"ruffian" (fuch is the courtly appel- LET. lation bestowed upon David*) had XVI. employed an affaffin to dispatch him, during the hurry and confufion of the retreat! O it had been a delicious

morfel, exactly feafoned to the palate of infidelity!

P. 27. The infidels are much difconcerted, it seems, about the book of Jasher: it was extant previous to the writing the book of Joshua, and was not finished till after the acceffion of David to the throne of Ifrael; fo that, as they apprehend, either the author of Jafher must have lived upwards of four hundred years, or the book of Jolhua was not written till after the time of David.

Here again, a little Hebrew would have done us no harm. It does not

* P. 25.

appear

LET. appear that Jaber was the name of an individual, or that the book fo ftyled was all written in the fame

XVI.

age

The tranfactions

by the fame man.
of the times were regularly entered
in a public register, by a perfon de-
nominated the Recorder, or Hiftorio-
grapher, a ftated officer to the Jewish
kings. And the book of Faber was
the standard authentic book, in which
they were fo entered by authority,
and from which extracts were made,
as occafion required.+

*

See 2 Sam. VIII. 16. 1 Kings 1v. 3. 2 Kings XVIII. 18. 2 Chron. xxxiv. 8.

+ Le Clerc feems to have imagined that this record was kept in verfe -"Crediderim "Librum Recti fuiffe collectionem hymnorum aut "carminum de rebus geftis Hebræorum, forté "non uno tempore factum." Cler. in Josh. x. 13. We read indeed of pfalms and proverbs, which the men of Judah copied out.

P. 29.

XVI.

P. 29. Some difficulties are ftarted LET. relative to the history of David numbering the people.

In our tranflation we read, 2 Sam. XXIV. that "the Lord moved David "to number Ifrael," and, 1 Chron. XXI. that Satan moved him to do " it."

Nothing is more common with the facred writers, than to reprefent God as doing that which, in the course of his providence, and for the purposes either of mercy or judgment, he permits to be done by the inftrumentality of fecond caufes, animate or inanimate, corporeal or fpiritual. In the cafe of Ahab, 1 Kings xx11. he is represented, after the manner of men, and in condefcenfion to our capacities, as a king keeping his court, with fpirits of all kinds in waiting

before

XVI.

LET. before him, prepared to execute his will upon earth. One of thefe fpirits is commiffioned to influence the falfe prophets, and they perfuade Ahab, who will not liften to the true prophet of God-Taking the matter, therefore, as it ftands in our English tranflation, the import of both paffages laid together, according to a fair explanation, would evidently be, that, for good and fufficient reafons known to himself, God permitted Satan to tempt, and David to yield to the temptation, in this inftance.

But if we confult the original, we fhall find there is no neceffity to fuppofe that David was excited either by God, or by Satan. The word Satan, though often denoting that person who is emphatically ftyled THE Adverfary, fignifies only, in general, an

Adverfary;

Adversary; and therefore the paffage LET: 1 Chron. XXI. may very properly be xvI. rendered, "An adverfary ftood up "against Ifrael, and excited David." This adversary might be fome counfellor, or &c. The other paffage, 2 Sam. xxiv. may as properly be tranflated, "The anger of the Lord was "kindled against Ifrael, and one excited David," or, "David was ex"cited by fome one, (the perfon men"tioned in Chronicles) faying, Go, "number Ifrael."

Of the different kinds of punishment offered to David for his choice, upon this occafion, one is that of a famine for seven years, according to 2 Sam. XXIV; but for three years only, according to 1 Chron. xxi.

It has been obferved by some learned men, that the year in which this happened

R