these books were afterwards placed as one in the Hebrew canon, and called the book of Samuel, because he was the most distinguished of its three authors. In our canon this book is divided into two, which are called the first and second books of Samuel; and in the Septuagint and Vulgate (h) they (h) The old Vulgate, of which the copies are now lost, was a very antient version of the Bible into Latin, but by whom, or at what period it was made, is not known. The Old Testament of this version was translated from the Septuagint. It was in general use till the time of Jerome, and it was also called the Italic Version. Jerome translated the Old Testament immediately from the Hebrew into Latin, and this translation was gradually received in the Western Church, in preference to the old Vulgate or Italic. The present Vulgate, which is declared authentic by the Council of Trent, is the ancient Italic Version, revised and improved by the corrections of Jerome and others. This is the only translation of the Bible allowed by the Church of Rome; and it is used by that church upon all occasions, except that in the Missal and Psalms a few passages of the antient Vulgate are retained, as are the apocryphal books, which Jerome did not translate. There are two principal editions of the present Vulgate, one published by Pope Sixtus the Fifth, the other by Clement the Eighth, which differ considerably from each other, though both are declared authentic from the papal chair. Vide Kennicott's State of the present Hebrew Text, v. 2. p. 198. Some of the antient Italic Version has been recovered from citations in the writings of the Fathers, and is published, with supplementary additions, in Walton's Polyglott. Gray's Key. they are called the first and second books of Kings. The second book of Samuel continues the history of David, after the death of Saul, through a space of 40 years. It was probably written, as was just now observed, by Gad and Nathan, but it is impossible to assign to them their respective parts. The first book of Kings commences with an account of the death of David, and contains a period of 126 years, to the death of Jehosophat; and the second book of Kings continues the history of the Kings of Israel and Judah through. a period of 300 years, to the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. These two books formed only one in the Hebrew canon, and they were probably compiled by Ezra from the records which were regularly kept, both in Jerusalem and Samaria, of all public transactions. These records appear to have been made by the contemporary prophets, and frequently derived their names from the kings whose history they contained. They are mentioned in many parts of Scripture; thus in the first book of Kings (i) we read of the Book of the Acts of Solomon, which is supposed to have been written by Nathan, Ahijah, and Iddo (k). We elsewhere (i) C. II. v. 41. (k) 2 Chron. c. 9. v. 29. elsewhere read that Shemaiah the prophet, and Iddo the seer, wrote the Acts of Rehoboam (1), that Jehu wrote the Acts of Jehosophat (m), and Isaiah those of Uzziah and Hezekiah (n). We may therefore conclude, that from these public records, and other authentic documents, were composed the two books of Kings; and the uniformity of their style favours the opinion of their being put into their present shape by the same person. The two books of Chronicles formed but one in the Hebrew canon, which was called the book of Diaries or Journals. In the Septuagint Ver sion they were called the books "of things omitted;" and they were first named the books of Chronicles by Jerome. They were compiled, and probably by Ezra, from the antient chronicles of the kings of Judah and Israel just now mentioned, and they may be considered as a kind of supplement to the preceding books of Scripture. The former part of the first book of Chronicles contains a great variety of genealogical tables, beginning with Adam; and in particular gives a circumstantial account of the twelve tribes, which must have been very valuable to the Jews after (1) 2 Chron. c. 12. V. 15. after their return from captivity (o). The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, from all of whom it was predicted that the Saviour of the world should be born, are here marked with precision. These genealogies occupy the first nine chapters, and in the tenth is recorded the death of Saul. From the eleventh chapter to the end of the book, we have a history of the reign of David, with a detailed statement of his preparation for the building of the temple, of his regulations respecting the priests and Levites, and his appointment of musicians for the public service of religion. The second book of Chronicles contains a brief sketch of the Jewish history, from the accession of Solomon to the return from the Babylonian captivity, being a period of 480 years; and in both these books we find many particulars, not noticed in the other historical books of Scripture. Ezra, the author of the book which bears his name, was of the sacerdotal family, being a direct descendant from Aaron, and succeeded Zerubbabel in the government of Judæa. This book begins with the repetition of the last two verses of the (o) The care with which the genealogies of the twelve tribes were preserved, is particularly mentioned by Josephus (contr. Apion, book 1.) It seems to have been necessary to the preservation of their civil rights, and their religious polity, as well as to prove the fulfilment of the promise respecting the Messiah. the second book of Chronicles, and carries the Jewish history through a period of 79 years, commencing from the edict of Cyrus. The first six chapters contain an account of the return of the Jews under Zerubbabel, after the captivity of 70 years; of their re-establishment in Judæa; and of the building and dedication of the temple at Jerusalem. In the last four chapters, Ezra relates his own appointment to the government of Judæa by Artaxerxes Longimanus; his journey thither from Babylon; the. disobedience of the Jews; and the reform which he immediately effected among them. It is to be observed, that between the dedication of the temple and the departure of Ezra, that is, between the 6th and 7th chapters of this book, there was an interval of about 58 years, during which nothing is here related concerning the Jews, except that, contrary to God's command, they intermarried with Gentiles. This book is written in Chaldee from the 8th verse of the 4th chapter to the 27th verse of the 7th chapter. It is probable that the sacred historian used the Chaldaic language in this part of his work, because it contains chiefly letters and decrees written in that language, the original words of which he might think it right to record; and indeed the people, who were recently returned from the Babylonian captivity, were at least as familiar |