Lord

in February. Death of Ismail Pasha, March 2 (born, 1830). Death of Professor Blackie, March 2 (born, 1809). Niu-chwang captured by Japanese, March 4. Sir R. Low's advance to relieve Chitral begun, April 1. Mr Gully appointed Speaker to succeed Lord Peel, April 10. Treaty of Shimonoseki signed, April 15. Chitral relieved by Colonel Kelly, April 20. Death of Lord Selborne, May 4 (born, 1812). French expedition under General Duchesne arrives at Madagascar, May 6. Kiel Canal opened, June 21. Resignation of the Rosebery Ministry, June 22. Salisbury appointed Prime Minister, June 25. Death of T. H. Huxley, June 29 (born, 1825). Parliament dissolved, July 12. Murderous assault on M. Stambuloff, July 15; he died July 19 (born, 1852). Death of Professor von Gneist, July 21 (born, 1816). Anglo-Russian Pamirs Commission completes its work, September 18. Death of M. Pasteur, September 28 (born, 1822). Antananarivo captured by the French, September 30. Wolseley became Commander-in-Chief, November 1. Clyde shipping strike, November 6. Sir F. Scott, commanding Ashanti expedition against King Prempeh, leaves England, November 22. Death of Barthélemy St Hilaire, November 25 (born, 1805). Death of A. Dumas, fils, November 27 (born, 1824). Jabez Balfour sentenced for Liberator frauds, November 28. Defeat of Italians in Abyssinia, December 7. President Cleveland's Venezuela message to Congress, December 17. Dr Jameson with Chartered Company's troops invades the Transvaal, December

29.

Lord

Italians

1896. Mr Alfred Austin made Poet Laureate, January 1. Dr. Jameson's force defeated by the Boers near Krugersdorp, January 1. Surrender of Dr Jameson, January 2. Kaiser's telegram to Kruger published, January 3. Resignation of Mr Rhodes as Premier of Cape Colony, January 6. Dr Jameson and officers surrendered by Boers to British authorities, January 7. British flying squadron commissioned, January 7. Death of Paul Verlaine, January 8 (aged 51). Arrest of Johannesburg reformers, January 9, 10. Anglo-French difficulty regarding Siam settled, January 15. Kumassi occupied by British, January 18. Death of Prince Henry of Battenberg, January 20 (born 1858). Clyde shipping strike settled, January 21. Death of Lord Leighton, January 24 (born, 1830). General Weyler leaves Spain to command against rebels in Cuba, January 25. Sir J. E. Millais elected President of the Royal Academy, February 20. Mr Steyn made President of the Orange Free State, February 21. defeated by Abyssinians at Adowa, March 1. General Kitchener leaves Cairo to command Dongola expedition, March 22. Rising of the Matabele, March 25. Li Hung-chang left China to visit Europe, March 28. Johannesburg reformers sentenced, April 28; death sentences commuted same day. Major Lothaire acquitted in connexion with the hanging of Mr Stokes, April 28. Shah of Persia assassinated, May 1. Dervishes defeated near Akasheh, Sudan, May 1. Hungarian millenary exhibition, May 2. Matabele defeated at Gwelo, May 9. Tsar's coronation, May 26. Dervishes defeated at Ferkeh, June 7. Death of Jules Simon, June 8 (born, 1814). Dr Jameson and officers committed for trial, June 15. Japanese towns destroyed by sea wave, June 15. Madagascar declared a French colony, June 20. Death of Mrs Beecher Stowo, July 1 (born, 1812). Dr Jameson and officers convicted under Foreign Enlistment Act, July 28. Li Hung-chang arrived in England, August 2. Defeat of the Matabele, August 5. Death of Sir J. E. Millais, August 13 (born, 1829). Conference by Mr Rhodes with Matabele chiefs, August 20; followed by submission of natives. Zanzibar bombarded by British, August 27. Massacre of Armenians in Constantinople, August 25-27. Death of Prince Lobanof, August 30 (born, 1824). Return of Dr Nansen to Christiania, September 9. Dongola occupied by Egyptian troops, September 23. Death of William Morris, October 3 (born, 1834). Tsar's arrival in Paris, October 6. Death of Archbishop Benson, October 11 (born, 1829). Bishop Temple made Archbishop of Canterbury, October 26. Treaty of peace between Italy and Abyssinia, October 26. Mr McKinley elected President of the United States, November 3. Anglo-American agreement about Venezuela announced, November 9. Chinese treaty re Manchurian railway published, December 8. 1897. Unarmed British party attacked and massacred near Benin, January 2. Niger Company's expedition against Nupé and Ilorin starts, January 6. Olney-Pauncefote arbitration treaty signed, January 11. Death of Sir I. Pitman, January 22 (aged 84). Subinission of Nupé, February 5. Greek force under Colonel Vassos landed in Crete, February 14. South Africa Committee's sittings begun, February 16. Submission of Ilorin, February 18. city captured by British, February 18. International force sent to Crete by the Powers, March 18. Death of Johannes Brahms, April 3 (aged 63). War declared by Turkey against Greece, April 17. Maluna Pass captured by the Turks, April 18. Differential Tariff Bill introduced, April 23. Greek retreat from Larissa, April 25. Disastrous fire at a charity bazaar in Paris, causing great loss of life, including the Duchesse d'Alençon, May 4. Olney - Pauncefote arbitration treaty rejected by United States

Russo

Benin

Canadian

Senate, May 5. Greek retreat from Phersala, May 6. Death of the Duc d'Aumale, May 7 (born, 1822). Arrival of Sir A. Milner in South Africa as High Commissioner, May 7. Intervention of the Powers between Turkey and Greece, May 11. Disaster to a British force in the Tochi Valley, Indian frontier, June 10. Severe earthquakes in Assam and other parts of India, June 12. Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, June 22. British plague officials murdered near Bombay, June 22. Death of Mrs Oliphant, June 25 (born, 1828). Naval review at Spithead, June 26. Death of Henri Meilhac, July 7 (aged 66). Herr Andrée's balloon expedition started for the North Pole, July 10. South Africa Committee's report issued, July 13. Death of Jean Ingelow, July 20 (aged 71). Excitement over Klondike gold discoveries, July 23. Rising in the Swat Valley, July 26. Capture of Abu Hamed, Sudan, August 7. Assassination of Señor Canovas del Castillo, Spanish Premier, August 8. General cessation of Swat Valley hostilities, August 21. Rising of Afridis, August 23. Arrival of President Faure at Kronstadt to visit the Tsar, August 23. Farewell luncheon on board the Pothuau at Kronstadt, August 26. Berber occupied by Egyptian troops, September 13. Severe fighting with the Mamunds, September 17. Preliminary treaty of peace between Turkey and Greece signed, September 18. eral Weyler recalled from Cuba, October 8. Advance against Afridis begun by Sir W. Lockhart, October 19. Dargai heights stormed, October 20. Herr von Bülow appointed German Foreign Minister, October 22. Death of the Duchess of Teck, October 27 (born, 1833). Dreyfus bordereau published by the Matin, November 10. Kiao-chow Bay occupied by Germans, November 14. Great fire in Cripplegate, November 19. Final treaty of peace between Turkey and Greece signed, December 4. Departure

Gen

of Prince Henry of Prussia for China, December 16. Death of Alphonse Daudet, December 16 (born, 1840). British retirement from Tirah highlands to winter quarters, about December 20. Famine and plague very severe in India during the year.

Sub

1898. Major Esterhazy acquitted of treason by court-martial, January 11. M. Zola's letter, "J'accuse," published in the Aurore, January 13. Death of "Lewis Carroll," January 14 (aged 65). Death of Mr C. P. Villiers, January 16 (born, 1802). Uganda rebels defeated, January 29. The United States warship Maine blown up in Havana harbour, February 15. M. Zola convicted for libel, February 23. Death of Sir Henry Bessemer, March 15 (born, 1813). Port Arthur and Ta-lien-wan ceded to Russia, March 23. Great coal strike in South Wales, April 1. mission of Khaibar tribesmen, April 1; the frontier pacified. Wei-hai-wei ceded to Great Britain, April 2. Dervishes defeated on the Athara, April 8. War between the United States and Spain, April 21. Spanish fleet at Manila destroyed by Commodore Dewey, May 1. Serious riots in Milan, May 7. Death of W. E. Gladstone, May 19 (born, 1809). Spanish fleet under Admiral Cervera arrived at Santiago de Cuba, May 19. The Merrimac sunk by Lieutenant Hobson at the entrance to Santiago harbour, June 3. Bankruptcy of Mr E. T. Hooley, June 8. Agreement with France re West Africa signed, June 14. Resignation of M. Méline, French Premier, June 15, succeeded by M. Brisson. Death of Sir E. Burne-Jones, June 17 (born, 1833). Cervera's squadron destroyed by Admiral Sampson near Santiago, July 3. Major Marchand reached Fashoda, July 10. Santiago occupied by Americans, July 17. Death of Prince Bismarck, July 30 (born, 1815). Canadian preferential tariff in favour of Great Britain came into operation, August 1. Sudanese troops decisively defeated in Uganda by Major Martyr, August 4; they had been in mutiny since October 1897. Spanish-American peace preliminaries settled, August 12. Manila surrendered to Americans, August 13. United States and Canadian Conference at Quebec opened, August 23. Tsar's disarmament proposals issued, August 24. Suicide of Colonel Henry while under arrest for forging evidence in the Dreyfus case, August 30. Complete defeat of the Khalifa at Omdurman, September 2. Assassination of the Empress of Austria at Geneva, September 10. Terrible hurricane in the West Indies, September 11. Death of Sir George Grey, September 19 (born, 1812). Meeting between the Sirdar and Major Marchand at Fashoda, September 21. Coup d'Etat in China, DowagerEmpress becoming regent, September 22. Dreyfus case remitted to the Court of Cassation, September 26. Death of Puvis de Chavannes, October 25 (aged 72). Resignation of M. Brisson, October 25; succeeded by M. Ch. Dupuy. Arrival of the Kaiser at Haifa on his tour in the Holy Land, October 27. French Government decided to evacuate Fashoda, November 4. Prince George of Greece nominated High Commissioner of Crete, November 26. Spanish-American treaty of peace signed, December 10. Death of William Black, December 10 (born, 1841). Withdrawal of Major Marchand from Fashoda, December 11. Retirement from the Liberal leadership by Sir W. Harcourt announced, December 13. Imperial penny postage came into force, December 25. Plague was again prevalent in India this year, especially in Bombay. 1899. Native disturbances in Samoa, January 1. Anglo-Egyptian agreement regarding the Sudan, January 19 Fighting at

Manila between United States troops and Filipinos, February 4. Death of Count von Caprivi, February 6 (born, 1831). Death of President Faure, February 15 (born, 1841). Émile Loubet elected French President, February 18. Russian manifesto issued limiting Finnish autonomy, February 20. Death of Lord Herschell, March 1 (born, 1837). Agreements regarding railways and telegraphs in Africa negotiated with the German Government by Mr Rhodes in Berlin, March 10-16. Apia shelled by British and American warships, March 16. Anglo-French convention signed regarding possessions in Africa, March 21. Death of Édouard Pailleron, April 20 (born, 1834). British and Italian squadrons reviewed in Aranci Bay by King Humbert, April 22. The Hague Peace Conference opened, May 18. Death of Señor Castelar, May 25 (born, 1832). Death of Rosa Bonheur, May 25 (born, 1823). Conference opened at Bloemfontein between Sir A. Milner and President Kruger, May 31. Sale announced of Spanish Pacific islands to Germany, June 2. Death of Johann Strauss, June 3 (born, 1826). Dreyfus verdict annulled by Court of Cassation and new court-martial ordered, June 3. Bloemfontein Conference

concluded without result, June 6. Provisional Government for Samoa appointed, June 9. Defeat of French Ministry, June 12. Venezuela arbitration proceedings begun in Paris, June 15. French Ministry formed by M. Waldeck-Rousseau, June 22. Dreyfus landed in France for retrial at Rennes, July 1. Death of Victor Cherbuliez, July 1 (born, 1829). London Government Bill passed the Lords, July 4. Lieutenant-Colonel Klobb, of the French marines, killed in the Sudan by Captain Voulet's troops, July 14. Close of The Hague Conference, July 29. Retrial of Dreyfus begun, August 7. M. Labori, counsel for Dreyfus, shot in the back, August 14. Death of Professor Bunsen, August 16 (born, 1811). Dreyfus found guilty by the Rennes court-martial, September 9; pardoned, September 19. Last British despatch in Transvaal negotiations succeeding the Bloemfontein Conference, September 22. Decision of the Venezuela Arbitration Court, October 3. Boer ultimatum, October 9; war begun, October 11. Battle of Talana Hill, October 20; Sir W. P. Symons mortally wounded. Battle of Elandslaagte, October 21. British disaster at Nicholson's Nek, October 30. Arrival of Sir R. Buller at the

Cape, October 31. Anglo-German Samoa Convention signed,

November 14. Successful advance by Lord Methuen, driving the Boers from Belmont, November 23; Graspan, November 25 ; and Modder River, November 28; but with severe British losses. Defeat and death of the Khalifa at Om Debrika, November 25. Serious reverse to General Gatacre at Stormberg, December 10. Lord Methuen repulsed at Magersfontein, December 11; General Wauchope killed. Sir R. Buller repulsed at Colenso, December 15; eleven guns lost. Lord Roberts appointed to chief command in South Africa, with Lord Kitchener Chief of the Staff, December 16. New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania this year agreed on a scheme of federation. Famine and distress in Russia.

1900. Enrolment of members of the C.I.V. corps, January 1. Boer assault on Ladysmith repulsed, January 6. Arrival of Lord Roberts and staff at Cape Town, January 10. Osman Digna captured near Tokar, January 19. Death of John Ruskin, January 20 (born, 1819). Death of R. D. Blackmore, January 20 (born, 1825). Fresh advance by General Buller repulsed after heavy fighting at Spion Kop, January 24. Lord Roberts's advance from Modder River begun, February 11. Relief of Kimberley by General French, February 15. Indian Famine Mansion House Fund opened, February 15. Severe fighting in Natal by General Buller's force, February 18-23. Surrender of Cronje and 4000 Boers at Paardeberg, February 27. Relief of Ladysmith, February 28. Théâtre Français destroyed by fire, March 8. Bloemfontein occu

15.

pied, March 13. Death of General Sir W. Lockhart, March 18 (born, 1841). Death of Commandant General Joubert, March 27. Delagoa Bay award issued after eleven years, March 29. British force caught in ambush at Sanna's Post, March 31. Surrender of 600 British at Reddersburg, April 3. Queen's visit to Dublin, April 4. Attempt on the Prince of Wales by Sipido at Brussels, April 4. Death of Ghazi Osman Pasha, April 4 (aged 68). News. received of a rising in Ashanti, April 9. Paris Exhibition opened, April 14. Death of the Duke of Argyll, April 24 (born, 1823). Death of M. de Munkacsy, May 1 (born, 1844). Advance from Bloemfontein begun, May 2. Relief of Mafeking, May 17. Anxiety in Peking over the Boxer outbreak, May 20. Orange Free State annexed, May 26. Johannesburg occupied, May 31. Pretoria occupied, June 5. Start of Admiral Seymour's expedition to relieve Peking Legations, June 10; forced to retreat, June 19;. returned to Tientsin, June 26. Resignation of Mr Schreiner's Cape Ministry, June 13; succeeded by Sir J. Gordon Sprigg. Massacre of native Christians in Peking, June 13. Taku forts. captured by the allied squadrons, June 17. Baron von Ketteler, German Minister, murdered in Peking, June 20; siege of the Legations begun. Death of Count Muravieff, Russian Chancellor, June 21 (born, 1845); succeeded by Count Lamsdorff. Australian Commonwealth Bill received the royal assent, July 9. Earl of Hopetoun appointed Governor-General of Australian Commonwealth, July 13. Russians attacked by Chinese in Eastern Siberia, July 14; resulting operations ended in occupation of Manchuria by Russian troops. Native city of Tientsin captured by the allies, July 14. Kumassi garrison relieved by Colonel Willcocks, July Assassination of King Humbert of Italy, July 29 (born, 1844). Death of the Duke of Coburg, July 30 (born, 1844). Surrender of General Prinsloo and 3000 Boers, July 30-31. West Australia decided to join the Commonwealth, August 2. Death of Lord Russell of Killowen, August 10 (born, 1832). Relief of the Peking Legations, August 14. Mansion House War Fund exceeded £1,000,000, September 3. Komati Poort occupied by the British, September 24. Parliament dissolved, September 25; the Unionists again returned, with a majority of 134. Lord Roberts appointed Commander-in-Chief, September 30. Anglo German agreement regarding China, October 16. Resignation of Prince Hohenlohe, German Chancellor, October 17; succeeded by Count von Bülow. Mr Kruger sailed for Europe, October 20. Transvaal annexed by Royal proclamation, October 25. Death of Mr Sims Reeves, October 25 (born, 1822). Death of Professor Max Müller, October 28 (born, 1823). Defeat of De Wet near Bothaville, November 5. Re-election of President M'Kinley, November 6. Death of Sir Arthur Sullivan, November 22 (born, 1842). Arrival of Mr Kruger at Marseilles, November 22. Dewetsdorp captured by De Wet, November 23. Command in South Africa handed over to Lord Kitchener, November 29. Mr Kruger left Paris for Germany, December 1; refused an interview by the German Emperor; proceeded to Holland. Attempted invasion of Cape Colony by De Wet foiled, December 2-8. Mr Healy expelled by the Irish Nationalist party, December 11. Reverse to General Clements's force at Nooitgedacht, December 13. Invasion of Cape Colony by Boers under Kritzinger and Hertzog, December 16. Hay-Pauncefote Treaty ratified by the United States Senate with amendments, December 20. Death of Field-Marshal Count von Blumenthal, December 22 (born, 1810). Death of Lord Armstrong, December 27 (born, 1810). Mr Barton appointed first Premier of the Australian Commonwealth, December 30. Allies' terms to China accepted in principle, December 30. Proposed Russo-Chinese agreement re Manchuria known in Peking, December 31. Terribly severe famine in India this (w. w. s.*)

year.

1. OLD TESTAMENT.

SENSE of the importance of a fixed standard of

A gradually in

of the world. Nations in a primitive state of civilization were not, and are not, conscious of the need. When the need began to be felt events were probably at first dated by the regnal years of kings; the reigns of successive kings were then arranged in order, and grouped, if necessary, in dynasties, and thus a fixed standard was gradually constructed. Particular states also not unfrequently introduced fixed eras, which obtained a more or less extensive currency, as the era of the first Olympiad (776 B.C.), of the foundation of Rome (753 B.C.), and of the Seleucidæ at

Antioch (312 B.C.), which is followed by the Jewish author of the first book of Maccabees. Some of the earliest documents which we possess are dated by the year in which some noticeable event took place, as in contracttablets of the age of Sargon of Agadè (3800 B.C., or, according to other authorities, 2800 B.C.), "In the year in which Sargon conquered the land of Amurru [the Amorites]"; or, "In the year in which Samsu-satana [c. 2200 B.C.] made the statue of Marduk": Is. vi. 1 ("In the year of King Uzziah's death"), xiv. 28, xx. 1, are examples of this method of dating found even in the Old Testament. In process of time, however, the custom of dating by the regnal year of the king became general. The Babylonians and Assyrians were probably the first to construct and S. III. ΙΟ

On these figures the following remarks may be made :(i.) In Genesis the chronology of the Priestly Code ("P") is not consistent with the chronology of the other parts of the book ("JE"). Three or four illustrations will suffice: (a) The author of Gen. xii. 10-20 evidently pictures Sarai as a comparatively young woman, yet, according to P (xii. 4, xvii. 17) she was 65 years old. (6) In Gen. xxi. 15 it is clearly implied that Ishmael has been carried by his mother, yet according to xvi. 16, xxi. 5, 8, he must have been at least 15 years old. (c) In Gen. xxvii. Isaac is to all appearance on his deathbed (cf. ver. 2), yet according to P (xxv. 26, xxvi. 34, xxxv. 28) he survived for eighty years, dying at the age of 180. Ussher and others, arguing back from the dates in xlvii. 9, xlv. 6, xli. 46, xxxi. 41, infer that Jacob's flight to Haran took place in his 77th year. This reduces the 80 years to 43 years, though that is scarcely less incredible. It involves, moreover, the incongruity of supposing that thirty-seven years elapsed between Esau's marrying his Hittite wives (xxvi. 34) and Rebekah's expressing her apprehensions (xxvii. 46) lest Jacob, then aged seventy-seven, should follow his brother's example. (d) In Gen. xliv. 20 Benjamin is described as a "little one"; in P, almost immediately afterwards (xlvi. 21), he appears as the father of ten sons; for a similar anomaly in xlvi. 12, see the Oxford Hexateuch, i. p. 25 n. (ii.) The ages to which the various patriarchs lived (Abraham, 175; Isaac, 180; Jacob, 147), though not so extravagant as those of the antediluvian patriarchs, or (with one exception) as those of the patriarchs between Noah and Abraham, are much greater than is at all probable in view of the structure and constitution of the human body. (iii.) The plain intention of Ex. xii. 40, 41 is to describe the Israelites as having dwelt in Egypt for 430 years, which is also in substantial agreement with the earlier passage, Gen. xv. 13 ("shall sojourn in a land that is not theirs, and they shall afflict them 400 years"). It does not, however, accord with other passages, which assign only four generations from Jacob's children to Moses (Ex. vi. 16-20; Num. xxvi. 5-9; cf. Gen. xv. 16), or five to Joshua (Josh. vii. 1); and for this reason, no doubt, the Sam. and LXX. read in Ex. xii. 40, "The sojourning of the children of Israel in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, was 430 years," reducing the period of the sojourn in Egypt to half of that stated in the Hebrew text, viz., 215 years. This computation attained currency among the later Jews (Josephus and others; cf. the "400 years " of Gal. iii. 17). The forced and unnatural rendering of Ex. xii. 40 in the A.V. (contrast R. V.), which was followed by Ussher, is intended for the purpose of making it possible. (iv.) The interval between Abraham and the Exodus appears to be

greater than is permitted by the synchronisms with external history. It is difficult (see below) to place the Exodus much earlier than c. 1200 B.C. If, however, the Amraphel of Gen. xiv. is rightly identified by scholars with the Babylonian king Khammurabi (whose reign is assigned variously by Assyriologists to dates ranging between 23762333 B.C. to 2120-2065 B.c.),1 and if, further, the part ascribed to Abraham in the same chapter is historical, the interval between Abraham's entry into Canaan and the Exodus cannot be less than c. 900 years, and may very possibly be more, as against the 645 years allowed by the Hebrew text, or the still shorter period of 430 years allowed by Ussher's computation. From the facts that have been here briefly noted it must be evident how precarious and, in parts, how impossible the Biblical chronology of this period is. (v.) It has been observed as remarkable that 2666, the number of years (in the Hebrew text) from the Creation of Man to the Exodus is, in round numbers, just two-thirds of 4000; and the fact has suggested the inference that the figure was reached by artificial computation. The Date of the Exodus.-Is it possible to determine this, even approximately, upon the basis of external data? (i.) The correspondence between the Egyptian governors established in different parts of Palestine and the Egyptian kings Amen-hôtep III. and IV. of the 18th dynasty, which was discovered in 1887 at Tel el-amarna, makes it evident that Palestine could not yet have been in the occupation of the Israelites. It was still an Egyptian province, and the Babylonian language, in which the correspondence is written, shows that the country must have been for a considerable time past, before it came into the possession of Egypt, under Babylonian influence. One of the kings, now, who corresponds with Amen-hôtep IV. is Burnaburiash II., king of Babylon, and Egyptologists and Assyriologists are agreed that the date of these monarchs was c. 1400 B.C. The conquest of Canaan, consequently, could not have taken place till after 1400 B.C. (ii.) It is stated in Ex. i. 11 that the Israelites built in Egypt for the Pharaoh two store-cities, Pithom and Raamses. The excavations of M. Naville have, however, shown that Ramses II. of the 19th dynasty was the builder of Pithom; and though the other city has not at present been certainly identified, its name is sufficient to show that he was its builder likewise. Hence the Pharaoh of the Exodus is commonly supposed to have been Ramses II.'s successor, Merenptah. Egyptian chronology is unfortunately imperfect, but Professor Petrie, who has paid particular attention to the subject, and who assigns the reign of Amen-hôtep IV. to 1383-1365 B.C., assigns Ramses II. to 1275-1208 B.c.2 In Merenptah's fifth year the Delta was invaded by a formidable body of Libyans and other foes; and it has been

1

3

Early Babylonian chronology is itself, in some of its details, difficult and uncertain, the figures given in the two important dynastic lists discovered by Mr Pinches in 1874 and 1880 (see Records of the Past, 2nd ser. vol. i. p. 13 f.) not harmonizing completely with statements made by later Assyrian and Babylonian kings as to the years which had elapsed since the reigns of certain of their predecessors. The figures in the dynastic lists would lead most naturally to such dates as 2376-2333 B.C. (Sayce, Early Israel, 1899, p. 281), 2342-2288 (R. W. Rogers, Hist. of Babylonia and Assyria, New York, 1900, i. 338 -at least approximately, p. 387 m.), 2287-2232 (Maspero, Struggle of the Nations, 1897, p. 27), c. 2285 (L. W. King, Encycl. Biblica, 1899, i. 445); but other scholars argue with much force that there are errors in some of the transmitted figures, and so arrive at the dates 1898, p. 99 and tab. 3), 2120-2065 (Rost, Untersuchungen zur Altor. 2248-2194 (Lehmann, Zwei Hauptprobleme der Altor. Chronologie, Gesch. 1897, p. 23), or 2130-2087 (Hommel, Expository Times, x. 1898, p. 210 f.). On Khammurabi himself, see further Maspero, op. cit. pp. 39-44; and on the chronological question Rogers, op. cit. pp. 312-348.

2 Petrie, Hist. of Egypt, i. (1895), p. 251; ii. (1897), p. 29. 3 See Merenptah's account of the defeat of these invaders in Maspero, op. cit. pp. 432-437.

suspicious. On the whole no certain chronology of this: period is at present attainable.3

conjectured that the Israelites took the opportunity of escaping during the unsettlement that was thus occasioned. Alternative dates for Ramses II.: Sayce, Early Israel, p. 277, 1348-1281 B.C. (the Exodus [p. 286], 1276); Maspero, op. cit. p. 449, c. 1320-1255; Lehmann, 1324-1258 (at earliest). Attempts have been made to identify the Khabiri, who are mentioned often in the Tel el-amarna letters as foes, threatening to invade Palestine and bring the Egyptian supremacy over it to an end, with the Hebrews. The Exodus, it has been pointed out, might then be placed under Amen-hôtep II. (1490-1474 B.C., Maspero; 14491423, Petrie), the successor of Thothmes, and more time would be allowed for the events between the Exodus and the time of David (c. 1000), which, if the date given above be correct, have been thought to be unduly compressed (see Orr in the Expositor, March 1897, p. 161 f.); but there are difficulties attaching to this view, and it has not been adopted generally by scholars.

The mention of Israel on the stele of Merenptah, discovered by Petrie in 1896 ("Israel is desolated; its seed [or fruit] is not "), is too vague and indefinite in its terms to throw any light on the question of the Exodus. See the discussion (with the references) in Hogarth's Authority and Archæology, pp. 62-65.

x

II. From the Exodus to the Foundation of the Temple (in the fourth year of Solomon, 1 Kings vi. 1). In the chronological note, 1 Kings vi. 1., this period is stated to have consisted of 480 (LXX. 440) years. Is this figure correct? If the years of the several periods of oppression and independence mentioned in the Book of Judges (Judges iii. 8, 11, 14, 30; iv. 3; v. 31; vi. 1; viii. 28; ix. 22; x. 2, 3, 8; xii. 7, 9, 11, 14; xiii. 1; xv. 20; xvi. 31) be added up, they will be found to amount to 410 years; to these must be added further, in order to gain the entire period from the Exodus to the foundation of the Temple, the 40 years in the wilderness, a years under Joshua and the elders (Judges ii. 7), the 20 years' judgeship of Eli (1 Sam. iv. 18), the judgeship of Samuel (perhaps 20 years; cf. 1 Sam. vii. 2), the y years of Saul (the two years of Sam. xiii. 1 [R.V.] seem too few), the 40 years of David (1 Kings ii. 11), and the first four years of Solomon, i.e., 144+x+y years, in all 554 years, + two unknown periods denoted by x and y-in any case considerably more than the 480 years of 1 Kings vi. 1. This period might no doubt be reduced to 480 years by the supposition, in itself not improbable, that some of the judges were local and contemporaneous; the suggestion has also been made that, as is usual in Oriental chronologies, the

years of foreign domination were not counted, the beginning of each judge's rule being reckoned, not from the victory which brought him into power, but from the death of his predecessor; we should in this case obtain for the period from the Exodus to the foundation of the Temple 440+x+y years, which if 30 years be assigned conjecturally to Joshua and the elders, and 10 years to Saul, would amount exactly to 480 years. The terms used, however ("and the land had rest forty years," iii. 11 similarly, iii. 30; v. 31; viii. 28), seem hardly to admit of the latter supposition; and even if they did, it would still be scarcely possible to maintain the correctness of the 480 years: it is difficult to harmonize with what, as we have seen, appears to be the most probable date of the Exodus; it is, moreover, open itself to the suspicion of having been formed artificially, upon the assumption that the period in question consisted of twelve generations 2 of 40 years each. In the years assigned to the different judges, also, the frequency of the number 40 (which certainly appears to have been regarded by the Hebrews as a round number) is 1 Namely, 40 years in the wilderness; Joshua and the elders (Judges ii. 7), years; Othniel (iii. 11), 40 years; Ehud (iii. 30), 80 years; Barak (v. 31), 40 years; Gideon (viii. 28), 40 years; Jephthah and five minor judges (x. 2, 3; xii. 7, 9, 11, 14), 76 years; Samson (xvi. 31), 20 years; Eli (1 Sam. iv. 18), 40 years; Samuel (vii. 2), 20 years; Saul, y years; David, 40 years; and Solomon's first four years, -in all 440+x+y years.

2 Namely, Moses (in the wilderness), Joshua, Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, Eli, Samuel, Saul, and David.

III. From the Fourth Year of Solomon to the Captivity of Judah. During this period the dates are both more abundant, and also, approximately, far more nearly correct, than in any of the earlier periods; nevertheless in details there is still much uncertainty and difficulty. The Books of Kings are a compilation made at about the beginning of the Exile, and one object of the compiler was to give a consecutive and complete chronology of the period embraced in his work. With this purpose in view, he not only notes carefully the length of the reign of each king in both kingdoms, but also (as long as the northern kingdom relation with one another by equating the commencement existed) brings the history of the two kingdoms into of each reign in either kingdom with the year of the reign of the contemporary king in the other kingdom.

The following are examples of the standing formulæ used by the compiler for the purpose: "In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Asa to reign over Judah. And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem" (1 Kings xv. 9, 10). "In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, (and reigned) twenty and four years" (ibid. ver. 33).

In these chronological notices the lengths of the reigns. tradition or from the state annals-the "book of the were derived, there is every reason to suppose, either from to by the compiler as his authority (e.g., 1 Kings xv. 23, 31;. chronicles of Israel" (or "Judah "), so constantly referred xvi. 5); but the "synchronisms"-.e., the corresponding dates in the contemporary reigns in the other kingdomwere derived, it is practically certain, by computation from the lengths of the successive reigns. Now in some cases,. perhaps, in the lengths of the reigns themselves, in other cases in the computations based upon them, errors have crept in, which have vitiated more or less the entire chronodemonstrated in two ways: (1) The chronology of the logy of the period. The existence of these errors can be of various events in the history, which are mentioned also two kingdoms is not consistent with itself; (2) the dates in the Assyrian inscriptions, are in serious disagreement with the dates as fixed by the contemporary Assyrian

chronology.

(1) That the chronology of the two kingdoms is inof the kingdom the first year of Jeroboam in Israel consistent with itself is readily shown. After the division coincides, of course, with the first year of Rehoboam in Judah'; and after the death of Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah in battle with Jehu (2 Kings ix. 24, 27), the first year of Jehu in Israel coincides similarly with the first year of Athaliah in Judah: there are thus in the history of the two kingdoms two fixed and certain synchronisms. Now, if the regnal years of the kings of Israel from Jeroboam to Jehoram be added together, they will be found to amount to 98, while if those of the kings of Judah for the same period (viz., from Rehoboam to Ahaziah) be added together, they amount only to 95. This discrepancy, if it stood alone, would not, however, be serious. But when we proceed to add up similarly the Solomon's death to the fall of Samaria in the sixth regnal years in the two kingdoms from the division after year of kingdom 260 years, and in the northern kingdom only Hezekiah (2 Kings xviii. 10), we find in the southern 241 years 7 months. This is a formidable discrepancy. Ussher, in order to remove it, has recourse to the doubtful 3 The "300 years' of Judges xi. 26 agrees very nearly with the sum of the years (namely, 319) given in the preceding chapters for the successive periods of oppression and independence. The verse occurs in a long insertion (xi. 12-28) in the original narrative; and the figure was most probably arrived at by computation upon the basis of the present chronology of the book.