passage referred to is genuine, see the Appendix to this volume, No. VII. infra. The Talmuds are two in number, and consist of two parts, viz. the Mishna and the Gemara.-The Mishna is a collection of Jewish traditions, which were committed to writing by Rabbi Jehudah, surnamed Hakkadosh or the Holy, about the middle of the second century. On this there are extant two commentaries, by the Jews, called Gemara, i. e. perfection; Viz that of Jerusalem; which was compiled in the third or fourth century, and that of Babylon, compiled in the sixth century. When the Mishna or text and the Gemara or commentary, accompany each other, they are called the Talmud; and accordingly as the Jerusalem or Babylonish VOL. I. L V. Nor are the testimonies of heathen adversaries to Christianity less explicit or less satisfactory than those stated in the preceding pages: these may be arranged under two classes, viz. 1. Testimonies to the life and character of Jesus Christ, and, 2. Testimonies relative to the Christians. 1. TESTIMONIES TO THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST. (1.) PONTIUS PILATE.-The ancient Romans were particularly careful to preserve the memory of all remarkable events which happened in the city; and this was done either in their Acts of the Senate (Acta Senatus), or in the Daily Acts of the People (Acta Diurna Populi,) which were diligently made and kept at Rome. In like manner, it was customary for the governors of provinces to send to the emperor an account of remarkable transactions that occurred in the places where they resided, which were preserved as the acts of their respective governments. In conformity with this usage, Pilate kept memoirs of the Jewish affairs during his procuratorship, which were therefore called Acta Pilati. Referring to this usage, Eusebius says" Our Saviour's resurrection being much talked of throughout Palestine, Pi late informed the emperor of it, as likewise of his miracles, of which he had heard; and that, being raised up after he commentary accompanies the Mishna, it is called the Jerusalem or Babylonish Talmud. See a full account of thein, infra, Part II. Book I. Chap. II. Sect. III. § 6. II. Dr. Gregory Sharpe's Argument in Defence of Christianity taken from the concessions of the most ancient adversaries, pp. 40-48. (London, 1755, 8vo.) In the notes he has given the passages from the Talmudical writers at length, in Hebrew and English. Dr. Lardner's Jewish Testimonies, chap. v. Works, vol. vii. pp. 138- 264. |