' about his head by the ancient painters, is a corroborative proof that the meteor did rest upon his brow at that time.

But the wise men, after they had bestowed their gifts, and bowed and worshipped their Maker in the person of this child, returned to their country another way, which is supposed to be in the kingdom or country of the Sabeans or Saba, and also Arabia Felix, who are supposed to be the descendants of Abraham, by his wife Keturah, who received their portion of their father, and departed for a country lying east from Abraham. See Gen. xxv. 6. "But unto the sons of the concubines which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived eastward in the east country."

Perhaps in this place, though it be a digression from our subject, it would not be unacceptable to the curious, if I give an account of Herod the great, whose son beheaded John the Baptist.

Herod the great, the son of Antipater, reigned thirty seven years in Judea, reckoning from the time he was created king of that country by the Romans. Our blessed Lord was born in the last year of his reign, and at this time the sceptre had literally departed from Judea, a foreigner being now on the throne. As there are several princes of this name mentioned in the New Testament, it may be well to give a list of them here, together with their genealogy

Herod the great, married ten wives, by whom he had several children. The first was Doris, thought to be an Idumean, whom he married when but a private in

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dividual. By her, he had Antipater, the eldest of all his sons, whom he caused to be executed five days before his own death. Another of his sons was slain when the infants at Bethlehem were destroyed, which caused a certain writer of the day to say, "It is better to be Herod's hog than his son.". The point in this saying, consists in this: that Herod, professing Judaism for his religion, forbade his killing swine, or having any thing to do with their flesh; therefore, his hog would have been safe where his son lost his life.

His second wife was Mariamne, daughter of Hircanus, the sole surviving person of the Asmonean, or Maccabean race. Herod put her to death. She was the mother of Alexander and Aristobulous, whom Her-od had executed at Selastia, on accusation of having entered into a conspiracy against him. Aristobulous left three children, whom I shall notice hereafter.

His third wife was Mariamne, the daughter of Simon, a person of some note in Jerusalem, whom Herod made high priest, in order to obtain his daughter. She was the mother of Herod Philippus, or Herod Philip, and Salome. Herod, or Philip, married Herodius, mother to Salome, the famous dancer, who demanded the head of John the Baptist.-Mark vi. 22. Salome had been placed, in the will of Herod the great, as second heir after Antipater; but her name was erased, when it was discovered that Mariamne, her mother, was an accomplice in the crimes of Antipater, son of Herod the great.

His fourth wife was Malthake, a Samaritan, whose sons were Archelaus and Philip. The first enjoyed

half of his father's kingdom under the name of tetrarch. He reigned nine years; but being accused and arraigned before the Emperor Augustus, he was banished to Vienna, where he died. This is the Archelaus mentioned in verse 22. His brother Philip married Salome, the famous dancer, the daughter of Herodius. He died without children, and she was afterwards married to Aristobulous.

The fifth wife of Herod the great, was Cleopatra, of Jerusalem. She was the mother of Herod, surnamed Antipas, who married Herodius, the wife of his brother Philip, while he was still living. Being reproved for this act by John the Baptist, he caused him to be imprisoned, and afterwards, to be beheaded, agreeably to the promise he had rashly made to the daughter of his wife Herodius, who had pleased him with her dancing. He attempted to seize the person of Jesus Christ, and to put him to death. It was to this Prince that Pilate sent our Lord.-Luke xiii. 31, 32. He was banished to Lyons, and then to Spain, where both he and his wife Herodius died.

The sixth wife of Herod the great was Palas, by whom he had Phasaelus. His history is in no way connected with the New Testament.

The seventh was named Phædra, the mother of Roxana, who married the son of Pheroras.

The eighth was Elpida, mother of Salome, who married another son of Pheroras. With the names of two other wives of Herod, we are not acquainted, but they are not connected with our history any more than are Pales, Phædra and Elpida, whose names I merely

notice, to avoid the accusation of historical inaccuracy with reference to the Herod family.

Aristobulous, the son of Herod the great, by Mariamne, a descendant of the Asmoneans, left two sons and a daughter, viz. Agrippa, Herod, and Herodius, so famous for her incestuous marriage with Antipas, in the life time of his brother Philip.

Agrippa, otherwise named Herod, who was imprisoned by Tiberius for something he had said against him, was released from prison by Caligula, who made him king of Judea. It was this Prince who put St James to death, and imprisoned Peter, as mentioned in xii. of Acts. He died at Cesarea, in the way mentioned in the Acts, as well as by Josephus. He left a son named Agrippa, who is mentioned below.

Herod, the second son of Aristobulous, was king of Chalcis, and after the death of his brother, obtained permission of the emperor to keep the ornaments belonging to the high priest, and to nominate whom he pleased to that office. He had a son named Aristobulous, to whom Nero gave Armenia the lesser, and who married Salome, the famous dancer, daughter to Herodius.

Agrippa, son of Herod Agrippa, king of Judea, and grandson to Aristobulous and Mariamne; he was at first king of Chalcis, and afterward tetrarch of Galilee, in the room of his uncle Philip. It was before him, his sister Berenice, and Felix, who had married Drusilla, Agrippa's second daughter, that St. Paul pleaded his cause, as mentioned Acts xxvi.

Herodius, the daughter of Mariamne and Aristobu

lous, is the person of whom we have already spoken, who married successively the two brothers, Philip and Antipas, her uncles, and who occasioned the death of John the Baptist. By her first husband, she had Salome, the dancer, who was married to Philip, tetrarch of the Trachonitis, and son of Herod the great. Salome having had no children by him, she was married to Aristobulous, her cousin-german, son of Herod, king of Chalcis, and brother to Agrippa and Herodius she had by this husband several children.

This is nearly all that is necessary to be known relative to the race of the Herods, in order to distinguish the particular persons of this family mentioned in the New Testament. See Dr. Clark.

But to return. The last sign which I shall notice of the coming of the Messiah, is, that while some shepherds were guarding their flocks, in the country not far from Bethlehem, there appeared, in the night season, just in the heaven above them, a company of celestial beings; their glory, it is probable, was as if a sun had suddenly burst upon the gloom of night and shot his bright light all around them. But the glorious sight was not sooner seen, than music, such as earth cannot afford, swelled its loud and thrilling . sounds upon the charmed skies, but mixed with the overwhelming song, was distinctly heard the gladdening news, that in the city of David, Christ die Lord was born, and laid in the manger of a stabe. But to their song, around the dreadful throne of God in Heaven, was heard the deep unutterable response of "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will to

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