priests and people very severely, not for idolatry, but for their scandalous lives and gross corruptions.

The Scripture History ends at this period, and 430. we must have recourse to uninspired writings, principally to the books of the Maccabees and to Josephus, for the remaining particulars of the Jewish history, to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (a).

Judæa continued subject to the kings of Persia about two hundred years, but it does not appear that it had a separate governor after Nehemiah. From his time it was included in the jurisdiction of the governor of Syria, and under him the high priest had the chief authority. When Alexander the Great was preparing to besiege Tyre, he sent to Jaddua, the high priest at Jerusalem, to supply him with that quantity of provisions which he was accustomed to send to Persia. Jaddua refused, upon the ground of his

oath

threatened as a token of the displeasure of God; and we may presume, that it was designed also to increase their desire and expectation of the appearance of the Messiah at the appointed time.

(a) The history, contained in the apocryphal books, ends about 135 years before Christ, according to Dr. Blair.

332. oath of fidelity to the king of Persia. This refusal irritated Alexander; and when he had taken Tyre, he marched towards Jerusalem to revenge himself upon the Jews. Jaddua had notice of his approach, and by the direction of God went out of the city to meet him, dressed in his pontifical robes, and attended by the Levites in white garments. Alexander, visibly struck with this solemn appearance, immediately laid aside his hostile intentions, advanced towards the high priest, embraced him, and paid adoration to the name of God, which was inscribed upon the frontlet of his mitre: he afterwards went into the city with the high priest, and offered sacrifices in the temple to the God of the Jews. This sudden change in the disposition of Alexander excited no small astonishment among his followers; and when his favourite Parmenio inquired of him the cause, he answered, that it was occasioned by the recollection of a remarkable dream he had in Macedonia, in which a person, dressed precisely like the Jewish high priest, had encouraged him to undertake the conquest of Persia, and had promised him success; he therefore adored the name of that God by whose direction he believed he acted, and shewed kindness to his people. It is also said, that while he was at Jerusalem the

prophecies

prophecies of Daniel were pointed out to him, which foretold that "the king of Grecia (b)" (b)” should conquer Persia. Before he left Jerusalem he granted the Jews the same free enjoyment of their laws and their religion, and exemption from tribute every sabbatical year, which they had been allowed by the kings of Persia; and when he built Alexandria he placed a great number of Jews there, and granted them many favours and immunities. Whether any Jews settled in Europe, so early as while the nation. was subject to the Macedonian empire, is not 'known, but it is believed that they began to hellenize about this time. The Greek tongue became more common among them, and Grecian manners and opinions were soon introduced.

At the death of Alexander, in the division of 323. his empire among his generals, Judæa fell to the share of Laomedon (c). But Ptolemy Soter, son of Lagus, king of Egypt, soon after made himself

(b) Daniel, c. 8. v. 20. &c.

(c) Laomedon, one of Alexander's captains, had Syria, Phoenicia, and Judæa, assigned to him in the first partition, after the death of Alexander; but Ptolemy Soter very soon took possession of these territories. As both Laomedon and Antigonus continued masters of those countries, which were allotted to them, only a short time, the Macedonian empire is generally considered as divided

into

himself master of it by a stratagem: he entered Jerusalem on a sabbath day, under pretence of offering sacrifice, and took possession of the city without resistance from the Jews, who did not on this occasion dare to transgress their law by fighting on a sabbath day. Ptolemy carried many thousands captive into Egypt, both Jews and Samaritans, and settled them there; he afterwards treated them with kindness, on account of their acknowledged fidelity to their engagements, particularly in their conduct towards Darius, king of Persia; and he granted them equal privileges with the Macedonians themselves, at Alexandria. Ptolemy Philadelphus is said to have given the Jews, who were captives in Egypt, their liberty, to the number of 120,000. He commanded the Jewish Scriptures to be translated into the Greek language, which translation is called the Septuagint (a). After the Jewish nation had been tributary to the kings of Egypt for about an hundred years, it became subject to the kings of Syria. They divided the land, which now began to be called Palestine, into five provinces, three of which were on the west

side

into four parts, the Macedonian, the Asiatic, the Syrian, and Egyptian, of which Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy Soter were respectively kings. (a) Vide Note, p. 13 of this Work.

side of the Jordan, namely, Galilee, Samaria, and Judæa (d), and two on the east side, namely, Trachonitis and Peræa: but they suffered them to be governed by their own laws, under the high priest and council of the nation. Seleucus Nicanor gave them the right of citizens in the cities which he built in Asia Minor and CœleSyria, and even in Antioch his capital, with privileges which they continued to enjoy under the Romans. Antiochus the Great granted considerable favours and immunities to the city of Jerusalem; and to secure Lydia and Phrygia, he established colonies of Jews in those provinces. In the series of wars which took place between the kings of Syria and Egypt, Judæa, being situated between those two countries, was in a greater or less degree, affected by all the revolutions which they experienced, and was frequently the scene of bloody and destructive battles. The evils, to which the Jews were exposed from these foreign powers, were considerably aggravated by the corruption and misconduct of their own high priests, and other persons of distinction among them. To this corruption and misconduct, and to the increasing wickedness of the people, their sufferings ought indeed to be attributed, according

to

(d) But the whole country was frequently called Judæa after this time,