for his comfort amidft Afflictions, and Zeal for the honour and glory of his Religion, and concern for his Coun try-men. The People of the Jews, from Efdras's writing, had the Notion of their Reftauration at the latter End of the World; and of the Thousand Years Reign of their Meffiah: These were their receiv'd Opinions, before the Advent of Chrift. And the Antimillennarians reject Efdras's Prophefies, because they fully maintain these Doctrines: And from thefe divine Doctrines, (which Efdras could not know, but by divine Inspiration,) we may infer, that all Efdras's Prophecy is true. And fince the two Returns of the Jews are here de fcrib'd, we owe that to Efdras, and many other Circumftances here related exprefly, are in no other Prophecies fo plain. Feremy ch. 3. v. 12. prophefies of the Return of the ten Tribes, (Ifrael,) and if they repent, he will take one of a City, and two of them of a Country, and bring them unto Sion; they fhall fay no more, The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, neither fhall they remember nor vifit it; but call Ferufalem the Throne of the Lord, and all Nations fhall be gather'd unto it: And Fudab meets Ifrael. From hence I infer, that Judah fhall be Converted, and leave the Obfervation of the Judaic Covenant, before the Return of Ifrael; (after the Conqueft of Gog, Zach. 12.) Ifrael is here forbid the Jewish Ordinances. Ch. 4. v. 2. All Nations fhall be blessed in him, and praise God in Ferusalem,

CHAP.

CHAP. XIV.

Efdras makes new Copies of the Law of Mofes, then corrupted or burnt at Babylon, for the Use of the Jews in their Captivity.

Ch. 14. Sdras complains that the Law is burnt, therefore V. 21. no Man knoweth what is done of thee, or the Work that fhall begin; therefore he prays for the Holy Spi rit, that he might write all that was done in the World, fince the Beginning, which were written in thy Law: And he fent away the People for Forty Days, and took Five Writers, and went into the Field and remain'd there; and a Voice came to him, to command him to drink a Cup, filled with a Liquor like Water, but the Colour of it was like Fire; (Sr. John ch. 7. v. 38. fays, Chrift underftood by Water, the Holy Spirit, v. 39. And Ch. 4, v. 14. Chrift reprefents the Spirit, by Water, to the Samaritan Woman; and tells her, God must be worshipped in that Spirit; and v. 24. he fays, Spiritus est Deus: "So Caftalio tranflates üμai sis; this is an exprefs Declaration in Scripture, that the Spirit is God; and therefore, Efdras's Prophecy reprefents him by Water; and St. John, Ch. 6. v. 27. calls Chrift also &; hunc pater confignavit Deus. Caftalio Nov. Teft.) and when he had drank it, his Heart uttered Underftanding, and Wildom grew in his Breaft, and his Memory was ftrengthned, and his Mouth was open'd; and the Highest gave Under ftanding to the Five Men, and they wrote the wonderful Vifions of the Night, which Efdras told them; and they fat Forty Days, and eat Bread in the Night; and in Forty Days, they wrote 204 Books, (in the Margent is 904, but the Arabic Copy fays, they wrote but 94 Books of Mofes's Law; fo that the Number may be miftaken, or fuppofe Five Books are to be reckon'd in every Copy, and every one of the Writers writ every day One Book; in Forty Days there will be writ 200 Books, and they will make Forty Copies of

Mofes's

Mofes's Law, which contains Five Books.) The Law of Mo Jes was to be publifhed to the Wife and Unwife; but the 70 laft, which are the Vifions, deliver them only to the Wife.

What was now wrote, was for the ufe of the Captives in Media and Babylon, where the Copies of the Law were deprav'd, or burnt, or unintelligible, through the Change of the Hebrew Language, or Character, for the Chaldee: Therefore the Ten Tribes owe their Scriptures, and these Visions to Efdras alone. And for that end fo many Copies were writ to preferve Mofes's Law amongst them; but in Judea and Ægypt other Copies were preferv'd, as it is plain the Genealogies were; and Ifaiab was fhew'd to Cyrus, and Jeremy's Prophecy was known to Daniel, who mentions it. Many Fathers affert, that Efdras reftored the Scripture, by new tranfcribing it. Thus Tertullian, Irenæus, St. Jerom, Clemens Alexandrinus, affirm; but it was after his coming to Jerufalem. Then he put the Collections of the Prophets to Mofes's Five Books: He increafed the Pfalms from 72, which were collected before the Captivity; and thefe muft relate to their Return. He writ the Chronicles, which St. Jerom calls an Epitome of the Old Teftament: And this may be what he wrote during the Captivity. All Writers believe, Efdras was imploy'd in correcting the Old Copies, and new digefting them into the Order we now have: And the Samaritans curse the Scriptures of the Jews, because they were writ by Efdras. The Samaritans only retained Mofes's Writings, and no more; and they had a Copy of it before the Captivity return'd, and they were always malicious Enemies to the Jews, as well as to Efdras, Since Efdras's Writings contradict the Religion of the Samaritans, and the Opinion of the Sadducees about Spirits, and the Antichriftian Tenets of the Jews, 'tis no wonder he has been unjustly afpers'd by many Writers, for his Relation of the manner of his Infpiration: The drinking the fiery Liquor may as well be admitted, as the eating the Scrowl, or the touching the Prophets Lips with a Coal. The Dreams of the Prophets are common, as well as the Difcourfes with an Angel. All Prophetick Symbols are odd to them who do not underftand the Hiftory reprefented by them. But Efdras prays for the Affiftance of the Holy Spirit; and without that he could not have reftored or corrected the Hiftory of the World, from the Beginning, as well as the reft of Aofes's Books, for the ufe of the Jews in their Captivity. In Efdras's time the Jews had forgot their native Language; and he might add the Vowel-Points, to teach

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them to read his New Edition of the Mofaick Books.

If the Five Books of the Law were divided into 54 Secti ons by Efdras for the Ufe of the Synagogue, the Five Writers might write many Sections in 40 Days; but the Numbers are uncertain, fince the Text, the Margent and the Arabian Copy differ in the Number of Books or Sections.

The Firft Book of Efdras's Apocrypha is an Hiftory, and has no Abfurdity in the Relation of the Three young Mens Difpure what is ftrongeft. Jofephus relates the fame, and is a competent Witnefs that That Book was no Fiction: And the Hiftory of Efther was probably writ by Efdras, as well as the other, and he has told fome of the Cuftoms of the Eaftern Courts, which are no way improper for an Hiftorian; and for that Relation Efdras's Reputation ought not to fuffer.

Since Baruch writ all the Prophecies of Jeremy from his Mouth, which were burnt by Joachim, Fer. 43. the Holy Spi rit might in the fame manner ftrengthen the Memory of Efdras to remember the Law that was burnt in Chaldea, where they could not otherwife get a Copy of it. And the Holy Spirit did cause the Apoftles to remember all that Jefus fpoke, John 14. v. 26. Efdras wrote fome Books of the Scripture, and had the Holy Spirit's Direction at Babylon, as he had at FeruJalem.

СНАР.

CHA P. XV.

Defcribes the Fate of Egypt, the Rife of the Saracen Empire; the Saracens are the Dragons of Arabia; the Turks are the Carmanians; they conquer the Saracens, and are after beat by the Tartars; they at laft destroy Babylon, after the Holy War betwixt the Chriftians, and Saracens, and Turks.

THE

HE Prophecies in this Chapter are faid to be Faithful and True, which Efdras was to declare to the People from the Lord, who put them into his Mouth; and he was com manded to write them in Paper, and not to be terrified with the Incredulity of them who speak against them. God will bring Plagues on the World, Sword, Famine, and Death, and Deftruction; for VVickedness bath exceedingly polluted the Earth; the Souls of the Juft complain continually; I will furely avenge them, faith the Lord; my People is led like Flocks to a Slaughter; I will not fuffer them now to dwell in Egypt, but I will bring them with a mighty Hand, and fmite Egypt with Plagues as before, and will deftroy all the Land thereof, (525, Cambyfes invades Egypt, and conquers it; 572, Nebuchadnezzar had ravag'd Egypt before Cambyfes; Nebuchadnezzar flew many of the Jews, he carried others to Babylon, a few escaped out of Egypt, and fettled in Judea, after the Return of the Captivity.)

Woe to the VVorld, and them that dwell therein; one People fhall ftand up against another.

V. 20. I will call all the Kings of the Earth to reverence me, which are from the Rifing of the Sun, from the South, from the Eaft, and Libanus, to turn themselves against one

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another.