e is familiar with the genealogy of our Lord in the first
chapter of St. Matthew's gospel. Three links are manifestly omitted in
the eighth verse, between Joram and Ozias--namely, Ochozias, Joaz, and
Amasias. We cannot suppose that St. Matthew, himself a Jew, could have
been in error about the genealogy of the house of David. Much less can
we suppose that he would have attempted, on this point, to deceive the
Jews, for whom he wrote his gospel. Above all, it is plain, that if he
had fallen into such an error; it would have been at once discovered
and have been proclaimed to the world by the enemies of the Christian
religion. We must infer, therefore, that it was perfectly conformable to
the usage of the Jewish nation to say, "Joram begot Ozias", although in
point of fact three generations had intervened between them. Now, Dr.
Colenso must admit that his examples will prove absolutely nothing, if
omissions of this kind were made in the genealogies from which they are
taken. _We_ do not assert that such _was_ the case; but we challenge
_him_ to prove that it was _not_.

Take, for example, the text: "And the sons of Pallu, Eliab" (_Num._,
xxvi. 8). Can he show that no intervening links are omitted between
these two names? He will find, on a close examination of the Pentateuch,
from which he professes to derive his data, that Pallu must have been
over 110 years of age when Eliab was born. It is, therefore, most likely
that there were two or perhaps three links omitted in this genealogy
between Pallu and Eliab. If so, we should add two or three generations
in the examples which Dr. Colenso has adduced from the family of Pallu.
He cannot argue that Pallu was the _immediate father_ of Eliab, because
it is said that Eliab was the _son_ of Pallu: for do we not also read:
"The Book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the _son of David_, the
_son of Abraham"?_ (_Matth._, i. 1).

II. Dr. Colenso next assumes that the 600,000 men of the exodus were
_all_ descendants of Jacob. We contend, as a far more probable opinion,
that amongst them were counted, not only the descendants of _Jacob
himself_, but also the descendants of his _servants_. If we take up the
book of Genesis, and glance through the brief history of the Patriarchs,
we shall find abundant reason to believe that, when Jacob was invited by
Joseph to come down into Egypt, he must have had a goodly retinue of
servants. His grandfather, Abraham, had been able to lead forth an a