given by the prophet that he is using years of a shorter compass than solar years.

II. In favour of the second mode of lunar computation, several arguments, which are sufficiently specious, have been urged by Mr. Marshall, who has adopted and strenuously defended the hypothesis of Bp. Lloyd: but they do not appear to me by any means to prove his point.

1. The following are the grounds, on which he maintains, that the false lunar year of 360 days was used both by the Jews and other ancient nations: whence he infers that the seventy weeks must be reckoned according to it.

(1.) In the time of Noah a month was 30 days; because five months are said to be equal to 150 days*; therefore the year consisted of 360 days.

(2.) Manetho tells us, that the ancient Egyptian year contained only 360 days, and that in the time of Aseth five days were added to it, which were therefore called additional days.

(3.) Among the Greeks, in the time of Cleobulus Lindius, who was contemporary with Daniel, the year was also the same length.

* Compare Gen. vii. 24. viii. 3. vii. 11. viii. 4. From the seventeenth day of the second month, to the seventeenth day of the seventh month, there were just five months; and this riod is represented as being equal to 150 days.

pe

(4.) Such

(4.) Such also was the length of the year among the Romans, during the reign of Romulus, as we are informed by Plutarch.

(5.) The same was its length among the Chaldeans and Persians, even after the taking of Babylon by the latter.

(6.) It obtained also among the other Asiatic nations, particularly the Lydians, who were the allies of the Chaldeans in their war against Cyrus.

(7.) Lastly, as a proof positive, that such is the length of the scriptural year, Mr. Marshall observes, that the three times and a half of Daniel and St. John are represented as being equal to 42 months, and those 42 months plainly contain 1260 days: but, since this is only so at the rate of 360 days to the year, it will follow that each year contains 360 days*

2. Now, granting the truth of the whole of this statement, it does not by any means follow, that the conclusion drawn from it is a just one. In order to ascertain the length of the seventy prophetic weeks, we must not consider the precise length of a solitary insulated year among the Jews; but we must examine into the length of a continued period of such years: that is to say, we must not reckon, by an

Marshall's Treatise on the Seventy Wecks. Part ii. chap. iv. p. 233-252.

arbitrary

arbitrary mechanical calculation of our own, that a term of ancient years contains exactly such a number of ancient years, be their individual lengths what they may; but we must inquire, whether a term of ancient years was not, by intercalations or other additions, made, in matter of fact, precisely equal to a corresponding term of natural solar years. Should this last prove to be the case, whatever might be the length of a single year of the 490 years, the collective series of those years will undoubtedly be equal to the same series of true astronomical solar years.

(1.) One of the expedients used to make the imperfect year of 360 days tally with the natural year was, as Mr. Marshall himself allows, the addition of five supernumerary days at the end of it. Such he confesses to have been the plan adopted by the Chaldeans, the Persians, and the Egyptians, even in the days of Daniel, not to say long before; and such indisputably was the plan that was followed in the construction of the Nabonassarcan year. The probability therefore is, that the prophet used this year. But, if such were the plan adopted by those nations, no argument can be drawn from the length of each month to prove the length of the whole year. The five additional days were accounted a part of no month; and they were considered rather as supplementary to the year, than as properly belonging tọ

it.

Hence the circumstance of five Noetic months at the time of the deluge being equal to 150 days will not prove, that the Noetic year really contained no more than 360 days, though it might nominally do so; because, whether the year consisted of 12 months of 30 days each only, or of 12 months of 30 days each, and 5 additional days belonging to no month, in either case 5 months would be equal to 150 days. Hence also the circumstance of three years and a half being represented as comprehending indifferently 42 months and 1260 days, will not prove that the real length of the year in the time of Daniel was only 360 days. The same result would come out, if the reputed length of the year, viewed as containing 12 months of 30 days each, were alone considered, and if the additional days were not taken into the account for the convenience of having three perfectly coincident numbers. And we may safely conclude, that this curtailed mode of reckoning by the nominal year is here followed; because, by the acknowledgment of Mr. Marshall himself, a year of 360 days with 5 supernumerary days, not a year of 360 days simply, was used by the very people among whom Daniel resided.

(2.) Another expedient used was that of occasional intercalation. Various were the methods of intercalating, and some of them grossly erroneous; but

their object uniformly was to prevent the revolution of the months through all the seasons successively, and thus to make the gross amount of any given series of lunar years equal to that of a corresponding series of solar years.

According to either of these expedients, it is obvious, that, whatever might be the length of a single year either nominally or really, the collective sum of 490 years of any description would be equal to 490 solar years.

3. Of the cogency of this remark Mr. Marshall is perfectly aware; and therefore, in reply to it, he endeavours to shew that the lunar year of 360 days was used, not only singularly, but collectively.

(1.) His first argument is deduced from the conversation of Solon with Cresus, as recorded by He. rodotus. Solon, to shew the great variety of circumstances which occur in the life time of a man who attains to the age of seventy years, computes the number of days in such a man's life; and then remarks, that the events of no one day are exactly the same as those of another. In making his calculation, he first estimates the years unintercalated; and tells us, that in seventy years there are 25,200 days. He then reckons a leap-month as being added every other year; and says, that the 35 leap-months contain 1050 days. Lastly he takes the sum of the 25,200 and the

1050 days, or