Greek alfo was understood at Rome, and by the Jews in Palestine.

The Greek, in which the New Teftament is written, is not pure and elegant Greek, fuch as was written by Plato, Xenophon, Polybius, or Plutarch; but is intermixed with many Hebraic fignifications, phrafes, and conftructions. It resembles pure claffical Greek as much probably as the French or German, written or spoken by a native Englishman, which must be conftantly mixed with fome Anglicifms, refembles the languages of Drefden or of Paris. This is a very striking mark of the authenticity of these writings. Had the Greek of the New Teftament been pure, elegant, claffical, it would be evident that the writers were either native Greeks, or scholars who had studied Greek; as the writings of Philo or Flavius Jofephus betray the fcholar. But fince we find it intermixed with many peculiarities be

longing

longing exclufively to the Hebrew or Chaldee, and Syriac, (the two languages fpoken in common life by the Jews of Palestine) it is evident, from this Hebraic Greek, that the writers were unlearned, and Jews by birth.

The Scriptures of the New Teftament are compofed in a ftyle, which very evidently betrays that their authors were born and educated in the Jewish religion. We find in them conftant allufions to offerings, priests, the temple, articles of drefs, and other parts of the Jewish divine fervice. The fentiments of the Old Teftament are rather interwoven into the body of them, than quoted. To make Jefus a fin-offering; to fprinkle with the blood of Jefus; to be born again; to be a temple of God: who does not recognize the Jew in thefe expreffions?—— When, in the Epiftle to the Romans', the then exifting fufferings and perfe

cutions of the Chriftians are defcribeq in the words of the 44th Pfalm-As it is written, For thy fake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as Sheep for the flaughter: when the murder of the infants at Bethlehem is told alfo in the language of Jeremiah-In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted: when the writer of the Epiftle to the Romans expreffes the common fentiment, that he taught Chriftianity in no place where another had already taught before him, with a paffage from the Old Teftament-I strived to preach the gospel, not where Chrift was named -but, as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they fhall fee; and they that have not heard, fhall underftand: what attentive reader will not discern from fuch conftant and unfolicited

g Mat. ii. 17, 18.

Chap. xv. 20, 21.

accommo

accommodations of the phrafeology of the Old Teftament, a writer to whom the religious language of the Jews was, as it were, a mother-tongue?

The Scriptures of the New Teftament are all, except thofe which bear the name of St. Paul, very evidently written in a style totally devoid of all cultivation, and with the fimplicity of unlearned men. We do not find in them any profound inferences, acute refutations, ftudied knowledge of the world; or any expreffions or compa rifons taken from aftronomy, phyfics, anatomy, poefy, architecture, or indeed from any of the arts or fciences.On the contrary, the writers relate, teach, exhort, exactly as men of found understanding and good principles, but devoid of any cultivation or learning, would relate, teach, and exhort. Common expreffions of common life; various repetitions, and circumstances perfectly fuperfluous; a want of ftrict connection

C 4

nection and method; a faulty conftruc tion; these conftitute the language of men, whofe intellectual powers may be found indeed, but entirely unculti vated.

Not lefs worthy of remark is the accuracy of many individual cir cumftances of their narrative. Jefus, they fay, was born under the Roman Emperour Auguftus; began his miniftry in the fifteenth year of Tiberius, and was put to death about three years and a half afterwards; that on the feaft of the Paffover, Pilate, a Roman Governour, condemned him to death; that St. Paul defended himself before the Roman Governours, Feftus and Felix, before the Jewish King Agrippa, &c.-An impoftor would not write fo circumftantially.

There are moreover certain hiftorical circumstances refpecting the political and religious conftitutions of the world mentioned in the Scriptures of

the