(a) When Written. Dr. Laurence concludes from internal grounds that the book was written before the Christian era, after the death of Mark Antony, and before the accession of Augustus, or about the year thirty before Christ. Upon this hypothesis he conceives that besides that the doc trine of the immortality of the soul and a separate state of spiritual existence between death and judg ment are distinctly described as the general and popular belief, the most important use of the book consists in the testimony which it hears to the Jew ish idea of the Messiah, who is herein clearly and familiarly denominated by the appellation of the San of God—as well as to the belief that pre viously to his appearance on earth he existed in heaven.
(b) Author. Dr. Lee is strongly of opinion that the author of this book was contemporary with the author of the hook of Enoch, or rather that both these books were written by one and the same author. It does not appear that Josephus was aware of its existence.
(c) Remarkable Passage. Among the most re markable passages in this book is that famous one (-I Ezra xiv) %% hich ascribes the recension of the entire Scriptures to Ezra. It is well known that the Rabbins have a tradition, preserved in the Tal mud, that on the rebuilding of the Temple Ezra assembled a college of i2o literati. known by the name of the Great Synagogue, for the purpose of collecting and arranging the Scriptures. Among the tnembers are enumerated Daniel, Shadrach, Nlesbach. and Altednegn, Haggai. Zechariah, Ezra and Nehemiah, and Simon the Just. Ezra. who, they say, was the same with the prophet Malachi. they represent as the first, and Simon the Just, its latest surviving member, as the last president of the college. They further repre
sent all these eminent men as living at the same period tinder Darius Ilystaspis, whom they sup pose to be the same Darius who was subdued by Alexander. and also as that Artaxerxes who sent Ezra and Nehemiah to Jerusalem. Daniel is thus made to have lived to the time of Alexander the Great, and Simon the Just they hold to he the same with Jadduah, the high priest, who received Alexander in Jerusalem. To this synagogue the ascribe the formation of the canon. to which they add that its members wrote Ezekiel. the twelve minor Prophets. Daniel and Esther. while Ezra wrote the book bearing his name. and the genealogies in Chronicles down to his time (Ha•) Pollard). Jahn (Hufeitung. 2S) supposes that as there is no authority whatever for the existence of this synagogue, all that can be meant is that the canon was settled by Ezra and the others named as members of the synagogue, and closed by Simon, who filled the office of high priest for nine years till his death (B. C. 292).
Dean Prideaux supposes that Ezra gave a new edition of the Scriptures, corrected the errors of transcribers, adding what appeared necessary for illustrating, correcting or completing them, chang ing names and supplying what was wanting.
(d) Possible Mistake. Eichhorn thinks it pos. Bible that Simon the Just has been confounded in the Talmudica! fable with Simon the Maccabee, as he supposes that all the books in the canon could not have been written so early as the time of Simon the Just, but that the canon may have been closed under Simon the Maccabee (B. C. 141-135). St. Jerome mistakes him for Simeon, the contemporary of our Savior. (Sec MACcA