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CHRONOLOGY OF SIR ISAAC NEWTON.

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having the same arts, the same trade, and the same language, he would naturally include it with the mother city. And Sir Isaac Newton, speaking of David's message to Hiram, "for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like the Sidonians,' says, that, "the new inhabitants of Tyre had not lost the name of Sidonians nor had the old inhabitants, if there were any considerable number of them, gained the reputation of the new

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* "The Sidonians being still possessed of the trade of the Mediterranean, as far westward as Greece and Libya; and the trade of the Red Sea, being richer the Tyrians traded on the Red Sea in conjunction with Solomon and the Kings of Judah till after the Trojan war; and so also did the merchants of Aradus, Arvad, or Arpad; for in the Persian Gulf (Strabo i. 16,) were two islands called Tyre and Aradus, which had temples like the Phoenician; and therefore the Tyrians and Aradians sailed thither, and beyond to the coasts of India, while the Sidonians frequented the Mediterranean; and hence it is that Homer celebrates Sidon and makes no mention of Tyre. But at length (2 Chron. xxi. 8, 10, and 2 Kings, viii. 20, 22,) in the reign of Jehoram, King of Judah, Edom revolted from the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king; and the trade of Judah and Tyre upon the Red Sea being thereby interrupted, the Tyrians built ships for merchandise upon the Mediterranean, and began there to make long voyages to places not yet frequented by the Sidonians; some of them going to the coasts of Afric, beyond the Syrtes, and building Adrymetum, Carthage, Leptis, Utica, and Capsa; and others going to the coast of Spain, and building Carteia, Gades, and Tartessus, and others going further to the Fortunate Isles, and to Britain, and Thule."-Sir I. Newton's Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms, p. 107.

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colony during the reign of David, (B. c. 1048,) who having conquered and dispersed the Edomites, some of them fled to the Mediterranean coast, fortified Azoth, and took Sidon; and the Sidonians who fled, built Tyre, and made Abibalus King. "These Edomites carry to all places their arts and sciences, amongst which were their navigation, astronomy, and letters; for in Idumea they had constellations and letters before the days of Job, who mentions them; and there Moses learnt to write the law in a book." Yet one would hardly expect a city to have arisen to the eminence, wealth, and splendour that it did in the days of David, if only commenced during his reign. And this is further shown by its being spoken of in Joshua, as the "strong city Tzor," lying between great Sidon and Achzib, the present town of Zib. Thus it was included in the fifth lot that was portioned to Asher; the most northern part of the land, bounded by Issachar on the S. E., Manasseh on the S., and Naphtali on the E. From this we learn that the Jews had never complete possession of the whole promised land. The promise was made to Abraham; Joshua surveyed and measured out the land; but it remains for the Great Restorer of Israel, to put them in possession of the inheritance promised in Sichem. We must now bear in mind that there were two cities of this name, both of which are mentioned in profane as well as sacred history; and in reading the prophecies we must

DISTINCTION OF THE PROPHECIES.

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carefully distinguish the one from the other. Sometimes Palæ Tyrus or the original city built by the Sidonians, and situated on the continent, is the one alluded to, particularly where it is represented as besieged with horses, and chariots, and forts, and engines of war. This was the city taken by the Chaldeans; in the prophecies, concerning which Insular Tyre is never included, although it seems to have been coexistent with the other, at least at the time of its invasion; but under the form of a port, haven, or marina, in like manner as the Piraeus was connected with ancient Athens. In one or two instances it would appear that both cities were included in the denunciation; but Insular Tyre is particularly specified as an island situated in the midst of the sea. This latter is that which occupied the site of the present Peninsular Tyre, the former being some distance inland.

The authority of Josephus, on point of chronology, is so dubious that he cannot be looked to for an opinion, especially as he mixes up the dates and histories of the two cities. According to him Tyre was built 1265, B. c. Herodotus, who flourished 413, B. C., states that he was informed by the priests that the temple of Hercules* was in

* The discussion as to the origin of the Tyrian Hercules, who was, no doubt, the first who bore that name, would be out of place in a narrative such as this; but, I cannot help remarking on the singularity of the circumstance, that Ashtaroth, Astarte, or the Syrian Venus, whose worship is supposed to have been in

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CONNECTION OF TYRE AND ISRAEL.

existence since the time of the first building of the city (i. e. Palæ Tyrus) 2300 years before, or A. M. 1290, or 2710, B. C. But the Tyrians would naturally be inclined to add to the antiquity of their city; and to this the prophet may refer when he says ironically:-"Is this your joyous city whose antiquity is of ancient days." Quintus Curtius has remarked upon its extreme antiquity, which is often referred to in Scripture.

Bishop Newton quotes from the fragments of Santhoniathon, the Phoenician historian, as to its antiquity; and this writer is supposed by Bochart and others, to have flourished in the time of Gideon, or 1256, B. c.

The next record of Tyre occurs in 2 Samuel, where we are informed, that after David expelled the Jebusites, and established himself in the fortress of Zion, "Hiram king of Tyre, sent messengers to David, and cedar-trees, and carpenters, and masons: (or, as it is in the original, hewers of the stone of the wall:) and they built David an house." This is supposed to have taken place, A. M. 2952, B. c. 1048, or after the departure from Egypt, 443 years, and 272 before the first Olympiad.

use at Tyre, is the only person to whom the title of "Queen of Heaven" is applied in the whole of the Scriptures.-See Jeremiah, xliv. 17; Baruch, iv. 43; Herodotus, Clio, cxcix.; also Drummond's Origines, vol. iii. p. 228. It is curious, that the scallop, assumed as the badge of the palmer and the ancient pilgrim, was the emblem of this Heathen goddess.

* 2 Samuel, v. 11.

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It is mentioned when David numbered the people under the name of the "strong-hold (or fortress) of Tyre." During the early part of its history, its inhabitants appear to have maintained most friendly intercourse with the Jews, and it was not one of the cities attacked, when Joshua led victorious, Israel over the Jordan. In the year 1004, B. C. Tyre is again introduced to our notice, when Solomon enters into a league with their king Hiram,* to furnish workmen to beautify the temple.

The first siege of Pale Tyrus on record, is that in which Salmanazar, king of Assyria, warred against the Tyrians with a fleet of sixty ships and eight hundred rowers; yet, the Tyrian navy, then consisting of only twelve ships, obtained the victory and made 500 prisoners, on which Salmanazar returned home to Nineveh, leaving a land force before Tyre, (evidently the continental city,) where they lay five years and then raised the siege. This is supposed to have taken place B. C. 717, during the reign of Hezekiah, and in the lifetime of Isaiah, who prophesied that it should be taken, not, however, by the army then before it, but by the

* The Hiram spoken of here, and in other parts, appears to have general title for the king of Tyre, similar to that of the Pharaohs and Ptolemies of Egypt.

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