THE History of the Jews, by Paul Mezger, printed at Augsburg, in 1700, fol. contains the most memorable Transactions of this Nation under its different Forms of Government. The whole is divided into five Books; the first whereof contains what passed under Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his Sons; the second, from the Birth of Moses to the first of the Judges; the third, from Joshua to Saul; the fourth, from Saul to the Imprisonment of Zedekiah; the fifth is only an Abridgment of the Lives of Tobit and Judith.
He adds here several Questions relating to the literal, spiritual, and mystical Sense of Scripture. There is a great deal of Order in every thing he says; and they who will give themselves the trouble of reading him, will find wherewithal to be satisfied, and will learn the Sacred History very easily. These were printed at Augsburg, 1700, in fol.
Jerome Vecchietti wrote eight Books upon the Primitive Year, from the Beginning of the World, with a Reference to the Julian Year, and the Manner of computing the sacred Times, printed at Augsburg, 1621, in fol.
In the first Book, he examines what was the Beginning of Times, and the first Year, settled by Adam, whereof there is mention in the sacred Writing. In the second, he demonstrates the Series of Time in the Old Testament to be true, having first explained what is said in the sixth Chapter of Genesis, the sons of God seeing the daughters of men, &c. what relates to Nimrod, or the History of Job. In the third, he proves the true Epoch of Jesus Christ’s first Advent, of his Preaching and Death: He explains Daniel’s Seventy Weeks, and sets forth the Circumstances of the Last Supper, with the Manner of celebrating the Passover. The fourth is entituled of the Grace of the Gospel. The fifth treats of what followed it. The sixth, of the last Successions. The seventh contains the Marks of the Last Times, described in the Revelations. The eighth contains Chronological and Astronomical Tables.
This Work by Vecchietti was condemn’d by reason of his Opinion concerning the Last Supper, which has been confuted by Anthony Capellus, a Franciscan. The Author was put into the Inquisition, and died there, after many Years Imprisonment, at eighty Years of Age, tho’ he was an Italian of Florence, and had been sent into Egypt by Clement XIII. to maintain there the Interests of Religion.
Francis Macé put out, in French, an Historical and Chronological Abridgment of the Old and New Testament, printed at Paris, 1704, in 4to. He was a Parisian, a Doctor, and Vestry-Keeper of the Church of St. Opportune, and died in 1721. His Work is not a bare Historical Abridgment, as he calls it, but a judicious and continued Comment upon the whole Bible. They who love Elevation, will find here some of those sublime Touches which they look for in the Greek and Latin Historians.
Edmund Maclot has written the History of the Old and New Testament, with Theological Notes, printed at Nancy, in 1705, 1712, two Vols. in 8vo. He was of the Order of the Præmonstratenses, Abbot of Etanche in the Diocese of Verdun, where he died in 1711, and the 78th Year of his Age. As to his Book, he does not confine himself in it to a bare Narration of what the Text of Scripture contains, but intermixes abundance of Remarks and Observations, either in Theology, Morality, or History.
There are some who have published only the History of the Old Testament; which is what Joachim Langius has done in Latin, printed at Hall, 1718, in 4to. with Exegeses, or Explanations of difficult Passages of Scripture: The Work is divided into seven Periods.
F. James Grandami, a Jesuit, under the Name of Christian Theology, has written of every thing which has happened from the Creation of the World to the Birth of Jesus Christ. His Book is in Latin, printed at Paris, 1666, in 4to.
Lastly, we have published the History of the Old and New Testaments, and of the Jews, printed at Paris, in two Vols. in 4to. 1718, and in seven Vols. in 12mo. 1725. We did not undertake to compose a Work of this kind after so many others without much Solicitation from Abbot Fleury, who had designed himself to write one, to serve as an Introduction to his Ecclesiastical History, which does not begin sooner than with the Acts of the Apostles, about the Year of Jesus Christ 36.
That which we have published begins at the Creation of the World, and goes on to some time after the Destruction of Jerusalem, when Abbot Fleury enters fully upon his Matter. We have endeavoured to imitate the Brevity and Exactness of this eminent Historian, without loading our Work with curious and learned Enquiries; all our Aim being to instruct and edify the Faithful, by inducing them to read the History of the Church under the Old Testament.