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to the law of Moses, yet they think it lawful for them to break it, to save their lives. They seldom make use of the name of God in their oaths; when they do, it makes them inviolable: but when they swear by the creatures, they do not look on those as sacred; nor do they make any scruple of breaking them and this gave occasion to Jesus Christ and his apostles to forbid the use of all sorts of oaths,* in order thereby to correct that horrid abuse of oaths which was common among the Jews, when the name of God was not in them.

CHAP. VII.

Of the Hebrew Talent, and how to reduce it into English Money.

BEFORE the value of any number of Talents of Gold can be found in sterling money, at the rate the gold in Great Britain is now valued at, which is 21 shillings the guinea, this must be premised, viz. that the learned Doctor Prideaux, dean of Norwich, in his valuation of a Talent of Gold, makes it sixteen times the present value of a talent of silver; and, according to that valuation, 1 pound weight of pure gold is only equal in value to 16 pounds weight of silver that has 18 dw. of alloy in each pound weight of it, and so the gold is 41. an ounce, which indeed is the

* Matt. v.

present

present value of an ounce of pure gold; but forasmuch as the standard for the gold coin of Great Britain is 22 carracts, fine, i. e. the twelfth part of every ounce of it is alloy, and so an ounce of it is of less value than 41. sterling.

The best way to find the present value of one ounce, or any other quantity, is by the Rule of Three Direct Proportion, to say,

As 5 dw. 9 gr. is to 21s. so is 1 oz. to 78,1394s.

Note, 5 dw. 9 gr. is the exact weight of one Guinea. And as 5 dw. 9 gr. is in proportion to 21s. so is 1 oz. Troy Weight, in proportion to 78.1394s. i.c. 31. 18s. 13d. sterling; and so much 1 oz. Troy, of the coined Gold of Great Britain, is worth, at the rate of 21s. the Guinea. But a Crown, which is 1 oz. Troy Weight, is better worth 5s. sterling, than an ounce of the Gold Coin of Great Britain is worth 31. 18s. 13d. sterling, because of the Gold Coin is alloy, and there is not so much in the Silver Coin.

Now to find the present value of any number of Hebrew Talents of Gold, this is the Rule:

Multiply 78.1394s. (the present value of an ounce Troy of the Gold Coin of Great Britain) by 1800 oz. Troy, (the weight of a Hebrew Talent) and the Product will be the value of that Talent in Shillings sterling, or in Shillings and part of a Shilling sterling; then multiply the Product by the number of Talents, the next or second Product will be the value of all the Talents in Shillings sterling, or in Shillings and part of a Shilling sterling: divide the second Product by 20 (the Shillings in the Pound sterling) and the Quotient will be the present value of all the Talents in Pounds sterling, or in Pounds sterling and

part

part of a Pound sterling. And so the present value of the hundred and twenty Talents of Gold which it is said, 1 Kings x. 10. the Queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon, will be found to be 843905.521. i. e. eight hundred forty-three thousand nine hundred and five Pounds, ten Shillings, and Four-pence three Farthings, sterling.

For if 78.1394s. be multiplied by 1800 oz. the Product will be 140650.92s. which multiplied by 120, the next Product will be 16878110. 40s. which divided by 20s. the Quotient will be 843905.521. equal to 843,9051. 10s. 4d. sterling.

q.

It is said that King Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one target, 2 Chron. ix, 15. King Solomon made likewise three hundred shields of beaten gold; three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield, 2 Chron. ix. 16.

To find the value of two hundred targets, I consider that one target is of the weight of a talent; for a talent is 3000 shekels, and a target is but 600, which is the fifth of 3000, therefore one of the targets of gold is but the value of a 13 talent of gold and so this will be the Rule;

Divide 140650:92 (i. e. the Shillings sterling that are equal to one Talent of Gold) by 5, the Quotient will be 28130.184s. (i. e. the value of one Target) which multiply by 200, (the number of the Targets,) the Product will be the value of the 200 Targets in Shillings sterling: divide the Product by 20s. the Quotient will be the value of the 200 Targets in Pounds and part of a Pound sterling, viz. 281301.841. equal to 281,3011. 16s. 9 d. See the Operation following. Example.

Example.

5) 140650.920s. equal to One Talent of Gold. Quotient 28130.184s. equal to One Target of Gold. 200 Targets.

Product 5626036.800s. equal to Two Hundred Targets. 20) 5626036.80s.

Quotient 281301.841. equal to 281,3011. 16s. 91d.

To find the value of the 300 Shields of Gold, each containing 300 Shekels, equal to of a Target. The Rule is:

Multiply 14065.092s. (i. e. the value of one Shield, equal to half the value of one Target) by 300, (the number of Shields) the Product will be the value of the 300 Shields in Shillings and part of a Shilling sterling: divide the Product by 20, the Quotient will be the Pounds and part of a Pound sterling that are equal in value to the 300 Shields, viz. 210976.381.equal to 210,976l. 7s. 7d. See the Operation following:-Example.

14065.092s. the Value of one Shield.
300 Shields.

Product 4219527.600s. equal to 300 Shields.
20) 4219527.600s.

Quotient 210976.381. equal to 2109761. 7s. 7d.

In 1 Kings x. 14. we are told, that the weight of Gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents. And by the preceding Rule the reader will find that this annual income amounted to 4,683,6751. 12s. 8žd. sterling.'

*

*These calculations, in which I have followed Mr. Reynolds, (State of the greatest King, &c. p. 58.) will be found materially to differ from those of the Abbé Fleury, in p. 159, 160, of this Work: but as they appeared to me to be perfectly correct, I judged them of too much consequence to be omitted in this part of the work.

THE END.

İNDEX.

ABRAHAM a sort of king, 9.

on his guests, 14.

numerous servants, 10.

Administration of justice among the Israelites, 145.

Adoring, what, 98.

Age the first foundation of authority, 142.

Agriculture, see Husbandry.

Alienation of lands revoked every fifty years among the Israelites, 40.

Altars erected for memorials of great events, 8.

Angel of the church, what it signifies, 260, 261, in the Note. Anointing; reason of it, 54.

Animals used in sacrifice, 233, 234. 235. flaying, salting, &c. 236. the tabernacle, 238.

manner of killing such, offered at the door of

Animals different eaten and abstained from among different nations, 62.

Apostles among the Jews, their office, 184.

Arms, all persons capable of using them, ecclesiastics as well as laymen, made up the antient militia, 152.

what the antient arms consisted of, 153 not worn by the Israelites except on duty, ib.

Arts, curious ones among the Hebrews, 44.

Artificers, few among the Israelites till the time of David, 45, 47. many of the Greek heroes such, ib,

Arure of land, how much, 37.

Asmoneans, see Maccabees.

Athenians, how at first divided, 19.

Babylon, the fertility of its plains, 29.

Bakers, when first at Rome, 46.

Balsam-tree only found antiently in Palestine, 35.

Baptism administered to proselytes, 200. how performed, ib. how administered to women, 204.

Bathing, why frequent in the east, 54.

Beards long, worn by the Israelites, 54%

Bedsteds in the east, often of ivory, and placed against the wall, 56. Bells in churches of modern invention, 117.

Bissextile how computed, 226.

Books now lost referred to in the Old Testament, 85, 86.

Bramins neither kill nor eat animals, 63.

NA

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