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receiving back of Israel into Divine favour while cast out of their land, very different from the repentance and conversion of Judah on their return to it; Ephraim and the tribes of Israel his companions, caused to rest from the fierce contests, oppression, and turmoil, such as we know marked the early history of our race in the isles and once barren, desolate countries of the north, where they obtained a permanent footing; there converted to the Lord, who declares His purpose "to Sow them unto Himself in the earth" -a fructifying "seed of blessing among the nations, instead of a curse, as they had been." And with regard to this, we would further, in reply to Mr. Wilkinson's objections, quote his own remarks with reference to "the unity of the nation in God's purpose," in support of which he refers to the sacrifices offered in Ezra's time for the whole of the twelve tribes, though, as he correctly states, only a few thousands of two tribes, with a few priests and Levites, had returned to Palestine from Babylon.

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If such was the case when by far the larger portion of the nation, the house of the Ten Tribes, were wholly given up to idolatry and continued so for many centuries, confounded with the populations where they dwelt ; if even then, the unity of the nation in God's purpose was unaffected by the diversity of their circumstances: Judah restored and retained under the first covenant, so that the Lord could challenge them "to produce the bill of their divorcement, or say to which of His creditors He had sold them," while He as distinctly declares that "He had put away backsliding Israel and given her a bill of divorce," because of her shameless idolatries. Since such was incontrovertibly the case in the past, why should it be otherwise at present, if on the rejection of Judah because of her unbelief, Israel, as so clearly and repeatedly foretold, was restored to Divine favour; the former still": a curse, a by-word, and a reproach," as Israel too had once been, till, having obtained mercy of the Lord, they became the messengers of His grace and mercy to others.

But if the Scriptures we have adduced concerning İsrael, in contradistinction to Judah, have not been fulfilled in our race, it behoves our oppo↑ Jer. iii. 8.

* Isa. 1. 1.

nents, instead of mere denial, or exparte statements, to show how, where, and at what time and in what other people, they can find their accomplishment. The earth has been well nigh ransacked in search of these "tribes of Jacob to be raised up," on the apparent failure of Messiah's mission to Judah; but who else among "the chief of the nations," "in the isles far off," and "in the north country," can claim to be so accounted, except the once formidable Scythian, Gothic, or Teutonic tribes-"a people terrible from their beginning"-as much so on their appearance in Europe, as when the terror of Israel fell on the nations of Canaan whom they were to displace; so that their name was as much a curse and a reproach amongst the polished Greeks and Romans and the countries they invaded, as that of the Jew has and will continue to be, till converted to the knowledge of Jesus and His saving grace, as these once formidable barbarians have been; and but for their steadfastness to the truth and their faithfulness in maintaining and proclaiming the gospel of the grace of God, no testimony to it would have remained in the midst of a corrupt and apostate Christendom whose judgment is at hand; whilst to the "Israel of God," increasing opportunities are given to raise the solemn cry, as with a voice from heaven, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." ." Such has been, and will continue to be their testimony against the great Babylon of the age, till He come who will then openly acknowledge them as "His people Israel" indeed. ZETA.

January, 1874.

Queries.

PSALM 1xix. 8:-"I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children." Is this verse corroborative of the New Testament? In Matt. xiii. 55, 56, we read:-"Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? and His brethren James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? and His sisters, are they not all with us ?" Some have sought to prove that by the brethren and sisters here named COUSINS are intended is the interpretation fair and

* Rev. xviii. 4.

simple that they were the younger brothers and sisters of our Lord, the children of Mary and Joseph after the birth of Christ?

They are mentioned after the marriage in Cana as going down with his mother to Capernaum. (John ii. 12.) They came WITH HIS MOTHER to speak with Him. (Matt. xii. 46; Mark iii. 31; Luke iii. 19.) The only place in the Gospels where they are spoken of without Mary is John vii. 3-10; but there it is added, "They did not believe on Him," which could not be said of her. Psalm lxix. is eminently a Messianic Psalm. The phrase, “An alien unto my mother's children," allows but of one meaning. The virginity of Mary the Jewish maiden before the birth of Christ is a great truth taught by God Himself, her perpetual virginity afterwards is a superstitious figment. T.

SHOULD the Palestine Exploration Society search the ruins of Samaria, may they not find the lost genealogies of the ten tribes ? MARAH.

Literary Notices.

Records of the Past: Being English Translations of the Assyrian and Egyptian Monuments. Published under the Sanction of the Society of Biblical Archæology. Vol. I. London: Samuel Bagster and Sons.

SUCH of our readers as are interested in Oriental antiquities, but whose lot is cast far away from the metropolis, and who have not therefore the opportunity of basking in the light which some of our great institutions in this great city throw upon the subjectsuch as the British Museum, South Kensington Museum, Biblical Archæology Institute, &c. &c.-will have reason to be grateful to the eminent publishing Firm for undertaking to issue the Records of the Past in English translations.

The volume before us is, in itself, a rich mine of valuable literary ore; a mine now made accessible to such students of Eastern antiquities as are incapable of investigating the original materials. Such students as had no opportunities for acquiring a knowledge of the vast amount of lore to be found in the arrow-headed and cuneiform inscriptions discovered, under

ground and above ground, on the remains and monuments of Assyria and Egypt. But the value of the work before us is greatly enhanced when we are led to look upon it only in the light of an instalment, an earnest of richer things yet to come. We can

not give a better idea of the work than by quoting here Dr. Birch's opening observations in his preface to the volume before us :

"The present volume of translations of Babylonian and Assyrian inscriptions, in the cuneiform or arrowheaded character, is the first of a series intended to place before the public the important results of the study and interpretation of these and Egyptian monuments, by English and foreign students. The value of these translations, to those interested in Biblical history and archæology, cannot be estimated too highly by all who have turned their attention to the language, literature, and history of the nations of the East contemporaneous with the Hebrews, and conterminous to the land of Palestine. As many of the texts are of the most remote antiquity, they derive from that fact alone the greatest importance, detailing contemporaneous events which had hitherto escaped notice, been lost, or less imperfectly transmitted by secondary sources."

We shall at some future period, give a critical analysis of the work. At present we can only afford space for the categorical table of contents, which is the following :·

Inscription of Rimmon-Nirari. By the Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A.

Inscription of Khammurabi. H. Fox Talbot, F.R.S., etc.

By

Monolith Inscription of SamasRimmon. By the Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A.

Bellino's Cylinder of Sennacherib. By H. Fox Talbot, F.R.S., etc.

Taylor's Cylinder of Sennacherib. By H. Fox Talbot, F.R.S., etc.

Annals of Assurbanipal. By George Smith.

Behistun Inscription of Darius. By Sir H. Rawlinson, K.C.B., D.C.L.

Babylonian Exorcisms. By the Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A.

Private Will of Sennacherib. By the Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A.

Assyrian Private Concert Tablets. By the Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A.

Legend of the descent of Ishtar. By H. Fox Talbot, F.R.S., etc.

Assyrian Astronomical Tablets. By the Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A.

Assyrian Calendar. By the Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A.

Tablets of Assyrian Weights and Measures. By the Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A.

Lists of further Texts, Assyrian and Egyptian. Selected by Geo.

Smith, and P. le Page Renouf,

F.R.S.L.

We consider the volume to possess points of great interest, notwithstanding that we are convinced that some of the translations might yet be rendered more in accordance with the spirit of the original, and therefore more accurate.

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UR Subscribers, who transmit their Subscriptions by P.O. Orders,

OUR

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AND

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His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury; Lord Arthur C. Hervey, Bishop of Bath and Wells; Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Lawrence; Revs. Dr. Rosenthall; A. A. Isaacs; J. B. Goldberg; R. Chester; R. Gascoyne; H. H. Miles; M. H. Lewis; R. A. Taylor; General Bell; H. J. Hirschberg; J. B. Salter; The Countess of Carrick; Lady Harriet Kavanagh; Lady Sophia Phipps; &c. &c.

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דאס לעבען אונד, טאדט פאן ישוע הנוצרי: לאנדאן תרל"ד:

Records of the Past: Being English Translations of the Assyrian and Egyptian Monuments. Published under the Sanction of the Society of Biblical Archæology. Vol. I. London: Samuel Bagster and Sons.

An Appeal in Behalf of the PhiloJudæan Society, Including the Forty-fifth Annual Report. London: The Book Society.

&c. &c. &c.

The Hebrew Christian Witness

AND

PROPHETIC JNVESTIGATOR.

AN ANGLO-JUDÆO CHRISTIAN MAGAZINE.

TY DAN. "Ye are My Witnesses"-Is. xliii. 10.

No. 15.]

MARCH, 1874.

[NEW SERIES.

A

WE WEEP WITH THEM THAT WEEP.

VERY interesting meeting-solemn and mournful in its charactertook place in the newly-built large room in the WANDERERS' HOME, Palestine Place, at half-past four o'clock on the afternoon of Saturday, the 31st of last January. It illustrated the Apostolic sentiment: "Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it." About one hundred Hebrew Christians assembled together, amongst whom were two or three Gentile Christian Clergymen, to present an address of condolence to our bereaved brother, the Rev. H. A. Stern, Principal of the Mission to the Jews in England. The proceedings commenced by Mr. N. D. Rappoport, in the name of the Hebrew Christians present, proposing that the Rev. M. Wolkenberg should preside on the occasion. Our reverend brother, on taking the chair, gave out the fourteenth hymn from the Collection used at the Hebrew Services in the Episcopal Jews' Chapel, Palestine Place. With solemn fervour, the whole assembly sang the following hymn :

When I survey the wondrous cross,
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God:
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet;
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

chairman asked Mr. P. I. Hershon
which, he called upon the Rev.

At the conclusion of the hymn, the to read the ninetieth Psalm. After Dr. Margoliouth to engage in prayer. When the congregants rose from their knees, the President addressed them somewhat to the following effect, almost in the following words :

H

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