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10 tham begat Ahaz; and Ahaz begat Hezekiah; and Hezekiah begat Manasseh; and Manasseh begat Amon; and 11 Amon begat Josiah; and Josiah begat Jehoiakim; and

Jehoiakim begat Jeconiah and his brethren, about the 12 time of the going away to Babylon; and, after the going away to Babylon, Jeconiah begat Salathiel; and Sa13 lathiel begat Zerubbabel; and Zerubbabel begat Abiud ; 14 and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; and

Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim 15 begat Eliud; and Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar be16 gat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born JESUS, who is called CHRIST*.

*The remainder of this chapter, and the whole of the second, are printed (in the EngIsh edition) n Italics, as an int mation that they are of doubtful authority. They are indeed to be found in all the manuscripts and versions which are now extant; but from the tesitmony of Epiphanius and Jerome we are assured that they were wanting in the copies used by the Nazarenes and Ebionites, that is, by the ancient Hebrew Christians; for whose instruction, probably, this gospel was originally written; and to whom the ac count of the miraculous conception of Jesus Christ could not have been unacceptable, if it had been found in the genuine narrative. Nor would it at all have militated against the doctrine of the proper humanity of Christ, which was universally held by the Jewish Christians, it being a fact analogous to the miraculous birth of Isaac, Samuel, and other eminent persons of the Hebrew nation. If it be true, as Luke relates, chap. iii. 23. that Jesus was entering upon his thirtieth year (see Wakefield's Translation) in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, he must have been born two years at least after the death of Herod, a circumstance which alone invalidates the whole story. See Lardner's Works, vol. i. p. 432. It is indeed highly improbable that no notice should have been taken of these extraordinary events by any contemporary writer, that no expec tation should have been excited by them, and that no allusion should have been made to them in any other passage of the sacred writings. Some of the facts have a fabulous appearance, and the reasoning from the prophecies of the Old Testament is inconclusive. Also, if this account be true, the proper name of Jesus, according to the uniform custom of the Jews, would have been Jesus of Bethlehem, not Jesus of Nazareth. Our Lord in the gospels s repeatedly spoken of as the son of Joseph, without any intimation on the part of the historian that this language is incorrect. See Matt. xiii. 55. Luke iv. 23. John i. 45. vi. 42. The account of the miraculous conception of Jesus was probably the fiction of some early gentile convert, who hoped, by elevating the dignity of the Founder, to abate the popular prejudice against the sect. See upon this subject, Dr. Priestly's History of Early Opinions, vol. 4. b. iii. c. 20; Pope on the Miraculous Conception; Dr. Williams's Free Enquiry; Dr. Bell's Arguments for the Authenticity of the Narratives of Matthew and Luke, and Dr. Williams's Remarks; Dr. Campbell and Dr. Newcome's Notes upon the text; Mr. Evanson's Dissonance, chap. i. sect. 3. chap. iii. sect. 2; Jones's Developement of Events, vol. i. p. 365, etc.

17

[All the generations therefore from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the going away to Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the going away to Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

18 Now the birth of [Jesus] Christ was thus.

When his

mother Mary had been espoused to Joseph, before they came together she was found to have conceived by the holy spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not willing to expose her to public shame, purposed to put her 20 away privately. But after he had thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of 21 the holy spirit. And she shall bear a son, and thou'shalt

call his name JESUS: which, being interpreted, is SAVIOUR, 22 for he shall save his people from their sins." (Now all this

was done, so that it was fulfilled which the Lord spake by 23 the prophet, saying, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a Son, and his name shall be called EMMANUEL :" 24 which, being interpreted, is GOD WITH US.) Then, Joseph, when he rose up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had 25 commanded him, and took unto him his wife; and knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born son; and he called his name Jesus.

CH. II. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of king Herod, behold, Magians came from the 2 east to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east-country, 3 and are come to do him obeisance." But when king Herod heard these things, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with 4 him. And when he had gathered together all the chief-priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where Christ 5 was to be born. And they said unto him, "In Bethlehem 6 of Judea for thus it is written by the prophet: And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art by no means the least

among the governors of Judah: for out of thee shall come 7 a governor who shall rule my people Israel.'" Then Herod, when he had privately called the Magians, learnt from them 8 exactly what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go, and search exactly for the young child; and, when ye have found him, inform me, that I 9 also may come and do him obeisance." So when they had heard the king, they departed; and, behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them, till it came and 10 stood over the place where the young child was. And when 11 they saw the star, they rejoiced with very great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and did him obeisance : and when they had opened their treasures, they presented to 12 him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned of God in a dream, that they should not return to Herod, they withdrew into their own country by another way.

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And when they had withdrawn, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, and take with thee the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and remain there till I command thee: for Herod 14 will seek the young child, to destroy him." Then he arose, and took with him the young child and his mother by night, 15 and withdrew into Egypt; and remained there till the death of Herod so that it was fulfilled which the Lord spake by the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called my son."

16

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the Magians, was greatly enraged; and sent and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time which 17 he had learnt exactly from the Magians. Then was fulfilled 18 that which was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "A

voice was heard in Ramah, [wailing, and] weeping, and great lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they were not."

19

But, when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord 20 appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise,

and take with thee the young child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel: for they are dead who sought the 21 young child's life." Then he arose, and took with him the

young child and his mother, and came to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judea, instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: but, having been warned of God in a dream, he withdrew into 23 the parts of Galilee; and came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: so that it was fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets," He shall be called a Nazarene."]

CH. III. Now in those days cometh John the Baptist*, preach2 ing in the desert of Judea, and saying, "Repent ye for 3 the kingdom of heaven draweth near." For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, who saith, "The voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of 4 the Lord, make his paths straight."" Now this John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins and his food was locusts and wild honey.

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Then went out unto him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and 6 all the country about Jordan; and were baptized by him 7 in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, “O offspring † of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the anger which is about to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance: and 9 think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father' for I say unto you, that from these stones 10 God is able to raise up children unto Abraham. And now the axe also is laid to the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is cut

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The gospel of the Ebionites, or Hebrews, which did not contain the secount of the miraculous conception of Jesus, began in this manner: "It came to pass in the days of Herod the king of Judea, that John came baptizing with the baptism of repentance In the river Jordan." See Epiphanius, and Jer. Jones. ibid.

† generation, N.

11 down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water to repentance: but he who cometh after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry : he will baptize you with the holy spirit, and with fire: 12 whose winnowing-shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor, and will gather the wheat into the granary; but he will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire."

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THEN Cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John 14 to be baptized by him. But John forbad him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by thee, and comest thou to 15 me?" And Jesus answered, and said unto him, "Suffer it now for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.' 16 Then John suffereth him. Now when Jesus had been baptized, he went up immediately out of the water; and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him. And, lo, a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

CH. IV. THEN was Jesus led up by the spirit into the desert*, 2 to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted forty 3 days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. And the

tempter came to him, and said, "If thou be the Son of 4 God, command that these stones be made bread." But he answered and said, "It is written, Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word which goeth forth out 5 of the mouth of God."" Then the devil taketh Jesus

*Jesus was led up by the spirit into the desert.--This form of expression denotes that the historian is about to describe a visionary scene, and not a real event. See Rev. i. 10. Acts x. 5. Our Lord was intrusted with the power of working miracles at pleasure, John iii. 34, 35; and by the visionary scene presented to his mind upon this occasion, he was instructed that he was not to exert his miraculous powers for his own personal advantage or aggrandizement, but solely in subservience to the great design of his mission and ministry. See Farmer on Christ's Temptation. Some have thought that the account of the temptation is a figurative description of the train of thoughts which passed through the mind of Jesus. See Cappe's Dissertations. The introduction of the devil into this scenical representation no more proves the real existence of such a being, than the introduction of the lamb, or the red dragon, in the apocalyptic vision, is a proof of the real existence of those symbolical figures.

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