Zechariah, "Rejoice greatly O! daughter of Zion, shout O!
daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy king cometh unto thee: he is
just and saved, lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the
foal of an ass."

Mr. Everett, after allowing that the Hebrew reads "saved" or
"preserved" instead of "having salvation," as in the English
version, observes, that many ancient versions read as in the
English Bible. Whether the true reading be mine or his, is not of
any consequence to the question to which this book relates. I
maintain that a man's riding upon an ass into Jerusalem, is not
sufficient to prove him the Messiah.

I also repeat that the event predicted, is spoken of by the prophet
as contemporaneous with the restoration of the division, [fn37]
and of course could not have been fulfilled eighteen hundred
years ago.

"Mr. Everett tries to shove out this objection, by taking for granted,
p. 98 of his work, that the chapter of Zechariah in which this
prophecy is found, is a series of chronological predictions. But I
must remind Mr. Everett that this pretention is inadmissible. None
of the predictions of the prophets, except some in Daniel, are
arranged in chronological order; they were delivered by parcels,
and at intervals, frequently of some years; and these parcels
generally have no connexion with each other. Mr.. Everett's
reasoning upon the assumption here contradicted, is therefore
inadmissible.

Finally, the German Biblical Scholars so frequently mentioned,
deny that this was a prediction of Jesus, and affirm that it is
quoted by the Evangelists merely by way of accommodation.

The next passage adduced is Zechariah xii. 10., "And I will pour
upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the spirit of grace and supplications, and they shall look upon [or
towards] me[fn38] whom they have blasphemed, [or pierced,] and
they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son."

The meaning of this prophecy is obscure. The word translated
"pierced" in the English version, may also in the opinion of Grotius,
and I add of Rosenmuller too, as quoted by Mr. Everett in the 104.
p. of his book, be best rendered "blasphemed or reproached." It
may refer to the time when, according to the Old Testament, the
hearts of the house of Israel shall be cleansed from sin, and they
shall turn to God "with their whole heart and with all their souls,"
as predicted by Moses.

I conclude with observing, that this pa