marched against the Jews who had sided with the Phonicians; and having besieged and taken Jericho, made many captives, and led part of them with him into Egypt, and sent a great number of others into Hyrcania, and there planted them on those parts of that country which lay on the Caspian Sea.*

On the death of Johanan, he was succeeded in the priesthood by his son Jaddua,† during whose pontificate, that extraordinary transaction with Alexander the Great took place, which, although it rests on the testimony of Josephus alone, appears to have obtained general credit amongst learned men. Philip, king of Macedon, having reduced the states of Greece to submission to his authority, and procured himself to be appointed captain general of the whole territory, engaged in a war with the Persians; and was about to join his army, when he was assassinated by one of his own subjects, just at the moment he was impiously assuming the power and authority of the Deity.+

Alexander, his son, succeeded to his throne and authority over Greece; and after a short interval marched with thirty thousand foot and five thousand horse to Sestus, and thence crossed the Hellespont into Asia, with a view to the conquest of the Persian empire.§

Having defeated the Persian army at the battle of Granicum, away in the day of the wrath of Jehovah. Job, xx. 28. See an interesting account of Sidon, the modern Seyda, in Buckingham's Travels amongst the Arabs, pp. 385–433.

It is observed by Diodorus, that, in this solemnity, the images of twelve gods and goddesses being carried before him into the theatre, he added his own for the thirteenth, dressed in the same pompous habit, whereby he vainly arrogated to himself the honour of a god; but he being slain as soon as this image entered the theatre, this very signally proved him to be a mortal. Prid. i. 561.

§ Prid. i. 563.

and afterwards Darius Codomanus himself, who then occupied the throne of Persia, in the straits of Issus; the conqueror traversed Phoenicia, and receiving the submission of the Sidonians, besieged New Tyre, the taking of which occupied him seven months.*

It was during this siege that Alexander applied to the Jews to supply him with provisions, and other necessaries, for the support of his army, and which they were in the habit of doing to the Tyrians; but the Jews pleaded their oath of allegiance to Darius, and refused to afford any assistance to the Macedonian monarch; who was so enraged at this contempt of his power, that after the conquest of Tyre, he marched towards Jerusalem, with the intention of inflicting similar punishments on the Jews, as he had already done on the Tyrians.

Jaddua, the high priest, being in no condition to offer resistance to the Macedonian cutthroat, had recourse to prayer, and with the people offered up oblations and sacrifices to God, who graciously listening thereto, and, no doubt, in reward for their upright adherence of their oath of allegiance,† directed Jaddua in a vision of the night, to go out and meet the conqueror in his pontifical robes, with the priests attending him in their proper habits, and all the people in white garments. In compliance with this command, on the approach of

* Un. Hist. i. 418. 420. Rooke's Arian, i. 100. 104. Old Tyre, which was situated on the continent, was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, pursuant to the prophecy of Ezekiel, xxvi-xxxiii. The Tyrians had rebuilt their city (called New Tyre) on an island about four hundred fathoms in the sea, thinking themselves secure from such another attempt; but Alexander, from the ruins and rubbish of the old city, constructed a causeway to the island, and thereby succeeded in reducing it; and thus was fulfilled the prophecy of Zech. ix. 4—8. Jahn, i. 227. See all the prophecies relating to Tyre collected, and their fulfilment shewn and beautifully illustrated by Keith, 339–344.

So true is it that God never allows any one to sustain injury for acting conscientiously.

Alexander, Jaddua and his companions proceeded to an eminence on the outside of Jerusalem, called Sapha. As soon as the monarch beheld this extraordinary assemblage, instead of issuing any sanguinary orders, he hastened toward Jaddua, and bowing down to him, saluted him with religious veneration, to the surprise of his own officers and army.

Parmenio, one of his generals, having enquired his reason for this conduct, Alexander told him that he did not pay adoration to Jaddua, but to Jaddua's God; for that when he was at Dio, in Macedonia, and there deliberating with himself how he should carry on his war against the Persians, and was in much doubt about the undertaking, this very person, and in this very habit, appeared to him in a dream, and encouraged him to lay aside all thoughtfulness and diffidence. about this matter, and pass boldly over into Asia; promising him that God would be his guide in the expedition, and give him the empire of the Persians. And that therefore, on his seeing this person, and knowing by his habit, as well as by his shape and countenance, that he was the very same that appeared to him at Dio, he assured himself from hence, that he made the present war under the conduct of God, and should certainly, by his assistance, conquer Darius, and overthrow the Persian empire, and succeed in all things concerning it according to his desire; and that, therefore, in the person of this his high priest, he paid adoration unto him.

Then kindly embracing Jaddua, he entered Jerusalem with him in a friendly manner, and offered sacrifices to God, in the temple;† and Jaddua having shewn him the prophecies+ of Daniel, which predicted the overthrow of the Persian empire by a Grecian king, he asked what he could do to serve the nation of the Jews, and in compliance with their

* Prid. i. 560-571.

+ Was not this pollution?

Dan. viii. 21. xi. 3.

request, granted them the freedom of their country, laws, and religion, and that they should be exempted from paying tribute every sabbatical year.*

When Alexander returned from his conquests in India to Babylon, he proposed to restore the temple of Belus, which had been destroyed by Xerxes; and the various nations composing his army were employed, in their turns, to clear away the immense ruins of the ancient structure, erected by Nebuchadnezzar. Amongst the other nations there were some regiments of Jews, but they one and all refused to work, alleging that their religion would not allow them to assist in the restoration of an idolatrous temple. At first, Alexander was exceedingly angry, and inflicted severe punishments upon them for their disobedience, but finding them invincible in their purpose, and admiring their constancy, he gave them as a reward their free discharge, and sent them all home into their own country.†

*Prid. i. 571, 572. We have inserted this relation from Prideaux, who has adopted it from Josephus, b. xi. and also from Jahn, i. 230. 232.; but as no mention is made either in Quintus Curtius, Diodorus Siculus, or Arrian, of Alexander's visiting Jerusalem at all, we confess we are not without doubts of its authenticity. Still, however, as it is clear that Alexander marched from Tyre to Gaza, which he besieged, and thence into Egypt, it perhaps is hardly probable he would have passed by Jerusalem. That he did visit Jerusalem, see Un. Hist. ii. 162.; and both Arrian and Curtius assert that Alexander took all the cities of Syria. Jahn (Heb. Commonwealth, i. 233.) alleges that Q. Curtius alludes to a similar transaction; but there is nothing of the sort to be found in that author, although there is in the supplement of Freinshemius, book ii. chap. 11. propè finem; but which appears to be evidently transcribed from Josephus. Dr. Clarke treats this relation as authentic, but refers only to Josephus. Notes on Nebem. xii. 11.

+ Prid. i. 603. This relation, too, rests on the sole authority of Josephus. As he was no friend to the Samaritans, and we are in

By the conquests of Alexander, the thrones of Asia having been subverted, and its royal dynasties eradicated, on his decease, the supreme sovereign authority was vested in Aridæus, a bastard brother of Alexander, till Roxana's issue of a son should be able to assume the reigns of government; but Aridæus being an idiot, Perdiccas, another of Alexander's generals, was appointed a sort of regent, or protector over the whole empire; and all the immense territories of this mighty monarch, after a multitude of assassination and contention, were divided amongst his remaining general officers; in which division, Egypt was assigned to Ptolemy, and Syria, Phoenicia, and Judea, to Laomedon.†

On the death of Jaddua, the high priest, who held that office twenty-one years, it devolved upon his son, Onias.‡

Ptolemy conceiving the great advantage it would be to his Egyptian territories, to secure the frontier provinces of Syria and Phoenicia, invaded the dominions of Laomedon, and soon made himself master of the whole, except Judea. The Jews, however, shewing upon this occasion a just regard for their oath of allegiance, refused to submit to him; whereupon, Ptolemy laid siege to Jerusalem, and took it by assault on the sabbath day, the inhabitants to their honour, even if upon a mistaken principle, refusing to break the commandment of Jehovah, even in their own defence; unlike modern Christian commanders, who but too often seem to select the sabbath by choice, for their offensive warfare. Having taken the city, Ptolemy carried more than one hundred thousand of the Jews captives into Egypt; but reflecting upon more consi

formed some of that nation had joined the Macedonian army, but not that any of the Jews had, is it not probable they were Samaritans, and not Jews, who made this noble stand?