LIBRARY OF THE University of California. GIFT OK Mrs. SARAH P. WALSWORTH. Received October, 1894. ^Accessions No.f)~lp %C?rf. Class No. ' HISTORY OF THE HOLY BIBLE, FROM THE CREATION OF THE WORLD INCARNATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. BY JOHN FLEETWOOD, D.D, WHt\ umtxm .$tofes. ^BA 0? THE &Jf&# NEW YORK : ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, 285 BROADWAY. 1855. Sl$t,^ PREFACE. There is a peculiar elegance as well as propriety in the title annexed to the sa- cred writings, being emphatically desig- nated the bible, or the book, thereby intimating its superiority to all other books, and the sublimity and importance of the subjects on which it treats. The remarks of too many Biblical commentators superabound with critical observations, while they are barren of use- ful and spiritual reflections, and are rather calculated to amuse curiosity than to pro- mote piety. The greater part of writers, likewise, who have furnished us with an historical account of the Bible, have so perplexed the plain narrative with their own strange conjectures, that the latter have confused the former, and thus con- joined, they are by no means calculated to edify the serious reader. The God of truth, willing to acquaint our sinful world with his mind and will, hath provided his Spirit to enlighten our understanding, and his written Word to bring those things which were transacted in bygone ages, and in places far remote, to our immediate view, in order to display his omnipotence, wisdom, and grace, and thus excite the veneration and gratkude of wondering: man. The writers of the Old and New Tes- taments agreeing in one and the same truth, their testimony is so much the more en- forcing, as implying so many several acts of one and the same spirit, producing in different individuals one and the same ef- fect, even the mystery of our salvation by Jesus Christ. For, though the different writers follow their own peculiar method and order in the several parts they were inspired to write, yet there appears a per- fect agreement upon the whole ; as is evi- dent from the clearest demonstration of the learned in all ages, who have bestowed much labour and extraordinary industry in comparing their testimonies. The Old Testament is itself a system of all kinds of knowledge, civil and relig- ious, moral and philosophical, and gener- ally useful for the conduct of human life, it being the chief repository from which the philosophers and legislators of all ages have drawn the choicest of their observa- tions. The excellency of sacred history will more evidently appear, if we compare it with the accounts of the best and most ancient heathen writers, both philosophers and historians. How futile and trifling are the researches and discoveries of the former, and the accounts of the latter, when compared with the glorious display of divine wisdom, the triumphs of divine grace, and the earnest of eternal glory contained in sacred writ? In this invalu- able treasury of divine knowledge are com- prised the whole of God's will and man's duty ; and the Old Testament, upon a dil- igent search, will appear to have a most uniform tendency and design to be 'a schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ ;' as the history therein contained, and the facts therein related, typify and prophesy such things, as might give mankind as- surance of such a Saviour, and distinguish him by such marks as might infallibly convince them at his appearance, that he was ' the very Christ, that Prophet that PREFACE. should come into the world,' and that we are not to look for another.' The design of religion being to make us wise for eternity, to give us true no- tions of God and ourselves, and to point out the path that leads to everlasting feli- city, we cannot be too well acquainted with the sacred volume on which it is founded, or too well versed in the history which confirms it To assist therefore the Christian reader in the right understand- ing of those things, on which depends his everlasting peace, we have taken pains to correct many neglects in our translation of the Bible, that have furnished wicked men with excuses, and libertines and atheists with matter of jesting. It is certain, that one of the greatest favours God could have conferred on men in a state of misery and ignorance, was to inform them of their duty, and teach them the means of becom- ing happy : therefore there is nothing more worthy of a reasonable man, and especially of a Christian, than to apply himself to the study of those things which are revealed in the holy scriptures, since they were written for this very end. To be careless or negligent in a matter of such moment is highly criminal, and an undoubted mark of irreligion and profane- ness. Besides, infinite advantage may re- dound to the cause of truth, by making a single text plain and intelligible, and thereby overturning any of the pretended grounds of atheism and infidelity, danger- ous error, superstitious foppery, or ridicu- lous invention. This end we presume will be answered in the course of our labours, as we have consulted the best commenta- tors, and laid down plain and easy rules, whereby persons of the meanest capacity may observe the most material faults of all translations. To render our plan more easy and fa- miliar, we have ranged the whole into chapters, according as the different sub- jects and occurrences have required, and have carefully attended to the connection of events, in order to prove the authenti- city of the history in general. To avoid perplexity, the historical part is carried on by itself, and the necessary lemarks and observations are cast into notes at the bottom of the page; being assured, from experience, that remarks in the series of the narrative must distract the sense, and take off the pleasure and advantage of reading. With respect to the chronolog}' we have consulted Josephus, Rufinus, and other writers of good authority, and throughout each period connected the sacred and profane history. As from the time of Malachi, to the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, there is a chasm of about four hundred years ; to render the work complete, reference has been made to the best authors who have re- corded the transactions of those times. These, with our former labours, will furnish a complete history of the Bible, both Old and New Testament, bring the whole into one point of view, and exhibit a general display of the great work of man's salvation, from the time of its pro- mise to our first parents till its accomplish- ment in the person of the blessed Jesus. As it is, we recommend it to the divine blessing, which is absolutely necessary to render it useful to the promotion of God's glory, and the interest and happiness of mankind ; earnestly praying that it may confirm and build up sincere Christians of every denomination amongst us in their most holy faith, till the benefits of divine grace here shall be realized in eternal glory hereafter, when both believers and infidels shall have sensible demonstration that the Word of God is true. THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. BOOK I. FROM THE CREATION OF THE WORLD TO THE DEATH OF JOSEPH. PRELIMINARY REMARKS. The five books of Moses are collectively designated the Pentateuch, which, being a word of Greek original, literally signi- fies five books, or volumes. This portion of the inspired writings comprises an ac- count of the creation of the world, and of the fall of man, a rapid sketch of the early history of the world, with a full detail of the Jewish system of ordinances, a period of 2515 years, according to the vulgar computation, or of 3765, according to that of Dr Hales. " It is a wide description, gradually contracted ; an account of one nation, preceded by a general sketch of the first state of mankind. The books are written in pure Hebrew, with an admirable diversity of style, always well adapted to the subject* yet characterised with the stamp of the same author; they are all evidently parts of the same work, and mutually strengthen and illustrate each other. They blend revelation and history in one point of view; furnish laws, and describe their execution, exhibit prophe- cies, and relate their accomplishment."* The first book of the Pentateuch, which is called Genesis, signifies the Book of the Generation or Production, because it com- * Bp. Gray's Key to the Old Testament, p. 76. mences with the generation or production of all things. "Although nothing is more certain than that this book was written by Moses, yet it is by no means agreed when he composed the history which it contains. Eusebiusand some eminent critics after him have conjectured, that it was written while he kept the flocks of Jethro, his father-in-- law, in the wilderness of Midian. But the more probable opinion is that of The- odoret, which has been adopted by Mol- denhawer and most modern critics, viz.. that Moses wrote this book after the de- parture of the Israelites from Egypt and; the promulgation of the law from Mount Sinai; for, previously to his receiving the divine call related in Exodus iii., he was only a private individual, and was not en- dued with the spirit of prophecy. With- out that spirit he could not have recorded,, with so much accuracy, the history of the creation, and the subsequent transactions, to his own time : neither could he have foretold events then future, as in the pre- dictions concerning the Messiah, and those respecting the descendants of Ishmaeland the sons of Jacob ; the verification and confirmation of which depended on circum- stances, that had neither taken place nor could have happened at the time when the history was written in whieh they are recorded : but which circumstances, we HISTORY OF [Book I know, did take place exactly as they were foretold, and which may be said, even now, to have an actual accomplishment before our eyes. A third conjecture has been offered by some Jewish writers, after Rabbi Moses Ben Nachman, who suppose that God dictated to Moses all the con- tents of this book, during the first forty davs that he was permitted to hold a com- munication with the Almighty on Mount Sinai, and that on his descent he commit- ted the whole to writing. This hypo- thesis thev found on Exodus xxiv. 12. where Jehovah says unto Moses, 'Come up tome in the mount, and be thou there, and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law, and the precepts, which I have written to teach them : ' understanding by the tables, the decalogue ; by the precepts, all the ceremonial and judicial ordinances; and by the law, all the other writings of Moses, whether historical or doctrinal. 4 It is, however,' as a pious writer has well remarked, 'as impossible, as it is of little consequence, to determine which of these opinions is best founded ; and it is sufficient for us to know, that Moses was assisted by the Spirit of infallible truth in the composition of this sacred work, which he deemed a proper introduction to the laws and judgments delivered in the sub- sequent books.' "The book of Genesis comprises the history of about 2369 years according to the vulgar computation of time, or of 36 1 9 years according to the larger computation of Dr Hales. Besides the history of the creation, it contains an account of the original innocence and fall of man; the propagation of mankind; the rise of reli- gion; the general defection and corruption of the world; the deluge; the restoration of the world; the division and peopling of the earth; the call of Abraham, and the divine covenant with him ; together with the first patriarchs, to the death of Joseph. This book also comprises some important prophecies respecting the Messiah. Gen. iii. 15. xii. 3. xviii. 18. xxii. 18. xxvi. 4. xxviii. 14. and xlix. 10. " The scope of the book of Genesis may be considered as two-fold: 1. To record the history of the world from the com- mencement of time; and 2. To relate the origin of the church, and the events which befell it during many ages. The design of Moses in this book will be better un- derstood, if we consider the state of the world when the Pentateuch was written. Mankind was absorbed in the grossest idolatry, which for the most part had ori- ginated in the neglect, the perversion, or the misapprehension of certain truths that had once been universally known. Moses therefore, commences his narrative by re- lating in simple language the truths thus disguised or perverted. In pursuance of this plan, he relates, in the book of Gene- sis, the true origin and history of all cre- ated things in opposition to the erroneous notions entertained by the heathen nations, especially by the Egyptians: the origin of sin, and of all moral and physical evil; the establishment of the knowledge and worship of the only true God among man- kind; their declension into idolatry; the promise of the Messiah; together with the origin of the church, and her progress and condition for many ages. Further, it makes known to the Israelites the provi- dential history of their ancestors, and the divine promises made to them; and shows them the reason why the Almighty chose Abraham and his posterity to be a psculiar people to the exclusion of all other na- tions, viz. that from them should spring the Messiah. This circumstance must be kept in view throughout the reading of this book, as it will illustrate many other- wise unaccountable circumstances there related. It was this hope that led Eve to exclaim, ' I have gotten a man, the Lord.' (Gen. iv. 1. Heb.) The polyga- my of Lamech may be accounted for by the hope that the Messiah would be born of some of his posterity, as also the incest Chap. I.] THE BIBLE. 3 of Lot's daughters, Gen. xix. 31 38., Sarah's impatience of her barrenness, Gen. xvi., the polygamy of Jacob, Gen. xxix., the consequent jealousies between Leah and Rachel, Gen. xxx., the jealousies between Ishmael and Isaac, and especially Rebekah's preference of Jacob to Esau. It was these jealousies, and these preten- sions to the promise of the Messiah, that gave rise to the custom of calling God the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and not the God of Lot, Ishmael, and Esau, the promise hav- ing been particularly made and repeated to those three patriarchs." "It is natural and unavoidable for us, who are but of yesterday, to inquire about those things which have been before us, and to form conjectures even about the original of all things: but our reason is evidently incompetent to inquiries of this kind; and uncertainty, contrariety, and ab- surdity, always bewildered the wisest of the heathens on this subject. However ration- al it is to conclude, that all things were at first created by the eternal, self-existent, and almighty God ; yet man has in every age lamentably failed of drawing this con- clusion : and after all, it is by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God; so that things, which are seen were not made of things which do ap- pear:' Heb. xi. 3. Reason is indeed capa- ble of approving, appropriating, and apply- ing, the information conveyed to us by the word of God, but not of anticipating it. The knowledge imparted by revelation is useful and necessary: but nothing is men- tioned about a past eternity, that abyss which swallows up all our thought, and in- volves all our reflections and discourse in inextricable perplexity; for this could only have gratified curiosity, and increased our stock of barren notions. The Scriptures, in perfect harmony with the conclusions of our reason when soberly exercised, declare that God is ' from everlasting to everlast- ing.' All else had a beginning. With this the inspired historian opens his narra- tion, and, in most sublime abruptness, breaks forth, 'In the beginning:* as if he had said, 'This, O man, is enough for thee to know; here stop thy presumptuous in- quiry; call back thy intruding thoughts from things too high for thee, and learn to adore thy Creator.' The Scriptures are especially intended to teach us 'the know- ledge of God ;' which is done in the man- ner best suited to inform and affect us, by recording his works. From the creation of the world we learn ' his eternal power and Godhead ;' and discern, in the things which he hath made, his infinite wisdom and goodness: while the simplicity and har- mony, subsisting in the midst of the richest variety, lead the mind in the easiest man- ner, to conceive of the Creator, as ' the One living and true God.'"* CHAPTER I. The Creation of the World, and of Man. The Fall of our first Parents, and their Expul- sion from Paradise. The first instance of divine wisdom and power known to us mortals, was that great and stupendous work, the creation of the world. 'In the beginning,' says the in- spired penman, ' God created the heaven and the earth ;'f that is, this planetary world, consisting of the earth and other planets, having the sun for their centre ; * Home's Introduction, &c. vol. iv. pp. 35. and Scott's Commentary. f What our translators render ' in the begin- ning,' some learned men have made in wisdom God created the heaven and the earth ;' not only because the Jerusalem Targum has it so, but be- cause the psalmist, paraphrasing upon the works of the creation, breaks forth into this admiration, O Lord ! how wonderful are thy works, in wis- dom hast thou made them all,' Ps. civ. 24. And again, exhorting us to give thanks unto the Lord for his manifold mercies, he adds, 'who by wisdom made the heavens,' Ps. cxxxvi. 5. where by wis- dom, as some imagine, he means the Son of God, by whom, says the Evangelist, John i. 3. 'all things were made;' or 'all things created,' says the apostle, ' that are in heaven, and that are in the earth ;' and therefore the meaning of the phrase must be, that God. in creating the world, made use of the agency of his Son Le Clerc. fy>- o? THE [UNIVERSITY] HISTORY OF [Book I. all of which owe their origin to the power of a supreme Creator. These were not eternal, as absurdly imagined by some ancient philosophers, nor did they owe their origin to chance and accident, but derived their beauty, order, and regular- ity, from that God whose ' works are ma- nifold/ and who 'in wisdom made them all.' When the omnipotent Jehovah had surveyed the unformed earth and water, a confused, indigested heap, without form, without order, without regularity, and overspread with darkness, and had set about the great work, we are told that the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,' * or, as it is interpreted by some learned commentators, brooded over the vast abyss, and impregnated, as well as rendered it capable of the disposition and order it was about to receive. By his almighty fiat God next produced light, f which gave birth to the first day, and was succeeded by the first night. The Creator pronounced his approbation of the work of his hands, that 'it was * Various are the opinions of commentators concerning this mucl) controverted passage; some think the word mi should have been translated wind, in this place, as it admits of that significa- tion as well as the other : while others think by the Spirit of God may be understood the Spirit of the Messiah, agreeable to Isa. xi. 2, ' And the Spi- rit of the Lord shall rest upon him.' We think it evident from its production, that it was an eman- ation of divine power and energy, which by its moving on the chaotic mass conveyed into it a kind of fermentation, and prepared it for future exer- tion of the same power. M. le Clerc thinks it to be a metaphor taken from the hovering and flut- tering of an eagle, or any other bird, over its young, but not its sitting over, or brooding upon them. \ The words used by the sacred historian are, ' And God said, Let there be light : and there was light ;' which, as Longinus takes notice, is a truly lofty expression ; and herein appears the wisdom of Moses, that he represents God like him- self commanding things into being by his word, i. e. his will ; for whenever we read the words he said, in the history of the creation, the meaning must be understood to be that lie willed, for this is the admirable characteristic of the power of God, that with him to will is to effect, to determine is to perform. See Patrick's Comment, and Bishop Pearson. good, 1 and distinguished the light from the darkness, by calling the former by the appellation of dap, and the latter by that of night. Thus wisely did the Almighty appoint the day and night constantly to succeed each other, in the same alternate course as we now perceive them, and to form together what we term a natural day ; ; and the evening and the morning were the first day,' that is, by the course, or going round of this light, which we may suppose to have been commanded into being about noon, were formed an evening and a morning ; so that at the ensuing noon the compass of a natural day of twenty-four hours, (the first day that existed,) was fully completed. The work of the second day consisted in laying the foundations of the heaven, called by the name of firmament,:}: which keeps the waters of the clouds from those which are upon the earth. This done, God called all the expanse above this earth, whether it be the thicker parts that compose the region of the air, which we denominate the lower firmament, or the thinner or more subtile parts, to which we have given the appellation of the higher firmament, heaven, which conclud- ed the work of the second day. The creation yet consisted of nothing but light, the waters and the firmament, which divided the waters of the clouds from those upon the earth, that are dis- tinguished by the names of seas, rivers, &c. On the third day, therefore, it pleas- ed Almighty power and wisdom to reduce the waters within bounds, when he said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so.' The voice of God was immediately obeyed; J The Hebrew word which we translate firma- ment, signifies expanse, or extension. This term is applied not only to the sky, but the atmosphere, and seems here particularly to refer to that extent of airy matter, or atmosphere, which encompasses the earth : and separates the clouds from the waters that are upon the earth, according to the seventh verse of the first chapter of Genesis. Chap. I.] THE BIBLE. the waters separated from the surface of the earth, and on their retreat, the dry land appeared, which was called Earth, as was the gathering together of the waters, Seas. The work of dividing the waters being thus completed, it received the divine ap- probation; but as the great Creator de- signed the earth for the future habitation of man and beast, being as yet barren and uncultivated, to render it fit for the intend- ed inhabitants, he determined to bestow on it a prolific virtue, and endow it with the power of vegetation. In the first place appeared the grass which covered the earth, and was designed as pasture for the brute creation ; then succeeded flowers, plants, and trees, with all kinds of vegetables, in full growth, pro- portion, and maturity.* Though the first fruits of the earth were all of them pro- duced without any seeds, by the bare word of God; yet to perpetuate the same, each kind contained its own seed, which, being sown in the earth, or falling when ripe from the plants themselves, should con- tinue a succession to the end of the world. This likewise received his gracious ap- proval. The vegetable tribe now covered the earth with a green and flowery carpet, and rendered it fit for the reception of its inhabitants ; but the wise hand of Om- nipotence, further to display his power and goodness, contracted the light which he had created the first day f and diffused * It is not to be imagined, that the new created earth, with its ahundant fruitfulness, could be pro- duced according to the ordinary course of things in the space of twenty-four hours, and that without the assistance of the sun ; but the Almighty by his omnipotent fiat spoke them into existence and per- fection in an instant; tor he only spoke the word, and they were made, he commanded and they were created. ' Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit atter tiis kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth; and it was so,' Gen. i. 1 1. f Though Moses represents the luminaries as made on this day ; yet it may not be inconsistent to observe, that he could mean no more than that they were enabled to burst from their obscurity and to become visible. Rider. throughout the universe, into proper orbs, or those great luminaries of heaven, called sun and moon, one to rule the day, and the other the night; and to render these more useful by the order of their motion, he appointed them for signs, to distinguish the seasons, and to divide time, by which they have been, are, and ever will be, of essential benefit to mankind. The atmosphere was now rarified, and the bodies of the heavenly luminaries be- came visible; by their influence on the plants, they promoted the offices of vege- tation, finishing their revolutions in their proper periods of time. The almighty Creator having employed the first four days in the creation of things inanimate ; on the fifth, he passed the omnipotent fiat for the production of living creatures, say- ing, Let the waters bring forth abundant- ly the moving creature % that hath life, and fowl |] that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.' In this day's work we may remark the grad- ual procedure of the Almighty, from the inanimate creation to fish and fowl, the least perfect species of animals, by which the different orders of created beings are linked together, and the various ranks of creatures make a regular system. God likewise formed great whales, or all kinds of large fish, which the waters J The word which is here translated, moving creature, signifies any creeping animal, and is there- fore not inapplicable to fish, which, though they have not feet, lie upon their bellies, and by the help of their fins, creep as it were through the water. There is a seeming contradiction between this passage and that in Gen. ii. 19, where it is said, ' Out of the ground God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air :' but the contradiction will vanish, if we consider, that neither denies what the other affirms, though they speak differently ; as the description of Moses by no means supposes that the earth did not bring forth fowl ; besides, there are birds to the present day whose chief element is the water ; and many of the learned are of opinion that they derive their origin, partly from the water, and partly from the earth, from whence and from their guiding their course with their tails, Philo calls fowls the kin- dred of the fish. Stachhouse. HISTORY OF [Book L produce, and on a survey ot this creation perceived that what he had made entirely answered the end he proposed in their formation. The manifold shape of their different bodies, the infinite variety of their instincts and talents, but all so pro- perly adapted to each particular species, and tending to the preservation of the creature possessed of them, and the con- tinuation of its kind, amply declare the wisdom of the Creator, and prove that, ac- cording to his declaration, it is good. God therefore gave them this blessing; ' Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters with fish, and the earth with fowl,' enduing them at the same time with a prolific virtue, thereby to propagate their species, preserve their particular kinds, and multiply the individuals of each ; and this was the work of the fifth day. Moreover it pleased Divine power and goodness to add to the fertility of the earth, and bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping things, and beast of the earth after his kind;' and thus having made them complete, * He saw that it was good.' * * The hugeness of this thy work, O God, is lit- tle inferior for admiration to the majesty of it. But, oh, what a glorious heaven is this which thou hast spread over our heads ! With how precious a vault hast thou walled in this our inferior world ! "What worlds of light hast thou set above us ! Those things which we see are wondrous ; but those which we believe and see not are yet more. Thou dost but set out these unto view, to show us what there is within. How proportionable are thy works to thyself! Kings erect not cottages, but set forth their magnificence in sumptuous buildings ; so hast thou done, O King of Glory ! If the lowest pavement of that heaven of thine be so glorious, what shall we think of the better parts yet unseen ? And if this sun of thine be of such brightness and majesty, oh ! what is the glory of the Maker of it ? And yet if some other of thy stars were let down as low as it, those other stars would be suns to us ; which now thou hadst rather to have admired in their distance. And if such a sky be prepared for the use and benefit even of thine enemies also upon earth, how happy shall those eternal tabernacles be, which thou hast sequestered for thine own ? How many millions of wonders doth the very face of the earth offer me ? Which of these herbs, flowers, trees, leaves, seeds, fruits is there ; what beast, what worm, wherein we may not see the footsteps of a Deity, The Almighty having thus rendered the world fit for the reception, sustenance, and delight of that creature to whom he in- tended to give the rule over it, to crown this great work, changes the commanding expression, let this or that be so, into, ' Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness ;'f a form of speech that represents the Divine being as acting more immediately himself, and entering on the master-piece of creation with a peculiar degree of deliberation. Designing the creature he was now about to form, for the government (under his auspicious providence) of this sublunary world, he enters upon it in a solemn manner, and having taken the resolution, declares in express terms the supremacy with which he determined to invest him; 'and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man,' into whose nostrils, though formed of the dust of the earth, he breath- ed the breath of life, and 'man became a living soul.'J wherein we may not read infiniteness of power, of skill, and must be forced to confess, that he which made the angels and stars of heaven, made also the vermin on the earth ? Hall's Contempla- tions. f Some of the ancient fathers distinguish image from likeness, and think that image refers to the Divine nature, and likeness to the Divine virtues ; but to us they seem to have one and the same meaning ; because each of these expressions are frequently put in Scripture in lieu of both, which is evident from the next verse, and from Gen. v. I. The words image ar.d likeness principally im- ply a resemblance of the Divine graces, as in Col. iii. 10. where we are commanded to 'put on the new man, after the image of him that cre- ated him.' $ The account of the formation o ^ dam's body, as given by the Mahometans, is sufficiently absurd. They tell us, that after (od, by long rains, had pre- pared the slime of the earth, out of which he was to form it, he sent the angel Gabriel, and com- manded him, of seven lays of earth, to take out of each a handful ; that, upon Gabriel's coming to the Earth, he told her, that God had determined to extract that out of her bowels, whereof he pro- posed to make man, who was to be sovereign over all, and his vicegerent; that surprised at th snews, the Earth desired Gabriel to represent her fears to Chap. I.] THE BIP.LE. In this manner did the Almighty form man, and clothe him with superiority and honour, giving him dominion over all the other animals of the creation, and enduing him with knowledge and power. To prove also that Eve was created on the same day, though the precise manner of her formation is not taken notice of till the next chapter, the inspired penman, in his account of the sixth day's work, sub- joins, 'male and female created he them.' The manner in which the universal Parent of nature formed our mother Eve is thus related. That having already formed man out of the dust of the earth, God declares his intention of providing him a partner; accordingly he caused a deep sleep to fall upon him, and while he slept, took out one of his ribs,* closing up the flesh, made God, that this creature, whom he was going to make in this manner, would one day rebel against him, and draw down his curse upon her ; that Ga- briel returned, and made a report to God of the Earth's remonstrances ; but God, resolving to ex- ecute his design, despatched Michael, and after- wards Asraphel, with the same commission ; that these two angels returned, in like manner, to re- port the Earth's excuses, and absolute refusal to contribute to this work ; whereupon he deputed Azrael, who, without saying any thing to the Earth, took a handful out of each of the seven dif- ferent lays or beds, and carried it to a place in Arabia, between Mecca and Taief ; that after the angels had mixed and kneaded the earth, which Azrael brought, God with his own hand formed out of it a human statue, and having left it in the same place for some time to dry, not long after, communicating his spirit or enlivening breath, in- fused life and understanding into it ; and clothing it in a wonderful dress, suitable to its dignity, com- manded the angels to fall prostrate before it, which lOblis, by whom they mean Lucifer, refusing to do, was immediately driven out of Paradise. N. B. The difference of the earth, employed in the form- ation of Adam, is of great service to the Mahome- tans, in explaining the different colours, and quali- ties of mankind, who are derived from it, some of whom are white, others black, others tawny, yellow, olive-coloured, and red ; some of one humour, in- clination, and complexion, and others of a quite different. S/ackhouse, and Cabinet's Dictionary on the word Adam. * The atheiits have formed many ridiculous queries concerning this point, and among others demanded, whether the rib, out of which the woman was formed, was a superfluous one? To this we shall only reply, that we know not the precise manner in which it was done. It is suffi- cient for us, the woman was formed out of the the woman, and brought her to him. Adam no sooner received from the hand of the Almighty his new formed wife, than, self-convinced of the obligation that arose therefrom to the strictest friendship, the most cordial love, and sincere affection, he exclaimed with rapture: 'This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh:' and farther infers the duties that naturally result from hence, as the reunion of man and woman: 'therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.' Thus early was the divine institution of marriage, in a state of naked innocence, when our first parents had no guilt, and consequently no shame. f The Almighty having thus finished the last, but most perfect parts of the creation, and joined them together, proceeds to give them his benediction, vesting them with the blessings of fruitfulness and dominion. ' Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and have dominion over it:' thus constituting man lord over all other creatures, and giving him the product of the whole earth for his sustenance and svibstance of the man's body, and that such a me- thod of forming her was more agreeable than any otlier to God's order and wisdom. J- The words of Milton, upon this occasion, are extremely fine: all heaven, And happy constellations, on that hour Shed their selectest influence : The earth Gave sign of gratulation, and each hill. Joyous the birds ; fresh gales, and gentle airs Whisper'd it to the woods, and from their wings Flung rose, flung odours, from the spicy shrub, Disporting. Nor can we pass by his episode upon marriage which, for it3 grave and majestic beauty, is inimi table. Hail wedded love ! mysterious law 1 true source Of human offspring ! sole propriety In paradise, of all things common else ! Bv thee adulterous lust was driv'n from men, Among the bestial herds to range ; by thee (Founded in reason, loyal, just, and pure,) Relations dear, and all the charities Of father, son, and brother, first were known. Perpetual fountain of domestic sweets ! Whose bed is uudenTd, and chaste pronoune'd Here love his golden shafts employs ; here lights His constant lamp, and waves his purple wing*; Reign* here and revels 8 HISTORY OF [Book I pleasure. That he might be convinced of the efficacy of the benediction, and the extent of the power with which he was vested, the Almighty is represented by the sacred historian as bringing to Adam every different beast of the field, and fowl of the air, in order to fix their distinct names. Accordingly Adam named them all, and this giving names or titles served two purposes; first, to distinguish each species from the rest; and secondly, to assure our first parents of the subjection to him in which the Almighty had placed them. Thus finished on the sixth day the stupendous work of creation, which, when the Creator surveyed, he pronounc- ed to be 'very good.' On the seventh day God ended * all his works, and to im- press mankind with a due sense of his wisdom and goodness in the creation, and the obligation due to him from his crea- tures, he appointed that day to be kept holy.f The original word signifies had ended, and if so rendered, would obviate the objection which may be drawn from the seeming contradiction be- tween this passage and that which immediately follows, as it would then show, that as on the seventh day there remained nothing to be done, a translation that the greatest Hebrew masters will allow, therefore God rested, not from fatigue, but voluntarily ceased from creating. f Whether the institution of the Sabbath was from the beginning of the world, and one day in seven always observed by the patriarchs before the promulgation of the law ; or whether the sanc- tification of the seventh day is related only by way of anticipation, as an ordinance not to take place until the introduction of the Jewish economy, is a matter of some debate among the learned, but I think with little or no reason ; for, when we con- sider, that as soon as the sacred penman had said, ' God ended his work, and rested,' lie adds imme- diately, in the words of the same tense, ' he bless- ed the seventh day, and sanctified it;' when we compare this passage in Genesis with the twenti- eth chapter of Exodus, wherein Moses speaks of God's blessing and sanctifying the Sabbath, not as an act then first done, but as what he had formerly done upon the creation of the world ; when we remember, that all the patriarchs from Adam to Moses had set times for their solemn assemblies, and that these times were weekly, and of divine institution ; that, upon the return of these week- sabbaths, very probably it was that Cain and Abel offered their respective sacrifices to God ; and that Noah, the only righteous person among Jie antediluvians, Abraham, the most faithful All things being then completely form- ed; to show his peculiar favour towards man, God placed him with his female part- ner in a most beautiful spot of ground called Eden4 in order to cultivate and keep it, allowing him the free use of every herb, fruit, and flower around him, except- ing one which is called by the sacred his- torian, ' the tree of knowledge of good and evil;' nay, permitted him to eat of the tree of life, || to encourage and excite him to fidelity and obedience to his Maker; while, on the other hand, he annexes a dreadful penalty to the violation of the sacred injunction; 'In the day thou eat- est thereof thou shalt surely die.' * * Thus servant of God after the flood, and Job that per- fect and upright man, who feared God, and eschewed evil, are all supposed to have observed it ; we cannot but think, that the day, whereon the work of the creation was concluded, from the very beginning of time, was, every week, until men had corrupted their ways, kept holy, as being the birth-day of the world, as Philo styles it, and the universal festival of mankind. Bedford's Scrip- ture Chronology, and Patrick's Commentary. J The word Eden in the Hebrew signifies plea- sure, and indicates the beauty of the place in which their munificent Creator placed our first parents. It is the general opinion of divines and philosophers, that the blissful spot was about Me- sopotamia, that country being not far distant from Judea. There is a tradition of the fathers, that when Adam was expelled from Paradise, he came at last to Judea, died there, and was buried on a mount, which his posterity, because the head of the first man was laid there, called mount Calvary, where the great Redeemer was crucified for the expiation of the sin of Adam, the first and original transgressor. This opinion is attested by the most authentic of the fathers. $ There are various opinions concerning the nature and properties of this tree, which was for- bidden to our first parents : some think that it had a baneful quality, directly opposite to that of the tree of life, while others imagine that it is thus called by the historian, because after Adam and Eve had eaten of it, they became sensible of the good they had lost, and the evil they had incurred, by their disobedience. || The ancient fathers think this tree was so call- ed, from its virtue to repair the animal spirits, till man should be translated from a corporeal life to a life spiritual and immortal: this opinion is sup- ported by Moses, who tells us, Gen. iii. 22. 4 That had man, even after the fall, eaten of the tree of life, he would have lived for ever.' * * The words in our version are, ' In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,' which seem to imply, that on the day that Adam should eat of the tree of knowledge, he should die, which Chap. I.] THE BIBLE. 9 fixed in the most beauteous situtation, possessed of innocence, devoid of guilt, and free from care, the happiness of our first parents seems complete; but alas! their bliss was transient, their innocence fleeting, and their exemption from care comparatively short: Satan, the arch-fiend, having resolved to tamper with them, and make an effort to seduce them from their obedience to their Creator, and involve them together with himself in the ruins of apostasy. In order to accomplish this accursed design, by means of the serpent* as an instrument, he attacks the woman, through whom he thought afterwards to prevail with the man. He begins his vile insinuation with a question; 'Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?' in order to learn from thence the certainty of the divine injunc- tion. The woman had no sooner related the positive command of God, that they eventually proved not so, because he lived many years after; and therefore, as some observe very well, it should be rendered, ' thou shall deserve to die without remission ;' for the scripture frequently expresses by the future, not only what will come to pass, but also what ought to come to pass, to which purpose there is a very apposite text in 1 Kings ii. 37. where Solomon says to Shimei, * Go not forth thence,' viz. from Jerusalem, 'any whither ; for in the day thou goest out, and pass- est over the brook Kidron, thou sbalt surely die ;' i.e. thou shalt deserve death without remission. For Solomon reserved to himself the power of punishing him when he should think fit; and in effect he did not put him to death the same day that he disobeyed, any more than God did put Adam to death the same day that he transgressed in eating the forbidden fruit. This seems to be a good solution: though some interpreters under- stand the prohibition as if God intended thereby to intimate to Adam the deadly quality of the for- bidden fruit, whose poison was so very exquisite that on the very day he eat thereof it would cer- tainly have destroyed him, had not God's goodness interposed and restrained its violence. 'See Essay for a New Translation, and Le Clerc's Comment. * It is here observable that Moses in his account of the fall, mentions not the agent, the devil, but only the instrument of the agent, the serpent. This is the opinion of the best commentators, who allege that the devil actually made use of the ser- pent to talk to Eve and to tempt her; that it was a real serpent, and not an imaginary one, that spoke to her ; but it only spoke by means of the devil, who used that creature as fittest to be em- ployed in that service. were allowed to * eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden,' but that on pain ot death they were forbidden to eat of the fruit of 'the tree which is in the midst of the garden;' than that father of lies, in contradiction to the divine decree of the God of truth, told her, she should 'not surely die;' and farther, to gain upon her desire already inflamed, added, that the reason of its being forbidden was, tbat by eating of it they would ennoble their nature, and become as gods themselves. The in- fernal project succeeded ; the woman had long viewed the fruit with great desire, till at length the beauty of its colour, and its miraculous power so inflamed her passions, that she ventured to pluck the fruit and eat her own death ; forgetting the express com- mand of her Maker, and unawed by the dreadful menaces denounced against dis- obedience. Not content with the ruin of herself, she offers the fatal fruit to her hus- band, who received it from her, and involv- ed himself in the common mortality. Their eyes were now opened indeed; but what to behold? The most aggravated folly : monstrous impiety ! What to dis- cover? their shame, and the fall and dis- grace of their nature. Conscious guilt stared them in the face, and they were reduced to the poor subterfuge of con- cealing their nakedness; whereas in a state of innocence, like children, they were naked and were not ashamed. When our first parents continued in that blissful state, they no sooner heard the voice of the Lord approaching them than they ran to meet him, and with humble joy welcomed his gracious visits; but now their Maker was become their terror, their consciences painted their transgression in the blackest light, all hope was banished, and nothing remained but horror and despair. Now therefore, when they heard ' the voice of the Lord walking in the garden, calling, Adam, where art thou?' not by way of receiving information, but to render him more sensible of his transgression of the divine command ; fear came upon them, 1 10 HISTORY OF [Book L and they hid themselves; the man answer- ing with the utmost confusion, ' I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.' Confessing his nakedness, he confessed his guilt, of which his omniscient Creator immediately convicted him, and knowing he could alone obtain the knowledge of the same by eating the forbidden fruit, de- manded of him the means by which he came to know that he was naked. Though Adam sought not to deny, he attempted to palliate his crime, and transfer the guilt upon his wife as the cause of the same ; The woman, whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.' When God remonstrated with her upon her criminal behaviour, she en- deavoured to lay it upon the serpent: 'The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.' The fallen pair having thus confessed their transgression, the Almighty imme- diately passed sentence upon the serpent, as the instrument employed by the great enemy of mankind to seduce them to the horrid commission of a most disingenuous crime ; and to give posterity a sense of the heinous nature of sinning against God, as well as thus early make known his gra- cious design of raising up a Saviour from the seed of the woman, who should bring redemption to Israel, and vanquish the kingdom of sin and death. 'Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.' * * That is, there shall subsist an irreconcileable hatred between the human and diabolical race ; because, at the instigation of the latter, the former had incurred the penalty of death and the train of miseries which mortality entails. But the seed of the woman, Jesus, the mighty Saviour and Re- deemer of his people, shall bruise the serpent's head, by making atonement to Divine justice for Adam's transgression, destroying the powers of Nor did the woman pass without awful tokens of the Divine displeasure ; but was solemnly given to understand, that she entailed upon herself sorrow from concep- tion, pain in childbirth, and subjection to her husband. ' I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.' The punishment of Adam consisted in a life of perpetual toil and slavery, in or- der to keep in due subjection those pas- sions and appetites, to gratify which he had transgressed the divine command. * Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake, in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life : thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field: In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread.f till thou return unto the ground ; for out of dust wast thou taken, and to dust shalt thou return.' Having thus solemnly pronounced the awful decree, both on the cause of the of- fence, and the offenders themselves ; God, to enhance their sense of the crime, and darkness, and obtaining eternal redemption for all who believe in him. f From whence some conclude, that the earth, before the fall, brought forth spontaneously, (as several of the ancient poets have described the golden age,) and without any pains to cultivate it : as indeed there needed none, since all things, at first, were, by the Divine power, created in their full perfection. What labour would have been necessary in time, if man had continued innocent, we do not know ; only we may observe from the words, that less pains would then have been re- quired than men are now forced to take for their sustenance. The wisdom, goodness, and justice of (iod, however, are very conspicuous, in decreeing that toil and drudgery should be the consequence of departing from an easy and rational obedience ; in making the earth less desirable to man, when his guilt had reduced him to the necessity of leav- ing it ; and in keeping in order those passions and appetites, which had now broke loose from the restraint of reason, by subduing their impetuo- sity with hard labour. Patrick's Commentary, and Revelation Examined, Chap. I. J THE BIBLE. the tokens of his resentment, expelled them from the blissful regions of Paradise, and man was consigned to toil and labour; and, to preserve the forbidden fruit sacred from the unhallowed hands of the corrupted race of mankind, cherubim * were placed at the east end of the garden. Thus fell our first parents, and thereby lost their original rectitude, introduced moral evil, and entailed sin, with all its dreadful con- comitants, upon their posterity, who from that moment to the present have felt the dire effects of the fall ; though, blessed be God, their state is not desperate, but ca- pable of being repaired by the blood of the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, f 11 CHAPTER II. * Cherubim or angels, whose refulgence re- semble the vibrations of a flaming sword. They may also be considered as whatever tends to strike fear and terror. f From an imaginary difficulty in explaining the literal sense of the first three chapters of Genesis, (a difficulty, however, which exists not with the devout reader of the sacred volume,) some learned men, who admit the Pentateuch to have been written by Moses, have contended that the narrative of the creation and fall is not a re- cital of real events, but an ingenious philosophical mythos, or fable, invented by Moses after the ex- ample of ancient Greek writers, to give the greater weight to his legislative enactments ! and designed to account for the origin of human evil, and also as an introduction to a history, great part of which they consider to be a mere poetic fiction. But the inventors of this fiction (for such only can we term it) have assumed that as proved which never had any existence ; for the earliest Grecian cos- mogony extant, namely, that of Hesiod, was not composed until at least five hundred and forty-five years after the death of Moses! Further, the style of these chapters, as, indeed of the whole book of Genesis, is strictly historical, and betrays no vestige whatever of allegorical or figurative de- scription ; this is so evident to any one that reads with attention, as to need no proof. And since this history was adapted to the comprehension of the commonest capacity, ftloses speaks according to optical, not physical truth ; that is, he describes the effects of creation optically, or as they would have appeared to the eye, and without any assign- ment of physical causes. In doing which he lias not merely accommodated his narrative to the ap- prehension of mankind in an infant state of society, and employed a method of recital best suited to a vulgar capacity ; but he thereby also satisfies an important requisition of experimental philosophy, viz. to describe effects accurately and faithfully, ac- cording to their sensible appearances; by which means the mind is enabled to receive a clear and distinct impression of those appearances, and thus The murder of Abel. The construction of the Ark. Noah's entry. The universal deluge. Exit of Noah and his family out of the Ark. The wickedness of Ham. The fatal effects of the fall soon appear- ed after the expulsion of our first parents from the blissful mansions of Eden. The human race was increased by the birth of two sons to Eve, Cain % and Abel, the latter of whom fell a victim to the envy and revenge of his brother. When these two brothers grew up to years of matu- rity, they folltwed different employments: Cain betook him to tillage, but Abel to reduce them to their proper causes, and to draw from them such conclusions as they are qualified to yield; for the determination of causes must fol- low an acquaintance with their effects. Home's Introd. vol. iv. Besides, if it be granted that Moses was an in- spired lawgiver, it becomes impossible to suppose that he wrote a fabulous account of the creation and fall of man, and delivered it as a divine re- velation, because that would have been little, if at all, short of blasphemy ; we must, therefore, be- lieve this account to be true, or that it was de- clared and understood by the people, to whom it was addressed, to be allegorical. No such declara- tion was ever made ; nor is there any mention of such an opinion being generally prevalent among the Jews in any early writing. The Rabbis in- deed, of later times, built a heap of absurd doc- trines upon this history : but this proves, if it proves any thing, that their ancestors ever under- stood it as a literal and true account ; and, in fact, the truth of every part of the narrative con- tained in the book of Genesis is positively con- firmed by the constant testimony of a people who preserved a certain unmixed genealogy from father to son, through a long succession of ages: and by these people we are assured, that their ancestors ever did believe that this account, as far as it fell within human cognisance, had the authority of uninterrupted tradition from their first parent Adam, tili it was written by the inspired pen of Moses. Bishop Tomline. % As it is mentioned by the sacred historian, that Eve, on the birth of Cain, exulted and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord, and as the term kana signifies possession, some have been inclined to think tiiat Eve was persuaded that this son was the promised seed which was to break the serpent's head ; but if that were the case, time soon evinced her disappointment. The word Abel signifies vanity, either as it presaged the suddenness of his death, or that it denoted the vanity of mortality, to which all were now liable. 12 HISTORY OF [Book I embarked in the pastoral life, being a keeper of sheep. It happened in process of time that each brought their offering to the Lord, according to the different occupations that they followed ; Cain's being of the fruits of the ground, and Abel's that of the firstlings of his flock, with the fat thereof. The Lord, for causes then best known to himself, accepted Abel's offering, but re- jected that of Cain, who, incensed on that account, discovers envy in his counte- nance, and was therefore reprimanded by God, who intimated that the cause of the rejection of his offering proceeded from his want of sincerity, assuring him, that if for the future he acted with integrity, he should be accepted, otherwise he should be treated as a delinquent and hypocrite. But this reprimand of his Maker had no effect upon Cain, who retained his envy and resentment against his innocent bro- ther, and took the first opportunity to slay him.* * According to the English translation, Moses tells us, (Jen. iv. 8. that Cain talked with Abel his brother. The words strictly signify, ' Cain said unto Abel his brother ;' after which there is a blank space left in the Hebrew copies, as if some- thing was wanting. The Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Septuagint supply this, by adding the words, 1 Let us go into the fields ;' but the Jeru- salem Targum, and that of Jonathan, have sup- plied us with their whole conversation. As they went along, ' I know, says Cain, that the world was created by the mercy of God, but it is not governed according to the fruit of our good works, and there is respect of persons in judgment. Why was thy oblation favourably accepted, when mine was rejected ? Abel answered, and said unto Cain, The world was created in mercy, and is go- verned according to the fruits of our good works. There is no respect of persons in judgment; for my oblation was more favourably received, be- cause the fruit of my works was better, and more precious, than thine. Hereupon Cain in a fury breaks out, There is no judgment, nor judge, nor any other world ; neither shall good men receive any reward, nor wicked men be punished. To which Abel replied, There is a judgment, and a judge, and another world, in which good men shall receive a reward, and wicked men he pun- ished.' Upon which there ensued a quart*-!, which ended in Abel's death. So that, according to this account, Abel suffered for the vindication of the truth, and was, in reality, the first martyr. EsthiHS in Difficiliora loca. Like a flower of the field, young Abel sprang Thus prevailed the inordinate passions, and produced the first murder, on no other ground than rancour and malice, at the just dealing of an upright God, who preferred the offering of Abel, because it was presented with a heart more sincere, grateful, and humble, than that of Cain. The Almighty, as he called for his father Adam after his first transgression, in like manner demands of Cain where he was, not, as before observed, for information, but to strike him with guilt and shame: the criminal not only lied unto his Ma- ker, but insolently asked, as if displeased with the question, ' Am I my brother's keeper ?' But this attempt to evade con- fession availed not, for the Lord not only charged him with the murder of his bro- ther, but convicted him of the same. 'What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.' Cain, struck with the severity of this denunciation, convinced of the atrocious nature of his crime, and deploring the misery of his situation, exclaimed, ' My punishment is greater than I can bear ! ' f nevertheless he retained his rancorous and disobedient temper, and seems to up and flourished. Fair was the appearance, and sweet the odour of his virtues. But a brother's envy, like a blighting wind, went over him, and smote him to the earth. The days of his pilgrim- age were quickly ended, and he hasted away to an abiding city. Disinherited of the earthly paradise, from a wilderness grown over with thorns, he de- parted to the unfading gardens of everlasting de- lights. And so the holy Jesus, that King of saints, and prince of martyrs, made but a short Mav among us, in the days of his flesh. The envy of his brethren pursued him even to death, and the fairest flower that ever bloomed on earth, borne down by the stormy tempest, bowed its head and died. Junes. f In most of the versions this passage is ren- dered, ' My offence is too great to obtain pardon ;' but the Septuagint confirms the first sense. Chap. II.] THE BIBLE. 13 have been much less concerned for his sin than his punishment. ' Behold,' said he, 'thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth, and from thy face shall I be hid ; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth, and it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me.' But the Al- mighty, reserving to himself the sole right of punishing Cain for this crime, and at the same time desirous of excit- ing in posterity proper apprehensions of murder, secured him against the dread of being himself slain, declaring that he would avenge his death seven-fold; thereby intimating, as hereafter declared in sacred writ, 'vengeance is mine, saith the Lord :' that is, it is not lawful for private persons of their own authority to kill such as deserve death. To give him assurance of his promise, God set a sign * or wonder before him, lest any finding him, should kill him, of which he was in danger, because the world being now near a hundred and thirty years old, it abounded with people descended from the sons and daughters of Adam. After this Cain departed from the presence of the Lord, and took up his abode in the land of Nod, to the eastward of Eden, beyond the country of Babylon, where he took a wife, who bare him a son called Enoch, after whom he named a city that he built in those parts. From the loins of Cain in regular succession was produced Jabal, who taught men to pitch tents, which were requisite for their subsistence and that of their cattle, before agriculture was reduced to an art; for though men fed cattle before, by the invention of tents he taught them how to remove to more fer- tile and fresh spots, after those which had There are divers vague conjectures and ab- surd notions concerning the mark that God set upon Cain, but they all serve rather to perplex than clear up the passage ; it is most reasonable to suppose that the text should be rendered, ' that God appointed to Cain a sign or token,' to assure him that none should kill him, according to the Septuagint. been grazed on were no longer fit for sub- sistence. Jubal, the brother of Jabal, first invent- ed musical instruments. Tubal-Cain was also descended from the same stock, being: the son of Lamech by his wife Zillah, and was the first artificer in brass, iron, and other metals. This is the Mosaic account of Cain's descendants, which seems to have been recorded in order to inform posterity who first invented certain arts, and were afterwards infamous from their wicked practices. Our first parent hav- ing been deprived of his son Abel, by the malice and barbarity of his brother Cain, God was pleased to raise him up another son, whom he called Seth, or appointed. From Seth sprang Enos, in whose days the sacred historian informs us, that men began to institute stated forms and cere- monies in the worship of Almighty God. Moses, from this Seth, continues the line of Adam to ten generations before the flood, with the ages of those long- lived antediluvians. Of all the posteri- ty of Adam the most remarkable is Enoch, who for his eminent piety and virtue was exempted from mortality, being imme- diately, that is, without passing through the valley of the shadow of death, trans- lated to the realms of bliss. Pious Enoch left behind him his son Methuselah, whose long life rendered him eminent in the list of patriarchs. From Methuselah sprang Lamech the father of Noah, at whose birth it is remarkable that his father pre- saged the extraordinary favours which God should bestow upon him ; ' This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.' f His pre- f The substance of Lamech's prophecy, ac- cording to our translation, is this: 'He called his son Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning the work and toil of our hands, be- cause of the ground which the Lord hath cursed,' and the sense of learned men upon it hath been very different. Some are of opinion, that there is nothing prophetical in this declaration of Lamech's, and that the only cause of his rejoicing was to see 14 HISTORY OF [Book 1. diction was indeed true ; but not exact in point of circumstance ; for Noah was in- strumental in being the restorer of the desolated world, delivering the church, and preserving it from perishing. If we consider the prodigious length of men's lives in this age, the strength of their constitution from a temperate life, and the advanced years in which they begat children, the number of inhabitants before the flood will appear to be very numerous. Hence it came to pass that the families of Cain and Seth began to enter into nuptial alliances; for, though for a long time the posterity of Seth shunned converse with the offspring of Cain, on account of their cruel disposition; yet when the world grew very populous, the sons of the righteous * shook off their former reserve, and entertained a criminal desire for the offspring of Cain, called by Moses, ' the daughters of men.' This desire being indulged, in course of time prevailed on the sons of God, or family a son born, who might in time be assisting to him in the toil of cultivating the ground. But in this there is nothing particular: in this sense Lamech's words may be applied by every father, at the birth of every son ; nor can we conceive why a pecu- liar name should be given Noah, if there was no particular reason for it. The Jewish interpreters generally expound it thus, ' He shall make our labour in tilling the ground more easy to us,' in that he shall be the inventor of several proper tools, and instruments of husbandry, to abate the toil and labour of tillage : and some will tell us, that he therefore received his name, because he first invented the art of making wine, a liquor that cheers the heart, and makes man forget sorrow and trouble. But the invention of the fit tools for tillage, after that Tubal-Cain had become so great an artificer in brass and silver, seems to be- long to one of his descendants rather than Noah ; and as Noah was not the first husbandman in the world, so neither can it be concluded, from his having planted a vineyard, that he was the first vine-dresser. Stackhouse. * Commentators in general understand by the term, 'sons of God,' the children of Seth, who are distinguished thereby from the daughters of men, the children of Cain, who were as remarkable for their wickedness as the other family had been for their piety and zeal for the worship of the true God. Upon the whole, the design of the historian is evidently to show, that the children of Seth contracted an alliance with the daughters of Cain, and joined in the universal corruption of mankind. of Seth, to take wives as merely gratified their lascivious fancy; which shows that though they were the offspring of the righteous, they were greatly degenerated from their piety and strict obedience to the divine laws ; for it is very observable, that immediately after this alliance, the Al- mighty complains of the universal depra- vity of mankind, the children of the right- eous having been infected by the practices of the wicked, and too far involved with them in a sinful gratification of their lusts and passions. Nay, so aggravated was their wickedness, so heinous their sin, that the Lord is said to have repented f ' that he had made man upon the earth,' and to have determined to cut him off. But the piety of righteous Noah obtained grace and favour in the eyes of his God, who was graciously pleased to reserve him and his family, consisting of eight persons, + The following observations from Stackhouse apply to a variety of passages in the sacred vo- lume, and are well worthy of the attention of the reader: " When the holy scriptures speak of God, they ascribe hands, and eyes, and feet to him ; not that he has any of these members, according to the literal signification ; but the meaning is, that lie has a power to execute all those acts, to the effecting of which these parts in us are instrumental : that is, he can converse with men, as well as if he had a tongue or mouth ; can discern all that we do or say, as perfectly as if he ha'd> eyes and ears ; and can reach us as well as if he had hands or feet, &c. In like manner, the scripture frequently represents him as affected with such passions as we perceive in ourselves ; namely, as angry and pleased, lov- ing and hating, repenting and grieving, &c. and yet upon reflection we cannot suppose that any of these passions can literally affect the Divine na- ture ; and therefore the meaning is, that he will as certainly punish the wicked, as if he were inflam- ed with the passion of anger against them ; as in- fallibly reward the good, as we will those for whom we have a particular affection : and that, when he finds any alteration in his creatures, either for the better or the worse, he will as surely change his dispensations towards them, as if he really repent- ed or changed his mind. It is by way of analogy and comparison therefore, that the nature and pas- sions of men are ascribed to God : so that when he is said to repent or grieve, the meaning must be, not that he perceived any thing that he was ignorant of before, to give him any uneasiness ; (for ' known unto God are all his works from the beginning ;') but only that he altered his conduct with regard to men, as they varied in their behaviour towards him, just as we are wont to do when we are moved by any of these passions and changes of affection." Chap. II.] THE BIBLE 15 as eternal monuments of his goodness, and standing tokens of his everlasting love to his church and people. The Almighty Parent of the universe, who is merciful in all his ways, though men are corrupt and abominable, gave a signal proof of his forbearance, in allowing mankind an hundred and twenty years to repent; nay, to magnify the riches of his goodness, when that term was almost ex- pired he gave them a second warning; being yet unwilling to destroy them. But at length, when the Lord saw that mankind were so universally corrupted, that they despised his forbearance, and persisted in their wickedness, in spite of all that could be done to reclaim them ; he made known to his servant Noah his awful determination, to involve them, and the earth they inhabited, in one general destruction, by a flood of water. Accord- ing therefore to his gracious design to- wards Noah and his family, whom in his wise providence he had appointed to re- plenish the depopulated world, God warn- ed him to make an ark, or large vessel, to contain his family and some of all creatures; for seven days hence, (says he) ' I will cause it to rain forty days and forty nights upon the earth;' in which time if they had repented, and turned unto the Lord their God, to his service and worship, there is good ground to be- lieve their doom would have been reversed, even as Nineveh was saved by the turn- ing of its inhabitants to the Lord, at the preaching of his servant Jonah. In obedience to the divine command, Noah set about the arduous work, which he finished precisely according to God's direction, before the rain began to fall; having been greatly encouraged, by an assurance from his Maker, that though he destroyed all flesh, he would establish his covenant with him. The form and dimensions of this ark are best described by the sacred historian; r" there would be nothing to dispel the feeling which this dismal scene strongly produces, that here was a region where nature was wholly dead. The springs are but few and scanty all over the desert, in that part especially where Ishmael wan- dered, a traveller who crossed it having found only four in the space of a hundred and fifteen miles, situated at the distance of four, six, and even eight days' journey from each other ; and, besides the danger of missing them, always liable to happen in a trackless solitude, but particularly so in the wil- derness of Paran, which in many places is full of rugged and precipitous cliffs, around the base of 38 HISTORY OF [Book I. When her bottle was empty, and she had long rambled in vain, seeking water in a parched country to allay the thirst of her perishing child, she placed him at the which the traveller has to seek his way ; it may happen, that after**the greatest exertions have been made to reach these springs, they are found en- tirely choked with the moving sand, or that they prove, to the mortification of the luckless traveller, so impregnated with brackish qualities, from the beds of sulphur or salt over which they roll, as to increase, instead of allaying, his already insufferable intensity of thirst. And then follows a scene of the most dreadful and protracted sufferings which a human being can experience. The burning thirst, rendered more violent by the fierce heat of the glowing firmament and the fiery sand, produces an intense agony in every part of the frame, and the dry and contracted feeling of the skin, the eyes ap- pearing like balls of coagulated blood, the unna- tural swelling and hardness of the tongue and lips, increasing difficulty of seeing and hearing, the total loss of speech, together with the most painful sen- sations in the throat; all these, which are invaria- ble consequences of unalleviated thirst, indicate a universal derangement of the bodily system, pro- duce languor and insensibility, and at last bring the unhappy sufferer, after many a struggle, to drop on the ground, happy if, like Ishmael. he can purchase a brief respite from his misery, by shel- tering his scorched head under one of the dwarfish acacias that are strewed around. In such circum- stances, it is said that five hundred dollars have been given for a draught of water. But, in general, where one is placed in such extremities, all who are with him are, more or less, in a similar state of distress ; and then no bribe, however great, no en- treaties, however importunate, can procure a single drop ; for of what use would all the wealth of the Indies be in a place where death would be the in- evitable consequence of parting with the precious beverage ? The master of a whole caravan is then not better privileged than the meanest of his slaves ; and, as the desire of self-preservation triumphs over every consideration, when one drops the vic- tim of thirst, his companions, however they may commiserate the sufferer, are obliged to pass on without delay, and abandon him to his fate. And how terrible such a situation, to be exposed in a savage interminable desert ! In vain does he exert his expiring energies, in a last effort to cry out for help, or to hoist the signal of distress. Not a soul is near to whisper the accent of sympathy, or to pour a drop of water on his burning lips ; not even an echo responds to his cries, and he lies there, dreaming of the murmur of limpid streams, and of wandering along the verdant banks, and stooping to swallow the delicious draught, till the effort to obey the impulse of imagination dissipates the en- chantment, and awakens him to all the horrible realities of his situation, a helpless and forsaken wanderer, perishing for thirst in a vast howling wilderness ! No general description, however, of the misery of such a situation can convey so vivid a picture of Ishmael's distress as the unvarnished and circum- foot of a tree, and went herself and sat down at a considerable distance, that she might not behold the dying pangs of her beloved Ishmael. stantial narratives of those who have had the courage to brave, and the good fortune to survive, the perils of the same, or a similar scene. And, to the reader of the Bible, who meets, both in the story of the son of Hagar, and the travels of the Israelites in the wilderness, with several notices of this kind of distress, which the rapid narrative of Moses introduces only by incidental allusion, an important and grateful service may be rendered by subjoining the most interesting particulars of the accounts of some individuals who have felt all the horrors consequent on a failure of water in the Arabian desert. The following occurrence, related by a French traveller, awakens a melancholy in- terest, both from the number of persons who were overtaken with the calamity, and the disastrous con- sequences with which it was attended*. The caravan belonged to a Turk who speculated in the slave trade, and who having with great care, and at a great expense, reared and educated some female slaves lyj possessed, was on his way to dispose of them at the market of Bagdad. They had taken with them a copious supply of water, and had cal- culated on being able to renew it at a well which they liad to pass ; but, to their great disappoint- ment, they found it completely dried, and they were reduced, in consequence, to the greatest dis- tress. The first object that struck the eye of the Frenchman as he approached, was the owner of the caravan running about in a state of distraction, and bewailing, in most doleful terms, his situation, and the ruin of his fortunes ; on a nearer view a spectacle was disclosed that would have wrung pity out of the hardest heart. In the midst of twelve eunuchs and about a hundred camels, was a band of two hundred girls of most exquisite beauty, of from twelve to fifteen years of age, lying on the ground in a state approaching to insensibility, pro- duced by excessive fatigue and thirst. Some had already sunk under their distress, and were thrown into a pit dug for the purpose ; the greater part, however, showed, by their panting bosoms and im- ploring looks, that they were still alive, but so faint and feeble that had water been within their reach, they could not have made the necessary exertion to carry it to their lips. The air was rent with the piercing cries of the dying girls, and many a wistful eye was cast on the traveller and his companions for a drop of the precious fluid. Deeply affected by such a scene, he was proceeding to open his leath- ern bottle, and to distribute its contents among as many as possible of the pitiable objects, when his guide rushing forward with the peremptory ex- clamation : " Madman, wouldst thou have us also perish of thirst," dashed off the unfortunate slaves, seized hold of the water skin, and threatened with instant death the first who ventured to touch it. The traveller, knowing that the ruthless Arab was in the right, and was acting as his own friend, was obliged to yield to the cruel necessity ; and, as their departure from the scene of horror took away the last ray of hope from the perishing girls, a Chap. IV.] THE BIBLE. A melancholy scene ensued, the feeble tongue of the child begged relief from the tender mother, whose woes were doubled by her want of power ; his pressing de- mands could only be answered by her gushing tears, and they had no other pro- spect before them than despair and death. But the ears of boundless mercy are ever open to the cries of distress ; and the hand of bounty is ever ready to dispense aid to the indigent ; for in this most desperate situation the Lord heard, the Lord pitied, the Lord relieved. A cheering promise was given to the fainting handmaid, and a well of water supplied for the refreshment of the expiring child. " The mother and son afterwards took up their abode in the wilderness of Paran, where the Lord blessed them, and Ishmael becoming an expert archer, furnished both himself and mother with necessary pro- visions. When he' arrived to years of maturity, his mother, being an Egyptian, took him a wife out of her native country. Abraham having received so many to- kens of respect at the hands of Abimelech, accepts of the invitation to reside in his country ; and the king observing the suc- cess with which it pleased God to crown all the undertakings of the pious patriarch, who now became very powerful, and fear- ing, lest in future time his influence should become, so great as to endanger the security of his crown, at t^e instigation of Phicol, the general of all his forces, he entered into a league of friendship with Abraham. The treaty being made and confirmed shriek of despair was raised, every one crying out wit!) frantic vehemence for death to come and re- lieve them from their sufferings. It was a most distressing scene ; even the Arab, not unused to such spectacles, could no longer resist ; he took one that lay nearest him, poured a drop of water on her burning lips, and placed her behind him on his camel, witli the view of presenting her as a present to his wife. The poor slave fainted several times as she parted from the spot, but being borne across the desert at a rapid pace by her deliverers, was spared the agony of witnessing the death that in- evitably awaited her less fortunate companions. -Rev. Robert Jamieson. by an oath, and a difference composed concerning a well of water, which Abra- ham had digged, and Abimelech's servants, without the knowledge of their master, had forcibly seized ; but now, on the pa- triarch's complaint, was restored to him. Abraham, as a token of friendship, pre- sented some sheep and oxen to Abimelech, who, with his general, took leave and re- turned to his court, while the patriarch planted a grove,* in Beersheba, and called on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God. The Lord in his wise providence* had already, in divers instances, and on many occasions, put Abraham's faith and obe- dience to the test; but now he tries him in the tenderest point,f a point in which every tie of parental affection bound him, and to give up which, required a degree of resignation, uncommon to the best of men. He is required, by his God, to sacrifice his son, to imbrue his hands in the blood of a darling child. Ishmael was now to him no more ; he had parted with him at the divine com- mand, and transferred his affection wholly to Isaac; and this son, this only son, who Though this grove was planted from force of custom and example, it being the universal practice of the heathens to plant groves and therein set up their idols and altars, yet Abraham followed not their idolatry, but called on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God. f The words in the text are, ' that God did tempt Abraham,' but God is said to tempt no man ; and therefore all that he could he supposed to do in this case, was only to make trial of him ; and that too, not to inform himself of the sincerity and steadiness of his faith, but in order to the holy patriarch's own justification, and to make him an illustrious pattern of an entire dependence on the Almighty, to future saints and confessors. The Jews reckon up ten trials of Abraham, of which the last was the greatest 1. God's command to him to leave his country. 2. The famine, which forced him to go into Egypt. 3. Pharaoh's taking his wife from him. 4. His war with the four kings. 5. His despair of having Isaac by Sarah, and marrying Hagar on that account. (J. His circum- cision in his old age. 7. His wife's being again taken from him by Abimelech. 8. The expulsion of Hagar, when she was with child by him. 9. His. expulsion of her and Ishmael. And, 10. His oblation of his only son Isaac. Bibliotheca Bib. vol. i. 40 HISTORY OF [Book I. had been given him by divine promise, and was the ground of his future expecta- tion, must fall a victim, by the unalterable decree of heaven. Hard task to flesh and blood ! Severe trial to human nature ! But if the flesh shuddered, the spirit was resolute : God commands, the patriarch obeys. Without hesitation, or the least delay, he rose early in the morning, and pro- ceeded towards the place appointed by the Lord, which was the land of Moriah,* ac- companied only by his son Isaac, and at- tended by two servants, who led an ass, that carried the provisions, together with the wood, instruments, and other things necessary for the sacrifice. On the third day's journey, they came within sight of the place ; when Abraham ordered his ser- vants to stop with the ass, while he and the lad went on further to worship; which done, they would return to them again. The harmless Isaac, ignorant of the design of his pious and affectionate parent, went on cheerfully with him ; and the good old patriarch, relying on the faithfulness of the divine promise, overcame the smug- glings of natural affection, that might have retarded his compliance with the will of God, and proceeded with a resolution worthy the father of the faithful. Thus advanced the father and son to * That is, the land of vision, according to many interpreters, and shows that the words of our Lord, * Abraham saw my day,' alludes to this extraordin- ary circumstance. This mountain, whereon Abra- ham was ordered to offer his son Isaac, was cer- tainly the same on which the temple was after- wards built by Solomon, and on part of which., namely, Mount Calvary, Christ did afterwards actually offer himself unto God for the redemption of mankind : which offering of his, as it seems to have been designedly prefigured by the intention- al offering of Isaac ; so it might seem good to divine reason to assign the same for the typical offering of Isaac, where, in due time, the antitype, our Redeemer, was to be offered. But, instead of Moriah. the Samaritans read Morel), and pretend tliat God sent Abraham towards Shechem, where certainly was Morel), and that it was to Mount Geiizim that Isaac was brought in order to be sacrificed. But this, in all probability, is no more than a contrivance to enhance the glory of their temple. Wells and Calmet. execute a most awful injunction ; but as they approached the appointed place; the lad observing that a lamb, the most es- sential requisite for the sacrifice, was want- ing, innocently inquired of his father, where was the lamb for a burnt-offering? This inquiry could not but touch the affectionate parent in the most tender part, as it at once indicated the innocence and piety of the child : nevertheless, be- hold his reliance even yet on the faithful- ness of an immutable God ! My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering.' Being now arrived at the place of which God had told him, he built an altar, and having prepared the instruments, and laid the wood in order, embraced his son, and then bound him. The sacred historian, like a great painter, has drawn a veil over the sorrows of Abraham, and the resiy-na- tion of Isaac, that the imagination of the reader might paint to him more forcibly, the struggles of the parent and the ago- nies of the son, than words can possibly express. Isaac was at this period about twenty-five years of age, and his father enfeebled with years; his resignation therefore must certainly have been volun- tary.! Every preparation being now made, Abraham stretched forth his hand to give the finishing stroke to the life of his child, \ A strong and exact type of our blessed Re- deemer, who voluntarily laid down his life for us ; though no one could otherwise take it from him. It was for no crime that Isaac was to suffer death in this tragical manner ; yet such was his filial piety, such was his reverence of the high command, that he made no attempt to save his life, though he was able to have done it, being arrived at his youthful prime. Even so the innocent Redeemer, in whom was found no cause of death, no not by his very judge, he abhorred not the ignominious cross ; he spared to employ all the legions of an- gels, that were ready at his beck ; he never at- tempted to make his escape when his time was come, which he had often done before. Though he had thoroughly digested in his mind the doleful circumstances of his crucifixion, he betrayed no* the least unwillingness to submit to his heavenly Father's will, even when his human heart shrunk at the bitter cup. M'JSwen. Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. 4! when, behold ! God is satisfied with the | faith and obedience of the father, and the piety and resignation of the son; a heaven- ly messenger is despatched to avert the fatal blow, and to assure the patriarch, that God had accepted this act of obe- dience as the strongest testimony of his faith and fear. < And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham ; and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad; neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.' The obedient patriarch had no sooner taken off his eyes from the dear, though intended victim, than he beheld a ram caught in a thicket by his horns, which, as the gracious substitute of Providence, he immediately took and offered for a burnt- offering instead of his beloved son. On this infallible token of Abraham's obedience, the Lord was pleased to renew his gracious promise to him with enlarged abundance, and even to confirm the same by a most solemn oath: ' By myself have I sworn,' &c. Having thus conformed to the divine will, and received a most convincing testi- mony of the divine approbation, Abraham and his son returned to his servants, and they went joyfully together to Beer-sheba, the place of his residence; whither, on his arrival, he was saluted with the wel- come news of the increase of his family ; for Milcah, the wife of his brother Nahor, had born Rebekah, who was afterwards wife to his son Isaac. CHAPTER V. Death of Sarah. Abraham purchases a burial- place. Procures Rebekah as wife for his son Isaac Death of Abraham. Birth of Esau and Jacob. Esau sells his birth-right. The sacred historian is silent with respect to the time that Abraham abode at Beer- sheba ; but informs us, that he afterwards resided at Kirjath-arba, where he burii i his wife Sarah, who paid the debt of na- ture in the hundred and twenty-seventh year of her age. Having: observed the funeral ceremon- ies for his wife, he applied to the Hittues* for a place to bury his dead? The Hittites, paying a deference to the patriarch, who was a mighty man, and highly favoured by Providence, gave him the choice of their sepulchres for that necessary purpose. Abraham acknowledged the favour, by bowing himself to the people of the land; but as his race was a peculiar generation, distinguished by God from all other na- tions, and therefore it was not lawful for them to mix with any other, he proposed to buy a piece of ground for a separate sepulchre for him and his family, and therefore desired them to entreat Ephron, the prince of the country, to sell him the cave of Machpelah,f offering for it its ut- most value. Application being made to Ephron, he generously offered the patriarch not only the cave, but the whole field, as a bury- * These Hittites were descended from Heth, the son of Canaan, and grandson of Ham, whom Noah had "cursed, and then possessed that country. t It is an observation of all those who have written about the sepulture of the ancients, that their dormitories or burying-places were never in cities, much less in temples or churches, but always in fields or gardens. According to Carne, the cave of Machpelah has been covered by the Turks by a large and ancient mosque ; and all around the soil is held inviolable. The cave is in the middle of the interior of the edifice ; its dark and deep en- trance only is visible and it is rarely entered. The cave is said by the Turks to be deep and very spa- cious, cut out of the solid rock; and that the resting- places of the patriarchs still exist, and are plainly to be discerned. The word Machpelah in Hebrew signifies double, whence it is supposed by some that there was one cave within another, or two or more contiguous to each other, in one of which Sarah was buried, and afterwards Abraham in another. But those who derive it from the Arabic, tell us, that in that lan- guage it signifies shut up, or walled up, which in Eastern countries was a common wayof makingtheir tombs, to prevent thieves from harbouring in them, or to hinder them from being in any manner vio- lated or profaned, and if this be the right deriva- tion, then may the cave of Machpelah be translat- ed, * the cave that was shut up.' Calmet. 42 HISTORY OF [Book I. ing-place. Abraham acknowledged the bounty of the offer; but as he had ever acted on a principle of strict justice, he desired the prince to fix a price upon the field; and that on such condition he would take possession of it for the purpose pro- posed. The prince finding the patriarch thus resolved, told him the ground was worth four hundred shekels,* a sum beneath the consideration of a man of such immense property, and therefore desired he would immediately apply it to his use in bury- ing his dead. Abraham being told the price, imme- diately weighed f the money to Ephron, four hundred shekels, current money with the merchant,^ in the presence of a great number of people, and the field was there- upon conveyed to him (according to the custom of those times) and his heirs for ever ; and then, and not till then, did the patriarch bury his wife. As Abraham was now stricken in age, being near an hundred and forty years old, he became naturally desirous of seeing his son married and settled, before his depar- ture out of this transitory life. He there- fore called to him an old and trusty servant, and having exacted from him a solemn oath, laid strict charge upon him, that he would not take a wife for his son of the daughters of the Canaanites ; and enjoin- ed him to go to his own (Abraham's) country, and take a wife unto Isaac of his own kindred. The servant having received so solemn an injunction from his master, began to reason to this effect, ' If the woman re- * This amounted to forty-six pounds, thirteen shillings and upwards. f The money was weighed, because at that time no coinage was invented. J This implies that no base metal was mixed with it, nor any artifice or fraud used to impose on the seller. $ A common method of taking an oath among the Hebrews, and all the oriental nations, agreeable to the sacred historian, was for the person who swore, to put his hand under the thigh of the per- son to whom he swore. . fuse to follow me into the land of Canaan, must I return, and fetch thy son to her? The patriarch immediately resolves in the negative, as no consideration could pre- vail upon him to suffer his son to return to a land which he himself had left on account of the inhumanity and idolatry of its inhabitants. To encourage, however, his servant in the prosecution of his intended expedition, he assured him that a heavenly messenger should go before him, and lead to the place from whence he should bring a wife unto his son ; but that if the woman pitched upon should refuse to follow him, then he would be freed from the oath he had taken, as well as deemed to have discharged his whole duty. The servant having thus settled the matter with his master, set out with a number of attendants and camels, agree- able to the nature of his business, and the dignity of the person who despatched him, travelled till he arrived at Mesopotamia, and then repaired to Haran, the city of his master's brother Nahor; having doubt- less heard that Milcah, his master's wife's sister, Nahor's wife, had born him several children, one of whom, named Bethuel, had a daughter named Rebekah. The servant arriving at Haran in the evening, caused his camels to rest them- selves by a well of water without the city, just about the time when the women usually came out of the city to draw wa- ter. || Having been educated by his mas- ter in the fear of God, and being sensible of the importance of the business, in which || Great was the simplicity and humility of these early days, when persons of the best rank, and of the female sex too, did not disdain to be employed in such servile offices. Thus, in the following age Jacob found his cousin Rachel watering her fa- ther's sheep : and, several ages after that, the seven daughters of Jethro, who was a prince as well as a priest of Midian, kept their father's flocks, and used to draw water for the cattle. So well has our author expressed that simplicity of man- ners, which we may observe in Homer, or Hestod, or any of the most ancient writers.- Iluweifs History. Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. 43 he was employed; the servant, before he proceeded a single step, begs of the Al- mighty, direction and success, and fearing lest he should lay hands on any handmaid suddenly, beseeches of God to direct him by a sign to a proper object of choice for his young master. The desired sign was, that she who, at his request, let him drink of her pitcher, should be the person ap- pointed by God for a wife to his servant Isaac. The faithful servant had scarcely re- quested, when his petition was granted; for he presently espied Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, coming from the city, with her pitcher upon her shoulder to fetch water.* Eliezer (for that was the servant's name) having observed that the damsel was fair, and carried about her every token of virginity, ran to her, after she had filled her pitcher at the well, and begged a draught of the water she had drawn. She kindly consented, and not only gave him to drink, but went again to the well several times, and filled the trough for his camels. When he found her be- haviour so exactly correspond with the sign he had requested of the Lord, he presented her with a golden ring,f and a # In our own time it is the custom for the ori- ental women, particularly those who are unmarried, to fetch water from the wells in the mornings and evenings ; at which times they go forth adorned with their trinkets. " In the valley of Nazareth," says Dr Clarke, " appeared one of those fountains, which, from time immemorial, have been the halt- ing place of caravans, and sometimes the scene of contention and bloodshed. The women of Naza- reth were passing to and from the town, with pit- chers upon their heads. We stopped to view the group of camels with their drivers who were there reposing ; and calling to mind the manners of the most remote ages, we renewed the solicitations of Abraham's servant to Rebekah, by the well of Na- hor." At Cana Mr Carne observed several of the women bearing stone watering-pots on their heaiU as they returned from the well. In Bengal, com- panies of four, six, ten, or more women may be seen in every town daily, going to fetch water with the pitchers resting on their sides. Home. f It is the custom in almost all the East for the women to wear rings in their noses, in their left nostril, which is bored low down in the middle. These rings are of gold, and have commonly two pair of bracelets ; asking at the same tim whose daughter she was, and whether there was room in her father's house to lodge him and his attendants that night To his great astonishment she told him, that she was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor by Milcah, assuring him at the same time, that there was at her fa- ther's house every necessary accommoda tion for him and his camels. Eliezer, overcome with the wonderful hand of providence in his favour, and deeply affected with a sense of God's goodness, in thus directly guiding his course to the house of his master's bre- thren, in humble acknowledgment bowed down his head and worshipped the Lord, saying, 'Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left desti- tute my master of his mercy and his truth; I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren.' While the servant was thus ruminating on, and acknowledging the wonderful in- terposition of divine Providence, the dam- sel hastened home and acquainted her friends with the extraordinary circum- stance that had befallen her. When her brother, whose name was Laban, observed the ring, and the brace- lets upon her arms, and had heard what had passed at the well, he hastened thither with the utmost speed, saluted the man, pearls and one ruby between, placed in the ring. I never saw a girl, or young woman in Arabia, or in Persia, who did not wear a ring after this man- ner in her nostril. It is without doubt of such a ring that we are to understand what is said in this place. The weight of the ornaments given to Re- bekah appears to us rather extraordinary : the ear- ring, or jewel for the face, weighed half a shekel, and the bracelets for her hands ten shekels, which, as Sir J. Chardin justly observes, is about five ounces. Upon which he tells us, "the women wear rings and bracelets of as great weight as this, through all Asia, and even much heavier. They are rather manacles than bracelets. There are some as large as the finger. The women wear sev- eral of them, one above another, in such a manner as sometimes to have the arm covered with them from the wrist to the elbow. Poor people wear as many of glass or horn. They hardly ever take them oflf; they are their riches." Chardin and Harmer. 44 HISTORY OF [Book L and invited him home, assuring him that accommodation was prepared both for him and his family. Eliezer therefore accept- ed the invitation, and while they were pre- paring the entertainment, he refused to partake of any food, till he had recounted the nature of his errand, and faithfully delivered his credentials, by telling to whom he belonged. Having given a general account of his master's circumstances and situation, he thus proceeded: 'Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master, when she was old, and unto him hath he given all that he hath. And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: but thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kin- dred, and take a wife unto my son.' He then related a minute account of his whole journey; the manner of his meeting Rebekah, and how remarkably the hand of God had appeared in direct- ing him thither, concluding thus: 'And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.' The father and brother of Rebekah, finding the immediate hand of Providence giving a direct answer, referred him to Rebekah, who was then present, declaring it was God's doing; therefore said they, 'We ought not to say any thing to it: here is Rebekah before thee; if she con- sent, take her, and let her be thy master's son's wife.' The servant having obtained the maiden's consent, offered up his grateful acknowledgment to the Lord, and having made presents to the damsel,* * A gold and silver sarmah, one or two set of ear-rings, bracelets, and shekels, a gold chain to hang over their breasts, with half a dozen vests, some of brocade, others of rich silk, are usually the wedding clothes of an Algeriue lady of fashion. Habits and ornaments of the like kind were given to the bride in the time of Abraham. Thus 'a golden ear-ring of half a shekel weight' was given to llebekah, and 'two bracelets for her hands of her brother, and mother, he, with his men, refreshed themselves with what they had prepared for their entertainment, and went to rest. When the family rose in the morning, he desired them to despatch him back to his master, being impatient to acquaint him with the success of his journey. The mother and brother influenced with natur- al affection,' desired that Rebekah might be permitted to tarry with them a few days to take perhaps a last farewell; but Eliezer, like a diligent and faithful stew- ard, woidd brook no delay, but was for hastening with her home; which, with the maiden's consent, he accordingly did. Rebekah immediately prepared for her journey, being attended by her nurse Deborah, f and her maid servants, and left her relations with this blessing;: 'Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thou- sands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of tho*se that hate them.' When Eliezer was faithfully conducting the chosen maiden to his master's house, it so fell out, that Isaac, walking in the fields to meditate on the goodness of the Lord, as demonstrated in the creation, saw his servants and camels upon the road, and went forward to meet them. Rebekah soon espied him, and asked Eliezer who he was; and being informed that it was his master, she alighted, and veiled herself.^ Isaac conducted her to his ten shekels weight of gold.' Abraham's servant also 'brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah.' Dr Shaw. f Among the ancient nations nurses were always held in peculiar honour, as, so to speak, second mothers, and generally accompanied the family and fortunes of those whom they had brought up. Patterson. % It was a part of the marriage ceremony to deliver the bride covered with a veil from head to foot ; and Rebekah in this instance only followed the established custom of her country. Had it been the practice of modest women in that age to cover their faces in the presence of the other sex, she would not have needed to veil herself when her future husband met her in the field. She seems to have had no veil when Abraham's ser- vant accosted her at the well ; nor, for any thing Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. 45 mother's tent, which was allotted for her apartment, took her to wife, and became so enamoured of her charms, that he ceased his grief for the loss of his mo- ther, which had now continued three years. Isaac being thus happily provided with a wife as the peculiar gift of providence, the ancient patriarch took Keturah, one of his maids, to be his concubinary wife, and by her had six sons, to each of whom he gave portions in his lifetime, and then sent them eastward, that they might not stand in competition with Isaac, who was free-born, for any part of his estate, nor settle in the land of Canaan, which the seed of Isaac was to inherit. Isaac took Rebekah to wife when he that can be discovered, was Rachel veiled at her first interview with Jacob ; or if they did appear in veils, these prevented not a part of the face from being seen. The practice of wearing veils, except at the marriage ceremony, must, therefore, be referred to a later period, and was perhaps not introduced till after the lapse of several ages. In modern times, the women of Syria never ap- pear in the streets without their veils. To lift up the veil of a virgin is reckoned a gross insult ; but to take away the veil of a married woman is one of the greatest indignities that she can receive, because it deprives her of" the badge which distin- guishes and dignifies her in that character, and betokens her alliance to her husband, and her in- terest in his affections. In Barbary, when the ladies appear in public, they always fold them- selves up so closely in their hykes, that even with- out their veils, one can discover very little of their faces. But, in the summer months, when they re- tire to their country seats, they walk abroad with less caution ; though even then, on the approach of a stranger they always drop their veils. When a lady of distinction, says Hanway, travels on horseback, she is not only veiled, but has generally a servant, who runs or rides before her, to clear the way ; and on such occasions, the men, even in the market-places, always turn their backs till the women are past, it being thought the highest ill manners to look at them. A lady in the east considers herself degraded when she is exposed to the gaze of the other sex, which accounts for the conduit of Vashti in refusing to obey the command of the king. Their ideas, of decency, on the other hand, forbid a virtuous woman to lay aside, or even to lilt up her veil, in the presence of the other sex. Sue who ventures to disregard this prohi- bition inevitably ruins her character. From that moment she is noted as a woman of easy virtue, and her act is regarded as a signal for intrigue. Scripture Illustrations. was forty years old, and lived twenty years with her before he had any issue, which he at length obtained by his importunate prayer to God; for now Rebekah con- ceived. When she felt the children struggle to- gether within her (for she had twins) she was much startled, and inquiring of the Lord the cause, was told, ' That two na- tions were in her womb, and that two manner of people should be separated from her bowels ; that one of those two should be stronger than the other; and the elder should serve the younger.' When the time of her delivery arrived, she first brought forth Esau, who was cov- ered with red hair ; then followed Jacob, whose hand held Esau's heel. When the boys grew up, Esau became fond of hunting; but Jacob, being of a constitution less robust, led a more con- fined life, and preferred his tent to the iry plain. As Esau's situation in life afforded him frequent opportunities of supplying his father with venison, he was esteemed be- fore his brother; but Jacob obtained the love of his mother, being always near at hand, and ready to do her any offices of service or honour. When the boys arrived at the age of fifteen years, their grandfather Abraham departed this life, being one hundred and seventy-five years of age, and was buried by his two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, in the cave of Machpelah, in the field which he had purchased of Ephron, the prince of the Hittites, and in the very spot where Sarah his wife had been buried forty years before. Ishmael, Abraham's eldest son, Jiough not his heir, lived many years after the death of his father, left behind him, as was foretold, twelve sons, who were all princes of nations, and died in the hundred and seventh year of his age. Although he had been a vile man, and his hand had been against every man, and every man's hand against him, he died a natural death, 46 HISTORY OF [Book I in the presence of his brethren, having his family and relations about him.* The two sons of Isaac being grown to maturity, Esau one day having greatly fatigued himself with hunting in the field, came fainting home at the very instant * Wherever Ishmael pitched his tent, he ex- pected, according to a custom of great antiquity, all tents to he turned with their faces towards it, in token of submission ; that the band might have their eye always upon their master's lodging, and be in readiness to assist him if he were attacked. In this manner did Ishmael dwell, and in this manner did he die, ' in the presence,' ' before,' or, ' over against the faces of all his brethren.' The manners and customs of the Arabians, except in the article of religion, have suffered almost no alteration, during the long period of three thou- sand years. They have occupied the same coun- try, and followed the same mode of life, from the days of their great ancestor, down to the present times, and range the wide extent of burning sands which separate them from all the surrounding na- tions, as rude, and savage, and untractable as the wild ass himself. Claiming the barren plains of Arabia as the patrimonial domain assigned by God to the founder of their nation, they consider themselves entitled to seize, and appropriate to their own use, whatever they can find there. Im- patient of restraint, and jealous of their liberty, they form no connection with the neighbouring states ; they admit of little or no friendly inter- course, but lrve in a state of continual hostility with the rest of the world. The tent is their dwelling, and the circular camp their city; the spontaneous produce of the soil, to which they sometimes add a little patch of corn, furnishes them with means of subsistence, amply sufficient for their moderate desires; and the liberty of ranging at pleasure their interminable wilds, fully compensates in their opinion for the want of all other accommodations. Mounted on their favour- ite horses, they scour the waste in search of plun- der, with a velocity surpassed only by the wild ass. They levy contributions on every person that hap- pens to fall in their way ; and frequently rob their own countrymen, with as little ceremony as they do a stranger or an enemy : their hand is still against every man, and every man's hand against them. But they do not always confine their pre- datory excursions to the desert. When booty is scarce at home, they make incursions into the ter- ritories of their.neighbours, and having robbed the solitary traveller, or plundered the caravan, imme- diately retire into the deserts far beyond the reach of their pursuers. Their character, drawn by the pen of inspiration, exactly corresponds with this view of their dispositions and conduct : ' Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work, rising betimes for a prey: thewildernessyield- eth food for them and for their children.' Savage and stubborn as the wild ass which inhabits the same wilderness, they go forth on the horse or the dromedary with inconceivable swiftness, in quest of their prey. Initiated in the trade of a robber that Jacob had prepared a mess of pottage, composed of different kinds of vegetables, and of a red colour.f Esau seeing the pottage, and his spirits standing in need of refreshment, desired his brother that he might partake of the mess, urging as a motive to persuade him into compliance, that he was very faint. Jacob, though called a plain man, evi- dently on this occasion endeavours to avail himself of his brother's necessity ; for, to inflame his desire the more, though greatly prompted by the keenness of his appetite, as well as render Esau fonder of the bar- gain by delays, he proposes to him to sell his birthright.J from their earliest years, they know no other em- ployment ; they choose it as the business of their life, and prosecute it with unwearied activity. They start before the dawn, to invade the village or the caravan ; make their attack with desperate cour- age, and surprising rapidity ; and, plunging in- stantly into the desert, escape from the vengeance of their enemies. Provoked by their continual in- sults, the nations of ancient and modern times have often invaded their country with powerful armies, determined to extirpate, or at least to sub- due them to their yoke ; but they always returned baffled and disappointed. The savage freebooters, disdaining every idea of submission, with invincible patience and resolution, maintained their indepen- dence ; and they have transmitted it unimpaired to the present times. In spite of all their enemies can do to restrain them, they continue to dwell in the presence of all their brethren, and to assert their right to insult and plunder every one they meet with on the borders, or within the limits of their domains. Paxton. \ Lentils were a kind of pulse, somewhat like our vetches, or coarser sort of pease. St Austin says that these were Egyptian lentils, which were in great esteem, and very probably gave the pot- tage a red tincture. Some imagine that Esau did not know what this lentil-soup was, and therefore he only called it by its colour, ' Give me of that red, that same red;' as it is in the Hebrew, for which reason he was likewise called Edom, which signifies red: but there is no occasion to suppose that he was ignorant of what lentils were, only his repeating the word red, without adding the name of a thing, denoted his great hunger, and eager- ness of appetite, which was probably still more ir- ritated by the colour of the soup. Bibtioth. Bib. The inhabitants of Barbary still make use of lentils, boiled and stewed with oil and garlic, and forming a pottage of a chocolate colour. Birthright or primogeniture had many and great privileges annexed to it. The first-born was consecrated to the Lord, Exod. xxii. 29 ; was next in honour and dignity to the parents, Gen. xlix. 3 had a double portion allotted him, Deut. xxi. Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. 47 Esau, who was bent upon his pottage, considered not at that time the great and manifold advantages of his birthright, and, consulting his appetite rather than his rea- son, answers in a sanguine, though faint manner, ' Behold, I am at the point to die, and what shall this birthright do to me?' Jacob finding him come to this pass, would not part with his pottage till he had forced Esau to assign over to him his birthright by an oath. Thus needy Esau, without hesitation, sold his birthright, with all its appertain- ing benefits, for a simple mess of pottage, which action the sacred historian calls des- pising his birthright, Gen. xxv. 34. CHAPTER VI. Isaac removes from Beer-sheba to Gerar. Enters into a covenant with Abimelech. Jacob obtains the blessing from his father, in- stead of Esau. Flees from his brother's re- venge at the advice of llebekah his mother. Isaac took up his abode at Beer-sheba, the residence of his father Abraham, till a famine which happened in that country obliged him to remove. While he was ruminating with himself which wav to proceed, the Lord in a vi- sion charged him by no means to go into Egypt, but pursue the divine direction, assuring him on those terms of his peculiar favour and blessing, and that in his de- scendants he would punctually fulfil the oath he* had sworn to his father Abraham, by causing his family to increase and mul- tiply, and making them the instruments of conveying the most important good to mankind. According to God's command, Isaac di- rected his course to the country of the Philistines, and fixed his habitation in Gerar, whither on his arrival he used the same stratagem as his father had done in 17 ; succeeded in the government of the family or kingdom, 2 Chron. xxi. 3; and therefore was a matter of the highest moment. Egypt, and from the same motive; for, fearing that the charms of his wife Re- bekah might captivate the men of that country, and thereby endanger his safety, he caused her to pass for his sisfer, a title very common in those days among kin- dred of every degree. But the disguise was soon detected, for Abimelech* (that is, the king) had observed such freedoms between them, as inclined him to think there could be no other connection than that of man and wife. He therefore sent for Isaac, and severely reprimanded him for endeavouring to impose upon the peo- ple, confidently averring from what he had seen that she was his wife. Isaac thus convicted, attempted not to disprove the charge, but urged in vindica- tion of his conduct, that he did it to save his life : nevertheless the king blamed him for laying a temptation before him and his people, saying, ' What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lain with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.' He then gave the strictest charge to his people in general, to avoid giving the least offence either to him or to his wife. Having received these tokens of the royal sanction and patronage, Isaac applied himself to husbandry, in which it pleased God to render him remarkably successful ; insomuch that in process of time he be- came so wealthy and powerful as to ex- cite the envy of the principal inhabitants of Gerar. The success of Isaac however was soon the cause of his departure ; for the king's attendants and favourites, in order to give him offence, ordered the wells to be filled up, that his father's servants had * It is not unlikely that this Abimelech might be the son of that Abimelech, king of Gerar, with whom Abraham had formerly made a covenant, supposing Abimelech to be here the proper name of a man : but it is much more probable, that, at this time, it was a common name for the kings of the Philistines, as Caesar was for the Roman em- perors, and Pharaoh for the kings of Egypt. Stackhouse. 48 HISTORY OF [Book I digged; which, together with the advice of ihe king, who was not free from jealousy jn his account, determined him to with- iraw to some other place. To avoid *very cause of suspicion in the king, as well as secure his property, Isaac withdrew to the valley of Gerar, and immediately employed his servants in digging the wells which the Philistines had filled up ; and when finished, called them by the same names as his father had given them. In the course of their labour, the servants discovered a new well of fine springing water ; but a dispute arising between some neighbouring herdsmen and Isaac's peo- ple, the former claiming the well as found upon their ground ; the latter at the com- mand of their master quitted it ; but called it Esek, or Contention, to perpetuate the quarrel which was occasioned by its dis- covery. Isaac's servants then digged another well, which also excited conten- tion, and was therefore called Sitnah, or Hatred.* * " Strife," says Dr Richardson, " between the different villagers and the different herdsmen here, exists still, as it did in the days of Abraham and Lot : the country has often changed masters ; but the habits of the natives, both in this and other respects, have been nearly stationary." The ex- treme scarcity of water in these arid regions ac- counts for the fierce contentions about the posses- sion of a well, which so frequently happened be- tween the shepherds of different masters. But after the question of right, or of possession, was decided, it would seem the shepherds were often detected in fraudulently watering their flocks and herds from their neighbour's well. To prevent this, they secured the cover with a lock, which continued in use so late as the days of Chardin, who frequently saw such precautions used in different parts of Asia, on account of the real scarcity of water there. According to that intelli- gent traveller, when the wells and cisterns were not Jocked up, some person was so far the proprie- tor, that no one dared to open a well, or a cistern, but in his presence. Some of these wells are furnished with troughs and flights of steps down to the water, and other contrivances, to facilitate the labour of watering the- cattle. In modern times, Mr Park found a trough near the well, from which the Moors watered their cattle, in the sandy deserts of Sahara. As the wells are often very deep, from an hundred and sixty to an hundred and seventy feet, the water is drawn up with small leathern buckets, and a cord, which travellers are often obliged to carry along with them, in their journey, because they meet with more cisterns and wells Disapproving a situation amongst such contentious and envious people, the pa- triarch removed from amongst them, and digged another well, of which he kept peaceable possession, and therefore called it Rehoboth, or free space, because his flock had now room to feed at large, and range the country in search of the best pasture: 'for now,' said he, 'the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.' But Isaac dwelt not long upon this than springs. Dr Richardson saw one of these buckets lying beside a deep well near a Christian church in l^gypt to draw water for the congrega- tion. And Buckingham found a party of twelve or fifteen Arabs drawing water in leathern buckets by cords and pulleys. The scarcity of water, and the great labour and expense of digging away so much earth, in order to reach it, render a well ex- tremely valuable. As the water is often sold at a very high price, a number of good wells yield to the proprietor a large revenue. Pitts was obliged to purchase water at sixpence a gallon. To stop the wells, is therefore justly reckoned an act of hostility. This mode of taking vengeance on enemies has been practised in more recent times. The Turkish emperors give annually to every Arab tribe near the road, by which the Mahomedun pil- grims travel to Mecca, a certain sum of money, and a certain number of vestments, to keep them from destroying the wells, which lie on that route and to escort the pilgrims 'across their country. D'Herbelot records an incident exactly in point, which seems to be quite common among the Arabs. Gianabi, a famous rebel in the tenth century, gathered a number of people together, seized on Bassorah, and Caufa ; and afterwards insulted the reigning caliph, by presenting himself boldly be- fore Bagdat, his capital ; after which he retired by little and little, filling up all the pits with sand, which had been dug on the road to Mecca, for the benefit of the pilgrims. Near the fountains and wells, the robber and assassin commonly took his station, and in time of war the enemy placed their ambush, because the flocks and herds in which the wealth of the country chiefly consisted, were twice every day collected to those places, and might be seized with less danger when the shep- herds were busily engaged iti drawing water. This circumstance, which must have been familiar to the inhabitants of those countries, is mentioned by Deborah in her triumphal song: ' They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the place of the drawing of water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord.' But a still more per- fect comment on these words is furnished by an historian of the croisades, who complains, that during the siege of Jerusalem by the Christian ar- mies, numbers of their men were daily cut off', and their cattle driven away by the Saracens, who lay in ambush for this purpose near all the fountains and watering places. Paxton. Chap. VI.] spot; for he soon returned to Beer-sheba, vhere, on the very night of his arrival, it pleased God to renew the promise he had made to him and his seed for the sake of faithful Abraham; in grateful acknowledg- ment of which repeated instance of the divine goodness, he built an altar there, called upon the name of the Lord, and determining with God's blessing to tarry- there some time, ordered his servants to dig a well, water in those dry and hot countries being a very valuable commodity. Isaac had not long resided here, before Abimelech, touched with a sense of the injury he had done him, and the unworthy treatment he had received from his ser- vants, as well as fearing his just and power- ful resentment, thought it most prudent to avoid future trouble, by endeavouring to bring him into a league of friendship with him ; taking therefore with him two of his chief friends and subjects, he went to Isaac to Beer-sheba, in order to pay him respect and honour. To remind the king that he still retain- ed a sense of the injuries he had formerly one him, the patriarch received his visit ut coolly, demanding of him the cause of visiting a person to whom by his conduct and behaviour he had long discovered an aversion. Abimelech, conscious of his error, and desirous of avoiding the resentment of the patriarch, told him, that the cause of de- siring to be on terms of friendship with him, arose from a certain assurance, that the Lord had undertaken to assert his right ; assuring him at the same time, that he had retained an esteem for him, and concluding his address with a very honour- able appellation, ' Thou art now the bless- ed of the Lord.' Isaac being of a peaceable disposition, entertained Abimelech and his attendants with great liberality ; and the ensuing morning, the king and the patriarch en- tered into a covenant of friendship, ratified the same by a solemn and mutual oath, and they parted from each other with much THE BIBLE. peace and respect. Isaac had no soone: dismissed Abimelech than his servant came and informed him that they had found water, upon which he called it Sheba. A circumstance now happened which sorely grieved the patriarch and his wife Rebekah : Esau, who had long discovered a perverse and obstinate temper, at the age of forty years took two wives, Judith and Bashemath, from among the daughters of the Hittites; though he could not but be sensible of the caution his pious grand- father always took to prevent his father from marrying into that idolatrous family: yet such was the power of natural affection with Isaac, that, swayed by an over-fond- ness for a disobedient and rebellious son, he would have preferred the order of na- tuie to the will of God, who had expressly declared, before Esau and Jacob were born, that the elder should serve the younger ; but providence disappointed his purposes, in order to promote its own wise and gra- cious designs. Being now an hundred and thirty-seven years old, he called to him his son Esau, for whom he always entertained a partial regard, and reminding him of his advanced years, and the uncertainty of his life, de- sired him to take his bow and quiver, kill some venison, and make him savoury meat, that his spirits might he refreshed, and his mind properly disposed for giving him that solemn blessing, which pious parents in those days always bestowed upon their children, and which was held sacred as a presage of their future prosperity.* * The supper of savoury meat, as we call it (Gen. xxvii. 4.), to be eauglit by hunting, was in- tended plainly for a festival or a sacrifice; and upon the prayers that were frequent at sacrifices, Isaac expected, as was then usual in such eminent cases, that a divine impulse would come upon bint) in order to the solemn blessing of his son there present, and his foretelling his future behaviour, and fortune. Whence it must be, that when Isaac had unwittingly blessed Jacob, andwas afterwards made sensible of his mistake, yet did he not at- tempt to alter it, how earnestly soever his affection for Esau might incline him to wish it might be altered, because i\e knew that this blessing came not from himself, but from (iod.and that an alter* 50 HISTORY OF [Book I. Rebekah overheard what had passed be- tween Esau and his father, who, she well knew, preferred him to Isaac ; and deter- mined if possible to deprive him of the intended blessing, and by stratagem cause it to be pronounced on her youngest son. To effect this she called Jacob, acquainted him with the design of his father to pro- nounce his solemn blessing on his brother, and having enjoined him to a punctual obedience to whatever she should com- mand, bade him go immediately to the flock, and fetch from thence two kids of the goats, and with them, said she, ' I will make savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth ; and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.' The upright youth hesitates to comply with his mother's injunction, lest his father should detect his design, and instead of a blessing, should pronounce upon him a curse. His reluctance was increased by this additional reflection, that as Esau was remarkably hairy, and he remarkably smooth, his father, to supply the defect of sight, might handle him, and thereby dis- cover the cheat : he therefore mentioned this circumstance as a farther ground of objection ; but his mother, determined on her purposes, takes upon herself whatever might result from the same, ' Upon me be thy curse, my son, only obey my voice and go fetch me them.'* atinn was out of his power. A second afflatus then came upon him, and enabled him to foretell Esau's future behaviour and fortune also. Whis- ton. * Rebekah seems to have been persuaded, that Jacob had a just title to the first blessing, which Esau had sold with his birthright, and which God had designed for Jacob from the beginning; whence she thought it her duty to deceive Isaac into an action which he ought to have done voluntarily, and therefore takes the whole curse upon herself, provided Isaac should discover the fallacy. But though these circumstances have a great tendency to palliate the guilt both of Jacob and his mother, vet they are no't sufficient to excuse them, the former having increased his crime by affirming an absolute lie, ' I am Esau thy first-born,' &c. We should \ipon the whole lament the frailty of hu- man nature, which is ever liable to err, and at the same time admire the impartiality of the sacred At length assured of his mother's ex- traordinary affection for him, he delayed not, but went immediately and brought the kids, of which his mother made savoury meat, such as she knew her husband loved. The food thus prepared, she put upon Jacob Esau's best attire, and covered his hands and neck with the skins of the kids, and presenting him with the savoury meat, sent him with it to his father Isaac. As soon as he entered, the good old man in- quired of him who he was ? Jacob replied, ' I am Esau thy first-born ;f I have punc- tually obeyed your command; arise, and. eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.' The old man, surprised at the haste with which his desire was executed, in- quired of him how it came to pass that he found the venison so quickly ? Jacob re- plied, 'Because the Lord brought it tome;' but Isaac, still diffident of his person, de- sired him to approach, that he might feel and thereby be assured whether or not he was really and verily his son Esau. Jacob accordingly came near, and his aged father, when he had felt his hands, which were covered with the skin of a kid, could not determine whether it was Esau or Jacob, discovering his doubt in these words, * The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.' At length, however, being obliged to rely on the veracity of his son, he put the question to him more strongly ; ' Art thou my very son Esau ?' Jacob answered as falsely as readily, '1 am ;' and the good old man being now satisfied that he was indeed his son Esau, bid him bring the venison, that he might eat thereof, and bless him4 writings in which the very blemishes and trans- gressions of those who make the greatest figure therein, are recorded for our instruction. f Some commentators suppose that Jacob meant, that he represented or stood in the place of Esau the first-born, by virtue of the purchase he had made of the primogeniture or birthright of his brother. But this is offered as mere opinion. | Here was nothing but counterfeiting; a feigned person, a feigned name, feigned venison, a feigned answer, and yet behold a true blessing ; but to the man, not to the means. Those were so unsound, Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. The savoury meat was accordingly brought, and Isaac having eaten thereof, and drank of the wine, with which his son furnished him, called him to come near and kiss him, which when Jacob had done, he blessed him in these words : ' See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed : therefore God give thee of the dew* of heaven and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine. Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee ; be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.' Jacob had no sooner received the blessing from his father, and was gone from his presence, than Esau came in, bringing the venison prepared for him to eat, and saying, ' Let my father arise and eat of his son's veni- son, that thy soul may bless me.' Isaac, confounded at the circumstance, hastily asked who he was ? and when Esau re- plied, that he was his son, even his first- born Esau, he was seized with a sudden trembling, and with astonished counte- nance, asked, ' who and where was he,' that had brought venison in to him, of that Jacob himself doth more fear their curse, than hope for their success. Isaac was now both simple and old ; yet, if he had perceived the fraud, Jacob had been more sure of a curse, than he could be sure that he should not be perceived. Rebekah, presuming upon the oracle of God and her husband's simplicity, dare be his surety for the danger, his counsellor for the carriage of the business, his cook for the diet, yea, dresses both the meat and the man ; and now puts words into his mouth, the dish into his hand, the garments upon his back, the goat's hair upon the open parts of his body, and sends him in thus furnished for the blessing, standing, no doubt, at the door, to see how well her device succeeded. And if old Isaac should; by any of his senses, have discerned the guile, she had soon stepped in and undertaken the blame, and urged him with that known will of God con- cerning Jacob's dominion, and Esau's servitude, which either age or affection had made him forget. Hall. * In those hot countries, showers being less fre- quent than with us, the morning and evening dews were of the utmost importance to refresh the earth, and produce that plenty for which the country was so remarkable. which he had eaten before he came, and blessed him ; and to give a farther sanc- tion to the transaction, he added, * yea, and he shall be blessed.' When the dis- appointed Esau heard these words of his father, he exclaimed in the bitterness ot his soul, ' Bless me, even me also, O my father.' His father in excuse told him, that his brother by a stratagem had got the blessing: from him. Esau then remonstrated on the injustice of the proceeding, having first taken away his birthright, and then the blessing of his father; but pathetically asked, if he had not in reserve a blessing for him ; re- peating the importunate request, 'Bless me, even me also, O my father,' and wept most bitterly. The good old man, moved with compas- sion for his unhappy son, in order to ap- pease his troubled mind a little, said to him, ' Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; and by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother: and it shall come to pass, when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.'f But this j- The Edomites, or Idumaeans, who were the posterity of Esau, for a considerable time were a people of much more power and authority than the Israelites, till in the days of David they were entirely conquered, 2 Sam. viii. 14 ; they were thereupon governed by deputies or viceroys, ap- pointed by the kings of Judah ; and whenever they attempted to rebel, were for a long time crushed, and kept under by the Jews. In the days of Jeho- ram, the son of Jehoshaphat, they expelled their viceroy, and set up a king of their own, 2 Kings viii. 20 ; and though they were reduced at that time, yet for some generations after this they seemed to have lived independent on the Jews, and when the Babylonians invaded Judea, they not only took part with them, but violently oppressed them, even when the enemy was withdrawn, so thai remembering what they had suffered under Joab, in the days of David, they entered into the like cruel measures against the Jews, and threatened to lay Jerusalem level with the ground. Their animosity against the posterity of Jacob seems in- deed to be hereditary ; nor did they ever cease, for any considerable time, from broils and contentions, until they were*conquered by Hircanus, and reduc- ed to the necessity of embracing the Jewish reli- gion, or quitting their country : hereupon consent- ing to the former they were incorporated with the 52 HISTORY OF [Book I address availed not, for Esau conceived a most implacable hatred against liis brother Jacob, for depriving him of the important blessing, and determined as soon as his father should die, to slay him. blessing of Abraham, o thee and to thy seed with thee, that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.' Isaac then sent away his son Jacob, and he ltebekah being informed of Esau's des- ' went to Padan-aram, unto Laban, accord- perate resolution on the life of her beloved Jacob, acquainted him with the horrid de- sign, and advised him to betake him hastily to her brother Laban at Haran, and there remain till his brother's fury might be somewhat abated, assuring him that she would particularly observe the same, and send him word when he might return with safety. Jacob, who ever listened to, and obeyed the counsel of his mother, was ready to comply with her proposal, but was not willing to depart before he had obtained his father's consent, which in this case he much doubted of effecting. To remove this difficulty there'ore, Rebekah artfully complained of the concern under which she laboured on account of Esau's taking wives from among t.e daughters of the Hittites, insinuating her fear lest Jacob should follow his example Though Isaac understood not the drift of this oomplaint, yet being a pious man, and knowing that the promise made to his father Abraham, and renewed to him, was to be fulfilled in Jacob's issue; and being verv anxious that he might not corrupt his blood by intermarrying with idolaters, whom God would destroy, called Jacob to him, and with his blessing laid on him a most solemn injunction, that he should not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan, but go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, his mother's father, and take from them a wife of the daughters of Laban his mother's brother ; and farther to encour- age him, pronounces his blessing, 'God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people ; and give thee the Jews, and became one nation, sfe that, in the first century after Christ, the name of Idumean was lost, and quite disused. Le Clercs Commen- tary. ing to his father's directions. CHAPTER VII. Jacob's vision and vow. Jacob is entertained by Laban Covenanteth for Rachel; is deceived with Leah, but at length marries llachel also. Rachel is concerned on account of her bar- renness, and at length blessed with a son, whom she called Joseph Jacob enters into a new covenant with Laban ; by a scheme becomes very rich. Departs from Laban, is pursued and taken ; enters into a fresh covenant with Laban. The disappointed Esau finding that his father ha.l again blessed his brother Jacob, and despatched him to Padan-aram, with the most solemn injunction not to marry with any of the daughters of Canaan, and that Jacob, in obedience to his father's command, was departed, could not but reflect on his own conduct in taking those Hittite wives. To reinstate himself there- fore, if possible, in the favour of his father, he went and took to wife Mahalath, his uncle Ishmael's daughter; but this pro- duced not the desired effect. Jacob departing from Beer-sheba, pro- ceeded towards Haran; but night over- taking him, he took up his lodging in the open air,* having the sky for his covering, and stones for his pillow. While he slept, he dreamed, that he saw a ladder set upon the earth, the top of which reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon it. Above this lad- der stood the Lord, who thus bespoke him: '1 am the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to * So exact was Jacob in observing the command of his father, that lie would not enter any house that belonged to a Canaanitc, but chose rather to Bleep in the open air Chap. VII.] THE BIBLE. thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the soutli ; and in thee, and in thy seed, shall all the fami- lies of the earth be blessed.' Jacob was so affected with this dream, that when he awoke he exclaimed ; 'Surely the Lord is in this place, and 1 knew it not.'* As this is the first account in sacred history of God's immediately appearing to Jacob, there is reason to think it was the first time; for we find it struck him with a religious awe, and he said, in a holy rapture: 'How dreadful is this place! This is the house of God, the gate of heaven.' When Jacob arose from his airy couch, he took the chief stone upon which he had lain his head, and set it up as a monument of God's loving-kindness to- wards him, in confirming so solemnly the promises made to his fathers; and. as a mark to distinguish the very spot, to those who might travel that way. Having set up the stone, he poured oil upon it,f and, in token of so remarkable a display of divine love, changed the name of the place from Luz to Bethel.f * We are by no means to infer from this excla- mation, that Jacob had such contracted notions of the omnipresent. Jehovah, as to imagine that he was not present throughout, yea, beyond all space. The meaning therefore is plainly this, that he could not have imagined before, that the Lord would have chosen that spot to manifest his peculiar and glorious presence. This sense is confirmed by several of the ancient versions, and particularly the Chaldee. f We find from several ancient writers that this ceremony was used in consecrating things to a divine use; and that among the heathens every stone that had received this rite was esteemed as divine and honoured with adoration. J The place where Jacob took up his lodging was near Luz, which signifies an almond, and might very likely have its name from the many groves of almond-trees which were thereabouts; and under some of which, it is not unlikely that Jacob might take up his lodging, because the largeness of their leaves, in that country, would afford no incommodious shelter from the weather. Before he departed from this memorable spot, he repeated in a most solemn manner part of the divine promise ; and in order to bind himself more strongly to the ser- vice of God, made a vow, saying to this purport, ' If God will be with me, and di- rect me in my journey, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I return to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone which I have set up as a pillar, shall be God's house : and. of all ites, when they conquered Canaan, in remembrance of the same, continued the name. It lay to the west of Hai, about eight miles to the north of Jerusalem, in the confines of the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin. So that, upon the revolt of the ten tribes, it belonged to the kingdom of Israel, and was therefore one of the cities where Jerobo- am set up his golden calves, whence the prophet Hosea (Chap. iv. 15.) alluding to the name given it by Jacob, calls it Beth-aven, instead of Bethel, that is, the ' house of vanity or idols,' instead of ' the house of God.' Patrick's Commentary and V/ells's Geography. The Baithylia or consecrated stones, adored by the early Phoenicians, are supposed to have been the most ancient objects of idolatrous worship; and, probably, were afterwards formed into beauti- ful statues, when the art of sculpture became tolerably perfected. They originated in Jacob's setting up and anointing with oil the stone which he had used for a pillow, as a memorial of the heavenly vision with which he had been favoured (Gen. xxviii. 18.), and ako to serve as a token to point out to him the place when God should bring him back again. The practice of setting up stones as a guide to travellers still exists in Persia and other parts of the East. In the course of Mr Morier's journey in the interior of that country, he remarked that his old guide " every here and there placed a stone on a conspicuous bit of rock, or two stones one upon the other, at the same time utter- ing some words which" (says this intelligent tra- veller) " I learnt were a prayer for our safe return. This explained to me, what I had frequently seen before in the East, and particularly on a high road leading to a great town, whence the town is first seen, and where the eastern traveller sets up his stone, accompanied by a devout exclamation, as it were, in token of his safe arrival. The action of our guide appears to illustrate the vow which Jacob made when he travelled to Padan-aram. (Gen. xxviii. 18 22.) In seeing a stone on the road placed in this position, or one stone upon another, it implies that some traveller has there made a vow or a thanksgiving. Nothing is so natural in a journey over a dreary country, as for a solitary traveller to sit down, fatigued, and to make the vow that Jacob did : * If God will be with me, and keep me in the way that I go, and will give Jacob, upon the account of the vision, which he me bread to eat and raiment to put on, so that I had in this place, called it Bethel ; and the Israel- ' reach my father's house in peace,' &c. then I will 54 HISTORY OF [Book I. 2hat thou shalt give me, I will surely give tlie tenth unto thee.' The pious traveller having performed a solemn vow unto the Lord, proceeded on ins journey, till he came to the well of Haran, near which lay several flocks of sheep. He then inquired of the shep- herds, if they knew Laban, the son of Nahor ? and was informed they did ; and that Rachel his daughter approached with her flock, to water at the well. During his discourse with the shepherds, the damsel arrived with her fleecy care, and Jacob, as a token of respect, rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep in her stead ; which done, he kissed her, wept for joy, and told her who he was. Rachel left Jacob at the well, and hastened to acquaint her father with what had happened. The good old man, over- joyed at the arrival of his sister's son, ran but to meet him, and having most cordially embraced him, conducted him to his house. On their arrival at Laban's house, Jacob recounted the occasion of his coming from home, and some of the incidents that happened in the way, insomuch that his uncle was convinced he left not his parents for any misdemeanor on his part, but in strict obedience to their will and pleasure, though he travelled without any atten- dants. Laban, finding from his account that he was under the immediate care and protec- tion of Providence, acknowledged him as his near relative, and kindly entertained him ; but Jacob, unaccustomed to an inac- tive life, entered himself in the business of his occupation, which when Laban had observed, he acquainted him that he by no means desired his service for nought, and insisted on his mentioning his own terms. give so much in charity : or, again, that on first seeing the place which he has so long toiled to reach, the traveller should sit down and make a thanksgiving ; in hoth cases setting up a stone as a memorial." Home. Rachel, the beautiful and virtuous shep- herdess,* had already captivated his heart, and he proposed her as the reward of seven years' service.f Laban immediately consented to the proposal, and Jacob en- * This innocent and useful employ, in those early ages, was reputed no disgrace ; the greatest heroes of antiquity, the sons of kings, and kings themselves are represented as engaged in the same, which was then as honourable as it is now despi- cable. f In the remote ages of antiquity, women were literally purchased by their husbands ; and the presents made to their parents or other relations were called their dowry. Thus, we find Shechem bargaining with Jacob and his sons for Dinah : " Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me, I will give : ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me ; but give me the damsel to wife." The practice still continues in the country of She- chem ; for when a young Arab wishes to marry, he must purchase his wife ; and for this reason, fathers, among the Arabs, are nevermore happy than when they have many daughters. They are reckoned the principal riches of a house. An Arabian suitor will offer fifty sheep, six camels, or a dozen of cows ; if he be not rich enough to make such offers, he proposes to give a mare or a colt ; con- sidering in the offer, the merit of the young woman, the rank of her family, and his own circumstances. In the primitive times of Greece, a well-educated lady was valued at four oxen. When they are agreed on both sides, the contract is drawn up by him that acts as cadi or judge among these Arabs. When the intended husband was not able to give a dowry, he offered an equivalent, as exemplified above in the case of Jacob serving Laban seven years for his daughter Rachel. This custom has descended to modern times ; for in Cabul the young men who are unable to advance the required dowry, " live with their future fither-in-law and earn their bride by their services, without ever seeing the object of their wishes." Saul, instmid of a dowry, required David to bring him an hun- dred foreskins of the Philistines, under the pretence of avenging himself of his enemies. This custom has prevailed in latter times ; for in some countries they give their daughters in marriage to the most valiant men, or those who should bring them so many heads of the people with whom they happen to be at war. It is recorded of a nation in Cara- mania, that no man among them was permitted to marry, till he had first brought the head of an ene- my to the king. Aristotle admits, that the ancient Grecians were accustomed to buy their wives ; but they no sooner began to lay aside their barbarous manners, than this disgusting practice ceased, and the custom of giving portions to their sons in-law, was substituted in its place. The Romans also, in the first ages of their history, purchased their wives; but afterwards they required the wife to bring a portion to the husband, ttiat he might be able to bear the charges of the matrimonial state more easily. Pax tun. ; VII. THE BIBLE. t ed on his service most cheerfully, having an eye to the reward, which in his judg- ment was inestimable. His affection for Rachel sweetened the servitude, as well ;is rendered the time apparently short; and when it was expired, Jacob demanded Rachel to wife. Laban, on the occasion, invited all his friends and neighbours to the solemnization of the nuptials; but, desirous of retaining Jacob in his service, he treated him very unfair- ly; for in the evening he took Leah, his other daughter, and brought her to Jacob's bed,* instead of Rachel, to whom he was contracted. When Jacob discovered the deceit in the morning, f he expostulated with Laban on the injustice of his treatment; but his uncle waved the affair, by observing, that it was not the custom of the country, to give the younger in marriage before the elder.J Though this excuse was so tri- fling, Laban, who had observed Jacob's fondness for Rachel, knew he could bring him to any terms, and therefore demanded the same course of service for his younger daughter ; and as he had the utmost reason to apprehend that Jacob in resentment of the fraud would discard Leah, he entreated him to fulfil her week, promising on those terms, to give him her also in marriage. Jacob complied with the proposal, and then married Rachel, of whom being pas- sionately fond he slighted Leah. But God compassionating the case of Leah, opened her womb, and restrained Rachel from child-bearing, insomuch that the * It was customary in that country, for the bride, as an emblem of modesty, to be covered with a veil when she was brought to the bridegroom : by this means doubtless Jacob was imposed on by Laban, anil could not discern that it was Leah, till the next morning. f It is not a little remarkable, that Jacob, who deprived Esau of the blessing his father intended him by fraud, lost what he esteemed an invaluable blessing, by fraud likewise. J The same practice continues to this day among the Hindoos, with whom it is considered criminal to give the younger daughter in marriage before the elder, or for a younger son to marry while his elder brother remains unmarried. former bare four sons before the latter even conceived. The fruitfulness of her sister excited the envy of Rachel, who in process of time broke off all family con- nection and became averse to the very sight of Leah. Such was her concern for her barren- ness that it bewildered her imagination, and in very opprobrious terms she vented her rage upon her husband ; ' Give me children, or else I die :' but Jacob checked such an inordinate sally of temper in a manner becoming a person of prudence and piety, in this short, though stinging reproof, ' Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb ?' Rachel, thus convinced of her folly and rashness, proposed a method to supply this defect in herself; this was the stratagem pursued by her grandmother Sarah, for having advised concerning the matter with her husband, she gave him her hand- maid Bilhah as a concubinary wife, think- ing to esteem and cherish as her own, the children which Jacob might have by her maid. Rachel therefore, according to her design, when Bilhah bore Jacob a son, claimed him as her own, and called him Dan, as she did also a second, whom she named Naphtali. But this artifice of Rachel to secure her husband's love was counteracted by Leah, who likewise gave one of her maids to Jacob; and when she bore him a son, called his name Gad, or a troop, as she did a second, Asher, or blessed. By this time Reuben, Leah's eldest son by Jacob, was arrived at years sufficient to be trusted by himself, and wandering one day in the fields, he found some extraordinary flow- ers^ which he brought home and present- ed to his mother. The word dudaim, which we render man- drakes, is one of those terms whose true significa- tion the Jews, at this time, pretend not to under- stand. There is but one place more in scripture, wherein it occurs, and that is in the 7th chapter of Canticles, wherein the bridegroom invites his spouse to go with him into the fields : ' Come, my beloved, let us get up early to the vineyards, let us 56 HISTORY OF [Book L Rachel was captivated with the sight of them, and desired her sister to give her part; but Leah, likewise envying Rachel from a suspicion that she shared too largely in her husband's affection, churlishly an- swered her request; 'Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband, but you must take my son's flowers too?' Rachel having a peculiar inclination to the flowers, waved all harsh reply, and endeavouring to win her over to her will, by mild and gen- tle measures, proposed, if she would give her some of the flowers, that she should enjoy her husband's company that night, see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grapes appear, and the pomegranates bud forth. The mandrakes give a smell ; at our gates are all man- ner of fruits, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.' Here we find it placed among the most delicious and pleasant fruits, the grape, the pome- granate, &c. and represented as very fragrant and odoriferous in its smell ; but the mandrake, say some, is a stinking and ill-scented fruit, of a bad taste, and a cold narcotic quality; and therefore they have rendered the word fine and lovely flow- ers ; and some of them will have it to be the violet or jessamine, which suit very well with the season of tjie year here mentioned, whilst others contend very strongly for the lily, which, in Syria, grew in the fields, and was of a most agreeable beauty and smell. That passage in Solomon's song, however, will not suffer us to doubt but that it was a fruit of some kind or other ; and Ludolff, in his his- tory of Ethiopia, will needs have it to be what the Syrians call mauz, a fruit much about as big as a small cucumber, that hangs in clusters, some- times to the number of forty upon the same stalk, find is in figure and taste not unlike the Indian fig. It is not to be doubted indeed, but that the mandrake in Palestine is of a different kind to what we have in these climates. St Austin, who thought it a great curiosity to see one, tells us, that it was very beautiful to the eye, and of a fra- grant smell, but utterly insipid; so that he wonders what should make Rachel set so high a value upon it, unless it were its scarceness and rich scent. In the province of Pekin in China, we are informed, that there is a kind of mandrake so valuable, and, when mixed in any liquor, makes so rich a cordial, that a pound of its root is worth thrice its weight in silver. It was a general opinion among the ancients, that there was a certain quality in the juice of mandrakes to excite amorous inclinations, and therefore they Tail them the apples of love, as the Hebrew word clod, from whence comes dodaim, is frequently set to signify love. Thus, whether we consider this fruit as pleasant to the eye, smell, or taste, or as a restorative to nature, and helpful to conception, any of these reasons are sufficient why Kachel should take such a fancy tc them. Siack- house. though in the course of things he was then to be the consort of Rachel. Leah approved of the proposal, and the agreement was accordingly made ; but to make sure of the bargain, she sent out to meet Jacob on his return from the field, and having told him the contract between her- self and Rachel, enjoyed his company that night. Though he now thought she was past child-bearing, she conceived once more, and brought forth her fifth son, whom he called Issachar, because he was the product of her hire. Leah conceived again, and bare a sixth son, whom she called Zebulun ; and at length she bare to Jacob the only daugh ter of whom we read, whose name was Dinah. Rachel had long lamented in bitterness of soul her want of issue: but at length it o pleased God, in his infinite goodness, to hearken to her petition, grant her earnest desire, and bless her with a son. Rejoicing that God had taken away her reproach,* and foretelling, that the Lord would be- stow on her another son, she called her first-born Joseph. Soon after the birth of Joseph, the ap- pointed time of Jacob's servitude being expired, he began to grow desirous of re- turning to his own country; and therefore reminding Laban that he had fulfilled his contract, he desired him to deliver his wives and children, for whom he had served him, that he might go to the habi- tation of his father. Laban, sensible of the vast importance of Jacob's continuance with him, endeav- oured to divert him from all desire or leaving him, by assuring him, that since he was with him, he had received many peculiar tokens of the divine blessing; and offering him whatever terms he should propose. But all his endeavours to keep Jacob in his service were in vain ; * As fruitfulness was then accounted a great blessing from that God, who said, ' Increase and multiply,' so barrenness was accounted u reproach or curse. Chap. VII.] THE BIBLE. 57 he well knew, nor failed to tell him, thai through the blessing of God on his honest and faithful labours, he had increased his little herd to a multitude; reminding him, at the same time, that it was absolutely necessary he should act for himself, and make provision for his own family, which was become numerous. Laban, still desirous of retaining him, pressed him hard, and once more offered him his own terms. Jacob would accept of no stated wages, but proposed these conditions: that they should pass through the whole flock of sheep and goats, and having separated all the speckled cattle from the white, the former should be committed to the care of Laban's sons, and the latter to the care of Jacob; then whatsoever spotted or brown cattle should be produced out of the white flock, which he was to keep, should be his wages. Laban immediately consented to the proposal; the flocks were accordingly sep- arated; and the spotted cattle were de- livered in to "the custody of Laban, while the rest were committed to the care of Jacob; and, to prevent any intercourse be- tween them, they were set three days journey apart. The flocks being thus separated and committed to the care of their respective keepers, Jacob, by the assistance of the Divine wisdom, pursued a very extraor- dinary method to improve his own stock and at the same time to lessen that of Laban. He took rods or twigs of the green poplar, hazel, and chestnut trees, and stripping off part of the rinds in strakes, caused some of the white to appear on the twigs: these twigs he placed in the watering troughs, when the cattle came to drink, at the time in which they usual- ly engender; that seeing the speckled twigs they might conceive, and bring forth speckled cattle. He also took par- ticular care to place the twigs before the fattest and most healthy cattle; and also to avoid putting any before those that were weak and sickly, by which wise pro- cedure he not only obtained for himself the greater number, but the choicest and most valuable.* Thus, in a short time, through the blessing of God, Jacob became exceeding- ly rich and powerful; but the extraordi- nary increase of his property exposed him to the envy of Laban's sons, and even of Laban himself, insomuch that they were continually murmuring against him, be- cause he had raised himself to a good estate out of their fortunes. Jacob having observed Laban's coolness and indifference towards him, began to think of leaving him, and return to his father's house, which design he was short- ly commanded by God, in a vision, to put into execution. He therefore sent to his wives in the field, where he kept his flock, in order to consult with them, and gain their consent to go with him. When they came, he laid before them the whole of his purpose, telling them, he observed their father of late had treated him with great coolness and indifference, and even sometimes with marks of displeasure, though he knew no just cause for such behaviour. He also took occasion to appeal to them concern- ing his industry and fidelity, and the in- justice of their father towards him, first, The method Jacob used, by peeling rods, and placing them before the cattle in coupling time, has given rise to various opinions and warm dis- putes. It has been said, that this was a natural means, sufficient to produce the effects noticed. Aristotle, Pliny, and others have been cited, to prove, that impressions made on the imagination of the dam at the time of conception, may have a powerful influence on the shape and colour of the young. Admitting this, is it supposable that Ja- cob possessed a secret unknown to others? The opinion of Shnckford seems to me the most ra- tional. He supposes that God, who had seen the injustice of Laban, determined to punish him and to reward Jacob, and that as he appeared to Jacob in a dream, and showed him the produce of his flock to be according to his wishes, he ordered him to make use of the rod as a trial of his faith, and as a test of his obedience ; that Jacob obeyed, not believing this to be any more a sufficient cause of the effect, than Naaman, that washing in the Jordan could cure the leprosy. Boothroyd. H HISTORY OF [Book I. in deceiving him, and afterwards changing his wages so often; and then observed to them, that God had turned all their fa- ther's devices to his advantage, and had taken away his cattle, and given them unto him. Then he acquainted them, that the Lord had appeared unto him in a dream, reminding him of the solemn vow he had made at Bethel, in his pas- sage thither, and commanded him to re- turn to the land of his fathers. His wives having attentively listened to all that he said, agreed with his opinion concerning their father, consented to go with him, and desired him to perform whatsoever God had commanded. Jacob immediately prepared for his journey, set his wives and children upon camels,* and proceeded with all his cattle and goods, taking the advantage of the absence of Laban, who was gone to shear his sheep; which likewise gave Rachel an opportunity of stealing and carrying off her father's images, f * The camel is emphatically called by the Arab 'the ship of the desert.' He seems to have been created for this very trade, endued with parts and qualities adapted to the office he is employed to discharge. The driest thistle, or the barest thorn, is all the food this useful quadruped requires ; and even these, to save time, he eats while advancing on his journey, without stopping or occasioning a moment of delay. As it is his lot to cross im- mense deserts, where no water is found, and countries not even moistened by the dew of hea- ven, he is endowed with the power of laying in at one watering-place a store, with which he sup- plies himself for many days to come. To contain this enormous quantity of fluid, nature has formed large cisterns within him, from which, once filled, he draws at pleasure the quantity he wants, and pours it into his stomach, with the same effect as if he then drew it from a spring ; and with this he travels patiently and vigorously, all day long, car- rying a prodigious load through countries affected with poisonous winds, and parching and never- cooling sands. Bruce. Mounted on this mild and persevering animal, the traveller pursues his journey over the sandy deserts of the East with speed and safety. For his convenience, a sort of round basket is slung on each side with a cover, which holds all his necessaries, between which he is seated on the back of the animal. Sometimes two long chairs, like cradles, are hung on each side with a covering, in which he sits, or stretched at his ease, resigns himself to sleep, without inter- rupting his journey. f '1 he Hebrew word Teraphim, signifies idols, Jacob passed the river Euphrates, and made towards Mount GHead, % and though it was three days before Laban knew ot his departure, yet in seven days he over- took him upon the mount. There is the utmost reason to think that Laban pursued him with a mind bent upon revenge; but the Lord, mindful of the welfare of his servant, charged him most solemnly not even to hurt him by word; therefore, when he and his kindred came up with Jacob, he only expostulated with him on the want of respect he dis- covered in stealing away his daughters, and thereby preventing them from taking leave of him as became his children, or de- parting in a manner agreeable to their rank and dignity. He added, that such a conduct might have exposed him to his most severe resentment, and that he might have sustained much injury from him, who was by far the most powerful; nay, he absolutely hinted to him, that he would as appears from Gen. xxxi. 30. where they are termed Elohai or gods. It is also evident from I Sam. xix. 13. that they were of human form ; for the very word is used for the image which Michal put into David's bed. These images they consulted as oracles concerning things unknown for the present or future. Some think that Rachel stole them, to prevent her father from discovering her flight, by consulting them, while others are of opinion that it was to secure something that might appease her father's anger, if he should overtake them in their flight. But these are at best but conjectures ; though we have too much ground to think that our forefathers were tainted with this kind of idolatry. J Mount Gilead formed part of that ridge of mountains, which ran from mount Lebanon south- ward on the east of the Holy Land, and included the mountainous region called in the New Testa- ment, Trachonitis. Dr Wells. That is, as Laban expresses it, ' with mirth and with songs, with tabret and with harp.' When the Prefetto of Egypt was preparing for his journey, he complains of his being incommoded by the sonnets of his Eastern friends, who took leave in this man- ner of their relations and acquaintance before their setting out. These valedictory songs, however, are not to be supposed to be a prelude to all their journeys, but only to those of the most solemn kind. There is therefore an energy in those words of Laban, which ought to be remarked, ' Why didst not thou tell me, that I might have sent thee away, and taken my leave of my daughters, going such a journey, with all due solemnity, according to the custom of my country?' Harmtr. Chap. VII.] THE BIBLE. have pursued measures of revenge, had he not been diverted therefrom by the awful prohibition of God himself. Nor did he only upbraid him with want of duty and affection, but even charged him with theft, saying, ' And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longest after thy father's house; yet, wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?' Jacob urged as an excuse for his abrupt departure, his fear, lest, if he had ac- quainted him with the design, he would have prevented its accomplishment, by detaining his daughters by force; but, somewhat warmed with the charge of theft (not knowing that Rachel had sto- len the images) he vehemently exclaimed, *With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live!' And farther, to assert his innocence, he calls upon him to search his goods before all that were present, and to retain whatever of his property he should find upon him. Laban then proceeded to search, and having ransacked the tents of Jacob, Leah, and her two handmaids, he went into the tent of Rachel, who, conscious of her crime, and fearful of the anger both of her father and husband upon detection, had just concealed the images in the ca- mel's furniture,* and sat down upon them. 59 * Rachel probably rode after the Arab mode, upon an hiran, which is a piece of serge, about six ells long, laid upon the saddle, which is of wood, in order to make the sitting more easv. This hiran is made use of as a mattress, when they stop for a night in a place; and it serves them to lodge on, as their wallets serve for cush- ions or a bolster. It was probably the hiran, part of the camel's furniture, under which she hid her father's teraphim ; and on which she sat, according to their customs, in her tent, and therefore unsus- pected. Harmer. In the East, aged and infirm persons travel in double wicker-work seats, placed on the back of a camel, one on each side of the animal; they are formed something like a cradle; and have a back, head, and sides, like a great chair. Under the seat are store hampers, or baskets, con- taining those personal necessaries which may he needed by the traveller on the journey. Under the saddle of each camel is a coarse carpet, to covei them by night. This coarse carpet is the hiran mentioned by Harmer. It is probable that the camel's furniture, on which Rachel was seat- Having used this precaution, when her father entered her tent, she pleaded as an excuse for not rising to salute him, that the custom of women was then upon her, and Laban out of modesty omit- ted searching that place, where alone the images were to be found. Thus baffled by the cunning of his daughter, after a long search he could not find what he had so industriously sought, and was therefore very severely repri- manded by Jacob, who not only reproach- ed him with a most unjust suspicion, but appealed to his own friends to decide the case betwixt them. Then recounting the long service he had done him, during a number of years, concluded his upbraid- ing address in words to this purport: 'Except the God of my fathers had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away empty. But God hath seen my affliction, and the labour of mine hands, and rebuk- ed thee yesternight.' Laban, conscious that Jacob's charge was most justly founded, attempted not a vindication of himself, and therefore, waving the debate, he assumed an air of fondness and respect for Jacob, his wives and his children, as nearly related to him- self, and proposed a covenant of peace between them. This being agreed to by both parties, they erected a pillar or heap of stones f by way of memorial, and then ed, was the vehicle above described. Script. Illustrated. f This monument Jacob seems to have erected after the same manner as he did that at Bethel. It must not be supposed to have been a heap of loose stones ; for then it could not have continued long in the same position, nor given a name to the country around it. It was doubtless a regular and permanent building; but then, what the form and figure of it was it is not so easy to determine. Had it been only for a memorial to posterity, and not for some present transaction also, the figure either of a column or a pyramid would have been very proper: but we find, that the present use of it was, to eat and sacrifice upon, and therefore we may imagine, that it was made in the figure of a table, and have some authority to think of a round table, because the name which Jacob calls it by is taken from a verb which signifies to turn round, as the word Gilal is properly the circumfeience of a circle. Bibliotheca Bibl. 60 HISTORY OF [Book I. took a mutual oath, that neither of them would invade the property of the other, and that Jacob would not treat his wives unbecoming an affectionate husband. The ceremony thus finished, Jacob en- tertained his brethren that night upon the mount, and the next morning Laban took leave of his daughters and their children, and they both departed for their respective habitations. CHAPTER VIII. God again appears unto Jacob. Jacob sends a messenger and presents to his brother Esau. Wrestles with an angel. Is called Israel. Meets his brother, who receives him kindly. Dinah is ravished. The Shechemites are cir- cumcised, and afterwards destroyed together with their city by the sons of Jacob in revenge fur the rape of Dinah. As Jacob was favoured with a heavenly vision when he first departed from his father's, so it pleased God again to favour him with the same token of his protection at his return. When Jacob saw the angels that were sent to meet him on the way, he said, 'This is God's host: and he call- ed the name of the place Mahanaim.'* Though this patriarch had the greatest reason to rely on the protection of the Al- mighty, yet as he was near the confines of Edom, and within the reach of his in- censed brother Esau, whom he had highly provoked, and concerning the abatement of whose resentment he had received no account from his mother, though he had * The original word signifies two hosts or camps; because the angels appeared like two armies, drawn up on either side for his protection, according to that beautiful expression of the Psalmist, ' The angel of the Lord encampetli round about them that fear him, and delivereth them,' Psalm xxxiv. 4. This place was situated between mount Gilead and the river Jabbok, not far from ihe banks of the latter, and very near the confines of Gad and half tribe of Manasseh, which was on the ea^t of Jordan. It became in time a city of great strei gth, and for this reason was made choice of by Abner fo- the seat-royal of lshbosheth, the son of Saul, when lie made war against David, and for a retir- been absent twenty years, he thought it most prudent to send a message to him in order to allay his anger, and regain, if possible, his fraternal affection. He therefore ordered the messenger- to address Esau in these humble terms; 'Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: and I have oxen and asses," and men-servants and women-servants, and I have sent to tell my lord, that 1 may find grace in thy sight.' f The messengers having fulfilled their embassy, returned, and gave Jacob such an account as terrified him not a little. They brought no direct answer from Esau, and only told Jacob that his brother was coming to meet him at the head of four hundred men. Concluding that the design of this mighty retinue was to act against him in a hostile manner, Jacob was greatly perplexed in what manner to proceed ; he knew on the one hand, that his numbers were too small to engage with his brother; and that, on the other hand, his baggage was too heavy for flight: he therefore came to a resolution to divide his people and cattle into two bands, which being placed at a convenient distance, if Esau should fall upon one of them, the other might have a chance to escape. This was the plan laid down by Jacob; but as he well knew, from former experi- ence, that his safety depended upon the divine protection, independent of human measures, to the God of his salvation he applied in this critical juncture, in terms to the following import: ' O God of my father Abraham and Isaac, who saidst to me, Return to thy country, and I will do well by thee : I am not worthy of the f By this submission, Jacob did not reject the honour God conferred upon him, but reverenced Esau as his elder brother. Besides, it is beyond a doubt that Jacob meant r:o more by the terms, lord and servant, than a mere honorary compli- ment, first practised among the idolatrous nations, ing place by David himself, during the rebellion of j and then used by the peop e of God, in order to his son Absalom. See Wells's Geography. | soften the resentment of th< rugged Esau. Chap. VIII.] least of thy mercies; but thou hast in- creased my stock, for when I passed over the river first, I had nothing but my staff, and now I am become a multitude: de- liver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, for I fear his malice, lest he smite me and mine. Remember how thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy posterity as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multi- tude/ After he had thus humbly and earnest- ly implore,d the guidance and protection of the Almighty, he determined to pursue another measure, which he hoped might appease the anger of his brother ; for, imagining that he might esteem the first message but a mere formal compliment, he resolved, since he had already inform- ed him that he was become very rich, to send him a very liberal present; but fear- ing that he might attack him before the present could be delivered, he was obliged to send that which was nearest at hand ; which were these articles: two hundred she-goats, and twenty he-goats; two hun- dred ewes, and twenty rams ; thirty milch camels with their colts; forty kine, and ten bulls, and twenty she-asses, with ten ass-foals, all in separate droves, ordering his servants to keep them at a proper dis- tance, charging the servant who followed the foremost drove to deliver the present to his brother, and so on to the rest, hop- ing that such a submissive conduct might soften his rugged temper, and induce him to receive him kindly.* * Several commentators have taken notice of Jacob's great wisdom and prudence, in the order and disposition of this his embassy to his brother. He sent his servants, and not his sons, though that would have been doing him a great deal more hon- our ; but then it would have been running too great a risk. In the present which he sent, he put a space between drove and drove, that the more time was taken up in their passing by Emu, his passion might still grow cooler, and cooler ; that the present itself might make so much the greater appearance; and that, if the droves, which went tirst, were not well-accepted by him, those who came later might be at distance enough to hasten back to their master, and give him intelli- THE BIBLE. 61 Having dismissed the servants with his present to his brother, he passed the brook Jabbokf that very night, with his wives and children; and being left alone, there appeared a man who wrestled with him till the break of day, and permitted Jacob to prevail; but to convince him that he obtained not the victory through his own strength, he touched the hollow of his thigh and put it out of joint. At break of day, the angel desired to depart, but Jacob would not let him go, till he had blessed him. J gence of what he was to expect. In the form of address, he ordered them all to make use of the same words, 1st, That the repetition of them might strike the deeper, and make the stronger impres- sion upon Esau ; 2dly, That they might not spoil the compliment, or not speak so properly, if left to their own expression ; and 3dly, That Esau might know, by the very turn and elegancy of them, that the words of the message came from Jacob. Mus- culus. Ainsworth, Patrick, #*c. -f- This is a small river, which is by all agreed to flow from the adjacent mountains of Gilead; but some make it to run into the sea of Galilee, others into the river Jordan, below or south of that sea. Wells's Geography. J Of all the adventures which happened to Jacob, that of his wrestling is deservedly reckoned one of the strangest, and has therefore been made a matter of doubt, whether it was a real event or a vision only. Maimonides, and some other Hebrew as well as Christian interpreters, are of opinion that all this was transacted only in Jacob's imagination. They suppose that the patriarch, being strongly possessed with the sense of the danger he was going to encounter, saw in a vision a man coming to him, and who, after some altercations, began to wrestle with him ; that the conflict between them continued till break-of-day, when his antagonist, not able to get the better, desired to he gone, &c. and that, as a proof that this vision was more than an ordinary dream, it seemed to him that the angel touched his thigh, and in effect, as soon as he awoke, he found himself lame, probably by the force of his imagination. If this explication be admitted, the whole difficulty is at an end. It is natural perhaps for a man, under the apprehensions of a dreadful foe, to dream of fighting ; and to dream at the same time, that he comes off victori- ous, might be accounted an happy omen. But it must be confessed, that the analogy of the story, and more especially Jacob's lameness, which was consequent upon his conflict, will not suffer us to think that all this was only in a dream. The more general therefore, and indeed tiie more ra- tional opinion is, that this wrestling was real, and that Jacob was actually awake when engaged in it. But then the question is, who the person was that d'd encounter him? Origin, i think, is a lutie singular and no wit* to be justified in his conceit, 62 HISTORY OF [Book I The man then inquired of him his name, and on his telling him it was Jacob, re- plied, ' Thy name shall not only be called Jacob, but likewise Israel;* for as a prince when he tells us, that the person, with whom Jacob wrestled, was an evil angel, in allusion to which he thinks that the apostle grounds his exhortation : ' Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might,- for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.' But that Jacob, who at this time was so immediately under the divine protection, should be submitted to the assault of a wicked angel ; that he should merit the name of Israel, that is 'con- queror of God.' for overcoming such an one, or call the place of combat Peniel, that is, the ' face of God,' in commemoration of his conflict with such an one, is very absurd, if not an impious sug- gestion. Those who espouse this opinion, may possibly be led into it from a thought, that the person here contending with Jacob was an enemy, and come with a malevolent intent against him ; whereas nothing can be more evident, especially by his blessing him before they parted, that he came with a quite contrary design. Among the people of the East, from whence the Grecians came and brought along with them several of their cus- toms, wrestling was an exercise in great vogue, as highly conducive to the health and strength ; and a common thing it was for two friends, when they met together, to amuse and recreate themselves in this way. The Jewish doctors therefore seem to be much in the right, when they maintain that the person who contended with Jacob was a good angel ; and, as their settled notion is, that those heavenly spirits sing, every morning, the praises of God, at the approach of day ; so the request, which his antagonist makes, ' let me go, for the day breaketh,' shows him to be one of the angelic host, who had stayed his prefixed time, and was now in haste to be gone, in order to join the heavenly choir : for the prophet Hosea, I think, has deter- mined the matter very plainly, when speaking of Jacob, he tells us that ' he took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God, yea he had power over the angel, and prevailed.' How Jacob, who was an hundred years old, could be enabled to do all this, must be imputed to some invisible power that assisted him. An angel is here, in an extraordinary manner, sent to encounter him, and he in an extraordinary manner is enabled to withstand him. The whole scene is contrived to cure him of his uneasy fears, and a proper medium to do this was to let him see that an old man might contest it even with an angel, and yet not be foiled ; and the power, he might reasonably conclude, which assisted him in this, if the matter were to come to blows with his brother Fsau, would so invigorate his little army of domestics, as to make them prevail, and become victorious. Stackhouse. * We have in this place a remarkable instance that translations often contradict themselves ; for it is very certain that this patriarch was afterwards thou hast power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.' Jacob, in his turn, demanded his name, but he waved answering him, and having blessed him, departed. When the sun arose, Jacob removed from the place where he had wrestled, and called it Peniel,f 'because,' said he, ' I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.' Jacob then proceeded on his journey, and had not gone far before he saw his brother Esau, attended by four hundred men ; upon which he disposed his people in such order as best conduced to the re- ception of his brother, and safety of those he held most dear. He placed the two handmaids and their children foremost ; Leah and her children in the middle, and his beloved Rachel and her son Joseph in the rear, and passed himself before them all. When he approached his brother, he bowed himself seven times to the ground; but Esau, filled with the tenderest sense of fraternal affection, at once removed the necessity both of his fears and compli- ments, by running with eager joy to meet him, falling upon his neck, and most cor- dially embracing him. Thus was revenge turned into love and pity ; and Esau, who once thirsted for his brother's blood, dissolves into tears of joy, and melts into the softest endearments of friendship. Esau thus transported with this happy interview, surveyed with pleasure his bro- ther's immense store, but was with much difficulty persuaded to accept of a present. He saluted his wives and children ; and as a further token of his affection and sincere reconciliation, offered to accompany him the remaining part of his journey. called Jacob. No more therefore should be trans- lated not only, which is very properly implied in this place, and would remove the seeming contra- diction. f- Peniel or Penuel, as it is in the next verse, that is, the face of God.' Chap. VIII.] THE BIBLE. But Jacob, still retaining a spark of jeal- ousy, waved the kind offer, by telling him that the children being tender, and many of the cattle young, if they were over- driven, most of them would die; and therefore desiring that his brother would pass over before him, and himself would follow gently, as the children and cattle could bear, until he should attend him in his own country of Seir.* As Jacob declined his brother's offer, he courteously proposed to leave some of his people to guard and attend him ; but Jacob likewise evaded this by a handsome compliment. They then parted from each other, Esau proceeding towards Seir, and Jacob towards Succoth, where, as he intended to take up his abode for some time, he built conveniences to shelter his people and cattle. From Succoth he removed to Salem, a city of Shechem,f where having purchased a piece of ground of the children of Hamor, for a hundred pieces:}: of money, he spread his tent, erected an altar, and called upon the name of the most mighty God of Israel. During the patriarch's stay in the country of the Shechemites, his daughter Dinah, who was now about sixteen years of age, desirous of seeing the dresses and ornaments of the women of that country, rambled abroad from her mother's tent. It fell out, that young Shechem, the son of Hamor, prince of that country, saw the * It is the opinion of most commentators, that Jacob never intended to meet Esau at Seir, and that this was only an evasion of Esau's offer Seir was situated on the south of the Dead sea, and extended from thence to the Arabian gulf. f Shechem, otherwise called Sichar, was a city of Samaria, situate among the mountains belong- ing to the tribe of Benjamin, ten miles from Shi- loh, forty from Jerusalem, and fifty-two from Jericho, near which was Jacob's well, or fountain, where our blessed Saviour entered into conversation with the Samaritan woman. Wells's Geography. This is sometimes rendered an hundred lambs, because the image of a lamb was stamped upon il, and it was originally of the value of that ani- mal. damsel, and being enraptured with her charms, and incapable of restraining his passion, seized on the opportunity of her being alone, to deprive her of her virtue. This violation, instead of disgusting, in. flamed him the more ; for he afterwards loved her with an excessive affection, in- somuch that not being able to live without her, he importuned his father to procure her for him in marriage. The news of the rape soon reached the ears of Jacob, who suspended his resent- ment, till his sons came home from the field, when he made them acquainted with the injury their sister had sustained, and the dishonour that resulted to their fam- ily ; upon which they secretly vowed re- venge. Shechem having prevailed with his fa- ther Hamor to use his interest in obtain- ing for him the beautiful Dinah, he took an opportunity, when Jacob and his sons were together, to acquaint them with his son's ardent love for the damsel, and en- treat that he might have her to wife. To enforce the entreaty, he proposed that Jacob's family should intermarry with his people, and offered them the freedom of the country, to dwell, trade, and settle therein. / To strengthen this proposal, Shechem, who was present at the conference, offered them what advantage they should please to nominate, bidding them only name their terms, and they should be granted to the uttermost, provided they would give him their sister in marriage. The sons of Jacob retained their re- sentment, though as yet they concealed it; and, still desirous of avenging the dishon- our done to their family ; to avail them- selves hereafter, they insisted on nothing less than a general circumcision of the She- chemites, as the only condition on which they would accept of an agreement to set- tle and incorporate with them. Shechem was so enamoured of Dinah, and Hamor so fond of his son, that this very extraordinary proposal of the sons of HISTORY OF [Book I. Jacob was complied with. To further the agreement, the prince and his son, on their return to town, summoned their subjects together, praised the Israelites as a quiet, well-disposed people, and assured them, that it they should intermarry with them, they would become proprietors of their substance, which was very considerable, and all on the easy condition of being cir- cumcised. These weak people, captivated with the prospect of great wealth, consented one and all to the proposal of Hamor and She- chem, and were every male of them im- mediately circumcised. Notwithstanding the Shechemites had submitted to the painful rite of circumci- sion, the proposed condition of reconcilia- tion with Jacob's family ; yet Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, took advan- tage of their pain and anguish, when they were least able to resist; and on the third day* after the operation, fell upon the city, and destroyed all the male inhabitants; an action shocking to humanity; for doubt- less many of the sufferers were entirely ig- norant of the design of the leader, f * Tins was the time, as physicians observe, when fevers generally attend circumcision, occasioned by the inflammation of the wound, and which was more painful then, as the Hebrews observed, than at any time else. f To execute rigour upon a submissive offender, is more merciless than just. Or if the punishment had been both justand proportionable from another, yet from them which had vowed peace and affinity, it was shamefully unjust. To disappoint the trust of another, and to neglect our own promise and fidelity for private purposes, adds faithlessness un- to our cruelty. That they were impotent, it was through their circumcision ; what impiety was this, instead of honouring a holy sign, to take ati advan- tage by it ! What shrieking was there now in the streets of the city of the Hivites ! And how did the beguiled Shechemites, when they saw the swords of the two brethren, die cursing the sacraments in their hearts, which had betrayed them ! Even tiicir curses were the sins of Simeon and Levi, whose fact, though it were abhorred by their father, yet it was seconded by their brethren. Who would have looked to have found this outrage in the family of Jacob ! How did that good patriarch, when he saw Dinah come home wringing her hands, Simeon and Levi sprinkled with blood, wish that Leah had been barren us long as Kachel ! What great evils arise from small beginnings! The idle They likewise searched the house of Shechem, where they found Dinah their sister, and brought her out, after which they fell to plunder, and carried off not only what was found in the city, but all that was in the field, making the women and children prisoners ; what they could not carry off they destroyed. Thus did the sons of Jacob glut th revenge on the miserable Shechemites, the rape committed on their sister Din by the son of their prince. Pious Jacob was not only not concerned in, but wholly ignorant of this slaughter committed by his sons, till it was over ; for we find that he severely reprimanded their barbarity as threatening the most dreadful consequences to himself and his family : * Ye have troubled me, to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, amongst theCauaanites,and the Perizzites; and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me and slay me ; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.' But Simeon and Levi, who had been principally concerned in the de- structive scene, urged as an excuse for their riotous behaviour, the regard they had to their sister's virtue; ' Shall he deal with our sister as with an harlot ;' and so ended the remonstrance between the pious father and his two headstrong sons. CHAPTER IX. Jacob removes to Bethel. Purges his house of idolatry. Rachel dies in child-bed. Jacob visits his father Isaac. Joseph's piety and wisdom excite the hatred of his brethren. Joseph's dreams increase their envy. They therefore conspire his death. He is sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's guard. Judah's incest with Tamar. The savage disposition of the Canaanites, exasperated by the injuries they had sus- curiosity of Dinah hath bred all this mischief; ravishment follows upon her wandering ; upon her ravishment, murder; upon the murder, spoil. 'It is holy and safe to be jealous of the first occasions of evil, either done or suffered. HalL Chap. IX.] THE IHbLE. 65 tained from the sons of Jacob, seem to have been the motive of God's gracious command to the patriarch to remove his settlement and repair to Bethel, the place which he had dedicated to his immediate service : for though they had wholly de- stroyed one colony, there were more peo- ple that bordered thereabout, who either in defence of themselves, or in revenge for the cruel and unjust treatment of their countrymen, might give the good patriarch much disquiet, if not utterly destroy him. His omnipotent God therefore bid him arise and go up to Bethel and dwell there, and erect an altar to God, who appeared to him when he fled from the presence of his incensed brother Esau. Pursuant to the command of the Al- mighty, the obedient patriarch having first strictly charged his family and all that belonged to him, to put away the strange gods* which they had, be clean,f and change their garments ; told them to arise and go up to Bethel, the house of God. They immediately obeyed the charge, and delivered up to him their idols and their ear-rings^ which, to prevent their being a future snare to draw his family * Some commentators are of opinion that Jacob here referred to the Teraphim which Rachel had stolen from Laban ; while others suppose they were the idols of the Shechemites. However, that they were idols is as certain as the patriarch's cast- ing them away was pious. J- The original word signifies the washing away of filth by water, in which sense it appears highly commendable in Jacob, on this solemn occasion, to enjoin all under his care to cleanse themselves from idolatry, and the guilt lately contracted by shedding innocent blood. Besides, it wascustomary for those who came to appear before the Lord, to wash their clothes. See Exod. xix. 10. Levit. xvi. 13. 2 Sam. xii. 10. J These were dedicated to some idol, and worn to render their gods kind and propitious to them ; ;ind as they thus served the uses of idolatry, we need not wonder they are particularly mentioned by Jacob. It appears that rings, whether on the ears or nose, were first superstitiously worn in honour of false gods, probably of the sun and moon, whose circular form they might be designed to re- present. Maimonides mentions rings and vessels of this kind, with the image of the sun, moon, &c. impressed on them. These superstitious objects were concealed by Jacob in a place known only to himself. from the worship of the only true God, he privately buried under the oak near unto Shechem, from whence they were ready to depart. When they proceeded on their journey, God, ever mindful of his promise to his chosen people, to insure their safety, struck such a terror into the cities round about them ; that notwithstanding the pro- vocation given by the massacre at She- chem, none pursued them, and they passed unmolested to Bethel. Jacob, immediately on his arrival, ac- cording to the divine command, built an altar, and performed his vow to the most High : the very vow (as generally sup- posed) which he made when God appeared to him in the same place, as he fled from his brother Esau. Having performed this act of worship, it pleased the Lord again to appear to him, confirm his new name Israel, and give him repeated assurances of his promises made to Abraham and Isaac, with extraordinary blessings to himself. In token of this signal favour of the Almighty, Jacob erected a pillar of stone, in the very place where he had been honoured with the divine intercourse, as a perpetual monument of his gratitude and devotion, pouring a drink-offering and oil upon the same. But Jacob tarried not long at Bethel ; for, urged by filial affection, he set forward toward Mamre, in order to visit his aged father. They intended to have stopped in their way at Ephrath, which, though not far distant from Bethel, they had not reached before Rachel fell in labour, and having very severe pangs, the midwife, to encourage her, bid her not fear, for she should have this son also.. She was delivered indeed, but died im- mediately afterwards, having just a mo- This place was afterwards called Bethlehem, a city about two leagues distant from Jerusalem, famous for the birth of David, king of Israel, but infinitely more so for the birth of Christ, the Son of Hod, and Saviour of the world. Calmet't Dictionary. I 66 HISTORY OF [Book I. merit's space to name the boy, Benoni, or ' son of sorrow ;' but his father unwilling to increase the remembrance of so melan- choly a cause, called him Benjamin, or ' the son of my right hand,' intimating thereby his peculiar affection for this last pledge of his beloved wife. Jacob, to perpetuate the memory of Rachel, erected a ironument over her grave, which remained a great number of years after this event.* To add to his excessive grief for the loss of one, to ob- tain whom he had undergone a long and painful servitude, his son Reuben, before they could reach Mamre, committed incest with Bilhah, his father's concubinary wife; of which, though he took no notice, he re- tained a painful sense to his dying day, as is evident from a reproachful hint he gave him just before he paid the debt of nature. Though these aggravated griefs sat heavy on his mind, he continued his resolution of visiting his aged parent, pursued his journey, and at length reached Mamre, and came unto the city of Arba,f the place of abode both of his grandfather Abraham, and his father Isaac, who without doubt was overjoyed at the return of his son, as was the son at the sight of his venerable parent. So various are the accidents * The learned Bochart is of opinion, that this monument of Rachel's (which is the first that we read of in Scripture) was a pyramid, curiously wrought, and raised upon a basis of twelve large stones, whereby Jacob intended to intimate the number of his sons. It was certainly standing in the time when Moses wrote ; and, just before Saul was anointed king, there is some mention made of it, I Sam. x. 2. But that the present monument cannot be the same which Jacob erected, is very manifest from its being a modern and Turkish structure. M. Le Brun, who was at the place, and took a draught of it, says, that the tomb is cut into the cavity of a rock, and covered with a dome, supported by four pillars, on fragments of a wall, which open to the sepulchre. The work is rude enough, and without any ornament ; but the whole is as entire as if it had been just made, which makes it hard to imagine that it has subsisted ever lince Jacob's time. MuundrelVs Travels, and Calmet'8 Dictionary. f Arba was afterwards called Hebron. It was situated on an eminence twenty miles southward of Jerusalem, and twenty miles north from Beer- sheba. which befall the best of men in this state of trial, that pious Jacob had not long en- joyed the company of his aged father, be- fore his patience was exercised by a very afflicting circumstance. His son Joseph being now arrived to the age of seventeen years, was employed with his brethren in feeding the flock: and the lad observing their wicked behaviour had reported the same to his father.:}: This inflamed their resentment against him, and as they thought he was a spy upon them, they determined to remove him from among them. Their furious rage was greatly inflamed by the extraordinary token of love which his father showed him, not only because he was the son of his beloved Rachel, but also because he was wise beyond his years. This engaging qual.'iy so far wrought up- on the fond parent, that to distinguish him from the rest of his children, he be- stowed on him a fine vest of many colours, || not thinking it would inflame their jealousy and hatred to so excessive a degree. This token of supereminence so exas- perated Jacob's other sons, that they not only withheld from him the common of- fices of civility, but devised means to per- plex and render him unhappy. This J There is a variety of opinions concerning the particular nature of the faults which Joseph had told his father were committed by his brethren. Some think it was their contentious way of living, others, the sin of sodomy ; others that of bestiality; but whatever it was, it may be gathered from their inveterate malice against him, that it was no small crime, because they hated him even to death. <) According to the Hebrew text, the motive of Jacob's preferring Joseph to the rest of his children, was because he was son of the elders or senators, that is, he was teacher of his elders, and greatly excelled them in genius and capacity ; our version can by no means be proper, for if his love was founded on the motive which that suggests, he must have loved Zebulun, as well as Joseph, since lie was of the same age, and Benjamin more, who was born sixteen years after Joseph. || Whatever was the quality of this coat, it is plain that it was composed of divers colours ; and as such garments were in high esteem among the Eastern nations, and worn by persons of the greatest distinction, this party-coloured dress dis- tinguished him above his brethren and gave rise to tiun jealousy and hatred. Chap. IX.] THE BIBLE. aversion was greatly increased by Joseph's two dreams, which he very innocently related to them, not imagining they were so maliciously disposed towards him, as he afterwards found them to be. The first dream was, that as he was binding sheaves with his brethren in the field, his sheaf arose, and stood upright, while their sheaves round about fell down ; and, as it were, made obeisance to his.' The brethren replied with scorn, 1 Shalt thou indeed reign over us ? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us ?' His second dream, which he told them with as inoffensive a design as he had done the former, still added to their malice, * I have seen (says he) the sun and moon and eleven stars fall down before me.' So greatly was he impressed with this event, that he could not conceal it from his father, who, either to appease the anger of his other sons, or check that presumption which in young minds so naturally arises from good omens, repri- manded him in these words: 'Shall I, and thy mother, and thy brethren, indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth ?' Jacob, who was no stranger to these visions, finding them thus repeated, stored them up in his memory as predictions of events that would certainly come to pass ; and as he was uneasy with respect to h*s sons, who were now feeding their flocks in Shechem, thought proper to send Jo- seph to thena, though it was near sixty miles distant from Hebron, the place where he now dwelt. But by this means the pious father be- came the fatal instrument of delivering his darling child into the hands of his im- placable brethren; for Joseph, in obedi- ence to his father's command, went to Shechem, and not finding them there, wandered about till a stranger directed him to Dothan, * where, when they saw * It was a town about twelve miles to the north of the city of Samaria, as Eusebius informs us. Wells. 67 him afar off, they conspired against him to destroy him, saying one to another, * Behold this dreamer cometh : f come now, therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, some evil beast hath devoured him : and we shall see what will become of his dreams.' Reuben, who was less mali- ciously disposed than the rest, could not approve of the horrid resolution, and be- ing desirous of protecting him from their rage, as he could not devise any open or direct method, persuaded them to cast him into a pit, that he might have an oppor- tunity of delivering him again to his fa- ther. The rest, considering that if he perished in the pit, it would answer their end, consented to the advice of Reuben. This resolution was no sooner taken, than the innocent youth, unapprized of their malicious design, came up to them, and as he was about to deliver his father's in- dulgent counsel to them, they first strip- ped him of his party-coloured vest, and then cast him into the pit, which was then dry and empty. Unaffected by this cruel treatment of their brother, they left him to perish in the pit, and without remorse sat down to regale themselves with what provisions the place afforded, certain that he must now inevitably perish with hunger. But the eye of Omniscience beheld his distress and pitied his despair, for as Reuben had been already the means of preventing his immediate death, Judah now becomes the means of delivering him out of the pit. It happened, that as they were refresh- ing themselves, a company of Ishmaelites,J travelling with various merchandise from f In the original it is, ' Behold this maker of dreams cometh;' which shows that they considered his dreams as fictions of his own, nay, is confirmed by their future conduct. | These are below called Midianites. These people were near neighbours to each other ; and were joined together in one company or caravan, as it is now called. It is the custom, even to this day, in the East, for merchants and others to tra- vel through the deserts in large companies for fear of robbers or wild beasts. Bishop Patrick. 68 HISTORY OF [Book L Gilead to Egypt, approached, and Judah availing himself of the opportunity, in order to rescue his brother Joseph from certain death, urged the iniquity of being instrumental to the destruction of their own brother, by which they would con- tract an eternal stain of guilt; and advised them to sell him to the Ishmaelites, by which means they would not only save his life, but considerably promote their own gain. They immediately consented to Judah's proposal, and dragging Joseph out of the pit, sold him to the Midianitish merchants for twenty pieces of silver, and these carrying him to Egypt sold him to Potiphar, an officer* of the king and cap- tain of his guards. Reuben, who was absent when this cir- cumstance happened, having proposed the casting Joseph into the nit in order to save his life, now went thither to see, and doubtless to assist him in making his es- cape; but astonished at not finding him, he returned to his brethren, rent his clothes, f and upbraided himself as the cause of his being lost: 'The child is not, and whither shall I go?' The guilty brethren, to take off all suspicion from themselves, concerted this scheme: they took Joseph's vest, dipped it in the blood of a kid, and sent it to their father, with this message; 'This have we found, know now whether it be thy son's coat, or no.' The good old patriarch was soon convinced to whom the bloody garment belonged, and not suspecting that any human hand could be guilty of such unnatural cruelty, concluded that he had been unhappily de- This word in the original signifies an eunuch, but cannot be taken here literally, but figuratively. It was the custom, and is still in those parts, to commit the keeping of the queen and women of quality to e>';iuchs: but Potiphar cannot be sup- posed to be such, for he had a wife. Besides, it was customary among the eastern people to call their nohlemen, eunuchs. f This was one of the signs of ancient mourning, and used in cases of the greatest distress. From this behaviour of Heubeii, it is most reasonable to conclude that he was absent, and consequently not privy to the transaction of selling Joseph to tiie Ishmaelites. voured by some wild beast. This loss was the most severe that the good old man ever sustained: when his beloved Rachel died, she paid the debt of nature in a natural way; but Joseph (according to his present apprehension) dies by a sa- vage animal, and is barbarously torn in pieces before his time. His grief there- fore knows no measure, he puts on sack- cloth, and mourns for his beloved son many days; nay, so excessive was his sor- row, that when his children in general en- deavoured to comfort him, he assured them he could only cease to mourn when he should follow him in the path of mortal- ity. But as circumstances are interwo- ven:); by the sacred historian, we must beg leave to defer our further account of Jo- seph, in order to relate some intervening occurrences, which, being material, we cannot pass over unnoticed. Some time before the late* transaction, Jacob's son, Judah, had greatly varied from the received custom of his forefathers, in marrying a Canaanitish woman, by whom he had three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah. In process of time when Er, his eldest son, grew up to years of maturity, he took him a wife, whose name was Tamar. Er, for his abomination in the sight of the Lord, was suddenly taken off, upon which Judah advised Onan, his second son, to marry his brother's widow, in order to preserve the succession of the family. Onan knowing that if Tamar should bear him any children, the eldest would inherit in the name of his elder brother deceased, and therefore not be accounted as his, pretended to follow his father's counsel, by going into Tamar's chamber; X Though the late and following events seem to be connected by the sacred writer, the marriage of Judah, of whom we are now about to speak, happened sometime before Joseph was sold into I'gypt, though it is related by Moses after that event. $ This was long before the law, by which it was enjoined : yet though this is the first mention we l.ave of it, it seems it was then n known custom, and well-understood even hy young Onan. CllAV. IX.] THE BIBLE. but came out without following the instinct of nature. But this crime was so provok- ing to the Almighty, that the same judg- ment was inflicted upon him as had been upon his brother. Shelah, his third son, being as yet too young for procreation, Judah desired his daughter-in-law, Tamar, to retire to her father's house, and there remain a widow till he should grow up, when he should marry her. Tamar accordingly retired ; and in pro- cess of time Shuah, Judah's wife, died, and Shelah arrived at man's estate, but waiting a long time in vain the performance of Judah's promise, Tamar determined on revenge for her disappointment. Being told at a certain time, that her father-in-law was going up to Timnath, to shear his sheep, she took off her widow's garment, disguised herself in the habit of a harlot, and sat herself in an open path, through which she knew Judah must necessarily pass in his way to Timnath. When Judah beheld her, he took her to be a prostitute, and as such desired inter- course with her. She denied not his re- quest, but demanded of him the terms; he promised her a kid, and the woman having a further design upon him, required a security for the fulfilment of the terms, which by their mutual agreement were to be his ring or signet, his bracelets* and his sraff. The pledges being delivered, they went together, and she conceived by him. Judah had no sooner departed than she retired, and having put off her disguised dress, reassumed her widow's habit, which she had no sooner done than her deceived * The Hebrew word signifies a scarf, or girdle. The Chaldee renders it a handkerchief, but it is variously translated by the Syriac and Arabic. Some translate it something twisted: it seems to have been a girdle made of gold, twisted in the manner of a thread, and suspended from the neck, and not like a bracelet from tliearm. The ancient Hebrews wore their seals or signets, either as rings on their fingers, or as bracelets on their arms, a custom which still obtains in the East. father-in-law went to bis flock, took a kid, and sent it by his friend Hirah the Adulla- mitef to redeem the pledge. Hirah, seeking her in vain, returned and told Judah ; who therefore determined to let her keep the pledge, lest the dis- covery of his connection with her might bring him into disgrace. In the course of about three months, Judah was informed that Tamar his daugfh- ter-in-lavv had played the harlot, and was with child by whoredom ; when he, re- senting the dishonour she had brought upon his family, and unmindful of his late folly and wickedness, ordered her to be brought forth, and publicly burnt:): When she was brought forth, she pro- duced the pledge, and sent it to her father- in-law, assuring him at the same time, that the man to whom those things be- t A citizen of Adullam, a famous town in Canaan, that fell afterwards to the tribe of Judah. Bishop Patrick. J Among eastern nations, as well as elsewhere, women, who were guilty of adultery, were more severely punished than the men : whether it was that the injury done the husband was reputed to be more heinous, or that the men, having the power of making laws, took care to enact them in favour of themselves. Thus God is said, * for the hardness of their hearts,' to have indulged the Jews in the matter of divorcing their wives ; but the wives had not the like privilege over their hus- bands. In many places a man might have as many wives as he could maintain ; but the women were to be content with one husband : and, in like manner, here Judah, we find, condemns Tamar, though a widow, for her crime to be burnt ; whilst himself, in the same state of widowhood, thought fornication a very pardonable crime. It is ques- tioned, however, by what right and authority he could pass this sentence upon her : and, to answer this, it is supposed, that every master was judge and chief magistrate in his own family ; and that therefore Tamar, though she was a Canaanite, yet being married into Judah's family, and having brought disgrace upon it, was probably under his cognizance. His cognizance however (according to the opinion of some) did not extend so far as to have her burnt at the stake, (as we call it,) but only branded in the lorehead for a whore ; though others deny that his authority extended so far : for, being in a strange place, it can hardly be thought that the power of life and death, or indeed of any other penalty, was lodged in him : and therefore they think, that the words mean no more than this, that she should be brought before a court of judi- cature, and sentenced according to the laws of the j country. See Selden, Le Clerc, and Howell. 70 HISTORY OF [Book I. longed, was the very person by whom she was with child. Judah, convinced of the deception, ac- knowledged the pledge, and reflecting on the injustice he had done her, in withhold- ing from her his son, whom he had promis- ed her in marriage, transferred the crime upon himself, by declaring that she had been more righteous than him.* When the time of her travail arrived, she was delivered of twins, one of which putting out his hand, the midwife bound it with a scarlet thread by way of distinc-" tion as the first-born ; but he drawing back his hand, his brother came forth, where- upon he was called Pharez,. which signifies an irruption or breach, and the other with the thread on his hand, Zara.f Thus in- stead of the son raising up issue to the deceased brother, the father incestuously raised issue to the deceased son, but shocked at the horrid crime, he abandoned all future converse with that subtle woman. CHAPTER X. Death of Isaac. Joseph is advanced in Poti- phar' s house. Resists the temptation of his mistress. Is falsely accused and imprisoned. Finds favour in the sight of the keeper, who commits to him the charge of two of Pharaoh's principal officers. Interprets their dreams. Interprets Pharaoh's, and is thereby greatly promoted. Begets children. A famine suc- ceeds the seven years plenty. Joseph's brethren arrive in Egypt, and are imprisoned by him, but sent back on leaving one as a pledge, and promising to bring to him their youngest bro- ther Benjamin. When Joseph was first sold into Egypt, his grandfather was living, but died in the * He does not say Tamar was more holy or chaste, but more righteous or just ; that is, Judah not keeping his promise in marrying her to Shelah, provoked her to lay this trap for him, resolving, since he would not let her have children by She- lah, she would have them by him : thus, though she may be deemed more wicked in the sight of God, she appeared more just in the judgment of Judah. f Zara ; that is, he ariseth, because he had given a sign of his coming, by putting out his hand. course of the event that followed, being an hundred and eighty years old, having lived longer than any since Terah. The good old patriarch was buried by his sons Esau and Jacob, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which Abraham had pur- chased of Ephron, for a burying-place for his family. But with the sacred writer we now re- sume our history, which has been inter- rupted by the transactions relative to Ju- dah 's family, and observe, that Joseph in process of time, by his faithful service so obtained the favour of Potiphar his mas- ter, that he not only dismissed him from every laborious office, but made him over- seer of his whole property, and committed the charge of his house to his sole care and direction. Joseph being thus appointed sole di- rector of the concerns of Potiphar both within and without doors, the Lord was pleased to command a blessing on the house of the Egyptian, who flourished ex- tremely, and daily increased in his good offices towards his faithful servant. Thus situated, Joseph had reason to hope for a comfortable life, though sold to slavery, and await his liberty as the re- ward of his truth and fidelity : but it pleased God farther to exercise his faith and patience, in order to prepare him for a still brighter display of his grace and goodness towards his chosen people. Joseph was of a very comely form, sweet complexion, and winning deport- ment: these united charms in process of time attracted the notice and excited the love of his master's wife, who, when all tacit tokens to draw the youth into an in- dulgence of her unlawful flame failed, was so fired by her eager passion, that she broke through every rule of decency, and in plain terms courted him to her bed.} X Joseph at this time was about seven and twenty years old. For he was seventeen when he was sold to Potiphar, Gen. xxxvii. 2. and he was committed to prison immediately upon his non- compliance with his mistress's temptation ; where. Chap. X.] THE BIBLE. 71 In a short time an opportunity offered, (as vice seldom fails of assisting its ser- vants:) it happened one day that Poti- phar being in waiting on .the king, and the rest of the servants employed about their work in the field, none but the come- ly Hebrew and his wanton mistress were left in the house. When Joseph therefore came into the room where she was sitting, she again at- tacked him, and in plain terms asked him to lie with her. The innocent youth, startled at such an attack from one of her sex and quality, to avoid the commission of so disingenuous a crime, expostulated with her on its horrid and aggravated nature, as far as it appears, he had not been long before he interpreted the dreams of the two disgraced courtiers ; and, two years after that, lie was re- leased and promoted, viz. when he was thirty years old : so that we may reasonably conclude, that this temptation befell him about three years before his releasement. i. e. in the twenty-seventh year of his age. At this time it is supposable that he was a comely person enough, but the stories relating to his excessive beauty, as they are recorded by the Talmudists, are ridiculous, and not much better than what Mahomet, in his history of the patriarch tells us, viz. That his mistress having invited the ladies of the town to a splendid entertainment, or- dered Joseph to be called for, but that as soon as he appeared, they were amazed at his beauty, and so confounded that they knew not what they did, but instead of eating their meat, they eat their fingers, and said among themselves, ' This is not a man, but an angel.' Josephus tells us that Poti- phar's wife took the opportunity of a certain festi- val, when all the people were gone a merry-mak- ing, to tempt Joseph ; that feigning herself sick, she decoyed him by that means into her apart- ment, and then addressed herself to him in words to this effect : " It had been much better for you, says she, had yon complied with my first request; if, for no other consideration, in regard, at least, to the dignity of the person who is become your pe- titioner, and to the excess of my passion. Be- sides, it would have saved me the shame of conde- scending to some words and expressions which 1 am still out of countenance when- 1 think of. You might perhaps make some doubt before, whe- ther 1 was in earnest ; but this is to satisfy you, that I mean no ill by my persisting in the same mind. Take therefore your choice now, whether you will improve this opportunity of a present satisfaction, in the embraces of a creature that loves you dearly, and from whom you may expect still greater tilings; or stand the shock of my hatred and revenge, if you will presume to value yourself upon the vain conceit of your chastity, more than my favour," &c. Bibliotheca Bib., Alkoran, and Josephus. having given a positive denial : ' But he refused ; and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath com- mitted all that he hath to my hand. There is none greater in this house than I ; nei- ther hath he kept back any thing from me, but thee, because thou art his wife : how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God ?' But this repulse, sufficient to have filled with shame a mind not entirely lost to honour and virtue, had no effect on this lewd woman, whose desire grew so vehe- ment, that she caught him by his gar- ment, and again importuned him to lie with her; Joseph therefore, having no other means of escaping from her, left his cloak in her hand and fled. Finding his virtue unconquerable, and fearing the disgrace that would attend the discovery of her shameful passion, as well as determined to revenge the denial, she came to a resolution of laying the charge upon him, to prevent its falling upon her- self; feigning therefore a prodigious out- cry and uncommon surprise, and holding at the same time Joseph's garment in her hand, those servants who were nearest the house immediately ran to her assistance ; upon which she vehemently exclaimed, ' See, he hath brought in an Hebrew* unto us to mock us : he came unto me, to lie with me;' and further to engage them in her cause when the affair should come to examination, craftily added, ' And I cried with a loud voice ; and it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.' Having thus prepared the servants to confirm her declaration, she laid the cloak by her, to produpe it as an evidence against him on her lord's return. Poti- * She called not Joseph by his own name, but that of his people, * an Hebrew,' to inflame them the more against him : for the Egyptians most in- veterately hated the Hebrews. 72 HISTORY OF [Book I. phar had no sooner entered the house, than she most violently exclaimed against the dishonour offered her by his Hebrew- servant; upon which the credulous hus- band, without the least inquiry into the merits of the cause, immediately com- mitted him to the king's prison.* Nor did a covenant-keeping God desert his faithful servant under this cloudy scene; for, thus bereft of friend, relation, and every kind of assistance, he received the clearest intimations of divine favour, and grew so highly in the esteem of the gaoler, that he committed all the prisoners to his care, and gave him, as his master had done before, the sole direction of all his concerns. This conduct of the prison- keeper was indeed founded on the same motive as that of Potiphar; for he, as well as the other, observed the extraordinary success with which God crowned all his undertakings. While Joseph was confined, it happened that the king's chief butler and baker f * It is somewhat wonderful, that, if Potiphar believed his wife's story, he did not immediately put him to death ; hut there is one tiling which might check the violence of his passion, and that was, the good opinion he had for some time been continued in, of Joseph's virtue and integrity. Joseph, he saw, was young and beautiful, and therefore he might think it a thing not impossible for a lady of distincflon to be in love with him, and upon a disappointment to be exasperated : as therefore he would not inflict any capital or corporal punishment on him, so he thought it firudent to hurry him away to prison unheard, est, being allowed to speak in his own vindica- tion, he might clear himself, and thereby bring discredit upon his family. It must not be de- nied however (what St Chrysostom has observed) that here again was a special, and as it were, a miraculous intervention of the divine power, which preserved his life, as it did before, when he was cast into the pit. The superior influence which softened the heart of Reuben, restrained the hand of Potiphar, in order to make our patriarch a more glorious example, and to complete those events, in the course of his life, which God had predetermined and foretold. Chrysostom. f It is evident from the sacred writings, that these men held considerable posts in the king's household. Diodorus Siculus confirms this as- lertiun by affirming, that no home-born slaves were admitted to serve the kings of Egypt, but all their officers were sons of their most illustrious priests. were committed to the same prison, and being delivered to the care of Joseph, he attended them in person, and thereby contracted an intimacy with them. On one and the same night, they each of them dreamed a very extraordinary dream, and being much affected with the same, Joseph demanded of them the cause of their melancholy? And they told him they had each dreamed a dream that night, and being in prison could procure no interpreter. Joseph, to take off their minds from a reliance on the vain superstitions that prevailed in the country of the Egyptians, who in such cases trusted to diviners and soothsayers, having in a kind of appeal tc them given them to understand that the interpretation of dreams belonged unto God, desired to know their dreams. The butler told him he dreamt he saw a vine that had three branches, which budded by degrees, then blossomed, and at length brought forth ripe grapes; that he held Pharaoh's cup in his hand, pressed the juice into the same, and gave it to the king to drink. Joseph thus interpreted the dream; 'The three branches denote three days; within which Pharaoh shall lift up thy head and restore thee to thy place; and thou shalt, as usual, give him to drink according to the duty of thine office.' All that the interpreter required for so agreeable a presage was, that he would remember him, when restored, and inter- cede with the king for his enlargement from a confinement inflicted upon him without any just cause. The other offi- cer, prompted by the happy interpretation he had already given, proceeded to tell him that he dreamt he had three white baskets upon his head ; in the uppermost of which was all manner of baked meats for the king's table, and the birds eat them out of the basket that was upon his head. Joseph readily interpreted his dream thus : 'The three baskets are three days, at the end of which thou shalt have- ClIAP. X.] THE BIBLE. 73 thy head taken off,* and then be hanged on a tree, where the birds shall eat thy flesh.' Joseph's interpretation was soon verified ; for in the space of three days the butler was restored to his former of- fice, and the baker hanged; but the for- mer proved ungrateful, and unmindful of his promise; insomuch that a considerable space intervened between the time of his being restored and Joseph's enlargement and promotion in Pharaoh's house, which happened in consequence of the following incident. When Joseph had been upwards of two years in prison, Pharaoh dreamt, that as he stood by the river Nile, there came I up out of the river seven fat kine, and they fed among the flags ;f after which he saw seven others extremely lean and bagged, and the latter devoured the for- mer. This dream awoke the king, but he did not long ruminate upon it before he slept and dreamed that he saw seven full ears of corn shoot from one stalk; and soon after seven thin and blighted ears sprang up, which likewise devoured those that were good and plenteous. Pharaoh awaking in great surprise and concern, sent for all the magicians^ and * Though it may appear strange, that the sacred historian asserts the baker was beheaded first and hanged afterward, Philo observes it was custom- ary to behead a criminal and then hang him up. Jeremiah also confirms this assertion, when he laments, that ' the princes were hanged up by their hands,' which intimates that they had lost their heads before. f The word which we translate meadow, signi- fies &Jlug, which, according to St Jerome, was a common name given to every vegetable that grows in a marshy place. \ The Chaldeans of old were the most famous people in the world for divination of all kinds ; and therefore it is very probable that the word which we render magicians, is not of Hebrew, but Chaldee origin. The roots however, from whence it springs if it be a compound word, as probably it is are not so visible ; and therefore commentators are perplexed to know by what method men of this profession proceeded in their inquiry into se- cret things, whether they pretended to expound dreams, and descry future events, by natural obser- vations, by the art of astrology which came much wise men, and told them his dreams, but none amongst them all could interpret one of them. Finding the king in the utmost perplexity concerning so extraordinary an event, the butler at length remembered Joseph, and informed Pharaoh, that when he and his fellow-servant laboured under his majesty's displeasure, they both dream- ed in the prison, where a young man, a Hebrew servant to the captain of the guard, interpreted each of their dreams exactly answerable to the event. The anxious king, pleased with the in- formation of, an able interpreter, imme- diately sent for Joseph, who was brought out of prison, and after having put on pro- per attire, waited upon his majesty, who, impatient to hear the event, told him with- out any prelude, that he had dreamed two dreams which none of his wise men could expound, and had therefore sent for him, as he was informed that he was skilful in the art of interpreting. Joseph having informed him that the power was of God and not of himself, told him he should receive an agreeable inter- pretation of the dreams. Pharaoh then related his dreams, as al- ready recounted, and Joseph told him they both implied one and the same thing, and that it was the will of God thereby to re- mind him of future events. The dream he interpreted in this man- ner : ' The seven fat kine and full ears de- note seven years of plenty : the seven lean in request in future ages by such rules, as are now found in the books of Oneirocritics, or by certain characters, images, pictures, ar.d figures, which were engraved" with magical rites and ceremonies. It is not to be doubted indeed, but that the magi- cians, whom Pharaoh consulted for the interpre- tation of his dreams, made use of some at least, if not all these arts ; and the Jewish doctors would make us believe, that, after several attempts of divers kinds, they came at last to this exposition, that Pharaoh's daughters for they suppose him to have seven should die, and that he should have seven others born to him in their stead ; but this being not at all satisfactory to their muster, put the cup-bearer in mind of Joseph's great abilities that way. Le Clerc's and Patrick's Commentary. 74 HISTORY OF [Book I. kine and withered ears, seven years of famine which were to succeed ; and upon the whole, that there would be seven fruit- ful years followed by seven years so very barren and unfruitful, that the remem- brance of plenty should be lost throughout the land of Egypt, and absolute famine universally prevail, and that the double dream was to assure him of the certainty of the awful event.' Having thus interpreted the king's dream to his utmost satisfaction, though no small concern, Joseph takes upon him the office of a counsellor ; and advises him to improve the hints given in the dreams, by selecting some wise and honest minis- ter, who, under him, might be vested with full power to appoint proper offices in every city and town throughout his do- minions ; in order to lay up the fifth part of the general produce of the seven years' plenty in proper granaries ; which reserve should be at the king's disposal, and se- cured against the seven years' famine. Such benevolent as well as provident care and counsel immediately obtained the approbation of the king, who, struck with the extraordinary foresight and sagacity of Joseph, hesitated not long in fixing the minister thus proposed; for, turning first to his subjects, and then to Joseph, he thus addressed them respectively : Can we find such a one as this is; a man in whom the spirit of God is? Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art : thou shalt be over my house ; and accord- ing to thy word shall all my people be ruled :* only in the throne will I be great- er than thou.' * Literally, ' At thy mouth shall all my people kiss.' The orientals vary their salutations accord- ing to the rank of the persons whom they address. When they salute a person of rank, they bow al- most to the ground, and kiss the hem of his gar- ment. The two Greek nobleman at Scio, who in- troduced the travellers Egmont and Heyman to the cham of Tartary, kissed his robe at their en- trance, and took leave of him with the same cere- mony. Dr Shaw, in giving an account of the Ara- bian compliment, or common salutation, Peace be As a confirmation of his exalted promo- tion, and to give his people a sense of the duty they owed him, he took the ring off his own hand, and putting it on Joseph's, vested him with every ensign of royalty ;f causing him to ride in the second chariot and ordering Jiis heralds to proclaim before him, < Bow the knee,':}; as a token of honour and subjection to him, as a chief governor of Egypt. Having thus bestowed on him the great- est power and highest honours ; to attach him more strongly to his interest, Pharaoh unto you, observes, that inferiors, out of deference and respect, kiss the feet, the knees, or the gar- ments of their superiors. They frequently kiss the hand also ; but this last seems not to be regarded as a token of equal submission with the others ; for D'Arvieux observes, that the women who wait on the Arabian princesses, kiss their hands when they do them the favour not to suffer them to kiss their feet, or the border of their robe. The ori- entals, as a proof of their deep respect, not only kissed the fringe of the robe which their sovereign wore, but they carried their submission so far as to kiss the letters in which his orders were communi- cated ; and they treated with almost equal respect the mandates of his chief ministers. The Arabs of mount Carmel, likewise, when they present any pe- tition to their chief, offer it with their right hand, after having first kissed the paper. The editor of the ruins of Balbec observed, that the Arab gover- nor of that city respectfully applied the firman or letter, containing the commands of the grand sig- nior, to his forehead, when he and his fellow- travellers first waited upon him, and then applied it to his lips. To this custom Mr Harmer thinks Pharaoh probably refers in these words to Joseph : ' According to thy word shall my people be ruled.' Scrip. Illus. f Joseph could not but foresee, that to live in the palaces of kings, and to accept of high posts and honours would be very hazardous to his virtue : but, when he perceived the hand of Providence so visible in raising him, by ways and means so very extraordinary, to eminence, and an office wherein he would have it in his power to be beneficial to so very many, he could not refuse the offers which the king made him, without being rebellious to the will and destination of God. To him therefore, who had secured him hitherto, he might, in this case, commit the custody of his innocence, and ac- cept of the usual ensigns of honour, without in- curring the censure of vanity or ostentation. Stackhouse. % The word Abrech, which we render, ' Bow the knee,' is of uncertain signification. Some render it, * Saviour of the world,' some ' Tender father;' and others, ' Bow the knee,' which certainly is most proper in this place, being a token of honour and subjection to Joseph, now appointed chiet governor of Egypt. Chap. X.] THE BIBLE. changes his name from Joseph to Zaph- j had amassed such quantities of provisions nath-paaneah,* and procures him an hon- ourable alliance, by marriage with Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On.f Then seven plenteous years commenc- ing soon after his promotion, Joseph en- tered on his office of inspector-general of as even to exceed computation. During the time of plenty, two sons were born to Joseph, the eldest of whom he called Manasseh4 and the younger Ephraim. The seven years of plenty being expir- provisions throughout the kingdom of \ ed, the seven years of dearth commenced, according to Joseph's prediction, and spread not only throughout the land of Egypt, but also the neighbouring coun- tries; but through Joseph's provident care, under the blessing of divine Providence, Egypt was well furnished with provision, insomuch that application was made to Pharaoh not only by his own subjects, but foreigners, for bread and other necessaries of life. The king referred all that applied to him to Joseph, who opened the store- houses, and sold to the Egyptians and others, in such quantities and at such rates as seemed to him most just and equitable. The famine having raged more than a year in Jacob's country, ten of Joseph's brethren, at the instigation of their father, came from Canaan to Egypt to buy corn, as they felt the effects of the dearth more severely than the Egyptians, who had corn laid up in store. On their arrival, their business neces- sarily brought them before Joseph, who had the entire superintendence of the dis- posal of the corn : when they approached him therefore, they bowed as a token of reverence to his dignified office. || Joseph no sooner saw them than he knew them to be his brethren ; but choosing to try the effect of severity in bringing them to a due sense of their unnatural behaviour Egypt ; and making a circuit, reserved all the food that could be spared from the absolute demands of present use in store- houses appointed for that necessary pur- pose. The same method he invariably pursued every season of the fruitful years, till he * Zaphnath-paaneah, that is, | Revealer of se- crets.' It was customary for princes to give fo- reigners a new name, to denote their naturaliza- tion, to take away all invidious distinction, and declare them worthy of their most intimate favour. See Dan. i. 7. f The word translated priest, signifies also the friend and privy-counsellor of the king, and the Chaldee renders it here, * Prince of On.' Some English translations render it prince in the text, and set priest in the margin ; and the last transla- tion of it, renders it priest in the text, and sets' prince in the margin On among the Egyptians signifies the sun. Hence the city On was uniform- ly rendered Heliopolis, or the city of the sun. The authors of the Greek version call Potipherah, priest of Heliopolis. Respecting Joseph's heathen alliance, in marry- ing the priest of On's daughter, Stackhouse makes the following remark : " Though in after ages all marriages with infidels were certainly prohibited, yet there seems to be, at this time, a certain dis- pensation current, for as much as Judah, to be sure, if not more of Joseph's brethren, had done tbe same : besides that, in Joseph's case, there was something peculiar. For, as he was in a strange country, he had not an opportunity of making his address to any of the daughters of the seed of Abraham ; as the match was of the king's making, he was not at liberty to decline it, without forfeit- ing his* pretensions to the royal favour, and conse- quently to the means of doing so much good ; and, as it is not improbable that he might be advised to it by a particular revelation, so it is highly reasonable to believe that he converted his wife, at least, to the worship of the true God, before he espoused her: even though there should be no- thing in that opinion of the Rabbins, that he made a proselyte likewise of her father, the priest of On, (who could not but be desirous to purchase, at any rate, so advantageous an alliance,) and took this occasion to establish the rite of circumcision, if not in all Egypt, at least among persons of the sacred order, who, according to the account of those who wrote the history of that country, in very early days, certainly were not without it." J Manasseh, or forgetfulness, for said he, ' God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.' Ephraim, or fruitful, alluding to the words which immediately follow, 'God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.' || Thus was fulfilled the first of Joseph's dreams, concerning the subjection of his brethren to him, in future times. t 76 HISTORY OF [Book I. towards him, abruptly demanded of them, whence they came ? And on their reply- ing, From the land of Canaan to buy provisions ;' he charged them with being spies, who came thither to make discovery of the nakedness of the country.* They assured him they came upon no such design, but merely to buy corn ; and to enforce their declaration, added, that they were all one man's sons,f who had been twelve formerly, but now were there only ten, the youngest being with their father, and the next to him dead. But Joseph still insisted that they were spies, and to try them, put the charge upon this issue. ' Ye say,' said he, ye have a younger brother; agree upon one of you to go and fetch him, and ye shall be kept in prison the mean time, that I may be satisfied whether what ye say be true ; otherwise, as sure as Pharaoh lives, I shall look upon you as spies.'J Jle then committed them to custody for three days, in order to consult what was best to be done, and on the third day ad- vised them to comply with his injunction; assuring them that he was actuated by the fear of God : ' This do and live, for I fear God :' and farther to assure them of his unwillingness that their families should suffer for their faults, or that they should * That is, to observe the fortifications, and re- mark the weakness or nakedness of the land. Herodotus observes that Joseph's brethren entered Egypt through those passages by which alone it was liable to be invaded. f As if they had said, we are not spies, but all the sons of one man, and surely it cannot be sus- pected that any person would send all his children on so dangerous a design. J lie that was hated of his brethren for being nis father's spy, now accuses his brethren for com- mon spies of the weakness of Egypt : he could not, without their suspicion, have come to a per- fect intelligence of his father's estate and theirs, if he had not objected to them that which was not. We are always hound to go the nearest way to truth. It is more safe, in cases of inquisition, to fetch far about : that he might seem enough an Egyptian, he swears heathenishly : how little could they suspect this oath would proceed from the son of him, which swore by the Fear of his father Isaac ! How oft have sinister respects drawn weak goodness to disguise itself, even with sins ! Hull. suffer if they were innocent, he added, 'If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison ; go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses, but bring your youngest brother unto me, so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die.' Being' reduced to a state of extremity, and knowing it vain to remonstrate with one under whose immediate power they were, they unanimously agreed to the pro- posal ; while their present situation re- minded them of the state of their brother, who might probably be dead, or under miserable circumstances; and they began to reproach one another with the same, in terms to this effect: 'Justly do we now suffer for our cruelty to our brother, to whom we refused mercy, though he beg- ged it in the anguish of his soul, therefore God is just in sending upon us this dis- tress.' Reuben now took occasion to remind them of the consequence of their not at- tending to his desire and advice: ' Spake not I unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? there- fore behold also his blood is required.' It is to be observed, that Joseph before had spoken to them by an interpreter; and they therefore knew not tfiat he under- stood their language; but now as he heard and understood their discourse, though the interpreter was absent, he was so af- fected with their case, that he was obliged to withdraw, that unseen he might give way to his affectionate tears. When he returned to them again, he caused Simeon to be bound in their sight, It may be supposed perhaps, that because Reuben was the eldest, he upon this occasion had been the most proper hostage: hut Reuben, we may observe, had showed himself averse to those lengths of wickedness and inhumanity in which most of the other brothers were agreed, against Joseph. Reuben, in short, resolved to save him, and as.lu- dah was inclined to favour him, had Simeon joined with them, their authority might have prevailed for his deliverance ; but Simeon was the person who was most exasperated against him. He was the eldest of those who had proposed to murder him, Chap. XL] THE BIBLE. 77 and having set the rest at liberty, ordered their sacks to be filled with corn, and every man's money to be put in his sack; he then dismissed them. When they came to the inn where they sojourned the first night, one of them, opening his sack to give his ass provender, observed his money in the mouth of it, and being surprised, acquainted his bre- thren with the unexpected event. When they beheld the money, they looked con- fusedly at one another, and esteeming this an additional judgment of God upon them, cried out, ' What is this that God hath done unto us?' In due time, however, through the clemency and kindness of their unknown brother, they reached the much desired land of Canaan. CHAPTER XL Joseph's brethren relate to their father the par- ticulars of their adventures. Jacob is with . much difficulty prevailed on to send Benjamin into Egypt. Joseph's brethren arrive in Egypt, and are kindly entertained by him. Joseph's device to prolong the stay of his brethren. He at length makes himself known to them, and sends for his aged father, who is rejoiced at the news of so unexpected an event. The sons of Jacob being arrived at the habitation of their venerable father, with eagerness of impatience told him the par- ticulars of their journey? but especially the reception they had met with from the viceroy of Egypt; who, having charged them with being spies, and they being wholly incap- able in a strange country of clearing them- selves, had obliged them to leave Simeon behind in prison, as a pledge, till they should bring Benjamin, on which terms alone their innocence could be justified, or and wns therefore a fit proxy for the rest; the man, as the Hebrews say, who put Joseph in the pit, and was now very justly to be served in his kind : though they who tell us this, have a tradition, that, as soon as his brothers were gone, Joseph had him unbound, and ordered him what provisions and conveniences he pleased during his confine- ment. Patrick's Commentary, and Bibliothcca Jiibl. they obtain liberty of carrying on any traffic in the land of Egypt. This news greatly affected the good old patriarch, who was already bereft of two of his children, and now on the point of losing his youngest son Benjamin. To increase his concern, when they emptied their sacks every man's money was found in his sack, from whence they all feared that this circumstance might afford fresh matter of accusation and hinder their clear- ing themselves of the charge alleged against them. But the case was urgent; Reuben therefore, to prevail with his father to consent to the departure of Benjamin, desired him to commit the care of this darling child to him, engaging, on the penalty of losing his own two children, to restore him in safety. But this proposal had little weight with the affectionate patriarch, who answered him in a manner remarkably pathetic, and which paints him to us in an attitude of grief, lamenting the loss of his children in the most melting terms of paternal fondness: 'My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead,* and he is left alone ; if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave.' In this state of doubt and perplexity they passed their time, ill their stock being exhausted, their father desired them to repair to Egypt in order to replenish it, taking no notice of the injunction the viceroy had laid upon them, not to pre- sume to approach him more without their brother Benjamin. His sons, knowing that their departure without him would not only argue in them the greatest folly and rashness, but also expose them to the resentment of the second person in the kingdom, and at the same time, thinking it impossible to bring their father to consent,- were re- * His only brother by the mother Rachel, his beloved wife, Joseph and Benjamin being the only children descended from Rachel. 78 HISTORY OF [Book I. duced to the utmost dilemma. Reuben had tried his efforts in vain; Judah there- fore addressed him in more positive terms, urging at once the absolute and indispen- sable necessity of carrying Benjamin with them; 'as the viceroy had most solemnly declared, they should not so much as see his face, if they brought not their brother .Benjamin with them.' The poor old man, thus reduced to a strait, in the fulness of his soul reproves his sons for acquainting the man that they had a brother. And they in excuse told him, ' that he inquired so minutely into their circumstances and family, that they could not possibly avoid it : nay, he even asked if they had another brother, and whether their father was living; and add- ed moreover, that they had no reason to suppose he would have obliged them to bring their brother with them.' Judah now observing his father in some kind of doubt, repeats the necessity of their return, and forcibly urges him to consent; 'Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and thou, and also our little ones: I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him; if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever.' Affection at length submitted to neces- sity, which wrought the good old man in- to compliance; he therefore advised them, as it must be so, to take some of the most valuable commodities of the country, such as balm, spices, myrrh and almonds, to- gether with double money in their sacks (lest the price of what they had already brought away should he demanded), and their brother Benjamin ; adding, for their success, this fervent and pious prayer: * And God Almighty give you mercy be- fore the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin.' And tak- ing his leave of them, affectionately said: * If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.' Thus patiently acquiescing with the will of heaven, he dismissed them, who, according to his advice, having taken double money, a present* to appease the incensed viceroy, and their brother Benja- min, departed, being animated with the hope of appearing in Egypt with honour and credit. Immediately on their arrival, they were presented to the viceroy, who, observing his favourite Benjamin among them, com- manded his steward to conduct them into the house, and provide suitable entertain- ment, as he intended they should dine with him. In obedience to his master's com- mand, the steward conducted them in, and observing their fear, inquired the cause; and when they told him it arose from a suspicion, that they Were detained for the sake of the money which was left in their sacks at their late departure, he * From time immemorial it has been the uni- versal custom in the East to send presents one to another. No one waits upon an eastern prince, or any person of distinction, without a present. This is a token of respect which is never dispensed with. How mean and inconsiderable soever the gift, the intention of the giver is accepted. Plu- tarch informs us that a peasant happening to fall in the way of Artaxerxes the Persian monarch in one of his excursions, having nothing to present to his sovereign, according to the oriental custom, the countryman immediately ran to an adjacent stream, tilled both his hands, and offered it to his prince. The monarch, says the philosopher, smiled and graciously received it, highly pleased with the good dispositions this action manifested. All the books of modern travellers into the East abound with numberless examples of this universally pre- valent custom of waiting upon great men with presents, unaccompanied with which, should a stranger presume to enter their houses, it would be deemed the last outrage and violation of po- liteness and respect. So common is the custom, that in familiar intercourse among persons of in- ferior station, they seldom neglect to bring a flower, an orange, a few dates or radishes, or some such token of respect, to the person whom they visit. In Egypt the custom is equally prevalent: the visits of that people, which are very frequent in the course of the year, are always preceded by presents of various kinds, according to their station and property. So essential to human and civil intercourse are presents considered in the East, that, says Mr Bruce, " whether it be dates or diamonds, they are so much a part of their man- ners, that without them an inferior will never be at peace in his own mind, or think that he has a hold of his superior for his favour or protection." Harwood and Pax ton. Chap. XI ] THE BIBLE. 79 bid them fear nothing, for it was their God and the God of their fathers who had put that treasure into their sacks, and in order to comfort them, brought forth their bro- ther Simeon, and gave orders for them to be treated with the utmost civility. As the steward had informed them they were to dine with the viceroy, they pre- pared their presents, which, when he en- tered, they offered with the lowest pros- tration. Joseph saluted them with the utmost cordiality, anxiously inquiring concerning the welfare of the good old man. They submissively replied, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive.' Though Joseph addressed his brethren in general terms, his attention was chiefly fixed upon his brother Benjamin, who was most near and dear to him ; he therefore inquired of them, if he was the younger brother whom they had mentioned ? And without waiting for an answer, thus salut- ed him : God be gracious unto thee, my son.' His affection was now wrought to such a pitch, that, unable to contain the flood of tears that was ready to gush, he retired hastily into his chamber, in order to give vent to the excess of his passion. When he had dried his tears, and washed his face that it might not appear he had wept, he returned to them very cheerfully, and ordered the provision to be brought upon table. Joseph, on account of his exalted station, sat by himself, provision having been prepared for his brethren by themselves, and also for the Egyptians, who were to dine with him, by themselves ; for the Egyptians disdained to eat with the Hebrews, who were employed in the humble state of a pastoral life. The brethren were placed in rank ex- actly according to their respective ages, a circumstance which not a little surprised them:* thus placed, Joseph sent each of * As they knew not their brother Joseph, they might well marvel by what means he could attain to so exact a knowledge of their respective ages them a mess from his own table; but to Benjamin he sent a mess containing five times as much as any of the rest;f how- ever, they were all refreshed and cheerful ly regaled. Jacob's sons being thus cor- dially received, and generously entertain- ed, had reason to banish their fears and encourage their hopes; but a cloud yet hung over them; for though Joseph, from his ardent love towards his brother Ben- jamin, immediately desired to make him- self known, yet he deferred it some time longer, in order to accomplish a scheme, that might again perplex and remind them of the cruel manner in which they had formerly treated him, as well as try their affection towards his darling brother Ben- jamin. To effect this design, he ordered his steward to fill their sacks with corn, and to put every man's money in his sack, but to put into the sack of the youngest not only his money, but the silver cup out of which he used to drink. This done, early the next morning they proceeded on their journey homeward, but were not far ad- vanced, when Joseph ordered his steward to pursue, and reproach them with the highest ingratitude, in carrying off the particular cup out of which his lord drinketh and divineth. Conscious of their innocence, they were f The manner of eating among the ancients was not for all the company to eat out of one and the same dish, but for every one to have one or more dishes to himself. The whole of these dishes were set before the master of the feast, and he distribut- ed to every one his portion. As Joseph however is here said to have had a table to himself, we may suppose that he had a great variety of little dishes, or plates set before him; and, as it was a custom for great men to honour those who were in their favour, by sending such dishes to them as were first served up to themselves, Joseph showed that token of respect to his brethren: but, to express a particular value for Benjamin, he sent him five dishes to their one, which disproportion could not but be marvellous and astonishing to them, if what Herodotus tells us be true, namely, 'that the dis- tinction in this case, even to Egyptian kings them- selves, in all public feasts and banquets, was no more than a double mess.' Patrick's Commeif tary, and Bibliotheca Bibl. 80 not affected by the charge, and as a test of their integrity, reminded the steward of their bringing back the money which they found in the mouths of their sacks: nay, so confident were they of their probity, that to obviate even a suspicion, they of- fered to stand search under the severest penalties: With whomsoever of thy ser- vants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.' The steward took them at their word, but softened the penalty, fixing it that he on whom the cup should be found, should be his servant, and the rest blameless.* Impatient to prove their innocence, every one hastily unloaded his beast; and as they opened their sacks, the steward searched them, and beginning at the eldest, and proceeding on to the youngest, found the cup in Benjamin's sack.f HISTORY OF [Book I Here was an absolute conviction with- out the shadow of guilt; yet in vain did the poor youth pretend to a defence against evident demonstration. Benja- min's life, at least his liberty, was forfeited by mutual agreement. They rent there- fore their clothes, and without attempting even tojutlliate the fact, loaded their asses, and returned to the city. Joseph had remained at home expecting the event, and when they approached his presence, they fell to the ground in a most sorrowful submission. Without giving them time to offer a word in their own defence, Joseph charged them with the fact, and their folly in com- mitting it without the least prospect of concealment; ' What deed is this ye have * The Hebrew word signifies innocent or fault- less. f It may be thought perhaps a piece of cruelty in .loseph, to have his cup conveyed, of all others, into Benjamin's sack, and thereupon to threaten to make him a bond-slave for a pretended felony : but herein was Joseph's great policy, and nicety of judgment. He himself had been severely treated by the rest, when he was young, and therefore was minded to make an experiment, in what manner they would now behave towards his brother; whether they vftmld forsake him in his distress, and give him up to be a bond-slave, as they had sold him for one; or whether they would stand by him in all events, make intercession for his release, or adventure to share his fate. This, perhaps, may be thought his carrying the matter a little too far: but, without this conduct, Joseph could not have known whether his brethren rightly deserved the favour and protection which he might then design, and afterwards granted them. Without this con- duct, we had not had perhaps the most lively images that are to be met with in scripture, of injured innocence, of meekness and forbearance, and the triumphs of a good conscience in him ; and of the fears and terrors, the convictions and self-condemnations of long-concealed guilt in them. Without this conduct, we had not had this lovely portraiture of paternal tenderness, as well as bro- therly affection ; we had never had those solemn, lad, and melting words of Jacob, ' If I am bereav- ed of my children, 1 am bereaved,' enough to pierce a tender parent's heart ; or those others, 'Joseph is alive, I will see him before 1 die,' enough to raise it into joy and exultation again. In a word, without this conduct, we had never had that courteous, that moving, that pleasingly mourn- ful speech, wherein Moses makes Judah address Joseph, iu behalf of his poor brother Benjamin, done? Wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?' % In the midst of which exceeds all the compositions of human in- vention, and flows indeed from such natural pas- sions, as art can never imitate. So that, upon a review of his whole conduct, Joseph is so far from deserving blame, that all this seeming rigour and imperiousness of his did eventually produce a great deal of good ; and was in reality, no more than the heightening the distress, or thickening the plot, as we call it, to make the discovery, or future felicity, he intended his family, more con- spicuous and agreeable. Stackhouse. J As magical arts of divers kinds were in use among the Egyptians many years before Joseph's time of coming thither; and as Joseph, by his wonderful skill of interpreting dreams, had gained a great reputation for knowledge, and perhaps, among the populace, might pass for a diviner; he took an occasion from hence, in order to carry on his design, to assume a character that did not belong to him. There is no reason, however, to inter from the words of Joseph and his steward that the art of ' divining by the cup ' was then in me in Egypt, because the words before us do not re- late to this cup as the instrument, but as the sub- ject of divination ; not as the thing with which, but as the thing concerning which this magical inquiry was to be made, and so the sense of the steward's words will be, ' How could you think, but that my lord, who is so great a man at divination, would use the best of his skill to find out the persons who had robbed him of the cup, which he so much jirizes?' And this tallies exactly with the words of Joseph, ' Wot ye not that such a man as I, I, who have raised myself to this eminence by my interpretation of dreams, and may therefore well be accounted an adept in all other sciences, should be long at a loss to know who the persons were that had taken away my cup?.' This seems to be the natural sense of the Chap. XL] THE BIBLE. 61 a general horror, Jtidali, in an humble tone, cries out to this effect, 'We have nothing to offer in our defence; God hath detected our iniquity, and we must re- main slaves with him in whose sack the cup was found.' Joseph interrupted him by declaring that he could by no means do such injus- tice; for that lie only who stole the cup should be his slave, while the rest of them should return home to their father. Judah, finding the viceroy somewhat softened, was encouraged to approach him nearer, and represented to him, in a very pahetic manner, the case between them and their father, relative to their bringing words : the only one indeed that they will fairly bear: and though they do not imply that Joseph was actually a magician, yet they seem to justify the notions of those men who think that he carried his dissimulation to his brethren so far, as to make them believe that he really had some knowledge that way Stachhouse. Although we have no reason to infer that Joseph practised divination by the cup, yet it cer- tainlv prevailed in Egypt in the time of Joseph, and it has from time immemorial been prevalent amoni; the Asiatics, who have a tradition, the origin of which is lost in the lapse of ages, that there was a cup which had passed successively into the hands of the different potentates, and which possessed the strange property of representing in it the whole world, and all the things which were then doing in it. The Persians Jo this day call it the ' Cup of Jemsheed,' from a very ancient king of Persia of that name, whom late historians and poets have confounded with Bacchus, Solomon, Alexander the threat, &c. This cup, filled with the elixir of immortality, they say. was discovered when disging the foundations of Persepolis. To this cup the Persian poets have numerous allusions: and to the intelligence supposed to have been re- ceived from it they ascribe the great prosperity of their ancient monarclis, as by it they understood all events, past, present, and future. Many of the Mohammedan princes and governors affect still to havp information of futurity by means of a cup. Thus when Mr Norden was at Dehr or Derri in the farthest part of Egypt, in a very dangerous situation, from which he and his company endeav- oured to extricate themselves by exerting great spirit, a spiteful and powerful Arab in a threatening way told one of their people, whom they had sent to "him, that he knew what sort of people they were, that he had consulted his cup, and had found by it that they were those of whom one of their prophets had said, that Franks would come in dis- guise, and parsing every where, examine the state of the country, and afterwards bring over a great number of other Franks, conquer the country, and exterminate all. It was pre.Uely the same thing their brother Benjamin into Egypt, pas- sionately describing the old man's extra- ordinary affection for this child of his age; the regret with which he parted from him, the inconsolable loss that would result from his being detained, and the curses he would pronounce on them in his de- parting moments, for depriving him of what he held most dear. 9 To this striking representation he added, 'Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bond-man to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brethren; for how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.' This pathetic address struck Joseph to the very soul. Ordering therefore all the rest to depart, that he might discover himself with more affectionate freedom, he burst into tears, and pathetically ex- claimed, 'I am Joseph; doth my father live?' What a beautiful transition! His soul was so full of filial affection for the good old man, that before he had finished his sentence, he inquired after him, though they had before told him he was alive. Conscious guilt, at the very name of that Joseph whom they had so unnatur- ally treated, struck them dumb, as they now dreaded the power he had to resent that Joseph meant when he talked of divining by his cup. Julius Serenus tells us, that the method of divining by the cup among the Abyssinians, Chaldees, and Egyptians, was to fill it first with water, then to throw into it their plates of gold and silver, together with some precious stones, whereon were engraven certain characters: and after that, the persons who came to consult the oracle used certain forms of incantation, and so calling upon the devil, received their answers several ways ; sometimes by articulate sounds, sometimes by the characters, which were in the cup, arising upon the surface of the water, and by this arrangement forming the answer; and many times by the visible appearing of the persons them- selves about whom the oracle was consulted. Cornelius Agrippa tells us likewise, that the man- ner of some was to pour melted wax into a cup containing water, which wax would range itself into order, and so form answers, according to the questions proposed. Home. 82 HISTORY OF fBooK I. the injuries they had done him. But brotherly love overcame resentment, and banished every desire of revenge; for Jo- seph observing the confusion of his bre- thren, in the most endearing accents bids them approach, assuring them he was the very brother they had sold into Egypt; and though he had assumed the dignity ^becoming: his office, he still retained the tenderness of a brother; and lest their fear should prevail, he desired them no longer to afflict themselves with remorse for their former behaviour towards him, since it was the means by which a wise providence was pleased to dispose of him for their preservation. He then proposed that they should bring his father, and the whole family of Israel out of Canaan into Egypt; and as an inducement to them to leave their own country, desired them from him to address their father to this effect : God hath made me lord of all Egypt, therefore de- fer not coming; for I will provide Goshen* for the place of thy habitation, and there will I nourish thee and thy family, lest they come to want.' Lest they might doubt that he was in- deed their brother Joseph,f he told them, ' Your eyes see, and the eyes of my bro- ther Benjamin, (whom my father will especially regard,) that it is I myself that speak to you. And to comfort my father, * The land of Goshen, called also the land of Rameses, lay east of the Nile, by which it was never overflowed, and was bounded by the moun- tains of the Thebaid on the south, by the Nile and Mediterranean on the west and north, and by the Red sea and desert of Arabia on the east. It was the Heliopolitan nome or district, and its capital was called On. Its proper name was Geshen, the country of grass or pasturage, or of the shep- herds, in opposition to the rest of the land, which was sown after having been overflowed by the Nile. Bruce. Goshen was the most fruitful part of all Egypt, especially for pasturage, and there- fore most commodious for Jacob's sons, who were brought up shepherds. \ Joseph having before spoken to them by an interpreter, he bids them observe that, now lie spoke to them in the Hebrew tongue, they might the better be assured that it was he their brother that had hitherto conversed with them. tell him of my glory here, and all that you have seen ; and make haste and con- duct him hither.' Then taking Benjamin in his arms, they wept for joy ; and, as a seal of par- don for all offences, he tenderly embraced, kissed them severally, and wept over them. Joseph's kind carriage and recon- ciliation having dispelled their fears and apprehensions of the severe resentment they might justly have expected from him, they took heart, and conversed fa- miliarly with him. The report of the arrival of Joseph's brethren soon spread in Pharaoh's court, which, for the great respect all had to Joseph, was very agreeable to the king and all about him; who immediately orders Joseph to send his brethren to conduct his father, and all that belonged to him, into Egypt, where he should share of the best during the famine, of which there were five years to come. Joseph gladly obeys, and accordingly provides carriages and food for their jour- ney. But for a present to his father he sent ten asses laden with the choicest dainties Egypt afforded, and ten she-asses laden with corn and provisions for him by the way. To cheer his brethren, and confirm his love to them, he gave to each of them changes of raiment; but to dis- tinguish Benjamin from the rest, he gave him three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes or suits of clothes: and know- ing their quarrelsome disposition, and fearing they should enter into some de- bate who was most in fault for the injury done to him, he lays a strict charge upon them, not to fall out by the way. Joseph having dismissed his brethren, they make the best of their way to Canaan, where they were joyfully received by their good old father, especially upon the return of his two sons, Simeon and Benjamin, whom he scarce expected to see again. But when they acquainted him with Jo-' seph's being alive, and the grandeur he lived in, his former grief revived, and dis- Chap. XII.] THE BIBLE. trusting the extravagant account they gave, lie had like to have died: but when he saw the carriages, with the presents and provisions, Joseph had sent for him, his fainting spirits, like an oil-spent lamp op- portunely supplied, revived, and in an ecstasy of joy, he cried out, 'This is be- yond my expectation : my son Joseph yet alive! I will go and see him before I die.' Accordingly he took his journey with all that he had; and stopping at Beer-sheba,* he offered sacrifice to the God of his father Isaac. Here it was God spake to Israel in the visions of the night, bidding him fear not to go down into Egypt, f for he would there make of him a great nation ; that he would go with him, and surely bring him thence again, J and that his be- loved Joseph should there close his eyes. Jacob encouraged by this divine pro- mise left Beer-sheba, and cheerfully pur- sues his journey towards Egypt ; his sons carrying with them their little ones and their wives in their waggons which Pha- raoh had sent to convey them. They took also with them their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, * Here it was where the Lord appeared to his father Isaac, and blessed him, and where his father built an altar, and worshipped the Lord, Genesis xxvi. 23, 24, 25. But by Jacob's offering sacrifice here, it may reasonably be supposed that so religi- ous a man as he was, not only gave God thanks for the preservation of his son Joseph, and safe return of his other sons, but implored the divine protection and blessing upon him and his in the journey he had now undertaken. f Though God had promised the land of Canaan to Israel's posterity, yet he persuades him to go into Egypt, though a country where his ancestors had been ill-treated for he would protect him. | That is, not that he should live to come out of Egypt, but that his body should be carried from thence to be buried in the sepulchre of his ances- tors, and that his posterity should possess the pro- mised land, from which he was departed. For as to Israel's dying in Egypt, it is plain that God at the time of this vision told him he should die there, Gen. xlvi. 4. for there Joseph is promised to close his eyes. From hence Jacob might justly infer that he should die a natural death, and that his son Joseph should be with him to the last moments of his life ; which was a great comfort to the fond old patri- arch. his sons and his sons' sons, his daughterg(| and his sons' daughters, making in all seventy persons.** Jacob being arrived on the borders of Egypt, despatches his son Judah before him, to receive directions for going to Goshen ; who soon returns to his father, and conducts him thither ; where Joseph, with a train becoming his high station, meets him, and with infinite satisfaction congratulates his happy arrival in a place where he had power to make the rest of his life easy and comfortable. Here were the highest ecstasies of filial duty and parental affection expressed: teais of joy flowed on both sides ; and whilst Joseph was contemplating the divine goodness that had restored him once more to the sight of his aged father, the pious patriarch, thinking his joy on earth com- plete, desired to live no longer : ' Now,' says he, ' let me die, since I have seen thy face.' CHAPTER XII. Joseph introduces his father and brethren to the king, who receives them graciously, and appoints them ample maintenance. Jacob's charge. He blesses Ephraim and Manasseh, the children of Joseph. Blesses his sons in particular, and having given them charge con- cerning his burial, dies. Jacob's burial. Joseph predicts the return of his brethren and dies. After these mutual endearments, Joseph proposes to his father and brethren that he would acquaint the king with their arrival; which he was in gratitude obliged to do, || This will admit of a two-fold meaning : first, as it was a general way of speaking, such as Sarah used when she said, ' Who should have said to Abraham that Sarah should have given suck to children ?' Gen. xxi. 7. whereas she never gave suck but to one child, Isaac. Secondly, though Jacob strictly had but one daughter, who was Dinah, yet here he may be understood to speak of his daughters-in-law. * The names of Jacob's family, which he brought with him into Egypt, are particularly expressed, Gen. xlvi. 8, 25. And both here and Deut. x. 22, are computed to be in the whole number three- score and ten persons. 84 HISTORY OF [Book I. ince the king had sent for them, instruct- ing them at the same time that he would acquaint him with their manner of life, which was in breeding and nourishing cattle, that if he should inquire of them what occupa^on they were bred to, they should answer accordingly ; by which they would secure the land of Goshen for their use, where they might live and take care of their flocks and herds by themselves ; for the Egyptians did so abominate shep- herds, that they would never suffer them to live promiscuously amongst them.* * The country of Egypt (as Diodorus tells ns, b. i.) was divided into three parts, whereof the i priests had mi", the king a second, and the soldiery I a third : hut, under these, there were three other i ranks of men, shepherds, husbandmen, and arti- | rlcers. The husbandmen served the king, and the ' other two orders, in tilling the ground, for very small wages, and so did the shepherds, in their capacities ; for the Egyptians, we must remember, had sheep and oxen, as well as horses and asses, which they sold unto Joseph in the time of the famine, it cannot be thought therefore, that they abominated all shepherds in general, but only such shepherds that were foreigners, and for what rea- son it was that they did tins, is not so easy a mat- ter to resolve. Some are of opinion, that shep- herds were held in d< testation, because they were a people, in those days, addicted to robbery, which made them very odious to the Egyptians ; but others imagine that theft, among the Egyptians, \ was not reputed so abominable a crime ; and there- ! fore thev think, that the most probable reason of this aversion to shepherds, and to the Hebrews, as such, was the great oppression, and tyranny, under which they had lately groaned, when the Phceni- cian shepherds penetrated Egypt, wasted their cities, burnt their temples, murdered the inhabi- tants, and seated themselves, for a considerable while, in the possession of it. But, upon what- ever account it was that the Egyptians had this aversion to shepherds, it certainly was an instance of Joseph's great modesty and love of truth, that he was not ashamed of an employment so mean in itself, and so vile in the eyes of the Egyptians. Stackhuuse. From the fragments of the ancient historian iManetiio, preserved in Josephus and African us, it appears that that country had been invaded by a colony of Nomades or shepherds, descended' fiom tush, who established themselves there, and had a succession of kins. After many wars between them and the Egyptians, in which some of their principal cities were burnt and great cruelties were committed, they were compelled to evacuate the country; but not till they had been in possession of it for a period of nine hundred years. Tnis alone was sufficient to render shep- herds odious to the Egyptians ; hut they were stdl mole obnoxious, because they killed ami ate those animals, particularly the sheep and the ox, which Taking therefore five of the most grace- ful persons of his brethren, he went and acquainted Pharaoh that his father and family were arrived in Goshen, and pre- sented the five he had brought with him to the king, who treated them respectfully for Joseph's sake ; and demanding what they were bred to, they, according to their instructions, answered, that they were shepherds, and humbly begged leave to settle in Goshen. The king, turning to Joseph, told him, ' The whole land is at thy disposal, place them in the best part of it, in Goshen, if they like that best; and if there be any among them of ex- traordinary skill in their way, let them have the care and management of my cattle.' Joseph's project thus happily succeed- ing, he introduces his father to the king, whom Jacob reverently salutes. The king, graciously condescending to talk with him, inquires his age ; who tells him he was an hundred and thirty years old, though his ancestors had lived to a greater age. Then taking leave of Pharaoh, Joseph placed his father and his brethren in Rameses, a city afterwards of Goshen, which was the most fertile part of Egypt, where he nourished them, and provided for them according to their families, with that care and tenderness, as if they had been his children. Good old Israel and his family being thus happily disposed, Joseph returns to his charge. And now the fairine increas- ing, people from all parts of Egypt and Canaan repair to Joseph, who furnished them with provisions as long as their money held out ; by which means he had collected all the money in the land, and ! brought it into the king's exchequer. Ant! j when their money failed, they brought their cattle, and he gave them bread in exchange for them. were accounted most sacred among them. See [Bryant's Analysis of Ancient Mythology Chap. XII.J THE BIBLE. Thus tliey went on till the sixth* year, and then the famine pressed them so hard that they were forced to lay their condi- tion before him, telling him that their money was spent, and he having got their cattle already, they had now nothing left to offer him but their bodies and lands, which they besought him in pity to accept, or else they must perish. Joseph took them at their word, and in the king's name, and for his use, bought all the land of Egypt, except the land of the priests,f who, having an allowance from the king, were not compelled to part with their possessions. But the rest of the Egyptians sold their estates ; and thus the land became entirely the king's. 85 * This generally is translated the second year ; but it must not be understood to be the second year of the seven years of famine, hut the second from the time that their money failed, which was indeed the sixth of the seven, (Jen. xlvii. 18. f Why Pharaoh, when he thought tit to lessen the property of his common subjects, did not at the same time, attempt to reduce the exorbitant riches of the priests, we may, in some measure, account for, if we consider, that, according to the constitution of the kingdom, the Egyptian priests were ohliged to provide all sacrifices, and to bear all the charges of the national religion, which, in those days, was not a little expensive ; so very expensive, that we find in countries where the soil was not fruitful, and consequently the people poor, men did not well know how to bear the burden of religion; and therefore Lycurgus, when he reformed the Lacede- monian state, instituted sacrifices, the meanest and cheapest that he could think of. But Egypt, we know, was a rich and fertile country, and therefore, in all probability, the king and people being desirous that religion should appear with a suitable splen- dour, made settlements upon the priests from the very first institution of government among them, answerable to the charges of their function. Add to this, that the priests of Egypt were the whole body of the nobility of the land ; that they were the king's counsellors and assistants, in all the affairs which concerned the public ; were joint agents with him in some things, and, in others, his directors and instructors. Add again, that they were the professors and cultivators of astronomy, geometry, and other useful sciences ; that they were the keepers of the public registers, memoirs, and chronicles of the kingdom ; and, in a word, that, under the king, they were the supreme magi- strates, and filled all prime offices of honour and .trust; and, considering them under these views, we may possihly allow, that Pharaoh might think that they had not too much to support the station they were to act in, and, for that reaso.i, ordered that no tax should be raised upon them. Stack- house. Then Joseph, repeating the condition of the bargain, tells them : Behold, I have this day bought both you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the iand.f But upon these terms shall you hold your land : ye shall every year give the fifth part of your increase to Pharaoh, and the other four parts shall be your own for seed, and for food for yourselves and families.' Thus Joseph settled it a standing law all over Egypt, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part of the yearly increase of the lands, except the lands of the priests. As for common people, Joseph removed them from the places of their constant abode to a greater distance, whereby they in time knew not where to claim. Thus the Egyptians saved their lives at the loss of their estate and liberties, ancl,of freemen became bondmen ; in which con- dition they yet rejoiced, and gratefully acknowledged Joseph's care, calling him their preserver : and to show how willing- ly they submitted to these terms, which the sons of liberty and property would in- veigh against as insupportable, to assure their prince, notwithstanding this, of their duty and loyalty, they unanimously cry out to Joseph, Let us find favour in thy sight,' that those conditions may be ratifi- ed, * and we will be the king's servants.' The seven years of famine were suc- ceeded by plentiful and seasonable years, the earth resuming its former fertility, and the whole land abounding in all the usual productions of nature. Twelve of these years of plenty Jacob lived to see : at the end of which nature's lamp grew dim, and near extinguished in him; his decayed spirits warn him of approaching fate, and J This being the last year of the seven barren years, they might sow in hope of plenty again. $ This* Joseph probably did, with intent, that by so displacing and unsettling them from their ancient seats and demesnes, arid shifting them to and fro, one upon another's land, but leaving none Upon their own, he might the better confirm Pharaoh's title to the whole. Besides, this chang- ing of habitations showed they had nothing of their own, but received all of the king's bounty. 80 HISTORY OF [Book I. eacli drooping faculty beats an alarm of death. He therefore sends to his son Joseph., and obliges him by an oath to bury him in the sepulchre of his fathers,* which Joseph swears to do. Upon this Jacob bowed himself to God, who, besides all his other mercies, had given him a fresh as- surance by Joseph's promise and oath, that he should be carried out of Egypt into the promised land. Joseph leaving his father entirely satis- fied in the assurance he had given him, returns home ; but is soon recalled by the sad message of his sickness. Whereupon he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and went to visit him. The feeble patriarch summoneth all his spirits, and exerts them so far as to sit up iiw-liis bed to receive his favourite son. And when Joseph came near him, he re- counted to him the promise which God had made to him of the land of Canaan ;f * Though there be something of a natural de- sire in most men to be buried in the places where their ancestors lie, yet Jacob's aversion to have his remains deposited in Egypt seems to be more ear- nest than ordinary, or otherwise he would never have imposed an oatli upon his sons, and charged them all, with his dying breath, not to suffer it to be done. For he very well knew, that had his body been buried in Egypt, his posterity, upon that very account, would have been too much wedded to the country ever to attempt the ac- quisition of the promised land ; and therefore, to wean them from the thoughts of continuing in Egypt, and fix their minds and affections in Ca- naan, he ordered his body to be carried thither be- forehand, in testimony that he died in full per- suasion of the truth of the promises which were given to him and his ancestors : nor was it incon- venient that future generations, after their return into Canaan, should have before their eyes the sepulchre of their forefathers, for a record of their virtues, and an incitement to the imitation of them. But the strongest motive of all for Jacob's j desiring to be buried in Canaan supposing that he foreknew that our Saviour Christ was to live and die, and with some others, rise again in that country was, that he might be one of that blessed number ; and it was indeed an ancient tradition in the church, that among those ' who came out of their graves after our Lord's resurrection,' Matth. xxvii. 53. the patriarch Jacob was one. Poole's Annotations, and Bibliotheca Bibl. \ f Perhaps Joseph might not know of this be- fore, he having been separated from his father's family when he was but a boy. ' God Almighty,' said he, ' appeared to me at Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me; and said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and make of thee a multitude of people, and will give this land to thy seed for an everlasting possession.' Then taking Joseph's two sons into a peculiar participation of this promise, he adopted them as his own immediate off- spring; as for Ephraim and Manasseh, says he, they shall be mine, so as to be- come each of them head of a distinct tribe in Israel, and to enjoy the privilege of primogeniture in right of their father Jo- seph, to whom the birthright was trans- ferred from Reuben, because of his incest- uous transgression against his father. But as for the issue thou shalt beget after them, they shall be thine, and shall be called by the name of their brethren in their inheritance. And going on, he gave Joseph a short account of the death and burial of Rachel his mother. All this while that Jacob was talking with Joseph, concerning himself and his sons, he had not taken notice that Joseph's sons were with him, but spoke of them as if they had been absent; till turning to Joseph, and seeing somebody with him, though he could not well discern who they were, (for his eyes being dim with age, and the children standing between their father's knees, he could not distinguish them,) he asked, ' Who are these?' Jo- seph as piously as directly answers, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place.' Then Jacob bids him bring them near him, that he might bless them. And kiss- ing and embracing them, said to Joseph, in a transport of joy, ' I was out of hopes of ever seeing thy face again, and now God hath doubled that blessing; for he hath suffered me to live to see thee and thy children.' Joseph, placing the children according to the order of their birth, had set Ma- nasseh so as to receive the blessing of his Chap. XII.] THE BIBLE. 87 father's right hand, and Ephraim that of his left, guiding his hand at the same time. But Israel stretching out his right hand, laid it upon the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left upon Manasseh's head; and he blessed Joseph in blessing his children, saying, ' God, before whom my fathers Abrarw* 'id Isa did walk, the God which fed in. ait my iuvuutc to this day, and the Angel* which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads. And let my name be named on them,f and the name of my fathers, and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.' Joseph was uneasy that his father laid his right hand (which carried with it the preference) on the head of the youngest ; and supposing it had been done through inadvertency, he held up his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's to Manasseh's head, saying, Not so, my father; for this is the first-born, therefore put thy right hand upon his head.' But Israel, actuated by divine direction, refused, saying, ' I know it, my son, I know it. He also shall become a people, and shall be great ; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his posterity shall become a multitude.' Then adding to his former blessing, he said, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manas- seh;':}: still setting Ephraim before Ma- nasseh. Then finding himself grow weaker he said to Joseph: 'I am now near my end; * That is, Christ, who is called the Angel or Messenger of the covenant, Mai. iii. 1. + That is, let them be reckoned into our fam- ily, equally with the rest of my sons. j That is, when any of the people of Israel shall bless their children, they shall say, ' Be thou mul- tiplied as Ephraim and Manasseh are multiplied.' From hence it was the custom in Israel, that chil- dren should be brought to men eminent for piety, that tiny might bless them, and pray over them: thus they brought their children to Jesus. But when a blessing was given by imposition of hands, if it was to a son, he that blessed said, ' God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh ;' if it was to a daughter, ' God make thee as Sarah and Rebekah.' but though I leave you, God shall be with you, and bring you again into the land of your fathers. And as for thee, my dear Joseph, as a distinguishing mark of my love, I have given thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite, with my bow, and with my sword.' The conversation hitherto was private, between Jacob and Joseph only; but find- ing his end very near, he called for all his sons together, that while he had strength to deliver his mind, he might take his farewell of them, and not only distribute his blessings among them, but foretell what should befall them and their posterity in after times. Then directing his speech to them severally, he begins thus to the eldest: Reuben, thou art my first-born, the prime of my strength, and by right of primogeniture wast born to many privi- leges and prerogatives, in superiority over thy brethren, and in power from the double inheritance annexed in course to the birthright: but these thou hast for- feited by defiling thy father's bed. [J Simeon in course is next;** but he is Since Jacob was so peaceable a man, that he never, as we read of, engaged in any martial en- terprise, it may be inquired, how and when he took this portion of land, which he here gave to Joseph, from the Amorite with his sword and bow, or by force of arms? Some refer it to that act of Simeon and Levi, in destroying the inhabitants of Shechem, Gen. xxxiv. But that cannot be; for, first, Jacob disavowed that act, and blamed them for it both then and now, Gen. xlvi. 5, 6, 7. Se- condly, those people of Shechem, whom they slew, were not Amorites, but Hivites, descended from Hivi the sixth son of Canaan, Gen. x. 17. where- as the Amorites came from the fourth son of Ca- naan, ver. 16. Others take these words of Jacob to be spoken in a prophetic sense ; foretelling what he in his posterity should do: and through assurance of faith looking upon it as done, undertook to dis- pose of a double portion (appendant to the birth- right of Joseph, on whom lie had conferred the birthright) to be possessed on his posterity. || When Jacob heard that Reuben had lain with Bilhah, his concubinary wife, Gen. xxxv. '22, the text says that he took no farther notice of it then ; but now at his death he reproaches him severely with it, and gives it as the reason for which he deprived him of the privileges of primogeniture. * * Reuben having forfeited his right of prirao. 88 HISTORY OF [Hook I. joined with Levi, for that wicked combi- nation between them, in the massacre of Humor and his people. Of these there- fore Jacob says, that they were brethren in iniquity: 'Instruments of cruelty were in their habitations: O my soul come not into their secret; let not my honour be united to their assemblies; for in their an- ger they slew a man,* and in their cruel rage they digged down a wallrf cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel.' Thus did Jacob set forth their offence in very aggravating circumstances, to which he pronounces a sentence proportionate, I will divide them in Jacob, ^ and scatter them in Israel.' Jacob, having treated his three eldest sons with some severity, softens his style when he comes to Judah ; whose name geniture, it might be expected that it should have devolved upon Simeon, who was next : but for his cruelty to Joseph and the idolatry of his tribe in worshipping Baal-peor, Numb. xxv. the priesthood, which was the nobler dignity of the primogeniture, was transferred to Levi, the third son ; and the kingdom, the other part of the primogeniture, to Judah. * This is, by the figure synecdoche, put for all the inhabitants of Shechem. f Meaning the destroying and spoiling the city. This dividing may be applied to Simeon, whose tribe had not a distinct lot assigned them in Canaan, as the other tribes had ; but they were thrust within the lot of Judah, Josh. xix. 1. until in the time of Hezekiah king of Judah, a party of them smote the remainder of Amalek, and seating themselves in their possessions, 1 Chron. iv. 24. were thereby divided from the rest of their own tribe. As for the tribe of Levi, it was scattered through all the tribes, having no peculiar lot or share of the land as the other tribes had. His mother Leah, Gen. xxix. 35. at his birth gave him that name, in gratitude and thankfulness to God. But now his father calls him so for an- other reason, alluding to the praise his brethren should give him ; and that for many reasons ; viz. 1. The tribe of Judah was the first that entered the Red sea after Moses. 2. After the death of Joshua, the tribe of Judah was pitched upon to be com- mander in chief of all the other tribes, in their wars, Judg. i. 3. From this tribe sprang the mighty and powerful king David, his son king Solomon, and several other kings till the Babylonish captivity. 4. This tribe waged war against the Ishmaelites, Idumeans, Moabites, Arabians, and other neigh- bouring nations. 5. From this tribe descended Zerubbabel, that commanded the people in their return from Babylon. C. And lastly, from this tribe sprang Christ. signifying praise, it led him to a high en- comium of him. 'Judah,' said he, 'thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise for thy strength and courage. Thou shalt put thy enemies to flight; thou shalt pursue t'.em, lay hold of them, and destroy them : thy father's children shall bow down before thee.' || And then, wrapped up in the contempla- tion of Judah's strength and glory, he breaks forth into these elegant allegories; 'Judah is like a lion's whelp.f From the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion, who shall dare to rouse him?' Then describing the duration of his government; ' The sceptre,' said he, 'shall not depart from Judah, nor a law- giver be wanting of his issue, till the Messiah come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.' Then pur- suing his allegories, to set forth the pros- perity and plenty of Judah's tribe, and the abundant fruitfulness of its soil, he added, ' Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:' signifying that wine should with them be us plenti- ful as water. Jacob, keeping still in Leah's line, passes by Issachar and takes Zebulun ; whose name signifying Duelling, he only says of him, that he shall dwell at the haven for ships, and his border shall be an haven for ships, and his border shall be unto Zidon.* * || By this, though the birthright was transferred from Reuben to Jns< ph, 1 Chron. v. 1. with re- spect to the double put ion: yet that part of the prerogalive of primogeniture, which OH wormed authority, or government over the rest, is plainly conferred on Judah ; and so it is explained here, 1 Chron. v. 2. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler, thouli the birthright was Joseph's with respect to the inheritance. f Here are gradually described by the lion's age, the three degrees of the state of this tribe of Judah. The first, its infancy under Joshua ; the second, its virile state undef David ; the third, its continued state under Solomon. * * Accordingly this lot came forth, Josh. xix. 1 1, Chap. XII.] THE BIBLE. 89 Coming next to Issacliar, he compares him to a strong ass couching down be- tween two burdens; seated in a pleasant and fertile country ; but being naturally slothful and pusillanimous, loved an inglo- rious ease more than active liberty and bravery. The good old patriarch having gone through with Leah's offspring, he takes the handmaids' sons next, beginning with Dan, son of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid. Dan signifying judging, he said, * Dan shall judge his people,* as one of the tribes of Israel ; ' that is, though it was smaller, yet should bear as much authority us an- other. That it should be like a snake on the way,f or an adder in the path, which bites the horses' heels, and makes them throw their riders. Here Jacob cried out, 'I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.'| When he spake of Gad, alluding also to his name, lie said, 'A troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at last.' By which he is thought to have referred to what was afterwards performed by Jeph- thah, who was of this tribe. Of lmppy Asher he foretells, his bread shall be rich, and kings should reckon it a dainty; which denoted the exuberant richness of soil. * This was fulfilled in Samson, yet was no more than lssachar did by Tola, Judg. x. 1. But it is supposed the reason why this was said of Dan, was to show that the sons of the handmaids, of which Dan is the first named, though as born of bond-women, they were in that respect inferior to the rest of their brethren, should notwithstanding obtain some share in the government. f '1 his seems to intimate that the Danites should prevail more by policy and stratagem, than by open force: which Samsons dealing with the Philistines, Judges chap. xiv. and xv. and the Danites taking Laish, chap, xviii. confirms. J Modern interpreters are very ridiculously fanciful in the application of this text, distorting it to the most extiava^ant and contrary meanings. There being no context to make it out, it looks more like a recommendatory ejaculation on the death-bed. But if we suppose something more than ordinary impressed the patriarch's spirit at this time, might he not have some sense or fore- sight of the mischief the Danites afterwards brought upon themselves, when having rifled Mi- cah's house, and robbed him of his gods, they fell into open idolatry ? ' Naphtali,' says he, ' shall be like a tree having grafts, shooting out pleasant branches in its generation." And now he comes to his beloved Joseph, on whom he expatiates very largely, think- ing he cannot say enough of him. 'Joseph,' says he, 'is like a fruitful bough of a tree planted near a spring, whose branches run over the wall.'H And having thus set forth his future greatness in his posterity, he looks back and recollects his past troubles. ' The archers,* % said he, 'have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but his bow abode strong, and his hands and arms were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. From thence is the Shepherd, the stone** of The versions generally confound the animals that the scripture speaks of, or transform them in- to other things, and sometimes trees or plants into animals. Thus here in Gen. xlix. 21. they make Jacob, prophesying of the tribe of Naphtali, say, ' Naphtali is a hind let loose, he giveth goodly words.' Interpreters differ in nothing so much as this, even those that are for it, confounding tlieit own opinion. The learned Bochart translates the words of the original thus: ' Naphtali shall be like a tree having grafts, shooting out pleasant branches.' This seems to be most rational and natural, not only from the words, but from the sense ; if we consider that Jacob compares this tribe to a tree, as he does that of Joseph in the following verses, and as good men are often compared to fine trees, Psal. i. 3., and xcii. 12. either because of their fruitfulness, Naphtali having brought but four children to Egypt, Gen. xlvi. 24. which in less than 215 years produced more than fifty thousand, Num. i. 42. ; or upon the account of the fruitful- ness of the country, which fell to their lot, which Moses and Josephus represent as the richest of all Judea. || By this rhetorical amplification Jacob sets forth the strength of Joseph's family, and the large extent of his twofold tribe, Ephraim and Manasseh, which at the first numbering of the tribes yielded of men able to go forth to war threescore and twelve thousand and seven hundred men, Num. i. And at the second numbering, fourscore, five thousand and two hundred, Num. xxvi.; far ex- ceeding any other tribe. U Amongst these archers, his brethren may un- doubtedly claim the first place : for they are ex- pressly said to have hated him, Gen. xxxvii. 4. and to have conspired his death, ver. IS and afterwards to have sold him, ver. 28. Next to them his lewd mistress, and, by her means, his master Pottphar, may be reckoned among these archers ttiat sorely grieved him. ** bo the last English translation has it, making M 90 HISTORY OF [Hook J. Israel; to which thou wast advanced by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, bless- ings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.' * Then adding, * The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors, unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills. 'f And then to centre them all in Joseph, he says, ' They shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of him that was separated from his brethren.' Jacob concludes with Benjamin, his youngest son, of whom he said, ' Benja- min shall be ravenous as a wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey and at night he shall divide the spoil;' in which words he as aptly as briefly foretells the j fierce and cruel nature of that tribe, ex- emplified, among other instances, in that of the Levite's concubine, Judg. xix. 20, 21. The good old patriarch, having deliver- ed himself thus to his sons, gives them his blessing, not according to his own natural aifection or inclination, but according to the divine direction then given him ; and putting them in mind of his death, says, 1 1 am going to be gathered to my people, the Shepherd and Stone synonymous. That of 1610 reads it, ' of whom was the feeder appointed by the Stone of Israel:' taking the Stone to be Christ, and the shepherd or feeder appointed by him to be Joseph. But Tremellius and Junius make Joseph to be both the shepherd and the stone, viz. of refuge to Israel. There is an ellipsis, or defect in the sentence, which interpreters supply as they think best. However it be taken, un- doubtedly Jacob had a regard to Joseph's constant resisting the assaults of his mistress, and patiently bearing the severity of his master, and likewise to his taking care of and feeding both Israel and the Egyptians and others, as a shepherd provides for his flock. These were terms comprehensive of all out- ward blessings. f Which is a term of duration commonly used in scripture: but Dent, xxxiii. 15. seems to ex- plain this text more directly, where Moses' repeat- ing this very blessing of Jacob on Joseph does not seem so much to regard the comparison of hills in respect of duration, as in point of blessing, which God more largely dispensed in hills and mountains. I charge you bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite :' which, that they might not mis- take, he further describes thus: 'In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Ca- naan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite, for a posses- sion of a burying-place.' And to engage them the more to perform his will in this, he tells them, ' There Abraham and Sarah his wife were buried; and there Isaac and Rebekah his wife were buried ; and there I buried Leah.' And to assure them of their right to that burying-place, he tells them further, 'That the field and the cave therein were purchased not only of Eph- ron, but of the children of Heth.' Having thus given his last charge to his sons concerning his funeral, he laid his feet on the bed and quietly expired.^ The loss of so good a father must un- doubtedly be very afflicting to so numerous a family, whose chief support depended on the piety of him ; yet we find none of Jacob's sons that paid the least demonstra- tions of filial affection and duty with so much devotion as the pious Joseph. He could not see his aged parent's face, though dead, without kissing, and bathing it with his tears. And having thus given vent to his passion, he commanded his servants the physicians to embalm him ; which J Whilst Jacob was prophesying and blessing his sons, he sat on the bed, his feet hanging down ; but when he had done talking to them and taken his leave of them, he gathered his feet into the bed, and departed. $ The manner of embalming among the Egyp- tians, according to Herodotus, Diodorus, and others, was as follows. When a man died, his body was carried to the artificer, whose business it was to make coffins. The upper part of the coffin represented the person who was to be put in it, whether man or woman ; and (if a person of dis- tinction) was generally adorned with such paintings and embellishments as were suitable to its quality. When the body was brought home again, they agreed with the embalmers ; but, according to the quality of the person, the prices were different. The highest was a talent, that is, about three hun- dred pounds sterling ; twenty minae was a moder- ate one ; and the lowest a very small matter. As , the body lay extended, one of them, whom they Chap. XII.] THE BIBLE. 91 accordingly they did. And when the usual time of mourning was over, Joseph entreated some of Pharaoh's courtiers (for as he was a mourner, it was not proper for him to appear in his presence) to acquaint him, that his father just before his death had obliged him by an oath to bury him in the sepulchre of their family in the land of Canaan ; and therefore to beg leave of the king for him to go and bury his father, upon promise to come again. The king readily consents, and Joseph sets forward, attended not only with his own and his father's family, but with the chief officers of the household and nobility, who, to hon- our Joseph, and grace the funeral, would bear him company, partaking in all the solemnity performed to the memory of his deceased father.* called the designer, marked out the place, on the left side, where it was to be opened, and then a dissector, with a very sharp Egyptian stone, made the incision, through which they drew all the in- testines, except the heart and kidneys, and then washed them with palm-wine, and other strong and binding drugs. The brains they drew through the nostrils with a hooked piece of iron, made particularly for that purpose, and tilled the skull with astringent drugs. The whole body they anointed with oil of cedar, with myrrh, cinnamon, and other drugs, for about thirty days, by which means it was preserved entire, without so much as losing its hair, and sweet, without any signs of putrefaction. After this, it was put into salt about forty days ; and therefore when Moses says, that forty days were employed in embalming Jacob, Gen. 1. 3. he must mean the forty days of his con- tinuing in the salt of nitre, without including the thirty days that were spent in the other operations above mentioned ; so that, in the whole, they mourned seventy days in Egypt, as Moses likewise observes. Last of all, the body was taken out of this salt, washed, and wrapped up in linen swad- dling-bands dipped in myrrh, and rubbed with a certain gum, which the Egyptians used instead of glue, and so returned to the relations, who put it into the coffin, and kpt it in some repository in their houses, or in ; .rr os "..> f \-a rti :ila Jy fo: tlu t purpose Calmet and Warourton. * The splendour and magnificence of our pa- I triarch's funeral seem to be without a parallel in | history. The noble obsequies of Marcellus com' i nearest in comparison ; but how do even these fall short of the simple narrative before us ! For what are the six hundred beds, for which the Roman solemnities on that occasion were so famous, in comparison of this national itinerant multitude, which swelled like a flood, and moved like a river; to 'all Pharaoh's servants, to the elders of his After some travel they came to the thrashing-floor of Atad,f where they made a halt; and Joseph made a solemn mourn- ing for his father seven days together. The Canaanites who inhabited the land, seeing the Egyptians mix themselves in these obsequies, were amazed, and think- ing they had the greatest concern in this funeral lamentation, could not forbear say- ing, ' This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians:' from whence the name of that place was called Abel-Mizraim, that is, ' the Mourning of the Egyptians.' This solemnity being ended, they went on ; and being come to the field of Mach- pelah, which Abraham had bought for a burying-place, they buried Jacob in the cave there; and having thus performed Jacob's will they all returned to Egypt. So long as Jacob lived, Joseph's bre- thren knew themselves secure ; but now their father was dead, their former fear returned, and suggested to them the just revenge Joseph might take of them for the former miseries they had occasioned to him. Wherefore they consulted to- gether how to depreciate their offence ; which they soon agreed upon, and made their dead father, whose memory they knew was very dear to pious Joseph, their advocate ; and framing a message in Ja- cob's name, they sent it to their brother in these words : ' Thy father commanded us before he died, saying, Thus shall ye say to Joseph ; Forgive I pray thee now the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did evil unto thee : and pardon them, not only for my sake, but because they are the servants of the God of thy father.' This message was artfully worded ; for house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,' t" at is. to the officers of his household, and depu- ties of his provinces, with all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house, conducting their solemn sorrow for near two hundred miles into a distant country Bibliotheca Bibl. f It is uncertain whether Atad be the name of a place or of a man ; the thrashing-floor was pro- bably not far from Hebron. Dr Wells. 92 HISTORY OF [Book I. they, fearing that the supposed request of their dying father might not be prevailing enough now lie was dead, made God their intercessor. But there was no need of such moving arguments to Joseph's rnm- passionate temper ; their diffidence of his good-nature is as afflicting now as their offence was formerly to him. He wept at the delivery of the message ; and sending for them, they falling down at his feet in the most abject manner, he tenderly dis- misses their fears, and comforts them : 4 Revenge,' says he, * belongs to God, and I forgive you. For though you designed ill against me, yet God turned it to good, making me, through your malice, an in- strument under him to save much people alive, and you especially, as is now evi- dent. Therefore fear no hurt from me ; for I will protect and cherish you and your families.' Thus the pious Joseph dismissed his brethren, with the assurance that they should always find in him an affectionate brother, and a constant friend. Joseph lived four and fifty years after his father's death, having the comfort of seeing himself the happy parent of a nu- merous offspring in his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh to the third generation. And now finding himself near his end, he sent for his brethren,* and said thus to them, * My death is at hand; but though I leave you, yet God will surely remem- ber you, and bring you out of this land, unto the land which he aware he would * Bv brethren we are not to understand the other eleven sons of Jacob, who, except Benjamin, being all older than himself, might probably be all or mo-.t of them dead ; but it must here be meatit of the heads of their families: for in the f rupture dialect all near kinsmen go under the general ap- pellation of brethren, as Abraham called Lot, Gen. xiii. 8. and ch. xxiv. 27. give to the posterity of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I charge you, therefore, when God shall thus visit you, and bring you out of this land, that you carry up my bones with you.' This eminent patriarch, having thus bound his brethren by oath to convey his remains to his native land, departs this life; and they, in compliance with his in- junction, embalmed his body, and reserved it in a coffin, f till the prediction was ful- filled. f It seems evident that coffins were not uni- versally used in Egypt, and were only used for persons of eminence and distinction. Ir. is also reasonable to believe that in times so remote as those of Joseph they might have been much less common than afterwards, and that consequently Joseph's being put in a coffin in Egypt Blight be mentioned with a design to express the great hon- ours the Egyptians did him in death, as well as in life; being treated after the most sumptuous man- ner, embalmed, and put into a coffin. It is very probable that the chief difference was not in being with or without a coffin, but in the expensiveness of the coffin itself; some of the Egyptian coffins being made of granite, and covered all over with hieroglyphics, the cutting of which must have been done at a prodigious expense, both of time and money ; the stone being so hard that we have no tools by which we can make any impression on it. Two of these are now in the British Museum, that appear to have belonged to some of the nobles of Egypt. They are dug out of the solid stone, and adorned with almost innumerable hieroglyphics One of these, vulgarly called Alexander's tomb, is ten feet three inches and a quarter long, ten inches thick in the sides, in breadth at bottom four feet two inches and a half, and three feet ten in depth, and weighs about ten tons. In such a coffin I sup- pose the body of Joseph was deposited ; and such an one could not have been made and transported to Canaan at an expense that any private individual could bear. It was with incredible labour and at an extraordinary expense that the coffin in ques- tion was removed the distance of but a few miles, from the ship that brought it from Egypt, to its present residence in the British Museum. Judge, then, at what an expense such a coffin must have been digged, engraved, and transported over the desert from Egypt to Canaan, a distance of three hundred miles! We need not be surprised to hear of carriages and horsemen, a very great company, when such a coffin was to be carried so far, with a suitable company to attend it. Dr A. Clarke. THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. BOOK II. FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE ISRAELITES' OPPRESSION IN EGYPT TO THE DEATH OF MOSES. PRELIMINARY REMARKS. One of the great mysteries in the dispen- sations of Providence, is God's making choice of the children of Israel for his pe- culiar people, when it is so manifest, as Moses plainly tells them, that they were a stiff- necked nation, and 'had been rebel- lious from the very first day that he knew them.' ' God will be gracious to whom he will be gracious, and will show mercy to whom he will show mercy.' But, upon supposition that the children of Israel did not behave so well during their abode in Egypt, that they neglected the wor- ship of the true God, and complied too much with the idolatrous customs of the country; this will afford us reason enough whv (od might suffer their sorrows to be multiplied, ' and their enemies to ride over their backs.' ' He does not indeed afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men;' and therefore, we may presume, that this severe chastisement of his rod was to make them smart for some great and national defection ; was to remind them of their sad degeneracy from the virtue of their ancestors ; and so in the language of the prophet 'to look unto the rock whence they were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence they were digged; to look unto Abraham their father, and unto Sarah that bare them.' But even putting the case, that they had not been thus culpable; yet, since 'whom the Lord love th he chastene+.li, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth,' who can say, but that God might justly permit such calami- ties to befall a people whom he had adopt- ed for his own, the more to exercise their virtue and patience, and resignation to the divine will; the more to keep up a distinc- tion between them and the Egyptians, which a friendly usage might have de- stroyed; the more to prepare, and make them willing to leave 1-gypt, whenever God should send them an order to depart; and the more to heighten the relish 01 their future deliverance, and to make them more thankful, more obedient to him and his injunctions, upon every remembrance of that ' house of bondage,' wherein they had suffered so much, and been so long detained? Of all the writers of the histories of their own times, there is none to be com- pared to Moses in this respect, that, as well as faithfully detailing the infirmities of God's chosen people, he reveals his own faults and blemishes, which he might have easily concealed, and conceals many things, recorded in other authors, which 94 HISTORY OF [Book II. might have redounded to his own immortal honour. He might have concealed the near consanguinity between his father and mother, which in after-ages made mar- riages unlawful, though then perhaps it might be dispensed with. He might have concealed his murder of the Egyptian, and, for fear of apprehension, his escape into Midian. He might have concealed his aversion to the office of rescuing his brethren from their bondage ; the many frivolous excuses he made, and the flat denial he gave God at last, till God was in a manner forced to obtrude it upon him. He might have concealed his ne- glect in not circumcising his son, which drew God's angry resentment against him, so that he met him, and would have slain him. He might have concealed some peevish remonstrances he made to God, when Pharaoh proved obstinate and re- fused to comply. Above all, he might have concealed the whole story of the magicians, their working three miracles equally with him, and every other circum- stance that seemed to eclipse his glory ; but* instead of this, we may observe, that as he makes a large chasm in his life from his childhood to his being forty years old, and from forty to fourscore, so he has left us nothing of the incomparable beauty and comeliness of his person ; nothing of the excellency of his natural parts, and politeness of his education ; nothing of his Ethiopian expedition, the conquests he made there, and the posts of honour which he held in the Egyptian court ; nothing, indeed, of all the transactions of the pre- ceding part of his life, but what the au- thor to the Hebrews has taken care to transmit, namely, that when he came to years, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God> than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.' So that here we have a signal evidence of the truth and honesty of our historian, that in the passages of his own life he conceals such as an impostor would be fond to emblazon, and discovers others which any man of art and design would be careful to conceal.* CHAPTER I. A new king succeeding to the Egypt'an throne, soon after the death of Joseph, the Israelites are grievously oppressed. The king's orders to destroy the male children is not obeyed. Moses is born, and brought up by Pharaoh's daughter. Avenges the cause of his brethren. Is appointed shepherd to Jethro. God ap- pears to him, and appoints him to a special embassy to the king of Egypt. Unhappily for the Israelites, who were strangers in the land of Egypt; they had not long lost Joseph, who was their suc- cour and support, before a new king suc- ceeded to the throne, who, regarding them with a jealous eye, and fearing their power and influence, as they were become very wealthy by means of their brother, sum- moned a council, and laid before them the absolute necessity of checking these stran- gers in their fortunate career. The council unanimously agreed, with their jealous prince, in the expedient he proposed, which was to employ them in making bricks, and building store-cities for Pharaoh. To gratify their avarice as weir as cru- elty, they proposed not to reap the profits of their service, but by continual hard labour to impoverish their spirits, and en- feeble their bodies : therefore they set taskmasters to oversee and keep them to hard labour, by which, and other servile work, they made their lives very uncom- fortable.f * Stackliouse. f Philo, in his life of Moses, tells us, that they were made to carry burdens above their strength, and to work night and day ; that they were iorced, at the same time, to be workers and ser- vers botli ; that they were employed in brick- making, digging, and building; and that if any ol them dropped clown dead under their burdens, they were not suffered to be buried. Josephus, in his Jewish Antiquities, tells us, in like manner, that they were compelled to learn several labori- ous trades, to build walls round cities, to dig Chap. I.] THE BIBLE. 95 But God supported them under their severities; for the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they grew and multiplied, which increased their jealousy to a greater degree of crueltv, insomuch that the king, to suppress their growth, spoke to two of the Hebrew mid wives,* Shiphrah and Puah, and gave them a strict charge, that when they should be called to do their office to the Hebrew women, if the child were a son, they should kill him ; but if a daughter, that she should live.f trenches and ditches, to drain rivers into channels, and cast up dykes and banks to prevent inunda- tions. And not only so, but that they were like- wise put upon the erection of fantastical pyramids, which were vast piles of building, raised by the kings of Egypt, in testimony of tlieir splendour and magnificence, and to be the repositories of their bodies, when dead. Thus, by three several ways the Egyptians endeavoured to bring the Israelites under : by exacting a tribute of them, to lessen tlieir wealth; by laying heavy burdens upon them, to weaken tlieir bodies ; and by preventing, by this means, as they imagined, their generating and increasing. * 'lite critics very needlessly, and with more subtilty than solidity, controvert who these mid- wives were ? and whether they were Hebrews or Egyptian*? Without doubt they were Hebrews ; and by the king of Egypt's application to them, the must celebrated of their profession. f Josephus tells us, that there was a certain scribe (as they called him) a man of great credit for his predictions, who told the king, that there was a Hebrew child to be born about that time, who would he a scourge to the Egyptians, and ad- vance the glory of his own nation, and, if he lived to grow up, would be a man eminent for virtue and courage, and make his name famous to pos- terity ; and that, by the counsel and instigation of this scribe it was, that Pharaoh gave the midwives orders to put all the Hebrew male children to death. For this distinction in his barbarity the king might have several reasons. As, 1. To have destroyed the females with the males had been an unnecessary provocation and cruelty, because there was no fear of the women's joining to the king's enemies, and righting against him. 2. The daugh- ters of Israel exceeded very much their own wo- men in beauty, and all advantages of person ; and therefore their project might be, to have them preserved for the gratification of their lust. Philn tills us that they were preserved to be married to the slaves of tlie Egyptian lords and gentry, that aiildren descended from them might be slaves even by birth. But suppose they were married to free- men, Kiev could have no children hut such as would lie Halt Egyptians, and in time he wholly ingrafted into ih.it nation. Hut 3. Admitting they married not at all, yet as the female sex among the Hebrews But these pious women, fearing the displeasure of the almighty King, rather than that of an earthly potentate, notwith- standing the strict injunction, preserved the male children ; for which Pharaoh sends for them, and in great displeasure reprimands their neglect of his edict. In excuse for which they tell him, that the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women, for they are like wild beasts, J delivered before the midwives could come to them. The piety of the midwives in preserving the male children was so acceptable to God, that he is said thereupon to deal well with the midwives ; and because they feared God, he made them houses. And by this means the people multiplied, and grew mighty. The king, whether satisfied or not with this answer of the midwives, not finding it safe to trust them any longer, resolved upon a more effectual method to extirpate the Hebrews ; and therefore he gave charge to all his people, that every son that should be born to the Hebrews should be thrown into the river. || This cruel edict for drowning all the male children must needs be very afflicting made a very considerable figure in Egypt for their sense and knowledge, the care of their families, and application to business, and for tlieir skill and dexterity in many accomplishments, that were much to be valued for the use and ornament of life, such as the distaff and the loom, dying, paint- ing, embroidering, &c. such women as these would make excellent servants and domestics for the Egyptian ladies, who had no relish of spending their time any other way than in idleness and pleasure. Jewish Antiq. and Bibliotheca Bibl. % The Hebrew word Chajoth, which is the original, signifies not only animals in general, but beasts, and even wild beasts, as has been observed by learned men, and may be seen in several places of scripture. $ That is, he made them to prosper, gave them children, and blessed their families; the word house being usually in scripture taken for the offspring or family of any one. || This inhuman edict is supposed by commen- tators, to be so abhorred by the Egyptians, that they scarce ever put it in execution ; and that it was recalled immediately after the death of Amenopthis, then king of Egypt, who enacted it; which time Eusebius and others place in the fourth year of Moses. to the Hebrew parents, and put them up- on many a thoughtful contrivance to pie- serve their infants; of which an instance soon followed; for one Amram of the house of Levi, having married a daughter of the same family, named Jochebed, had by her a daughter, whose name was Miri- am, and four vears after a son, whom thev called Aaron. About three years after Aaron's birth Jochebed was delivered of another son, who being a child of most elegant beauty, something supernatural and divine appearing in his form, his mother was the more solicitous for Iris preservation. Having kept him concealed in her house three months, but not being able any longer to hide him, and fearing he might fall into the hands of those that were appointed to drown the male children, she contrived a way to save him, by mak- ing a little boat of bulrushes, * which she daubed with pitch and slime, to keep the water out; and putting the child into it, she laid it among the flags, by the river side, and set his sister Miriam at a distance to observe what became of him. But the providence of God soon inter- posed in behalf of the helpless infant: for Thermuthis,f Pharaoh's only daughter, coming to the river to bathe 1 erself, her maids looking for a retirement for that purpose, discovered the boat, with the child in it, which Thermuthis command- ing them to bring to her, she no sooner uncovered the child, but it made its mourn- ful complaint to her in a flood of tears. * The bulrush here mentioned is the papyrus, for which the banks of the Nile were so celebrated ; the inner rind of which was manufactured by the Egyptians into a substance for writing on, whence the word paper. Various ancient authors refer to the use of small canoes among the Egyptians, com- posed of interwoven bulrushes of this description overlaid with bitumen and pitch. Patterson. f So Josephus calls her; 3nd from him Philo, who adds, that she was the king's only daughter and heir ; and that being sometime married, but having no child, she pretended to be big with child and to l>e delivered of Moses; whom she owned as her natural son. Agreeable to which is what the apostle says, that when Moses was grown up, HISTORY OF [Book II. This unexpected accident, and the ex- traordinary beauty of the child, moved tlie Egyptian princess wjth compassion, which she expressed in an accent of pity, saying to this effect: 'This is some Hebrew child, which the parents have hid to preserve him from the king's cruel edict.' By this time Miriam, the child's sister, had thrust herself in amongst the attend- ants of the princess; and observing with what tenderness she looked upon t'ie child, very officiously offered her service to procure an Hebrew nurse for him which the princess accepted : and the girl hastened away to her mother, and brought her to the place, where she received the child from the princess, who engaged to pay her for her care. No doubt this was a welcome bargain to the mother, who, taking the child home with her, durst now nurse it openly, hav- ing a royal protection for his security. When he was grown big enough his mother brought him to court to show him to the princess, tm\ satisfy her how he had improved under her care. The prin- cess grew so fond of him that she adopted him for her son;:}: and in remembrance that she had drawn him out of the water, she called his name Moses; and to ac- complish him the more, she keeps him at court, where he is instructed in all the learning and discipline used among the he scorned to be thought the son of Pharaoh's daughter. From whence it is plain he was esteem- ed as such. And if any one should ask, why he did not in right of his mother succeed to the king- dom ? It may reasonably be answered, that the fraud of his adopted mother and his own adoption being detected, he could pretend no right to the crown of Egypt. J The Jews observe, that whoever brings up a pupil in his house, is in scripture said to have be- gotten him. And thus it is said, that Mo.es was the son of Pharaoh's daughter, though she had only taken care of his education. $ At his circumcision, says Clement Alexandri- nus, his parents called him Joachim, (that is, the resurrection of the Lord,) from a presaging hope, that the Lord, through him, would raise up his people Israel, deliver them from the Egyptian bondage they were then in, and bting them again to the promised laud. Chap. I.] Egyptians, both civil and military, and in all things requisite and becoming the character and quality of a prince of the blood. * Moses being forty years old left the court, and went to see his brethren; and when he reflected on the oppression they laboured under, it affected him with com- passion and indignation to see the ser- vants of the most high God subjected to a servitude exceeding that of brutes. This was soon increased by an opportu- nity that just then offered; which was an Egyptian striking an Hebrew. This in- flamed Moses's zeal, ,who, looking about to see whether any man was within sight, chastises the Egyptian, making him expi- ate his barbarity to the injured Hebrew with his blood; f and afterwards buried him in the sand; supposing by his taking upon him thus to administer justice, that his brethren would have understood, that God by his hand would have delivered them; but they understood him not. However, the next day he went out, and showed himself among them again; and * Besides the education which his own parents gave him, Pliilo acquaints us, that, from his Egyp- tian masters, he was taught arithmetic, geometry, physic, music, and hieroglyphics, otherwise called enigmatical philosophy ; that from the Chaldeans he learned astronomy ; from the Assyrians their character, or manner of writing; and from the Grecians all their liberal arts and sciences. But that was not a time for the Egyptians, who ex- celled the rest of the world in all sorts of learning, to send for masters from Greece, which rather stood in need of Egyptian teachers; for, to be learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians (as St Stephen asserts of Moses, Acts vii. 22.) was to have the best and most liberal education that the whole world could at that time afford. Stack- house. f Some object, that it was very unreasonable for Moses to kill the Egyptian for only striking one of the Hebrews. In answer to this the Hebrews say, that the Hebrew whom the Egyptian struck was husband to one Salornith, a very beautiful woman whom the Egyptian had debauched. And that therefore Moses slew the Egyptian, not for striking the Hebrew, but for the adultery, which he discovered from them whilst they- were quarrelling: some say, perhaps the Egyptian had almost killed the Hebrew, and that Moses could no other way than by force keep him off': or that the Egyptian attacked Moses, and so he was forced to kill him in his own defence. THE BIBLE. 97 finding two men of the Hebrews quarrel- ling, he endeavoured to reconcile them, putting them in mind that they were bre- thren; and with some smartness repre- hending the aggressor, he demanded for what reason he thus attacked the other? The fellow, thrusting him away with dis- dain, replies: 'Who made you a prince and judge over us? Do you intend to kill me, as you did the Egyptian yester- day?' Moses was startled at this, and to prevent the fatal consequence that would attend, in reaching the ears of the king, he left Egypt, a circumstance that strong- ly proves his being immediately under the divine care; for Pharaoh soon heard of it, but Moses was fled from his dominions into the land of Midian.J J Josephus, who has given us several particulars of Moses's life, which, in modesty perhaps, he might not think proper to record of himself, has assigned a farther reason for his leaving Egypt, of which it may not be improper, in this place, to give the reader this short abstract. " When Moses was grown to man's estate, he had an opportunity offered him of showing his courage and conduct. The Ethiopians, who inhabited the other land on the south side of Egypt, had made many dreadful incursions, plundered and ravished all the neigh- bouring parts of the country, beat, the Egyptian army in a set battle, and were become so elated with their success, that they began to march to- wards the capital of Egypt. In this distress, the Egyptians had recourse to the oracle, which an- swered, that they should make choice of an Hebrew for their general. As none was more promising than Moses, the king desired his daughter to con- sent, that he should go, and head his army ; but she, after having first expostulated with her father, how mean a thing it was for the Egyptians to im- plore the assistance of a man whose death they had been complotting, would not agree to it, until she had obtained a solemn promise upon oath, that no practices or attempts should be made upon his life. When Moses, upon the princess's pei- suasion, had at last accepted the commission, he made it his first care to come up with the enemy before they were aware of him ; and, to this pur- pose, instead of marching up the Nile, as the cus- tom was before, he chose to cross the country, though the passage was very dangerous, by reason of the poisonous flying serpents which infested those parts ; but for this he had a new expedient. The bird ibis, though very friendly to every other creature, is a mortal enemy to all serpents ; and therefore having got a sufficient number of these, he carried them along witii him in cages, and as soon as he came to any dangerous places, be let them loose upon the serpents, and by their means and protection, proceeding without any harm or molestation, he entered tne enemy's country, took 98 HISTORY OF [Book II Here was the happy place, and then the blessed time when majesty, guarded only with rural innocence, submitted to the humble office of a shepherd, and a crook instead of a sceptre graced the peaceful monarch's hand. Here Jethro, first in quality both of prince and priest, enjoy- ed the blessings of a quiet reign, whose daughters laid aside the distinction of their birth to feed their father's flocks, and took more delight in the innocent and useful employment of tending their harmless sheep, than in the luxurious gaiety of a court. In the plains of Midian there was a well common to all the natives of the place to water their cattle. Hitherto Moses di- rected his steps, as well to rest himself, as allay his thirst ; where, whilst he was re- freshing himself, the seven daughters of the prince of Midian (that is, Jethro, who was both priest and prince) came to draw water to fill the troughs to give their sheep ; but some churlish shepherds, hav- ing a mind to serve their own turns first, came rudely and put the royal shepherd- esses by. Moses seeing this, steps in to their relief; and, chastising the shepherds, made them fly. several of their cities, and obliged them at last to retreat into Saba, the metropolis of Ethiopia. Moses sat down before it ; but, as it was situate in an island, with strong fortifications about it, in all probability it would have cost him a longer time to carry it, had not Tharbis, the king of Ethiopia's daughter, who had the fortune once to see him from the walls behaving himself with the utmost gallantry, fallen in love with him. Where- upon she sent privately to let him know, that the city should be surrendered to him, upon condition that he would marry her immediately after. Moses agreed to the proposal ; and having taken posses- sion of the place, and of the princess, returned with his victorious army to Egypt. Here, instead of reaping the fruits of his great achievements, the Egyptians accused him of murder to the king, who, having already taken some umbrage at his valour and great reputation, was resolved to rid himself of him : but Moses, having some suspicion of it, made his escape, and not daring to go by the com- mon roads, for fear of being stopped by the king's guards, was forced to pass through a great desert to reach the land of Midian," which place is generally supposed to have been in Arabia Petraea, on the eastern coast of the Red sea, not far from mount Sinai. The frighted damsels returned to the wells, and Moses very officiously assists them in drawing water for their flocks : after which, they took their leave, and hasted home to give their father an ac- count of the generosity of the stranger, who had protected them against the in- sults of the rustics. Jethro* hearing their story, and not seeing the person that had thus gallantly defended them, reprehends their ingratitude and incivility, asking what was become of the generous stranger? They told him they left him at the well: whereupon he bid them go and invite him home, where Moses was so pleased with their kind entertainment, that he expressed a willingness to take up his residence with them, and undertake the charge of their sheep. Jethro readily closed with the proposal, and to engage him the more to his interest, bestowed Zipporah, one of his daughters, upon him for a wife ; by whom he had two sons, the eldest of whom he named Gershom, which signifies ' a stran- ger here :' for he said, ' I have been a stranger in a strange land ;' and the younger he called Eliezer, importing, * God my help :' ' For the God of my fa ther, said he, was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.' Whilst Moses continued in Jethro's family, the king of Egypt died : but his successor proved no more favourable to the poor oppressed Hebrews; who chang- ed their oppressor, but not their condition; the miseries of which rather increased than abated. In vain they appeal to the mer- ciless tyrant, and his more cruel taskmas- ters, who lord it over them with unbound- ed severity. But God, who saw the affliction of his people, and whose ears were open to re- ceive their complaints, looked with an eye of compassion upon them ; and the ap- pointed time of their deliverance, which * In Exod. ii. 18. he is called Reuel; so that ! either Reuel was his name as well as Jethro ; or else Heuel was the father of Jethro, and therefore ' grandfather of these young women. Chap. I.j THF BIBLE. 99 he in his secret providence had determin- ed, being near, he began to think of pre- paring Moses for it, whom he intended to make use of as an instrument in the great work. Whilst Moses "kept his father-in-law's sheep, he one day led* them as far into the desert as Mount Horeb,f where the angel of the Lord 'appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. Moses was startled at the sight, but that which added to his admiration and roused his curiosity, was the continuance of the bush unconsumed, notwithstanding it was wholly encompassed with flames.:]: * Here we may observe the manner of those times and countries, that whereas the shepherds here drive their flocks before them, the shepherds there went before their flocks, and the flocks fol- lowed them. The oriental shepherd, to facilitate the management of his charge, gives names to his sheep, which answer to them, as dogs and horses answer to theirs in these parts of the world. The flocks in the island of Cymon ran off* when a stranger approached them ; but when the shep- herd blew his horn, they immediately recognised the sound, and scampered towards the spot from whence it came. These curious customs our Lord beautifully applies to his own management, as the great Shepherd of his church : ' the sheep hear his voice ; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his sheep, he goeth before them ; and the sheep fol- low him ; for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him ; for they know not the voice of strangers.' -f- Which signifies forsaken, and is here, Exod. iii. 1. called the mountain of God, by way of anti- cipation, both from the following appearance of God upon it, at this time, and hisdescenaing upon it afterwards, to give the law to his people, ch. xix. 20. where, though it is called Sinai, it is the same place with this, for St Stephen reciting this pre- sent passage in Acts vii. 30. calls it Mount Sinai. J It is not unfitly observed, that the burning bush may represent the state of Israel at that time, who were entangled in the thorny bush of adver- itv, and encompassed with the fire of affliction, in which they were like to be consumed. It is also an emblem of the church, to which it may be com- pared on account of its weak, obscure, and con- iemptible state, in the esteem of worldly men, who ore taken with nothing but what dazzles the eye of sense. For though there is a real glory, and a spiritual magnificence, in this holy society, she can- not compete with earthly kingdoms in outward splendour, any more than a bush in the wilderness can vie with a cedar in Lebanon : for besides the paucity of her true members, they are commonly to be found rather in smoky cottages than proud palaces ; and sometimes they have been found in This extraordinary circumstance made Moses consider it more attentively, and therefore said to himself, I will turn aside and see if I can discover the reason why the bush is in a flame of fire, and yet is not consumed. But the Lord, to prevent his irreverent approaches, and strike the greater awe and sense of the divine pre- sence into him, called to him out of the bush, and forbade him drawing nearer ; and to make him still more sensible of the sacredness of the place, God commanded him not to profane it, but to put off his sandals, for the ground whereon he stood was holy. Moses being prepared for an awful at- tention, the Almighty thus discovers him- prisons, dungeons, dens, and caves of the earth. Let the fire in which the bush burned signify the fiery trials to which the church has been no stranger in all ages. Sometimes she has burned in the fire of persecution, and sometimes of division. But as the bush was not consumed, so neither shall the church be finally destroyed. In vain shall the great red dragon persecute this woman clothed with the sun, and watch to devour her offspring ; for a place is prepared for her in the wilderness by the great God, and there no necessary provision shall be wanting. How many times have bloody and deceitful men conspired her destruction ? When were incendiaries wanting to foment and kindle those fires, which, without the immediate interposition of the Keeper of Israel, would cer- tainly have wasted unto destruction, and completed the utter extinction of this humble bush ? What society, but this alone, could have subsisted to this day, in the midst of a hating world ? Where are now the mighty empires of antiquity? They are but an empty name, live only in history, having fallen to pieces by their own weight, or been crushed by bloody war. But the church of Christ, though she has undergone many revolutions, remains, and will remain, when the consumption determined by the Lord of hosts shall come upon all the earth. M l Ewen. Meaning, that wherever God, who is holiness itself, appears, the place is holy, while he is there. On entering a sacred place it was usual for the orientals to lay the sandals aside, a custom which still obtains among the Mohammedans, Brahmins, and Parsees. Morier says the shoe was always considered as vile, and never was allowed to enter sacred or respected places. " The natives of Ben- gal," says Ward, " never go into their own houses with their shoes on, nor into the houses of others, but always leave their shoes at the door. It would be a great affront not to attend to this mark of respect when visiting ; and to enter a temple without pulling off' the shoes would be an unpar- donable offeuce." 100 HISTORY OF [ Book II. self to him : < I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' The-e words struck the frighted Moses with such reverence of the divine Majesty, and fear of the effects of his presumption, that he fell on the ground and covered his face, not daring to look upon the terrible glory. But the Lord addressed him thus, * I have seen the affliction of my people ; I have heard their complaint, and am come down* to deliver them out of the hand of their oppressors, and to conduct them to the promised land, a land that floweth with milk and honey ;f to the place of the Ca- * This is speaking according to human passion, or after the manner of men ; God vouchsafes to ex- press himself in the dialect and according; to tiie capacity of man, that he may understand him. f The expression of 'flowing; with milk and honey,' when applied to any country, like that of king Solomon's making silver to be in Jerusalem like stones, is hyberholical. It denotes very rich pastures and grounds, which should feed cattle yielding abundance of milk, and which should pro- duce great plenty of flowers and plants, for the bees to make honey. It represents indeed a gen- eral fruitfuhiess all the country over ; for which Palestine, according to the account of writers of no mean character, was certainly once famous, however it came intoStrabo's head to disparage it. For, to mention an author or two of some note, Aristaeus, who was there to bring the seventy in- terpreters into Egypt, tells us. that immense and pro li ions was the produce and plenty it afforded of trees, fruits, pasture, cattle, honey, besides the spiceiy, gold, and precious stones, imported from Arabia. Josephus describes the country as it was in his time, i. e. in the time of our Saviour and his apostles, as most remarkably fruitful and pleasant, and abounding in the very choicest productions of the earth. Bochart, much later, and since the country has been inhabited by the Turks, lived in it for the space of ten years, and, as he was parti- cularly curious and diligent in informing himself in every thing, speaks the greatest things imagin- able of the richness of its soil, and the choiceness of its products : and, to name no more, our own countryman, Mr Sandys, who in the beginning of the last century travelled through it, gives it the character of ' a land adorned with beautiful moun- tains, and luxurious valleys; the rocks producing excellent waters, and no part empty of delight or profit :' and certainly those who either were na- tives or have sojourned a long time in a country, may be supposed to have a more perfect know- ledge of it than a foreigner who lived at a distance, as Strabo did. The truth rs, if we consider of what a small compass the land of Canaan is, and yet what a prodigious number of inhabitants, both before and after the Israelites became masters of naanites and Hittites, the Aworites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Je- busites. And thee have I pitched upon to be the instrument in this great work ; therefore be of good courage ; for I will send thee to Pharaoh to demand liberty of him for my people, the children of Israel.' Moses considering the hatred of the king of Egypt towards him, as well as his own insufficiency for, and unworthiuess of being the messenger of the most high God, excused himself from the arduous task in these words: Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that 1 should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?' When the Lord further encour- aged him to proceed on the task ; he still evaded the same, inquiring in what man- ner he should address the Israelites, and by whom he should tell them he was de- puted. The Lord awfully replied, * I am that I am4 And thou shalt further say to them, I am that I am ; that is, the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you ; that is the it, it maintained, we must conclude it could not but deserve the character which the authors above cited have given us of it ; and the barrenness and poverty of its soil, which some modern travellers seem to complain of, must be imputed either to its want of tillage and cultivation which the Turks, its present inhabitants, are utterly ignorant of or to the particular judgment of God, who, for the wickedness of any nation, has frequently per- formed, what he threatened to the Jews of old : ' I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass, and your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.' Stackhouse. X This denotes the eternity of God, whose es- sence knows no beginning nor end. And it is common with the Hebrews to express the future in the present tense : and for this reason some say, ' 1 will be what 1 will be;' and rontuid that it ought to be rendered not only from the letter of the Hebrew text, but from the genuine sense of the words : from which others likewise infer that it ought to be so rendered, ' I will be for ever :' and ' I will be with you, and redeem you from the J'gvptians :' and others, 'I will be with you in your present tribulations and future calamities.' I his name is likewise expressed in Revelation, by which it signifies ' Jehovah,' which is the proper name of God. Chap. I.] THE BIBLE. 101 name I have had from all eternity, and by that name will I be known for ever. Go, gather the elders* of Israel, and say to them, The Lord God of your fathers hath appeared to me, and said, I have seen all the calamities that have befallen you in Egypt, and am resolved to deliver you, and lead you into the land of Canaan. The Israelites shall believe you, and you shall go to the king of Egypt, and say to him, The God of the Hebrews hath com- manded us to go three days' journey into the desert, there to offer sacrifice to the Lord our God. This request, though so very reasonable, I know he will not grant, but refuse to let you go unless compelled by a powerful hand. But I will exert myself in many miraculous operations upon him and his subjects ; and at last he shall permit you to depart; but you shall not go away empty, for ye shall be loaded with the spoils of the Egyptians/ This solemn assurance delivered by the mouth of God, one would be apt to think, might have been sufficient to have encouraged Moses willingly to undertake the embassy ; but either from the difficulty or boldness of the enterprise, or from dif- fidence of his own abilities, he declined it, and questioned whether the Israelites would receive his credentials. This objection God immediately re- moved by a miracle; for commanding him to throw his sheep-hook on the ground, it was instantly turned into a ser- pent. Moses, affrighted at this sudden change of his sheep-hook, fled from it. But God, to encourage him, bid him take it up by die tail ; which he had no sooner done but it resumed its former shape; and at the same time, to convince him that he should not want credit with the Israel- ites, God gave commission to perform the same miracle before them. * Ry tliis some mean the doctors and governors; but it is most probable the elders were heads or chiefs of tribes and families. By which it is plain there was a private policy and economy continued among the Israelites, though in this servile con- dition. And to remove all further scruple, he condescended to give him another sign, bidding him put his hand into his bosom ; which he had no sooner done but it was struck with a white leprosy. f And when by God's command he had put it into his bosom again, and plucked it out, his flesh resumed its former colour and substance. Moreover, to arm him sufficiently, be- yond all question, he was pleased to add a third miracle; 'If they will not believe these two former, thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon dry land, and the water shall become blood.' Notwithstanding these solemn and re- peated assurances of the divine aid, favour, and protection, Moses still waved the im- portant office, urging as a farther plea, that he wanted eloquence, the great quali- fication of an ambassador; and since God had condescended to talk to him, he was more slow of speech than before. This objection the Lord was pleased to remove, by putting him in mind of his omnipotence. Who made the mouth of man ?' said he. ' And who made the dumb and deaf, and the blind, and him that sees ? Was it not I ? Now there- fore go, and I will furnish thee with words, and make thee eloquent.' Hitherto Moses had some glimpse of pretence for his unwillingness to go ; but now all his objections are answered, and his scruples removed, he very bluntly begs to be excused from this enterprise, saying, 'O my Lord, instead of me, send, I pray thee, by him whom thou wilt send.' X )- The evidence of this miracle was so much the more convincing, because the white leprosy, which was held incurable, was both inflicted and healed in an instant, without any outward means, or phy- sical application. Dr Mead says, " I have seen a remarkable case of this in a countryman, whose whole body was so miserably seized with it, that his skin was shining as if covered with snow ; and as the furfuraceons scales were daily rubbed off, the flesh appeared quick or raw underneath." The heathens imagined that this disease was inflict- ed by their gods, and that they alone could re- move it. J The text says, ' Send by the hand of him thou 102 HISTORY OF [Book II. So long as Moses had any thing to plead in excuse for his not going,* God heard him patiently, and graciously con- descended to remove his doubts ; but when his modesty in declining the office and honour God proposed to him was turned into an obstinate refusal, the Lord was angry with him ; but in his anger remembering mercy, he resumes Moses's last objection (which he had already an- swered in general) and shows him more particularly how to supply that defect: 'Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother?' said he. ' He is eloquent, and I will appoint him to meet thee. Tell him what I have said; and be assured that I will assist you both, and direct you what to say: he shall be the orator, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.f And to strengthen thy commission, and give thee credit among my people, take this rod in thy hand, for I will enable thee to do many miracles with it.' Moses, having nothing more to urge against this enterprise, at last yields, and took the rod of God X in his hand. Then wilt send ;' where the word hand is put for the office or ministry. But by Moses's desiring God to send another instead of him, he means a man fitter to execute that commission than himself was. * It is the opinion of several commentators on this place, and it is very probable, that Moses had another reason besides his insufficiency, which made him unwilling to go on this errand into Egypt, and which he was not willing to discover. Just before God appeared to Moses in the bush, and had this discourse with him, as we read in Exodus, the king of Egypt died ; that king in whose reign Moses had slain the Egyptian, and who sought to apprehend him, to put him to death for it. f That is, he shall consult thee instead of me, that from thee he may know my will, and thou shalt impart to him what thou receivest of me. Consonant to this is that of our Saviour Christ to his apostles, ' He that heareth you heareth me,' &c. By the words, ' Thou shalt be to him in- stead of, or as God,' commentators show the fiower God now invested Moses with, in delivering lim this commission, making him not only chief over Aaron, but the rest of the Israelites. For this name of God is no where given to men, but toignify the power of life and death over them. J. So it is now called, since God had so signally honoured it, and as it were, consecrated it to an holy use, Exod. iv. 26. taking his wife and sons he left Mount Horeb, and went to Jethro his father-in- law, with whom, it seems, he left them till he had conducted the children of Israel out of Egypt, when Jethro brought them to him again in the wilderness. Moses being thus convinced that God had designed him the agent in transacting this grand affair, whilst he was preparing himself for his journey, to make him more cheerfully proceed in it, and to dispel his fears of being called to account for his former actions in Egypt, God bids him return thither, assuring him, that those who had a design against his life were dead. Then repeating his former order, he says, ' When thou comest into Egypt, be sure to perform all the miracles I have enabled thee to do ; and to illustrate my power, I will so harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall refuse to let the children of Israel go, till I have slain his son, even his first-born.' By the way God takes occasion to put Moses in mind of the danger of disobedi- ence, to preserve him from lapsing into it hereafter. It seems Moses, either through neglect, or indulgence to his wife, who was not an Israelite, had not yet circumcised his son Eliezer, by which he provoked the Lord o highly that in the way he threatened to kill him for his neglect. His wife Zipporah, understanding the cause of the divine displeasure, took a sharp flint, and immediately circumcised the child; and throwing the foreskin at her husband's feet, she said, ' Thou art a husband of blood to me.'H It seems most probable from the context that Moses's punishment must be sickness, or some corporal visitation upon him ; otherwise, if he had been in health, he, and not Zipporah his wife, would have circumcised the child. || Undoubtedly, the word blood here refers to the circumcision which was the cause of its effu- sion. Nor do they seem to conjecture amiss, who thus interpret this text : ' With the blood of my child 1 preserve and save thee: for, the neglect of the child's being circumcised being thy fault, I Chap. II.] This being over, the Lord pardoned Moses, and dismissed him to pursue his journey, which he did, and soon arrived at his father-in-law Jethro's house, whom, as he acquainted not with the particular reason of his leaving Egypt, so neither does he now say any thing to him of the vision he had seen, nor the message he had received from God to deliver to the king of Egypt; but as he had entered himself by contract into Jethro's service, and become so nearly related as to be his son-in-law, he thought it but reasonable to ask his consent to return to Egypt to visit his brethren, and see whether they were living. Jethro readily gave consent in the usual form, ' Go in peace.' Moses being now in the way to Egypt, the Lord commanded Aaron his brother* to go into the wilderness to meet Moses. Aaron obeyed the holy call, and went as far as Mount Horeb, where he met his brother, and embraced him ; to whom Moses told all that God had commanded him, and the wonders he was to perform. The two brothers thus joined in com- mission, though Moses was sovereign, re- pair to Egypt; and summoning the elders of the people together, Aaron delivers the message which the Lord had sent by Moses, and Moses straightway confirmed THE BIBLE. 103 it, by doing the miracles which God had commanded, in the sight of the people, who thereupon believed, and received them joyfully. And now, all being convinced that the Lord had taken compassion on the wretch- ed condition of the children of Israel, that he had visited them in their affliction, and had taken a course for their deliverance, they fell down and worshipped him. have saved thy life by the blood of the circumci- sion, which otherwise God might have taken away.' The knives of stone, used by the Jews in circumcision, were not enjoined by the law ; but the use was founded either on custom, convenience, or experience that instruments of this kind were less dangerous than those of metal. Zipporah used a stone to circumcise her son. Joshua did the same at Gilgal, Josh. v. 2. The Egyptians used knives of stone to open dead bodies that were to he enbalmed. They used stone knives to make incisions in the tree, whence the balm distilled ; also, to cut the canes for writing with. The Af- ricans of Morocco, and some Americans, still have them in common use. The oriental Jews com- monly used them for the circumcision of their children, being not unlike flints for guns: but the western Jews use a razor. Calrnet. * Elence it is plain, that Aaron, as a prophet, received a revelation from God; which is likewise confirmed, 1 Sam. ii. 27. ' Did not I plainly ap- pear to the house of thy father, when they were in E^ypt?' for Eli was descended from Aaron. CHAPTER II. Moses and Aaron arrive at the court of Pharaoh, deliver their message to the king, and are re- primanded by him. Pharaoh increases the burden of the Israelites. God renews his promise to his chosen people. Pharaoh's heart is hardened, insomuch that he would not release the Israelites from bondage, not- withstanding the miracles wrought by Moses and Aaron. The servants of God thus commissioned, arrive at the court of Pharaoh; and in positive terms demanded the release of the Israelites. The haughty tyrant not only denied compliance with their de- mand, but most impiously arraigned the divine prerogative, and called in question the existence of the only wise and true God in these presumptuous words: 'Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.' Moses and Aaron, to inform him whom they meant by the Lord, replied, 'The God of the Hebrews whom we adore, hath commanded us to offer sacrifice to him; therefore we beg leave to go three days' journey into the desert, that we may pay due adoration to our God, lest he punish us for our disobedience, and you much more for hindering us.' The king, incensed at this unusual li- berty they took, and looking upon them as incendiaries, sharply reprimanded them, saying, 'Why do ye hinder the people from work? Because they are numerous, you would incite them to rebel: be gone JU4 HISTORY OF [Book II. all to your labour, or I will make you sensible of royal displeasure.' The king having thus rudely dismissed Moses and Aaron, gave charge to the taskmasters that they should no more give the people straw to make brick * as they had done before; but make them go gather straw for themselves where they could find it ; but yet to lay upon them the same tale of bricks without abatement; for, said he, they are idle, and this is but a pretence to excuse them from their work. The taskmasters acquainted their under officers with this severe injunction, who immediately told it to the people, and they accordingly were forced to wander about the country to seek for stubble in- stead of straw; the taskmasters at the same time exacting from them their usual num- ber of bricks; which when they were not able to perform, the under officers, who were Israelites, and whom the taskmasters had set over them, were called to account, and beaten. They, not well knowing from whence this severity proceeded, whether from the edict of the king, or the rigour of the taskmasters, complained to the king him- self, and laying their grievance before him, in a most humble manner expostu- lated the matter with him thus: 'Why should the king deal so severely with his servants? The taskmasters allow us no * The Egyptian bricks were a mixture of elajr, mud, and straw, slightly blended and kneaded to- gether, and afterwards baked in the sun. Philo, in his life of Moses, says, that they used straw to bind their bricks. The straw still preserves its original colour, and is a proof that these bricks were never burnt in stacks or kilns. Part of the bricks of the. celebrated tower of Babel (or of Be- lus, as the Greeks termed it,) were made of clay mixed with chopped straw, or broken reeds, to compact it, and then dried in the sun. Their so- lidity is equal to that of the hardest stone. Among the ruins discovered on the site of ancient Nineveh, are houses, built of sun-dried bricks, cemented with mud; and similarly constructed dwellings were observed by Mr Buckingham in the village of Karagoosh, near Mousul in Mesopotamia. At this day the town of Busheher (or Bushire,) like most of the towns in Persia, is built with sun- dried bricks and mud. Home. straw, and yet demand brick of us, which is impossible to be done: and though they are in fault, yet are we punished.' This just and reasonable desire, instead of redress, met with an addition to the cause of their complaint; the king told them they should have no straw, and yet deliver the full tale of bricks. This answer gave them much uneasi- ness, and drove them almost to despair: so that, meeting with Moses and Aaron in the way, as they came from Pharaoh, and looking upon them as the cause of having these heavier burdens laid upon them, they unadvisedly giving way to their pre- sent passion, discharged their grief and anger upon them, Baying, 'The Lord re- venge us on you; for ye have made us hateful and abominable in the sight of the king and his subjects, and have given them occasion' to oppress us the more.f This reflection grieved the soul of Moses, who expected a more grateful re- turn for his care and concern for them; wherefore retiring from them, he address- ed himself to God in this humble expos- tulation: 'Why, O Lord, hast thou thus afflicted this people? For since I spoke to Pharaoh in thy name, he hath treated them with more severity than before; and they are more unlikely to be delivered than ever.' Moses's concern for the oppression of the Israelites made him forget the pro- mise God had given him, and the per- verseness of Pharaoh, which he had fore- told: however, God, to encourage him, gives him this gracious answer: 'I am the Lord, the Almighty God, that appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Was I not known to them by my name Jehovah? Be assured that I the Lord, who made a covenant with their fathers to give to t The text is in Exod. v. 21. *Ye have put a sword into their hand to slay us,' which cannot be literally taken here ; for the Egyptians had both the civil and military sword always in their power, to use as they pleased. But this is a script i re phrase, and is often used to express any pungent calamity or affliction. Chap. II.] THL BIBLE. their posterity the land of Canaan, have heaid their complaints, and remembered my promise. Therefore say thus to the children of Israel: I am Jehovah, who ex- ist only of myself, and give existence to all beings. Tell them, I will deliver them from the Egyptian slavery, with the power of my Almighty arm, and in- flict heavy judgments on those that op- press them. Nor will I only deliver you all from this bondage, but I will take you under my immediate protection: ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, your God, who will release you from the oppressions of Egypt: and I will bring you into the land, concerning which I lifted up my hand* in confirmation that I would give it to Abraham, Isaac, and Ja- cob in their posterity: and I will give it you for an inheritance. I am Jehovah, the Lord, that promiseth this, and that can, and will do it.' Encouraged by this gracious declaration of the Almighty, Moses accordingly re- paired to the children of Israel, and de- livered his message, as God had command- ed. But they, considering the sad in- crease of their servitude ever since he undertook to be their deliverer, were so prejudiced against him, that they would not believe him. Upon this he left them, till either the extremity of their sufferings, or the hand of God eminently appearing in plaguing their oppressor, should awaken them to a greater desire of deliverance. But God, pursuing the ends of his Providence, commanded Moses to go to the king of Egypt, and demand the liber- ty of his people. Moses having been so roughly dismiss- ed from Pharaoh's presence, and so un- kindly rejected by the Israelites, declined the errand, by drawing an argument from 105 each: 'Since the children of Israel, says he, thine own people, would not hear me, though what I offered was so much to their advantage, how can I expect that so wicked a prince as Pharaoh is, should give credit to such a stammererf as I am, in a matter so much to his loss?' But the Lord, as before, was still pa- tient in hearing, and removed Moses's objections; and therefore said to him, ' Consider, I have made thee as a God to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy interpreter, or orator. Thou shalt tell him all that I have commanded thee, and ye shall demand of Pharaoh the deli- verance of my people. And that thou mayest not be discouraged by a repulse as before, take notice that Pharaoh shall give no credit to what thou sayest, that I may thereby show my power and wonders on him and his people, and deliver the children of Israel by the strength of my hand. For, since Pharaoh hath begun to harden his heart in contemptuously treat- ing me and abusing my people, I will now permit him to go on in his obstinate humour, that I may exert my power in miraculous operations in the land of Egypt. Therefore when ye come into Pharaoh's presence, and he shall demand a miracle of you to convince him of the truth of your message, thou shalt direct Aaron to cast his rod on the ground be- fore Pharaoh, and it shall be turned into a serpent.' Pursuant to the divine command, they appeared before Pharaoh, and delivered * This is a phrase often used in scripture to express swearing, which was usually done hy lift- ing up of hands. t The word in the text, Exod. vi. 12. is ren- dered, ' Who am of nncircumcised lips,' that is, slow of speech ; for Moses laboured under a defect in his tongue, as he urged when God first pitched upon him to undertake the deliverance of his peo- ple. But the word uncircumcised is phraseologi- cally used upon several occasions by the Hebrews, as when they called any one uncircumcised in heart, mind, or tongue, they mean one that la- bours under a defect in any of these; besides, as circumcision was the first and greatest sacrament among them, so uncircumcision was esteemed by them the greatest scandal and disgrace. X That is, by exercising the judgments of God upon him, thou shalt be as terrible to him as God. O 106 HISTORY OF [Book II. their message; which he rejecting, Aaron cast down his rod before the king, in the sight of his servants, and it became a serpent. To confront this miracle, the king pre- sently sent for his magicians, who by their enchantments performed the same that Aaron did by God's immediate power. For throwing down their rods, they be- came in appearance serpents ; but with this difference, that Aaron's devoured theirs, and resumed its wonted form.* * No doubt Pharaoh and his servants were both astonished and alarmed, when they saw Aaron's rod become a terrible serpent before them. But as magicians and sorcerers were in high repute in Egypt, being called wise men, and supposed capa- ble of performing very extraordinary things by their skill in the occult sciences ; probably Pharaoh and his courtiers endeavoured to believe, that Moses and Aaron were nothing more than two great magicians, and that the sorcerers and magi- cians of Euypt were able to contend with them. Accordingly, some of the most renowned among them were called in, of whom we find Jannes and Jambres were the principal : 2 Tim. iii. 8 : and 'they also did in like manner with their enchant- ments ; for they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents.' No doubt many of these professors of sorcery, or magic, were expert in le- gerdemain, and imposed on the spectators by vari- ous artifices : yet they who reverence the scriptures, will hardly deny, that many of them had a real intercourse with evil spirits, and by their help actually made discoveries, and produced effects be- yond the reach of human power or sagacity. It remains therefor* to inquire into the fact here briefly recorded, what it was, and how performed. Some expositors consider it as merely an illusion, by which the magicians made the spectators think that they saw serpents when they did not. Others imagine, that the magicians had contrived to con- vey serpents thither, concealing their rods, to make it appear as if they were changed into serpents. Others think, that the power of Satan produced ri|)pearances like serpents, instead of the rods which were conveyed away. But some expositors are . makes the same observation : * Instead of a foun- tain of running water, the enemies were troubled with corrupt blood, which was to rebuke the com- mandment of the killing of the children.' The Egyptians looked upon their river not only as consecrated to a deity ; but, if we may believe some authors, as their chief national god ; and worshipped it accordingly. There was therefore a great propriety in this judgment. They must have felt the utmost astonishment and horror 108 HISTORY OF [Boor II. forced to dig for water in new places, to allay their thirst. Notwithstanding this plague continued upon them for seven days, yet Pharaoh was still obstinate; and his hatred to the Israelites inflamed t!ie more, because Mo- ses being known to have had his educa- tion among the Egyptians, the king con- cluded, that all this was performed by magic skill. Wherefore calling for his magicians, he put them upon the same trial; who, taking some of the water which the Egyptians had digged, by their en- chantments they made him believe that they turned it to blood. Mascrier, " is so delicious, that one would not wish the heat to be less, or to be delivered from the sensation of thirst. The Turks find it so ex- quisite that they excite themselves to drink of it by eating salt. It is a common saying among them, that if Mohammed had drank of it he would have besought God that he might never die, in order to have had this continual gratification. When the Egyptians undertake the pilgrimage of Mecca, or go out of their country on any other account, they speak of nothing but the pleasure they shall have at their return in drinking of the waters of the Nile. There is no gratification to be compared to this; it surpasses, in their esteem, that of seeing their relations and families. All those who have tasted of this water allow that they never met with the like in any other place. When a person drinks of it for the first time he can scarcely be persuaded that it is not a water prepared by art ; for it has something in it inexpressibly agreeable and pleas- ing to the taste ; and it should have the same rank among waters that champaign has among wines. But its most valuable quality is that it is exceeding- ly salutary. It never incommodes, let it be drank in what quantity it may : this is so true that it is no uncommon thing to see some persons drink three buckets of it in a day without the least in- convenience ! When I pass such encomiums on the water of Egypt it is right to observe that I speak only of that of the Nile, which indeed is the only water drinkable, for their well water is detestable and unwholesome. Fountains are so rare that they are a kind of prodigy in that coun- try ; and as to rain water, that is out of the ques- tion, as scarcely any falls in Egypt." "A person," says Mr Harmer, "who never before heard of the deliciousness of the Nile water, and of the large quantities which on that account are drank of it, will, 1 am sure, find an energy in those words of Moses to Pharaoh, ' The Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river,' which he never observed before. They will loathe to drink of that water which they used to prefer to all the waters of the universe; loathe to drink of that for which they had been accustomed to long, and will rather choose to drink of well water, which in their country is detestable !" Dr A. Clarke. Although this was but a delusion, yet it convinced Pharaoh, that what Moses and Aaron had done was not the effect of any supernatural virtue, but a mere trick of art, and thereupon returned resolute to stop the Israelites. But it pleased God to display repeated miracles before this cruel and obstinate monarch ; for as soon as the seven days were expired, Moses, at the command of God, accosted him again, and renewed his instances for the delivery of the Israel- ites, threatening upon his refusal to bring upon the land such a prodigious number of frogs, as should visit him and his sub- jects in their most private recesses. Pharaoh, regardless of his threats, de- fied him; upon which Moses gave Aaron an order to take the rod, and stretch forth his hand with it over the river, which in an instant so affected all the waters of Egypt, that, not waiting for the slow pro- ductions of nature, the animated streams unburdened themselves upon the land in shoals of frogs, which immediately invad- ed all parts, infesting even the royal pa- lace with their disagreeable croaking.* * As the frog was, in Egypt, an emblem of Osiris, or the sun, the first object of idolatrous wor- ship to the nations of the East, it is probable the Egyptians regarded it with superstitious venera- tion. If this conjecture is well founded, it brings into view the secret reason of the second plague ; for it is perfectly consistent with the divine wisdom to punish a nation by means of that which they foolishly revere. These vengeful reptiles were produced in the streams of the Nile, and in the lakes which were supplied from his waters, be- cause the river was supposed, by that deluded people, to possess an uncommon degree of sancti- ty, and to deserve their religious veneration ; it was the object of their confidence, it was account- ed the grand source of their enjoyments, and was the constant theme of their praise ; it was, there- fore, just to pollute those waters with an innumer- able multitude of impure animals, to which the respect and confidence which were due only to the true God, the father of the rain, had been im- piously transferred. This loathsome plague ex- tended to every place, and to every class of men The frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt ; they entered into their houses, and into their bed- chambers ; they crawled upon their persons, upon their beds and into their kitchen utensils. The whole country, their palaces, their temples, their persons all was polluted and hateful. Nor was Chap. If.] THE BIBLE. 109 Now again Pliaraoh had recourse to his magicians, who by their mimic power so delude*} him, that they made him believe they wrought the same miracle, which hardened him for a while ; but the loath- some p'ague pursuing him and his people wherever they went, he was forced to ap- ply to Moses and Aaron for relief, offering to capitulate with their God upon terms of permission for them to go and sacrifice to him. Moses demanded the time when this should be put to an issue, and they both it in their power to wash away the nauseous filth wit!) which they were tainted, for every stream and every lake was full of pollution. To a people who affected the most scrupulous purity in their persons, their habitations, and manner of living, nothing almost can be conceived more insufferable than this plague. The frog is, compared with many other reptiles, a harmless animal; it neither injures by its bite nor by its poison : but it must have excited on that occasion, a disgust which rendered life almost an insupportable burden. The eye was tormented with beholding the march of their impure legions, and the ear with hearing the harsh tones of their voices: the Egyptians could recline upon no bed where they were not compelled to admit their cold and filthy embrace ; they tasted no food which was not infected by their touch; and they smelled no perfume, but the foetid stench of their slime, or the putrid ex- halations emitted from their dead carcases. The insufferable annoyance of such insignificant crea- tures illustriously displayed the power of God. while it covered the haughty and unfeeling per- secutors of his people with confusion, and filled them with utter dismay. When the Lord remov- ed the frogs, however, they were not swept asvay like the locusts which succeeded them, but de- stroyed, and left on the face of the ground. They were not annihilated, nor resolved into mud, nor marched back into the river, from whence they had come ; hut left dead upon the ground, to prove the truth of the miracle, that they had not died by the hands of men, but by the power of God ; that the great deliverance was not like the works of the magicians, a lying wonder, but a real interpo- sition of almighty power, and an effect of divine goodness. The Egyptians were, therefore, reduced to the necessity of collecting them into heaps, which had the effect of more rapidly disengaging the putrid effluvia, and thus for a time increasing the wretchedness of the country. Their destruc- tion was probably followed by a pestilence, which cut off many of the people, in addition to those that died in consequence of the grievous vexations they endured from their loathsome adversaries ; for, in one of the songs of Zion, it is said, ' he sent frogs, which destroyed them ;' laid waste their lands, and infected themselves with pestilen- tial disorders. Pazton's Script. Must, agreed upon the next day. Accordingly, Moses addressed himself to God, and the frogs soon died, which the people gather- ed in heaps, so that the land stank of them, before they could be disposed of. The impious Pharaoh vainly imagined that the artillery of vengeance was then exhausted, unfaithfully broke his word, and refused to let the Israelites go to serve their God. This violation so provoked the Almigh- ty, that he resolved to treat the haughty tyrant in a more surprising manner than he had hitherto done ; for before, he first denounced his judgments, by giving him warning, that he might escape them. But now he would give him no further notice, and therefore commanded Moses to direct Aaron to stretch out his rod, and strike the dust with it, that it might be- come lice. Aaron had no sooner obeyed, than straightway the animated dust turned in- to swarms of vermin, which the magicians, who had faintly imitated the former plagues, now attempted in vain. They owned their art outdone, and acknowledg- ed this to be the inimitable work of a di- vine hand.* * The Egyptians affected great external purity, and were very nice both in their persons and cloth- ing. Uncommon care was taken that they might not harbour any vermin. They were particularly solicitous upon this head ; thinking it would be a great profanation of the temple which they enter- ed, if any animalcula of this sort were concealed in their garments. It would have been well if their worship had corresponded with their outward ap- pearance ; but, on the contrary, it seems to have been more foul and base than that of any other nation. Their gods were contemptible and ridicu- lous, and their rites filthy, and to the last degree bestial and obscene. Yet they were carried on with an appearance of outward purity, and a scru- pulous show of cleanliness. The judgments there- fore inflicted by the hand of Moses were directed against the prejudices of the h gyptiaus ; and they were made to suffer for their false delicacy in plac- ing the essence of religiou in external cleanliness, to the omission of things of real weight. When the devil and his agents are in tlie height of their pride, God shames them in a trifle. The rod is lift up. The very dust receives life. Lice abound every where, and make no difference betwixt heg- gars and princes. Though Pharaoh and his cuur- 110 HISTORY OF [Book II. And yet again, notwithstanding the obstinacy of Pharaoh, who would not in the least hearken to Moses and Aaron, God condescended to give him another summons. 1 Rise up,' says God to Moses, ' early in the morning, and meet Pharaoh as he comes to the river. Tell him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go that they may serve me, or I will send swarms of flies * upon thee and thy people, which tiers abhorred to see themselves lousy, yet they hoped this miracle would be more easily imitable : but now the greater possibility, the greater foil. How are the great wonder-mongers of Egypt abash- ed, that they can neither make lice of their own, nor deliver themselves from tlie lice that are made ! Those that could make serpents and frogs, could not either make or kill lice ; to show them that those frogs and serpents were not their own work- manship. Now Pharaoh must needs see how im- potent a devil he served, that could not make that vermin which every day arises voluntarily out of corruption. Jannes and Jambres cannot now make those lice (so much as by delusion,) which, at another time, they cannot choose but produce unknowing, and which now they cannot avoid. That spirit which is powerful to execute the great- est things when he is bidden, is unable to do the least when he is restrained. Now these co-rivals of Moses can say, ' This is the finger of God.' Ye foolish enchanters, was God's ringer in the lice, not in the frogs, not in the blood, not in the ser- pent? And why was it rather in the less than in the greater? because ye did imitate the other, not these ; as if the same ringer of God had not been before in your imitation, which was now in your restraint ; as if ye could have failed in these, if ye had not been only permitted the other Bryant and Hall. * The judgment to be denounced was a plague of flies, (including dog-flies, hornets, wasps, beetles, &c.,) which were brought all over the land in vast numbers ; and seem to have been not only formidable for their swarms, but for the painfulness of their stings, as well as of their bite, which was intolerable. There is reason to think, that the Egyptians had particular deities, whose department was to ward off' those natural evils to which their votaries were liable. The province allotted to several deities was particularly to drive away flies. But this is not all : these insects, however incredi- ble it may appear, were in many places worshipped. This reverence seems to have been shown, some- times, to prevent their being troublesome ; at other times, because they were esteemed sacred to the deity. Nor did they only show an idolatrous regard to flies in general ; there was a deity styled Deus Mnsca, who was particularly worshipped under the characteristic of a fly. This idolatry originated in Egypt, whence it was brought to Palestine, &c. by the Phoenicians to Sidon, Tyre, and Byblus; and so into other regions of the shall fill their houses, and cover the face of the earth. And that thou mayest know that this is brought as a judgment upon thee and thy subjects, for oppressing my people, I will on that day separate the land of Goshen, in which my servants dwell, from the rest of Egypt, that the flies shall not molest them.' Accordingly, upon Pharaoh's obstinately persisting to detain the Israelites in slavery, the next day clouds of swarming insects world. Such being the worship of this people, nothing could be more striking and determinate than the judgment brought upon them. They were punished by the very things which they re- vered ; and though they boasted of spells and charms, yet they could not ward off" the evil. They had gods, who, they thought, could avert all mis- chief ; but their power was ineffectual ; and both the prince and the people were obliged to acknow- ledge the inferiority of their own deities by suing through Moses to the God of Israel. How intolerable a plague flies can prove, mav be known from places near lakes and pools, which have been on their account deserted, and rendered desolate. Such was the fate of Myuns in Ionia, and of Atarnae. The inhabitants were forced to quit these cities, not being able to stand the flies and gnats with which they were pestered. Trajan was obliged to raise the siege of a city in Arabia, before which he had sat down, being driven away by the swarms of these insects. ' The fly of Egypt' seems to have been proverhial. Hence Isaiah says, The Lord shall hiss for the fly of Egypt,' vii. 18. We are told by Moses, that the hornet drove out the Canaanite : by which we may infer, that, before the coming of the Israelites, several cities had been evacuated through the terror of this insect. Philo, the Jew, has a fine observation on the plagues of Egypt. " Some perhaps may inquire, why did God punish the country by such minute and contemptible animals, as frogs, lice, flies, rather than by bears, lions, leo- pards, or other kinds of savage beasts, which prey on human flesh ? or if not by these, why not by the Egyptian asp, whose bite' is instant death ? But let him learn, if he be ignorant, first, that God chose rather to correct than destroy the in- habitants : for if he desired to annihilate them utterly, he had no need to have made use of ani- mals as his auxiliaries, but of the divinely inflicted evils of famine and pestilence. Next, let him fur- ther learn that lesson, so necessary for every state of life, namely, that men, when they war, seek the most powerful aid to supply their own weakness ; but God, the highest and greatest power, who stands in need of nothing, if at any time he chooses to employ instruments, as it were, to in- flict chastisement, chooses not the strongest and greatest, disregarding their strength ; but rather the mean and the minute, which he endues with irresistible power to chastise offenders." Bryant and Hales. Chap. II.] THE BIBLE. Ill filled the air, which in numberless troops descended to the earth, and with their sullen and unusual noise surprised and affrighted the wretched inhabitants. All attempts proved vain and fruitless to remove this increasing evil; their most private recesses could not secure them from the poisonous bitings of these re- vengeful animals, and a succession of painted misery invaded them on all sides. Pharaoh's guards could not save him from the painful attacks of this flying host, which boldly swarmed about, and seized the very weapons they should draw in their master's defence. The sword and spear were useless to repel this airy foe, whose penetrating sting was sharper than their point. The magicians with confusion looked upon this direful plague, and no more pretended to offer at any imitation. A general horror filled the towns and fields, and all the country echoed with the cries of tortured men and cattle. Pharaoh, not able to endure this plague, called presently for Moses and Aaron, and in a sullen discontented tone bid them go and sacrifice to their God, but not beyond the bounds of Egypt. He was desirous of relief, but unwilling to part with a people by whose slavery he bad reaped so great advantage; and being a stranger and enemy to the true God, did not conceive that the Israelites could not acceptably sacrifice to their God, whilst under the Egyptian bondage. Moses, desirous of convincing, rather than inflaming the infidel prince, discreetly answered, 'We cannot sacrifice to our God in this land, for that would be an affront* to the Egyptians, and they will be re- venged on us: permit us therefore to avoid their resentment, by going tlfree * That is, if we should sacrifice those creatures which the Egyptians worship for gods, as the ox and the sheep, they will be affronted to see us sacrifice their gods to our God. Herodotus ex- pressly tells us that the Egyptians esteemed it a profanation to sacrifice any kind of cattle, except swine, bulls, clean cUves, and geese. days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to our God, as he hath com- manded us.' 1 If nothing else will serve you,' said Pharaoh, * but to go into the desert, I will let you go, but not far; and in return for this concession, entreat your God to re- move this plague.' Moses promised to intercede for him, but cautioned Pharaoh to be sincere in his grant. And being gone from his presence, addressed himself to God to remove the plague of flies. His prayers were heard, and the insects took their flight. But the plagues were no sooner removed, than the tyrant reassumed his former obstinacy, nor would even yet suffer the Israelites to worship the Lord their God in the way and manner he had directed them. Upon this high provocation, God sent Moses again to Pharaoh with this mes- sage: ' Thus saith the God of the Hebrews, Let my people go that they may serve me, or be assured I will visit all thy cattle that are in the field with a grievous murrain ;f and to make thee still more sensible of my omnipotence, I will, by a wonderful dis- tinction, preserve the cattle of my people, whilst I destroy those of the Egyptians.' The awful threatening was most severe- ly executed the very next day, through the obstinacy of the king. The generous J- We may observe a particular scope and mean- ing in this calamity, if we consider it with regard to the Egyptians, which would not have existed in respect to any other people. It is well known that they held in idolatrous reverence the lion, wolf, dog, cat, ape, and goat. But they had gods which they held in still greater reverence than these; such were the ox or steer; the cow and heifer; and the ram. Among these the Apis and Mnevis are well known; the former, a sacred bull adored at Memphis; and the latter at Helio- polis. There was also a cow or heifer which had the like honours at Momemphis. To these may be added the goat at Mendes, though perhaps not so celebrated as the others. This judgment, therefore, upon the kine of Egypt, was very signi- ficant in its execution and purport. The Egyp- tians not only suffered a severe loss, but what was of far greater consequence, they saw the represen- tative of their deities, and their deities themselves, sink before the God of the Hebrews. Bryant. 112 HISTORY OF [Book IL horse loathed his full manger and loved pastures, and sunk under his rider ; the ass and camel could no longer support their burdens, or their own weight; the labouring ox dropped down dead before the plough ; the harmless sheep died bleat- ing, and the faithful dogs lay gasping by them. Notwithstanding this horrid spectacle, Pharaoh continued his former temper, re- solved still to brave heaven with his im- pious perverseness : and, remembering what Moses had said of the preservation of the Israelites' cattle, he sent to Goshen to learn how it had fared with them, and was assured there was not one of the cat- tle of the Israelites dead; by which he might have seen that this was no casualty, but a direct judgment upon him, exactly answering the divine prediction. Not- withstanding this, he continued in his former resolution, not to let the Israel- ites go. As all these means proved ineffectual to soften the obdurate heart of this im- pious monarch, the Almighty therefore determined to surprise him with a plague, without giving him any warning, and im- mediately commanded Moses and Aaron to take handsful of ashes from the furnace, and before Pharaoh's face to throw them in the air. The ashes soon spread the dire con- tagion, and the tainted air infected the Egyptians' blood with its poisonous influ- ence ; which appeared upon their skin in swelling scabs and ulcers,* and their * As the Egyptians were celebrated for their medical skill, and their physicians were held in the highest repute, the sixth plague, the infliction of boils accompanied with hlaius (Exod. ix. 8 12.), which neither their deities could avert, nor the art of man alleviate, would further show the vanity of their gods. Aaron and Moses were ordered to take ashes of the furnace, and to scatter them to- wards heaven, that they might be wafted over the face of the country. This was a significant com- mand. The ashes were to be taken from that fiery furnace, which in the Scripture was used as a type of the slavery of the Israelites, and of the cruelty which they experienced in Egypt. (Deut. iv. 20.) The process has still a further allusion to an idol- atrous and cruel rite, which was common among whole constitution became a noisome spring of sores. This plague was so tor- turing that the magicians, who possibly once more would have tried their skill to see if thev could regain their credit, were not able to stand before Moses, for it af- fected them as well as the rest of the Egyptians. Pharaoh's obstinacy, which before pro- ceeded from an implacable hatred to the chosen people of God, now arose from a judicial hardness of heart, as the immediate effect of a divine and supernatural cause. The Almighty rendered the very powers of heaven subservient to his divine pur- pose, giving this charge to his servant Moses, ' Go early in the morning to the king of Egypt, and tell him that I, the God of the Hebrews, demand the li- berty of my people, that they may wor- ship me : which if he refuse, he may be assured I will shower my plaguesf upon him, and his people, and I will make him know that I am the only God on earth. Say further to him : If when lately I smote the cattle with the murrain, I had smitten thee and thy people with pestilence, thou hadst been cut off from the earth. :f But the Egyptians, and to which it is opposed as a con- trast. They had several cities styled Typhonian, such as Heliopolis, Idythia, Abaris, and Busiris. In these, at particular seasons, they sacrificed men. The objects thus destined, were persons with bright hair, and a particular complexion, such as were seldom to be found among the native Egyp- tians. Hence, we may infer that they were for- eigners ; and it is probable, that whilst the Israel- ites resided in Egypt, they were chosen from their body. They were burnt alive upon a high altar, and thus sacrificed for the good of the people. At the close of the sacrifice, the priests gathered toge- ther the ashes of these victims, and scattered them upwards in the air, with the view, probably, that where any atom of this dust was carried, a blessing might be entailed. The like was, therefore, done by Moses, though with a different intention, and to a fbore certain effect. Bryant. \ By plagues, in this place, Exod. ix. 14. is not meant, that God would send all the plagues which he afterwards inflicted successively, but those which attended this plague from heaven, as hail, thunder, lightning, and rain. % Here God shows that he wanted not power to destroy Pharaoh and his subjects for oppressing his people Israel ; but that ||p reserved him tor greater punishment. Chap. II. ] THE BIBLE 113 I have reserved thee to show my power upon, and by the judgments I shall inflict upon him, I will publish my name to all the world. Oppress not, nor detain my people ; for if thou dost, to-morrow by this time, unless thou submittest thyself, I will send such a storm of hail from hea- ven upon Egypt, as never was known since it was a nation. And that thou mayest not lose what cattle the murrain hath left, which being not in the field escaped that plague, send thy servants, and let them drive them under shelter ; for upon every man and beast, which shall be found in the field, the storm shall fall, and they shall surely die.' So heedless as well as impious was Pharaoh, that even this declaration could not induce to preserve himself, or his peo- ple : but some of them, who had been wit- nesses of the dreadful wrath of God, made a prudent use of the divine caution, and housed their cattle in time, by which means they were preserved.* The time appointed being come, Moses attended the hardened king, and to con- vince him of the truth of what he had threatened him with, waved his wand in the air, which soon began to murmur in imperfect sounds, till full charged clouds with impetuous force burst and discharged themselves in such terrible peels of thun- der, as shook the whole frame of nature. This was succeeded by a stony shower of monstrous hail,f such as winter never yet * It is said of those that secured their cattle by housing them before the storm, that 'they feared the Lord ;' which implies not a reverential fear, but a servile fear, into which they had been terri- fied by the judgments God had inflicted on them. f- Tuis plague demonstrated that neither Osiris, who presided over tire, nor Isis, who presided over water, could protect the fields and the climate of Egypt from the thunder, the rain, and the hail of Jehovah. These phenomena were of extremely rare occurrence at any period of the year ; they now fell at a time when the air was most calm and serene. Bryant. Though this was a preter- natural storm, there have been many of a natural kind that have proved exceedingly destructive. Mezeray informs us that in Italy, in 1510, after a horrible darkness, there fell a shower of hailstones which destroyed most of the animals in tne coun- produced, which covered the ground with the scattered ruins of trees and houses, and the dead bodies of men and beasts. Nor did the divine vengeance stop here; the heavens became a body of liquid fire, which darting on the ground, glided over the waters, and filled every place with dreadful horror. This shocked the haughty tyrant; who seeing nature, as he imagined, ready to dissolve, melted into penitence, and con- fessed himself guilty. But this being an act of necessity, not of virtue, it died with his fear, which Moses foresaw; for when Pharaoh begged him to intercede to God for him, and to remove this plague, Moses told him he would answer his request, but assured him he knew he did not mean sincerely; and that his repentance was only the effect of his fright. % try. In Cheshire and Lancashire, in 1697, a storm of hail for about sixty miles in length, did exten- sive damage by killing birds and small animals, knocking down men and horses, &c. And Brown mentions a storm in Hertfordshire, whose stones were from ten to fourteen inches in circumference. Jehovah says to Job, Hast thou seen the trea- sures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war,' Job xxxviii. 22, 23. While (iod has such artil- lery at command, how soon may he desolate a country or a world ! J He saw his cattle struck dead with a sudden contagion; he saw his sorcerers (after their con- testation with God's messengers) struck with * scab in their very faces, and yet his heart is not struck. Who would think it possible, that any soul could be secure in the midst of such variety and frequence of judgments? These very plague* have not more wonder in them than their success hath. To what a height of obduration will sin lead a man, and of all sins, incredulity! Amidst all these storms Pharaoh sleepeth, till the voice of God's mighty thunders, and hail mixed with fire, roused him up little. Now as betwixt sleepini and waking, he start. up. and says, 'God is righte- ous, 1 am wicked - Moses, pray for us;' and pre- sently lays down >us heat: again. God hath no sooner done thunae:rin 6 than he hath done fear- ing. All this which yoi never find him careful to prevent any one evil, but desirous still to shift it off, when he feels it; never holds constant to any good motion ; never prays for himself, but care- lessly wills Mo3es and Aaron to pray for him ; never yields (iod his whole demand, but higglctu like some hard chapman, that would get a releaso with the cheapest. Hall. 114 HISTORY OF [Book Of this the Lord, as he had done be- fore, gave Moses notice: 'I have harden- ed his heart,* and the hearts of his ser- vants, that I may show these my wonders * Several things are said in scripture to be done by God, which are only permitted by him to come to pass in their ordinary course and pro- cedure : and thus God may be said to harden Pha- raoh's heart, only because he did not interpose, but suffered him to be carried, by the bent of his own passions, to that inflexible obstinacy, which proved his ruin. That Moses, to whom God used these expressions concerning Pharaoh, understood them in this sense, is evident from many parts of his behaviour to him, and especially from his earnestly entreating him to be persuaded, and to let the people go. Had Moses known, or ever thought, that God had doomed Pharaoh to un- avoidable ruin, it. had been an unwarrantable pre- sumption in him to have persuaded him to have avoided it: but that Moses, with all possible appli- cation, endeavoured to make an impression upon Pharaoh for his good, is manifest from this passage, 'glory over me,' i. e. do me the honour to believe me, when I shall entreat for thee, and for thy ser- vants ; wherein he makes an earnest address to Pharaoh, to induce him to be persuaded to part with the people, which he certainly never would have done, had he been satisfied that God himself had prevented his compliance, on purpose to bring him to ruin. It is farther to be observed, there- fore, that, not only in the Hebrew, but in most other languages, the occasion of an action, and what in itself has no power to produce it, is very often put for the efficient cause thereof. Thus, in the case before us, God sends Moses to Pharaoh, and Moses in his presence does such miraculous works as would have had an effect upon any other: but because he saw some of the miracles imitated by the magicians ; because the plagues which God sent came gradually upon him, and by the intercession of Moses were constantly remov- ed; he thence took occasion, instead of being soft- ened by this alternative of mercy and judgment, to become more sullen and obdurate. * When Pharaoh,' as the text tells, 'saw that the rain, and the hail, and the thunder ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart.' The mercy of God, which should have led him to repentance, had a contrary effect upon him, and made him more ob- stinate; 'for an hardened heart,' as Bishop Patrick expresses it, ' is neither cut by compunction, nor softened by any sense of pity. It is neither moved by entreaties, nor yields to threatenings, nor feels the smart of scourges. It is ungrateful to benefac- tors, treacherous to counsels, sullen under judg- ments, fearless in dangers, forgetful of things past, negligent of things present, and improvident for the future;' all which bad qualities seem to have con- centred in Pharaoh. For whatever might have con- tributed to his obduration at first, it is plain that, in the event, even when the magicians owned a divine power in what they saw done, and were quite con- founded when they felt themselves smitten with the boils, and might thereupon very likely persuade him to surrender ; he is so far from relenting, that he before them, and that thou mayest tell in the hearing of thy sons, and the Israelites to succeeding- generations, what prodigies I have wrought in Egypt, that ye may all know that I am the Lord, the almighty Jehovah. Wherefore go to Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Why dost thou persist in thy obstinacy ? Let my people go that they may serve me, or I will bring the locusts into thy land to-morrow, which shall come in such swarms, as shall cover the surface of the earth, and devour all the products of it that have escaped the former plagues. And this shall prove such a plague as none of thy predecessors ever saw.' Having thus delivered the will of the Almighty, his servant Moses retired, which the courtiers perceiving, and fearing he was gone to call down more plagues upon them, very roughly accosted their king, desiring him to let the Israelites go to serve their God, lest he destroy them all for his obstinacy. Their importunity pre- vailed more than God's threats and judg- ments ; therefore sending for Moses and Aaron, he told them they might go and serve their God; but only the men, not women or children Moses insisted upon all the Israelites going, young and old, sons and daughters ; nay, and their flocks and herds: 'For we must hold a feast,' says he, to the mighty Jehovah, and all must be at it' This put Pharaoh out of temper, for he looked upon this demand as very insolent; therefore he bade them look to it, and consider well what they insisted on, and in a very threatening manner dismissed them. The servant of God being again repuls- ed, another judgment was inflicted on tin- miserable subjects of an infidel king ; for does not so much as ask a removal of the plague It was therefore entirely agreeable to the rules ul divine justice, when nothing would reclaim this wicked king; when even that which wrought upon the ministers of Satan, made no impression upon him, to let his crime become his punishment, and to leave him to 'eat the bitter fruit of his own ways, and to be filled with his own devices.' Stackhouse. Chap. II.] THE BIBLE. 115 Moses by the divine command stretched ! naked and depopulated, as if the northern out his hand with the rod in it, and im- j storms of winter had invaded it. The mediately a scorching hot wind * blew all , happy product of the fertile Nile, and all that day and the night following, which by that bountiful nature afforded, was carried next morning brought endless legions of off by these airy pillagers. Pharaoh be- devouring locusts, f which left the earth as gan to be a little more sensibly touched * Our translation has east wind ; the Vulgate, a burning wind ; the Septuagint, a south wind, which opinion I follow, (though the Jews will unanimously have it to be an east wind,) because the south parts of Africa were most infested with locusts, where they are in some places the chief food of the inhabitants. j- They are like the creature which we properly cali a grasshopper. Wonderful are the accounts which authors report of these kinds of armies of locusts, and of the order and regularity of their marches. Aldronandus and Fincilius say, that in the year of our Lord 852, they were seen to fly over twenty miles in Germany in one day, in the manner of a formed army, divided into several squadrons, and having their quarters apart when they rested ; that the captain marched a day's jour- ney before the rest, to choose the most opportune place for their camp : that they never removed till sun rising ; at which time they went away in as much order as an army of men could do; that at last having done great mischief wheresoever they pass- ed, after prayers made to God, they were driven by a violent wind into the Belgic ocean, and there drowned ; but being cast again by the sea upon the shore, caused a great pestilence in the country. Some add, that they covered an hun- dred and forty acres of land at a time. St Jerome upon Joel speaks thus: 'When the armies of lo- custs came lately into these parts and rilled all the air, they flew in so great order, that slates in a pavement cannot be laid more regularly, neither did they stir one inch out of their ranks.' A number of locusts were seen and taken near Lon- don in 1748, which measured from two to four inches long Fleetwood. The locust is one of the most terrible scourges witli which the incensed Majesty of heaven chas- tises a guilty world. In some regions of the east, the whole earth is at times covered with this creature for the space of several leagues, often to the depth of four, sometimes of six or seven inches. Their approach, which causes a noise like the rushing of a torrent, darkens the horizon, and so enormous is their multitude, it hides the light of the sun, and casts an awful gloom like that of an eclipse over the field. Major Moore, when at Poonah, had the opportunity of seeing an im- mense army of these animals, which ravaged the Mahratta country, and was supposed to have come from Arabia. " The column they composed," says he, " extended five hundred miles ; and so compact was it when on the wing, that like an eclipse, it completely hid the sun, so that no sha- dow was cast by any object;" and some lofty tombs distant from his residence not two hundred yards, were rendered quite invisible. The noise they make in browsing on the trees and herbage, may be heard at a great distance, and resembles the rattling of hail, or the noise of an army forag- ing in secret. The inhabitants of Syria have ob- served that locusts are always bred by too mild winters, and that they constantly come from the deserts of Arabia. When they breed, which is in the month of October, they make a hole in the ground with their tails, and having laid three hun- dred eggs in it, and covered them with their feet, expire ; for they never live above six months and a half. Neither rains nor frost, however long and severe, can destroy their eggs ; they continue till spring, and, hatched by the heat of the sun, the young locusts issue from the earth about the mid- dle of April. Wherever their innumerable bands direct their march, the verdure of the country, though it resembled before the paradise of God, almost instantaneously disappears. The trees and plants, stripped of their leaves, and reduced to their naked boughs and steins, cause the dreary image of winter to succeed in an instant to the rich scenery of spring; and the whole country puts on the appearance of being burnt. Fire itself de- vours not so fast ; nor is a vestige of vegetation to be found when they again take their flight to produce similar disasters. In a few hours they eat up every green thing, and consign the miserable in- habitants of the desolated regions to inevitable famine. Many years are not sufficient to repair the desolation which these destructive insects pro- duce. When they first appear on the frontiers of the cultivated lands, the husbandmen, if sufficient- ly numerous, sometimes divert the storm by their gestures and their cries, or they strive to repulse them by raising large clouds of smoke, but fre- quently their herbs and wet straw fail them ; they then dig a variety of pits and trenches, all over their fields and gardens, which they till with water, or with heath, stubble, and other combustible matter, which they set on tire upon the approach of the enemy. But they are all to no purpose, for the trenches are quickly tilled, and the fires extinguished, by infinite swarms succeeding one another; and forming a bed on their fields of six or seven inches in thickness. The southerly winds waft them over the Mediterranean, where they perish in so great quantities, that when their car cases are cast on the shore, they infect the air for several days to a considerable distance. In a state of putrefaction, the stench emitted from their bodies is scarcely to be endured ; the traveller, who crushes them below the wheels of his waggon, or the feet of his horses, is reduced to the necessity of washing his nose with vinegar, and holding ht> handkerchief, dipped in it, continually to his nos- trils. One of the most grievous calamities ever inflict- ed by the locust, happened to the regions of Africa in the time of the Komans, and fell with peculiar weight on those parts which were subject to their 116 HISTORY OF [Book II with this plague than any of the former; for lie plainly foresaw that the destruction of the fruits of the earth must in time prove the destruction of man and beast; therefore calling hastily for Moses and Aaron, he in a more suppliant manner than usual addressed himself to them : ' I have indeed offended Jehovah, your God, in refusing to obey his command, and you, in breaking my word so often with you ; forgive me this offence, and entreat your God to avert this judgment, that I and my people perish not by devouring famine. Moses answered his request, and once empire. An immense number of locusts covered the whole country, consumed every plant and every blade of grass in the Held, without sparing the roots, and the leaves of the trees, with the tendrils upon which they grew. These being ex- hausted, they penetrated with their teeth the bark, however bitter, and even corroded the dry and solid timber. After they had accomplished this ter- rible destruction, a sudden blast of wind dispersed them into different portions, and after tossing thi'm awile in the air, plunged their innumerable hosts into the sea. But the deadly scourge was not then at an end, the raging billows threw up enormous heaps of their dead and corrupted ftodies upon that long extended coast, which produced a most insupportable and poisonous stench. This soon brought on a pestilence, which affected every species of animals; so that birds, and sheep, and cat- tle, and even tUe wild beasts of the Held, perished in great numbers ; and their carcasses, being soon ren- dered putrid by the foulness of the air, added great- ly to the general corruption. The destruction of tlie human species was horrible; in Numidia, where at that time 31icipsa was king, eighty thousand prisons died ; and in that part of the sea-coast which bordered upon the region of Carthage and Ufie i, two hundred thousand are said to have been carried off' by this pestilence The Jews were al- lowed to eat locusts; and when sprinkled with salt, and fried, they are pot unlike our fresh water cray fish. Many nations in the East, as the Indians of tlit* Hashee islands, the Tonquinese, and the in- habitants of Madagascar, make no scruple to eat these insects, of which they have innumerable bwaims, and prefer them to the Hnest Hsh. The Amlw feed on them to this day, and prepare them for use in the following manner: they grind them to Hour in their hand-mills, or powder them in Mime mortars. This Hour they mix with water to t!i>- consistency of dough, and make thin cakes of it, which they bake like other bread on a heated girdles and this, observes llasselquist, serves in- stead of bread lo support'life for want of something bi tier. At other times they boil them in water, and afterwards stew them with butter, and make a sort of fricassee, which has no bad taste. Pax- Ion Script. Must. more compassionating the case of the just- ly afflicted king, besought the Almighty in his behalf, and the locusts were driven by force of a westerly wind into the Ked sea.* This plague thus removed, Pharaoh returned to his former obstinacy and con- tempt of God's commands, and refused to let the Israelites go. CHAPTER III. The plague of darkness. Death of the first-born threatened. Institution of the passover. Late threatening fulfilled. Expulsion of the Israelites. The first-born devoted to the Lord. God directs the Israelites by an ex- traordinary token in their passage out of Egypt. The Israelites are pursued by Phar- aoh, who, together with his host, are drowned in the Red sea. The Israelites praise Goa for their deliverance. All these methods proving ineffectual to reduce Pharaoh to obedience to the divine command, God bade Moses stretch forth his hand towards heaven, that there might be darkness over the land of Egypt, so thick that it might be felt, f * The sea of Suph, or the Red 9ea, lies between Arabia on the east, and Egypt and Abyssinia on the west, and is in length about 1400 miles. It is by some thought to have been called the sea of Suph, or the weedy sea, because of the great quantity of reeds or sea-wrack found at its bottom, and on its shores. Others, however, and among them is Bruce, think it derived its name from the great quantity of coral found in it. Pliny says, it obtained the name of the Red sea, in Greek Erythrea, from a king called Erythros, who reign- ed iti Arabia, and whose tomb was seen in the island Tyrine, or Agyris. Several learned men believe, that this king Erythros is Esau, or Edom ; Edom, in Hebrew, signifying red or ruddy, as Erythros does in Greek, lint the dwelling of Edom was east of Canaan, towards Bozra ; and Calmet is therefore of opinion, that this name was not given it till after the ldumeans, the descend- ants of Edom, had spread themselves westward a3 far as the Red sea. It might then receive the name of the sea of Edom, which the Greeks ren- dered Thalassa Erythrea, or the Red sea. t So the Septuagii.t and most translations ren- der it. Some will have this to be a hyperhol cal expression, to set forth the excess of this plague : though whether this darkness was really in the air, or only in their eyes, which might be blinded for a time; or whether a suspension of light from the act of illumination in that country ; or whether it Chap. III.] THE BIBLE. 117 Moses obeyed the heavenly command, and immediately such solid clouds of dark- ness invaded the sky, that nature at once seemed to be involved in one dreadful eclipse; the sun no longer encouraged the lower world with his cheerful beams; the moon, with the stars, no more illuminated the darkened air; and all things put on the dismal aspect of death, as if nature were returning to her original chaos. This scene of horror lasted for three days, which so affected the haughty king, that though he had long stood immoveable against the threatenings and judgments of God: yet now fearing a universal dissolu- tion, and frighted at the continual terrors of this long night, * he began to relent a were from a black, thick and damp vapour, which possessed all the air, it is impossible to determine. As the Egyptians betrayed an undue reverence for the sun and light ; so they showed a like venera- tion for night and darkness : regarding them as real, sensible, substantial beings ; and giving them a creative power. They were therefore very just- ly condemned to undergo a palpable and coercive darkness ; such as prevented all intercourse for three days. In short, they suffered a preternatural deprivation of fight, which their luminary Osiris could not remedy; and they were punished with that essential night, which they so foolishly had imagined, and at last found realised Bryant. * It is the opinion of several, that during this three days' darkness, the Egyptians were frighted with terrible visions and spectres ; which opinion is very much strengthened in Wisdom, xvii. 2 19. ' The Egyptians were shut up in their houses, the prisoners of darkness: and were fettered with the bonds of a long night. They were scattered un- der a dark veil of forget fulness, being horribly as- tonished and troubled with strange apparitions ; for neither might the corner that held them keep them from fear ; but noises as if waters falling down sounded about them ; and sad visions ap- peared unto them with heavy countenances. No power of the tire could give them light only there appeared unto them a fire kindled of itself very dreadful; for being much terrified, they thought the tilings which they saw to be worse than the sight they saw not. For though no terrible thing did scare them, yet being scared with beasts that pass- ed by- and hissing of serpents, they died for Tear : for whether he were husbandman, or shepherd, or a labourer in the field, he was overtaken ; for they were all bound with one chain of darkness. Whe- ther it were a whistling wind, or a terrible sound of stones cast down, or a running that could not be seen of tripping beasts, or a roaring voice of most savage wild beasts, or a rebounding echo from the hollow mountains, these things made them to swoon for fear.' Undoubtedly from such uti usual darkness they thought the whole order of little, and calling for Moses, said to him, 'Ye may go with your little ones, and serve the Lord; but for my security, I would have you leave your flocks and herds behind you.' As this was not absolutely consistent with the divine command, Moses would not deign to accept it; assuring him that it was the express command of their God to remove with all their substance; and that they knew not in what manner they were to offer sacrifice to their God, till they came to the wilderness. The haughty tyrant, incensed at his non-compliance with what he himself es- teemed a very great indulgence, com- manded him to be gone; and assured him, that if ever he appeared before him again, it should cost him his life. Moses took him at his word, and pro- mised never more to see his face; but be- fore he left his presence, he denounced this judgment to him: 'Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I enter Egypt, and all the first-born of the land shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that should succeed him in the throne, to the first- born of the servant in the mill;-!- an( l a ^ the first born of beasts shall die.' the world to be overset and dissolved. The Is- raelites might now have marched off unmolested ; but it was the Lord's pleasure that they should go forth, not as abject slaves, but as triumphant con- querors. f The people of the East commonly make use of hand-mills. Chardin remarks that the persons employed in grinding are generally femnle slaves, who are least regarded, or are least fit for any thing else : for the work is extremely laborious, and esteemed the lowest employment about the house. Most of their corn is ground by these little mills, although they sometimes make use of large mil's, wrought by oxen or camels. Almost every family grind their wheat and barley at home, having two portable millstones for that purpose; of which the uppermost is turned round by a small handle of wood or iron, that is placed in the rim. W hen this stone is large, or expedi- tion is required, a second person is called in to as- sist; and as it is usual for the women only to be concerned in this employment, who seat themselves over against each other, with the millstone be- tween them, we may see the propriety of the ex- pression in the declaration of Moses : And all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall dfe, from 118 HISTORY OF [Book II. And to possess Pharaoh and his sub- jects with the greater fear of this judg- ment, he told them there should be such great lamentations through all Egypt as never was known before. And to con- vince them of his care and indulgence of his own people, he told the Egyptians that not the least harm should befall the Israelites. Though the king still bid him defiance, to let him see he despised his threats, he told him, he would so humble his subjects with the succeeding plague, that even his counsellors and prime ministers of state should come and fall down at his feet and entreat him and the Israelites to be gone. And after that, said Moses, I will go out. Having thus delivered his last message to the king of Egypt with a more than usual warmth of zeal, he took his leave. As the chosen people of God were not only oppressed in their persons, but also in their property, by the tyranny of the the first-bom of Pharaoh, that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill.' The manner in which the hand-mills are worked, is well described by Dr Clarke, in his travels : ' Scarcely had we reached the apartment prepared for our reception, when, looking from the window into the court yard be- longing to the house, we beheld two women grind- ing at the mill, in a manner most forcibly illustrat- ing the saying of our Saviour : ' Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken and the other left.' The two women, seated upon the ground opposite to each other, held between them two round flat stones, such as are seen in Lapland, and such as in Scotland are called querns. In the centre of the upper stone was a cavity for pouring in the corn ; and by the side of this, an upright wooden handle for moving the stone. As this operation began, one of the women opposite re- ceived it from her companion, who pushed it to- wards her, who again sent it to her companion ; thus communicating a rotatory motion to the up- per stone, their left hands being all the while em- ployed in supplying fresh corn, as fast as the bran and flour escaped from the sides of the machine. ' At the earliest dawn of the morning,' says Mr Forbes, 'in all the Hindoo towns and villages, the hand-mills are at work, when the menials and widows grind meal for the daily consumption of the family : this work is always performed by women, who resume their task every morning, es- pecially the forlorn Hindoo widows, divested of every ornament and with their heads shaved, de- fraded to almost a state of servitude.' Script, llust. Egyptians, it pleased the Lord to en- courage his servant Moses to support them in their deliverance from bondage, to promise them favour with their former oppressors, and instruct him to borrow of them their most valuable commodities. It was on the fourteenth day of the first month * that Moses took his leave of Pharaoh: and God, having predetermined his people's deliverance at this time, had instituted the passover some days before, and given direction to Moses how it should be observed ; which was after this manner. Every family of Israel, or if the family was too little, two neighbouring families joining together, was on the tenth day of this month to take a lamb or kid, and shut it up till the fourteenth day of this month; and then it was to be killed. The lamb or kid must be a male of the first year, and without blemish ; a type of Christ, who was perfectly innocent. When it was killed, they were to take a bunch of hyssop,f and dipping it in the blood, which for that end was preserved in a vessel, they were to wipe the upper door-post, and the side-posts of the outer door of every house where they did eat it; * The Israelites, till they had been captives in Babylon, which was about eight hundred years after they came out of Egypt, counted their months without any name according to their number, the first, second, third month, &c. And before their coining out of Egypt, they began their years in that month which was afterwards called Tisri, which took in part of the seventh and part of the eighth month with us, and they continued always after to begin their year with that month for civil affairs, according to which computation, that month, which was afterwards Nisan, in which God deliver- ed Israel out of Egypt, was their seventh. And this Nisan answers to part of those two months, which from the heathen Romans are commonly called March and April. f Hyssop is mentioned as one of the smallest of herbs. It has a bitter taste, and grows on the mountains near Jerusalem. This plant is ex- tremely well adapted for sprinkling. It literally grows in bunches, putting out abundance of suck- ers from a single root. It grows about a foot and a half high ; and at u distance on both sides of its stock it pushes out longish leaves, and carries a blossom on the top of the stem, of an azure colour and like an car of corn. Chap. III.] THE BIBLE. 119 and they were not to stir out of the house till the next morning. This was done to the intent, that when the angel of the Lord should go from house to house through all Egypt, to slay the first-born of both man and beast of the Egyptians, he seeing the blood smear- ed on the door-posts, might pass over those houses, wherein the Israelites were eating the lamb or kid, without doing them any hurt : and from the angel's thus pass- ing over their houses, this institution was called the Passover. The lamb or kid was to be eaten neither raw nor sodden, but roasted with fire, and to be dressed whole : nor might a bone of it be broken. It was tr h* eaten with unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs, * in memory of the severe bondage they had undergone in Egvpt. If there remained more than could be eaten, it was to be burnt; and no stranger might eat of it, unless he was circumcised. As to the manner of eating it, at this time only, they were to eat it as in haste, with their clothes on, and their staves in their hands: which ceremony showed their eager desire of deliverance, ind their readiness for it. These precautions being taken in obe- dience to the divine command, for the preservation of the Israelites, at midnight the Lord smote all the first-bornf in the * These bitter herbs, according to the Jews, were probably such as lettuce, endive or cichory, chervel, and the like. f The word bekor signifies sometimes a person of some eminence or excellence, as well as the first-born : and therefore it may not be an unrea- sonable supposition, that, where a family had no first-born, the principal, or most eminent person, was smitten with death, which is certainly better than to imagine, with some, both Jewish and Christian interpreters, that the words of Moses are only applicable to a house that had a first- born, or with St Austin, that providence did so order it at this time that every house had a first- born. Since this however is the concluding judg- ment which God sent upon the Egyptians, it may not be improper here to inquire a little how long Moses was in working all these miracles. Accord- ing to Archbishop Usher then who has included them all within the space of one month we may suppose, that, about the 18th day of the sixth month, was sent the plague of the waters turned into blood, which ended seven days after. On me land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh, to the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon ;| and all the first-born of the cattle were smitten, as the Lord had that morning denounced to Pharaoh and Moses. This severe stroke of divine vengeance at length alarmed the obdurate Pharaoh and blinded subjects, who waked each other with their dismal cries, and the 25th came the second plague of frogs, which was removed the day following, and on the 27th, that of the lice. About the 28th Moses threatened the fourth plague of flies, and inflicted them on the 29th. On the 1st of the next month, which was afterwards made the first month of the year, he foretold the fifth plague of the murrain, and in- flicted it the next; and on the 3d, the sixth plague of boils, which fell upon the Egyptians themselves. About the 4th day he foretold the seventh plague of thunder and hail, and on the 5th inflicted it. On the 7th, he threatened the eighth plague of locusts, and having sent them the day following, removed them on the ninth. On the 10th he in- stituted the feast of the passover, and brought upon Egypt the ninth plague, of darkness, which lasted for three days ; and on the 14th, he foretold the tenth, viz. the destruction of all their first-born, which came to pass the night following. This seems to be a reasonable period of time ; and the gradual increase of these judgments is somewhat remarkable. The four first plagues were loath- some, rather than fatal, to the Egyptians ; but after that of the flies, came the murrain, which chiefly spent its rage upon the cattle: the boils and blains reached both man and beast, though there was still a reserve for life. The hail and locusts extended, in a great measure, even to life itself; the first by an immediate stroke, and both consequently by destroying the fruits of the earth. That of darkness added consternation to their minds, and lashes to their consciences; and when all this would not reclaim, at length came the de- cisive blow; first the excision of the first-born, and then the drowning of the incorrigible tyrant and all his host. ' Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty ! just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints !' Stackhouse. t That is, those meaner servants, that are put to grinding, as Samson afterwards was, when he had lost at once both his eyes and liberty. The Egyptians of all nations upon earth were most frantic in their grief. When any person died in a family, all the relations and all the friends of the deceased co-operated in a scene of sorrow. And the process was to quit the house ; at which the women, with their hair loose, and their bosoms bare, ran wild about the streets. The men like- wise, with their apparel equally disordered, kept them company ; all shrieking, and howling, and beating themselves, as they passed along. This was upon the decease of an individual : but when there was one dead in every family, every house must have been in a great measure vacated, and 120 HISTORY OF [Book II horror of the night added to their confu- sion; the expiring groans of their beloved first-born deeply affected them, and they expected a succession of death upon them- selves; Pharaoh, hoping to avert an un- timely death, in haste sent for Moses and Aaron, and commanded them to be gone with all speed. * Get you forth,' says he, 1 from among my people, both you and the children of Israel, and go serve your God as ye have said; and take your flocks and your herds, as ye demanded, and be gone : I will stand no longer on terms with you; only pray for me, that this plague may go no further.' Nor were the people less importunate for them to be gone; for they concluded, if the Israel- ites tarried any longer among them, that they should all die. Moses, having by God's express com- mand directed the children of Israel to borrow of their Egyptian neighbours jewels of silver and gold, and the Lord having disposed the Egyptians to lend them what they asked for, they by these means spoiled the Egyptians of their most valuable things:* nay, so fearful were they the streets quite filled with mourning. Hence we mav he assured that those violent emotions were general ; and at the same time shocking past all imagination. The suddenness of the stroke, and the immediate and universal cries of death at mid- night, that particularly awful season, must have filled every soul with horror. It was therefore very truly said by the prophet of God, ' There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt; such as there was none like it' before, * nor shall be like it any more.' ' And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians ; and there was a great cry in Egypt,' Exod. xii. 30. Bryant. * The word, which our translators render borrow, more properly signifies to ask of one ; and what they render to lend, is as literally to give. For the case stood thus between the two nations. The Egyptians had been thoroughly terrified with what had passed, and especially with the last terrible plague upon their first-bom, and were now willing to give the Hebrews any thing, or every thing, only to get quit of them. They therefore bribed them to be gone, and courted them with presents, so very profusely, as even to impoverish themselves : but for this the Israelites were not at all culpable, because they only accept- ed of what the others pave them ; and what was freely given, they doubtless had a right to detain. that some heavy judgment would attend their longer continuance among them, that they forced them away, not suffer- ing them to finish their bread, but oblig- ing them to tie up their dough in their clothes, and carry it away on their backs unbaked. The Lord having thus avenged on the Egyptians the obstinacy of their king, in detaining his people in bondage, they now on a sudden thrust them out, as God had foretold, and drove them away in great haste. So punctual were the ancient servants of God in complying with the request of their dying friends or relations, or any who had signalized themselves in the service of the faithful, that we find men, notwithstanding the hasty departure of the Israelites, did not forget to take the bones of Joseph, which he, dying in the faith of their deliverance, had solemnly engaged the children of Israel to carry up out of Egypt with them, and which had now lain entombed there more than a hundred and forty years. The place of general rendezvous for the Israelites was Rameses, the chief city of Goshen; from whence, on the fifteenth But suppose that the strict sense of the word was, that they really did borrow many valuable things of the Egyptians ; yet it is a truth allowed on all hands, that and talk pressed in commanding the children of Israel to with thee; and I wiU endue them with presse put out of the camp every leper, and every one that had a running issue, and whosoever was de- filed with the dead, both male and female ; that they might not defile their camps in the midst of which tbe Lord dwelt. In the sixth chapter fol- low divers laws relating to restitution in cases of trespass, and to ttie trial of jealousy between men and their wives ; to the vow of the Nazarites, to which is subjoined the form of that divine bless- ing which the Lord himself did dictate for the priests to pronounce upon the people. The se- venth chapter contains the offerings of the princes at the dedication of both the tabernacle and the altar, &c. The consecration and purification of the Levites are set down in the eighth ; a rein- forcement of the passover, and the guiding of the Israelites by the cloud in the ninth chapter. * This "fire came either immediately from heaven, like lightning, or did issue from the pillar of the cloud, which went before the tabernacle; or that, which is here called fire, might be a hot, burn- ing wind, in those desert places not unusual, and many times very pestilential, and, on this occasion, the same spirit with which I have inspir- ed thee, and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee.' Moses accord- ingly brought the seventy elders of the children of Israel before the Lord, who kept his word with him; for, being inspir- ed, they straightway prophesied. Nay, this inspiration was so extensive, that two of those seventy, though they came not out with the rest to the tabernacle, but remained behind in the camp, were taken in among the rest, and received the same impression of the Spirit, and prophesied as the others did. This so surprised a certain young man, that he ran from the camp to the tabernacle to acquaint Moses pretematn rally 'raised in the rear of the army, to that Eldad and Medad, for so they were punish the stragglers, and such as loitered behind name( l were pr0 phesying in the camp, out of a pretence of weariness. Le Clercs com- ' r r ' ; ' mentary. Joshua, who as yet was not acquainted HAP. VII.] THE BIBLE. 147 with the operations of the Lord by his Spirit, over-hearing this message, and thinking it some derogation from his mas- ter that they should prophesy, and not follow him, advised Moses to forbid them. But Moses, reproving him gently for hie rashness, cried, Dost thou envy them upon my account? Would to God all the Lord's people were inspired, and that they might prophesy.' Amidst divers complaints of Moses to God of his incapacity to sustain the hea- vy weight of so great a charge, as the di- rection of so numerous a people, he ex- postulated with the Lord on the impossi- bility of their being supplied with flesh in that place, because they were so nu- merous. The Lord, knowing the great fatigue Moses had gone through in the conduct of this people, bore with him, and only gave him this gentle rebuke: 'Is the Lord's hand shortened? Thou shalt see whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.' Accordingly, when Moses with the el- ders were gone back to the camp, and had acquainted the people with it, a south wind arose, and drove vast numbers of quails from the sea coast within a mile of the camp, where they lay about a yard thick upon the ground.* The peo- * We may consider the quails as 'flying within two cubits of the ground ;' so that the Israelites could easily take as many of them as they wished, while flying within the reach of their hands or their clubs. The common notion is, that the ! mails were brought round about the camp, and ell there in such multitudes as to lie two feet thick upon the ground ; but the Hebrew will not bear this version. The Vulgate has expressed the sense, ' And they flew in the air, two cubits high above the ground.' While these immense flocks were flying at this short distance from the ground, fatigued with the strong wind and the distance they had come, they were easily taken by the people ; and as various flocks continued to succeed each other for two days and a night, enough for a month's provision might be collected in that time. If the quails had fallen about the tents, there was no need to have stood up two days and a night in gathering them ; but if they were on the wing, as the text seems to suppose, it was necessary for them to use despatch, and avail themselves of the passing of these birds while it pie fell greedily to gathering the quails, which they (still distrusting God's provi- dence, which had hitherto never failed them) did in such great quantities, as if they were to have no more. But God soon called them to a dread- ful account for their insolent demand of flesh, and doubtful distrust of his power : for while they were regaling themselves with these dainties, God visited them with a very severe plaguef whereof many died, and were buried in the place, which from their lusting after flesh was called Kibroth-hattaavah, which signifies ' the graves of lust or concupiscence.' CHAPTER VII. Aaron and his sister Miriam enviously seek to raise a sedition ; the latter is punished with leprosy, and having been made a general ex- ample to the people is healed. Appointment of the spies, with their particular acts. The people are threatened for murmuring at them. God averts the judgment, but punishes those who spread a false report. Sabbath breaking punished with death. The rebellion and pun- ishment of Korah. The plague appeased. From hence they took their journey to Hazeroth, which signifies 'palaces.' And here another unhappy accident befell them : Aaron and his sister Miriam ob- serving the great power of Moses their brother with the people, and that God chiefly made use of him in the delivery of his sacred oracles to them, began to envy him : to give some colour to their quarrel, they pretended to fall out with him upon the account of his marrying a foreigner, continued. Maillet observes that birds of alf kinds come to Egypt for refuge from the cold of a northern winter ; and that the people catch them, pluck, and bury them in the burning sand for a few minutes, and thus prepare them for use. This is probably what is meant by 'spreading them all abroad round the camp.' Dr A. Clarke. f It probably seems to have been a suffocating, distemper, like the quinsey, which choked them as they were eating or soon after ; for the words are very express : ' While the meat was in their mouth, the wrath of God fell upon them.' This is further confirmed by Psalm lxxviii. 30, 31. 148 HISTORY OF [Book II calling her Ethiopian,* and emulating Moses's great gifts and authority, they added, What! hath the Lord spoken only by Moses? Hath he not spoken also by us?' Moses saw their discontent; and though he was naturally of a meek dispo- sition, and could pardon an injury offered to himself, his righteous soul was grieved and incensed when mortals dared to in- sult the Majesty of heaven ; but looking on this as a personal pique, he would not take notice of it. However, God, who was more imme- diately concerned in this, resolved to vin- dicate himself and his faithful servant; for on a sudden calling for Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, at the door of the tabernacle, he sharply reprehended them for their in- solence, asking them, how they durst speak against his servant Moses? ' Youf share,' said he, ' the great prophetic office indeed, and to you I have declared my will in dreams and visions; but with Moses I have conversed more familiarly, and I will speak face to face with him, and show him as much of my glory as he is capable of seeing.' Upon this the Lord withdrew in great displeasure from them. Moses had the comfort of seeing himself justified : but Aaron, to his great confusion, saw his sis- ter Miriam made a dreadful example of God's anger ; for on a sudden she became a loathsome deformed leper; J and well * Zipporah, Moses's wife, was a Midianite ; and because Midian bordered on Ethiopia, she was so called, and it is sometimes in holy scripture com- prehended under this name. But. here Zipporah is called Ethiopian in ridicule and spite, which they ought not to have done, for she having sub- mitted to the law, ought to have been reckoned an Israelite, as Ruth and Hahab were. + Miriam is called a prophetess. | A leprosy, as well as all other distempers (such as the scurvy, ring-worm, itch, &c.) which bear resemblance to it, proceeds originally from a previous ill disposition both in the blood and juices, but the more immediate cause of it is an infinity of small imperceptible worms that insin- uate themselves between the flesh and skin, which first prey upon the scarf-skin, then upon the inner skin, and afterwards upon the extremities of the nerves and muscles, fiom whence arises a total knowing he deserved to share in this curse for his ungrateful murmuring, pre- sently addressed himself to Moses, ac- knowledged their sin, begged pardon, and interceded for his sister, that she might be restored to her health. Good Moses, who was never wanting in charity even to his enemies, melted into pity, and complied with his request. But yet, to terrify others from moving sedition again, and because the offence was public, God resolved to make an ex- ample of Miriam in her cure, and there- fore he commanded Moses to turn her out of the camp, as a common leper, for seven days, and then to receive her again. Miriam being returned to the camp, the Israelites removed to the desert of Paran; from whence, after several encampments, they came to Kadesh-barnea, on the frontiers of Canaan. Here Moses let them know that they were come near the promised land; and for their satisfaction, God commanded Moses to send twelve men, one of each tribe, to take a view of the country. He charged them to go up to the hills to ob- serve whether the country was strong or weak ; whether there were many inhabi- tants; how their towns were situated, and whether fortified; whether the soil was fertile or barren ; whether it was planted with trees or not; what fruit they bore, and corruption of the whole mass of blood, and all the other symptoms attending it. But the leprosy here inflicted upon Miriam was sudden and in- stantaneous. The juices of her body were not corrupted by a gradual decay, bnt turned at once into these corroding animals. And as this was a fit punishment for her pride and detraction, so by its being inflicted on her, and not on Aaron, it seems not improbable that she was first in the transgression, and drew Aaron (who seems, in some instances, to be a person of too much facility) over to her party. Aaron indeed, by his office, was appointed to judge of leprosy, which he could not have done, had himself been infected with it ; and as he was lately consecrated his high-priest, God, for the preservation of his authority, might not think it proper to make him oo soon become vile and contemptible in the eyes of the people, as this distemper was known to make men. CalmeVs Dissertation, and Patrick's Commen- tary. Chap. VII.] THE BIBLE. 149 to bring some of it ; for then was the time when the first grapes were ripe, that was, in July. With these instructions the twelve spies set forward ; and having taken a view of the country from north to south, in their return they passed through a fertile val- ley which abounded in vines, where they cut down a branch with but one cluster of grapes on it, but that of so vast a weight and bigness, that they were forced to carry it upon a staff between two.* Nor was this the only product of this happy soil ; the golden fig, and beautiful pomegranate, adorned the trees, and va- riety of fruits loaded the luxuriant branches. Of each of these they took a sample ; and upon their leaving the place, from the great plenty of grapes, they called it the valley of Eshcol, which signifies a cluster of grapes. Having spent forty days in viewing and observing the country, they returned to the camp of Israel at Kadesh ; and having showed the fruits of the land to Moses and Aaron, and the whole congre- gation, they related the observations they had made in their journey, and said, We have been in the country to which you have sent us. It is a fertile and plentiful land ; but the inhabitants of it are power- ful. There are great cities with strong walls. We have seen there men of the race of Anak, warlike men, and of a gi- gantic stature. The Amalekites inhabit * The vines and grapes are prodigiously large in those eastern and southern parts of the world. Straho says, that in Margiana, and other places, the vines were so big, that two men could scarce compass them ; and that they produced bunches of grapes two cubits long. Olearius tells us, that not far from Astracan. in Persia, he saw vines that a man could hardly grasp with both arms. And Huetius affirms, that in Crete, Chios, and other islands of the Archipelago, there are bunches of grapes from ten to forty pounds in weight. Stachhouse. Dandini, though an Italian, seems to have been surprised at the extraordinary size of the prapes of Mount Libanus, which he describes as equal to a prune. It is no wonder the Israel- ites were struck with them ; because, according to Norden, the grapes of Egypt, though excellent, are very small. Harmer. the south part of the land; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amoritcs, on the moun- tains ; and the Canaanites, on the sea- coasts, and the river Jordan.' Such a relation could not but terrify a people possessed with suspicions and dis- content; and they soon discovered their fear. But Caleb, one of those that were sent to discover the country, to pacify them, said, Let us make ourselves mas- ters of the country, for we are strong enough to conquer those people.' But the mutineers declared against en- gaging in a war, wishing they were in Egypt again ; and choosing rather to die in the wilderness, than to fall by the sword, and have their wives and children enslaved. In short, they proposed to choose themselves a chief and return to Egypt. This so deeply affected Moses, that notwithstanding they were so obstinately bent upon their own ruin, he and Aaron, in the presence of the assembly, fell on their faces to deprecate the vengeance which they feared God would let fly at these rebellious mutineers. Whilst Caleb and Joshua, through excess of sorrow for the people's blasphemy, rending their clothes, boldly stood up and endeavoured to persuade them that they might, by God's help, overcome the inhabitants of that country ; they said, The land that we passed through is indeed a rich and fertile land, abounding with all things necessary for life. If we please the Lord, he will bring us into this land, and give it us. Do not therefore, by rebelling against him, forfeit his promise and pro- tection. Nor be afraid of the people of the land, whom we shall as surely conquer as we eat our food, and as easily ; for God hath withdrawn his care of them ; and if the Lord continue it to you, ye have nothing to fear.' This speech made so little impression upon them, that in a tumultuous manner they called out to stone them ; and which they had probably done, had not God ISO HISTORY OF [Book 11 miraculously interposed, by sending his glory, which visibly appeared at that in- stant in the tabernacle of the congregation before them all. While the people were thus contemning the power of the Most High, Moses and Aaron at humble distance prostrated them- selves before the Lord; and God, being highly incensed with this insolence of the Israelites, told Moses he would send the plague that should extirpate this people, and would make him prince of a more numerous and powerful nation. But good Moses, as he had before done, preferred the interest of an unworthy people, and the honour of God, to all selfish views, representing to the Lord, that if he de- stroyed the Israelites, the Egyptians, and other nations thereabout, who saw he had taken them into his protection, would not fail to say he was not able to carry them into the land he had promised them. Then imploring God's mercy, and with repeated and importunate entreaties beg- ging pardon for the people, God at length suffered himself to be prevailed on, and to satisfy Moses, he pronounced thein par- doned ; but it was with this restriction ; for, reproaching them with their ingrati- tude, who had so often and wonderfully tasted of his bounty in providing against their wants, screening them from, their enemies, and preserving them in all dan- gers ; since they had so often provoked him with their disobedience, he declared that not one of those who had murmured should enter into the promised land, ex- cept Caleb and Joshua; and they should wander about there with their children for the space of forty years. And though God at the pressing entreaty of Moses did reverse the sentence of sudden death upon the whole congregation of murmurers, yet the ten false spies, the immediate authors of the rebellion, who had brought an evil report upon the good land, were punished with death, by the plague. But Caleb and Joshua, who had done iheir duty, in giving a faithful account of their observations, were not only preserv- ed, but commended of God, who gave them his promise that they should live to enter and take possession of the good land. On the first report of these things, the children of Israel are said to have mo >rn- ed greatly. But by their actions it d ith not appear they were any better disposed: for, changing their minds on a sudden, from a cowardly fearfulness to a pre- sumptuous rashness, the next morning they declared, We are ready to go to the place whereof the Lord hath spoken to us.' But this was undertaken in their re- bellious, obstinate temper, and was adding sin to sin. Nor was Moses ignorant of it; for he endeavoured to restrain them, and expostulated with them on the dan- ger, telling them their enterprise was against the express command of God, that it would not prosper, and forbid them going \ipon pain of being defeated and slain, assuring them, that God had left them, and that the Amalekites and Ca- naanites had gained the passes in the mountains before them. These admonitions had no weight with those obstinate people. They presump- tuously supposed the boldness of the at- tempt would wipe off their former cowar- dice, and reinstate them in God's favour ; and though the ark of the Lord, which was to go before the host, went not with them, nor Moses their general at the head of them, yet they resolutely marched to the top of the hills, where the enemy sur- prised, defeated, and slew many of them, and pursued the rest as far as Hormah. After this, though it was but eleven days' journey from Horeb to Kadesh-Bar- nea; yet through their disobedience, they spent near two years in going that eleven days' journey. And which is still more strange, turning back from Kadesh-har- nea, and being near the confines of the promised land, they were eight and thirty years more wandering in the wilderness, before they could come to the borders of the promised land again. Chap. VII. 1 THE BIBLE. 151 Moses having led them back again into desert, toward the Red sea, they con- tinued thereabout, making in the afore- said time, eighteen several removes or dislodgments, and at last they returned to Kadesh-barnea, near the place from whence they went. Many circumstances worthy of notice happened to the Israelites during their continuance in the wilderness. The first of which is of a man, who by a post- facto law, was adjudged to be stoned to death for violating the sabbath, by gatnering sticks on that day, the celebra- tion of which God had strictly enjoined, though there was no penalty annexed to the breach of it. Those who brought the offender before Moses, knew he would determine justly ; and committing the man to safe custody, Moses inquired of God what he should do in this case? who immediately, from his heavenly oracle, returned this answer, That the criminal should be conveyed without the camp and there be stoned to death ;'* which was executed accordingly. * We are not to suppose that the culprit was exposed to the unbridled fury of the thousands of Israel ; this would be brutality, not justice, for the very worst of tempers and passions might be produced and fostered by such a procedure. The Jews themselves tell us that their manner of ston- ing was this : they brought the condemned person without the camp, because his crime had render- ed him unclean, and whatever was unclean must be put without the camp. When they came within four cubits of the place of execution, they stripped the criminal, if a man, leaving him no- thing but a cloth about the waist. The place on which he was to be executed was elevated, and the witnesses went up with him to it, and laid their hands upon him, for it was by this ceremony that the people who heard him curse bore their public testimony in order to his being fully con- victed, and without that his punishment would not have been lawful. Then one of the witnesses struck him with a stone upon the loins; if he was not killed with that blow, then the witnesses took up a great stone, as much as two men could lift, and threw it upon his breast. This was the coup de grace, and finished the tragedy. When a man was stoned by the mob, then brutal rage armed every man, justice was set aside, and the will and fury of the people were law, judge, jury, and exe- cutioner. Such disgraceful stonings as these, were co doubt frequent among the Jews. A. Clarke. The Israelites now increased in wicked- ness and impiety, and vexed the souls of the few pious among them, the haughty Korah, great-grandson of Levi, separated from Moses and Aaron, and having se- duced Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, of Reuben's family, and drawn in two hundred and fifty Levites to his party, that were men of fame and interest among the people, he made most grievous com- plaint against Moses and Aaron, charging them with pride, in usurping upon the liberties of the people, who, they said, were as holy as themselves. Moses, on hearing this, fell on his face;f and soon after rising from that humble posture, he, with great courage and assu- rance, let them know, that the next day the Lord would decide the controversy, and would make it appear who were his servants, and who was holy, and would ad- mit whom he had chosen to come near him. Then, with his usual calmness and serenity of mind, he argued the matter with them, mildly rebuked their insolence, and toid them that they took too much upon themselves. But in a more particular manner he addressed himself to Korah and the Le- vites that joined him, and said, Hear me, ye sons of Levi ; is it a matter of so light concern, that the God of Israel hath dis- tinguished you from the rest of Israel, to admit you to the more immediate service of the tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation, and minister to them ? Is not this an honour sufficient to satisfy f- This is a phrase often used to express divine adoration and application to God for help ; and good reason there is to believe that at this time Moses, who was well acquainted with the gracious and ready assistance of God in time of need, might apply himself to the Lord for protection against this mutinous crew, as apprehending some violence from them, who in this tumultuous manner attack- ed him. And it is very reasonable to think that, whilst he lay in this humble posture God appear ed to him, and both comforted and advised him ; for presently after he spoke to the rebels with great assurance, and, to vindicate himself, put the matter between him and them upon trial the next day. 152 HISTORY OF [Book II. your ambitious spirit, but that you must aim at the priesthood too ? This is the cause of your clamours; and for this ye have moved the people to sedition. But be assured, whatever ye may pretend against Aaron, this insult is against the Lord, as it is against his dispensations, that ye murmur and conspire.' Dathan and Abiram stood at a distance, while Moses talked with the rest, and therefore he sent for them to come to him ; but they surlily returned for an answer, that they would not come. And to re- tort his own expressions upon himself, they added, ' Is it a matter of so small moment, that thou hast brought us out of a land that floweth with plenty, to kill ue in the desert? Thou affectest dominion, and wouldest make thyself prince of us also. Notwithstanding thy fair promises, thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, nor given :i inheritance of fields and vineyards ; but when we were ready to take possession of the promised land, thou hast turned us back into this barren desert, to repeat the fatigues and hardship we had before un- dergone. We will not come.' These unjust reproaches highly pro- voked Moses, who, instead of returning any ill language to them, addressing him- self to God, said, ' Respect not thou their offering; for though they reflect thus un- justlv upon me, I have not taken so much as an ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.' Then summoning Korah and all his company to meet him and Aaron before the Lord next day, he or- dered them to bring their censers ready prepared with incense in them, and to ap- pear all before the Lord. Accordingly, on the morrow they came with great confidence : and having set fire to the incense in their censers, they bold- ly planted themselves in the door of the tabernacle with Moses and Aaron ; and to bid the greater defiance to these holy men, they had persuaded all the congre- gation to side with them. This impious and presumptuous be- haviour so provoked the Almighty, that he resolved to take the matter into his own hand ; and darting forth his glory upon the tabernacle, he commanded Moses and Aaron to withdraw, that he might consume the rebels. But the two good men, know- ing that the people were drawn into this insolence by the wicked arts of Korah and his party, prostrated themselves before the Lord, and by their prayers interceded for the people : * O God, thou God of the spirits of all flesh,' said they, ' shall one man sin, and wilt thou be angry with all?' Their prayers were heard as soon as de- livered, and God bid them command the people to withdraw, who, frightened with the amazing splendour that broke from the cloud, readily took the warning, and drew off from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who came boldly out, and stood daring at the doors of their tents, with their wives and families. Then Moses addressing himself to the people, said, * By this you shall know that the Lord lias commissioned me to do what I have done, and that I have undertaken nothing of my own head. If these men die the common way of nature, or be visited as other men, then take it for granted the Lord hath not sent me ; but if he deal with them after a strange and unusual manner, and the earth, opening her mouth, swallow them up alive, then shall ye understand that these men have provoked the Lord.' Moses had no sooner spoken these words, but terrible convulsions heaved the labouring earth, the surface of which cleav- ing asunder, Korah and his faction, with their goods and families,* were swallowed * On a close inspection of Num. xvi. 27., we shall rind that the sons and the little ones of Da- than and Abiram alone are mentioned. ' So they at up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan. and Abiram, on every side ; and Dathan and Ab'ram came out and their wives, and their sona, and their little ones.' Here is no mention of the children of Korah, they therefore escaped, while it appears those of Dot ban and Abiram perished ! with their fathers. And it is expressly mentioned j in chap. xxvi. 1 1, that tile children of Korah died Chap. VII.] THE BIBLE. up alive, and the ground closing upon them they perished. The rest of the people that stood round them, and saw their dismal fate, being frightened with the loud cries and shrieks of the departing mutineers, fled away for fear the earth should have swallowed them too. In the mean time God, to complete his vengeance on the rest of the leaders in this rebellion, who had profanely attempt- ed to offer incense contrary to the law, sent down fire from heaven, and destroyed the two hundred and fifty men that had joined with Korah.* The censers,f on frhich they intended to offer, remained amidst the congregation, which God had ordered to be preserved, but not for the same use as formerly, nor in the same form; therefore he commanded Moses to direct Eleazer, Aaron's son, to beat them out into small plates, and fix them to the altar of the burnt-offerings; assigning this reason for it, ' That it might be for a me- morial to the children of Israel, that no stranger, or any that was not of Aaron's family, should presume to offer incense 153 not in this destruction which involved the entire families of the other two. * There were two sorts of traitors ; the earth swallowed up the one, the fire the other. All the elements agree to serve the vengeance of their Maker. Nadab and Ahihu brought fit persons, but unfit fire to God; these Levites bring the right fire, but unwarranted persons before him ; fire from (iod consumes both. It is a dangerous thing to usurp sacred functions Hall. f- The two hundred and fifty princes had not offered any incense, being prevented by death : however, it may be presumed that they had lighted their incense at the holy fire ; by which they ob- tained at least in the opinion of the people a sort of consecration. The Lord therefore, to keep up among them the reputation and esteem of things devoted, would not have them put to pro- fane uses : and to make a difference between his own institutions and men's contrivances (especially those of wicked men) he ordered all those brazen censers to be wrought into broad plates, and to cover the altar with them ; to the intent that these brazen plates being polished bright, might by their lustre put the people in mind of the offence of those that were once the owners of them ; and by seeing them often as they must do every time they looked upon the altar they might be warned of the same crime. before the Lord, lest he died the death of Korah and his company.' This judgment, severe as it was, had no other effect on the Israelites than the former; for the next day they took occa- sion to mutiny afresh, murmuring against Moses and Aaron, and charging them with the murder of so many persons. They well knowing the unruly nature of this obstinate people, and fearing to what degree of madness and violence they might have proceeded, took sanctuary in the tabernacle;^ where, as soon as they had entered, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared, which was a sure token that the Lord had something to say to them. Immediately God called to Moses and Aaron, and bid them be gone from the rest of the congregation ; for he would consume them in a moment. They there- upon fell down, as they used to do on such occasions, to intercede for the people; but, as early as they were in supplicating, vengeance was before them ; for the Lord, provoked by their repeated rebellions, had already sent a plague among them, which Moses perceiving, bid Aaron take a censer, and put fire in it from the altar, and incense ; and hasten to the congre- gation to make an atonement for them. Aaron did as Moses directed him, and standing between the dead and the living, he prayed for the people, and the plague ceased. However, in that short space of time that the plague raged amongst them, there died fourteen thousand, seven hundred men, without reckoning those who perish- ed in the sedition with Korah and his company. J This shows to whom we ought to fly, in any persecution or distress; and that God is our only refuge and protection. Whence the great fruit and advantage of persecution appears, that it com- pels us to apply to him. Plague is a comprehensive term, as we see in the plagues of Egypt, which are all called plagues, though they were all different from each other. We may reasonably think that it was the pesti lence or infectious sickness. 154 HISTORY OF [Bouk II. CHAPTER VIII. God causes Aaron's rod to bud, and to be left as a monument to the people, in order to prevent their future murmuring. Moses supplies the people with water out of the rock. Death of Aaron. The plague of fiery serpents. Re- medied by looking up to the brazen one set up by Moses. The Israelites obtain victory over several princes, who endeavoured to oppose their march. God having in so dreadful a manner de- clared against those who opposed the government of Moses and the priesthood of Aaron, to end all contests and disputes among the ambitious and aspiring, re- solved by a convincing miracle to put an end to the controversy, and establish and confirm the priesthood in the family in which he had placed it. In order to this, he commanded Moses to take a rod from each tribe, and to write upon it the name of the prince of that tribe to which it belonged; and on the rod of the tribe of Levi to write Aaron's name; which when he had done, he was to lay up these twelve rods in the tabernacle, before the ark of the testimony, where God was to declare his will farther to them. And to let them know that God would determine the con- troversy, and put an end to their murmur- ings, he would cause the rod of that man to blossom whom he would choose. Moses, who never failed immediate com- pliance with the divine command, took a rod from the prince of each tribe, wrote his name upon it, and laid up all the rods together in the tabernacle. And the next day he went in and brought forth all the rods, and in the presence of all the peo- ple he gave each man his rod, which they found to be the same as they had deliver- ed to Moses over night, except Aaron's, which had not only budded, but blossom- ed, and bore ripe almonds.* This was a * That is, on tne same rod or staff were found buds, blossom-, and ripe fruit. It has been thought by some that Aaron's staff (and perhaps the staves off all the tribes) was made out of the amygdala communis, or common almond tree. In a favour- convincing proof that God had singled out Aaron to the priestly office. To preserve the memory therefore of the determination of this controversy, the Lord bid Moses bring Aaron's rod back again, and lay it before the ark of the tabernacle, to be kept for a memorial of their rebellion : and that seeing it they might forbear to murmur; and so prevent sudden death. These obstinate people now began to be sensible of the justice of their punish- ment; and sinee God in his own house visited them for their sins, they enumer- ated the several ways they had been punished. f Behold, said they, we die ; we perish ; we are all lost ; and because God had in the tabernacle expressed his displeasure more than once in punishing them in an exemplary manner, they cried out, ' If we approach the tabernacle we die ;' not considering, that their own iniquities drew the justice of God upon them in this place, for which he had ordered the altar to be covered with remarkable shining brass,J to put them in mind of their obe- dience. The next historical matter we meet able soil and climate it grows to twenty feet in height, is one of the most noble flourishing trees in nature ; its flowers are of a delicate red, and it puts them forth early in March, having begun to bud in January. It has its name from a root which signifies to awake, because it buds and flowers sooner than most other trees. A. Clarke. f The Chaldee text describes their murmuring thus : we die by the sword ; as in the case of their daring to enter the promised land contrary to Moses's advice, when they were slain by tiie Canaanites and Amalekites. The earth swallows us up ; as in the case of Korah and his associates The pestilence doth consume us; as in the case of the 14,700 that died of it. J As being made of the brazen censers, which belonged to the two hundred and fifty princes that had joined Korah. $ The history breaks off at the seventeenth chapter of Numbers, and begins not again till the twentieth. By the interposition of these matters in these two chapters, we miss the account how the Israelites came to Kadesh again in the wilder- ness of Zin ; only Moses briefly reciting some of their faults, tells us, that after they had been beat- en by the Amalekites and Canoanites, they turned Chap. VIII.] THE BIBLE. 155 with is the Israelites being at Kadesh ; where Miriam (who was sister to Aaron and Moses, and elder* than both) died, and was buried there. In this place the Israelites, impatient of any inconveniency for want of water, began (as usual) to ex- claim against Moses and Aaron, saying, ' Why have ye brought the Lord's people into the wilderness to kill them and their cattle? Why did you persuade us to leave the fertile land of Egypt to bring us into this barren place, which aftprds neither water to quench our thirst, nor fruits to satisfy our hunger? Would to God we had perished with our brethren before the Lord.' The servants of God according to their usual custom addressed themselves to God for help; who bids Moses take the rod, and that he and Aaron should assemble the people; and then, said the Lord, * Speak ye to the rock in their sight, and it shall yield water for them.' Moses hereupon taking the rodf from before the Lord, went, and with Aaron's assistance assembled the people together before the Lord. Moses hitherto had paid an exact and absolute obedience to all the commands God had enjoined him ; but now, in deviating from his instructions, though seemingly but a little, he com- mitted the greatest miscarriage of his whole life; for he was bid to speak to and took their way in the wilderness along the Red sea, as God had commanded Moses, and com- passed Mount Seir many days, (which hoth Tre- mellitis and our Bible in their notes reckon ehdit and thirty years,) till at length the Lord said, ' Ye have compassed this mountain long enough, turn ye northward.' * Miriam died four months before Aaron and eleven months before Moses, being at her death about 130. Josephus tells us she was buried with great solemnity ; and Eusebins relates that her sepulchre was extant in his time at Kadesh, not far from the city Petra, the metropolis of Arabia Petraea. Stackhouse. f The text does not expressly tell us, whether of the rods this was ; that with which he did so many miracles in Egypt formerly, or that by which they were so lately reclaimed from a rebellion : it seems most likely to be the latter ; because it is called * the rod from before the Lord,' and which yet bore a miracle upon it, the buds and almonds. the rock before the people; but instead of doing it, he speaks to the people, say- ing, ' Hear now, ye rebels ! must we fetch water for you out of the rock?' in which he not only expressed impatience and heat of spirit, but incredulity, making a doubt of what God had positively pro- mised. It is certain he disobeyed God in this ; for he smote the rock twice \ with the rod, and immediately there issued out water in great plenty; by which we may see, God would not lose the honour of his miracle for his servant's fault, but caused the water to flow from the rock. But to show he expected an entire obedience to his commands, though Moseshad been his faithful servant in performing all his in- structions before ; yet now, for the breach of his disobedience, he denounces to Moses and Aaron, who was in the same trans- gression with him, their doom in these words ; ' Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the sight of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not have the honour of leading the people into the land which I have given them.' |i From this unhappy accident, the place was called Meribah, which signifies, 'the water of contradiction.' Moses patiently received the divine chastisement, but continued in his com- J If it should be alleged in favour of Moses, that when he was sent to the rock before, he was bid to take his rod in his hand, and smite the rock, that the water might come forth ; and that from thence he might infer, he was also now to smite the rock with his rod : it may be said, that as he then followed his instruction, so he was to have done here. He smote the rock then, because he was bid; but he did not speak to it, because he was not bid : so now he should have spoken to it, because he was bid ; and not have smitten it, be- cause he was not bid. That is, you should show them that I am holy, omnipotent, merciful, and true ; and that I can and will perform my promise to this wicked and ungrateful people, as ye know, and ought to re- member I have often done. || This was a sore mortification to Moses not to see the promised Canaan, being thereby frustrated of the fruit of his long and troublesome conduct. By which we ought to learn to die to the world and ourselves, and live only to God. 156 HISTORY OF [Book II. maud and care of the people, and intend- I ing to decamp, that he might secure their j march from Kadesh, he sent an embassy | to the king of Edom, upon whose borders ' they now were, to inform him of the \ travels of the Israelites, desiring leave to . pass through his country, on account that they were both descended from Isaac and Rebekah ; assuring him that they would . commit no acts of hostility, nor trespass in his fields or vineyards, nor so much as drmk of his water, without paying for it, but only travel on the king's highway. The inhospitable Edomite not only refus- ed them passage, but with a potent army came out to defend his frontiers; and op- pose the Israelites should they attempt to pass. They therefore turned another way, and marching from Kadesh came to mount Hor, near the borders of Edom. And now the time drawing near that the chil- dren of Israel were to enter the promised land, into which the Lord had told Aaron he should not enter, because of his trans- gression at Meribah, God gave Aaron notice of his approaching death, and com- manded Moses to take Aaron, and Eleazar his son, who was to succeed him in the office of high-priest, to the mount, there to strip Aaron of his priestly garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; which when Moses had done, Aaron died on the top of mount Hor, being a hundred twenty and three years old: and when the people saw that Aaron was dead, they bewailed him thirty days. It was the beginning of the fifth month of the fortieth year of their travels from Egypt, when they were upon the borders of Canaan; and Arad, one of the kings of Canaan, that dwelt in the south, hearing which way they came, went out and fought them, and took some of them prisoners. This defeat brought them to a sense of their duty; and knowing they were now upon the borders of the promis- ed land, they made a vow to the Lord, promising that if he would deliver this people into their hands, they would utterly destroy their cities. God took them at their word, and gave them such success, that at Hormah * they engaged these Ca- naanites, and defeated them, took their cities and utterly destroyed them. Elated with this success, they dislodged from mount Hor, and took their way by the Red sea, marching round Edom, through which they had been denied pas- sage, and forbidden to force their way. And because the way was long, the passes uneasy, and the country barren, they, forgetting their late success, and reflect- ing only on the present discouragements, relapsed into their old humour of murmur- ing, complaining directly against God and Moses : * Wherefore,' say they, ' have ye brought us up out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness, where there is neither meat, nor drink, but this manna, which our stomachs loathe?' To punish this repeat- ed instance of impiety and distrust of his care, God sent fiery serpents f among * This seems to be the same place at which the Amalekites had beaten and chased the Israelites about eight and thirty years before. f The seraph is a flying serpent, the only one that has wings. The word properly sanities to burn ; and this name was probably given it, either because of its colour, or because of the heat and thirst which its bite occasions. Its wings are not feathers, like the wings of birds ; but rather like those of bats. When the Arabians go to gather the aromatic reed, or cassia, of which these ser- pents are very fond, they cover all their heads, ex- cept their eyes, with skins to secure themselves from the bite of the serpent, which is very danger- ous. As Moses represents these serpents to have caused a great mortality, so the heathen writers concur in testifying, that the deserts, wherein the Israelites journeyed, produced serpents of so vene- mous a kind, that their biting was deadly, beyond the power of any art then known to cure it. The ancients observed in general, that the most barren and sandy deserts had the greatest number and most venemous of serpents ; Diodorns remarks this more particularly of the sands in Africa ; but it was equally true of the wilderness in which the Israelites journeyed. Serpents and scorpions were here, according to Moses, as natural as drought and want of water, Deut. viii. 15. Strabo's obser- vation agrees with Moses ; and both Strabo and Diodorus concur, that the serpents which were so numerous here, were of the most deadly kind, and that there was no cure for their biting. CaU met and Stackhouse. Chap. VIII.] THE BIBLE. 157 them, which destroyed a great number of these rebels. This punishment brought the rest, to their senses, who, flying to in- jured Moses, acknowledged their guilt, and cried for mercy : Moses, though he had lately incurred the displeasure of the Lord on their account, in pity to their distress, addressed himself in prayer to God for them ; who did not immediately take away the serpents, but leaving them to be a farther scourge, and make them more sensible of their transgression, pro- vided a remedy to prevent their death, and heal their hurts : for he ordered Moses to make a serpent * of a fiery colour, and to set it up on a high pole, that the people, who were bitten by the fiery serpents, might, by looking up to it, be recovered. Moses accordingly made the form of a serpent in brass, and set it up as a banner; and whoever afterwards was bitten by a serpent, if he looked upon that brazen serpent, recovered. The Israelites at this time were at Punon, whither they were come from Zalmonah, their first camp, after they re- moved from about mount Hor. From Punon they went and encamped at Oboth, and thence to Ije-abarim, in the desert that is before Moab to the eastward. Decamping from thence they came to Zared, and afterwards encamped by the river of Arnon, which is in the desert, and runs to the frontiers of the Amorites; for it divides them from the Moabites. They held on their march, and at length came into the plains of Moab, on the banks of Jordan, opposite to Jericho, to the top of Pisgah. * This brazen serpent, a significant type of onr Lord Jesus Christ, who being lifted up as an en- sign for the nations, gives life and salvation to all them that in true faith look up to hiin, remained among the Jews 700 years, to the time of Heze- kiah king of Judali ; who in a holy zeal, pursuant to God s command, removing the high places, breaking the images, and cutting down the groves, broke also in pieces this brazen serpent among the rest. From hence Moses sent ambassadors to Sihon king of the Amorites, to demand a passage through his country, promising not to break into the fields or vineyards, nor to drink of the water, but only to march along the highway, till they were past his country. The Amorite prince, fearing to admit so formidable a body into the heart of his kingdom, positively denied them passage: and, thinking it better policy to att-tck than be attacked, gathering what force he could, marched out to give them battle at Jahaz, where Israel routed him, and seized his country. They likewise took Hesh- bon, and the villages about it, which Sihon had before taken from the Moab- ites; and being thus possessed of the Amorites' land, they dwelt there. After this, Moses sent out forces to dis- cover Jazar, another city of the Amorites, which they took with all its territories, and drove out the people that dwelt there. Then turning another way, they marched towards Bashan,f where the giant Og, another Amorite king, reigned. f Bashan is one of the most fruitful countries in the world, lying eastward of Jordan and the sea of Tiberias, northward of the river Jabbok, westward of the mountains of Gilead, and south of Hermon and the kingdom of Geshuri. Besides villages, it contained sixty fenced cities. It was peculiarly famous for its rich pasture, excellent flocks and herds, and stately oaks. Mr Buckingham gives the following account of this country : " We ascended the steep on the north side of the Zerkah, or Jab- bok, and on reaching the summit, came again on a beautiful plain, of an elevated level, and still cov- ered with a vpry rich soil. We had now quitted the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, and enter- ed into that of Og king of Bashan. We continued our way over this elevated tract, continuing to behold with surprise and admiration a beautiful country on all sides of us ; its plains covered with a fertile soil, the hills covered with forests, at every new turn presenting the most magnificent landscapes that could be imagined. Amongst the trees the oak was frequently seen ; and we know that this territory produced them of old. Some learned commentators, indeed, believing that no oaks grew in these supposed desert regions, have translated the word (Ezek. xxvii. 6.) by alders, to prevent the appearance of inaccuracy in the in- spired writer. The expression of fat bulls of Ba- shan seemed to us equally inconsistent as applied to the herds of a country generally thought to be a 158 HISTORY OF [Book II This powerful piince with his gigantic troops drew out to give the Israelites bat- tle ; but lest they should be discouraged at the sight of this formidable army, who exceeded the common size of nature, Moses, by the command of God, bid them fear nothing, for he had delivered them into their hands, and they should make as easy a conquest over them, as they did over Sihon king of the Amorites. Israel thus encouraged joined battle, and slew king Og* and his sons, and all desert, in common with the whole tract which is laid down in our modern maps as such between the Jordan and the Euphrates ; but we could now fully comprehend, not only that the bulls of this luxuriant country might be proverbially fat, but that its possessors too might be a race renowned for strength and comeliness of person. The gen- eral face of this region improved as we advanced farther into it; and every new direction of our path opened upon us views which surprised and charmed us by their grandeur and their beauty. Lofty mountains gave an outline of the most mag- nificent character ; flowing beds of secondary hills softened the romantic wildness of the picture ; gentle slopes, clothed with wood, gave a rich vari- ety of tints hardly to be imitated by the pencil ; deep valleys filled with murmuring streams and verdant meadows, offered all the luxuriance of cul- tivation, and herds and flocks gave life and anima- tion to scenes as grand, as beautiful, and as highly picturesque as the genius or taste of a Claude' could either invent or desire." * The description of this gigantic king, who was the last of the race of the giants, whose stature we may guess at by the size of his bed, which being made of iron for strength, was thirteen feet and a half for the length, and two yards, or six feet, for the breadth. The people of the East use a kind of settle, called a duan, or divan, or sofa ; consist- ing of boards raised from the ground, about five feet broad, and one and a half high, reaching some- times quite round the room, sometimes only along a part of it : it is covered with a carpet, and fur- nished with mattresses, to sit upon cross-legged after the Turkish fashion, and with cushions placed against the wall to lean upon. They serve for beds at night. This custom may serve to illustrate the dimensions of the bedstead' of Og. English ideas have measured this by English bedsteads. But when we reflect that neither the divan nor its covering is so nearly fitted to the size of the per- son as our bedsteads in England are, we may make, in the necessary dimensions of his ' bedstead,' no inconsiderable allowance for the repose of this martial prince. The Mosaic account of men of a gigantic stature, who were inured to deeds of law- less violence and rapine, is confirmed by the Greek and Latin poets, who relate that there were giants in the first ages of the world, and also by the Greek and Latin historians, particularly by Pau- his people. They also took all his cities, threescore in number, all fenced with high walls, gates and bars, besides open towns and villages a great number; destroying utterly the inhabitants, but keeping all the cattle and the spoil of those cities for a prey to themselves,f as they had done be- fore in the case of Sihon, the other Amo- rite king. CHAPTER IX. Balak king of Moab fears the inroads of the Is- raelites. Sends messengers to Balaam to per- suade him to curse than. Balaam's merce- nary conduct remarkably chastised. BalaKs sacrifice. Balaam's parable. Balaam pro- phecies the success of the Israelites. They are drawn by the Moabites into whoredom and idolatry. They are severely punished for their sins. Encouraged with these successes the Israelites marched to the plains of Moab, and encamped on this side Jordan by Jeri- cho. The approach of these victorious strangers struck a terror wherever they came, and the fame of their late success against the Amorites put the king of Moab and his people into a terrible con- sanias and Philostratus among the Greeks, and Pliny among the Romans, who have recorded that, on opening some sepulchres, the bodies of men were found to be much larger in old times. Jose- phus also speaks of bones seen in his days, of a magnitude almost exceeding credibility. These testimonies of historians of former ages to the gen- erally gigantic stature cf men, furnish a satisfactory answer to the petty cavils of those who object to the credibility of Moses, from his mentioning the gigantic size of Og's bedstead. (Deut. iii. 1 1.) But men of very large size are occasionally seen even in our (Jays. Some allowance may also be made for royal vanity ; as Alexander the Great ordered his soldiers to enlarge the size of their beds that they might give to the Indians, in suc- ceeding ages, a great idea of the prodigious stature of the Macedonian soldiers. Home, &c. f So they were commanded, where the sociiil laws, or laws of war and heraldry are set down : by which they were required upon their approach to any city, to offer peace first, which if the in- habitants accepted, and surrendered to them, they should only make them tributaries. But if they refused peace, and put them to besiege and storm the place, they should, when they had taken it, put all the men to the sword ; but might keep the women and children with the cattle and other spoil for themselves. Chap. IX] THE BIBLE. 159 sternation.* Balak the kin^ knowing himself too weak to engage the mighty force of Israel, advised with the chiefs of Midian,f to whom he proposed the com- mon danger of these invaders: the result of tlicir consultation was this; king Balak should send messengers to Balaam, J the son of Beor, who lived at Pethor, a city in Mesopotamia, to invite and bribe him to curse the Israelites; for they had so great an opinion of his skill and power in * If the Moabites had known the protection they were under, they needed not to have been afraid, for if they would have been quiet they were particularly exempted from the sword of Israel. f The Midianites were neighbours and con- federates with the Moabites ; therefore Balak represented to them the danger, and asked their advice and assistance. J It is a question much debated among com- mentators, whether Balaam was a true prophet of the Lord, or only a magician and diviner or for- tune-teller : and the arguments on each side are so strong, as to lead to the conclusion that he was both a Chaldean priest, magician, and astrologer by profession, a prophet by accident. He dwelt in a conntrv, which, from time immemorial, was celebrated for the observation of the stars ; and the astronomy of antiquity was never, perhaps, free from astrology. His fame, in every thing which at that time formed the science of Chaldaea, filled Asia: the honours and presents which he received, show the high estimation in which he was held. It is a circumstance, moreover, worthy of remark, that his religion was not a pure idol He knew and served the Loud atry. the know- ledge and worship of the true God did not simul- taneously disappear among the nations ; as is evi- dent from the circumstances recorded of Melchise- dek, Jethro, and perhaps, Abimelech. The his- tory of Balaam presents the last trace of the know- ledge of the true God, which is found out of Ca- naan. If the rites celebrated by him were not de- void of superstition ; if it be difficult to put a fav- ourable construction upon the enchantments which Moses seems to attribute to him, it only follows that Balaam, like Laban, blended error and truth. The mixed religion, thus professed by him, fur- nishes a key to his mysterious history. Sacer- dotal maledictions were at that time regarded as inevitable scourges, and the people of Moab and Midian thought that they should find in Moab an adversary, who was capable of opposing Moses ; and it was only opposing a prophet to a prophet, a priest to a priest. In the judgment of these nations, Moses was a formidable magician ; and, as Pharaoh had done forty years before, they sought out, on their part, a magician, to defend them: they wished to curse the Israelites in the very name of Jehovah, whom they supposed to be a more powerful deity than their own god. These circumstances will enable us without difficulty to conceive how Balaam received the gift of pro- divination, that they thought he could curse or bless as he pleased. By general consent therefore they deputed a select number of their chief men with presents to invite him to go with them to Balak- phecy. The terms employed by the sacred his- torian are so express, as to leave no doubt that he, occasionally, at least, was inspired. Besides, his predictions are extant ; nor does it avail to say, that Balaam was a wicked man. The gift of pro- phecy did not always sanctify the heart. (See Matt. vii. 22.) If, then, we refer to the circum- stances of that memorable day, we shall find in that dispensation reasons worthy of the divine wisdom. The Hebrews had arrived on the bor ders of Canaan, which country they were on the point of entering ; they knew that Moses wov.ld not enter it ; and in order to encourage the peo- ple to effect the conquest of the promised laud, even without Moses, God caused one who was hostile to them to utter predictions of their victo- ry. How encouraging must this circumstance have been to the Hebrews, at the same time that it would prove to them (who were about to come into continual contact with the Canaanites) how vain and useless against them would be the su- perstitions of those idolatrous nations. The three hills on which Balaam offered sacrifices in the presence of the Israelitish camp, remind us of one of the prejudices of ancient times. The ancients believed that a change of aspect induced a change of condition. Home. Before the idolatrous nations of Syria and Palestine undertook a warlike expedition, or en- tered into battle, they endeavoured to bring down a curse upon their enemies, which should inevi- tably secure their overthrow. Influenced by an opinion, which long prevailed in those parts of the world, that some men had a power, by the help of their gods, to devote not only particular persons, but even whole armies to destruction, Balak sent for Balaam to curse Israel, before he would ven- ture to attack their camp. This was done some- times by words of imprecation, of which there was a set form among some people, which Kschines calls the determinate curse. Besides this, they sometimes offered sacrifices, and used certain rites and ceremonies with solemn charms. Some of the charms used by the heathen on such occasions, are mentioned in the life of Crassus from the pen of Plutarch. The historian states that Atticus, a tri- bune of the people, made a fire at the gate, out of which the general was to march against the Par- tisans, into which he threw certain thing? to make a fume, and offered sacrifice to the most angry gods, with horrid imprecations. These, he says, according to ancient traditions, had such a power that no man who was loaded with them could avoid being undone. Under the influence proba- bly of the same opinion, the renowned champion of the Philistines, sure of the favour and protection of his deities, and, consequently, persuaded that his enemies must necessarily be the objects of their displeasure and vengeance, cursed David by his gnris. devoting him to utter destruction. Paxton. 160 HISTORY OF [Book II. When tliey came to him, and delivered their message from the king, he desired them to tarry with him that night, for he could give them no answer till he had consulted the Lord. But that omniscient Being, to whom the secrets of all hearts are known, could not be ignorant of Balaam's base motive ; in order therefore to try in what manner he would endeavour to palliate the same, asked him, * What men they were that were with him?' 'They are some,' said he, * whom the king of Moab hath sent to me, to let me know, that there is a people come out of Egypt, which cover the face of the earth; and to desire me to come to him, and curse them, in hopes that he then may be able to overcome them, and drive them away.' But God said to him, *Thou shalt not go with them, nor curse that people, for they are blessed.' Balaam, not daring to disobey the command of the Lord, got up in the morning, and, dismissing the messengers, said, ' Be gone to your own country ; for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you.' They returned to the king, but misreported Balaam's answer ; for instead of telling him that God had re- fused to let him come, they told him that Balaam refused to come. Whereupon Balak, falsely suggesting to himself, that either the number and quality of his mes- sengers did not answer Balaam's ambition, or the value of the presents his covetous- ness, resolved to gratify both ; and there- fore he immediately despatched away messengers of more honourable rank, and with larger proposals. Let nothing,' said he, * hinder thee from coming to me ; for I will promote thee to very great hon- our, and give thee whatsoever thou wilt ask, if thou wilt come and curse this people.' Such was the prevalence of Balaam's avarice, that though he had been so so- lemnly prohibited from going and cursing the people whom God had blessed; he accepted of these presents of their enemies, and afterwards evaueu compliance with their request, by assuring them he durst not, on any account, counteract the divine will, but to amuse them, desired they would tarry a little while he inquired farther of the Lord. This was tempting God; who therefore in displeasure left him to his own will.* He had positively at first told him his mind, and it was the highest disobedience and presumption to pretend or offer at the reversion of it, by a farther applica- tion. However, blinded with covetous- ness and pride, he again addressed him- self to God ; who, provoked at his obsti- nacy, leaves him to himself, and tells him, 1 If the men come to call thee, rise and go with them ;f but what I shall say to thee, that only shalt thou do.' Notwithstanding this permission to go, God was resolved to make Balaam sensible of his displeasure. Upon this concession he got up in the morning, and went with the princes of Moab. But as he was on the road, the angel of the Lord stood on the way with a drawn sword in his hand. A regard to the divine omnipresence was almost banished in the mind of Balaam, by the longing desire after the reward of his impiety ; but it pleased God to give the ass,:}: on which Balaam * From hence we may observe how unfit we are to choose for ourselves ; especially in opposition to God's immediate commands and instructions. f This, by the consent of interpreters, is looked upon, not as a command but a permission ; and seems ironically spoken; as if God had said, 'Since thou art so eager to go, thou knowest it is against my mind, take thy own course ; go if thou wilt. But yet thou shalt not gain thy end ; thou shalt go with this restriction on thy will, thou shalt say nothing but what I shall direct thee.' \ The common breed of asses in the East is larger than that usually seen in Britain ; and an- other, still larger, is preserved for the saddle : for the ordinary people, and many of the middle class commonly ride asses. Asses are often preferred to horses by the Sheiks, ^r religious men ; and though most of the opulent merchants keep horses, they are not ashamed, especially when old, to ap. pear mounted on asses. Those intended for the saddle, of the best sort, bear a high price ; they are tall, delicately limbed, go swiftly in an easy pace or gallop, and are very sure- Tooted, They are fed aud dressed witli the same care as horses. Chap. IX.] THE BIBLE. 161 rode, such quickness of sight, that she both saw the angel and shunned him, by turning out of the road into the field. Balaam for this beat the ass, and strug- gling to put the beast into the way, the angel stood in another narrow way be- tween two walls, which inclosed some vineyards. The ass seeing the angel, clung up to the wall, and crushed Ba- laam's foot. This so incensed him, that he beat her again. But when the angel went farther, and stood in a narrow place, where the ass could not turn, she fell down under him. For this Balaam was iii a greater passion than before, beating her with his staff. But God, to rebuke the wilfulness of the prophet, miraculously opened the mouth of the ass,* and she said to him, The bridle is ornamented with fringe and cowries, or small shells; and the saddle, which is broad arid easy, is covered with a tine carpet. Dr Russtl. * If the ass had opened her own mouth, and reproved the rash prophet, we might well be as- tonished. Maimonides and others have imagined that the matter was transacted in a vision. But it is evident, from the whole tenor of the narration, as well as from the declaration of an inspired writer (2 Pet. ii. 14 16..) that it is to he understood as a literal narrative of a real transaction. The ass, it has been observed, was enabled to utter such and such sounds, probably as parrots do, without understanding them : and, whatever may- be said of the construction of the ass's mouth, and of the tongue and jaws being so formed as to be unfit for speaking, yet an adequate cause is as- signed for this wonderful effect ; for it is expressly said, that 'the Lord opened the mouth of the ass.' The miracle was by no means needless or super- fluous : it was very proper to convince Balaam, that the mouth and tongue were under God's di- rection, and that the same divine power, which caused the dumb ass to speak contrary to its na- ture, could make him in like manner utter bless- ings contrary to his inclination. The fact is as consonant to reason as any other extraordinary operation ; for all miracles are alike, and equally demand our assent, if properly attested. The giving of articulation to a brute is no more to the Deity, than the making of the blind to see, or the deaf to hear. And the reputed baseness of the instrument, of which God was pleased to make use, amounts merely to this, that (as the apostle observes on another occasion,) ' God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise,' 1 Cor. i. ?, There was, therefore, a fit- ness in the instrument used : for, the more vile the means were, the litter they were to confound the unrighteous prophet. Home. * What have I done to thee, that thou shouldest beat me these three times.' 'Because,' said he, 'thou hast deserved it, in mocking me : had I a sword in my hand I would kill thee.' The ass replied, ' Am I not thine ass, upon which thou hast been used to ride ever since 1 was thine ; did I ever serve thee so before T He answered, No.' Such an incident might have alarmed a mind less prepos- sessed than that of Balaam, which re- mained blinded, till God himself opened his eyes, and let him see the angel stand- ! ing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; at the sight of which, he bowed himself down, and fell on his face. The angel expostulated with him, and told him his undertaking was perverse, in attempt- ing to go against the express command of God, and that therefore he was come to stop him : and, but for his ass, which he had so barbarously abused, he had slain him. Balaam, self-convicted, acknowledged his crime, and offered to return home again, if so be his journey was displeas- ing to God. However, the Lord resolv- ed out of this man's wicked inclination to raise some advantage ; and therefore, since he #was gone so far, he would not send him back, but make him, who was hired to curse, be the instrument of pro- nouncing a blessing on his people. Having thus chastised Balaam on the way, he suffered him to go on; but with. this charge, that he should only speak what God should tell him. Balaam then went on his journey with the princes of Moab; and when Balak un- derstood that Balaam was coming, that he might the more oblige him by per- sonal civilities, he came out to meet him (himself receiving him upon the confines of his dominion.) At their meeting, the king in a friendly manner blamed Balaam for refusing to come to him upon his first sending, since it was in his power to ad- vance him. But Balaam, to excuse him- self, let him know what restraint the 162 HISTORY OF [Book II Lord had laid upon him. Then enter- taining him publicly with his princes and great men that day, the next day he brought him up into the high places of Baal, # that from thence he might take a view of the camp of Israel. Whilst they were here, the prophet di- rected the king to order seven altars f to be erected for him: and seven oxen, with seven rams, to be prepared ; which be- ing done, they both together offered an ox and a ram upon each altar. Then leaving Balak to stand by his burnt-offering, Ba- laam withdrew to consult the Lord, who met and instructed him what to say; and returning to Balak, whom he found stand- * The word Baal signifies Lord, and was the name of several gods, both male and female, as Selden shows. The god of the Moabites was Chemosh, but here very probably is called by the common name of Baal: and, as all nations wor- shipped their gods upon high places, so this god of Moab, having more places of worship than one, Balak carried Balaam to them all, that from thence he might take the most advantageous prospect of the Israelites. These high places were full of trees, and shady groves, which made them com- modious both for the solemn thoughts and pray- ers of such as were devout, and for the filthy in- clinations and ahominahle practices of such as af- fected to be wicked. Patrick's Commentary. f According to the account which both Festus and Servius give us of ancient times, the^ heathens sacrificed to the celestial gods only upon altars : to the terrestrial, they sacrificed upon the earth ; and to the infernal, in holes digged in the earth. And though the number seven was much observed among the Hebrews, even by God's own appoint- ment. Lev. iv. 6. yet we do not read of more than one altar built by the patriarchs, when they offered their sacrifices, nor were any more than one al- lowed by Moses : and therefore we may well sup- pose, that there was something of heathen super- stition in this erection of seven altars, and that the Moabites, in their worship of the sun, (who is here principally meant by Baal) did at the same time sacrifice to the seven planets. This was ori- ginally a part of the Egyptian theology; for as they worshipped at this time the lights of heaven, so they first imagined the seven days of the week to be under the respective influence of these se- ven luminaries. Belus, and his Egyptian priests, having obtained leave to settle in Babylon, about half a century before this time, might teacli the Chaldeans their astronomy, and so introduced this Egyptian notion of the influence of the seven rul- ing stars, which Balaam, being no stranger to the learning of the age and country he lived in, might pretend to Balak to proceed upon in his divina- tions and auguries Le Clerc and Shuchford. ing at the altar, and the princes of Moab with him, he thus addressed himself to them: 'Thou hast caused me, O king, to come from Aram, % out of the mountains of the east to curse the family of Jacob, and bid defiance to Israel. But how shall I curse those whom God hath not cursed? and how shall I defy those whom the Lord hath not defied? From the top of the rocks I see their protector, and from the hills I behold him. Behold, this peo- ple shall be separated to God, and distin- guished from all other people in religion, laws, and course of life; they shall not be reckoned among the nations.' Then set- ting forth the prosperity and increase of Israel, he wished that his lot might be with them in life and death. Balak, as much alarmed as incensed at the prophecy of Balaam, so contrary to his expectation, passionately inquired, ' What hast thou done? I sent for thee to curse mine enemies, and thou hast blessed them.' Balaam excused himself by the necessity of his instructions, from which at this time it was not in his power to deviate. However, as Balak was not discourag- ed; from the change of the place he hoped a change of fortune or better success; and therefore taking Balaam into the field of Zophim to the top of Pisgah, he tried whether he could curse from thence. Balaam, who was willing to please him, had seven altars there, and a bullock and a ram offered on each. Then withdraw- ing again, as before, to consult the Lord, he received fresh instructions. Balak now began to understand the interview between the Lord and Balaam ; and upon his re- turn to him and his attendants, who were big with expectation of the result, demand- ed what the Lord had spoken ? Upon which Balaam, to bespeak the greater at- tention and regard to what he should say, began thus: 'Consider, O Balak, thou J The same as Mesopotamia, which the He* brews call Aram-naharaim. Chap. IX.] THE BIBLE. 163 son of Zippor, consider that God, who hath already blessed Israel, and forbidden me to curse them, is not like a man, that he should renounce his promise, or repent of what he does. Hath he promised, and shall he not perform? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commission to bless, and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. He does not approve of afflictions or outrages against the posterity of Jacob, nor of vexation or trouble against the posterity of Israel.* The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a kingf is in him. God hath brought him out of Egypt: he hath, as it were, the strength of a unicorn.:}: Surely no enchantment * Tlie text should be rendered as above: ' He does not approve of afflictions or outrages against the posterity of Jacob, nor vexation or trouble against the posterity of Israel.' This is very agreeahle to all that Balaam said and did on this occasion, and stops the months of Jibertines and enthusiasts. f So Jerome, Arius Montanus, Tremellius, and Junius turn it. That is, the triumph of a king victorious over his enemies. This animal, generally supposed to be the rhinoceros, is frequently used to express extra- ordinary strength. The principal reason for trans- lating the word reem, unicorn, and not rhinoceros, is from a prejudice that he must have but one horn. But this is by no means so well founded, as to be admitted as the only argument for estab- lishing the existence of an animal which never has appeared after the search of so many ages. Scrip- ture speaks of the horns of the unicorn ; so that, even from this circumstance, the reem may be the rhinoceros, as the Asiatic and part of the African rhinoceros may be the unicorn. Next to the ele- phant, the rhinoceros is said to be the most power- ful of animals. It is usually found twelve feet long, from the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail ; from six to seven feet high ; and the circum- ference of its body is nearly equal to its length. It is, therefore, equal to the elephant in hulk ; and the reason of its appearing so much smaller to the eye than that animal is, that its les are so much shorter. Words, says Goldsmith, can convey but a very confused idea of this animal's shape ; and yet there are few so remarkably form- ed. But for its horn, which has been found to mea- Bure between thirty and forty inches in length, its head would have the appearance of that part of a hog. The skin of the rhinoceros is naked, rough, knotty, and lying upon the body in folds, in a very peculiar manner ; the skin, which is of a dirty brown colour, is so thick as to turn the edge of a scimitar, and to resist a musket-ball. Such is the general outline of an animal that appears chiefly can prevail against Jacob nor any divina- tion against Israel. So that considering what God shall work this time for the deliverance of his people, all the world shall wonder and say, what hath God wrought! Who hath put his people out of the reach of fraud or force, and turned the intended curse into a blessing. And to show their future strength and sue- cess, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up themselves as a young lion : they shall not lie down until they eat of the prey, and drink of the blood of the slain.' formidable from the horn growing from its snout ; and formed rather for war, than with a propensity to engage. The elephant, the boar, and the buffalo, are obliged to strike transversely with their wea- pons ; but the rhinoceros, from the situation of his horn, employs all his force with every blow ; so that the tiger will more willingly attack any other animal of the forest, than one whose strength is so justly employed. Indeed, there is no force which this terrible animal has to apprehend : defend- ed on every side by a thick horny hide, which the claws of the lion or the tiger are unahle to pierce, and armed before with a weapon ttiut even the elephant does not choose to oppose. Travellers have assured us, that the elephant U often found dead in the forests, pierced with the horn, of a rhinoceros. In addition to these parti- culars, Mr Bruce informs us, that the rhinoceros does not eat hay or grass, but lives entirely upon trees ; he does not spare the most thorny ones, but rather seems to be fond of them ; and it is not a small branch that can escape his hunger, for he has the strongest jaws of any creature known to him, and best adapted to grinding or bruising any thing that makes resistance. But, besides the trees capable of most resistance, there are in the vast forests which he inhabits trees of a softer consistence, and of a very succulent quality, which seem to be destined for his principal food. For the purpose of gaining the highest branches of these, his upper lip is capable of being lengthened out, so as to increase his power of laying hold with this, in the same manner as the elephant does with his trunk. With this lip, and the assist- ance of his tongue he pulls down the upper bran- ches, which have most leaves, and these he devours first ; having stripped the tree of its branches, he does not therefore abandon it, but placing his snout as low in the trunk as he finds his horn will enter, he rips up the body of the tree, and reduces it to thin pieces, like so many laths; and when he has thus prepared it, he embraces as much of it as he can in his monstrous jaws, and twists it with as much ease as an ox would do a root of celery. $ These passages are a manifest prophecy of the victories which the Israelites should gain over their enemies, and particularly the Canaanites ; and of their secure possession and quiet enjoyment of 161 HISTORY OF [Book IL Balak was so incensed at this peremp- tory prophecy of the immediate interposi- tion of providence in favour of God's chosen people, that lie forbid Balaam to exercise his prophetic talent; though soon after his eagerness to have Israel cursed made him change his mind; for he called for Balaam, and entreated him to try an- other place, in hopes God would permit him to curse Israel. Hereupon Balaam followed Balak to the top of Mount Peor,* a hill that looked towards the wii- deni; ss. Whatsoever ground Balak might have for his hopes, it is certain Balaam knew the positive will of God in this case was to bless and not to curse; and this he had declared to be irreversible, when he told Balak God was not like fickle man. Yet stimulated with the blind desire of reward, he consented to Balak to tempt the Lord afresh ; for he there erected seven altars and laid seven sacrifices thereon. But having in vain tried all his arts of' divination, and seeing that God was re- solved to continue biessing Israel (with- out withdrawing, as before, under pre- tence to consult the Lord) looking on the camp of Israel, the Spirit of the Lord f came upon him, and he cried out in an ecstasy, 'How goodly are thy tents, O Ja- cob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!' Then by signifieant metaphors, he foretold the extent, fertility, and strength of Israel; and those that bkssed them should be the land afterwards, particularly in the reigns of David and Solomon. It i remarkable that (od hath here put into the mouth of Balaam much the same thin s which Jacoh had before predicted of Judah, den. xiix. 9. Such is the analogy and harmony between the prophecies of scripture. Jtishop Newton. * Probably the place where the famous Baal- peor had Ins chief temple. He was a deity of the Moabitts and Mdianites, supposed to be the ] same as Hie l'riapus of the Romans, and worship- \ ped witn similar obscene rites. + In Num. xxiii. it is observable, that while Balaam used his art of divination or enchantment, he had only a word put into his mouth; hut now having laid aside his enchantments, the Spirit of God cume upon him. blessed, and those that cursed them should be cursed. Balak now upbraided Balaam with de- ceit and falsehood, and smiting his hands together, being no longer able to restrain his rage, bid him haste and be gone; For I thought,' said he, to have pro- moted thee to great honour, if thou hadst answered my design in cursing Israel, but the Lord hath hindered thy preferment.' Balaam had recourse to his old excuse, that he could not exceed the commands of the Lord, but must speak what he put in his mouth. And though he was willing to gratify the king of Moab in some sort, and perhaps (considering his covetous temper) to entitle himself to some reward, he offered to advertise them now at part- ing, what the Israelites should do to his people in the latter days. But still, against his own inclination, he bestowed blessings on Israel, and prophesied, a star should come forth from Jacob, and a rod from Israel; that it should smite the chiefs of Moab, and destroy the children of Sheth;| J This prophecy was exactly fulfilled in the person and actions of David: but most Jewish as well as Christian writers apply it, primarily per- haps to David, but ultimatelj to the Messiah, as the person chiefly intended, in whom it was to re- ceive its full and entire completion. Onkelos, the most ancient and valuable of the Chaldee para- phrasts, interprets it of the Messiah : M When a prince," says he, "shall arise of the bouse of Jacob, and Ci rist shall be anointed of the house of Israel, he shall both slay the princes of Moab, and rule over all the sons of men :" and with him agree the other Targums or paraphrase*. Maimouides, one of the most learned and famous of the Jewish doc- tors, understands it partly of David, and partly of the Messiah ; and with him agree other rabbles, cited by the critics and commentators to this pur- pose. It appears to have been generally under- stood by the Jews as a prophecy of the Messiah, because the false Christ, who appeared in the reign of the Roman Emperor Adrian, assumed the title of Bartkochebus, or * the son of the star,' in allusion to this prophecy, and in order to have it believed that he was the star whom Balaam had seen afar off'. The Christian fathers are unani- mous in applying this prophecy to our Saviour, and to the star which appeared at his nativity. Origen in particular saitn, that in the law there are many typical and enigmatical references to the Messiah: but he produces this as one of the plain- est am! clearest of prophecies. And both Origen and luisebius affirm, that it was in consequence of Chap. IX.] THE BIBLE. 165 that Eclom should fall under its power; and that the Amalekites and Kenites should be extirpated. In fine, he fore- told, tha the western nations, the Greeks and Romans, should vanquish the Assy- rians, destroy the Hebrews, and perish themselves. But the monstrous wickedness of this man is further apparent; for after these predictions, as if vexed at his own disap pointinent in missing the reward he ex- pected, and to be revenged on the Israel- ites as the occasion of it, he instructed the Moabites and Midianites in a wicked ar- tifice; which was to send their daughters to the camp of the Israelites, to draw those people into idolatry ; the sure me- thod to deprive them of the assistance of God, who protected them. This artifice succeeded; for the next account we have of the Israelites is, that they lay encamp- ed at Shittim; where many of them were deluded by the Moabitish and Mi- dianitish women, and were drawn in, not only to commit whoredom with them, but to assist at their sacrifices, and worship their gods, even Baal-peor. * Balaam's prophecies, which were known and be- lieved in the East, that the Magi, upon the ap- pearance of a new star, came to Jerusalem to wor- ship Him who was horn king of the Jews. The stream of modern divines and commentators runs the same way : that is, they apply the prophecy principally to our Saviour, and by Moab and Eclom understand the enemies and persecutors of the church. In favour of this opinion it must be acknowledged, that many prophecies of scripture have a double meaning, literal and mystical ; re- spect two events ; and receive a twofold comple- tion. David too was in several things a type and figure of the Messiah. If by 'destroying all the children of Sheth' be meant 'ruling over all mankind,' this was never fulfilled in David. A star did really appear at our Saviour's nativity ; and ifi scripture He is styled ' the day star,' 2 Pet. i. 19: 'the morning star,' Rev. ii. 28; 'the bright and morning star,' xxii. 16; perhaps in al- lusion to this very prophecy. Upon the whole, it is probable that the Messiah was remotely intend- ed ; but that the primary and literal meaning of the prophecy rfspects the person and actions of David : particularly for this reason, because Ba- laam is here advertising Balak, ' what this people should do to his people in the latter days;' that is, what the Israelites should do to the Moabites hereafter. Bishop Newton. * The Jewish doctors tell us, that on a great But God, who hated sin in his chosen people, suffered not their iniquity to go unpunished; for he showed terrible re- sentment against both their atrocious crimes, commanding Moses to take the chiefs of those that had joined themselves to Baal-peor, and hang them up before the Lord in the sight of all the people. Moses accordingly gave charge to the judgesf of Israel to see execution done, every one on the men under his charge, that sacrificed to Baal-peor. But the divine justice did not stop here. Their whoredom must be punished as well as their idolatry ; which was aggravated vast- ly by a person of considerable rank and dignity. Bold Zimri, the son of Salu, prince of a chief house among the Simeonites, took Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, who was also a prince of a chief house in Midian, and daringly brought her to the Israelitish camp, in contempt of Moses, and in sight of the congregation, who, because of the late execution done upon their princes, stood weeping before the door of the tabernacle; and leading her openly into his tent, there lay with her. This superlative impudence and open violation of God's law, none offered to re- festival, which the Moabites made in honour of their god Baal-peor, some Israelites, who happen- ed to be there, casting their eyes upon their young women, were smitten with their beauty, and court- ed their enjoyment; hut that the women would not yield to their motion, upon any other condi- tion than that they would worship their gods. Whereupon, pulling a little image of Peor out of their bosom, they presented it to the Israelites to kiss, and then desired them to eat of the sacrifices. which had been offered to him. But Josephus tells the story otherwise, namely, that the women, upon some pretence or other, came into the Israel- itish camp ; and when they had enamoured the young Hebrews, according to their instructions, they made a pretence as though they must be gone ; but upon passionate entreaties, accompani- ed with vows and oaths on the other side, the subtle enchantresses consented to stay with them, and grant them everything that they desired, upon condition that they would embrace their reli"ion. Patrick's Commentary, and Josephus. f Probably these were the judges whom, by the advice of his father-in-law Jethro, wiJi God's ap- probation, lie had set over the people. 166 HISTORY OF [Book II. sent, but Pliinelias, Aaron's grandson, who, rising up from the congregation, and filled with a divine zeal, took a javelin in his hand, and followed them to the tent ; where, in the very act of whoredom, he thrust them both through.* This zealous act of Phinehas put a stop to the plague, which God sent among the people for this audacious act of Zimri's, and the other lewdnesses and impieties of his comrades. However, there died on this occasion no less than four and twenty thousand.f Phinehas's holy zeal for God's honour gained him not only high com- mendation, but a perpetual settlement of the priesthood on himself and his posterity. CHAPTER X. The Israelites overcome the Midianites without sustaining the least loss. They are numbered, and the different tribes put in possession of their respective departments. Moses,apprised of his death, assembles the people, and having enumerated the peculiar blessings of the Al- mighty, and enjoined on them future obedience, * Phinehas was inspired undoubtedly by the Spirit of the God of justice to do this act, which can never be a precedent on any common occasion. An act something similar occurs in our own his- tory. In 1381, in the minority of Richard II., a most formidable insurrection took place in Kent and Essex , about 100,000 men, chiefly under the direction of Wat Tyler, seized on London, massacred multitudes of innocent people, and were proceeding to the greatest enormities, when the king requiring a conference in Smithfield with the rebel leader, Sir William Walworth, then mayor of London, provoked at the insolence with which Tyler behaved to his sovereign, knocked him off his horse with his mace, after which lie was in- stantly despatched. While his partisans were bending their bows to revenge the death of their leader, Richard, then only sixteen years of age, rode up to them, and with great courage and presence of mind thus addressed them : " What, my people, will you kill your king ? be not con- cerned for the death of your leader ; follow me, and I will be your general." They were suddenly appeased, and the rebellion terminated. The ac- tion of Sir William Walworth was that of a zealot, of essential benefit at the time, and justified only by the pressing exigencies of the case. A. Clarke. f- In this number, it is probable, Moses in- cludes the thousand princes that were hanged. Which computation reconciles this place to that of the apostle, 1 Cor. x. 8. where he mentions but three and twenty thousand, without the thousand p rinces that were hanged. recited to them a song, composed at the im- mediate direction of God. Appoints Joshua his successor and dies. These disorders thus quieted, and the offenders punished, the next thing was to take vengeance of the Midianites,:}: who had debauched the Israelites with their idolatry and whoredoms. In order to this, Moses commanded a detachment of twelve thousand select men, a thousand out of every tribe, to go against the Midianites ; among whom went the zea- lous Phinehas, who carried with him the holy instruments, or trumpets, to animate the people. Such was the exertion of the divine power in behalf of the Israelites, that though very inferior in number, they slew five kings, and all their men ; among whom was the wicked prophet Balaam,y who, though he had before escaped the angel's sword, yet now fell a sacrifice to the injured people of God. They burned all the cities and castles, took all the women and children prisoners, and seized on their cattle, flocks, and goods. After which, loaded with the spoils of their enemies, they returned in triumph to the Israelitish camp. In the way home they were met by Moses, Eleazar the high priest, and all the princes; who congratulated their suc- cess. But Moses seeing the Midianitisk women among the captives, was much offended at the officers of the army for saving them ; ' for these,' said he, ' by the counsel of Balaam, caused the Israelites to sin against the Lord in the business of Peor, and provoked him to send a plague upon the congregation of Israel.' And thereupon he commanded them to kill every male among the children, and every J They inhabited the country on the East to- wards the Red sea. <) By this it seems he was not got home ; and it may be witli reason conjectured, that he was devising much the same mischief against the He- brews whilst he was among the Midianites, as when he was among the Moabites ; and therefore he justly fell by the sword of Israel. Chap. X.] THE BIBLE. woman that had lain with man; and to save none alive but the virgin females. After this they were to abide seven days without the camp, and both soldiers and spoils pass through the ceremonies of a legal purification : which when they had performed, God directed Moses to take an account of the whole prey ; and divid- ing it into two equal parts, to give one to the soldiers who had taken it, and the other part among the rest of the people that stayed at home. Out of the soldiers' part he levied the five hundredth part, both of persons and beasts, which he paid as a tribute to Eleazar the priest, for a heave-offering to the Lord ; and out of the other part, which the people had, one part out of fifty of both persons and beasts, was given to the Levites. The officers of the army, out of the other parts of the booty which they had taken, as jewels of gold, bracelets, rings, ear- rings and tablets, brought their expiatory offering* to atone for their transgressions in saving the Midianitish women, and their gratulatory offering of thanksgiving for so great a victory ; the greatness of which may be guessed from the number of their prisoners and cattle ; the virgin females were two and thirty thousand ; all the rest of the people, men, women, and children, were put to the sword. The plunder in cattle and flocks con- sisted of six hundred seventy and five 167 * After the rich and various spoils of Midian were divided, the officers of the army, penetrated with gratitude that they had not lost a man iu the contest, ' presented an oblation to the Lord,' the gold of which amounted to 16,750 shekels, equal to .37,869 16*. 5d. sterling. To this splendid ex- ample of devout acknowledgment to the God of battles may be traced the origin of the same cus- tom observed by other nations. The Greeks, be- fore the spoils were distributed, considered them- selves obliged to dedicate a part of them to the gods to whose assistance they reckoned them- selves indebted for them all. They had several methods of doing thu ; at one time they collected them into a heap, and consumed them with fire; at another they suspended their offerings in the temples. Pausanias, the Spartan, is reported to have consecrated out of the Persian spoils, a tri- pod to Delphian Apollo, and a statue of brass, even cubits long, to Olympian Jupiter. Paxton. thousand sheep, seventy and two thousand beeves, and sixty-one thousand asses; be- sides rich goods and ornaments; and to make this still more great and miraculous, the victory was gained without the loss of one man on Israel's side, as appears from the report the officers made upon a muster. The Israelites thus taking possession of the country on this side Jordan, the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, observing it to be a fertile so:!, and good pasturage, desired of Moses that they might settle in that country, upon condition that they should march with the other tribes to conquer the land whrre they were to settle ; that they would not return till the others were in possession ; and that they would claim no part of the lands that were beyond Jordan. Moses, at first, thought they intended to venture no farther, but had a mind to sit down in a country ready gained, and leave their brethren, the rest of the tribes. Upon which he blamed them for offering such a proposal to discourage the rest of the Israelites; but when he understood their real design, upon condition they performed their promise, he granted their request. Moses then enumerated the several sta- tions and removes which the children of Israel made from Rameses in Egypt, to the river Jordan in Canaan, and describ- ed the bounds of the promised land, and gave the names of the persons appointed to divide it among the tribes of Israel. Orders were afterwards given, that the children of Israel should assign to the Levites eight and forty cities, with sub- urbs to them, in which the Levites might live among the tribes, and of which number, six were appointed to be cities of refuge f for the manslayer to fly to, f These cities were of easy access, situated in mountains or large plains. That nothing might retard the manslayer in his flight to them, the roads, to the width of 58 feet 4 inches, were kept in good repair, and the rivers of note had bridge* 168 HISTORY OF [Book II. a man by who had happened to kill chance. Hut provision was made that he, who should be duly convicted of wilful mur- thrown over them ; where any other way crossed or parted from them, posts, marked with reftgk, directed to the city of refuge. On the 15th day of the I2tli month, at the end of the winter, the roads were inspected by the magistrates, and re- pairs were ordered. These cities were plentifully stored witli necessary provisions: but no weapons of war were made or sold therein. When a He- brew, or a stranger among them, unwittingly kill- ed his neighbour, he fled with all possible expedi- tion to the city of refuge that was next to him ; for if any of the friends of the killed person could overtake him before he got thither, they were warranted to slay him. Whenever the manslayer entered the city, he used to send some prudent and moderate persons to meet the pursuing avenger of blood, to soften his rage. When he came up, he presented an accusation to the judges of the place, upon the footing of which the manslayer was cited to their bar. If upon trial it appeared he had slain his neighbour unwittingly, he was received as a lodger into the city. Only, it is said, that the cause was again tried in the manslayer's own city ; and if he was again found to have done it unwit- tingly, he was safely conducted back to the city of refuge, and abode there till the death of the high priest ; but he was obliged to apply himself to some business, that he might not be chargeable to the inhabitants. In Europe we do not discover that Distinguished wisdom in the institution of the cities of refuge, which there really is. With us murder or manslaughter is prosecuted so regular- ly, that we are apt to overlook the policy of this national appointment. It deserves notice, too, that the appropriation of certain cities for the purposes of refuge, seems peculiar to the Mosaic dispensation : we read nothing of it in Egypt ; and there is at this time no trace of it in the East, notwithstanding the utility of such appointments might deservedly have preserved the custom among those who had once known it. Travellers inform us, that such is the irritable and vindictive spirit of the Arabs and other inhabitants of hot climates, that if one Sheik should seriously say to another, ' Thy bonnet is dirty,' or * the wrong side of thy turban is out,' nothing but blood can wash away the reproach ; and not merely the blood of the of- ; fender, but that also of all the males of his family! Volney informs us that the interest of the common safety has, for ages, established a law among the Arabians, which decrees that the blood of every man, who is slain, must be avenged by that of his murderer. This vengeance is called tar, or re- taliation ; and the right of exacting it devolves on the nearest of kin to the deceased. So nice are the Arabs on this point of honour, that, if any one neglects to seek his retaliation, he is disgraced for ever. He therefore watches every opportunity of revenge: if his enemy perishes from any other cause, still he is not satisfied, and his vengeance is directed against the nearest relation. These animosities are transmitted, as an iuheiitance, der, should be put to death; and in capi- tal cases it was provided, that none should be convicted of such crimes by the evi- dence of one single man. There was a law likewise made, that every daughter, who should possess an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, should be married to one of the tribes of her father, that so the children of Israel might enjoy every one the inhe- ritance of his rather; and the inheritance not to be transferred to another tribe. This was grounded upoi a law made be- fore, which empowered daughters to in- herit land, where the heirs male should be deficient; and was the case of Zelophe- had's daughters, who, upon obtaining this act, were required to marry within the family of their own father's tribe.* from father to children, and never cease but by the extinction of one of the families, unless they agree to sacrifice the criminal, or purchase the blood for a stated price, in money or in flocks. Without this satisfaction there is neither peace, nor truce, nor alliance between them ; nor, some- times, even between whole tribes. ' There is blood between us,' say they on every occasion ; and this expression is an insurmountable barrier. Among the Circassians all the relativ es of the mur- derers are considered as guilty. This customary infatuation to avenge the blood of relations, gt De- rates most of the feuds, and occasions great blood- shed among all the tribes of Caucasus: for, unless pardon be purchased, or obtained by intermarriage between the two families, the. principle of revenge is propagated to all succeeding generations. If the thirst of vengeance is quenched by a price paid to the family of the deceased, this tribute is called 'the price of blood ;' but neither princes nor usdens (or nobles) accept of such a compensation, as it is an established law among them to demand blood for blood. Dr Henderson, in describing the operation of the oriental law, of 'Mood for blood' among the Ingush Tartars, mentions the case of "a young man of amiable disposition, who was worn down almost to a skeleton, by the con- stant dread in which he lived, of having avenged upon him a murder committed by his father before he was born. He can reckon up more than a hundred persons who consider themselves hound to take away his life, whenever a favourable op- portunity shall present itself." Brown, Culnut, and Home- * The original division of land was to the several tribes according to their families; so that each tribe was settled in the same county, and each family in the same barony or hundred. Nor was the estate of any family in one tribe permitted to pass into another, even by the marriage of an heiress. So Chap. X.] THE BIBLE. 169 By this time the forty years' travel of the Israelites were near expired. Moses therefore considering, that the present generation of the Israelites, now ready to pass over Jordan to take possession of the promised land, were either sprung up since the law was given at Mount Sinai, near forty years before, or too young to remember and understand the law then given, thought lit to repeat the law to them. A little before his death, therefore, he assembled the people of Israel, on the first day of the eleventh month, in the fortieth year from their departure out of Egypt (the people being yet in the plains of Moab by Jordan, and near Jericho,) he repeated to them briefly all that had be- fallen their fathers since they left Egypt, the gracious dealings of God with them, their unruliness, disobedience, and rebel- lions, which had so often provoked the Lord to punish them, and by which means they brought upon them that grievous sen- tence, ' That they should not enter into that good land.' This account he often repeated, that they might take warning by the miscar- riages of their forefathers. Then he repeated the decalogue, and divers other laws and precepts, formerly given, though not without some varia- tion, with the addition of some new laws on divers subjects, and some explanations of the old ; exhorting them to a strict observation of them, promising that they should soon enter the land of Canaan, and also commanded them to destrov all that, not only was tlie original balance of property preserved, but the closest and dearest connections of affinity attached to each other the inhabitants of e very vicinage. Thus domestic virtue and affec- tion had a more extensive sphere of action : the happiness of rural life was increased, and a gene- ral attention to virtue and decorum was promoted, from that natural emulation, which each family would feel to preserve unsullied the reputation of their neighbourhood: and the poor might every where expect more ready assistance, since they implored it from men whose sympathy in their sufferings would be quickened by hereditary friend- ship, and hereditary connexion. Dr Graves. the idols of the inhabitants of the country, and to extirpate the people.* He encouraged them to be faithful unto God, assuring them, if they kept his com- * The Canaanites were unquestionably a most depraved and idolatrous race; and to have suffered them to remain and coalesce with the Israelites, would have been to sanction idolatry by encourag- ing their union with idolatrous nations. It mils' be admitted that God has a rinht to punish wicked nations by the infliction of judgments, such as pestilence, or famine, or by employing the sword of enemies ; because we see that he actually does so in the course of his providence; and we cannot see what essential difference there is between this and his giving a command to the Israelites to de- stroy the wicked Canaanites ; for it is a notorious fact, that these latter were an abominably wicked people. Bishop Watson remarks, " It is needless to enter into any proof of the depraved state of their morals; they were a wicked people in the time of Abraham ; and even then were devoted to destruc- tion by God ; but their iniquity was not then full, that is, they were not yet arrived to such a height of profligacy and impiety as required their destruc- tion. In the time of Moses, they were idolaters ; sacrificers of their own crying and smiling infants ; devourers of human flesh ; addicted to unnatural lusts; immersed in the nlthiness of all manner of vice. Now, it will be impossible to prove, that it was a proceeding contrary to God's moral justice to exterminate so wicked a people. He made the Israelites the executors of his vengeance : and, in doing this, he gave such an evident and terrible proof of his abomination of vice, as could not fail to strike the surrounding nations with astonish- ment and terror, and to impress on the minds of the Israelites what they were to expect, if they followed the example of the nations whom he commanded them t n cut off. ' Ye shall not com- mit any of these abominations, that the land spue not you out also, as it spued out the nations which were before you,' Lev. xviii. 28. How strong and descriptive this language! the vices of the in- habitants were so abominable, that the very land was sick of them, and forced to vomit them forth, as the stomach disgorges a deadly poison." After the time of God's forbearance was expired, they had still the alternative either to flee elsewhere, as, in fact, many of them did, or to surrender themselves, renounce their idolatries, and serve the God of Israel : in which case it appears that there was mercy for them. The destruction is not to be attributed to Israel wholly, even as in- struments. The Lord himself, partly by storms and tempests, partly by noxious insects, and part- ly by injecting terror into the minds of the inhab- itants, perhaps expelled and destroyed more than the Israelites themselves ; the wonderful, and we may add the miraculous power of God, co-operat- ing with them. Compare Exod. xxi.i. 27, 28. Josh. x. 1 1, &c. Doubtless God might have de- stroyed these nations by earthquake, tire, storm, or plague, and no man surely would have disputed his ju-tice or authority. Then why should men dispute his equity in destroying them by the sword 170 HISTORY OF [Book 1 mandments, they should have blessings heaped upon them ; and threatened them with all manner of calamities, if they de- : parted from them. He renewed the covenant with the people in the name of the Lord; com- manding them with a loud voice, to pro- claim on the mountains of Gerizim and Ebal,* beyond Jordan, blessings to all of war ? Or, if we admit for a moment the exist- ence of invisible spirits, he might have sent an angel to destroy them ; and would it be unworthy of an angel to be the minister of his displeasure? Why, then, are Joshua and the Israelites to be abused on the same ground ? The Almighty has, in fact, executed judgments on mankind far more severe than this. Though the inhabitants of Canaan are reckoned seven or eight nations, their whole country was much less than England, and what is this to the drowning of the world ? a fact, attested by all ancient histories, divine and human, and confirmed by innumerable monuments. These considerations will sufficiently justify Joshua and the other Hebrew worthies, who engaged in this war in obedience to the divine command: and unless we admit them in a great degree, we know not how any war at all can be justified, however necessary. If many of the people engaged in it from baser motives, we are not required to answer for their conduct. There will always be bad char- acters in an army, and we do not reckon the Jews to be a nation of pure saints. But the fact is, that it nowhere appears (nor can it be proved,) that the Israelites in general contracted ferocious habits by this exterminating war. Few nations, if any, ever engaged less frequently, or in fewer offensive > wars than Israel; and their agriciltural habits, to- , gether with other circumstances, operated against i such wars of ambition and conquest. If any in- I dividuals, or even the nation in some instances, i did gratify a ferocious spirit, they proportionately | violated their own laws, which enjoined love to neighbours, strangers, and enemies. The most remote shadow of proof cannot be adduced that Moses carried on war, under the pretext of reli- gion. He made no proselytes by the sword ; and neither he nor any other person mentioned with approbation in scripture, made war on any nation beyond the borders of the promised land because they were idolaters. Home. * These two mountains are situate in the tribe of Ephraim, near Shechem, in the province of Samaria, and are so near to one another, that no- thing but a valley of about two hundred paces wide parts them ; so that the priests, standing and pronouncing the blessings and curses, that were to attend the doers or violaters of the law in a very loud and distinct manner, might well enough be heard by the people, that were seated on the sides of the two hills, especially if the priest* were ad- vanced upon pulpits, as Ezra afterwaids was, Kehem. viii. 4, and had their pulpits placed at proper distances. Patrick's and Calmets Com- mentary. " There is a kind of sublime horror," those who kept the covenant, and curses to those who broke it: and to erect an altar in the land of Canaan, on which they should write the terms and conditions of their covenant with God. These things, with rehearsals sometimes of their fathers', and their own prevarica- tions, Moses not only delivered to the people by word of mouth, but wrote them in a book, which he gave into the custody and care of the Levites, with direction from the Lord, that they should put it into the side of the ark, to be kept there for a witness against Israel, if they should rebel. Besides this, Moses, by the immediate direction of God, composed a song, in which were at large described, by the many benefits and favours of God to his people, their ingratitude to, and forge tful- ness of him ; the punishments by which he corrected them, with threatening of greater judgments, if they persisted to provoke him by a repetition of their fol- lies. This song Moses recited to the people, and gave order that they should learn it, and repeat it often ; that when for their transgressing the law, many calamities and troubles should befall them, this song might be a witness for God against them. The time was just now approaching, and the people ready to pass over Jordan; but the Lord having before told Moses, that he should not conduct the people into the promised land, because of his error at the waters of Meribah, he bid him now get him up into the mountains of Abarim,f says Jowett, " in the lofty, craggy, and barren as- pect of these two mountains, which seem (o face each other witli an air of defiance; especially as they stand contrasted with the rich valley beneath, where the city [of Shechem or Napolose] appears to be embedded on either side ill green gardens and extensive olive grounds, rendered more ver- dant by the lengthened periods of shade which they enjoy from the mountains on each side. Of the two, Gerizim is not wholly without cultiva- tion." + The mountains of Abarim were a ridge of hills between the two rivers Anion and Jo. dan One part of these mountains was distinguished br Chap. X.] THE BIBLE. 171 unto mount Nebo, in the land of Moab, over-against Jericho, and take a view of the land of Canaan, and then die there on that mount, as his brother Aaron had died on mount Hor. Moses had before endeavoured to de- precate one part of his sentence, his not being permitted to enter into the promised land, but in vain ; he therefore humbly submitted to the Almighty's pleasure now, and took a solemn farewell of the people in a prophetic blessing, which he pro- nounced upon each tribe, as Jacob had done just before his death. And having before, by God's command, appointed Joshua to be his successor, to conduct the people to the promised land, he laid his hands upon him, in such a solemn and public manner, as gave all the people to understand, that after Moses's death Joshua was to be their leader. Moses went up to the top of Pisgah, over- against Jericho, from whence, as the Lord had promised him, he could take a full view of the countries round about. Though this servant of God was very aged, being an hundred and twenty years old, and on the verge of the grave, yet he was in such good health and strength, that his eyes were neither dim, nor his natural force abated; therefore, whilst the name of Nebo, as appears from Deut. xxxii. 49. and comparing this with Dent, xxxiv. 1. we shall find that Nebo and Pisgah were one and the same mountain, and that if there was any distinc- tion between the names, it was probably this, tbat the top of the mountain was more peculiarly called Pisgah, because it comes from a root which signi- fies to elevate, or raise up, and so may very proper- ly denote the top or summit of any mountain. Not far from Nebo was beth-peor, which was very probably so called from some deity of the same name, that was worshipped there. But of all these mountains it must be observed, that though they are said to be in the land of Moab, yet thpy really stood in the territories of Sihon, king of the Amor- ites, however they retained th'eir old names, be- cause once they belonged to the Moabites. Stack- kouae. these lasted, he surveyed with pleasure the beauteous prospect. He viewed Jericho ; saw Lebanon's fair cliffs and lofty cedars ; and then re- signed his soul into the hands of seraphs, who waited to convey him to a happier Canaan than what he had just before sur- veyed. The Lord, sensible that the Israelites were prone on the slightest temptation to idolatry, lest they, when they remembered the wonderful things Moses had performed for them, should pay any superstitious adoration to his remains after his death, paid the funeral honours to this great pro- phet himself;* and in a valley in the land of Moab, over-against Beth-peor, buried him so secretly, that no man ever knew where his sepulchre was. Thus departed this life, Moses, a most eminent servant of God, and the great conductor of his chosen people, by whom he was lamented with great solemnity, weeping and mourning for him in the plains of Moab thirty days.f * The same God, that by the hands of his angels carried up the soul of Moses to his glory, doth also by the hand of his angels carry his body down into the valley of Moab, to his sepulture. Those hands, which had received the law from Him, those eyes that had seen His presence, those lips that had conferred so often with Him, that face that did so shine with the beams of His glory, may not be neglected when the soul is gone: He, that took charge of his birth and preservation in the reeds, takes charge of his carriage out of the world : the care of God ceaseth not over His own, either in death, or after it Bp. Hall. f Josephus, the celebrated historian, gives Moses the following character: " He exceeded all that ever went before him in wisdom, and made the best use of what he understood. His address, as a speaker, was admirable, especially in those speeches which were made in public. But at the same time he was so great a master of his own passions, that he seemed to have none, or knew them only by name, and by observing them in others. He was one of the greatest commanders. As a pro- phet, there was never his equal ; for all his words were oracles. Nor was he less famous to posterity for his writings than he was to the age he lived in for his actions." THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. BOOK III. FROM THE APPOINTMENT OF JOSHUA AS MOSES' SUCCESSOR TO THE ANOINTING OF SAUL. PRELIMINARY REMARKS. We now enter on that portion of the Old Testament, which is commonly distinguish- ed as historical. For though the books of Moses contain a large proportion of his- tory, and are the only authentic records existing of those primeval ages ; and though several of the prophetical books are in part historical ; yet these having been denominated " the law and the pro- phets," from the grand peculiarities of each, the books before us may properly be called historical, by way of distinction. From the death of Moses to that of Ne- hemiah, at least 1050 years intervened; indeed some genealogies in Nehemiah ex- tend beyond that period : and of this suc- cession of ages these books contain a con- nected and regidar narrative, which is extremely interesting to the sober student, as well as edifying to every pious reader. If we except some Phenician fragments, filled with inconsistencies, and of doubtful authority ; and a few traditions concern- ing the Egyptians and Assyrians, distort- ed by the most extravagant relations, and evidently replete with fables ; there is scarcely any thing extant, which gives us the least information of what was trans- acted in any of the nations of the world, during by far the greater part ot this period. For it does not yet appear, that any dependence can be placed on those narra- tives from the eastern world, which have j lately been brought into Europe, and have | excited considerable attention ; and which some have so highly extolled, as to insin- uate, not only that they render question- able other ancient histories hitherto of ap- proved authority, but that their testimony ought to have some weight even in oppo- sition to the records of the Scripture. Yet it is notorious, that they are so dis- figured by fable or allegory, as to be scarcely intelligible ; and that they relate events of the most extravagant and in- credible antiquity. Leaving these, how- ever, till fuller investigation has shown what credit they deserve ; it is obvious to remark, that Herodotus, who used to be called the father of history, is supposed to have been contemporary with Ezra and Nehemiah, the latest writers of these scriptural records: and all that he collect- ed, concerning times long preceding his own, is generally allowed to be of doubt- ful. authority, and blended with much that is altogether fabulous. Yet the history on which we are entering, though modern compared with that contained in the books of Moses, commences at least 1000 years Chap. I.J HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 173 before the days of this father of history ! And (except as sceptics choose to con- found well attested publicmiracles, wrought by the Almighty God for the most im- portant of all purposes, with the absurd and pernicious fables of pagan writers,) the whole narrative is exceedingly proba- ble and rational, and accords with the known character and general conduct of mankind, in the various circumstances in which they are placed. It also agrees with the most sober traditions and detach- ed fragments of antiquity ; and serves to elucidate many obscure parts of profane history, and to decide many questions in respect of ancient chronology. It also coincides with the manners and customs of those eastern regions, in the remotest ages, as far as any accounts of them have come down to us. The books, on which we now enter, do not contain a complete political history of Israel, but merely a connected account of the most material events, or of such as were most suited to convey important in- struction : and because transactions, which in the general estimate of mankind are con- sidered as comparatively little, frequently inculcate the most salutary lessons of heavenly wisdom ; these are often very fully recorded, while the more splendid concerns of courts and camps are passed over in silence, or but cursorily noticed.* CHAPTER I. Joshua succeeds Moses in the conduct of the Israelites, and is formally installed into his office. Is encouraged by the divine promise. Sends out spies to view the land of Jericho ; they are concealed by Rahab, and afterwards return. The Israelites pass the river Jordan. Circumcision renewed. Joshua after the death of Moses, who was under God the great conductor of the Israelites, succeeded to his office, and was installed into the same with the usual ceremonies. Having been immediately * Scott's Commentary under the direction of Moses near forty years, in which he had been eye-witness to many wonderful exertions of providence in behalf of God's chosen people, he ap- peared to have been peculiarly adapted to the very important work allotted him. Being now ready to enter and take possession of the promised land, God, for Joshua's greater encouragement, strength- ened his former commission, by giving him a more immediate and express com- mand, as he had before done to his ser- vant Moses, to lead the people over Jor- dan ;f telling him, that every place, upon which the sole of their feet should tread, should be their own ; and assuring him, that there should not any man be able to + The principal river which waters Palestine fa the Jordan. Its true source is in two fountains at Paneas (a city better known by its subsequent name of Caesarea Pliilippi), at the foot of Anti- Libanus ; its apparent source flows from beneath a cave at the foot of a precipice, in the sioVs of which are several niches with ?reek inscriptions. During several hours of its course, it continues to be a small and insignificant rivulet It (lows due south through the centre of the country, intersect- ing the lake Merom and the sea or lake of halilee, and (it is said) without mingling with its waters ; and it loses itself in the lake Asphaltites or the Dead sea, into which it rolls a considerable volume of deep water, with such rapidity as to prevent a strong, active, and expert swimmer from swimming across it. The course of the Jordan is about one hundred miles ; its breadth and depth are various. Dr JShaw computed it to be about thirty yards broad, and three yards or nine feet in depth : and states that it discharges daily into the Dead sea about 6,090,000 tons of water. Viscount Chateau- briand (who travelled nearly a century after him) found the Jordan to be six or seven feet deep close to the shore, and about fifty paces in breadtb. The late Count Volney asserts it to be scarcely sixty paces wide at its embouchure. Messrs Banket and Buckingham, who crossed it in January, 1816, pretty nearly at the same ford over which the Israelites passed on their first entering the pro- mised land, found the stream extremely rapid ; and as it flowed at that part over a bed of pebid eg, its otherwise turbid waters were tolerably clear, a.i well as pure and sweet to the taste. It is here fjrdable, being not more than four feet deep, with a rapid current. Anciently the Jordan overflowed its banks about the time of barley harvest, or the feast of the passover ; when the snows being dis- solved on the mountains, the torrents discharged themselves into its channel with reat impetuosity. When visited by Mr Mauodrell, at the beginning of the last century, he could discern no sign or probability of such inundations, though so late as 174 HISTORY OF [Boo* in. stand before him all the days of his life : for as he had been with Moses, so he would be with him, and never fail, nor forsake him: therefore he bid him be strong and of good courage, for he should divide the land for an inheritance to the people. And to engage him to a perfor- mance of the law, which he had delivered to Moses, he annexed a continual series of prosperity and success; charging him to make it his study day and night, as the standard of all his future actions, and repeating his former assurance of his pre- sence with him wheresoever he went. Joshua, thus encouraged by the promise of God, prepared to execute the divine command, and that nothing material might be omitted, he ordered the officers to go through the camp and give notice to the people, that within a few days they should pass the Jordan, in order to possess the land which the Lord their God had given them, and that they should provide them- the 30th of March : and so far was the river from overflowing, that it ran almost two yards below the brink of its channel. It may be said to have two banks, the first, that of the river in its natural state ; the second, that of its overflowings. After descending the outermost bank, the traveller proceeds about a furlong upon a level strand, be- fore becomes to the immediate bank of the river. This second bank is now (as it anciently was) so beset with bushes, reeds, tamarisks, willows, olean- ders, and other shrubs and trees, which form an asylum for various wild animals, that no water is perceptible until the traveller has made his way through them. In this thicket, several kinds of wild beasts used formerly to conceal themselves, until the swelling of the river drove them from their coverts. The passage of this deep and rapid river by the Israelites, at the most unfavourable season, when augmented by the dissolution of the winter snows, was more manifestly miraculous, if possible, tiiati that of the Red sea; because here was no natural agency whatever employed ; no mighty winds to sweep a passage as in the former case; no reflux in the tide on which minute philosophers might fasten to depreciate the miracle. It seems, therefore, to have been providentially designed, to silence cavils respecting the former : it was done at noonday, in the presence of the neighbouring inhabitants ; and it struck terror into the kings of the Atnorites and Canaanites westward of the river, ' whose hearts melted, neither was there any spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel,' Josh. v. 1. The place where the Israelites thus miraculously passed this river, is supposed to be the fords of Jordan mentioned in ludg. iii. 26. Home, selves with victuals for such a march." The city of Jericho was just opposite to the place where they were to pass. Jo- shua therefore, before his order for their making provision for this march,f sent two spies thither to observe the situation and strength of the place, and the aven- ues to it; because it would be the first place they were to attack, after they had passed the river. These spies entering Jericho, went to a public house of entertainment, which was kept by llahab,:}; and there took up their * The usual food of the Israelites, while they sojourned in the wilderness, w;is manna : but as they approached the promised land, where they might have provision in an ordinary way, that miraculous bread did perhaps gradually decrease ; and in the space of a few days alter this was totally withdrawn. They were now in the countries of Sihon and Og, which they had lately conquered, and the victuals which they were commanded to provide themselves with, were such as their new conquest afforded : for being, after three days, to remove very early in the morning, they might not perhaps have had time to gather a sufficient quan- tity of manna, and to bake it, before they were obliged to march. Patrick's Commentary. f This direction for marching is mentioned in the text, before the sending the spies to Jericho. But it seems the spies were sent before that, and returned to the camp at Shittim, before they took their march towards Jordan. J Interpreters are at variance about the quality of this woman ; most agreeing she was an hostess, which is very probable. In ancient times, there was a great affinity between the business of an hostess and a harlot. Those who kept inns, or public houses for the entertainment of strangers, made no scruple of prostituting their bodies : and for this reason perhaps it is, that in the Hebrew tongue, there is but one word, namely, zonah, to denote persons of both professions. For this rea- son very likely it was, that the Septuagint, speak- ing of Rahab, give her the appellation of a harlot, and (as the Septuagint was, at this trme, the com- mon translation of the Jews) for tins very reason, the two apostles, St Paul, and St James, as they found it in the translation, might make use of the same expression. It is to be observed, however, that as the expression is capable of another sense, the Chaldee paraphrast calls her by a word which comes from the Greek, signifying 'a woman that kept a public house,' without any mark of infamy ; and therefore charity should incline us to think the best of a person, whom both these apostles have ranked with Abraham, the father of the faithful, and propounded as an example of faith and good works ; who was admitted into the so- ciety of God's people ; married into a noble family of the tribe of Judah; and of whose posterity Christ the Saviour of the world, was bom. Stack- house. ClIAP. I.] THE BIBLE. 175 lodging. But being- observed by some to go in there, information was speedily given to the king of Jericho, that two Is- raelites were come to search the country. Upon this the king sent to Rahab to produce them ; but she, having timely notice, had hid them upon the roof of the house under the stalks of the flax,* which she had spread there. Having thus secured the men, she put off the king's messengers with a feigned story, pretending that some men came to her house, but she knew not what they were, nor whence they came ; and that when it was dark, before the gates were shut, they went out, but she knew not whither; and to prevent any farther sus- picion, she advised to pursue them quick- ly, for they could not be far off. They therefore sent out several to take them, who went as far as the fords of Jordan,f but in vain. As soon as they were departed, Rahab went up to the men she had hid, and thus accosted them : ' I know the Lord hath given you this land, and the fame of you is become so terrible to us, that our peo- ple are utterly discouraged. We have heard how the Lord hath dried up the water of the Red sea for you to pass over, when ye came out of Egypt; and how you subdued Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings, on the other side of Jor- dan. These actions have flashed terror * The houses in eastern countries had flat roofs, so that men might walk or lie upon them. The stalks of flax were either newly cut and laid upon the roof of the house to be dried by the sun, till they were fit to be peeled ; or they had been cut the year before, and were now made use of by Rahab to make the king's officers think that nobody had ii<>ne upon the roof where the stalks were. Bp. Patrick. f The fords,' or passages, were no doubt parts of the river, where it might be passed without danger, either by walking or swimming across. Here, probably, the messengers waited a consider- able time to intercept the spies : and lest they should have staid in the city, the gates were im- mediately shut to prevent the possibility of their escape. But they found a way of getting out of the city, and in due time ot crossing Jordan at the fords. among our people, and quite dispirited them. Your God is the only God in hea- ven and earth. Now therefore, in regard of the service I have done in concealing you, show favour to me and my family, when you come into power, and save us alive ; and of this ye shall give me some assurance.' They readily promised upon their lives to secure her, and all that belonged to her. Upon which she let them down by a cord from the window, which faced the country, for her house stood on the town wall. When they were down, she advised them to make to the mountains to avoid the pursuers, and to conceal themselves three days, till the search was over. The spies seeing the sincerity of the woman in consulting their security, re- solved -to make her easy in their promise to her; and for a token of their integrity in the performance of it, gave her this far- ther assurance : when she should see the Israelitish army approach the town, they bid her to be sure to tie a scarlet twine in the window through which she let them down ; and to bring her father and mother, brethren, and all her family home to her, and be careful to keep them within doors, that when their forces should enter the town, by this token they might distinguish the house, and spare them. And if any should straggle from the house, their blood should be upon their own heads; but if any one in the house should come to any damage, they would answer for it. To these terms she gladly agreed, and so dis- missed them. The spies having hitherto thus hap- pily succeeded, took Rahab's advice, and made the best of their way to the moun- tains, where they lay hid three days; in which time, those that went in pursuit of them, despairing to find them, returned to Jericho; and the spies, descending from the mountains, forded over Jordan, arrived safe in the camp, ancr gave Joshua their general a faithful account of their expedi- 76 HISTORY OF [Book III tion ; adding, that for certain the Lord had delivered the country into their hands, for the people were quite dispirited at the fame of them. Joshua, pleased at this information, de- parted from Shittim, and led the people down to the river.* Then putting the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Mauasseh in mind of the agree- ment made between Moses and them, that they, leaving their families and cattle on this side Jordan, should, with their best forces, go over armed before their bre- thren, to help to subdue their enemies, and place them in their possessions. They acknowledged the agreement, and declar- ed their readiness to go; promising in all things to be subject to him their general, as they had been to Moses, and in all things to obey his commands, under the penalty of death. Provision being made for the army in their inarch, the officers going through the host commanded the people, that when they should see the ark. of the cove- nant of the Lord their God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then they should move and follow it, that they might know the way by which they were to go; because they had never before passed that way. And that a decency might be observed in their march, direction was given that they should leave a space of about two thousand cubits between the ark and them. These dispositions being made, Joshua, early in the morning, on the ninth day of the first month, exhorted the people to sanctify themselves, because the Lord would do wonders next day among them. And giving orders for the priests to move, they took up the ark, and marched with it before the people to the banks of Jordan, where they halted. Here the Lord toH Joshua, that he * From Sliittim, where they had lately heen en- camped, to Jordan was about sixty stadia, accord- ing to Josephus ; that is, about eight English miles. would so d'stinguish him in the sight of Israel, that they should know his presence should be with him, as it had been with Moses. He directed him to bid the priests, who were to carry the ark, stop upon the brink of the river, which they did; and Joshua thereupon calling the people together, to hear the words of the Lord their God, told them, 'That they should thereby know, that the living God was amongst them, and would drive out the nations from before them; for the ark of the cove- nant of the Lord of all the earth should pass before them into the river Jordan ; and as soon as the feet of the priests that bare it should touch the waters, they should divide and stand on a heap.' Accordingly the priests marched into the river with the ark, and stopping in the midst of it, they stood on firm ground; the rapid stream dividing, and the waters, for- getting their fluidity, condense in heaps to afford them a dry passage. f -f- One of the reasons why God divided the river for the Israelites to pass over, seems to be that thereby he might inject a terror into the in- habitants of Canaan, and so facilitate the conquest of their country. On the side of Jordan, the kings of the neighbourhood feared no invasion. Tlie deptli of the river, especially at the time of its overflowing, which was in the harvest when the Israelites passed it, was barrier sufficient, they thought, against all that the Israelites could do. For in those days, pontoons were things never heard of in military expeditions; and the stream is, even at this day, allowed to be too fierce and rapid for any one to swim over: and therefore, as they expected no danger from that quarter, and might for that reason draw out no forces to defend that side of their frontier, so the sacred historian has taken care to inform us, that when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaan- ites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until they were passed over, their hearts melted, neither was there spirit in them any more.' And as this miraculous passage could not but fill their enemies with confusion, so it added, no doubt, fresh courage to the Israelites, when they came to consider, that the same God, about forty years before, had wrought the like miracle for them in their passage of the Red sea ; that then he divided the waves, to confirm the commission which he had given Moses, and now had paj ted the stream, to strengthen the authority of his successor, Joshua, and to give them assur- Chap. I.] THE BIBLE, 177 Thus did God make good his word to Joshua, in promising to magnify him in the sight of the people, by dividing the waters of Jordan, as he had done before to Moses, when the Israelites had passed the Red sea. Before this miraculous exertion of di- vine power, the Lord commanded Joshua to select twelve men, one out of each tribe, who, as soon as the people had passed the river, were to take up twelve stones from the place A whcre the priests stood on dry ground, according to the number of the twelve tribes, and to set them up as a memorial of this great mira- cle, in that place. He commanded them likewise to take other twelve stones, and to carry them on shore, for another me- morial of the same miracle. ance, that lie would be with the one as he had been witli the other, and empower the latter to make good their possession of the land of promise, even as lie had enabled the former to accomplish their deliverance out of the land of bondage. In all rivers whatever, there questionless are some shallower places than ordinary, or some passages, either by boats or bridges, that may be called fords ; but that the Jordan, at this time, was either so vastly overflown, as to render these fords impass- able, or that the Israelites crossed it at places which the enemy never thought of, and where none of these passes were to be found, is pretty evident from the Canaanites making no prepara- tion to defend their coasts on the river side, and from the great consternation we find them in, when once they understood that the Jewish army had got over. For, whatever opinion we, at this distance of time, may have of the matter, they justly inferred, that the suspension of a river's course could be effected no other way than by a divine power, either immediately acting itself, or by the instrumentality of its angels. And though there possibly may be some instance in history, wherein by the violence of adverse winds, the course of rivers has either been retarded, or driven back; yet. as we read of no such wind concerned in this event, the prediction of Joshua, and the promises of (>od concerning this miracle, the time in which he chose to work it, and the analogy it bears with what before was wrought at the Ked sea ; these, and several other circumstances, make this transaction beyond compare, and rank it, not only among those prodigies which very rarely come to pass, but among those stupendous works which, contrary to the laws of nature, the great author and ruler of the universe, for the preserva- tion of his people, and the manifestation of his own glory, is sometimes observed to do. Stack- house. The priests that carried the ark walked on dry ground to the midst of Jordan; and stopping there, as Joshua had ordered them, he commanded the rest of the peo- ple to follow, forty thousand of the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, well armed, leading the van. When they were safely arrived on the other side of the river, the general com- manded the priests that bare the ark, which stood in the midst of Jordan till all the people had passed over, to come out of the river with it; which they had no sooner done, than the waters returned to their natural channel, and overflowed the banks, as they usually did. The Israelites having thus securely passed Jordan, on the tenth day of the first month, encamped in a place called afterwards Gilgal, which was in the east border of Jericho. Here Joshua erected the twelve stones* which the twelve men had brought out of Jordan as a monument to posterity, that when the descendants of the Israelites in future times should ask the reason of it, they might know that the Lord their God had dried up the waters of Jordan, and caused his people Israel to pass that river on dry land, as he had formerly dried up the Red sea for their passage out of Egypt; and that all the people of the earth might be sensible of the omnipo- tency of the mighty God of Israel. This extraordinary event was soon ru- moured throughout the adjacent parts,, and filled the people with amazement and horror; for when the kings of the Amor^ ites, which were on the west side of Jor- dan, and the kings of the Canaanites,.. * It is very likely that a base of mason-work was erected of some considerable height, and then the twelve stones placed on the top of it ; and that this was the case both in Jordan and in GiJgal : for twelve such stones as a man could carry a con- siderable way on his shoulder, see Josh. iv. 5, could scarcely have made any observable altar, or pillar of memorial: but erected on a high base ofmason- work they would be very conspicuous, and thus, properly answer the end for which God ordered them to be set up. JDr A. Clarke. 178 HISTORY OF [Book IIL which inhabited by the sea, heard that the Lord bad miraculously conveyed his peo- ple over the river by dividing the waters, their hearts sunk for fear, and their cour- age failed them. Joshua having thus conducted the Is- raelites over the river, God commanded him to cause them all to be circumcised : which being done, the Lord said to Joshua, 4 this day I have taken away the shame * of Egypt from you.' And from this act of circumcision, the place where it was done was then called Gilgal.f Here the * The 'rolling away the reproach,' or 'taking away the shame,' of Egypt, is supposed, by some, to relate to the reproaches which the Egyptians used to cast upon the Israelites ; namely, that the Egyptians, seeing the Israelites wander so long in the wilderness, reproached and flouted them, as if they were brought to be destroyed there, and not conducted into the promised land, from which reproaches God now delivered them, when, by enjoining circumcision, he gave them assurance that they should shortly enjoy the country which no uncircumcised person might inherit. Our learned Spencer thinks the reproach of Egypt to be the slavery to which they had long been there subject, but were now fully declared a free people, by receiving a mark of the seed of Abraham, and being made heirs of the promised land. But the most common opinion is, that, by the reproach of Egypt, is meant nothing else but uncircumcision, with which the Israelites always upbraided other people, and particularly the Egyptians, with whom they had lived so long, and were best acquainted ; and, admitting this to be the true (as it is the most unconstrained) sense, this passage is a plain proof that the Israelites could not learn the rite of circumcision from the Egyptians, (as some pre- tend,) but that the Egyptians, contrary-wise, must have had it from them. Stackhouse. f Gilgal, the place where the Israelites encamp- ed for some time after their passage over the river Jordan, was so called, because here the rite of circumcision, which had long been disused, was renewed: whereupon 'the Lord said unto Joshua, this day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt {i. e. uncircumcision) from off you ; wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal (i. e. rolling) unto this day/ Josh. v. 9. From this expression the place received its name, and if we look into its situation, we shall find, that, as the Israelites jpassed over Jordan right against Jericho, Josh. iii. 16. and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho, it is plain, that Gilgal must be situated between Jordan and Jericho ; and therefore, since Josephus tells us, that Jericho was sixty furlongs distant from Jordan, and the camp of tiilgal was fifty furlongs from the same river ; hence it fol- lows, that dilgal was ten furlongs, that is, about a mile and a quarter, from Jericho eastward. But as tome learned men have observed, that five of Israelites tarried till their circumcision- wounds were healed ; and here it was they kept the passover,} on the fourteenth day of the first month, in the evening. Now the Israelites began to enjoy the good of the land; the delicious products of the promised inheritance; for on the next day after the passover they ate of the corn, and there being plenty of alt fruits, on the morrow the manna was withdrawn. CHAPTER II. An angel appears to Joshua. Jericho taken. The walls fall down. The Israelites are conquered at Ai. Achan punished as the cause of God's displeasure. The Israelites conquer their enemies at Ai. All things being ready for approaching the city of Jericho, Joshua gave the the furlongs used by Josephus, make up an Italian mile, so the distance between Gilgal and Jericho will be just two miles ; which exactly agrees with the testimony of ISt Jerome, who makes it two miles distant from Jericho, and a place held in great veneration by the inhabitants of the country, in his days. Wells's Geography \ This was the third passover the Israelite? celebrated. The first, was the day before they came out of Egypt. The second, was the year after upon their receiving the law, and setting up the tabernacle in Sinai. The third, was this here in the Holy Land, in the plains of Jericho. Jericho was a city of Canaan, which afterwards fell to the lot of the tribe of Benjamin, about seven leagues distant from Jerusalem, and two from Jordan. Moses calls it likewise the city of palm-trees, because there were great numbers of them in the plains of Jericho ; and not only of palm-trees, but, as Josephus tells us, balsam-trees likewise, which produced the precious liquor in such high esteem among the ancients. The plain of Jericho was watered with a rivulet, which was formerly salt and bitter, but was afterwards sweet- ened by the prophet Elisha, whereupon the adja- cent country, which was watered by it, became not only one of the most agreeable, but most fer- tile spots in all that country. As to the city itself, after it was destroyed by Joshua, it was, in the days of Ahab, king of Israel, rebuilt by Hiel the Bethelite, and, in the times of the last kings of Judea, yielded to none, except Jerusalem. For it was adorned with a royal palace, wherein Herod the Great died ; with an hippodromus, or place where the Jewish nobility learned to ride the great-horse, and other arts of chivalry ; with an amphitheatre, and other magnificent buildings; but, during the siege of Jerusalem, the treachery Chap. II.] THE BIBLE. 179 word, and the army marched towards it. The place was strong, well-provided, and full of inhabitants, who had retired into it, and seemed resolved to make a brave de- fence. Joshua therefore undertook to view the place by himself, in order to find out the most advantageous approaches to it. Whilst he was making his observa- tion, there appeared, as he thought, the awful form of a man, but with a lustre in his face that bespoke him more than mor- tal. In his hand he had a flaming sword, and his whole appearance far surpassed any thing of human nature. The Israel- itish general advanced to this great un- known with a courage becoming his char- acter, and boldly demanded who he was for. He answered, for Israel, of whose army and people he was the guardian. At these words the general fell pro- strate,* and waited the command of his Lord, who bid him loose his sandals, and not profane the holy place with irreverent approaches. Joshua obeyed, and received new orders for the better management of the siege of Jericho. He was to cause all the forces to march round the place six days successively; and that the seventh day the priests should take the seven trumpets made of rams-horns,f which of its inhabitants provoked the Romans to destroy it. After the siege was over, there was another city built, but not upon the same place where the two former stood ; for the ruins of them are seen to this day. Of what account and bigness it was, we have no certain information ; but some later travellers inform us, that, at present, it is no more than a poor, nasty village of the Arabs, consisting of about thirty miserable huts, so low, that at night one might almost ride over them, without beingaware of the fact. Wells and Maundrell. * By this act of adoration, the title of Jehovah, performed and given by Joshua, and accepted by the other, it is evident, that this guardian or cap- tain of the Lord's host was Christ, the son of God, who was pleased in this manner to appear to Joshua, both to encourage and direct him. f The inside of the ram's horn is by no means hard, and may easily be taken out, except about four or five inches at the point, which was to be sawed off, in order to proportion the aperture to the mouth ; after which the rest is easily pierced. Trumpets thus made are used by the shepherds in the soutli of Germany. Universal History. were used to declare the jubilee year; that they should go before the ark, and round the city, and when the trumpets sounded first loud, and then low, the people should all give a shout, for then the walls of the city should fall, and every man should march in at the place which was directly before him. Having rounded the city six days, as they were commanded, on the seventh by break of day they compassed it seven times, and at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, the gene- ral said to the people, < Shout ! for the Lord hath given you the city.' With that the people gave a shout, and there- upon the walls of the city fell down flat;J \ Whatever materials these trumpets were made of, it is impossible to conceive that there should be any power in their sound to demolish cities; and though the noise of a great number of people might be very loud, yet still it would require a miracle in Joshua to know what the just propor- tion was between their noise, and the strength of the walls of Jericho, since the least deviation in this respect would have defeated the whole experi- ment. What the etfect of gunpowder, or of other sulphureous matter fired under ground, or in the bowels of the earth, is, no one, that has seen either the springing of a mine, or felt the convulsions of an earthquake needs be told; but that no strata- gem of this kind could be employed in the siege of Jericho, is manifest, because the invention of gunpowder is a novel tiling, nor had the Israelites been long enough on the western side of Jordan to have undermined its walls, even though they had had the secret of some inflammatory stratum to have lodged under them. On the contrary, the whole process of this siege (if we may so call it) was managed at such a rate, as plainly discovered an expectance of a miracle to be wrought: forbad not this been the case, instead of sauntering about the walls for seven days, they should have beer working in their trenches, and carrying on theii approaches, as we now call it. The art of wai was then but in its infancy; and, as the manner of undermining and blowing up the most ponde- rous bodies was what the ancients were unac- quainted with, so was the battering-ram an inven- tion of a later date than some imagine. Pliny indeed seems to say, that Epeus first made use of it at the siege of Troy; but, in all probability, Ezekiel is the earliest author that mentions this machine, and perhaps the first time that it was employed was under Nebuchadnezzar, at the sie<*e of Jerusalem. But there is no need to ransack history for the confutation of this system, which they who propose it do nevertheless acknowledge, that, though the walls of Jericho might have fallen without any extraordinary act of the divine power. 180 HISTORY OF [Book III so that the army marched directly up to it, and took it, putting all to the sword, both man and beast, old and young; only Rahul) and those in her house were saved alive: for Joshua had given a strict charge beforehand to the two spies, (which she had formerly concealed,) to take care, when the town should be taken, to go to her house, and bring out her family, in discharge of their oath to her; which they accordingly did, and left her with all her kindred and substance safe without the camp of Israel.* Then setting fire to the city, they de- stroyed every thing in it except the silver and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, which were put into the treasury of the Lord, as it had been commanded. And lest any one should attempt to rebuild this city, Joshua published this prophetic imprecation on the bold undertaker; 'that he should lay the foundation thereof in his first-born, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son.'f By which he meant, that it should be the ruin of his family. yet, by the circumstances of the whole account, it appears that this event was altogether miraculous. Stackhouse. * Being aliens or heathens, they were not per- mitted to come within the camp till they were proselyted, or at least legally purified. f Joshua's denouncing an anathema over the vanquished city is not a thing unprecedented, since the like practice has been observed by some of tlie greatest generals of other nations; foras- much as Agamemnon, after he had taken Troy, denounced a curse upon those who should at any time attempt to rebuild it; the Romans published a decree of execration against them who should do the like to Carthage ; and when Crassus had demolished Sidon, (which had been a linking place to the tyrant Glaucias.) he wished the great- est evils imaginable upon the head of that man who should but so much as build a wall about the place where it once stood. "Joshua's anathema," says Maimonides, " was pronounced, that the miracle of the subversion of Jericho might be kept in perpetual memory; for whosoever saw the walls sunk deep into the earth (as he understands it) would clearly discern, that this was not the form of u building destroyed by men, but miraculously thrown down by God." Iliel, however, in the reign of Ahah, cither not remembering, or not be- lieving this denunciation, was so taken with the beauty of its situation, that he rebuilt Jericho, and (as the sacred history informs us) ' laid the Joshua seems to have been persuaded of the success of this undertaking, for be- fore the city was taken, Joshua had cau- tioned the people not to spare any thing that was in it, but to destroy all that lay in their way, except silver, gold, brass, and iron; which were to be consecrated to the Lord. And therefore he warned them not to meddle with any thing, for fear of bringing a curse, not only upon them- selves, but upon all the nation of the Is- raelites. Notwithstanding the strict charge of Joshua against meddling with any thing that was devoted to this general destruc- tion, or consecrated to the Lord, yet so prevailing was the sacrilegious thirst of gold, that one of the tribe of Judah, whose name was Achan, contrary to the com- mand of the general, took some things of the spoil of either sort, and hid them. This proved of ill consequence to Israel in general, which was discovered upon this occasion. Joshua being desirous to take in a little city, named Ai, near Bethaven to the east of Bethel, and knowing that it was neither populous nor well defended, de- tached a body of three thousand men only to go and attack it, who no sooner ap- proached the town, but the inhabitants sallied out and repulsed them, and drove them to their camp, whither those that escaped went so frighted, that they brought a terror upon the whole army. This defeat so afflicted Joshua, that rending his clothes, and prostrating him- self before the ark of the Lord, he lay foundation thereof in Abiram, his first-born, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua, the son of Nun,' I Kings xvi. {34. However, after that Iliel had ventured to rebuild it, no scruple was made of inhabiting it; for it afterwards became famous upon many .'(counts. Here the prophet sweetened the waters of the spring that supplied it, and the neighbouring countries: hen- Herod built a sumptuous palace : it was the dwelling-place of Zaccheus ; and was honoured with the presence of Christ, who vouch- safed likewise to work some miracles here. Uni- versal History. Chap. II.] there till the evening, both lie and the elders; and in token of extreme sorrow and humiliation, sprinkled dust on their reverent heads. But Joshua, being wholly ignorant of the offence, and desirous to know the cause that had provoked God thus to de- sert his people, in this humble expostula- tion complained to him, 4 Wherefore, () Lord God, hast thou brought this people over Jordan to deliver them into the hands of the Amorites to destroy them ? We had been happy hadst thou permitted us to have dwelt on the other side of Jor- dan. What shall I say, when Israel turn their backs upon their enemies? For when the Canaanites, and all the inhabi- tants of this land shall hear this, they will encompass us, and cut us off; and what will become of thy honour !' Lest Joshua should be dispirited by the conquest the enemy had obtained over them, or pine under the apprehension of being deserted by him, God told him there was a latent cause of his displeasure among the people. That some of them had taken of the accursed thing,* and also of those thing's which were devoted to the Lord, and pretending as if they had brought it all into the treasury of God, had concealed it for their own use. And to put him in a way to clear the camp of this accursed thing, which had brought this judgment upon them, the Lord com- manded Joshua to proclaim among the peopie, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel. Ye cannot stand before your enemies, until ye have * In the same sense is the word anathema used in the New Testament, by ist Paul, who pro- nounces offenders anathema, separated from God, that is, accursed: which is the old word for ex- communication, upon the breach of several canons in Hie most early ages of the church. In this one instance it is observable, that though it was but one man that was actually guilty ; yet the guilt was charged upon the whole people, and they felt the effects thereof, till they had convinced and punished the offender, liow great then is the guilt of nations in general where sins are epidemi- cal, and repeated from age to age ! THE BIBLE. 181 removed the accursed thing from among you.' Then directing Joshua how he should find outthe offender; and when he was found and convicted, how he should be punished ; he early next morning sum- moned all the tribes before the Lord : and the lot being cast upon the tribes, the tribe of Judah was the tribe to whom the guilty person belonged. Then proceed- ing by lot from tribe to family, from family to household, and thence to parti- cular persons, the lot fell at last upon Achan. Having tbus happily discovered the person, Joshua, like a prudent judge, with great mildness examined the criminal, and brought him to a confession : 'I have I sinned against the Lord God of Israel,' I said he, ' for when I saw among the spoil a [ royal garmentf and two hundred shekels j of silver, with a wedge| of gold of fifty shekels weight, my covetousness prompted me to take them, which I did, and lud them in the earth in the midst of my tent' Joshua, for the more evident convic- tion, sent messengers to Action's tent; who finding the things hid, as he had confessed, brought them to the assembly, and laid them before the Lord. f In the original, this robe is called a garment of Shinar, that is, of Babylon ; and the general opin- ion is, that the richness and excellency of it con- sisted not so much in the stuff' whereof it was made, as in the colour whereol it was dyed, which most suppose to have been scarlet, a colour in high esteem among the ancients, and for which the Babylonians were justly famous. Bochart however maintains, that the colour of this robe was various and not all of one sort ; that the scarlet colour the Babylonians first received from Tyre, but the parti-colour, whether so woven, or wrought with the needle, was of their own inven- tion, for which he produces many passages out of heathen authors. However this be, it is certain that the robe could not fail of being a verv rich and splendid one, and therefore captivated either Achan s pride, or rather covetousness ; since his purpose seems to have been, not so much to wear it himself as to sell it for a large price Bochart and Saurin. J This was made in the form of a tongue, and for that reason is not improperly sometimes called a tongue of gold. 182 HISTORY OF [Book III And now Achan being duly convicted, by his own confession and the notorious- ness of the fact, Joshua proceeded to exe- cution, by the express command of God ; which was thus : they took Achan, with the garments, the money, and the wedge of gold, as evidences of his guilt, and with him his sons, his daughters,* his cattle, his tent, and all his moveables; and brought them into the valley of Achor (which from him took its name, signifying trouble) where he and his family, being first stoned, were afterwards burnt. And to perpetuate the memory of this for. a warning to others, they raised a great heap of stones over them.f The vengeance of the Almighty being appeased by the sentence executed upon the delinquent Achan, he encouraged Joshua to attack Ai afresh, assuring him that he had given the king of Ai and all his people and country into his hand, and * Dr Adam Clarke is of opinion that Achan only was stoned, and that his substance was burn- ed with fire ; or that even his oxen, &c. were de- stroyed, yet his sons and daughters were left un- injured, and were brought out into the valley only that they might see and fear, and be for ever de- terred by their father's punishment from imitating his example. The reason which the doctor assigns for this opinion is, that the children of Achan could not justly suffer with him, because of the law, Dent. xxiv. 1(5, unless they had been accom- plices in his guilt, of which, as he suggests, there is no evidence. The learned editor of Calmet acquiesces in this opinion, and gives the following as the probable sense of the passage : " They stoned him (Achan) with stones : and burned them (his property) with fire, and (rather or) ston- ed them with stones ;" that is, making a distinc- tion in guilt between his property, and the things stolen ; "and raised over him (Achan) a heap of stones." In justification of this interpretation of the passage, he suggests, that, had his family been stoned, the heap of stones would have included them also ; whereas it is raised over him, and that the burning was probably applied to such things as might suffer by burning, and the stonini: to what the fire might have haa little or no effect on. Carpenter. f- Such a heap was also accumulated over Ab- salom. The Arabs, long after the time of Joshua, expressed their detestation of deceased enemies in the same manner. Similar heaps were raised over persons murdered in the highways in the time of the prophet Ezekiel, as tuey also are to this day, in Palestine, and other parts of the East. Home. that he should do to them as he had done to Jericho and her king ; only for the en- couragement of the soldiers, he allowed them the plunder of the city and the cattle for themselves; giving Joshua particular instructions % to lay a party of men in ambuscade behind the city. In order to this action, Joshua selected thirty thousand men, out of which he ap- pointed five thousand to hide themselves between Bethel and Ai, who, upon t.he- signal that he should give them, which was by holding up a spear with a banner upon it, should enter the city, and set it on fire; himself having first, by another stratagem, drawn all the forces out of the town to pursue him in his pretended flight. Every thing being prepared according to the direction of Joshua, he drew up before the north part of the city of Ai, and towards night he marched into the valley in sight of the enemy to tempt them to sally out upon him. This suc- ceeded as Joshua desired ; for the king of Ai, thinking he had them sure now, early the next morning drew out all his forces to give Israel battle; who at the first charge gave way and fled. This so animated the king of Ai's army, that concluding the Israelites fled indeed through fear of them, they called out all the citizens to assist in the pursuit, which they eagerly did, leaving the town naked and defenceless. But this confidence of victory cost them dear ; for when Joshua by his sham flight had drawn them a good distance from the city, he gave the signal to the ambuscade, who immediately en- tered the city and set it on fire. When Joshua by the smoke perceived his men had possessed themselves of the town, he faced about, and charged the \ God would not destroy Ai by a miracle, as he had done Jericho, because he had a mind to make his people formidable for their power and policy to other nations, with whom they were afterwards to engage. This is the first ambuscade we read of in history CllAP. III.] THE BIBLE. 183 Aian army; who, not in the least expect- ing the Israelites would rally, began to think of retiring into the city; but when they saw their city in flames, they were o dispirited, that they had no power to fight or fly. In the mean time the am- buscade having performed their orders in burning the city, fell upon the rear of the king of Ai's dismayed forces, who being thus encompassed were cut to pieces. Having thus completely vanquished the enemy, Joshua marched to Ai, and put all he found in it to the sword; so that die number of the slain that day amount- ed to twelve thousand men and women. The cattle and spoil of the city were given to the soldiers, who burnt the city, and made it a heap of rubbish. As for the king of Ai, he was taken prisoner in the flight; and being brought before the general, he was by his command hanged on a tree* till sunset, at which time he was taken down, and buried under a grdat heap of stones at the entrance of the gate of the city. CHAPTER III. Joshua erects an altar, and repeats to the people the words of the law of Moses. Several kings combine against Israel, and are condemned to perpetual bondage. Joshua rescues Gibeon from the attack of five kings. Is empowered to confirm his authority by an extraordinary command. Returns and re-encamps his army in Gilgal Obtains divers signal victories. The tribes are appointed their distinct lots of inheritance. The death of Joshua. Joshua having thus happily succeeded in this action against Ai, in token of grati- tude to the great giver of victory, erected an altar to him in mount Ebal, as the Lord had by Moses before commanded, * The kings of Canaan lay under the same curse as their subjects, and probably were more deeply criminal. Tlie reserving of the king of Ai for a solemn execution, would tend to strike terror into the other kings, contribute to the success of Israel, and give their proceedings the stamp of a judicial process, and of executing the vengeance of God upon his enemies. Scott. on which he offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed peace-offerings. And then he not only read unto the people, both Israel- ites and strangers, the words of the law given by Moses, but wrote also upon great stones a copy of the law which Moses had written. f The fame of the Israelites' success against Jericho and Ai, and the terrible slaughter of the inhabitants, alarmed ail the kings on that side Jordan, who, con- sulting the common security, confederated together, and entered into a league for their mutual defence. But the Gibeonites,J who were more deeply affected with the rumour of the Israelites' courage and power, distrusting a confederated force against so great and numerous a people, and so well skilled in the art of war, had recourse to a stratagem to save themselves from the general de- struction, which, they plainly perceived, hung over their heads. They chose a certain number of their men, who were instructed to feign them- selves to be ambassadors, come from a far country, to treat for peace, and enter into a league with Israel. To give this deception an air of truth, they dressed themselves in old clothes, with old clouted shoes on their feet, and put dry mouldy bread into old sacks, and wine into old bottles. f It is no great difficulty to apprehend how many of the Gentile nations came to imitate the Jews in many of their religious observances and rites, since the Mosaic law was so publicly expos- ed to the sight of all. J The Gibeonites were a part of the Hivite Canaanites, Gibeon being situated not far from Ai, to the westward. Pyle. These bottles were made of leather, in which they formerly, and now in some countries, keep their wine. The Arabs, and all those who lead a wandering life, still keep their water, milk, and other liquors, in leathern bottles, which are gener- ally made of goat-skins. The liquors thus keep more fresh than they would otherwise do. These nations never go a journey without a small leathern bottle of water hanging by their side like a scrip. When these bottles are old and much used, they mend them either by sewing in a piece, or by gathering up the broken place in the manner of a purse. Char din. 184 HISTORY OF [Book III. Thus accoutred, they came to the Is- raelitish camp at Gilgal, and presenting themselves before the general, told him, they were come from a far country, and desired to enter into a league with Israel. The people at first suspected these am- bassadors, and told them, that perhaps they possessed part of that land which God had given them ; and, if so, they could not make peace with them. Joshua, put- ting this question directly to them, asked them, who they were, and from whence they came i To which they cunningly, but falsely replied, ' From a far country are we come, where we have heard of the fame of the Lord thy God ; of all that he did for thee in Egypt, and to Sihon and Og, the Amorite kings. Wherefore our governors bid us take provision for our journey, and tell you, we are your ser- vants, and desire to be in amity with you.' Then producing their mouldy bread, their torn bottles, and their old clothes and shoes, they assured them, that they took the bread hot out of their houses when they came from home, that their bottles were then new, and that their gar- ments and shoes were worn old by reason of the length of their journey. The Israelites were prevailed on in this respect, though they had an infallible method of coming to the knowledge of the deceit. But neglecting to ask coun- sel at the mouth of the Lord, they suffer- ed themselves to be imposed on by the seeming simplicity of the subtle Gibeon- ites. This stratagem of theirs had its desired effect. The credulous Israelites believed the plausible story of the Gibeonites, con- firmed sufficiently, as they thought, by demonstrable tokens, and of which their own eyes were judges; so that without any farther hesitation or scruple, they re- ceived them into their alliance ; Joshua making peace with them to let them live, and the princes of the congregation swear- ing solemnly to obser/e it. But within three days this cheat was discovered ; and they, who pretended to come from a distant country, proved to be their neighbours, and inhabited a p; that they might ever after be disabled from holding a spear, yet might handle an oar." It was a custom among those Romans who disliked a This execution drew from the tyrant an acknowledgment of the justice of God upon him; for he confessed he had cut off the thumbs and great toes of no less than seventy kings, whom, in this mangled condition, he made to gather their meat like dogs under his table. The old city Jehus,! vv i 1 1 1 its territories, lay in two parts; of which one part fell to the lot of Judah, the other to that of Benjamin. Judah soon overrun that part of it that belonged to him; and having put the in- habitants to the sword, set the place on fire. Hither it was they brought the captive king Adonibezek, where he died. The next march of the Israelites was against the Canaanites that dwelt to the southward of the mountains, and in the plains; where, having taken Hebron, they marched to attack Debir, which was a part of Caleb's portion, but possessed by the Canaanites. This being Caleb's property, notvvith- military life to cut off their own thumbs, that they might not be capable of serving in the army. Sometimes the parents cut off the thumbs of their children, that they might not be called into the army. According to Suetonius, a Roman knight, who had cut off the thumbs of his two sons, to prevent them being called to a military life, was, by the order of Augustus, publicly sold both he and his property. Calmet remarks, that the Italian language has preserved a term, poltro7ie, which signifies one whose thumb is cut off, to designate a soldier destitute of courage. Home. J This city and its territories had hitherto been possessed by the Jebusites, who sprung from Jebusi, the third son of Canaan. It is in Judges called Jerusalem, which name it had long after the Israel- ites had sacked and burnt it; it was rebuilt again, and afterwards made the metropolis of the whole kingdom. We do not read that Jerusalem was ever taken by Joshua, though it seems highly pro- bable, that, when he took the king of Jerusalem, he did to it as he did to the rest of the cities be- longing to those kings. Josh. x. 3, 23. But when lie was gone to conquer other parts of the country, it is likely that the old inhabitants returned again, and took possession of it, for the land was not then divided among the Israelites. But as Joshua, a little before his death, divided the land, and this city fell, in part, to the share of the tribe of Judah, they dispossessed the Jebusites, that dwelt there, of all but the strong fortress on the top of mount Sion which held out till the days of David. Pa- tricks Commentary. Chap. IV.] THE BIBLE. 193 standing his great age, he resolved to storm the place ; and to encourage his men the more in this brave attempt, he made proclamation in his camp, that he would give Achsah his daughter to the brave hero who should attack and take the town.* The hopes of this beautiful prize raised in all the youth a generous emulation, and spurred them on to love and glory. But none came near the brave Othniel,f whose conquering sword at the head of his party hewed down all before him, and paved the way to victory. In short, he won the place, and with it the fair prize. Othniel's gallantry being thus nobly rewarded by Caleb, the beauteous Achsah, thinking herself not a sufficient gratuity for the service of her valiant hero, put him upon asking of her father a parcel of land which lay commodiously by their estate. Othniel, thinking his service already overpaid, seemed backward in the re- quest; therefore Achsah addressing her- self to her father Caleb, desired him in general terms to give her a blessing, but more particularly she thus applied to him: * Thou hast already given me a pleasant estate in the south part of the country ; but it is hot and dry, and likely to prove barren ; give me, 1 pray thee, this parcel of land, which is well watered.' Upon which the generous parent granted her request, giving her the upper and lower springs. Old Caleb, though advanced beyond his * In ancient times fathers assumed an absolute right over their children, especially in disposing of them in marriage ; and it was customary for a king or great man to promise his daughter in mar- riage to him who should take a city, kill an enemv, &c. So Saul promised his daughter in marriage to him who should kill Goliath, 1 Sam. xvii. 25 ; and Caleb offers his on this occasion to him who should take Debir. Profane writers furnish many similar examples. Dr A. Clarke. f He was somewhat of kin to Caleb, being, as Tremellius and Junius say, of the posterity of Kenaz; from whom Caleb being descended, was therefore called the Kenazite. eighty-fifth year, retained his strength and power both of body and mind, pursu- ed his success with undaunted resolution, and took Hebron, as has been already said, with other places, expelling the gigantic race of Anak; but the inhabitants of the valley kept their ground, being a hardy people, and well provided with am- munition, such as iron chariots, &c. Those of Joseph's family, who went up against Bethel, did by the assistance of the Lord prevail ; for sending out spies to discover the city, they Seeing a man come out of it, seized him, and promised him mercy, if he would show them the avenues to it. The man, to save his life, gave them the best information he could ; by which they so well succeeded, that having given notice to the rest of their forces to join them, they entered the town, and put the inhabitants to the sword, except the man who had discovered the entrance, with his family. The rest of the tribes took possession of the land respectively, and allotted them for an inheritance, but did not destroy the inhabitants, contenting themselves with making them tributary, and suffering them to dwell promiscuously amongst them. The children of Dan were so unsuccess- ful against the Amorites, that they were forced to quit the plains, and retire to the mountainous parts of the country, where they were kept penned up for some time. But the rest of the Israelites, who had been successful against the Canaanites and Amorites, fell into a great error; for, either through lenity or covetousness, not making the right use of their victories, as they were expressly commanded by God, they not only permitted them to live, but encouraged them to trade and deal with them. This disobedience and neglect of the divine precept, not only proved a snare to them, but likewise incensed God against them, who, to make them sensible of then 2b 194* HISTORY OF [Book III folly, sent an angel * to remind them of the many favours he had bestowed upon them, in their deliverance out of Egypt, and of their being brought into that good land, and of his faithfulness in keeping his covenant with them, which they had so unfaithfully violated ; by which ingra- titude they had provoked God to with- draw his help and protection from them. This severe reprimand so strongly im- pressed the people with a sense of their sin that they fell into a general weeping, de- plored the wretchedness of their condition, and offered sacrifice to the Lord, to ap- pease his wrath, calling the name of the place where they received this reproof, Bochim, which signifies weepings. f But scarce were their tears wiped off * The Jews are generally of opinion, that by this angel we are to understand a prophet, who was sent by God as a messenger, which the word very often imports ; and this messenger they com- monly take to have been Phinehas, who was em- ployed upon this errand. We can see no reason however for their departing from the usual signifi- cation of the word, especially when there is no absurdity in it, and the sense of the context seems to require our retaining it. Nay, there is reason to say, that the person, who here reproves the Israelites, was something more than a created angel ; for who but God can speak in this style, * I made you to go out of Egypt ?' No prophet, nor any created angel, durst have been so bold : and therefore, the opinion of most Christian inter- preters is, that it was the Son of God, who is fre- quently in scripture called the 'angel of the cove- nant.' And fit it was for him to appear now, as coming from Gilgal, to put them in mind of his illustrious appearance near that place once before, of the assurance he then gave them of his presence with them in the conquest of the land, and of the solemn-covenant he made with them, by renewing of circumcision. The angel's coming up from Gilgal is therefore mentioned, as a very pertinent circumstance, to upbraid the Israelites with their base ingratitude to God, and with their sloth in not endeavouring to expel the Canaanites. Patrick's Commentary. f Mention was made in Josh. xxiv. 31. that the people of Israel ' served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that out-liv- ed Joshua,' who had seen all the great works of the Lord that he wrought for Israel. But when that generation was dead, and there arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel, the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baalim, that is, the less or tutelar gods, so called, of the several nations about them. at Bochim, when they, forsaking the Lord God of their fathers, fell into open idola- try, worshipping Baal and Ashtaroth,:}: the X Baal and Ashtaroth are commonly mentioned together; and as it is believed that Ashtaroth de- notes the moon, Calmet concludes that Baal re- presents the sun. The name Baal is used in a generical sense, for the superior god of the Phoe- nicians, Chaldeans, Moabites, and other people, and is often compounded with the name of some other god ; as Baal-Peor, Baal-Zebub, Baal-Gad, Baal-Zephon, Baal-Berith. Baal is the most ancient god of the Canaanites, and perhaps, of the East ; and the Hebrews too often imitated the idolatry of the Canaanites, in adoring him. They offered human sacrifices to him, and erected altar3 to him in groves, on high places, and on the ter- races of houses. Baal had priests and prophets consecrated to his service ; and many infamous actions were committed in his festivals. Some learned men have maintained, that the Baal of Phoenicia was the Saturn of Greece and Rome ; and certainly there was great conformity between their services and sacrifices. Others are of opinion, that Baal was the Phoenician (or Tyrian) Hercules, (an opinion not inconsistent with the other,) but it is generally concluded, that Baal was the sun ; and on this admission, all the characters which he assumes in Scripture may be easily explained. The great luminary was adored over all the East, and is the most ancient deity acknowledged among the heathen. Ashtaroth, or Astarte, was a cele- brated Phoenician goddess. In groves, consecrated to her, such obscenities were committed, as rendered her worship infamous. She was goddess of the woods, the celestial goddess, and was also called the "queen of heaven;" and sometimes her wor- ship is described by that of the " host of heaven." She is almost always joined with Baal, and is call- ed gods ; Scripture having no particular word for expressing a goddess. Temples of the moon generally accompanied those of the sun ; and while bloody sacrifices,, or human victims, were offered to Baal, bread, liquors, and perfumes were pre- sented to Astarte ; tables were prepared for her on the flat terrace-roofs of houses, near gates, in porches, and at cross-ways, on the first day of every month, which the Greeks called Hecate's supper. Jerome, in several places, translates the name of Astarte by Priapus, as if to denote the licentious- ness of her worship. The Eastern people, in many places, worshipped the moon as a god, and represented its figure with a beard, and in armour. The statue in the temple of Heliopolis, in Syria, Pliny says, was that of a woman clothed like a man. Solomon, seduced by his foreign wives, in- troduced the worship of Astarte into Israel ; but Jezebel, daughter of the king of Tyre, and wife of Ahab, principally established her worship. Austin assures us, that the Africans (descendants from the Phoenicians) maintained Astarte to be Juno. But Herodian says, the Carthaginians call the heaven- ly goddess, the moon, Astroarche. The Phoenici- ans asserted confidently, says Cicero, that their Astarte was the Syrian Venus, born at Tyre, and wife of Adonis ; very different from the Venus of Chap. IV.] THE BIBLE. ' idols of the heathens; which so provoked the Lord, that he often suffered them to be taken and enslaved by their enemies. But that which brought these calamities upon them, was their favouring those ene- mies with whom God had forbid all man- ner of correspondence. For besides that it was expressly forbidden in the law, Joshua, but just before his death, had particularly warned them of the danger they would fall into, if they should enter- tain any familiarity with those nations that God had doomed to destruction. And above all things, he laid a most strict charge on them to take care that they did not marry with them, which he knew would naturally lead them to idolatry. Yet, notwithstanding they knew all this, they so far indulged themselves in a loose conversation with the Canaanites, Hit- tites, Perizzites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, that, forgetting the obligation they lay under, they made intermarriages with them; the immediate consequence of which was, that they served their gods. Such aggravated offences so displeased the most high God, the mighty deliverer of Israel, that he withheld his all-powerful assistance, and behold the consequence: for Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopo- tamia, invading them, made an easy con- quest of them, and enslaved them for eight Cyprus. Lucian, who wrote particularly concern- ing the goddess of Syria, (Astarte,) says expressly that she is the moon, and no other ; and it is in- dubitable that this luminary was worshipped un- der different names in the East. Astarte was probably the same as the Isis of Egypt, who was represented with the head of an ox, or with horns on her head. But the manner of representing Astarte on medals is not always the same. Some- times she is in a long habit; at other times, in a short habit; sometimes holding a long stick, with a cross on its top ; sometimes she has a crown of rays ; sometimes she is crowned with battlements; or by a victory. In a medal of Caesarea Palestina, she is in a short dress, crowned with battlements, with a man's head in her right hand, and a staff in her left. This is believed to be the man's head mentioned by Lucian, which was every year brought from Egypt to Biblos, a city of Phoenicia. Sanchoniathon says, she was represented with a cow's head, the horns describing royalty, and the unar rays. Calmet. 195 years. During which time of servitude the Israelites coming to a sense and ac- knowledgment of their transgressions, and crying to the Lord for help, he rais- ed up a deliverer for them. This was the brave Othniel, who, in recompense of his valour, had married Caleb's daughter. This hero, being divinely inspired, * un- dertook the deliverance of the Israelites, defeated Cushan-rishathaim, king of Me- sopotamia; and by this victory over the Syrians, procured to the Israelites a peace of forty years; during which time Othniel governed Israel, and was the first of those we call judges, f Plenty and ease under the administra- All virtuous qualities, whether natural or supernatural, are in the holy scripture called the 'spirit of the Lord.' Thus Bezaleel, in Exodus, is said to be * filled with the spirit of God,' when he was appointed to build the tabernacle. The same is said of Gideon, Samson, Saul, and others. -j* Their dignity was, in some cases, for life, but not always : and their office was not hereditary, neither was their succession constant. There also were anarchies, or intervals of several years' con- tinuance, during which the Israelites groaned un der the tyranny of their oppressors, and had no governors. But though God himself did regularly appoint the judges of the Israelites, the people nevertheless, on some occasions, elected him who appeared to them most proper to deliver them from their immediate oppression ; thus Jephthah was chosen by the Israelites beyond Jordan. As, however, it frequently happened that the oppres- sions which rendered the assistance of judges ne- cessary, were not felt equally over all Israel, so the power of those judges, who were elected in order to procure their deliverance from such ser- vitudes, did not extend over all the people, but only over that district they had delivered. Thus Jephthah did not exercise his authority on this side Jordan, neither did Barak exercise his judicial power beyond that river. The authority of the judges was not inferior to that which was after- wards exercised by the kings: it extended to peace and war. They decided causes without appeal; but they had no power to enact new laws, or to impose new burdens upon the people. They were protectors of the laws, defenders of religion, and avengers of crimes, particularly of idolatry', which was high treason against Jehovah their Sovereign. Further, these judges were without pomp or splendour, and destitute of guards, train, or equipage : unless indeed their own wealth might enable them to make an appearance suitable to their dignity. Their income or revenue arose solely from presents. This form of administration subsisted from Joshua to Saul, during a period of about 339 years. Home. 196 HISTORY OF [Book IIL tion of Othniel, rendered the children of Israel secure and wanton, who ungrateful- ly forgetting the former favours and bene- fits God had bestowed upon them, lapsed into their former sins of apostasy and cor- ruption in religion; of which the following stories are notorious instances. There was about this time a devout wo- man of the tribe of Dan, who through a mis- taken zeal had dedicated a sum of money to the Lord, and laid it by, intending her son should make with it an idol. Her son, whose name was Micah, finding the money, but not knowing to what use his mother had devoted it, took it for himself. She missing the money, and not suspect- ing her son, did in his presence curse the sacrilegious thief; which so frighted the son, that he confessed the fact, and re- stored it to her, being in all eleven hun- dred shekels of silver. The mother having received her money again, took two hundred shekels of it, and gave them to a founder to make an idol; which being done, she placed it in the house of her son's god; for he had made a teraphim and an ephod, * and conse- * That the divine service might be performed with a greater resemblance of what was done at the tabernacle in Shiloh, he made priestly orna- ments ; for so some learned men take the ephod to comprehend, not only the breast-plate adjoining to it, but all the rest of the vestments used by the high-priest. His intention was to set up an oracle in his own house, in imitation of the sanctuary of Moses; and therefore, to make the conformity the greater, it is supposed that he erected a kind of ark, whereon he placed his two teraphim, to answer the two cherubim in the tabernacle, as he caused the priest who officiated for him to wear an ephod, in the manner that the high-priest did, when he consulted God. Mr Selden well observes, that the worship of the true God, and of idols, was here blended together. The ephod and the Levite, which Micah afterwards provided, were intended, no doubt, for the service of the true God, but the graven image and teraphim, by which the children of Dan desired the Levite to inquire of God, be- longed unto demons. They neither trusted to the ephod alone, which related to God, nor to their teraphim alone, which was their own invention, but thought it necessary to join both together in divine worship : and thus began idolatry in Israel by the superstition of an old woman, who put this in her son's head. This woman many of the Jews suppose to be the same with Delilah, who, having crated one of his sons to be his priest foi* a while, till he could procure a Levite, which was not long after: for a certain young man, that was a Levite, and had dwelt some time at Bethlehem-Judah, travelling from thence to seek a better settlement, came in his way to Micah's house in Mount Ephraim. Micah, glad of this opportunity, invited the young Levite to dwell with him, and be to him a fatherf and a priest, offering him for his wages ten shekels of silver by the year, his diet, and two suits of apparel, one for common wearing, and the other to officiate in. The Levite liking the terms, closed got so much money of every one of the lords of the Philistines, thought it expedient to employ some of it in expressing her devotion. But this is an idle conceit, that has no other foundation than Delilah's being mentioned in the foregoing chapter ; whereas Micah was some hundred years prior to her. Patrick and Jerieu. What Micah's intention might be in setting up a teraphim, and other kind of images in his house, commentators are not so well agreed. Those that are willing to apologize for the thing, are ready to say, that, as he lived in a time of great trouble and confusion, wherein the public worship of God was much ne- glected, if not totally disused, his design was to erect a kind of domestic tabernacle, wherein he might serve God in private, since he could not, without much difficulty, do it in public , and that the sacred habiliments he made, his ephod, his teraphim, &c. were no more than what he had seen at Shiloh : but since the laws of God con- demn the making images of any kind, as objects of adoration ; the setting up any religious worship, different from what he had established ; the offer- ing sacrifices, or performing any public service any where, but in the tabernacle; and the employing any priests in his worship but such as were of the race of Aaron ; it is certain that Micah was guilty of a violation of all these prohibitions, and, in the matter of these graven and molten images, cannot be excused from the crime of idolatry. And in- deed, unless he intended to patronize that, what reason could he have to make any innovations in religion, since (according as we date this action) either Phinehas, or Eli were then in the high priest's office, at Shiloh, where the public worship was preserved in all its formality, and from wiience Micah, who lived in the mounta : ns of Ephraim, was not so very distant but that he might have gone thither upon all solemn occasions. Stack- house. t The priest was called a spiritual father to the laity, as having care of their souls, and charge of the holy things. Thus are preceptors called fa- thers to their pupils, senators fathers to the citi- zens, princes fathers of their countries, &c Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. 197 with Micali, and became one of his family. ' the people lived very secure and careless, On the other hand, Micah was as much without any sort of discipline and govern- pleased in the hopes and confidence that ment, they concluded it would be no diffi cult matter to conquer them, and take pos- session of the place. And with this re- port they returned to their friends, giving them an account that the land abounded with all necessaries of life. Availing themselves of the undisciplined state of these people, the tribe of Dan armed a party of six hundred men, and sent them to take possession of the city of Laish. These marching through Mount Eph- raim, came in their way to Micah's house ; where, making a halt, the five spies, who were guides to this party, and had been there before, acquainted the rest that there were in that house an ephod and teraphim, and a graven and molten image, desiring them to consider whether they had best tarry there, to ask counsel of the Lord concerning the success of their en- terprise, or take the ephod and images with them, to consult upon all occasions? The last seemed most expedient ; for the five spies that were the guides, leaving the party at the gates, went into the house. Micah being from home, they saluted the Levite, whom they sent to the gate to talk with the Danites; and whilst they entertained him without, the guides, hav- ing been there before, and knowing the rooms of the house, plundered it of the ephod, the teraphim, and other images, and brought them to their brethren at the gate. The priest seeing this, was amazed at the boldness of the attempt; and asked them what they meant by it? They bid him be silent, and consider, whether it were better for him to be a priest to a single family, or a whole tribe in Israel ? This advantageous offer- soon gained the young priest to their side, who joined with them, and went off with the plunder. Micah, incensed and alarmed at the loss of his priest and gods, gathered as many friends as he could, and pursued the Dan- the Lord would prosper him, because he had gotten a Levite* to be his priest. CHAPTER V. The Danites send out a detachment in quest of an inheritance. They take possession of Laish. Are guilty of idolatry. Judgment inflicted on the Levite* s concubine. Method of resentment shown by the Levite for the in- hospitable treatment he had received. He re- presents his wrongs in an assembly of the peo- ple Their decree in consequence of the same. The Benjamites are examined con- cerning the outrage. Withstand the Israel- ites some time, but are at length destroyed. About the same time, some of the tribe of Dan finding the lot, which fell to them upon the division of the land in Joshua's time, (see Josh. xix. 47.) too little for them, and they not enjoying all that nei- ther (for the Amorites, as has been al- ready said, would not suffer them to pos- sess the valley, which was the best and richest part, but forced them up into the mountains), they were fain to seek out more room to enlarge their quarters. Whereupon, choosing out five men of courage, they sent them to take a view of the country. These spies in their tra- vels came to Micah's house, where they were entertained ; and knowing the young Levite by his voice, they asked him how he came thither, and what business he had there ? He told them what agreement Micah had made with him, and that he was Micah's priest When they heard this, they desired him to ask counsel of God, that they might know whether their journey would be prosperous or no? With this encouragement they went on till they came to Laish ; where, observing * Who this young Levite was, is hard to say. He is called Jonathan, the son of Sfershom, of the tribe of Manasseh. 198 HISTORY OF [Book III. ites. But they were a long way from his house before he could overtake them : at length, coming within view of them, some of the Danite soldiers in the rear heard them make an outcry ; and facing about, asked Micah why he made such an outcry. He told them they had robbed him. Upon which the Danites advised him to be silent: for if they provoked the rest of the party, it would cost them their lives. Micah finding himself over-matched, was forced to put up with the wrong, and re- turned home without either gods or priest. Having thus affrighted Micah's party from the pursuit, the Danites continued their march unmolested, and speedily ar- rived at Laish, and finding the people quiet and secure, they set the city on fire, and surprising the inhabitants, who were busy in putting out the fire, they put them all to the sword. Afterwards, re- building the city, they called it Dan, after the name of their father; and settling there, they set up Micah's graven image which they had stolen from him ;* and making the young Levite Jonathan their priest, he and his sons continued to offici- ate as priests to the tribe of Dan all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh, until the captivity of the land, which is reckoned to be till the ark in Eli's time was taken by the Philistines, about three hundred years after this. From this instance, it appears the de- pravity of the Israelites in point of reli- gious principles was as notprious as their dissoluteness of morals; and that their morals were loose in the extreme, is wo- fully evinced by the transaction which follows. * Now the wildfire of idolatry, which was con- fined before to the private hall of Micah, flew fu riously through all the tribe of Dan, who, like to thieves that have carried away contagious clothes, have insensibly infected themselves and their pos- terity to death. Heresy and superstition have small beginnings, dangerous proceedings, pernicious conclusions. This contagion Is like a canker: at first it is scarcely visible, afterwards it eats away the flesh and consumes the body. Bp. Hall. A Levite that dwelt on the side of mount Ephraim having taken a wife out of Bethlehem-Judah, she proved a lewd woman,f and either through fear or shame left her husband, and ran home to her fa- ther at Bethlehem-Judah, where she tar- ried four months. In which time her husband having somewhat digested the injury, went at the four months' end to her father's, with an intent to be recon- ciled to her, and bring her home with him ; in order to which he took with him a servant and a couple of asses. Being arrived at her father's house, he was received with great joy, and enter- tained for three days. At the importunity of the father, he stayed the fourth day, and was kept till the afternoon of the next day ; but the Levite resolving to be gone, took his leave, and set out with his wife and servant. N By the time they were got as far as Jebus, the day was far spent, and the ser- vant, fearing to be benighted, desired his master to put in there. But the place not being fully possessed and inhabited by Israelites, he endeavoured to reach Gibeah,:}: whither they arrived at sun-set; f Josephus relates this story with a good deal of variation from the sacred history. He tells us, that the Levite's wife was not a lewd woman, but one who did not well agree with her husband, for which reason she left him and went to her father ; that the young men of Gibeah, seeing her to be a very beautiful woman, took notice of the house where she went in, and came and demanded her, and not the Levite himself as the scripture has it ; that the Levite did not turn her out, but that the young men took her by force, and carried her to their own quarters, where they spent the whole night in all manner of bestial liberties, and then sent her back again next morning ; that, upon her return, she fell into such a confusion of thought, for what had befallen her that night, that (what between shame and indignation) she sunk down upon the ground, and expired ; that the Israelites, met in convention, sent to the Benjamites to de- liver up the malefactors who had committed this brutal violence upon the Levite's wife, which they refused to do, as thinking it dishonourable for fear of a war to submit to rules of other people's pre- scribing, &c. Josephus, book v. c. 2. J Gibeah lay north of Jerusalem, about twenty or thirty furlongs from it, and was built. upon a hill, as its name imports'. Wells. Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. 199 and sitting down in the street, as the cus- tom of travellers then was, they waited to see who would invite them to a lodging.* After long waiting, an old man coming * In the East, anciently, as well as in modern times, there were no inns, in which the traveller could meet with refreshment. Shade from the sun and protection from the plunderers of the night, is all that the caravansaries afford. Hence hospitality was deemed a sacred duty incumbent upon every one. The sacred writings exhibit several instances of hospitality exercised by the patriarchs, and the writings of modern travellers show that similar hospitality still exists in the East. Thus De la Roque says, " We did not arrive at the foot of the mountain till after sunset: and rt was almost night when we entered the plain ; but as it was full of villages, mostly in- habited by Maronites, we entered into the first we came to, to pass the night there. It was the priest of the place, who wished to receive us ; he gave us a supper under the trees, before his little dwelling. As we were at table, there came by a stranger, wearing a white turban, who, after having saluted the company, sat himself down to the table, without ceremony ; ate with us during some time, and then went away, repeating several times the name of God. They told us it was some traveller who, no doubt, stood in need of refresh- ment, and who had profited by the opportunity, according to the custom of the East, which is to exercise hospitality at all times, and toward all persons." There is something very pleasing in Niebuhr's description of this custom : " The hospitality of the Arabs has always been the subject of praise ; and I believe that those of the present day exercise this virtue no less than their ancestors did. It is true that in this country, as in Europe, if a stranger is not known, no one will entreat him to come in. Nevertheless, there are in the villages of the Tehama houses which are public ; where travellers may lodge and be entertained some days gratis, if they will be con- tent with the fare: they are very much frequented. We ourselves were during two hours in one of these inns, in the village of Menejze, in going from Loheia to Beit-el-fakih : my servants, my camels, my asses, and all my company received shelter. The Sheik of the village to whom this inn belonged was not satisfied with visiting us, and offering us a better fare than others; he also en- treated us to stop the night with him. In another journey from Beit-el-fakih to Takaite, in company with a fakih, or man of letters, of Arabia, although my fakih had no acquaintance with the Sheik, yet as a stranger he paid him his respects ; hardly was he returned, when the Sheik came himself to invite us to lodge with him; which we declining he sent us a good supper, which came extremely a-propos. When the Arabs are at table, they invite those who happen to come, to eat with them, whether they be Christians or Mahometans, gentle or simple. In the caravans I have often seen with pleasure a mule-driver press those who passed to partake of his repast, and though the from his work out of the field, and seeing strangers sitting in the street, went up and saluted them, and asked whence they came, and whither they were travelling? The Levite told him, and complained of the incivility of the people, none having invited him to a lodging, though he had his own provisions with him. The hospitable old man, who was of mount Ephraim, though he dwelt at Gibeah, courteously invited them to lodge in his house, where he entertained them very frankly. Whilst they were at supper, the men of the city, having observed where they went in, came to the house, and knocking with, great violence at the door, demanded the master of the house to deliver the man that came in there, that they might know him.f The good old man, to prevent danger to his guests, ventured amongst the tumul- tuous rabble to appease them, offering them his only daughter, who was a virgin, and the Levite 's concubine,^: to use at majority politely excused themselves, he gave* with an air of satisfaction, to those who would accept of them, a portion of his little meal of bread and dates ; and I was not a little surprised when I saw in Turkey, rich Turks withdraw themselves into corners to avoid inviting those who might otherwise have sat at table with them." Mr Buckingham lias described an interesting trait of oriental hospitality in an Arab Sheik of Barak, the chief of a Turcoman tribe dwelling in the vicinity of Aleppo, on the plain of Barak; "When we alighted at his tent-door, our horses were taken from us by his son, a young man well dressed in a scarlet cloth benish and a shawl of sijk for a turban. The Sheik, his fatber, was sitting beneath the aWning in front of the tent itself; and when we entered, rose up to receive us, exchanging the salute of welcome, and not seating himself until all his guests were accommodated." " Soon after- wards, warm cakes prepared on the hearth, cream, honey, dried raisins, butter, lebben, and wheat boiled in milk, were served to the company. Neither the Sheik himself nor any of his family partook with us, but stood around, to wait upon their guests." j* Just as the Sodomites offered to Lot, demand- ing to have the Levite delivered to them, that they might abuse him in that unnatural way called So- domy. , \ She is sometimes called wife, but oftener con- cubine. 200 HISTORY OF [Book III. their pleasure, provided they would not offer any violence to his guest. This would not do; whereupon the Levite, seeing them so outrageous, to save himself, turned his concubine out amongst them, who abused her all night, not letting her go till the break of day. And when she returned to the house where her lord lay, fell down dead at the door, her hands lying upon the threshold. The Levite opening the door, and see- ing her lie there, concluded she was asleep, and therefore bid her get up, that they might be going. But when he perceived she was dead, he took her up ; and mak- ing no complaint there, laid her upon one of the asses, and hastened home as fast as he could. He having now time to meditate a revenge suitable to the affront, which he in this horrid manner expressed ; he divided the dead concubine into twelve pieces,* and sent to every tribe a piece, through the whole coasts of Israel, with an account of the barbarous and inhospi- table treatment he had met with at Gibeah; that so the whole family of Israel in general, being made sensible of the wrong done him and his concubine, might join in re- venging it. This procedure of the Levite is indeed shocking to humanity, though it tended to show his strong sense of the injury and disgrace he had sustained, as well as im- press deep convictions of their guilt upon the Israelites, who upon sight of each piece of the divided concubine, did unani- mously agree, that there never was such The ancients had several ways of uniting themselves together in strict ties, which lasted for a stipulated time : amongst these it was very com- mon to sacrifice a bullock or other animal, and to distribute the pieces of the body to different per- sons ; who hereby entered into a strict engage- ment to espouse the interests of the persons con- cerned. The conduct of the Levite on this occa- sion seems to have had a reference to this established usage ; and to have been intended to bind the several tribes by an indissoluble engagement, to see justice done him for the injury he had received. Burdtr a deed done or seen since the day that the children of Israel came out of Egypt And to acquit themselves of the guilt of so wickecj a fact, the whole congrega- tion of Israel met at Mizpeh,f that they might there examine the business before the Lord ; where demanding of the Le- vite an account of the whole matter, he thus in short summed it up to them : ' I came with my concubine to Gibeah, which belonged to Benjamin, to lodge : but the men of Gibeah beset the house where I was, with a design to murder me ; and my concubine they have forced, that she is dead ; by which they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel. Whereupon I took my concubine home, and having cut her into pieces, I sent her throughout all the inheritance of Israel. Now ye, being sons of Israel, are concerned in this abuse as well as I. Therefore consider, and advise what is to be done.' When the people had received this ac- count of the matter, they were highly in- censed against the men of Gibeah, and re- solved not to return to their houses till they had brought the offenders to condign punishment. And that they might lose no time, agreed to draw ten men out of every hundred, an hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, who should be employed to fur- nish the army with provisions, and other necessaries. On cool deliberation it was resolved by messengers, to demand of the Benjamites the delivery of the persons guilty of this f This city was situated on the confines of Ju- dah and Benjamin, and is sometimes attributed to the one, sometimes to the other. It seems that there was a place here in which the Lord was con- sulted, as well as at Shiloh ; in 1 Mac. iii. 46. we read, * In Maspha was the place where they prayed aforetime in Israel.' These two passages cast light on each other. Some think that Shiloh is meant, because the ark was there ; but the phrase ' before the Lord' may signify no more than meeting in the name of God to consult him, and make prayer and supplication. Wherever God's people are, there is God himself ; and it ever was true, thai wherever two or three were assembled in his name, he was in the midst of them. Dr A. Clarke. Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. breach of justice, in order that they might be brought to condign punishment. But the Benjamites, in contempt of their brethren, the Israelites, resolved to stand by the offenders, and mustered up all their force to defend them. The Israelitish army consisted of four hundred thousand able men : that of Ben- jamin but six and twenty thousand; a great disparity, and which showed the latter desperate. The Israelites, over-confident of their strength, and despising the Benjamites, who were so few, depending on the jus- tice of their cause, never went to ask counsel of God (as in such emergencies they usually did) whether they should go to war with their brethren or no; but taking for granted their right, to prevent any difference that might arise among the tribes about precedence in this expedition, they went up to the house of God only to know which tribe should lead the van, and the lot fell to Judah.* 201 * The consulting of the divine oracle, especially in matters of war, was accounted so very necessary, in order to obtain success, that some commenta- tors have esteemed this the only reason why the Israelites, in so just a cause as punishing the Ben- jamites for their unheard-of wickednesses, were in two several battles defeated ; even because they did not previously apply to God, as they should have done. They sent up indeed to the house of the Lord, and asked counsel of him, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin ? that is, which of their tribes should have the honour or hazard of mak- ing the first attack : but it is observable, that they had come to a full resolution of making war against the Benjamites, and to that purpose had made draughts of the men that were to be employed in it, without ever consulting God, whether an en- terprise of this nature, wherein there was likely to be such an effusion of the blood of their brethren, would be pleasing to him or no. The truth is, they never questioned his approbation of what they accounted so laudable : they presumed upon his protection and assistance ; and the vast su- periority of their forces made them confident of success. But now, in a matter of such moment as this, to overlook the divine oracle, and be de- termined by their own counsels only, and to march against one of their own tribes, with a full purpose of destroying them utterly, before they knew any thing whether God had decreed their destruction, or no, was not only an instance of their rashness and presumption, but an act likewise of rebellion Upon this, the Israelitish army advanced, and sat down before Gibeah ; from whence the Benjamites made a brisk sally, cut off two and twenty thousand of them, and retreated to the town with very little loss. This unexpected disaster made the Israelites sensible of their neglect, in not inquiring of the Lord whether they ought to have undertaken this war, or no. Where- fore, bewailing their misfortune in the last action, they ask counsel of the Lord, (but in an irregular manner,) who, to punish them for their presumption, bid them go, but promised them no success. The heedless Israelites, taking this for an assurance of victory, drew up their army again before Gibeah, offering the Benjamites battle : who being flushed with their former success made another bold sally, and cut off eighteen thousand more of the Israelites. The second defeat brought the Israelites to a sense of their former presumption and neglect : wherefore, going up to the house of the Lord, they humbled themselves with weeping and fasting that day, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord. And having thus regularly proceeded in their humiliation, they again inquired of the Lord whether they should attack the Benjamites, or forbear; for at this time the ark of the covenant of God was in Shiloh, and Phinehas was priest. f And now the Lord, having sufficiently correct- ed the confidence of the Israelites, not only gave them commission to go against the Benjamites, but assured them of vic- tory. Being thus promised the assistance of an Almighty arm, and encouraged from the divine assurance of success, the Israel- against the Majesty of God, who was the king of Israel, and upon that account alone, had right to declare, whether they were to wage war against their brethren the Benjamites, or no. Stackkouse. t This passage in Judges (rejecting that -rabbin- ical dream, that Phinehas lived three hundred years) shows plainly, that this story was transacted early in the times of the Judges. 2c 202 HISTORY OF [Book III. ites prepared a third time to attack the Benjamites; and to make their victory more secure, they laid an ambuscade in the meadows behind Gibeah, that when the fight was begun, the Israelites by a feigned flight drawing the Benjamites from the city, those that lay in ambuscade should seize the city, and set it on fire, as a signal to the main body of the Israel- itish army to rally and renew the fight. Having thus concerted the necessary military operations, ten thousand chosen troops of the Israelites appeared before Gibeah; which the Benjamites seeing, sallied out of the town, and falling brisk- ly upon them, killed about thirty of them. The Israelites then retiring, as if they were afraid, pretended to fly ; and the Benjamites, supposing the day was their own, eagerly pursued them so far, that they were at a distance from the town sufficient to give the ambuscade an op- portunity to seize the place, and set it on fire. The main body of the Israelitish army seeing this, faced about, and charg- ed furiously upon the Benjamites, who began to think of retreating to their city; but when by the smoke and flame they saw themselves circumvented, they took to the wilderness, thinking to screen them- selves there ; but in vain : for being in- closed by the main army and the ambus- cade, they were easily trodden down. In this action and the pursuit, five and twenty thousand one hundred of the Ben- jamites were slain ; and a thousand more having been destroyed in other actions, there remained but six hundred men of the Benjamites, who fled to the rock Rim- mon, and hid themselves there; all the rest of that tribe, together with their towns and cattle, suffered military execu- tion. The heat of this action being over, the Israelites began to consider how low a condition they had reduced the tribe of Benjamin to by this general slaughter, which afflicted them very much. And the rather, because upon the first engag- ing in this quarrel, they had rashly sworn, that no Israelite should give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite. * Upon this they repaired to the taber- nacle where the ark was, and mourned all day, saying, < O Lord, why is this come to pass, that there should this day be one tribe wanting in Israel?' Then getting up early the next morn- ing, they built an altar there, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings unto the Lord. After which, applying them- selves to find out some expedient to elude their rash oath and save the sinking tribe, they recollected that they had at first bound themselves by oath to put to death all those who should not appear with them at Mizpeh, and join in the common cause against the Benjamites. Upon inquiry they found, that none came from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly of the camp. Therefore sending twelve thousand of their best men to Jabesh- gilead, they commanded them to put man, woman, and child, to the swordf, ex- * Whether this oath, against contracting any affinity with the Benjamites, was in itself lawful and obligatory, or no, some interpreters, without any manner of reason, as I think, have disputed. For whatever was attended with such pernicious consequences, as to oblige their brethren, either to live unmarried, which would prove the extinc- tion of their tribe, or to marry the daughters of heathens, which was contrary to their divine law, or to take to themselves wives wherever they could find them by force and violence, which was contrary to the universal law of nations : whatever, I say, was attended with such evil consequences as these, could not be lawful in itself, nor of any ob- ligation to the consciences of those that made it ; and therefore it is somewhat wonderful, how the Israelites, when they found themselves involved in such difficulties, (as they themselves testify) that, for the preservation of this their oath, they were forced to have recourse to acts of the utmost cruelty and violence, did not perceive the illegality of it, and themselves, consequently, absolved from its observation. Stachhouse. f It is no part of our business to apologize for actions that in themselves are abominable, and will admit of no excuse. The whole account of this transaction is dreadful ; and none could have been guilty of all these enormities but those who were abandoned of God. The crime of the men of Gibeah was of the deepest dye ; the punishment, involving both the guilty and the innocent, was extended to th most criminal excess ; and their Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. 203 cept such marriageable young women as were virgins, whom they were to bring with them to the camp. These troops, having done execution on Jabesh-gilead, as they were command- ed, brought away with them four hundred virgins to the Israelites ; who immediately sent heralds to the rock Rimmon to treat with the few remaining Benjamites, offer- ing them peace, and inviting them to re- turn. The poor Benjamites gladly embraced the offer ; and coming to the camp, the Israelites bestowed on them the Gileadite virgins for wives. But the Benjamites, being six hundred in number, there was not for every man one. Upon which'they bethought them of another expedient to supply this deficiency. Once a year there was a solemn feast held at Shiloh,* to which the young mai- mode of redressing the evil which they had oc- casioned was equally detestable. The massacre of the people of Jabesh-gilead, without ever sending to know the reason of their absenting themselves from the war, was a cruel expedient to extricate the Israelites from a difficulty, in which their su- perstitious observance of an unlawful oath had involved them ; and a sad instance it is of the iniquity and barbarity of these times ; for, how severe soever the laws of military discipline may be, or with what justice soever recusants, as well as deserters in war may be deemed guilty, and the Jabeshites be called public enemies, because they did not obey the order of the whole congregation, and by refusing to join with them against the Benjamites, made themselves partakers of their crimes ; yet, certainly, to slay the innocent with the guilty, and to put women and children to death, who were never made to bear arms, was the very height of injustice and barbarity. Stack- house. * All the three great festivals were to be ob- served in the place where God settled his habita- tion, which was now at Shiloh ; and therefore, some are of opinion, that the feast, here mention- ed, was one of these ; particularly, they think it was the feast of tabernacles, because this was a season of great joy for having newly gathered their vintage, and the only season wherein the Jewish virgins were allowed to dance. At this time they dwelt in booths too, behind which the Benjamites (as they fancy) might very conveniently conceal themselves, and so watch an opportunity of carrying away the virgins: but what seems to make against this opinion is, that at any of these fmblic festivals, the concourse of people would lave been too great for a design of this nature to be put in execution, since the violence, which must dens of Shiloh used to come and dance there. The Israelites therefore directed the Benjamites, that wanted wives, to lie in wait in the vineyards, at the time of the feast, and when they should see the Shi- loh damsels come to dance, they should seize every man one for his wife, and carry them away into their own country ;f of course have been offered to the young womeh, would hardly have met with a general connivance. It is much more probable therefore, that this was some festival peculiar to the people of Shiloh, which the Benjamites perhaps might know nothing of, and were therefore put in mind of it by the elders of the congregation. Josephus tells us, that it was celebrated thrice every year : and on this festival it might be a custom for the young women to go out into the fields, and there dance by themselves, which might give their ravishers the very opportu- nity they wanted. Le Clerc's Commentary. f The public necessity is the only good reason that can be given for this act of violence on the virgins of Shiloh. For, whatever may be said in vindication of the Benjamites, viz, that what they put in execution was by order and advice of their superiors, and that their intent in doing it was just and honest, and devoid of that brutal lust, which is incident to common ravishers ; whatever may be said in excuse of these, the elders of Israel, who gave them this counsel and authority, had certainly no right to dispose of other people's children without their parents' consent and appro- bation. The rape of the Sabine virgins is usually produced as a piece of history parallel to this ; but Romulus, in whose reign it happened, was one of those princes who accounted every point that contributed to the establishment of his do- minion, not only lawful, but glorious, and that every thing ceased to be a crime when once it became necessary for reasons of state : but the rulers of Israel either had, or should have had different notions. They were governed by God, ' whose throne is established in righteousness,'. and should therefore, one would think, have contrived some other means of re-establishing a diminished tribe, than those violent ways of rapes and forced marriages. But the sacred historian has assigned a reason for these unrighteous proceedings, when (in four different places in the book of Judges) he tells us, that ' in those days there was no king in Israel ;' and for want of such a supreme authority, every tribe, and every city, nay, which is more, every private man committed many horrid things, which were not publicly allowed. This was the cause of Micah's idolatry, as we noted before ; of the Benjamites' filthiness and abominable lusts : and of all the enormous things done by the main body of the Israelites ; their killing all the Benja- mites without distinction ; their binding themselves by rash and unlawful oaths ; their killing all the women of Jabesh-gilead, *ho were not virgins ; and here, their permitting, nay, their ordering this rape for the preservation of a rash and unjustifiable oath : and this should teach us, to be very thank- HISTORY OF [Book III promising them, that if any of the rela- tions of the Samsels should complain, they would screen them from danger. The Benjamites pursued their instruc- tions ; and watching their opportunity, took every one his damsel, and carried them off to their own inheritance ; where, repairing their cities, they settled again, and in time recruited their tribe. ful for the authority that is set over us, in order to preserve us from the commissions of such like enormities ; for which end, the custom was, among the ancient Persians, (as Usher observes) to let the people loose to do even what they listed, for five days after the king died ; that by the disorders, which were then committed, they might see the necessity of having a king to govern them, and when one was settled in the throne, the great rea- son of being obedient to him. The rape of the Sabine virgins to which that of the virgins of Shiloh has been compared, is thus related by Dionysius Halicarnassus : " Romulus, perceiving that his new city was surrounded by several very powerful and warlike nations, who bore them no good-will, formed a design to make them his friends, by contracting marriages with them : but considering with himself, that these neighbouring nations would hardly enter into that affinity with a people, as yet famous neither for their riches nor great exploits, without being in some measure compelled into it ; he was resolved to put in practice the stratagem of his uncle Nu- mitor, and to enter into this alliance with them by carrying off their daughters. This design he com- municated to the senate ; and having obtained their approbation of it, he proclaimed a public feast to be celebrated in honour of Neptune, and invited all the neighbouring cities to the many diversions and spectacles which he then intended to exhibit. Crowds of people, with their wives and children, flocked to the feast ; but on the last day, when it began to draw to a conclusion, Ro- mulus ordered all the young men, that upon a signal given, they should seize and carry off every one a virgin, keep them all night, without offering any rudeness to them, and bring them the next morning before him. The young men took care to execute his orders : for, dispersing themselves into small companies, as soon as they saw the sign, they seized on the damsels, who, upon this occa- sion, made a. hideous outcry, as expecting much worse usage than they met with. The next day, when they were brought before Romulus, he spoke very courteously to them, and told them, that it was to do them no dishonour, but merely to pro- cure them husbands, that he ordered that rape, which was an ancient custom derived from the Greeks, and the most noble and gallant manner of contracting marriage. He therefore entreated them to be well affected towards those husbands which fortune had given them ; and so, distribut- ing the young women, which were six hundred and eighty three, among an equal number of un- married men, he dismissed them." Stachhouse. CHAPTER VI. The Israelites are again punished for their im- piety. Delivered from their enemies on their repentance and submission. Deborah and Barak espouse their cause. Various instan- ces of the revolt of Israel, and their consequent punishment. Together vnlh the interposition of providence in their behalf, on their return to the Lord. These civil and intestine quarrels among the tribes, being thus reconciled, the Israelites did not long enjoy peace ; for continuing to provoke God by tneir pro- faneness and irregularities, he again chas- tised them by their enemies. The most powerful of whom was Eglon, king of Moab. Him God raised up to be a scourge, who otherwise had neither strength nor courage to attack Israel. But being designed by the Almighty to be the instrument of his vengeance. Eglon armed the Ammonites and Amale- kites, and fell upon the Israelites, whom he defeated, and possessed himself of the city of Palm-trees.* And as an aggravation of their offence, in so suddenly transgressing, after their late deliverance from bondage, God en- larged their puuishment, for their servi- tude was now advanced from eight years to eighteen, which was the space oi time they served Moab. But when the Israelites, through a sense of their misery, addressed themselves to their God, he raised them another deli- verer in the person of Ehud, the son of Gera, a left-handed man, by reason of a lameness in his right hand. Ehud was a wise and politic man, and having observed the weakness of the Is raelites by their eighteen years' slavery, and the low condition of the Benjamites, that they were not able by open war to * Calmet supposes that the ' city of palm-trees' means Engedi ; but it seems rather to have been a city in the vicinity, or plain of Jericho, winch the king of Moab had seized as a frontier town, conti- guous to his own estates ; for Jericho, before its destruction by Joshua, was expressly called the 1 city of palm-trees.' Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. attempt any thing against their oppressors, he contrived first to take off Eglon private- ly, knowing it would be much easier to deal with the Moabites, when they should be in confusion for want of a leader, than while they had their king at the head of them. To carry on this the more plausibly, he repaired to the Moabitish court, where, under pretence of delivering a present to the king from his servants the children of Israel, he was admitted into the king's presence, who was at that time airing himself in his summer parlour.* When * Besides the platforms, says Dr Shaw, which were upon the ancient houses of the East, and which are found there to this day, it is probable that heretofore, as well as at present, most of the great houses had a smaller one annexed, which seldom consisted of more than one or two rooms and a terrace. Others, built as they frequently are above the porch or gateway, have, if we except the ground-floor, all the conveniences belonging to the house, properly so called. There is a door of communication from them into the gallery of the house, kept open or shut at the discretion of the master of the house, besides another door which opens immediately from a privy stair down into the porch or street, without giving the least disturbance to the house. In these back houses strangers are usually lodged and entertained ; hither the men are wont to retire from the hurryand noise of theirfami- lies.tobe more at leisure for meditation ordi versions; and they are often used for wardrobes and maga- zines. These the Arabs call oleah, which exactly answers to the Hebrew word JT71' aliyath found in this place ; and without doubt such was the apartment in which Eglon received Ehud, by the privy stairs belonging to which he escaped, after having killed Eglon. The doors of the eastern buildings are large, and their chambers spacious, conveniences well adapted to those hotter climates: but in the present passage something more seems to be meant ; at least there are now other con- veniences in the East to give coolness to particular rooms, which are very common. In Egypt the cooling their rooms is effected by openings at the top, which let in the fresh air. Mods. Maillet in- forms us that their halls are made very large and lofty, with a dome at the top, which towards the north has several open windows, so constructed as to throw the north wind down into the rooms ; and by this means, though the country is exces- sively hot, they can make the coolness of those apartments so great, as often not to be borne with- out being wrapped in furs. Eglon's was a chamber ; and some contrivance to mitigate the heat of it was the more necessary, as he appears to have kept his court at Jericho, where the heat is so excessive as sometimes to prove fatal. Dr A. Clarke. he had delivered the present, and dismiss- ed his servants that brought it, he, return- ing to the king, told him he had a private message to him. The king bid him be silent till the company were gone ; who being with- drawn, Ehud approached, and told the king he had a message to him from God. At that word Eglon, in reverence to the name of God, arose from his seat, which Ehud taking the advantage of, stab- bed him in the belly with a dagger, which he had concealed under his clothes, so forcibly, that he thrust the dagger, haft and all, into his belly; and the king being a very fat man, the fat of his belly closed over the dagger, so that he could not draw it out. Ehud seeing him dead left him wallow- ing in his blood, and shutting the door after him made the best of his way home.f f Whether it be lawful, according to the right of nature and nations, for subjects to rescue them- selves from tyranny by taking away the life of the tyrant, and to recover their country, which has been unjustly taken from them, by destroying the usurper, is a question that has been much debated, and what at present we need not enter into, for the vindication of Ehud's fact. It is the observa- tion of the learned Grotius, that the authority of the king of Moab was never legitimized by any convention of the Israelites, and, consequently, that they were at liberty to shake off his yoke, whenever they found a convenient opportunity. The only difficulty is, whether a private man might make himself an instrument in effecting this, in the manner that Ehud did? But to this it is replied, that Ehud was no private man, but acted by a warrant and authority from God : and to this purpose the history acquaints us, that * when Ehud had made an end of offering the present, which the Israelites sent* to Eglon,' he was upon his return home, and 'had gone as far as the quar- ries, which were by Gilgal.' The word pesil, which is here rendered quarries, most commonly signifies, as indeed it is in the marginal note, as well as the Septuagint and Vulgate, graven images, which it is not improbable the Moabites had set up in this place, rather than any other, in pure contempt of the God of Israel, who had for so long a time made Gilgal famous by his presence in the tabernacle, while it stood there. These images, when Ehud beheld them, his spirit was stirred with a just indig- nation within him ; and therefore proceeding no farther in his journey home, he dismissed his atten- dants, and went himself back, with a resolution to revenge this affront to God as well as the oppres- sion of his people. That this his return was directed by a divine impulse and instigation, is HISTORY OF [Book III. After the departure of Ehud, the serv- ants of Eglon returned on their duty to the king, but finding the door locked they supposed he had a mind to retire, and therefore withdrew; but after long wait- ing, and finding the door still shut, they took a key and opened it, and to their great surprise found their king dead upon the ground. This long delay of theirs gave Ehud a fair opportunity to escape ; which he im- proved by his speed ; and coming to mount Ephraim, he blew a trumpet, at which signal the Israelites flocked to him, to whom he related what he had done, and bid them follow him; for God, said he, hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hands. They readily obeyed him as their leader, and securing the fords of Moab towards Jordan, suffered not a man to pass over; but falling courageously upon tne Moabites, whilst they were in that consternation for the death of their king, and want of a leader, they slew about ten thousand of the chief of them, at the same time delivering Israel and subduing Moab. evident, I think, from the hazard of the enterprise he was going upon, and the many favourable occasions that accompanied the execution of it. For, how could any man in nis senses think that a single person, as he was, should ever be able to compass the death of a king, amidst the circle of his guards and attendants ? How could he expect that an enemy, as he was, should be admitted to a private audience ? or that, if he should prove so lucky, the king should be so far infatuated, as to order all the company to quit the room ? The killing the king must have been a great difficulty under these circumstances ; but then his making his escape had all the signs of an impossibility in it: and yet, without his escaping, the design of deliver- ing his country must have been abortive. Upon the whole therefore it appears, that nothing but a divine instinct could have given him courage to set about the thing; and therefore it was not all fallacy when he told Eglon that ' he had a message from God unto him,' because God had sent and commissioned him to kill him: so that, what he did in this case, he did not of himself, or from his own mere motion, but by virtue of an order which he had received from God, who had destinated this oppressor of his people to this untimely kind of death. Stachhouse, Ehud deceased, the God of Israel rais- ed his chosen people another deliverer, in the person of Shamgar, the son of Anath, a strong and valiant man; who, when the Philistines in another quarter invaded Israel, with no better weapon than an ox-goad.* slew six hundred of them and delivered Israel from all dangerous neighbours, that were borderers on that side. After which Israel enjoyed a peacr of eight years. In which time of liberty and ease, they grew wanton and forgetful of their former servitude; which neglect and ingratitude of theirs provoked God to raise up other instruments for their correction; the chief of which was Jabin, who, assuming to himself the title of the king of Canaan, reigned in Hazor.f * The goad of Palestine is of enormous size, and well calculated for a military offensive weapon, according to the description of the intelligent Maundrell, who observes in his diary, " At Kane Leban, a place about a day's journey from Jeru- salem, the country people were, at the time when I was there, ploughing every where in the fields. It was observable, that in ploughing they used goads of an extraordinary size : 1 found some of them, on measuring, to be eight feet long, and at the bigger end six inches in circumference. They were armed at the lesser end with a sharp prickle for driving the oxen ; and, at the other end, with a small spade or paddle of iron, strong and massy, for cleansing the plough from the clay which encumbers it in working. May we not hence conjecture, that it was with such a goad as one of these that Shamgar made that prodigious slaugh- ter? I am confident that whoever should see one of these instruments, which are commonly used in all these parts, would judge it to be a weapon, not less fit, perhaps fitter, than a sword, for s.ich an execution." It is probable that the policy of disarming the Israelites, mentioned in Saul's time, 1 Sam. xiii. 19, was now introduced by their enemies; and that Shamgar, for want of other weapons, had recourse to an ox-goad, which was left for purposes of agriculture. Dr Hales. f It is very certain, that Joshua burnt the city Hazor, and slew the king thereof, whose name in 'like manner was Jabin, which might possibly be the common name to all the kings of the country, as those of Egypt were called Pharaoh: but it seems not improbable, that this Hazor might be retaken, and rebuilt by its ancient inhabitants, and that this king might be a descendant of the other. Some indeed interpret the words thus. That t0 f The words prophet, and prophetess, are of very ambiguous signification in both Testaments: sometimes they denote persons extraordinarily inspired by God, and endued with the power of working miracles, and foretelling things to come; and sometimes they are used for persons endued with special, though not miraculous gifts, or graces, for the better understanding and explaining the word of God. As therefore we read nothing of any miraculous action that Deborah did, she per- haps was only a woman of eminent holiness, and prudence, and knowledge of the holy scripture, by which she was singularly qualified to 'judge the people,' that is, to determine causes and controver- sies among them, according to the word of God. Poole, J Tabor is a very remarkable mountain in Galilee, not far from Kadesh, in the tribe of Zebulun, and in the confines of Issachar and Naphtali. It has its name from its eminence, because it rises up in the midst of a wide cham- paign country, called the valley of Jezreel, or the great plain. It was a very proper place for the rendezvous of Barak's forces, since it stood upon the confinos of so many different tribes, was not accessible by the enemy's horses and chariots, and had on the top of it a spacious plain, where he might conveniently marshal and discipline his army. What travellers tell us of this mountain is much to the same purpose: " After a very laborious ascent," says Mr Maundrell, "we reached the high- est part of the mountain, which has a plain area at top, fertile and delicious, and of an oval figure, about one furlong in breadth, and two in length. This area is inclosed with trees on all parts, ex- cept towards the south, and from hence you have a prospect, which (if nothing else) well rewards the labour of ascending it; for it is impossible for the eyes of man to behold any greater gratification of this nature. On the north west you discern at a distance the Mediterranean, and all around you have the spacious and beautiful plains of Esdraelon and Galilee. Turning a little southward, you have in view the high mountains of Gilboa, fatal to Saul and his sons. Due east you discover the 208 HISTORY OF [Book III encourage him, she told him in the name of the Lord, that Sisera, general of Ja- bin's army, with his army and chariots, should fall into his hands. Barak, considering the inequality of their forces, and the greatness of the enterprise, and thinking it necessary to have the prophetess with him to consult upon all occasions, as well as to encou- rage his men, told her, if she would go with him, he would go; but not else. The undaunted prophetess consented to accompany him; but pleasantly told him for his diffidence, that this expedition should not be for his honour; for Sisera the general should fall into the hands of a woman. Departing together for Kadesh, which was Barak's residence, he soon listed ten thousand volunteers in Zebulun and Naphtali, and led them to mount Tabor, the prophetess still accompanying him. Such a number of distressed people being got together, it soon began to be rumoured about the country; and notice being given to Sisera of this insurrection, he mustered up all his force to suppress them, taking with him his nine hundred chariots of iron, and down he marched to the river Kishon : * which the courage- sea of Tiberias, distant about one day's journey. A few points to the north appears that which they call the mount of the beatitudes. Not far from this little hill is the city Saphet: it stands upon a very eminent and conspicuous.mountain, and is seen far and near. The top of mount Ta- bor was anciently environed with walls and trenches, and other fortifications, of which some remains are still visible ; and, for many ages, it has been believed, that here it was that our blessed Saviour was transfigured." Poole's Annotations, and MaundreWs Journey. * The Kishon, which takes its rise in mount Tabor, is only a small stream, except when swell- ed by the rain or melting snow. ' That ancient river' pursues his course down the middle of the plain of Esdraelon, and then passing close by the side of mount Carmel falls into the sea at a place named Caypha. When Maundrell crossed this stream, on his way to Jerusalem, its waters were low and inconsiderable ; but in passing along the Bide of the plain, he observed the tracts of many tributary rivulets falling down into it from the mountains, by which it must be greatly swelled in the rainy season. It was undoubtedly at the sea- ous Deborah seeing, being divinely in- spired, gave the signal to the battle ; say- ing to Barak, Up, for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand.' Barak upon this marched down the mountain Tabor, and fell upon Sisera, in the valley by the river ; whose army God struck with such terror, by driving storms of rain and hail in their faces, that they could not stand before the Israelites : who pursuing them, put them all to the sword, except the general Sisera, who, not daring to trust to his chariot, took to his heels, and fled, till he came to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenit'e,f who dwelt in that country, which was at peace with king Jabin. Jael seeing Sisera coming, went out to meet him, and invited him to come in. He, glad of the opportunity, went in con- fidently, not suspecting any danger from her, whose husband was his master's ally. But his security proved fatal to him, for being extremely thirsty, through the heat and fatigue of the day, he entreated Jael to give him a little water to drink ; instead of which, she gave him as much milk as he cared for ; and having allayed his thirst, he directed her, that if any body should come to inquire after him, she should not own he was there. And now thinking himself safe, he laid him down upon the floor to sleep, Jael very son when the Kishon, replenished by the streams of Lebanon, becomes a deep and impetuous tor- rent, that the bands of Sisera perished in its wa- ters. The Kishon, like several other streams in Palestine, does not run with a full current into the sea, except in the time of the rains, but per- colates through the sands which interpose between it and the Mediterranean. Paxton. f These Kenites, though they were proselytes, and worshipped the true God, according to the Mosaic law, yet being strangers by birth, and not of the promised seed, and so not pretending a right or title to the land of Canaan, they held it best policy, in those troublesome times, to observe a neutrality, and maintain peace as well as they could both with the Israelites and Canaanites. Upon this footing it was that there was a peace be- tween king Jabin and the house of Heber the Kenite ; and that gave confidence to Sisera in his distress to fly to Heber*s tent for protection. Chap. VII ] THE BIBLE. 209 officiously covering him with a carpet : where he had not lain long, before he fell fast asleep. When Jael perceived he was thus se- cure, she took a hammer, and a long nail, or tent-pin, and pitching it to the temples of his head, she struck it with such force, that it pierced through his head, and pin- ned him to the ground : after which she cut off his head, and then left him.* After this, she went to the door of the tent, and saw Barak coming in pursuit of Sisera, whom she went out to meet, and inviting him in, told him, she could show him the man he sought for ; which she accordingly did. Thus did the Almighty exert his power in defence of his people Israel, and caused them to subdue Jabin, king of Canaan, whom they never left fighting with till they had quite destroyed him. Upon this victory the heroine Deborah, and her valiant general Barak, sung a triumphant song. See Judg. ch. v. CHAPTER VII. A famine rages in Israel. Many depart into a foreign land. Peculiar circumstance of Nao- mi and Ruth. The Israelites after the death of Deborah and Barak revolt from God, bvt on their return, Gideon is raised as a deliverer. Peace and quiet at length succeeded war and tumults. But the Israelites growing supine, by an alteration of their * With regard to this deed of Jael, we must judge of it by the feelings of those, among whom the right of avenging the blood of a relative was so itrongly rooted, that even Moses could not take it away. Jael was an ally, by blood, of the Israelitish nation ; their chief oppressor, who had mightily oppressed them for the space of twenty years, now lay defenceless before her ; and he was moreover one of those whom Israel was bound by divine command to extirpate. Perhaps, too, she felt her- self called to be the instrument of God in working out for that nation a great deliverance, by thus exterminating their heathen oppressor. At least, Israel viewed it in this light : and in this view we cannot reproach the heroine with that as a crime, which both she and Israel felt to be a deed per- formed in accordance with the mandate of heaven. 'Home. circumstances, again provoke their God, by falling into their former transgressions. He took them more immediately into his own hands, and chastised their presump- tion and ingratitude with a severe famine; which raging furiously among the Israel- ites, many of them were forced to quit their habitations, and seek for food in a foreign land. Among the rest, one Elimelech of Bethlehem-Judah, a man of condition and family, removed with his wife Naomi, and his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, to the country of Moab, where Elimelech soon quitted this life. After his death, his two sons, not strict- ly observing the law of God, took each of them a wife of the women of Moab, of base condition. The name of Chi lion's wife was Orpah, and the name of Mahlon's Ruth. With these they lived about ten years, when Chilion and Mahlon died, both childless. The unhappy Naomi, thus deprived of her husband and children, and left in a strange country, could with no satisfaction stay longer in a place where she had lost all the external comforts of life. But being informed that the famine was over in Israel, she resolved to return to her own country ; and accordingly set forward for Judah, accompanied with her two daughters-in-law. In the course of their journey, Naomi thinking it hard to deprive her daughters of the society and converse of their rela- tives, persuaded them to go back; and to show that her advice arose not from any disgust, but from mere pity, gave them this affectionate blessing: ' The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have done to me and mine ; and grant that ye may marry again to your content, and enjoy a happy settlement.' Then, giving to each a parting kiss, they in tears pressed her to accept of their company. She endeavoured to dissuade them, by urging, that if they stayed in their own country they might marry again, 2 D 210 HISTORY OF [Book III which they could not propose if they went ) with her. At last her importunity prevailed with Orpah, who with tears taking her leave of her mother-in-law, turned back to Moab. But no persuasion could prevail with Ruth, who with the most pressing instances urged Naomi to take her along with her; assuring her, that nothing should part them, but that the God she served should be her God. Naomi seeing the pious resolution of her daughter Ruth, pressed her no more to return, but they both went on to Beth- lehem. Naomi, being arrived at Bethlehem, where she had lived in good repute, her return was generally taken notice of, and her old neighbours came to congratulate her upon her arrival in her own country. It was now the beginning of barley- harvest (which usually was in the first month with them) when Naomi returned to Bethlehem. And Ruth the Moabitess being an industrious woman, desired Nao- mi to give her leave to go into the field to glean some corn. The mother con- sented, and she happened to go into a field belonging to Boaz, a very wealthy person of the family of Elimelech, and nearly related to him; and there she gleaned after the reapers. She had not been long there, before Boaz himself came into the field to look after his workmen ; and having saluted them in a very devout manner, he took notice of Ruth, and asked his steward who she was ? He told him, she was a Moabitish damsel that accom- panied Naomi in her return home from the country of Moab, and that she had asked leave to glean after the reapers. Boaz, having been acquainted with her dutiful and affectionate behaviour to her ( mother-in-law, his kinswoman, encouraged ' her to glean in his ground, and to keep with his servants, and fare as they did; and charged them not to molest her. Ruth, surprised at this unexpected civility of a stranger, returned her thanks in a most profound respect and acknowledg- ment of his courtesy. Boaz told her he had heard of her affec- tionate carriage to her mother-in-law, and that she was come with her into a strange country, out of a pious design, to be un- der the care and protection of the God of Israel ; whom he solemnly prayed to re- compense her good actions, and give hei a full reward.* After this he treated her at his own board very liberally; and when his ser- vants returned to their work in the field, he charged them to be civil to her, and to give her opportunity of gleaning the more, by dropping some of the sheaves. Thus Ruth continued gleaning among Boaz's servants till the barley and wheat harvest were over, dwelling still with Naomi, to whom she returned every evening with what she had gleaned, and acquainted her with the great humanity of Boaz. Naomi, studious to recompense this ten- der affection of her daughter-in-law, pro- jected how she might engage her kinsman Boaz to marry Ruth, whose civility she might reasonably imagine proceeded from some other motive than that of common courtesy or humanity. Therefore acquainting Ruth that Boaz was her near kinsman, and informing her what the law of Moses required in that case, she advised her to wash and anoint, and dress herself, and go to Boaz's barn, where he was winnowing his barley ;f but * Ruth seems to have been a woman of a very amiable mind : she was modest, and she was in- dustrious, and most probably a comely woman ; and all these things served to attract the attention of Boaz, and to engage his affection. Her attach- ment also to her mother-in-law could not fail to secure his esteem. All these things worked to- gether in the course of providence, to bring about a matrimonial connexion, which in its issue was intimately connected with the salvation of a lost world ; for, from this very line, Jesus Christ, ac- cording to the flesh, sprang ; and Ruth showed herself as worthy to be one of his progenitors as the Virgin Mary was to be his mother. Clarke. f The thrashing floors or barns were places of great note among the ancient Hebrews ; they were covered at the top to keep off the rain, but lay open on all sides, that the wind might come in Chap. VII.] THE BIBLE. 211 not to let it be known she was there, till he had supped, and was gone to rest, giving her instructions what she should do farther. Ruth, pursuant to the advice of her mother, set herself forth to the best ad- vantage, went to the barn, and placed her- self so conveniently that she could see what passed without being noticed. When Boaz had refreshed himself, he lay down at the end of a heap of corn ; and Ruth, waiting till he was asleep, came softly, and lifting up the clothes undis- covered, laid herself down at his feet.* freely, for the winnowing of the corn; which being done, they were shut up at night, with doors fitted to them, that if any body lay there, he might be kept warm, and the corn be secured from the dan- ger of robbers : the time of winnowing, or separat- ing the corn from the chaff, was in the evening, when the heat of the day was over, and cool breezes began to rise ; for this purpose, they had the same implements which are in common use : for Isaiah speaks of winnowing with the shovel, and with the fan. The grain, being thrashed, was thrown into the middle of the thrashing floor ; it was then ex- posed with a fork to a gentle wind which separated the broken straw and the chaff: so that the ker- nels, and clods of earth with grain cleaving to them, and the ears not yet thoroughly thrashed, fell upon the ground. The clods of earth, as is customary in the East at the present day, were collected, broken in pieces, and separated from the grain by a sieve ; whence the operation of sifting is, in prophetic language, a symbol of mis- fortune and overthrows. The heap thus winnow- ed, which still contained many ears that were broken but not fully thrashed out, was again ex- posed in the thrashing floor, and several yoke of oxen were driven over it, for the purpose of tread- ing out the remainder of the grain. At length the grain, mingled with the chaff, was again exposed to the wind by a fan, which bore off the chaff, so that the pure com fell upon the floor. Home. * Though the action of Ruth, here set forth, seems at first sight hardly consistent with decency ; yet, if we consider the simplicity of those times, it will appear very excusable: to which if we add the virtuous character of the woman, the age of Boaz, the manner of his addressing her when he first perceived her, the testimony he bore to her prudence and good conduct, the public proceed- ings before the wedding, and the several other cir- cumstances of this history, there is not the least ground to suspect the virtue of either of them ; and there is nothing but the purest innocence in the whole transaction. Ostervald. If we con- sider the end, the motives, and the circumstances of this action, we shall not pass on it an unfavour- able judgment. Ruth had a right to pretend to marriage with Boaz, whom Naomi seems to have Boaz, waking about midnight in a fright, asked who she was? To which she answered, * I am Ruth thy servant: spread therefore the wing of thy garment over me, f for thou art a near kinsman.' Boaz, though advanced in years, was so far from rejecting her, that he commended her forwardness; and being a virtuous man, told her, she had shown more piety to her dead husband than when he was alive, in raising up issue to his name, by marrying her kinsman, and that her virtue was conspicuous in not following young men, whether poor or rich. Therefore he assured her, he would not fail to answer her desire, and his duty; which he had the greater inducement to do, be- cause she had the general reputation of a virtuous wife. But at the same time told her, that though he indeed was a near kinsman, yet there was another nearer, to whom he must give the preference, be- cause it was his right ; and that he would communicate the matter to him next morn- ing; and if that kinsman would marry her, he might, otherwise he himself would as- suredly marry her. To obviate any reflection that might be cast on her character or religion, she arose early in the morning and departed; but thought her nearest of kin. She endeavours to discover some means of making him acquainted with her desire to take advantage of this right, she well knew the justice, the probity, the age of Boaz ; and was resolved on her part, with the as- sistance of God, which she could best hope to in- sure by dutiful obedience to Naomi, to form no connexion with him, except by the ties of lawful marriage. Boaz regarded her conduct as flowing from a virtuous principle, and dictated of the desire of becoming a good Israelite, by giving birth to children who might revive the name of her de- ceased husband ; and spoke to her in the terms of commendation recorded Ruth iii. 10. In fact, she sufficiently displayed the uprightness of her in- tentions, by not attaching herself to young men, as he there expresses it, but to an old man, who was of an age to be a father to her. Cahnet. j- This was as if she had said, take me to wife as the law directs ; for the phrase of spreading the skirt or wing over one, imports taking such a one into protection. And because it is the part of a husband to protect and defend his wife from injuries, therefore to spread the wing or skirt over one, is used for a periphrasis of marriage. 212 HISTORY OF TBook III that she might not go home empty-handed to her mother, Boaz gave her six measures of barley ; with which Ruth returned to her mother, who received her joyfully, both for the present of Boaz and his kind treatment cf her daughter, whom she ad- vised to take no notice to any of what had passed, but patiently to wait the event; assuring her that Boaz was a man of hon- our, and would perform his promise. Boaz, punctual in the performance of his word, appeared that morning at the gate of the city, which was in those days the usual place of judicature.* There he met with the kinsman he had mentioned to Ruth ; and summoning ten more of the chief of the city, he, in their presence, * We here see the simple manner in which ju- dicial proceedings took place in those times. The judge sat in the gale, the place of resort in every city where public business was transacted ; no writings were employed or tedious formalites ob- served, but the party was merely summoned to make his appearance. In this instance Boaz pro- bably summoned the person by name, although the sacred writer has not expressed the name, but has merely used the general words which we trans- late ' Ho, such a one !' From the circumstances of the gates of cities being the seat of justice, the judges appear to have been termed the Elders of the Gate ; for, as all the Israelites were husband- men, who went out in the morning to work, and did not return until night, the city gate was the place of greatest resort. By this ancient practice, the judges were compelled, by a dread of public displeasure, to be most strictly impartial, and most carefully to investigate the merits of the causes which were brought before them. The same prac- tice obtained after the captivity. The Ottoman court, it is well known, derived its appellation of the Porte, from the distribution of justice and the despatch of public business at its gates. During the Arabian monarchy in Spain, the same practice obtained ; and the magnificent gate of entrance to the Moorish palace of Alhamra at Grenada to this day retains the appellation of the ' Gate of Justice' or 'of Judgment.' To the practice of dispensing justice at the gates of cities, there are numerous allusions in the sacred volume. For instance, in Job v. 4. the children of the wicked are said to be crushed in the gate ; that is, they lose their cause, and are condemned in the court of judgment. The Psalmist, speaking of those whom God has blessed with many children, says that ' they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the ene- mies in the gate ;' that is, those who are thus blessed, shall courageously plead their cause, and need not fear the want of justice when they meet their adversaries in the court of judicature. Cal- nxtt and Home. acquainted him, that Naomi, who was come back from the country of Moab, had a parcel of land to dispose of, which belong- ed formerly to Elimelech, of which he gave him this public notice, that he might redeem it, -f- the right of redemption be- longing in the first place to him; and therefore he desired to know his mind in this matter. The kinsman readily consented to re- deem the land. But when Boaz told him, that at the same time he must likewise take Ruth the Moabitess to wife, to raise up the name of her dead husband upon his inheritance, he declined the business ; giving this for a reason, that he could not do it on those terms, without destroying his own inheritance ; and therefore he willingly resigned his right of redemption to Boaz ; who, without any scruple, ac- cepted it, and his kinsman, according to the custom of those times, in token of re- linquishing or transferring his right, took off his shoej and delivered it to Boaz. Upon which Boaz made this declaration to the elders and all the people present: ' Ye are my witnesses this day, that I f The reason of this seems to be grounded upon the law, by which the first-born of such a marriage was to bear the name of the woman's former hus- band that was dead, to keep up his name in Israel ; so that if that kinsman had married Ruth, and should have had but one son by her, that son being not to bear his name, but the name of her former husband, he himself should have no son to keep up his name in Israel ; and so his inheritance might have been lost from his name, by passing into another name and family : which he was not willing to hazard. % This was the manner of confirming bargains, sales, exchanges, and alienations among the Israel- ites. There were two sorts of it: The first was penal ; as when a man refused to marry his bro- ther's wife, to raise up seed to the deceased, who died childless ; for then the law commanded, that the woman should pluck off his shoe, and spit in his face, using these words : ' Thus shall it be done to the man that refuseth to raise up issue to his brother's family.' The second was cessionary, or in token of resignation, and did not reach to coin- pel the kinsman in the second, third, and fourth degree to marry the widow : but he might transfer his right to any other of the kindred ; and as a sign of his cession or translation of his right, he took off his shoe and delivered it to his kinsman, who would marry the widow, in the presence of the elders. Chap. VII.] THE BIBLE. 213 have bought all that was EHmelech's, and all that was his son's, at the hand of Nao- mi. Ye see likewise I have purchased Ruth the Moabitess to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon their inheritance, that their name may not be lost among' their relations. Of this I call you to witness this day.' To all which the assembly gave their acknowledgment; adding a hearty prayer, that she might be fruitful as Rachel and Leah, who were the original raisers of the house of Israel. Ruth conceived, and in due time was delivered of a son, whom they named Obed ; which Obed was the father of Jesse, and grandfather of king David, of whom, according to the flesh, came the Saviour of the world.* During the wise and virtuous adminis- tration of Deborah and Barak, the Israel- ites enjoyed the blessing of peace ; but when their conductors died, they fell into their constitutional sin of idolatry, and provoked their God to deliver them into the hands of their enemies. He permitted the Midianites to over-run their country, who for seven years kept them in such subjection, that they were forced to betake themselves to dens in the mountains and caves in the earth, and to fortified places ; from whence, in spring-time, they stole out to sow their land ; but towards har- vest the Amalekites and Midianites came and encamped in their country, and tarried till they had devoured all the provision and forage they could find, and then they returned, leaving the Israelites nothing to support life. The poor Israelites being served thus year after year, at last grew greatly im- poverished, which put them in mind that by their sins they had drawn this punish- ment upon themselves ; and that the only * Herein is described, how Jesus Christ pro- ceeded of Ktith, notwithstanding she was a Moah- ite of low condition, and a stranger from the people of God : which was a type, that the Gentiles should be sanctified by him, and joined with his people. remedy was, to have recourse to the Lord, who had permitted these evils to befall them. Whilst they were supplicating God for help, he sent a prophet f to expostulate with them for their ingratitude, by which he brought them to a sense of their folly, and his justice in punishing them. This judgment brought them humble before the Lord, and prepared them for a due reception of the blessing he was about to confer, in sending them a deliverer, in the person of Gideon, the son of Joash. At this time Gideon was thrashing wheat,:): that he might hide it from the Midianites. And whilst he was thus em- ployed in providing sustenance for his family, the angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said, * The Lord be with thee, thou mighty man of valour.' + St Augustine supposes him to be that angel which soon after appeared to Gideon ; but others generally suppose him to be some person endued with the spirit of prophecy by God, and sent to the Israelites, as other prophets were. J The method of thrashing out the grain varied according to the species. Isaiah mentions four different instruments, the flail, the drag, the wain, and the feet of the ox. The staff, or flail, was used for the smaller seeds, which were too tender to be treated in the other methods. The drag consisted of a sort of strong planks, made rough at the bottom with hard stones or iron ; it was drawn by oxen, or horses, over the corn sheaves spread on the floor, the driver sitting upon it. The wain, or cart, was much like the former, but had wheels, with iron teeth or edges like a saw. From the statement of different authors, it would seem that the axle was armed with iron teeth, or serrated wheels throughout. Niebuhr gives a description of such a machine, used at present in Egypt for the same purpose ; it moves upon three rollers, armed with iron teeth or wheels to cut the straw. In Syria, they make use of the drag, constructed in the very same manner as before described. This not only forced out the grain, but also cut the straw in pieces, which is used in this state over all the East as fodder for the cattle. In the early periods of the Jewish commonwealth, however, these various methods, adapted to the different kinds of grain, were unknown ; the husbandman employed the staff', or flail, in thrashing all his crop. And thus when the angel of the Lord ap- peared to Gideon, he found him thrashing wheat by the wine press with a staff, for So the original term signifies ; but the natural sagacity of the human mind, directed by the finger of God, at last invented the other more efficacious imple- ments, to which Isaiah so frequently refers in the course of his writings. Paxton. HISTORY OF [Book III. Gideon was soon apprized, by the man- ner of this salutation, that it was a message extraordinary ; and as readily replied, ' If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us ? And where are all his mir- acles, which our forefathers have told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt ? But now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.' The angel, looking steadfastly on him, said, ' Be courageous, and thou shalt save Israel from the hands of the Midianites. Is it not I that send thee ?' But Gideon, considering his own weak- ness, and the low condition of- his own family, more than the presence of him that spoke to him, answered, < In what capacity am I to serve Israel since my family is but poor in the tribe of Manasseh, and myself the least among them?' The angel to encourage him said, 'Sure- ly I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites with as much ease as if they were but one man.' This promise offered Gideon a dawn of hope ; but desirous of an assurance of the person who talked with him, he said, ' If now I have found favour in thy sight, be pleased to show me some token whereby I may know that it is thou the Lord that talkest with me. Wherefore depart not hence, I pray thee, till I return with my offering, and set it before thee.' The angel promised to tarry; and Gideon having prepared a kid, and some unleavened cakes,* he came and presented * The manner in which the Arabs entertain strangers will cast light on this place. Dr Shaw observes: " Besides a bowl of milk, and a basket of figs, raisins, or dates, which upon our arrival were presented to us to stay our appetite, the master of the tent fetched us from his flock, accord- ing to the number of our company, a kid or a goat, a lamb or a sheep ; half of which was immediately seethed by his wife, and served up with cucasoe ; the rest was made hab-ab, that is, cut to pieces and roasted, which we reserved for our breakfast or dinner next day." May we not suppose, says Mr llarmer, that Gideon, presenting some slight refreshment to the supposed prophet, according to the present Arab mode, desired iiim to stay till he them before the angel ; by whose direc- tion, having laid them upon the rock, the angel, with the end of his staff, touched the cakes and the flesh, upon which fire came out of the rock and consumed them; and the angel instantly disappeared. Gideon upon this was sensible that it was an angel that had appeared to him, and crying out in despair, said, ' Alas, my Lord God! because I have seen an angel face to face, I shall die.' But the angel, though Gideon could not see him, to confirm and comfort him, bid him not fear, for he should not die. Gideon, in thankful remembrance of this gracious interview, and God's goodness to him, built an altar there, and called it Jehovah-shalom, that is, 'the Lord of peace.' The same night the Lord commanded Gideon to demolish the altar of Baal, which in those corrupt times had been erected, and to cut down the groves there ; and build an altar to the Lord his God upon the top of the rock ; after which, to sacrifice his father's second bullock f upon it, which was seven years old, and offer it for a burnt-sacrifice, with the wood of the grove, which he was to cut down. Gideon readily obeyed God ; but con- sidering it would be difficult to do this in the day-time, he resolved to do it by night ; and taking ten of his servants to assist him, he did as God had commanded. The inhabitants of the place being in- formed what Gideon had done, demanded could provide something more substantial ; that he immediately killed a kid, seethed part of it, and when ready, brought out the stewed meat in a pot, with unleavened cakes of bread which he had baked ; and the other part, the kab-ab, in a bas- ket, for him to carry with him for some after-re- past in his journey. f This bullock is thought by the Babbins and others to be called the second from the stall in which it stood and was fed, which was the second in order of place ; and being as many years old as their subjection to Million was, the destroying this bullock might in some measure prefigure the breaking off the Midianitish yoke from the neck of Gideon ; whose name signifies a breaker 01 destroyer. HAP. VIII.] THE BIBLE. 215 him of his father, that they might put him to death: but Joash would not deliver his son, resolutely saying, Stackhouse. HISTORY OF [Book III persons; at the same time putting them in mind that he was of their family and kindred. His relations upon this suggestion pro- posed advancement to themselves, which they insinuated to the Shechemites, who, closing with the project, contrived how to advance Abimelech to the government; and that money might not be wanting to forward the design, they took some out of the treasury of their god Baal-berith, * and gave it to Abimelech, who with it hired a company of dissolute fellows to j attend him. With these ruffians he repaired to his deceased father's house at Ophrah, where ! he seized sixty-nine of his brethren, and slew them upon one stone ;f the youngest, named Jotham, having timely notice, escaped. Soon after this bloody and un- ' i * The learned Bochart is of opinion, that the Baal here mentioned was the same with Beroe, the daughter of Venus and Adonis, desired in marriage by Neptune, hut given to Bacchus ; and ; that she gave her name to Berith in Phoenicia, ' where she was much worshipped, and thence trans- ' lated a goddess in other parts. But, though the ' word Baal (as he maintains) be frequently used in a feminine sense, yet it can hardly be imagined j but that the sacred historian, if he had been mind- ed to express a goddess, might have found out ; some way of distinguishing her ; might have called | tier (for instance) Bahalah-berith, the lady, or goddess of Berith, without making botli the words of a masculine termination. And therefore the most simple and natural manner of explaining the name is, to take it in general for the god who presides over covenants and contracts, to whom it belongs to maintain them, and to punish all those that violate them. For it is to be observed, that the most barbarous as well as the most intelligent, the most religious as well as the most superstitious nations, have always looked upon God as the wit- ness as well as the vindicatorof oaths and covenants ; that the Greeks had their Zens Horkios, as well as the Latins their Jupiter Pistius, or Deus Fidius, whom they looked upon as a god of honesty and uprightness, always superintending in treaties and alliances. And for this reason not improbably, the house of their god Berith was the citadel, the arsenal, and the treasury of the Shechemites, even as Plutarch informs us, that in the temple of Saturn, the Romans reposited both their archives and public wealth. Buchart, Poole, and Calmet. f Some will have this stone to be an altar, dedi- cated by Abimelech to the idol Baal, and erected in the same place where his father Gideon had be- fore destroyed the altar of Baal, to recompense the disgrace done by him to the idol. natural execution, the Shechemites, hav- ing nothing to fear from Gideon's house, assembled together at Millo,:}: and chose Abimelech king. When this inhuman procedure reached the ears of Jotham, he went to the top of mount Gerizim, where, in a parabolical oration he represented to the Shechemites how his father Jerub-baal had refused to have the government of Israel settled up- on him and his family ; and that they had J The sentiments of commentators are divided respecting what is meant by the * house of Millo.' The following appears the most entitled to regard. The 'house of Millo' in Shechem had a great number of persons connected with it, whom the sacred writer distinguishes from the men of the city. And since both were concerned in making Abimelech king, it is natural to conclude that the men of the city were the inferior inhabitants, and the house of Millo the governors of the place ; both of whom met in the senate-house to set the crown upon the head of their favourite. By com- paring the account given here with that given af- terwards of the house of Millo built by Solomon on the east side of mount Zion, we shall probably arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. The Millo on mount Zion appears to have been of great strength, and essentially connected with the de- fence of Jerusalem ; for when Hezekiah discover- ed that Sennacherib meditated the reduction of his capital, 'he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.' From the intimate con- nection between the repairing of Millo and the making of darts and other implements of war, it has been conjectured by some writers that one part of that public edifice was occupied as an armoury, in which there is nothing improbable. That it was a public building, in one of whose apartments the council of state met to deliberate upon public affairs, is rendered almost certain by one of the kings of Judah losing his life there by the hands of his princes ; for we are told that *the servants of king Joash arose and made a conspiracy, and slew him in the house of Millo.' whither he had pro- bably come to consult with his princes and other principal persons upon some affairs of state. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the Millo in Shechem and that in Jerusalem were erected for similar purposes, one part of the building being employed as an armoury, and another, as a sort of town-hall, where the rulers of the city held their public meetings. See Script. Must. In this choice there were neither the call of God, nor the consent of the people ; for Abimelech was not appointed king by the body of the Israel- ites, but by a few disorderly seditious Shechemitet, without the knowledge of Judah or the other tribes, and reigned only in Shechem. Chap. VIII.] THE BIBLE. now disposed of it to one, as much inferior in virtue and honour to Gideon and his lawful sons, as the bramble is to the olive fig-tree or vine : he then expostulated with them on the injury done to his family, and thus reproaehed them with their in- gratitude : ' If ye have done truly and sincerely in making Abimelech king; and if you have dealt well with Jerub-baal, and his house, who merited so well of you ; (for my father fought for you, and delivered you from the oppression of Midian, and yet you have risen up against my father's house this day, and slain his sons, and made Abimelech, the son of his concubine, king, because he is your brother;) if you have done well in this, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him rejoice in you. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo, and let them devour him.'* Jotham having thus delivered himself to the Shechemites, made his escape to Beer, f where he lived secure from Abi- melech's rage. Within three years afterwards his curse was verified, both upon Abimelech and the Shechemites ; for they conspired against Abimelech, attempting to seize or kill him. But being disappointed of their purpose, they joined another profli- gate wretch and his company, one that lived by the spoil of others, as the She- chemites did. His name was Gaal, the son of Ebed, and an impudent boaster, but a very great coward. Gaal being set at the head of this dis- solute gang, ravaged the country uncon- troled for some time, spoiling the vine- yards of the Shechemites who made That is, let Abimelech be a scourge to the Shechemites, and they to him, in expiation of their injustice and ingratitude to the house of Gideon. f This was a city, that stood on the northern frontiers of the tribe of Judah, which did not ac- knowledge Abimelech for king, and therefore Jotham knew that he might have sure refuge and protection there. 221 Abimelech king; and in their mirth and jollity they despised Abimelech; but none spoke with more contempt of him than Gaal. The wild carriage of the abandoned Gaal soon reached the ear of Zebul, who was Abimelech's viceroy in Shechem ; but he not being strong enough to chastise him for his insolence, sent privately to Abimelech, to acquaint him, that Gaal and his mad crew were come to Shechem, and had fortified the city against him, ad- vising him to come by night, and lie in ambuscade till the next morning, that so he might surprise them. Abimelech approved of the stratagem, and forthwith put it in execution; which succeeded so well that Gaal, and those that followed him were defeated and slain; and the next day he stormed the place and took it; and to express his resentment more furiously, after he had demolished the city, he sowed it with salt4 But during these transactions, some that es- caped the fury of the conqueror's sword, and had fled to the tower, seeing the houses of the city thrown down, not sup- posing themselves safe in the tower, took sanctuary in a fort belonging to the tem- ple of their god Berith : which Abimelech hearing, he took an axe in his hand, and commanding his army to do the same, he marched up to the mount Zalmon, where grew a grove of trees, and cutting down a bough, he laid it on his shoulder, and brought it to the fort. The rest did the same : and when they had laid the boughs together, Abimelech set them on fire ; by which about a thousand men and women were destroyed. $ This was an old custom of punishing cities for treachery. Not that the strowing of salt signi- fied drying up, or rendering of the soil barren (for there was no occasion for that in an inhabited town); but to show the detestation of their rebellion, and that hereafter none should rebuild or re-peopla it. In this action part of Jotham's curse was ac- complished ; for Abimelech, though not a lawful king, yet served the Shechemites justly, who, after thev had made him their king, revolted from him. 222 HISTORY OF [Book. III. This success encouraged Abimelech to attack the city of Thebez,* which he took by storm. But there being a strong tower in the citj'-, the inhabitants fled thither, and maintained it for some time against all the force of Abimelech, which so irri- tated the impatient conqueror, that, pur- suing his fate, he came near the tower to encourage his men, and facilitate the tak- ing of it by his presence ; but pressing too near the door, with a design to have set it on fire, a woman from above cast down a piece of millstone upon his head, which broke his skull, f Abimelech, finding himself mortally wounded, called hastily to his armour- bearer, and commanded him to despatch him, that it might not be said he died by the hand of a woman. His servants obey- ed him, and the report of his death was no sooner rumoured among the troops, but they dispersed. Thus were Abimelech and the Shechem- ites scourges to each other, and Jotham's curse completed in the fate of both.:}: * Eusebius says there was a village called The- bez, thirteen miles from Shechem, near Scythopo- lis. f- Thus Plutarch relates, that Pyrrhus, at the siege of Thebes, was killed by a woman's throwing a tile upon his head ; but there is something more remarkable in Abimelech's death by a stone, be- cause, as he slew all his brethren upon one stone, for him to die by no other instrument carried some stamp of his sin upon it. The manner of his death, however, puts us in mind of what the same author records of the Spartan general, Lysander, who fell ingloriously under the walls of Haliartus. " Thus he died," says he, " but not like Cleombro- tus, who was slain while he was gloriously making head against an impetuous enemy at Leuctra ; not like Cyrus, or Epaminondas, who received a mor- tal wound, while he was rallying his men, and se- curing to them the victory. These great men died in their callings. They died the death of kings and commanders : whereas he, like some common soldier, or one of the forlorn hope, cast away his life ingloriously : giving this testimony to the an- cient Spartans, that they did well to avoid storm- ing of walls ; in which the stoutest man may chance to fall by the hand, not only of an abject fellow, but by that of a boy, or a woman, as they say Achilles was slain, in the gates of Troy, by the hands of the effeminate Paris." Patrick and Plutarch. f Here is the concluding lesson of the preced- ing story : that thus Providence returned upon the CHAPTER IX. Tola succeeds Abimelech in the conduct of the Israelites. They are again punished for their transgressions; and on their submission, fa- voured with tokens of divine regard. Jeph- thah first despised is afterwards vested with the command of the Israelitish army against their enemies. He behaves bravely ; makes an extraordinary vow, which he executes with a most rigid punctuality. Jephthah dies. Israel enjoys a peace during the reigns oj three leaders- Particular circumstances which attend the birth of Samson. Tola, the son of Puah, uncle by the fa- ther's side to Abimelech, of the tribe of Issachar, was appointed ruler or judge of Israel in his stead ; of which nothing is recorded, but that he governed Israel three and twenty years. To him succeeded Jair of Gilead who reigned two and twenty years. After this, God being provoked by the idolatry of the Israelites, he permitted the Philistines, Amorites, and Ammonites to overrun their country as they pleased for eighteen years ; and in the last year, the Ammonites bent their whole force against the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. The Israelites, finding themselves not able to deal with the vast numbers of their enemies, became sensible of their follies, by which they had provoked God to pun- ish them thus; and therefore acknow- ledging their sin of idolatry, they begged of God to assist them once more. head of this man the proper reward of his insatia- ble ambition and cruelty towards the house of his own father ; causing him, and the ungrateful and vain people which set him up, to become in a short space of time the instruments of each other's ruin and destruction. Pyle. How sure and just are the retaliations of God ! Gideon's ephod is punish- ed with the blood of his sons ; the blood of his sons is shed by the procurement of the Shechem- ites ; the blood of the Shechemites is shed by Abimelech ; the blood of Abimelech is shed by a woman. The tyrant now has his payment ; and that time, which he should have bestowed in call- ing for mercy on God, and in washing his soul with the last tears of contrition, he vainly spends in deprecating an idle reproach, " Slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him ;" a fit conclusion for such a life. Bishop Hall. Chap. IX.] THE BIBLE. But God upbraided them with ingrati- tude, and to increase the pungency of their sorrow, bid* them cry to the gods which they had chosen, and try if they would deliver them in the time of their distress. This was a cutting reproof to the Israelites. However, to recover God's favour and protection, they reformed; for they put away their idols, and served the Lord. The God of Israel after his wonted goodness to that ungrateful people, having brought them to a sense of their crimes by the rigour of his punishment, again returned to them in much mercy, and pointed out to them the certain means of deliverance. There was at that time in the half tribe of Manasseh, which settled on the other side of Jordan, a man of note among his people, whose name was Gilead, of the family of that Gilead, the son of Machir, to whom Moses gave the city of Gilead, from whence the family was called Gilead- ites. This Gilead had several sons by his wife ; and he had one son by a harlot,* whom he named Jephthah. When Gilead's lawful sons were grown up, they thrust out Jephthah, telling him, that being not born in lawful matrimony, he should have no inheritance among them. Jephthah upon this, expecting worse usage, hastened from them, and took up * Several Jewish doctors are of opinion, that the word Zonah may signify, either one of another tribe, or one of another nation ; and so, Josephus calls Jephthah, ' a stranger by the mother's side. 1 It is to be observed, however, that among the Jews, if such persons as were deemed strangers embraced the law, their children were capable to inherit among the rest of their brethren. Jephthah in- deed, complains of the hard usage he met with, but it was upon this occasion, when his country lie found stood in need of him ; for had lie been un- justly dispossessed of his right of inheritance before, we can hardly suppose that a man of his courage and martial spirit would have sat down contented with his exclusion. It is not to be doubted, there- fore, but thitf he ' was the son of an harlot,' pro- perly so called. Howell. his station in the land of Tob,f which place being very subject to the depreda- tions and military expeditions of the ene- my, Jephthah the rather chose for his residence, being himself naturally brave and daring. In their excursions against the enemy, he always distinguished him- self; so at last he was courted to accept a command of a number of young fellows, with whom he went a foraging. In this time of general prowess, the Gileadites, thinking themselves aggrieved by the Ammonites, resolved upon war, but wanted a general. Whereupon at a grand meeting of their chiefs, it was agreed, that he who should first attack the Ammonites should be their general. Then bethinking themselves of Jeph- thah, whom they knew to be a man of courage and conduct, they addressed them- selves to him, and offered him the com- mand of their army. Jephthah, surprised at this sudden change, asked them, how they who had ex- pelled him his father's house, could expect any succour from him in their distress ? They acknowledged their present dis- tress was the only motive of their coming, and repeated their importunities to him to go with them. Jephthah, mindful of the ill treatment he had received from the people, who now offered him a post of honour, determined not to engage with them but upon sure terms. For, says he, ' If I go along with you, and succeed against the Ammonites, shall I be your ruler afterwards ?' Their necessity was so pressing at this time, that they readily consented, solemn- ly engaging that it should be so. Upon this, Jephthah went with them, and the t We read no where else of this country, which, very probably, was not far from Gilead, upon the borders of the Ammonites, in the entrance of Arabia Deserta ; or perhaps it is the same with what is called Ish-tob, (2 Sam. viii. 6, 8.) which was in Syria, and so near the Ammonites, that they hired forces from thence, as well as from other nations, to fight against David. Patrick's Commentary. 224 HISTORY OF [.Book III people made him captain over them ; and Jephthah repeated the covenant, or agree- ment, between them and him before the Lord in Mizpeh. Jephthah, having thus secured to him- self the conduct of the Israelites, in case of success, was greatly animated, and sent ambassadors to the king of Amnion to de- mand the reason of his invading the Israel- ites- ? The Ammonitish king replied, that the land was his, and that the Israelites, upon their coming out of Egypt, took it from the Ammonites, which now he de- manded, or would make them restore it. Jephthah, by other ambassadors, told him the case from the beginning; that the Israelites, in their passage from Egypt, being denied to pass through the countries of Edom and Moab, were forced to fetch a great compass until they came unto the land of the Amorites, where they were not only refused a passage, but attacked in a hostile manner, by the Amoiitish king, whom the Israelites defeated in a pitched battle, fairly conquering, not only the kingdom of the Amorites, but whatsoever else belonged to Sihon the Amoritish king; who having before taken from the king of Moab the land now in dispute, it fell with the rest by conquest from the Amorite to Israel. Besides, he confirmed Israel's title by a long possession of many years' peaceable enjoyment. But these reasons would not do with the king of Ammon, who marched direct- ly against the Israelites, and was by them us warmly received. But before the action, Jephthah, the more readily to secure himself of victory, made this vow* to the Lord : ' If,' said he, * To make a vow, was an act of religious wor- ship, and in itself no way culpable : nay, not only the Jews, but other nations, looked upon it in tins view : and therefore we find Livy so frequently telling us that the Roman generals were wont to vow to Jupiter, or Apollo, or some other god, that if, by their help, they should prove successful, they would devote some part of the spoil they should take in the war to their use, or build * thou wilt give me success against the Ammonites this day, whatsoever cometh forth of mine house to meet me, when I return, I will surely consecrate to the Lord, or I will offer it up for a burnt- offering.'f To this victory of Jephthah's a civil war succeeded, between the tribe of Eph- raim and the tribe of Gilead. The Ephraimites were an ambitious quarrelsome people, and this was not the first instance of their temper, which for- merly went no further than words; but temples and dedicate them to their honour. Pa- trick's Commentary. f This passage has occasioned no small contro- versy among commentators. The doubt is, whe- ther Jephthah offered up his daughter for a burnt- offering, or consecrated her to the public service of God. It appears that Jephthah's daughter was not sacrificed, but devoted to the Lord. It is plain that in many cases his vow could not have been executed : for suppose on his return, that a dog, or any other unclean animal, had first met him, he could not have offered it for a burnt-offering, the law of Moses having strictly forbidden such sacri- fices ; besides, if Jephthah was under a necessity of offering his daughter, who was to be employed in that revolting task? The priests were com- manded to do all in their power to deter the peo- ple from the commission of so abominable a prac- tice ; the magistrates well knew, that such sacri- fices were strictly forbidden by God himself, and certainly no person can conceive Jephthah capa- ble of committing such an inhuman office. Upon the whole, therefore, I think it appears, that she was not sacrificed, but devoted to the service of God. It is said in Judg. xi. 39. that ' she knew no man.* This, it is thought, is a sufficient proof that she was not sacrificed ; for otherwise, it would have been superfluous to say, that after the vow was performed, she knew no man. In ver. 40, we are told that 'the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament her.' The original word, which we ren- der lament, is capable of different significations; by some it is translated, ' to talk with ;' by others, 'to praise:' if we adopt the first, it is a demon- strative proof that she was alive, and therefore they went at certain seasons to comfort and con- sole her. If the latter, the sense will be, that they went to praise her virtue, who, in the midst of her father's afflictions for the miserable condi- tion to which his rash vow had subjected her, did all in her power to assuage his grief, by assuring him, that she submitted to the will of God with the utmost resignation, and that though a state of perpetual virginity was the greatest punishment which could befall an Israelitish woman, who generally placed bet greatest happiness in the ex- pectation of the Messiah's springing from her seed, yet even tins she would cheerfully undergo, rathei than he should falsify the oath he had made. Chap. IX.] THE BIBLE. 225 now the mutinous Ephraimites carried it further, and with as little reason ; for, as- sembling their forces together, they came upon Jephthah, and demanded why he fought the Ammonites without them ? Jephthah very justly remonstrated with them on the impropriety of their demand, and showed that the cause of their dissat- isfaction was owing to themselves, who refused to come to his assistance when the Ammonites attacked him. The unrea- sonable Ephraimites were so enraged at this just reproach, that, having nothing to urge in vindication of themselves, and de- pending on their numbers, threatened to burn his house over his head. Jephthah, rinding it to no purpose to reason longer with them, mustered what force he could in so short a time, and be- ing flushed with the late success, resolved to fight the Ephraimites who had no rea- son to despise him and his, or call them fugitives of Ephraim; for the Gileadites needed no reproach to rouse or whet their courage, especially under the conduct of their valiant general Jephthah. The armies joined, and after a short but sharp dispute, the fortune of the battle declared for Gilead, Ephraim being forced to fly. Jephthah, resolving to make sure work, and prevent the Ephraimites from disturb- ing him, quickly secured all the passes on the Jordan, which those Ephraimites that escaped in the fight must of necessity pass to get home ; so that as fast as any of them came thither, if upon examination they owned themselves Ephraimites, they were put to the sword: if any denied, they gave them the test, which was to pronounce the word Shibboleth,* which Nothing is more notorious than that the peo- ple of the same nation, who speak the same lan- guage, differ very much in their pronunciation of it in several parts of the country. In Palestine the people in Galilee, and those that lived at Jer- usalem, spake the same tongue, and yet in the time of Christ, the latter could tell St Peter, that his 'speech bewrayed him.' In Greece all spake Greek, and yet the Ionian?, Attics, Dorians, and jEolians pronounced very differently. And here, though they could not do, calling it Sibboleth; which small variation cost them their lives. In this action and pursuit there were slain two and forty thousand of the Ephraimites. Jephthah, having thus through the di- vine assistance signalized his valour in a series of successes, both against foreign and domestic enemies, spent the rest of his life in peace, which lasted not long, for the whole time of his administration was but of six years' continuance. Jepthath was succeeded by Ibzan of Beth- lehem, of whom there is nothing more re- corded than that he had thirty sons and thirty daughters, and that he reigned seven years. Elim, a Zebulunite, succeeded lbzan, who governed Israel ten years; and after him Abdon ruled eight: all that was said of this last is, that he had forty sons and thirty grandsons. In these three reigns, Israel enjoyed a peace of three and twenty years; in which time, growing wanton, they lapsed into their former sins; by which they provoked God to punish them, which he did, in delivering them into the hands of the Philistines. Samson, of whose exploits much is re- corded in sacred writ, is supposed to have been born about the time of Jephthah's victory, f His birth being attended with unusual events and circumstances, we shall relate the particulars. Samson was the son of Manoah a Danite, % the Gileadites and Ephraimites were all of one nation, yet the latter, we find, could not pronounce the letter schin. There were doubtless, therefore, many other words which they could not frame their mouths to speak, as the Gileadites did, but this one was chosen because it was fit for their purpose. For as shibboleth signifies ' floods of water,' the Gileadites, when they saw any Ephraim- ite appear, might put this test to him, and bid him say, ' Let me pass over the water.' Le Clerc and Patrick. -f- Allowing Samson to have been born at this - time, he must have been at least thirty years old at the death of Abdon, his immediate predecessor, , when he took upon him the administration. \ The tribe of Dan bordering upon the Philis- 2 F 226 HISTORY OF [Book I1L whose wife having been long barren, the angel of the Lord appeared to her, when alone, and told her, she should conceive, and bear a son, directing her how to manage and order herself whilst she was with child, by forbearing wine or strong drink, and all unclean meats. And that after she was delivered of him, she should not shave his head;* for he should be a Nazarite f unto God from his birth, and should begin to deliver Israel from the oppressions of the Philistines. The woman informed her husband of this extraordinary interview with the angel, and the injunctions she had receiv- tines was most exposed to their incursions and in- vasions, and therefore God out of that tribe chose Samson for a judge and revenger ; which is very agreeable to the prophecy of Jacob when he bless- ed his sons a little before his death : ' Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder by the path, biting the heels of the horse, so that his rider shall fall backwards.' * Long hair was much esteemed among the Jews, and here Samson's mother was forbid to cut his hair, because he was to be a Nazarite unto the Lord, that is, dedicated to him. As to the cutting off his hair after by Delilah, it was done in a fradulent manner, not only to deprive him of his hair, but of his strength, that so they might destroy him. f A Nazarite was one, who, under the Levitical law, either to attain the favour, or avert the judg- ments, or acknowledge the mercies of Almighty God, vowed a vow of particular purity, and separ- ated himself for so the word signifies in an ex- traordinary manner to the service of God. The time of this vow lasted usually for eight days, sometimes for a month, and, in some cases, for the person's whole life. During this time, the per- sons (for women, as well as men, might enter into this engagement) bound themselves to abstain from wine, and all strong liquors ; not to cut the hair of their heads ; not to come near a dead corpse, nor assist at a funeral ; nay, the matter j was carried so high, that if any happened to die i suddenly in their presence, the whole ceremony of ' this separation was to begin anew. After the j time that their separation was ended, they were ' to offer such sacrifices as the law appointed, and i then, being absolved from their vow by the priest, I they might drink wine, and use the same freedom that other people did. Samson's Nazaritism to which he was consecrated by his parents was to last the whole term of his life; but his frequent intercourse with the Philistines, and the great havoc and slaughter that he so often made among them, would induce one to think that he had a particular dispensation exempting him from the observation of some of the foregoing rules See Patrick and Le Clerc. ed from him ; Manoah was not so mucli surprised as overjoyed at the hopes of having a son, but had an earnest desire to see this divine messenger himself, his pre- tence for it being to be further instructed in the management of the child when he should be born. God graciously answered his request ; and the angel again appeared, repeating to the expecting couple the former in- structions. The angel appearing in hu- man shape, Manoah took him to be a man of God, and pressed him to accept of an entertainment. The angel told him he would not ; but advised him to express his gratitude in a burnt-offering to the Lord. Manoah accordingly prepared a kid and a meat-offering, which he offered as a sacrifice unto God ; and then the angel in a wonderful manner discovered himself, which before he refused to do at Manoah's importunity ; for when the flame ascended from the altar, the angel ascended in it and disappeared. Now poor Manoah began too late, he feared, to repent his curiosity, and both he and his wife prostrated themselves on the ground. But he, looking upon him- self and wife as lost, cried out, ' We shall surelv die, because we have dared to see God.' But the woman, armed with more rea- son and courage, argued with her timorous and desponding husband, and told him, that if the Lord had intended to destroy them, he would not have accepted an offer- ing from them, nor condescended to com- municate such a blessing to them as he had promised.;}: } This is excellent reasoning, and may be of great use to every truly religious mind, in cloudy and dark dispensations of Divine Providence. It is not likely that God, who has preserved thee so long, borne with thee so long, and fed and support- ed thee all thy life long, girding thee when thou knewest him not, is less willing to save and pro- vide for thee and thine now than he was when, probably, thou trustedst less in him. He who freely gave his Son to redeem thee, can never b* indifferent to thy welfare ; and if he gave thee Chap. X.] THE BIBLE. 227 According to the appointed time the woman was delivered of a son, whom, from the angel's appearing a second time to her, she called Samson. By the consequence, it is reasonable to suppose, that Samson's parents observed the directions given by the angel for his nursing and erudition ; for whilst a child the Lord blessed him, so that he grew to a wonderful strength. And while he was but a youth, the Spirit of the Lord began to move him* at certain times to exert himself in actions of strength and activity, in the old camp of Dan,f between Zorah and Eshtaol. CHAPTER X. Samson's extraordinary exploits from various interesting causes. Extraordinary conquest over the Philistines. His remarkable strength^ He is overcome by Delilah. Birth of Sam. uel. God's extraordinary revelation to him. Samson, being grown to man's estate, had a mind to travel, and see the country; power to pray to and trust in him, is it at all like- ly that he is now seeking an occasion against thee, in order to destroy thee ? Add to this the very light that shows thee thy wretchedness, ingratitude, and disobedience, is in itself a proof that he is waiting to be gracious to thee ; and the peniten- tial pangs thou feelest, and thy bitter regret for thy unfaithfulness, argue that the light and tire are of God's own kindling, and are sent to direct and refine, not to drive thee out of the way and de- stroy thee. Nor would he have told thee such things of his love, mercy, and kindness, and un- willingness to destroy sinners, as he has told thee in his sacred word, if he had been determined not to extend his mercy to thee. * This is a Hebrew phrase, and it is often used upon particular occasions. Hence St Ambrose observes on Luke i. 17. ' He shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias ;' these two, the spirit and power (which is fortitude) are always joined together ; for all fortitude, whether in at- tempting or suffering, is from the Holy Ghost, that inspires us. f This camp of Dan was probably that place where the Danites pitched their camp in their ex- pedition and enterprise against Laish ; for it is not likely that the Philistines, who had the Israelites at that time under entire subjection, should suffer them to have any standing camp. And if the reader looks back a little, this is another argument, that the story of Micah, and of the Danites' ex- pedition, was transacted before Samson's time, though by the compilers of the bible they are re- lated after. and coming to Timnath,;}; a city belonging to the Philistines; he happened to east his eyes on a beautiful Philistine, who so captivated the young hero, that he could not live without her. But in duty to his father and mother, he would not marry without their consent. The fond parents expostulated with their son, on the unreasonableness of the match, in offering to marry into an uncir- cumcised family. But the amorous youth consulting his passion more than religion, was so pressing in his request to his pa- rents, that their indulgence was not proof against it. But to gratify him, they went with him to Timnath, to see this beauty, and treat with her parents about the mar- riage. During the course of their journey, it happened that Samson was at some dis- tance from the company, when a young lion came in a mighty rage out of the vine- yard of Timnath and attacked him. Upon which the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, so that he slew the lion with as much ease as if it had been a kid. After this action he went on and over- took his parents, but acquainted them not with this adventure of the lion. Being arrived at Timnath, the match was soon concluded. And not long after, Samson, and his parents, taking another journey to solemnize their nuptials ; and in their way to Timnath, Samson remem- bering this place where he had encounter- ed with the lion, his curiosity led him to see what was become of the carcase ; when, to his great surprise, he found a swarm of bees, with some honey, of J It is not improbably thought, that the place which is called Timnah, Josh. xv. 10. and Timna- tha, Josh. xix. 43., were the same place. It was assigned at first to the tribe of Judah, but after- wards to the tribe of Dan, and was, in all likeli- hood, the place whither Judah, the patriarch of the tribe that was called after him, went up to his sheep-shearers, Gen. xxxviii. 12. Wells's Geo- graphy. $ It is an opinion commonly received among the ancients, that bees were propagated in two 228 HISTORY OF [Book III. which, taking some in his hands, he went I To these young men, Samson, during the on eating ; and when he overtook his pa- rents, he gave them some of it, but did not inform them from whence he had it. Being arrived at Timnath, Samson en- tertained the relations, on both sides, for seven days; and to grace the nuptials the more, his wife's kindred brought thirty of their prime youth to bear him company.* ways, either by those of their own species, or in the cavities of a dead carcase. Their opinion is beautifully stated by Virgil, thus translated by Dryden : " Behold a prodigy 1 for, from within The broken bowels, and the bloated skin, A buzzing noise of bees his ears alarms, Straight issuing thru' the sides assembling swarms 1 Dark as a cloud they make a wheeling flight, Then on a neighbouring tree descending light, Like a large cluster of black grapes they show, And make a large dependance from the bough." This opinion, however, is directly contradicted by another, which was held by some writers of the greatest reputation in ancient times. Aristotle taught, that the bee will not light upon a dead carcase, nor taste the flesh. Varro asserts, that she never sits down in an unclean place or upon any thing which emits an unpleasant smell. They are never seen, like flies, feeding on blood or flesh ; while wasps and hornets all delight in such food, the bee never touches a dead body. So much they dislike an impure smell, that when one of them dies, the survivors immediately carry out the carcase from the hive, that they may not be an- noyed by the effluvia. The discovery which Sam- son made, when he went down to Timnath, may seem to contradict the latter, and confirm the for- mer opinion : but it is not said the swarm was generated in the carcase of the lion ; but only that Samson found them there ; nor is it said that the lion had been recently killed, and that the carcase was in a state of putrefaction : the contrary seems to be intimated by the phrase 'after a time,' liter- ally, ' after days,' one of the most common expres- sions in scripture for a year. Hence the lion was killed a whole year before this visit to Timnath, when he discovered the swarm in the carcase. But the flesh of the carcase, which Samson left in the open field a whole year, the prey of wild beasts and ravenous birds, must have been entirely con- sumed long before his return, or so completely dried by the violent heat of the sun, that nothing but the skeleton, or exsiccated frame remained. Within the bare, or withered enclosure of the bones, which had exhaled their last putrid effluvia, the swarm, in perfect consistency with their usual delicacy, might construct their cells and deposit their honey This conjecture is confirmed by the testimony of Herodotus, who declares that bees have swarmed in dry bones. Paxton's Must. * During the time of the marriage-feast, which, for a virgin, lasted seven, but for a widow, only three days, it was customary among the Jews to wedding-feast, proposed a riddle, which was this, ' Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.'f He gave them seven days to expound the riddle in, upon condition that if they expounded it, he would give them thirty garments, and as many shirts ;:f but if have a chosen set of young men, whom the Greeks called paranymphs, to keep the bridegroom com- pany ; as also a certain number of young women were about the bride all this time. These young men were generally of the bridegroom's relations and acquaintance ; but, at Samson's marriage, they belonged to his wife's family, and were sent, as some of the Jews think, not so much to do him honour at the time of his nuptials, as to be a guard over him, lest he should make any disturbance, of which the Philistines were afraid, when they un- derstood that he was a man of so much strength and might. Lamy's Introduction. f This was scarcely a fair riddle ; for unless the fact to which it refers were known, there is no rule of interpretation by which it can be found out. We learn from the Scholiast, on Aristophanes, that it was a custom among the ancient Greeks to propose at their festivals, riddles, enigmas, or very obscure sayings, both curious and difficult ; and to give a recompense to those who found them out, which generally consisted in either a festive crown, or a goblet full of wine. Those who failed to solve them were condemned to drink a large portion of fresh water, or of wine mingled with sea-water, which they were compelled to take down at one draught, without drawing their breath, their hands being tied behind their backs. Sometimes they gave the crown to the deity in honour of whom the festival was made : and if none could solve the riddle, the reward was given to him who proposed it. Dr A. Clarke. % Many of the Arabian inhabitants of Palestine and Barbary wear no shirts, but go almost entirely naked, or with only a cloth cast about their bodies, or a kind of mantle. It is not improbable, that the poorer inhabitants of Judea were clothed in much the same manner as the Arabs of those countries in modern times, having no shirts, but only a sort of mantle to cover their naked bodies. If this be just, it greatly illustrates the promise of Samson to give his companions thirty sheets, or as it is more properly rendered, thirty shirts, if they could discover the meaning of his riddle. It can- not be imagined they were what we call sheets, for Samson might have slain thirty Philistines near Ashkelon, and not have found one sheet ; or if he slew them who were carrying their beds with them on their travels, as they often do in present times, the slaughter of fifteen had been sufficient, for in the East, as in other countries, every bed is pro- vided with two sheets ; but he slew just thirty ; in order to obtain thirty sedinim or shirts. If this meaning of the term be admitted, the deed of Sam- Chap. X.] THE BIBLE. 229 they did not, they should give him the same number. The young 1 men, not knowing how to expound the riddle, applied themselves to his wife, and persuaded her to discover the meaning of it. After much impor- tunity she prevailed upon her husband, who was so weak as to trust her with it, and she immediately told it to those young men, who came to Samson at the end of the seven days, and said, ' What is sweet- er than honey, and what is stronger than a lion ?' Samson was satisfied his wife had dis- covered the secret; for he knew he told it nobody else ; and therefore to let them know he was sensible of foul play in the matter, he with indignation replied, ' If you had not plowed with my heifer, you could not have expounded my riddle.' Then yielding his wager lost, he pre- pared to pay it ; and going to Ashkelon,* a city of the Philistines, he slew thirty men, whose garments he gave to those that had expounded the riddle. Being incensed against the Philistines for this unfair dealing about the riddle, he left Timnath, and returned to his father's house. But though he had entertained a son must have been very provoking to the Philis- tines ; for since only people of more easy circum- stances wore shirts, they were not thirty of the common people that he slew, but thirty persons of figure and consequence. The same word is used by the prophet Isaiah, in his description of the splendid and costly dress in which people of rank and fashion then delighted, rendered in our trans- lation tine linen ; which seems to place it beyond a doubt that they were persons of rank that fell by the hand of Samson on that occasion. Paxton. * It is a city in the land of the Philistines sit- uated between Azoth and Gaza, upon the coast of the Mediterranean sea, about live hundred and twenty furlongs distant from Jerusalem. It is said to have been of great note among the Gentiles, for a temple dedicated to Dirceto. the mother of Semiramis, \\ere worshipped in the form of a mer- maid ; and for another temple of Apollo, where Herod, the father of Antipater, and grandfather of Herod the Great, served as priest. The place subsists to this day, but is now very inconsiderable. Some mention there is made of the wine of Ashke- lon, and the cypress-tree, (a shrub that was an- ciently in great esteem, and very common in this place,) but modem travellers say no such thing of t now. Calmet and Wells just resentment against the Philistines, yet he retained a fondness for his wife, to whose weakness he did not so much im- pute the discovery of the riddle, as to the fraud of her countrymen. Some time after, he returned to Tim- nath to visit his wife, and as a token of his affection, he brought a kid with him for a present ; and preparing to go to bed to her, her father would not permit him, urging for excuse, that he thought he slighted her, and therefore had given her in marriage to one of his companions.f But if he pleased, her youngest sister, who was more beautiful, was at his service. Such a circumstance could not fail of exasperating Samson to a great degree, and he therefore determined on a severe revenge, which he took care to execute. Having found means to catch three hundred foxes,:}: which he tied two and T I suppose to one of the thirty that they had provided to bear him company at the wedding -, and, it is very probable, as a reward of the treach- ery in discovering the secret of the riddle. J This narrative has frequently been made the butt of ridicule by the unbeliever in divine revela- tion, who has asked with an air of triumph, how could Samson catch so many foxes in so short a time; and when caught, how could he make them the instruments of his revenge on the Philistines in the manner which the story represents? To these questions we think several satisfactory replies have been given ; but as they are still pertinaciously urged, it becomes our business again to show, that they possess no weight, as militating against the claims which the history presents to our belief. That the species of fox called Jackal is very numerous in the East, is attested by the most respectable travellers. Volney, whose impartiality as a witness in favour of scripture facts will not be disputed, says, " The wolf and the real fox are very rare ; but there is a prodigious quantity of the middle species named shacal, which in Syria is called wanwee, from its howl ; they go in droves." And again : " Jackals are concealed by hundreds in the gardens, and among ruins and tombs." Bellonius likewise asserts that they may be seen iu troops of two or three hundred, prowl- ing about in quest of their prey : and Morizen, who travelled in Palestine, says that foxes swarm in that country, and that very great numbers of them lurk in hedges and ruinous buildings. We ask, then, where was the difficulty for Samson to procure three hundred of these animals, especially as the time during which he had to provide them for his purpose is not limited to a week, or a month ? Besides this, it should be recollected, that Samson at this time sustained the highest HISTORY OF [Book III. two together, by the tails, with lighted torches to them, and drove them into the standing corn, by which means he burnt not only the corn but the vineyards and olive-trees. office in the commonwealth, and consequently could be at no loss for persons to assist him in this singular enterprise. Having secured the instru- ments by which he designed to ruin the property of the oppressors of his country, the pext thing for consideration is the method by which he effected his purpose. Here we shall avail ourselves of the aid of the late ingenious editor of Calmet. In considering the circumstances of this narrative, Mr Taylor suggests, that there is some attention due to the nature and uses of the torches, or flambeaux, or lamps, employed by Samson in this procedure ; and, perhaps, could we identify the nature or form of these, the story, he adds, might be relieved from some of its uncouthness. Now, these lamps, or burners, were placed between two jackals, whose tails were tied together, or at least, there was a connection formed between them by a cord ; possibly, then, this cord was of a moderate length, and this burner being tied in the middle of it, it had something of the effect which we have seen among ourselves, when wanton malice has tied to the tail of a dog crackers, squibs, &c. which being fired, have worried the poor animal to his den, where, supposing them still to burn, they might set all around them on fire. We know it is the nature of the jackal to" roam about dwellings and out- houses ; this would lead them to where the corn of the Philistines was stored ; which being ignited, would communicate the conflagration in every direction besides this, the fire giving them pain, they would naturally fight each one his associate, to which he was tied. This would keep them among the corn longer than usual : and few pairs thus coupled would agree to return to the same , den, as they had formerly occupied in the moun- tains ; so that nothing could be better adapted to produce a general conflagration than this expedi- ent of combustion-communicating jackals. The Vulpinaria, or, ' Feast of the Foxes,' celebrated by the Romans, was derived on all probability from this event : an account of which is thus given by ,' Dr Adam Clarke. " It was a custom in Rome, ; celebrated in the month of April, to let loose a j number of foxes in the circus, with lighted flam- beaux ou their backs ; and the Roman people j took pleasure in seeing these animals run about till roasted to death by the flames with which they ; were enveloped. Ovid wishes to know what the j origin of this custom was, and is thus informed by an old man of the city of Carseoli : ' A frolicksome young lad, about ten years of age, found, near a thicket, a fox that had stolen away many fowls from the neighbouring roosts. Having enveloped his body with hay and straw, he set it on tire, and let the fox loose. The animal, in order to avoid the flames, took to the standing corn which was then ready for the sickle ; and the wind, driving the flames with double violence, the crops were everywhere consumed. Though this transaction The Philistines understanding it was Samson, son-in-law to the Timnite, that had done this mischief, because his father- in-law had taken away his wife, came in revenge to Timnath, and burnt Samson's wife and her father. This gave Samson fresh occasion of quarrelling with the Philistines, and he was so far from concealing his resentment, or using any stratagem to be revenged on them, that he openly declared that he would have satisfaction, which he forth- with did in a great slaughter of them. Samson, persuaded that so rigorous a procedure must inflame the already in- censed Philistines, in order to secure himself from their resentment, took up his residence in the top of the rock Etam ; * which when the Philistines un- is long since gone by, the commemoration of it still remains ; for by a law of this city, every fox that is taken is burnt to death. Thus the nation awards to the foxes the punishment of being burnt alive, for the destruction of the ripe corn formerly occasioned by one of these animals.' Both Serra- rius and Bochart reject this origin of the custom given by Ovid ; and insist that the custom took its rise from the burning of the Philistines' corn by Samson's foxes. The origin ascribed to the custom by the Carseolian they consider as too frivolous and unimportant to be commemorated by a national festival. The time of the observation does not accord with the time of harvest about Rome and in Italy, but it perfectly accords with the time of harvest in Palestine, which was at least as early as April. Nor does the circumstance of the fox wrapped in hay and let loose, the hay being set on fire, bear any proper resemblance to the foxes let loose in the circus with burning brands on their backs. These learned men there- fore conclude that it is much more natural to sup- pose that the Romans derived the custom from Judea, where probably the burning of the Philis- tines' corn might, for some time, have been an- nually commemorated. The whole account is certainly very singular, and has not a very satisfac- tory solution in the old man's tale, as related by the Roman poet. All public institutions have had their origin in facts; and if, through the lapse of time or loss of records, the original facts be lost, we may legitimately look for them in cases where there is so near a resemblance as in that above." See Carpenter and Clarke. * Palestine, being a mountainous country, had many rocks, which were part of the strength of the country ; for in times of danger the people retired to them, and found refuge against sudden irrup- tions of their enemies. When the Benjamites were overcome and almost exterminated by the Chp. X.] THE BIBLE. derstood, they marched into Judah, and encamped there, demanding Samson of the inhabitants, that they might have satisfaction of him for the wrong he had done them. The men of Judah, dreading the conse- quence of this invasion, immediately de- tached three thousand men of their tribe, to go and take Samson, and say to him, * Didst thou not know that we are subject 231 other tribes they secured themselves in the rock Rimmon ; and during the oppression of Israel by the Midiankes, they were forced to hide them- selves in cavities of the rocks. Samson, we are here told, took his station in the rock Etam, whence he suffered himself to be dislodged by the persuasion of his brethren, not by the force of his enemies ; and David, it is said, repeatedly hid himself in the caves of rocks. It appears that rocks are still resorted to, in the East, as places of security, and some of them are even capable of sustaining a siege, at least equal to any the Philistine army could have laid to the residence of Samson. So we read in De la Roque, p. 205. " The Grand Seignior, wishing to seize the person of the emir, gave orders to the pacha to take him prisoner : he accordingly came in search of him, with a new army, in the district of Choui ; which is a part of mount Lebanon, wherein is the village of Gezan, and close to it the rock which served for retreat to the emir. It is named in Arabic Magara Gezan, i. e. ' the cavern of Gezan,' by which name it is famous. The pacha pressed the emir so closely, that this unfortunate prince was obliged to shut himself up in the cleft of a great rock, with a small number of his officers. The pacha besieged him here several months; and was going to blow up the rock by a mine, when the emir capitulated." Observe, too, that this cleft in the rock is called a cavern ; so that we are not obliged always to suppose, that what the scripture calls caves or caverns were underground; though such is the idea conveyed by our English word. We may remark also, that before the invention of gunpowder, fastnesses of this kind were, in a manner, absolutely impregna- ble ; and, indeed, we have in Bruce accounts of very long sieges sustained by individuals and their families, or adherents, upon rocks ; and which at last terminated by capitulation. The number of caves and dwelling places in rocks, which late travellers have discovered, as well in parts of Judea as iu Egypt, greatly exceeds what had for- merly been supposed. Many of these are still occupied as retreats by the inhabitants; and Denon gives an account of skirmishes and com- bats, fought in the grottoes or caverns of Egypt, by the Arab residents, agaiust their invaders under Bonaparte. On the east of the Jordan, as Seet- zen reports, entire families, with their cattle and flocks, take possession of caves ^and caverns in rocks and secluded places, where they are not easily discovered, and whence they could not easily be dislodged Calmet. to the Philistines? Why then hast thou provoked them so much? 1 adding, 'that they were come to seize, and deliver him to the Philistines.' Samson knew his own strength, but would not use it against his countrymen ; only obliging them by oath not to side with the Philistines against him, he gave them leave to bind him; upon which they brought him to the place where the Phil- istines lay encamped; who, seeing him brought bound, thought they had him secure, and went out shouting for joy to receive him. But before they could lay hands on him, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him so powerfully, that he broke the cords of his arms with as much ease as if they had been burnt flax ; and looking about him for a weapon, he could find no better than a jaw-bone of an ass : * however * Though asses in Syria are both stronger and larger than what we have with us, and their bones consequently better fitted for such hard service as this, yet it must be owned, that it was by the wonderful strength that God infused into him, and not any aptitude of the instrument he made use of, that he was enabled to do all this execution, which is only incredible to those that do not con- sider the power of God, who can raise our natural strength to what degree he pleases, and, at the same time, enfeeble the spirits of those, who oppose his designs, in such a manner, that they shall have no power to help themselves. It must be owned, however, that there are some circum- stances in this transaction, which might possibly intimidate the Philistines, and thereby contribute to facilitate the slaughter which Samson made among them. The people, of Judah had now prevailed with him to suffer himself to be bound, and conducted to the Philistines' camp : the Philistines, as soon as they saw him coming, ran out with joy to receive him, and very likely forgot to take their arms with them, as knowing for certainty that he was safe enough now, and bound,' as we say, to his good behaviour. But when, contrary to their expectation, they saw him first break the cords so easily and suddenly, and then coming upon them with such fury and vengeance, it is not unlikely, that this might put them in no small confusion, and, as they straggled about in their flight, give him the opportunity or slaying them one by one, as he came up with them. This, we must allow, is the highest instance of personal prowess that we any where read of; and yet profane historians inform us of other men, who, by their mere natural courage, unassisted by any divine power, have made great havoc among their enemies: for Flavius Vopiscus reports, that 232 HISTORY OF [Book III. being divinely inspired, he despatched a thousand of the Philistines. The heat of this action made him so excessive thirsty, that he was ready to faint, and being in a place where there was no water to be had, he addressed him- self to the Lord thus : ' Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant; and shall I die with thirst, and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?' God heard his complaint, and that this miraculous victory, gained by the hand of one man, and so poorly armed, as with nothing but the jaw-bone of an ass, might not be untainted, he as miraculously gra- tified the champion's thirst, by a supply of water from a rock, which never before produced any moisture; he clave a hollow rock called Mactes, which was at Lehi,* and water plentifully flowed from it, of fchich Samson having drank, his spirit came, and he revived. The next evidence of the amazing power of Samson was at Gaza,f another in the Sarmatic war, Aurelian slew forty-eight men in one day, and in several days nine hundred and fifty, which diminishes the wonder of this achievement of Samson's not a little ; especially considering that the Philistines, in their surprise, might think that this was all a trick and manage- ment of his conductors to get so many unarmed men into their power, and that they too were ready to fall upon them, and assist him, in case they should make any opposition against their champion. Stackhouse. * This place had doubtless its appellation, Lehi, from this adventure rince set over them, shining in gold and jewels, iving in a sumptuous palace, attended with guards richly habited, and appearing in great state; in which they supposed the chief glory of a land to consist. J He was probably employed in looking after his father's cattle; an employment which was exercised by the greatest personages, in the early ages : and in Judea asses were a considerable part of their substance. who after much wandering about, came to the town of Ramah-zophim, Samuel's residence, without hearing any news of what they sought for. Here Saul's ser- vant said to him, There is a seer in this town, who may tell us where the asses are.' Saul approved of what his servant proposed, and went into the town inquir- ing for the seer. God had the day before given Samuel notice of Saul's coming, and declared to him he was the person whom he had chosen to be king. Saul meeting there with Samuel, who was going up to a high place, to offer sacrifice, asked him where was the house of the seer? Samuel, understanding again that he was the person God had appointed to be king, answered, ' I am the seer: go up with me to this high place; you shall dine with me to-day, and I will dismiss you to-morrow. As for the asses that were lost three days ago, be not in pain for them, they are found again.' Then he assured him that all the best things in Israel should be his; and bring- ing him home with him, he invited thirty persons to bear him company, seating Saul above all the other guests, and also distinguishing him by setting before him the best of the meat. Having entertained Saul, Samuel took him to a convenient place of retirement, and had further communication with him there that evening ; and early in the morning calling him up, that he might dismiss him, they went out together; and as they were going down towards the end of the city, Samuel bid Saul order his servant to go before, || but stand still him $ In several places of scripture, the Canaanites are said to have had their high-places, whereon they worshipped their idols, but this is the first instance of any belonging to the people of God ; and it is the opinion of some learned men, that this appointment of a private or inferior place of worship (even while the ark and tabernacle were in being) by so great an authority as that of Samuel, gave rise to tiie institution of synagogues, and proseuchas in so many places of the kingdom afterwards. Patrick's Commentary. |J This was with design to let Saul understand, that what Samuel was about to do was by diviu* 244 HISTORY OF [Book III. self for a while, that he might show him what God had said concerning him. The servant being gone out of sight, Samuel, taking a vial of oil,* poured it upon the head of Saul, and kissed him;f adding, that he did this because the Lord had appointed him a prince over his in- heritance. Then as a token that what he had told him was true, he foretold several particu- lars which should happen to him in his return. That near Rachel's tomb, he appointment ; and that when they should come to cast lots among all the tribes, as they after did, Saul might not think he was chosen king by the chance of a lot. Besides, there may be another reason for Samuel's bidding Saul to send away his servant, viz. lest the people, suspecting Samuel to do this by his own will more than the appointment of God, should mutiny. Therefore it was necessary that this should not be published til! Saul was convinced that he was chosen by God himself. * We read of no express command for the anointing of kings, and yet it is plain, from the parable of Jotham, Judg. ix. 8. that this was a custom two hundred years before this time. Why oil, rather than any other liquid, was the symbol of conveying a regal authority, we are no where informed. It is true, that God directed Moses to consecrate Aaron to the high-priest's office by anointing his head with oil, Exod. xxix. 7. but the anointing of kings, we may presume, was of a prior date. Unction, indeed, in the days of Jacob, was the common method of setting apart from common use even things inanimate, Gen. xxviii. 18. and therefore it may well be supposed, that persons of such designation as kings were, were all along admitted by the same ceremony, which might be of divine appointment, perhaps at the first institution of government, in the antediluvian world, and thence handed down, by a long tradi- tion, to future generations. This rite of unction, in short, was so much the divine care, that we rind God giving Moses a prescription how to make the consecrating oil, Exod. xxx. 23. But though Solomon was anointed with oil taken from the tabernacle, yet since Samuel was no priest, and could not therefore have access to the tabernacle, which at this time was at some distance from him, it is more reasonable to think though some Jewish doctors will have it otherwise that what he made use of, upon this occasion, was no more than common oil. Patrick's Commentary, f This signified a communication of grace, and a mutual concord between the regal and sacerdotal offices, a kiss being an emblem of friendship and peace. Mariana will have it to be a token of sub- jection and homage ; but in this case (however it may be in others) it could not be so in Samuel towards Saul ; for Samuel was prince and prophet ; and this act rather seems to make Saul his equal than his superior. would meet two men, who should inform him that his father's asses were found again: that, departing thence, he should meet three men going to Bethel, one of them carrying three kids, the second three cakes of bread, and the third a bottle of wine, and that they should give him two parts thereof. And lastly, that when he came to the mountain of God, where was a garrison of the Philistines, he should meet a company of prophets, going into the city, where the Spirit of God should fall upon him, and he should prophecy amongst them.:}: After this he ordered Saul to go to Gilgal, where in seven days he might expect to see him, because there Samuel intended to offer a peace-offering. All which signs that Samuel had foretold, Saul found to happen exactly. And now, though Samuel had thus pri- vately anointed Saul, which no one knew but themselves, yet for the general satis- faction of the people, and that the choice and inauguration of the king might be more public and solemn, Samuel called them before the Lord at Mizpeh, to which place the ark of the Lord was brought, that the choice might be openly made, and declared by casting lots among alJ the tribes of Israel, to know from which of them the kinjr was to be chosen. The lot fell on the tribe of Benjamin; and casting the lot again among the families of Benjamin, the lot fell upon the family of Matri, and at last on Saul, the son of Kish. Saul being before as- sured that the choice would fall on him, was not present at the casting of the lot ; but the people inquiring of the Lord, whether they should fetch him or not, he \ The accomplishment of this prediction could not fail of convincing Saul, that what the prophet had done was by the immediate appointment of God ; atid that the same divine power, who had exalted him to the supreme power of Israel, would certainly endow him with all those qualifications necessary to the due execution and discharge of so important a trust ; and so it really was, for we are told, ' God gave him another heart,' 1 Sam. x. 9 Chap. XL] THE BIBLE. 245 not only consented, but expressly directed them where to find him. Accordingly they went for him; and having brought him, they set him among them, where he appeared taller than all the people from the shoulders upwards; which Samuel observing, said to them, 'Behold him whom the Lord hath chosen; there is none like him among all the peo- ple!' At which words the people gave a general shout, saying, God save the king.' Then Samuel told them the duty of a king, and the manner of governing the kingdom, writing it in a book, and laid it before the Lord; which done, he dis- missed the people, and Saul went home to Gibeah, attended with a particular company of men, whom God had inclined to wait on him. But there were some* * These are called sons of Belial, that is, men of a rebellious, proud, disobedient spirit, who, though they had desired a king, yet now refuse that were not pleased with the choice, though they had desired a king, but de- spised Saul, and would not make any presents to him;f which Saul observed, but very prudently at that time connived at it.'J him ; desiring what they had not, and despising what they had. They do not express their con- tempt of him by name, but do it worse, in a more general way, by saying, ' Shall he save us ?' f Presenting the King with gifts was one way of recognising him. The Chaldee paraphrase says, ' They came not to salute him,' which is the same thing; for the first salutation offered to a king was always attended with presents, and carried with it a sign of peace and friendship, of congratulation and joy, and of subjection and obedience. It was a general custom, and still continues among the eastern potentates, to bring presents, and not ap- proach the throne without them. J The Hebrews say he was deaf, that is, seemed or pretended not to hear. In which he was very politic, being unwilling to begin his reign with any tumult, which his just resentment of such an affront might have occasioned: if he had taken any notice of the affront and not revenged it, he had shown himself mean-spirited ; and if he had resented it, the people might have been apt to charge him with severity and cruelty. THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. BOOK IV. FROM SAUL'S CONQUEST OF THE AMMONITES TO THE DEATH OF ABSALOM. PRELIMINARY REMARKS. No government can be imagined more happy, more safe, more free, more hon- ourable, than that wherein the fountain of all wisdom and power, of all justice and goodness, presides; and therefore the least that we can say of the Israelites, in desiring to change this form for such a one as was in use in the nations round about them, namely, for an absolute and des- potic government, where the princes were tyrants, and the subjects all slaves, argues at least a great pitch of folly and indiscre- tion, a baseness of mind, an ingratitude of temper, a spirit of rebellion, and a secret attachment to the idolatrous practices of those people whose kings they were so eager to imitate. For, ' Make us a king to judge us,' was equivalent in their mouths to what their forefathers demand- ed of Aaron, 'Make us gods, that they may go before us;' because in this man- ner, he, who best knew the secrets of their hearts, in his answer to Samuel, has ex- pounded their meaning: 'They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them; accord- ing to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even unto this day, they have forsaken me and served other gods.' The manner in which they demanded a king was no less culpable than the ends they proposed by it; for, instead of consulting God upon an affair of this consequence, they went hastily to Samuel, and when, by fair remonstrances, he is attempting to dissuade them from so dangerous an enterprise, they turn impetuously upon him, and say, ' Nay, but we will have a king;' and this maybe the reason, per- haps, why ' God gave them one in his anger,' descended of the meanest tribe in Israel, and of the meanest family in that tribe, to show them that he himself was not satisfied with their proceedings, nor could be pleased with any thing that was extorted from him by undutiful impor- tunities.* The regal government, however, though originating in the perverse impiety and folly of the Israelites, was so regulated and guarded by the divine law as to pro- mise the greatest public benefits. The kings of Israel were merely the viceroys of Jehovah, who was the sole legislator; and therefore, as they could on no occa- sion either enact a new law or alter or repeal an old one, the government contin- ued to be a theocracy, as well under their permanent administration as it was under * Stackhouse. Chap. I.] HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 247 the occasional administration of the judges. The only difference that can be discover- ed between the two species of government is, that the conduct of the judges was generally directed by Urim; and that of the kings either by the inspiration of God vouchsafed to themselves, or by prophets raised up from time to time to reclaim them when deviating from their duty as laid down by the law. CHAPTER I. Saul's first exploit. SamueVs address to the people. Saul conquers the Philistines. Is reproved by Samuel for sacrificing in his absence. Effects of his imprudent conduct in divers instances. God makes known his de- sign towards David to Samuel. David is enabled by the divine strength to perform miraculous feats of valour. He excites the jealousy of Saul, who seeks his life. Is pre- served by Jonathan. The first remarkable action of Said, after his promotion to the government of Israel, was, his conquest over Nahash, king of the Ammonites, who had besieged Jabesh- Gilead,* and so distressed the inhabitants, that in consequence of the cruel terms which he had proposed for showing them quarter, which were, that every man should have his right eye put <>ut,f they applied to the king of Israel to relieve them from so tyrannical an oppressor. The people of Jabesh had no more than seven days X to call in the aid of the Isra- * This town lay on the east side of Jordan, and not far from the Ammonites who besieged it. Eusebius and St Jerome tell us that it existed in their time, and was sitnated on a hill about six miles distant from Pella. It is sometimes in scrip- ture simply called Jabesh. f As the manner of fighting in those days was chiefly with bow and arrow, sword and shield, the loss of the right eye rendered them incapable of either. He did not think proper to put out both their eyes, because they would then have been utterly incapable of rendering him any service, or paying him tribute. j; He had so mean an opinion of the people, that he made no difficulty of complying with their request. Saul, indeed, had been appointed king ; but so small a space of time before, that Nahash was persuaded be could not levy an army in so short elites, who, in obedience to the king's proclamation, mustered an army of three hundred thousand, which, together with the thirty thousand of the tribe of Judah, formed a very powerful body. Saul, having disposed his forces in three parties, surprised the unprepared Ammon- ites, at the earliest dawn, and charged them with such fury, that victory soon declared itself in his favour. This important conquest over so for- midable and cruel an enemy greatly enhanced the reputation of Saul, and induced some of his favourites to request, that he would exert the power he had now obtained in the punishment of those who had treated him with indignity at his election ; but the king nobly waved such mean revenge, nor would sully the glory of a memorable exploit, by the death of any one Israelite, for whom among the rest, the Lord had that day wrought so great salvation. Saul's signal success afforded Samuel a very good opportunity of reconciling a late difference among the people, by pro- posing to them a general agreement con- cerning the validity of his title to the government, as well as confirmation of his election, by an avowed recognisance of his power. To effect this important de- sign, he summoned a general assembly at Gilgal, and in a very pathetic address, first appealed to them all, as to the integ- rity of his conduct, during the time of his administration ; then charged them with their own ingratitude, and that of their ancestors; and lastly, assured them of the divine resentment that would inevitably follow the transgression of the divine command, which could be in no instance more flagrant than in rejecting the gov- ernment of God, and him under Got!, and desiring a king, when the Lord a space as seven days, and, consequently, that there was no danger in granting them the respite they desired. $ The divine historian, having informed us how God consented to give his people a king; to show 248 HISTORY OF TBook IV. Omnipotent had undertaken to direct them. To strike them more deeply with a sense of their atrocious crime, Samuel called down the present vengeance of their offended God in a storm of thunder and rain, at the time of wheat-harvest.* This extraordinary event terrified them in general, and deeply sensible of their transgression, they entreated Samuel to implore the divine mercy, and intercede us that he had not cast off the government, but only transferred the immediate administration to a deputy, and consequently that their king was his viceroy, tells us here how God was pleased to bring them to repentance in an extraordinary way; the gracious method b/* commonly employed, when he intended to pardon. * The wheat-harvest began in Judea about the end of June, or beginning of July; in which season thunder and rain were seldom known, but only in the spring and autumn, one called the former, and the other the latter rain. Though the summer in Syria is commonly dry, the heavens are sometimes overcast, and a smart thunder shower suddenly rushes down to refresh the parched soil. One of these fell at Aleppo in the night between the first and second of July 1743; but it was regarded as a very uncommon occurrence at that season. It is probably still more extraordinary at Jerusalem ; for Jerome, who lived long in Palestine, denies, in his commentary on Amos, that he had ever seen rain in those provinces, and especially in Judea, in the end of June, or in the month of July. It may, however, Occasionally fall, though Jerome had never seen it, as it did at Aleppo, while Dr Russel resided in that city. But such an occurrence, by no means invalidates the proof which the prophet Samuel gave of his divine mission, when he called for thunder and rain from heaven in the time of wheat-harvest ; since a very rare and unusual event immediately happening without any preced- ing appearance of it, upon the prediction of a person professing himself to be a prophet of the Lord, and giving it as an attestation of his sustain- ing that character, is a sufficient proof that his affirmation is true, although a similar event has sometimes happened without any such declared interposition of God, and therefore universally understood to be casual and without design. Nor should it be forgotten, that this thunder storm in the book of Samuel, seems to have happened in the day time, while the people of Israel were celebrating the accession of Saul to the throne; a circumstance which, from its singularity, added considerable energy to this event, and, perhaps, was to them a sufficient proof of the miraculous interference of Jehovah. Dr Russel informs us, that the rains in those countries usually fall in the night, as did those extraordinary thunder storms already mentioned, which happened in the month of July. Paxton. with God to avert the judgments they so justly deserved. Rejoiced at the effect of this miraculous display of Almighty power, he not only promised compliance with their request, but assured them that he was sincerely disposed to instruct them in their duty, the neglect of which would involve both them and their king in inevitable de- struction. Saul, having obtained a complete vic- tory over the Ammonites, dismissed his forces, reserving only three thousand, two of which he retained at Michmash as his own bodyguard, and appointed the other for the protection of his son Jonathan at Gibeah. Jonathan, being a valiant young prince, attacked and cut off a garrison of the Philistines in a neighbouring city; and this being deemed an act of hostility, proved the cause of an open rupture be- tween that people and the Israelites. In order therefore to avenge themselves of the injury they had sustained from the king's son, the Philistines raised a vast army, which, besides an almost innumer- able body of foot, consisted of three thousand chariots, f and six thousand horse, f The words in the original, and in our transla- tion, are 'thirty thousand;' but the Syriac and Arabic versions (which we have thought proper to follow) make them no more than three thousand i and indeed whoever considers, that Pharaoh, king of Egypt, when he had mustered all his forces to- gether, could bring no more than six hundred ot these chariots into the field, and all the other princes, whose equipages are related in scripture, much fewer, must needs think it a thing incredible that the Philistines, out of their small territories, which extended no farther than the two tribes of Simeon and Dan, along the coasts of the Mediter- ranean sea, could ever be able to raise so vast an armament ; no, nor all the nations that they could possibly call in to their assistance. For, besides that, in the account of all armies, the cavalry is always more numerous than the chariots of war, (which is different here) the largest armies that we ever read of, were able to compass a very few of these chariots, in comparison of the number here specified. Mithridates, in his vast army, had but a hundred ; Darius but two ; and Antiochus Epiplianes (2 Mac. xiii. 2.) but three. So that we must either say, that the transcribers made a mistake in the Hebrew copy, or (with some other commentators) suppose, that this thirty thousand chariots were not chariot* of war, but moit of Chap. I.] THE D1BLE. 249 with which they proceeded and encamped at Michmash.* Saul therefore by sound of trumpet mustered his forces, and with them en- camped at Gilgal, impatiently waiting the arrival of Samuel ; but as the prophet tarried longer than was expected, the peo- ple were so disheartened by his delay, that they hid themselves in rocks and caves; and not thinking themselves se- cure even in those retirements, passed the river Jordan. Saul, fearing an attack from the enemy before he had sent up his prayer to God, from whom alone he could expect success, ordered sacrifices immediately to be made, and the burnt-offering was just finished the moment Samuel arrived. As the prophet had previously assured him that he would be with him at Gilgal v/ithin the space of seven days, and the conduct of the king argued both distrust and ingratitude ; the prophet severely censured his behaviour as a heinous breach of God's command, by which he would incur the loss of his kingdom, which should be transferred to a more pious person. Having thus reprimanded the disobe- dience of Saul, Samuel left Gilgal, and repaired to Gibeah, where he was follow- ed by the king and his son, with a small army of about six thousand men, and those so badly furnished with military accoutre- them carriages only, for the conveyance of the baggage belonging to such a vast multitude of men, or for the deportation of the plunder they hoped to be masters of by having conquered the country. Le Clerc's Commentary, and Univer- sal History. * Eusebius and St Jerome inform us, that in their time there was a large town of this name lying about nine miles from Jerusalem, near Ra- mah ; and the text tells us that it was eastward from Bethaven. Now Bethaven, which signifies the house of iniquity, is supposed to be the same with Bethel, and was so called, after that Jerobo- am, the son of Nebat, had set up his golden calves to be worshipped here: but, as Bethel lay to the east of Michmash, and not Michmash to the east of Bethel, as the text seems to say, the translation should be, that they encamped at Michmash, hav- ing Bethaven on the east, that is, they seized on that post, which Saul had before in Michmash, on mount Bethel. CalmeVs Commentary. ments, that they were reduced to the ne- cessity of using their implements of agri- culture, because the Philistines had cau- tiously prevented a single smith from re- siding among them.f During the encampment of the Philis- tines at Michmash, detachments were sent out from amongst them to plunder the country ; and they continued their depre- dations some time unopposed ; till Jona- than, happily inspired with a religious confidence and genuine patriotism, pri- vately withdrew from the camp, attended by his armour-bearer only, to whom he had imparted his design, and found means to ascend a steep and craggy rock, which f The precaution which the Philistines took to hinder the Israelites from providing themselves with weapons, is no more than what other con- querors have done to the nations they have van- quished. Porsenna, when he made peace with the Romans, restrained them from the use of all iron, but what was necessary in the tillage of their ground. Cyrus, when he subdued the Lydians, for fear of a revolt, took from them the use of arms, and instead of a laborious life spent in war, suffered them to sink into softness and luxury, so that they soon lost their ancient valour : and (to instance in one prince more) Nebuchadnezzar, when he had made himself master of Judea, took along with him into Babylon ' all the craftsmen and smiths,' that the poorest of the people, which he left, behind, might be in no condition to rebel, 2 Kings xxiv. 14. The only w&nder is, why the Israelites, after they had regained their liberty under the government of Samuel, and given the Philistines so total an overthrow at Ebenezer, did not restore these artificers, and so provide them- selves with proper arms against the next occasion. But, besides the extreme sloth and negligence, which appears in the Israelites' whole conduct during this period, it was not so easy a matter, in so short a time, to recover a trade that was lost;, especially among a people that had no iron mines, and were so wholly addicted to the feeding of. cattle that they made no account of any mechani- cal arts. In the famous victory which they gain- ed over Sisera, we are told, that ' there was not a shield or spear seen among fifty thousand men of Israel,' Judg. v. 8.; but, notwithstanding this, they had bows, and arrows, and slings, which the men- of Gibeah could manage to a wonderful advantage, Judg. xx. 16. And besides these, the Israelites,, upon this occasion, might convert their instruments of husbandry, their hatchets, their spades, their forks, their mattocks, &c, into instruments of war; a much better shift than what we read of some, who, in ancient times, had no other arms than clubs, and sharpened stakes hardened in the fire. Stackhouse. Si 250 HISTORY OF [Book IV as soon as tliey had surmounted, they fell most furiously on the Philistines, who had not the least apprehension of an in- vasion, and through their great surprise, slew twenty of their inveterate foes.* This intrepid attack from only two men put the Philistines, in such consternation, that, not distinguishing friends from ene- mies, they fell upon each other's swords, and thus became the instruments of their own destruction. As soon as Saul received intelligence of this confusion in the enemy's camp, he immediately availed himself of the favour- able opportunity, and fell upon the dis- ordered Philistines with such fury, that he put them to a total defeat. But he was unhappily guilty of another flagrant breach of piety and prudence after this auspicious event ; for, determined on a vigorous pur- suit of the enemy, he prohibited his peo- ple, on the severe penalty of death, from taking any refreshment before night, lest they might be prevented from massacring their vanquished foes. This rash deter- mination deprived him of every advantage that would otherwise have resulted from the victory; for his people, enfeebled by want of sustenance, were obliged to desist from the pursuit, and thereby afforded the enemy an opportunity of escaping to their own country. To aggravate the ills consequent on * How Jonathan and his armour-bearer only could put the whole army of the Philistines into so universal a consternation, appears, at first sight, very extraordinary ; but when we consider that they climbed up a way never before attempted, that they surprised the enemy unawares, and per- haps when the greatest part of them were asleep, that this army, being composed of different na- tions, might entertain jealousies and suspicions of each other, and that the darkness of the night might make them apprehend the whole body of the Israelites was come upon them alone, the fright of the Philistines is not so very surprising : and when we add to all this, what is not indeed im- probable, that God might at this instant infuse a panic fear into the whole host, our wonder will be turned into praise and adoration of that powerful Being, who, when he sees fit, can make the greatest heroes tremble, and put to flight the most formid- able armies. this misguided prohibition, the pious and valiant Jonathan had well nigh fallen a victim to his father's rash vow ; for being absent from the camp at the time of the proclamation, and therefore ignorant of it, he eat a little honeyf when almost fam- ished, and would have undergone the cruel sentence, had not the people pleaded in his behalf the important share he had in acquiring the honours of the day. Saul elated with his success wantonly resolved to pursue the enemy by night; but Samuel advised him to seek direction of God before the execution of his pro- posal; so that this scheme was entirely given up. Notwithstanding many improprieties in point of government, he still maintained his regal authority, and the Lord had ap- pointed him to an expedition, which, if executed according to his directions, would in some measure have atoned for past mis- carriages. The Lord had many years before determined to execute his judg- ment on the Amalekites for opposing the Israelites in their passage out of the land of Egypt. Samuel was therefore sent by God, with a commission to Saul in the most per- emptory terms, to extirpate the whole f- This was wild honey, which is now to be found in great abundance in the deserts of the Holy Land. Apparently, it could not be palm-honey which Jonathan found ; for it was a honey-comb, and so far out of his reach that it required the put- ting forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, to be able to dip it into the refreshing delicacy. There is, however, a vegetable honey that is very plentiful in the East. Burckhardt, speaking of the productions of the Ghor, or valley of the Jor- dan, says, " One of the most interesting productions of this place is the Beyrouk honey, or as the Arabs call it, Assal Beyrouk." It was described to him as a juice dropping from the leaves and twigs of a tree called gharrab, of the size of an olive tree, with leaves like those of the poplar, but somewhat broader. The honey collects upon the leaves like dew, and is gathered from them, or from the ground under the tree, which is often Jound com- pletely covered with it. It is very sweet when fresh, but turns sour after being kept for two days. The Arabs eat it with butter ; they also put it into their gruel, and use it in rubbing their water- skins, for the purpose of excluding the air. CaU met. Chap. I.] THE BIBLE. 251 race of the Amalekites, men, women, and children, and with them every living crea- ture, that could minister to use or susten- ance :* but instead of punctually comply- ing with the divine command, Saul, with his usual impiety, partially saved Agag, king of that people, together with the best of his cattle, and many valuable commo- dities; and when Samuel remonstrated with him on the iniquity of his conduct, to exculpate himself, pretended that he had spared them from the pious motive of offering them as sacrifices to the Lord. But the prophet, assured that this re- serve proceeded from a principle of avarice rather than piety, would not admit of so vain a pretence; first set before his view the heinous nature of his transgression, and then declared to him God's awful de- termination of transferring the kingdom from his family to a more worthy race, which should punctually obey every com- mand of the King of kings. Impressed by this declaration, the guilty king confessed his crime, earnestly begged the pious prophet to deprecate in his be- half the divine vengeance, and make in- tercession for him ;f and also to enhance * The extirpation of the Amalekites had been determined by God above four hundred years be- fore this transaction. Balaam in his vision con- firms this doom. The order to cut them entirely off was renewed by God several years afterwards, and agreeable to this order, Saul set out on this expedition. It may be observed also, that they continued inveterate enemies to the Hebrews, and joined with their adversaries, whenever they could, to enslave and destroy them ; particularly with the Midianites, Judg. vi. 2, 3, 33. Nay, this very order to Saul, utterly to destroy them, seems to have been given because they had, together with Moab, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philis- tines, invaded and spoiled them ; chap. xiv. 48. The Israelites, therefore, had a right to revenge themselves on them, as they were aggressors by the law of nature and nations, and utterly to extirpate them too, if that was necessary for their own pre- servation ; and were obliged to do it, if God com- manded them. God did command it. And will any man dispute the right of God to destroy an incorrigible nation, by pestilence, earthquake, Storm, or famine ? As no sensible person can deny this, how then can he deny the right of God to destroy them by the sword ? f The Vulgate renders, * Bear my sin ;' the Sep- tuagint and Arabic, ' Take away my siu.' By sin his reputation among the people (who were ripe for rebellion) to join with him in the solemn worship of God. Samuel would not join in worship with one who had rejected the word of the Lord, and therefore prepared to depart, when Saul caught hold of the skirt of his mantle, and rent it; whereupon Samuel prophesied, that the Lord in like manner had rent the kingdom from him. At length, however, Samuel was in- duced, by his hearty contrition, to comply with his request : but before he departed, he insisted that Agag (who began to en- tertain hopes of being spared) should be brought to him ; which being done, he fell upon him ; and with his own hand hewed him in pieces before the Lord4 After this transaction Samuel departed to his own habitation at Ramah ; Saul re- paired to his residence at Gibeah, and this proved the last interview between the king and the prophet. is meant the punishment due to his sin ; and his request to Samuel is, to pray to the Deity for him that he might escape that punishment. J This punishment seems to have been extreme- ly common in Abyssinia when Mr Bruce was there, and was probably handed down from the founders of that kingdom : " Coming across the market place," says the traveller, " I had seen Za Mariam, the Ras's door-keeper, with three men bound, one of whom he fell a hacking to pieces in my presence ; and upon seeing me running across the place, stopping my nose, he called me to stay till he should despatch the other two, for he want- ed to speak with me, as if he had been engaged about ordinary business ; that the soldiers, in con- sideration of his haste, immediately fell upon the other two, whose cries were still remaining in my eare ; that the hyaenas at night would scarcely let me pass in the streets, when I returned from the palace ; and the dogs fled into my house, to eat pieces of human carcases at their leisure." This account elucidates the mode of execution adopted by the prophet Samuel, in relation to Agag, the king of Amalek : * And Samuel said, as, (or, in the same identical mode) thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.' This was not a sudden and passionate act of vengeance, but a deliberate act of retributive justice. That savage chieftain had hewed many prisoners to death ; and therefore, by the command of Jehovah, the judge of all the earth, he is visited with the same punish- ment which he had cruelly used towards others. Paxton. 252 HISTORY OF [Book IV. Such was the regard of pious Samu*u for the unhappy Saul, that though he visited him no more, he did not fail to lament the deplorable state into which he had fallen.* But during his melancholy reflection, the Lord was pleased to reprove him for mourning over one whom he had rejected for his disobedience, and ordered him to repair to Bethlehem, under pretence of sacrificing there, to invite Jesse and his sons to the feast of the sacrifice, and do as he should there direct him. Samuel instantly obeyed the divine command, and being demanded, on his approach to Bethlehem, whether he came with good intent, he answered, that he came in order to hold a feast of sacrifice unto the Lord. Having made the necessary prepara- tions, he particularly invited Jesse and his sons ; after which, repairing to his house, and observing Eliab the eldest to be a goodly person, he supposed him, at first sight, to be the person appointed by God to succeed Saul in the government of Israel. But being instructed otherwise by God, and finding that Jesse had another son, who was watching the sheep in the field, he desired he might be immediately sent for, being determined not to institute the feast before his arrival. When the youth came, Samuel perceiv- ed by his comely, yet innocent look, that he was the very person appointed by God to that high office, and therefore, accord- ing to the divine instruction, he singled him out from the rest of his brethren, poured oil on his head, and anointed him.f * He had a sincere value for his country, and therefore could not help lamenting the sad condi- tion of its king. + He singled him out from the rest, and private- ly anointed him ; for it is plain, from what is said before, that Samuel was afraid to have it known, and therefore did not anoint him publicly in the midst of his. brethren. And by Eliab's treatment of David after this, I Sam. xvii. 28, it is evident that he did not know him to be anointed king over From that very instant, David was en- dowed with the Spirit of the Lord, with prudence, courage, and every ornament of body and mind, necessary to compose a great prince. As David daily grew in the favour of the Lord, Saul declined more and more, the .Spirit of God departed from him, and his mind was agitated by the most per- plexing reflections on his dire circum- stances, which frequently deprived him of his reason, and threw him into an ab- solute frenzy. To alleviate his grief, some of his at- Israel. David himself might be as ignorant of the precise intention of Samuel in this ceremony as his brethren, because it was customary to anoint a person for the prophetic office as well as the regal. Samuel's not revealing this secret to David, showed his prudence, because, if it had got wind before the proper crisis, it would have endangered both their lives. Where the kingdom was here- ditary, as that of Judah was, every king was not anointed, but only the first of the family ; who being anointed for himself and all his successors of the same family, they required no other unction. If, however, any difficulty arose concerning the succession, then the person who obtained the throne, though of the same family, was anointed in order to terminate the dispute ; after which the title was not to be questioned. This was the case with Solomon, Joash, Jehoahaz, and others. The kingdom was not made hereditary in the family of Saul ; and, therefore, Ishbosheth's seizing on the crown was only an usurpation. The power of nominating a successor to Saul was reserved by God to himself, by whom David (who was no re- lation to Saul by blood, I Sam. xvi. 12.) was ap- pointed king. David, therefore, had no other title but by divine appointment, first signified by the prophet Samuel's anointing him, and after- wards by the voluntary ratification of this appoint- ment on the part of the people : so that the anoint- ing of David was necessary for the confirmation of his title. But the kingdom being made hereditary in David's family, his being anointed served for him and all his successors, except when the right to the throne was disputed. Thus, when Solo- mon's right to the throne was contested by his elder brother Adonijah, it was necessary that he should be crowned, in order to quash that claim. In like manner, Joash, the seventh king of Judah, was anointed because Athaliah had usurped and possessed the throne for six years, 2 Kings xi. 12. So, Jehoahaz, the younger son of Josiah, was anointed king (2 Kings xxiii. 30.) and reigned three months: after which, he was succeeded by his elder brother Jehoiakim, who ought first to have ascend- ed the throne of Judah. Thus it appears, that in all cases of disputed succession, anointing was deemed to give a preference. Chap. I.] THE BIBLE. tendants advised him to have recourse to music, to which, when he consented, one of them recommended David to him, as- suring him, he was not only an excellent musician, but possessed of every qualifica- tion of body and mind that could engage his favour; and above all, that the Lord was with him. In consequence of the advice of his at- tendants, the youth was brought into the presence of Saul, and Jesse, knowing the custom of the court, had provided him witli a handsome present, with which on delivery the king was much pleased ; but charmed with his skill on the harp, which for the present diverted his melancholy thoughts.* 253 * Some commentators have been so far carried away with the manner of the scripture expression, namely, that an evil spirit from the Lord troubled Saul, as to think, that he was really possessed with a devil, which at certain times came strongly upon him, and threw him into all the mad fits whereof we read : but it should be considered, that the word spirit, in the sacred language, is of a very extensive signification, and denotes frequently, not only the dispositions of the mind, but those of the body likewise; that the custom of the Jews was to imagine, that every affliction, whose cause they were ignorant of, proceeded immediately from God ; and that it is a very common thing to rind the scripture phrase accommodating itself to this vulgar prejudice. Now in our interpretation of scripture, this, I think, should be a rule, that when a passage is capable of two senses, whereof the one supposes a miracle, and the other a natural event only, the latter should take place, especially when there are no circumstances to determine us to the contrary. But now, in the case before us, the frequent access of Saul's malady, the symptoms that attended it, and the remedy made use of to assuage it, do sufficiently denote, that it proceeded from a deep melancholy, or black bile inflamed ; and that the man was hypochondriac, rather than possessed. Agreeable to this bad complexion of body was the natural temper of his mind, which, through his whole conduct, was suspicious, diffi- dent, cruel, passionate, and vindictive. Add to this, that the remorses of his conscience, the mena- ces of Samuel, God's rejection of him, and his continual apprehensions of being either dethroned or put to death by his competitor, confirmed still more and more the evil dispositions which his dis- temper engendered, and carried them by tits into downright madness: and as madness is occasioned by an atrabilous humour highly inflamed, and diffused through the blood, and from melancholic vapours, which ascend to the brain, and make an alteration in its temperature, it is no hard matter to conceive, that the agreeable sound of a musical instrument, wbicli occasions joy and seM-compla- Saul at length conceived such esteem for David, that having obtained his father's consent to his continuing with him, in or- der to attach him to his service, he made him his armour-bearer. The Philistines, who had lately sus- tained a total defeat from the army of Saul, having now collected their scattered forces, appeared again in a disposition that portended their design of avenging the late hostilities of the Israelites, being en- camped between Shochoh and Azekah,f cency, should dissipate these bad humours, and make the blood and spirits return to their equal and natural motion. What the power of music is, to sweeten the temper and allay and compose the passions of the mind, we have some examples from sacred history, but many more from the pro- fane As this same Saul was returning from Sam- uel, he met, at the place which is called the Hill of God, a company of prophets, playing on several instruments; and such was the effect of their melody, ' that the Spirit,' as the scripture expresses it, came upon him, and he was turned into an- other man.' When Elisha was desired by Jeho- shaphat, to tell him what his success against the king of Moab would be, the prophet required a minstrel to be brought unto him, 'and when the minstrel played,' it is said ' that the hand of the Lord came upon him :' not that we are to sup- pose, that the gift of prophecy was the natural effect of music, but the meaning is, that music dis- posed the organs, the humours, the blood, and in short, the whole mind and spirit of the prophet, to receive the supernatural impression. The truth is, common experience, as well as the testimony of the gravest authors, proves, that there is in music a certain charm to revive the spirits, mellow the humours, allay the passions, and consequently, to dissipate that rage, or melancholy, which either fumes up into the brain in vapours, or overspreads the heart with grief and dejection. We need less wonder therefore, that we rind the Pythagoreans, whenever they perceived, either in themselves or others, any violent passion beginning to arise, im- mediately betaking themselves either to their flute or their guitar ; that we find Theophrastus de- claring, that music is an excellent remedy against several distempers, both of the mind and body ; others, that Asclepiades, a renowned physician among the ancients, was used to cure madness by the power of symphony ; and others again, that the most violent poison, that of the sting of the Tarantula, has been expelled very frequently by this means. Stackhouse. t Shochoh and Azekah lay to the south of Jerusalem, and east of Bethlehem, about four leagues from the former, and five from the latter. Three miles from Bethlehem, on the road to Jaffa, lies the celebrated valley of Elah, which is not above half a mile in breadth, and memorable for the victory gained by the youthful David over the uncircumcised champion of the Philistines. " It is," 254 HISTORY OF [Book JV. while Saul with his forces pitched their tents upon an eminence above the valley of Elah, which separated the two armies. While the Israelites and the Philistines lay encamped opposite each other, a cham- pion of stupendous bulk and stature, called Goliath, came out of the Philistines' camp, for forty days successively, and challenged any one of the whole army of the Israel- ites to single combat,* which should abso- lutely decide the fate of either army. This Philistine Colossus was near ten feet high, and his limbs extremely muscu- lar and nervous, insomuch that he struck every beholder with terror, as well as as- tonishment, and none durst accept his challenge, which he presumptuously offer- ed for so long a succession of time. At length, however, the provident de- says Dr Clarke, "a pretty and interesting looking spot ; the bottom covered with olive trees. Its present appearance answers exactly to the descrip- tion given in scripture: for nothing has ever oc- curred to alter the appearance of the country. The two hills, on which the armies of the Israel- ites and Philistines stood, entirely confine it on the right and left. The very brook, whence Da- vid chose him five smooth stones, (which has been noticed by many a thirsty pilgrim, journeying from Jaffa to Jerusalem,) still flows through the vale, which is varied with banks and undulations. The ruins of goodly edifices attest the religious venera- tion entertained in later periods for the hallowed spot : but even these are now become so insignifi- cant, that they are scarcely discernible; and no- thing can he said to interrupt the native dignity of this memorable scene." * Antiquity furnishes us with examples of sev- eral such like combats as Goliath here proposes, but with none more rema*rkable than that between the Horatii and Curiatii, related by Livy, lib. i. c. 23. " In which case," as Grotius expresses himself, " though the champions perhaps cannot, with all the innocence imaginable, engage in the combat, yet their respective states may, at least, allow of it, as a less evil ; as an expedient, whereby a decision is made (without the effusion of much blood, or any considerable loss on either side) which of the two nations shall have the dominion over the other. Strabo, (says he) makes mention of this, as an ancient custom among the Greeks ; and ^Eneas appeals to the Latins, whether it is not highly just and equitable, that he and Turnus should deter- mine the controversy between them in this man- ner." But whether ever there was any combat, stipulated to be decisive of the quarrel between two contending nations, it is certain that this speech of Goliath's was a mere bravado, proceeding from a high opinion he had of his own matchless fender of Israel raised his own people a deliverer, in the person of young David, who happened at that time to come to the camp with provision for his elder brethren, who were then in the service. David observing this gigantic Philis- tine insolently taunt the whole army of Israel, and hearing the prodigious reward the king had promised to any one who should slay him, namely, that he was to give him his own daughter in marriage, and ennoble his family, by conferring on them the freedom of Israel, was disposed as it were by a divine impulse, to encoun- ter this daring, formidable hero. His elder brother Eliab, thinking the very pretence an instance of the highest presumption, took occasion to reprimand him for his rashness. But David waved his brother's choler, by addressing himself to another man, and expressing a steady zeal and unshaken intrepidity for the cause of God, as well as utter contempt of the insolent boastings of the haughty Goliath. The resolution of this favourite youth at length reached the ears of the king, who sent for him, and from a motive of real concern set before him the danger he must inevitably incur by encountering with a man of Goliath's prodigious skill, and long military experience. But David, to obviate the king's sus- picion, informed him that he had perform- ed exploits full as daring as that of en- gaging with the present Philistine; that he had slain a lion and a bear with his own hand, and now relied on the same Almighty arm to enable him to vanquish the insolent foe, who had set at defiance the armies of God. strength, as if he had been the whole support of the nation, which was to stand or fall together with him. For, that he had no authority from the princes of the Philistines to make any such de- claration, is evident from the event ; since, so far were the Philistines from yielding themselves slaves to the Hebrews upon the death of this champion, that they made the best of their way into their own country, and there defended themselves, and fought many battles with them afterwards. Sau* tin, Patrick, and Le Clerc. Chap. II.] THE BIBLE. The king, greatly applauding the pious and brave resolution of David, ordered him to be arrayed in his own armour; but finding that upon trial unfit for him, it was put off ; and he took his staff in his band, and chose five smooth stones, which, together with his sling, composed his offensive weapons. Thus prepared, he boldly advanced to- wards his powerful antagonist, who, think- ing from his youth and diminutive stature be was opposed to him from mere con- tempt and derision, could not refrain from cursing him, and threatened at once to despatch him. But David proceeded not in that self- sufficient manner; for, on the contrary, he assured the Philistine, that he undertook not to encounter him in his own strength, but that of the mighty God of Israel, whose name he had blasphemed, and whose armies he had impiously defied; and farther, as a proof of his confidence in the divine aid and direction, he told him, that he should deprive him of his head, and give his body for food to the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the field; and that he should be enabled to perform that exploit, in order to demonstrate to an infidel world the existence and power of an almighty Jehovah, even the God of Israel. Nor did he rely on the strength of his God in vain; for, standing at a convenient distance from the Philistine, he discharged from his sling a stone, which struck Goliath on his forehead, pierced his brain, * and 255 * If it should be asked, how this could possibly be, when Goliath was armed so completely, and, in particular, is said to have had an ' helmet of brass upon his head V it is but supposing, that this arrogant champion, in disdain of his inferior combatant, might come negligently towards him, with his helmet turned back, and his forehead bare. It is highly probable, that when he made his menacing speech to David, he might turn back his helmet, both to speak, and be heard more dis- tinctly ; and there was no such terror in David's appearance, as might induce him to cover his fore- head again. But, admitting he did, it is but sup- posing that David levelled his stone so right, as to hit the place which was left open for his adver- there remained, so that he fell upon his face; and David, who had no sword, ran up, caught hold of the giant, and imme- diately severed his head from his body, to the general joy of the Israelites and their allies, and the utter confusion of the Philistines, who fled before the former, by whom they were pursued unto the gates of Ekron with great slaughter. CHAPTER II. Saul first promotes David, and afterwards, through jealousy, seeks his life. The strictest friendship is formed between David and Jonathan, who concert divers measures to preserve him from the fury of his father. J The scheme he had laid to trepan him it defeated by the stratagem of Michal. Sam endeavours to slay his son. David seeks pro- tection from the king of Achish. InstancX of Saul's cruel resentment. David's succest against his enemies Death of the prophJt Samuel. Saul, astonished at the mighty feat per- formed by this young hero, inquired) of Abner, one of his generals, whose son. he was? But Abner, not being able to resolve him, introduced David to the king, with the champion Goliath's head in his hand. The king bestowed the highest praises on his valour, and desired to know whose son he was? He modestly replied, 'I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethle- hemite.' The late glorious action excited the general esteem of the Israelites, and their sary's eyes, or threw it with such a violent force as would penetrate both helmet and head together. To make these suppositions more probable, we need only remember what we read in Judges, ch. xx. 16. of no less than seven hundred men in one place, who were so expert with their left hands, that every one could sling stones to an hair's breadth, and not miss ; or what we read in Diodorus Siculus, lib. 5. of some slingers, who threw stones with such a violence, that nothing could resist their impression ; and that, when they made use of lead instead of stone, the very lead would melt the air, as it flew, by reason of the rapidity of the motion which they gave it. Patrick and Calmed Commentaries. 256 HISTORY OF [Book IV. allies ; but none evinced such sanguine approbation as Jonathan, who, being a prince of innate valour, and intrepid for- titude, was so charmed with his prowess in the important execution, that he enter- tained the sincerest friendship for him, which being mutually cemented by the most endearing ties, ratified by covenant, and Jonathan's present of his robe, sword, belt, and bow,* to David, remained as long as they lived together. David for a short time after this ex- ploit, received a peculiar token of Saul's favour, and was appointed to the command of his men of war, which he filled with honour, prudence, and reputation. But Saul's respect for David continued not long ; for a circumstance soon fell out that excited in his suspicious mind the raost burning jealousy. As David was returning from the slaughter among the vast concourse assem- bled to behold the entry of their triumph- am countrymen, was a company of women, who accompanied musical instruments with a song, the chief burden of which was, * Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.' This suggested to Saul's remembrance, what the prophet Samuel had told him, and excited his fears that David aspired after his throne; on which account he banished from his mind every sentiment of good will, and in its room conceived the most miserable revenge against the pious, brave, and innocent youth. * He did this, that his singular affection to David might be known to all, and that they might appear the more closely united into one. This was a customary method of testifying affection. We read in Tavernier of a Nazar, whose virtue and behaviour so pleased a king of Persia, after being put to the test, that he caused himself to be disapparelled, and gave his habit to the Nazar ; which is the greatest honour that a king of Persia can bestow on a subject. The giving a girdle, in particular, was deemed a token of the greatest confidence and affection : in some cases it was considered an act of adoption. In regnrd to the sword and the bow, it has been customary in all countries to make such military presents ds these to brave adventurers: of which instances occur in Greek and Roman writers. Frag, to Calmet. From this very instance, Saul resolved on his destruction, which he endeavoured the next day to effect with his own hand. His mind being greatly perplexed, David as usual came to divert his melancholy; and while he was playing the harp before him, not suspecting the least danger, the frantic king darted a javelin at him with all his might ; but, as David was reserved by Providence for wise purposes, the king missed his aim, and David imme- diately withdrew. After this remarkable event, David was removed from his immediate attendance on the king's person, and degraded to an inferior post in the army, which he filled as much to his own honour, and the ap- probation of his people, as he had done the first offices of state. David's conduct in an inferior station, and the reputation which he thence ac- quired, inflamed the jealousy of Saul, and prompted him studiously to endeavour at his destruction. By virtue of the king's solemn promise, previous to the encounter with the Phi- listine giant, David had an undoubted claim to one of his daughters in marriage; but meek in temper, he rested content with the honours already conferred upon him ; nor had Saul conceived any inten- tion of fulfilling that part of his promise, till he thought it might prove the most effectual method of sating his implacable revenge. Accordingly, sending for David, he in- formed him of his design to bestow his daughter upon him, as a condition of his executing a commission that was attended with the utmost hazard of his life. David modestly evaded the proposed honour, alleging the meanness of his family. Saul therefore embraced this opportunity of avoiding compliance with his promise, and gave his elder daughter Merab in marriage to Adriel, the son of Barzillai. Michal, Saul's second daughter, had conceived a real affection for David, of Chap. II.] THE BIBLE. 257 which the king being conscious, and in order to prosecute his former malicious scheme, he promised her in marriage to him, desiring no other compensation than that he should slay an hundred Philistines, and produce their foreskins in court be- fore him.* David, imagining that the king was desirous of putting his valour to the test once more, without the least suspicion of '.he latent malice of the terms, readily acquiesced, and selecting some of the best men in the Israelitish army, marched at their head, attacked the Philistines, slew ilouble the number f stipulated by the king, within the time he had prescribed, and, as an undeniable testimony of his having fulfilled the terms, presented their foreskins at court; so that having thus gallantly accomplished all things, the king could not refuse him his daughter, who rewarded his merit with the purest affection. Various circumstances combining to inflame the jealousy and resentment of Saul, he cast off all disguise, engaged his whole family in executing his malicious design, and commanded Jonathan his son, and all his attendants by any means to despatch the detested David. Jonathan, whose soul disdained such ingratitude and inhumanity to any deserv- * This condition was imposed by Saul with an insidious design ; but the custom hath prevailed in many countries, to give their daughters in marriage to the most valiant men, or to those who might bring so many heads of their ene- mies. Particularly, it was the custom among a people in Carmania, that, if any were desirous of marrying, it was necessary he should first bring to the king the head of an enemy. Saul seems to have mentioned the foreskins, and not the heads of the Philistines, by way of reproach upon them, as an uncircumcised and infidel people. Or rather, to prevent any cheat or collusion in the matter, and to enable him to be sure that they were Philistines only whom he killed ; for the Philistines were the only neighbouring people who were uncircumcised. Pyle and Calmet. -( Josephus makes Saul's demand, and the num- ber which David brought, to be six hundred. The Septuagint, instead of two hundred, read one hundred, in order to make it correspond with the number which Saul demanded. ing person, much more towards his avow- ed friend, took care to give him timely notice of the threatening storm, advising him to retire to some secure place till the morning, when he would take an oppor- tunity of expostulating with his father, and transmit to him a particular account of his success. Jonathan, according to his proposal, set before his father both the unreasonableness and impiety of his de- sign upon innocent David, who merited every good office at his hands ; that Saul according to outward appearance was re- conciled to David, and Jonathan, next day, introduced him into his presence, in the same respectable light as before. But as the renown of David's exploits in divers conquests over the Philistines spread daily, and consequently added fuel to the resentment still latent in the breast of Saul, a short time proved this recon- ciliation to be mere pretence. Of this he gave evident demonstration ; for, being seized with another fit of melancholy, David was sent for to play to him, and as before, while he was innocently endeav- ouring to amuse him, he again darted a javelin at him, which David avoided by nimbly changing his situation, and afterr- wards made his escape ; but to the ran- cour of his design it is recorded that he smote the javelin in the wall. Enraged at these repeated disappoint- ments, he commanded a detachment of his guards to beset his house at day-break and slay him. But Michal, his wife, acr quainted him with the design, and pro- posed to let him down from a window; which being done, by favour of the night, he once more escaped the malicious de- sign of Saul ; and to prevent the suspicion of the guards, Michal told them he was sick in bed, having artfully substituted in his room an image, with which the king was much incensed ; but his daughter pleaded the most justifiable excuses for her conduct. David hastened, as much as the nio-ht would permit him, to his- friend and coun- 2 K 258 HISTORY OF [Book IV. sellor, Samuel at Ramah, to whom he communicatee! the particulars of what had passed between him and Saul, hoping that God by this means might direct him how to proceed in his intricate situation. At the advice of the prophet, for his better security, he repaired together with him to Naioth, which was a school or col- lege of the prophets,* where they both lived some time. But the emissaries of the enraged king no sooner informed him of the place to which David had repaired for security, than, notwithstanding the sanctity of the place, he sent a party to apprehend him. But when they arrived at the sacred place, and heard Samuel instructing the other prophets, they were seized with a prophetic spirit, and returned not. After these other messengers were des- patched; but they no sooner approached * When these schools of the prophets were at first instituted is no where indicated in scripture: but, as the first mention we find of them is in Samuel's time, we can hardly suppose that they were much superior to it. It may be presumed, therefore, that the sad degeneracy of the priesthood at first occasioned the institution of these places, for the better education of those that were to suc- ceed in the sacred ministry, whether as prophets, or priests. According to the places that are speci- fied in scripture, (1 Sam. x. 5, 10. and xix. 20. 2 Kings ii. 5. iv. 38. and xxii. 14.) they were first erected in the cities of the Levites, which, for the more convenient instruction of the people, were dispersed up and down in the several tribes of Israel. In these places the prophets had conve- nient colleges built (whereof Naioth seems to be one) for their abode ; and living in communities, had some one of distinguished note (very probably by divine election) set over them to be their head or president. Here it was that they studied the law, and learned to expound the several precepts of it. Here it was that, by previous exercise, they quali- fied themselves for the reception of the spirit of prophecy, whenever it should please God to send k upon them. Here it was that they were in- structed in the sacred art of psalmody, or (as the scripture calls it, 1 Chron. xx-v. I, 7.) in prophe- sying with harps, with psalteries, and cymbals :' and hence it was, that, when any blessings were to be promised, judgments denounced, or extraordi- nary events predicted, the messengers were gener- ally chosen : so that these colleges were seminaries of divine knowledge, and nurseries of that, race (if prophets which succeeded from Samuel to the time of Malachi. StillingfleeVs Orig. Sacra, Wheatly on the Schools of the Prophets, and Jacob Abting, de liepub. He.b. the venerable spot, than they were affect- ed in the same manner as the former. Having proceeded in this manner three times successively, and received no satis- factory intimation, he at length went down himself: but when he drew near Naioth, he was influenced by the same divine power, and continued to prophecyf till he reached the place where Samuel and David had retired, when, stripping off his upper garment,:}: he humbly lay on the ground that day and the ensuing night. David availed himself of this oppor- tunity of leaving Saul at the school of the f This is a word of an extensive signification, and may denote sometimes such actions, motions, and distortions, as prophets, in their inspirations are wont to express. But the generality of inter- preters in this place, take prophesying to signify Saul's singing of psalms, or hymns of thanksgiving and praise, which even against his will he was com- pelled to do, to teach him the vanity of his designs again9t David, and that in them he fought against God himself. Calmet's Commentary, and Poole's Annotations. J The words in our translation are, ' And he stripped off his clothes also, and lay down naked all that day, and all that night,' 1 Sam. xix. 24. In which words, and some other portions of the like import, we are not to imagine that the per- sons there spoken of were entirely naked, but only that they were divested of some external habit or other, which, upon certain occasions, they might lay aside. For whereas it is said of some prophets, Isa. xx. 2. and Mic. i. 8., that they went about naked, we can hardly think that they could be guilty of so much indecency, and especially by the express order of God, who had always testified his abhorrence of nudity, and enjoined his priests the use of several garments to cover the body, that thus they might be distinguished from the Pagan priests who were not ashamed to appear naked. The words in the original, therefore, which we render naked, or to be naked, signify no more than either to have part of the body uncovered, or to be without a gown, or upper garment, which the Romans called Toga, and (according to the custom of the eastern people) was wont to be put on when they went abroad, or made any public appearance. And therefore it was some such vestment as this, or perhaps his military accoutrements, which Saul upon this occasion put off; and that this was enough to denominate him naked is manifest from what Anrelius Victor, speaking of those who were sent to Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus, to bring him to the senate to be made dictator, says, that they found him naked ploughing on the other side of the Tiber ; whereas Livy, who relates the same story, observes, that he called to his wife Rucca for his gown, or toga, that he might appear fit to keep them company. Essay towards a new Translation. Chap. II.] THE BIBLE. 259 prophets, escaping to his friend Jonathan, and consulting with him how to avert the resentment of his father, who thus inde- fatigably sought his life. Jonathan not only assured him of his best services, but that he would take every possible measure to discover the intention of his father, and immediately acquaint him therewith: but to strengthen his confidence in him, he solemnly renewed the covenant of friendship that was be- tween them ; and having directed him to conceal himself in a certain place for a few days, till he could judge whether he should still lie hid, or might with safety again appear in public, which he was to signify by shooting an arrow; they cor- dially embraced, and then parted. As the season approached for the cele- bration of the feast of the new moon,* Saul, according to custom, came from Naioth to attend that solemnity; and after he was seated, taking a view of the company, he observed that David's place was vacant for two days successively. This occasioned him to inquire the cause, wherefore the son of Jesse a title of con- tempt absented himself from the feast. Jonathan answered his father in excuse for his friend, that he had obtained from * The Israelites performed solemn sacrifices every new moon, and after the sacrifices feasted together : and David, being one of the king's fam- ily, by marrying his daughter, used to eat with him on these occasions ; and he thought that Saul, by being inspired by the Spirit of God at Naioth, might possibly have forgot his anger, and make a favourable inquiry after him. The Jewish months were lunar, and never began before the moon ap- peared above the horizon ; for which purpose there were certain persons placed upon the moun- tains some time before the moon was expected, to give notice by the sound of a horn when it first appeared, that so the news thereof might imme- diately be carried to Jerusalem. But lest there should be any mistake in this method of making their observation, from this example of Saul's it is supposed that they celebrated this festival for two days together. Whether the heathens had this rite from the Jews or not, it is certain that other nations had feasts at the beginning of every month, and that with the Romans, the calends in particular were festival days consecrated to Juno, to whom sacrifices at this time were offered. Calmet's Commentary. him leave of absence, in order to be pre- sent at the anniversary feast, held by his own family at Bethlehem. Saul, well knowing the inviolable friendship that subsisted between David and his son, and suspecting that what he urged in his excuse was mere pretence, most rancorously upbraided him with tak ing into his bosom, one who endeavoured to supplant him and his family in that which they held most dear, namely, the throne of Israel; insisting, at the same time, that he should bring him before his presence, as he was resolutely determined on his death. So noble, so generous was the friend- ship of Jonathan, that, notwithstanding this flagrant instance of his father's in- veterate hatred against the object of it, he still interposed in his behalf, inquiring of him what David had done to deserve death ? This behaviour in Jonathan so incensed his father, that, forgetting the ties of natur- al affection, in the vehemence of his fren- zy he threw a javelin f at his son, cruelly f Saul had always a javelin or spear at hand to execute his evil purposes, because spears were the sceptres of those ages, which kings always carried in their hands. It has been suggested, that the words of the text do not mean, that Saul cast a javelin at Jonathan ; but only that 'he had cast a javelin' at David, which Jonathan at this crisis re- collected. It must, however, be admitted, that this is by no means an obvious construction of the original. Nor can it be readily thought, that merely a recollection of a fact which formerly had taken place, could induce Jonathan to leave his place ' in fierce anger ;' when he had, at this time, borne the most provoking language of his father without expressing any indignant perturbation ; and had also, subsequent to some of Saul's at- tempts on David's life, calmly expostulated with Saul, and induced him to engage, by a solemn oath, that he would not slay David. But the atrocity of such an attempt on the life of his own son, seems to some persons totally incredible. Yet Saul's stern and rigorous conduct, respecting Jonathan, after he had miraculously prevailed to rescue him and Israel from the greatest straits and disgrace, shows that the self-will and severity of his mind had overcome, even at that favourable crisis, his natural affection. And the transient attempt of his furious rage, in attempting to murder his son, on the occasion recorded in the text, bears no proportion to his subsequent deliberate, impious, and most barbarous murder of the priests, and 260 HISTORY OF [Book 111 desirous of avenging on him the frequent disappointments of his designs upon David. But Jonathan avoided the stroke, and persuaded from his conduct, and even confession, of the continuance of his re- solution upon the life of David, he went next morning with his bow into the field, gave the signal for his friend to appear, and having communicated to him what had passed between him and his father, as well as warned him, at all events, to escape for his life, they renewed their protesta- tions of eternal friendship, embraced,* and departed. David, thus warned by his friend Jonathan, betook himself to Nob,f a city belonging to the priests, where stood the tabernacle at that time, in order to in- quire of the Lord, by means of Abimelech the priest, what course he should take in his present wandering. Abimelech, who knew the dignity of his rank, but was ignorant that he was out of favour with the king, expressed his surprise at his arriving thus unattend- ed : David concealed the true cause, and pretended to the high priest that he was despatched by the king on a secret expe- dition in such haste, that he had neither their wives, and children ; because they were sup- posed to favour David. Nor can any thing be deemed too atrocious for a man to commit, whom God had given up, and left, in a kind of desperate madness, under the power of Satan, md of his own passions, till he plunged himself imo destruc- tion with his own hands. Scott. * This adieu is the most pathetic and tender that ever was described. There was reason for David to exceed in sorrow, as he was now to become an exile from his friends, from his wife, from his parents, from his kindred, from the peo- ple of God,, and from all sacred solemnities. f There is mention made of two cities of this name, one on the east, or further side, and the other on the west, or hither side of Jordan. The generality of interpreters will have the city here specified, to be that which stood on the west side, and in the tribe of Benjamin. Though it is not reckoned among the number of the cities that were at first assigned to the priests, yet it after- wards became one of the sacerdotal towns, and especially, as we may imagine, when the tabernacle came to be moved thither, is evident from 1 Sam. xxii. 19. and Neheiu. xi. 3*2. and some suppose it tood about four leagues from Gibealu Calmet's Commentary and Wells's Geography. time to furnish himself witn arms nor pro- vision, desiring at the same time he would spare him some of whatever food was at hand. Abimelech informed David, that at present he had no common bread, but as the case was urgent he gave him some consecrated bread. Having thus appeased his hunger, David inquired if he had any' arms in his possession; upon which he offered him Goliath's sword,:): the most acceptable weapon with which he could have presented him, as he him- self acknowledged there was none like it. David having thus found means to pro- cure some necessaries from Abimelech, departed from Nob, having received in- telligence that Doeg, the king's huntsman, was there ; who would certainly disclose the interview to Saul. Diffident of his security in any part of Saul's dominions, he proceeded to Gath, but remained not long there before he was discovered and pointed at as the mighty warrior of Israel, who had so frequently signalized himself against the Philistines; so that to prevent information, he feigned insanity, and sus- tained the part of a lunatic, which he as- sumed with such skill and address, as evaded the suspicion of the king, and gave him an opportunity of flying to Adullam, where he was visited by all his relations, and applied to by about four hundred men, malecontents and desperadoes, to take the lead of them, who would resol- utely follow his fortune, whithersoever he went. Pious David, after his family had thus joined him, fearing that the resent- ment of Saul would fall upon his aged parents, from a filial concern for their safety, put both himself and them under \ Though the sword of Goliath was deposited in the sacred place, it is much to be questioned whether it was placed here as a trophy, because trophies were generally hung up in some conspicu- ous place, which this was not ; and if it was not dedicated to God as a sacred trophy, David's tak- ing it away could not be said to be a profanation. Adullam was a town in the tribe of Judali, of considerable note : and near it was a rock of the same name, in which was a cave naturally strong and fortified, and into this cave David retreated. Chap. II.] THE BIBLE. the protection of the king of Achish, who was tlien at enmity with Saul. With this prince they dwelt until the prophet Gad, who attended David, ad- vised him to quit Moab, and return to the land of Judah, where he departed and took up his station in the forest of Hareth. It appeared at this time that Saul was at Ramah, and having received intelli- gence of the people who had enlisted under the banner of David, he upbraided his attendants with want of loyalty, in that none of them would assert his cause against the son of Jesse, who, together with his son, had conspired against his person and government. The people to whom he addressed him- self, conscious of their innocence, made no reply; but Doeg, who had seen David with Abimelech, the high-priest, gave Saul information of every particular cir- cumstance that had passed between them.* Saul, willing to embrace any pretence in order to avenge himself on David, or any that were attached to his cause, sum- moned Abimelech, and all the priests who were in Nob, to appear before him. The priests, not suspecting the king's cruel design, obeyed the royal mandate, and as soon as they came into his presence, he addressed himself more particularly to Abimelech, demanding of him the cause wherefore he assisted the son of Jesse with provision, and advice, and thereby enabled him to prosecute his design of supplanting him in his regal authority? Abimelech, conscious of his innocence, alleged the great merit of David,f both as * It does not appear likely from what precedes that Abimelech or the priests knew any thing of Saul's displeasure against David, and his deter- mined purpose to destroy him ; and therefore as he was the king's son-in-law, and Abimelech thought he was sent on some hasty errand by the king, die giving him bread and a sword was what he owed in duty to Saul, instead of its being an act of treason. j- The speech, which Josephus draws up for the high-priest, upon this occasion, is directed to Saul, and conceived in these words : " I did not receive David as your majesty's enemy, but as the most 261 related to the king and as a mighty warrior in Isiael, which were indispensable mo- tives with him for compliance with his request; and added, that he was wholly ignorant of the king's conceiving any displeasure against him at that time. Though the plea of the high-priest was so just and equitable, Saul determined to sate his revenge on the innocent priest and his whole brotherhood, and therefore ordered some of his attendants to slay them, because they had not given him in- formation of the place to which David had fled. The guards having heard Abimelech's defence, declined the execution of so bar- barous a commission : Doe: therefore be- ing present, undertook the bloody office, and with a sacrilegious hand, slew no less than fourscore and five of the priests of the Lord. Nor did this cruel scene sate the blood-thirsty Saul ; for, sending a party to Nob, he commanded them to put every living soul, together with all the cattle of the field, to the destructive sword.J faithful of your friends and officers, and, what is more, in the quality of your son too, and a relation in so tender a degree of affinity and alliance. For how should any body imagine that man to be your enemy, upon whom you have conferred so many honours ? Or why should not I rather presume such a person, without any further in- quiry, to be your singular friend? He told me, ttiat he was sent in haste by yourself, upon earnest business; and if I had not supplied him with what he wanted, it would have reflected an indignity upon yourself, rather than upon him. Wherefore, i hope, that the blame will not fall upon me, even though David should be found as culpable as you suspect him ; unless an act of pure compassion and humanity, abstracted from the least thought, knowledge, or imagination of any evil intention, shall be understood to make me privy to a con- spiracy : for the service 1 did him was matter of respect to the king's son-in-law and the king's military officer, not to the person or interest of David." Jewish Antiq. J This party, as Josephus informs us, was com- manded by Doeg, the vile informer and murderer, who taking some men, as wicked as himself, to his assistance, slew in all three hundred and eighty-five persons, and, in addition to these, it is thought by some, that the Gibeonites, upon whose account there was so sore a famine in the days of David, who might now be at Nob, in attendance upon the 262 HISTORY OF [Book IV. One of the sons of Abimelech, named Abiathar, escaped this horrid massacre, and flying to David related to him the dread- ful tidings, which, though he deplored more bitterly because he looked on him- self as the innocent cause, afforded him not much surprise, as he had seen Doeg there, knew he was acquainted with all that had passed relative to him, and that he would inform the king, whose frantic rage might lead him to the commission of the most enormous actions. However, he assured Abiathar of his favour and pro- tection, that he should share his fortune, and that he would hold his interest equally dear with his own. While Saul was cruelly employed in the massacre of his guiltless subjects, David was exerting himself in the just and ne- cessary defence of the rights of his country; for, having received intelligence that the Philistines had made a descent upon Kei- lah, # a city of Judah, and consulted the divine direction by the prophet Gad, he marched to its relief, and repulsed the enemy with great loss of men and cattle. Saul having received intelligence of David's success against the Philistines, and concluding that he would fortify him- self in the city he had relieved, sent an army to invest it. But David, who never entered on any enterprise without seeking that wisdom which is from above, caused young Abiathar to lay the cause before the Lord, who warned them of the perfidy of the inhabitants, and gave them to un- derstand, that if they continued there, priests, were at this time slain. It is certain, Saul was now become a mere tyrant, and against those poor people acted more cruelly than he did against the Amalekites, some of whom lie spared, even contrary to God's command ; but in this case he let none escape, on purpose to deter others from giving the least shelter or assistance to David, and to incite them the rather to come, and give him information, wherever his haunts or lurking- places were. Josephus's Antiq. * Keilah is stated by Eusebitis to be seventeen miles from Eleutheropolis, on the side of Hebron. Jerome makes it only eight miles from Hebron. It is said that the prophet Habakkuk's tomb was shown there. they would be delivered into the hand of Saul. David therefore, pursuant to the divine direction, left that place, and retired into a wood in the desert of Ziph,f where he was preserved from the vengeance of Saul, who could not learn the place of his re- tirement. But his good friend Jonathan having private notice of his situation, visited him, and encouraged him with an assurance that the Lord would not suffer him to fall into the hands of his enraged father, see- ing he had reserved him for the govern- ment of Israel, and the protection of his chosen people. Then renewing their covenant of friendship, they embraced, Jonathan returned home, and David con- tinued in the wood. The inhabitants of the place, near which. David had retired, very officiously sent Saul intelligence where he was, assuring him if he would send a sufficient party to defend them, they would deliver David into his hands. Saul acknowledged their proffered service, but desired that they would most carefully explore his haunts, as he knew him to be very subtle in all his proceedings, and having done this, re- turn and inform him of the particulars. But David, apprized of the base design of the Ziphites, shifted his quarters, and re- tired farther into the desert of Maon, whither he was so closely pursued by Saul, that nothing but a valley separated the two armies; Saul therefore relying on the superiority of his number, determined to encompass the mountain where David encamped, in order to take or slay his whole party ; however, he was diverted from the execution of this plan, by the \ In the story of David, we rind Carmel and Maon mentioned as adjoining to Zip!) ; so that, it is not to be doubted but that by the Ziph in the wilderness, where David now concealed himself, we are to understand the Ziph which was in the neighbourhood of Carmel and Maon, in the sou- thern part of the tribe of Judah, and, according to St Jerome, about eight miles eastward from He- bron. Wells's Geography. Chap. IL] THE BIBLE. 263 arrival of a messenger, who brought word that the Philistines had invaded the land, and that his assistance was immediately required. Thus was Saul at this critical juncture compelled r<> drop his private re- sentment for the public weal, and by di- verting his arms to repel the invader, he afforded David an opportunity of retiring into the strong holds at Engedi.* * Engedi, (now called Anguedi) in the days of St Jerome, was a large village, situate in the deserts which lay upon the western coasts of the Salt or Dead sea, not very far from the plains of Jericho : and, as the country thereabouts abounded with mountains arid these mountains had plenty of vast caves in them, it was a very commodious place for David to retire to, and conceal himself in. Euse- bius makes it famous for excellent balm ; and Solomon in his song, for vineyards, which, in all probability, were planted by his father, during his retirement in this place, and therefore so peculiarly celebrated by the son. Some of these caves were very capacious : that of Engedi was so large, that David and six hundred men concealed themselves in its sides ; and Saul entered the mouth of the cave without perceiving that any one was there. " At first, " says Mr Cairne," it appears neither lofty nor spacious, but a low passage on the left leads into apartments, where a party could easily remain concealed from those without. The face of the hill around it corresponds to the description, he came to the rocks of the wild goats." Bish- op Pococke has described a cave, which he thinks may be this of Engedi ; concerning which there is a tradition, that thirty thoQsand people retired into it to avoid a bad air. Josephus has taken par- ticular notice of similar caverns, which in his time were the abode of robbers. Maundrell has de- scribed a large cavern under a high rocky moun- tain in the vicinity of Sidon, containing two hun- dred smaller caverns, which are supposed to have been the residence of the original inhabitants. Numerous caves were noticed by Mr Buckingham in the rock to the south of Nazareth ; several of which now, as anciently, serve as dwellings to the Nazarenes. Mr Hartley has described a similar cavern, capable of holding one thousand men by actual enumeration, whither the Greeks fled, and found a secure asylum from their Mohammedan enemies. It was probably in some such cave that Lot and his two daughters dwelt after the destruc- tion of Sodom (Gen. xix. 30.); and in similar ca- verns, excavated by primeval shepherds as a shelter from the scorching beams of the sun, Dr Clarke and his ft llow-travellers found a grateful protection from the intense heat of the solar rays ; as Cap- tains Irby and Mangles subsequently did, from a violent storm. These caves were sometimes the haunts or strongholds of robbers (as the excava- tions in the rocks near Bethlehem are to this day), and to them our Lord probably alludes in Matt, xxi. 13., where he reproaches the Jews with having profaned the temple of God, and made it a den of thieves. Captain Lyon has described similar resi- Saul soon repulsed the Philistines and then renewed his pursuit of David, with three thousand chosen men, amongst the most mountainous and craggy places of the country. As Saul was on his march, he happened to turn into a cave to ease nature, little suspecting he was so near David, who with a few select men had re- tired thither for safety. When David's men saw the king enter the cave alone, thinking that Providence had ordained this circumstance for their rescue, they were for despatching him im- mediately ; but David was influenced by other motives, and declared his abhorrence of the very attempt to execute their pro- posal, saying, * God forbid that I should stretch forth my hand against the Lord's anointed.' However, to convince Saul that his life dences occupied by a tribe of Troglodytes in Nor- thern Africa. "As the natives live under ground," he says, " a person unacquainted with the circum- stance might cross the mountain without once sus- pecting that it was inhabited. All the dwelling- places being formed in the same manner, a de- scription of the Sheik's may suffice for the rest. The upper soil is sandy earth of about four feet in depth ; under this sand, and in some places lime- stone, a large whole is dug to the depth of twenty, five or thirty feet, and its breadth in every direction is about the same, being as nearly as can be made, a perfect square. The rock is then smoothed, so as to form perpendicular sides to this space, in which doors are cut through, and arched chambers excavated, so as to receive their light from the doors : these rooms are sometimes three or four of a side, in others, a whole side composes one: the arrangements depending on the number of die in- habitants. In the open court is generally a well, water being found at about ten or twelve feet be- low the base of the square. The entrance to the house is about thirty-six yards from the pit, and opens above ground. It is arched over head, is generally cut in a winding direction, and is per- fectly dark. Some of these passages are sufficient- ly large to admit a loaded camel. The entrance has a strong wall built over it, something resem- bling an ice-house. This is covered over-head, and has a very strong heavy door, which is shut at night, or in cases of danger. At about ten yards from the bottom is another door equally strong, so that it is almost impossible to enter these houses, should the inhabitants determine to resist. Few Arab attacks last long enough to end in a sie^e. All their sheep and poultry being confined in the house at night, the bashaw's army, when here, had recourse to suffocating the inmates, being unable to starve them out." Home. 264 HISTORY OF [Book IV. had been in his hand, he privately cut off the skirt of his robe. This action, though in itself inoffensive, gave David much concern on reflection, because he thought he had offered an in- dignity to the majesty of his king. As soon as Saul left the cave, David likewise came out, and calling to him at a distance, reverently bowed before his lord and king, showed him the skirt of his robe, and de- clared his innocence in such submissive, yet generous terms, as impressed the ob- durate heart of Saul, who, bursting into tears, with the utmost compunction, ac- knowledged his guilt and David's justice. Then, as if convinced from the great de- liverance God had wrought for David, it was his will he should succeed to the throne of Israel, he conjured him by the most sacred ties not to avenge on him or his family the wrongs he had done him, when he should have it in his power. To obviate all fear on the part of Saul, David swore unto him he would do according to his desire, upon which Saul returned home; but David, not judging it safe to rely on his specious behaviour, retired again with his people to their strong holds. About this time died the prophet Samuel, a person in great reputation among the Hebrews, for his probity and virtue; and the people gave an eminent proof of the esteem they had for him in the magnificence and expense of his funeral. They buried him at Ramah, in his own country, and mourned for him afterward a long time, not with the ceremony of a formal public sorrow, but every individual had a distinct and a particular share in the loss; for he was a man of a natural benignity and justice, and most remark- ably in Gods favour for his virtues. After the death of Eli, he governed twelve years alone; and then in the reign of Saul, eighteen years more.* CHAPTER III. The Jews are of opinion that Samuel died only David's extraordinary adventure with Nabal, after whose decease he marries his wife Abi- gail. Repeated instance of duty in David towards Saul. David repairs to Gath. Saul destroys the witches, afterwards seeks to one Samuel is raised and foretells the ruin of Saul David meets with a distressful cir- cumstance. Overcomes his enemies. Death of Saul and Jonathan. There lived at that time near the place where David frequented, a certain man of the city of Maon, who was very wealthy four months before Saul ; but, by the generality of Christian Chronologers, he is supposed to have died about two years before the death of that prince, and in the ninety-eighth year of his age ; twenty years of which had been spent in the government of Israel, before Saul's inauguration, after which lie lived about eighteen. He was while he lived an excellent governor, and, through his whole administration, superior to vanity, cor- ruption, or any private views. Those that attend to his life may observe, that he was modest with- out meanness, mild without weakness, firm without obstinacy, and severe without harshness; the author of Ecclesiasticus has consecrated this eulogy to his memory : ' Samuel, the prophet of the Lord, be- loved of the Lord, established a kingdom, and anointed princes over his people. By the law of the Lord he judged the congregation, and the Lord had respect unto Jacob. By his faithfulness he was found a true prophet, and by his word he was known to be faithful in vision. He called upon the mighty God, when his enemies pressed upon him on every side, when he offered the sucking lamb : and the Lord thundered from heaven, and with a great noise made his voice to be heard. He destroyed the rulers of the Syrians, and all the princes of the Philistines. Before his long sleep, he made protestations in the sight of the Lord and his anointed, and after his death he prophesied, and showed the king his end,' Eccles. xlvi. 13. &c. But, besides the things that are recorded of this prophet in the first book of Samuel, there are some other passages concerning him in the first book of Chronicles ; as, that he enriched the tabernacle with several spoils, which he took from the enemies of Israel during his administration, that he assisted in regulating the distribution of the Levites, which David afterwards prescribed for the service of the temple ; and lastly, that he wrote the history of David, in conjunction with the prophets Nathan and Gad : but, as he died before David came to the throne, this can only be meant of the beginning of that history, which by the other two prophets might be continued. There i$ great probability that he composed the twenty- four first chapters of the first book of Samuel, which contains several historical facts wherein he himself had a large share Stackhouse. Chap. III.] THE BIBLE. 265 in herds and possessions, who had in his ground three thousand sheep, and a thou- sand goats. David was so much his friend, that he set his own people to assist in looking after his flocks ; forbidding them on their peril, either for hunger or on any other pretence whatever, to touch so much as one hair of them ; no, though they were absolutely sure of not being detected ; continually in- culcating on them the duty and obligation they lay under of living according to the rules of justice, and in conformity to the will of God, who was never pleased with any man that coveted, or laid violent hands on the goods of his neighbour. By this discipline, David restrained those about him from violence, and kept them within bounds ; imagining all this while, that the kindness he had shown, and the good and generous offices he had done, were conferred on a person of worth and honesty, who would be sure to make him grateful acknowledgments, and a suit- able return. But Nabal (for that was the man's name) was a brutal, ill-natured wretch; yet the husband of a notable, discreet, prudent, and agreeable woman. As he was one day shearing his sheep, David sent ten of his people to Nabal with the compliment of a thousand good wishes to him, and desiring only some moderate supply of provisions out of his abundance; for his shepherds could inform him, that all the while they had been together in the desert, they had been so far from doing him any injury, that they had rather kept and preserved his sheep for him ; closing the discourse with an assurance, that what friendship soever he should do for David upon this occasion, should be abundantly acknowledged. The answer that Nabal returned them was rude and churlish, like himself. 'Da- vid !' says Nabal, ' why, who is that same David, I wonder ?' They told him he was one of the sons of Jesse. ' Yes, yes,' says Nabal, ' your runaway-servants look upon themselves to be brave fellows, I warrant ye.' This contemptuous affront enraged Da- vid to that degree that he immediately put himself at the head of four hundred men, leaving two hundred more behind with the baggage (his number being now increased to six hundred), with a vow and determination, that very night to cut off Nabal, with his house and family. Now David's indignation against him was not so much for his barbarity and in- gratitude, where he had been so frankly obliged, but for the virulence of so inso- lent an outrage against a man that never did him an injury. While matters were in this posture, one of Nabal's shepherds and servants carried the story of this encounter to the mistress: telling her, how David being distressed for provisions, and having sent to her hus- band to desire some small relief of him, was not only refused by him, but answer- ed with insufferable and opprobrious revil- ings : though David had ever dealt hon- ourably and respectfully by him in guard- ing and securing his flocks from injuries and violence; telling her further, what apprehensions they had of the mischief, that the sense of this indignity might bring upon herself and her husband. So soon as Abigail (for that was her name) the wife of Nabal, had heard their story, she presently called for the asses out; caused them to be laden with pre- sents, and, unknown to her husband, (who was at that time inebriated and senseless, ) she put herself upon the way to find out David, whom she met coming down the straits of the mountain, and four hundred men following him, with an intent to take vengeance upon Nabal. Abigail no sooner saw him approach, but leaping from her ass, she threw her- self prostrate upon the ground, and ' hum- bly besought David to pass over the words of her husband, as one whose name was suited to his nature :' Nabal in Hebrew signifying a fool and a madman. ' She 2l 266 HISTORY OF [Book IV. pleaded for herself, that she saw none of the messengers that were sent to her hus- band ; begged pardon, and desired David to give God thanks for sending her as the instrument to keep his hands from blood: 'And Sir,' says she, 'may you still preserve yourself clear of that pollution, that God may turn the vengeance that threatens Nabal upon the heads of your enemies. Be pleased, I beseech you, to accept of the good-will of your poor servant, with these small presents, and upon my hum- ble request to pass over the offence of my husband, who has so justly incurred your displeasure; for there is nothing so be- coming the character of the person, that Providence designs for a crown, as cle- mency and compassion.' David was pleas- ed to receive the present, telling her, that she had reason to bless God that put it into her heart to meet him ; otherwise, says he, ' you should never have lived to have seen another day ; for I have sworn to myself to lay your house in ruins this very night, and not to leave one soul alive in the family of that ungrateful man, who had cast so many indignities upon me, and those that belong to me. You are now come in a blessed hour to allay my rage, and put a stop to my resolution ; but yet, after all, though I am content for your sake to forgive Nabal's fault against me, there is a judgment still behind that at- tends him ; and his ill-manners will be his ^uin some other way.' With these words David discharged Abigail, who went directly home, and found her husband carousing among his com nions, and so sottishly drunk with winfo, that there was no speaking to him that night ; but the next morning, when he became sober, she told him the whole story from beginning to end ; which struck him with such astonishment, that he was seized with a dead palsy upon it, and died in ten days. David, upon the news of his death, was heard to say, that the judgment was right- eous, and that God had avenged his cause, while he that received the injury came off with clean hands.* After the decease of the husband Da- vid sent a message and an invitation to Abigail, desiring her to come over to him; for he would take her for his lawful wife.f Her answer was, that she was not worthy so much as to wash the feet of David ; but she went to him, however, with all her equipage, and became his wife ; an honour that she was indebted to for the graces both of her mind and person ; for it was her prudence, modesty, and beauty, that recommended her to this preferment. David had also a former wife, Ahinoam; but as for his late wife Michal, the daugh- ter of Saul, her father gave her away to Phalti, the son of Laish of Gallim. It was not long after this, when the men of Ziph brought a fresh account to Saul, that David was come into their * The world may gather from this example, that there is no avoiding the stroke of Divine jus- tice ; and that it is Providence that governs the world, not passion or chance ; but that both good and wicked men are either rewarded or punished in their own kind. f Marriage-contracts seem to have been made in the primitive ages with little ceremony. The suitor himself, or his father, sent a messenger to the father of the woman, to ask her in marriage. The kings and nobles of Israel were not more cere- monious on these occasions. When David, as narrated in the text, heard that Nabal was dead, he sent messengers to Abigail to solicit her hand in marriage : * And they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee to take thee to him to wife. And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine hand- maid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.' After the death of Urijah, the same prince sent and fetched Bathsheba to his house, and she became his wife. This entirely corres- ponds with the mode in which the oriental princes generally form their matrimonial alliances. The king of Abyssinia, says Bruce, "sends an officer to the house where the lady lives, who announces to her that it is the king's pleasure she should remove instantly to the palace. She then dresses herself in the best manner, and immediately obeys. Thence- forward he assigns her an apartment in the palace, and gives her an house elsewhere, in any part she chooses. The nearest resemblance to marriage is when he makes her iteghe, or queen ; for whether in the court or in the camp, he orders one of the judges to pronounce in his presence, that he, the king, has chosen his handmaid, naming her, tor his queen ; upon which the crown is put upon her head, but she is not anointed." Puxton. Chap. III.] THE BIBLE. 267 quarters again, and that with a little help he might be easily taken. Upon this intelligence, Saul immediately marched thither with three thousand men; and the night coming on he pitched his tents at a place called Hachilah. When David came to understand that Saul was moving that way, he sent out scouts for a particular information where the enemy lay; and word being brought that they had posted themselves near Hachilah, David got up in the night, and with only Abishai, the son of his sister Zeruiah, and Abimelech the Hittite, went directly without the privity of any other person into the camp of the enemy; where they found the king in his tent, with his general Abner, and his guards about him, all fast asleep.* Abishai, seeing the king in his bed, and his lance by him, would needs have nailed him immediately to the ground ;f but David held his hands, and said, Abishai, Saul is God's king, and his person sacred, let the man be never so wicked; he is only accountable for the ill management of his power to him who gave him the power itself. But for a proof, however, that I * Homer, speaking of Diomede's followers, says, " They found him without before the tent, with his arms, and his followers sleeping around him ; their shields were placed under their heads, and their spears were fixed upright in the ground upon their brazen points. The hero himself reposed in profound sleep upon the skin of a wild bull." An Arab camp is always circular, when the dispositions of the ground will permit, the chieftain being in the middle, and the troops at a respectful distance around him. Their lances are fixed near them in the ground, all the day long, ready for action. This was precisely the form and arrangement of Saul's camp, as described by the sacred historian. As it is an universal custom in the East to make the great meal at night, and consequently to fall into a deep sleep immediately after it, a handful of resolute men might easily beat up a camp of many thousands. Paxton. \ When we consider the just foundations of David's resentment against Saul, and the argu- ments and instigations of Abishai, we cannot help thinking that God put these opportunities in the power of David, on purpose to make trial of his virtue and clemency: nor can we, at the same time, fail to admire the glorious conquest which he made over these passions, which to many others would probably have proved irresistible. have him at mercy, though I will not make a bad use of the advantage, I will now take away his lance and pitcher of water from his bed's side.' David, leaving the camp as silently and unperceived as he came into it, and be- twixt the darkness of the night, and the strength of his own resolution, without any apprehension of danger, passed the river; and then getting up to the top of a mountain, within hearing of the camp, he called out from thence to Abner and the guards, to wake them. Abner started upon this clamour, and hearing himself called by name, cried with a loud voice, to know who it was that would speak with him. Answer was made, it was David, the son of Jesse, one of your fugitives. ' Are you a fit man,' replied David, 'to be a prince's favourite, a general of his army, and to take upon you the guard of his royal person, and under all these honourable ob- ligations to lie sleeping at your ease when your master's life is in danger? Can you tell me what is become of the king's lance and the pitcher of water that were this night taken by the enemy out of his tent; and even from his very bed's side? and you and your guards fast asleep, without knowing any thing of the matter? Now whether this were neglect or treachery, it is equally the same, you certainly deserve to lose your head for it.' When Saul found it was David's voice, and himself now a second time betrayed into the hands of the very person whose life he himself was seeking, mistaking the best friend he had for the most mortal of his enemies ; Saul, I say, was so sensible of David's goodness, under the greatest of provocations, that he gave him public thanks for his life ; bidding him not to fear for the time to come, but to return to his habitation: for he found by experience, that his life was not dearer to himself than it was to David; whom now he should look upon as his preserver, and a person of so tried and unchangeable affection to him, that notwithstanding all banishments, 268 HISTORY OF [Book IV. hazards, ill usage, loss of friends, and many attempts upon his life, lie returned him nothing but benefits for injuries. David desired him to send for the lance and the pitcher, appealing to the righteous God to judge between them, and to bear him witness, that when he took away Saul's lance and pitcher, he could with as much ease have taken away his life. After this deliverance, Saul returned safe to his palace. But David, not choos- ing to venture himself any longer in a place where he thought himself still in danger of being taken, removed with his six hundred men into the land of the Philistines, to dwell there, with the con- sent of his people. Being now come to Achish, the king of Gath, one of the five principal cities be- longing to the Philistines, the king enter- tained David, and his two wives, Abinoam and Abigail. Saul all this while had taken notice of David's motions; but after two disappoint- ments already, and falling into the very snare himself that he had set for David, he left his adversary to take his fortune, and desisted from the pursuit. David found himself uneasy in the city of Gath, and so took the freedom to desire of the king this addition to his former bounties, that he would be pleased to as- sign him some place or portion of ground in his dominions, for himself and those that belonged to him to live upon ; for it gave him some uneasiness to continue still in a place where he must appear bur- densome to the people. So the king gave him Ziklag * to himself and his heirs for * Ziklag was situate in the extreme parts of the tribe of Judah southwards, not far from Hormah, where the Israelites received a defeat, while they sojourned in the wilderness. In the division of the land of Canaan it was first given to the tribe of Judah, Josh. xv. 31. and afterwards to that of Simeon, Josh. xix. 5. but the Philistines seem all along to have kept possession, so that it never came into the hands of either tribe, until, by the gift of Achish, it became the peculiar inheritance of David and his successors. Why David desired of Achish the liberty to retire to this place, was to ever ; and David retained so gTeat a kind- ness for the place, even after he came to be king, as to reserve it for a private possession for himself and posterity ever afterwards. David's stay in Ziklag was four months and twenty days, whence he made several inroads upon their neighbours, theGe.Jiur- ites, the Gezerites, and Amalekites, carry- ing away vast booties of mules and camels; but taking no prisoners, for fear they should discover the whole mystery to Achish. He made the king presents however out of the spoil, who would ask him now and then where he met with all that pillage. His answer was, that he had made incursions into the southerly parts of Judea, and there he found it. There was no great difficulty to make Achish believe a story that his heart was so desirous to have true; for it was reasonable to think, that after all this havock and outrage committed by David upon his countrymen, he would nevei dare to look homeward again ; and by that means have nothing left to trust to but the service of king Achish. The Philistines were about this time preparing for a war against the Israelites, and a general rendezvous appointed upon such a day, in Shunem, where Achish was to draw them into a body, and thence to lead them out against the enemy. The king spoke to David also to join him, with his six hundred men over and above his own troops; who not only promised it with great readiness, but told Achish fur- ther that the time was now at hand that would put it into his power to make him an honourable return for all his bounties. The king, on the other hand, passing his royal v/ord to David, the more to avoid the envy which the number of his attend- ants might possibly occasion; to secure his people from the infection of idolatry ; to enjoy the free exercise of his own religion ; and to gain an opportunity of enterprising something against the enemies of (iod, without the knowledge or obser- vation of the Philistines. Calmet'a Commentary and Poole's Annotations. Chap. III.] THE BIBLE. 269 oblige him, that if he succeeded in this battle, he would invest him with great honours, and in particular give him the command of his guards. It is to be observed, that Saul had ban- ished all diviners, soothsayers, fortune- tellers, and all other people whatsoever, of such vain pretensions, out of his dominions; but the prophets he still retained. News being brought to Saul, that the Philistines were advanced as far as Shu- nem,* and encamped upon the plain there, he went out to meet them, and drew up near the mountain of Gilboa, directly opposite the camp of the enemy. The armies being now in sight of each other, Saul found the Philistines so much superior to the Israelites, that his heart misgave him ; and this terror put him upon consulting the prophets about the event of this battle. The question being put, but no answer returned, the silence of the oracle was worse to Saul than all the rest; for he looked upon it as a fore- boding presage of an evil fate at hand, that he fell into a downright despondency upon it ; and yet such was the hardness j of his heart, that though God had with- drawn his favour from him in such a sig- ] nal manner, and he himself conscious of i it, he had still recourse, after all this, to | conjurors and wizards, to learn the event of things, and set people at work to find him out some cunning woman, who could ! foretell things to come ; for there were a sort of people that took upon them to call upon the ghosts of the dead, and thereby I to resolve such questions about future con- ' tingencies as the querists should please to ask them. While he was upon this inquiry, one of I * Slnincm was a city in the borders of the tribe of Issachni, about rive miles to the south of mount Hermon, according to St Jerome and Eusebius ; who tell us likewise, that Gilboa was a ridge of mountains, six miles distant from Scythopolis, anciently called Bethshan ; and that Endor was a town in the valley of Jezreel, at the foot of mount Gilboa. Wells's Geography and Le Clerc's Commentary. his family informprt him that he had heard of such a woman at Endor. Upon this information Saul disguised himself, and taking two confidents along with him, went directly to the woman of Endor, without acquainting any other person. The first thing he asked of her was, as a trial of her skill, in calling up the ghost of such a person as he should name. The woman excused herself, out of a reverence to the king's edict, which had forbidden this way of divination upon pain of ban- ishment ; wherefore she besought him not to betray her into a snare, for if she should pretend to give a resolution, and be de- tected, the practice would infallibly be her ruin. But this refusal would not satisfy Saul> who, pressing her still more and more, with bitter imprecations upon himself, that no mortal should ever know of one syllable that passed between them, either question or answer, she was prevailed upon at last to venture herself upon the credit of such assurances, that she was safe in his hands. Immediately upon her consenting to his request, Saul bade her call up the ghost of Samuel. And upon her calling him up, the ghost appeared.f The woman f It is much disputed who it was that appear- ed on this occasion ; for the whole narrative mani- fests that it was no human imposture. Many expositors, ancient and modern, have maintained, that it was Satan personating Samuel ; though the text does not give the least intimation of it. It is, however, by no means advisable to give those men any countenance, who, to support a favourite system, put a forced construction upon ttie words of holy writ, very different from their obvious meaning: and scarcely any of their interpretations can sound harsher, than the insertion in every place, where Samuel is mentioned, 'that it was Satan personating Samuel.' It is indeed argued, that the woman's incantations could have 'no power over a glorified saint :' but to this it may fairly be answered, that neither could an evil spirit appear at her call, without the Lord's permission. Though the woman was not the cause of Samuel's being sent, Saul's inquiry might be the occasion ot it. The word disquieted seems to be used merely in accommodation to the general notions of man- kind on that subject : and the woman's surprise and terror provedthat it was an unusual and un- expected appearance, and not the ordinary effect of her art. It is, however, further urged, that 270 HISTORY OP [Book IV. was under an astonishment at the sight of so divine a figure, and turning toward Saul, asked him, If he were not Saul the king?' Saul made answer, that he was the apparition's discourse tended to drive Saul to despair, which is one of Satan's temptations ; and that it contained no exhortations to repentance, which were usual with the prophets. But to this it may be replied, that Elijah's message to Aha- ziah, Daniel's address to Belshazzar, and even Christ's discourse in the presence of Judas, were equally calculated to drive each of them to de- spair ; and equally void of exhortations to repent, and proposals of mercy. Saul had despised Sam- uel's solemn warnings in his life-time; yet now he hoped, as it were, in defiance of (rod, to obtain some counsel and encouragement from him : and why might not God permit the soul of his depart- ed prophet to appear and confirm his former sen- tence, and denounce Saul's irrevocable doom ? It was not beyond the power of God, nor, that I can see, at all unworthy of him ; but rather a de- claration of his immutable and irreversible truth and justice. Satan could not have predicted the several events, which came to pass accordingly, as far as we know, without being inspired by God to do so : and it would give far more countenance to consulting witches, to suppose that he inspired Satan to prophesy by them, than to conclude that Samuel was sent with this tremendous message from God, when Saul consulted one of them. In- deed this would most powerfully discourage such attempts ; as the request of the rich man in hell to Abraham, being entirely vain, is calculated to discourage praying to departed saints. The local situation of departed spirits is so concealed from us, that the circumstance of the spirit apparently 'arising out of the earth,' forms no real objection against its being the soul of Samuel : and the ex- pression, ' shall thou and thy sons be with me,' means no more, than that they should be in the eternal world. The transaction was suited to im- press the idea of a future state on the mind of all who should ever hear or read of it ; and it deter- mined nothing about the different conditions of the righteous and the wicked. Upon the whole, there appears much solemnity in God's for once permitting the soul of a departed prophet to make his appearance, as a witness from heaven, and in sending him to confirm the word which he spoke on earth, (evincing that the words of the prophets would surely take effect ;) and to sit in judgment upon a proud enemy of God, who foolishly sought encouragement in his impenitency, by the most atrocious crimes. This interpretation is certainly obvious, and suited to the apprehensions of the unlearned reader, and according to the general simplicity of the scriptures : and nothing short of unanswerable arguments and objections, should constrain us to suppose, that when the Holy Spirit said Samuel, he meant Satan, not speaking by Samuel, as he did by the serpent and by the de- moniacs ; but actually counterfeiting his shape, and speaking with his voice, though Samuel him- self was in every sense absent from the place. The venerable appearance of Samuel, or sorne- the man ; and observing her to be trem- bling, and in disorder, desired to know what might be the cause of that confusion She answered, she saw the resemblance of an ancient man, with a radiant glory about him, ascending from the earth. Saul demanded of her what kind of figure, of what years, and in what habit he seem- ed to be ? she said, A man in years, of a venerable aspect, and in a sacerdotal vest.' By this description Saul concluded it to be the figure of Samuel, and fell down upon his face and worshipped. The spectre demanded what he gave him this trouble for, to take him from his place of rest ? Saul replied, that it was absolute necessity; for he was threatened with a mighty army, and wanted advice what to do ; for God had forsaken him, and he had neither prophets, dreams, nor visions to fly to for direction. For these reasons, he had now recourse, as he said, to Sam- uel, as his last refuge, and a person that he had ever found favourable to himself and his affairs. Samuel, foreseeing that Saul had but one day more to live, told him, ' How vain a thing it was for him who knew himself forsaken of God, to launch out into unseasonable curiosities, thing which he spoke, convinced the woman that it was Saul who consulted her. ' She perceived, by the reverence the spectre paid him, who he was:' for so Abarbinel interprets it, 'he bowed with his face to the ground, in honour of Saul, whereby the woman concluded that it was the king.' Thus then, if the devil personated Samuel, he worshipped Saul, not Saul him ! A likely thing, truly, that either Samuel, or Satan personating him, should thus reverence Saul! It shows to what difficulties the supporters of the latter opi- nion are reduced. Saul's bowing down before Samuel, was not indeed an act of religious wor- ship, any more than Abigail's bowing down be- fore David. The answer of Samuel was in every respect suitable to his character, and to the occa- sion. It was entirely in vain for Saul to consult the servant, when the Lord was become his ene- my ; the Lord was only doing to him as he de- clared he would ; and as Samuel knew him to be finally given up, he neither gave him counsel nor comfort. The woman first saw the appearance ; but afterwards Saul seems to have seen it, as well as to have heard the words spoken. Some think that neither Said's servants nor the woman heard what passed. Scot* Chap. III.] THE BIRLE. ^71 about what should hereafter become of him. 'But,' says the ghost, 'since no- thing else will serve your turn, I am to tell you, that the Almighty God 1ms de- termined that David shall be put into possession of the government, and bring the present war to a happy conclusion, while you yourself are to lose your crown and your life together, for your disobe- dience to God in the business of the Amalekites, and for the contempt of his commands, which from my lips you re- ceived by his order, while I was living. Know further, that you are to be with me to-morrow ;* your army shall be over- thrown, and yourself and your sons fall in the battle.' These awful words struck Saul speech- less, and fainting, he fell to the ground; whether this proceeded from so dreadful a sentence, or from weakness of body, may be a question, though most probably the latter, for he had eat nothing for twenty-four hours. But at last, coming a little to himself, the woman very- earnest- ly pressed him to take some refreshment to support nature ; desiring no other con- sideration for the dangerous office she had performed him, than to put him in a con- dition of strength and ability to return to his army. She was thoroughly sensible of the haz- ard she had run in the exercise of a for- bidden profession ; and especially in the violation of a decree at the desire (though inadvertently) of him that made it. After a great many importunities, in * In this passage, the word to-morrow, (as some interpreters imagine) is not to be taken in a strict sense, because (as they conceive) this battle was not fought till some time after ; but there seems to be no reason why to-morroio should not be taken literally : for, as Endor was at no great dis- tance from the Israelites' camp, Saul might go that night, consult the witch, stay, and eat with her, and get back to the camp before it was light. The next day the battle begins ; Saul is vanquished ; and seeing his army routed, despairs, and stabs himself. All this might very well be done in the space of twelve or fourteen hours ; and therefore 1 see no occasion why we should depart from tne plain signification of the words. Caimet's Com- mentary. the depth of his despondence Saul was prevailed on to take some nourishment. Accordingly, the woman, though poor, killed her only calf, dressed it, and set it before Saul and his servants, with her whole fortune in that treat; who took his repast, and returned that night to the army.f The Philistines having drawn then troops together from all quarters, accord- ing to their distribution into tribes, king- doms, and governments, Achish, the king of Gath, with his men after the rest, and David with his band of six hundred after Achish; several of the Philistine com- manders taking notice of a mixture of Israelites among them, inquired from whence they came? who sent for them ? and what they did there? Achish made answer, ' That the young man (pointing to David) was a servant of Saul's who was fallen under his displeasure, and forced to fly for his life. He came to me,' savs Achish, 'with the people he has about him, for sanctuary ; so I received him, and provided for him ; and now upon this occasion he has promised me his utmost assistance against Saul, in requital for his protection, and to gratify his revenge.' t We must not pass over the candour, the good- nature, and the greatness of the woman's mind, without some note of admiration. The king had forbidden her the practice of an art that was the only maintenance of herself and family. Here comes a guest and a stranger to her, that f he had never seen before ; but a person in misery, and one that had need of her advice in the way that he himself had forbidden ; for it proved to be the king. She received nim, treated him, and relieved him ; and all this she did willingly and cheerfully ; nay, and so frankly too, that she gave him all she had, and without any prospect or contemplation of a reward, by gaining the king's favour ; for she knew he was doomed to die ; besides that, over and above the piety of these offices, she did all this for the very man whose prohibition had been the ruin of her. This proceeding was quite con- trary to the custom of the world, that makes char- ity an interest, and gives or relieves only to get by the bargain, putting out virtue, as they do money, to interest. We may reckon that we have recom- mended to us in the great example of this gener- ous woman the honour and humanity of doing good offices to all people in necessity ; besides, that a sincere and unaffected charity is a virtue of all others the most acceptable in God's sight. 272 HISTORY OF [Book IV The Philistines were one and all against trusting a professed enemy, and were rather for sending him back, for they did not know, they said, what mischief the treachery of such a party might do upon such an occasion. And for the difference betwixt him and his master, the service he might do him upon this opportunity, would compound for forty such breaches; wherefore Achish should do well, they said, to consider what he was doing, and without more words to send him back to the habitation he had assigned him ; for this was the David, they said, that the virgins cried up so in their songs, for kill- ing so many thousands of the Philistines. Achish could not oppose the force and reason of the objection ; and therefore he thought fit to take David aside, and con- verse with him upon that subject, saying, " Young man, upon the certain proof and experience that I have received of your fidelity and courage, I have now enter- tained you as my ally and associate in this expedition, wherefore withdraw yourself immediately to the place I have allotted you, and have a particular care there of the peace of my people, and the country near you, for fear my enemies should take advantage of my absence and press me with troubles at home. You will do me the office of a kind ally, every jot as effectually in that government as if you were my second in the army ; and in the mean time, I am as much your friend as ever." Upon this declaration of Achish, they parted, and David, according to his order, went his way to Ziklag. But while David was following the camp of the Philistines, the Amalekites fell upon Ziklag, took it, and laid it in ashes ; making dreadful havoc in the country thereabouts: they pillaged all wherever they came, and at last went home again with what booty they could carry along with them. David, at his return, finding the place of his habitation destroyed and desolate, his own wives, and the wives and children of his fellow-soldiers hurried away prison- ers, with all that belonged unto them, he broke out into so passionate an extrava- gance of lamentation and outrage, that he rent his clothes, and wept himself dry, even for want of matter to supply more tears. His followers were ready to stone him too, for the loss of their wives and children ; for, they said, he was the cause of all, and the whole miscarriage was laid at his door. When David had wearied himself wi weeping, he came to the resolution o applying to Heaven for comfort ; and de- sired Abiathar the high-priest to put on his pontifical robes, and consult God in form, and then report of the oracle. The question was, whether or not, in case of overtaking the Amalekites upon the pur- suit, the Israelites might be allowed to re- ceive their wives and children again, that had been taken from them before, and re- venge themselves upon the enemy ?' The high-priest bade David follow them, and prosper. Upon which en- couragement he took his six hundred men, and pursued them to the brook Besor ;* where they found an Egyptian that had lost his way, and was ready to perish with hunger, having been three days in the desert without eating. They took pity upon him, and after giving him a little refreshment, they asked him who he was ? and to whom he belonged ? He told them he was an Egyptian born, and a ser- vant to a person who was at the sacking and burning of Ziklag, and the country thereabouts; who left him upon the way in his passage home again, because he was so faint that he could not keep up with the troops. David made use of this Egyptian for his guide, upon the trace of the Amalek- * This brook had its source in the mountain of Idumea, and fell into the Mediterranean sea be- yond Gaza. Some suppose it to have been the same with the river of the wilderness, or the river of Egypt. Chap III.] THE BIBLE. ites, whom, at last, he overtook, and found some feasting, and some dancing with much pride and vanity, in the con- templation of their late booty. In short, while they were drowned in drink and sleep, and wholly set upon their ease and pleasure, and unarmed, David fell upon them in this disorder and confusion, mingling their blood with their wine, so that there escaped, out of their whole number, not above four hundred persons, who were carried of by the swiftness of their camels.* The pursuit continued from noon until night; and in the close of the action they recovered their wives, children, and booty. David had but four hundred men with him, the other two hundred being left behind for a guard to the baggage. Upon his return from the spoil, the four hundred that were upon the action, would not allow the two hundred, that were upon easier service, to have any part in the booty, excepting their wives and children. David looked upon this as an unreason- able proposition; 'For,' said he, 'the vic- tory was given by God, and being a bless- ing upon the common cause, it is but rea- sonable that the whole body should partake of the benefit, especially where the one part was upon duty, as well as the other, and at the same time preserved the bag- gage.' This decision passed into a law, that is to say, the spoil to be equally divided be- tween them that guarded the baggage, and those that should fight the battle. David, after his return to Ziklag, sent * It appears from Diodorus, that the Arabians universally employed camels in war, setting two warriors upon each, back to back, of whom one opposed the advancing enemy, the other repelled the charge of the pursuer. All the Arabians in the army of Xerxes were mounted on camels that equalled in speed the swiftest horses. The Bac- tnans also fought on camels ; and the Parthians, in their wars with the Romans, annoyed with unceasing showers of arrows, from their horses and camels, the legions of their restless and terrible foe. Script. Must. 273 up and down to his friends and acquaint- ance,' in the tribe of Judah, presents out of the spoil.f We shall pass now from the destruction of Ziklag, and the total overthrow of the Amalekites, to a bloody victory obtained by the Philistines over trie Israelites. The armies being joined, the encounter was very sharp. Said and his sons did all that was possible for brave men to do; but finding themselves oppressed with numbers (for the whole stress lay upon them) they had no more to do than to die honourably, that the enemy should have little reason to boast of their pur- chase. In fine, they were so continually sur- rounded by fresh numbers, that they were forced to submit to the necessity of an in- superable fate. Upon the fall of Saul's sons, viz. Jona- than, Aminadab, and Malchishua, that were slain in the heat of the battle, the whole army fell into confusion, and fled in a direct rout; the Philistines, pressing upon the rear, made a prodigious slaugh- ter. Saul shifted for himself a-while, with a small body of his own, but they were soon broken by the darts and arrows \ of the f This was a very popular and judicious step in David, as he hereby not only discharged himself of the obligations of gratitude, but endeavoured to secure their interest and favour, in case there should happen a vacancy in the throne. J There is no mention of archers in any of the Philistine armies or battles before this ; in which they are said to have pressed hard upon Saul, as doubtless they were of great advantage to the Philistines in making their attack, 1st, Because an assault with this kind of weapon was new and surprising, and therefore generally successful; and 2dly, Because the arrows, destroying the Israelites at a distance, before they came to close right, threw them naturally into terror and confusion. And for this reason some think, that, when Davist came to the throne, he taught the Israelites tlw use of the bow, (as we read 2 Sam. i. 18.) thut they might not be inferior to the Philistines, r>r fall into the like disaster that Saul had done; arid for this reason it certainly was, that, when he had made a peace with the Philistines, he took some of their archers (who, in the following books, are frequently mentioned under the name of Chereth- ites) to be his body guard. Bishop Patrick. . 2 M 274 HISTORY OF [Book IV. Philistines; and finding himself so weak- ened with wounds and loss of blood, that he was not able to do execution upon himself, therefore, in this extremity, he called to his armour-bearer to assist him in it, that he miydit not fall alive into the hands of his enemies. But the servant excused himself, out of the veneration he had for his majesty, and upon that refusal Saul cast himself upon the point of a sword; * but not being able to finish what he had begun, he took notice of a young J man, an Amalekite, near at hand, and desired him to take the sword, and des- i patch him.f He did it immediately, and * The learned and ingenious author of ' The Historical Account of the Life of King David,' seems to make it evident, that Saul and his armour- bearer died by the same sword, viz. that which belonged to the armour-bearer. " Now it is an established tradition of the Jewish church," says he, "that this armour-bearer was Doeg the Edom- ite, who, by Saul's command, slew such a number of priests in one day, 1 Sam. xxii. 19. and if so, then Saul and his executioner fell both by the same weapon wherewith they had before massacred the servants of the Lord : even as Brutus and Cassius killed themselves with the same sword with which they treacherously murdered Caesar; I say treacherously murdered, because they lay in his bosom at the same time that they meditated his death." f The Jews give us a high commendation of Saul, and seem to prefer him before David himself in regard to the magnanimity of his death. But it is much to be questioned whether self-murder, which was certainly Saul's case, be an act of mag- nanimity or not. For besides that the laws of all nations have condemned it, as abhorrent to the dictates of nature and reason, of self-love and self- preservation, the wisest of the heathen world ever looked upon it as an instance of madness and brutality, and, with great wisdom, have concluded, that such an action is so far from savouring of true courage and generosity, that it is the sure effect of a weak and pusillanimous temper of mind ; since true greatness of soul, as they justly argue, consists in supporting the evils of adversity, and not in shifting them off, which is a mark of a poor impa- tient spirit, sinking under the common calamities of life, and not knowing how to bear the blows of bad fortune. ' Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest the uncircumcised come and mock, or abuse me,' was the request which Saul made to his armour-bearer, and shows that it was not bravery and courage, but the fear of in- sults, and a conscious inability to bear them with a becoming superiority of mind, that made him shun the storm when he saw it approaching, by withdrawing from the stage of life. Saul's case indeed was very dolorous, but he had not there- made a prize of Saul's golden bracelets, and went off with them. When the armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he laid violent hands upon himself also ; and there was not one of the king's guard who outlived his master. This battle was fought near the mountain of Gilboa. No sooner had the Israelites of tlit valley beyond Jordan, and the cities of the plains, intelligence of the death of Saul and his sons, and of the entire de- struction of his army, but they withdrew themselves out of their open towns into more secure and strong holds; while the Philistines, took possession, and without any difficulty made themselves masters of the places the others had quitted. On the next day after the battle, the Philistines, coming into the field to view the dead, found the bodies of Saul and his sons among the rest. They stripped them, cut off their heads, and sent ex- presses every way up and down with the fore any authority to destroy himself. His life was a sacred despositum of God's, and not to be taken away without invading his right, and violat- ing his laws at the same time. For whatever some may think of tiie silence of the scripture concern- ing self-murder, there is no question to he made but that it is included in the sixth commandment, under which Saul then lived. The commandment forbids murder in general; and it is certainly as much murder to kill ourselves as to kill another man : and the reason, which the scripture gives, why we are not allowed to do it, in both cases is the same, because ' in the image of God made he man.' For if 1 must not shed the blood of an- other, because ' he is made in the image of God ;' I must not shed the blood of mine own self, be- cause I also am a man, and 'made in the image of God,' as well as he. The reason therefore why we have not more frequent prohibitions against this sin is plainly this, that whatever sins or offen- ces God, as a lawgiver, prohibits, he prohibits with a penalty, that is, he affixes such a punishment to such a crime, and he who commits the crime is to undergo the punishment in this world, whether it be restitution, loss of limb, or loss of life itself. But now this can never happen in the case of self- murder, because self-murder prevents all punish* merit, the man being dead, before any cognizance can be taken of his offence, and therefore pre- vents all laws concerning it; and can consequent- ly only be included under general commands, and forbidden as a sin, whereof God alone can take cognizance in the world to come. Stack- house. Chap. IV.] THE BIBLE. 275 news of this defeat. Their arms they de- posited in the temple of Ashtaroth, and their bodies they exposed upon gibbets under the walls of the city of Bethshan,* known at this day by the name of Scytho- polis. This barbarous outrage upon the bodies of Saul and his sons coming to the ears of the men of Jabesh-gilead, raised in them such an indignation at the inhumanity of refusing them the last rites of burial, that some of the most daring and enter- prising among them made up a party, and travelling all night, took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the walls of Bethshan, and carried them away to Jabesh, and burnt them there ;+ not a * Bethshan, more generally known by the name of Scythopolis, was a town of Manasseh, but situated in Issachar, Josh. xvii. 11, 16. Judg. i. 27. 1 Kings iv. 12. In 2 Mac. xii. 29. it is reckoned to be 600 furlongs, or 75 miles, from Jerusalem. Josephus says it was 120 furlongs from Tiberias ; so that it cannot be so near the lake of Tiberias as some geographers have suppos- ed. It was on the west of Jordan, at the extremity of the great plain. The name of Scythopolis, or the city of the Scythians, came, according to George Syncellus, from the Scythians, who invad- ed Palestine in the reign of Josiah, son of Amos, king of Judah. Stephens the geographer, and Pliny, call it Nysa ; the Hebrews name it Beth- shan ; file LXX, 'Bethshan, otherwise Scythopolis.' The fruits of Bethshan were the sweetest in the land of Israel; and fine linen garments were made here. Before the Babylonish captivity it was in- cluded within the land of Israel ; but after that period it was reckoned without the land ; and none of its productions were tithed. Probably the posterity of the Scythians retained their property in it, and its demesnes. Bethshan is now called Bysan, and is described by Burckhardt as situat- ed on rising ground, on the west of the river Jordan. The present village contains 70 or 80 houses, the inhabitants of which are in a miserable condition, owing to the depredations of the Bedou- ins. The ruins of the ancient city are of consider- able extent, along the banks of the rivulet which ran by it, and the valley formed by its branches ; and bespeak it to have been nearly three miles in circuit. Calmet. t The burning of dead bodies in funeral piles, it is well known, was a custom prevalent among the Greeks and Romans, upon which occasion they threw frankincense, myrrh, cassia, and other fragrant articles into the fire: and this in such abundance, that Pliny represents it as a piece of profaneness, to bestow such heaps of frankincense upon a dead body, when they offered it so sparingly to their gods. And though the Jews might possibly learn creature daring to open his mouth against them. Their deaths were lamented by the whole people of the place, who gave their bodies a public and an honourable inter- ment in the chief part of their province. They spent seven days in so strict a so- lemnity of fasting and mourning, that men, women, and children, were all bound indispensably to observe it This was the end of Saul, according to the prediction of Samuel, for his not pro- secuting the war against the Amalekites, according to his order, and for the mas- sacre of Abimelech and his family, with the devastation even of the sacerdotal city itself. He ruled in the days of Samuel, eigh- teen years, and twenty-two more after his decease, coming to this unhappy end in the same manner as it is here set forth. CHAPTER IV. David avenges the death of Saul on the Amalek- ites. His elegy on the death of Saul and Jonathan. Is proclaimed king of Judah. David's success against the king of the other tribes. Abner revolts to David. Is slain by Joab. David revenges the death of Abner. from them the custom of burning the bowels, armour, and other things belonging to their kings, in piles of odoriferous spices, yet they very rarely, and only for particular reasons, burnt the dead bodies themselves. We are told, indeed, that the people of Jabesh-gilead ' took the bodies of Saul and his sons (from the place where the Philistines had hung them up), and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there ;' but by this time their bodies must have been in such a state that they were not fit to be embalmed ; or, perhaps, they were apprehensive that if they should embalm them, and so bury them, the people of Bethshan might at some future time dig them up, and fix them a second time against their walls ; and therefore, the people of Jabesh might think it more advis- able to recede from their common practice, and for greater security to imitate the heathen in this particular. Amos also speaks of the burning of bodies (vi. 10.) ; but it is evident from the words themselves, and from the context, that this was in the time of a great pestilence, not only when there were few to bury the dead, but when it was un- safe to go abroad and perform the funeral rites by interment, in which case the burning was certainly the best expedient. Home. 276 HISTORY OF [Book IV. The tribes unite under David, who rules \ with prudence and piety, and is crowned with a scries of success. Soon after David's arrival at Ziklag from the conquests of the Amalekites, he re- ceived the news of the death of Saul, from the very man who had slain him in battle. When he approached David with every token of grief and humility, and was in- quiring concerning the cause of his ar- rival, as well as his person, he thus re- lated the fatal case: 'I am an Amalek- ite, and come from the late engagement of the Israelites, in which fell king Saul, and three of his sons together, with many thousands of his inferior ranks. I shall speak no more than what 1 saw ; it was my fortune to be near the king when he was in his extremity. He cast himself upon the point of his own sword; but being faint with his wounds, he could not execute what he had begun ; so that upon his earnest desire, I was forced to do the office for him, to keep him from falling alive into the hands of his enemies.' He showed David at the same time the bracelet, and the crown that he took from the dead body, (to confirm the truth of his story,) which he reserved for a present to David.* * By the account which we have of king Saul's death, namely, that he ' fell upon a sword,' and ex- pired, 1 Sam. xxxi. 4. it seems very evident that the whole story of this Amalekite was a fiction of his own inventing, on purpose to ingratiate him- self with David, the presumptive successor to the throne : hut then the question is, how he came by Saul's crown and bracelet, since it is incongruous to think that he would wear them in the time of action, and thereby expose himself as a public mark. As therefore it is presumed that they were carried into the field of battle by some of his attendants, in order to be put on in case he had obtained the victory, and returned in triumph ; so the Jews have a conceit that Doeg, the infamous murderer of the priests at Nob, 1 Sam. xxii. 18. who, at this time was his armour-bearer, had them in his possession, and before he killed himself gave them to his son, (this young Amalekite) and or- dered him to carry them to David, but to his cost found that David's reception was quite different to what he expected. For, being shortly to ascend the throne himself, he was willing to have it be- lieved that to slay the Lord's anointed upon any Upon this melancholy news, he rent his clothes, and spent the whole day with his friends in tears and lamentations. But the most sensible part of his affliction was, the loss of Jonathan, his ever dear and faithful friend, and more than once the very preserver of his life. So transcendent was the virtue of David, and his generosity toward Saul, that not- withstanding so many repeated practices upon his life, he did not only deplore his misfortune, but ordered the criminal to be delivered up to justice; not only upon his own confession, but the more certain evidence of his guilt, in the crown and the bracelet, that he took from Saul, after he was dead ; and proving himself to be truly an Amalekite, owning the very prin- ciple of a regicide. David, upon the melancholy occasion, composed several elegies, one of which, cited by the sacred historian, is justly deemed an eminent specimen of piety and rhetoric. When David had paid his last duties to the memory of Saul and his sons, and the term of mourning was expired, he consulted God by the prophet which of the cities of Judah should be allotted him for his habitation : and it was answered Hebron.f Wherefore he left Ziklag im- account whatever, was in itself an execrable crime, and therefore to clear himself from the imputation of being any ways accessory to so foul a fact, (as his enemies would have been apt to imagine, had he given countenance to this pretended king- killer,) he ordered him immediately to be put to death, and therein at least acted the part of a good politician, if not of a righteous judge. Le Clerc's and Patrick's Commentary. j- Hebron was one of the most ancient cities of Canaan, being built seven years before Tanis, the capital of Lower Egypt, Numb. xiii. 22. It is thought to have been founded by Arba, an an- cient giant of Palestine, and hence to have been called Kirjath-arba, Arba's city, which name was afterwards changed into Hebron. Hebron was situated on an eminence, twenty miles south of Jerusalem, and about the same distance north of Beersheba. It is now called El Ilhalil, and con- tains a population of about 400 Arabs. " They are so mutinous," says D'Arvieux, "that they rarely pay the duties without force, and common- ly a reinforcement from Jerusalem is necessary Chap. IV.] THE BIBLE. 277 mediately, and repaired thither, with his I two wives, and the guards of his person that he had about him ; whither the whole tribe came soon after, and a full convention ' with one voice proclaimed him king. David had heard by this time of the generous and respectful behaviour of the men of Jabesh toward Saul and his sons, and how bravely they rescued their bodies from infamy, in the face of the enemy, and gave them an honourable burial; so that he sent them particular acknowledg- ments, in his own name, for what they had done in honour of those princes, as an obligation that should for ever be re- membered to their advantage. The same messenger gave them to understand, that the tribe of Judah had declared David their king. In this juncture, Abner, the son of Ner, and Saul's general, a man of great courage and resolution, having heard of the death of Saul, Jonathan, and two other of his sons, in the late battle, posted to the camp to look after Ishbosheth, at that time the only survivor of Saul's male issue. When he found him, to secure him from danger he crossed the river Jordan with him, and got him declared king of all Israel, The people are brave, and when in revolt extend their incursions as far as Bethlehem, and make amends by their pillage for what is exacted from them. They are so well acquainted with the wind- ings of the mountains, and know so well how to post themselves to advantage, that they close all the passages and exclude every assistance from reach- ing the Soubachi. . .The Turks dare not dwell here, believing that they could not live a week if they attempted it. The Greeks have a church in the village." The mutinous character of this people, one would think, was but a continuation of their ancient disposition ; which might render them fit instruments for serving David against Saul, and Absalom against David. Ths advantage they possessed in their knowledge of the passes may account also for the protracted resistance which David made to Saul, and the necessity of the lat- ter employing a considerable force in order to dis- lodge his adversary. David was so well aware of this advantage of station, that when Absalom had possessed himself of Hebron, he did not think of attacking him there, but fled in all haste from Jer- usalem, northward. Calmel the tribe of Judah excepted, appointing Mahanaim* for his residence as much as the camp. Abner was so incensed against the tribe of Judah, for the choice of their king, that he resolved to make war upon them for it, and detached a body of chosen men for the encounter. Joab, the son of Zeruiah, had the com- mand of David's army, taking his two brothers, Abishai and Asahel, along with him. When they were advanced to a cer- tain fountain of Gibeon, the two armies being in sight of each other, drew up; but as they stood in order, and ready to engage, Abner proposed a trial before- hand between an equal number of each side, to see which were the braver men of the two. So that by consent they sent out twelve and twelve to dispute the point, and in sight of the two armies. Thev began the combat with their darts, and then fell in with their swords, every man taking his adversary by the hair, and stabbing one another, till they all fell dead upon the spot. The armies joined them, and for some time fought furiously on both sides ; but in the end, Abner was totally routed. Joab, and his two bro- thers, closely pursuing them, encouraged their men, both to the chase and execu- tion. But no man stuck so close to him as Asahel, who was very nimble and swift of foot,f and having singled him out, * This was a place in the tribe of Gad, which had its name from the appearance of an host of angels to Jacob, and the reasons for Abner's re- treating hither, in the beginning of the new king's reign, were, that he might secure the people on that side of the Jordan, and especially the gallant inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead, who were great lovers of Saul, and attached to his family ; that lie might prevent the Philistines from falling upon the king, whom he had under his protection, in the infancy of his reign ; and chiefly, that he might be at a great distance from David, have the new king more absolutely under his command, and a better opportunity of raising recruits among a people, not only brave and courageous, but verv well affected to the cause which he had espoused. Calmet's Commentary and Poole's Annotations. f Swiftness of foot was highly valued, as it gave the warrior a great advantage over his slower and 278 HISTORY OF [Book IV. pressed close after him, without turning either to the right hand or to the left. When Abner found himself so resolute- ly pursued, he offered him a suit of arms to desist ; but seeing he could not prevail, he fairly advised him not to put him to the necessity of doing him a mischief for the saving of his own life : after which he could never think of looking his brother in the face. Abner, perceiving by this time that Asahel was not to be wrought upon, turn- ed his lance in his flight, and struck his pursuer dead upon the spot. This acci- dent retarded the pursuit ; for the people gave over the chase to stand gazing at the slain Asahel. But Joab and his brother Abishai were now past the dead body, and so exasperated against Abner for the death of their brother, that with incredible speed and vigour they followed the pur- suit till towards sunset. Upon the hill of Ammah, Abner, with the tribe of Benjamin, took the advantage of a rising ground to observe the enemy, and from thence to reason the case with Joab, representing to him, That this out- rageous animosity was already gone too far among the people of the same blood and profession ; and that he had entreated Asahel to desist from the pursuit; but he being obstinately resolute, still continued, and thereby forced him for self-preserva- more unwieldy antagonist. It is accordingly men- tioned to the honour of Asahel, that he was swifter of foot than a wild roe ; a mode of expression perfectly synonymous with the epithet of 'the swift-footed Achilles,' which is given by Homer to his hero, not fewer than thirty times in the course of the Iliad; and the sweet singer of Israel, in his poetical lamentation over those two great captains, Saul and Jonathan, takes particular notice of this warlike quality : ' They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.' Nor were the ancient Greeks ess attentive to a qualification which the state of the military art in those days rendered so valuable. The foot races in the Olympic games were insti- tuted by warlike chieftains, for the very purpose of inuring their subjects to the fatigues of war, and particularly ol increasing their speed, which was regarded as an excellent qualification in a warrior, both because it served for a sudden attack and a nimble retreat. Paxton. tion, to slay him at his feet. Joab could not oppose the reasonableness of Abner's plea, and therefore caused a retreat to be sounded, and encamped upon the same place that night. But Abner continued his march over the river Jordan, to the palace of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul. , The day following he took a view of the t dead (which he caused to be buried) ; computing that Abner lost three hundred and sixty men, and David nineteen; with- i out reckoning Asahel, whose body was carried by Joab and Abishai to Bethlehem, j and there laid in the sepulchre of their fathers ; from whence they returned to king David at Hebron. This dispute between the adherents of David and those of Saul was the cause of a seditious and bloody war amongst the Israelites. But David's army waxed gradually stronger than that of Saul, and gained many advantages over their oppo- nents. David in the mean time had six sons by as many wives : Amnon, the son of Ahinoam ; Chileab, the son of Abigail ; Absalom, the son of Maacah ; Adonijah, the son of Haggith; Shephatiah, the son of Abital ; and Ithream, the son of Eglah. In the prosecution of this civil war, it was the prudence, the interest, and the popularity of Abner, that supported the pretensions of Saul's family, and kept the people in their obedience to Ishbosheth. But this prince being informed that Ab- ner lived in a scandalous familiarity with Rizpah, one of his father's late concu- bines,* reprimanded him so severely for it, * To have any commerce with the relicts 01 princes, of what denomination soever they were, was in those days looked upon as an indignity offered to the royal family, and an affectation of the kingdom ; and what notion the world then had of marrying any royal relict, is evident from the case of Adonijah, whom Solomon put to death for desiring but to ask for Abishag, one of David's concubines, though he had employed Bathsheba, the king's mother, to be his intercessor, and was himself his brother, 1 Kings ii. 17. It may be said, perhaps, that Adonijah was at this time as- piring at the throne, which Solomon perceiving. Chap. IV.J THE BIBLE. that it highly incensed him, as he had ever been a zealous adherent to the cause and interest of king Saul and his family. Upon this provocation Abner meditated revenge, determining to transfer the crown from Ishbosheth to David, and thereby make it generally known that Ishbosheth was not advanced to the government for any virtue or ability of his own, but wholly by the advice, arms, interest, re- commendation, and tried fidelity to him- self. He sent a commission to Hebron, with full power to make a league with David in his name, upon this condition, that from and after the time of Abner's draw- ing off all the tribes from Ishbosheth to David and advancing him to the throne by the universal consent of the people, Abner should be received as David's first minister and favourite. Nothing could have been more welcome to David than this proposal, and it was accordingly accepted. The first thing he desired, as the earnest of a future alliance, was the restoring Michal,* whom he had purchased with very great labour and hazard, in obtaining the heads of two hun- dred Philistines, a bargain for her of Saul. 279 took occasion from this his request to fall out with him, and prevent it. But, however this may be, a general rule it was, not among the Jews only, but among other nations, that no private person should f>resume to marry the king's widow ; for this made am appear as a rival and competitor for the crown. Calmefs Commentary. * If David had divorced Michal, and she had in consequence been married to another, he must not have received her again : but the separation was violent on both sides. It is probable that her marriage to Phaltiel was a force upon her inclina- tions : and Phaltiel was very criminal in taking another man's wife, whatever affection he had for her. David required Michal to be restored, per- haps out of affection for her ; or to strengthen his interest by asserting his affinity with the house of Saul, and showing the value that he put upon, it; or to show his regard for the law of God, and to rebuke a man who openly violated it. As Ab- ner did not deem it politic, at that juncture, di- rectly to take Michal from Phaltiel, David address- ed himself to Ishbosheth, whose sister she was, who complied with his demand ; perhaps being willing to be upon amicable terms with him, as he could not overcome him by arms. ScotL Abner therefore took Michal out of the arms of Phaltiel, upon whom she was be- stowed, and then called the principals of the people, both military and civil, to- gether, and addressed thein to this purpose: "There was a time when you would have gone over from Ishbosheth to David, and I was against it ; but you are now at liberty to do what you please ; for the pro- phet Samuel hath most infallibly assured us, from the voice of God himself, that David is the man whom divine Providence hath designed as king and governor of the Israelites ; and that it is he, and only he, that is to avenge us upon the Philistines and to bring them under our yoke." These words were so clear a discovery of Abner's design, that the heads of the people and of the army fell in unanimous- ly with his opinion; and from that time forward declared and acted openly in fa- vour of David. When they had proceed- ed thus far, Abner called for the Benja- mites, on whom alone the protection of Ishbosheth depended, and delivered him- self to them in the same manner, and with the same effect as he had done the other tribes, for they all declared themselves as one man for David. When Abner had thus advanced to- ward the performance of his conditions, he took about twenty chosen men with him to David, in order, partly to ratify the treaty, and partly for common satisfaction, as people rather prefer being present at treaties in which they are concerned, than having them transacted by proxy, that the proceedings on both sides might be the more impartially transmitted from the one to the other, and an exact report made of what passed between himself and the heads of the tribes, and how he had now brought over the Benjamites to David's party. Abner and his company were treated by David with freedom and magnificence, for the time they staid ; but after some few days, he desired, for the present, to be dismissed, that he might conduct the army and the people to him; and upon 280 HISTORY OF [Book IV. delivering tip the government into his hands, by the consent of the whole nation, fulfil his design. Abner was presently despatched ac- cording to his desire, and hardly got out of one of the gates of Hebron, before Joab, David's general, who had been somewhere abroad, came in at another; being given to understand that Abner lad been in private with David, upon certain proposals to settle him in the government, the conditions offered and accepted, and that a league had been solemnly ratified betwixt them; strong prepossessions en- tered into Joab's head, that this intrigue of Abner's would be his ruin, and supplant him not only in his master's favour, but in the most honourable of his commissions; especially considering that Abner was a man of policy and address, and one who well knew how to improve a critical junc- ture to his own advantage. To vent his spleen against Abner, Joab endeavoured to persuade the king, by art- ful insinuations, that he should do well to beware how he trusted Abner ; for his main intent was to establish the family of Saul in the government. When Joab found that he could not work upon David by calumny and slander, to the prejudice of Abner, he bethought himself of a surer and shorter way, therefore, to sate his revenge, which was by taking away his life; he despatched messengers after him in David's name, to call him back again with all imaginable expedition, under a pretext of somewhat forgotten in his instructions that was very consider- able. The messengers overtook him upon the way at a place called Sirah, about three miles from Hebron; and upon their delivering their message, Abner very in- nocently went back with them to the city, little thinking of the malicious intention of taking away his life. Upon his coming up to the walls of the town, Joab stood in the gate with a specious appearance of kindness and humanity, ready to receive him; and, taking him aside as upon pri- vate business, surprised him, and plunged his sword into his bowels. Thus was this brave man taken off by the perfidious malice and treachery of Joab, in revenge (as he pretended) for the death of his brother Asahel, who was slain in the battle of Hebron, upon the violent pursuit of Abner; but in truth, to gratify his jealousy and revenge, for fear of being supplanted in his court-preferments.* David was so excessively affected with the news of Abner's death, that, stretching forth his right hand toward heaven, in an appeal and protestation that he was neither privy nor consenting to the fact, cursing most bitterly the assassin, whoever he was, his family, and all his accomplices: and this he did not only in detestation of so base a practice, but as a proof that he had acted on the strictest niceties of faith and honour to Abner. He appointed by proclamation a public mourning for him, with all the solemnities of tearing garments, and putting on sack- cloth, he himself with his great ministers and officers assisting at the funeral, and giving sufficient demonstration, by wring- ing of hands, beating their breasts, and other expressions of sorrow, both of the veneration they had for Abner's memory, and their sense of so inestimable a loss; and this conduct fully convinced the peo- ple, that David was far from approving or consenting to so execrable an act. * This instance is sufficient to convince us, that men abandoned to the lusts of avarice upd ambi- tion will stick at nothing, for they are never at ease. So long as they are in the pursuit of what they eagerly desire, they press their ends, without ever examining or considering the means 'there is no such thing as a scruple of honour or con- science in the case; and they are still bolder in the defence and maintenance of a thing ill gotten, than they were in the acquiring of it; for they can better bear a miscarriage in missing what they would have been at, than the shame of bavin" any thing forced away from them that they have acquired. They will, in short, struggle harder to keep what they have, especially when they have tasted the sweet of it, than to get what they had not. But here is enough in a word upon this point. Chap. IV.] THE BIBLE. 281 He caused the body to be interred at Hebron with great state and magnificence, and composed an epitaph himself to the honour of the deceased. He was the chief mourner, and a president to all the rest, who acted in conformity to his exam- ple. The death of Abner, in short, afflict- ed him to such a degree, that his friends could not prevail upon him to touch either meat or drink that whole day.* This re- ligious strictness gained exceedingly upon the affections of the people, and particu- larly upon the friends of Abner, to whom nothing could be more acceptable than this last testimony of David's veneration and esteem for his person and memory, being eye-witnesses that he did not treat him, in a slight and ignominious way, as an enemy, but with all the tokens of gener- osity, justice, and friendship. Besides, it * The funeral obsequies of an oriental were concluded by a feast, according with the rank and wealth of surviving relations. Chardin was present at many of those funeral banquets among the Ar- menian Christians in Persia. To this custom the prophet Jeremiah refers in ch. vi. 7. 8: " Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them, for the dead ; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink, for their sister or for their mother. Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting to sit with them to eat and to drink." In the seventli verse the prophet speaks of provisions which relations and acquaintances usually sent to the house of their departed friend ; and of those healths which were drunk to the survivors of the family. In Barbary, when a person dies, the neighbours, relations, and friends sent bread to the house of mourning, which the prophet Ezekiel calls "the bread of men." It was supposed the family were so depressed by the loss of their relation, as to be unable to think of their necessary food. Those who sent the provi- sions made a visit to their sorrowful and bereaved friends after the funeral, to comfort them and assist at the entertainment, which was given in honour of the dead. In allusion to this custom, the prophet Jeremiah received this charge: "Thus saith the Lord, enter not into the house of mourn- ing, neither go to lament, nor bemoan them ; for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the Lord," When all the people, therefore, came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, after the funeral of Abner, it was in strict compli- ance with the general custom of the country. The same observation applies to the circumstance mentioned in the gospel of John, that " many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them." Script. Illust. heightened the character of David's piety and benevolence, in giving men to under- stand what they might expect from him themselves, if Abner's case should ever be theirs. David likewise, in this proceed- ing, consulted his interest as well as his reputation and virtue; for afterwards he was never suspected of the least want of good-will towards Abner. When the assembly were on the point of breaking up, David addressed them in a manner which did honour to the memory of the deceased general, representing to them first his own particular unhappiness, in being deprived of so valuable a friend ; and then how much the whole nation suffered in the loss of so brave and so wise a man ; and, in short, a person so necessary both for war and counsel. He then assured them that God, who judged rightly, would not let this murder pass unrevenged ; adding this solemn de- claration : " He is my witness, that I am not in condition to call Joab and Abishai to an account; for they have a greater inter- est in the army perhaps than I myself; but this I dare pronounce, that sooner or later, Divine justice will find them out." The extraordinary fate of the unfortu- nate Abner greatly affected Ishbosheth, who had thereby sustained the loss of a most intimate friend, able counsellor, ex- pert general, in short, one who had been principally accessary to his advancement to the throne, and continuance on it. He did not indeed long survive him, for he was treacherously murdered soon afterward by Baanah and Rechabjf the sons of Rimmon. -f- These regicides are called the children of Ben jamin, and captains of bands ; and therefore, as they were not only of Saul's tribe, but officers in his son's army, they had the greater obligation to be honest and faithful to the family of Saul ; for there is great reason to imagine, that Saul, who lived in the borders of Benjamin, conferred more favours on that tribe, than on any of the rest, and might therefore expect a greater fidelity and esteem from them than the others. The distinguishing these men, therefore, by their tribe, as well as by their names, was highly proper and necessary, to 2n 282 HISTORY OF [Book IV These two brothers were Benjamites, of the first rank ; who, thinking that if Lshbosheth were but taken out of the way, David would be clear of all competitors, concerted the matter betwixt them how they might effect this purpose; making no manner of doubt but honours and com- mands in abundance would be conferred upon them as rewards for the performance of so good an office. At a time, therefore, when he was alone in his bed-chamber, taking his afternoon's repose, no guards at hand, and the very servant that commonly kept the door wearied and fast asleep, they took their opportunity to steal into the chamber, (and having killed him in his sleep,) where they found him, cut off his head, and posted away with it all night toward He- bron,* in order to avoid the public resent- ment of the people, and to bring the pre- sent so much the fresher to him whom they pretended to oblige. When they came to their journey's end, they presented it to David, not a little valuing themselves upon the merit of hav- show what vile ungrateful villains they were, and how justly they deserved the severe and exemplary punishment which David inflicted upon them. The sacred historian informs us, that * the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Ba- anah, went and came about the heat of the day to the house of lshbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon ; and they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat, and they smote him under the fifth rib ; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.' It is still a custom in the East, according to Dr Perry, to allow their soldiers a certain quantity of corn, with other articles of provisions, together with some pay : and as it was the custom also to carry their corn to the mill at break of day, these two captains very naturally went to the palace the day before, to fetch wheat, in order to distribute it to the soldiers, that it might be sent to the mill at the accustomed hour in the morning. The princes of the East, in those days, as the history of David shows, lounged in their divan, or reposed on their couch, till the cool of the evening began to advance. Rechab and Baanah therefore, came in the heat of the day, when they knew that lshbosheth their master would be resting on his bed ; and as it was neces- sary, for the reason just given, to have the corn the day before it was needed, their coming at that time, though it might be a little earlier than usual, created no suspicion, and attracted no notice. j Paxton. | ing destroyed his competitor for the em- pire; but that they were disappointed in their towering hopes and expectations, the following noble and spirited declaration of David will sufficiently show : " Wicked wretches that you are ! pre- pare yourselves immediately to receive the just reward of your villany. Do not you know that I punished the murderer ot Saul according to his demerit ; who, when he had taken away that sacred life, had the confidence to bring me his golden crown for an ostentation of the service he had done me in it ? Nay, though it was at the instance too of Saul himself that he did it, to prevent the indignity of being taken alive by his enemies. Am not I the same man, do you think, at this day, that I was then ? or am I turned so aban- doned a wretch since as to countenance the most profligate of men and of actions, and to reckon myself under an obligation to you for dipping your hands (upon my account, as you would have it thought,) in the blood of your lord ? The slaying in his bed too, a person so just, and so generous a patron and benefactor to you, that all the advantages you can pretend to in this world, are but what you stand indebted for to his bounty and goodness; wherefore you shall pay for your breach of faith to your master, and for the scan- dal you would have cast upon me; foi what greater wound could any man give me in my reputation, than to suppose me a person that could take pleasure in the tidings, or give countenance to the com- mitting of so barbarous and inhuman a murder?" Having thus remonstrated and repri- manded them for the commission of so horrid a crime, in order to impress the minds of others with a due sense of the same, and prevent it for the future, David commanded some of his guards to slay the two guilty persons, and afterwards he caused the head of lshbosheth to be laid in the monument of Abner, with due form and solemnity. Chap. IV.] THE BIBLE. 283 When David's orders were executed, all the elders and chief officers of state approach him, in order to recognise his regal authority, and lay their lives and fortunes at his feet, assuring him of the zeal and devotion they ever had for him, even in the life of Saul, and when they had the honour to serve under his com- mand ; and farther observing how the pro- phet Samuel, according to God's order and appointment, had declared him king, and that the government would descend to his sons after him ; foretelling that the great work of subduing the Philistines was re- served for him alone, and consequently the settling of Israel in the possession of a lasting peace and safety. David highly commended them for their good-will and disposition, encouraging them to go on as they had begun, with an assurance, that he, for his part, would never give them cause to repent it. Da- vid accompanied this declaration with a splendid treat ; and when he had enter- tained them with all humanity and free- aom, he sent them away with a summons to the whole body of the people to meet at his palace. Pursuant to this general summons there assembled of the tribe of Judah, six thou- sand and eight hundred men, armed with shields and lances. These had been hitherto of the party of Saul, over and above those of the same tribe, who had made David king by themselves. Of the tribe of Simeon, seven thousand and one hundred, and upwards. Of the tribe of Levi, four thousand seven hundred, with their leader Jehoida, and with these was the high-priest Zadok, with two and twenty eminent men of his relations. Of the tribe of Benjamin, three thousand armed men ; though this tribe was alto- gether of opinion that some of Saul's family would succeed to the government. Of the tribe of Ephraim, twenty thousand and eight hundred, strong men, and of great courage. Of the tribe of Manasseh, eighteen thousand. Of the tribe of Issa- char, two hundred cunning men, who could foretell things to come, beside twen- ty thousand in arms. Of the tribe of Zebulun, fifty thousand choice men, and well armed : this tribe came over to Da- vid in general. All these used the same armour as the tribe of Gad. Of Naph ta- li, a thousand eminent commanders, armed with shield and spear, with almost an in- numerable multitude of their followers. Of the tribe of Dan, twenty-eight thou- sand choice men. Of the tribe of Asher, forty thousand; and of the two tribes be- yond Jordan, and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh, that were armed with shield, spear, sword and helmet, an hun- dred and twenty thousand. This is the muster-roll of those who came up to David at Hebron, and brought corn, wine, and other necessary provisions with them in abundance, and with one voice proclaimed him their king. When they had spent three days there in feasting, David marched out at the head of this army to Jerusalem. The Jebusites, a people of the race of the Canaanites, were at that time in pos- session of the city; and upon David's advance toward them, they shut their gates, and in a way of defiance to David and his troops, brought out their lame and their blind * to the walls for the defence of the town. " The blind and the lame, says Luther upon this place, were the idols of the Jebusites, which, to irritate David they set upon their walls, as their patrons and protectors ; and these they call blind and lame sarcastically, and with respect to David's opinion ; as if they had said, " These gods of ours, whom ye Israelites reproach as blind and lame, and so unable to direct or defend us, will secure us against you, and, to your cost, make you find, that they are neither blind nor lame, but have eyes to watch for us, and hands to fight against you, so that you must conquer and subdue them, before you take this place." But this interpreiation seems to be a little too metaphorical and forced, for which reason we have rather chosen the con- struction which Josephus, lib. vii. c. 2. puts upon this passage, viz. that they imagined their fortress to be so impregnable, that by way of contempt, they told David, that their very blind and lame would be able to defend it against him and all his forces: and this is a sense so extremely plain and 284 HISTORY OF [Book IV. David was so incensed at this contemp- tuous mockery, that he resolved imme- diately to attack the city ; reasonably judging, that if he made an example of the people of this place, it would strike a terror into all others for the future. Ac- cordingly he advanced with the flower of his army, and, upon a general assault, entered the lower town : but the castle still made an obstinate resistance. David finding it to be a strong place, the attempt hazardous, and his honour at stake upon the carrying of it, bethought himself of a means to inflame the courage of his men by some extraordinary proposal of honour and reward ; and by that incentive to kindle an emulation among them. To effect this, he passed his royal word, that he who first mounted the wall, and made good his station, should have the command of the army. Stimulated by the mighty promise the Israelites joined in a fierce attack, and a generous conten- tion arose who should merit that honour. At length Joab mounted the wall and carried the prize ; so that he called upon the king from the top of the battlement to fulfil his promise. Having expelled the enemy from the castle, and repaired the town, the king gave to Jerusalem the name of the city of David, and made it his place of residence during his reign.* obvious, that the renowned Bochart wonders, why any man of learning should seek for any other. The only exception to it is, that these blind and lame, which were rather objects of compassion, are said to have been extremely hated by David. But we may observe, that David here retorts the sar- casm upon them ; 'the lame and blind,' i.e. those who are set to defend the place, and who, as they pretended, were to be only the lame and the blind. And these were hateful to David, because they had wickedly and insolently defied the armies of the living God. Poole s Annotations, Patrick's and Le Clercs Commentaries. * During the reigns of David and Solomon, Jerusalem was the metropolis of the land of Israel ; but, after the defection of the ten tribes under Jeroboam, it was the capital of the kings of Jndah, during whose government it underwent various revolutions. It was captured four times without being demolished, viz. by Shishak, sovereign of Egypt, from whose ravages it never recovered its This memorable transaction happened after he had ruled seven years and six months over the tribe of Judah in Hebron. Upon the establishment of his court at former splendour ; by Antiochus Epiphanes, who treated the Jews with singular barbarity ; by Pompey the Great, who rendered the Jews tribu- tary to Rome ; and by Herod, with the assistance of a Homan force under Sosius. It was first entirely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and again by the emperor Titus, the repeated insurrections of the turbulent Jews having filled up the measure of their iniquities, and drawn down upon them the implacable vengeance of the Romans. Titus in- effectually endeavoured to save the temple; it was involved in the same ruin with the rest of the city, and, after it bad been reduced to ashes, the founda- tions of that sacred edifice were ploughed up by the Roman soldiers. Thus literally was fulfilled the prediction of our Lord, that not one stone should be left upon another that should not be thrown down. On his return to Rome, Titus was honoured with a triumph, and to commemorate his conquest of Judea, a triumphal arch was erected, which is still in existence. Numerous medals of Judea vanquished were struck in honour of the same event. The emperor Adrian erected a city on part of the former site of Jerusalem, which he called MWa. Capitol ina: it was afterwards greatly enlarged and beautified by Constantine the Great, who restored its ancient name. During that em- peror's reign the Jews made various efforts to rebuild their temple; which, however, were always frustrated : nor did better success attend the attempt made A. d. 363, by the apostate emperor Julian. An earthquake, a whirlwind, and a fiery eruption, compelled the workmen to abandon their design. From the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans to the present time, that city has remain- ed, for the most part, in a state of ruin and desola- tion ; and has never been under the government of the Jews themselves, but oppressed and broken down by a succession of foreign masters, the Romans, the Saracens, the Franks, the Mamelukes, and last by the Turks, to whom it is still subject. It is not, therefore, only in the history of Josephus, and in other ancient writers, that we are to look for the accomplishment of our Lord's predictions: we see them verified at this moment before our eyes, in the desolate state of the once celebrated city and temple of Jerusalem, and in the present condition of the Jewish people, not collected to- gether into any one country, into one political society, and under one form of government, but dispersed over every region of the globe, and every where treated with contumely and scorn. The modern city of Jerusalem contains within its walls several of the hills on which the ancient city is supposed to have stood ; but these are only per- ceptible by the ascent and descent of the streets. When seen from the mount of Olives, on the other side of the valley of Jehoshaphat, it presents an inclined plane, descending from west to east. An embattled wall, fortified with towers and a Gothic- castle, encompasses the city all round, excluding however, part of mount Sion, which it formerly Chap. IV.] THE BIBLE. 285 Jerusalem, success attended his affairs j Hiram king of Tyre, awed by the great every day more and more; for God in his success of David, sent an embassy, upon a providence designing it for a seat of glory, treaty of friendship and alliance, with pre- had a peculiar kindness for the place. sents likewise of cedar wood, builders, and enclosed. Notwithstanding its seemingly strong position, it is incapable of sustaining a severe assault ; because, on account of the topography of the land, it has no means of preventing the approaches of an enemy ; and, on the other hand, it is commanded, at the distance of a gun-shot, by the Djebel Tor, or the mount of Olives, from which it is seen to the best advantage. Imposing, however, as the appearance of Jerusalem is, when viewed from that mountain, and exhibiting a compact- ness of structure like that alluded to by the Psalmist, (cxxii. 3.) the illusion vanishes on entering the town. No ' streets of palaces and walks of state,' no high- raised arches of triumph no fountains to cool the air, or porticoes not a single vestige meets the traveller, to announce its former military greatness or commercial opulence: but in the place of these, he finds himself encompassed by walls of rude masonry, the dull uniformity of which is only broken by the occasional protrusion of a small grated window. All the streets are wretchedness, and the houses of the Jews, more especially, areas dunghills. ' From the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed.' The finest section of the city is that inhabited by the Armenians ; in the other quarters, the streets are much narrower, being scarcely wide enough to admit three camels to stand abreast. In the western quarter and in the centre of Jerusalem, towards Calvary, the low and ill-built houses, which have flat terraces or domes on the top, but no chimneys or windows, stand very close together; but in the eastern part, along the brook Kedron, the eye perceives vacant spaces, and amongst the rest that which surrounds the mosque erected by the Khalif Omar, a. d. 637, on the site of the temple, and the nearly deserted spot where once stood the tower of Antonia and the second palace of Herod. Home. Dr Richardson's account of the present condi- tion of the Jews of Jerusalem is as follows : " Many of the Jews are rich and in comfortable circumstances, and possess a good deal of property in Jerusalem ; but they are careful to conceal their wealth, and even their comfort, from the jealous eye of their rulers, lest, by awaking their cupidity, some vile, indefensible plot should be devised to their prejudice. In going to visit a respectable Jew in the holy city, it is a common thing to pass to his house over a ruined foreground and up an awkward outside stair, constructed of rough un- polished stones, that totter under the foot ; but it improves as you ascend, and at the top has a res- pectable appearance, as it ends in an agreeable platform in front of the house. On entering the house itself it is found to be clean and well fur- nished ; the sofas are covered with Persian car- pets, and the people seem happy to receive you. The visitor is entertained with coffee and tobacco, as is the custom in the houses of the Turks and Christians. The ladies presented themselves with an ease and address that surprised me, and recalled to my memory the pleasing society of Europe. This difference of manner arises from many of the Jewish families in Jerusalem having resided in Spain or Portugal, when the females had rid themselves of the cruel domestic fetters of the East, and, on returning to their beloved land, had very properly maintained their justly acquired freedom and rank in society. 'Ihey almost all speak a broken Italian, so that conversation goes on without the clumsy aid of an interpreter. It was the feast of the passover, and they were all eating unleavened bread, some of which was pre- sented to me as a curiosity, and I partook of it merely that I might have the gratification of eat- ing unleavened bread with the sons and daugh- ters of Jacob in Jerusalem ; it is very insipid fare, and no one would eat it from choice. For the same reason I went to the synagogue, of which there are two in Jerusalem, although I visited only one. The form of worship is the same as in this country, and, 1 believe, in every country which j the Jews inhabit. The females have a separate ! part of the synagogue assigned to them, as in the | synagogues in Europe, and in the Christian ! churches all over the Levant. They are not, | however, expected to be frequent or regular in : their attendance on public worship. The ladies j generally make a point of going on the Sunday, ' that is, the Friday night or Saturday morning, after they are married ; and being thus introduced ', in their new capacity, once a year is considered as sufficient compliance, on their part, with the : ancient injunction to assemble themselves together \ in the house of prayer. Like the votaries of some Christian establishments, the Jewesses trust | more to the prayers of their priests than to their [ own. The synagogues in Jerusalem are both poor and small, not owing to the poverty of their possessors, but to the prudential motives above- mentioned. The Jewesses in Jerusalem speak in a decided and firm tone, unlike the hesitating and timid voice of the Arab and Turkish females ; and claim the European privilege of differing from their husbands, and maintaining their own opinions. They are fair and good-looking: red and auburn hair are by no means uncommon in either of the sexes. I never saw any of them with veils; and was informed that it is the general practice of the Jewesses in Jerusalem to go with their faces uncovered ; they are the only females there who do so. Generally speaking, I think they are disposed to be rather of a plethoric habit ; and the admirers of size and softness in the fair sex, will find as regularly well-built fatties, with double mouldings in the neck and chin, among the fair daughters of Jerusalem, as among the fairer daughters of England. Theyseem particularly liable to eruptive diseases ; and the want of children is as great a heart-break to them now as it was in the days of Sarah. In passing up to the synagogue, I was particularly struck with the mean and wretch- ed appearance of the houses on both sides of the streets, as well as with the poverty of their inhabi- 286 HISTORY OF [Book IV master-workmen toward the erecting of a palace for him at Jerusalem. David fortified the upper town, and laid tliat and the citadel both in one, with a wall about them, and gave the command of it to Joab. He was the first who changed the name of it, and it was after the casting out of the Jebusites: for in the days of Abraham, it was called Salem; and some will have it that Homer pointed at this city, when he speaks of the people of Solyma; for the word Hieron, or temple, in the Hebrew signifies security or a for- tress. Now the whole time of the war with the Philistines, from the Israelites divid- ing: their lands, under the command of Joshua, to the day here spoken of, was reckoned to be five hundred and fifteen years; but the barbarians kept the posses- sion of Jerusalem all along, till they were driven out by David. Now there was among the Jebusites a very rich man, one Oman, who had done many good offices for the Israelites, and tants. Some of the old men and old women had more withered and hungry aspects than any of our race I ever saw, with the exception of the caverned dames at Gornou in Egyptian Thebes, who might havesat in a stony field as a picture of famine the year after the flood. The sight of a poor Jew in Jeru- salem has in it something peculiarly affecting. The heart of this wonderful people, in whatever clime they roam, still turns to it as the city of their pro- mised rest. They take pleasure in her ruins, and would lick the very dust for her sake. Jerusalem is the centre around which the exiled sons of Judah build, in airy dreams, the mansions of their future greatness. In whatever part of the world he may live, the heart's desire of a Jew, when gathered to his fathers, is to be buried in Jerusalem. Thither they return from Spain and Portugal, from Egypt and Barbary, and other countries among which they have been scattered ; and when, after all their longings, and all their struggles up the steeps of life, we see them poor, and blind, and naked, in the streets of their once happy Ziori, lie must have a cold heart that can remain untouched by their sufferings, without uttering a prayer that the light of a reconciled countenance would shine on the darkness of Judah, and the day-star of Bethlehem arise in their hearts. The Jews are the best cicerones in Jerusalem, because they generally give the ancient names of places, which the guides and interpreters belonging to the different convents do not. They are not forward in presenting them- selves, and must generally be sought for." deserved singularly well from David him- self. This man, therefore, upon the sack- ing of the town, was preserved by the king from the heat and fury of the sol diers, after his settlement at Jerusalem. David took several wives, besides con- cubines, more than he had done before; by whom he had eleven children, Sham- muah, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eli- ada, Eliphalet, and a daughter named Thamar, who was the sister of Absalom. Nine of the sons were lawfully begotten, but the two last by concubines. The Philistines, ever avowed enemies to the Israelites, no sooner heard that David was acknowledged as king by the tribes in general, than they mustered their forces, and encamped in a place called the Valley of the Giants,* not far from Jerusa- lem. Upon this occasion, David, who would do nothing without counsel and direction from above, appointed the high-priest to inform himself in the way that God hart prescribed, what might be the event of this battle. Having received an encouraging an- swer, he immediately advanced against the foe, and fell upon them in surprise, and charged them with such vehemence, that a total defeat soon ensued, with great slaughter on the side of the Philistines. This was a signal victory obtained with- out much opposition, but it must not there- fore be inferred that the army of the Phil- istines was inconsiderable in point of num- bers, or the valour of their men, for Syria and Phoenicia, and several other warlike nations, were all engaged in the confeder- * The valley of the Rephaim (or the Giants' Valley) was so called from its gigantic inhabitants: it was situated on the confines of the territories allotted to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. It was memorable, as oftentimes being the field f battle between the Philistines and the Jews under David and his successors. This valley also appears to have been distinguished for its abundant har- vests. Like all the country about Jerusalem, it is now stony, and scantily furnished with patches of light red soil. Home- Chap. IV. J THE BIBLE. 287 acy. It had been otherwise, if after so many defeats, and the loss of so many thousands, they could never have brought an army into the field again; and we find, that immediately after this defeat, they invaded the Israelites with thrice the number they had before, and had the con- fidence to post themselves in the very same place again. The king, after his constant custom, consulted the oracle as formerly, and re- c ived orders to lie still with his army in a certain wood, called the Grove of Mourn- i ig. or the mulberry-trees,* not far from tow enemy: and not to move from thence, or make any attempt upon any occasion whatsoever, till he found the branches of the trees in an agitation, as of their own accord, and without a breath of air stirring to cause that motion. David punctually obeyed the Divine command; and as soon as the providential sign was given him, he advanced, as to a certain and predetermined victory. The Philistines gave way on the very first at- tack, but when they came to close fight, they ran with the Israelites at their backs, and their swords in their reins. They were pursued with great slaughter to Gazer, a town situated upon the bor- ders of either party. They then pillaged the camp, where they made themselves masters of a prodigious booty, with little trouble or hazard, seizing their idols among other things, and breaking them to pieces. This war being speedily and happily finished, the king was pleased, by the ad- vice and assent of his great council, to draw together the whole force he could * God indeed is left to his own pleasure what s-igns he shall think fit to give his people, upon any occasion for their good ; but the more arbitra- ry and uncommon any sign is, the more it seems to have proceeded from God. Though, therefore, the sound of people's going upon the tops of trees, be a thing not so congruous to our conceptions, yet it does not from hence follow that it was not the real sign which God gave David, because the stranger the phenomenon was, the greater assur- ance is conveyed of the divine interposition in his fevour. raise out of all the tribes under his juris- diction,! together with the priests and Levites ; and to march with this great body directly to Kirjath-jearim, and bring the ark of God from thence to Jerusalem, that being the place designed for holy worship, and for the celebration of all sacrifices, ceremonies, and religious rites for the time to come. The tribes being met according to ap- pointment, and all things in readiness for the removal of the ark (David himself also assisting at the solemnity) the priests took it out of the house of Abinadab, and lay- ing it upon a new waggon, with oxen to draw it, left the ark in charge with their children and relations. The king himself went foremost; and was followed by a multitude of people, glorifying God in sacred hymns and psalms. And thus was the ark conducted towards Jerusalem, after the fashion of the country; dancing as they went to the sound of harps, cymbals, and other musical-instru- ments.:}: f It is supposed by some, that this bringing back of the ark was appointed to be on one of the three great festivals ; and the reason, why David might summon so many of his principal ministers and officers to accompany him in the expedition, might be, to possess the young people, who per- haps had heard little or nothing of the ark, by reason of its having been absent so long, with a mighty veneration for it, when they saw the king, and so many of the chief nobility waiting on it, with such a variety of music, and such public decla- rations of joy. Millar's History of the Church. X Strabo tells us, that it was customary among the Greeks, as well as other nations, to use music and dancing in religious processions; and Lucian expressly says, that among the ancients, no cere- monial of religion, no expiation, no atonement was accounted rightly accomplished without danc- ing. So that David was far from being singular in his behaviour upon this occasion ; nor was his behaviour in this particular any disparagement to his regal dignity. His dancing, that is, his moving in certain serious and solemn measures, suited to music of the same character and tendency, was an exercise highly conducive to the purpose of pieiv, and his mixing with the public festivities of his people, was a condescension (as Tacitus relates of Augustus the Roman emperor) not unbecoming the greatest monarch. Policy taught Augustus to put himself upon a level with his subjects, in their public rejoicings ; piety taught David, that all men are upon a level in the solemnities of religion 288 HISTORY OF [Book IV As they were upon the way, at a cer- tain place called the thrashing-floor of Nachon, the oxen staggering with the ark, Uzzah put forth his hand to keep it from overturning, and was immediately struck dead by divine vengeance for presuming to touch it, as he was not in holy orders.* This exemplary death of Uzzah was a great affliction to David himself, and to all the people ; and they called the place Perez-uzzah, or ' The breach of Uzzah ;' which name it bore many hundred years. David was so affected with the awful judg- ment inflicted on Uzzah, that, lest it might peradventure be his case, if he should re- ceive the ark into the city, (his fault be- ing only the temerity of touching it,) he suspended the carrying of it to Jerusalem, and turned off with it upon the way, into the house of a certain good man and a Levite, whose name was Obed-edom, and there it lay deposited for three whole So that David was not singular in his behaviour upon this occasion. Patrick's Commentary, and The History of the Life of King David. * What shall we say to the fate of Uzzah ? or what probable cause can be assigned for his sudden and untimely end ? are questions which naturally arise on reading this passage ; but he seems to have been guilty of a treble transgression of the divine will. The ark, as some say, was by his di- rection placed in a cart, though it ought to have been carried by staves upon the shoulders of the Levites ; he, without any proper designation, ad- ventures to attend it, for there is no proof in scripture that he was a Levite ; and when he thought it in danger of falling, officiously put forth his hand and laid hold on it, which was forbidden on pain of death. And when we consider further, that the ark had continued so long in obscurity, that the people had in a manner lost all sense of a divine power residing in it, we have no less reason to wonder, that God, being disposed to retrieve the ancient honour of that sacred vessel and to curb the heinous profanations of it for the future, should single out one, the most culpable of many ; one, who in three instances was then violating I lis commands, to be a monument of his displeasure against a wilful ignorance, or a rude contempt of his precept ; that by such an example he might inspire both priests and people with a sacred dread of his majesty, and a profound veneration for his mysteries. Happy were it for us, however, if we could account for the operations of God with the same facility that we can for the actions of his saints ; but his ' counsels are a great deep, and his judgments,' though always just, are past finding ouL' months, in which time it was observed that every thing prospered in the family, and that the master of it grew rich to ad- miration. It was generally observed, how amaz- ingly Obed-edom was improved in his fortune since he had the ark under his roof, and that of a very poor man, he be- came on a sudden considerable for wealth, and in so good a condition, that he was the wonder as well as the envy of his neighbours. The rumour of Obed-edom's success reaching the king's ear, greatly encour- aged him, insomuch that, fearless of dan- ger, he resumed his former purpose of transporting it to Jerusalem, which was done after this manner. The priests had the charge of carrying it, and seven choirs of singing men, ac- cording to the king's appointment, march- ing before it, David himself bearing his part in the concert, with dancing and singing to his harp : this his wife Michal the daughter of the late king Saul utterly disliked, as an action of too much levity, and below the dignity of David's character. The ark being brought to the city, it was disposed of in the tabernacle,f which -f- The future history of this sacred ark is this : after the building of the temple at Jerusalem, Solomon had it removed from Sion into a proper place that was consecrated for it, where it remain- ed with all suitable respect till the times of the latter kings of Judah, who gave themselves up to idolatry, and were not afraid to put the images of their gods in the holy place itself. Hereupon the priests, being unable to endure this profanation, took the ark, and carried it from place to place, that by this means it might escape the fury of these impious princes : but Josiah, who was a good man, and restored the true worship of God, commanded them to bring it back to the sanc- tuary, and forbade them to carry it into the coun- try, as they had done. The Talmudists, however, have a tradition that Solomon, having learned by revelation that the Assyrians would one day burn the temple which he had lately built, and carry away all the rich materials which he had placed there, took care to have a private hole made under ground, where, in case of necessity, he might con- ceal the most valuable things belonging to it from the knowledge of any enemies ; and that Josiah, having a foresight of the calamities which were Chap. IV.] THE BIBLE. i David had made on purpose for it. Upon the occasion of this festival, there were sacrifices and peace-offerings in abun- dance, and sufficient for the whole multi- tude : for there was not a man, woman, or child there, who had not a cake, and a part of the flesh of the sacrifice given them ; and when they had eaten plenti- fully, David returned to his palace. He was met on the way by his wife Michal, who uttered many sincere wishes for his success ; but still reproved him for dancing, as unlike a king, and also for un- covering himself in the eyes of his hand- maids and servants.* David told her that he was not ashamed of doing any thing that he knew was ac- ceptable to that God who advanced him to the throne of Israel, in preference to her 289 coming upon the Jewish nation, here hid the ark of the covenant, together with Aaron's rod, the pot of manna, the high priest's pectoral, and the holy oil ; but that, during the Babylonish captiv- ity, the priests having lost all knowledge of the place where these things were concealed, they were never seen more, and were not in the second temple. Calmet. * The words of Michal, wherein she upbraids David, are these : ' How glorious was the king of Israel to-day, who uncovered himself to-day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!' 2 Sam. vi. 20. At first reading, they seem to in- timate, that David, in his dancing, had exposed his naked body, and acted, some way or other, immo- destly : but these words, we are to consider, were spoken in a fit of passion, and when Michal was minded to aggravate matters ; for it is not to be doubted, but that David kept himself within the bounds of modesty, how joyous soever he might be. It was a command which God gave the Israelites, that they should rejoice in their feasts, Deut. xii. 7. but then, their joy was not to be lascivious or petu- lant, but pious and moderate. In the case before us, David was in the more immediate presence of God, and about a very sacred business ; and there- fore it is incongruous to think that he would com- mit any thing immodest ; and that he could not expose his nakedness (as his wife would insinuate) is evident from his having, not only an ephod on, but being clothed with a robe of fine linen, be- sides his usual under-garments, 1 Chron. xv. 27. and therefore, though his putting off his regal robes might give some occasion to Michal's ex- pression of his uncovering himself, yet it must be owned, that this opprobrious term proceeded from nothing but the overflowing spleen of a proud passionate woman. CalmeVs and Patrick's Com- mentaries. father, and all other pretenders ; and that he would sing and dance again and again, without regarding at all how either she or her handmaids took it. Michal had no children by David; but by her other hus- band, to whom Saul had given her in marriage, upon taking her away from Da- vid, she had five sons.f David, encouraged by the frequent suc- cess with which God crowned all his un- dertakings, was so sensible of God's good- ness towards him upon the daily success of whatever he took in hand, that he be- gan to make it matter of conscience to live in a palace of cedar himself, that was as stately as art and ornament could make it, and at the same time to lodge the ark in the tabernacle ; so that he resolved to erect and dedicate a temple to God's hon- our and worship ; and according to the prediction of Moses, he communicated the design to the prophet Nathan ; who, upon counsel and advice, encouraged him to proceed upon the work ; for he might bo sure of God's special favour and provi- dence along with him. These words served more and more to animate and con- firm David in his purpose and design. In the night following, the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, " Go, and tell David, that I accept of his good- will in being the first proposer of erecting a temple unto my service ; yet as the necessity of his wars hath made him a man of blood, I cannot permit the doing of this work in his days ; but let him know, that after a long and happy life, he shall -j- Michal is put in the text indeed, 2 Sam. xxi. 8. but not by mistake, as some will have it ; for though Michal had no children of her own, yet those children which Merab her sister had by Adriel, Michal brought up ; and the Jews observe, upon this occasion, that whoever brings up a pupil in his house, is in scripture said to have begotten him. Nor is it in scripture only that this form of expression takes place, but in heathen authors likewise. For Agamemnon and Menelaus are called sons of Atreus, because Plisthenes (who was their father) being dead, he took care to bring them up. Howell's History, in the notes, and' Patricks Commentary. 2o 290 HISTORY OF [Book IV ites, destroyed two-thirds of their army, and took the rest, and made them tribu- taries^ After which he overthrew Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah,J whom he encountered not far from the Euphra- tes, and killed twenty thousand foot, and five thousand horse ; taking also a thou- sand chariots, of which he reserved only an hundred for his own use, and burnt the rest. CHAPTER V. David's success against the Syrians. He shows peculiar tokens of favour towards Mephibo- sheth, the son of Jonathan, for his father's sake. Wages war with the Ammonites. Joab's victory over them. The king of Syria's commit the care of the undertaking to his son and successor Solomon ; whom I shall be as tender of as a father can be of his own child, and continue the government in the line of his family for ever;* or in case of his committing iniquity, I will only punish the transgression with bodily sick- ness or famine, not with a total rejection, as I did Saul." The prophet, without any delay, ac- quitted himself of his commission ; and it was so welcome a message to David, to be assured that the succession was secured to his posterity, and the honour of his family so graciously provided for, that he betook himself immediately to the ark of God, fell down upon his face, and offered this prayer and thanksgiving : Lord, thy holy name be praised for all thy benefits and mercies ! Thou that hast taken thy servant from the sheepfold, and advanced him to this height of dignity and power! Lord, I bless thee for all this; for thy continued providences to myself, and the promises to my posterity : and for thy multiplied deliverances and protections to thine own people.' David's late series of success induced him again to meditate hostilities against the Philistines, to which he was not a little encouraged by a prediction that he should overcome all his enemies, and leave his kingdom in peace to his successor. In order to prosecute this war, he ap- pointed a day and place for a rendezvous, summoned his troops together; and when he was in a condition to march, made an incursion into the enemy's country, over- came them in a pitched battle, took pos- session of a good part of their lands, and of the army.-Xe Clerc's and Calmet's Commen- annexed them to the jurisdiction of the Israelites. He made war with the Moab- f- There is no small obscurity in the words of the text, which are these : ' He smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground ; even in two lines measured he to put to death, and with one line to keep alive :' whic-i words seem to allude to a custom among the king* of the East, when they were thoroughly incensed against any nation, namely, to make the captives all come together to one place, and prostrate themselves upon the ground ; that being divided into two parts, as it were with a line, their con- queror might appoint which part he pleased, either for death or life, which was sometimes de- termined by casting of lots. Some are of opinion that David made three lots, or parts of these Moabites, two of which lie ordered to be slain, and one part only to be kept alive. The reason of this his severity against these miserable people, the Rabbins assure us, was, because they had slain his parents and brethren, whom he had com- mitted to the custody of the king of Moab during his exile. But of the reality of this motive, there is no manner of appearance ; and since this execu- tion, which David inflicted, may relate either to the whole nation, or the army only, to clear David from the imputation of too much cruelty, we should rather conceive it of the third, or half part at most * Though the words ' for ever' in their primary signification plainly relate to the continuance of taries. J Zobah seems to have been a part of Syria, to the north-east of Canaan, to the south of Damas- cus, and reaching to the river Euphrates. It is probable that Hadadezer was jealous of David's growing greatness, and came to assist the Moabites, in order to secure his own dominions ; and that David's family upon the throne of Israel, yet in a this gave David a fair opportunity of extending more extensive sense they are no obscure prophecy his conquests to the Euphrates. Some think, of the kingdom of the Messiah ; as the expression however, that David went to establish his do- for ever,' can only be applied to him who is the minion over all the countries as far as that river eternal Son of God, and of whose dominion there ' according to the grant made to Israel ; and that shall be no end. I he was opposed by Hadadezer. Scott. Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. total defeat. Case of David and Balhsheba. Tamar ravished by Amnon. Absalom her brother takes away his life, in revenge for the injury done to his family. The king of Syria and Damascus* no sooner heard that David had proclaimed war against his friend and ally, the king of Zobah, than he despatched a very con- siderable body of forces in order to suc- cour him, and remove, if possible, the seat of the war. After several skirmishes, he came to a battle with David near Euphrates, f where 291 * Aram-damasek, which we translate ' Syria of Damascus,' was that part of Syria which lay be- tween Libanus and Antilibanus, whose chief city was Damascus, situate in a valley, called by several names in scripture, and watered by five rivers, the two principal of which, namely, Abana and Phar- par (mentioned in 2 Kings v. 12.) descended from mount Hermon ; whereof the latter washed the walls of Damascus, and the other ran through it, and divided the city into two parts. Patrick's Commentary. -f- It has its source in the north-east mountains of Armenia. For a long way it directs its course to the west- ward; after which at the foot of mount Taurus, it bends its course south-ward, and having received the Melas, which flows into it from almost the north-west corner of Lesser Asia, it runs along the east side of Syria, and Arabia the Desert. It seems, that anciently a branch of the Euphrates turning eastward, fell into the Hiddekel or Tigris, at Seleucia. Between these branches, Nebuchad- nezzar dug a large canal, called Nahar-malcah, or the royal river. At present, after having watered the provinces of Irak, or ancient Chaldea, and the province of Auxa, it runs with a gentle flow, to- wards the city of Ario, where the violent reflux of the Persian gulf obstructs its waters. About 30 miles farther south, it joins the Tigris, just above where the ancient paradise is supposed to have stood : about 60 miles farther south they discharge themselves into the Persian gulf, but whether by one or more streams, is not certainly known. This river is generally slow in its course, and yet it is not so navigable, even for small craft, as one might expect; but this is owing to the sloth of the people, who live near it, in not clearing the channel of stones, and suffering it in the flat country to part into so many streams, that sailors are often at a loss which to take. Its course is for the most part very pleasant, running through delightful plains, where its banks are decked with the con- stant verdure of willows, palm-trees, and rich pas- tures. The water is generally foul and muddy; but when settled or strained, is very wholesome, and by the Arabs reckoned a universal medicine. In passing through some deserts, it contracts a yellowish colour, and disagreeable taste; the first of which distinguishes it, after it has run some miles into the Persian gulf. This river is neither he lost the greater part of his army, twen- ty thousand being cut off, the rest saved themselves by flight. Nicolaus mentions this same Adad, in the fourth book of his history, as fol- lows: " A long time after, one Adad, a valiant man, and a native of the place, had the command of Damascus and Syria, Phoenicia only excepted. There happen- ed to be a war betwixt this same Adad and David, the king of the Jews, and several battles fought between them; but in the end, Adad was overcome at the Euphrates, behaving himself with the re- solution of a brave prince, and a great captain." And the same author, treating further of his posterity, says, " That the government was handed down from father to son, to the tenth generation; the suc- cessor still received the father's name with the empire, as the Ptolemies among the Egyptians. The third in order from this Adad, and the greatest man of the family, out of a generous zeal to repair deep nor wide, except when swelled by the annual melting of the Armenian snows. The Arabs divide this river into the greater and lesser : the greater, they say, falls into the Tigris, near the cities of Ambar and Felujah ; and the lesser, which is often the largest stream, after forming the Nabathean fens, on the east of Arabia Deserta, discharges itself into the Tigris at Karnah. To prevent the yearly overflow of the adjacent country by the Tigris and Euphrates, it has been often attempted to divide their streams into a variety of lesser ones ; but these attempts have not hitherto much answered the end. There are many towns on its banks, which are in general rather level than mountainous. The river does not appear to be of any very great breadth. Otter says, " when we passed the Euphrates, the 12th of March, this river had only 200 common paces in width ; in its height, it extends 500 or 600 paces into the plains on the right." Thevenot observes, that near to Bir, the Euphrates (July 3) seemed no larger than the Seine at Paris ; but it was said to be very broad in winter. Near Hellah, which marks the situation of the ancient Babylon, it was about four hundred feet wide. Mr Rich, in his memoir on Babylon, says, the current was, at Hellah, at a medium, about two knots (miles J per hour. The Euphrates now overflows the site of Babylon, where, says Sir R. K. Porter, " its banks were hoary with reeds, and the grey osier willows were yet there, on which the captives of Israel hung up their harps, and while Jerusalem was not, refused to be comforted." Brown and Calmet. 292 HISTORY OF [Book I the honour that his grandfather lost by this defeat, poured an army upon the Jews, and laid waste Samaria." The historian was not mistaken in this part of his relation; for this is the Adad who invaded Samaria in the reign of Ahab king of Israel. With this victorious army David over- ran Damascus and the rest of Syria; left garrisons behind him where he saw con- venient; laid the country under contribu- tion, and so returned home again; carry- ing with him to Jerusalem the golden quivers, and other rich equipage that were taken from Adad's guards; and dedi- cating the spoil and trophies to God, in acknowledgment of the victory he had obtained through his favour and protec- tion. All these valuable spoils and much more were afterwards taken by Shishak, the king of Egypt, upon the sacking of Jerusalem, in his war with Rehoboam, David's grandson. During David's extraordinary success, through the blessing of the Almighty God upon his arms, he invaded Betah and Berothai, the two most considerable cities in the whole dominions of Hadad- ezer; both which he took by assault; with gold and silver, to an inestimable value; beside a great quantity of a sort of brass, esteemed of a greater value than even gold itself. This was the metal that Solomon after- ward made use of for his beautiful basons, and a huge vessel, called the sea, upon the finishing and adorning of the temple. Toi, king of Hamath, alarmed and terrified at David's victory over the king of Syria, and thinking it most prudent to secure the interest and favour of so power- ful and successful a prince, despatched his son Joram to him, with a compliment of congratulation for the victory gained over their common enemy (for so was Hadade- zer reputed) with instructions to solicit a league of amity and fair understanding belw ixt them ; not forgetting several mag- nificent presents of gold, silver, and brass, antique and curious, to the highest degree oi excellency and perfection. David ac- cepted both of the proposals and the pres- ents, receiving and dismissing the ambas- sador, to the honour and satisfaction of both parties : but still dedicated to God all the spoils of gold and silver, and preci- ous things, that were taken from the ene- my, as to the cause of the victory. Nor was David successful only in his own per- sonal adventures and undertakings, but God prospered him in all his commissions also, executed by deputies and lieutenants; as in the case of Abishai, Joab's brother, who engaged a great body of Edomites in the Valley of Salt;* and by God's assistance not only subdued them, but, after eighteen thousand of them were killed upon the spot, kept them in awe with garrisons, as a check upon them ; charged the land with a contribution, and taxed the people by the head. David, during the course of his regal administration, attended most punctually to the strictest laws of equity, and piously resolved to establish his throne in truth and righteousness. He made Joab, the son of Zeruiah, his general, and Jehosha- phat, the son of Ahilud, the keeper of his records. He chose out of the house of Phinehas, Abiathar and Zadok, who were his friends, to be his priests, and Seraiah for secretary. Benaiah the son of Jehoiada commanded * The Valley of Salt here is thought by many to be the places adjoining to the Dead sea ; but as the country of the Edomites, whom David sub- dued in his return from his expedition into Syria, must necessarily lie towards the east of Canaan, we must look for some other Valley of Salt in the confines of that country. Now about a league southward from the city of Palmyra, or Tadmor, in the road to Edom, we find a large plain, abound- ing with salt-pits, whence a great part of Syria h furnished with that commodity ; and therefore it is very probable, that the battle between David's generals and the Edomites was fought in this plain ; which is about two days' journey from Boz- rah, the capital city of the eastern Edom, whence the people might march out to meet David's forces, and oppose them in their return home. Calmed Commentary. Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. his body-guards,* and the king's elder sons were still incorporated into that body. Having made the necessary regulations in his domestic concerns, and settled the officers of his state, David turned his at- tention upon his old and dear friend and associate Jonathan, and upon the solemn league of mutual amity that had passed betwixt them : for he had this virtue 293 * These guards are called in the text the Chere- thites and the Pelethites, but who they were, is variously conjectured. That they were soldiers, is evident, from their being mentioned as present at the proclamation of king Solomon against Adon- ijah, which could not conveniently have been done without some armed force, to protect the persons that proclaimed him: and that they were not com- mon soldiers, but the constant guards of David's person, is manifest from the title of ' keepers of the body,' which Josephus gives them. Tlieir arms, it is supposed, were bows, arrows, and slings. The number of them may be conjectured from the targets and shields of gold which Solomon made, which were 500, and for the use of his guard. Some are of opinion, that they were men of a gigantic stature ; but we find no ground for that, though they were doubtless proper and robust men, (as we speak) and of known fidelity to their prince, 2 Sam. xv. 18. and xx. 7. Others again think, that they were Philistines; but it is hardly supposeable that David would have any of these hated, uncircumcised people to he his body-guard ; neither can we believe that the Israelitish soldiers would have taken it patiently, to see foreigners of that nation put in such places of honour and trust. Cherethite, however, is certainly but another name for Philistine, as appears from Zephaniah ii. 5. and therefore the question is, how came any of David's subjects to be called after that name ? And the answer to this is obvious : they were so called, because they went at first with him into Philistia, and continued there with him all the time that he was under the protection of Achish. These were the persons who accompanied him from the beginning, iti his utmost distress, and clave to bim in all calamities; and therefore it is no wonder, if men of such approved fidelity were made choice of for his body-guard ; nor is it any uncommon thing in history, for legions, or hands of soldiers, to take their names, not from the place of their nativity, but their residence, and very fre- quently from the name of their captain, or com- mander. Since therefore, in 1 Chron. xii. 3. we find mention made of one Pelet, the son of Azma- veth, who resorted to David, while he was at Zik- lag, but still under the protection of Achish, it is hut supposing him to be their captain, and then we come to the reason, why they were called Pelethites, unless we suppose them rather de- nominated from Peleth, son of Jonathan, who was of the king's own trihe. Patrick's Commen- tary, Poole's Annotations, and the History of the Life of King David. among many others, tlvat he never forgot an obligation to a friend ; but looked upon a return for past benefits as the most sa- cred of all debts. Upon this consideration, he made dili- gent inquiry what sons, friends, or rela- tions, Jonathan had left behind him, that he might find matter for his gratitude to work upon. In pursuance of this inquiry, there was brought to him one Ziba, for- merly a servant and a freeman of Saul's, as the most likely person to give him in- formation. The king asked him if he knew of any of Jonathan's family yet living, and where to find them ; for he lay under an obliga- tion to them, which he would gladly re- pay? Ziba made answer, that he had a son yet alive, whose name was Mephibo- sheth ; who by a mischance happened to be lame of one leg; for that upon the news of that bloody battle wherein his grandfather and his father were slain, the nurse took him up in a fright to run away with him, and stumbling, let him fall out of her arms, and hurt him. Upon farther examination the king had notice that he was brought up with one Machir, in the city of Lo-debar, and there he was at present. Mephibosheth was accordingly sent for; who, when he approached the royal pre- sence, prostrated himself at the king's feet, and did him reverence. The king bade him be of good cheer, and hope for better days; assuring him of all the com- fort he could wish for from the favour of his prince. Accordingly he appointed, him immediately to be put in possession of his father's and grandfather's estate, gave Ziba charge to look after it, and take care of the grounds, and from time to time to receive the profits, and bring them to Jerusalem. Mephibosheth, after this, lived in the king's house, sat constantly at the same table with him, and David gave him Ziba, and fifteen sons that he had, with twenty others belonging to him, for his servants. 294 HISTORY OF [Book IV. Ziba, having received his commission, did his duty, and went his way ; promis- ing to govern himself in all things accord- ing to his order and instructions. But the son of Jonathan continued still at Jer- usalem with David, and was treated in all respects as a child of the family, so great a tenderness had David for any thing that had a relation to Jonathan. Thus it was with Mephibosheth, to whom was born a son whose name was Micha. About this time died Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, a friend and ally of David's;* and Hanun his son succeeded him. David, upon this revolution, sent ambassadors to him to condole his loss, comfort him in his affliction, and assure him of the same friendship and respect to himself that had been formerly paid to his father. The chiefs of the Ammonites, esteem- ing: the ingenuous conduct of David as proceeding from a malicious and hostile design, endeavoured by all means to irri- tate their king with calumnies against David; and to put jealousies in his head, that his servants were not in truth ambas- sadors, but spies, who, under pretext of a compliment of state, were sent to explore the strength and condition of the country; and that, therefore, without giving any heed to fair words, he should do well to be cautious and circumspect betimes, be- fore things were gone beyond recovery. Hanun, over-ruled by this counsel, repug- nant as it was both to truth and reason, sent the ambassadors back again with all 1 the indignities of scorn and vile usage imaginable. They cut off one half of their beards, f one half of their vests, and so dismissed them in that dress, with the most reproachful behaviour, not deigning them an answer.^ David was justly pro- * What the particular benefits which David had received from Nahash were, we are no where told in scripture ; but some of the Jews say, that he fled to him when he durst stay no longer with Achish king of the Philistines, and that he receiv- ed him very kindly ; others, that he entertained his relations, when the king of Moab, to whom he had committed them, slew some of them : but the most likely opinion is, that as lie was a bitter ene- my to Saul, who had given him a great overthrow, he, for that very reason, became a friend to David, when he perceived how Saul persecuted him, and thereupon might send him relief and assistance, and perhaps offer him protection in his kingdom. Patrick's Commentary. j- In a country where the hair was looked upon as so great an ornament, that many would rather die than part with it, the cutting it off was certain- ly one of the greatest indignities that human malice could invent ; and the shaving only one half of their beards, which must make them look still more ridiculous ; and cutting their garments even to the middle, and thereby exposing their naked- ness, was an insult of so heinous and public a na- ture, that it would ill have become a man of Da- vid's martial spirit, and just sentiments of honour, to let it pass without punishment. How great a disgrace the loss of the hair was accounted in an- cient times, is evident from the account of Damas- cenus, who says, that among the Indians, the king commanded the greatest offenders to be shaven, as the heaviest punishment that could be inflicted upon them ; and Plutarch to like purpose tells us, that whenever a soldier among the Lacedemonians was convicted of cowardice, he was obliged to go with one part of his upper lip shaved, and the other not ; nay, even at this day, no greater indig- nity can be offered to a Persian, than to cause his beard to be shaved ; and Tavernier tells us, that when the Sophi caused an ambassador of Aureng- zebe's to be used in this manner, telling him that he was not worthy to wear a beard, the emperor (in the manner as David here did) most highly re- sented the affront that was given to him in the person of his ambassador. Among the Arabs and Turks, the beard is even now reckoned the great- est ornament of a man, and is not trimmed or sha- ven, except in cases of extreme grief: the hand is almost constantly employed in smoothing the beard and keeping it in order, and it is often perfumed as if it were sacred. A shaven beard is reputed to be more unsightly than the loss of a nose ; and a man who possesses a reverend heard is, in their opinion, incapable of acting dishonestly. If they wish to affirm any thing with peculiar solemnity, they swear by their beard ; and when they express their good wishes for any one, they make use of the ensuing formula ' God preserve thy blessed beard !' From these instances, we may readily un- derstand the full extent of the disgrace wantonly inflicted by the Ammonitish king, in cutting off half the beards of David's ambassadors. Niebuhr relates, that if any one cut off his beard, after hav- ing recited afatha, or prayer, which is considered in ^lie nature of a vow never to cut it off, he is liable to be severely punished, and also to become the laughing-stock of those who profess his faith. Patrick, Calmet, and Home. % Ambassadors were usually persons of great worth or eminent station, who, by their quality and deportment, might command respect and at- tention from their very enemies. They were ac- cordingly held sacred among all people, even when at war ; and what injuries and affronts soever had Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. 295 voked at the indignity offered to his em- bassy, that he immediately declared his resolution publicly to right himself upon the Ammonites by an open war, and to call their king to an account for what he had done. The principals and allies of the Ammonites were so conscious to them- selves that their perfidy ami breach of faith, together with the scandalous manner of it, were wholly unpardonable ; that upon the first news of David's determina- tion to vindicate himself by arms, they found themselves necessitated, in their own defence, to encounter force with force, and so prepared for a war. They sent their ambassadors to Syrus, the king of Mesopotamia, with a thousand silver talents to bring him into the alliance; which he accepted of, and engaged also the king of Zoba. These two kings had betwixt them about twenty thousand foot. They likewise purchased the assistance of the king of Maacah, and of Ishtob, who had two and twenty thousand men in arms. been committed, heaven and earth were thought to be concerned to prosecute the injuries done to them, with the utmost vengeance. So deep is this impression engraved on the human mind, that the Lacedaemonians, who had inhumanly murdered the Persian ambassadors, firmly believed their gods would accept none of their oblations and sacrifi- ces, which were all found polluted with direful omens, till two noblemen of Sparta were sent as an expiatory sacrifice to Xerxes, to atone for the death of his ambassadors by their own. That emperor, indeed, gave them leave to return in safety, without any other ignominy than what they suffered by a severe reflection on the Spartan na- tion, whose barbarous cruelty he professed he would not imitate, though he had been so greatly provoked. The Divine vengeance, however, suffer- ed them not to go unpunished, but inflicted what those men had assumed to themselves, on their sons, who being sent on an embassy into Asia, were betrayed into the hands of the Athenians, who put them to death ; which Herodotus, who relates the story, considered as a just revenge from heaven, for the cruelty of the Lacedaemonians. The character of ambassadors has been invested with such inviolable sanctity, by the mutual hopes and fears of nations ; for, if persons of that char- acter might be treated injuriously, the friendly re- lations between different states could not be main- tained ; and all hopes of peace and reconciliation amongst enemies must be banished for ever out of the world Script. Must. Notwithstanding the mighty preparation of the Ammonites in conjunction with many potent allies, David's heart failed him not, he knew he had a gracious God to trust to ; his cause was good, and the injury he had received intolerable ; where- fore he was resolved to cast himself upon God's providence, and the justice of his arms for satisfaction ; so that, committing the management of the war to Joab, he sent him away with the choicest of his troops against the enemy. He marched directly towards their capi- tal city Ilabbah, and encamped before it. The enemy marched forth out of the town, and divided into two bodies ; the one con- sisting of auxiliaries, which they drew up in the open field ; the other, being com- posed only of Ammonites, ranged them- selves before the gates that looked toward the Israelites. Joab, considering this disposition of the enemy's army, disposed of his troops like- wise in the same order; and at the head of the best men he had, he himself pre- pared to charge Syrus, and the confederate kings, with one division, whilst he gave his brother Abishai the command of the other, with orders to attack the Ammon- ites ; having agreed upon it before hand that in case Syrus should get the better of Joab, Abishai should come in to his re- lief, and Joab to send aid to Abishai if he should be pressed by the Ammonites. Joab hereupon dismissed his brother, encouraging him to behave himself valiant- ly, and to make good the reputation both of the cause and of the action. Joab made the onset upon Syrus, who stood very bravely at first; but numbers of his men falling, the rest fled, and the Ammonites upon the very sight of their disorder, be- took themselves likewise to flight, after the example of their fellows, without stay- ing for the coming up of Abishai, and re- treated as fast as they could into the town; so that Joab, after a dreadful havoc of the enemy, returned to Jerusalem with his victorious army. 296 HISTORY OF [Book IV Though the Ammonites received so great a shock from the army of Israel, which had so frequently shown their vast superiority over them, they still maintain- ed their enmity, and determined upon being revenged. Accordingly they sent to Hadadezer, king of the Syrians, be- yond Euphrates, and agreed with him for an auxiliary army upon certain terms: Shobach was his lieutenant-general, over an army of eighty thousand foot, and ten thousand horse. David, receiving intelligence of the mighty strength of the Ammonites, judg- ed it improper to make war any longer by his deputies, so that he himself passed the river Jordan with the whole army, and joined battle with the enemy, killed forty thousand foot, and seven thousand horse, and came off a conqueror; Shobach, die general of Hadadezer, received a wound in this battle which proved mortal. The people of Mesopotamia, upon this unfortunate overthrow, sent ambassadors with presents and addresses to David, and delivered themselves up; and the action being over, and the winter drawing on, he returned again safely to Jerusalem. The king of Israel determining, by the blessing of God, on the conquest and sub- jection of all his enemies, the beginning of the following spring,* despatched Joab * The most usual time of commencing military operations was at the return of the spring; the hardships of a winter campaign were then un- known. In the beginning of spring, says Jose- phus, David sent forth his commander-in-chief Joab, to make war with the Ammonites. In an- other part of his works, he says, that as soon as spring was begun, Adad levied and led forth his army against the Hebrews. Antiochus also pre- pared to invade Jndea at the first appearance of spring : and Vespasian, earnest to put an end to the war in Judea, marched with his whole army to Antipatris, at the commencement of the same season. The sacred historian seems to suppose, that there waa one particular time of the year to which the operations of war were commonly limit- ed : ' \nd it came to pass, after the year was ex- rircd. at the time kings go fortli to' battle, that )avid sent to Joab and his servants and all Israel, and they destroyed the children of Ammon and hfftjtfftd Rabbali.' The kings and armies of the Fufct, says Chardin, do not march but when there his general, with a full commission to pro- secute the war against the Ammonites. This commission he executed with oreat success and punctuality; for he not only laid waste the country, but having driven them into Rabbah, their metropolis, for safety, he laid close siege to the place with a very powerful army. David was undoubtedly a just and pious man, and a strict observer of the laws of his country; but yet, as the best of men are liable to temptations, and the influence of their passions, at this time he had the misfortune to fall into a grievous sin; the occasion of which was as follows. As he was walking for his diversion one day, toward the cool of the evening, up- on his terrace,f he happened to descry a woman bathing herself in her own house,J who was a person of most exquisite shape and beauty, by name Bathsheba. He fell in love with her immediately, and under the influence of a passionate ap- petite, had her brought to his bed. is grass, and when they can encamp, which time is April. But in modern times, this rule is disre- garded, and the history of the crusades records expeditions and battles in every month of the year. Script. Illust. -j- The manner of building in all eastern coun- tries, was to have their houses flat-roofed, with a terrace and parapet wall, for the convenience of walking in the cool air.; and as David's palace was built on one of the highest places of mount Sion, he might easily look down upon the lower parts of the town, and take a view of all the gar- dens that were within a due distance. Le Cterc's Commentary. | Whether it was in her garden, or court-yard, overlooked by the palace, or in some apartment in her house whose windows opened that way, that this woman bathed herself, is not so certain. Tra- dition points out the place of a fountain still called after her name, which would make it probable that she bathed in a garden, did not Josephus expressly declare that it was in her own house, as indeed the natural modesty and decency of her sex, as well as the circumstance of the time for then it was evening make his account more probable ; nor can it be doubted but that the declining rays of the sun, shooting into the inmost recesses of her chamber, and throwing a great lustre around her, might discover her very clearly to very distant eyes, without the least suspicion on her part of any (jossibility of being seen, and, consequently, with all the reserve of modesty proper to her sex. Life of King David. Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. 297 Soon after this, she found herself with child, and desired the king to consider of some method for the concealment of it ; as otherwise she must suffer death by the laws of the country. Uriah, Bathsheba's husband, and ar- mour-bearer to Joab, was sent for by the king, who inquired of him concerning the state of the army, and the success of the siege. Having informed the king, that there was every reasonable prospect of happily terminating the campaign, he en- tertained him, and then dismissing him, bade him go home to his wife ; but find- ing afterwards that he passed away that night in the porch of the king's palace,* and among his guards, he asked him, " How it came to pass that having been so long away from his wife, he had not rather chosen to go home, than spend his time elsewhere, so contrary to the practice of all other men under his circumstances ?" " Sir," replied he, " I did not think it fair and honourable to indulge myself in the arms of my wife, at the same time when my general and fellow-soldiers lie in an enemy's country upon the ground." The king then told him, " He should now stay there one night more, and the next day he would send him back again to the army." When the king went to supper, he caused Uriah to sup with him, and made him drink so freely, that although he be- came thereby almost drunk, yet he never thought of going to his wife all this while, but spent that night again in the court, as he had done the former. This highly incensed David ; insomuch that he wrote to Joab, that he was much dissatisfied with Uriah, and would have him punished according to his desert; and then proposed to him a method to bring it about, without giving any suspicion that * In Bengal, servants and others generally sleep in tlie verandah or porch, in front of their master's house. The Arab servants in Egypt do the same. In this way ' Uriah slept at the door of the king's house, with all the servants of his lord.' it was done by his order; the contrivance was this : David appointed Joab to com- mand him upon the first dangerous attack, where his companions might desert him and leave him to certain destruction from the enemy. This letter he gave to Uriah,f under his own hand and seal, to be delivered to Joab; who, upon the receipt, followed the king's direction, and put Uriah upon a desperate attack, where he knew the enemies to be strongest, with several brave men to back him, for the counten- ance of the design ; Joab promising to second him with the whole army, upon the least breach or possibility of entrance into the town. To enforce the iniquitous purpose, Joab reminded him of the great reputation he had already acquired by his military conduct, and urged the present opportunity of adding to his fame, and f This was the sum of treachery and villany. He made this most noble man the carrier of letters which prescribed the mode in which he was to be murdered. This case some have likened to that of Bellerophon, son of Glancus, king of Ephyra, who being in the court of Prcetus, king of the Argives, his queen Antia, or as others Sthenoboea, fell violently in love with him ; but he, refusing to gratify her criminal passion, was in revenge accused by her to Proetus her husband, as having attempt- ed to corrupt her. Proetus, not willing to violate the laws of hospitality by slaying him in his own house, wrote letters to Jobates, king of Lycia, the father of Sthenoboea, and sent them by the hand of Bellerophon, stating his crime, and desiring Jobates to put him to death. To meet the wishes of his son-in-law, and keep his own hands innocent of blood, he sent him with a small force against a very warlike people called the Solymi ; but con- trary to all expectation, he not only escaped with his life, but gained a complete victory over them. He was afterwards sent upon several equally dan- gerous and hopeless expeditions, but still came off with success ; and to reward him Jobates gave him one of his daughters to wife, and a part of his kingdom. Sthenoboea, hearing this, through rage and despair killed herself. I have given this his- tory at large, bpcause many have thought it, not only to be parallel to that of Uriah, but to be a fabulous formation from the scripture fact : for my own part, I scarcely see in them any corres- pondence, but in the simple circumstance that both carried those letters which contained their own condemnation. From the fable of Bellero- phon came the proverb, Bellerophontis literas portare, ' to carry one's own condemnation.' /) A. Clarke. 2p 298 HISTORY OF [Book IV enhancing his esteem with his king and master. Uriah, with great cheerfulness and as- surance, undertook the post, while Joab gave his companions private orders to withdraw, and leave him as soon as they found themselves in any danger. The Israelites pressing hard upon the wall, put the Ammonites into a dreadful appre- hension that they would force the town ; whereupon they threw open their gates, and made a desperate sally. This served as a kind of signal to Uriah's companions, who, according to Joab's order, basely abandoned their leader at the instant of imminent danger, and left that valiant man to fall a victim to confederate fraud and ingratitude. He did all the execution that was pos- sible to be done by a single man against numbers; and after several wounds receiv- ed, fell like a man of honour, with his face to the enemy. Some few of his friends, who also were ashamed to fly, not being made privy to the plot, fell with him at the same time. David's design being thus executed, Joab sent him an express, giving an ac- count that to make short work of a siege, that was otherwise likely to be tedious, he had given an assault to the town, lost men in the attempt, and was at last beaten off, and forced back again to the camp. Now, said Joab to the messenger, "if you find the king displeased at the news you carry him, tell him withal, that Uriah fell in the attack." David, upon the hearing of this story, was greatly incensed, and thus bespoke the messenger: "What! for men with their naked bodies to think of storming stone walls? Why did they not rather make use of mines or engines? One would think they would have taken the example of Abimelech, the son of Gideon, for a warning, that was slain at Thebes, by a piece of millstone thrown down upon his head by an old woman from the bat- tlements. The man was otherwise very brave; but his temerity brought him to a shameful end; for in all these cases, cau- tion is as necessary as courage, and the safest counsels are the best. All people in the business of war, should do well to consult history and experience, what has generally succeeded well, and what other- wise, and to consider upon what point the stress lies, either of the one, or of the other, and thus act accordingly." While the king was thus expressing his resentment and displeasure at the ill management of the action, the messenger took an occasion privately to tell him of the death of Uriah. " Well," said David, "these are common accidents; the chance of war is various, and soldiers must content themselves to take the best and worst by turns. Do you tell Joab what I say; but tell him moreover, that for the future I would rather have him do the business by casting up mounts, or by machines, than by open force. But let him know upon the whole that I would have the city razed and levelled with the ground, and the inhabi- tants all put to the sword, without spar- ing so much as one individual person." With these instructions the messenger went presently away to Joab. Upon the news of Uriah's death, Bath- sheba mourned several days for her hus- band, but as soon as her days of mourning were over, David took her to wife, and had by her a male child soon after. This match was so far from being ac- ceptable and well-pleasing to God, that he was highly offended at it, and gave the prophet Nathan to understand his displeasure in a dream; blaming David exceedingly for what he had done. Nathan being a man of great discern- ment, and considering how little regard princes commonly have in the career of their passions to the rules of justice, chose rather to communicate his message to David in mild terms, by way of allusion, than abruptly accost him by a direct de- nunciation of the displeasure and threat- Chap. V.J THE BIBLE. 299 ening of the Almighty; addressing him thus . M There were two men, who lived in the same city; the one had abundance of flocks and herds of all sorts, such as oxen, sheep, and the like ; and was, in fine, a very rich man ; the other was master of no more than one ewe-lamb,* which he brought up, and fed with his own children, and loved it as his daughter. The rich man had a stranger come to his house, whom he was bound in hospitality and in honour to entertain ; but rather than treat him out of his own store, he sent and forced away the poor man's only lamb for the stranger's supper." " A villain," says the king, in a passion, " to do a thing so base and so unjust ! I would have him make fourfold satisfaction, and die for it besides."f * The poignancy of the parable began now to appear, ' the rich man,' we are told, ' had exceed- ing many flocks and herds,' but the whole sub- stance of the other was comprised in one little ewe-lamb. A simile this, which is most beautiful- ly descriptive, and truly poetical ; a lamb is gen- erally used as the emblem of innocence, designedly thrown in to awaken the king's tenderness and pity, from a consideration of the weak and de- fenceless condition of a female. Nathan, in his resemblance, cannot be said to have surpassed the truth, considering how fond many persons were anciently, not only of lambs, but of several other creatures, which they suffered to eat with them at their tables, and lie with them in their beds ; and that even at this day it is a custom in Arabia, (which is contiguous to Judea) to have one of the finest lambs in the flock brought up in the house, and fed with the children. Most commentators take notice, that Nathan did not go so far in the parable as to say any thing of the rich man's kill- ing the poor man. This certainly would have made the resemblance more complete, but it is therefore omitted, that David might not so readily apprehend Nathan's meaning, and so be induced unawares to pronounce a sentence of condemna- tion upon himself; whereupon the prophet had a fair opportunity to show him, that if the rich man, who took away the poor man's lamb, deserved death, according to his own judgment, how much more did he deserve it, who had not only taken another man's wife, but caused him to be slain likewise by the enemies of Israel. + The admirably devised parable of Nathan is perhaps one of the finest specimens of the genuine pathetic style that can be found in the Old Testa- ment ; and David's eager condemnation of the un- suspected offender at the same time displays a striking instance of the delusion of sin and the "Why then," replied Nathan:}: imme- diately, " thou art the man, who deserves such punishment, and out of thy own mouth hast pronounced judgment upon thyself." The prophet then gave him an account of his vision, and of God's high displeasure against him, reminding him of his ingra- titude to that providence that had consti- tuted him king of Israel, given him the command of all the neighbouring nations thereabouts, and delivered him several times out of Saul's hands, &c. ; and repre- senting to him the iniquity of his conduct, blindness of self-love. " He, who had lived a whole year in the unrepented commission of one of the blackest crimes in the decalogue and who, to secure to himself the object for which he had committed it, perpetrated another almost more heinous, and that with an hypocrisy suited to his character he could in an instant denounce death on the imaginary offender for a fault comparatively trifling." ' Seeing, he saw not, and hearing, he heard not ;' he immediately saw the iniquity and barbarity of the rich man's proceedings : his heart was in a moment fired with indignation at the thought of it ; " the vehemence of his resentment even over-stepped the limits of his natural justice, in decreeing a punishment disproportioned to the crime, while he remained dead to his own delin- quency. A pointed parable instantly surprised him into the most bitter self-reproach. A direct accusation might have inflamed him before he was thus prepared ; and in the one case he might have punished the accuser, by whom, in the other, he was brought into the deepest self-abasement. The prudent prophet did not rashly reproach the king with the crime which he wished him to condemn ; but placed the fault at such a distance, and in such a point of view, that he first procured his impartial judgment, and afterwards his self-condemnation : an important lesson, not only to the offender, but also to the reprover." Hannah More. J We learn little more of this great man in the sacred writings, but that he was David's prophet, in- timate counseller, and historiographer. Josephus says of him, that he was a polite and a prudent man, one who knew how to temper the severity of wis- dom with sweetness of manners. And Grotius compares him to Manius Lepidus, of whom Tacitus says, that he had a talent of turning away Tiberj- us's mind from those cruel purposes, to which the vile flattery of others inclined him, and was, at the same time, in equal favour and authority with him. Nathan certainly knew the art of reproving kings with authority, and yet without giving offence. So far from that, he grew in his prince's favour and estimation as long as he lived ; insomuch, that David as tradition tells us called one son after his name, and committed another (even his beloved Solomon), to his care and tuition. The History of the Life of King David. 300 HISTORY OF [Book IV that he who had so many lawful wives allowed him, should take away, and marry another man's wife, in defiance of God and man, and betray her husband to the enemy, and to death. The prophet then predicted to him, that he should live to see his women ravished by one of his own sons, and that son enter into a design upon the life of his father; and in a word, that for this secret sin of his he should be brought to open shame and punishment; concluding with this presage, that the son of his unlawful love should be very short- lived. This denunciation of the prophet struck David with terror and confusion, and drew from him a penitential confession with tears, that he had sinned against God.* David being a righteous man, and (this * The fall of David is one of the most instruc- tive and alarming recorded in that most faithful and impartial of all histories, the Holy Bihle. The transgression of one idle and unguarded mo- ment pierced him through with many sorrows, and embittered the remainder of his life, giving occa- sion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme on account of this crying offence of the man after God's own heart. When he only cut off the skirt of Saul's robe, his heart smote him for the indigni- ty thus offered to his master ; but when he treach- erously murdered a faithful and gallant soldier, who was righting his battles, after having defiled his bed, his heart smote him not : we read at least of no compunction or remorse of conscience, till Nathan was sent to reprove him, Then indeed his sorrow was extreme, and the psalms which he composed on this occasion, express in the most pathetic strains the anguish of a wounded spirit, and the bitterness of his repentance. Still, the rising again of David holds forth no encourage- ment to sinners who may wisli to shelter them- selves under his example, or flatter themselves with the hope of obtaining similar forgiveness ; for, though his life was spared, yet God inflicted those temporal judgments, which the prophet de- nounced, that his soul might be saved in the day of the Lord, and that others, admonished by his example, might be more afraid to offend. The remainder of his days was as disastrous as the be- ginning had been prosperous. Rape, incest, mur- der, and rebellion, raged among his children : he was deserted by his friends, reviled by his enemies, banished from his capital, plunged into the deepest affliction by the ingratitude and death of his favour- ite and rebellious son Absalom ; and, to till up the measure of his calamities, had a dreadful plague brought upon his subjects by his last offence ; so that he died, exhausted at seventy years of age, still older in constitution than in years. Dr Hales.^ one thing excepted) one who before had never been guilty of the commission of any unjust action, God was pleased to ac- cept of his true repentance, took him into his favour again, and promised to secure him in the enjoyment both of his kingdom and of his life. The prophet having thus executed the Divine command, returned to his own habitation ; but soon after his departure, the Lord struck the child, that Uriah's wife bare unto David, with a grievous sickness, which was so sensible an affliction to the father, that he took his chamber upon it, and for seven days together pro- strated himself upon the ground in sack- cloth and mourning; nor could he be per- suaded by his servants to receive any sustenance; beseeching Almighty God to spare the child, having the greatest tender- ness imaginable for the mother. But his prayers proved ineffectual; for upon the seventh day the child died.f None of the family durst speak a word of it to the king; for he, they thought, that was so given up to sorrow, as to deny himself the most necessary comforts and refreshments of life, when the child was + It has been asked, why the death of this child should be deprecated by David in the most solemn manner, and as the greatest punishment, when, had it lived, it would have been a lasting monu- ment of the guilt and infamy of its parents ? But the best way to account for this, is to ascribe it to David's excessive fondness for Bathsheba, which so strongly attached him to every offspring of her's, and made him forget every thing in this child, but that motive of endearment. Besides, it must be allowed that there is something in human nature, which prompts us to rate things after a very un- accountable manner, by estimating them, not ac- cording to their real worth, but according to the trouble and expense, or even distress they cost us. Nor should it be forgot, that David's excessive mourning proceeded not so much from the fear of losing the child, as from a deep sense of his sin, and of the Divine displeasure manifested in the child's sickness ; and probably also, from a just apprehension of the great injury he had done to the infant by his sin, and which he thought him- self bound in justice, as far as he was able, to repair by incessant prayer and intercession, ac- companied with tokens of the most sincere and unaffected sorrow and humiliation for his past offences. Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. only sick, would afflict himself with a more intense and severe abstinence, if he should know it to be dead. David observed such a disorder in the countenances of his family, that he took it for certain there was something extraor- dinary in the case, that they durst not acquaint him with, which he concluded could be nothing else but the death of the child : and, upon examining one of his servants about it, he found it so to be. The child being dead, and all mourning and prayer therefore unnecessary, David arose, washed himself, changed his clothes, and went directly to the tabernacle to worship; commanding his servants, after this, to set his supper upon the table. His kindred and domestics were all in admiration and astonishment at a change so unexpected ; for while the child was but dangerously ill, there was nothing but passion and extravagance; and now it was dead, the father came to himself again. This was their opinion of the case ; but they had yet a curiosity to know what might be the true reason of it; wherein David was very free with them upon a decent intimation of the desire they had to be better informed. " While the child was living," said he, " and not quite out of hope of recovery, I omitted no opportunity of application to God for its life ; but when I saw it was dead, it would have been a foolish thing to torment myself any further to no man- ner of purpose." The prudence of this resolution was highly commended by all that had heard him. Bathsheba, after this, in her due time, according to the course of nature, brought David a son; who, by the direction of the prophet Nathan, gave him the name of Solomon.* 301 * The word Solomon is properly derived from Schatom, which signifies peace, intimating that his reign should be peaceable ; but by God's ap- pointment the prophet Nathan gave him the name of Jedidiah, that is, ' the beloved of God.' The David's general, Joab, had by this time so distressed the Ammonites, by cutting them off from all manner of provisions, that they were almost reduced to the last extremity of hunger and thirst ; for they had only one little spring left them, which they were obliged to draw by short allow- ances, for fear of exhausting, or losing that too. Joab therefore sent David a particular account of the state of the siege, desiring the honour of his presence there, to put the last hand himself to the destruction of the city, as an action worthy to be found upon record in the history of his other heroical exploits. David was so fully satisfied with the wisdom, faith, and zeal of his general, that he put himself presently at the head of his army, and marching to the assault of Rabbuh, took it by storm, and gave the pillage of it to the soldiers, taking only for himself a golden crown of the king's, of a talent weightf and a rich sardonyx scripture however never calls him by any other name than that of Solomon : for what reason in- deed, is quite uncertain, unless we may hazard a conjecture, that the people, being long harassed in war during his father's reign, might perhaps be pleased with this name rather than the other, to intimate their hopes and longing desires of peace, f The weight of this crown seems not a little monstrous. The weight of a talent, which, upon the lowest computation, amounts to no less than 123 pounds, is allowed to be too much for one neck to sustain ; but then we should consider, that besides the crown that was usually worn, it was customary, in some nations, for kings to have very large ones, even to a size equal to this, either hung, or supported over the throne, where, at their coronation, or upon other solemn occasions, they were wont to sit. The Jewish doctors indeed have a very odd conceit, viz. that David, when he took this crown from the king of Ammon, hung it up on high by a certain loadstone, that he had ; as if the power of the magnet were to attract gold as well as iron. But let that be as it will, it is hut to suppose that the crown, here under debate, was of this larger kind, and that, by some means or other, it was supported over the king's head, while he was sitting on his throne, and then there will be an apparent reason for taking the crown from off, or, as the Hebrew words will bear it, from over the king's head, and placing it, in like manner, over David's head, even to indicate the translation of his kingdom to David. It is a common tiling however in Hebrew, as well as other learned lan- guages, to liave the same word signify both the 302 HISTORY OF [Book IV. upon it, which he wore constantly upon his head afterward for an ornament : not to mention an infinite variety of other rich booty that was found in the city. The inhabitants which remained in the city were subjected to the most acute as well as abject punishment,* as were all weight and value of any thing. And that the price or worth of the crown is here the meaning of the phrase, we have the more reason to think, because mention is made of an addition of precious stones, which are never estimated by the weight of gold. Josephus tells us of one stone of great value in the middle of the crown, which he calls a sar- donyx ; and as we may suppose that there were other jewels of several kinds, placed at their pro- per distances, these, in proportion as they height- ened the value, must lessen the weight of the crown, and verify what the same historian tells us of it, viz. that David wore it constantly on his head afterward for an ornament. Stackhouse. * Some of them he sawed asunder ; others he tore in pieces with harrows armed with great iron teeth ; or lacerated their bodies with sharp sickles or sharp stones ; or rather, he dragged them through the place where bricks were made, and grated their flesh upon the ragged sherds. Had David been the inventor of such frightful punish- ments, we might have justly reckoned him a man of the same cruel and brutal spirit as was Cali- gula, who, in after-ages, as Suetonius tells us, was wont to take a great delight in inflicting them : but, the truth is, that these were the punishments which the Ammonites inflicted upon the Jews whenever they took them prisoners ; and therefore David, when he conquered their country, and re- duced their capital city, used them with the like cruelty : not every one of them indiscriminately, but such only as appeared in arms against him, and had either advised, or approved the advice of putting such a disgrace upon his messengers. The Ammonites, it is certain, were early initiated into all the cruelties of the people of Canaan : when they invested Jabesh-gilead and the besieged made an offer to surrender, the easiest condition that they would grant them, was, that they might thrust out all their right eyes, and lay it as a reproach upon Israel for ever ; which one instance, as I take it, is in the room of ten thousand proofs, to demonstrate, that these Ammonites were monsters of barbarity ; and that therefore king David was no more culpable for retaliating upon them the same cruelties that they used to inflict on others, than the people of Agrigentum were, for burning Phalaris in his own bull, or Theseus the hero, for stretching Procrastes beyond the dimensions of his own bed. For even heathen casuists have de- termined, that no law can be more just and equit- able, than that which decreed artists of cruelty to perish by their own arts. The particular punish- ment of passing through the brick-kilns, an ingeni- ous author seems fairly to account for, by making this conjecture i " It is very well known," says he, " that the Jews were slaves in Egypt, and particu- larly employed in brick-making. Now it is natural the other places belonging to the Ammon- ites, which did not acknowledge the king of Israel as sovereign. But the glories of this conquest were soon sullied by a melancholy circumstance, that fell out in David's family. The king had a daughter, as yet a vir- gin, and highly celebrated for the endow- ments of her mind, as well as the beauty of her person. Her name was Tamar, and she and Absalom had one mother. Amnon, the eldest son of David, fell desperately in love with herif and find- ing, that betwixt her own modesty, and the watch she had upon her, there was no hope of succeeding, he pined away into a kind of languishing consumption. for all people at enmity to reproach one another with the meanness and baseness of their original. As therefore the Ammonites were a cruel and in- solent enemy, and nothing could be more natural for men of their temper, when they got any Jews in their power, than to cry out, 'Send the slaves to the brick-kilns, and so torture them to death ; ' so nothing could be more natural than for the Jews, when they got an advantage over them, to return them the same treatment." However this be, it is certain that the siege of Rabbah began before David had any criminal commerce with Bathsheba, and if the town was not taken till after Solomon's birth, as the sequel of his history seems to imply, the siege must last for about two years ; in which time, upon the supposition that David continued in an obdurate state of sin and impenitence, and was therefore deprived of that mild and merciful spirit for which he had formerly been so remark- able, there is no wonder, if, being now become cruel and hard-hearted, as well as exasperated with the length of the siege, he treated the Ammonites in the same outrageous manner that they were accustomed to treat his subjects, not only to re- taliate the thing upon them, but to deter all future ages likewise from violating the right of nations, by treating the persons of public ambassadors with contempt. Stackhouse. j- Virgins of the blood-royal were kept secluded in apartments separate from the commerce of men, into which not only strangers, but even their own fathers, were not permitted to enter. Amnon however, at some time or other had seen the beau- tiful Tamar, or otherwise he could not have con- ceived so strong a passion for her. Upon some certain ceremonial occasions, indeed, it was cus- tomary for the young women to walk out and show themselves ; but, considering their close con- finement at other times, it was hardly possible for Amnon to find an opportunity of declaring his passion, much more of gratifying it ; and there- fore out of pure despair, lie pined himself into a consumption. Calmet's Commentary. v.] THE BIBLE. 300 Jonadab, his friend and kinsman, and a person of good sense and judgment, tak- ing notice of this change in Amnon, and rliat he grew every day worse and worse, went to him, and asked him, what he ;iled? and in short, if he was not in love? for he had a suspicion of it. Amnon, without any difficulty, owned himself to have a violent passion for his own sister. Upon this, the other imme- diately suggested to him a method how he might accomplish his end. Jonadab's fatal advice was, for Amnon to pretend sickness, and the first time his father came to visit him, to request that he would send his sister to him : this was granted, and Amnon desired to have some cakes of his sister's making, for he could not eat any thing else. Therefore she took the flour, kneaded it, raised and baked it, all in her brother's sight: and in conclusion, offered him some to eat, which he would not so much as taste, but called out to his servants immediately to with- draw, and let nobody come in to trouble him, for he would lay himself to rest. As soon as the room was cleared of the attendants, he desired his sister to carry what she had prepared for him, into an inner chamber there, which she did, and her brother taking advantage of that pri- vacy, laid hold of her ; and by the utmost importunity of a violent passion, pressed and courted her to the gratifying of his brutal appetite. Tamar, employing the most earnest en- treaties and expostulation::,* urged him to * There is something so moving, and the argu- ments are so strong, in Tamar's speech to Amnon, that one would almost wonder why it did not pre- vail with him to desist. ' Nay, my hrother, do not force me.' Here she reminds him of his relation to her, for which she hoped he would have such a reverence as not to meddle with her, though she herself were willing, much less to offer violence to her, which it was abominable to do even to a stranger, much more to one of the same blood. ' For no such thing ought to be done in Israel.' Whatever other nations did who had not the knowledge of God's laws, she begs him to con- sider that they both belonged to a nation which was God's peculiar people, had been instructed desist, and thus hoped for the present to amuse him with some distant promise of compliance; but all her endeavours were vain, for strength, enforced by a raging passion, overcame every obstacle, and her virtue fell a victim to her brother's inor- dinate lust. No sooner had he committed the vil- lany, and quenched his criminal flame, than his extravagant love degenerated into the contrary extreme, of implacable hatred ; insomuch that he urged her with reproaches and ill language to depart his chamber, and be gone.f better, and therefore should act otherwise. * Do not thou this folly.' She prays him, besides the scandal it would give, to recollect with himself on the heinousness of the crime, and how highly of- fensive it would be to the Divine Majesty. ' And I, whither shall 1 cause my shame to go V She beseeches him besides the sin against God to consider the disgrace it would be to her, who, after such a foul act, must be ashamed to look any one in the face. ' And as for thee, thou shall be as one of the fools in Israel.' Lastly, she puts him in mind of his own reputation, which so vile an action would tarnish forever, and make him be looked upon as a man void of all sense, religion, honour, and humanity. ' Now therefore, I pray thee, speak to the king ; for he will not withhold me from thee.' It is a common opinion among the Jewish doctors, that in the war which king David had with the king of Geshur, he took Maacah, his daughter captive, and (as they fancy their law allows, Deut. xxi. 11.) lay with her for once only, and then begat this daughter ; but that upon her becoming a proselyte to the Jewish reli- gion, he married her, and afterwards had Absalom. Tamar therefore being born while her mother was a Gentile, they suppose that she was not David's legal child, and that Amnon consequently might marry her: but all this is mere talk, without any shadow of proof. The most probable opinion is, that she was neither ignorant of the law, (Lev. xviii. 11.) which prohibited such incestuous mar- riages, nor thought her father's power so great, as that he might dispense with the law upon this occasion, but merely that she said any thing which she thought would please him, to stop his solicitations, and rude attempts, and to escape for the present out of his hands. Patrick's Com- mentary, and Jewish Antiquities. t Interpreters seem to be a great loss to find out the reason why Amnon's love to his sister should so soon be converted into such a hatred as to make him act so rudely, so brutally towards her ; but it is no uncommon thing for men of violent and irregular passions to pass from one extreme to another. The shame which accom- panies every base action, the remorse, and repent- ance, and many bad consequences that immedi- ately pursue it, make a recoil in every man's tern- 304 HISTORY OF [Book IV. " What," said she, " now ye have de- bauched me, am I to be exposed too ? and sent away by day-light with all this confusion and horror upon me, to tell the world how barbarously you have used me? Nay, this treatment in cold blood is yet worse, if worse can be, even than the ac- cursed act itself, under the impotency of an ungovernable passion to alleviate the crime." But all remonstrance availed not, for Amnon, determined on her departure, commanded his servants to turn her out of the house. Thus compelled, she went into the street, with ashes on her head,* and her vest (such as was then in fashion for per- sons of her quality) disordered and torn, and proceeded through the city crying out, and complaining how she had been abused and ravished. Her brother Absalom had the fortune to meet her in this distraction and dress; and asking her what was the matter, she per; and therefore it is no wonder, that an intem- perate young man, who would not spare so much as his own sister, should, when the ardour of his lust was satisfied, be seized with a contrary passion, and hate the object he loved so much before, when he came coolly to compare the pleasure and the sin together, the shortness of the one, and the heinousness of the other. He hated his sister, when he should have hated himself; and as this outrageous treatment of her made it impossible for his guilt to be concealed, so God seems to have abandoned him to the tumult of his intemperate mind, on purpose to make this punishment of David's adultery more flagrant, and the prophet's prediction of 'raising up evil to him out of his own house,' 2 Sam. xii. 11. more conspicuous. Calmefs and Le Clercs Commentaries, and the History of the Life of King David. * That this was the ancient manner of express- ing grief and concern for any loss or calamity, is evident from that passage of the prophet concern- ing the people of Tyre : ' They shall cry bitterly, cast dirt upon their heads, and wallow themselves in the ashes,' Ezek. xxvii. 30 ; from the beha- viour of Achilles, upon the death of Patroclus, as we have it in Homer: Then sordid dust upon his head he cast, And with his hands his manly locks disgrac'd ; and from what Mezentius did upon the death of Lausus, according to Virgil : With sordid dust defiles his silver hairs, And to the skies his helpless hands he rears. told him the whole story of her brother, and the brutal indignity that he offered her. Absalom informed her, in order to pacify her, that the dishonour was how- ever not so great, considering it was the act of her own brother, which for the present subdued her clamour. After which, she lived for some time single in the house of her brother Absalom. When the news was carried to king David, he was infinitely troubled at it; but Amnon being his eldest, and his be- loved son, he was yet loath to put him to extremities.f Absalom, however, bore him a mortal grudge, and waited only a fair opportunity for revenge.^: f The true reason as we suppose, why his father did not proceed with severity against him, was, because the case (as it then stood) was intricate and perplexed, and such as the law had made no provision for. The law concerning rapes is word- ed thus; * If a damsel, that is a virgin, be be- trothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie witli her; then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of the city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die: the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife:' and again, ' If a man find a damsel, that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found ; then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he hath humbled her; he may not put her away all his days.' These are the two prin- cipal laws concerning this matter, but neither come up to the case now before us. For, had David punished Amnon's crime with death, as the former law requires, Tamar, in like manner, must have suffered too, (even though she was innocent) be- cause 'she cried not out;' and though she was not a betrothed damsel, (as the case is put in the latter law) yet TJavid could not compel Amnon to marry her, because such a marriage would have been incestuous; and therefore we may suppose, that though David might reprimand his son very severely for having wrought folly in Israel, yet he could not bring him before a public judicature, because the law did not properly extend to his case, or if he had made it extend, the innocent must have suffered with the guilty; and a rule of equity I think it is, rather to let the guilty escape, than that the innocent and injured should be de- stroyed . Sta ckh ouse. X As Absalom neither threatened, nor expostu- lated, nor even took the least notice of what had passed, Amnon lulled himself into a belief that Absalom would not trouble him ; whereas he had greater reason to apprehend that he was meditat- ing some terrible revenge. Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. Two years after the rape of Tamar, Absalom having appointed a sheep-shear- ing* at Baal-hazor, a city in the tribe of Ephraim, invited his father and his bro- thers to the meeting. His father excused himself, offering as a plea, the inconve- nience and expense that attended his re- moval from place to place, so that Absalom desired leave only for his brothers, which being obtained, he gave his domestics this order, that upon giving them the sign, when Amnon should be in his cups, they should fall upon him and kill him. Absalom's stewards accordingly executed most punctually their master's command; for as soon as they observed Amnon wax- ed merry, and therefore not on his guard, they fell upon him, and slew him on the spot. 305 CHAPTER VI. Absalom flies after the murder of his brother. JoaWs invention to restore him to his favour. Absalom obtains leave to go to Hebron on a perfidious design David quits his residence at Jerusalem. Divers stratagems concerted to deprive him of his crown and dignity. * Sheep-shearing is an operation to which allu- sion is frequently made in the sacred volume. The wool in very remote times was not shorn with an iron instrument, but plucked off with the hand. From the concurrent testimony of several writers, the time when it is performed in Palestine, falls in the month of March. This time seems to have been spent by the eastern swains in more than usual hilarity. And it may be inferred from several hints in the scriptures, that the wealthier proprietors invited their friends and dependents to sumptuous entertainments. Nabal, on that joyous occasion, which the servants of David called a good, or festive day, although a churlish and nig- gardly man, ' held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king;' and on this occasion, Absalom treated his friends and relations in the same mag- nificent style. The modern Arabs are more frugal and parsimonious; yet their hearts, so little accus- tomed to expand with joyous feelings, acknowledge the powerful influence of increasing wealth, and dispose them to indulge in greater jollity than usual. On these occasions, they perhaps kill a lamb, or a goat, and treat their relations and friends ; and at once to testify their respect for their guests, and add to the luxury of the feast, crown the festive board with new cheese and milk, dates and honey. Paxton. Absalom particularly seeks to obtain by fraud his father s kingdom ; is assisted in his im- pious proceeding by several false courtiers. David receives news of his son's disobedience and rebellion Engageth with him. Totally defeats him. He flies, and being found hang- ing by the hair to a bough, is slain by Joab. The fate of Amnon so terrified all the brothers, that they rode precipitately to acquaint their father, assured that he had likewise a design upon all their lives. In the interim, comes a forerunner to David, with news that Absalom had put all his brothers to death. It was so terri- ble a surprise to David, to hear of the loss of so many of his sons, and by the hand of their own brother, that he aban- doned himself to an inconsolable despera- tion; and without any further inquiry, or waiting for a confirmation of the report, though a wickedness almost incredible, he gave himself up to an insupportable an- guish of thought; tearing his garments, and casting himself prostrate on the ground, lamenting not only the murdered, but the murderer himself. But Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother, desired him to ruminate upon the matter with temper and modera- tion, assuring him that he could not be- lieve the report till further confirmation, though it was reasonable to expect that he might avenge himself of Amnon. While they were in discourse they heard the trampling of the mules, and the hurry of people as approaching; and these were the king's sons, who had made their es- cape from the feast at the house of their brother. The greeting of the father and his sons was not without tears on both sides; the father surprised at the sight of them living, whom he took to be dead: the sons lamenting the loss of their brother, and the father deploring the barbarous murder of a son. So there was sufficient cause for grief and lamentation. Absalom, in the mean time retired to Geshur, where he corrtinued three years- 306 HISTORY OF [Book IV. in the house of his mother's father, a per- son of eminence in that country.* David had by this time a great desire to recall Absalom, not to punish him, but to have him home again; for the severity of his displeasure was now well nigh over; and these charitable inclinations were dex- terously enough managed to Absalom's advantage, by the friendship of Joab, who enjoyed the king's confidence. In order to this end, he dealt with an artful woman of Tekoah,f who was to put herself in mourning, as a person in great distress, and as an humble suppliant, to present the king with her case to this effect: ' That two of her sons in the country had had an unhappy quarrel, which grew to such animosity, that they fought upon it, and one of them was killed. Some of the friends of him who was slain, demand- ed justice upon him that had killed him. * The sacred historian has taken care to clear David from any base connivance at Absalom's wickedness in murdering his brother Amnon, by telling us, that as soon as he had done it, he fled and went to Talmai, his grandfather by his mothers side, who was then king of Geshnr. Geshur was a city in Syria, which lay on the other side of Jordan ; and Absalom, who meditated the murder of his brother, and could not but foresee that it would be an act of high displeasure to his father, invited the princes of the blood to his country-seat, which was near the city Ephraim, not far from the river Jordan, that he might have a better opportunity, not only for putting in exe- cution his wicked design, but of making his escape likewise : so that David (had he been ever so much minded) could not possibly have apprehended him, before he had got to a safe retreat ; and where, it is easy to imagine, he would tell his tale so well, as to gain his grandfather's protection, if not ap- probation of the fact, which, with a small share of eloquence, might be so set off as to appear a ne- cessary vindication of the honour of their family, which had been so grossly violated. Stachhouse. t Tekoah was a city in the tribe of Judah, which lay south of Jerusalem, and about twelve miles distant from it. And herein does Joab's cunning appear not a little, that he made choice of a woman rather than a man, because women can more easily express their passions, and sooner gain pity in their miseries; a widow, which was a condition of life proper to move compassion ; a 1 grave woman,' as Josephus calls her which made her better fitted for addressing the king ; qnd a woman, ' not known at Jerusalem,' but living at some distance in the country, that the ease which she was to represent might not too readily be inquired into. Poole's Annotations. So she was to beg of his majesty the life of her son, as the only hope and stay of her old age. She had no prospect of re- lief, but in his majesty's clemency ; for lier son's enemies were so malicious, that nothing else could satisfy them than the interposition of the king's authority.' She performed her part, and the king granted her request; whereupon, with a dutiful acknowledgment of the king's grace and favour to a widow woman, and the mother of one only child, entreated another grant from his royal bounty. Her suit was, ' That the king would in the first place be pleased to pardon his own son Absalom ; for in beginning with a compassion to him, it would be effectual- ly the ratifying of her own son's case, in his own family. Adding, it would be very hard for a father to lose one son by mis- adventure, and to kill another himself.' The king presently surmised that this was a contrivance of Joab's; and upon discoursing with the woman, found his conjecture to be true. Upon this dis- covery David called for Joab, and told him that he had gained his point, and was now at liberty to bring Absalom back again when he thought fit, for his anger had subsided, and he had freely forgiven him. Joab was very glad to hear it, did re- verence to the king, hastened away to Geshur, and brought Absalom back with him to Jerusalem. The king being told of his coming, sent him word that matters were not as yet in so good a disposition as that it would be proper for him to ap- pear in his presence ; so that Absalom kept himself out of the king's sight, with- in his own walls, and with his private family. He had gone through much care and trouble ; and his entertainment of late had been rather coarse than delicate; in short, he had lived in a manner not suitable to the dignity of a prince of the blood. But he still retained the beauty and gracefulness of his person to the high- est degree of perfection. He cut his hair Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. 307 every twelve months : in the compass of which time, it grew up to the weight of two hundred Babylonish shekels; that is, about thirty-three ounces.* In this obscure state and condition he lived about two years in Jerusalem, and had children, three sons, and one daugh- ter who proved to be a miracle of beauty. She was married afterward to Rehoboam the son of Solomon ; and had a son by him whose name was Abia. Absalom, finding himself uneasy under his present circumstances, sent to Joab to use his interest with his father towards regaining him admission into his royal presence ; and, in short, towards procur- ing him a thorough and absolute recon- ciliation. He waited a while for an an- I swer; but receiving no satisfaction upon I his message, sent some of his people to a neighbouring field of Joab's, to burn his J corn as it stood there upon the ground. [ Joab came to him, and expostulating the matter with him, asked him what he ! had ever done to deserve such unkind I treatment at his hands ? " Why," Absa- lom replied, " I had no way of getting you to me but that. I wrote to you about interceding for me to my father, and you have done nothing in it I perceive : pray, will you try if you can pacify him ; for at this rate, if he goes on still to be inexora- * Mr Harmer is incorrect in supposing that the inspired historian mentions the length and weight of Absalom's hair with commendation ; he de- scribes it, on. the contrary, as the instrument of his pride and vanity ; as an object of general admira- tion among the courtiers and people of fashion ; and perhaps as one of the means by which he stole the hearts of the thoughtless and the gay, who, less favoured by nature, might be proud to pur- chase it for the purpose of interweaving it with their own. So proud was that worthless person of his golden locks, that he wore them as long as he could endure their weight ; and when he did poll them, at certain times, his vanity prompted him to have them weighed, that it might be seen how much they excelled those of other men ; and the more to expose his puerile extravagance, the weight is noted in the scriptures of truth, as amounting to " two hundred shekels," which is equal to a little more than two Paris pounds. Paxton. ble, I am in a worse condition at home than I was in my banishment." Joab took pity of him upon this dis- course, and plied the king so artfully and so effectually on his behalf, that his heart relented, and Absalom was immediately sent for to attend his father. He cast himself at the king's feet upon his first entrance into the room, and begged par- don for all his misdoings ; whereupon Da- vid with his right hand took him up again, with the assurance of a solemn promise, that all old offences should be for ever buried in oblivion. Absalom being re-established in the good opinion and esteem of his father, in a short time furnished himself with a splen- did equipage, with chariots and horses ; a numerous train and retinue of servants, and no less than fifty men to attend him as his body-guard.f He was the first man still at the king's levee ; not forget- ting, on the other hand, to take all occa- sions also to ingratiate himself with the multitude, and to keep fair report with the people. If any man had a cause to be heard, and came for justice, he would ad- dress him in these familiar terms, " Friend, what is thy name ? What countryman ? What business ? Can I do thee any good?" and the like. When he found people out of humour, and dissatisfied with a cross verdict, or a hard judgment, (as they pretended;) " Why, this it is," he would say, " the king has evil counsellors about him. Nay, and God help him, mistakes the point himself sometimes, as well as another. f- When he was recalled, and re-instated in the king's favour, it is no wonder that a young prince, of his gay temper, should multiply his attendants, and set up a rich equipage, to attract the eyes and admiration of mankind ; or that his father, whose riches so well enabled him to bear the expense of this magnificence, and whose heart rejoiced per- haps to see his son the favourite of the people, did not restrain him in it ; because a man of an open spirit himself loves to see his children make a figure in life, which, in all eastern countries, was a thing customary, and might here more es- pecially be expected in the eldest, and heir pre* sumptive to the crown. 308 HISTORY 01 [Book IV. Well ! and so God speed ye, my friends ; if I had been in somebody's place, things should never have gone at this rate." This was his method of stealing the af- fections of the people, and moulding them for his design ; and the policy proved too effectual. Having thus worked himself into the favour of the people, and gained over to his interest a very numerous and powerful party of zealous adherents, he began am- bitiously to aspire after his father's crown, and, to promote his impious designs, soli- cited of David permission to go to Hebron, in order to perform a solemn vow that he had made during the course of his exile. Having obtained his request, he took a prodigious multitude ; some whom he in- vited, and others that came voluntarily with him. Among the rest was Ahitho- phel the Gilonite, David's prime minister, with two hundred men of Jerusalem, who came thither to sacrifice, without the least imagination of a conspiracy. At length, however, the plot took, and Absalom, by the common voice of the people, was pro- claimed king.* * It would really make one wonder, how any people could so easily abandon a prince, so brave, so happy, and successful as David had been ; how they could forget his excellent qualities, or be un- mindful of the services he had done the nation ; but. for this there may be some reasons assigned. In every nation there are always some turbulent and discontented spirits, who are uneasy with the present state of tilings, and promise themselves some benefit from a change. Saul's party was not as yet entirely extinct, and Joab, who was David's general, behaved with an insufferable pride and insolence. His crimes, which were very black, and which the king durst not punish, redounded upon him ; and the king himself had given his enemies umbrage enough against him, in living with Bathsheba, after he had murdered her hus- band : but, what gave the fairest pretence of all, was the obstruction of justice in the civil adminis- tration ; for had there not been something of this, Absalom could have had no grounds for making so loud complaints. These were some of the causes of so general a revolt in the people : and yet, after all, there might be something in what Abarbinel ima- gines, namely, that neither Absalom, nor the elders of Israel, nor the rest of the people, who were mis- led by them, had any intention to divest David of his crown and dignity, much less to take away his life ; but only to substitute Absalom, as coadjutor to him, for the execution of the royal authority, during his The news of such ungrateful behaviour in his son, struck the king with sur- prise and consternation ; he was astonish- ed to think of a rebellious usurpation, from a wretch that could so soon forget his own late guilt, and his father's mercy, as to revolt into a second apostasy, so much more flagitious than the former; for he was first to lay violent hands upon his father's kingdom, though he himself knew it to be the special gift of God ; and after that, to practise upon his very life too. David being in this strait, bethought himself of passing the river Jordan into some place more secure ; and therefore, with the advice of some of his intimate friends what course to take in this sedi- tious juncture, he resolved to leave the care of his palace to ten of his concubines, quit Jerusalem, and commit the issue to God. He accordingly departed with great multitudes of people that carefully ad- hered to him, and joined themselves in his train, especially his own six hundred friends, that kept so close to him when he was hunted up and down by Saul, from one hiding-place to another. The high priests, Abiathar and Zadok, and all the Levites there, were for going with him, and taking the ark along with them ; but upon very good reasons he prevailed with them to stay, telling them, that God's providence was sufficient for his preservation, without any necessity of the holy ark being upon the place, f life-time, and to be his successor after his death. For, as it would have been monstrously wicked in Absalom to have designed the destruction of so kind a father ; so it is hard to conceive, how he could have gained to his party such a multitude of abettors in so villanous an enterprise. This how- ever we may observe, that David looked upon their proceedings as an attempt upon his life ; and that, whatever their first intentions were, they came at last to a resolution to have him killed, to make way for their own better security ; which may be a sufficient warning to all men, never to begin any tiling that is wrong, for fear that it should lead them to the commission of that which they at first abhorred, when they find they cannot be safe in one wickedness, without perpetrating a greater. Calmefs and Patricks Commentaries. f Either David might think it not decent to Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. His last charge to them was, to secure some private method of conveyance, where- by to send him speedy intelligence of whatever might occur during his absence, that related to his most important concern ; and they acquitted themselves of that commission with great industry, by em- ploying Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar : and Ittai, the Gittite, had so great a zeal for his own personal duty, and the service of his mas- ter, that he forced himself along with him, though he pressed him earnestly against it. While the kino; and his adherents were ascending mount Olivet* . barefooted, and ' 309 with every token of humiliation, tears filled the general's eye. He received in- formation that Ahithophel had deserted his cause, and revolted to Absalom. This have the ark wander about witli him he knew not whither, and so expose it to all the hazards and inconveniencies which he himself was like to un- dergo ; or he might suppose, that this would be a means to expose the priests to the violence of Absalom's rage, (as he had before exposed them to Saul s fury upon another occasion) if God, in his judgment, should permit him to prevail ; or this might look as a distrust of the Divine good- ness, and that he placed more confidence in the token of God's presence, than he did in God him- self, who had preserved him in the long persecu- tion of Saul, when he had no ark with him. But what seems the chief reason, at that time, for his sending back the ark, was, that the priests and Levites, (of whose fidelity he was sufficiently sa- tisfied,) by giving him intelligence of the enemy's motions, might do him more service in Jerusalem than they could do in his camp. Poole's Anno- tations. * The mount of Olives, or Olivet, is situate east of Jerusalem, and separated from the city by the brook Kidrou, and the valley of Jehoshaphat. On this mount Solomon built temples to the gods of the Ammonites and Moahites, out of complai- sance to his wives, iience the mount of Olives is called the mountain of Corruption, 2 Kings xxiii. 13. Josephus says, it is five stadia (or furlongs) from Jerusalem. Luke says, a sabbath day's journey ; that is, about eight lurlongs. '1 he mount of Olives has three summits, ranging from north to south ; from the middle summit our Saviour ascended into heaven ; on the south summit Solo- mon built temples to his idols ; the north summit is distant two furlongs from the middlemost. This Ms the highest, and is commonly called Oalilee, or Viri Gahlaii, from the expression used by the angels, 'ye men of Galilee.' In the time ot king Uzziah, the mou. t of Olives was so shattered by an earthquake, that half the earth on the western side fell, and rolled four furlongs, or live hundred paces, toward the opposite mountain on the east ; so that the earth blocked up the highways, ariid covered the king's gardens. Though this mount was named from its olive-trees, yet it abounded in other trees also. It was a station tor signals, which were communicated from hence by lights and flames, on various occasions. They were made, of long staves of cedar, canes, pinewood, with coarse flax, which, while on fire, were shaken about till they were answered from other signals. The names of the various districts of this mount deserve attention, as, (1.) Geth-semane, the place of oil-presses ; (2.) Bethany, the house of dates ; (3.) Bethphage, the house of green figs, and pro- bably, other names in different places. The Tal- mudists say, that on mount Olivet were shops, kept by the children of Canaan, of which shops some were in Bethany ; and that under two large cedars which stood there, were four shops, where things necessary for purification were constantly on sale, such as doves or pigeons for the women, &c. Probably, these shops were supplied by country persons, who hereby avoided paying rent for their sittings in the temple. The mention of these residences implies that this mount had va- rious dwellings upon it. There was also a collec- tion of water at Bethany, on this mount ; which was by some used as a place of purification. The small building, erected over the place of ascension, is contiguous to a Turkish mosque, and is in pos- session of the Turks, who show it for profit ; and subject the Christians to an annual contribution for permission to officiate within it on ascension day. From the mosque is a fine and commanding view of Jerusalem, mount Sion, and the Dead sea. Dr Clarke found on the top of the mount of Olives a vast and very ancient crypt, in " the shape of a cone, of immense size ; the vertex alone appear- ing level with the soil, and exhibiting by its sec- tion at the top a small circular aperture ; the sides extending below to a great depth, lined with a hard red stucco." tie thinks it to have been an idolatrous construction, perhaps as old as Solomon, and profaned by Josiah, 2 Kings xxiii. 13. The number of crypts about Jerusalem is well deserv- ing attention. If Solomon built this crypt, he might, as the Jews say he did, construct one of the same kind for the reception of the ark, &c. in case of danger : but this must continue undecided, till the 'times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.' " So commanding is the view of Jerusalem afforded in this situation, (says Dr Clarke,) that the eye roams over all the streets, and around the walls, as if in the survey of a plan or model of the city. The most conspicuous object is the mosque, erected upon the site and foundations of the temple of Solomon." Hence the observation of the evange- list, (Luke xix. 37.) that Jesus ' beheld the city, and wept over it,' acquires additional force. " To- wards the south appears the lake Asphaltites, a noble expanse of water, seeming to be within a short ride from the city ; but the real distance is much greater. Lofty mountains inclose it with piodigious grandeur. To the north are seen the verdant and fertile pastures of the plain of Jericho, watered by the Jordan, whose course may be dis- tinctly discerned." Calrnet. 310 HISTORY OF [Book IV proving to David one of the most affect- ing circumstances that had befallen him, he prayed to God to infatuate him, and to turn his wisdom into foolishness. He was a clear-sighted man, and of great penetration, and there was nothing David so much dreaded as the policy of his counsels. When he had gained the mountain top, he looked back upon the city, shedding tears, and uttering ejaculations, as one that was now taking his last leave of his government. In this state of perplexity, he casually met his tried friend and faithful subject Hushai, with his garments torn, and aslies upon his head, lamenting the transitory state of all things below the sun. David bade him be of good cheer, and bear the present calamity with resignation and pa- tience ; and urged him finally, with great earnestness, to go back again to Jerusa- lem, where he might behave himself like one of Absalom's party ; pry into his counsels and designs, and by thwarting Ahithophel's measures, do his master in- finitely better service, than by staying with him. Hushai yielded to his persuasions; and so taking his leave of David, returned to Jerusalem, Absalom himself coming thi- ther not long after. David in the mean while going for- ward, met with Ziba, the servant of Me- phibosheth, to whom he had committed the management of the estate he had bestow- ed upon the son of his dear friend Jona- than. He was driving two asses before him, and offered David and his men to take what they pleased of what he had, if there was any thing they liked. The question was put to Ziba upon this occasion, ' What was become of his mas- ter?' he answered, ' He left him at Jeru- salem, in hopes that upon the present distracted state of affairs, the people, in honour to the memory of his father Saul, might be prevailed upon to choose him king.' David, j ustly incensed at so flagrant an instance of ingratitude, resumed his grant of the lands made to Mephibosheth, and bestowed them on Ziba, as the more deserving person of the two. This was a token of favour and bounty very accept- able to Ziba. As the king proceeded in his march, and approached Bahurim, there came out of that place a kinsman of Saul's whose name was Shimei,* the son of Gera, and assaulted him with curses and with stones, and threw dust at him,f and the more * Whether this man had been a personal sufferer in the fall of Saul's family, or what else had exas- perated him against David, it no where appears ; but it seems as if he had conceived some very heinous offence against him, when neither the presence of a king, nor the terror of his guards, could restrain him from throwing stones, and utter- ing bitter speeches against him: and it looks as if the king were fallen into the utmost contempt, when one private man could think of venting his malice at him, in so gross a manner, with impunity. Howell's History. f In almost every part of Asia, those who de- mand justice against a criminal throw dust upon him, signifying that he deserves to lose his life, and be cast into the grave ; and that this is the true interpretation of the action, is evident from an im- precation in common use among the Turks and Persians, Be covered with earth ; Earth be upon thy head. We have two remarkable instances of casting dust mentioned in scripture ; the first is that here recorded of Shimei, who gave vent to his secret hostility to David, when he fled before his rebellious son, by throwing stones at him, and casting dust. It was an ancient custom, in those warm and arid countries, to lay the dust before a person of distinction, and particularly before kings and princes, by sprinkling the ground with water. To throw dust into the air while a person was passing, was therefore an act of great disrespect ; to do so before a sovereign prince, an indecent outrage. But it is clear from the explanation ot the custom, that Shimei meant more than disre- spect and outrage to an afflicted king, whose sub- ject he was ; he intended to signify by that action, that David was unfit to live, and that the time was at last arrived to offer him a sacrifice to the ambi- tion and vengeance of the house of Saul. This view of his conduct is confirmed by the behaviour of the Jews to the apostle Paul, when they seized him in the temple, and had nearly succeeded in putting him to death ; they cried out " Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live ; and as they cried out and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle." A great similarity appears between the conduct of the Jews on this occasion and the be- haviour of the peasants in Persia, when they go to court to complain of the governors, whose opprcs- Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. 311 David's friends took his part on the one side, the more foul and scandalous were the reproaches of Shimei on the other. He reviled David with being a delighter in blood, and the cause of all their miseries, and bade him depart out of the country, like an iusolent, execrable wretch; giving God thanks for that retaliation upon him, by his son, for the indignities that he had formerly put upon his lord and father. These rude and barbarous outrages provoked the indignation of all that heard them ; and Abishai had certainly killed him for it, if David had not interposed, and prevented it, by thus addressing him : " Pray, hold your hand, and do not add mischief to mischief. Things are bad enough already, and do not make them worse. I look upon the clamours of this clown, as I do upon the bawling of a mad dog, that God had let loose upon me; and his holy will be done. Why should you wonder at the unmannerly revilings of a scoundrel, when at the same time I am worse treated by my own ungracious son ? But there is a merciful God above, who in the end will deliver the innocent out of the hands of the oppressors, and give us victory over all our enemies; where- fore in the name, and under the protection of that God, let us proceed forward on jur journey." As David advanced coolly, on one side of the mountain, Shimei ran railing and cursing over-against him on the other. After a long and wearisome march, they arrived at length at the bank of the sions they can no longer endure. They carry their complaints against their governors by com- panies, consisting of several hundreds, and some- times of a thousand ; they repair to that gate of the palace nearest to which their prince is most likely to be, where they set themselves to make the most horrid cries, tearing their garments, and throwing dust into the air, at the same time de- manding justice. The king, upon hearing these cries, sends to know the occasion of them : the people deliver their complaints in writing, upon which he lets them know that he will commit the cognisance of the affair to such an one as he names ; in consequence of this, justice is usually obtained. Paxton's Script, lllust. river Jordan, where David mustered and refreshed his troops. Absalom, and his great counsellor Ahi- thophel, were by this time come to Jerusa- lem, where they were received with shouts and acclamations by a vast concourse or people; and among the rest, by David's friend Hushai, who, together with the people, exclaimed, ' God save the king,' wishing him a long and happy reign. Absalom, upon this encounter, asked Hushai, how it came to pass, that he who was esteemed so eminent and faithful a servant to his father, should now desert his former master, and come over to him. Hushai answered him discreetly, thus: " There is no contending with the will of God, and the consent of the people; and so long as you have them on your side, you may be sure of my fidelity. It is from God that you have received your kingdom; and if you can think me worthy of a place in the number of those you will vouchsafe to own, you shall find me as true to you as ever I was to your father. No man is to account the present state of things grievous, so long as the govern- ment continues in the same line, and a son of the same family succeeds to the throne." These words of Hushai to Ab- salom put an end to all jealousies. The most material business 'now to be pursued was, to determine on the next step, and Ahithophel was called in to ad- vise about it. The counsel he gave was, for Absalom to go in and lie with his father's concubines; enforcing his advice by observing, "This would fix the people, and make them so much the bolder and firmer to the present state, when they should see the breach advanced beyond all possibility of reconciliation; for as matters now stand, people would be apt to say, Why, the father and the son may come to an agreement for ought we know; and if they should chance to adjust differ- ences in the conclusion, where are we? so that it would be dangerous to declare under such uncertainty." 312 HISTORY OF [Book IV. Absalom, in short, took Ahithophel's counsel, and commanded his servants to erect him a tent in the palace, where he lay with his father's concubines in the sight of the people. This was according to what the prophet Nathan foretold would befall David. Having proceeded agreeably to Ahi- thophel's plan, the next point under con- sideration was, how they should proceed in the prosecution of the war? His an- swer was this, " That if they would but put him at the head of twelve thousand chosen men, he would undertake there- with to destroy David, and secure the public peace to the people, and the go- vernment to Absalom both at one stroke." Absalom was much of Ahithophel's opin- ion; but willing however to have Hushai's also, he demanded his advice upon the case. Hushai, who was David's true friend, and ever so reputed, finding the advice to be shrewd and dangerous, did what he could to divert Absalom from it, by giving his judgment another way, after this manner: " Sir, I need not tell you that your father is a valiant man, and that he hath a great many brave men about him, with whom, in all encounters he hath ever come off victorious. You know him to be a soldier too, and a man of stratagem, as well as of courage. He will most in- fallibly have advice of our approach; and in some valley, wood, or behind some rock, perhaps, lie ready to betray us into an ambush. Or suppose we should at- tempt to engage them, they will order the matter so as to manage their retreat by little and little, till they have drawn us into the snare, when David's whole body will fall upon us before we know where we are.* Now I submit myself to There is something very plausible, and elegant too, in the advice, which Hushai gives Absalom, not immediately to pursue, and fall upon David. The text reads thus : Thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chaf- ed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps,' 2 Sam. xvii. 8. Every one knows, that a bear is your judgment, betwixt the consternation it will cause on the one hand, and the encouragement it will give on the other, what a confusion this way of proceeding will create among us. And now you have heard both opinions, you may follow either Ahithophel's or mine, which ap- pears most reasonable." Having given thus far what was not to be done, he craved leave to observe what he thought advisable under these circum- stances to be done. " Let the whole nation of the Israel- ites," he said, " be summoned to appear, with all their troops, at some certain time and place, to make war against David. And when they are met, do you yourself," addressing himself to Absalom, "take the command of the whole into your own hand, without trusting to deputies. When this is done, David must either expose himself in the plain field, or fly to some strong a very fierce creature ; but she-bears (as Aristotle tells us) are more fierce than the male, particularly when they have young ones, but most of all when these young ones are taken from them. When she returns to her den, and misses the objects of her love and care, she becomes almost frantic with rage. Disregarding every consideration of danger to herself, she attacks, with intense ferocity, every animal that comes in her way, and in the bitter- ness of her heart, will dare to attack even a band of armed men. The Russians of Kamtchatka never venture to fire on a young bear when the mother is near ; for, if the cub drop, she becomes enraged to a degree little short of madness; and if she get sight of the enemy, will only quit her revenge with her life. A more desperate attempt, therefore, can scarcely be performed, than to carry off her young in her absence. The moment she returns, and misses them, her passions are inflam- ed ; her scent enables her to track the plunderer ; and unless he has reached some place of safety before the infuriated animal overtake him, his only safety is in dropping one of the cubs, and continuing to flee ; for the mother, attentive to its safety, carries it home to her den before she re- news the pursuit. For this reason the scripture makes frequent use of this similitude: 'I will be unto them as a lion,' says God, in relation to the people of Israel, ' and as a leopard by the way ; I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their hearts.' o that the purport of Hushai's advice is founded on this maxim, that we should not drive an enemy to despair, nor attack I hose who are resolved tc J sell their lives at as dear a rate as possible." Cal- mefs commentary, *c. Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. 313 holds, or walled towns. If he keeps the plain, his forces are so few and inconsid- erable, compared to the many thousands in Israel, wholly devoted to your interest, who will value themselves upon an oppor- tunity being offered them to exert their zeal in serving their prince and country, that your power and strength being here- by so much superior to his, you are sure of obtaining an easy conquest over him. Or if he shall go the other way to work, of hiding and skulking up and down, to keep upon the defensive, there are twenty ways, by mining, battering, starving, and the like, that will certainly reduce him." This advice was generally applauded, insomuch that Absalom preferred it to the counsel of Ahithophel, and the event proved that the interposing hand of an all-wise Providence had great concern in it. Hushai having brought matters to this issue, hastened with all possible speed to the high-priests Zadok and Abiathar; with an account of what had passed at the council betwixt Ahithophel and himself, and how things were carried; desiring them to despatch an express immediately to David, with a caution by all means to pass the river Jordan that very night, for if his son should either get intelligence where he was, or change his mind, he might fall in upon him before he could get over. The high-priests had lodged their sons, for the sake of convenience, out of the town, as well as provided a trusty maid- servant, to carry them the intelligence, which they were to transmit forthwith to David. Upon the receipt of this informa- tion they made what haste they could with it, as became dutiful and faithful ser- vants. But by the time they were ad- vanced about a quarter of a mile upon their way, they were discovered by cer- tain horsemen ; and Absalom having notice of it, gave order immediately for the tak- ing of them up. The messengers were quickly aware of their danger, and so turned out of the way towards Bahurim, a small village near Jerusalem, where they met with a woman who was so charitable as to conceal them, by letting them down into a well, and throwing some skins of beasts over the mouth of it. Although they were concealed with much art and expedition, the pursuers came up to the house, and examined the woman very strictly whether she had seen any such men or not. She acknow- ledged that two such men drank at the gate just before and then went their way, assuring them moreover, that if they made haste after them they might easily be overtaken. When they had searched up and down a long time after them to no purpose, they returned to their quarters with their labour for their pains. As soon as the woman saw that all was safe, and the coast clear, she drew the young men out of the well, and they pro- ceeded on their journey time enough to give David a seasonable account of Ab- salom's design. It was late before they got thither, but David however got his people over the river the same night. Ahithophel was much piqued that Ab- salom should reject his counsel, and at the same time embrace Hushai's ; so that he mounted his ass, and went home to Galmon, where he called his family toge- ther, and told them the advice he had given Absalom, but that he would not follow it; and that in a short time that refusal would be his ruin ; for David would certainly get the better of him, and soon after recover his kingdom. This conduct was followed by this de claration, " Now, it is more honourable for me to die with resolution like a man of honour, than to wait sneaking till David returns, and then to be put to death at last for the services I have done the son against the father." Having thus spoken, he withdrew into a private apartment in his house, agitated 2 R 814 HISTORY OF [Book IV with grief, and hanged himself,* con- scious of his unjust and wicked behaviour in espousing the impious claim of a re- bellious son against the equitable govern- ment of a pious and indulgent father. David having now passed the river Jor- dan, came to Mahanaim, the fairest and strongest city in that tract of land; where he was treated by the principal persons of the whole country with the highest in- stances of generosity and good-will, partly out of humanity, with regard to the neces- sities of his present condition, and partly out of reverence, in the memory of his former state. There was Shobi, a prince of Ammon ; Barzillai and Machir, two principal men of Gilead, &c, these generous persons took such care of David and his people, and provided for them all that could possi- bly minister to their comfort and refresh- ment, after an anxious state of mind and toilsome adventure. Absalom in the mean time had passed the river with a mighty army against his father, and encamped not far from Ma- hanaim, a town of Gilead, having made his kinsman, Amasa, general, in the place of Joab, Amasa being the son of Ithra by Abigail. Now Abigail, and Zeruiah, the mother of Joab, were sisters. King David having reviewed his forces, found he mustered no more than four * It has been asked, what motive could induce a privy counsellor of David, who was held in such high consideration, to enter into Absalom's con- spiracy ? The pride of overturning a throne, of which he was the support, and the hope of reign- ing himself under the name of Absalom, will, per- haps, account for the conspiracy, but not for the incest which he advised Absalom to commit. Ahi- thophel was the father of Eliam the father of Bath- sheba, and there is every reason to think that he wished to revenge his grand-daughter ; particularly when we consider the infamous advice which he gave, his eagerness for pursuing David, and the desire he expressed to smite the king himself. His suicide was as deliberate as his hatred : he was one of those men who are as useful friends as they are dangerous enemies, equally able in good and evil, who employ their talents in the service of their passions, do nothing by halves, and are models ot guilt or of virtue. Home. thousand strong; but, notwithstanding the smallness of his number, he determined, by the strength and favour of the Almighty, to attack his insolent and impious son, esteeming such resolution preferable to a lame inactivity, that might furnish him with an opportunity of making an assault. Thus resolved, he appointed his officers their respective departments, and divided the little body of his army into three parts. Joab had the first division ; Abishai the second; and his old friend Ittai the Git- tite f the third. David would have gone himself in per- son; but his friends, for very good reasons, opposed it : for, said they, " should we be beaten, and you yourself in the field, the whole cause would be lost without any resource. But otherwise, if one division should have the ill-hap to be worsted, the rest might repair to himself, and be em- powered thereby to reinforce themselves to make another sally on the enemy. Beside, the king's not being upon the spot, would possess the enemy with an apprehension that he had another body of troops in reserve." This motion was carried, and the king was prevailed upon to stay at Mahanaim. David then abjured his friends by all the rites of honour, gratitude, and conscience, to acquit themselves in their duty ; and in case God should give them a victory, f In 2 Sam. xv. 18. we read, that 'all the Git- tites, six hundred men, which came after him,' viz. David, 'from Gath, passed on before the king;' but who those Gittites were it is hard to deter- mine, because we have no mention made of them in any other part of scripture. Some imagine that they were natives of Gath, who, taken with the fame of David's piety and happy successes, came along with Ittai, whom the Jews suppose to have been the son of Achish, king of Gath, and being proselyted to the Jewish religion, became part or David's guard, and attended him in his wars. But others rather think, that they were men of Jewish extraction, but had this additional name, from their fleeing unto David, probably under the conduct of Ittai, while he was at Gath, and accompanying him ever after, not only in the time of Saul's persecution of him, but even after his accession to the united kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Patrick's Commentary. Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. 315 to spare the life of the young man; for he durst not trust himself with his own life after the death of Absalom. David's address was followed with a thousand blessings and good wishes ; and then he despatched them to the army. When Absalom saw that Joab had drawn up his division upon a plain, with the wood of Ephraim * at his back, he disposed of his own troops likewise into the same form over against the other. The engagement soon commenced, and there was great bravery on both sides. One part contending for the recovery of what David had lost, and the other for the defence and maintenance of what Absalom had got, they appeared to fight with equal courage and resolution, being equally intent on carrying their point. Absalom's men fought some time upon a point of honour and to avoid the infamy of being worsted by so inconsiderable a party ; David's men, on the other hand, for the glory of routing so many thousands of the enemy upon such a disproportion. In the conclusion David's veterans be- haved bravely, and like themselves; for they broke the enemy's order and put them to a total rout, getting the chase of them over woods, mountains, and crags, whithersoever they fled: some they killed; some they took; and more were lost in the pursuit than in the battle. Near twenty thousand men were reputed to be slain in that days action.* * So called here, because, as some think, the Ephraimites drove their cattle over Jordan, to feed them in the wood. But it most probably had this name from the great slaughter of the Ephraimites by Jephthah. + The sacred historian informs us that ' The wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured,' which some think was occasioned by their falling into pits, pressing one another to death in strait places, creeping into lurking holes, and there being starved to death, or otherwise de- voured by wild beasts, which met them in their flight : but the most easy and simple meaning of the passage is, that there were more slain in ihe wood than in the field of battle. The field of battle, as Josephus tells us, was a plain, with a wood contiguous to it; and therefore, when Ab- alom's army was put tc the rout, and betook Now Absalom was so remarkable both for his beauty and his stature, that he was every body's mark; so that for fear of being taken alive, he mounted the fleetest mule he could procure, and fled away as fast as possible. By the celerity of the mule's course, the force of the wind blew up his hair, so that it caught hold on the rugged bough of a tree ;% and the mule themselves to the wood for refuge, their pursuers made a greater slaughter of them there than they otherwise would have done, because they could not run away so fast in the wood, as they might have done in the open field. Paxton supposes the wood of Ephraim to have been a morass covered with trees and bushes, like the haunts of the wild boar near the banks of Jordan ; and adds: " It is certain that such a place has more than once proved fatal to contending armies, partly by suffocating those who in the hurry of flight inad- vertently venture over places incapable of support- ing them, and partly by retarding them till their pursuers come up and cut them to pieces. In this manner a greater number of men than fell in the heat of battle may be destroyed. The arch- bishop of Tyre informs us, that one of the Chris- tian kings of Jerusalem lost some of his troops in a marshy vale of this country, from their ignorance of the paths which lead through it, although he had no enemy to molest his march. The number of those who died was small ; but in what num- bers would they have perished, may we suppose, had they been forced to flee, like the men of Ab- salom, before a victorious and exasperated enemy? Lewis II., king of Hungary, lost his life in a bog in his own kingdom, in the sixteenth century : and according to Zozimus, Decius the Roman em- peror perished in a fen, with his whole army. It may therefore be justly concluded, that Absalom's army perished neither by the trees of the wood, like their guilty leader, nor by the wild beasts which occupied its recesses ; but by the deceitful quagmires with which it abounded." See Pa- trick's Commentary and Paxton's Script. Illust. J The words in the text, indeed, make no men- tion of Absalom's hair in this place : they only in- form us, that ' Absalom rode upon a mule, and that mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth, and the mule that was under him went away.' From whence some infer, that the meaning of the histo- rian is, not that Absalom hung by his hair, but that his neck was so wedged between the boughs, by the swift motion of the mule, that he was not able to disengage himself. For it is hardly to be questioned, say they, but that, when he went to battle, he had an helmet on ; and an helmet, which covered his head, would have hindered his hair from being entangled in the boughs: but it is only supposing, either that his helmet was such as left a great deal of his hair visible and uncover- ed, or that, if it was large enough to inclose the whole, he might, upon this occasion, throw it oil, 816 HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. [Book IV running forward from under him, left liim suspended in the air, and continued her speed, as if she had her rider still upon her back. One of David's soldiers saw this, and carried the tidings thereof to Joab, who bade him go quickly and despatch him, and he should have ten shekels of silver, and a girdle,* for his pains. But the soldier bravely replied, " I would not do such a thing to the son of my lord and master for a thousand shekels ; espe- cially considering the charge the king gave in your hearing, not to touch the life of the young man." Joab hereupon commanded him to con- duct him to the place where he saw him hanging; whither when he came he pierced him through the heart with his javelin.f His armour-bearers that were then pre- (as well as his other heavy armour) to make him- self lighter, and expedite his flight ; and then there will be no incongruity in the common, and received opinion, to which the authority of Jose- phus adds some confirmation, namely, " that, as Absalom was making his escape, upon the whif- fling of the air, a snagged bough of a tree took hold of his hair, and the mule, running forward from under him, left him dangling in the air." Jewish Antiq. b. vii. c. 9. * A girdle curiously and richly wrought was among the ancient Hebrews a mark of honour, and sometimes bestowed as a reward of merit ; for this was the recompense which Joab here declared he meant to bestow on the man who put Absalom to death. The reward was certainly meant to cor- respond with the importance of the service which he expected him to perform, and the dignity of his own station as commander in chief : we may, therefore, suppose it was not a common one of leather, or plain worsted, but of costly materials and richly adorned ; for people of rank and fashion in the East wear very broad girdles, all of silk, and superbly ornamented witli gold and silver, and precious stones, of which they are extremely proud, regarding them as the token of their su- perior station, and the proof of their riches. Pax- ton. t Joab knew that there could be no safety to the king, nor peace to the kingdom, no security to himself, or other loyal subjects, as long as Absalom lived. Looking, therefore, upon the charge, to spare Absalom as an order more proper for a pa- rent than a prince, he adventured to disobey it ; and as Absalom had forfeited his life to the laws upon several accounts, it was but justice now to take this opportunity of despatching him, as an enemy to his king and country. sent, took down the body from the tree, and cast it into a deep pit, piling a great heap of stones upon it, in the form of a sepulchre4 This being done, Joab c und- ed a retreat to take his men off from the chase, and save the effusion of more blood in a civil war. Absalom had already erected a marble column, with an inscription upon it, in a place called the King's Valley, about two furlongs from Jerusalem, which he called by the name of the Hand of Absalom, to perpetuate his memory, as he said, even if he should leave no children behind him. He had three sons, and one daughter who was married to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, by whom he had Abijah, his immediate successor. \ In the description of the Holy Land, some geographers tell us, that this heap of stones re- mained even to their days, and that all travellers, as they passed by it, were wont to throw a stone to add to the heap, in detestation of his rebellion against his father. For, though it became a cus- tom among the Greeks to raise a heap of stones in the place where any great person was interred, as a monument of honour and respect ; yet it is plain, that none of David's army intended any honour to Absalom's memory in accumulating stones upon him, nor can we think that David himself (though too fond of this rebel-son) made any alteration afterwards in the form of his burial, for fear of enraging the people against him. Some, however, are of a quite contrary opinion, namely, that David, who lamented him with such excess, removed him from this pit, in order to have him laid in the sepulchre belonging to the kings, or perhaps somewhere abort the place where the monument, which goes under his name, and even to this day is shown to travellers, was dug in a rock. It is a little chamber, wrought with a chisel, out of one piece of rock, which stands at some distance from the rest of the moun- tain, and is a square of eight paces from out to out. The inside of this chamber is all plain, but the outside is adorned with some pilasters of the same kind of stone. The upper part, or covering, is made in the form of a conical pyramid, pretty high and large, with a kind of flower-pot on its top. The pyramid is composed of several stones, but the monument itself is square, aud all cut out of one block. In the time of Jesephus, the monu- ment, which was said to be Absalom's, was no- thing more than one marble pillar, widely different from what at present goes under his name, and which therefore must be accounted a more modern building. Le Clerc's and Patrick's Commen- taries. THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE, BOOK V. FROM THE DEATH OF ABSALOM TO THE DEATH OF JEHOSHAPHAT. PRELIMINARY REMARKS. In this division of our history we have related the latter part of David's life ; his death, and the accession of Solomon, whose reign comprehended the most prosperous and glorious period of the Israelitish his- tory, and prefigured the peaceful reign of the Messiah; Solomon's erection and con- secration of the temple at Jerusalem ; his awful defection from the true religion ; the sudden decay of the Jewish nation after his death, when it was divided into two kingdoms, under Rehoboam, who reigned over the kingdom of Judah and Benjamin, and under Jeroboam, who was sovereign of the ten tribes that revolted from the house of David, which in the sacred writings are designated as the kingdom of Israel. We have likewise the reigns of Rehoboam's successors, Abi- jam, Asa, and Jehoshaphat; and those of Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Tibni, the wicked Ahab, Ahaziah, and Jehoram, (in part) who succeeded Jeroboam in the throne of Israel. The causes of the revolution in the com- mencement of Rehoboam's reign, may, as in all similar commotions, be traced to anterior events : the impolicy of that monarch was only the immediate occasion of it ; and in the successive periods of the history of the Hebrews, we may discern vestiges of hereditary jealousy, which ter- minated only in the division of the posterity of Abraham into two distinct nations, one of whom has since disappeared. The limits necessarily assigned to this portion of our work, will only allow us to attempt a rapid sketch of this long series of discord and hatred. From the very beginning of the Israel- itish nation, the two tribes of Judah and Ephraim had disputed for the pre-emi- nency. The former, whose glory had been predicted by the dying patriarch Jacob, flourished in the number of its families, as well as by its power and wealth; being allied to the blood of the Pharaohs during the residence of the Israelites in Egypt, where the two remarkable estab- lishments of Er and of Jokim had been formed, which this tribe carried into Pal- estine. Judah also marched first during the sojourning in the desert, and reckoned upon a dominion which had been promised by so many oracles. The latter, or tribe of Ephraim, depending on the great name of Joseph, and on the right of primogeni- ture which it had acquired in consequence of being adopted by Jacob, confided in that numerous posterity which had been predicted to it; and became powerful during the residence in Egypt. One very remark- 318 HISTORY OF [Book V able proof, that Epliraim and Judah were the two preponderating tribes, is, that when the land of Canaan was divided, they each received their allotments before the western tribes. As the southern par, of the Holy Land, which was apportioned to Judah, proved too large for that tribe, the Simeonites were added to them. The Ephraimites on the contrary, and the half tribe of Manasseh, which were sister and neighbouring tribes, pleaded that their allotment was not sufficiently extensive for them; and enlarged it by force of arms, and by cutting down the forests which abounded in the mountainous dis- tricts of the land of Canaan. In this state of things, with such recol- lections and mutual pretensions, it was impossible that a spirit of rivalry and jealousy should not break forth. The tribe of Ephraim was distingushed for its proud, turbulent, and warlike spirit, as is evident not only from the remonstrances addressed by them to Joshua, but also by their discontented murmuring against Gideon, notwithstanding he was of the tribe of Manasseh, and in the civil war with Jephthah in which their envy and hatred were so severely punished. The tribe of Judah, on the contrary, more pacific in its temper and more sedentary in its pursuits, appears always to have cherished a coolness towards the northern tribes. It never assisted them in their wars ; its name does not occur in the tri- umphal hymn of Deborah, in which so many others are mentioned; and, what is particularly deserving of attention, it took no part in the exploits of Gideon, although the enemies whom he was going to fight had made incursions as far as Gaza, whither they could not have penetrated without entering on its territory. It was the men of Judah, also, who were desir- ous of delivering up Samson, a Danite, to the Philistines. This old grudge subsist- ed in all its force, when the elevation of Saul, a Benjamite, to the throne of Israel, still further chagrined the proud tribe of Ephraim : it is not improbable that the discontent manifested in the assembly of the Israelites at Mizpeh, which induced Samuel to renew the kingdom at Gilgal, was excited by the Ephraimites; and at the very commencement of Saul's reign we observe a census, in which the troops of Judah are reckoned separately from those of Israel. At length the elevation of David completed the mortification of the jealous and envious tribe of Ephraim, and of the northern tribes which ordina- rily followed the fortune of so powerful a neighbour; while Simeon and Benjamin, from necessity as well as choice, were more disposed in favour of Judah. Hence David, during the whole of his long-con- tinued flight from Saul, never quitted the territory of Judah and Benjamin, but when he took refuge in a foreign country; and he sent presents only to the cities of his own tribe. On the death of Saul, two thrones arose in Israel ; which gave rise to a civil war, that lasted seven years ; and, had it not been for the defection of Abner, and the timidity of Ishbosheth, the tribes might never have been united under one sceptre. David himself felt the weakness of his power. The choice of Jerusalem for his capital and for the centre of worship, to the exclusion of Shiloh, a town of Ephraim where the ta- bernacle and ark had formerly been kept, could not but displease the malecontents, whose pride was wounded by hearing that advantage celebrated in one of the sacred hymns, Ps. Ixxviii. 67, 68. During Da- vid's reign, the dispute at the passage of the river Jordan showed how a small spark kindled a flame, which Sheba, retiring to- wards the north, was at hand to excite. Finally, the erection of the temple, the immoveable sanctuary, which secured the supremacy of the tribe of Judah, the taxes levied and personal services required by Solomon, who employed them for the most part in the embellishment of Jeru- salem, the little commercial advantage which Ephraim could derive during hie Chap. I.] reign, in comparison of Judah, which tribe was more commodiously situated for pro- fiting by the transit of commodities be- THE BIBLE. 319 the nearest way better than the other, got thither before him. David was at tin's time sitting at the gate,f with longing tween Egypt, Idumaea, and Arabia, the | expectation to know the event of the tntrijrues of Jeroboam who had been im- battle, when a scout brought him word, prudently nominated to the command of the house of Joseph ; all these circum- stances contributed secretly to mature that revolution, which only awaited his death to break forth, and which the folly of Re- hoboam rendered inevitable.* CHAPTER I. David lamenteth Absalom. Pardons Shimei. Sheba endeavours to prejudice the minds of the people against David. Joab treacherous- ly slays Amasa, who had been sent against Sheba by David. The city is saved by the counsel of a wise woman. A famine inflicted on the Israelites jor their former breach of faith with the Gibeonites. David defeats the Philistines. Is well nigh slain by them. Res- cued by Abishai. Encounters the Philistines in various battles with success. David's champions. The people punished for David's numbering them. He is pardoned on repen- tance. The pestilence stopped. David lays a plan for building the temple. The adherents of Absalom, having lost their presumptuous leader, became intimi- dated, and privately stole away to their respective places of abode. Ahimaaz the son of Zadok the high priest then applied to Joab for permission to go and acquaint the king with the news of the victory ob- tained over his enemies. Joab gave him this answer, that it would not look well for him who had been always heretofore the messenger of good news to the king, to be now the first man to tell jiim of his son's death ; and then calling to Cushi, sent him on the errand, and ordered him to tell the king what he him- self had seen. Ahimaaz having entreated Joab a second time, to let him carry the tidings only of the victory, but not of the death of Absalom, Joab upon this impor- tunity gave him leave, and he knowing * See Home's Introd. vol. iii. p. 99 101. and vol. iv. p. 53. that he saw one| running that way, but he was too far off to discern who it was. The king looked upon it as a good omen, and the scout immediately upon this told the king that he discovered another, which gave him still more hope than before. j- It appears, that the tower in the entrance of Mahanaim had two pair of gates, at some distance from each other ; in a small room, which was often found hy the side of these fortified gates, the door of which opened into the passage hetween them, sat the king, waiting in fearful suspense, the issue of the contest, for it cannot be supposed he sat in the passage itself, which had been at once unbecoming his dignity, and incommodious to the passengers entering or leaving the city. We find a watchman stationed on the top of this tower, to which he went up by a staircase from the passage, which, like the roof of their dwelling-houses, was flat, for the purpose of descrying at a distance those that were approaching the place, or repel- ling the attacks of an enemy. The observations made by the watchman were not communicated by him immediately to the king, but by the inter- vention of a warder at the outer gate of the tower; and it appears, that a private staircase led from the lower room in which the king was sitting, to the upper room over the gateway ; for by that communication he retired to give full vent to his sorrow. The only circumstance involved in any doubt, is in what part of this building he sat, (for it is evident he continued in some part of the gate,) when he returned his thanks to the army, for their exertions in his favour ; or in the lan- guage of the historian, ' spake to the hearts of his servants, and received their congratulations. It is somewhat uncertain, whether he gave audience to his people in the upper room, where he lament- ed in strains so affecting the death of Absalom, or in the little chamber between the two gates, where he waited the arrival of the messengers, or in some other part of the building. The ancient custom of sitting in the gate on solemn occasions, rather favours the opinion, that David went down from the apartment above the gate, to the chamber in the side of the passage. This custom, which may be traced to the remotest antiquity, is still observ- ed in the East ; for when Pococke returned from viewing the town of ancient Byblus, the sheik and the elders were sitting in the gate of the city, after the manner of their ancestors Paxton. \. This was a token that the messenger brought good tidings, and his party were employed in pur- suit of the enemy ; for if his party had been worst- ed, those that fled would have come in crowds to the city for refuge. 320 HISTORY OF [Book V The messenger being uow come within distance, was found to be Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok the high-priest, who came first. This encouraged the king, who ex- claimed, " This is the man that most cer- tainly brings me good tidings." The words were hardly uttered, when Ahimaaz cast himself at David's feet to do him reverence, and asked him, " What news from the army !" he replied, " Great suc- cess and victory." David then asked him, " What was be- come of Absalom ?" Ahimaaz answered, that as soon as ever he saw the enemy routed, he came away with the intelligence; but that he heard a mighty clamour and shouting all the while, upon the pursuit of Absalom ; and Joab sent him away in such haste, that his orders were only to carry the news of the victory, without any mention of Absalom. By this time Cushi was at the king's feet, with the tidings of a victory ; and the king putting the same question to him as to the other, namely, " What was become of Absalom ?" " May it be," says Cushi, " with all the enemies of my lord the king as it is with Absalom." These words turned a day of joy and triumph into a day of mourning. It prov- ed so to the king, for the loss of Absalom ; and to the people also ; for David with- drew himself upon it out of sight, to the top of one of the highest turrets about the city, beating his breast, and tearing his hair, with cries and exclamations, " Ah my son Absalom, my son Absalom ! Oh that I myself could have but died for thee, my son !"* David was by nature extreme- * Nothing certainly can be more moving and pathetic than the words which David utters upon this sad occasion ; but whether it was David's de- liberate wish that he had died in Absalom's stead, or only the effect of his excessive love and grief for him, is not so easy a matter to determine. St Austin seems to be on the affirmative side, and gives this reason for it .-that Absalom died im- penitent, but might have lived to become a better man ; whereas, if David had died, he had reason to hope well of his salvation : but this supposition (as I take it) is not so well founded, since there is much more probability that if Absalom had sur- vived his father, he would have grown more pro- ly fond and tender of all his children, but his love to Absalom was peculiar, and in a more intense degree than to any of the rest. As the king had discovered these tokens of grief, Joab and his victorious army were discouraged from entering the town in a joyous and triumphant manner ; and therefore when they approached, hanged down their heads, assumed dejected coun- tenances, and appeared more like men conquered, than conquerors. David continued so long in this aban- doned dejection, that Joab without cere- mony broke in upon him in the very agony of his passion, reasoning and expostulating with him in this manner : " Sir, do you know what you do? are you aware of the dishonour you bring upon yourself by this wilful and effeminate lamentation ? It makes you look as if you hated your friends, that have saved your life at the hazard of their own ; nay, for yourself and your family too; and at the same time cherished a kindness even for those of your enemies, which divine justice hath taken away in your favour, by the stroke of a most righteous vengeance. If Absa- lom had carried the day, and settled him- self in his usurpation, who would have be- moaned either your fate or ours ? For we would have most certainly been cut to pieces, every living soul : nay, you your- self and your children would have fallen the first victims to their cruelty ; then your enemies would have rejoiced and gloried in your ruin, and it would have fligate than ever ; triumphed in his good success ; insulted and persecuted all his father's friends ; and proved a wicked and abominable tyrant. But whether David's wish was deliberate or not, it is certain that his grief might be increased from this reflection, that himself, by his own sin in the case of Uriah, had been the unhappy instrument and occasion of his son's death though some learned men have observed, that the oriental people were accustomed to express their passions with more vehemence than we in these parts of the world are wont to do, and that the repetition of the same word, ' My son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son,' is a style proper for mournful lamentations. Patrick's and CalmeVs Commentaries. Chap. I.] THE BIBLE. 321 been death for any man to have but so much as pitied us. Does not your con- science as well as your honour check you for this unmanly tenderness, for the memory of so implacable an enemy. He was your son, it is true, but a most un- gracious one; and you cannot be just to God's providence, without acknowledging the blessing of his being taken away. Assume then a cheerful countenance, show yourself to your people, and tell them, that it is to their loyalty and bravery, (under God,) that you are indebted for the honour of this day; for if you go on as you have begun, I will infallibly cause your kingdom and your army to reject you, and place another on the throne; and then you will find a more real and sensible cause for such grievous afflic- tion." The conduct of Joab, though bold and resolute, reduced David to some degree of reason, insomuch that he began once more to direct his attention to business of state and the concerns of the people com- mitted to his care, showing himself in public as usual, and assuming a more p/a- cid and satisfied aspect. This change of humour wrought so effectually upon the people, that they came in multitudes from all parts to pay him their reverence. The face of things being thus changed, Absalom's men that fled from the late battle, and were got home again, sent messengers up and down, from place to place, to remind their friends of the infi- nite obligations they lay under to David upon all accounts, and particularly for the toils and hazards he had undergone in his own person, for the vindication of their liberty; how ungratefully they had behaved themselves in their revolt, and that they had nothing more to do now, than to lay themselves at his feet, beg his pardon, and beseech him once again to receive them into his care and protection, as for- merly; especially as the person was now no more whom they had most unjustly and injuriously set up in his stead. The king had addresses of this kind sent him in abundance, which he still communicat- ed by letters to the high-priests Zadok and Abiathar, with certain hints, how they were to manage the heads of the tribe of Judah toward his restoration. They insinuated accordingly, how shame- ful it would be for them to stand looking on, and let others go before them, in do- ing a common right to a prince so gene- rous, and of their own tribe and extrac- tion. This way of proceeding created an emulation among them who should be foremost. They were likewise to expostulate on the cause with Amasa, the enemy's gene- ral, wherefore he himself, the nephew of David by his own sister, should not dis- pose the army to a sense of their duty, and the restoring of the government to the right owner. They told Amasa, that for what was past he might be sure of his pardon; and that they doubted not but he might have the same command under David that he had under Absalom. In this manner the high-priests pro- ceeded towards the heads of each tribe, and by this means brought over Amasa to the interest of David. The tribe of Judah were the first that sent their commissioners to invite the king back to the exercise of his govern- ment; and betwixt the influence of this example, and the credit of Amasa, they were all to attend, and receive the king at Jerusalem. The tribe of Judah were remarkably the forwardest of the whole body, and the most officious in their respects; for thev went to the very bank of the river Jordan to meet him. There was Shimei, the son of Gera, at the head of a thousand Benjamites.* * The reason why Shimei came with so large a retinue, was, to let David see that he was a man of some considerable rank, and capable of doing him great service among the people, which 2 s 322 HISTORY OF [Book V There was also Ziba, Saul's freeman, and his fifteen children, and twenty servants: who, together with the tribe of Judah, laid a bridge over the river for the more commodious passage of David and his troops. Upon his coming to the river, the tribe of Judah were the first that saluted him; and Shimei, advancing to the bridge, threw himself at David's feet, begging his pardon for the indignities he had put upon him; beseeching him to pass it all over, and that it might never rise in judg- ment against him when he should be re- instated in his kingdom; desiring, more- over, that his early repentance and return to his allegiance might atone for his past faults. Shimei, on this application, was thus accosted by Abishai, Joab's brother : "And do you think to come off so easily ; you that could have the face to blaspheme the king that God had set over you at so un- pardonable a rate? " But David checked his intemperate zeal with these words : " Be silent, you sons of Zeruiah, without blowing the coal, and stirring up new broils; for I would have you look upon this as the first day of my reign ; and take notice of what I do now declare upon my oath. I do freely forgive all the world, and I do promise that no person shall suf- fer for any thing done against me, or against any body else for my sake, of what kind or quality soever ; so that you may set your heart at rest. Shimei, your life is in no danger." Upon this assurance he made his reverence and went his way. After him came Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, with as forlorn and miserable an aspect as can be conceived ; for upon the king's being forced away from the palace, this good man, reckoning the king's calamity as his own, bound himself by a might be some inducement to the king to grant him liis pardon ; or, very likely, he was one of the 1 captains of a thousand in his own tribe,' and might carry them all along with him, to make the stronger intercession for his pardon. Poole's Annotations. vow never to cut his hair, wash his feet, or change his clothes, till it might please God to restore him.* Ziba took this opportunity of traducing his master to the king; for upon David's asking Mephibosheth how he came to leave him when he was under persecution, he laid the fault upon Ziba, for not only not obeying his orders, but on the con- trary, treating him like a slave, notwith- standing the express charge he had given him to have all necessaries in readiness for his journey. Mephibosheth thus represented the true state of the case : " If I had the use of my legs, as other people have, this should not have hindered me neither. Nay," farther adding, " and which is more, he has not only disappointed me in the exer- cise of my duty, but I perceive he has done me spiteful offices, and aspersed my character to yourself; but you are so just, and so great a lover of God, and of truth, that I am sure your generosity and wis- dom will never entertain a calumny to my prejudice. Our family have had the ex- perience of your piety, modesty, and goodness, to a degree never to be forgot- ten, in passing over and pardoning the innumerable hazards and persecutions that you were exposed to in the days and by the contrivance of my grandfather: when all out lives were forfeited, and in * These were som of the instances wherein the Jews were wont to express their mourning ; and they seem to be here mentioned as an evidence ol the falsehood of Ziba's information against his master, since no one who neglected himself to such a degree would be suspected of aspiring to the crown. ' Not dressing his feet,' may signify either not cutting his nails, or his not washing his ^et, which the Jews used frequently to do, because of the bad smell which was natural to them, as well as the Arabians, and some other nations ; and therefore his omission of this could not but make him offensive to himself. * Not trimming his beard,' was letting the hair grow negligently and without any order ; for the manner of the Jews was to cut the hair from the lip upwards, and what grew likewise on the cheek, but what was on the chin, and so backwards to the ear, that they suf- fered to grow. And ' not changing his clothes,' must denote his not putting on any clean linen, but wearing the same garments all the while. Chap. I.] THE BIBLE. your power and at your mercy ; but then after all the gracious tenderness, your superadding the honour of taking me to your table, as a friend, and as a guest; and likewise a person so obnoxious, in re- gard of my relations, nothing could be either greater, or more obliging." David heard all this without either animadverting upon Mephibosheth, or putting Ziba's credit to the test; but he told him, that having given the whole estate to Ziba, he would order him the one half of it back again.* Mephibosheth replied, " Nay, Sir, so long as I have the satisfaction of seeing my lord the king upon his throne again, even let Ziba take the whole." Barzillai the Gileadite, a man of real honour and true valour, who during the late war had signalised himself in the service of his king and country, insisted on accompanying David in his way to the river Jordan. The king pressed him with great ear- nestness to go through with him to Jeru- salem, promising that he would be as good as a father to him, and that he should want nothing that might be a relief and refreshment to his old ay Calmet. says that he had seen under the altars of the heathens holes dug in the earth with funnels proceeding from them, and communicating with openings on the tops of the altars. In the former the priests concealed fire, which, communi- cating through the funnels with the holes, set fire to When every thing was ready the pro- phet Elijah called upon God, and be- sought him to show his power now for the conviction of a mistaken and unbelieving people. While the words were yet be- tween his lips, there fell a fire from heaven, upon the altar, in the sight of the people, and consumed the sacrifice, and dried up all the water about the altar, and in the ditch. The Israelites, upon this prodigy, fell prostrate upon the ground, and agreed in the adoration of one Lord; confessing him to be the great and only true God, and that the rest were only the vain imaginations of weak men. The four hundred prophets were taken, and put to death by the command of Elijah, who then bade the king go and take refreshment, for that rain would soon fall in abundance, without troubling himself any farther. When the king was gone, Elijah went up to the top of mount Carmel,| where the wood and consumed the sacrifice ; and thus the simple people were led to believe that the sacrifice was consumed by a miraculous fire. Elijah showed that no such knavery could be practised in the present case. Had there been a concealed fire under the altar, as in the case mentioned above, the water that was thrown on the altar must have extinguished it most effectually. This very pre- caution has for ever put this miracle beyond the reach of suspicion. Dr A. Clarke. \ Mount Carmel is situated about ten miles to the south of Acre or Ptolemais, on the shore of the Mediterranean sea : it is a range of hills ex- tending six or eight miles nearly north and south, coming from the plain of Esdraelon, and ending in the promontory or cape which forms the bay of Accho or Acre. It is very rocky, and is composed of a whitish stone, with flints imbedded in it. On the east is a fine plain watered by the river Kishon ; and on the west a narrower plain de- scending to the sea. Its greatest height does not exceed fifteen hundred feet. The summits of this mountain are said to abound with oaks, pines, and other trees ; and, among brambles, wild vines and olive trees are still to be found, proving that in- dustry had formerly been employed on this un- grateful soil : nor is there any deficiency of foun- tains and rivulets, so grateful to the inhabitants of the East. There are many caves in this moun- tainous range, particularly on the western side, the largest of which, called the school of Elijah, is much venerated both by Mohammedans and Jews. On the summit, facing the sea, tradition says, that the prophet stood when he prayed for rain, and Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. 393 he sat down upon the ground, and laying his head upon his knees, ordered his ser- vant to go up to a rock toward the sea, and look about him if he could see a cloud. He went up again and again, but still saw nothing; at last, after the seventh time, looking about him, he said he saw something blackish in the air, about the size of a man's hand.* As soon as the prophet heard that, he sent away immediately to Ahab, to hasten to the city, lest he should be taken in a very great shower. The king took his advice, and the prophet, having girded up his vest, ran before him;f and by the time he was beheld the cloud arise out of the sea : and on the side next the sea is a cave, to which some com- mentators have supposed that the prophet Elijah desired Ahab to bring Baal's prophets, when celestial h're descended on his sacrifice. Carmel appears to have been the name, not of the hill only distinguished as Mount Carmel, on the top of which the faithful prophet Elijah offered sacri- fice, hut also of the whole district, which afforded the richest pasture: and shepherds with their flocks are to be seen on its long grassy slopes, which at present afford as rich a pasture ground, as in the days when Nabal fed his numerous herds on Carmel. This was the excellency of Carmel which Isaiah opposes to the barren desert. It is mentioned by Amos as the habitation of the shep- herds. The expression, 'forest of his Carmel,' implies that it abounded atone time with wood: but its remoteness, as the border country of Pales- tine, and the wilderness characteristic of pastoral highlands, rather than its loftiness or its inaccessi- bility, must be alluded to by the prophet Amos (ix. 2, 3.) Home. * In Abyssinia the morning is often clear, and the sun shines; about nine, a small cloud appears in the East, whirling violently round, as if upon an axis ; when arrived near the zenith, it first abates its motion, then loses its form, and extends itself greatly, and seems to collect vapours from all opposite quarters. These clouds, having at- tained nearly the same height, rush against each other with great violence, and put me always in mind of Elijah's foretelling rain on mount Carmel; violent rain, attended with thunder, soon follows. Bruce. f In this country loose and long garments were in use ; and therefore, when the people were minded to run, or to make any great expedition, their custom was to gird them round their waist: but why the prophet condescended to become, as it were, the king's running footman upon this occasion, was to show the world, that his extraor- dinary power, in working miracles, and the con- quest he had thereby gained over his enemies, had not made him proud ; and to satisfy the king of his readiness to do him all the honour imaginable; come to the city of Jezreel, the whole ait was dark and overcast, and there fell im- mediately a very heavy rain. When the mighty wonders that Elijah had performed, and particularly his hav- ing caused her prophets to be slain, reach- ed the ears of the haughty Jezebel, she sent him threatening messages, that his life should answer for theirs. Elijah, upon these menaces, fled to Beersheba, which is in the farthest part of Judea, and there leaving his servant, went further into the wilderness of Arabia Petrsea, where he laid himself down, as a man weary of life, and thus called upon God : " Lord, I am not better than those that are gone before me ; and I find no temp- tations left me to desire longer life." Laying himself down under a tree, he there fell asleep; but he had not slept long before an angel awoke him ; and upon raising himself, he found meat and drink set before him, upon which he fed heartily ; and in the strength of that re- freshment, he went forward to mount Horeb, the place where God delivered the law to Moses. There was a large con- venient cave there, % which he entered that he was far from being his enemy, and only desired he would become the true worshipper of God. In the East, it is.always the practice of the grandees to be preceded by running footmen, whose duty it is to chaunt songs in honour of their master, or to repeat moral sentiments for his in- struction ; and in proportion to the rank and dignity of the man of state who is thus honoured, is the quality of the individuals who move in pro- cession before him. In a progress made by a Persian monarch through his dominions he was always preceded by multitudes, who, on his ap- proach to every town or village, were joined by the most respectable people of the place, pro- claiming in loud and measured strains, the virtues and princely qualities of the monarch, his victories over his enemies, and the most important deeds he had done for the benefit of his country. Ac- cording to the usual custom, Ahab might have been honoured in like manner by many hundreds of his principal subjects, who had no doubt min- gled with the crowd that covered the mount of Carmel to witness the contest between Elijah and the priests of Baal. Patrick and Jamieson. \ The cave or grotto, in which the prophet found shelter, is yet pointed out by tradition, the truth of which is confirmed by the appearance of the surrounding scenery. Tins cave is as deso- 3d 394 HISTORY OF [Book V into, with some thought of taking it up for his habitation. While he was there, the question was put to him, how he came to leave the city, and wander thus in the desert. He heard the voice distinctly, but whence it came he knew not. His answer was, that upon the killing of the false prophets, and preaching the doctrine to the people of only one God, and that God only to be worshipped, the queen for this crime threatened to have him put to death. He was commanded after this, by the same voice, to quit the cavern the next day, and receive his instructions how to govern himself for the future. The day following he came out from his retreat, and immediately there was a great earthquake ; and after the earth- quake, the appearance in the air of a blaz- ing fire, which fire was followed with a little pause of silence; and after that, a still voice,* bidding him fear nothing, for his enemies should not prevail against him ; and so commanded him back again, by the way of Damascus, and there to late a place of refuge as the fancy can conceive : no brook or pool is nigh, to quench the burning thirst ; not a shrub grows on the soil, but sad and useless precipices are on every side. Every part of the way was strewed with broken fragments of rocks. Came. * Various are the speculations, which this ap- pearance of the Divine Majesty hath suggested to interpreters. The generality of them have looked upon this as a figure of the gospel dispensation, which came not in such a terrible manner as the law did, with storms, thunders, lightnings, and earthquakes, (Exod. xix. 16.) but with great lenity and sweetness, jvherein God speaks to us by his Son, who makes use of no other, but gentle argu- ments, and soft persuasions. But if we take this to be a symbolical admonition to Elijah, according to the circumstances he was then in, we may reasonably suppose, that herein (iod intended to show him, that though he had all the elements ready armed at his command to destroy idolaters, if lie pleased to make use of them, yet he had rather attain his end by patience, and tenderness, and long-suffering, (signified by that small still voice, wlierein the Deity exhibited himself,) and consequently, that the prophet should hereby be incited to imitate him, bridling that passionate zeal to which his natural complexion did but too much incline him. Le Clerc's, CalmeCs, and Patrick's Commentaries. anoint Hazael, king of Syria, and Jehu, the son of Nimshi, king over Israel ; and to anoint Elisha also, of Abel-meholah, prophet in his room ; for that God was resolved to root out all the wicked from the land, by the strokes of Divine justice; and those that escaped the sword of Jehu should fall by that of Hazael. Elijah returned, according to his order, and found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, ploughing,! with twelve yoke of oxen. He went to him, and, casting his mantle over him,;}: Elisha immediately began to pro- f So far was this from being any argument of his poverty, that it was in reality a token of his wealth and great riches : for he, who could keep twelve yoke of oxen at plough, was in this respect no inconsiderable man, and yet, (according to the manner of these early times,) he looked after his own business himself; for nothing was of greater esteem, not only among the Hebrews, but among the ancient Greeks and Romans likewise, than agriculture ; and such persons as were of the best quality, were called aumv^yci, men ' who did their work themselves,' and left not the care of it to others. Elisha therefore was taken from the plough to be a prophet, in like manner, as among the Romans afterwards, some were taken from thence to be consuls and dictators. Patrick's Commentary. % The plough of Elisha was halted that he might receive the prophetic robe of his illustrious predecessor, a ceremony which has always been considered by Eastern people an indispensable part of the consecration to the sacred office. It is in this way that the Brahmins are still invested with the priestly character, a yellow mantle being thrown across the shoulders, which is buckled round the waist with a sacred ribbon ; and it is in this way too, that the Persian sooffees are ap- pointed. The master, in the anticipation of death, selecting one of his favourite pupils, bequeathes his antiquated garment to the youth, who by that act is publicly recognised as successor, and looked upon as inheriting, along with the mantle, the virtues and powers of his venerable precursor. The Suflavean dynasty, who long occupied the throne of Persia, owed the origin of their family to the reputation which the founder of it enjoyed for sanctity. That person, who was universally regarded as a holy man, was succeeded by his grandson, Juneyd, who took up his mantle after the death of his grandsire, and a crowd of disciples flocked to him, as the heir of the talents and qualifications of his deceased relative. It was evidently owing to the prevalence of the same Asiatic sentiments among the Israelites, that the succession to the prophetic office was determined by the descent of his master's cloak afterwards upon Elisha ; and so well was the action under- stood as conveying to the servant the spirit and authority of the master, that he was universally Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. S5 phesy, quitted his oxen, and followed him, only desiring to take leave of his father and mother before he departed. This was granted him ; and upon his return from his parents, he became thence- forward a disciple and companion of Elijah. It happened that one Naboth of Jezreel had a vineyard near the palace of Ahab, which lay contiguous to the king's grounds. Ahab had a great desire to inclose this parcel of ground within his own gardens, and often solicited Naboth to have it, either in exchange for some equivalent in another place, or otherwise for a sum of money. Naboth excused himself, by alleging, that it being his inheritance, and in so particular a manner the gift of Providence, he preferred it to any other the king could bestow upon him, and that on any terms he did not wish to part with it.* This disappointment of his desire, on another man's estate, was as grievous to Ahab as if he had lost his own ; insomuch that he fell melancholy upon it, refusing to bathe as he was accustomed to do, and neglecting his meals. acknowledged as the successor of that eminent prophet. Jamieson. * Naboth was unwilling to part with it, not only because he might have acquired that fondness for the spot, which is naturally felt towards a place which one has done much to beautify and improve, hut because it was his patrimony, and had long been in the possession of his family. Even ac- cording to our ideas, attachment to a property which has come through a long line of ancestors would operate strongly in preventing the proprie- tor from parting with it, but this feeling exists in a much stronger degree in the breast of a native of the East ; for there is scarcely a single tree in oriental gardens that is not associated with some pleasing recollections or traditions of the family ; one having been planted at the birth of one of its members, another having been watered, and trained by the hand of another member of it, a third in memory of some great domestic event. Indeed, as parents in the East are in the habit of planting one or more fruit trees on the birth of every child, so a large and well-cultivated garden is a sort of register of the various members liter- ally a roof-tree of the family ; so that to part with a spot which is not only endeared with ven- erable associations, but contains an ocular history of the family, is almost to sever all connection with one's hereditary line, and would be felt as parting with life itself. Jezebel, upon this change, became very solicitous and inquisitive to know the cause of so wonderful an alteration, that her husband should on a sudden leave off bathing as he used to do, and forsake his food; so that upon her importunity, he told her the story of Naboth, and how contemptuously he had behaved himself; informing her farther, in these words, " I gave him the most courteous words, and in truth treated him even below the majesty of a king ; for which civility I was put off with a flat denial." The queen, on the other side, bade him be of good cheer, and give himself no farther uneasiness upon that account, for she would undertake to effect the matter herself, and make Naboth severely suffer for the affront. Upon this she wrote letters in Ahab's name to the elders and chief men of Jezreel, to this purpose : " That they should proclaim a fast,f call an assembly, and assign Naboth, upon account of his extraction, a place among the principal men of the people ; that they should have two witnesses ready, who should swear any thing, to give evidence against him, for speaking blasphemy against God and the king; X upon which testimony he f It was always a customary thing, upon the approach of any great calamity, or the apprehen- sion of any national judgment, to proclaim a fast ; and Jezebel ordered such a fast to be observed in Jezreel, the better to conceal her design against Naboth. For by this means she intimated to the Jezreelites, that they had some accursed thing among them, which was ready to draw down the vengeance of God upon their city ; and that there- fore it was their business to inquire into all those sins which provoked God to anger against them, and to purge them out effectually. As therefore these days of fasting were employed in punishing offenders, doing justice, and imploring God's p;ir- don, they gave the elders of the city an occasion to convene an assembly, and the false witnesses n fair opportunity to accuse Naboth before them. Le Clerc's and Patrick's Commentaries. \ By the law of Moses it was death to blaspheme God, Lev. xxiv. IG. and by custom it was death to revile the king, Exod. xxii. '28. Now, in order to make safe work, the evidences (as tlvey were instructed) accused Naboth of both these crimes, that the people might be the better satisfied to see him stoned. There is this difference, however, to 39 (i HISTORY OF [Icktk V should stand convL-ted. and receive sen- tence to be stoned to death by the people." Every thing was done according to t!ie queen's direction, and Naboth convicted, sentenced, and stoned to death.* .Je/e- "bel instantly, upon the news of this suc- cess, went to the king, and told him, that Naboth's work was now done, and that he might take possession of the vineyard when he pleased, without putting himself to the expense of purchasing it. Ahab was so overjoyed at what Jeze- bel told him, that the first thing he did was to take a journey to his new purchase But God sent Elijah to him in his wrath, to charge him with the murder of the owner of that vineyard, and the iniquity of his usurping the possession. When Ahab saw the prophet coming toward him, he went to him with a volun- be observed between these two crimes, that if a man had only blasphemed God, he was to be tried by the great court at Jerusalem, (as the Hebrew doctors tell us,) and his goods came to his heirs ; whereas, when a man was executed for treason against the king, his estate went to the exchequer, and was forfeited to him against whom the offence was committed : and for this reason it was, that they accused Naboth of this crime likewise, that his estate might be confiscated, and Ahab, by that means, get possession of his vineyard. Patrick's Commentary. * The manner of compassing Naboth's destruc- tion was detestable. It was by the corruption of a whole court of judicature, and by subornation of witnesses. And so all the magistrates of Jez- reel, at the instigation of Ahab's wife, and to serve her wicked purposes, were drawn into the horrible guilt of wilful perjury and deliberate murder. It was one dismal circumstance in this tragedy, that it was acted under the mask of religion, and with high pretences to vindicate the honour of God. It was introduced with a fast, to implore the Divine assistance and direction in the great cause they were entering upon ; and the first article in Naboth's accusation was, that he had blasphemed the great Majesty of heaven. What a mystery of iniquity is the heart of man, where such black villanies are hatched and wrapt up, and transacted under the specious colours of zeal and devotion ! Hypocrisy is odious in the lowest of the human race, but much more in a king, who punishes with death the counterfeiting of his seal, and abusing of his image and superscription to any fraudulent purpose, as being highly dishonourable to him ; and yet is not ashamed to counterfeit the gnat seal ol heaven, and profane the most sacred things of God, to give authority to his infernal machina- tions. Reading. tan Coirfi >sitvi an ! a tender of any satis', faction the prophet shotild require. T. is he did to prevent the other's taxing him with the fact. Elijah told him, " That where the do^s licked the blood of Naboth, they shoiil I also lick the blood of Ahabf and Je/ebr!; and that his whole race should be rooted out for this flagitious cruelty, in taking away the life of an innocent man by ca- lumny and subornation." These words of the prophet brought Ahab to the sense of a true and sincere repentance. He mortified himself in sackcloth and fasting, going bare-foot, and giving manifestation of a hearty sorrow for his sins ; so that God sent the prophet once again to him with another mes>age, to acquaint him, that in regard to his penitence and humiliation, the judgment denounced should not be executed in his days, but should come to pass in the days of his son. CHAPTER VI. The siege of Samaria by Benhadad. Slaughter of the Syrians. Ahab dismisseth Benhadad. Is reproved by a prophet. Seduced by false prophets, and slain Prediction con- cerning the dogs licking up his blood fulfilled. Different characters and i*eigns of Jeho- shaphat and Ahaziah. During these transactions, relating to king Ahab, Benhadad, king of Syria and \ There is a great dispute among the learned, as to the accomplishment of this prophecy. At first, it was no doubt intended to be literally fid- filled, but upon Ahab's repentance, (as we find below,) the punishment was transferred from him to his son Jehoram, in whom it was actually ac- complished ; for itis 'dead body was cast into the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite,' for the dogs to devour, 2 Kings ix. 25. Since Ahab's blood therefore was licked by dogs, not at Jezreel, but at Samaria, it seems necessary, that we should understand the Hebrew word, which our translation renders ' in the place where,' not as denoting the place, but the manner, in which the thing was done ; and so the sense of tiie pas- sage will be that as dogs licked, or in like man- ner as do<;s licked Naboth's blood, even so shall they lick mine, observe what 1 say, even thine.' Poole's Annotations. Chap VI.] THE BIBLE. 397 Damascus, levied a powerful army out of his whole kingdom; and being joined by two and thirty confederate kings, beyond the Euphrates, marched with this mighty armament against Ahab, who did not think it reasonable, upon so vast a disparity in number, to venture a battle in the field ; but chose rather to draw his military men out of the open country into strong holds and fortified towns, and to keep them- selves upon the defensive. He made choice of Samaria for his capital, which he resolved to make good, especially as the place was well fortified by nature and art. The Syrian brought his army before it, and began in form to make his attack, sending a herald to Ahab at the same time, for license to despatch ambassadors to him, with instructions to propose what he should demand. So upon the king of Israel's permission to send ambassadors, they came, and told him that their kind's command was, that his treasure, his wives, and his children, were at Benhadad's mercy ; and that if he would acknowledge as much, and per- mit the other to take what he thought fit out of them, he would instantly quit the siege, and withdraw his army. Ahab sent the ambassadors back, with this answer, that he himself, and all he had, was at their master's service. The Syrian, after this demand and re- turn, sent yet another embassy, which was, that upon sending his officers and servants to him next morning, they should have free liberty to search all his own lodgings, with the houses and apartments of all his relations and domestics, and to take away with them whatever they should deem worthy of their acceptance ; and as for the remainder, Ahab might keep to himself. This message was by no means dis- agreeable to Ahab, as it afforded him a very plausible pretence for calling a coun- cil, in order to debate on measures neces- sary to be pursued. Accordingly, when the assembly was convened he thus addressed them: "I have had two proposals sent me from Benhadad; the former for an acknowledg- ment that myself, my wives, and children, are all at his mercy; and upon the terms of such a confession, he was to raise the siege. Now all this I yielded to, as I would part with any thing of my own interest for the sake of the public peace, and the common good of my people; but they are now come to insist upon a gen- eral surrender, out of a mere captious humour, to pick a quarrel with us. They began at first with my own particular con- cerns, out of an opinion that self-partiality would cause me to hesitate on that point. But I am now to deliver up my country and my people, which they know I will never do. Therefore there must be a war. I am ready and resolved to act solely according to your counsel and approbation." The council vehemently exclaimed against the insolence of this barbarian, and gave their voices unanimously for a war; so that the ambassadors were sent away with this answer, " That the king would yet agree to their first demands; but that, for the security and honour of the citizens, he would never consent to the latter." Benhadad was so enraged at this an- swer, that he sent a third embassy which was much more peremptory and menacing than the former: "Tell the king, that he., values himself upon the strength and security of his walls; but before he is aware, I will cast up works that shall sur- mount them ; and that will be but every soldier a handful of earth to do this busi- ness;" intimating thereby the incredible number of his people. To this Ahab re- plied, " That men of honour were to dispute with their swords, not with their tongues." Benhadad happened to be at supper, with his two and thirty confederate kings, upon the ambassador's arrival with this answer; and he gave orders the same 398 HISTORY OF [Boor V. moment for the siege, and for prosecuting every measure that might conduce to the taking of the town. Ahab and his party in the mean time were dispirited and hopeless, till a certain prophet came to him, and dispersed his fears with an assurance from God that he should prevail against that mighty army. Ahab was desirous to know by what hands this victory should be obtained. The prophet on inquiry, answered, "By the sons of the nobility, and yourself at the head of them, to conduct them, and give your orders." So the king then called them together to the number of two hundred and thirty-two; and Ahab hav- ing information that the Syrian was in the height of his cups and luxury, the gates were thrown open of a sudden, and these young heroes made a sally. The information of this was no sooner brought to Benhadad than he forthwith sent out a party toward them with orders, that whether they came to fight or to treat, they should bring them bound to him. Ahab, in the mean time, had the rest of his army in readiness within the walls to issue out upon occasion. These great officers' sons first engaged with the guards, killed a great many of them, and pursued the rest up to their tents. When the king of Israel found that they succeeded thus far so well, he issued out with the remainder of the army, and furiously charging the Syrians, took them at una- wares, and routed them without any diffi- culty, having only drunken men unarmed to encounter; so that they were forced to flee for their lives, Benhadad himself escaping with difficulty, by the swiftness of his horse. They pursued them a great way, slay- ing all whom they overtook; and then with a rich booty of gold, silver, and equipages that they took in the tents, and the very chariots and horses of Benhadad, they marched back again to the city. The prophet, however, advised the king, after all this, to have an army in readiness to take the field next spring; for Benhadad would give occasion for it. So Ahab prepared vigorously for it on the one hand, and Benhadad called his friends together on the other, with the remainder of his broken army, to advise how to proceed. Benhadad's friends were against his fighting any more in the mountains; for the Israelites' God, said they, was the God of the mountains;* but if they had fought upon the plains, the Israelites would have been worsted. They also advised him to discharge the confederate princes from any further personal service and attendance, but to retain their troops and supply them with good officers ; and in the mean time, their commanders might be levying recruits of horse and foot to fill up their broken companies. The king was well pleased with this advice, and applied himself to put it into execution. In the beginning of the spring, he marched his army against the Israelites, and pitched his camp in a large plain, not far from the city of Aphek.f Ahab, in * That there were many gods who had each their particular charge and jurisdiction; that some presided over whole countries, whilst others had but particular places under their tuition and government ; and were some of them gods of the woods, others of the rivers, and others of the moun- tains, was plainly the doctrine of all heathen na- tions. Pan was reckoned the god of the moun- tains, and in like manner, the Syrians might have a conceit that the God of Israel was a god of the mountains, because Canaan, they saw, was a moun- tainous land ; the Israelites, they perceived, delight- ed to sacrifice on high places; their law, they might have heard, was given on the top of a mountain ; their temple stood upon a famous eminence, as did Samaria, where they had so lately received a signal defeat. For their farther notion was, that the gods of the mountains had a power to inject a panic fear into an army whenever they pleased. Nay, that they did not only assist with their influ- ence, but actually engage themselves in battle, in behalf of their favourites, is a sentiment as old as Homer, and what Virgil has not forgot to imitate. f Apliek, or Aphaca, as it is called by profane authors, was situated in Libanns, upon the river Adonis, between Heliopolis and Biblos; and, in all probability, is the same that Paul Lucas, in his ' Voyage du Levant,' speaks of, as swallowed up in a lake of mount Libanns, about nine miles in circumference, wherein there are several houses, Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. 399 the mean time, advanced with his troops, and drew up over-against him, though by many thousands inferior to the number of the Syrians. While the armies were drawn up oppo- site each other, the prophet came to the Israelites, with an assurance from God that they should be victorious, and that their enemies should find the God of the mountains to be the God of the valleys also. The armies continued for six days in the same station, without moving ; and upon the seventh day they advanced on both sides in a line, and joined battle. It was maintained with great obstinacy at the first onset, but when the Syrians found that they were not able to stand the shock any longer, they turned their back, and betook themselves to flight, with the Is- raelites close at their heels. Betwixt those that were slain in the pursuit, and those that perished in the confusion of their flight, by their own chariots and by one another, some being torn to pieces, and others trampled to death, the overthrow was very great. Those that got into Aphek, the only place they had to fly to, were not many, considering so mighty a body of men ; and of them about seven and twenty thousand were buried under the ruins of the walls,* besides a hundred thousand that were slain in battle. all entire to be seen under water. The soil about tliis place (as the ancients tell us) was very bitu- minous, which seems to confirm their opinion, who think, that subterraneous fires consumed the solid substance of the earth, whereon the city stood, so that it subsided and sunk at once, and a lake was soon formed in its place. Calmefs Commentary. * We are not to suppose, that this wall, or castle, or fort, (as it may be rendered) fell upon every individual, much less that it killed every man it fell on : it is sufficient to justify the ex- pression, that it fell upon the main body of these seven and twenty thousand, and that it killed some, and maimed others, (for the scripture does not say that it killed all,) as is usual in such cases. Let us suppose then, that these Syrians, after their defeat from the plains of Aphek, betook themselves to this fenced city, and, despairing of any quarter, mounted the walls, or retired into Penhadad, with some of his trusty offi- cers and servants, got into a cave, and hid himself, where some of those about him extolled the natural humanity and good- nature of the Israelites, and advised their master to cast himself at Ahab's feet for mercy, confident that, upon such an ap- plication and submission, it would not be refused him. TLe king consented to try the experi- ment; and thereupon a certain number of his train were immediately dressed up in the habit of suppliants and captives, clothed in sackcloth, with halters about their necks,f according to the custom of some castle, with a resolution to defend themselves to the last ; and that the Israelitish army, coming upon them, plied the walls, or the castle, on every side, so warmly with their batteries, that down they came at once, and killing some, wounding others, and making the rest disperse for fear, did all the execution that the text intends.' Thus we may account for this event in a natural way ; but it is more reasonable to think, that God, upon this occasion, wrought a miracle; and, either by some sudden earthquake, or some violent storm of wind, overturned these walls, or this fortress, upon the Syrians. And indeed, if any time was proper for his almighty arm to interpose, it was at such a time as this, when these blasphemous people had denied his sovereign power and authority in the government of the world, and thereby, in some measure, obliged him, in vindication of his own honour, to give them a full demonstration of it, and to show, that he was the God of the plains as well as of the mountains; that he could as effectually destroy them in strong-holds, as in the open field, and make the very walls, wherein they trusted for defence, the instruments of their ruin. Stachhouse. f These appear such unusual and profound tokens of humility, that we are led to inquire into the cause of so extraordinary means being resorted to, to propitiate the conqueror; and the slightest review of the sacred narrative will show, that the very abject condition which the Syrian prince and his nobles assumed, was intended as an ac- knowledgment, not only of their submission to the king of Israel as their liege lord, but of sorrow and contrition for the insult they had offered to Israel's God, and which they considered as the cause of the irretrievable ruin into which they had fallen. That such was the real object of the extraordinary tokens of humiliation, which Benhadad and his followers displayed, is abundantly evident, not only from the tenor of the sacred story, but from many instances that occur in the history of the East, of persons being forced to acknowledge their offences, and coming to implore forgiveness in the very same style of profound submission. Among other instances, Thevenot mentions, that, when 400 HISTOHY OP [Book V tlie country in such cases, and sent to Ahab, with a commission to tell him that Benhadad was his servant, and would ever own himself so to be; and that they came in his name to implore his grace toward him for the saving of his life. Ahab replied, " I am glad he is safe ; Bagdad was besieged by the Turks in 1638, the governor of the city went to the grand vizier with a scarf about his neck, and his sword wreathed in it, as a mark of submission, begging pardon and mercy. An example of the same kind is mention- ed by Sir John Malcolm, as having occurred in the modern history of Persia. Abdalla, great governor of Ammadabat, had, by his insolent and disloyal behaviour, given the greatest provocation to the king. Being at last, however, persuaded to submit, he appeared in the royal presence, with a sword swung from his neck, with chains at his heels, and barefoot. " The whole of which de- meanour," says the historian, " is a mode of beg- ging clemency the most humble, and is considered, by proud and barbarous men, the most ignomini- ous. It signifies, I approach you as a criminal, and bring myself to submit to whatever terms you may impose." In the ancient history of Egypt, a remarkable instance is afforded, on occasion of the horrible and perfidious murder of a'herald, sent to the people of that country by Cambyses, to whom they were tributary. The Persian monarch, de- termined on ample revenge, laid siege to Memphis took it and seized on Psammeticus, the king of Egypt, and the principal of his nobility, who were reserved to act a part in one of the most doleful tragedies that was ever performed. First of all, the king, habited in the meanest attire, was placed in a conspicuous place to witness the spec- tacle. One of the Egyptian princesses, his daugh- ter, was then led forth in the dress of a slave, with a pitcher to fetch water from the river, followed by the daughters of all the principal families in Egypt in the same wretched garb, and with pit- chers in their hands; after them were brought forth the young prince with 2000 of the Egyptian nobility, all with bridles in their months, and halters about their necks, led to execution, to ex- piate the blood of the Persian envoy ; and, last of all, Psammeticus himself, with the same ensigns of degradation, his head bound with ropes, his sword suspended from his neck, closed the melancholy [>roce-ssion. In this instance the sad tokens of inmiliation were imposed on the criminals by the justly offended Cambyses, but it shows the cere- mony in its true light ; it affords a clear proof, that in voluntarily assuming those symbols of sub- mission, the fallen Syrians were complying with what the customs of the East have made the ap- propriate signs of humility and penitence, and they seem to have entertained the hope, that by their suppliant tone and attitude, they would not only secure a mild treatment from the conqueror, but also propitiate the powerful Deity, of whose wrath they regarded all their mortifying defeats, as the real and appalling effects. Jamieson. and you may assure him that he shall be as welcome to me as if he was my own brother." The messengers, upon the solemnity of a sacred oath, that no violence should be ottered to his person, went away to their master, and brought him out to the king oJ Israel, who was at that time in his chariot. As soon as the prisoner had made his obeisance, Ahab bowed himself to receive him, taking him up to him with his right hand, and kissing him, giv- ing him his faith, and also his honour, for his absolute security and freedom. Benhadad, on the other side, returned large acknowledgments, with repeated protestations, that his generosity and goodness should never be forgotten; and in the mean time, he would restore again to the Israelites all the cities and lands that had been taken from them, and that Ahab should be as free at Damascus, as ever the other's father had been at Sa- maria * * The privilege which Benhadad gave to Ahab is thus expressed : ' Thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus as my father made in Samaria.' This extraordinary privilege of making streets in Damascus, has exceedingly puzzled commentators. Some of them suppose the word houtsoth signifies market-places, where commodities were sold, the duties on which should belong to Ahab ; others imagine he meant courts of justice, where the king of Israel should have the prerogative of sitting in judgment, and exercising a jurisdiction over the Syrians ; others think they were a sort of piazzas, of which he should receive the rents ; one class of interpreters understand by the word forti- fications or citadels; another class attempt to prove, that palaces are meant, which Ahab should be permitted to build as a proof of his superiority. The privileges, which we know from the faithful page of history were actually granted to the Vene- tians for their aid, by the states of the kingdom of Jerusalem, during the captivity of Baldwin II. may perhaps explain in a more satisfactory ma .- ner these words of Benhadad. The instrument by which these privileges were secured, is pre- served in the history of William, bishop of Tyre, the historian of the croisades, from which it ap- pears, they "were accustomed to assign churches, and to give streets in their towns and cities, with very ample prerogatives in these streets, to the foreign nations who lent them the most effectual assistance. The Venetians had a street in Acre, with full jurisdiction in it; and in what this con- sisted, we learn from the deed of settlement just Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. Upon this they proceeded to the sign- ing and sealing of a league, and the re- ciprocal interchange of oaths, for the per- formance of covenants ; and Benhadad was dismissed, not without magnificent presents. After this victory over the Syrians, a certain prophet, whose name was Micaiah, came to an Israelite, and bade him strike him on the head ; telling him at the same time that it was God's will to have it so; but the man refusing to do it, the prophet told him he should pay dear for his dis- obedience ; for he should be devoured by a lion. This accordingly happened; and the prophet, with the same words, went after- wards to another, who immediately smote him on the head, and wounded him Upon this, he bound up his head, and went to the king with this story, that he was a soldier, and a certain officer had de- livered him a prisoner to keep, who had made his escape, and he himself was now 401 mentioned ; they had a right to have in their street an oven, a mill, a bath, weights and measures for wine, oil and honey ; they had also a right to judge causes among themselves, together with as great a jurisdiction over all those who dwelt in their street of what nation soever they might be, as the kings of Jerusalem had over others. The same historian informs us, that the Genoese also had a street in that city, with full jurisdiction in it, and a church as a reward for their services, toether with a third part of the dues of the port. In the treaty of peace granted by Bajazet, em- peror of the Turks, to Emanuel the Greek em- peror, it was stipulated, tnat the latter should grant free liberty to the Turks to dwell together, in one street of Constantinople, with the free exercise of their own religion and laws, under a judge of their own nation. This humiliating con- dition the Greek emperor was obliged to accept ; and a great number of Turks, with their families, were sent out of Bithynia to dwell in Constanti- nople, where a mosque was built for their accom- modation. It is not improbable, that the same kind of privileges that were gratited to the Vene- tians, the Genoese, and the Turks, had been granted to the father of Benhadad, by the king of! Israel, and were now offered to Ahab in Damas- cus, in the distressed state of his affairs. The Syrian monarch promised to give his conqueror a i Dumber of streets in his capital city, for the use of J ( bis subjects, with peculiar rights and privileges, which enabled him to exercise the same jurisdic- j lion there as in his own dominions. Puzlon. forced to fly for it, for fear the officer that committed him to his custody should put him to extremities for letting- him go. "Well," says Ahab, "and he would serve you but justly." Upon which words the prophet unbound his head, to give Ahab to understand, that he that told him this story was Micaiah.* He made use of this artifice to fasten the deeper impression on him; informing him in the end, that God would call hirn to a severe account for permitting the impious and blasphemous Benhadad to go, when he had him in his power; and as- suring him, that the time would come, when this very man, that he had now spared, should be the death of himself, and the destruction of his army. Ahab was so incensed at this prophet's faithfu' discharge of his commission from the Lord, that he ordered him to be imprison- ed. However, the prediction was at- tended with terrible apprehensions, and caused him to return home in a state of despondency. During these transactions relative to the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, king of Jerusalem, a prince of a very different turn of mind from that of the former, had not only fortified with garrisons all the places under his dominions, but likewise those in the land of Ephraim, that his grandfather Abijah had taken from Jero* boam, the king of the ten tribes. '1 he king never failed of God's blessing and protection, in any of his undertakings, for he was a just and pious man, and not * It is here remarkable, that this prophet, whose severe denunciation of a disobedient per- son's slaughter by a lion had lately come to pass, was no other than Micaiah, the son of Imlah, who, as he now denounced God's judgment on disobe- dient Ahab, seems directly to have been that very propnet whom the same Ahab, in I Kings xxii. 8, 18., complains of 'as one whom he hated, be- cause he did not prophecy good concerning him, but evil ;' and who, umlhat chapter, openly re- peats his denunciations*against him ; all wliich came to pass accordingly ; nor is there any reason to doubt but this and the former were the very same prophet. Whiston. 3 K 402 HISTORY OF [Book V a day passed in which he neglected his duty to God or his people. The integrity of his life and manners gained him a high reputation among all the neighbouring kings, as appeared by the richness of their presents, which not a little contributed to the advancing his fortune, as well as his fame. In the third year of his reign he called together the elders and the priests that were under his jurisdiction, and gave them orders to have commissioners sent from town to town, throughout the kingdom, to superintend the worship of God, and to see that the laws of Moses might be duly observed. This care for the preser- vation of their religion was so great a satisfaction to all his subjects, that there appeared a laudable emulation to excel in the promoting of so pious a design. The neighbouring princes also held him in such reverence, that they lived in a good understanding one with another, and pre- served with him an inviolate peace. The Philistines paid their ordinary tribute with punctuality, and the Arabians their annuity of lambs and kids. Jehoshaphat also fortified his great towns, and kept in constant pay a well disciplined army, to be in readiness on every occasion. Of the tribe of Judah there were three hundred thousand under the command of Adnah, two hundred and eighty thousand under Jehohanan, and two hundred thousand under Amaziah; and of the tribe of Benjamin, two hun- dred thousand archers, under the command of Eliada. There was also another cap- tain, whose name was Jehozabad, that commanded a hundred and eighty thou- sand men, armed with bucklers, beside the soldiers that were dispersed in towns and garrisons.* * Jehoshaphat had a more numerous people, and a larger military force^in proportion to his territories, than any of his Tnost powerful prede- cessors. The whole amount of the particulars in- deed is so very great, that some have suspected a mistake in tlie transcribers ; Jut, when it" is con- Jehoshaphat married his son Jehoram to Athaliah the daughter of Ahab, king of the ten tribes; and when he had occa- sion to go to Samaria, he was most mag- nificently entertained by Ahab, he and all his army, with corn, wine, flesh, and other provisions. Upon Ahab's entreaty to join with him in a war upon the king of Syria, for the recovery of Ramoth-gilead, which had been taken, and was detained from him by that prince, Jehoshaphat, having an army of his own not inferior to the other, promised him his assistance, and sent for his troops from Jerusalem to Samaria, where both the kings went out of the town, and each sitting upon his throne, took a review of their forces, and gave their orders to their several armies. Jehoshaphat, upon this occasion, was of sidered, that the dominions of the kingdom of Ju- dah under Jehoshaphat were not confined to the narrow limits of Judah and Benjamin only, but reached into the tribes of Dan, Ephraim, and Simeon ; into Arabia, and the country of the Philistines ; in a word, from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim one ^ay, and from Jordan to the Mediterranean sea the other ; when it is considered, that this kingdom received a vast ac- cession when Jeroboam thrust out the priests and Levites from officiating in the service of the Lord, and multitudes of other piously disposed persons followed them from all parts of Israel, when they found that they might be encouraged in worship ping God at Jerusalem ; when it is considered, that this country was exceedingly well cultivated, flourishing in commerce, abounding with foreigners, and what a vast increase of inhabitants in any na- tion may be produced in the space of an hundred years, which was the very period from David ; and when it is considered farther, that soldiers in these days were not kept, like our standing ar- mies, in constant pay and duty ; but only had their names set down in the king's muster-rolls, in order to be summoned to arms whenever there was occasion, and so returned to their families, and followed their usual occupations : when all tlji3 is considered, and put together, I say, we shall not find the number of twelve hundred thou- sand fighting men (even though they may include six millions of persons of all ages and conditions) to be so very extravagant ; especially, when it is remembered, that the city of Thebes alone (as it is reported by Tacitus) furnished no less than seven hundred thousand soldiers ; that in ancient Rome, there were once between three and four millions of souls ; and that, in Grand Cairo, (as some travellers report) there is an immense popu- lation. Staclihoiise. Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. 403 opinion, if any of the prophets were at hand, to advise with them concerning this expedition against the Syrians, whe- ther it were advisable to undertake a war at this time ; for there had been three years' peace betwixt those two kings, since the Syrian was taken prisoner and set at liberty. In consequence of the counsel of Je- hoshaphat, Ahab called his prophets to- gether, to the number of about four hun- dred, and ordered them to inquire whether they should be victorious in this war against Benhadad, and carry the city, which was the main point in question. The prophets were unanimous for the war ; declaring that the Syrian should be overcome, and made prisoner as before. Jehoshaphat, however, gave no credit to their assertions, but suspecting them to be false prophets, asked Ahab what other prophets there were, to whom he might have recourse. He informed him, that there was another indeed, one Micaiah, the son of Imlah, but he hated the man; for he had prophesied ill success to his affairs, and given out that he was to lose his life in this action against the king of Syria, so that he had now imprisoned him on that account But Jehoshaphat insisting that he should be consulted, a eunuch then in waiting was despatched to fetch him. This mes- senger told Micaiah, as they were upon the way together, what the rest of the prophets said, and how they all agreed that Ahab should be victorious. Micaiah honestly replied, " I must not prevaricate with him who made me; but by the grace of God, what message soever he shall think fit to put in my mouth, shall be most faithfully reported to the king." Upon this prophet's arrival, Ahab ad- jured him to speak the very truth, with- out addition or diminution. Upon which the prophet thus declared: "I saw all Israel scattered and flying, and the Syri- ans pursuing them, as sheep that had no shepherd ; by which representation God hath given me to understand, that all the rest of the people shall return, and Ahab alone shall fall in the battle " The king, upon these words, turning to Jehoshaphat, inquired if he was not con- vinced that this man was his enemy. This occasioned, the prophet to add farther, "The words that I deliver are ac- cording to the express direction and com- mand of God ; but you suffer yourself to be flattered by your false prophets into war, upon the hope of victory, when you yourself are to fall in it." This firmness and resolution of the prophet gave the king much concern. One of the false prophets, whose name was Zedekiah, stood forth upon this occa- sion, and, in contempt of Micaiah, advised the king " not to give any heed to what that babbler said, as there was not a word of truth in it; and there needed no other proof of his being an impostor, than the prediction of Elijah, who undoubtedly saw further into things to come than he did ; for he had foretold, l That in the place where dogs licked the blood of Na- both, (who was stoned to death by his command,) in the field of Naboth dogs should lick the king's blood also.' Now this is a most palpable falsity, in contra- diction to the prediction of a prophet of much greater authority than himself; for he will have it, that within the compass of three days the king is to fall in the battle; but it shall be quickly seen, by what spirit this man speaks. I will strike him upon the ear, and let my hand wither in doing it, as Jeroboam's did upon lifting up his hand against Jadon, when he would have had the prophet taken into custody, if what he delivers to you be from heaven. I take it for granted, that you have heard of the circumstance." Upon uttering these words he struck the prophet; and Ahab finding that no judgment immediately ensued, was hard- ened in his resolution upon this war, by a fatality that disposed him to give more credit to false prophets than to true ones, 401 HISTORY OF [Book V and produced causes that might be fol- lowed with suitable events. Zedekiah then made him horns of iron, and declared, that under the figure of these horns was signified by God the pushing and the breaking of all Syria. Micaiah, on the other hand, told the false prophet, that in a very short time he should be called to an account for the vanity and falsity of his pretensions, and be driven from one hiding-place to another, to save himself. Ahab was so exasperated that he ap- pointed Amon, the governor of the city, to take him into close custody, and feed him with only bread and water till he should return.* The dire event, foretold by the faithful Micaiah, now approaching, the two kings advanced with their troops toward Ramath, and the king of Syria hearing of it, went out to meet them. It was agreed upon betwixt them, that Ahab should that day disguise himself in * The keepers of the prison anciently had, as in the East they still have, a discretionary power to treat their prisoners just as they please i nothing further being required of them than to produce them when called for. According to the accurate and observant traveller, Chardin, the gaoler is mas- ter, to do as he pleases ; to treat his prisoner well or ill ; to put him in irons or not, to shut him up closely, or to hold him in easier restraint; to admit persons to him, or to suffer no one to see him. If the gaoler and hisservants receive large fees, how- ever base may be the character of the prisoner, he shall be lodged in the best part of the gaoler's own apartment :' and. on the contrary, if the persons, who have caused the prisoner to he confined, make the gaoler greater presents, he will treat his victim with the utmost inhumanity. Chardin illustrates this statement by a narrative of the treatment received by a very great Armenian merchant. While he bribed the gaoler, the latter treated him with the greatest lenity; but afterwards, when the adverse party presented a considerable sum of money, first to the judge, and afterwards to the gaoler, the hapless Armenian first felt his privileges retrenched: he was next closely confined, and then was treated with such inhumanity, as not to be permitted to drink oftener than once in twenty-four hours, even during the hottest time in the summer. ho person was allowed to approach him but the servants of tlve prison : at length he was thrown into a dungeon, where he was in a quarter of an hour brought to the point to which all this severe usage was designod to force him. Horhe. a private habit, and the king of Jerusalem appear in his royal robes, the better to evade the fate predicted by the prophet. But the awful stroke reached the king, notwithstanding the artifice he employed to evade it; for Benhadad gave a strict charge to his officers and commanders to fight neither with small nor great, but with the king of Israel. The Syrians, upon the first push, see- ing Jehoshapliat at the head of the army, immediately pressed upon him, taking him for Ahab, but when they found their error, they went off and left him. They kept the field from morning till night, the one flying, and the other pursuing, but not one drop of blood was spilled, the Syrians only hunting after Ahab, and still not finding him ; but in the end, one of Benhadad's domestics shot an arrow at a venture, that struck the king through the joints of his armour to his very lungs. Ahab was desirous to keep it concealed, for fear of discouraging his men ; he therefore desired his charioteer to carry him a little distance from the army, for he was mortally wounded. He, however, kept his chariot till about sun-set, though in great pain and torment, and then, be- tween his agony and weakness, with the loss of blood, he expired. The night coming on, the Syrians with- drew to their tents ; and as soon as they were informed by a herald of Ahab's death, the camp broke up, and every man departed to his own habitation. The king's body was carried to Sama- ria, and there interred ; and upon wash- ing the blood off the chariot in a fountain near at hand, the prediction of Elijah was verified; for the dogs licked up the blood; and the place was afterwards made use of for common women to bathe in. Tli us died Ahab, king of Israel, by means of a divine appointment, in con- sequence of his deviation from strict obe- dience to the divine command; finding too late the folly and weakness of relying upon false and flattering prophets, in op- Chap. V THE BIBLE. 405 position to the declaration of those com- missioned rrom above. Anaziah nis son succeeded him in tne government of Israel. Upon Jeliosnaphat's returning to Jeru- ! salem, after ms joining witti Ahab against Benhadad, the prophet Jehu met him, and I rebuked him, for espousing the quarrel of so impious and flagitious a man as Ahab. lie told him how highly he had offended God by making that alliance; but yet that he was graciously pleased, as his heart was upright before him, to pass over what he had done amiss, and to deliver him out of the hands of his enemies. Upon this admonition, the king turned himself to God by prayers and sacrifices, and appointed a general visitation through all his dominions, with orders for instruct- ing the people in the laws of Moses, and in the religion of their forefathers. He also appointed magistrates in all cities and great towns, giving them charge to administer justice to all men indifferent- ly, to the poor as well as the rich, with- out any respect to profit, favour, or affec- tion ; and in fine, to discharge their du- ties as in the sight of the all-seeing God that knew the very thoughts of their hearts. Having thus settled the administration of affairs, both civil and religious, in the several cities of the two tribes, he return- ed to Jerusalem, where he constituted judges from among the most considera- ble of the priests and Levites, enjoining them to do justice impartially; or if there should arise any controversies of more weight than ordinary, in any of their neighbouring cities, that should be brought to them for judgment, they should not pass sentence without all possible delibera- tion ; for it would be most scandalous and dishonourable to neglect the strictest rules of justice in a city where God had es- tablished his temple, and the king his palace. He chose the chief magistrates out of the number of his own friends; as Amariah the priest, and Zebadiab of the house of Judah. At this time, the Moabites and Ammon- ites made war upon Jehoshaphat, assisted with a mighty army of auxiliary Arabians, and encamped at Engedi, a city near the lake of Asphaltites, about three hundred furlongs from Jerusalem, and famous for balsam and palm-trees. When Jehoshaphat understood that they had passed the lake, and made inroads into his country, he was much alarmed, and immediately called an assembly of state; and, standing before the temple, he betook himself to prayer for God's blessing upon his arms against so powerful an enemy, which was according to the form and prac- tice of his forefathers, upon the first erec- tion of that holy place; who, whenever they found themselves in danger of being over-run by a foreign enemy, caused all the people to meet in full congregation, to implore God's assistance towards the repelling of that violence, and for the maintenance of that inheritance which the Lord, in his infinite bounty, had bestowed upon them, that their enemies sought to take away by force. Jehoshaphat mingled his prayers with tears, and the whole multitude, with their wives and children, made their supplica- tions also. As they were in the fervour of their devotion, there started up a certain pro- phet in the midst of them, by name Jaha- ziel,* who declared to the people, that God had heard their prayers, and would fight their battle, in favour of the religion they professed; and warned them, upon this, to be in readiness next day to march to- wards their enemies, whom they should find encamped betwixt Jerusalem and Engedi, at a certain ascent, known by the * This person seems to have been immediately inspired by God on this occasion, (for we do not read of him as a prophet either before or after,) to comfort the people with an assurance of their de- liverance : God himself hereby testifying how ac- ceptable their pious king's devout address had been to him. 406 name of Ziz, (which in Hebrew signifies an eminence;) he also informed them far- ther, that they should not need to strike a stroke, but only stand looking on, as unconcerned spectators of an action where- in God would fight for them. After this declaration, both the king and people fell prostrate upon their faces, gave thanks, and worshipped, the Le- vites in the mean while accompanying their hymns with musical instruments. The king, early next morning, went into the desert, under the city of Tekoa, where he admonished the multitude to put their trust in God, according to the prediction of the prophet, and that there was no need of ranging themselves in a form of battle, only to set the priests with their trumpets in the first line, and the Levites with their singers, and so move cheerfully forward with music and thanks- giving, as upon a day of victory, or de- liverance from a common enemy. They were all highly satisfied with the king's advice, and soon put it in execu- tion ; so God struck the Ammonites and their allies with such a panic and conster- nation, that they fell upon one another, and fought till not one of the army was left alive. When Jehoshaphat came to take a view of the valley where the enemy was en- camped, he found it covered with dead bodies. Never was victory gained more entire, or with such ease, insomuch that Jehoshaphat, in a transport of joy for so unexpected a blessing, gave his soldiers the pillage of the camp, and the spoil of the dead, which was so prodigious, that they were full three days in carrying oft' their booty. On the fourth day, all the people gathered together in a certain valley, where they praised ana messed God for all the works of his power and mercy ; from which circumstance the place was called HeruchaK or * the vaney of oless- ing/ The V.njr then led his army thence to HISTORY OF [Book V. Jerusalem, where he passed several days in sacrifice and feasting. The report of this miraculous victory filled all foreign princes and nations, wherever it came, with such reverence for Jehoshaphat, that they looked upon him as a person for whom God had a particular kindness, and retained the same opinion of him to the end of his days. Nothing in the history of Jehoshaphat can more excite the wonder of the pious reader, than that a prince so eminent for strict obedience to the divine law, and the peculiar manifestations of the divine fa- vour, should still be attached to the family and interest of Ahab's race, so far as to join with his son Ahaziah, both in war and traffic; for we find that they were jointly concerned in fitting out ships to trade between Tarshish and Ezion-geber. But the design miscarried to their great expense and detriment; for the vessels were not adapted to those seas; so that, whether through ill conduct or foul weather, they were all cast away, and the project proved abortive, and was never after resumed. Ahaziah, king of Israel, had his royal palace at Samaria. He was wicked and profane, and altogether adhered to the principles of his father and mother, and seemed to have had a certain emulation to out-sin Jeroboam himself, the capital seducer of Israel. Jn the -second year of his reign, the king of the Moabites revolted, and abso- lutely refused to be any longer subject to the tribute he had formerly paid to his father. Ahaziah being in danger of his life, from a fall from off the battlements * into * In the Eastern countries, as before mentioned, the roofs of the houses were flat, and surrounded with a battlement to prevent falling from them, because it was a customary tiling for people to walk upon them in order to take the air. Now, in this battlement we may suppose that there were some wooden lattices for people to look through, of equal height with the parapet-wall, and that Ahaziah negligently leaning on it, as it was rotten and infirm, it broke down, and let him fall into the Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. 407 the court-yard of his palace, sent to in- quire of Baalzebub,* the idol god of Ekron, concerning the event of the ma- lady consequent on the fall. court, or garden belonging to his house. Or there is another way whereby he might fall. In these flat roofs there was generally an opening, which served instead of a sky-light to the house below, and this opening might be done over with lattice- work, which the king, as he was carelessly walking, might chance to step upon, and slip through. Nor is there any absurdity in supposing such lattice- work in a king's palace, when the world was not arrived to that height of art and curiosity that we find it in now. Poole and Calmet. * The word signifies, the god of flies; but how this idol came to obtain that name, it is not so easy a matter to discover. Several are of opinion, that this god was called Baal-semin, the lord of heaven, but that the Jews, by way of contempt, gave it the name of Baalzebub, or the lord of a fly, a god that was nothing worth, or, as others say, whose temple was filled with flies ; whereas the temple of Jerusalem, notwithstanding all the sacrifices that were there daily offered, never once had a fly in it, as their doctors relate. The sacred writings, indeed, when they speak of the gods of the heathens, very frequently call them in general, idols, vanity, abominations, &c. but they never change their proper names into such as are of an opprobrious import; neither can we think it likely that the king of Israel would have called the god of Ekron, for whom he had so high a veneration as to consult him in his sickness, by any appella- tion of contempt. Whoever considers what trou- blesome and destructive creatures, especially in some hot countries, flies are known to be; in what vast swarms they sometimes settle, and not only devour all the fruits of the earth, but in many places occasion a noisome pestilence, may reason- ably suppose that the heathens had a proper deity, to whom they made their addresses, either for the prevention or removal of this sore plague. And ac- cordingly we are told by Pliny, that, when there was a plague in Africa, occasioned by vast quantities of flies, after that the people had sacrificed to the god Achore, he should have said, the god of Ekron, for there is a plain affinity between their names, the flies all died, and the distemper was extinguish- ed. Now, it was a known maxim of the heathen theology, that, as all plagues were inflicted by some evil demon or other, so all evil demons were under the restraint of some superior one, who is their prince and ruler. As therefore Pluto was known to be the god of hell, and to have all the mischievous band of spirits under his control ; to him the heathen used to pray, and offer sacrifices, that lie might not suffer any of his inferior agents to inflict this heavy judgment upon them. They worshipped him, 1 s;iy, not to engage him to do them any good, but to prevail with him to do them no harm ; and accordingly we may observe, that every thing in their service was dark and gloomy. Their offerings were in the night, their victims were black, and the blood let out into a deep ditch. Such good reason have we to think, Upon this occasion the God of Israel commanded the prophet Elijah to go im- mediately, meet the messengers, and ask them, whether the Israelites had not a God of their own? And to remind them that there was no need of consulting a strange god in the case; and therefore they had best go back to the king, and tell him that he should not recover. The messengers immediately took their errand from Elijah, and hasted with it to the king, who was surprised at their hasty return. They told him of a man they met, who bade them go no farther, but charged them to return and tell their king in the name of the God of the Israel- ites, that his illness was mortal. The king was very earnest with them to describe the man ; so they told him he was a hairy man, with a leathern girdle about him. By this description the king presently concluded this person to be Elijah, and despatched an officer with fifty soldiers to take him into custody. The commander, finding him upon the top of a hill, called him down to go with him to the king, and informed him, that if he refused, he must use compulsive measures. Elijah told him, that to show him the difference between a true prophet and a false one, he would now convince him by a prodigy, that he was no impostor. " If I am a mart of God," says he, " let fire come down from heaven, and devour thee and thy fifty."f that the Ba;ilzebub, in scripture called the 'prince of the devils,' was the very same with the Pluto whom the heathens made the god of hell, and worshipped in this manner. Patrick's and Le Clerc's Commentaries, and Jurieu Hist, des Dog- mes et Cult.es. f Some have blamed the prophet for destroying these men, by bringing down fire from heaven upon them. But they do not consider that it was no more possible for Elijah to bring down tire from heaven than for them to do it. God alone could send the fire; and as he is just and good, lie would not have destroyed these men had there not been a sufficient cause to justify the act. It was not to please Elijah, or to gratify any vindictive humour in him, that God thus acted ; but to show 408 HISTORY OF [Rook V. The prophet had no sooner put the authenticity of his predictions to this test, than a fire descended, and consumed them all. The tidings of this dreadful judg- ment no sooner reached the king's ear, than enraged he sent another officer, with the same number of men, and upon the same errand. The captain said the same things, used the same menaces, and they were all destroyed after the same mariner. After this the king sent a third officer with his party. This messenger being a person of a mild disposition, who seems to have main- tained a due respect for the prophet of the Lord, addressed him in the following humble manner: "I need not tell you that I am under command ; that I come upon this errand unwillingly, as they did likewise who came before me ; wherefore I beseech you be pleased out of pity to me, and my soldiers about me, to come down willingly, and follow us to the king." Elijah was so much moved with the modesty and humility of this officer, that he went down and followed him.* When they had brought him into the king's pre- sence, the Spirit of God came upon him, and he freely addressed the king in these his own power and justice. No entreaty of Elijah could have induced God to have performed an act that was wrong in itself. Elijah, personally, had no concern in the business ; God led him simply to announce on these occasions what he himself had determined to do. * If I be a man of God,' i. e., as surely as I am a man of God, 'fire shall come down from heaven, and shall consume thee and thy fifty.' This is the literal meaning of the original ; and by it we see that Elijah's words were only declarative, and not imprecatory. Dr A. Clarke. * This is a great instance of the prophet's faith and obedience to God, in whom he trusted, that he would deliver him from the wrath of the king, and the malice of Jezebel. He had ordered, not long before, all the prophets of Baal to be slain ; had sent a very unwelcome message to the king; and now made a very terrible execution upon two of his captains, and their companies; so that he had all the reason in the world to apprehend the utmost expressions of the king's displeasure : and yet, when God commands him, he makes no man- ner Df -hesitation, but goes boldly to him, and con- firms with his own mouth the ungrateful truth which lie had declared to his messengers. Pa- trick's Commentary. words: "Thussaith the Lord, Since you have an opinion of me that I am no God, nor able to foretell what will be the issue of your distemper ; and that you have rather chosen to send to the god of the people of Ekron for your satisfaction, know for certain that it will be your death." In some short time this prophecy was fulfilled, and Ahaziah dying without is- sue, Jehoram his brother succeeded to the sceptre of Israel. He was equal to Ahab in a vicious and irreligious course of life; for he delivered himself up wholly to strange gods, to the scandal and dishon- oui of the religion of his forefathers, though in other respects he had genius and capacity happily adapted to conduct the important business of state. About the close of the reign of this prince, Elijah, that faithful servant and eminent prophet of the God of Israel, was translated from the earth to the regions of bliss and glory. Whilst Elijah and Elisha were dis- coursing, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses, which separated them, and in a short time Elijah was caught in a whirl- wind from the sight of Elisha into heaven. f This wonderful exertion of Almighty power was displayed in the presence of Elisha, in order to strengthen his reliance on that God who had enabled him to per- form divine miracles in confirmation of the truth of his prophetic mission. Jehoram, now elevated to the throne of his brother Ahaziah, determined to make war upon Mesha, king of the Moabites, for refusing to pay the yearly tribute of two hundred thousand unshorn sheep,| f The enemies of revelation have not failed to throw their impious scoffs on this part of sacred writ, as well as that which speaks of the transla- tion of Enoch ; because the precise manner of it is not recounted. But such would do well to re- member, that many of the operations of Omnipo- tence are beyond the comprehension of finite beings, and lhat to scan the practicability of* things, with respect to that Divine attribute, by human reason, is as absurd as it is impious. t This was a prodigious number indeed ; but Chap. VI. ] THE. BIBLE. 409 which lie had formerly paid to his father Ahab ; wherefore he began with levying an army at home, and after that solicited the assistance of Jehoshaphat (upon the account of his having maintained an alli- ance with his father) to join him. Je- hoshaphat not only promised for himself, but undertook likewise to engage the king of Edom, having some tie upon him, in the party. When Jehoram came to understand how well he was to be supported, he went forthwith to Jerusalem, where he was splendidly received and entertained by the king. Being there in council, the method of the expedition was taken into debate, and it was unanimously agreed for the army to steer their course through the desert of Edom,* where the enemy would be least aware of the design. The kings of Jerusalem, Israel, and Edom, therefore, put themselves upon their march, according to the resolution of the coun- cil; and when they had wandered up and down for the space of seven days, they were greatly distressed for want of water, for man and beast, insomuch that both then we are to consider, that these countries abound with sheep, insomuch that Solomon offer- ed an hundred and twenty thousand at the dedi- cation of the temple, 2 Chron. vii. 5. and the Reubenites drove from the Hagarites two hun- dred and fifty thousand, 1 Chron. v. 7. For, as Bochart observes, their sheep frequently brought forth two at a time, and sometimes twice a year. The same author remarks, that in ancient times, when people's riches consisted in cattle, this was the only way of paying tribute. It is observed by others likewise, that this great number of cattle was not a tribute which the Moabites were obliged to pay to the Israelites every year, but on some special occasion only ; upon the accession of every new king, for instance, when they were obliged to express their homage in this manner, or to make satisfaction for some damages, that the Israelites should at any time suffer from their invasions, or revolts. Patrick's and Le Clerc's Commentaries. * Their nearest and most direct way to invade Moab, which lay over Jordan, was through the tribe of Reuben, or the south part of the country beyond Jordan ; but they fetched a compass through the wilderness of Edom, which probably lay on the southwest of the Salt sea, and so in- vaded Moab on those parts which were most dis- tant from Israel, and on which, in consequence, the) least expected to be invaded Dr Wells. their men and cattle were upon the point of perishing. Jehoram thus impiously and presump- tuously expostulated with God upon that awful occasion : " What have these three kings done, to be delivered up captives to the king of the Moabites, without the hazard of a battle ?" Jehoshaphat, on the other hand, as be- came a pious man, and according to his general practice, endeavoured to appease the vehemence of Jehoram, advising him to inquire if there were a prophet in the army to ask counsel of God what was to be done under their present circumstances. A servant within hearing told them that he had seen Elisha the son of Shaphat there, the disciple of Elisha ; and upon this information, the three kings, at the persuasion of Jehoshaphat, went and found him out. When they came to his tent, which was at a little distance from the camp, they asked him what would become of the army for want of water; but Jehoram being more importunate than the rest, the prophet addressing him, said, "You should have gone to your father's and mother's prophets for satisfaction, without troubling other people; they would have resolved you no doubt." Jehoram importuned him still, entreat- ing and begging for an answer, if it were but for saving the lives of so many men that were ready to perish. Elisha swore solemnly to Jehoram, that if it were not for the sake of Jehoshaphat, who was a good and a pious man, he should have had no answer from him. Upon this he ordered a minstrel to be called, and as he was playing, the Spirit of God came upon the prophet, who spoke to the kings in this manner: "Thus saith the Lord, Make this place full of ditches, and you shall see them all flowing with water, without either wind or rain; wa- ter sufficient for yourselves and your cat- tle, to all manner of purposes. Beside this, God wiH bless you yet further, for /v of th***;8^ fmrX7Bft5IT7l 410 HISTORY OF [Book V by his grace and help you shall overcome your enemies, and scatter them, and ruin their fruit trees,* lay their country waste, and dam up all their fountains." The day after the prophet had deliver- ed this prediction, there came down from Edom, three days' journey from this place, an impetuous torrent upon a mighty fall of rain, so that there was no longer any want of drink, either for man or beast. When the king of Moab understood that these three kings were advancing against him by the way of the wilderness, he mustered all his forces to meet them upon the borders, lest they might find an opportunity of falling on him by surprise. The two armies were by this time not far from the land of Moab, when the rising sun striking upon the torrent, made the water look so red, that the Moabites took it for blood, vainly imagining that the three kings had fallen upon one another in a rage for want of water, and that this torrent was a stream of their blood. In this confidence they went to their king only for permission to rifle the ene- my's camp, taking it for granted that it was abandoned. Upon their application they obtained leave to break in upon the enemy's baggage, and, confident of mak- ing a large booty, advanced without order, and in great haste towards the camp ; but the) soon reaped the fruits of their rash- ness and vain boasting ; for being charged on all hands in the attempt, part of them were slain, and the rest so scattered, that with much difficulty they escaped with their lives. * This practice cf cutting down, or plucking ip by the roots, the fruit-trees, was forbidden, even in ordinary wars, by the law of Moses, Deut. xx, 19, 20 ; and only allowed by God in this par- ticular case, when the Moabites were to be punish- ed and cut off in an extraordinary manner for their wickedness. See Jer. xlviii, 1 1, 12, 18., and many the like prophecies against them. Nothing could therefore justify tiiis practice but a particu- lar commission from Hod by his prophet, as in the present case, which was ever a sufficient warrant lor breaking any such ritual or ceremonial law whatsoever. The kings, in the mean time, made an incursion into the land of the Moabites, destroyed their towns and cities, drove away all their cattle, and covered all their fields with the gravel of the torrent ; cut down the best of their trees, dammed up the springs and fountains, and levelled their walls to the ground; nay, the king himself was forced to take sanctuary in a town, where he was afterwards besieged ; and in such danger was he of losing it by an assault, that he attempted a sally with seven hundred horse upon the enemy's weakest quarter, to break through their body; but failing in his attempt, he was forced into the town again, where he en- tered upon the most horrid and barbarous action that the uttermost distress or de- spair could bring a person to perpetrate. Mesha took his eldest son, the next heir to the government, and sacrificed him to God upon the walls, in the view of the enemy's army.f The kings, reflecting f We are assured, not only from scripture, but from the testimony of several heathen writers, that in cases of great extremity, it was customary to sacrilice to their gods whatever was dear to them. Caesar, in his Commentaries, tells us, that when the Gauls were afflicted with any grievous diseases, or apprehensive of great danger, they either offer- ed men for sacrifices, or vowed that they would offer them, because, says he, " they imagined their gods could never be appeased, unless one man's life was given for another's." Grotius is of opinion, that this king of Moab, in imitation of Abraham, sacrificed his son to the God of Israel, hoping thereby to appease his wrath, and to move the compassion of the kings that were besieging him : and others have held that he offered this costly sacrifice to Chemosh, which was his national god, and generally thought to be the sun. By thus sacrificing his son publicly, however, he ap- pears to have rather contemplated the terrifying of his enemies than the appeasing of his god. In a communication from Sir John Shore, afterwards Lord Teignmouth, the governor-general to the society at Calcutta, he mentions a custom of the Brahmins, of sitting at a person's door, with some implement of suicide in their hands, and threaten- ing to kill themselves, unless that which they de- mand be granted to them : this, when their demand is not excessive, is usually complied with, through fear of their self-murder. After which his excellen- cy relates the following history, as it appeared on a trial before the English court of justice. It will elucidate the otherwise unaccountable conduct of Mesha. " Beeclmk and Adher were two Brah- mins, and zemindars, or proprietors of landed Chap. VI. 1 THE BIBLE. 411 upon tlie force of an abandoned despera- tion, together with the vicissitude of hu- man affairs, and considering if it were their own case, were softened to such a estates, the extent of which did not exceed eight acres. The village in which they resided was thn property of many other zemindars. A dispute, which originated in a competition for the general superintendence of the revenue of the village, had long subsisted between the two brothers, and a person named Gowry. The officer of government, who had conferred this charge upon the latter, was intimidated into a revocation of it, (by the threats of the mother of Beechuk and Adher to swallow poison) as well as to a transfer of the management to the two Brahmins. By the same means of in- timidation, he was deterred from investigating the complaint of Gowry, which had been referred to his inquiry by his superior authority. But the imme- diate cause which instigated these two Brahmins to murder their mother, was, an act of violence said to have been committed by the emissaries of Gowry, (with or without his authority, and em- ployed by him to a different purpose,) in entering their house during their absence at night, and carrying off forty rupees, the property of Beechuk and Adher, from the apartments of their women. Beechuk first returned to his house ; where his mother, his wife, and his sister-in-law related what had happened. He immediately conducted his mother to an adjacent rivulet, where being joined in the gray of the morning by his brother Adher, they called out aloud to the people of the village, that although they would overlook the assault as an act that could not be remedied, yet the forty rupees must be returned. To this exclamation no answer was received ; nor is there any certain- ty that it was even heard by any person ; never- theless, Beechuk, without any further hesitation, drew his scymetar, and at one stroke severed his mother's head from her body ; with the professed view, as entertained and avowed both by parent and son, that the mother's spirit, excited by the beat- ing of a large drum during forty days, might for ever haunt, torment, and pursue to death, Gowry and the others concerned with him. The last words which the mother pronounced were, that 1 she would blast the said Gowry, and those con- cerned with him.' The violence asserted to have been committed by the emissaries of Gowry in forcibly entering the female apartments of Beechuk and Adher, might be deemed an indignity of high provocation ; but they appeared to have consider- ed this outrage as of iess importance than the loss of the money, which might, and would, have been recovered with due satisfaction by application to the court of justice at Benares. The act which they perpetrated had no other sanction than what was derived from the local prejudices of the place where they resided; it was a crime against, their religion ; and the two brothers themselves quoted an instance of a Brahmin, who six or seven years before had lost his caste, and all intercourse with the other Brahmins, for an act of the same nature. But in truth, Beechuk and Adher, although degree of compassion, that they broke up the siege upon it, and departed. Jehoshaphat after this expedition reign- ed in peace, but did not long enjoy his crown ; for he died at Jerusalem in the sixtieth year of his age, and in the twen- ty-fifth of his reign : and had in that city a most magnificent burial, as became the imitator of David, the renowned monarch of that state. Brahmins, had no knowledge or education suitable to the high distinctions of their caste, of which they preserved the pride only ; being as grossly ignorant and prejudiced as the meanest peasants in any part of the world. They seemed surprised when they heard the doom of forfeiture of caste pronounced against them by a learned Pundit, and they openly avowed that so far from conceiving they had committed a barbarous crime, both they and their mother considered this act as a vindica- tion of their honour, not liable to any religious penalty." Sir John Shore gives two other in- stances of a like nature ; one of which is, the murder of a daughter by a Brahmin who was pro- voked by an adversary. These instances are all of Brahmins ; and probably are not general in India ; but the idea connected with them appears to be of ancient date, and are similar to the action cf the king of Moab, failing in his attempt to re- jvilse his assailants. If these Brahmins thought they had such a right over the life of their mother, with her consent, might not the king of Moab think he had such a right over the life of his son ? who perhaps was hero enough voluntarily to suffer it (like the son of Idomeneus, in Fenelon's Tele- machus.) It is certain, that parental power ex- tended even to the depriving a child of life among the Romans, the Gauls, the Persians, and other ancient nations. From whence, then, was the ' foaming rage' against Israel ? no doubt from Moab, thus deprived of her prince: but, probably, also from Edom, q. d. "These Israelites, not having such customs among themselves, despise our in- stitutions; they push this king to extremities, and call his behaviour superstitious, profane, impious; whereas we, being aware of this custom, and in- deed respecting it, sympathize with the distressed king, and hate those who abominate what he is doing." Is not this a natural solution of the dif- ficulty, whence was this rage ? and why, and wherefore Israel returned disgusted, as it should seem, into their own land ? Did Edom also sup- pose itself to be haunted by the spirit of this sac- rifice, and feeling this terror flee to avoid it, at the same time cursing Israel who had' brought it upon tnem ? If this conjecture be applicable, the king of Moab did not merely by this sacrifice implore assistance from his gods ; but he took this method of terrifying his adversaries, after his own personal valour had proved ineffectual to deliver himself and his country from them. Le Clerc and Calmet. rm III* i'vluf uf THE BIBLE BOOK VI. FROM THE DEATH OF JEHOSHAPHAT TO THE DEATH OF HEZEKIAH, PRELIMINARY REMARKS. The history contained in this Book ex- hibits little else than a series of crimes, disasters, divine benefits and divine judg- ments. The kingdom of Israel presents a long succession of tyrannical and profli- gate sovereigns, from Jehoram to Hoshea, in whose reign Samaria was captured by Shalmaneser king of Assyria, and the ten tribes taken captive into that country. In the kingdom of Judah we meet with some few pious princes, who promoted the interests of pure religion in the land, but the major part were wedded to idol- atry. During this period numerous pro- phets flourished, as Elisha, Joel, Amos, Jonah, Hosea, Micah, &c. who lifted up their voices against the corruptions of- the princes, and the profligacy of the people. The prophets, according to Augustine, were the philosophers,- divines, instructors, and guides of the Hebrews in piety and virtue. Those holy men were the bul- warks of religion against the impiety of princes, the wickedness of individuals, and every kind of immorality. Their lives, persons, and discourses were alike in- structive and prophetical. Raised up by God to be witnesses of his presence, and living monuments of his will, the events that frequently happened to them were predictions of what was about to befall the Hebrew nation. Although the prophets possessed great authority in Israel, and were highly esteemed by pious sovereigns, who undertook no important affair with- out consulting them, yet their way of life was exceedingly laborious, and they were very poor, and greatly exposed to perse- cution and ill treatment. They generally lived retired in some country place, and in colleges or communities, where they and their disciples were employed in prayer, in manual labour, and in study. Their labour, however, was not such as required intense application, or was incon- sistent with that freedom from secular cares which their office required. Thus, Elisha quitted his plough, when Elijah called him to the prophetic office; and Amos tells us that he ' was no prophet, neither a prophet's son, but a herdsman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit.' The pupils or sons of the prophets, who lived under the direction of Elijah and Elislut, erected their own dwellings, for which they cut down the timber tliat was re- quisite. Their poverty was conspicuous in their whole life. The presents they received were only bread, fruits, and honey; and the first fruits of the earth were given them, as being persons who possessed nothing themselves. Their re- Chap. 1.] HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 413 cluse, abstemious mode of living, and mean apparel, sometimes exposed them to contempt among the gay and courtly: it was, probably, the singular dress and ap- pearance of Elisha which occasioned the impious scoffs of the young men at Bethel. But, in general, the prophets were regard- ed with high esteem and veneration by the wise and good, and even by persons of the first rank in the state. It does not appear that the prophets were bound by any vow of celibacy; for Samuel had children, and the scriptures mention the wives of Isaiah and Hosea. But the pro- phets maintained a very guarded inter- course with the female sex, as is evident in the conduct of Elisha towards his be- nevolent hostess. But, however they might be respected by pious monarchs, the prophets were frequently exposed to cruel treatment from wicked princes, whose impiety they reprehended, and to insults and jeers from the people, whose immoral practices they censured and con- demned; and many of them were even put to violent deaths. Yet, amid all these persecutions and this injurious treatment, they despised dangers, torments, and death, and with wonderful intrepidity at- tacked whatever was contrary to the law and worship of Jehovah, contemning secu- lar honours, riches, and favours, with astonishing disinterestedness. CHAPTER I. Various circumstances attesting the mission of the prophet Elisha. Jehoram is besieged by Benhadad, who raises the siege, and is after- wards strangled by Hazael. Flagrant im- pieties of Jehoram. The prophet Elisha de- nounces dreadful judgments against that aban- doned prince. Good king Jehoshaphat was succeeded, according to his own appointment, by Je- horam his eldest son, who bore the sane name with his mother's brother the king of Israel, and the son of Ahab. He was then but newly returned to Samaria from the war with the Moabites, and broug.it Elisha with him.* The prophet Elisha, having received notice of a conspiracy against the life of Jehoram, and that Benhadad had treach- erously planted an ambush to surprise him, gave the king intelligence of it, with a caution to avoid a certain place, where the Syrians had laid a plot to insnare him. This precaution kept the king from going * The holy scriptures make mention of several memorable passages of that prophet, which we shall account well worthy our notice of in this his- tory ; amongst the rest is the following. The wife of Obadiah, Ahab's steward, applied herself to Elisha, and told him that he was no stranger to the outrageous violence of Jezebel against the pro- phets, and that her husband concealed and pre- served a hundred of them from destruction, and took up money upon his own credit to feed them while they were in the cave ; but that her husband being now dead, the creditors threatened to make slaves of her and her children for the debt; where- fore she entreated him for her husband's sake to procure her some present relief: upon this the prophet asked her what she had in the house. She replied, Only a little oil in a cruise. The prophet then bade her go borrow as many empty pots, or vessels, of her neighbours, as she could get, and keep her chamber door shut, and put oil into all those vessels; for God would rill them all. The widow did as she was ordered ; and after the dis- tributing of the oil, she came back again to the prophet, and gave him a particular account of what she had done ; who advised her to sell the oil, and discharge the debts ; for there would be somewhat remaining, after satisfaction given to the creditors, for the relief of her children. By this means she delivered herself from a troublesome obligation. The Jewish law looked upon children as the proper goods of their parents, who had power to sell them for seven years, as their creditors had to compel them to do it in order to pay their debts ; and from the Jews this custom was propagated to the Athenians, and from them to the Romans. The Romans, indeed, had the most absolute con- trol over their children. By the decree of Romulus they could imprison, beat, kiil, or sell them for slaves. But Numa Pompilius first moderated this, and the emperor Dioclesian made a law, that no free persons should be sold upon account of debt. The ancient Athenians had the like jurisdiction over their children, but Solon reformed this cruel custom: as indeed it seemed a little hard that the children of a poor man, who have no manner of inheritance left them, should be compelled into slavery, in order to pay their deceased father's debts : and yet this was the custom as appears from this passage, wherein the prophet does not pretend to reprove the creditor, but only puts the woman in a method to pay him. Calmet's and Le Clercs Commentaries. 414 HISTORY OF [Book VI. a hunting, and disappointed the plot. But Benhadad was so enraged when he found his malicious contrivance defeated, that he reviled his domestics as a set of traitors, threatening them with no less than death itself, for discovering a design that no other persons were privy to but themselves. One of his servants made answer, that he need not accuse his friends and domestics of treason, or suspect that any of the party he had sent to intercept the enemy had betrayed his counsels, while he had Elisha for a spy upon him, who was perpetually prying into his ways and actions on his master's behalf, and had the faculty of diving into the most secret of his designs. The king immediately sent his scouts abroad to inquire after Elisha, and learn where he was; and in a short time word was brought him that he might be found at Dothan. Upon this intelligence he immediately despatched horsemen and cha- riots to apprehend him; who went and beset the town by night, so that there was no possibility of coming in or going out. Early the next morning, a servant of the prophet's ran trembling to his mas- ter, to acquaint him that the town was beset with a body of the enemy that were come to apprehend him; but Elisha bade him be courageous, nor fear even an army, and put his trust and confidence in the goodness and power of an over-ruling pro- vidence; and he prayed to God for some special token of his presence and protec- tion, that might confirm his servant in a fearless resignation to his holy will and pleasure. The prophet's prayers were heard, and there appeared forthwith, in the sight of the servant, a multitude of horses and chariots round about Elisha, as a guard upon his person. The considera- tion of this succour, as the servant under- stood it to be, put him out of all fear of any further danger for his master. After this vision the prophet prayed again that God wotdd cast a mist before the eyes of these people, and strike them with a blindness, that they might not discern him from another man. Upon the granting of this request also, Elisha cast himself into the middle of their troops, and, passing from one to another, inquired for what or for whom they sought.* On their informing him that they sought for Elisha the prophet, he assured them, that if they would follow him, lie would conduct them to the place where they might apprehend him. Encouraged by this promise, they fol- lowed him without any scruple, till he brought them into Samaria. Upon their entrance into the city, the prophet bade Jehoram cause the gates to be shut, and the Syrians to be surrounded. Upon this occasion Elisha offered up a third prayer; which was, that God would restore the Syrians to their sight again: whereupon their eyes were opened, and to their great astonishment and admira- tion, they found themselves inclosed in an enemy's town, in the hands and entirely at the mercy of their adversaries. * We are not to imagine, that this blindness was so total, that they quite lost the use of their eyes, but only that it was such a dimness, and confusion in their sight, as hindered them from distinguishing one object from another, the city of Dothan, for instance, from the city of Samaria : even, in like manner as we read of the people of Sodom, that when the angels ' smote them with blindness,' which they might easily do by some small alteration either in their sight or in the air, 1 they wearied themselves to find out Lot's door.' They saw the house, it seems, but did not discern the door, because this sudden disorder in their imagination, might either make the door appear to them like the solid wall, or the solid wall like so many doors. This is no more than what happens to several men in their liquor: that though their eyes be open, and can perceive the several objects that surround them, yet they cannot discern where- in they differ. And if we may suppose that the Syrian army was under the like a^ana, (as the Greeks very happily term it) we need no longer wonder that they readily accepted of a guide, who offered his service, and bespoke them fair, (whom they might indeed take for some deputy of the town, with authority to deliver up the prophet to them) than that a drunkard, who, after a long while having lost his way, and found himself bewildered, should be thankful to any hand that would pro mise to conduct him safe home. Stackhouse. Chap. I.] THE BIBLE. 415 While tlie Syrians were involved in this dilemma, and perplexed concerning the means of extricating themselves, the king proposed to the prophet the putting of them all to death; which he absolutely opposed, as a proceeding incompatible with his honour and justice, and only to be allowed in cases of battle. He also observed, that those people were guilty of no act of hostility upon his country, and only brought thither by the will and power of God, without any malicious in- tention, or so much as the knowledge of what they did; and therefore gave his opinion, that it would redound most to his honour to treat them with hospitality and respect, and then leave them to their dis- cretion. Wherefore Jehoram took the prophet's advice, gave them a splendid and liberal entertainment, and so sent them back again unhurt and safe to their master.* * Though, according to the rigour of the laws of arms, a conqueror is at liberty to put whatever enemies fall into his hands, if he pleases, to the sword ; yet the laws of humanity and compassion, of honour and good nature, should always restrain us from treating with the utmost severity, such as surrender themselves and implore our mercy ; but, besides the humanity and charity of the thing, there was this prudence and policy in the kind treatment of the Syrians, that, by this means, their hearts might be mollified towards the Israelites, that, upon their return, they might become, as it were, so many preachers of the power and great- ness of the God of Israel, and not only be afraid themselves, but dissuade others likewise from op- posing a people that had so invincible a protector. Several heathens have observed, that injuries are more gloriously overcome by benefits, than requit- ed by pertinacious and mutual hatred; but the ..ense of benefits in bad natures does not last long: for no sooner do we read of the kind treatment which the Syrians received, 2 Kings vi. 23. but it immediately follows, that the king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up and besieged Samaria; which does not so well agree with what is said in the preceding verse, viz. that the bands of the Syrians came no more into the land of Israel. But now, as we can hardly think, that any author whatever would contradict himself in the same breath, so we must suppose, either that the Syrians quite retreated for this time, and laid aside all thoughts of war, though afterwards they altered their minds, and broke out again into hostilities ; or (what seems more plain) that their bands made no more incursions and inroads, but that they were resolved to fall upon the Israelites At their return, they gave the king a particular account of this wonderful ad- venture; upon the hearing of which his conscience was struck with a conviction that the hand of God was manifestly in this prodigy, and that what the prophet delivered in the name of God was no other than the dictate of divine inspira- tion. After this time, Benhadad never enter- ed into any secret practice against tin.' king of Israel, but resolved to make ope:i war upon him, relying on his great strength and numbers. Upon this resolution, Benhadad mi -el a mighty army, and marched with his whole force against Jehoram, who, finding himself too weak to venture his all upon the event of a field-battle, kept himse'f within the walls of Samaria, where he had good works and defences. It being a strong place, Benhadad was in some doubt whether to attempt it by assault or by famine; however, siege was laid to the town, and the garrison reduced to so miserable a scarcity of provisions, that an ass's head sold for fourscore pieces of sil- ver^ and a pint and a half of pigeon's dung for five pieces.:): at once, with a regular and formed army, and to besiege Samaria. For in this sense Josephus takes it, when he tells us, that, after this time, Adad (for so he calls Benhadad) never entered into any underhand practice against the king of Israel, but resolved to make open war upon him, in confidence of his greater strength and numbers.' Calmefs Commentary and Poole's Annota- tions. f If we reckon these pieces of silver, or shekels, at fifteen pence a-piece, they come to five pounds sterling ; a vast price for that which had on it so little meat, and that unclean, according to the law, Lev. xi. 26. In times of famine, however, and extreme necessity, the Jews themselves were ab- solved from the observation of the law ; nor do there want instances in history, where other people, upon the same occasion, have been reduced to the like distress, if what Plutarch (in the life of Artaxerxes) tells us, be true, viz. that, in that prince's war with the Caducii, an ass's head could scarce have been purchased at the price of sixty drachms, i e. two pounds and five shillings of our money Calmet's Commentary and Prideauz's Connection. t What we, in this place, call pulse, our transla- tion lias rendered dove's dung ; but interpreters 416 HISTORY OF [Book VI. In this extremity, nothing gave the king so much concern as an apprehension that some person might betray the place to the enemy, under the force and necessity of an insupportable famine; so that he every day visited the walls and the guards, took care that no spies should enter pri- vately into the town, and had a vigilant eye upon all the motions and practices of the garrison and inhabitants. As the king was attending his business, there came a woman crying to him for help; and Jehoram, supposing she had come to beg of him, turned her off with this angry rebuke: " I have no barns nor wine-presses; and what have I to supply your wants?" The woman informing him she did have been at a great loss to devise, upon what account the inhabitants of Samaria should be obliged to buy so small a quantity of it (for a cab was the least measure the Jews had for dry things) at so dear a rate. For food, for salt, for firing, for dunging their lands within the walls, several inter- preters have severally applied it: but, upon a small examination, it will appear, that none of these uses could suit with the circumstances of a city so closely besieged as Samaria was. The Talmudists suppose, that they have found out the true solu- tion, by translating the term in the original, by crop of doves; for they affirm, that several people in Samaria kept many doves, to bring them pro- visions from the country, which were wont to disgorge what they picked up, so that their owners might sell it at a dear rate ; but who can imagine, that so great a number of doves, as were necessary for this purpose, should be suffered to live in a city so pinched with famine ; that doves should be so docile, and well trained up, as to bring to their masters whatever they had ranged for; or, that in a country in a manner covered with the enemy, who had altogether foraged and laid it waste, there should be found any nourishment at all ? The learned Bochart therefore has not only solidly confuted these wild opinions, but has likewise farther observed, that the Arabians gave the name of dove's dung, r> p. r T 's Jin*, . to sfvr; J things; 1st. to a * d )l ml-?. t.:-t O .ov. - on ,!ec, or stony ground ; and, 2dly, to a sort of pease, or pulse, which was very common in Jndea. as may be seen in 2 Sam. xvii. 28. and therefore he con- cludes, that the word Chersonim may very wen denote vetches, or pulse: and, fcr the confirmation of this, some travellers have told us, that, at Grand Cairo, and Damascus, there are magazines, where they constantly fry this kind of grain, which those who go in pilgrimage buy, and take witli them, as part of the provision for their journey. lliei oz, and Essay towards a New Translation. not come to beg his provision, but to implore his justice, and desire that he would do her right in a controversy be- tween her and another woman, the king asked her what it was? and she answered to this effect: " A certain neighbour and myself, that were ready to die for want of food, came to an agreement between ourselves, having each of us a little male child, to eat our children by turns, merely to preserve life. Mine was killed and dressed yesterday,* and she had her part of it; and now I should have part of her * This terrible effect of the divine vengeance, Moses had long before told the Israelites should fall upon them, if they rebelled against God ; which, at two other times besides this, namely, at the siege of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar, and at that under Titus, came likewise to pass. The horrors of the siege under the Roman general, somewhat similar to this, but perhaps still more aggravated, are depicted in the most lively colours by the Jewish historian ; and especially the mis- eries of famine : when " wives snatched the food from their husbands, children from their parents, and what was most lamentable, mothers even from the mouths of their infants ; while they them- selves were not allowed in quiet to devour the prey ; for the seditious broke into any houses which they saw shut, suspecting that provisions were concealed therein ; and tore the morsels from their very jaws. The old men were beaten, while grasping the food ; and the women drag- ged by the hair, while hiding it in their hands. There was no pity for gray hairs nor infants: the children, clinging to the pieces of food, were lifted up and dashed against the ground." The following deed occurred near the end of the siege. Mary, the daughter of Fieazer, a woman of dis- tinguished rank and fortune, at the breaking out of the troubles had fled to Jerusalem from Beth- czob, ihe place of her residence beyond Jordan, with the relics of her fortune, and whatever stock of provisions she could procure. But of these she was plundered every day in the domiciliary visits of the soldiers. Provoked at this, she often en- deavoured to exasperate the plunderers by re- proaches and imprecations to kill her ; but in va i. 3e'iig red'ct d i^ Fug', to absolute want, si. a. cKveu jy p.tdSiJg .. jnger to kill her suckling babe ; and when she had dressed it, she ate the half of it, and kept the remainder covered ">. Immediately the seditious came to her; and, attracted by the scent* threatened to slay her in- stantly, unless she produced the provision which she had prepared. Accordingly she uncovered what was left of her son, telling them that she had reserved a good share for them. Struck with hor- ror and amazement at the spectacle, they departed trembling, and with reluctance leit the remains to the wretched mother. Dr Hales. Chap. L] THE BIBLE. 417 child, she breaks her word with me, and has concealed him." Jehoram, struck with grief and horror, rent his garment, exclaiming, that he never knew what it was to be perfectly miserable till that instant; and all this might have been prevented by a word, if the prophet would have interceded with God for him. But that he would take the forfeit of his life for it; and in that heat despatched an officer to cut off his head, who immediately set forward upon this commission. The outrageous displeasure of the king was no secret to Elisha, who told his dis- ciples, that Jehoram, that son of a mur- derer, had sent an officer, who was then upon his way, to take off his head; "wherefore," addressing himself to them, " do you watch and observe him ; and when he comes near the house, be sure to shut the door upon him, and detain him till the king himself shall come up, who hath now changed his mind, and is hasten- ing after as fast as possible to prevent mischief." They watched as they were directed, shut the door upon the man when he came, and kept him out till Jehoram ap- peared himself, who made all possible haste lest he should be too late to coun- termand the execution of the order, and to save the prophet's life. When Jehoram came to him, he up- braided the prophet with inhumanity, in being capable of beholding the extreme distress of so many wretched persons, without once interceding with God for their relief. The prophet gave him for answer this promise and assurance, that by the same hour next day, Samaria should be so abundantly stored with all sorts of necessaries of life, that a measure of fine flour should be sold publicly in the market for one shekel, and two measures* of barley at the same rate. * The word seah, which we render a measure, was equal 10 six cabs, and contained as some think six quarts, as others, a peck, and as others, a peck The king and the court made no doubt of the truth of his predictions, having had so many proofs of their authority and credit; so that they comforted themselves upon the presage, as if it had been a thing already accomplished, and made their pre- sent difficulties easy by the hope of what was to come; but a certain favourite of- ficer of the king, who commanded a third part of the army, thus ludicrously address- ed the prophet, as the king was leaning upon him in a familiar way : " Elisha, we may as well believe that it shall rain flour and barley from heaven, as what you have now foretold; for it seems to me incre- dible, even to a degree of impossibility." The prophet replied, " Make no ques- tion of it; for you shall see it. But you shall only see it, without enjoying .it;" which prediction was made good. It was a custom among the Samaritans, that no leprous person should be suffered to live within the walls of the city; and at this time there were four lepers, f who had their habitations without the gates. The famine in the city was so extreme, and two quarts of our measure. The shekel was much about our three shillings ; and to have a peck of fine flour for three shillings at other times would not have been so cheap, but, considering the present situation of things, it was wonderlully so. Le Clerc's Commentary, and Poole's Anno- tations. t The Jews are of opinion that these four lepers were Gehazi, and three of his sons. Per- sons that were leprous indeed, were not permitted to converse with other men, and, by the law of Moses, while the Israelites lived in tents, they were to be turned out of the camp, Numb. v. 2, 3. But, after they came to inhabit cities, it may be questioned whether they treated them with that rigour; since, in 2 Kings viii. 4. we find Gehazi holding discourse with the king, (which makes against his being one of the four excluded lepers) and giving him a detail of all Elisha's miracles ; but this he might do by talking to him at a proper distance. Lepers, indeed, were care- fully avoided, because their distemper, in these hot countries, was thought contagious ; but, in the case before us, these four seem to be excluded, not so much upon the account of their distemper, as because they were useless hands. They could neither right nor work in communion with others: they were only fruges consumere nati, and were therefore no proper persons in a siege. Patrick's and Caimet's Commentaries. 3 G 418 HISTORY OF [Book VI. that there was no provision to be expected from thence ; so thet whether they went back into the town, or staid where they were, they had certain death before them. Upon this deliberation they took a re- solution of casting themselves upon the enemy. If they spared them they should live; or if they put them to death, it would be a gentler way of despatch. They all agreed in this proposal, as the best expe- dient they could pursue, and so slip away by night into the enemy's camp. At this critical moment it pleased God to possess the Syrians with a panic, upon the imaginary noise of horses and armed men breaking in upon them; and with strength of this apprehension, they all ran in a great consternation to Benhadad, and told him that Jehoram's confederate kings of Egypt and of the islands, were just at hand, and within hearing of the march of the army. He gave the more credit to the delusion as he himself laboured under the same false imagination; so that in this consternation the whole army dispersed, and every man betook himself to flight, leaving their horses, carriages, baggage, and their whole treasure in the camp. When the lepers approached the camp of the Syrians, they heard not the least stir; and advancing still farther, found great plenty of riches and provisions, but the place deserted; so that having eat and drank, they carried off much valuable plunder without being discovered by the enemy. They loaded themselves repeatedly, and buried their treasures in a hole they dug for that purpose without the camp. And as they might now reasonably conclude the enemy was drawn off, they blamed them- selves for not giving Jehoram and the citizens notice of their desertion; where- fore they hastened back to Samaria, and called aloud to the watchmen upon the walls, that the enemy had totally aban- doned their camp; and, upon this intelli- gence being instantly conveyed to the king's guards, Jehoram called a council of his friends and officers, and gave it as his opinion that it was a stratagem to draw his people into an ambush;* at the same time observing, " they might perhaps despair of starving us, and therefore have recourse to this invention to surprise us; and if they should but draw us out to take pos- * In the history of the revolt of Ali Bey we have an account of a transaction very similar to the stratagem supposed to have been practised by the Syrians. The pasha of Damascus having approached the sea of Tiberias, found sheik Daher encamped there ; but the sheik deferring the engagement till the next morning, during the night divided his army into three parts, and left the camp with great fires blazing, all sorts of pro- visions, and a large quantity of spirituous liquors, giving strict orders not to hinder the enemy from taking possession of the camp, but to come down and attack just before the dawn of day. In the middle of the night, the pasha thought to surprise sheik Daher, and marched in silence to the camp, which, to his great astonishment, he found entirely abandoned ; and imagiued the sheik had fled with so much precipitation, that he could not carry off the baggage and stores. The pasha thought proper to stop in the camp to refresh his soldiers. They soon fell to plunder, and drunk so freely of the liquors, that, overcome with the fatigue of the day's march, and the fumes of the spirits, they were not long ere they sunk into a profound sleep. At that time two sheiks, who were watching the enemy, came silently to the camp, and Daher having repassed the sea of Tiberias, meeting them, they all rushed into the camp, and fell upon the sleeping foe, eight thousand of whom they butcher- ed on the spot; and the pasha, with the remainder of the troops, escaped with much difficulty to Da- mascus, leaving all their baggage in the hands of the victorious Daher. We subjoin another in- stance which still more strikingly resembles the panic of the Syrians. During the crusading wars, the armies of Saladin and Baldwin met at Gaza, and prepared for an engagement next morning. During the night, however, an unaccountable panic seized the Saracen troops ; insomuch that, to a man, they took to flight, and, that they might escape the more expeditiously from the danger of which they were apprehensive, they threw off their arms and clothes, and all their military accoutre- ments, and abandoned their baggage and stores to the soldiers of the cross. The deliverance of Samaria, however, by the sudden flight of the be- siegers, and the plentiful supply of provisions the inhabitants found in the deserted camp, both of which effects are frequently realized in Eastern armies, and result from their constitution, must be ascribed to the miraculous interposition of God in behalf of the Israelites ; since the supply of the city with food, and the establishment of the market, as usual, at the gate of the city, together with the violent death of the sceptical nobleman, happened exactly in the manner that Elisha had predicted Par ton and Jamie son. Chap. I.] THE BIBLE. 419 session of the booty, they might make an excursion upon us from their places of retirement, cut our men to pieces, and with great ease make themselves masters of the city. For these reasons therefore I am for providing against their treachery, and being the more wary for this pre- tence. I cannot think they are tied away, and deem it very imprudent to haz- ard our security upon the credit of this intelligence." Then one of the council stood up, and with due respect to the king's proposal, observed, that it was necessary at such a juncture to send out scouts as far as Jor- dan ; observing, that if they should hap- pen to be taken, it might serve for a warning to others. However, he ad- vised that they should not expose them- selves too much, lest being detected, they frustrated the design of their project. The king was much of the counsellor's opinion, and sent his scouts immediately for intelligence ; who returned soon after with this report, that they had been so far without seeing so much as one enemy ; but that they saw arms, corn, and several bundles of things upon the way, from whence they concluded that the Syrians had thrown them down in order to make their flight the more expeditious. The king upon this information sent out his people to plunder Benhadad's camp, where they found a rich booty, in gold, silver, horses, and several sorts of beasts ; besides an incredible quantity of grain. Having obtained so vast a supply, the people forgot their former scarcity; for two measures of barley were sold for one shekel, and a measure of flour at the same price, according to the prediction of Elisha. But the incredulous nobleman had no benefit from this booty ; for being posted at the gate, by the king's command, to keep the people in order, that they might not crowd one another to death in their eagerness to fall upon the spoil, he him- self was trodden under foot and killed in the throng, as a judgment that befell him for his unbelief, in giving so little heed to what Elisha foretold. Benhadad was by this time got safe to Damascus ;* and when he understood that * This celebrated city of Asia, anciently the capital of Syria, may be accounted one of the most venerable places in the world for its anti- quity. It is supposed to have been founded by ux, the son of Aram ; and is, at least, known to have subsisted in the time of Abraham. It was the residence of the Syrian kings during the space of three centuries ; and experienced a number of vicissitudes in every period of its history. Dur- ing the time of the emperors it was one of their principal arsenals in Asia, and is celebrated by the emperor Julian as, even in his day, " the eye of the whole East." The modern city, called Da- mas, Domeschk, is delightfully situated about fifty miles from the sea, in a fertile and extensive plain, watered by the river which the Greeks called Chrysorrhoas, or golden river, but which is now known by the name of Barrady, and of which the ancient Abana and Pharpar are supposed to have been branches. The city is nearly two^piles in length from its north-east to its north-west ex tremity, but of very inconsiderable breadth, es- pecially near the middle of its extent, where its width is much contracted. It is surrounded by a circular wall, which is strong though not lofty ; but its suburbs are extensive and irregular. Its streets are narrow, and one of them called Straight, mentioned in Acts ix. 11., still runs through the city about half a mile in length. The houses, es- pecially those which front the streets, are very in- differently built, chiefly of mud formed into the shape of bricks and dried in the sun ; but those towards the gardens, and in the squares, present a more handsome appearance. In these mud walls, however, the gates and doors are often adorned with marble portals, carved and inlaid with great beauty and variety ; and the inside of the habita- tion, which is generally a large square court, is ornamented with fragrant trees and marble foun- tains, and surrounded with splendid apartments, furnished and painted in the highest style of luxury. The market places are wed constructed, and adorned witli a rich colonnade of variegated marble. The principal public buildings are : the castle, which is about three hundred and forty paces in length ; the hospital, a charitable esta- blishment for the reception of strangers, compos- ing a large quadrangle, lined with a colonnade, and roofed in small domes covered with lead ; and the mosque, the entrance of which is support- ed by four large columns of red granite; the apart- ments are numerous and magnificent, and the top is covered with a cupola ornamented with two minarets. Damascus is surrounded by a fruitful and delightful country, forming a plain nearly eighty miles in circumference ; and the lands most adjacent to the city are formed into gardens of great extent, which are stored with fruit-trees of eve-v description. Besides the mosques aim 420 HISTORY OF [Book VI. tie alarm of chariots and horsemen, which had excited such fear and confusion throughout his army, arose from appre- hension rather than reality, he looked upon it as a declaration from heaven against him; and the anxiety arising therefrom brought upon him a dangerous sickness. Elisha then went towards Damascus; and Benhadad being informed where he was, sent Hazael, his particular and trusty minarets, which are the usual ornaments of Tur- kish cities, the gardens are filled with pleasure- houses, turrets, and similar structures ; a circum- stance which altogether gives to the place the appearance of a noble city in the midst of an ex- tensive forest, and fully justifies the appellation commonly given to it by Orientals, of goutah Demesk, orchard of Damascus. The pleasantness and fertility of these grounds are chiefly to be ascribed to the waters of the Bnrrady, which are distributed by numberless streams and rivulets in such a manner, that every garden has a fine run of water^passing through it, at once fertilizing the soil, and supplying a variety of artificial fountains and ornamental water-works. So numerous are the fruit-trees in the vicinity of the city, that those which are decayed supply the inhabitants with fire-wood ; and, together with the walnut and Lombardy poplar, furnish also the principal ma- terials for building. In these orchards the air is most salubrious, the soil remarkably productive, and the fruits, especially the apricots and grapes, as much distinguished by their superior flavour as by their extraordinary abundance. " No place in the world," says Mr Maundrell, " can promise to the beholder at a distance a greater voluptuous- ness ;" and he mentions a tradition of the Turks, that their prophet, when approaching Damascus, took his station upon a certain precipice, in order to view the city ; and, after considering its ravish- ing beauty and delightful aspect, was unwilling to tempt his frailty by going farther, but instantly took his departure with this remark, that there was but one paradise designed for man, and that for his part, he was resolved not to take his in this world. The air or water of Damascus, or both, are supposed to have a powerful effect in curing the leprosy, or at least in arresting its progress, while the patient remains in the place. But, with all those advantages, the climate is represented by Vol- ney as deficient in point of salubrity. The white waters of the Barrady are found to be cold and hard ; the natives are subject to frequent com- plaints ; their fair complexions are considered as rather a sickly paleness, than the natural colour of health ; and the excessive use of fruit is pro- ductive, during the summer and autumn seasons, of intermittent fevers and dysenteries. Damascus is twenty-three leagues east of Sidon. forty-five north of Jerusalem, and sixty-five south of An- tioch. Jones' liiLl. Cycl. friend, with a compliment and magnificent presents to meet him, and inquire whether the king should out-live his disease or not, and what would be the issue of it. Ha- zael took forty camels,* and loading them with the choicest curiosities that the court or country afforded, advanced with them towards Elisha; meeting him upon the way, he saluted him with great reverence, in the name and by the order of king Benhadad, telling him, that he had a com- mission to offer him those presents, and likewise to advise with him about his dis- * There" is often in oriental countries a great deal of pomp and parade in presenting their gifts; and that not only when they are presented to princes or governors of provinces, but where they are of a more private nature. Thus Dr Russell tells us, that the money which the bridegrooms of Aleppo pay for their brides, is laid out in furni- ture for a chamber, in clqthes, jewels, or orna- ments of gold, for the bride, whose father makes some addition, according to his circumstances ; which things are sent with great pomp to the bridegroom's house three days before the wedding. The like management obtains in Egypt, and is in a very lively manner described by Maillet, in his account of that country, where these gifts are carried with great pomp too to the bridegroom's house, but on the marriage-day itself, and im- mediately before the bride : carpets, cushions, mattresses, coverlets, pignates, dishes, basins, jewels, trinkets of gold, pearls, girdles, plate, every thing down to the wooden sandals wrought with mother-of-pearl. And through ostentation, says the writer, they never fail to load upon four or five horses what might easily be carried by one; in like manner as to the jewels, trinkets, and other things of value, they place in fifteen dishes what a single plate would very well hold The Syrian prince, on this occasion, in which he felt a par- ticular interest, no doubt sent Elisha a present corresponding with his rank and magnificence ; but it can scarcely be supposed tiiat so many camels were required to carry it, or that the king would send, as a Jewish writer supposes he did, so great a quantity of provisions to one man. The meaning of the passage certainly is, that the various articles of which the present consisted, according to the modern custom of oriental courts, were carried on a number of camels for the sake of state, and that no fewer than forty were em- ployed in the cavalcade. That these camels weie not fully laden, must be evident from this, that the common load of a lumman's camel is eight hundred pounds weight ; and consequently, thirty- two thousand pounds weight is the proper loading of forty camels ; " if they were only of the Arab breed, twenty thousand pounds weight is the pro- per loading ;" a present, as Mr Harmer justly re- marks, too enormous to be sent by any one per- son to another. Harmer and Paxton. Chap. I.] THE BIBLE. 421 ease, whether or not he might hope for relief. The prophet told Hazael that the king was to die; but charged him to conceal it from his master. This greatly affected Ha- zael, and Elisha wept in the contemplation of the miseries the people were to endure after the decease of Benhadad. When Hazael asked the prophet what might be the cause of that excessive grief; Elisha thus replied : " I cannot forbear weeping to think of the calamities that you your- self are to bring upon the Israelites. Yon shall put the best of their men to the sword, burn their walled cities, dash their children to death against the stones, and rip up their women with child.* Upon HazaePs inquiry how it was possible for him to compass all this mischief? The prophet informed him that he should be king of Syria. Upon this discourse Ha- zael left him, and returned to his master with an account that he should recover of his distemper. * That dashing young children against the stones was one piece of harbarotis cruelty, which the people of the East were apt to run into, in the prosecution of their wars, is plainly intimated in that passage of the Psalmist, alluding to the cala- mities which preceded the Babylonish captivity: 'O daughter of Babylon, wasted with misery ! Yea, happy shall he be that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Blessed shall he be that taketh thy children, and throweth them against the stones,' Psal. cxxxvii. 8, 9. Nor was this inhuman prac- tice quite out of use among nations that pretend- ed to more politeness : for, according to tlie re- mains of ancient fame, the (irecians, when they became masters of Troy, were so cruel as to throw Astyanax, Hector's son, a child in his mother's arms, (as Homer represents him) headlong from one of the towers of the city. The ripping up women with child is the highest degree of brutal cruelty ; and a cruelty for which there is no occa- sion, because, kill but the mother, and the child dies of course; and yet it has been often known, that, iti the heat of execution, this barbarity has been committed. Nay, there is reason to believe, that Hazael, in his war with the Gileadites, 2 Kings x. 32, 38. verified this part of the prophet's prediction concerning him ; for, what Amos, com- plaining of his cruelty to these people, calls thrashing Gilead with thrashing instruments of iron, both the Septuugint and Arabic versions read, * He sawed the big-bellied women of (Jilrad with iron saws. Le Clercs and Calmet's Cornmen- tariefi. On the day following he made the king a visit; and, taking his opportunity, stran- gled him with a wet cloth, f and took pos- session of his palace and government He was a man of great interest and repu- tation with the people of Syria and Da- mascus ; insomuch, that for many succes- sive years the memory of Benhadad and of Hazael his successor was celebrated amongst the Syrians with divine honours, not only for their bounty and generosity in general, but in particular for the mag- nificence of the temples they erected at Damascus, and the care they took for the honour and ornament of the city. Then images were carried about in procession, as a token of the veneration in which they were universally held. The death of Benhadad set the heart of Jeroboam the king of Israel much at ease, as it afforded him a suspension from wars and broils, and the comfort of seeing him- self once again in a state of peace. But Jehoram, the king of Judah, was no soon- er vested with the sovereignty, than he sullied his legal character with the slaugh- ter of his brothers, and his father's friends, and the commission of such out- rages, as if he had been upon a competi- tion with the worst of former kings which should be the wickedest; being prompted by his wife Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, who proved the instrument of his ] This he did, that no signs of violence might appear upon him; for had the people in the least suspected his being murdered, Hazael would not so easily have succeeded to the throne ; because, (ac- cording to the account of Josephus,) Benhadad was a man of such reputation among the people of Syria and Damascus, that, as his memory was cele- brated among them with divine honours, his death, no doubt, had it been known to have been violent, would have been fully revenged upon the murderer. We may observe, however, that history makes mention of some other princes, who have died in the same manner that Benhadad did ; that the emperor Tiberius, according to Suetonius, was in his last sickness choked in his bed by a pillow crammed into his mouth, or, as Tacitus has it, was- smothered to death under a vast load of bed-clothes; and that king Demetrius, the son of Philip, (as well as the emperor Frederick the Second) was hurried out of the world the same way Calmest Comihcntary. 422 HISTORY OF [Book VI. idolatrous defection from tlie true worship, to the service of strange gods. Though God would most certainly stand firm to the promise he made to king Da- vid, that he would never utterly extin- guish the whole race, Jehoram did all that he could to provoke him to a total extir- pation, by a daily course of impieties and abominations. Edom at this time revolted from Jeho- ram, and the inhabitants made way to their apostasy by the murdering of their king (who had ever been faithful to Jeho- shaphat) and by setting up another in his place. In consequence of this indignity, the king made a speedy incursion by night, with a body of horse and charioteers, into the enemy's quarters. But they could only avenge themselves, by making some depredations on the borders, not daring to make farther progress into the country. This expedition v/as so far from strik- ing any sort of terror or apprehension into the deserters, that, on the contrary, it served for an encouragement to others to follow the example of their leaders, and to shake off their yoke likewise ; for Libnah rebelled also at the same time. Such, in short, was the madness and folly of Jeho- ram, that he forced the Israelites up to the groves and high places of the moun- tains, and there to worship false gods. He went on for some time in the defi- ance and contempt of law and religion, and all that could be sacred either in heaven or earth, till in the end there came a menac- ing letter from the prophet Elisha to him, to this effect : " That since he had auda- ciously and wilfully set up himself against the practice and example of his forefathers, and espoused the impious superstition of the Israelites ; and not resting there neither, had likewise debauched the tribe of Judah, and the citizens of Jerusalem, from the religion of their country, into the paganish superstitions of idolatry, in making gods of images, after the example of Ahab's violence upon his people to force them into these abominations," af- ter the doing of all this, and the polluting his hands in the blood of his own- brothers, and other good and righteous men, this judgment was pronounced against him, in the before-mentioned letter : " That his family, and his people, should fall into the hands of a merciless enemy, that should neither spare women nor children; that he himself should be tormented with a linger- ing pain in his bowels, till by little and little they should rot and fall out." This was to be the miserable condition that should bring him at last, though too late, to a sense and a sight of his wicked- ness. In fine, this was the substance of the writing that was delivered to Jehoram in the name of Elisha. CHAPTER II. The prophet's prediction accomplished in the miserable end of Jehoram, king of Judah. Extirpation of the family of Ahab, by the hand of Jehu. Destruction of the temple dedicated to the idol Baal. Ahab's daughter seeks revenge upon the house of David. Her design frustrated. And judgment falls upon her own head. Some time after this, an army of Arabi- ans from the borders of Ethiopia, toge- ther with a number of other barbarians, broke into the kingdom of Jehoram, ra- vaged the country, rifled the palace, and put the king's wife to the sword, and all his children, Ahaziah only excepted, who very narrowly escaped the fury of the enemy. The king, after this public calamity, was smitten, according to the prophet's prediction, with a kind of plague in the bowels, which proved mortal, and carried him off in the extremest agony.* The * This disease, Dr Mead says, beyond all doubt was the dysentery, and though its continuance so long a time was very uncommon, it is by no means a thing unheard of. The intestines in time be come ulcerated by the operation of this disease. Not only blood is discharged from them, but a sort of mucous excrements likewise is thrown ofl Chap. II.] THE BIBLE. people also derided his calamity, inferring from the great degree of his punishment, the aggravated nature of his crimes, which had incurred the j**t judgment of an in- censed God; and on this account, they would neither vouchsafe him a royal fu- neral, nor a place in his father's monu- ment. He lived forty years, and reigned eight; and upon his death the people of Judah placed Ahaziah upon the throne of his father. Jehoram, king of the Israelites, was in hopes, after the death of Benhadad, that he might recover Ramoth-gilead ; and with that design he levied a great army, and sat down before it. At the siege he received a wound with an arrow from the bow of a Syrian. It was not mortal ; yet he was obliged to withdraw to the city of Jezreel for the convenience of the cure, leaving his whole army behind him at the siege of Ramoth, under the command of Jehu, the son of Nimshi, who took the town by force. Jehoram proposed, upon his recovery, to make war upon the Syrians; and in the mean time Elisha sent one of his dis- ciples,* with holy oil, to Ramoth, there to anoint and declare Jehu king, and to do it in the name of God, and by his au- thority and order. The prophet gave him some other things in charge also, and commanded him to be as expeditious as and sometimes small pieces of the flesh itself; so that apparently the intestines are emitted or fall out, which is sufficient to account for the expres- sions that are used in the statement of king Jeho- ram's disease. Home. * The Jewish doctors are of opinion, that the prophet, whom Elisha sent upon this message, was Jonah ; hut, upon this supposition, he must, at this time, have been a very young man, because Jeroboam the Second (in whose reign Jonah pro- phesied) did not ascend the throne till about fifty years after this unction of Jehu king of Israel. However this be, it is reasonable to think, that Elisha himself did not go to perform this office, either because he was now grown old, and unfit for such a journey, or because he was a person too well known, and not so proper to be employed in an affair that required secresy. Patrick's and Calmet's Commentaries. 423 he could, making no person privy to his journey. When the messenger came to the town, he found Jehu sitting with the head offi- cers of the army, as was foretold him by Elisha; he therefore went up to him, and gave him to understand that he desired to have a short conference with him in private. Upon which Jehu rose up im- mediately, and the young man, following him into his apartment, took out the oil, and poured it on his head ; informing him, that God had chosen him king, for the destruction of the house of Ahab, and to revenge the blood of the prophets, which against all justice was spilt by Jezebel; and that as Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and after him the family of Baasha, were utterly rooted out, and destroyed for their wickedness, so there should be none left of the wicked stock of Ahab. As soon as he had spoken those words he conveyed himself out of the apartment in haste, and with all imaginable privacy, Jehu returning forthwith to his place among the commanders. The officers were very desirous of know- ing the import of the young man's em- bassy, declaring that his looks indicated insanity.f Jehu, to disguise the fact, -f- The officers who were in company with Jehu, might easily perceive, by the habit, and air, and manner of speech of the person who accosted Jehu so boldly, and, when he had done his business, vanished so suddenly, that he was a prophet ; but then there might be several reasons which might induce men of their profession to have a contemp- tible opinion of men of that order. The rigid and obscure course of life which the prophets led, their neglect of themselves, and of the things of this world, might pass with them for a kind of in- fatuation ; and the holy exercises, to which they devoted themselves, for no more than a religious frenzy. Besides this, the false prophets they had seen in the court of Ahab had given just offence ; and, by their affected gestures, and studied contortions, whereby they thought to re- commend their crude enthusiasms, made them- selves justly ridiculous and contemptible. And therefore it is no wonder that these officers, at first sight, should censure a true, as they thought they had reason to judge of the false prophet, with whom they had been acquainted; especially, when we find some leading men, in the tribe of Judah, treating the prophets of the Lord, as in the 424 HISTORY OF [Book VI. appeared to acquiesce in their opinion; however, as they persisted in the most earnest inquiry, he told them in plain terms that he came to him with a message from God to pronounce him king. At these words the commanders took every man his cloak, and laid them one upon another for Jehu to sit down upon, instead of a throne; xind when he had taken his place, they all saluted him king, with acclamations, benedictions, and the sound of horns and trumpets, to congratu- late his accession to the throne. Jehoram was now under the surgeon's hands at Jezreel for the wounds he had received at the siege of Ramoth, and his sister's son Ahaziah was there at the same time to visit him as he lay sick of his wounds; so that Jehu took this oppor- tunity of marching with his army to Jez- reel, where he might surprise them both at once: precautioning his soldiers, as a proof of their fidelity to him, neither directly nor indirectly to give Jehoram any knowledge or intimation of the matter. The soldiers executed their orders with great cheerfulness, possessing themselves of all the passes and avenues of the town, and keeping so strict a guard upon them, that it was morally impossible to convey any intelligence into the place without discovery. While this was doing, Jehu mounts his chariot, and with a party of choice men advanced with all expedition toward the city. The king had a scout abroad to observe what people passed that way, and his scout finding Jehu at the head of the troops, posted away immediately to Jehoram with tidings of a body of horse being upon their march. Upon which he despatched a horseman, with instructions to go to- wards the party, and learn who they were. case of Ezekiel, ch. xxiii. 30, 31. and of Jeremiali, cli. xxix. '2 understand her situation, it is neces- sary to remark, that in all the buildings of the East, as we are informed by Shaw, the windows open into private courts, with the exception of a latticed window or balcony that looks towards the street ; and this is never opened but during the celebration of some public festival, when, in the enjoyment of the liberty and revelling that then prevail, crowds of both sexes, decked out in their best apparel, and laying aside their usual reserve and restraint, go in and out when they please. The town of Jezreel was in this state of public rejoicing when the cavalcade of Jehu entered, and Jezebel, having probably got notice of the con- spirators' approach, availed herself of the privilege which, on another occasion, would have been de- nied to any ,of her sex, and ventured to appear in public in hj'jr gayest attire, upbraiding the usurper, and det( ur ing the greatest vengeance upon him. On a si, um Jehu, some of his partisans in the palace '^Fled her from the window, and dash- ed her brain* ou t upon the street ; a mode of punishment which the reader is apt to imagine was purely accidental, and suggested to the con- spirators by the position of their victim ; but it is one which has been very common in the East, as we meet with many descriptions of similar trage- dies in the ancient historians of the East, and Sir Robert Ker Porter mentions its continuance in the present day, that traveller having seen the windows of several Eastern palaces, out of which the malefactors were thrown the moment sentence was pronounced. Patrick and Jamieson. * To an English ear it sounds very surprising, This circumstance confirmed Jehu more in the authenticity of Elijah's prediction, for he had foretold, " that dogs should eat the flesh of Jezebel in the field of Jezreel." that, during the time of a single meal, so many dogs should be on the spot, ready to devour ; and should so speedily despatch this business, in the* very midst of a royal city, close under the royal gateway, and where a considerable train of people had so lately passed, and no doubt, many were continually passing : this appears extremely un- accountable ; but. we find it well accounted for by Mr Bruce, whose information the reader will re- ceive with due allowance for the different man- ners and ideas of countries ; after which, this rapid devouring of Jezebel will not appear so ex- traordinary as it has hitherto done. " The bodies of those killed by the sword were hewn to pieces, and scattered about the streets, being denied burial. I was miserable, and almost driven to despair, at seeing my hunting-dogs, twice let loose by the carelessness of my servants, bringing into the court-yard the heads and arms of slaughtered men, and which I could no way prevent, but by the destruction of the dogs themselves : the quantity of carrion, and the stench of it, brought down the hyaenas in hundreds from the neighbouring moun- tains ; and, as few people in Gondor go out after it is dark, they enjoyed the streets to themselves, and seemed ready to dispute the possession of the city with the inhabitants. Often, when I went home late from the palace, and it was this time the king chose chiefly for conversation, though I had but to pass the corner of the market-place before the palace, had lanterns with me, and was surrounded with armed men, I heard them grunt- ing by twos and threes, so near me, as to be afraid they would take some opportunity of seizing me by the leg. A pistol would have frightened them, and made them speedily run, and 1 constantly carried two loaded at my girdle ; but the dis- charging a pistol in the night would have alarmed every one that heard it in the town, and it was not now the time to add any tiling to people's fears. I at last scarcely ever went out, and no- thing occupied my thoughts but how to escape from this bloody country, by way of Sennaar, and how 1 could best exert my power and influence over Yasine at Ras el Feel to pave my way, by assisting me to pass the desert, into Atbara. The king, missing me at the palace, and hearing I had not been at Ras Michael's, began to inquire who had been with me? Ayto Confu soon found Yasine, who informed him of the whole matter. Upon this I was sent for to the palace, where I found the king, without any body but menial ser- vants. He immediately remarked, that I looked very ill ; which, indeed, I found to be the case, as I had scarcely ate or slept since I saw him last, or even for some days before. He asl, &c. gives him, may not improperly be understood : * Elisha was tilled Hazael was now dead, and the kingdom of Syria devolved by hereditary right to his son Benhadad, who was overthrown by Joash in three battles; and all that country recovered to the Israelites, which his father had wrested from them, accord- ing to the prediction of Elisha. Upon the death of Joash, Jeroboam his son, the second of that name, entered upon the government. In the second year of Joash king of Is- rael, Amaziah came to the government of the tribe of Judah, in the city of Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan, a na- tive of the place. He had a reverence for justice, even in his youth; and began his administration in revenging the death of his father upon those persons who had treacherously murdered him, under a cloak of friendship. He brought the as- sassins to public justice, but spared their children, according to the laws prescribed by Moses, who deemed it unreasonable to punish the children for the iniquity of the fathers.^ After this he levied an army of select men from among the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and appointed proper officers over them. Besides this chosen body, which consisted of three hundred thou- sand, he treated with the king of the Israelites for one hundred thousand auxil- iaries, at the rate of an hundred talents of silver for their hire, paid down immedi- with Elijah's spirit ; whilst he was not moved with the presence of any prince, neither could any bring him into subjection : no word could over- come him ; and, after his death, his body prophe- sied : he did wonders in his life, and at his death were his works marvellous.' Jewish Antiq. and Calmet's Commentary. \ In this he acted like a good man, and contrary to the wicked customs of many kingdoms, where, if any one be guilty of high-treason, not only he, but his children likewise, who are neither conscious nor partakers of any of his traitorous practices, are equally devoted to destruction, lest they (forsooth) should form any faction against the prince, or seek revenge for their father's death. Le Clerc's Commentary. If we. reckon each talent at a hundred and twenty-five pounds weight, and each pound weight at four pounds in value, the whole will amount to Chap. III.] THE BIBLE. 437 ately, being fully determined to make war upon the Amalekites, the Edomites, and the Gebalites. As he was just upon the point of marching against them, a ian of God advised him by ail means to dismiss the Israelites; for they were a wicked generation, and would certainly be de- stroyed, together with those that joined with them ; adding, moreover, that he had a sufficient force of his own, with God's assistance, to overcome the enemy. The king having already parted with his money, was not a little troubled at the thought of losing both his pay and his men ; yet upon the prophet's counsel to resign himself wholly to the will of God, under whose protection he should be sure to want nothing, he discharged his auxil- iaries, observing, that he frankly bestowed that treasure upon them as bounty, which they had received only as hire. Immediately upon parting with his mer- cenaries, he advanced with his own troops against the combined enemies, which he overcame, cut off ten thousand of them in one battle, and carried away ten thousand more to the top of a great rock, that over- looks Arabia, where they were all thrown fifty thousand pounds sterling, wliich will be but ten shillings to each man, officers included. Very low pay ! unless we suppose, that this whole sum was given to the king of Israel for the loan of so many men, and that the men were to have their pay besides ; or rather, that they were to have no other pay but the booty which they took from the ene- my, and that this was the true reason why they were so exasperated at their dismission as to fal! upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Beth-horon, 2 Chron. xxv. 13. They went very probably first to Samaria, where they complained to their own king of the bad treatment they had received from Amaziah, and desired some repara- tion to be made them for the affront put upon them, and the loss of the profit which they might have made in the war : but, rinding him not in- clinable to make them satisfaction, they immediate- ly fell foul upon the territories of Judah, and, from Samaria (for that is the place of their setting out) even to beth-horon, a town not far distant from Jerusalem, ravaged the country, and did the mischief here mentioned ; which they might more easily do, because the war with Edom had drained the country of all the forces that should have op- posed them Patrick's and Calmet's Com- mentaries. down the precipice and destroyed ; Amaziah then returned home with great booty. But the Israelitish mercenaries were so incensed at being dismissed in so abrupt a manner, and without any just cause being assigned, that, to revenge the contempt cast upon them, they made an inroad into the territories of Amaziah, laying all waste as far as Beth-horon, putting three thousand people to the sword, and carrying away a great number of their cattle. Amaziah was so elated by his late victo- ry, that, regardless of that God by whom alone kings reign, he degenerated from his pure worship into the abominable idolatry of the Amalekites. The prophet, upon this, went to the king, and told him, that he could not but wonder at his confiding in those powers, that were so far from being able to protect their servants, that they could not defend themselves, but were taken prisoners by the Hebrews, and car- ried away like slaves to Jerusalem, with the rest of the spoil.f * That this was an ancient punishment among the Romans, who used to throw certain malefac- tors from the Tarpeian rock, we may learn from Livy, Plutarch, and several others; and Pitt informs us that the same practice obtains among the Moors at Constantine, a town in Barbary; but we do not find it commonly practised among the Jews. We have, however, two instances, that in which the Jews attempted to precipitate Jesus Christ from the brow of a mountain ; and the other, that of James, surnamed the Just, who was thrown from the highest part of the temple into the subjacent valley. It is not in the catalogue of the punish- ments which Moses enacts ; neither was it ever in- flicted by any regular judicature: and therefore one would tnink, that the Edomites, either by some such like cruelty to the peopie of Judah, had pro- voked them to make retaliation in this manner, or that they were, in their very disposition, so apt to revolt, that there could be no keeping them in sub- jection without some such sad exemplary punish- ment as this. Calmet and Le Clerc. f- Idolatry at the best can no ways be apologiz- ed for ; but no reason can be invented why any person should make the objects of his adoration such gods as could ' not deliver their own people out of the enemies' hands,' as the prophet very justly reproves Amaziah, 2 Chron. xxv. 15. unless we suppose that the images of these ods were so very beautiful, that he perfectly fill in love with them, or that he worshipped them for fear they should owe him a spite, and do him some mis- 438 HISTORY OF [Book VI. These words of tlie prophet highly provoked the king's wrath, insomuch that he forbade him, at his peril, to interfere any further in a business that did not con- cern him. The prophet's answer was, that for the future he would be quiet ; but assured him, that God would take se- vere vengeance on him for this wicked and idolatrous innovation in religion which he had introduced. But this infatuated prince was so trans- ported with vanity and insolence upon his late success, that, without any regard to the hand of divine providence, he wrote an imperious letter some time after to Jo- ash, the king of the Israelites, command- ing him and his people to pay the same allegiance to him which they had former- ly rendered to his ancestors David and Solomon; or, in case of their refusal, to expect a decision of the cause by the sword ; to which summons Joash returned this answer : " King Joash to king Amaziah, greet- ing, It happened, once upon a time, betwixt a cedar tree, and a thistle, upon mount Lebanon, that the thistle sent to the cedar, saying, Give thy daughter to my son for wife; whereupon there came a wild beast and trode down the thistle.* chief, in revenge for what he had done against the Edomites. How much more wise were the sentiments of Fahricius Maximus upon the like occasion, who, having conquered Tarentum, and being asked what should be done with their gods ? 'Bid them leave tliem with the Tarentines ; for what madness is it,' as he adds, 'to hope for an y safety from those that cannot preserve them- selves ?' Patrick's Commentary. * It was a custom among the oriental people to deliver their sentiments in parables, in which they made a great part of their wisdom to consist : and, considering the circumstances of the person he addressed, who was a petty prince, flushed with a little good success, and thereupon impatient to enlarge his kingdom, no similitude could be better adapted than that of a thistle, a low contemptible shrub, but, upon its having drawn blood of some traveller, growing proud, and affecting an equality with the cedar, (a tall, stately tree, that is the pride and ornament of the wood,) till, in the midst of all its arrogance and presumption, it is unhap- pily trodden down by the beasts of the forests, 2 Kings xiv. 9. which Joash intimates would be Amaziah's fate, if he continued to provoke a Make use of this example for your own instruction, and moderate your own ambi- tion, without aspiring to things out of your reach. Take care that your confi- dence and pride, for the overthrow of the Edomites, do not betray you some time or other to the loss of your life and king- dom." This answer to Amaziah was but as oil to the flame, and made him ten times more furious and implacable than before; God in his justice giving him up, as may be reasonably supposed, to such* a violence of rage and passion, as would certainly expose him to the stroke of divine justice for his impiety. In this enraged state of mind he took the field, and both armies were drawn up in form of battle. But no sooner were his men advanced within sight of the enemy, than they were instantly struck with such consternation and terror, that they turned their backs without striking a blow, and, flying several ways, left Ama- ziah prisoner in the hands of his enemy, who refused to give him quarters upon any other terms, than that the citizens of Jerusalem should set open the gates, and receive him and his victorious army into the town. With these hard terms the present crisis obliged him to comply, having life or death immediately before him; so that Joash entered the town in his triumphal chariot, through a breach of about four hundred cubits of wall that he had caused to be broken down, with his prisoner Amaziah marching along with him; and this was the splendid manner in which he took possession of the place, making him- self master of the city. He made a seizure of all the holy plate and treasure, and of all the gold and sil- ver likewise that he could find in the palace, carrying the whole spoil away with him; and then dismissing the king, prince of his superior power ai:0 become free among the dead,' Psal. lxxxviii. II- ,. . 5. But, besides the infliction of tins disease ing in upon an office belonging peculiarly I j ose phus tells us, "That, the very moment that to the priests of the race of Aaron ; SO Uzziah was going to burn incense, there happened . . . "liji' j-i.ii.j a terrible earthquake, and, as the roof of the that Azariah bade him immediately to de- ' part, and not provoke the wrath of God by those indignities any longer. The king felt indignant at this faithful remonstrance of the priests, and, burning with anger, threatened them with death if they should interpose. God, however, condescended to vindicate the sacredness of the sacerdotal office; for, the moment he lifted the censer, and was about to burn incense, he was struck with a leprosy,* which no art of man could ever after cure. temple opened with the shock of it, there passed a beam of the sun through the cleft, which struck directly upon the face of this sacrilegious prince, whereupon he instantly became a lepr: nay, that this earthquake was so very violent, that it lore asunder a great mountain, towards the west of Jerusalem, and rolled one half of it over and over a matter of four furlongs, till at length it was stopped by another mountain, which stood over against it, but choked up the highway, and cover- ed the king's gardens all over with dust." But all this may be justly suspected. That there was a great earthquake in the reign of Uzziah, is evident from the testimony of two prophets, Amos and Zechariah, but, that it happened exactly when Uzziah attempted this invasion of the priesthood, is far from being clear: on the contrary, if we will abide by Bishop Usher's computation, the Jewish historian must be sadly mistaken. For, since the prophet Amos tells us, that he began to prophesy two years before this earthquake happened, in the reigns of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam the II., king of Israel; and since we may gather from the sacred history, that Jeroboam died two years before the birth of Jotham, the son of Uz- ziah; that Jeroboam died in the six and twentieth military art to any great perfection. Uzziah was certainly the first inventor of them ; and therefore it is said, that for these, and other warlike pre- parations, ' his name was spread abroad.' From this time they began to be employed both in at- tacking and defending towns ; and therefore, we find the prophet Ezekiel describing the future sieges of Jerusalem and Tyre, where he makes mention of battering-rams, and engines of war, or, ! year of the said Uzziah, and Jotham his son was as it should be rendered machines of cords, which, born in the three and twentieth year thereof, and in all probability, were what later ages called their yet was of age sufficient to be made regent of the balistae and catapultaj. Calmet. kingdom when his father was thus struck with a * The punishment for such, as would intrude leprosy, (which must have been several years after into divine ministrations, was capital, we see ; and Jeroboam's death,) it must needs follow, that this therefore God smote Uzziah with such a disease earthquake could not happen at the time which as was a kind of death ; because it separated the Josephus assigns, but must have been much earlier person that was afflicted with it from the com- Jewish Antiq. and Calmet' s Commentary. meice and society of men, even as if he were de- t While the chosen people of Giod were accua- 444 HISTORY OF [Book VI. Zechariah, the king of the Israelites, and the son of Jeroboam, in the seventh month of his reign was murdered by the treach- ery of one of his own domestics, named tomed to honour, in a particular manner, the me- mory of those kings who had reigned over them with justice and clemency, they took care to stamp some mark of posthumous disgrace upon those who had left the world under their disapprobation. The sepulchres of the Jewish kings were at Jeru- salem : where, in some appointed receptacle, the remains of their princes were deposited ; and from the circumstance of these being the cemetery for successive rulers, it was said when one died and was buried there, that he was gathered to his fathers. But several instances occur in the history of the house of David, in which, on various ac- counts, they were denied the honour of being en- tombed with their ancestors, and were deposited in some other place in Jerusalem. To mark, per- haps, a greater degree of censure, they were taken to a small distance from Jerusalem, and laid in a private tomb. Uzziah, who had, by his presump- tuous attempt to seize the office of the priesthood, which was reserved by an express law for the house of Aaron, provoked the wrath of heaven, and being punished for his temerity with a loath- some and incurable disease, 'was buried with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings ; for they said. He is a leper.' It was undoubtedly with a design to make a suitable impression on the mind of the reigning monarch, to guard him against the abuse of his power, and teach him respect for the feelings and sentiments of thflt people for whose benefit chiefly lie was raised to the throne, that such a stigma was fixed upon the dust of his offending predecessors. He wa, h> this manner, restrained from evil, and excited to good, according as he was fearful of be- inir execrate J, or desirous of being honoured after his decease. This public mark of infamy was ac- cordingly put on the conduct of Ahaz; * They buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem, but they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel.' The Egyptians had a custom, in some measure similar to t.is, only it extended to persons of every rank and condition. As soon as a man died, he was ordered to be brought to trial; the public accuser was heard ; if he proved that the deceased had led a bad life, his memory was condemned, and he was deprived of the honours of sepulture. Thus were the Egyptians affected by laws which extended even beyond the grave, and evcrv one, struck with the disgrace inflicted on the dead person, was afraid to reflect dishonour on his own memory, and that of his family. But what was singular, the sovereign himself was not exempted from this public inquest when he died. Th* whole kingdom was interested in the lives and administration of frheir sovereigns, and as death terminated all their actions, it was then deemed for the welfare of the community that they should suffer an impartial scrutiny, by a public trial, as well as the meanest of their subjects. In con- sequence of this solemn investigation, tome of them Shallum, the son of Jabesh, who took possession of the government. It wss ill got, and he lost it as ill, on the thirtieth day after seizing it. Menahem had all that time the com- mand of an army that was at Tirzah, and upon the news of what had befallen Ze- chariah, he marched with his tioops to Sa- maria, where he fought and overthrew Shallum, put him to the sword, and after- ward by his own authority took all the en- signs of royalty to himself, and exercised sovereign power. With this victorious ar- my he marched to Tirzah, but the citizens having shut their gates upon him, and re- fused to admit him, he was so incensed against them, that he laid waste the whole country, and in the end took the town by assault, and put all to the sword without regard to age, sex, or condition ; for he exercised that merciless rigour upon his own countrymen, that would have been unpardonable even towards the worst bar- barians ; indeed, his government was a constant scene of horror and confusion for the whole ten years of his reign over Is- rael. lie was threatened after this with an invasion by Pul,* the king of Assyria ; were not ranked among the honoured dead, and consequently were deprived of public burial. The custom was singular: the effect must have been powerful and influential. The most haughty des- pot, who might trample on laws human and di- vine in his life, saw by this rigorous inquiry, that at death he also should be doomed to infamy and execration. " What degree of conformity," says Mr Burder, " there was between the practice of the Israelites and the Egyptians, and with whom the custom first originated, may be difficult to as- certain and decide : but the latter appears to be founded on the same principle as that of the for- mer ; and as it is more circumstantially detailed, affords us an agreeable explanation of a rite but slightly mentioned in the scriptures." Script. Must. * This is the first time that we find any mention made of the kingdom of Assyria, since the days of Nimrod, who erected a small principality there, Gen. x. 1 1, and Pul, or Phul, is the first monarch of that nation who invaded Israel, and began their transportation out of their country. Some are of opnion, that he was the same with Belesis, the governor of Babylon, who, together with Ar- baces the Medc, slew Sardanupalus, the last of the Chap. IV.] THE BIBLE. but not daring to hazard an engage- ment, he came to a timely agreement with him, compounding for a thousand talents of silver, which he raised upon the people at fifty shekels a head. He died soon after, and was buried at Samaria, leaving Pekahiah his son to suc- ceed him. This prince inherited the in- humanity and ill-nature of his father, as well as the government ; but his time was short; for, after two years' reign, he was cut to pieces, together with several of his friends, at a public feast, by the treasonous practice of Pekah the son of llemaliah, one of his tribunes ; who seized upon the government, and reigned twenty years : leaving it a matter of doubt, whether he was more remarkable for his impiety to God or injustice towards men. In the days of Pekah, Tiglath-pileser,* king of the Assyrians, invaded the Israel- 445 Assyrian monarchs, and translated the empire to the Chaldeans. Patrick seems to be confident in this : but according to Prideaux, Belesis was one generation later, and therefore it is supposed, that this Pul was the father of Sardanapalus, who was called Sardan, with the annexation of his father's name Pul, in the same manner as Merodach, king of Babylon, was called Merodach-baladan, because he was the son of Baladan. This Pul therefore was the same king of Assyria, who, when Jonah preached against Nineveh, gave great tokens of his humiliation and repentance. The only difficulty is, that he seems to have marched his army from Babylon, and not from Nineveh, and yet his son and successor, we find, lived at Nineveh: but then it is suggested, that, as the kings of Assyria resided sometimes at Babylon and sometimes at Nineveh, it is not improbable that Pul, to avoid the judgments which Jonah threatened against the latter, might remove to Babylon, where he resided the remaining part of his reign ; and this made it so convenient for him to attack the Israelites on the other side of Jordan. Prideaux's Connection, and Bedford's Scripture Chronology. * He is supposed by some to have been the son and successor of Sardanapalus, who restored the kingdom of Assyria, and possessed it, after it had been dismembered by Belesis, and Arbaces ; but Prideaux makes him to be the same with Ar- baces, by iElian called Thilgamus, and by Castor, Ninus Junior ; who, together with Belesis, head- ed the conspiracy against Sardanapalus, and fixed his royal seat at Nineveh, the ancient residence of the Assyrian kings, as Belesis (who in scripture is likewise called Baladan, Isaiah xxxix. 1.) did his at Babylon, and there governed his new-erected em- pire for nineteen years. Prideaux's Connection. ites; and after subduing the land of Gi- lead, and the country beyond Jordan, to- gether with that part of Galilee that lies next it, as also all the land of Naphtaii, he took the inhabitants prisoners, and car- ried them away into his own country. Jotham, the son of Uzziah, reigned in Jerusalem over the tribe of Judah ; his mother was a native of that city, whose name was Jerusha. He was a prince fa- mous for all excellent qualities and virtues, exemplary for his reverence to God, for his justice to men, and for the care he took of the commonwealth ; making it his business to keep all things in order, and to rectify what he found amiss. He re- paired the porches and galleries in the temple ; made good the city walls, where they were falling to ruin ; erected large and strong towers ; brought the Ammon- ites under the contribution of a hundred talents a year, ten thousand measures of wheat, and as many of barley, and ad- vanced the kingdom also to such a State, that the people were both happy at home, and formidable abroad. In the reign of this prince there ap- peared a prophet, whose name was Na- hum ;f and he foretold the destruction of f Nahum describes himself as an Klkcshite ; which some have considered as a patronymic ex- pression, conceiving it to imply his being a de- scendant of Elkosha ; but which is generally sup- posed to intimate that he was born at Elkosh, or Elkosha, a small village in Galilee, of which St Jerome professes to have seen the ruins. The illustrious prophecy foretelling the future down- fall of the Assyrian empire, remarkably accom- plished in little more than a century alter it was delivered, affords a signal evidence of the inspira- tion of Nahum ; and a striking lesson of humility to human pride. It must have furnished much consolation to the tribes who were carried away captive by the king of Assyria, as well as to those of Benjamin and Judah ; and all must have re- joiced with the hope of deliverance, to hear that their conquerors should in time be conquered, their city levelled to the dust, and their empire overturned. The book in which these interesting prophecies are contained, is justly considered by Bishop Lowth as a complete and perfect poem, of which the conduct and imagery are truly admirable. The lire, spirit, and sublimity of Nahum, are un- equalled. His scenes are painted with great variety and splendour. The opening of his work* in which he desciibes the attiibutes of Cod, is au- 446 HISTORY OF [Book Vi, Nineveh, and the subversion of the As- Byrian empire, in the following manner: " The condition of Nineveh shall be like that of a fish-pool, in a violent agitation of the waters before a great wind. The people shall fly away before the storm, in trouble and confusion ; calling out one to another, Stay and take your gold and your silver with you, and nobody shall mind it; for their lives shall be much dearer to them than their treasure. They shall have desperate factions and divisions among themselves; weeping and wailing, with the knocking of their knees, and death in their faces. What will become of the habitation of the lions and the dams of the lions' whelps? Nineveh, says the Lord, I will strike thee out from off the face of the earth, and put an end to the outrages of the wild beasts that thou hast sent into the world." This is the sum and substance of the prophet's predictions concerning Nineveh, which were punctually fulfilled at the ex- piration of about a hundred and fifteen years. Jotham died in the forty-first year of his life, and the sixteenth of his reign ; and Ahaz in the course of hereditary right succeeded him. He was the most im- pious prince that ever sat upon that throne, both for his deviation from the laws of his country, and his idolatry in imitation of the kings of Israel. He built altars in Jerusalem ; sacrificed to idols upon them, and his own son among the rest for a burnt-offering, after the manner of the gust ; and the preparations for the attack, as well as the destruction of Nineveh, are represented with singular effect. The art, with which the im- mediate destruction of the Assyrians under Sen- nacherib is intermingled with the future ruin of the empire, affords a very elegant specimen of the manner in which the prophets delight to introduce present and distant events under one point of view. The allegorical pictures in his prophecy are remarkably beautiful. Neither history nor tradition furnishes us with any account of Nahum, or of the period of his death. His tomb, or pre- tended tomb, was formerly shown in a village named Bethogabra, now called Giblin, near Em- aiaus. Dr Gray. Canaanites,* and committed many offences as enormous as these. While Ahaz persisted in these wicked courses, Rezin the king of Damascus, and Pekah the king of the Israelites, being joined in a league, marched together, with their united forces, and invested that famous city of Jerusalem. But the place * Few things are more shocking to the ears of humanity than the frequent mention, in the sa- cred scriptures, of the custom of causing children, &c. to pass through fire, in honour of iVIolech ; a custom, the antiquity of which appears from its being repeatedly forbidden by Moses ; as Lev. xviii. 21, and afterwards in chapter xx, where the expression is very strong of ' giving his seed to Molech.' The Kabbins have histories of the manner of passing through the fires, or between the fires, or into caves of fire. Arid there is an account of an image, which received children into its arms, and let them drop into a fire beneath ; and of the shouts of the multitude, the noise of drums, &c. to drown the shrieks of the agonizing infant, and the horrors of the parents' mind Waving all allusion to these at present, the follow- ing extract may give us a good idea, in what man- ner the passing through or over fire was anciently performed : " A still more astonishing instance of the superstition of the ancient Indians, in respect to their venerated fire, remains, at this day, in the grand annual festival, holden in honour of I)arm;t Rajah, and called the feast of fire ; in which, as in the ancient rites of Molech, the devotees walk barefoot over a glowing fire, extending forty feet. It is called the feast of fire, because they then walk on that element. It lasts eighteen days, during which those who make a vow to keep it, must fast, lie on the bare ground, and walk on a brisk fire. The eighteenth day they assemble, with the sound of instruments, their heads crown- ed with flowers, the body bedaubed with saffron ; and follow in cadence the figures of Darma Ra- jah, and of Drobede his wife, who are carried there in procession ; when they come to the fire, they stir it, to animate its activity, and take a little of the ashes, with which they rub their fore- heads ; and when the gods have been three times round it, they walk either fast or slow, according to their zeal, over a very hot fire, extended to about forty feet in length. Some carry their children in their arms ; and others lances, sabres, and standards" Sonnerat's Travels. This ex- tract accounts for several expressions used in scripture ; such as, causing children (very young perhaps) to pass through fire, as we see they an: carried over the fire, by which means they were not destroyed or injured, except by being profaned, Nevertheless it might, and probably did, happen, that some of those, who thus passed, were hurt or maimed in the passing; or, if not immediately slain by the tire, might actually be burnt in this superstitious pilgrimage, so as to contract fata) diseases. Fragments, Appendix to CalrneL Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. 447 was so well fortified, that they were forced to raise the siege, and quit it. In the mean time, the king of Syria possessed himself of the city of Elath by the Red sea, put all the inhabitants to the sword, and introduced a colony of Syrians into their places. He possessed himself after this of several castles and strong holds; did terrible execution upon the Jews, and so, with a prodigious booty, marched his army back again to Damas- cus. When the king of Jerusalem came to understand that the Syrians were depart- ed, he thought himself able to cope with the king of Israel, and drew out an army against him ; but his wickedness was so great, that God in just indignation gave the victory to his enemy, with the loss of a hundred and twenty thousand of his men. In the same battle, Zichri, the general of the Israelites, killed Maaseiah, the son of Ahaz, in a single encounter, and slew also Azrikam the captain of the guards ; taking Elkanah, the general of the Jew- ish troops, prisoner; beside an infinite number of captives of the Benjamites, whom they carried away together with the spoil to. Samaria. There was at that time a prophet in Samaria, whose name was Obed, who went out of the town to meet the army in their return, crying out to them with a loud voice, that they were not to look upon this victory as gained by their own virtue and valour, but as a judgment from heaven upon king Ahaz. The prophet therefore told them, they were to blame not to rest satisfied with the success of their undertaking, without making slaves of their kindred and relations of the two tribes ; advising them by all means to set them at liberty, and send them home again, without offering any indignity to their persons, upon the peril of falling under God's displeasure. The Israelites upon this occasion called a council to deliberate on the best mea- sures that could be pursued, in conse- quence of the prophet's warning, when Berechiah, a man of great authority in the assembly, with three more, declared themselves utterly against the bringing any of the prisoners into the town, for fear God's vengeance should fall upon all the rest. Adding, moreover, that they al- ready had many heinous transgressions alleged against them, and therefore need- ed not to aggravate the charge. The soldiers were so far wrought upon by this consideration, that they gave their prisoners liberty to go whither they would, and take what they would with them ; whereupon four persons were ap- pointed to set them free, take care of their persons, furnish them with provisions for their journey, and bear them company be- yond Jericho. When they had brought them on their way within a little of Jeru- salem, they returned to Samaria. CHAPTER V. Cruelty and impiety of Ahaz, who dies, and is succeeded by his son Hezekiah. Restoration of the true worship, and defeat of the Philis- tines. Samaria taken by assault. Idolatry punished by a dreadful pestilence. A new colony is planted in Samaria. The fatal overthrow Ahaz sustained from the Israelites, obliged him to call in the aid of foreign powers. Accordingly he sent an embassy to Tiglath-pileser, the king of the Assyrians, with promises of great sums of money, and magnificent presents, desiring succours from him against the Israelites, and those of Syria and Damascus. This prince no sooner heard the desire and proposal of Ahaz, than he marched directly to his aid, laying the country of Syria waste, taking Damascus by assault, and putting king Rezin to the sword. The people of Damascus he transplant- ed to the Upper Media, and supplied their places at Damascus with colonies of his own people. He then depopulated great part of the land of Israel, carrying away vast numbers of them prisoners. 448 HISTORY OF [Book VI Having thus harassed the Syrians, Ahaz took all the gold and silver out of the king's treasury, and that likewise out of the temple, with all the rich donations, and carried the whole along with him to Damascus; which, according to his agree- ment, he delivered up to the king of As- syria, with acknowledgments for the fa- vour of his relief, and then returned to Jerusalem. Now this king had so little sense, either of honour or reason, that the mortal en- mity between him and the Syrians did not hinder him from worshipping their gods, and joining in their ceremonies; vainly persuading himself, from his blind zeal in idolatrous worship, that they would be propitious to his arms; and then, when he was overcome, on the other hand, his business was to make friends of the gods of the Assyrians ; indeed, he was prone to fall into every idolatrous abomination by the neglect of the worship of the true God, and in opposition to the profession and practice of his ancestors. This apostasy drew down the wrath and vengeance of God upon him. Nay, the contempt and aversion that he had for the honour and service of God, were so extra- vagant, that after he had rifled the temple he commanded the very doors to be kept shut, out of enmity to God and goodness, and to prevent the celebrating of any act of religious worship in that holy place. But at last, after a constant course of im- piety, he departed this life at thirty-six years of age, and in the sixteenth of his reign, leaving his son Hezekiah his suc- cessor to the government. About this time Pekah king of Israel lost both his government and his life by the treachery of a court-confidant, called Hoshea,* who enjoyed the fruit of his * After he had murdered his predecessor Pe- kah, the elders of the land seem to have taken the government into their own hands ; for he had not the possession of the kingdom till the latter end of the twelfth year of Ahaz, i.e. about nine years after he had committed the fact. Me came to the j-own, it must be owned, in a very wicked man- ' violence and usurpation for the space of nine years. He was one of the worst of men, that in his life and conversation | showed not the least thought or belief of a God. Shalmaneser, the king of the I Assyrians, led an army against him, and | being cast off by God, whom he himself | had rejected and despised, he was easily- overcome, and forced to submit to the terms of a tributary. In the third year of Hoshea's reign, Hezekiah came to be king of Jerusalem. He was a person endowed with an excel- lent understanding, and a lover and prac- tiser of piety and justice: the first thing he did upon his coming to the throne, was to provide for the comfort of his people, introducing the religion of the only true God; to this end, he immediately sum- moned a meeting of the priests and Le- vites, and addressed them to this effect' " I need not remind you of the many arx 1 great calamities that have befallen you foi the iniquities of my father, in not render- ing to God the honour due to him, and for the madness of your being prevailed upon to pay divine adoration to his idols ; wherefore being now taught by woful experience how dangerous a thing it is to prevaricate with the Almighty, it is my advice, that all past miscarriages may be forgotten, and that you purify and purge yourselves, together with the priests and Levites, from all your former pollutions; and after that preparation, that you set ner, and yet his character in scripture is not so vile as many of his predecessors, 2 Kings xvii. 2. For, whereas the kings of Israel had hitherto main- tained guards upon the frontiers to hinder their subjects from going to Jerusalem to worship, Hoshea took away these guards and gave free liberty to all to go and pa)' their adorations where the law had directed. And therefore, when Heze- kiah invited all Israel to come to his passover, this prince permitted all that would to go ; and when, upon their return from that festival, they destroyed all the monuments of idolatry that were found in the kingdom of Samaria, instead of forbidding them, in all probability he gave his consent to it ; be- cause without some tacit encouragement at least, they durst not have ventured to do it. Pridcauz's Connection. Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. open the doors of that holy place; and when you shall have restored it to its original purity, by consecrations, expia- tory lustrations, and sacrifices in form, we >juiy then promise ourselves that God will pardon our impieties, and prosper us in all our undertakings. The priests were so encouraged by this advice of the king, that they presently opened the temple, cleared it of all im- purities, made ready the holy vessels, and laid their sacrifices upon the altar, accord- ing to the Jewish manner. The king, in the mean time, sent mes- sengers throughout all his dominions to summon the people up to Jerusalem to the feast of unleavened bread; which had been then a long time intermitted, through the impious neglect of former kings; exhorting and inviting the Israel- ites also to forsake the practice of their idolatrous superstitions, and return to the exercise of the true religion, and to the worship of the true God; promising them that they should have liberty to come and go, and to celebrate this festival in com- mon with his own people. The king ob- served, that it was not for his own sake, but for theirs, that he gave them this invitation; and that they themselves should reap the benefit, if they followed his counsel. But when the Israelites heard the mes- sage, they were so fur from giving any heed to it, that they held the messengers in derision, and treated the prophets with contempt, for the good office of advising them to return to their duty, and foretell- ino - them the miseries that should befall them, without a timely repentance. Thus they proceeded from one wickedness to another, till God in his wrath avenged himself upon them for their impiety, by de- livering them up into the hands of their ene- mies. But there were great numbers yet of the tribes of Manasseh, Zebulun, and Issachar, whose hearts were touched with this advice of the prophets, and who went up to Ilezekiah at Jerusalem, to worship. When the multitude was assembled 449 there, the king went up to the temple, together with the princes and the people, where he sacrificed for himself seven bulls, seven rams, and as many goats; and when he had first laid his hands upon the heads of the victims, both the king and the princes left the execution to the priests, who cut the throats of the sacrifices, and burnt them whole, the Levites standing in a ring about them, singing hymns, and accompanying their voices with musical instruments, as David had prescribed them of old, the rest of the priests joining in the concert. When this was over, the king and the people cast themselves pros- trate, and worshipped the Lord. Hezekiah sacrificed, after this, seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hun- dred lambs; bestowing also six hundred bullocks, and three thousand other cattle, as a bounty for the entertainment of the people; and when the priests had perform- ed their office, according to the customary method, the king himself feasted with the people, and joined with them in praises and thanksgivings. The feast of unleavened bread was now coming on, and in the time of tlieir pre- parations for the feast of the passover, they offered up a course of other sacrifices, for seven days successively, and the king bestowed upon the people, out of his own bounty, two thousand bulls, and seven thousand of other cattle, over and above their own number. The princes likewise, after Hezekiah's example, super-adding a thousand bulls, and a thousand and forty other beasts; insomuch, that from the days of Solomon down to that time, there was never such a solemnity known to be so splendidly celebrated. As soon as this festival was over, they made it their next work to purge the whole country, having first purified Jerusalem itself from the abomination of their idols. Nay, there was one thing, namely, the brazen serpent,* which might have been i . * The reason, which the scripture assigns f6f 3l 450 HISTORY OF [Book VI of innocent use, and served, in the same manner as did the pot of manna, and Aa- ron's rod, for a monument of God's mir- aculous mercy to the Israelites in their passage through the wilderness; but be- cause the preceding times o# iniquity had made it an object of idolatrous worship, Hezekiah thought proper to destroy it, in order to take away all occasion of the like abuse for the future. The king then appointed daily sacri- Hezekiah's destroying this brazen serpent, is, Because, unto this day, the children of Israel had burnt incense to it,' 2 Kings xviii. 4. We are not however to suppose, that, all along from the days of Moses, this brazen serpent was made an object of religious worship : this is what neither David, nor Solomon, in the beginning of his reign, would have allowed of; nor can we think, but that either Asa, or Jehoshaphat, when they rooted out ido- latry would have made an end of this, had they perceived that the people at that time either paid worship or burnt incense to it. The commence- ment of this superstition therefore must be of a later date, and since the time that Ahab's famihy, by being allied to the crown of Judah by marriage, introduced all kinds of idolatry. Now one false inducement to the worship of this image miht be a mistake of the words of Moses. For, whereas it is said, that 'whosoever looketh upon it, shall live,' Numb. xxi. 8. some might thence fancy, that, by its mediation they might obtain a blessing, and o make it the object of their superstition at first. However, we may imagine that their burning in- cense, or any other perfumes before it, was de- signed only in honour to the true God, by whose direction Moses made it ; but then, in process of their superstition, they either worshipped the God of Israel under that image, or (what is worse) sub- stituted a heathen god in his room, and wor- shipped the brazen serpent as his image ; which they might more easily be induced to do, because the practice of some neighbouring nations was to worship their gods under the form of a serpent. Upon this account Hezekiah wisely chose rather to lose this memorial of God's wonderful mercy to liis people in the wilderness, than to suffer it any longer to be abused to idolatry, and therefore he brake it in pieces, i. e. as the Talmudists explain it, he ground it to powder, and then scattered it in the air, that there might not be the least remains of it. And yet, notwithstanding all the care which he took to destroy it, Sigonius, in his history of Italy, tells us, that, in the church of St Ambrose, in Milan, they show to their devotees a brazen serpent which they pretend to be the very same which Moses erected in the wilderness, and, upon this belief, an idolatrous devotion is there paid to it as gross as was that of the Jews; though, it must be owned, that, among their learned men there are tome who acknowledge the cheat, and disclaim it. Le Clerc's Commentary, and Prideaux's Con- gestion. fices, according to the law, to be supplied out of his own stores, and commanded the people to present the priests and Levites with their tenths and first-fruits, that they might not be taken off by any common business from their attendance upon the altar. By this means they were abundantly furnished with all sorts of fruits and pro- visions. The king also ordered the build- ing of granaries and store-houses, for the common use and service of themselves, their wives, and children, to be distributed in proportion to their shares; so that by these degrees, the ancient discipline came in some measure to be restored. Having thus revived the worship of God, and extirpated idolatry throughout his dominions, the king made war upon the Philistines, and over-ran their country, subduing all their cities, from Gath to Gaza, which he added to his territories. When the king of Assyria sent a mes- sage to him to demand the tribute from him, which was formerly paid him by his father, with a menace, in case of refusal, to take his country from him ; Hezekiah, depending upon the goodness of God, the consciousness of his integrity, and the veracity of the prophet Isaiah, from whom he was sure to be forewarned of the event of things, that he gave no heed to the menaces of the Assyrians. Upon intelligence being given to Shal- maneser, king of Assyria, that the king of Israel was entered into a secret treaty with So,* king of Egypt, to join in an alliance against him, the Assyrian, in a furious indignation, immediately marched with his army against Samaria. In the third year of the siege, and in the ninth of the reign of that king, he * This So, with whom Hoshea entered into confederacy, is in profane authors called Sabacon, that famous Ethiopian, mentioned by Herodotus, and Diodorus Siculus, who in the beginning of Hezekiah's reign invaded Egypt, and having taken Bocharis, the king thereof, prisoner, had him, in great cruelty, burnt alive, and then seized on his kingdom. Prideaux's Connection. Chap. II.] THE BIBLE. 451 took it by assault, in the seventh year of the reign of Hezekiah king of Jerusalem. The loss of this place was the final ruin of the kingdom of Israel; the people were all transplanted into Media and Persia, and Hoshea the king taken with them alive; while the king of Assyria brought others from thence in exchange, as far as Cuthah, a river of Persia, to re-people the land of the Israelites and plant them in Samaria.* * Sir William Jones inclines to the opinion that the ten trihes migrated to India, about Thibet, Cashmire, and such opinion derives support several circumstances. In the year 1828 the following statement appeared in the German papers. " Leipsig, June 30. After having seen for some years past merchants from Tiflis, Persia, and Armenia, among the visitors at our fair, we have had, for the first time, two traders from Bucharia, with shawls, which are there manufac- tured of the finest wool of the goats of Thibet and Cashmire, by the Jewish families, who form a third part of the population. In Bucharia, for- merly the capital of Sogdiana, the Jews have been very numerous ever since the Babylonian captivity, and are there as remarkable for their industry and manufactures as they are in England for their money transactions. It was not till last year that the Russian government succeeded in extending its diplomatic missions far into Bucharia. The above traders exchanged their shawls for coarse and fine woollen cloths of such colours as are most esteemed in the East." The number of these Jews must be very great, if this account be at all correct, as to the proportion which they bear to the whole population, this being stated by the most accurately informed writers to be from 15,000.000, to 18,000,000. But this information is confirmed, in a very satisfactory manner, from other sources. In the year 1822, a Mr Sargon, one of the agents, we believe, to the London Society for converting the Jews, communicated to England some interesting accounts of a number of persons resident at Bombay, Cannanore, and the vicinity, who were evidently the descendants of Jews, calling themselves Beni-Israel, and bearing, almost uniformly, Jewish names, but with a Persian termination. Feeling very desirous to obtain all possible knowledge of their condition, Mr Sargon undertook a mission to Cannanore for this purpose, >nd the result of his inquiries was a conviction, .nat they were not Jews of the one tribe and a half, being of a different race from the white and black Jews at Cochin, and consequently that they were a remnant of the long lost ten tribes. He also concluded, from the information obtained respecting the Beni-Israel, that they existed in great numbers in countries between Cochin and Bombay, the north of Persia, among the hordes of Tartary, and in Cashmire ; the very countries in which the German accounts state the recent dis- covery to have been made. So far, then, these This transportation of the ten tribes from the place of their abode, fell out nine hundred and forty-seven years from the coming of their forefathers out of the land accounts confirm each other, and there is every probability that the Beni-Israel, resident on the west of the Indian peninsula, had originally pro- ceeded from Bucharia. It will therefore be inter- esting to know something of their moral and religious character ; and we have collected the following particulars from Mr Sargon's accounts : I. In dress and manners they resemble the na- tives so as not to be distinguished from them, but by attentive observation and inquiry. 2. They have Hebrew names of the same kind, and with the same local termination, as the Sepoys in the 9th regiment Bombay native infantry. 3. Some of them read Hebrew, and they have a faint tradi- tion of the cause of their original exodus from Egypt. 4. Their common language is the Hin- doo. 5. They keep idols and worship them, and use idolatrous ceremonies intermixed witli He- brew. 6. They circumcise their own children. 7. They observe the Kippoor, or great expiation day of the Hebrews, but not the sabbath, or any feast or fast-days. 8. They call themselves Gorah Jehudi, or white Jews ; and they term the black Jews, Collah Jehudi. 9. They speak of the Arabian Jews as their brethren, but do not acknowledge the European Jews as such, because they are of a fairer complexion than 'themselves. 10. They use on all occasions, and at the most trivial circumstances, the usual Jewish prayer, ' Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.' I I. They have no cohen (priest) Levite, or kasi, among them, under those terms, but they have a kasy, (reader,) who performs prayers and conducts their religious ceremonies, and they appear to have elders and a chief in each community, who determine in their religious concerns. 12. They expect the Messiah soon to arrive, and rejoice in the belief that at Jerusalem they will see their God, worship him only, and be despised no more. This is all the information that can be collected from Mr Sargon's accounts, but the very region in which these people have been discovered, has been described by the celebrated Oriental geographer, Ibn Haukal, with great minuteness, under the appellation oi Mawer-al-na.hr . He speaks of it as one of the most flourishing provinces within (he regions of Islam, and describes its inhabitants as a people of probity and virtue, averse from evil, and fond of peace. " Such is their liberality, that no one turns aside from the rites of hospitality; >o that a person contemplating them in this light, woirld imagine that all the families in the laud were but one house. When a traveller arrives there, every person endeavours to attract him to himself, that he may have opportunities of per- forming kind offices for the stranger; and the hist proof of their hospitable and generous disposition is, that every peasant, though possessing but a bate sufficiency, allows a portion of his cottage .for the reception of his guest. Thus in acts of hospitality they expend their income. Never have I heard of such things in any other country . . Yqu cannot 452 HISTORY OF [Book VL of Egypt, to their taking possession of that land before, by force of arms; eight hundred years from the days of Joshua, and two hundred and fifty-six years, seven months, after the revolt from Rehoboam, the grandson of David, to Jeroboam.* This was the miserable end of that stiff- necked people, that would neither be sub- ject to laws, nor hearken to the voice and precautions of their prophets, though they foretold them, that their certain destruc- tion was at hand, unless they departed from their evil ways. These calamities arose from that sedi- tious revolt from Rehoboam, in advancing a servant over the head of his master; who, in contempt of God, and his holy laws, drew the indignation of heaven upon the people, by drawing them to the prac- tice of the same abominations by his ex- ample ; but he escaped not the just judg- ment of God. The king of Assyria carried all before him, and extended his victorious arms throughout Syria and Phoenicia.! sec any town or stage, or even desert, without a convenient inn or stage-house, for the accommoda- tion of travellers, with every thing necessary. I have heard that there are above 2000 nebats or inns where as many persons as may arrive shall rind sufficient forage for their beasts, and meat for themselves." See Calmet. * Here ended the kingdom of the ten tribes, af- ter it had subsisted two hundred and fifty-six years and seven months : for Jeroboam, the son of Ne- bat, reigned 22 years, in which 2 years of Nadab are comprehended, Baasha reigned 24 years, Elah 2, Omri 12, in which 7 days of Zimri are contain- ed, Ahnb 22, Ahaziah 2, Jehoram 12, Jehu 28, Je- hoahaz 17, Joash 16, Jeroboam II. 41, the throne vacant II, Zechariah 6 months, Shallum 1 month, Menahem 10 years, Pekah 20, the kingdom admi- nistered by elders 8 years, and Hoshea, the son of Elah reigned 9 years. The particulars are evident from the above history, and the whole makes up the duration of this kingdom 256 years 7 months. t In Menander's Tyrian annals, some account is fiven of this expedition of the Assyrian king into 'hoenicia. It appears that Elulacus, who was then king of Tyre, seeing the Philistines brought low by the war which Hezekiah had lately made upon them, laid hold of this opportunity of reducing Ciath again under his ob< dience, which had some time before revolted from him. Whereupon the Gitlites, applying themselves to Shalmaneser, en- gaged him in their cause ; so that he matched with his wlwle army against the Tyrians. Conse- The new-comers in Samaria were call- ed Cuthites, from a country of Persia of that name, and from the river Cuthah, from whence they had their original. There were five nations of them, and they brought as many of their own coun- try gods with them f J highly provoking the quent on this expedition, Sidon, Akko, (afterward called Ptolemais.andnow Acre), and the other mari- time towns of Phoenicia which had till then been subject to the Tyrians, revolted from them, and submitted to Shalmaneser. But the Tyrians hav- ing, in a sea-fight with twelve ships only, beaten the Assyrian and Phoenician fleets both joined together, which consisted of sixty ships, this gave them such a reputation in naval affairs, and made their name so terrible in this sort of war, that Shalmaneser would not venture to cope with them any more at sea; but turning the war into a siege, left an army to block up the city, and returned into Assyria. The forces which he left there much distressed the place, by stopping their aqueducts, and cutting off all the conveyance* of water to them. To relieve themselves in this exigency, they digged wells, and by this supply they were enabled to hold out five years ; at the end of which, Shalmaneser dy> ing, the siege was raised, and the place relieved. Prideaux. \ The false deities brought into Samaria, are thus mentioned in the sacred volume : ' The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Se- pharvaim.' Little can with certainty be known about these impure gods except their names ; and therefore it is difficult, and has afforded a large field for conjecture, to give any satisfactory account of them. Succoth-benoth properly signifies the tabernacles of daughters.* Benoth or Venoth, and Venus have a great affinity, the initial letter being easily interchanged ; and there is no room to doubt that these Succoth were tents or booths, wherein young women exposed themselves to pro- stitution in honour of the Babylonish goddess ivly- litta, or Venus. Herodotus gives us a particular account of this detestable service. " There is,'* says he, "an abominable custom among the Babylo- nians that ail their women are obliged once in their life to prostitute themselves to strangers at the temple of Venus. Those who are rich, and so dis dain to mingle with the crowd, present themselves before the temple in covered chariots, attended by a numerous train of domestics, But the generali- ty of the women sit in the temple, having garlands upon their tieads, and holding a cord, some coming out, others going in. The cords are held by them in such a manner as to afford a free passage among the women, that tiie strangers may choose whom they like. A woman who has once seated herself in this place must not return home till some stranger has thrown a piece of money into her lap, and led her from the temple and defiled her. it Chap. V.] THE BIBLE. true and great God against tliem, for the worship they paid to the idols; so that they were visited with so dreadful a plague, that the place was almost depo- pulated. 453 is usual for the stranger who gives the money to say * May the goddess Mylitta be auspicious to thee.' It is unlawful to refuse the money, however small the sum may be, because it is ap- plied to sacred uses. The woman must follow the first stranger that offers her money, having no li- berty to reject him ; and having duly honoured the goddess, she returns to her own house." These passages may explain what we read in the book of Baruch respecting the idolatry of the Chaldeans and Babylonians: 'the women, sur- rounded with lines, sit in the way burning their chaff, and when anv of them is pitched on by a passenger to lie with him, she upbraids her neigh- bour that she had not the same honou- done her, and that her line was not broke.' Thus they gloried in their shame. The same impure rites were also practised in other parts, as at Sicca Ve- neria. the name of a city in Numidia, not far from the borders of Africa Propria ; and at Corinth, where was a temple of Venus, at which the Corinthians had consecrated a thousand courte- sans, who sold themselves at a dear rate. This was the Succoth-benoth, the daughters of the ta- hcrnacles among the heathens, or the Babylonian Venus, and these the abominable rites of their su- perstition. Nergal seems to have been the sun, as the causer of the diurnal and annual revolu- tions of the planets; the word being derived from Ner, which signifies light, and Gal, signifying to re- volve. The Kabbins tell us that this idol was repre- sented in the shape of a cock; and though their au- thoritv is not always satisfactory, in this instancethey seem to be correct. Among the latter heathens, we find the cock was sacred to Apollo or the sun ; " because," says Heliodorus, speaking of the times when cocks crow, " by a natural sensation of the sun's revolution to us, they are incited to salute the god." And perhaps under the name Nergal they meant to worship the sun, not only for the diurnal return of its light upon the earth, but also for itsannual return orrevolution. We mayobserve the emblem, a cock, is affected by the latter as well as by the former, and is frequently crowing both day and night, when the days begin to lengthen. Ashima, the idol of the men of Ha- math, is represented by some of the Rabbins in the shape of an ape ; others, in that of a* lamb, a goat, or a satyr. Jurieu thinks it may be derived from Esh-maja, the fire of heaven, or Esh-joma, a daily fire ; both of which signify the sun, of which the fire is an emblem ; and it is well known that die sun and fire were the emblems of those coun- tries from which these men had been removed, having come from Emesa, a province of Syria which lies upon the river Orontes. Others again derive the word from the Persian Asuman, the name of an angel or geni, who, according to the ancient Magi of Persia, presides over the 27th day of every solar month in the Persian year; which Having used divers means to avert this dreadful judgment, they were at length advised by the oracle to have recourse to the worship of the great God, as the only means of finding relief for their calamity. therefore is called by the name of this genl. The Magi believe Asuman to be the angel of death, which separates the souls of men from their bo- dies. Nibhaz, according to the Rabbins, is repre- sented in the form of a dog, somewhat resembling the Anubis of the Egyptians. Pierius, in his Hi- eroglyphics, shows us that the cunocephalus, (a kind of ape, with the head of a dog, standing upon his hinder feet,) was an animal eminently sacred amongst the Egyptians, hieroglyphical of the moon, and kept in their temple to inform them of the moon's conjunction with the stm, at which time this animal is strangely affected, being depriv- ed of sight, refusing food, and lying sick on the ground ; but, on the moon's appearance, seeming to return thanks, and congratulate the return of light hoth to himself and her. This being ob- served, the word nibchaz gives us reason to con- clude, that this idol was in the shape of a dog look- ing, barking, or howling at the moon. Parkhurst is of opinion that Tartah is compounded of Tar, * to go round,' and Kathak, ' to chain, tether ;' and plainly denotes the heavens, considered as confining the planets in their respective orbits, as if they were tethered. The Jews have a tradition that the emblem of this idol was an ass ; which, considering the propriety of that animal, when tethered, to re- present this idol, is not improbahle; and from this idolatrous worship of the Samaritans, joined per- haps with some confused account of the cherubim, seems to have sprung that stupid story of the hea- thens, that the Jews had an ass s head in their holy of holies, to which they paid religious worship. Jurieu is of opinion that as the word Nibhaz, both in the Hehrewand Chaldee.witha small variation, denotes quick, swift, rapid ; and Tartak in the same lan- guage signifies a chariot, these two idols, when conjoined, may denominate the sun mounted on his car. Adrammelech, the Rabbins say, was repre- sented under the form of a mule ; but Calmet thinks there is much more reason to believe that he represented the sun. Mr Taylor supposes the name to be derived from the gorgeous robe which adorned his image ; if it be not rather an epithet given first by poetical imagination, and afterwards adopted by the royal worshippers, as well-express- ing the god adored in their sumptuous palace, where he might be superbly lodged, q. d. ' the king of splendours.' Taylor further suggests that as Adrammelech signifies the sun, so Aiiammelech may indicate the moon or gentle king. The name, he remarks, may be composed of Onan, a cloud, and Melek, a king ; ' the king of clouds. Perhaps the distinguishing symbol of this idol was a cloud of gold, or some other splendid material, annexed to its statue. Locke is of opinion that the names of these two idols were expressive of one and the same deity ; and as the children were offered to him, it appears he was the same with the Moloch of the Ammonites. See Dr A. Clarke, Millar, Calmet, and Parkhurst. 454 HISTORY OF [Book VI. The people immediately upon this sent for commissioners to attend the king of Assyria with a petition that he would be pleased to send them some of the priests that were carried away captives with the Israelites. This being granted as they desired, they had the law of Moses read, with an explication upon the practice, and the reason of their religion and discipline, which had so wonderful an effect upon them, that they gave themselves wholly up to the study and exercise of it ; and soon after this the pestilence ceased.* CHAPTER VI. Sennacherib king of Assyi-ia makes war upon Hezekiah ; receives conditions from him to withdraw his army. Breaks his articles. Hezekiah is distressed. Applies to the pro- phet Isaiah, who promises him relief. Blas- phemy of Sennacherib. Prayer of Hezekiah. He receives a message of his death, obtains a reprieve by a signal from heaven, and after- wards pays the debt of nature. In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah king of the two tribes, Sennacherib the king of Assyria marched against him, with a powerful and well-disciplined army. Hav- ing taken all the cities of Judah and Ben- jamin by assault, he was now ready to advance towards Jerusalem, when an em- bassy came to him with an offer of sub- mission and paying him tribute. Sennacherib gave the ambassadors au- dience, resolved immediately to desist from the war, and to treat upon the king's terms, promising upon oath, that upon the receipt of three hundred talents of silver, * The people of that country retained long since the name of Cnthites, among the Hebrews ; but the Greeks call them Samaritans. They were a people unfixed and changeable in their opinions and inclinations, accommodating themselves to the present time and occasion. So long as the Jews were prosperous, ' We are all of one blood,' they cried, ' and of the lineage of Joseph ;' but if they happened to fall under any affliction, or adversity, Alas!' said they, 'we have nothing to do with them, they are strangers to us ; we came a great way oft*.' and thirty of gold, he would depart wit) his army, without attempting any act t hostility. Hezekiah, upon this assurance, emptied all the treasuries, and sent him the money, in confidence of the enemy's departure, according to his oath, and that he might reign afterward without any difficulty or danger. The king of Assyria took the money, but broke his word ; for he marched himself with his troops against the Egyptians, and left Rabshakeh lieu- tenant-general, with Tartan, and Rabsa- ris,f to carry on the war against Jerusa- lem. Upon the drawing up of the army, they pitched their camp within sight of the walls of the town ; and by a messenger summoned Hezekiah out to a parley. Hezekiah was not willing to trust himself out; and therefore sent three of his par- ticular friends to supply his place : Elia- kim, his deputy governor ; and Shebnah and Joah, keepers of the records. Upon their coming out of the town, and presenting themselves before the officers of the Assyrian army, Rabshakeh, with an imperious tone, bade them carry their master this message : " That the great king Sennacherib would fain know what confidence he valued himself upon, that he should dare to make any great difficulty of owning that great king for his f Tartan, Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh are not the proper names of these men, but rather denote their employments and offices. Tartan signifies the president of the customs ; Rabsaris, the chiel eunuch; and Rabshakeh, the principal cup-bear- er ; and because he spake Hebrew with some' fluency, the Rabbins are generally of opinion that he was either an apostate Jew, or one of the cap- tivity of Jsrael. It is certain that he was a very eloquent man, and his speech tery excellently calculated to raise sedition or defection among the besieged ; but that a person of his education should be versed in the Phoenician, which is, in a manner, the same with the Hebrew language, is no wonder at all. Moreover, had he been a Jew, (though an apostate) he should have known better, one would think, than to have upbraided Heze- kiah with acting according to the law, under which he lived, in destroying the groves and altars' of idols, and in requiring his subjects to worship (Jod in Jerusalem only. Le Clerc's Commentary. Chap. VI. J THE BIBLE. 455 master, ani u fuse entrance to his army into the city ? Does he flatter himself with hope of relief from Egypt, as if they were in a condition to cope with the ar- my of my master? It is the height of frenzy to imagine it, and thereby trust for success to that which will prove inevi- tably his very bane and ruin. You should inform your master, that this expedition is not attempted without God's holy will and direction, who will as certainly give the king of Assyria victory over Heze- kiah and his subjects, as he hath given him victory over the Israelites." Rabshakeh delivered himself in He- brew, being a language he was versed in. But Eliakim, fearing the effect such a discourse in a known tongue might have upon the multitude, desired him rather to speak Syriac. Rabshakeh, understanding the cause of Eliakim's fear, raised his roice, and continued his discourse in He- brew to this purpose: "Let your people hear, and understand the commands of my master ; for it concerns them so to do, and to render themselves subservient. It is the business, I know, both of yourselves and of your king, to seduce your people with vain and empty hopes of defending themselves by force; but if you have courage to put it to. a hazard, or any sort of pretence to beat off this army from your walls, I am ready to furnish you with two thousand horse, if you will un- dertake to find riders. But you have no riders to try the experiment. If it be soj why are you then so long deliberating upon a thing you will be compelled to do in the conclusion? especially in a case where you are safe if you do it willingly, and in which you run the most imminent hazard if you stay till compelled ; as the weaker must of necessity yield at last to the stronger." This was spoken in the hearing, as well of the people as of the deputies ; and no sooner was it brought to the king's ear, than he divested himself of his royal robes, and put on sackcloth, after the custom of the country, in token of his humiliation, casting himself prostrate upon the ground, and imploring the aid and favour of Al- mighty God, being persuaded that 1? could derive relief from no other source than the divine protection. He sent likewise some of his particular friends, together with others of the priest- hood, to the prophet Isaiah, desiring that he would intercede with the Lord, by prayers and sacrifices, for the common safe- ty, and for the interposition of Providence in behalf of his people. The prophet complied with the king's request, and succeeded so far in his media- tion, that he was authorized by a divine revelation to bid the king and his friends be of good courage ; for the enemy should be overcome without a battle, and abandon his design with loss and disgrace ; that his pride should be humbled, and that the hand of the Almighty should be upon him to his ruin ; that Sennacherib himself should miscarry in his Egyptian expedi- tion, and upon that disappointment return home, where he should fall by the sword. Immediately after these encouraging declarations of the prophet, Hezekiah re- ceived letters from the king of Assyria, with insolent expostulations on his folly and presumption, in thinking himself ca- pable of maintaining his liberty against the power of a prince who had already subjected so many warlike nations to his obedience, concluding with a menace of putting man, woman, and child to the sword, if they did not without delay set open their city gates, and give a free en- trance to his army. Hezekiah, relying upon the truth of the divine word, and the power of an Almighty arm, paid no regard to the threats of his enemy ; but betook himself to prayer and supplication for the protection of the city, till the prophet Isaiah returned him an answer, that his petition was heard, and that the danger was over for any harm the Assyrians should do them upon that undertaking. He told them likewise, 456 HISTORY OF [Book VI. that there were happier times at hand, wherein they should live in peace and security upon their own lands and posses- sions, without fear of an enemy. In process of time the king of Assyria, find- ing all his attempts frustrated, and that nothing succeeded with him, withdrew his army, and went back to Nineveh. He had spent much time before Pelu- sium ; and at last, when he had brought up his platforms within a little of the top of the walls, and was upon the very point of giving the assault, news was brought him, that Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, was upon his march, and approaching with a great reinforcement to assist the Egyptians; and that he took his route through the desert, with a design to fall upon the Assyrians by surprise. Sennacherib was so alarmed at this report, that he imme- diately drew off his army. Sennacherib, at his return from the Egyptian war, found his army that he had left under the command of Rabshakeh almost destroyed by a judicial pestilence, which swept away, in general, officers, tribunes, and common soldiers, to the number of one hundred and eighty-five thousand men, the first night they sat down before the city.* This dreadful mortality so alarmed the king of Assyria, as an awful stroke cf divine vengeance, that, lest the remaining part of his army should undergo the same ten, we left El Mont. At eleven o'clock, while we contemplated with great pleasure the nigged top of Chiggre to which we were fast approaching, and where we were to olace ourselves with plenty of good water, our guide cried out, * Fall upon your faces, for here is the s-imoomf I saw from the S. E. a haze come, in colour like the purple part of the rainbow, but not so compressed or thick. It did not occupy twenty yards in breadth, and was about twelve feet high from the ground. It was a kind of blush upon the air, and it moved very rapidly, for 1 scarce could turn to fall upon the ground, with my head to the northward, when 1 felt the heal of its current plainly upon my face. We all lay flat upon the ground, as if dead, till our guide told us it was blown over. The meteor. or purple haze, which I saw, was indeed passed, but the light air that stiil blew was of heat to threaten sutfocation. For my part, I found distinctly in my breast that I had imbibed a part of it, nor was 1 free of an asthmatic sensation, till 1 had been some months in Italy, at the baths of Poretta, near two years afterwards. A universal despondency liad taken possession of our people. They ceased to speak to one another, and when they did, it was in whispers, by which I easily guessed that they were increasing each other's fears, by vain sugges- tions, calculated to sink each other's spirits still further. This phenomenon of the Simoom, unex- pected by us, though foreseen by our guide, caused us all to relapse into our former despondency. It still continued to blow, so as to exhaust us entire- ly, though the blast was so weak as scarcely would have raised a leaf from the ground. At twenty minutes before rive the simoom ceased, and a com- fortable and cooling breeze came by starts from the north." Delia Valle mentions the melancholy late of two gentlemen, who were travelling with him, and who having gone during the middle of the day into a khan to rest, fell asleep at the open window, and were found dead, and their bodies very black and disfigured, in consequence of a blast of the simoom having passed over them while they lay, unconscious of their danger, in that exposed situation. Another traveller men- tions, that the water in their skins was dried up in a moment, and that his companion, who had been bathing in the Tigris, having on a pair ot Turkish drawers, showed them, on his return, perfectly dried in an instant by this hot wind having come across the river. '1 he most circum- stantial, however, as well as the most recent ac- count of a dreadful destruction occasioned by this hot wind ia the year 1813, is given in the news- papers of that day. The caravan from Mecca to Aleppo consisted of 2000 souls, merchants and travellers, pilgrims returning from performing their devotions at Mecca, and a numerous train ol at- tendants, the whole escorted by 400 military. The march was in three columns. On the loth wonderful natural phenomenon affords some very of August they entered the great Arabian desert, interesting particulars: "On the 16th, at half past in which they travelled seven days, and were near- * The Babylonian Talmud affirms that lightning was the agent employed on this occasion ; and some of the Targums are quoted as asserting the same thing. Other writers believe that the Assy- rians perished by means of a hot wind, which (Jod caused to blow against them, a wind very com- mon in those parts, and which makes great ravages, stifling thousands of persons in a moment, as often happens to those great caravans of Mahometans which go on pilgrimage to Mecca. In one pas- sage this destruction is attributed to an angel of the Lord; but in another part of the same history, and also by Isaiah, it is said to have been occa- sioned by a blast, which is generally and on good grounds supposed to mean the Simoom. The ap- F >roach ot this pestilential wind is indicated by a taze in the atmosphere, in colour like the purple pait of the rainbow, and passes along with silent, and incredible velocity. The moment it is per- ceived by the natives and the camels, who are well acquainted with its fatal power, they instant- ly fall to the ground, and bury their mouth and nostrils in the sand. Mr Bruce's account of this Chap. VI.J THE BIBLE. 457 calamity; he retired with the utmost pre- cipitation to his palace of Nineveh, where, after a while, he was cut off by his two eldest sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer,* ly approaching its boundary. A few hours more would liaye placed them beyond the reach of dan- ger, when, on the morning of the 23d, just as they had struck their tents, and begun their march, a wind rose and blew with tremendous rapidity. They pushed on as fast as their beasts of burden could carry them, to escape the threatened danger, when the fatal simoom set in suddenly, the sky was overcast, dense clouds appeared, whose extremity darkened the horizon, and shot with the rapidity of lightning across the desert. They approached the columns of the caravan. Both men and beasts, overcome by a sense of common danger, uttered piercing cries, and the next moment fell beneath its pestilential influence. Of '2000 souls compos- ing the caravan, not more than twenty escaped the calamity, and these owed their preservation to the swiftness of their dromedaries. Such, in all probability;, was the terrible agent which heaven employed' for the destruction of the prodigious army fed on by the king of Assyria. Herodotus gives us, froui the relation of the Egyptian priests, some kind of a disguised account of this deliver- ance from the Assyrians in a fabulous application of it to the city of Pelusium, instead of Jerusalem, and to Scthon the Egyptian king, instead of Hezekiah ; by whose piety he saith it was obtain- ed, t licit while the king of Assyria laid siege to Pelusium, a jjreat number of rats were miraculous- ly sent into his army, which in one night did eat all their shield-straps, quivers, and bow-strings; so that, on (heir rising the next morning, finding themselves without arms tor the carrying on of the war, they were forced to raise the siege and be gone. And it is particularly to be remarked, that Herodotus calls the king of Assyria, to whom he saith this happened, by the same name of Sen- nacherib, as the scriptures do, and the time in both doth a!>o well agree : which plainly shows, that it is the same fact that is referred to by Herodotus, although much disguised in the rela- tion ; which may easily be accounted for, when we consider that it comes to us through the hands of such as had the greatest aversion both to the nation and the religion of the Jews, and therefore would relate nothing in such manner as might give any reputation to either. Bruce, Jamieson, and Prideaux. * When Sennacherib returned to Nineveh, after the destruction of so great an army, being en- raged for his great loss and disappointment, he grew thenceforth very cruel and tyrannical in the management of his goverumei t, especially toward the Jews and Israelites, abundance of whom he caused every day to be slain, and cast into the streets; by which savage humour he made himself so intolerable that he could be no longer borne by his own family. It has been asserted that he de- manded of some about him what the reason might be that the irresistible God of heaven so fa- voured the Jewish nation? To which he was in the very temple of Nisroch,f his darling idol. The people of the country, detest- ing the inhumanity of the action, banished them out of their dominions, whereupon litey fled into Armenia, Esarhaddon, the third son, succeeding to the government: thus ended this mighty expedition. Hezekiah being now delivered beyond all expectation from any farther apprehen- sion of trouble or danger, and likewise thoroughly convinced that it was the im- mediate hand of God that wrought his preservation, as well by the blast that destroyed one part of the Assyrian army, as by the terror of that judgment that dismayed the rest; he, together with the people, offered up praises and thanks- givings for the mercies received; he was seized with so dangerous a distemper,}. answered, that Abraham, from whom they were descended, by sacrificing his only son to him, had. purchased his protection to his progeny ; where- upon the king replied, * If that will win him, I will spare him two of mine to gain him to my side ;' which, when his two sons, Sharezer and Adrammelech heard, they resolved to prevent their own death by sacrificing him. But for all this fiction there is no other foundation than the authority of the Kabbins, and scarce any tiling else can be thought of that can afford any excuse for so wicked a parricide. Prideaux 1 s Connection f Some take this god to be the figure of NoahV ark : others of a dove, which was worshipped among the Assyrians ; and others of an eagle. The Hebrew of Tobit, published by Monster, calls it Dagon ; but Seldeu acknowledges, that, in all his reading, he never met with any thing that could help him to explain it. Jurieu however seems to be more lucky in his inquiries ; for, by several arguments he has made it appear, that this idol was Jupiter Belus, the founder of the Baby- lonish empire, who was worshipped under the form of an eagle ; and therefore, he observes farther, that, as this Belus in profane history was the same with the JSimrod of Moses, between Nimrod and Nisroth the dissimilitude is not gnat, nor is it improbable that, to perpetuate his lion our, his votaries might change the name of Nim- rod, which signifies a rebel, into that of Nisroch, which denotes a young eagle. Patrick's Com- mentary and Jurieu. J Dr Mead is of opinion that the malady was a fever which terminated in an abscess; and for pro- moting its suppuration a cataplasm of tigs was admirably adapted. The case of Hezekiah, how- ever, indicates not only the limited knowledge oi the Jewish physicians at that time, but alsothat though God can cure by a miracle, yet he also gives sagacity to discover and apply the most natural remedies. Home. 3m 458 HISTORx' OF [Book VI that his physicians and the rest of his friends despaired of his life.* In this distress, nothing so sensibly af- flicted the king, as the consideration, that on his dying without issue, the succession of the family would be at an end, and the kingdom absolutely left without a legiti- mate heir. The anxiety arising from this circum- stance so affected the pious king, that he addressed himself to God with supplica- tions and tears f for the prolonging of his life, till he might have a successor out of his loins, and not to take him out of the number of the living till he might be the father of a son to preserve his memory to succeeding times. God took compassion on him, and the rather because he was not* so much trou- * In the course of the sacred history, this sick- ness of Hezekiah's is placed immediately after the defeat and death of Sennacherib; whereas it plainly happened before that time, because in the message which God sent him upon his bed of sickness by the prophet Isaiah, he promises to deliver Jerusa- lem out of the hands of the king of Assyria, 2 Kings xx. 6. The truth of the matter is, Hezekiah reigned, in all, nine and twenty years, 2 Kings xviii. 2. He had already reigned fourteen years when Sennacherib invaded him, 2 Kings xviii. 18. and after his sickness he continued to reign fifteen years, 2 Kings xx. 6. so that his sick- ness must have happened in the very same year that the king of Assyria invaded his kingdom; but the sacred penman deferred the account he was to give of that, until he had finished the history of Sennacherib, which he was willing to give the reader at one view; and. this is the true reason of the mislocation. Cabnet's Commentary. f The love of life is natural to us, and the fear of decth is so strongly implanted in our very frame and constitution, that it requires no small share of fortitude to receive the sentence of our dissolution with a proper serenity and composure of mind: human infirmity there was a sufficient apology for Hezekiah's behaviour ; but there is somewhat more to be alleged in his behalf. He saw in himself the royal family of David extinct (he being as yet childless) and consequently all hopes of the Messiah's being born of his race were become abortive. He saw the impending storm that threatened his country with ruin and desolation, and that as there were none of his family to suc- ceed him in the throne, all things were in danger of running into anarchy and confusion. Having this dismal prospect therefore before his eyes, he might well melt into tears at the apprehension of his approaching death, which would extinguish all his hopes, and consummate all his feart, in making him go down childless to the grave. bled for being deprived of his kingdom by death, as for the want of a successor in his own line of descent. Upon this the prophet Isaiah was sent to him, with the comfortable assurance, that in three days his disease should leave him, that he should live fifteen years longer, and that the kingdom should de- scend at last to his own son and heir. When the prophet had delivered this message to the king, according to his or- der, the disease was so desperate, and the news so surprising, that Hezekiah could not persuade himself into a belief of it, without some sign from Isaiah, in confirm- ation of his authority and commission. The prophet asked him what sign or token wpuld give him satisfaction ? so he propounded, that the shadow upon his dial X might go ten degrees backward from the place where it stood. J Whether the people on the east of the Eu- phrates, or the Jews or Phoenicians, first invented this instrument, we know not. The Greeks knew nothing of dials till the time of Anaximander, the contemporary of Cyrus. Nor in history do we find a dial more ancient than that of Ahuz. Nor is there any mention of hours, till the time of Daniel's captivity in Babylon, chap. iv. 9. Some learned men suppose, that the word, which our version renders a dial, was no more than a night of stairs, and the degrees were the steps of the stair. Others contend it was a real dial ; but of what form, horizontal or vertical, or of what other form, they are not agreed. It is certain, a real miracle on this dial or stair, marked the certainty of Hezekiah's future restoration to health : but whether the sun, or only his shadow, went back- ward the ten degrees, is still controverted. Those who maintain that only tht shadow went back, observe, that in 2 Kings mention is only made of the going back of the shadow, and that in Isaiah's account of tin's matter, the sun may be put for his shadow ; that the shadow might go back by an in- flection of the rays of the sun : that if the sun had gone back gradually, the day would have been 10 or 20 hours longer than ordinary, and so one part of the world scorched, and the other half freezed ; or if it had gone back instantaneously, the frame of nature must have felt an insufferable shock, which the astronomers of these times could not have failed to observe : and that it was need- less for God to put himself to the expense of so great a miracle, when the inflection of the solar rays might as well serve the turn. To me the whole of this reasoning appears rather showy than solid. In favour of the sun's going back, it is easy to observe, that no miracle is more difficult to God than another ; that we are expressly told that the sun went back ; that it is hard to conceive how the Chap. VI.] THE BIBLE. 459 The king, on seeing this miracle wrought by the prayers of the prophet, was restored to health, and went immedi- ately up to the temple to return thanks to God, his gracious deliverer. About this time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan king of Babylon, having sent ambassadors* with presents to Heze- kiah, invited him into a league of amity and alliance. Hezekiah received them with great courtesy; entertained them sumptuously, showed them his treasure and his armoury, and whatever else he had that was magni- ficent and valuable, either in gold or pre- cious stones, and sent them back with rich presents to their master. Upon this Isaiah came to him, and ask- ed him who those men were, and whence they came ? He told the prophet, that they were sent from the king of Babylon, and that he had showed them all the riches and curiosities of his palace, that they shadow could go back without the sun ; that if all had been done by a mere inflection of the rays of the sun, it would have been a private affair, and not alarmed the Chaldeans, as it seems it did ; that the Chinese annals inform us, that the planet Mars wont back several degrees, for the sake of one of their kings, about this same time. Brown. might gather from thence how great a prince he was, and thereby possess the king with a just apprehension of his power and importance. The prophet, by way of reproof, thus addressed him : " Know then, that it will not be long before this treasure of yours shall be carried to Babylon ; several of your posterity shall' be degraded, and serve the court of Babylon in the quality of eunuchs. This you will find to be a truth ; for God himself hath foretold it." This prediction pierced the very soul of Hezekiah, and extorted from him this declaration : " Though I cannot but be much troubled at the thought of the misery that attends my family, yet since it is God's pleasure, I have no more to beg from heaven than that I may enjoy the small remainder of my miserable life in peace." Hezekiah, according to his humble re- quest, lived during the residue of his reign in peace, and died in the four and fiftieth year of his life, and the nine and twentieth of his reign, and was buried with great solemnity in the most honour- able place of the sepulchres of the sons of David. THL HISTORY OF THE EIBLE. BOOK VII. FROM THE DEATH OF HEZEKIAH TO THE DEATH OF NEHEMIAH. PRELIMINARY REMARKS. The flagitious reign of the kings of Judah, from Manasseh to Zedekiah, under whose government the Jews were carried into captivity to Babylon, occupy the first portion of the period on which we now enter. Among these seven remaining kings, only one is found to imitate the ex- ample of his father David, good Josiah, who appeared like a benignant star in the Jewish horizon. His reign is strikingly contrasted with those of the idolatrous and infatuated kings that immediately preceded and those who followed him. In God's dealings with the Jews are clearly deline- ated his long-suffering towards his people, and his severe chastisements for their in- iquitous abuse of his mercy : at the same time they mark most decidedly his vera- city, both in his promises and his threat- enings, and show the utter vanity of trust- ing in an arm of flesh, and the instability of kingdoms from which piety and justice are banished. The invasion of their coun- try by the hostile armies of the Babylo- nians, and the consequent calamities which befell the chosen people previous to their being carried away captives into a foreign country, as well as the miseries attendant on their exile, are topics which frequently employed the pens of the prophets; and in predicting those impending judgments we find them soaring into the boldest flights of imagination, and depicting the terrible events that were coming upon the land in strains of unrivalled pathos and sublimity. The images under which the prophet Jeremiah represents the approaching deso- lation as foreseen by him, are such as were familiar to the Hebrew poets on similar occasions, who, when they would express the happiness, prosperity, and advance- ment of states, kingdoms, and potentates, make use of similitudes taken from the most striking parts of nature, from the heavenly bodies, from the sun, moon, and stars, which they describe as shining with increased splendour, and never setting; the moon becomes like the meridian sun, and the light of the sun is augmented seven-fold ; new heavens and a new earth are created, and a brighter age commences. On the contrary, when the overthrow and destruction of kingdoms are repre- sented, the stars are obscured, the moon withdraws her light, and the sun shines no more ; the earth quakes and the heavens tremble, and all things seem tending to their original chaos; a frightful solitude reigns all around, even the birds themselves have deserted the fields, un- able to find in then any longer their usual food. The face of the country in the Chap. I.] HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 461 once most fertile parts of it, now over- grown with briars and thorns, assumes the dreary wildness of the desert. The cities and villages are either thrown down and demolished by the hand of the enemy, or crumble into ruins for want of being in- habited. To a people so highly favoured of hea- ven as they had in general hitherto been, the condition of the chosen tribes, during their captivity, must have been truly hu- miliating. For though in their exiled state they had judges and elders of their own who governed them, and judicially decided their disputes according to their own laws, a proof of which we find in the story of Susannah, who was condemned to death by the elders of her own nation, yet they were evidently in a state of de- gradation, precluded altogether from the worship of their temple, and subject to the continual taunts and reproaches of their conquerors. This is abundantly apparent from that beautiful and affecting ode, the hundred and thirty-seventh Psalm, in which we seem to read the very language of their souls: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down ; yea, we wept when we remembered Zion : we hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there those that carried us away captive required of us a song, and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jeru- salem, let my right hand forget her cun- ning; if I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth ; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." The years of their captivity, how- ever, drew to a close, and when Cyrus had made himself master of Babylon, the morning dawned, and a flood of light burst in upon them. A proclamation was issued allowing the Jews to return to their be- loved city, with permission to rebuild the temple and the walls which had been de- stroyed by Nebuchadnezzar ; and he also gave them the vessels of their sanctuary to take back with them. Nevertheless the entire completion of the prophecies relating to the captivity does not seem to have taken effect until Artaxerxes Longi- manus commissioned Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem, and carry into execution what Cyrus had commenced, Jehovah thus making the ministry of heathen princes subservient to his gracious de- signs towards his chosen people. CHAPTER I. Hezekiah is succeeded by Manasseh, whose country is ravaged by the king of Babylon, fur his wickedness. He is takgn prisoner, but upon his repentance set at liberty. His son Amon is soon cut off, and succeeded by Jnsiah, a prince of exemplary piety. Instance of his zeal for the true worship of God. His death by an extraordinary incident. Is suc~ ceeded by an impious son, ivho is deposed by the king of Egypt, and dies in exile. Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah by Hephzibah, a native of Jerusalem, suc- ceeded his father in the government, but deviated from his pious example in every instance that was practicable, committing all those abominations that in former reigns had brought such judgments on the Israelites. He was so daring a libertine as to pro- fane the holy temple itself, and conse- quently the whole city, and every part of his dominions, with his detestable idolatries. He began his reign with a contempt of God, and proceeded to a barbarous and bloody persecution of holy and good men, dipping his hands in the blood of the very prophets themselves;* inso- * The prophets who are supposed to have been living in this king's reign, were Hoshea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, some say Obadiah, and, who was the greatest prophet of them all, Isaiah. In the late reign he was in great esteem at court, and being himself of the blood royal, and, as some say, the king's father-in-law, he thought it more incum- bent upon him to endeavour to reclaim him from his degenerate wicked courses : but this so exas- perated him against Isaiah, that instead of heark- ening to his remonstrances, he caused him to be up- 462 HISTORY OF [Book VII much, that hardly a day passed without putting 1 some of them to death, so that the very streets of Jerusalem ran down with blood. The cry of these impious and in- human outrages called so loudly to hea- ven for vengeance, that God was highly incensed at his daring impiety, and sent sundry prophets, one after another, both - to the king and to the people, with cau- tions to them to repent in time of their neglect of God's worship, and to return to their duty, upon the peril of suffering the same calamities for the same sins that had been inflicted upon their brethren the Is- raelites before them. But they regarded not the voice of God by his servants; till they found their in- attention and negligencies followed with most awful tokens of the divine wrath; for, upon their impiously persisting in their disbelief and contempt of the divine word, God stirred up Esarhaddon, the king of Babylon and Chaldea, to make war upon them ; who sent an army into prehended, and to make his torture both more lingering and more exquisite, had him sawn asunder with a wooden saw, to which the author of the epistle to the Hebrews, en. xi. 37. may be thought to allude. Many instances occur in an- cient writers, of this method of executing crimi- nals ; and from Dr Shaw and other modern travel- lers we learn, that it is still in use among some na- tions, particularly the western Moors in Barbary. It is thought to have come originally from Persia or Chaldea ; and it certainly corresponds with the barbarous dispositions which those bitter and hasty nations too much indulged. Calmet informs us, that not many years ago, the Swiss executed this terrible punishment in the plain of Grenelles, near Paris, on one of their own countrymen who had been guilty of a great crime. They put him into a coffin and sawed him at length, beginning at the head, as a piece of wood is sawn. Parisates the king of Persia, caused Hoxana to be sawn in two alive. According to Windus, the same dread- ful punishment is often inflicted in Morocco, where the criminal is put between two boards, and sawn from the head downwards till the body fall in two pieces. The laws of the twelve tables, which the Romans borrowed from the Greeks, condemned certain malefactors to the punishment of the saw ; but the execution of it was so rare, that, accord- ing to Aulus Gellius, none remembered to have seen it practised. But in the time of Caligula the emperor, many people of rank and fortune were condemned to be sawn in two through the middle. Calmet and Paxton. Judea, that over-ran and destroyed the whole country, surprised Manasseh, and carried him away prisoner. This miserable prince was now by woful experience rendered sensible of his fault ; and upon that reflection earnestly besought God, so fa*r to soften the hearts of liis ene- mies, as might move them to treat him with some degree of tenderness and hu- manity. God was not inexorable, but in pity gave ear to his supplication ; so that the king of Babylon, after some time, gave Manasseh his liberty, and restored him to his former government. Upon his arrival at Jerusalem, by the permission and clemency of the conqueror, he made all possible efforts to atone for his former miscarriages, evincing the prin- ciples and practices of a new man, and be- coming, from the most impious profaner of sacred things, a most zealous promoter of true religion ; for he purged the city, and consecrated the temple afresh, making it his whole business to express his grati- tude and reverence toward God, and to preserve to himself his blessing and favour all the days of his life. He took care, both "by example and authority, to instruct the people in their duties, being conscious to himself that his former maladministra- tion contributed not a little to the misfor- tunes of the public. He caused an altar to be erected after the prescription and appointment of Moses, and offered daily sacrifices upon it. When he had restored religion, and the discipline of it, to its original state and purity, he made it his business to fortify Jerusalem; repairing the old walls, and encompassing them with new ones. He built several high and strong towers, and furnished all the out-works with provi- sions of all sorts. His conversion to God was attended with such auspicious circum- stances, that from the first date of it to the day of his death, he was looked upon to be one of the happiest of princes. He died in the sixty-seventh year of his age, in the five and fiftieth of his reign, and Chap. I.] THE BIBLE. 463 was buried in his own garden, called the garden of Uzzah.* His son Amon suc- ceeded him in the government. This prince, following the loose exam- ple of his father's youth, and practising the same abominations, was quickly called to an account for his miscarriages, by some of his familiar friends and domestics, who cut him off in the four and twentieth year of his life, and the second of his reign. The people brought the murderers to condign punishment, and laid his body in the monument of his father, delivering up the government to his son Josiah, who was at that time a youth of but eight years of age. Josiah, who was a young prince of an excellent disposition, seems to have pro- posed the example of holy David as the grand directory of his whole life. In the sixteenth year of his age, he gave an eminent instance of an innate piety and justice, in the reformation of the people from their erroneous persuasions concern- ing false gods, and gaining them over to reverence the religion of their country. He repealed several of the ordinances of his forefathers ; corrected whatever he found amiss, and applied such remedies, where the case required any such expe- dient, as the most mature and consummate wisdom and experience could have sup- plied. He regulated his life in exact conformity to the laws of God, and this he seems to have done partly from a pious disposition, and partly from the admoni- tion and advice of the council ; who re- minded him, that while he reigned with true regard to the interest of his country, and in strict obedience to the Divine will, * This garden, as some think, was made in that very spot of ground where Uzzah was striiflf dead for touching the ark of the Lord, 2 Sam. vi. 7. but others imagine that this was the place where Uzziah, who died a leper, was buried, 2 Chron. xxvi. 23. and that Manasseh chose to be buried here, as unworthy, because of his manifold sins, (whereof he nevertheless repented,) to be laid in any of the royal sepulchres of the kings of Ju- dah -Patrick's and CalmeCs Commentaries. success would crown his undertakings ; and set before him the terrible judgment that had been inflicted on his predecessors for their apostasy : wherefore he caused all the groves to be cut down that were dedicated to false gods ; their altars to be demolished, and all the donations that had been consecrated by their ancestors to the worship of false gods to be taken away, and treated with derision. The demolition of idols, and all that was erected to the honour of false gods, was general throughout his dominions; by which means the true worship was in- troduced with all the rites and ceremonies appertaining to the same. He appointed also certain magistrates and commissioners, for the regulation of manners and the order of matters in pri- vate cases, that no less care might be taken for the distribution of particular justice than for the government of life it- self. He likewise despatched messengers throughout all his dominions, with orders to receive contributions of gold and silver toward the repairing of the temple, from those that were willing to advance that work ; leaving all people at liberty that they might have no cause of complaint. The money collected and brought in, was committed to the care and disposal of Maaseiah, the governor of the city; Sha- phan, the scribe; Joah, the recorder; and Hilkiah, the high-priest; with orders im- mediately to enter upon the work, and provide artificers, and all materials ne- cessary for the reparation. By this means the temple was repaired, and a lasting monument erected to pos- t< rit - c ' the *ider- ahlc, what message Hod sent, than by whose hand it was that he conveyed it Poole's Annotations. The prophetess, upon hearing the king's orders and instructions, bade them return him this answer: " That the sentence was already pro- nounced, and not to be recalled, upon any supplication or intercession whatsoever; that the people were to be banished their own country, and punished for their dis- obedience, with the loss of all the com- forts of human life; and that this judg- ment was irrevocable, for their obstinacy in their superstitious impieties, notwith- standing so many earnest exhortations to a timely repentance, and the prophets' menacing predictions of all these judg- ments, if they persisted in their wicked- ness." This unchangeable decree was to con- vince them by the event, that there is a just and over-ruling God*; and that the predictions which he delivered by the mouth of his prophets are infallibly true, and the certain indications of his holy pleasure to mankind. " But, however," says the prophetess, "tell the king, that out of a regard to his piety and goodness, God would yet be so gracious as not to bring this judgment upon the people in his days; but that the day of his death shall be the eve of their final destruction." Josiah, upon the report of this answer from Huldah, sent messengers throughout all the cities; commanding all the priests and Levites, and men of all ages and con- ditions, to come up to Jerusalem. The first thing he did upon the meet- ing was to read the holy books of Moses to them. After which, raising himself upon an eminence in the middle of the throng, he administered to them an oath of obedience to the laws and precepts of Moses, and the observance of God's holy worship, which was taken by the whole multitude with great alacrity and univer- sal consent. This sacred oath was fol- lowed with sacrifices and prayers to God for his favour and blessing. In the next place he laid a strict charge Chap. 1.] Tttfi BIBLE. 4G5 upon the high-priest to take a particular . account of the plate and vessels in the temple, and to cast out so many of them as he should find to have been dedicated I by any of his ancestors to the worship of idols. There were many pieces of that kind, that were reduced to dust, and the powder thrown into the air; all the priests were likewise put to death that were not of the stock of Aaron. Having thus introduced a general re- formation in Jerusalem, the king took a tour through his whole dominion, where he destroyed all the relicts of Jeroboam's superstition and idolatry, and burnt the bones of the false prophets upon the very altar that Jeroboam had set up.* Nor did Josiah's zeal rest here ; for he sent and went in person to several other Israelites that had escaped the servitude and bondage of the Assyrians, to persuade them at last to forsake the superstitious vanities of foreign religions, and to cleave wholly to the worship of the great God of their fathers, according to the rites and customs of their religion, and serve him alone. He likewise caused a strict search to be made in all towns and villages for the dis- covery of any remainders of idolatrous practices that might lie concealed, even to the very figures of the horses over the porch of the temple, that their forefathers had dedicated to the sun;f and every * The prophet foretold, in the hearing of all the people, at the very time when Jeroboam was offer- ing sacrifices, that one of the race of David, Josiah by name, was to do this, whose prediction was made good lay the event, three hundred and sixty- one years after the thing was foretold. f It is certain, that all the people of the East worshipped the sun, and consecrated horses to it, because thry were nimble and swift in their course, even as they supposed the sun to be. But then the question is, whether the people of Judali sacri- ficed these horses to the sun, as it is certain the Armenians, Persians, and other nations did, or only led then, out in state every morning, to meet and salute the sun, at his rising. The ancients had a notion that the sun itself was carried about in a chariot ; and therefore chariots, as well as i horses, were dedicated to it. Since then we find I figure and monument, to which the com- mon people had ignorantly ascribed divine honours Josiah caused to be taken away and destroyed. Having purged the whole nation from every kind of idolatry, he convened all the people at Jerusalem, to celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, otherwise called the passover, and gave the multitude out of his own store, thirty thousand young kids and lambs, and three thousand oxen. The heads of the priests contributed likewise to their order upon the same occasion, two thousand six hundred lambs, and three hundred oxen; as did the chief of the Levites to their tribe five thousand lambs, and five hundred bullocks: this pro- digious number of victims was offered up in sacrifice according: to the laws of Moses. From the time of Samuel the prophet, to that day, there had never been so solemn a festival; J for every thing was these horses and chariots standing so near together, the horses, we may suppose, were designed to draw the chariots, and the chariots to carry the king, and his other great officers, who were idolaters of this kind, out at the east gate of the city, every morning, to salute and adore the sun at its com- ing above the horizon. Bochart. i The words of the text are, 'Surely there was not held such a passover from the days of the judges, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, and of the kings of Judah,' 2 Kings xxiii. 22. which, taken in a literal sense, must denote, that this passover, which was celebrated by two tribes only, was more numerous, and more magnificent, than all those that were observed in the days of David and Solo- mon, in the most happy and flourishing state of the Jewish monarchy, when all the tribes were met to- gether to solemnize that feast. It may not be amiss therefore to allow, that in these expressions, there is a kind of auxesis or exaggeration, not un- usual in sacred, as well as in profane, authors. For nothing is more common than to say, 'never was so much splendour and magnificence seen,' when we mean no more than that the thing we speak of was very splendid and magnificent: unless we suppose with some, that a preference is given to this passover above all the rest, in respect of the exact observation of the rites and ceremonies be- longing to it, which, at other times, were perform- ed according to custom, and several things either altered or omitted; whereas at this, every thin< was performed ' according to the prescribed form of the law,' from which, since the finding of this authentic copy of it, Josiah enjoined them not to vary one tittle. CalmeCs and Le Clerc's Com- mentaries. 8a 4fifl HISTORY OF [Book VII done . according to the direction of the law, and the prescriptions of ancient custom. Josiah, after this blessed regulation, enjoyed his government in peace, honour, and plenty ; till he met his death in the following manner. Pharaoh-Necho,* king of Egypt, march- ed with a powerful army toward Euphrates, against the Medes and Babylonians, who had subverted the Assyrian empire, with a design to make himself master of Asia. When he had advanced as far as Me- giddo,f a town under the jurisdiction of j Josiah, that prince absolutely refused him any passage against the Medes through i his country. * Pharaoh signifies no more in the Egyptian language than king, and was therefore given to any one that sat upon that throne: but Necho, according to Herodotus, was his proper name, though some will have it to be an appellative, which signifies lame, because this Pharaoh, as they suppose, had a lameness which proceeded from some wound he had received in the wars. The s4me historian tells us, that he was the son and successor of Psammetichus, king of Egypt, and a man of a bold enterprising spirit. He made an attempt to join the Nile and the Red sea, by drawing a canal from one to the other ; but after he had consumed a hundred and twenty thousand men in the work, he was forced to abandon his design. But he had better success in another undertaking ; for by sending a fleet from the Red sea through the straits of Babel-mandel, he dis- covered the coasts of Africa, and, in this his expe- dition to the Euphrates, resolved to bid fair, by destroying the united force of the Babylonian and Medes, for the whole monarchy of Asia Pri- deaux and Marsham. f Megiddo was a city in the half tribe of Ma- nasseh, not far from the Mediterranean sea, which way Necho was to pass with his army, in order to go into Svria, and thence to the Euphrates. In the valley adjoining to this place Josiah was slain while he was at the head of his army. This action Herodotus makes mention of, when he tells us, that Necho, king of Egypt, having fallen upon the Syrians near the city Magdol, obtained a great vic- tory, and made himself master of Cadytis : where the author plainly mistakes the Syrians for the Jews; Magdolum, a city in Lower Egypt, for Me- giddo; and Cadytis, for Kadesh, in Upper Galilee, by which he was to pass in his way to Carchemish, or rather for the city of Jerusalem, which, in Hero- dotus's time, might be called by the neighbouring nations Cadyta, or Cadyscha, I. e. ' the holy city ; ' since, even to this day, it is called by the Eastern people Al-kuds, which is plainly both of the same signification and original. Caimet and Prideaux. Pharaoh upon this sent a herald, to give Josiah to understand that he had no thought of hostility toward him; nor any design, but to have made a hasty march towards Euphrates; desiring him withal not to put him upon any necessity of mak- ing his way by force, as that was very much against his inclination. This message of the Egyptian had so little effect upon Josiah, that lie persisted in the denial of his passage. His obstinacy soon proved fatal to him ; for as he was at the head of his army, riding up and down to give orders from one wing to another, an Egyptian pierced him with an arrow, and by that means decided the matter in dispute between the two con- tending kings. Finding himself in great agony from the stroke he had received, he commanded his army to retire ; and returning to Jerusalem, there died of the wound.t He was buried with a magnifi- cent solemnity, in the sepulchre of his ancestors, in the nine and thirtieth year of his age, and in the one and thirtieth of his reign ; the people mourning for him several days with great sorrow and lamen- tation^ \ With Josiah perished all the glory, honour, and prosperity of the Jewish nation. For after that nothing else ensued but a dismal scene of God's judgments on the land, till at length all Judah and Jerusalem were swallowed up by them in a woful destruction. The death of so excellent a prince was deservedly lamented by all his people, and by none more than Jeremiah the prophet, who had a thorough sense of the greatness of the loss, and also a full foresight of the great calamities that were afterwards to follow upon the whole people of the Jews ; and therefore, while his heart was full with the view of both, he wrote a song of lamentation upon this doleful occasion, as he after- wards did another upon the destruction of Jeru- salem. Dean Prideaux. The Jews were used to make lamentations, or mournful songs, upon the death of great men, princes, and heroes, who had distinguished them selves in arms, or by any civil arts had merited well of their country. By an expression in 2 Chron. xxxv. 25. ' Behold they are written in the Lamentations,' one may infer that they had certain collections of this kind of composition. The au- thor of the book of Samuel has preserved those which David made upon the death of Saul and Jonathan, of Abner, and Absalom : but thi3 mournful poem, which the disconsolate prophet Chap. II.] THE BIBLE. 467 After the death of Josiah, his son Je- hoahaz took the government upon him in the three and twentieth year of his age, and kept his court at Jerusalem. He was a man of an impious and im- moral disposition, and his mother's name was Hamutal. The king of Egypt, upon his return from the war, sent for Jehoahaz to come to him to Hamath, a city of Syria, where he put him in fetters, and delivered up the government to Eliakim, his elder brother, by the same father, but changed his name to Jehoiakim;* and imposing a tax upon the country of a hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold, by this means he rendered him tributary. As for Jehoahaz, he carried him along with him into Egypt, where he ended his life, after he had reigned three months and ten days. This prince trode in the steps of his abandoned ancestors, and followed their example of impiety, injustice, and idolatry. CHAPTER II. The Egyptians defeated by the king of Babylon. Predictions of the prophet Jeremiah. In- stance of the cruelty and perfidy of Nebuchad- nezzar, who deposes Jehoiachin, and sets up Zedekiah vpon his throne. Second defeat of the Egyptians by the same king. Zedekiah's obstinate contempt of the prophet's counsel. made upon the immature death of good Josiah, we nowhere have ; which is a loss the more to be deplored, because, in all probability, it was a master-piece in its kind ; since never was there an author more deeply affected with his subject, or more capable of carrying it through all the tender sentiments of sorrow and compassion. Calmet. * It was a usual thing for conquerors to change the names of the persons they vanquished in war, in testimony of their absolute power over them. Thus we find the king of Babylon changing the name of Mattaniah into Zedekiah, when he con- stituted him king of Judah, 2 Kings xxiv. 17. But Usher has farther remarked, that the king of Egypt gave Eliakim the name of Jehoiakim, thereby to testify that he ascribed his victory over the Babylonians to Jehovah, the God of Israel, by whose excitation (as he pretended,) he undertook the expedition. Patrick's and Calmefs Com- mentaries. In the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon ad- vanced with a mighty army to Carche- mish, a city situate upon the Euphrates with a resolution to make war upon Pha- raoh-necho, who at that time Md all Sy- 1 ria under his command. The Egyptian well knowing that the I Babylonian was no contemptible enemy, ; took the field with a strong and numerous army, and so marched to the Euphrates, j with a resolution to oppose him; but the | two armies engaging, the Egyptian was forced to retire with the loss of many thousands of his men. The Babylonians, getting over the Euphrates, subdued the whole country of Syria as far as Pelusium,f Judea only ex- cepted. In the fourth year of Nebuchadnezzar, and the eighth of Jehoiakim, the Babylo- nians broke in furiously upon Judea, threatening them with devastation, unless they would content themselves with the condition of tributaries, as the rest of the inhabitants of Syria were. Upon this menace, Jehoiakim submit- ted to purchase his peace with a sum of money; and for the space of full three years, he made due payment of his con- tribution ; but the year following, upon the credit of an idle report that the Egyptian was advancing upon an expedi- tion against the king of Babylon, Jehoia- kim refused to pay him his tribute, though he quickly found himself miserably dis- appointed in his expectation, for the Egyptians durst not look the Babylonians in the face. f A town of Egypt, situate at the entrance of the mouths of the Nile, called from it Pelusian. It is about twenty stadia from the sea, and it has received the name of Pelusium from the lakes and marshes which are in its neighbourhood. It was the key of Egypt on the side of Phoenicia, as it was impossible to enter the Egyptian territories without passing by Pelusium ; and therefore, on that account, it was always well fortified and gar- risoned, as it was of such importance for the se- curity of the country. It is now in ruins. Lcm- priere. 458 HISTORY OF [Book VII. This the prophet Jeremiah had many times foretold, and warned him of, adding, moreover, that he would find the Egyp- tians n broken reed to trust to. He presaged likewise the fate of Jeru- salem, and that it was suddenly to be de- stroyed by the Babylonians, and Jehoia- kim himself to be made prisoner. But these warnings were not only un- observed, but treated by the generality of the people with the utmost contempt. There were some that exhibited formal accusations against the prophet to the king, and woidd have had him punished as a mover of sedition. The cause, in fine, was brought before the council; and the majority were for putting him to death; but the reason of things is not always determined by a plurality of voices; so that some, better advised than the rest, were for discharging him the court, and diverting the blow; observing, that Jeremiah was not the only man that had foretold these calamities to the city, but that Micah had prophesied to the same purpose before him, as well as several others, without being called to account for it by the government; nay, that they were rather had in honour and esteem for their predictions, as the pro- phets of the Lord. By this gentle method of reasoning, the council was wrought upon to change their minds, and to recall the sentence. The prophet committed his predictions to writing, and upon a day of fasting, when the* people were met together in the temple, in the ninth month of the fifth year of the reign of Jehoiakim, he read the book to the congregation; wherein was contained the whole history of what was to befall the temple, the city, and the people. The princes, upon the hearing of this book, took it away from the prophet, commanding both himself and his scribe Baruth,* immediately to depart, without * Baruch, the ton of Neriah, and grandson of letting any body r know where to find them. Then they carried the book to the king, who ordered the secretary to read it to him, Maaseiah, was of illustrious birth, and of the tribe of Judah. Seraiah, his brother, had a considerable employment in the court of Zedekiah, but himselt kept close to the person of Jeremiah, and was his most faithful disciple, though his adherence to his master drew upon him several persecutions, atid a great deal of bad treatment. After the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, Baruch and his master were permitted to stay in the land of Judea ; but when the remains of the people, which were left behind after having slain their governor Gedaliah, were for retiring into Egypt, they com- pelled Jeremiah and his disciple to go along with them, where the prophet died, and Baruch soon after made his escape to his brethren in Babylon, where, according to the tradition of the Rabbins, he likewise died in the twelfth year of the captivi- ty. But of what authority the book, which goes under his name, is, or by whom it was written, and whether any thing related therein be historically true, or the whole of it a fiction, is altogether un- certain. Grotius, in his commentary upon it, thinks it an entire fiction of some Hellenistical Jew, nuder the name of Baruch: and St Jerome, long before him, tells us, that the reason why lie did not make a comment on this book (though, in the edition of the Sepluagint, it be joined with Jeremiah) was, because it was not deemed canoni- cal among the Hebrews, and contains an epistle vhich falsely bears the name of Jeremiah. This epistle is annexed to the book, and, in the common division of it, makes the last chapter-, but the main subject of the book itself is likewise an epistle, either sent, or feigned to be sent by kirn* Jehoia- kim, and the Jews, who were in captivity with him in Babylon, to their brethren the Jews who were still left in Judah and Jerusalem : wherein they recommend to their prayers the emperor Nebuchadnezzar and his children, that under his dominion they may lead quiet and peaceable lives; wherein they confess their sins, and ask par- don for what is past, take notice of the threats ot the prcphets, which they had so long despised, and acknowledge the righteousness of God, in what he had brought upon them ; "wherein they remind them of the advantages which the Jews had in their knowledge of the law of God, and of true wisdom, above all other nations, and there- upon exhort them to reform their manners, and forsake their evil customs, which would lie the only means to bring about their deliverance from the captivity, under which they groaned. The whole is introduced with an historical preface, wherein it is related, that Baruch, being then at Babylon, did, in the name of the captive king and his people, draw up the same epistle, and after- wards read it to them for their approbation ; and that, together with it, they sent a collection ol money to the high-priest at Jerusalem for the maintenance of the daily sacrifices. This is the substance of the book itself: and, in the letter annexed to it, which goes under Jeremiah's name, Cuap. II.] THE BIBLE. and his friends about him. The king was so greatly alarmed when he heard the aw- ful contents, that he tore the book, threw it into the fire, and ordered Jeremiah and Baruch to be immediately brought to him and punished. But they were already withdrawn out of the way. Soon after this event, Jehoiakim being affrighted with so many dismal predictions received the king of Babylon with his ar- my into the city; and thinking himself se- cure from any danger, had made no pre- parations for the defence of the right of his crown. But the Babylonian, upon his admittance, broke his conditions, and put the flower of the youth of Jerusalem, to- gether with the king himself, to the sword; commanding his body to be cast into the fields without the walls of the city, and constituting his son Jehoiachin king, both of the city and country, in his father's stead. ' He carried away near three thousand men of note and quality, captives to Ba- bylon ; in which number was the prophet Ezekiel, being at this time a youth. This was the end of the king Jehoia- kim, who lived six and thirty years, and reigned eleven ; and his son Jehoiachin succeeded him. His mother's name was Nehufdita, of Jerusalem ; and the time of his reign was three months and ten days. When Nebuchadnezzar came to a seri- ous review of his late transactions, he could not approve his placing Jehoiachin upon the throne, as it appeared reasonable to him that the young prince would en- deavour to revenge the perfidy he had practised towards his deceased father, by exciting rebellion. the vanity of the Babylonish idols and idolatry is Bet forth at large, and with liveliness enough. Of the whole there are but three copies; one in Greek, and the other two in Syriac, whereof one agreeth with the Greek, though the other very much differs from it; but in what language it was originally written, or whether one of these be not the original, or which of them may he so, it is next to inipossihle to tell. Prideaux's Connec- tion, and CalmeVs preface to Baruch. 469 Upon this consideration he sent away an army to Jerusalem. Now Jehoiachin, being a just and humane prince, could not endure to see the city in danger of being utterly destroyed for his sake; and there- fore entered into a treaty with the king of Babylon's deputies, surrendered the city on condition of the inhabitants being ex- empt from any kind of violence, and de- liveied hostages for the performance of all the articles specified. But before the expiration of the year, the king of Babylon breaking his faith with them, commanded his officers to se- cure all the youth of the city, and all kinds of articles, and to bring them to him bound and fettered ; so that ten thousand eight hundred and thirty-two persons (among whom were Jehoiachin himself, his mother, and his. kindred) by the king's command, were all kept in custody. Nebuchadnezzar having thus deprived Jehoiachin of his crown and dignity, ad- vanced Zedekiah, his father's brother, to the government in his place ; obliging him by oath neither to attempt any innovations 'In that country nor directly or indirectly join with, or assist the Egyptian. He was one and twenty years of age when he entered upon the government; and he and Jehoiakim were brothers by the mother's side. Zedekiah on his elevation discover- ed no regard to the laws of God, nor the interest of the people, but gave loose to the immediate sallies of a, vicious inclina- tion, and mixed with the herd in the ido- latry and depravity of the age, insomuch that the prophet Jeremiah often exhorted him to change his course of life, and be- take himself to the exercise of piety and justice, regardless of what his courtiers, or his false prophets told him ; a lewd people who had abused him in their promises and predictions, when they told him the Baby- lonians should never besiege Jerusalem again ; and that whenever they encount- ered, the Egyptians should overcome them. As this was all false, and would appear 470 HISTORY OF [Book VII. so to be by the event, Zedekiah could not for the present but acknowledge the advice of the prophet to be reasonable, and that it was his interest to believe it; but when he attended to the counsels of mercenary sycophants, the prophet's address vanish- ed from his mind. At this very juncture, Ezekiel being at Babylon, foretold the destruction of the temple, and sent the prediction of it to Jerusalem. Now the two prophets agreed exactly in the particular circumstances of the town's being taken by force, and Ze- dekiah carried away captive ; but the thing, and the only thing that staggered Zedekiah in the belief of the prophecy, was this; Ezekiel foretold that Zedekiah should not see Babylon. And Jeremiah affirmed that the king himself should carry him prisoner thither. This seeming inconsistency, or at least diversity of expression, gave Zedekiah some sort of colour for doubting the truth of the other circumstances wherein they agreed, though the following events made good every thing that had been foretold. After an alliance of eight years be- tween the two kings, Zedekiah shamefully broke his contract, and went over to the interest of the Egyptians, assured that their power united would be able to crush the king of Babylon. But the Babylo- nian, upon the first notice of this treachery, marched his army toward Zedekiah, laid his country desolate, forced his castles and strong holds, and so advanced to the at- tack, even of Jerusalem itself. The Egyptian being given to under- stand with what difficulties his friend and ally Zedekiah was surrounded, advanced immediately to his relief, with a resolu- tion to attempt the raising the siege. Now the Babylonian, upon intelligence cf his march and design, instead of wait- ing for his arrival, withdrew from the siege, and advancing towards his army, a general engagement ensued, and the Egyptians were totally routed. The siege being raised, or rather re- spited upon this occasion, the false pro- phets suggested a thousand delusions to Zedekiah ; such as the folly of apprehend- ing any danger from the Babylonians, or fearing that they should drive the He- brews from their habitations, or carry them captive to Babylon ; whereas it was rather to be expected, on the other hand, that their prisoners that were already ex- ported should be called back again, and all the plate and treasure that the king had carried away, restored to the tem- ple.* But Jeremiah, on the contrary, assured the king, that events would turn out in direct contrariety to what his flatterers had falsely insinuated, positively charging them with imposture and delusion, and affirming, that there was no good to be expected from the Egyptians ; but that they should first be overcome, and the Babylonian army return back to besiege Jerusalem ; and that as many of them as should survive the sword and famine, should be carried away captive, their houses pillaged, their goods taken away, the temple and city plundered, and laid Nebuchadnezzar carried away the vessels and rich furniture of the temple at three different times. 1st, In the third year of the reign of Je- hoiakim, when he first took Jerusalem, he carried part of the vessels of the house of God awjiy into the land of Shinar, and put them into the house of his god, Dan. i. 2. These were the vessels which his son Belshazzar profaned, Dan. v. 2. and which Cyrus restored to the Jews, (Ezra i. 7.) to be set up again in the temple when rebuilt. 2dly, In the reign of Jehoiachin he took the city again, and cut in pieces a great part of the vessels of gold which Solomon had made, 2 Kings xxiv. 13. and, by some chance or other, had escaped his former plunder. 3dly, In the eleventh year of Zedekiaii, he pillaged the temple once more, when he brake in pieces the pillars of brass, and the bases, and the brazen sea, and took along with him all the vessels of silver and gold that he could find, and carried them to Babylon, 2 Kings xxv. 13, &c. It is somewhat strange, that, among all this inventory, we hear no mention made of the ark of the covenant, which, of all other things, was held most sacred ; but it is very probable, that it was burnt together with the temple in this last desolation. For, what some say of its being hidden by the prophet Jeremiah, ii. a certain cave in mount Nebo, is a mere table. Patrick's and Calmet's Commentaries. CUAP. II.] THE BlhLE. 471 waste by fire and sword, without any dis- tinction of age, sex, or condition. The terms of the prophecy were: "We are condemned to serve these people and their posterity for seventy years; and the Medes and Persians, at the seventy years' end, shall deliver us from that bon- dage, by the utter extinction of the Baby- lonian empire. After which time, being set at liberty by their assistance, we shall return hither again, rebuild the temple, and restore the city to its former state." These words of the prophet gained the belief of the major part of the people; but the leading men, and the licentious, atheistical multitude, looked upon what he said as the discourse of a madman, and treated him accordingly. As Jeremiah was going toward Ana- thoth, the place of his birth, about twen- ty furlongs distant from Jerusalem, he was met upon the way by a busy magistrate, who apprehended him, and took him into custody, upon a pretence that he was a de- serter, and going over to the king of Ba- bylon. The prophet denied the accusation, and declared in his own defence that he was going to the place of his nativity. But the other would not believe him, and therefore carried him away to the ministers of state, and officers of justice; where, after a formal examination, they set him aside as a malefactor condemned to die ; and in this miserable condition, he contin- ued for a considerable space.* * There were two prisons in Jerusalem ; of which one was called the king's prison, which had a lofty tower that overlooked the royal palace, with a spacious court before it, where state prison- ers were confined. The other was designed to secure debtors and other inferior offenders : and in both these the prisoners were supported by the public on bread and water. Suspected persons were sometimes confined under the custody of state officers, in their own houses ; or rather a part of the house which was occupied by the great officers of state, was occasionally converted into a prison. This seems to be a natural conclusion from the statement of the prophet Jeremiah, in which he gives an account of his imprisonment : " Where- fore, the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and But in the ninth year of Zedekiah'g reign, the tenth month, and the tenth day of that month, the king of Babylon camo once again with his army to Jerusalem ; and laying siege to it, attempted, by the exertion of all his strength and artifice, during the space of eighteen months, to subdue it. But it still held out, not only against a powerful enemy before it, but a raging pestilence and famine in the midst of it, Jeremiah being in prison all this while, and crying out to the multitude to set open the gates, and receive the Baby- lonians into the city ; as they had no other way to save themselves, their families, and the town, from a certain and an in- evitable ruin ; assuring them also, that those who staid in the city must expect to perish, either by the sword or by famine; whereas those who fled out to the enemy would save their lives. But the princes, in the depth of their extremity, were so far from giving ear to the pro- phet's presage and advice, that they re- presented him to die king as a turbulent man, a mutineer, and a discourager of the people, with his idle stories of misery and desolation ; suggesting that the garrison was hearty and resolute enough to defend smote him, and put him in prison, in the house of Jonathan the scribe ; for they had made that tha prison." This custom, so different from the manners of our country, has descended to modern times ; for when Chardin visited the East, their prisons were not public buildings erected for that purpose, but, as in the days of the prophet, a part of tiie house in which their criminal judges reside. " As the governor, or provost of a town," says our traveller, " or the captain of the watch, imprison such as are accused, in their own houses, tliey set apart a canton of them for that purpose, when they are put into these offices, and choose for the jailer the most proper person they can find of their domestics." The royal prison in Jerusalem, and especially the dungeon, into which the prison- er was let down naked, seems to have been a most dreadful place. The latter cannot be better de- scribed than in the words of Jeremiah himself, who for his faithfulness to God and his country, in a most degenerate age, had to encounter all its horrors: "Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon that was in the court of the prison : and they let him down with cords : and in the dungeon there was no water, but mire ; and his feet sunk in the mire." Paxton. 472 HISTORY OF [Book VII. the place to the last extremity, if he did , wretch, and are at this instant in a con- not, with his iil-boding menaces of slavery spiracy to destroy me ; and where are and destruction, damp their zeal and those impostors now, that deluded the courage. The king was not by disposition rash or cruel, but at this critical juncture, fear- ing the effects of opposing the leading and principal persons of the city, he re- signed the prophet to their disposal; wherefore they went in all haste to the prison ; took out the prophet, and let him down by a rope into a filthy pit, where he continued up to the neck in mud, as they intended to choke him. As he was in this condition, a favourite servant of the king's, an Ethiopian* born, went and told Zedekiah how they had treat- ed the prophet ; giving it as his opinion, that his great men and favourites had not done well in the aggravation of his mis- fortune, by exposing him to death, so much more grievous than that which he was reasonably to expect in his chains. This conduct of the servant inducing the king heartily to repent his having left the prophet to the discretion of his enemies, he ordered the Ethiopian to take thirty people into a belief that they were out of danger from the Babylonians? So that by telling you the very truth, I may en- danger my life." The king, upon this, promised the pro- phet upon oath, that he would neither take away his life himself nor suffer any of his people to do it. Jeremiah took his word and honour for it, and advised him by all means to deliver up the city into the hands of the king of Babylon ; this was the only way in the world to be safe in his own person, to avoid the imminent danger he was in ; preventing the burning of the temple, and the laying of the city level with the ground. He assured him, moreover, by the special direction of God himself, that if he pursued any other measures, all the calamities that should ensue upon his mis- carriages, with the utter ruin of himself, his family, and his people, would be charged to his account. The king then told him, that he had a trusty men out of his family, with ropes, I great inclination to take his counsel for and whatever he should find necessary for I the common good; but was afraid lest saving of him, and to join with them in J some of his friends that were already gone getting him out of the pit with all possible ! over to the Babylonians, should accuse expedition. him to Nebuchadnezzar, and put him in The servant did as he was ordered, and danger of his life. The prophet bade set the prophet at liberty; who was soon | him not fear on that account; for if he after this brought privately to the king, and had this question put to him ; whether or no he could procure him from heaven any present relief under his miserable cir- cumstance? The prophet answered him that he could; but that people would neither believe him, nor follow his coun- sels, adding in words to this effect: "All your pretended friends are my mortal enemies: they look upon me as a false * Josephus mentions, that Solomon, amongst other merchandise, brought slaves from Ethiopia ; which was afterward the practice of the Greeks and Romans. Such a slave probably Ebed-melech was ; called an eunuch, or officer of the king's house. delivered up the city, neither himself, nor his wives, his children, or the temple it- self, should suffer any thing. After these words the king dismissed the prophet, with a charge not to make any discovery, even to the princes them- selves, of what had passed in this confer- ence; but if any come to have a hint that there had been such a meeting, and in- quire into the business, it might be pre- tended that the prophet came to move the king for his liberty. The prophet did as he was ordered, and gave that answer to all the people that asked him his business with Zedekiidi. CllAP III.] THE BIBLE. 473 CHAPTER HI. The taking of Jerusalem. Cruelties exercised upon Zedekiah. Conquest and captivity of the Egyptians. Miraculous story of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Prefer- ment of Daniel for interpreting dreams. Death of Nebuchadnezzar. During these transactions the king of Babylon went on vigorously with the siege ; his works were finished, and his towers carried up so high as to command the town and beat the defendants from the walls; and these preparations were made round the city in order for a general assault. The place was as resolutely de- fended as it was vigorously assailed, the besieged having plague and famine to con- tend with in the town, as well as enemies and other difficulties without. They stood firm against all stratagems and machines, opposing one instance to ano- ther, as if the dispute had been matter of skill and art, as well as force; the be- siegers' business being to take the city, and the safety of the besieged consisting in eluding or diverting the plots and en- deavours of the enemy. This contest lasted eighteen months; but in the end, for want of provisions within the town, and of numbers to main- tain it, against the multitudes of besiegers, furnished with all manner of arms and warlike instruments, they were reduced to the necessity of delivering it up. It was taken in the eleventh year, and the ninth day of the fourth month of the reign of Zedekiah, by the commanders to whom the care of the siege was committed by Nebuchadnezzar, who at that time was at Kiblah.* The captains, with the rest 'Riblah was a city of Syria, in the country of Hamatl), which country is the nearest to Judea, and which city, according to St Jerome, was the same with what was afterwards called Antioch; and, as it was the most pleasant place in all Syria, here NebuchadnrzKar lay, to attend the success of the siege of Jerusalem, to send his army proper sup- plies, and to intercept any relief that might come to the besieged. Pat. ick's Commentary. of the soldiery, went into the temple, which king Zedekiah perceiving, he took his wives, children, commanders, and friends, and they all fled away privately by a narrow passage toward the desert.f But the Babylonians getting intelligence of this escape, by means of deserters, they made after them early the next morn- ing, and overtook and surrounded them at a place not far from Jericho. Zedekiah's friends and companions in his flight, seeing the enemy advance to- ward them, quitted their master, and ran several ways to avoid personal danger. The king being in a manner abandoned, with his wives and children, and a small number of his company, fell into the hands of the enemy, who presently earned them to the king of Babylon. -f- It is a hard matter to conceive how the be- sieged could make their escape, seeing that the Chaldeans had begirt the city round about. Jose- phus indeed gives us this account : " that, as the city was taken about midnight, the captains with the rest of the soldiers, went directly into the tern- ' pie ; which king Zedekiah perceiving, he took his wives, children, commanders, and friends, and they slipt all away together, by a narrow passage, to- wards the wilderness." But then what this pas- sage was, is still the question. The Jews indeed think, that there was a subterraneous passage from the palace to the plains of Jericho, and that the king and his courtiers might endeavour to make their escape that way. Dion, it is true, tells us, that in the last siege of Jerusalem, the Jews had covert ways, which went under the walls of the city, to a considerable distance into the country, out of which they were wont to sally and fall upon the Unmans that were straggling from their camp ; but since neither Josephns nor the sacred historian takes notice of any such subterraneous conduit at this siege, we may suppose that the Chaldeans hav- ing made a breach in the wall, the besieged got away privately between the wall and the outworks, in a passage which the enemy did not suspect. The words in the Second Book of Kings are : ' They went by the way of the gate, between the two walls, which is by the king's garden,' which in Jere- miah are |lius expresstd : ' 'J hey went by the way of the king's garden, by the gate between the two walls ;' so that, as the king's garden faced the country, very likely there was some very private and imperceptible gate, through which they might attempt to escape, and the besiegers perhaps might not keep so strict watch at that part of the town, (especially in the hurry of storming it,) because it led to the plain, and made their escape in a man- ner impracticable. Jewish Hist., Patrick's, Lt Clerc's, and Calmet's Commentaries. So 4 74 HISTORY OF [Book VII Nebuchadnezzar no soonei beheld him than he upbraided him with perfidy and in- gratitude, in words to the following effect : " Did not you promise me to manage the power and authority that I put you in pos- session of, for my advantage, for making you a king in room of Jehoiachin ? where- as you have employed the credit and interest that I gave you in opposition to your patron and benefactor. But God, who is great and just, for the punish- ment of your treachery and ingratitude, hath now made you my prisoner." When the king had thus severely re- proached him, he immediately caused his children and his friends to be put to death before his face, and in the sight of the rest of the captives ; after which he ordered Zedekiah's eyes to be put out,* and his * Cutting out one or both of the eyes has been frequently practised in Persia and other parts of the East, as a punishment for treasonable offences. It is mentioned by Bruce as one of the capital punishments used in Abyssinia ; it does not often prove fatal, though performed in the coarsest man- ner with an iron forceps, or pincers. Xenophon tells us that Cyrus was accustomed to inflict this penalty on certain offenders ; and Ammianus Mar- cellinus mentions, that Sapor, king of Persia, ban- ished Arsaces, whom he had taken prisoner, to a certain castle after having pulled out his eyes. In 1820, Mr Rae Wilson met at Acre with numerous individuals who exhibited marks of the vengeance of the lute pacha Hadjee Achmet, from his sangui- nary cruelties fitly snrnamed Djezzar, or the But- cher. They were disfigured in various ways, by a hand amputated, an eye torn out, or a nose which had been split, or partly or totally cut off. In the Missionary Register for 1827 we are told that in the winter of 1826 two emirs had their eyes burnt out, and their tongues in part cut off, by the emir Bechir, the prince of Mount Lebanon, their un- cle, on account of their having been concerned in some disturbances against his government. Other instances might be adduced as exemplifications of this barbarous punishment inflicted by Oriental despots, the recital of which is calculated to rouse the indignant feelings of the human bosom. We shall merely mention the following as given by Chardin of a king of Imiretta, who lived in this condition. Hearing a complaint of continual wars, " I am sorry for it," replied the king, " but I cannot help it : for I am a poor blind man ; and they make me do what they themselves please. I dare not discover myself to any one whatever; I mis- trust all the world ; and yet I surrender myself to all, not daring to offend any body, for fear of be- idl' assassinated by every body." This poor prince, says Chardin, is young and well sliapcd : and he person to be carried away in chains to Ba- bylon. This proceeding verified the two pro- phecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel ; which Zedekiah so little regarded because there appeared something of a contradiction be- tween them ; the former foretelling that he should be taken captive, and being carried to Babylon, should speak with the king himself, and see him face to face: but Ezekiel's prediction was, that he should be carried away to Babylon, and should not see him; which he could not do there, after he was deprived of his sight.f Thus was rendered extinct the kings of the race of David, after a suc- cession of one and twenty kings, during the space of five hundred and fourteen years, six months, and ten days, including the twenty years' reign of Saul, who was of another tribe. Nebuchadnezzar, after obtaining this great victory, sent Nebuzar-adan, his com- mander-in-chief, to Jerusalem, with orders to pillage the temple and burn it; to do the like to the palace ; and after lay- ing the city level with the ground, to car- ry away the people captive to Babylon. In the eleventh year of the reign of Ze- dekiah, Nebuzar-adan put his instructions into execution ; and took away out of the temple all the vessels of gold and silver, Solomon's great laver, with the brazen pil- lars, and their chapiters, with the golden tables and candlesticks; and after this gen- eral plunder, he first set the temple on fire, always wears a handkerchief over the upper part of his face, to wipe up the rheum that distils from the holes of his eyes ; and to hide such a hideous sight from those who come to visit him. -See Bruce, Paxton, and Calmet. f This may serve to convince even the most ig- norant, of the power and wisdom of God, and of the constancy of his counsels, through all the va- rious ways of his operations; it may likewise show us that God's foreknowledge of things is certain, and his Providence regular, in the ordering of events ; besides, it holds forth a most exemplary in- stance to us, of the danger of giving way to the mo- tions of incredulity and folly that take from us the means of discerning the judgments that threat* I > en us. Chap. III.] THE BIBLE. 475 and then laid the palace and the city in ashes. This happened on the first day of the fifth month; the eleventh of Zedekiah, and the eighteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. The temple was burnt four hundred and seventy years, six months, and ten days from the building of it; one thousand and sixty- two years, six months, and ten days, from the Israelites' coming out of the land of Egypt; one thousand nine hundred fifty years, six months, and ten days from the deluge; and three thousand five hundred and thirteen years, six months, and ten days from the creation of the world. Upon the destruction of Jerusalem, and the transportation of the people, Nebuzar- adan took the following persons prisoners with him. There was the high-priest Seraiah, * and after him, Zephaniah, who was the next priest in dignity; three head keepers of the temple; the first eunuch of the bed- chamber, with seven of the king's friends, beside the king's secretary, and other men of note, to the number of sixty; which were brought altogether to the king, who was then at Riblah, a city of Syria. The king caused the heads of the high- priest, and the great men, to be struck off in that city ; but the multitude of the pri- soners, together with Zedekiah himself, he ordered to be bound, and carried cap- tive to Babylon, together with Jehozadak, the high-priest, to be taken and bound along with them. Having gone through the royal line, and the succession of kings, from father to son, it will be necessary to observe the same method with the high-priests, who, from time to time, in a continued succes- sion under those kings, exercised the sacerdotal office. * The person whom Jeremiah had desired to read an account of his prophecies to the Jews, then ki captivity, and for which he was properly calcu- lated from the nature of his office. The first pontifex after the building of Solomon's temple was Zadok. After him came his son Ahimaaz; and after Ahi- maaz, Azariah ; and so forward. Joram, Phinehas, Sudeas, Julus, Jotham, Urias, Nerius, Oseas, Saddumus, Elcius, Sare- as, and Jehozadak, who was carried away to Babylon. All these handed down the pontificate in a continued succession in their families, from generation to genera- tion. Upon the king's return to Babylon, Zedekiah was committed to prison, where he died, and afterward had the honour of a royal sepulchre. The holy vessels the king took out of the temple, he dedicated to his idols ; al- lotted habitations to the people in Baby- lon, and set Jehozadak at liberty. Now Nebuzar-adan, the general that brought away the people prisoners, left the poorer sort of people, and the desert- ers, under the command of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, an eminent person both for generosity and justice, who allotted his prisoners such a proportion of ground to improve and live upon, on condition of paying a certain tribute to the king. The prophet Jeremiah was also dis- charged from his imprisonment ;f and the king having given order to the governor to take a particular care of him, Gedaliah proposed to the prophet to go with him to Babylon, as it was but reasonable that the king should be at the charge of his jour- ney; or if he did not approve of that place, desired he would nominate any other, and he would write to the king about it. The prophet's answer was, that he had no mind to remove at all, but rather stay where he was, and take his part in the miserable ruins of his native country. Nebuzar-adan, being informed how the prophet stood affected, gave Gedaliah a f The prophet was treated in this respectful manner hy the Chaldeans, on account of the re- peated predictions he had made in the favour of that people, and the many exhortations he had given the Jews to submit to their authority. 476 HISTORY OF [Book VII. Btrict charge to see him well provided for; made liim several considerable presents himself, and so left him, and returned to Babylon. Jeremiah upon this made choice of Mizpah * for the place of his abode, hav- ing first obtained of Nebuzar-adan Ba- ruch's liberty, as well as his own, whom he took for his companion. Baruch was the son of Neriah, a person nobly born, and perfectly well skilled in the language of his country. The burning and the sacking of Jeru- salem, and the return of the Babylonians into their own country, was by this time made known to all the deserters that had left the city in the time of the siege ; and so they gathered together from all places in throngs to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The principal men among them were Johanan, the son of Kareah ; Jezaniah, and Seraiah, with some others. And be- sides these, there was Ishmael, a person of royal blood, but of a false and malicious disposition. This man, in the time of the siege, fled to Baalis, king of the Ammonites, for sanctuary, where he had continued ever since. Upon the application of these people to Gedaliah, he gave them an invitation to continue there, and to plant; for they might live quietly, and at ease, without any danger from the Babylonians; binding himself by an oath to stand by, and assist them, if any man should offer to molest or trouble them. And for their farther encouragement he thus addressed them. Do but you resolve among yourselves what town or place you would settle in, and you shall have some of my people with you to assist you in preparing and fitting up habitations; only you must take * This city, to which Jeremiah thought proper to retire, had been a place of great estimation in the time of the Judges, but falling to decay, was rebuilt many years after their time by king Asa. It was situated on the borders of Judah and Ben- jamin, and was, at this time, the residence of Geda'val). care not to slip the season of providing for the next vintage and harvest, that you may not want corn, wine or oil next win- ter for your subsistence." When he had given them this encour- agement and assurance, he left every man at liberty to dispose of himself at his own discretion, and to choose for his residence what place he pleased. The report of Gedaliah's generosity, humanity, and tenderness, towards the fugitives, who had applied themselves to him for refuge, gained him so great a reputation with all the neighbouring na- tions, that they repaired to hirn from all parts, and quickly made up a considerable plantation; for they had lands assigned them, upon condition only of paying a certain acknowledgment to the king of Babylon. Johanan and the rest of the great men had a very high esteem for the courtesy of Gedaliah to the planters, and therefore i i. formed him in friendship and respect, that there was a conspiracy carried on against him, between Baalis, the king of the Ammonites, and Ishmael; that Ishmael was to assassinate him in a treacherous manner; who, being a branch of the royal family, intended to assume the govern- ment of the Israelites.! f- That Ishmael, who was of the blood-royal of Judah, should attempt to take away the life of Gedaliah. is no wonder at all. His envy of the other'> promotion, and his ambition to make him- self a king, might be strong incitements to what he did ; but why Baalis should have any hand in so black a design, we can hardly imagine any other reason than the ancient and inveterate hatred which the Ammonites always had against the Hebrews, and therefore this king of theirs, seeing that the Jewish nation was. at this time, in a man- ner brought to nothing, was minded to take re- venue for all the injuries that his ancestors had received from them, and to give the finishing stroke to their ruin, by cutting off their governor, and so dispersing the remains of that unhappy peo- ple, which was now gathered together at Mizpah. But, whatever their views might he, it is certain that they put their design in speedy execution; for the murder of Gedaliah happened but two months after the destruction of tlie city and temple of Jerusalem, viz. in the seventh month, which is Ti>ri, and answers in part to our September and October, and on the thirtieth day of the mouth Chap. III.] THE BIBLE. 477 They gave it as their opinion, that the ready way to secure Gedaliah against this practice, would be for them privately to despatch Ishmael ; which, with his leave, they would undertake, as they were afraid, if this mischief was not timely prevented, it would prove inevitably the ruin of all the Israelites in the end. Gedaliah informed them, that he could not believe it possible for any man to be so barbarous and ungrateful, that lay un- der so many obligations to the contrary; neither could it enter into his head, that a man who was never known to do any such thing under the provocation of his necessities, should now be in a plot to de- stroy that person himself, whom, by all the ties of honour and hospitality, he was obliged to defend and preserve, though with the hazard of his own life, if it should have been attempted by any other man whatsoever. To sum up the affair, he told them, that, admitting the information to be true, he had much rather lose his own life than take away the life of any man that had committed himself to his trust. Johanan, and his companions, finding, from this declaration, that all they said was to no purpose, they went their way. About thirty days after, Ishmael, with ten of his friends, paid a visit to Gedaliah at Mizpah, where they were received with all the freedom and respect imaginable. They drank very plentifully, till Gedaliah and his companions were intoxicated ; which the other party observing, they took the opportunity of falling upon them, and without any difficulty killed the mas- ter of the house, and all the rest of the guards. It was now the dead of the night, and all the people, as well soldiers as others, securely asleep ; so that they made the same havoc in the streets as they had for that day the Jews have kept as a fast, in com- memoration of this calamity (which indeed was the completion of their ruin) ever since Calmet's Commentary, and Prideaux's Connection. done at Gedaliah's just before, destroying and murdering all they could find, whether Jews or Babylonians, without any dis- tinction. The next day there came up to the city a company of about fourscore men out of the country, with presents for Ge- daliah, knowing nothing as yet of the massacre. As soon as Ishmael saw them, he called them into Gedaliah's, shut the doors upon them, and cut their throats in the palace, and caused their bodies after- ward to be thrown into a pit,* where they might lie concealed. There was not a man of that number that escaped, except a few that promised to make discovery of goods, clothes, and corn, that were concealed under ground, upon their condition of being reprieved. Some of them were spared upon these terms ; but the common people of Mizpah, men, women, and children, were all carried away ; and among the rest, the daughters of Zedekiah, which Nebuzar-adan had left under the care of Gedaliah. Ishmael immediately went away with the news of this exploit to the king of the Ammonites ; but Johanan, with the rest of the leading men, hearing of the horrid massacre at Mizpah, and the death of Gedaliah, were so incensed, that, rais- ing all the men they could muster by their respective influence, they joined in the pursuit of Ishmael, whom they over- took at the fountain of Hebron. The very sight of the pursuers rejoiced the hearts of the prisoners that Ishmael * The word rendered ' pit,' signifies a bason, cistern, or reservoir ; a large pit for receiving rain water, which Asa, who built and fortified Mizpah at the time he was at war with Baasha king of Israel, caused to be made in the midst of the city, in order that the people might not be in want of so necessary an article in case of a siege. Re- servoirs of this kind were much in use in Pales- tine, as St Jerome tells us in his Commentary upon Amos iv. 7, 8. Each private family seems to have had one of these pits or reservoirs for its own use. ' Drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern,' his pit or reservoir, says Kabshakeli to the people of Jerusalem, Is. xxxvi. 16. Dr Blayney. 478 HISTORY OF [Book VII. was carrying away with him ; for suspect- ing them at first sight to be friends, com- ing to their assistance, they went over immediately, one and all, to the party of Johanan ; but Ishmael, with only eight of his companions, fled to the king of the Ammonites. Johanan, in the mean time, with the people he had taken from Ishmael, march- ed to a place that is called Cliimham,* and there they staid one day, thinking to fly into Egypt, lest the Babylonians, in a rage for the murder of their governor, should fall upon them ; however, for their better security, they took up a resolution to consult Jeremiah what course to take.f Accordingly they put the question to him; promising upon oath to act in strict con- formity with his advice. The prophet assured them he would do his utmost for their satisfaction; and upon the tenth day after this application, God appeared to him, and bade him go and tell Johanan, and the rest of the commanders, that if they continued where they were, he would assist and secure them against any harm from the Babylonians, of whom they were so much afraid; but if after this warning they went into Egypt, they might * This place may be supposed, from 2 Sam. xix. 38. to liave been anciently given by king David to Cliimliam, the son of old Barzillai the Gileadite, and which, at this time, bore his name, though near five hundred years after the first donation. It was in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, about two leagues from Jerusalem, and hither the poor people betook, themselves, because it was at a much farther distance from Babylon than Mizpah, and in their straight way to Egypt, in case they should determine to go thither, as they seemed inclinable to do, because there they supposed they should have no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread, Jer. xlii. 14. Stackhouse. f Sufficiently humbled by the destruction of their country, and struck with the captivity of their brethren, the remnant of the Jews, who were not carried into Babylon, were awakened into a sense of Almighty power, and an humble supplica- tion of his mercy. Adversity is the best school for wisdom, and the mind, though so hardened in error, naturally looks up to the Divine Being, as its only support on the appearance of calamity ; tin observation which the behaviour of the Jews upon this occasion sufficiently verified. expect the same fate that had befallen their brethren before them. This was the message the prophet de- livered them by God's express direction, though they could hardly believe it to be the will of God that they should continue where they were; taking it rather for an invention of the prophet's, in favour of Baruch his disciple, in order to expose them to the wrath of the Babylonians; so that Johanan and the rest of the people, in contempt of God's word by his prophet, went away into Egypt, and carried Jere miah and Baruch along with them. Upon their arrival thither, it was re- vealed from heaven to the prophet, that the king of Babylon should bring an army into Egypt, and Jeremiah was commanded to tell the people that Egypt should be taken, $ when part of them should be killed, and afterwards the rest should be carried away captives to Babylon. For, \. The Almighty wisdom having determined to settle the Jews among the Chaldeans for some time, till the captivity had brought them to a proper knowledge of their sins, here expresses his particular disapprobation of their having any con- nection with the Egyptians, whom they might in reality consider as the source of all they had suffer- ed, since the superstitious ceremonies of that people was the principal cause of their corruption, and consequently of their being forsaken by their divine protector. From this it must not, however be inferred, that the Chaldeans were not an idolatrous people; for, on the contrary, they were equally remarkable with the Egyptians for the number of their idols ; but the Jews having been before un- der subjection to the Egyptian empire, the Lord thought it most proper, if it may be presumed to judge of unerring wisdom, to give them a change of masters, to make a deeper impression of their disobedience, and to manifest his own power, in redeeming them out of the hands of the two most mighty empires at that time in being 9 After this we have no further notice of the prophet Jeremiah. St Jerome, in the Life of this prophet, and Dorotheus, in his Synopsis of the lives and deaths of the prophets and apostles, tell us that he was stoned to death in Egypt by his own renegado countrymen, the Jews, for preach- ing against their idolatry ; it appears indeed by the account we have of. their behaviour, Jer. xliy 16. that they were bent both against him and his reproofs; and therefore it was the more likely that they were the authors of his death, than, as some say, the Egyptians were, for his prophesy- ing against them and their king Pharaoh-hophra. For the Egyptians, according to the same tradi* Chap. III.] THE BIBLE. 479 in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem, and the three and twentieth of Nebuchadnezzar, he made an inroad into Coelo-syria; and upon subduing it, car- ried his victorious army into the country of the Ammonites and Moabites ; whom when he had subjected, he made a furious incursion into Egypt, killed the reigning king, set up another in his place, and the Jews whom he found there were carried away a second time prisoners to Babylon. Such was the wretched fate of the Hebrews, who, in consequence of their disobedience of the divine will, were twice carried away beyond the Euphrates ; for the ten tribes were first transported by the Assyrians out of Samaria, in the reign of Hoshea ; and the other two, by Nebuchad- nezzar, king of the Chaldeans and the Babylonians, upon the taking of Jeru- salem. Now Shalmaneser transplanted the Cu- thites into the country of the Israelites, out of the heart of Media and Persia ; and they were called Samaritans from the name of the place into which they were transplanted; but the king of Babylon carried away the other two tribes, without introducing any other in their stead. And this was the reason that Judea, with Jerusalem, and the temple, lay wholly abandoned for the space of seventy years. The time betwixt the captivity of the ten tribes, and the transmigration of the other two, was one hundred and thirty years, six months, and ten days. The king of Babylon appointed a select tion, having, by the prophet's prayers, been freed from the crocodiles, which very much infested them, had him in such great honour and esteem, that in testimony thereof they buried him in one of their royal sepulchres. The truth is, Jeremiah was, all his life-time, exposed to the ill treatment of the Jews, whose irregularities and sad apostasy he was always reproving ; and therefore the author of the book of Ecclesiasticus, in the encomium which he gives of this prophet, seems to draw his character from the persecutions he endured ; They entreat- ed him evil, who nevertheless was a prophet sanc- tified in his mother's womb.' number of Jewish youths, who were emi- nent for their birth and beauty, to be trained up for the service of his court. To this end he procured them the best tutors that could be found, and ordered divers of them to be set apart for the prac- tice of music, vocal and instrumental. He sent them their meat from his own table, and took great care to have them instructed in the Chaldean discipline and learning, in which they made a very con- siderable progress in a short time. There were four of Zedekiah's relations in the number, whose names were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah ; but the Babylonians changed their names, and called Daniel, Belteshazzar ; Hananiah, Shadrach ; Mishael, Meshach ; and Aza- riah, Abednego.* The king had a greaUesteem for them all, both on account of the sweetness ot their disposition, and the extraordinary force of their understanding. Daniel thinking the voluptuous fare of the Babylonish court improper for persons in the condition of himself and his coun- trymen, they entreated the eunuch that had the care of them, to use those deli- cacies which the king sent them from his own table, for the service of himself and his family ; as pulse, or dates, or any or- dinary food, would be to them full as sat- isfactory. The eunuch told them that he would willingly gratify them ; but if they should grow lean, upon such an abste- mious way of living, look less amiable, or * It is very remarkable, that as all their former names related to the true God, so all the names, which on this occasion were imposed upon these four Jewish youths, had some reference or other to Babylonish idols. Daniel, in Hebrew, signifies God is my judge ;' Belteshazzar, in Chaldee, is 1 the treasure of Baal ;' Hananiah, in Hebrew, is * well-pleasing to God ;' Shadrach, in Chaldee, the * inspiration of tlie sun :' Mishael, in Hebrew, ' proceeding from God ;' Meshach, in Chaldee, ' belonging to the goddess Sheshach :' Azariah, in Hebrew, ' God is my help ;' and Abednego, in Chaldee, the 'servant of Nego,' i. e. the sun, or morning star, both deities among the Babylonians, and so called because of their brightness. CaU rnet's Commentary. 480 HISTORY OF [Book VII appear in a less agreeable habit of body, he was afraid the king might have some suspicion of the matter, and take offence at it; which would endanger his life, especially as those who lived upon daintier food would appear more ruddy and healthy than themselves. As they found the eunuch not so ob- stinate in opposing their request as they imagined he would have been, they press- ed him to make the experiment only for ten days; and after that time, if he found the change did not so well agree with them as their former allowance, and that they did not keep their health, colour, and habit of body that they had before, he might bring them back again to the king's prescribed method of living. The eunuch was prevailed upon to make trial of it ; ' and when he found them so far from being the worse for the altera- tion, that they grew more vigorous upon it, both in the disposition of their bodies and minds, he made no longer a scruple of complying with their desires, but he gave them what they demanded, and kept the king's allowance to himself. This change agreed so well with Daniel and his friends, that comparatively they seemed to be better provided for than the rest, and all their faculties were better adapted either for study or labour; being neither surfeited with variety, nor ren- dered effeminate by luxury. By this temperate way of living, their spirits were kept clear and active, as ap- peared by their wonderful improvement in the Hebrew, as well as the Chaldean learning ; but Daniel's progress was amaz- ing, for he had got such an insight into the arts, that he took upon him the ex- pounding of dreams, and had many times visions of his own to work upon. About two years after the destruction of Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar had a vision, and a revelation from God in his sleep of the meaning of it; but afterwards, when he came to rise from his bed, he had ut- terly forgot it. Upon which he imme- diately sent for his learned men, ns Chal- deans, Magi, prophets, and told them, that he had a strange dream, but it was now utterly out of his head, and therefore re- quired them to tell him what it was, und whut was the signification of it? They made him answer, that as to the first part of his proposition, it was a thing not to be done. But if he would be pleased to tell them the dream, they would be answerable to give him the in- terpretation of it. The king in a rage commanded them, without farther ceremony, to tell him his dream, or they should die for it;* but as they could not undertake it, they were or- dered to be put to death.f * Though the Chaldeans were remarkably ex- pert in the interpretation of dreams, which they undertook to discover by some particular marks, as well as to foretell future events by the revo- lution of the heavenly bodies, yet here they declar- ed the impossibility of knowing a dream which they never heard of, and the unreasonableness of requiring an interpretation of what the king had utterly forgot ;a circumstance which, they told the king, was entirely unprecedented, and never de- manded by any of the preceding princes, on ac- count of its impossibility. f The king of Persia was then, as he is still, an absolute monarch, having the lives and property of his subjects entirely at his disposal. His will is the only law ; every word that emanates from the throne is implicitly obeyed, let it be ever so unjust, capricious, or bad. His passive subjects have neither the opportunity nor the desire of appeal; and let him once resolve on taking the life or possessions of any, even the greatest per- sonages in his kingdom, neither loyalty to his person, nor eminent merit, are of any avail to arrest the execution of the despot's wishes. Sel- jook, who sat on the throne of Persia, was a prince of great reputation, but he fell into habits of the greatest intemperance, insomuch that, on one occasion, in a fit of intoxication, he ordered his queen to come into his presence, and, on her refusal, commanded one of his slaves to bring her head. The cruel mandate was obeyed, and the head of the beautiful, but ambitious princess, was presented in a golden charger to her drunken husband, as he sat carousing with his dissolute companions. Some officers, who were present, expressing their feelings at the horrid deed, were instantly put to death by the arbitrary prince. In a manner still more summary did Sori, another king of Persia, punish an astrologer who seemed to reflect on the royal proceedings. VY r heii that Shah and all his great men were assembled to see some criminals cut in pieces a punishment very common in that country, and the chief of the astrologers was there among the rest, the Shah Chap. III.] THE BIBLE. 481 When Daniel came to understand that the wise men were all to be put to death, and to reflect, that he and his relations were also in danger, upon the same ac- count, he went to Arioch, the captain of the king's guards, to learn what crime they were condemned for. The captain informed him, that the king had a dream, which he himself had forgotten, and that they were to die be- cause they could not tell him what it was. Daniel made answer, that if he could procure them a reprieve for one night only he would not despair of giving him the satisfaction he required; for he had some hope that God would that very night be prevailed upon to enable him to do it. The captain gave the king an account of this proposal; whereupon the execu- tion was respited, to try what good was to be done upon that experiment. Daniel, with his companions, went into his bed-chamber, and spent that whole night in prayer to God, for the means of resolving the question, and for the deli- vering those people from death that were now fallen under the king's displeasure, by laying before him the particulars of the last night's dream, which was now out of his memory. God was pleased, upon the intercession of Daniel, both in compassion to the mi- serable, and out of tenderness for the pru- dence of Daniel's mediation, to make known, not only the dream itself, but the signification of it; to the end that he might communicate the whole matter to the king. Daniel was so transported with this re- velation, that he got up early in the morn- ing, gave his brethren a word of comfort, viewing attentively the countenances of his cour- tiers, observed that the principal astrologer shut his eyes at every stroke of the sabre, as not able to behold so horrible a slaughter ; he thereupon called to the governor who sat near him to put out the eyes of that dog who was at his left hand, since he did not use them ; which was executed in an instant on the unhappy astrologer. Jamieson. being now brought to the last point of despair, and thinking of nothing but death, bade them take courage, and hope the best, for that all things were now secure. When they had given God thanks to- gether for his fatherly care and pity over them, Daniel went to Arioch by break of day, to carry him to the king, with assur- ance he should now have all the particu- lars laid before him of his late dream. Upon Daniel's admittance to the king, he first informed him, " That it was not conceit he entertained of his own wisdom, as if he knew more than the Chaldeans and the Magi; or any design of a re- proach upon them, for not being able to resolve a question which he could explain, that made him engage in this matter; for, said he, I am not a person to pretend to more skill and understanding than my neighbours, but it is purely the work of God, in pity to the miserable, and in mercy to my prayers, for the lives and safety of myself and my friends, that he hath revealed this dream to me, and laid open the meaning of it. " I have not been so solicitous for the safety of myself, and my companions un- der your displeasure, as for your honour and glory; in case of putting so many good and worthy men to death, contrary to right and justice, merely for not being able to do a thing which is utterly im- possible for flesh and blood to do ; or for any but a supernatural power to accom- plish. " You were thinking with yourself what would become of the empire of the world when you were gone, and who should suc- ceed to it. Now the dream you had was a kind of a resolution upon that inquiry ; for God showed you in your sleep those that were to rule after you. You dreamt you saw a large image,* or statue, stand- * Grotius accurately observes, that the image appeared with a glorious lustre in the imagination of Nebuchadnezzar, whose mind was wholly taken up with admiration of worldly pomp and splen- dour ; whereas the same monarchies were repre- 3p 482 HISTORY OF [Book VII. ing upright; the head was gold; the shoulders and arms silver ; the belly and the thighs brass; the legs and the feet iron. You saw then a stone broken off from a mountain that fell upon this image, overthrew it, and broke it so small, that the dust of the gold, silver, brass, and iron, was as light as chaff, and carried away by a blast of wind to the furthermost parts of the earth; the stone growing so large during this time, that it lay like a moun- tain on the face of the earth.* This was your dream, and I come now to the in- terpretation of it. By the golden head is sented to Daniel under the shape of fierce and wild beasts, (chap, vii.) as being the great support- ers of idolatry and tyranny in the world. Lowth. * By these different emblems of metals and stone, God intended to signify to Nebuchadnezzar the several empires that were to be in the world. The Assyrian or Chaldean is represented by gold, because it was the first, and the most magnificent, if not the most extensive, and Nebuchadnezzar being then upon the throne, is said to be head of it. That of silver is the Persian, founded by Cy- rus, upon the ruins of the Chaldean, but inferior to the Chaldean in its duration at least, if not in its extent. That of brass is the Grecian, founded by Alexander, upon the ruins of the Persian, and its character is, that it should bear rule over all the earth, Dan. ii. 39. which was verified in its great founder ; for, upon his return from India to Baby- lon, the ambassadors of almost all the known parts of the world resorted thither to pay their homage and acknowledgment of his dominion. That of iron is the Roman empire, which is distinguished by its breaking in pieces, and subduing all things, ver. 40. For, whilst it was in its full strength and vigour, under its consuls and first emperors, it brought under its dominion all the kingdoms and states that were then subsisting in Europe, Africa, and a great part of Asia ; but, from that time, it became a mixture of iron and clay. Its emperors proved most of them vicious and corrupt, either by their tyranny, making themselves hateful to their subjects, or, by their follies and vices, con- temptible. Lastly, that of the stone cut out of the mountain is the fifth monarchy, or the lurifzdom of the Messias ; which, against all the power and policy of the Roman empire, prevailed, not by an external force, but by the powerful preaching of the gospel, to the suppression and defeat of wicked- ness and impiety, idolatry and superstition, and it shall stand for ever, and never be destroyed, Dan. ii. 44. which can be said of no other kingdom but that of Jesus Christ, which, for these seventeen hundred years and upwards, has withstood the violence of persecutions, and all other contrivances formed against it, and has the sure promises of its Almighty founder on its side, that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, Matt. *vi. 18. Calmed Commentary signified yourself, and other kings of Babylon before you : the two hands and shoulders portend that two kings shall de- stroy your empire; and afterward, their empire will be subverted by another king coming from the west in armour of brass ; and he is to be subdued afterward by another in iron ; which, in its nature, is stronger than gold, silver, or brass, and not to be resisted." Nebuchadnezzar with astonishment ac- knowledged this to be his dream, and fall- ing upon his face, adored Daniel like a god, and appointed divine honours to be paid him : nay, he was not satisfied with- out giving him the name of God ; he also made him ruler over the whole province, joining several of his kindred with him in the same commission. This promotion was followed with such envy upon Daniel and his relations, that it had like to have cost them all their lives by a disgust the king took upon the following occasion. He had caused to be made an image of gold, sixty cubits in height, and six in breadth, and placed it in the great plain of Babylon.f He called together, upon the dedication of it, the princes, the great f Grotius is of opinion, that the image, which Nebuchadnezzar set up, was the figure of his father Nabopolassar, whom by this means he in- tended to deify; but others think that it was his own statue, which he erected to gain the adora- tions of his people in this form. We cannot how- ever, in what we find Nebuchadnezzar saying to Daniel's friends, perceive that he any where up- braids them with contempt offered either to his person or his statue, but only that they would not serve his gods, nor worship the image which he had set up, Dan. iii. 14. and therefore others have imagined, that this was neither his own nor his father's statue, but that of Jupiter, which was afterwards found in the temple of Belus, when Xerxes plundered it of its immense riches, among which were several images of massy gold, but one more especially fifty feet high, which might be the same that Nebuchadnezzar consecrated in the plains of Dura. For, though that is said to have been sixty cubits, i. e. ninety feet high, yet we may suppose, that it stood upon a pedestal of fifty feet high, and so the image, and the pedestal together, might make ninety, otherwise there would be no proportion between its height and its breadth, according to the description we have of it in Dau. iii. 1. Prideaux's Connection. Chap. III.] THE BIBLE. 483 men and officers out ot all his dominions ; making proclamation, that immediately upon hearing the sound of a trumpet, they should all fall down to worship his image;* and that whoever refused it, should be cast into the fiery furnace.f Upon the sound- ing of this trumpet, all the people fell down and worshipped, except the three friends of Daniel, who, refusing to do it, from a reverence to the laws of their country, and the religion of the true God, were informed against, and cast into the fire ; but by a merciful Providence, and beyond all human imagination, their lives were preserved as if the flame itself had been conscious of the injustice of the sentence, and suspended its natural effect in favour of the innocent; for they were not so much as scorched with it. * When weconsider the strictness observed, even in the superstitious worship of the ancients, and the punishments decreed for the least inattention to it, we have a melancholy retrospect to make upon our own times, where, though we have been so highly blessed with the benefits of the gospel, we not only act in manifest contradiction to its tenets, but presume to ridicule, controvert, and despise them. The merits of a suffering Saviour are treated with contempt, and his very existence dis- puted by some members of his church, who should be the first, from the nature of their office, to adore his mission, and propagate his laws. f This kind of punishment was pretty common in these parts of the world, so that some will have it, that Abraham, before he departed from Chal- dea, was made to undergo it, but escaped by a mir- aculous preservation. Of this furnace in particu- lar, it is related that the king's servants having re- ceived the command to heat it seven times hotter, 'ceased not to make the oven hot with rosin, pitch, tow, and small wood ; so that the flame streamed forth above the furnace forty and nine cubits; and passed through, and burnt the Chalde- ans it found about the furnace.' This mode of punishment was not uncommon in the East so lately as the seventeenth century. Chardin in his travels, after speaking of the most common modes of punishing with death, says, " But there is still a particular way of putting to death such as have transgressed in civil affairs, either by causing a dearth, or by selling above the tax by a false weight, or who have committed themselves in any other manner. The cooks are put upon a spit and roasted over a slow fire, (see Jeremiah xxix. 22.), bakers are thrown into a hot oven. During the dearth in 1688, I saw such ovens heated on the royal square in Ispahan, to terrify the bakers, and deter them from deriving advantage from the gen- eral distress." This extraordinary interposition of di- vine providence in their behalf, enhanced them greatly in the esteem of the king, who afterwards conferred on them many signal tokens of his favour. Soon after this amazing event, Nebu- chadnezzar had another dream, as surpris- ing as the former; the substance of which, as interpreted by Daniel, was, that " he should be driven from his kingdom, live seven years amongst the beasts of the for- est, and be afterwards restored to his for- mer state and dignity." The king had put the question again to the Magi upon this vision also ; but Da- niel was the only person who could ex- pound it; and according to his prediction, it succeeded in the event. His cessation from war (in which he had been long en- gaged) had by this time given him an op- portunity of finishing his stately buildings at Babylon ; and from the roof of his pa- lace ;J taking a survey of these, as well as other monuments of his greatness, he became so intoxicated with pride and ar- rogance, that God, in punishment of his haughty mind, deprived him of his senses, and, for exalting himself above the state of men, reduced him to the condition of a beast. J If Nebuchadnezzar walked in some apartment of his palace, as we have it in our translation, it is not easy to account for the proud and rap- turous exclamation which suddenly burst from his mouth we can see no proper excitement, no adequate cause ; but if, according to the true sense of the original, we suppose him walking upon the roof of his palace, which proudly rose above the surrounding habitations, and surveying the vast extent, the magnificence, and the splendour, of that great city, the mistress of the world its walls of prodigious height and thickness its hanging gardens, reputed one of the most astonishing efforts of art and power its glittering palaces the Euphrates rolling his majestic flood through the middle of the place, shut in on both sides by strong bulwarks and doors of brass ; it was quite natural for such a man to feel elated with the sight, and indulge his pride and arrogance in the manner described by the prophet Paxton. Origen, who was for resolving every thing that he could not comprehend in scripture, into allegory, was of opinion, that, under the name of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel intended to give us a re- presentation of the fall of Lucifer; but the ao 484 HISTORY OF [Book Vfl For seven years he lived abroad in the fields, eating grass like an ox, and taking up his lodging on the ground in the open air. But at the expiration of this time, count of the punishment which befell this prince, is so often inculcated in the same chapter : fore- told in the dream explained by the prophet ; re- peated by the voice from heaven ; and all this published in a solemn declaration by the king him- self after the recovery of his senses, that there is no manner of grounds to think of any figure, or allegory, in this piece of history. Nebuchadnez- zar's real metamorphosis into an ox, both as to 1 1 is outward and inward form, is a notion too gross for any but the vulgar, who may be taken perhaps with such fictions of the poets ; and what we have do need to recur to (thereby to multiply miracles to no purpose) from any words in the text, which will fairly admit of another interpretation. The metempsychosis of an ox's soul into Nebuchad- nezzar's body, thereby to communicate the same motions, taste, and inclinations, that are observable in that animal, is a notion unknown to all anti- quity ; for, according to the doctrine of Pythago- ras, such a transmigration was never made, until the body was actually dead ; besides the manifest incongruity of supposing two souls, a rational and a brutal, animating the same prince, or the prince's soul departed from him, and become the substitute to a brute. A fascination, both in the eyes of Nebuchadnezzar's subjects and in his own fancy and imagination, which might make them both be- lieve that he was really changed into an ox, and had the figure of one, is a notion every whit as liable to exception. For, besides that it is difficult to conceive, how a deception of this kind could abide upon a whole nation for the space of seven years, the scripture takes notice of no evil spirit in this whole transaction, but imputes all to the sole power of God, who can humble the proud, and chastise the wicked, as he pleases. The most general, therefore, and most probable opinion is, that Nebuchadnezzar, by the judgment of God, was punished with hypochondriacal madness, which so disordered his imagination, that he fancied him- self transformed into a beast, and was prompted to act like one. There is a distemper (not a very common one indeed, but what has befallen several) which naturalists and physicians call lycanthropy, when, by the power of a depraved imagination, and a distempered brain, a man really thinks that he is a wolf, an ox, a dog, or the like, and accord- ingly, in nis inclinations, motions, and behaviour, cannot forbear imitating the particular creature which he fancies himself to be. In this manner Nebuchadnezzar, imagining that he was become an ox, walked upon all four, fed upon grass, went naked, lowed with his voice, and butted (as he thought,) with his horns ; and, in short, did all the actions, as far as he was able, that a real ox is known to do. Hereupon his subjects, perceiving this change in him, took him, and bound him, (as madmen are wont to be treated) but, at last, he escaping out of their hands, fled to the fields, where he herded with the cattle, exposed to the dew of heaven, and the other inclemencies of the when he became sensible of God's superior power and dominion, his senses returned to him again. His kingdom was restored, and he re-instated in his former majesty ; whereupon he made this solemn and grateful acknowledgment : " And now I, Nebuchadnezzar praise, and extol, and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment, and those that walk in pride he is able to abase, when he pleases." This king appears, from a review of his life, to have been an active prince, and much more fortunate than any of his an- cestors. He died in the three and fortieth year of his age. Berosus, in the third book of his Chaldean History, makes mention of it in these words : " Nebuchodonosor the father under- standing that a certain great officer of his, to whom he had committed the govern- ment of Egypt, Ccelo-syria, and Phoe- nicia, was fallen off from his allegiance, and not being in a condition of body him- self to bear the fatigues of the war in his own person, he sent his son Nebuchod- onosor, with part of his army, to reduce him to his obedience. He found him out ; fought and overcame him, and so re- duced the revolted provinces to their duty. The father in the mean time was taken away by a sickness at Babylon, in the one and twentieth year of his reign. The young prince was no sooner informed of the death of his father, than he took imme- diate care for the settling of his affairs in Egypt, and the rest of the provinces ; re- weather ; where his neglected body became horrid and dreadful to behold ; where his hair, and his nails, in process of time, grew in the hideous man- ner that the prophet had described them ; and where his heart, that is, his apprehension, appe- tite, and inclinations, by the continuance of his distemper, became quite brutal, and of the same cast with the beasts that graze. Schenkius recon $ a remarkable instance of this disease in a husband- man of Padua, who, imagining that he was a wolf, attacked, and even killed several persons in the fields ; and when at length he was taken, Ik- per- severed in declaring himself a real wolf, and that the only difference consisted in the inversion of his skin and hair. Stackhouse. Chap. III.] THE BIBLE. 485 commending to some particular friends the charge of conveying his prisoners, Jews, Syrians, Phoenicians, and Egypt- ians, to Babylon, with the army and bag- gage ; whilst he himself, with a small reti- nue, took his way thither over the desert. The government was reserved for him in the mean while, by the Chaldeans; and by the great men among them, in his absence, secured till his return ; so that when he came to enter upon the admin- istration, he was established in the full possession of his paternal empire. The first thing he did was to make a commo- dious distribution of his captives into colonies; and after that, to adorn and illustrate the temple of Belus, and other religious places, with the spoils of war. He repaired and enlarged the ancient edifices of the city, and raised works upon the banks of the river, to prevent all ap- proaches that way. He erected three walls within the bounds of the city, and as many without, all brick work; and when he had fortified the town after this remark- able manner, he beautified the gates with a curious frontispiece, like the finishing of the temple work ; and erected another palace contiguous to that of his father, with great art and magnificence. In this building there were vast stones supported upon arches, that looked like mountains hanging in the air ; and they were plant- ed on the top with several sorts of trees, in a compliment to the queen, " who, be- ing a Median, had a passionate desire to see some artificial resemblance of the gardens and rarities of her own country."* * To the above notice of Babylon, extracted from Berosus, we subjoin some additional particulars descriptive of this once stupendous and wealthy place. This magnificent city, the capital or be- ginning of Nimrod's kingdom, stood on a large plain, in a deep and rich soil, of a quadrangular form, and divided almost into two equal parts by the river Euphrates, The walls were built of brick, cemented with bitumen, with which the soil seems to have been saturated ; their height was fifty cubits, and the breadth so great, that chariots, drawn by four horses, might pass one another on the top of them without danger. These prodi- gious walls embraced a circuit of sixty miles ; and Megasthem.s, in the fourth book of his History of India, speaks of these garden works, and sets forth this king, both for his enterprise, and his performance, to are said to have been finished in one year by the hands of two hundred thousand workmen. They were strengthened with two hundred and fifty towers, ten feet higher than the walls. Twenty- five gates of solid brass on every side of the great square, terminated an equal number of streets, which ran in straight lines from one side of the city to the other ; so that the whole number of the streets were fifty, each fifteen miles long, of which twenty-five went one way, and twenty-five the other, directly crossing each other at right angles. On each side of the river was a quay, and a high wall built of brick and bitumen, of the same thick- ness as the walls that went round the city. In these walls, over against every street that led to the river, were gates of brass, and from them descents, by steps to the river, for the conveniency of the inhabitants who were obliged to pass the river in boats before the building of the bridge. These brazen gates were always open in the day time, and shut in the night. A beautiful and magnificent bridge was in pro- cess of time constructed across the river, a fur- long in length and thirty feet in breadth, adorned at each end with a splendid palace. But the most wonderful effort perhaps of imperial wealth and power, was the lake which the monarchs of Baby- lon caused to be dug near Sippara, to the west of the city, to secure it from the dreadful effects of the periodical inundations. This immense artifi- cial bason was forty miles square, one hundred and sixty in compass, and thirty-five feet deep, accord- ing to Herodotus, and seventy-five according to Megasthenes. Into this lake was the whole river turned by a canal cut from the west side of it, till they had finished two artificial channels at a very considerable distance above the town, to receive the inundations of the river, occasioned by the pe- riodical melting of the snow on the mountains of Armenia, which turned the course of these wa- ters into the Tigris, before they reached Ba- bylon. On the west side of the river, within the city, near the new palace, rose, in majestic grandeur, the celebrated pensile gardens, terrace above ter- race, sustained by vast arches raised upon other arches, till they equalled in height the walls of the city. These terraces were crowned with trees of the largest size, vigorously flourishing on the deep mould with which the arches were covered, and beautified with every plant and flower that was proper for a garden and pleasure. Near the old palace, on the opposite side of the river, stood the temple of Belus ; in the middle of which was a prodigious tower of a quadrangular form, half a mile in circuit, and a furlong in height. This astonishing structure is supposed by many writers to have been the celebrated tower of Babel, the building of which was interrupted by the confusion of tongues. The riches of this temple, in statues, tables, censers, cups, and other sacred vessels, all of massy gold, were immense. Among 486 HISTORY OF [Book VII. have been much superior to Hercules himself, having subdued the greatest part of Libya, and likewise Iberia. Diocles makes mention of this king in the second other images, was one of forty feet high, which weighed a thousand Babylonish talents. Accord- ing to the calculation of Diodorus, this temple contained six thousand three hundred and fifty Attic talents of gold, which amounts to more than twenty-one millions sterling. Such was ancient Babylon, over the splendour, and magnificence, and extent of which, the heart of Nebuchadnezzar exulted, while he looked down upon it from the highest turret of his palace, and his lips exclaimed, ' Is not this great Ba- bylon which I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty ?' Exactly according with the truth of ancient history, are the accounts which the prophets of the Lord have left us of the great- ness and strength of that haughty mistress of the nations, and oppressor of the whole earth. Isaiah pronounces her ' the glory of kingdoms; the beau- ty of the Chaldees' excellency ; the golden city ; the lady of kingdoms.' Jeremiah speaks of her ' broad walls,' and her ' brazen gates ;' and calls her, by a most significant figure, ' the hammer of the whole earth ;' and a ' destroying mountain which destroyed all the earth ;' and says ' she was abundant in treasures, and dwelling on many wa- ters ;' and in another passage, he describes her as ' Jehovah's battle-axe and weapons of war, with which he brake in pieces the nations, and destroyed kingdoms.' This great and powerful city was so strong, both by nature and art, its inhabitants were so numer- ous and warlike, and its resources so many and various, that it was considered as impregnable. It seemed, says Orosius, to be almost equally incre- dible, that it could be built by the hands, or de- stroyed by the prowess of mortals. The Babyloni- ans themselves were of the same opinion ; they boasted that Babylon should remain the mistress of nations till the end of all things. ' Thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever, so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst re- member the latter end of it. Thou saidst in thine heart, I am, and none, else beside me ; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children.' But the event proved that the pro- phets had not foretold the destruction of that splendid and powerful city in vain. The dreadful calamities which Babylon had brought upon so many cities and nations, to gratify her inordinate ambition, burst at last upon her own head, and over- whelmed her in complete and irretrievable ruin. The fearful threateningsof the prophet were liter- ally fulfilled ; ' Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah : it shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation ; neither shall the Arabian pitch his tent, there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there : but wild beasts of the desert shall lie there ; and their houses shall Lie full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell book of his Persian History; and Philo- stratus, in the account he gives of the Phoenicians and the Indians, writes, that this prince, in the days of Ithobal king of there, and satyrs shall dance there; and the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces : and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.' The Persians, says Strabo, destroyed a part of the city ; time, and the carelessness of the Macedonians, destroyed another part ; but the principal cause of its decline was, the building of Seleucia, about/nforty miles above Babylon, by Se- leucus Nicanor, who is said to have erected this new city from dislike to the Babylonians, and to have drawn five hundred thousand persons from Babylon, for the peopling of this new city. This rival seat of empire, by degrees robbed Babylon of its glory and greatness, and even of its very name ; for it is expressly called Babylon in some ancient authors. In the time of Curtius, it had declined a fourth part ; it was reduced to de- solation in the days of Pliny ; and when Jerome flourished, it was turned into a park, in which the kings of Persia were accustomed to take the diversion of hunting. In the middle of the sixteenth century, the ruins of ancient Babylon were visited by Rauwolf, a German physician, who gives the following mourn- ful but instructive description of it. By a small village on the Euphrates, called Eulego, or Felu- go, is the seat of the old Babylon, a day and a half's journey from Bagdat. The lands about it are so dry and desolate, that one may justly doubt the fertility of it, and the greatness of this city, if the vast ruins still to be seen did not banish all suspicion. There are still standing some arches of a bridge over the river, which is here half a mile broad, and exceeding deep : these arches are built of brick, and wonderfully compacted. A quarter of a mile beneath the village, in a plain, are the fallen ruins of a castle, and beyond that the ruins of the tower of Babel, half a German mile in compass, which is now a receptable of serpents and venomous creatures. A little above the fall of the Tigris into the Euphrates, is a city now called Trax, formerly called Apamea. All that travel over these plains will find vast numbers of the ruins of very ancient, great, and lofty buildings, arched towers and other similar structures of won- derful architecture. There is only one tower, which is called Daniel's, still entire and inhabited, from whence may be seen all the ruins of this once vast city ; which sufficiently demonstrate the truth of what ancient writers have said of its greatness, by the vastness of their extent. A noble Roman, Peter Delle Valle, in the year 1616", visited what are thought to be the ruins of ancient Babylon. In the middle of a vast and level plain, about a quarter of a league from the Euphrates, he found a heap of ruined buildings, like a huge mountain, the materials of which are so confounded together, that he knew not what to make of it. Its situa- tion and form correspond with that pyramid which Strabo calls the tower of Belus, and is, in all pro- bability, the tower of Nimrod in Babylon, or Ba Chap. IV.] THE BIBLE. Tyre, maintained a siege thirteen year9 against that town. 487 CHAPTER IV. Nebuchadnezzar's successor releases king Jehoi- achin. Babylon is besieged by Cyrus and Darius. Daniel expounds a vision to king Belshazzar. Taking of Babylon. Daniel obtains the favour of king Darius. God works many deliverances for the prophet, and enables him to perform many wonders. bel, as the place is still called. No marks of ruins appeared without that huge mass, to convince him that so great a city as Babylon had ever stood there ; all he could discover within fifty or sixty yards of it, being only the remains here and there of some foundations of buildings ; and the coun- by round so flat and level, that it is difficult to be- lieve it should be chosen for the situation of so great and noble a city as Babylon, or that it ever contained any remarkable buildings. Delia Valle, however, was astonished to find so many remains of that renowned city, after the lapse of four thou- sand years since it was built, and that Diodorus Siculus tells us it was reduced almost to nothing in his time. Tavernier, a very celebrated travel- ler, discovered at the parting of the Tigris, a little way from Bagdat, the foundations of a city which seemed to be a large league in compass. Some of the walls were yet standing, upon which six coach- es might go abreast ; they were made of burnt brick, ten feet square, and three feet thick. The chronicles of the country say they are the remains of ancient Babylon; but Tavernier imagined they were the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's palace, or of the tower of Babel. He adopts the opinion of the Arabs, and conceives them to be rather the remains of some tower built by one of their princes for a beacon to assemble his subjects in time of war ; and this conjecture, in all probability, approaches nearest to the truth. It is not one of the least remarkable circum- stances related of Babylon, that we cannot learn, cither from ancient writers, or modern travellers, where this renowned city stood, only in general, that it was situated in the province of Chaldea, upon the Euphrates, considerably above its confluence with the Tigris. Travellers have guessed, from the great ruins they have discovered in several parts of this country, that in this or that place Babylon once stood ; but when we come to examine nicely the places they mention, we only learn that they were certainly in the wrong, and have mistaken the ruins of Seleucia, or some other great town. Mr Hanway declares, that the ruins of Babylon are now so much effaced, that hardly any vestiges of them remain to point out the situation. By these accounts we see, (to use the words of Newton,) how punctually time hath fulfilled the predictions of the prophets concerning Babylon When it was converted into a chase for wild beasts to feed and breed there, then were exactly accom- plished the words of tlieprouhets, that 'the wild Evil-merodach, who succeeded to the throne of Babylon on the demise of Ne- buchadnezzar his father, immediately on his accession released Jehoiachin, honoured him with many presents, took him into his confidence, and made him the chief governor of his palace.* His father in- deed had broken his faith shamefully with beasts of the desert, with wild beasts of the islands, should dwell there, and cry in their desolate houses.' One part of the country was overflow- ed by the river's having been turned out of its course, and never restored again to its former channel and thence became boggy and marshy, so that it might literally be said to be 'a possession for the bittern, and pools of water.' Another part is described as dry and naked, and barren of every thing, so that thereby was also fulfilled ano- ther prophecy, which seemed, in some measure, to contradict the former. ' Her cities are a desola- tion, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.' The place thereabout is represented as overrun with serpents, scorpions, and all sorts of venomous and unclean creatures ; so that, ' their houses are full of doleful creatures, and dragons cry in their pleasant palaces ; and Babylon is be- come heaps, a dwelling-place for dragons, an as- tonishment and an hissing, without an inhabitant.' For all these reasons, 'neither can the Arabian pitch his tent there, neither can the shepherds make their folds there.' And when we find that modern travellers cannot now certainly discover the spot of ground whereon that imperial city once was situated, we may very properly say, How is Babylon become a desolation among the nations ? Every purpose of the Lord hath he performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant; and the expres- sion is no less true than sublime, that ' the Lord of hosts has swept it with the besom of destruc- tion.' Paxton. * Jerome tells us, from an ancient tradition of the Jews, that Evil-me'rodach, having had the government of the Babylonish empire during his father's distraction, administered it so ill, that, as soon as the old king recovered from his malady, he put him in prison for it ; and that the place of his imprisonment happening to be the same where Jehoiachin had long been confined, he there enter- ed into a particular acquaintance and friendship with him ; and that this was the cause of the great kindness which he now showed him. And since the old historical traditions of the Jews are often quoted in the New Testament, if this were such, it is not wholly to be disregarded ; and that especially since the maladministrations charged upon Evil-merodach after his father's death, give sufficient reason to believe that he could not go- vern without them before. For he proved a very profligate and vicious prince, and for that reason was called Evil-merodach, that is, foolish Mero- dach ; his proper name being only M^rodach. Prideaux. 488 HISTORY OF [Book VII. this prince, in making him a prisoner after he had so frankly delivered up himself, his wife, children, and all his relations, upon honour only, for the saving of his country from utter ruin. Evil-merodach died in the eighteenth month of his reign. His brother-in-law Neriglissar succeeded him; and when he had reigned four years, the kingdom fell by succession to his son Laborosoarchod,* who kept it only nine months ; and after his death, it devolved on Belshazzar, f the son of Evil-merodach, by the Babylonians called Naboandel. * Laborosoarchod was in every tiling the re- verse of his father, being given to all manner of wickedness, cruelty, and injustice ; to which, on his advancement to the throne, he let himself loose in the utmost excess, without any manner of restraint, as if the real office, to which he was now advanced, were for nothing elso but to give him a privilege of committing without control all the vile and flagitious actions that he pleased. Two acts of his tyrannical violence toward two of his principal nobility, Gobrias and Gadates, are particularly mentioned. The only son of the for- mer he slew at a hunting to which he had invited him, for no other reason but that he had thrown his dart with success at a wild beast when he him- self had missed it ; and the other he caused to be castrated, only because one of his concubines had commended him for a handsome man. Prideaux. -f- Great is the difference among historians and others who this Belshazzar (who is generally be- lieved to be the same with the Nabonnedus in Berosus, and the Labynetus in Herodotus) was. Some will have him to be of the royal blood of Nebuchadnezzar, and others imagine that he was no way related to him. Some maintain that he was a Babylonian, and others affirm that he was a Mede ; and of those who allow him to be of the royal family of Nebuchadnezzar, some will have it that he was his son, and others that he was his grandson ; and therefore, to clear this matter, we must observe, 1st, that Belshazzar, be he who he will, was certainly of the seed of Nebuchadnezzar, because he is expressly called his son in several places of the 5th chapter of Daniel, and in 2 Chron. xxxvi. 20. it is said, that Nebuchadnezzar and his children, or offspring, reigned in Babylon until the kingdom of Persia commenced. 2dly, That according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, (chap. Sxvii, 7.) the nations of the East were to serve Nebuchadnezzar, and his son, and his son's son, and therefore he must have had a son, and a son's son, successors to him in the throne of Babylon. 3dly, That as Evil-merodach was Nebuchadnezzar's son, of all the kings that reigned after him at Babylon, none but Belshazzar could he his son's son ; for Neriglissar was only his daughter's hus- band, and Laborosoarchod was Neriglissar's son ; go that neither of them was either son or grandson to Nebuchadnezzar. 4thly, That, according to Cyrus the king of the Persians, and Darius the king of the Medes, made war upon this prince; and while they lay be- fore Babylon, there appeared to Bel- shazzar an extraordinary vision. As he was at supper, with his courtiers and con- cubines about him, together with all the splendid apparatus of a princely table, he called, in a frolic, for the sacred vessels out of his own temple, which Nebuchad- nezzar deposited there, upon rifling the temple at Jerusalem, though he never had put them to any profane or private use.:]: Belshazzar was now warm in his cups, and entertaining himself and his company with profane speeches against the majesty of the true God; when in the height of his jollity there appeared a hand, writing certain syllables upon the wall; which put the king into such a terror, that he imme- diately called a council of cunning men and Chaldeans, and all sorts of diviners, (who among those barbarians value them- selves upon a faculty of disclosing the meaning of prodigies, and the interpreta- tion of dreams,) to find out the purport of the words that were there written upon the Herodotus, the last king of Babylon (who without doubt was Belshazzar, because, immediately after his death, the kingdom was given to the Medes and Persians, Dan. v. 28, 30, 31.) was son to the great queen Nitocris; but now Nitocris, to have a child that was grandson to Nebuchadnezzar, could be wife to no other than Evil-merodach ; and therefore, putting all this together, it appears that Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, was the son of Evil-merodach, by Nitocris his queen, and consequently, son's son to Nebuchadnezzar : nor must it seem strange that we find him, in Dan. v. called Nebuchadnezzar's son, and Nebuchadnezzar his father, because it is the usual style of scripture to call any ancestor upward, father, and any descendant downward, son. Prideaux's Connec- tion. % Next to murder, no sin is so remarkably punished in this world as that of sacrilege. This appears from innumerable instances taken from all histories, both sacred and profane. But in the heathen story, remarkable examples of this kind are, the miserable end of the Phoceans, who robbed the temple of Delphos, and were the occasion of that war which was called from thence the holy war : the destruction of the Gauls in their attempt upon the same temple, and of Crassus, who plundered the temple of Jerusalem, and that of the Syrian goddess ; as these two last stories are related by Prideaux. Chap. IV.] THE BIBLE. 489 plaster. They laid their heads together, and after a long consultation, frankly de- clared they knew nothing of the matter. Upon this the king, from his anxiety, caused a proclamation to be published all over his dominions, with promise of a golden chain, the privilege of a royal purple robe, and the third place of rule in his kingdom, to any man that should give him the interpretation of that writing.* In consequence of this proclamation, the wise men assembled, and exerted their utmost efforts to obtain the proffered re- ward, without the least degree of success. While the king was under the greatest anxiety concerning this perplexing cir- cumstance, the queenf informed him for * It appears, that the kings of Babylon wore the same ornaments, and, in rewarding their fa- vourites, gave the same marks of honour, that the kings of Persia and their successors did. For purple, we find, in several Greek authors, was the ordinary habit of the kings of Persia, and of the princes of their court, that were in the highest posts of honour. The chain, or collar of gold, was one of the greatest marks of distinction that the Persian kings could bestow upon their subjects ; and ' to be the third ruler of the kingdom' was the same sublime office that Darius the Mede put Daniel in, when he constituted him one of the presidents over the hundred and twenty princes, that he had made governors over provinces. f In the sacred history, we are informed that the king, his princes, his wives, and his concubines were all at the feast which he made for them ; and yet it appears that the queen, upon hearing the news of the hand-writing, ' came into the ban- quet-house.' To elucidate this point it must be observed that this queen was not one of Belshaz- zar's wives, but Nitocris his mother, and she is called queen, or Iteghe, by way of eminence, be- cause she had the regency of the kingdom under her son, for which her superior understanding duly qualified her. For this reason Herodotus speaks of her as if she had been sovereign of the kingdom, (in the same manner as Semiramis is said to have been,) and attributes to her all those works about Babylon, which other authors ascribe to her son. One instance of her ingenuity, for which she is celebrated, may be here noticed. She caused her tomb to be erected over one of the principal gates of the city, and so situated as to be obvious to universal inspection ; it was thus inscribed ; " If any of the sovereigns, my suc- cessors, shall be in extreme want of money, let him open my tomb, and take what money he may think proper ; if his necessity be not great, let him forbear, the experiment will perhaps be dan- gerous." The tomb remained without injury till the time and reign of Darius. He was equally his comfort, that there was a certain Jew among the prisoners that Nebuchadnezzar had brought away with him upon the de- struction of Jerusalem, who was deemed a man of great wisdom, and so wonderfully skilled in solving of difficulties and intri- cate questions, that he appeared to be un- der the direction of a divine spirit. She also told him that Nebuchadnezzar made use of him for his interpreter in the like cases, when no one else was able to resolve him; wherefore she desired the king by all means to send for Daniel,J inquire of him about that writing, and give him encouragement to speak the truth, though it should portend something dreadful to himself. Upon this advice Belshazzar caused Daniel to be sent for ; professing indeed, that he had heard of the penetration and offended at the gate being rendered useless, and that the invitation held out to become affluent should have been so long neglected. The gate, it is to be observed, was of no use, from the general aversion to pass through a place over which a dead body was laid. Darius opened the tomb : but, instead of finding riches, he saw only the dead body, with a label of this import : " If your avarice had not been equally base and insatiable, yon would not have intruded on the repose of the dead." Such, observes the historian, is the tradi- tion concerning this queen. See Herodotus. J Chardin informs us that when the king of Persia dies, his physicians and astrologers lose their places and are excluded from the court ; the first, because they could not cure their sovereign, and the last, because they did not give previous notice of his death. This whimsical custom he supposes has descended to modern times from a very remote antiquity ; and to have been the true reason that Daniel was absent when Belshazzar saw the hand writing his doom on the wall. If the conjecture of that intelligent traveller be well founded, the venerable prophet had been forced by the established etiquette of the court to retire from the management of public affairs at the death of Nebuchadnezzar ; and had remained in a pri- vate station during the interval, neglected or for- gotten, till the awful occurrence of that memor- able night rendered his assistance necessary, and brought him again into public notice. This ac- counts in a very satisfactory manner, as well for the ignorance of that dissolute and thoughtless monarch, as for the recollection of Nitocris the queen-mother, who had long known his character and abilities during the reign of her husband. The thought is at least ingenious, and furnishes the best solution of a difficulty w.iich otherwise is not easy to remove. Paxton, Script. Hlvst, 3q 490 HISTORY OF [Book VII. understanding of that man, and of the spirit of divination with which he was possessed ; and that he took him to be the most likely person in the world to divine the truth of a matter which nobody else could interpret. Upon Daniel's being brought, the king put him the question, with an assurance that all the promises in his proclamation should be made good to him, upon his solution of it; which would make him famous all over the world, wherever it should be known that he had these hon- ours done him for his wisdom. Daniel excused himself from the re- ceiving any gifts or honours.* "For wis- dom," says he, "is a divine faculty, and not to be corrupted or profaned with bribes, but be ever ready to serve those that stand in need of it. This writing foretells that your death is at hand; for you should have taken warning by the judgments that befell your great ancestor, for his contempt of God, and have applied yourself to a religious 'course of life. You knew well," continued he, " that Nebuch- adnezzar was banished the society of man- kind, and condemned to the condition of a beast; but that afterwards it pleased God, upon his earnest prayers and repentance, to restore him to the conversation of men, and to the exercise of his former govern- ment, which through the infinite mercy and providence of God he adored and celebrated afterward all the days of his life. But for your part, you are so far from being wrought upon by this example in your family, that you blaspheme God to his face, and take a pride in profaning the vessels of his holy altar, in your de- * Here is a scripture and glorious instance of a spirit above bribery and corruption. Here was none of Baalam's spirit; in going to court and humouring and gratifying a prince's passion, or entering into his wicked counsels for gifts and promotion. Daniel served him disinterestedly, and in the course of his service, his eyes not being blinded with gifts, he faithfully, courageously, and honestly pointed out to him the faults he saw in his conduct, and what were the occasion of his approaching, as of his predecessor's misfortunes. bauches with your harlots. By this lewd course of impiety, you have drawn the wrath of God upon your head ; and the intent of this writing is only to show what you are to come to. Mene, which is as much as number, signifies, that the days both of your life and of your reign are numbered; and that you have but a short time to live. Tekel, or weight, gives you to understand, that vour reiirn is weighed in the balance, and drawing to a conclu- sion. Peres, or a division, portends, that your kingdom shall be divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." The king was most terribly mortified with this interpretation; yet notwithstand- ing he was so just and generous, as to make good to Daniel all that he had pro- mised him,f though the foreteller of his f- The text informs us, that They clothed him with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.' This custom of changing the dress of a person, as a mark of honour, is still common in the last. The words of the record, although not quite deci- sive, seem to favour the idea that the change of dress was a part of the ceremony by which Daniel was invested with official authority, and not a dis- tinct honour. In Hindostan, no governor or other officer, can enter upon his office, without receiving a dress of honour from his sovereign. These dresses are conferred by a superior on a person of humbler condition, when he is raised to a place of power and trust, or as a mark of esteem and approbation. This custom, the Hindoos probably borrowed from the Persians ; and. if so, Daniel's change of dress was an established sign of his ac- cession to the high dignity which lie so well de- served. In ages long anterior to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Joseph was invested with the office of ruler over all the land of Egypt by a similar ceremony: 'Pharaoh took oft' his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of tine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck.' The robes of office, with which Mordecai the Jew was arrayed >