in building after Nehemiah set about the work.

Such is a very imperfect sketch of the present inconclusive state of the interpretation of this prophecy. And with some diffidence of my own opinions on the subject, treading as I am upon ground already carefully examined by so many learned men, I shall now, taking the present unbiassed translation of the Bible as my text, proceed to state how I would suggest that the difficulties pointed out may be in great measure, if not entirely, obviated.

The principal points which I shall endeavour to establish are these:

1st. That the prince mentioned by Ezra under the name of Darius, in whose reign an edict for rebuilding the city and temple of Jerusalem was issued, was the Xerxes of the Greek historians.

2nd. That the word covenant, in the 27th verse of the chapter containing the prophecy, refers to the covenant made with

Abraham, viz. that his seed should inherit the land of Canaan as an everlasting pos

session.

The establishment of the first of these points will not only afford a precise fulfilment of the joint period of seven and sixty-two weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three years, from the beginning of the reign of Xerxes to the birth of Christ; but will also enable me to give a most satisfactory explanation of the difficult period of seven weeks, by showing, that from the issue of the edict to rebuild the city and temple, to the final completion of the wall of Jerusalem, was precisely forty-nine years.

The establishment of the second point will obviate the necessity of resorting to an additional half week, beyond the seventy weeks, now so usually adopted: and will enable me to show a literal accomplishment of every word of the prophecy relating to the other great difficulty, the last of the seventy weeks.

CHAPTER III.

The first proposition is, That the prince mentioned by Ezra, under the name of Darius, in whose reign an edict for rebuilding the city and temple of Jerusalem was issued, was the Xerxes of the Greek historians.

It is evident that our information regarding the kings of Persia, as collected from sacred Scripture, can be neither very full nor precise, when we find that the same history can be applied, by some of the most learned and accurate writers, in such a variety of ways as we have seen in the last chapter and when the same prince can be regarded by Newton as Darius Hystaspis, by Scaliger as Darius Nothus, between whose reigns there is a distance of not less than sixty-two years. It might therefore be considered sufficient for me barely to point out, without fur

ther observation, how the substitution of Xerxes for Darius, in Ezra's history, would facilitate the interpretation of Daniel's prophecy. But I think I shall be able to do more. For, on a comparison of the sacred and profane history of the period in question, we shall find, I think, strong grounds of probability, if not almost of certainty, of the truth of the above suggestion.

Although there are some differences between the histories contained in what is called the apocryphal, and the canonical book of Ezra, yet as they do not tend to invalidate each other as far as regards the succession of the kings of Persia, we must be satisfied that the account contained in these books, as well as in the book of Nehemiah, is in this respect correct, as far as it goes. For both Ezra and Nehemiah lived in times of the kings they speak of, and had intimate connexion with them; the one, according to Josephus*, being a

friend of the king who gave him his commission, and the other, as related by himself*, being cupbearer to Artaxerxes, a post of importance among the captives of Persia. We must also be satisfied that the intercourse of the Greeks with Persia about the same time, and the research of Herodotus, who wrote so shortly after, equally enabled them to hand down to us a faithful record of the succession of princes to the throne of that empire.

From these two authentic and independent sources, therefore, which inay reasonably be expected to afford consistent results, we have the two following lists of the Persian kings, as far as Darius Nothus: