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Show tt The third Bogkeofthefir?part Cuarii§.6. Cuara§.6. oftheHiflorie ofthe World, 9 ns whath beenlittle carefullto fatisfiemien that would frame Arguinents againft imi For Manifeltitis,that the 19. yeare.ofNebuchadvezzar, isioyned with the 11.0fZedckias 2.King.2.5.8; asalforhathis eight yeate, vvasthe firlt yeave of lechonia hiscaptiuity-,. the reignof Ze- & ler,§1-12 Wabonides,or elfe wemuit-bethinke\our felues what Perfiaw iv might be that fhated the kingdomeswith him: Porit isnotmore cértainey that Balthafar loft: his: lifeland king thatit needes no further proofes z, As for the beginning of his fucceflor.Ewileterodach,it 2KiNg.25:27. iftheprophecy ofDaniel weretrue, that the Kingdome of Bu/thafar was diuidedyand pinciveo théatedes and Penfiens;:citherwe muft thinke that Darina Ofthe Medesivas not dome; than thathis! Kingdome was diuided and, giuen to the:Medesand Perfians: Neithendid theAfedesatid'Perfians fall outandfightforit, as by fuppofing Naboniduto hauebeeti Dariass they thould be thought to haue done ; but thefe two Nations did compound the body ofthat Empire ,. and wereaccounted as Lords ouerall the fubied Prouinces;itifomuch thatthe Greek Hiftorians did:commonlycall thofe warres which ts Darins , and after him Xerxesy:madevpon Greece ; The warresiof the Atedes. Yea to cleatéthis point,euch Daniel himfelfe refembles that King ,\with whom Alexsade fought ;vatoa Raminewith two hornes, calling him the King'of the aedesandpe fians,, Wherefore the whole Nation of Chronclogers were not to have beené condeh ned by-Jeféph Scaliger; for maintaining vpon fuch good grounds; that Darivsofth Medes|, was partner: with Cyras in hisvictories, and not a Chaldean Kinz by hi thefefoure and forty,whichNebschadnezzars reigne did well neere occupie,thofe eighjoteene yearesiof his which pafled awaybefore the captiuity ofIuda, and mine ofthe ci- ty, wee hauic remaining fixeand twenty yeaitesiofthe feuenty, that werealmoftwholly {pent when his fon beganto reigne: [tis now to. beconfidered howthe remainder of the feuentie yearesiwere dinided betweenthe Kings ruling in Babylon vntill the firlt ofCyr#s:A queftion moredifficult (as Ifaidbefore)than.greatly needful :the whole.fumme being certaine,and thediftinaion hauedone ; knowing well before-hand,that whofoeuer fhall difcouet my error,muftdo methe pleafire (whichI could ratherwiflvin a cafe more materiallofmaking me to yn- werecontained in the writings ofthe Zewes,to whofe Hiftories thereby he proc derftandthe truth. ' Of the foure‘and forty yeares remaining ‘imaccompt of Webuchadnezzars deaths we aretotake away the laft, which was'thefirft of Dariws the Mede,and then hauing autho: tity good enough:to warrant vs fromblame of' prefiimption, in' giuing vs feuentéene uen {6.dore Ex/ebixssand other Writers ; willingly embracethe teftimonics of Heathen bookes making forthe truth in fomeparticulars; yetwillthey: not therefore betfied in generalbythe felfe fame Ethnicke Philofophers, but leaue them where they-are apaintt yeatsto Balthafar, we finde left in our handsto beftow-vpon Enilmerodach fixe &twen- the truth; as /6/ephusinithis cafe hath left Berofes, And thus much I thought it mettte fay of Sealigers opinion inthis points holding neuertheleffe in diie regard his learning andiudgement, whichifin fomethings it hadinotfailed , the miracle had thenbeene yo : §. Vi. What ae bee held as probable of the Perfins end Times of Nabuchodonofor hifee ceffors. T now. remaines that Tfreely. acknowledge mineowne weaknefie;who cannot finde howthé70.yearsiofcaptiuity are to be diuided among them whichreigned in'Bel- fon, thoughI firide thatthe diftribution made ofthem, infachiwife as already iste-4¢ hearfed,beill agreeablétothe holy Scriptures.Wherefore I may truely fay with Pare viuschat we ought liberally to pardon thofewhofefect haue failed them in theflippery waics ofChronology,whercin both learning and diligence are fubieé to take a fall atone timeor othefbyignorance,forgerfulhelfe,or heedleffe reckoning. Yet will Iaduenture to deliver my opinion; wherein the iudgementof Lyra and others (holding thofeonly Scriptures) iappea'es more conformableto-reafon and. account oftime, than anyof theother Sentences Coniectures before iteheatfed. Not that Iwilltake vponme to deferid Lyra his Come Gates , whenhe fuppofeth by Niglifar and Labofardach to be mearit the fame petions which are called inSeviptures Exilwserodsch and Balthafar (forthis can by no good co | lour be maintained) but only to thew that the Kings by himcited,are likely to haucoe? ine J the:whole timeof,fenenty years, Firft therefore let vs confider the reigne ot Wee ein yeare Jeru/alem was takenandfackt, but in his ie was of Writers haue giuento him 43-yeares of reigne, following therein perefiss Aad are whohaue added one yeare more ; and fome haue madeit v pgs. To ditpus aboutthe certainty were nieedlefle's for in fhewing by: what-lengthioftime the 2 it and peraduenture a goodpartofthe fixeandthirticth, forafmuch.as sechonia'was inlarged with fo.gteat fauour, not vnrill the end oftheyear. Subftraéting therforeourof 2oand defperate conieétures in dividing then?. ‘Twill thetefore'be' bold to'doe as others putation ia the Remsaze world,wherethey were ftrangers, and might feeme fabulous.E- Fures meafaue him,we fhallshewthe Certaine truths & Ter. § 2-3 for thatthe diftribution of fomepart of thém‘s only coniecturall; feeing that nonewho giues any other termes to their beginning orend, hath refufed to followboth valikely to alleageall Authors that had any mention , though vnperfect,ofthe fameth to have reigned ouerithe Ghaldeans;whofe names arefound in the yvasinthe feucn.andthirtieth, yeare of sechonra his captiuitie ; fo that Nebuchadnezzar after his'$. yeare (vvhich was the firft ofJecbonia his bondage) reigned.3 5-vvholeyears, Neither canany manthe moreinftly fufpectthe beginning or end ofthe whole 7o.years, Tbeleeue thathe vaderftood as farre as was needfulin this cafe.Lawfall it was f qoad 2 King.24.1 oftimes affording no benefit inknowledgeof their actions, who were flothfull Princes. ed. Neither was lofephasto betheleffe regarded ; for affirming'that' Ba flroyed by Darius ofthe Adedes, and his Nephew Cyrus, thoughvheérein Berofws,and others, whofe authority elfewhere he gladly citeth: For /o/2pbus had no teafon to beleete any mans faith or knowledge ofthofe times,half{wel jelssahor very greats dekia occupied all the meane fpace,being of r1. years. T his is generally agreed vpon,fo tleyeares. Ofthe yeare belonging vnto Duriasthe Mede, Thane already {poken what I thought fuflicient, in deliuering my opinionof the beginning and continuanceofthis socaptinitic: That Balrha/ar did reiene feuenteeh yeares; we hauetheauthority of /o/éephas, before cited in exprefle words 5 -Weelhauealfothe generall confenrofall, orthe moft late Writers, interpreting Berofus his Wabonidas,who reigned fo long; and Balzbafarto due been one." But nothing moueth me fo'muchto beleeuethis Tradition,as firft thofe etident placesr in Daniel, {hewing thatinthethird yeare of Baltha/ar hee followed the pan.8.. a : 3 r as 27.00 0.55 Kings bufineffe,; and yet was forgotten ere'theendof his reigne, (a proofe fufficient ofCoy Saag ho tewyeares,paffing vnder this man,e{pecially feeing it is no where foundthat Daniels ¢mployments tooke end either that yeareorthe next.) Secondly, the confideration' of Crrashis warres apaintt the Aflyrians, which beginning with the death of this mansfa- ther, 8 being alwaies profperous; could'hatdly haueo¢cupiedany longer time,though 40 Wemakelaroe allowance tohisdeeds inthe lower Afia, whichfell iout in the midde- Way Thauealteadyfhewed, that there appearesin the:Scriptures likelihood enough toomake. it credible, that'therreigne of:Eai/merodach was not fhort:,'and that men of Steatiudgement haue found it moft probable;that he was.aKingthreeand twenty years. More, Ithinke, they would:haueallowed himhad not the defire offatisfying Berofas, habe them torefticontent with this. And{furely it were greatly tobee withed , that corruption ; ‘a great eeof fuch Antiquitie ; as thofe of Bero/usy were extant without they would yeeld in ‘many darke' paflagesof Antiquitie. I will yet 'g4t (no doubt) confeffe, that were his workes neuer fo excellent, andin all things elfe vnqueftionably Stun? I would not therfore condefcend vato him in fome one point, wherein ig ScripWere his open enemie': How much leffe ought Tobéy.a broken)fragment of his, jontaining onélyfeuen or cight lines, and parreuen ofithetitle corrupted; as they beScuethat followhimin the reft" The Scriptures haue told'vsthat' God gaue the EmPire to Nebuchadue zear , toliisfonne:;:andto his fonnes fonne-s ‘Howlong eachOf seyinn9, tenet 3 Weeifinde not expreffed 3 yet would we gladly know ivof ae or = defifones at would teach ys ;»prouided alwaics, thathelpingvsina agp es . to fay ey the generall truth. More wordsare needlef{e. ae carelefneife of Sa that Berofus orlofephus who cited himy hath beene weenie 1 by the Setibes.; and thatit was'as eafie for thofe Scribes: to errein writing 8 lii o1 13 |