Quest. 8. Why the Angel leaueth at the fourth king of Persia, seeing there were more.

1. Lyranus his opinon here is not sound, that thinketh, following the Hebrewes, that none of the Persian kings are here omitted: and taketh this fourth king to be the last Darius, that was ouercome by Alexander: but both the continuance of the Persian Monarchie, and the number of the Persian kings agreed vpon almost by all historians, ouerthroweth this o∣pinion. 2. yet although there were more kings of Persia then sowre, diuerse reasons may be alleadged, why the Angel staieth at the fourth and proceedeth no further. 1. the spirit of God intended not to followe the order of the historie, sed praeclara quaeque praestringere, but to touch onely the principall and speciall things, Hierome, Hugo Card. 2. Theodoret saith the reason is, because the Angel would onely set downe the most mightie kings of Persia, omitting the rest: and to the same purpose Bullinger and Polanus, because it is said, there shall stand vp three kings of Persia: the Angel onely speaketh of the flourishing state of •• at Empire, before it beganne to decay, as it did presently after Xerxes time. 3. Some giue this reason, that the other kings of Persia are omitted here, because they are supplied out of o∣ther bookes of the Scripture, as of Ezra, Nehemiah, and some of the Prophets, Pappus. 4. Iunius addeth, because the historie of the Persian kings following concerned not the people of God: their chiefe businesse afterward fell out with the Grecians, in commentar. 5. But the most speciall reason is, the Angel onely nameth those kings by whom the Iewes were held in captiuitie: and such as hindered the worke of the Temple; and as Oecolampad. out of Eudoxius, their gouernements are spoken of, in which there was 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the hinderance of the worke, and staying of the building of the Temple, which the Prophet tooke greatest care and thought for: to the same purpose M. Calvin. by standing, vnder∣standeth those kings, which stood against the people of God. 6. Adde hereunto that the Prophet maketh a cursary mention of them, to insinuate in what short time these foure kings should runne out the race of their kingdome; for first Cyrus, in whose third the Temple was hindered, raigned not long after: some thinke that Cyrus going against a people of the In∣dians called Derbices, which vsed to deuoure their parents when they were old, thinking it a more honourable ende for them, then to be eaten of wormes, fell from his horse, and then was wounded in the thigh by a dart cast at him by an Indian, and so died, Polan, ex Cresia. but the more receiued opinion is out of Herodotus, that he was slaine of Queene Tomyris, and his head beeing cut off was cast into a bowle of blood: yet Xe•ophon writeth that Cy∣rus beeing aged died in his bed, giuing fatherly and graue exhortations to his sonnes. After him Cambyses hauing raigned not much aboue 6. yeares, was wounded by his owne sword, and so died: Darius Hystaspis, beeing 20. yeares old when Cyrus went against Queene Tomyris, and liuing but 43. yeares in all, enioyed not his kingdome 36. yeares, as most thinke, nor yet halfe so much: Xerxes time could not be long: H. Br. giueth but 31. yeares to the Persian Monarchie vnto the second of Darius Longimanus, and maketh the 49. yeares, for the reedifying of the Temple, to coucurre with the 20. of Darius Longimanus, whom he supposeth raigning at home, while his father Xerxes was occupied in the Greeke warres, beeing but then a young man, to haue giuen libertie in his 2. yeare for the reedifying of the Temple: but if 30. yeares be onely allowed for the raigne of Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius, and Xerxes, Darius Longimanus cannot be thought to be then of yeares to haue sonnes, as he had, Ezra. 6. 10. But allowe 49. yeares vnto the 2. of Darius, as is further prooued, c. 9. quest. 58. this was but a short time for the raigne of fowre such potent kings.

7. This also beeing ioyned to the former may make the former reasons more full, why the Angel endeth it at Xerxes, and so passeth vnto Alexanders time, because then the quar∣rell begunne betweene the Persians and the Grecians, which was neuer laid downe, till the Grecians had ouerthrowne the Persian Monarchie. And so Alexander in an epistle to Da∣rius Codomannus, as Arrianus writeth, lib. 2. pretendeth this as the cause of his warre a∣gainst the Persians: Maitores vestri Mecedoniam ingressi, &c. Your Auncestors invaded Ma∣cedonia, and all Grecia beside, and offred them many wrongs, whereas they had receiued none: wherefore I beeing created Emperour of the Grecians, beeing willing to reuenge their wrongs, am come ouer into Asia beeing prouoked by you.