lar modefty, apologises for attempt ing the illuftration of this part of holy writ, after archbishop Newcome's learned comments, whofe candour and humility urged him ftrongly to recommend the publication of a work which, if it fhould tend to clear up one difficult paffage, would more than compenfate to him for the detection of a hundred mistakes.' Dr. Blayney afterwards gives fuch a view of the fituation and circumn ftances of Zechariah, as is well calculated to throw light on his fentiments, and to remove a confiderable part of the difficulties which have been charged upon his writings. When acknowledging the affistance which he has received from different authors, he ably vindicates the valuable collations of the various readings of the Hebrew writings made by Dr. Kennicott and others, against the illiberal and contemptuous mention of them in the difcourfe by way of general preface to the 4to. edition of Warburton's works; and he unanfwerably explodes the abfurd and unaccountable idea of the perfect integrity of the text, to which fome injudicious friends of revelation are willing to look as the ground of fcriptural authority. Dr. Blayney in his verfion divides the poetical parts from the profe, alter the examples of Lowth and Newcome, and his own practice in his tranflation of Jeremiah; and, in our opinion, has happily fucceeded in conveying the fenfe and beauties of a compofition of which the diction is "remarkably pure, the construction natural and perfpicuous, and the ftyle judicioutly varied according to the nature of the fubjects; fimple and plain in the narrative and hiftorical parts; but in thofe that are wholly prophetical,

4

the latter chapters in particular, rifing to a degree of elevation and grandeur, fcarcely inferior to the fublimeft of the infpired writings." The notes which accompany this verfion are copious and valuable. In an Appendix our author completely refutes the fenfe given by Dr. Eveleigh to fome paffages in Zechariah, which, in oppofition to the primate of Ireland's explana tion of them in his trapilation of the minor prophets, he wishes to adduce in fupport of the doctrine of the trinity: and to the whole he has added a new edition, with important alterations, of his version of Daniel's celebrated prophecy of feventy weeks.

"Jonah, a faithful Tranflation from the Original, &c. by George Benjoin, of Jefus College, Cambridge," is the production of an author, whofe chief qualifications for the undertaking appear to have been his proficiency in rabinnical lore, and a veneration, not much unlike fuperftition, for the conceits and extravagancies of Jewifh tradition. Hence, Kennicott, Lowth, Blayney, and others, whofe merit as tranflators is to be appreciated on very different grounds, are, as might be expected, the objects of his repeated cenfure; and that not always the most modeft and unaffuming. In his prolegomena Mr. Benjoin undertakes to prove, that "The Sacred Writings of the Old Teftament have not fuffered either any corruption or alteration whatever fince the time of Ezra :" but his authorities will have little weight out of the fynagogue. He is also a zealous advocate for the mitoretic points, by which he confiders the found and meaning of each word to be fo exactly marked, that any scholar may now read and fpeak with the fame

found

found with which Mofes read and fpake. What he had faid on this fubject, however, has by no means accomplished the removal of the numerous difficulties involved in that hypothefis. To this fucceeds a copious defcription of fuch Hebrew manufcripts as were written according to the rules of Ezra: rules which Jewish writers have been pleased to afcribe to him, but which are often too futile, and fometimes too abfurd to have been dictated by fuch a ready fcribe of the law of the God of heaven." After a differtation on the book of Jonah, which follows, comprifing a defign for a translation to which tranflators fhould adhere, and anfwers to fome questions and objections that have been stated concerning that book, the reader is prefented, in one view, with Mr. Benjoin's new tranflation, the old verfion, and the arrangement and literal fenfe of the Hebrew words. The rest of the volume confifts of notes, accounting for every rendering in the tranflation that differs from the old verfion; of the verbs occurring in the book of Jonah, in their original formation, with an explanation of their roots; and of a chronological abstract of the Jewifh hiftory. Of Mr. Benjoin's tranflation it is but juftice to fay, that in fome inftancès it is more faithful to the fenfe and fpirit of the original, than the common verfion; but, on the whole, we conceive that few competent judges will give it the preference. For the frequent inaccuracies which occur in point of ftyle and language the candid reader will be led to make many allowances from the confideration that the tranflator is not a native of this country.

The Differtation on the Vifion contained in the fecond Chap

ter of Zechariah, by Thomas Wintle, B. D." is the production of a gentleman of confiderable learning and critical kill, of which he has given abundant evidence in his verfion of Daniel, and in his fermons preached at the Bampton lecture. But in the work before us, he has not been fo fuccefsful in the application of his talents as he was in thofe publications. Difapproving of the fenfe given to the language of the vision by Drs. Newcome and Blayney, and imagining that it contains a prediction of Chrift, the eternal Logos and incarnate Son of God, Mr. Wintle has given a new version of the 4th and nine following verfes, and endeavoured to fupport his rendering of the paffages which he confiders to be favourable to his hypothefis, by fimilar ones in the book of Pfalms, and the prophet Haggai. We have not, however, been able to difcover his fuperiority in point of accuracy or perfpicuity to the archbishop and regius profeffor, or the conclufiveness of its reafoning in confirmation of his fente of the prophetic idiom. And although we readily fubfcribe to what he fays refpecting the illuftrious series of extraordinary contingencies from the beginning of time to the full establishment of Christianity, foretold in the facred records, that "new light is continually breaking in upon us, not only in a clearer difcernment of the meaning of the predictions, but alfo in a growing display of the scenes of their accomplishment," we cannot promile the biblical scholar much illumination from this production of our author. From the lift of Mr. Wintle's publications at the end of this differtation it appears, that he is the author of the masterly "Let ter to the Lord Bishop of Wor

cefter,

cefter, occafioned by his Strictures on Archbishop Secker and Bifhop Lowth, &c." which was noticed in our laft volume.

The "Profpectus, with Specimens of a new Polyglott Bible, in Quarto, for the Ufe of English Students, by Jofiah Pratt, M. A." gives us the expectation of an undertaking which promises to be of great importance in biblical literatore. The very commendable object of the author is, to furnish the ftudent with the combined advantages refulting from a comparative view of the original and the most ancient and beft versions of the facred books, as well as the Englith, and the labours of Kennicott, De Roffi, Holmes, Mill, Griefbach, &c. in order that he may facilitate his acquaintance with the fcriptures, and enable him to develope the whole fyftem of truth which they contain, from the study of the fcriptures themselves, and not from fyftematic interpretations. His plan is, to give the Old Testa. ment in five columns, containing the Hebrew text of Vander Hooght, from the Amfterdam edition of 1705; the English from the Oxford edition of 1769; the Septuagint from the edition of Sixtus V.: the Vulgate from the edition of Clement VIII.; and the Chaldee paraphrafe, confifting of the Targums of Onkelos, and Jonathan, on the Pentateuch, and the prophets, the anonymous one in Walton on the Hagiographa, and that on Chronicles from the Er-penian manufcript. Under thefe columns will be given the Samaritan Pentateuch, in Hebrew characters, and a copious collection of various readings. The New Teftament will be given in four columns, containing the Greek text from Mill's edition; the common

English tranflation; the Syriac verfion from the Vienna edition of 1555, in Hebrew characters, and with the deficiencies in the Pefhito fupplied from the editions of Pococke and De Dieu; and the Latin Vulgate. Under thefe columns will be collected a vast body of va rious readings from Mill, Bengelins, Wetflein, Birch, Mathæi, Griefbach, &c.; references to the Coptic, Sahidic, Arabic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Perfic, Gothic, Sclavonian, and Anglo-Saxon verfions; and quotations from the fathers and ecclefiaftical writers. It appears that Mr. Pratt has been employed for a confiderable time on this work; and that a part of it may foon be expected from the prets, if he meets with encouragement from a competent number of fubfcribers. We heartily with him that fupport which fhall prove an abundant compenfation for his arduous labours.

In our Register for the year 1793, we introduced to our readers "Differtations on the Prophecies of the Old Teftament, in 2 Parts, Vol. I. by David Levi." We have fince met a fecond volume of that work, which is a continuation of the 1ft part of the author's plan, in which he has undertaken the elucidation of such prophecies as are applicable to the coming of the Meffiah, the restoration of the Jews, and the refurrection of the dead, whether fo applied by Jews or Chriftians. In the volume now before us, with commendable diligence, and ingenuity whetted by polemical practice, he purfues his original plan, and, as may be expected, deduces the fame general conclufion. Our opinion, however, remains the fame as formerly refpecting the importance of his labours in biblical criti

cim, and as they are intended to affect the evidence in favour of the claims of Chrift to the character of the Meffiah. But as they fupply us with the interpretations given by the Jews to their own prophetical writings, they are, at leaft, objects of curiofity, and deferving of encouragement.

Partly for the above-mentioned reason, and it were injuftice were we not to add, on account of the ftrength of argument which it frequently evinces, the "Defence of the Old Testament, in a Series of Letters addreffed to Thomas Paine," by the fame author, is worthy of refpectful notice. Much of what he fays in confirmation of the divine miffion of Mofes, we confider to be irrefragable; and his obfervations on the prefent ftate of the Jews, compared with the predictions of their legislator, are important and interesting. In other parts of his defence, when he endeavours to repel the objections of his opponent drawn from the command to extirpate the Canaanites, or when he contends for the literal acceptation of fome parts of the Old Testament narrative, or attempts to reconcile the alleged incongruities in the Jewish hiftorians, he is not equally fuccessful.

In our last volume we introduced to our readers Dr. Prieftley's "Obfervations on the Increase of Infidelity," originally published at Northumberland, in America. To a third and enlarged edition of that work the author added "Animadverfions on the Writings of several modern unbelievers, and efpecially on the Ruins of Mr. Volney." In thefe animadverfions, with indignant, but not unjuft feverity, he expofed the unbecoming temper and difingenuoufnefs of the authors whom he quoted; and ridiculed

Pro

Mr. Volney's romantic account of the history and religion of the Hebrews, as well as his explanation of the origin of Chriftianity, without admitting that fuch a perfon as Jefus Chrift ever existed. voked by the doctor's language, and by the low and mean eftimation in which he appeared to hold his talents, Mr. Volney foon publifhed what he called an "Anfwer to Dr. Priestley, on his Pamphlet entitled Obfervations, &c." containing little argument, but an abundant proportion of petulance, and farcafm, and what we cannot diftingnifh from vulgar perfonal abufe. In that anfwer he intimat ed, indeed, that he could overturn the whole edifice of his opponent's faith; but on account of fome very unphilofophical reasons which he chofe to affign, and other very subftantial ones referved in his own breast, after taking up the gauntlet he thought fit to decline the combat with our Chriftian champion. Dr. Priestley, however, would not quit the field without a few words at parting; and therefore addressed fome "Letters to Mr. Volney, occafioned by a work of his, entitled Ruins, and by his Letter to the Author." Thefe letters are distinguished by urbanity and good temper. To Mr. Volney they propofe fome queries on the fubject of revela tion, to which, if he were so dispofed, he would find it a difficult matter to reply, on the principles of that fcepticifin which it is probable he has embraced from the spirit of levity and indifpofition to theological enquiry fo prevalent among the modern French. They, likewife, offer to readers in general, fome admirable remarks on the fatal effects of infidelity as it influences the human character, and on the evidence in favour of the