LIBRARY 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 SANTA BARBARA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 MR. RAYMOND ACEVEDO 
 
UCSB LIBRARt 
 /- 
 
PETER THE HERMIT PREACHES THE FIRST CRUSADE 
 
 Palestine. 
 
HUrHi'8 * 
 
 t6t f^tstortes 
 
 
 PALESTINE 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 PATRIARCHAL AGE TO THE PRESENT TIME 
 
 WITH 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTERS ON THE GEOGRAPHY 
 AND NATURAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY, 
 AND ON THE CUSTOMS AND INSTITU- 
 TIONS OF THE HEBREWS 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN KITTO, D.D. 
 
 BBfiHI 
 
 ( 
 
 CT 
 
 With Frontispiece 
 
 
 NEW YORK AND LONDON 
 THE CO-OPERATIVE PUBLICATION SOCIETY 
 
ADVERTISEMENT: 
 
 Tee present work was originally undertaken with the view of 
 Supplying what has been felt as a desideratum in schools a 
 History of Palestine, with accounts of the geography of the 
 country, and of the customs and institutions of its ancient 
 inhabitants ; but it has been suggested to the Publishers, that 
 the volume might be considered a valuable acquisition by 
 readers of a more advanced class, on account of the informa- 
 tion it contains, and the connected and compendious form in 
 which it presents the history of the Hebrew nation froia the 
 time of Abraham, through the various political forms which 
 it assumed till the dispersion of that peculiar people. 
 
 The HISTORY has been written expressly for its present 
 use, and is in no respect an abridgment of the author's larger 
 work, The Pictorial History of Palestine. In the Introduc- 
 tory Chapters much assistance has been obtained from the 
 Biblical Archaeology of Professor JAHN, and from a variety 
 of other sources the whole being illustrated by the results 
 of such acquaintance with Oriental customs as the author's 
 former residence in the East enabled him to acquire, 
 
 P. 1 
 
IV ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 The present Edition has been carefully revised through- 
 out ; considerable improvements have been made particularly 
 in the Introduction ; and a greatly increased number of reallj 
 Mubkative Wood-cute have been inserted. 
 
 J.K. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 FART I. HISTORICAL AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. Names 
 
 sions Bordering Nations Mountains Plains and 
 Valleys Rivers Lakes Climate and Seasons Page 1 
 
 H. AGRICULTURE AND PASTURAGE. Laws Operations and 
 Implements Vines and Vineyards Trees Pastures 
 Flocks and Herds 25 
 
 IIL HABITS OP LIFE. Habitations and Utensils Food and 
 Dress Women and Children Etiquette Travelling 
 Customs relating to the Dead .... 58 
 
 IV. LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. Literature Science and 
 
 Art Commerce and War . . . t .91 
 
 V. INSTITUTIONS. Eeligious Political Judicial . 108 
 
 HISTORY OP PALESTINE. 
 
 BOOK I. From the Deluge till the Death of Joseph . 127 
 
 II. From the Birth till the Death of Moses . . .157 
 
 III. From the Death of Moses till the Accession of Saul . 191 
 
 IV. From the Reign of Saul till the Death of Solomon . 225 
 V. From the Revolt of the Ten Tribes till the Captivity of 
 
 the Jews under Nebuchadnezzar . . . .270 
 
 VI. From the Captivity till the Rise of the Maccabees . 316 
 VII. From the Rise of the Maccabees till the End of the Asa- 
 
 monean Dynasty ....... 849 
 
 Vm. From the Reign of Herod the Great till the Restoration of 
 
 Syria to the Dominion of the Port* , 378 
 
CABLES OP SCRIPTURE MEASURES, WEIGHTS, 
 AND COINS. 
 
 MEASURES Or LENGTH. 
 
 Fte*. D 
 A Fathom, equal to 4 cubits, or ......... 7*296 
 
 Inches. DM 
 
 A Cubit, equal to 21*888 
 
 A Span the longer, equal to half a cubit, or 10-944 
 
 A Span the less, equal to a third of a cubit, or .... 7-296 
 
 A Hand's-breadth, equal to a sixth of a cubit, or ... 8-684 
 
 4 FingerVbreadth, equal to a twenty-fourth of a cubit, or 0*918 
 
 MEASURES Or CAPACITY. 
 
 Wine Gll. Pint* 
 
 Cnomer or Homer, equal to 75 5J 
 
 Ephah or Bath, equal to 7 5 
 
 Seah, one-third of ephah, equal to 2 4 
 
 Hin, one-sixth of ephah, equal to.... 1 2 
 
 Omer, one-tenth of ephah, equal to . ....... 6 
 
 Cab, one-eighteenth of ephah, equal to . 3} 
 
 WEIGHTS AND COINS. 
 
 Grains. & a 
 
 Shekel, equal to ... 219 silver, equal to . . 24} 
 
 Bekah, half shekel . . 109*5 . . . 12* 
 
 Gerah, one-tenth of bekah, 10-95 . . . ij 
 
 Manen, equal to 100 shekel- weight. 
 
 Maneh in coin, equal to 60 shekels 716 
 
 Talent of Silver, equal to 3000 shekels . ... 853 11 10 
 Talent of Gold, the same weight 507515 7 
 
 ROMAN MONEY MENTIONED I NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 Pent.. ... 
 
 Denarius, silver, equal to 7 3 
 
 Assis, copper * 08 
 
 Assarium ... ............ 
 
 Quadrans . . . * ........ 
 
 A Mite -...... 9 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 PART I -HISTOEICAL AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHF 
 SECTION I.-HISTORICAL GEOGBAPHI 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 PALESTINE Iras, in different ages, been known by variotm 
 names : 
 
 1. In Scripture it is called, by way of pre-eminence, THB 
 LAND ; * every region being pre-eminently the land or country 
 of its inhabitants. It is also called, distinctively, THE LAND 
 of the successive proprietors or occupants of the whole country, 
 or of particular parts of it: as, 1. The LAND OP CANAAN; 
 from Canaan, the youngest son of Ham, and grandson of 
 Noah, among whose eleven sons the country was divided, 
 after the Confusion at Babel (Gen. x. 6, 15) : 2. The LAND 
 OF ISRAEL ; from the Israelites, the posterity of Israel (Jacob), 
 who drove out the Canaanites, and settled therein : 3. The 
 LAND OF JUDAH ; a name which was at first restricted to the 
 domains of the tribe of Judah ; but was afterwards applied 
 to the separate kingdom formed by the tribes of Judah and 
 Often translated " The Earth," in English version*. 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Benjamin (Psalm Ixxvi. 1); and at last, under the form tf 
 JtJD-fiA, to the whole country. 
 
 2. The name the LORD'S (or JEHOVAH'S) LAND, or the 
 LAND OP GOD, occurs frequently in the Old Testament, and 
 bears a peculiar force when understood with reference to the 
 fact that, under the Hebrew constitution, God Himself was 
 the king of the land, and the sovereign proprietor of the soil 
 (Lev. xxv. 23). The name HOLY LAND, does not seem to 
 have been employed by the Jews until after the Captivity 
 (Zech. ii. 12). They used it with reference to the fact, that 
 the land was chosen by God to be the inheritance of His people, 
 and the seat of His worship. Christians, among whom also 
 the name is in common use, have, at the same time, regard 
 to its being the scene of the acts and sufferings of Christ 
 and His Apostles. THE LAND OF PROMISE (Heb. xi. 9), 
 is & name given with reference to the promise which God 
 made to Abraham, that He would bestow this land on his 
 children. 
 
 3. PALESTINE may now, from general use, be regarded as 
 the proper geographical name of the country. It is derived 
 from the Philistines ; who obtained possession of a very impor- 
 tant part of the land, and appear to have given their name 
 to the whole of it in the time of Moses (Exod. xv. 14). 
 
 DIVISIONS. 
 
 1. The divisions of Palestine were different in different 
 ages. In the time of the Patriarchs, the country was divided 
 among the tribes or nations descended from the sons of 
 Canaan. The precise locality of each nation is not, in every 
 case, distinctly known ; but the map exhibits the most prob- 
 able arrangement. Here it is sufficient to mention that the 
 KENITES, the KENIZZITES, and the KADMONITES, lived on the 
 east of the Jordan (Gen. xv. 18-21) ; and that, on the west 
 of that river, or in Palestine Proper, the HITTITES, the 
 PERIZZITES, the JEBTJSITES, and the AMORITES, abode in the 
 hill country of the south (afterwards belonging to Judah) ; 
 the CANAANITES properly so called in the middle, across 
 the country, from the sea-coast to the river Jordan; th 
 
HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. 3 
 
 OIBGASHITES, along the eastern border of the lake of Genne- 
 sareth ; and the HIVITES in the north, among the southern 
 branches of the Lebanon mountains. The southern part oi 
 the coast was occupied by the PHILISTINES, and the northern 
 part by the PHOENICIANS. 
 
 2. In the time of Moses, when the Israelites prepared to 
 enter Canaan, the distribution of the nations on the west ol 
 the Jordan had undergone very little change ; but, on the 
 east of that river, we find the three principal territories to 
 have been BASHAN, in the north, that is to say, east and 
 north-east of the lake Gennesareth ; GILEAD, in the middle ; 
 and, in the south, on the east of the Dead Sea, the LAND OF 
 MOAB, so called from one of the sons of Lot, who settled 
 there. There are traces of the name of Gilead in the tune 
 of Jacob. 
 
 3. After the Conquest, the land was distributed by lot 
 among the tribes. The particulars of this distribution will 
 be best seen by reference to the map. JUDAH, BENJAMIN, 
 SIMEON, and DAN, occupied the south ; EPHRAIM, half of 
 MANASSEH, and ISSACHAR, the middle ; and ZEBULON, NAPH- 
 TALI, and ASHER, the north. EEUBEN, GAD, and the other 
 half of MANASSEH, were settled beyond Jordan, in Bashan 
 and Gilead. This distribution was in no way affected by the 
 division of the country into two kingdoms, which took place 
 after the death of Solomon. The boundary line between 
 them was the northern limit of the tribe of Benjamin. 
 
 4. After the Captivity, we hear very little of the territories 
 of the tribes, for ten of them never returned to occupy their 
 ancient domains. 
 
 5. In the time of Christ, the country on the west of the 
 Jordan was divided into the provinces of Galilee, Samaria, 
 and Judaea. GALILEE is a name which occurs repeatedly in 
 the book of Joshua (xxi. 32) ; and very often in the later 
 history. It was applied to that part of Palestine north of 
 the plain of Esdraelon or Jezreel. This province was divided 
 into Lower or Southern, and Upper or Northern Galilee. 
 The latter section was also denominated Galilee of the Gentiles 
 (Matt. iv. 15). SAMARIA occupied nearly the middle of 
 Palestine; but, although it extended across the country, it 
 did not come down to the ee a- shore. JUDJEA, as a province, 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Corresponded to the northern and western parts of the anoient 
 kingdom of that name ; but the south-eastern portion formed 
 the territory of IDUM^EA. On the other side of the Jordan 
 the divisions were, at this time, more numerous and less dis- 
 tinct. The whole country, generally, was called PUR^A, 
 and was divided into eight districts or cantons, namely: 
 1. PERJEA, in the more limited sense, which was the southern- 
 most canton, extending from the river Arnon to the river 
 Jabbok. 2. GILEAD, north of the Jabbok, and highly popu- 
 lous. 3. DECAPOLIS, or the district of ten cities, which were 
 Scythopolis or Bethshan (on the west side of the Jordan), 
 Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Philadelphia (formerly Rabbath), 
 Dium, Canatha, Gerasa, Eaphana, and, perhaps, Damascus; 
 but there is not much certainty with regard to the ten cities 
 from which the region had its name. 4. GAULONITIS, 
 extending to the north-east of the Upper Jordan and of the 
 lake Gennesareth. 5. BATAN^EA, the ancient Bashan, but 
 less extensive, east of the lake Gennesareth. 6. AURANTHS, 
 Also called ITUR.SA, and known to this day by the old name 
 of Hauran (Ezek. xlvii. 16-18), to the north of Batantea 
 and the east of Gaulonitis. 7. TRACHONITIS, extending to 
 the north of Gaulonitis, and east from Paneas (Caesarea 
 Philippi) and the sources of the Jordan, where it was sepa- 
 rated from Galilee (Luke iii. 1). 8. ABILENE, in the ex- 
 treme north, among the mountains of Anti-Libanus, between 
 Baalbec and Damascus. 
 
 BORDERING NATIONS. 
 
 The bordering nations mentioned in Scripture, are the 
 PHILISTINES, PHOSNICIANS, MOABITES, AMMONITES, MIDIANITES, 
 EDOMITES, and AMALEKITES. 
 
 1 . The PHILISTINES, although they were settled in Pales- 
 tine in the time of the Patriarchs, were not Canaanites, but 
 strangers, who had probably migrated, or had been expelled, 
 from Egypt. They drove out the Avites, a Ganaanitish tribe, 
 and established themselves in their room, in the small strip 
 of territory on the south-west coast, from a point below Joppa 
 Cu Gaza, Here they maintained themselves for many gene* 
 
HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 ration?, and, at, times, made their power felt in the interior 
 and in the south, long after the land of Canaan had been 
 conquered by the Israelites. Their chief towns, each the seat 
 of a distinct state or 
 republic, were Gath, 
 Ekron, Ashdod, As- 
 calon, and Gaza. 
 
 2. The PHOENICIANS 
 although Canaanites 
 by origin, were not 
 among the doomed 
 nations whom the 
 Israelites were order- 
 ed to expel. In fact, 
 their presence was 
 rather useful than 
 otherwise to the He- 
 brew nation; and very 
 friendly relations sub- 
 sisted between them, 
 
 which were much to the temporal advantage of both nations. 
 The Phoenicians needed the products of the soil, which the 
 Israelites raised in abundance ; and the Israelites wanted the 
 various commodities which the traffic of the Phoenicians 
 afforded, and for which they were glad to exchange their 
 corn, wine, and oil. This intercourse was chiefly with the 
 southern states of Tyre and Sidon, the more northern states 
 being little noticed in the history of the Jews. As a nation, 
 the Phoenicians occupied the northern portion of that extended 
 plain along the coast, the southern portion of which was in 
 the hands of the Philistines. 
 
 3. MOAB and AMMON were the descendants of the two 
 sons of Lot, the nephew of Abraham. They established 
 themselves in the country to the east of the river Jordon, in 
 territories from which they expelled the aboriginal inhabi- 
 tants, the gigantic races of the Emim and Zamzummim. The 
 Moabites had their territory to the east of the Dead Sea and 
 the lower Jordan ; and the Ammonites lived to the north- 
 east of Moab. The chief town of the Moabites was AT, or 
 Babbath-Ammon, or Areopolis, as it was afterwards called, 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 situated upon the south bank of the Arnon, some ruing of 
 which may still be traced. 
 
 4. The MIDIANITES were descended from Midian, the 
 fourth son of Abraham, by his second wife, Keturah (Gen. 
 Xxv. 1-2). Their territory lay to the east and south-east of 
 that of the Moabites. They seem to have been a more pas- 
 toral and less settled people than the Moabites, in alliance 
 with whom we usually find them acting. By the time that 
 history introduces us to them, they appear to have become 
 wholly adolatrous (Num. xxii. 2-7 ; xxxi.) Another tribe ol 
 Midianites was established about the head of the eastern arm 
 (Elanitic Gulf) of the Red Sea ; among whom Moses found 
 refuge when he fled from Egypt. They appear to have been 
 a branch of the same stock, although it has been thought that 
 the name of Cushites, which is sometimes given to them 
 (Num. xii. 1; Hab. iii. 7), indicated a descent from Midian, 
 the son of Gush. This, however, might be ascribed to their 
 occupation of a territory usually considered as belonging to 
 Gush or Ethiopia; and it is an argument in favour of their 
 descent from Abraham, that these Midianites still retained, in 
 the time of Moses, the knowledge of the true God, which the 
 world in general had lost. These distant Midianites had little 
 connection with the Jewish history after the time of Moses. 
 
 5. The EDOMITES were descended from Edom, or Esau, 
 the son of Isaac and brother of Jacob. They were settled in 
 
 the mountains of Seir, 
 which extend along the 
 eastern side of the great 
 valley of Arabah, be- 
 tween the Dead Sea 
 and the Elanitic Gulf. 
 In a valley among these 
 mountains, the remains 
 of Petra, the chief city 
 of Edom, have only 
 lately been discovered, 
 and have been viewed 
 with much wonder on 
 account of the beautiful 
 tombs and other monuments hewn in the surrounding cliffs 
 
 i. Interior of a Tomb. 
 
HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 While the land was comparatively depopulated, during the 
 Captivity of the Jews in Babylon, the Edomites established 
 themselves in the south-eastern parts of Judaea, whence, as 
 already mentioned, that 
 quarter came to be 
 called Idumaea, or the 
 country of the Idu- 
 mseans or Edomites. 
 
 6. The AMALEKITES 
 were descended from 
 Amalek, the son of Ham 
 and grandson of Noah. 
 They were the most 
 bitter enemies of the 
 Israelites, by whom they 
 were eventually exter- 
 minated. We find them 
 first in the fertile val- 
 leys near the foot of 
 Mount Sinai (Exod. 
 xvii. 8-16); and after- 
 wards on the southern 
 borders of Palestine. 
 They seem to have been 
 a pastoral people ; and 
 in that quarter there is a much larger extent of fine pasture 
 grounds than was, until lately, supposed. 
 
 All these nations have long been extinct; some befow, 
 and others very soon after the final dispersion of the Jews. 
 
 3. Ravine in Idumaea. 
 
8ECTION 1I.-LAND. 
 
 MOUNTAINS. 
 
 1. PALESTINE may be regarded as a mountainous country. 
 The mountains are the most lofty and imposing in the north, 
 where the ridges branch off from Lebanon. To the north of 
 the great central plain of Esdraelon, the eminences take the 
 form of rounded hills, except towards the valley of the 
 Jordan and its lakes, where the scenery has a stern and 
 abrupt character, with deep ravines, tall cliffs, and numerous 
 caverns. The principal mountains are Lebanon, Hermon, 
 Tabor, Carmel, Ebal, and Gerizim. 
 
 2. Lebanon. The Labanon mountains consist of two 
 ranges, which come down, parallel to each other, from the 
 north, and extend their southern branches into Palestine. 
 They enclose between them an extensive valley, called in 
 Scripture "the valley of Lebanon" (Josh. xi. 17), and in 
 other books, Coele- Syria (the enclosed, or hollow Syria). 
 
 The outer or western ridge, fronting the sea, into which 
 it projects several promontories, was called Libanus by an- 
 cient writers ; while to the inner, or eastern range, fronting 
 the plains of Damascus, they gave the name of Anti-Libanus. 
 But these distinctions are not found in the Bible, where the 
 name Lebanon is applied to both ranges. Of the two ridges, 
 Libanus is the loftiest ; and on its highest points, and in the 
 fissures facing the north, snow may be found all the year 
 sound. Hence the ancient inhabitants obtained the snow 
 with which they cooled their drinks in summer (Prov. xxv. 
 13). This snow is not, however, in sufficient quantity, nor 
 does it give a sufficiently marked appearance, to account for 
 the name of the White Mountain, which is, in Hebrew, the 
 meaning of Lebanon. The name must rather be ascribed to 
 the general appearance of the mountains ; for they are com- 
 posed of whitish limestone ; and the surface, as it reflects thf 
 
LANIX 
 
 light, exhibits everywhere a whitish aspect. The mountains 
 of the western Lebanon are cultivated in terraces ; and this 
 region is now, as it was formerly, full of villages and people. 
 
 3. Mount Herman was the northern limit of the territory 
 of Israel beyond Jordan (Deut. iii. 8 ; iv. 48 ; Josh. xi. 
 3-17 ; xiii. 11), and the Psalmist speaks of it and Tabor as 
 the representatives of all the mountains of Israel (Psalm 
 Ixxxix. 12 ; see also cxxxiii. 3 ; Sol. Song, iv. 8). This 
 mountain is properly a prolongation of Anti-Libanus, and now 
 bears, in Arabic, the name of Jebel-es-Sheikh, the Sheikh's 
 Mountain, Its top is usually stated to be 10,000 feet above 
 the Mediterranean, and during the whole year is partially 
 crowned with snow, or rather ice, which, as it lies in the ra- 
 vinee, presents the appearance of radiant stripes, around and 
 below the summit of the mountain. This range must not be 
 confounded with another Mount Hennon (distinguished as 
 Little Hennon), in the plain of Esdraelon. 
 
 4. Tabor is, in many respects, the most remarkable 
 mountain in Palestine. It stands apart* and alone on the 
 north-east border of the plain of Esdraelon, with all its fine 
 proportions, from base to summit, displayed at one view. 
 Seen from the south-west, it presents a semi-globular ap- 
 pearance ; but from the north-west, it more resembles a 
 truncated cone. Its height has been greatly over-estimated. 
 Dr. Robinson thinks that it does not exceed 1000 feet above 
 the level of the plain. By an ancient path, which winds 
 considerably, one may ride to the summit, where is a small 
 oblong plain, with the foundations of ancient buildings. The 
 view of the country from this place is very beautiful and ex- 
 tensive. The mountain is of limestone, which is the general 
 rock of Palestine. The sides of the mountain are mostly 
 covered with bushes, and woods of oak trees (ilex and gi- 
 lops), with occasionally pistachio, presenting a beautiful ap- 
 pearance, and affording a fine shade. This mountain ii 
 several times mentioned in the Old Testament (Josh. XIT. 
 12, 22 ; Judges iv. 6, 12, 14) ; but not in the New. It has, 
 indeed, been said that it was the mountain on which our Lord 
 was transfigured (Matt, xvii.) ; but this appears more than 
 doubtful, from the fact, that the summit of Mount Tabor wa 
 then occupied by a fortified tcwn. 
 
10 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5. Carmel is a mountain ridge, six or eight miles loag, 
 stretching nearly north and south from the plain of Esdraelon 
 into the sea, where it forms the high promontory which 
 
 encloses, on the 
 south, the bay of 
 Acre. It is com- 
 posed of a whitish 
 stone, in which 
 flints, sometimes 
 curiously shaped, 
 are embedded. 
 The height has 
 been variously 
 stated, but, from 
 comparison, it 
 appears that the 
 elevation of the 
 highest points is 
 4. Mount Carmel. nearly equal to 
 
 that of Mount Tabor. On the east is the river Kishon and 
 the plain of Esdraelon ; on the west, a small plain descending 
 to the sea. Oaks and other trees grow abundantly on the 
 mountain ; and various wild fruits evince its ancient fertility 
 and cultivation. Indeed, the name of Carmel means The 
 Garden of God, or a very pleasant region. Mount Carmel is 
 renowned in the Jewish history ; and is often alluded to ic 
 the imagery of the Prophets (1 Kings xviii. 19 ; 2 Kings iL 
 25 ; iv. 25 ; Isa. xxix. 17 ; xxxii. 15 ; xxxv. 2 ; Micah vii, 
 14 ; Jer. xlviii. 43). 
 
 6. Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, from which the solemn bless- 
 ings and curses of the Law were declared to the assembled 
 hosts of Israel, are mountains of Samaria, in the valley between 
 which is the city of Shechem, now called Nabulus (Deut. xxvii.; 
 Josh. viii. 30-35). These mountains rise, in steep rocky pre- 
 cipices, from the valley on each side, apparently to the height 
 of 800 feet. They both appear to be equally naked and sterile, 
 although some travellers have chosen to describe Gerizim, tha 
 mountain of blessings, as fair and fruitful, and Ebal, the moun- 
 tain of curses, as bare and desolate. Gerizim is on the south* 
 
 and Ebal on the north-west, side of the valley. 
 
LAND. 
 
 PLAINS AND VALLEYS. 
 
 The principal plains of Palestine, are those of Lebanon, 
 f the Jordan, of Jericho, of Esdraelon, and of the Coast. 
 
 1. The Plain of Lebanon may be described as a valley, 
 being enclosed between the parallel mountain ranges of Li- 
 banns and Anti-Libanus. Although the greater part of it 
 must have been in Solomon's dominion, it can scarcely be 
 deemed to belong to Palestine Proper, but its geographical 
 and historical connection with that country requires its intro- 
 duction. This enclosed plain is the Coele- Syria of tb* 
 ancients, and now bears the name of el-Bekka (the valley). 
 It is about ninety miles in length, from north to south, by a 
 breadth of eleven miles, nearly equal throughout, except that 
 it widens at the northern end and narrows at the southern. 
 This plain is, perhaps, the most rich and beautiful part of 
 Syria. The soil is good, and the water abundant from the 
 numerous mountain springs on each side ; but the concentra- 
 tion of the sun's rays renders the summer heat excessive. 
 These are the sources of that fertility for which the valley 
 has, in all ages, been renowned ; but only a small portion 
 is now cultivated, the rest being left in pasture to the Arab 
 tribes. 
 
 2. The Plain of the Jordan. By this name we under- 
 stand the margin of the lakes, as well as the valley watered 
 by the river. Here the heat is still greater than in the 
 valley of Lebanon, and, in consequence, palm trees and the 
 fruits of more southern climes than Palestine, will grow freely 
 wherever there is soil and water. But the latter is usually 
 wanting, and, therefore, except on the immediate borders of 
 the river, of the lake of Gennesareth, and of the lesser 
 streams, the whole plain is barren and desolate ; for the 
 intense heat which causes exuberant fertility wherever there 
 is water, consumes the plain wherever water is wanting. 
 
 3. The Plain of Jericho is but an opening or expansion 
 in the plain of the Jordan, towards the Dead Sea. The 
 whole expansion takes in the plains of Moab on the east side 
 of the river, and the plains of Jericho on the west, and the 
 breadth across is from ten to twelve miles. In fact, the plafefc 
 
J2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of the Jordan is in no other part so wide. The large plain 
 of Jericho is partly desert, but, from the abundance of water 
 and the heat of the climate, it might be rendered highly pro- 
 ductive ; indeed, the fertility of this plain has been celebrated 
 in every age. Josephus describes it as the most fertile tract 
 of Judaea, and calls it a " divine region." He speaks also of 
 its beautiful gardens, and its groves of palm trees ; and his 
 description is borne out by Scripture, in which Jericho is de- 
 scribed as "The City of Palm Trees" (Deut. xxxiv. 3; 
 Judges i. 16). This region also produced honey, opobalsam, 
 the cyproso tree, (or el-henna], and myrobalanum, as well as 
 the common fruits of the earth in prolific abundance. The 
 Scripture adds the sycamore tree to the number of its products 
 (Luke xix. 4). Of all these productions which so distin- 
 guished the climate of Jericho, and the greater part of which 
 it enjoyed in common with Egypt, very few now remain. 
 Only one solitary palm tree lingers in the plain ; the syca- 
 mores have altogether disappeared ; the celebrated opobalsam 
 is not known ; and the myrobalanum alone appears to thrive, 
 being probably the thorny shrub, growing wild in the plain, 
 to which the name of zukkum is given by the present inhabi- 
 tants the modern "Balsam of Jericho" is an oil, extracted 
 from the kernels of the green nut which it bears. 
 
 4. The Plain of Esdraelon is often mentioned in sacred 
 history (Judges iv. 13-15, 16 ; v. 19 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 29 ; 
 Zech. xii. 11 ; Judith i. 8) as the great battle-field of the 
 Jewish and other nations, under the names of the 
 Valley of Megiddo and the Valley of Jezreel ; and by Jose- 
 phus as the Great Plain. The convenience of its extent and 
 situation for military action and display has, from the earliest 
 periods of history down to our own day, caused its surface, at 
 certain intervals, to be moistened with the blood, and covered 
 with the bodies, of conflicting warriors of almost every nation 
 under heaven. This great plain, exclusive of three great 
 arms which stretch eastward towards the valley of the Jordan, 
 may be said to be in the form of an acute triangle, having 
 the measure of thirteen or fourteen miles on the north, about 
 eighteen on the east, and above twenty on the south-west. 
 In the western portion this plain seems perfectly level, with 
 a general declivity towards the Mediterranean; but in the 
 
LAUD. 13 
 
 east it is somewhat undulated by slight spurs and swells fioiu 
 the roots of the mountains : from the eastern side three great 
 valleys go off to the valley of the Jordan. These valleys are 
 separated by the ridges of Gilboa and Little Hermon, and 
 that which lies between these two ridges, is the proper valley 
 of Jezreel, which name seems to be sometimes given to the 
 whole plain of Esdraelon. The valley of Jezreel is a deep 
 plain, and about three miles across. Before the verdure of 
 spring and early summer has been parched up by the heat 
 and drought of the late summer and autumn, the view of the 
 Great Plain is, from its fertility and beauty, very delightful. 
 In June, yellow fields of grain, with green patches of millet 
 and cotton interspersed, chequer the landscape like a carpet. 
 The plain itself is almost without villages, but there are seve- 
 ral on the slopes of the enclosing hills, especially on the side 
 of Mount Carmel. 
 
 5. The Plain of the Coast is that tract of land which ex- 
 tends along the coast, between the sea and the mountains. 
 In some places, where the mountains approach the sea, this 
 tract is interrupted by promontories and rising grounds ; but, 
 taken generally, the whole coast of Palestine may be described 
 as an extensive plain of various breadth. Sometimes it ex- 
 pands into broad plains, at others it is contracted into narrow 
 valleys. With the exception of some sandy tracts, the soil is 
 throughout rich, and exceedingly productive. The climate is 
 everywhere very warm, and is considered rather insalubrious 
 as compared with the upland country. It is not mentioned 
 by any one collective name in Scripture. The part fronting 
 Samaria, and between Mount Carmel and Jaffa, near a rich 
 pasture ground, was called the Valley of Sharon ; and the 
 continuation southward, between Jaffa and Gaza, was called 
 Tks Plain, as distinguished from the hill-country of Judah. 
 
SECTION m.-WATEB8l 
 
 RIVERS. 
 
 1. THE Jordan is the only river of any note in Palestine, 
 and besides it there are only two or three perennial streams. 
 The greater number of the streams which figure in the his 
 tory, and find place in the maps, are merely torrents or 
 water-courses, which carry off the waters in the season of 
 rain, or if they have their origin in springs, are spent, in the 
 season of drought, soon after they quit their source. 
 
 2. The Jordan. The remotest origin of this river lies 
 among the mountains, not much less than forty miles north of 
 the Sea of Galilee. The source is a large fountain, just above a 
 place called Hasbeiya, whence the stream which flows from 
 it takes the name of Hasbany. This is about twenty miles 
 north of Banias, or Caesarea Philippi, and the ancient city of 
 Dan, where again are large fountains, which have been from 
 ancient times regarded as the sources of the Jordan, to the 
 neglect of the more important and remoter source. The 
 streams from these latter fountains there unite and form a 
 email river, which, after running a short distance further, 
 unites with the Hasbany, and the streams, thus joined into 
 one to form the true Jordan, then proceeds to the lake Huleh, 
 from which the fountain is about twenty-five miles distant. 
 This fountain, which has an undoubted title to stand at the 
 head of the springs and fountains and lakes of this renowned 
 river, hails up from the bottom of a shallow pool some eight 
 or ten rods in circumference. It at once, even in the dry 
 season, forms a considerable stream, which meanders for the 
 first three miles through a narrow, but very lovely, and highly 
 cultivated valley, and then sinks rapidly down a constantly 
 deepening gorge of dark basalt for about six miles, until it 
 reaches the level of the great volcanic plain, extending to 
 the marsh above the Lake Huleh. Through this plain it 
 
RIVERS. 
 
 proceeds eight or ten miles, receiving the other streams in it* 
 way, and enters the lake not far from its north-west corner. 
 The other stream which joins the Hasbany, and whom 
 
 6. Ford of the Jordan. 
 
 sources have heen so long regarded as those of the Jordan, 
 has distinct sources, at Banias and at Tel-el-Kadi. At 
 Banias (anciently Paneas, from the worship of Pan) a stream 
 issues from a spacious cavern, under a wall of rock, at the 
 base of the Heish mountains. Directly over the cavern and 
 in other parts, in the face of the perpendicular rock, niches 
 have been cut to receive statues. Here Herod built a temple 
 in honour of Augustus ; and there was a town somewhat 
 below, traces of which still remain. This is, undoubtedly, 
 that place and cavern, at the foot of a mountain, which Jo- 
 sephus describes as the main source of the Jordan (Joseph. 
 Ant. xv. 10, 3 ; Bell. Jud. i. 21-3). Yet, in another place 
 (Joseph. Bell. Jud. iii. 10, 7), this writer refers the source 
 to a remoter quarter. He relates that the Tetrarch Philip 
 cast some chaff into the lake Phiala, and as it came out at 
 the Paueas cavern, the lake was deemed the true source oi 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the river. This .ake lay 120 stadia eastward, and was deep 
 and round, like a bowl or cup whence its name Phiala. 
 Such a lake, about a mile in circumference, and perfectly 
 round, was discovered by Captains Irby and Mangles, as they 
 journeyed from Damascus to Banias, not more than twelve 
 miles from the latter place.* 
 
 A second source of the Jordan, as described by ancient 
 writers, is at the place now called Tel-el-Kadi, which is about 
 three miles to the west of the cavern at Banias. The Tel 
 (hill) is a small elevation hi the plain, with a flat space on 
 Ihe top ; here are two springs, one of which is very large. 
 The united waters immediately form a stream, twelve or 
 fifteen yards across, which rushes rapidly over a stony bed 
 into a lower plain. After a course of about four miles the 
 stream unites with that from Banias, forming the reputed 
 Jordan, which then continues its course to join the Hasbany, 
 and so to the lake Huleh. 
 
 Between the two lakes lies a tract of high uneven table- 
 land, through which flows the Jordan for about ten miles, in 
 
 a narrow and some- 
 what tortuous valley 
 the upper part a 
 rapid stream, the lower 
 slow and turbid. Near- 
 ly two miles below the 
 lake is a bridge, cal- 
 led Jacob's Bridge ; 
 and here the river is 
 about eighty feet wide 
 and four feet deep. 
 It is said that, in 
 
 6. Jacob's Bridge. 
 passing through, the Jordan does not mingle its waters with 
 those of the lake of Gennesareth; this is also reported of 
 other rivers that pass through lakes. It is certain that the 
 course of the river may be traced through the middle of the 
 lake by a line of smoother water. 
 
 The portion of the Jordan which is historically and geo- 
 
 It has been more lately visited by Mr. Tipping, who has riven in 
 interesting representation and description of it in the new translation of 
 Jocephus by Dr. Traill. 
 
WATERS. 17 
 
 graphically the most interesting and important, is that which 
 runs between the Lake of Tiberias and the Dead Sea. This 
 portion was formerly but little known, but has of late been 
 thoroughly explored (together with the Dead Sea) by an 
 American expedition under the command of Lieut. Lynch of 
 the United States naval service. It had been ascertained 
 that the Dead Sea was more than a thousand feet below the 
 level of the lake of Tiberias ; but it was difficult to under- 
 stand this, seeing that the distance was but sixty miles, and 
 this would give a fall of twenty per mile* to a river which 
 was not known to be tortuous or to have any falls or rapids. 
 From this explanation we, however, know that the river is 
 full of rapids ; and that although the direct distance is but 
 sixty miles, the course of the river is made at least 200 
 miles by the exceedingly tortuous course of the stream. This 
 reduces the fall to riot more than six feet in the mile, and for 
 this the numerous rapids sufficiently account. 
 
 On leaving the lake of Gennesareth the river enters into 
 a very broad valley, or Ghor, which name the natives apply 
 to a depressed tract or plain between mountains. This name 
 is applied to the plain of the Jordan, not only between the 
 lake of Gennesareth and the Dead Sea, but quite across the 
 Dead Sea, and to some distance beyond. The valley varies 
 in width from five to ten miles between the mountains on 
 each side. The river does not make its way straight through 
 the midst of the Ghor ; it flows first near the western hills, 
 then near the eastern, but advances to the Dead Sea through 
 the middle of the valley. Within this valley there is a lower 
 one, and within that, another still lower, through which the 
 river flows ; the inner valley is about half a mile wide, and 
 is generally green and beautiful, with trees and bushes, 
 whereas the upper or large valley is, for the most part, sandy 
 or barren ; and the mountains, or rather cliffs, and slopes of 
 the river uplands, present, for the most part, a wild and 
 cheerless aspect. The mountains on the west are the most 
 precipitous, while those on the east rise in a gradual slope to 
 a much greater elevation. The water of the river is clear 
 and transparent, and abounds in fish. It is wholesome, al- 
 
 * This was then thought to be without example : but it is now known thai 
 tfcf Sacramento River of California has an average fall of 100 feet pr mil* 
 
 3 
 
18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ways cool, and nearly tasteless. It is tnrbid only in the 
 vicinity of tbe falls and rapids, and on advancing to the Dead 
 Sea, where it probably passes over beds of clay. The 
 breadth and depth of the river varies much in different places 
 and at different times of the year. Dr. Shaw calculates the 
 average breadth at thirty yards, and the depth at nine feet. 
 In the season of flood, in April and early in May, the river 
 is full, and sometimes overflows its lower bank, to which fact 
 there are several illusions in Scripture (Josh. iii. 15; 1 Chron. 
 rii. 15 ; Jer. xii. 5 ; xlix. 19 ; 1. 44 ; Ecclus. xxiv. 26). 
 
 3. The Kishon, that " ancient river," by whose wide and 
 rapid stream the hosts of Sisera were swept away (Judges iv. 
 13'; v. 21), is, in winter and spring, a mighty river, flowing 
 from Mount Tabor, and collecting the waters of a large part 
 of the plain of Esdraelon and its bordering hills ; but in sum- 
 mer all the part which passes over the plain is quite dried 
 up, and only water from perennial springs in Carmel is then 
 found in the last seven miles of its bed. It enters the bay 
 of Acre near the foot of Mount Carmel. 
 
 4. The Helus, now called Nahr Kardanus, enters the bay 
 of Acre higher up than the Kishon. It is a small stream, ford- 
 able even at its mouth in summer. It is not mentioned in 
 the Bible, and is chiefly celebrated for the tradition, that the 
 accidental vitrification of its sands taught man the art of 
 making glass. 
 
 5. The other streams of note enter the Jordan from the 
 east ; these are the Jarmuch, the Jabbok, and the Arnon. 
 The Jarmuch, called also Sheriatel-Mandhur, anciently Hiero- 
 max, joins the Jordan five miles below the lake of Gennesa- 
 reth. Its source is ascribed to a small lake, almost a mile in 
 circumference, at Mezareib, which is thirty miles east of the 
 Jordan. It is a beautiful stream, and yields a considerable 
 tody of water to the Jordan. 
 
 6. The Jabbok, now called Zerka, is a small stream, 
 winding prettily through a deep valley or ravine, which is 
 not so well wooded as its neighbourhood. The water is very 
 clear; and, although narrow, the stream is deep and its 
 course rapid. 
 
 7. The Arnorij now called Wady Modjeb, enters the Dead 
 Bea. It was the river of Moab, and as such is often men- 
 
WATERS. 19 
 
 tioned in Scripture. This stream also flows through an 
 exceedingly deep valley, which is less shrubby than the river 
 valleys of this country usually are. It is almost exhausted 
 by the end of summer, but at all times there are clear indica- 
 tions of the furious rapidity with which the full stream rushes 
 to the Dead Sea during the season of rain. 
 
 LAKES. 
 
 The river Jordan in its course forms three remarkable 
 lakes, in the last of which, called the Dead Sea, it is lost : 
 
 1. The Lake Merom (Josh. xi. 5-7), or Samochonitis 
 (Joseph. Antiq. v. 5, 1) now called Huleh, the first of these 
 serves as a kind of reservoir to collect the waters which form 
 the Jordan, and again to send them forth in a single stream. 
 The lake is of a triangular or funnel shape, five or six miles 
 broad at its base, and tapers down to an apex at its outlet, 
 at a distance of six or eight miles from the northern base. 
 This is in spring, when the waters are highest ; but in sum- 
 mer it becomes a mere marsh. In some parts it is sown with 
 rice, and its reeds and rushes afford shelter to wild hogs. 
 
 2. The Lake of Gennesareth, called also the Sea of 
 Galilee, and the Lake of Tiberias. After quitting the lake 
 Huleh, the river Jordan proceeds for about thirteen miles 
 southward, and then enters the great lake of Gennesareth. 
 This lake lies very deep, among fruitful hills and mountainSj 
 from which, in the season, many rivulets descend ; its shape 
 will be seen from the map. The extent has been greatly over- 
 rated : Dr. Eobinson considers that the length, in a straight 
 line, does not exceed eleven or twelve geographical miles, 
 and that the breadth is from five to six miles. From numer- 
 ous indications, it is judged that the bed of this lake was 
 formed by some ancient volcanic eruption, which history has 
 not recorded ; the waters are very clear and sweet, and con- 
 tain various kinds of excellent fish in great abundance. It 
 will be remembered that several of the Apostles were fisher- 
 men of this lake, and that it was also the scene of several 
 transactions in the life of Christ ; it is thus frequently men- 
 tioned in the New Testament, but very rarely in the Old, 
 
 P. 2 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 where it is called the Sea of Chinnereth, ot whkh Gennesareih 
 is a corruption. The borders of the lake were in the time of 
 Christ well peopled, having been covered with numerous 
 towns and villages ; but now they are almost desolate, and 
 the fish and water-fowl are but little disturbed. 
 
 3. The Dead Sea, called also the Salt Sea, the Sea of 
 Sodom, and the Asphaltic Lake (Lacus Asphaltitis), is from 
 its size the most important, and from its history and qualities 
 the most remarkable, of all the lakes of Palestine. It has 
 been assumed that this lake did not exist before the destruc- 
 tion of Sodom and the other " cities of the plain" (Gen. xix.); 
 and that before that time the present bed of the lake was a 
 fertile plain, in which those cities stood. It was also con- 
 cluded that the river Jordan then flowed through this plain, 
 and afterwards pursued its course through the great valley, of 
 Arabah, to the eastern arm of the Red Sea. These conclusions 
 seem to be substantially correct. The results of the recent 
 complete survey and soundings of the whole lake by the 
 American Expedition under Lieut. Lynch, are in conformity 
 with the inference one would draw from the Scriptural account, 
 that the entire chasm was a plain, sunk and "overwhelmed" 
 by the wrath of God. The bottom of the sea consists of two 
 submerged plains, an elevated and a depressed one ; the 
 former averaging thirteen, and the latter about thirteen hundred 
 feet below the surface. In the northern, and largest and 
 deepest one, in a line corresponding with the bed of the Jor- 
 dan, is a ravine which corresponds with another at the south 
 bed of the lake. In the Jordan itself, between the Jabbok 
 and this lake, there is a sudden break down in the bed of the 
 river ; and if there be a similar break in the water courses 
 to the south of the Dead Sea, accompanied with like volcanic 
 characters, there can scarcely be a doubt that the whole 
 Ghor has sunk from some extraordinary convulsion, preceded 
 most probably by an irruption of fire ; and a general conflagra- 
 tion of the bitumen which abounded in the plain. 
 
 The Dead Sea is about thirty-nine or forty geographical 
 miles long from north to south, and nine or ten miles wide 
 from east to west ; and it lies embedded very deep between 
 lofty cliffs on the western side, which are about 1500 feet 
 and mountains on the eastern shore, the highest ridgei 
 
WAI ERS. 21 
 
 of which are reckoned to be from 2000 to 2500 feet above the 
 water. The water of the lake is much salter than that of the 
 Sea. From the quantity of salt which it holds in solution, 
 it is thick and heavy, and no fish can live or marine plants 
 grow in it. Even when subjected to a powerful microscope 
 the water exhibits no trace of animalculse or of any animal 
 matter. The old stories respecting the pestiferous qualities of 
 the Dead Sea and its waters, are mere fables or delusions ; and 
 actual appearances are the natural and obvious effects of the 
 confined and deep situation, the intense heat, and the uncom- 
 mon saltness of the waters. Lying in its deep cauldron, sur- 
 rounded by lofty clifis of naked limestone rock, exposed for 
 seven or eight months in the year to the unclouded beams of 
 a burning sun, nothing but sterility and solitude can be looked 
 for upon its shores ; and nothing else is actually found, except 
 in those parts where there are fountains or streams of fresh 
 water ; in all such t>laces there is a fertile soil and abundant 
 vegetation. Birds also abound, and they are observed to fly 
 over and across the sea without being, as old stories tell, in- 
 jured or killed by its exhalations. The water, although un- 
 pleasant, acrid, and greasy, is entirely inodorous. The 
 noxious smells which pervade the shores are to be ascribed to 
 the foetid springs and marshes along the shore, increased by 
 exhalations from stagnant pools. Indeed, the saline and 
 inodorous exhalations from the lake itself are probably rather 
 wholesome than otherwise ; and as there is but little verdure 
 upon the shores, there can be no vegetable exhalations to 
 render the air impure. The evil to which the human frame 
 is here subject, arises from the dangerous and depressing in- 
 fluence of the intense concentrated heat, and from the acrid 
 and clammy quality of the waters, producing a most irritated 
 state of the skin, and eventually febrile symptoms, and great 
 prostration of strength. 
 
 On the borders of this lake is found much sulphur, in 
 pieces as large as walnuts, and even larger. There is also a 
 black shining stone, which will partly burn in the fire, and 
 which then emits a bituminous smell : this is the " stink- 
 stone" of Burckhardt. At Jerusalem it is made into rosaries 
 Mid toys, of which great quantities are sold to the pilgrimi 
 the sacred places. Another remarkable production. 
 
n INTRODUCTION. 
 
 from which, indeed, the lake takes one of its names, is th 
 asphaltum, or bitumen. Josephus says, that " the sea in 
 many places sends up black masses of asphaltum, which float 
 upon the surface, having the size and shape of headless oxen " 
 (Joseph. Bell. Jud. iv. 8, 4). From recent information, it 
 appears that large masses are rarely found, and then generally 
 after earthquakes. The substance is doubtless produced from 
 the bottom of the sea, in which it coagulates, and rises to the 
 surface ; or possibly the coagulation may have been ancient, 
 and the substance adheres to the bottom until detached by 
 earthquakes and other convulsions, when its buoyancy brings 
 it to the surface. We know that "the vale of Siddim" 
 (Gen. xiv. 10), was anciently "full of slime-pits " or sources 
 of bitumen ; and these, now under the water, probably supply 
 the aaphaltum which is found on such 
 
SECTION IV.-CLIMATE AND SEASONS. 
 
 1. THE variations of sunshine and rain which, with us, 
 extend throughout the year, are in Palestine confined chiefly 
 to the latter part of autumn and the winter. During all the 
 rest of the year the sky is almost uninterruptedly cloudless, 
 and rain very rarely falls. 
 
 The autumnal rains usually commence at the latter end 
 of October, or beginning of November ; not suddenly, but by 
 degrees, which gives opportunity to the husbandman to sow 
 his wheat and barley. The rains come mostly from the west 
 (Luke xii. 54) and south-west, and continue for two or three 
 days at a time, falling chiefly in the night ; the wind then 
 changes to the north or east, and several days of fine weather 
 succeed. During the months of November and December the 
 rains continue to fall heavily ; afterwards they return at 
 longer intervals, and are not so heavy ; but at no period 
 during the winter do they entirely cease to occur. Rain con- 
 tinues to fall more or less during the month of March, but ia 
 afterwards very rare. Morning mists occur as late as May, 
 but rain almost never. Itain in the time of harvest was as 
 incomprehensible to an ancient Jew as snow in summer (Prov. 
 xxvi. 1; 1 Sam. xii. 17; Amos iv. 7). The "early "and 
 the "latter" rains, for which the Jewish husbandmen awaited 
 with longing (Prov. xvi. 15 ; James v. 7), seem to have 
 been the first showers of autumn, which revived the parched 
 and thirsty soil, and prepared it for the seed ; and the later 
 showers of spring which continued to refresh and forward the 
 ripening crops and the vernal products of the fields. 
 
 2. The cold of winter is not severe, and the ground is 
 never frozen. Snow falls more or less. In the low-lying 
 plains but little falls, and it disappears early in the day ; in 
 the higher lands, as at Jerusalem, it often falls, chiefly in 
 January and February, to the depth of a foot or more ; but 
 even there it does not lie long on the ground. Thunder and 
 lightning are frequent in the winter. 
 
 3 In the plains and valleys the heat of summer is op 
 
24 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 pressive, but not in the more elevated tracts, as at Jerusalem, 
 except when the south wind (Sirocco) blows (Luke xii. 55). 
 In such high grounds the nights are cool, often with heavy 
 dew. The total absence of rain in summer soon destroys the 
 verdure of the fields, and gives to the general landscape, even 
 in the high country, an aspect of drought and barrenness. 
 No green thing remains but the foliage of the scattered fruit 
 trees, and occasional vineyards and fields of millet. In 
 autumn the whole land becomes dry and parched ; the cisterns 
 are nearly empty, and all nature, animate and inanimate, 
 looks forward with longing for the return of the rainy season. 
 
 4. In the hill-country the season of harvest is later than 
 in the plains of the Jordan and of the sea-coast. The barley 
 harvest is about a fortnight earlier than that of wheat. In 
 the plain of the Jordan the wheat harvest is early in May ; 
 in the plains of the Coast and of Esdraelon it is towards the 
 latter end of that month, and in the hills, not until June. 
 The general vintage is in September, but the first grapes 
 ripen in July, and from that time the towns are well supplied 
 with this fruit. 
 
 5. The climate of Palestine has always been considered 
 healthy, and the inhabitants have generally enjoyed a high 
 average duration of life. Jerusalem, in particular, from its 
 great elevation, clear sky, and bracing atmosphere, should b 
 healthy spot, *nd is usually so esteemed. 
 
PAST n-AGRICULTURE AND PASTUKAOB. 
 
 SECTION L LAWS AND OPERATIONS. 
 
 LAWS. 
 
 1 IT appeared to the Divine Wisdom, that the agricultural 
 life was best suited to maintain the Israelites in that particu- 
 lar position in which it was designed that they should be 
 placed. A country well adapted to agriculture was, there- 
 fore, given to them ; and laws were framed to encourage and 
 to render necessary the culture of the ground, and, in some 
 degree, to discourage other pursuits. That all might find an 
 interest in the culture of the soil, every one had some land 
 to cultivate. A plot of ground was given to every head of a 
 family, which he had full power to cultivate as he pleased, 
 and to transmit to his heirs. The difficulty was not in ac- 
 quiring, but in alienating a possession in land. No one could 
 dispossess himself of his lands for a longer time than to the 
 next ensuing jubilee, which occurred every fifty years ; and 
 if he disposed of his land for this limited period, himself, or 
 his nearest relative, always retained the right of resuming 
 possession, by paying the calculated value of the unexpired term 
 op to the year of jubilee. As, by the original constitution, God 
 himself was the political head of the state, and the sovereign 
 proprietor of the soil, the land, thus secured to the heirs of 
 the first proprietors, was exempt from any other rent-charges 
 than the tithes and first-fruits which were offered to Him, 
 and used by His servants the priests and Levites (Lev- 
 xxvii. 30 ; Deut. xii. 17-19 ; xiv. 22-29). As fields are 
 not divided by hedges in the east, the stones which marked 
 
26 INTKOUUCTION. 
 
 the boundaries of lands (land-marks) were rendered inviolable 
 by a solemn curse against whoever should remove them 
 (Deut. xix. 14). All the inhabitants, except the priests and 
 Levites, were considered by the laws, and were, fear the most 
 part, in fact, agriculturists, whether they dwelt in the country 
 or in towns. This legislation had due effect ; for agriculture 
 was long held in high honour, and persons of condition did 
 not disdain to put their hand to the plough ( 1 Sam. xi. 5, 7 ; 
 1 Kings xix. 19 ; 2 Chron. xxvi. 10). As luxury increased, 
 this esteem for agriculture declined ; especially after the Cap- 
 tivity, when many turned their attention towards merchandise 
 and the mechanic arts. 
 
 2. The Fallow Tear. That the Israelites might exercise 
 trust in their Divine King ; that they might be trained to 
 habits of economy and foresight ; and that the soil might not 
 be exhausted, it was ordered that every seventh year should 
 be a sabbath of rest to the land. There was to be no sowing ( 
 nor reaping, no pruning of vines nor olives, no vintage nor 
 gathering of fruits ; and whatever grew of itself was to be 
 left to the poor, the stranger, and the beasts of the field (Lev. 
 xxv. 1-7 ; Deut. xv. 1-10). But such an observance re- 
 quired more faith than the Israelites were prepared to exer- 
 cise ; it was for a long time utterly neglected (Lev. xxvi. 
 34, 35 ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21), but after the Captivity was 
 more observed. 
 
 3. Fertilization. The soil of Palestine is, for the most 
 part, very fertile, when the rains and dews of autumn and 
 spring are not withheld. Water is the great fertilizing agent ; 
 and therefore the ancient inhabitants were able, in some parts, 
 to avert the aridity which the summer droughts occasioned, 
 and to keep up a garden-like verdure, by means of aqueducts 
 communicating with the brooks and rivers (Psalm i. 3 ; Ixv. 
 10 ; Prov. xxi. 1 ; Isaiah xxx. 25 ; xxxii. 2, 20 ; Hosea xii. 
 11). Hence springs, fountains, and rivulets, were as much 
 esteemed \>y husbandmen as by shepherds (Josh. xv. 19 ; 
 Judges i. 15) The soil was also cleared of stones, and 
 carefully cultivated ; and its fertility was increased by the 
 ashes to which the dry stubble and herbage were occasion- 
 ally reduced by burning over the surface of the ground (Prov. 
 xxiv. 31; Isaiah vii, 23; xxxii, 13), The dung and, in 
 
LAWS AND OPERATIONS. 
 
 ft 
 
 the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, the blood of animals, were 
 also used to enrich the soil (2 Kings ix. 37 ; Psalm Ixxxiii. 
 10; Isaiah xxv. 10 Jer. ix. 22 ; Luke xiv. 34, 35). 
 
 4. Fields. Under the term dagan, which we translate 
 "grain," and "corn," the Hebrews comprehended almost 
 every object of^eW-culture. Syria, including Palestine, was 
 regarded by the ancients as one of the first countries for corn. 
 Wheat was abundant and excellent; and there is still one 
 bearded sort, the ear of which is three times as heavy, and con- 
 tains twice as many grains, as our common English wheat 
 Barley was also much cultivated, not only for bread, but be- 
 cause it was the only kind of corn which was given to beasts ; 
 for oats and rye do not thrive in warm climates. Hay was 
 not in use, and therefore the barley was mixed with chopped 
 straw to form the food of beasts : this is what is called " pro- 
 vender" in Scripture. Other objects of field-culture were millet, 
 spelt, various kinds of 
 
 beans and peas, pepper- 
 wort, cummin, cucum- 
 bers, melons, flax, and 
 perhaps cotton. Many 
 other articles might be 
 mentioned as being now 
 cultivated in Palestine, 
 but, as their names do 
 not occur in Scripture, 
 it is difficult to know 
 whether they were 
 grown there in ancient 
 times. 
 
 5. Gardens. The 
 [sraelites appear to have 
 been fond of gardens, 
 which, in the East, are 
 chiefly planted with 
 
 trees, with little regard 7 - Garden House - 
 
 to order or effect. As, however, the Egyptians were skilftt 
 florists, and laid out their gardens with care, introducing beds 
 and borders of flowers, it is likely that the Israelites had 
 tome similar practices. Shade was chiefly sought ; and, that 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 a double benefit might be realised, the shade of fruit trees 
 was preferred. The more important gardens were named 
 from the prevalence of certain trees in them ; as u the garden 
 of nuts," " the garden of pomegranates," &c. (Sol. Song vi. 
 11). The gardens owed all their freshness to the waters, of 
 which they were never destitute (Num. xxiv. 6 ; Deut. xi. 10 ; 
 Sol. Song iv. 15 ; Isaiah i. 30; Ixvi. 17 ; Jer. xxxi. 12). So 
 attached were the Israelites to their gardens, that they often 
 had their sepulchres in them (2 Kings ix. 37 ; xxi. 18 ; 
 Mark xv. 46). Trees were multiplied by seeds and shoots ; 
 they were transplanted, dug around, manured, and pruned 
 (Job viii. 16 ; Isaiah xvii. 10) ; and the operation of graft- 
 ing was well known (Eom. xi. 17). 
 
 OPERATIONS AND IMPLEMENTS. 
 
 1. Of late years much light has been thrown upon the 
 agricultural operations and implements of ancient times by the 
 
 discovery of various 
 representations on 
 the sculptured monu- 
 ments and painted 
 tombs of Egypt. As 
 these agree surpris- 
 ingly with the notices 
 in the Bible, and, in- 
 
 the existing usages in Syria and Egypt, it is very safe to 
 receive the instruction which they offer. 
 
 2. Ploughing. This has always been a light and super- 
 ficial operation in the East. 
 
 At first the ground was opened 
 with pointed sticks ; then a 
 kind of hoe was employed, 
 and this, in many parts of the 
 world, is still the substitute 
 for a plough. But the plough 
 was known in Egypt and Syria 9- Hoeing. 
 
 the Hebrews became cultivators (Job i. 14). ID the 
 
LAWS AMD OPERATIONS. 
 
 East, however, it has always been a light and inartificial 
 
 implement. At first it was little more than a stout branch 
 
 of a tree, from which 
 
 projected another limb, 
 
 shortened and pointed ; 
 
 this being turned into the 
 
 ground made the furrows, 
 
 while at the further end 
 
 of tho larger branch was 
 
 fastened a transverse yoke, 
 
 , . . ., 10. Ancient Egyptian Plough. 
 
 to which the oxen were 
 
 harnessed. Afterwards a handle to guide the plough waa 
 added: thus the plough consisted of 1, the pole ; 2, the point 
 
 or share ; 3, the handle ; 
 4, the yoke. The Sy- 
 rian plough is, and 
 doubtless was, light 
 enough for a man to 
 carry with one hand; 
 it was drawn by oxen, 
 =3 which were sometimes 
 urged by a scourge 
 (Isaiah x. 26 ; Nahum 
 iii. 2), but oftener by 
 a long staff, furnished at one end with a flat piece of metal 
 for clearing the plough, and at the other with a spike for 
 goading the oxen : this ox-goad might be easily used as a 
 spear (Judges iii. 31 ; 1 Sam. xiii. 21). Sometimes men 
 followed the plough with hoes to break the clods (Isaiah 
 xxviii. 24) ; but in later times a kind of hammer was em- 
 ployed, which appears to have been then, as now, merely a 
 thick block of wood pressed down by a weight, or by a man 
 sitting on it, and drawn over the ploughed field. 
 
 3. Sowing. The ground, having been ploughed as soon 
 as the autumnal rains had mollified th; soil, was fit, by the 
 end of October, to receive the seed ; and the sowing of wheat 
 continued, in different situations, through November and into 
 December. Barley was not generally sown till January and 
 February. The seed appears to have been sown and har- 
 roved at the same time; althougn sometimes it was ploughed 
 
 11. 
 
 1. The plough. 2. The pole. 3. Shares (various). 
 4. Handle. 5. Yokes. 6. Ox-goad. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 in by a cross furrow. The Egyptian paintings illustrate the 
 Scriptures oy shewing that the sower held the seed in 
 
 a basket, with one 
 hand, and scattered 
 it with the other; 
 while another per- 
 son filled a fresh 
 basket. We also see 
 that the mode of 
 sowing was what we 
 call "broad-cast," in 
 which the seed is 
 thrown loosely over 
 the field (Matt. xiii. 
 3-8). 
 
 IS. Sowing. 
 
 4. Reaping. The 
 season of harvest has 
 oeen noticed (p. 23). Different modes of reaping are indi- 
 cated in Scripture, and illustrated by the Egyptian monuments. 
 In the most ancient times 
 the corn was plucked up by 
 the roots, which continued 
 to be the practice with par- 
 ticular kinds of grain after 
 the sickle was known ; in 
 Egypt, at this day, barley 
 and dourra are pulled up by 
 the roots. When the sickle 
 
 13 ' Pluckm s Com - 
 
 was used, the wheat was either cropped off under the ear, or 
 eat close to the ground ; in the former case the straw was 
 
 afterwards plucked up for 
 use, in the latter the stub- 
 ble was left and burnt in 
 the ground for manure. 
 As the Egyptians needed 
 not such manure, and were 
 economical of straw, they 
 generally followed the for- 
 mer method ; while the 
 
 14. Reaping. 
 
 Uraelites, wh ;se lands derive' 3 ' 
 
 from the burnt stubble, 
 
LAWS AND OPERATIONS. 
 
 TOed the latter, although the practice of cutting off the ears 
 
 was also known to them (Job xxiv. 24). Cropping the ears 
 
 short, the Egyptians 
 
 did not generally bind 
 
 them into sheaves, 
 
 bnt removed them in 
 
 baskets. Sometimes 
 
 they bound them into 
 
 double sheaves; and 
 
 such as they plucked 
 
 up were bound into 
 
 r 15. Binding Corn. 
 
 long sheaves. I he 
 
 Israelites appear always to have made up their corn into 
 sheaves (Gen. xxxvii. 7 ; Lev. xxiii. 10-15 ; Ruth ii. 7, 15 ; 
 
 Job xxiv. 10 ; Jer. ix. 
 22 ; Mic. iv. 12), which 
 were collected into a 
 heap, or removed in a 
 cart (Amos ii. 13) to 
 the threshing-floor. The 
 reapers were the owners 
 and their children, men 
 and women - servants, 
 and hired day-labourers, 
 (Ruth ii. 4, 8, 21, 23 ; John iv. 36 ; James v. 4). Refresh- 
 ments were provided for them, especially drink, of which the 
 gleaners were often 
 allowed to partake 
 (Ruth ii. 9); so, in 
 the Egyptian scenes, 
 we see reapers drink- 
 ing, and the gleaners 
 applying to share the 
 draught. Among the 
 Israelites, gleaning was one of the stated provisions for the 
 poor ; and for their benefit the corners of the fields were left 
 unreaped, and the reapers might not return for a forgotten 
 sheaf. Gleaners could not, however, force themselves upon 
 a particular field, without the consent of the owner (Lev. xiz* 
 9, 10 ; Deut. xxiv. 19 ; Ruth ii. 2). 
 
 16. Reaping HOOKS. 
 
 17. Reapers Drinking. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5. Threshing. The ancient mode of threshing, as de- 
 scribed in Scripture, and figured on the Egyptian monuments, 
 is still preserved in Palestine. Formerly the sheaves were 
 conveyed from the field to the threshing-floor in carts, but 
 mow they are borne generally on the backs of camels and 
 
 asses. The thresh- 
 ing-floor is a level 
 plot of ground, of a 
 circular shape, gene- 
 rally about fifty feet 
 in diameter, prepared 
 for use by beating 
 down the earth till a 
 hard floor is formed 
 
 18. Threshing. 
 
 (Gen. 1. 10 ; Judges vi. 37 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 16, 24) ; some- 
 times several of these floors are contiguous to each other. 
 The sheaves are spread out upon them, and the grain is 
 trodden out by oxen, cows, and young cattle, arranged five 
 abreast, and driven in a circle, or rather in all directions, 
 over the floor. This was the common mode in Bible times ; 
 and Moses forbade that the oxen thus employed should be 
 muzzled to prevent them from tasting the corn (Deut. xxv. 4; 
 Isaiah xxviii. 28). Flails^ or sticks, were only used in thresh- 
 ing small quantities, or for the lighter kinds of grain (Ruth 
 Li. 17 ; Isaiah xxviii. 27). There were, however, some kinds 
 of threshing-machines, which are still employed in Palestine and 
 Egypt. One of them, 
 represented in the 
 annexed figure, is 
 very muoh used in 
 Palestine. It is com- 
 posed of two thick 
 planks, fastened to- 
 gether side by side, 
 and bent upward in 
 
 19. Corn-Drag. 
 
 front ; sharp fragments of stone are fixed into holes bored in 
 the bottom. This machine is drawn over the corn by oxen, 
 a man or boy sometimes sitting on it to increase the weight ; 
 tt not only separates the grain, but cuts the straw and make* 
 it fit for fodder (2 Kings xiii. 7). This is mort probably th 
 
LAWS AND OPERATIONS. 
 
 Corn-drag which is mentioned in Scripture (Isaiah xxviii. 27 ; 
 xli. 15; Amos i. 3, rendered "threshing-instrument"), and 
 would seem to have been sometimes furnished with iron points 
 instead of stones. The Bible also notices a machine called a 
 moreg (2 Sam. xxi. 22 ; 1 Chron. xxi. 23 ; Isaiah xli. 15), 
 which is unquestion- 
 ably the same which 
 still in Arabic; bears 
 the name of nor eg ; 
 and which, although 
 not now seen in Pales- 
 tine, is common in 
 Egypt. It is a sort 
 of frame of wood, in 
 which are inserted ^ Nore g- 
 
 three wooden rollers, armed with iron teeth, &c.; it bears a 
 sort of seat or chair, in which the driver sits to give the 
 benefit of his weight ; it is generally drawn over the corn by 
 two oxen, and separates the grain and breaks up the straw 
 even more effectually than the drag. In all these processes 
 the corn is occasionally turned by a fork, and when sufficiently 
 threshed is thrown up by the same fork against the wind to 
 separate the grain, which is then gathered up and winnowed. 
 
 6. Winnowing. This was generally accomplished by 
 repeating the process of tossing up the grain against the wind 
 
 with a fork (Jer. iv. 11, 12), by 
 which the broken straw and chaff 
 were dispersed and the grain fell 
 to the ground. The grain after- 
 wards passed through a sieve, to 
 separate the bits of earth and 
 other impurities ; after this it 
 underwent a still further purifi- 
 cation, by being tossed up with 
 "wooden scoops, or short-handled 
 21 - shovels, such as we see in Egyp- 
 
 tian paintings (Isaiah xxx. 24). 
 
 7. Corn-stores. The un winnowed grain was originally 
 kept in subterranean storehouses, and even in caverns ; but, 
 in process of time, granaries were built both in Egypt and 
 Palestine (Gen. xli. 35 ; Exod. i. 11 ; 1 Chron. xxvii. 25). 
 
8ECKCN II.- PRINCIPAL VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. 
 
 VINES AND VINEYARDS. 
 
 1. PALESTINE was very much celebrated for its vines, 
 and for the wine which they afforded ; they still grow exceed- 
 ingly well, from one end of the country to the other ; and 
 both the clusters and the grapes are often of very large size 
 (Num. xiii. 23). Clusters weighing ten or twelve pounds, 
 and grapes as large as prunes, are mentioned by travellers. 
 The varieties differ, of course, in size, as well as in quality, 
 and the largest are not necessarily the best. A small white 
 grape is, indeed, considered the best that grows in that quarter, 
 and may be the celebrated " vine of Sorek." The grapes of 
 Palestine are mostly black and red varieties ; hence the wine 
 was generally red, whence arose the phrase " blood of grapes" 
 (Gen. xlix. 11 ; Deut. xxxii. 14; Isaiah xxvii. 2). 
 
 2. Vineyards. The modes of cultivation were, and still 
 are, various. In general the sides of hills were preferred; 
 and Lebanon was particularly famous for its vines and wines 
 (Hosea xiv. 7). The hill-side vineyards often rose in suc- 
 cessive terraces, faced with stone, which collected and retained 
 the soil brought down from the higher parts by the rains; 
 this continues to be the prevalent mode for all kinds of culti- 
 vation in Lebanon, and there are still large traces of it in the 
 hills of Palestine (Isaiah v. 1 ; Jer. xxxi. 5 ; Joel iii. 18 ; 
 Amos ix. 13 ; Micah i. 6). In Lebanon, and some other 
 parts, the vine is allowed to run along the ground, like the 
 cucur-.ber (Ezek. xvii. 6, 7). Sometimes several vines are 
 BO planted us to support one another, by being fastened 
 together at the top, so as to form a kiud of cone. In othei 
 cases they grow without support, having stout stems and 
 extensive branches, which the Israelites used often to prop 
 and train, so as to form a pleasant shade. Hence, " sitting 
 under one's own vine," is a frequent phrase for a state of 
 tepose and comfort (1 Kings iv. 25 ; Hosea ii. 12 ; Mic. ivc 
 
PRINCIPAL VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. 
 
 4 , Zech. iii. 10). In many of the vineyards there are still 
 watch-towers of stone, round or square, from ten to fifteen or 
 twenty feet high, in which keepers are stationed, during the 
 season of the grape, to protect the fruit from injury or pillage 
 (Isaiah v. 2 ; Matt. xxi. 33). The passing traveller was 
 allowed to pluck and eat grapes from the way-side vineyards, 
 but not to carry them away in his vessel (Deut. xxiii. 24). 
 Many minute allusions to processes in the culture of the vine 
 manifest the very great attention which was paid to it by the 
 ancient Hebrews. There are fine allegories based upon this 
 culture in Psalm Ixx*. 8-15; Isaiah v. 1-7; xxvii. 2-6; 
 Matt. xxi. 33-41. 
 
 3. Vintage. Grapes may always be had after June, but 
 the regular vintage does not begin until the middle of Sep- 
 tember, and is not over everywhere until the middle of 
 November. The gleanings of the vineyard, as well as of the 
 eorn-field, were left 
 u> the poor (Lev. 
 six. 10). The vint- 
 age was a season of 
 gladness (Judges ix. 
 27 ; Isaiah xvi. 10 ; 
 Jer. xxv. 30 ; xlviii. 
 33) ; and, with loud 
 shouts and other 
 signs of rejoicing, the 
 grapes were plucked 
 off and carried to the 
 wine - press, which 
 was generally in the 
 vineyard (Isaiah v. 
 2;Hag.ii.l6; Zech. 
 xiv. 10; Matt. xxi. 
 33; Rev. xiv. 19, 20). 
 The Wine-presses 
 were either formed 
 with stones, and 
 covered with an insoluble cement, or were, in certain situa- 
 tions, hewn out of the rock, forming an elevated reservoir, 
 into which the grapes were thrown, and were trodden upon 
 
86 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 by men to press out the juice. The expressed juice flowed 
 through gratings or apertures into a lower receptacle outside, 
 or into large vessels of stone or earthenware. From the 
 Egyptian paintings, we see that a beam was temporarily 
 erected over the press, from which thongs were suspended, by 
 which the men held on as they trod the grapes, and which 
 must have been a great support to them in their work. 
 Although laborious, this work was performed with great ani- 
 mation with songs, and with a shout or cry, peculiar to the 
 occasion; and was sometimes accompanied by instrumental 
 music (Isaiah xvi. 9, 10 ; Jer. xxv. 30 ; xlviii. 32, 33). 
 
 4. The Olive Tree. The olive rarely becomes a large 
 tree, and its dull whitish foliage does not deserve the name 
 
 of verdure; but there 
 was no tree more 
 honoured by the Is- 
 raelites, or more truly 
 valuable to them. It 
 was an object of 
 special culture in 
 plantations or " olive 
 yards," for the sake 
 of the valuable oil 
 obtained from the 
 fruit. This oil is 
 drawn, not from the 
 kernel, as with most 
 other vegetable oils, 
 but from the fleshy 
 part (pericarp) of the 
 fruit. Vast quanti- 
 ties were obtained; 
 and it was not only 
 used profusely, with 
 food, for light, and for anointings, but large quantities re- 
 mained for traffic with the Tyrians and others (Ezek. xxvii. 
 17). The oil, like the juice of the grape, appears to have 
 been extracted by treading (Mic. vi. 15). The fruit itself 
 does not seem to have .been commonly eaten. The olive is 
 D evergreen tree, and although small, singly, two or three 
 
 83. Olive Tree. 
 
PRINCIPAL VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. JT 
 
 trcnks frequently rise from the same root. It is from twenty 
 to thirty feet high, and the branches are numerous and very 
 widely extended. The Mount of Olives, near Jerusalem, was 
 so named from the numerous olive trees that once grew there ; 
 and some remarkable old olive trees are still found thereon. 
 
 5. The Fig Tree. Fig trees were common in Palestine. 
 They are tall but irregular trees, whose expanded shade was 
 deemed very pleasant (1 Kings iv. 25 ; Mic. iv. 4). The 
 fig tree sprouts at the vernal equinox, and affords three crops 
 of fruit, the first of which (called the Untimely Fig] appears 
 before the leaves in spring, and ripens about the end of June 
 (Matt. xxi. 19 ; Mark xi. 13) ; this has the best flavour 
 (Jer. xxiv. 2), and is eaten green. The others are dried in 
 the sun, and preserved in masses, or, as they are called in 
 the Bible, "cakes" of figs (1 Sam. xxv. 18; xxx. 12; 2 
 Kings xx. 7 ; 1 Chron. xii. 40). 
 
 6. The Sycamore, or rather the Sycamore Fig Tree, is 
 not the common sycamore. It is a large tree, with leaves 
 like the mulberry, 
 
 and fruit not unlike 
 the fig, to which joint 
 resemblance it owes 
 its name. It is more 
 common, and grows 
 larger, in Egypt than 
 in Palestine. The 
 trunk is often very 
 thick, and the bran- 
 ches spread out wide- 
 ly, affording a most 
 ample shade. The 
 wood is light and un- 
 substantial, but lasts 
 a long while, and was 
 much used in build- 
 ing by the Hebrews 
 (as by the Egyptians) 
 
 till they found means M - ^ycamora 
 
 of getting cedar wood from Lebanon (1 Kings x. 21). Tht 
 fruit grows out of the trunk of the tree, in clusters, and chiefly 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 differs from a fig in the absence of seeds, and in a cloying 
 sweetness not much relished by Europeans ; the tree yields 
 several successive crops during the year, but the fruit will not 
 ripen without being wounded by the cultivators ; this was an 
 employment of the prophet Amos (chap. vii. 14). We learn 
 from 1 Chron. xxvii. 28, that the tree was largely cultivated 
 in Palestine, doubtless for the fruit. 
 
 7. The Almond Tree grows extensively in Palestine, and 
 forms a handsome and picturesque tree. It blossoms in 
 
 winter; which fact, to- 
 gether with the white- 
 ness of the blossoms, 
 furnished the Hebrew 
 poets with a beautiful 
 emblem of old age 
 (Eccles. xii. 5). The 
 nut of the almond, and 
 the oil of that nut, are 
 well known to us ; the 
 former is the kernel of 
 a fruit unfit to be 
 eaten. The almond 
 was considered one of 
 the distinguishing pro- 
 ducts of Palestine 
 (Gen. xliii. 11); and 
 the branches of the 
 tree furnished rods of 
 office (Num. xvii. 8). 
 8. The Palm. 
 This famous tree is now but rarely seen in Palestine, although 
 in former times it was so abundant as to be made the symbol 
 of that country. It was, however, confined to the plains and 
 vallej-g, and was most frequent in the valley of the Jordan, 
 and the plain of the Coast (Lev. xxiii. 40 ; Deut. xxxiv. 3 ; 
 Judges i. 16; iii. 13; iv.. 5). This tree, with its straight 
 and lofty stem without branches, but crowned by a splendid 
 tuft of evergreen foliage, was justly admired by the Hebrews, 
 who carved it in ornamental work (1 Kings vi. 32), made 
 it the symbol of a beautiful person (Sol. Song vii. 8), and 
 
 Almond Tree. 
 
PRINCIPAL VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. 
 
 3t 
 
 also of a religious upright man (Psalm i. 3 ; xcii 12). It 
 was also the symbol of victory (Rev. vii. 9). At the Feast of 
 Tabernacles the Jews 
 bore palm -branches 
 in their hands (Lev. 
 xxiii. 40) ; and they 
 strewed them in the 
 path of kings, as they 
 publicly entered their 
 cities (Matt. xxi. 8). 
 The palm produces 
 large clusters of dates, 
 which become ripe in 
 autumn, and which 
 are consumed in vari- 
 ous ways fresh, pre- 
 served, or dried ; and 
 form no small part of 
 man's food in south- 
 western Asia. In 2 
 Chron. xxxi. 5 [mar- 
 gin], " dates " are 
 mentioned along with 
 " corn, wine, and oil," as among the principal products of 
 Palestine. 
 
 9. The Terebinth Tree is one of the most common forest 
 trees of Palestine. Its name does not appear in our Bibles ; 
 but it is supposed to be intended in words which are trans- 
 lated " a plain " and " an oak." It is a long-lived but 
 moderately-sized tree, with branches very extensive, and head 
 very large in proportion to the trunk. It is an ever-green ; 
 the leaves, like those of the olive, being of a green colour 
 intermixed with red and purple. The name of Terebinth 
 tree, or Turpentine tree, is from the turpentine which exudes 
 from the trunk when the bark is wounded. There was, for- 
 merly, a very large and very old terebinth tree in the valley 
 of Mamre, near Hebron, around which a great fair was held, 
 in the belief that the angels were entertained beneath its 
 shade by Abraham (Gen. xviii. 4). A noble old oak is now 
 found near the same place 
 
 26. Palm Tree. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 10. The Pistachio Tree which is allied to the terebinth, 
 afforded the "nuts" which Jacob sent to Egypt, as one of 
 
 the most valued pro- 
 ducts of the land of 
 Canaan (Gen. xliii. 
 11). This smooth- 
 shelled nut, with its 
 green kernel, grows 
 in clusters, and is no- 
 where finer than in 
 Syria. The tree which 
 yields them is from 
 twenty to thirty feet 
 high, and is by no 
 means remarkable for 
 its beauty. But it in- 
 terests the traveller 
 from being found in 
 such places as or 
 Mount Tabor, and on 
 the very top of the 
 mountain (Attarus, 
 probably the same as Nebo), supposed to be that from which 
 Moses surveyed the Promised Land (Deut. xxxiv. 1). 
 
 11. The Mulberry Tree was evidently very common ir 
 Palestine formerly, as it is still (2 Sam. v. 23, 24 ; 1 Chron 
 xiv. 14, 15), although all parts of the country are not equally 
 favourable to its growth. In and under Lebanon the mul- 
 berry tree is largely cultivated for the sake of its leaves, as 
 the food of silk-worms, and is cropped and dressed so as to 
 afford the greatest quantity ; but in the gardens of Palestine 
 it is allowed to grow after its own fashion. In the East it is 
 very common to have trees growing in the courts of houses, 
 and in Palestine these are often mulberry trees. 
 
 12. The Pomegranate Tree. This is a thick and bushy 
 fruit tree, with thorny twigs, rising twenty feet high. The 
 fruit is about the size of an orange, and contains within its 
 hard, leathery, and reddish-brown rind, many orderly rows of 
 seeds or grains, invested with a red and lustrous pulp, which 
 (jives them the appearance of rubies. This pulp affords tke 
 
 Terebinth Tree. 
 
PBINCIPAL VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. 
 
 41 
 
 pleasant juice for the sake of which the grains are eaten; 
 and of which various pleasant and refreshing summer drinks 
 are made (Num. xx. 5 ; Deut. viii. 8 ; Sol. Song iv. 13 ; 
 vi. 11 ; vii. 12.) The fruit was much esteemed by the Jews, 
 and was imitated by them in their ornamental works (Exod. 
 xxviii. 33, 34 ; 1 Kings vii. 18). 
 
 13. The Cedar Tree which is so often mentioned in the 
 Bible, is rather a tree of the Lebanon mountains than of 
 Palestine generally. 
 In those mountains 
 many groves of ce- 
 dars, of all sizes and 
 ages, have, of late 
 years, been discover- 
 ed. Formerly, one 
 grove, which lies 
 high up, not far 
 from the northern 
 and, perhaps, highest 
 summit of the moun- 
 tains, was regarded 
 as the only remnant 
 of the ancient cedars 
 of Lebanon, and was, 
 as such, visited and 
 described by various 
 travellers. It still 
 contains the largest 
 and most ancient 
 trees which have been found, together with many of inferior 
 age and size. Altogether there are some hundreds of trees 
 in this famous grove, and the number seems rather to increase 
 than diminish. The largest of the trees is about forty feet 
 in circumference, and several others are nearly as large. In 
 some instances several trees have grown together, and now 
 form one. The Israelites being but poorly furnished with 
 timber trees, were glad to get cedar wood, for building, from 
 Lebanon, through the Phoenicians of Tyre, who brought it 
 along the coast in floats, and landed it at Joppa (1 Kings *. 
 6, 10 ; ix. 11 ; 2 Chron. i. 15 ; ii. 8 ; Ezra iii. 7). 
 
 ol 
 
 38. Cedar Tree. 
 
SECTION IH-PASTORAL LIFE AND ANIMALS, 
 
 PASTURES. 
 
 1. IN the first period of their history the Hebrews led an 
 unsettled pastoral life, such as we still find among many Oriental 
 tribes. One great object of the Mosaical polity was to turn 
 them from this condition into that of fixed cultivators of the 
 soil. Pasturage was, however, only discouraged as a condition 
 of life, unfriendly to settled habits and institutions, and not 
 as a pursuit connected with agriculture. Hence, although in 
 later times the principal attention of the Hebrews was given 
 to agriculture, the tending of sheep and cattle was not at any 
 time neglected. 
 
 2. The shepherds who move about with their flocks from 
 one pasture-ground to another according to the demands of 
 the season, the state of the herbage, and the supply of water, 
 we called nomads that is, not merely shepherds, but wan- 
 dering shepherds. They feed their flocks in the " commons," 
 or the deserts and wildernesses, which no settled or cultivating 
 people have appropriated. At first, no pastoral tribe can have 
 any particular property in such tracts of ground in preference 
 to another tribe ; but, in the end, a particular tract becomes 
 appropriated to some one tribe, or section of a tribe, either 
 from long occupation, or from digging wells therein. Accord- 
 ing to the ideas of the East, the digging of a well is so meri- 
 torious an act, that he who performs it acquires a property in 
 the waste-lands around. In the time of the patriarchs, Pa- 
 lestine was but thinly peopled by the Canaanites, and offered 
 many such tracts of unappropriated grounds fit for pasturage. 
 In these they fed their flocks, without establishing any exclu- 
 sive claims to the soil, until they proceeded to dig wells, which, 
 being /onsidered as an act of appropriation, was opposed by 
 some of the inhabitants (Gen. xxi. 25, 26). After the con- 
 qiest of Canaan, those Israelites who possessed large flock* 
 
PASTORAL LIFE AND ANIMALS. 48 
 
 and herds, sent them out, under the care of shepherds, into 
 the " wildernesses," or commons, of the east and south, where 
 there are rich and juicy pasturages during the moist seasons 
 of the year (1 Sam. xvii. 28 ; xxv. 4, 15 ; 1 Chron. xxvii. 
 29-31 ; Isaiah Ixv. 10 ; Jer. 1. 39). The nomads occupy, 
 successively, the same stations in the deserts every year. In 
 summer, when the plains are parched with drought, and every 
 green herb is dried up, they proceed northwards, or into the 
 mountains, or to the banks of rivers ; and in winter and 
 spring, when the rains have re-clothed the plains with verdure, 
 and filled the water-courses, they return. When these pastors 
 remove, they strike their tents, pack them up, ard convey 
 them on camels to the next station. Nearly all the pastoral 
 usages were the same, anciently, as now. The sheep were 
 constantly kept in the open air, and guarded by hired servants, 
 and by the sons and daughters of the owners. Even the 
 daughters of emirs, or chiefs, did not disdain to tend the sheep 
 (Gen. xxiv. 17-20 ; xxix. 9 ; Exod. ii. 16). 
 The principal shepherd was responsible for 
 the sheep intrusted to his care, and if any 
 were lost he had to make them good, ex- 
 cept in certain cases (Gen. xxxi. 39 ; Exod. 
 xxii. 12 ; Amos iii. 12). Their services 
 were often paid by a certain proportion of 
 the young of the flock (Gen. xxx. 30). On 
 the more dangerous stations, towers were 
 erected, from which the approach of ene- 
 
 29 Tower 
 
 mies might be discovered. These were 
 
 called the Towers of the Flock (Gen. xxxv. 21 ; 2 Chroo 
 
 xxvi. 10 ; Micah iv. 8). 
 
 3. Waters. Water is even more than usually necessary 
 in warm regions, especially to those who have many cattle ; 
 and, being very scarce, especially in the plains and deserts, 
 it is highly valued, and very frugally used (Num. xx. 17-19; 
 Deut. ii. 6, 28 ; Job xxii. 7). Hence, wells and cisterns 
 are dug by the nomads, at the places which they frequent; 
 and these wells being formed with great labour, by a rude 
 people, are objects of much solicitude and care. We have 
 already alluded to the property in the land which IB thus ac- 
 quired. A well is invariably the property of the party by 
 
 P. 3 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 whom, or at whose cost, it was dug ; and is inherited by hit 
 descendants. No stranger has any right to draw water from 
 it, without the permission of the owner ; and for this he 
 generally expects payment (Num. xx. 17-19). It appears 
 that sometimes the wells were owned by a number of pastori 
 in common, and that the flocks were brought to them on ap- 
 pointed days, in an order previously arranged. A well was 
 often covered with a great stone, which being removed, the 
 person descended some steps to the surface of the water, and, 
 on his return, poured into a trough that which he had brought 
 up (Gen. xxiv. 11-15; xxix. 3-10; Exod. ii. 16; Judges 
 v. 11). But as this process was only applicable where the 
 well was not deep, and we must assume that the Israelites 
 had the use of the same contrivances for raising water which 
 we still find in operation in the East, and the antiquity of 
 most of which is evinced by the Egyptian paintings and 
 sculptures. From the deeper kind of well, the water is 
 usually drawn by hand in a leathern bucket sometimes by 
 the aid of a windlass, but oftener, where the well is only of 
 moderate depth, by the shadoof, which is the most common 
 
 and simple of all the 
 machines used in the 
 East for raising water, 
 whether from wells, re- 
 servoirs, or rivers. This 
 is a tapering lever un- 
 equally balanced upon 
 an upright stem, and to 
 the smaller end of which 
 tie bucket is attached by the rope. The weight of the 
 larger end bafancing the laden bucket, it is drawn up with 
 ease, the only care being to regulate its ascent. The water 
 of wells, as well as of fountains, was called by the Hebrews 
 " living water" (translated " running water"), and was highly 
 esteemed (Lev. xiv. 5; Num. xix. 17). This epithet was 
 not applied to the waters preserved in cisterns and other 
 reservoirs. 
 
 4. Cisterns. These were large reservoirs, in which the 
 waters from rain and melted snows were collected, and re- 
 served for use in the season of drought. They sometime! 
 
 Well and Bucket at Jaffa. 
 
PASTORAL LIFE AND ANIMALS. 45 
 
 occur as large subterraneous vaults, perhaps an acre in extent, 
 but with a very small mouth, or entrance. In cities, they 
 were very elaborate works, being often hewn out of the solid 
 rock, or lined with masonry, covered with a firm incrustation, 
 on which water had no effect. Eemains of such cisterns are 
 gtill found in Palestine, especially in the country beyond 
 Jordan. The cisterns of the open country, intended for the 
 pastors and their flocks, when they have received their supply 
 of water, have often the mouth covered with large flat stones, 
 over which sand is spread, so that strangers may pass with- 
 out being aware of the treasure beneath their feet. Some- 
 times, however, the owners, on returning from distant stations, 
 find their cisterns without writer, either from their having 
 been broken by earthquakes or other causes, or from their 
 having been discovered and rifled of their precious contents. 
 In such cases, the shepherd and his flocks are in a situation 
 of great danger; and hence, a failure of this description is 
 used as an image of any great calamity (Isaiah xli. 17, 18 ; 
 xliv. 3). As there is often a large deposit of mud at the 
 bottom of these cisterns, a miserable death awaits any who 
 fall into them (Gen. xxxvii. 22, &c. ; Psalm xl. 2 ; Ixix. 15 ; 
 Jer. xxxviii. 6 ; Lam. iii. 53). Cisterns, when empty of 
 water, were very often used as prisons, and as such were very 
 secure. 
 
 FLOCKS AND HERDS. 
 
 A brief view of the flocks and herds of the Israelites, will 
 shew the kinds of animals most common among them, before, 
 as well as after, they ceased to be a nomad people. 
 
 5. Sheep. In Scripture mention is made of different 
 species and varieties of sheep. At present, the chief breeds 
 in the country are the broad-tailed and the common horned 
 white. The latter resembles the horned breed of continental 
 Europe, but with a somewhat thicker and larger tail. It ia 
 often black and white about the face and feet, but is seldom 
 otherwise black, and sheep wholly black of any breed are and 
 were uncommon (Psalm cxlvii. 16 ; Isaiah i. 18 ; Daniel 
 vii. 9). The other breed is chiefly valued for the fat of their 
 broad tails, which tastes very much like marrow. The flesh 
 
46 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of neither breed is remarkably delicate, nor is the wool of 
 j.Teculiar fineness. Mutton is, and always has been, the prin- 
 cipal animal food used in the East, on which account, as well 
 
 as for the milk and the 
 wool, sheep were held in 
 high estimation. Some- 
 times one person owned 
 many thousands of them 
 (Job i. 3 ; 1 Sam. xxv. 2 ; 
 lChron.v.21). Sheep- 
 shearings were great fes- 
 
 tivals ( 1 Sam. xxv. 2, 4, 
 
 8; 2 Sam. xiii. 23). On 
 31. Syrian Sheep. guc k occas j onS) tne s h ee p 
 
 were collected within uncovered enclosures, which are the 
 "sheepfolds" mentioned in Scripture; for there are no other 
 eheepfolds in the East (Num. xxxii. 16, 24, 36 ; 2 Sam. vii. 8; 
 Zeph. ii. 6). 
 
 6. Goats were comprehended with sheep under the gene- 
 ral term of " flock," both being commonly pastured together, 
 as is still the case in Palestine. There are two varieties or 
 species of the goat in 
 Palestine : one of them 
 differs little from the 
 common goat; the other 
 is distinguished by its 
 larger size, and still more 
 by its very long, hang- 
 ing ears (Amos iii. 12), 
 and by the ram-like ap- 
 pearance of its horns 
 and head. The hair is 
 long, and almost inva- 
 riably black. The " wild goats," mentioned in Scripture, 
 were, probably, the ibex and the kebsch, both of which are 
 still found in the mountains in or near Palestrae. The first 
 is well known ; the latter is remarkable for the long pendant 
 mane with which its front is furnished. The milk of goats 
 was more esteemed than that of any other animal (Prov. 
 Xxvii. 27), and the flesh was much liked, especially that of 
 
PASTORAL LIFE AND ANIMALS. 
 
 4? 
 
 33. Water-Skins. 
 
 the kids. The hair was woven into tent-coverings ; and the 
 entire skins formed vessels, or " skin bottles," in which watei 
 was carried. Smaller 
 vessels, made of kid- 
 skins, were in very 
 common use. When 
 the vessel was intended 
 for water, the side on 
 which the hair grew 
 was turned inward ; 
 when for wine, that 
 side was turned out- 
 ward. 
 
 7. Oxen. Animals of this kind belong rather to the 
 agricultural than the pastoral condition of life ; and do not, 
 therefore, figure in the possessions of the modern nomads of 
 Western Asia. In this respect, the patriarchal fathers more 
 resembled the Eastern Tartars, for they had large possessions 
 of black cattle (Gen. xxiv. 35 ; Job i. 3). In after-times, 
 oxen are more frequently mentioned in connexion with agri- 
 cultural life. The richest pastures were those of Bashan, 
 Sharon, and Achor ; and the well-fed bulls of Bashan were 
 particularly strong and ferocious (Deut. xxxiii. 17 ; Psalm 
 xxii. 12; Ixviii. 30; Prov. xiv. 4; Isaiah xxxiv. 7). Oxen 
 were employed in carrying burdens, as well as in drawing 
 ploughs and carts. Beef is now but little used in the East ; 
 but considerable quantities appear to have been consumed by 
 the Israelites. Veal also was more in use than now, and 
 "the fatted calf" was often slaughtered for a feast (Gen. 
 xviii. 7 ; Luke xv. 23). Cheese was made from the milk 
 of cows (2 Sam. xvii. 29) ; but for drinking, goat's milk was 
 preferred. At present there are two principal breeds of oxen 
 in Syria ; both short-horned, but one larger, and having 
 longer legs than the other. There are also buffaloes, and th* 
 wild ox is still found in the borderirg deserts. 
 
 8. Camels. There are two species of camels ; one with 
 a single hump, and the other with two. The camel so often 
 mentioned in Scripture, is that with the single hump ; the 
 other was, probably, scarcely known to the Israelites, as it 
 belongs rather to central than to western Asia. Tne 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 dory is merely a finer and swifter breed of the camel, used 
 exclusively for riding (Isaiah Ix. 6 ; Ixvi. 20 ; Jer. ii. 23). 
 The camel can endure much abstinence from food and water, 
 
 by which, and by ita 
 other habits, it is 
 
 ni 5 adapted, as by the 
 
 III y ^nP"^lr^V spaM destination 
 LCC J, r/-VU& \ of p rov i d e nc e, to 
 
 traverse the deserts, 
 in which much pri- 
 vation must be sus- 
 tained. Its broad 
 and well-cushioned 
 foot is also peculiar- 
 ly suited to tread the 
 hard, dry, gravelly 
 soil of the desert. 
 
 34. Arabian Camel: baggage. jj^^ ^ ^^^ 
 
 is the favourite and the most valued beast of the nomads, 
 
 who now, as in the times of Scripture, possess large numbers 
 
 of them (Gen. xxiv. 10 ; xxxi. 17 ; 1 Sam. xxx. 17 ; 1 Kings 
 
 x. 2; Isaiah xxx. 6 ; Ezek. xxv. 4). The milk is much used, 
 
 chiefly in a sour or thickened state, and the flesh is eaten by 
 
 the Arabs, though it 
 
 was forbidden to the 
 
 Jews (Lev. xi. 4). 
 
 The hair, which is 
 
 shed yearly, is made 
 
 into a kind of coarse 
 
 cloth, of which robes 
 
 are made, such as 
 
 John the Baptist 
 
 wore (Matt. iii. 4). 
 
 Cam -'3 were used 
 
 to carry all kinds 
 
 of burthens (Gen. 
 
 xxxvii. 25 ; Judges ^ Arabian Camel: 8addle - 
 
 vi. 5 ; 2 Kings viii. 9 ; 1 Chron. xii. 40 ; 2 Chron. xiv. 15), 
 
 and also for riding (Gen. xxiv. 61 ; xxxi. 17 ; 1 Sam. xxx. 17). 
 
 The travellers sit astride, on a proper riding camel, an on 
 
PASTORAL LIFE AND ANIMALS. 
 
 4t 
 
 horseback; or squat in a peculiar fashion on the luggage. 
 
 Great persons, the sick, and women, sometimes journey at 
 
 ease lu a covered litter, 
 
 or sort of tent, which 
 
 is secured upon the 
 
 camel's back ; or else 
 
 two persons balance 
 
 each other in covered 
 
 cribs, or cradles, slung 
 
 over the camel's back, 
 
 after the manner of 36 - Double Camel Litter. 
 
 panniers. The camels on which wealthy persons ride, are 
 
 often garnished with chains and other rich ornaments of metal 
 
 (Judges viii. 21, 26). 
 
 9. Horses were not much used among the more ancient 
 
 Israelites ; and, as they were then employed chiefly in war 
 
 like enterprises, the rearing 
 of them was discouraged by 
 the law (Deut. xvii. 16). The 
 horses of Egypt are the ear- 
 liest mentioned (Gen. xlvii. 
 17), and that country was 
 always noted for its horses. 
 Joshua encountered chariots 
 and horses in northern Pales- 
 tine (Josh. xi. 4-9) ; and not 
 
 37. Single Camel Litter. l ong a f ter we fi n( J t ^ em m 
 
 ose among the Philistines (Judges i. 19 ; 1 Sam. xiii. 5). 
 David reserved some of the horses and chariots which he 
 captured in his wars (2 Sam. viii. 4 ; 1 Chron. xviii. 4) ; 
 and there are frequent allusions to these animals, and to 
 equestrian troops, in the book of Psalms. Solomon established 
 a large trade with Egypt for chariots and horses (1 Kings x. 
 28; 2 Chron. i. 16, 17); and after his tune horses are often 
 mentioned, but chiefly as connected with the state and the 
 army, for they were never much in use by private persons. 
 A piece of cloth served instead of a saddle, and stirrups were 
 not known ; but a bridle and curb were in use (Psalm xxxii. 
 9). As horses were not shod, a hard hoof was much esteemed 
 /Isaiah v. 28 ; Amo vi 12) 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 38. Domestic Ass. 
 
 10. Asses. In the East, when properly trained and cared 
 for, the ass is a fine and even elegant animal, while it is ptill 
 patient and diligent. Hence, its name is applied in Scripture 
 
 not, as with us, to 
 characterise doltish 
 or obstinate, but in- 
 dustrious and active 
 men (Gen. xlix. 14). 
 Before horses wert 
 used by the Israel- 
 ites, and while thej 
 wereemployedchief- 
 ly in war, all peace- 
 ful operations were 
 earned on by means 
 of asses. Persons ol 
 the flret consequence 
 
 rode Qn ^em (G eru 
 
 xxii. 3, 5; Num. xxii. 21, 30; Josh. xv. Ifc; Judges i. 14; 
 
 v. 10 ; x. 4 ; xii. 14 ; 1 Sam. xxv. 20, 42 ; ^ Sam. xvii 23 ; 
 
 rix. 26; 1 Kings ii. 40; xiii. 13 ; 2 Kings i/. 22, 24; Zech. 
 
 ix. 9 ; Matt. xxi. 1-7). When the Jews returned from the 
 
 Babylonish captivity, there were in their c^avan no fewer 
 
 than 6720 asses, but 
 
 not- more than 736 
 
 horses and 245 mules, 
 
 and only 435 camels 
 
 (Ezra ii. 66, 67). 
 
 White asses, which 
 
 are less uncommon 
 
 in the East than with 
 
 us, were much ad- 
 
 mired (Judges v. 10). 
 
 When a person of 
 
 consequence, or a 
 
 lady, rode forth, a 
 
 servant followed to 
 
 urge the beast occasionally with his staff (Judges xix. 3; 
 
 2 Kings iv. 24 ; Prov. xxrL. 3). Asses were also employed 
 
 to carry burthens, and in the labours of the field ; but Mosw 
 
 Wild Ass. 
 
PASTORAL LIFE AND ANIMAL6. 
 
 51 
 
 nfieved the ass from ploughing in the same yoke with the ox 
 (Deut. xxii. 10). Wild asses are often named in Scripture, 
 They are still found in Mesopotamia and further east, but 
 not now in the Syrian deserts. They are of a fine figure and 
 great swiftness, and roam in desert places, far from the abodes 
 of men. They go in herds, and by their acute scent discover 
 water at a great distance (Psalm civ. 11 ; Isaiah xxxii. 14; 
 Jer. xiv. 6). Asses and mules are still much used for riding 
 in Palestine, as they afford a species of locomotion well suited 
 to the nature of the country. 
 
 11. Mules are first mentioned in the time of David; but 
 were, probably, known much earlier. They were used for 
 riding and burthen ; but do not seem to have become very 
 common (2 Sam. xiii. 29 ; xviii. 9, 10 ; 1 Kings i. 33 ; 1 
 Chron. xii. 40 ; Psalm xxxii. 9 ; Ezek. xxvii. 14). Litters 
 were sometimes borne by mules, as is still the case in those 
 parts of Western Asia where camels are not common. 
 
PART III. -HABITS OF LOT. 
 
 SECTION I. HABITATIONS 
 
 1. THE patriarchal fathers of the Israelites were a tent-dwell- 
 ing people; and their descendants proceeded at once from 
 tents to houses. We therefore read but little of huts among 
 them ; and never as the fixed habitations of any people with 
 whom they were conversant. By huts we understand small 
 
 dwellings, made of the 
 green or dry branches 
 of trees intertwined, 
 and sometimes plas- 
 tered with mud. In 
 Scripture they are 
 called booths. Such 
 were made by Jacob 
 to shelter his cattle in 
 the first winter of his return from Mesopotamia (Gen. xxxiii. 
 17). In after times we more frequently read of them as 
 being erected in the vineyards and orchards, to shelter the 
 man who guarded the ripened produce (Job xxvii. 18 ; Isaiah 
 i. 8; xxiv. 20). It was one of the Mosaical institutions that, 
 during the Feast of Tabernacles, the people should live for a 
 week in booths made of green boughs (Lev. xxiii. 42). 
 
 2. With tents the Scriptures make us more familiar than 
 with huts. They were invented before the Deluge, and ap- 
 pear from the first to have been associated with the pastoral 
 life, to which a moveable habitation was necessary (Gen. iv. 
 20). The practice of the pastoral fathers was to have their 
 tents near wells of water, and, if possible, under some shady 
 tree (Gen. xviii. 4 ; Judges iv, 5), The first tents were an- 
 
HABITATIONS. 
 
 foabtedly covered with skins, of which there are traces in th 
 Pentateuch (Exodus xxvi. 14); but nearly all the tents men- 
 cioued in Scripture were, doubtless, of goat's hair, spun and 
 woven by the women 
 'Exodus xxxv. 26 ; 
 ixxvi. 14); such as 
 .we now in Western 
 Asia, used by all who 
 dwell in tents ; hence 
 their black colour (Sol. 
 Song i. 5). Tents of 
 linen were, and are, 
 only used occasionally, 
 for holiday or travelling purposes, by those who do not habi- 
 tually live in them. The patriarchal tents were prooably 
 such as we see now in Arabia, of an oblong shape, and eight 
 or ten feet high in the middle. They vary in size, and have, 
 accordingly, a greater or less number of poles to support 
 them from three to nine. An encampment is generally 
 arranged circularly, forming an enclosure, within which the 
 cattle are driven at night, and the centre of which is occu- 
 pied by the tent or tents of the Emir or Sheikh. If he is a 
 person of much consequence, he may have three or four tents, 
 for himself, for his wives, for his servants, and for strangers, 
 respectively. The two first are of the most importance, and 
 we know that Abraham's wife had a separate tent (Gen. xxiv. 
 12}. It is more usual, however, for one very large tent to be 
 divided into two or more apartments by curtains. The Holy 
 Tabernacle was framed on this model (Exodus xxvi. 31-37). 
 3. The Israelites may have seen good houses in Egypt ; 
 but, on entering Palestine they had to occupy the dwellings 
 which the previous inhabitants had built, and their own were 
 afterwards constructed on the same model. These appear for a 
 long time to have been poor and low, and built either of sun- 
 dried mud, or of unhewn stones; timber for building being 
 scarce in that country ; and hence the employment of it in 
 large quantities, as in some of Solomon's buildings, was a sign 
 of costliness and magnificence. Domestic architecture made 
 considerable progress during the monarchical period. Solo- 
 mon's palace, built by the aid of the Phoenicians, must havt 
 
64 
 
 INTEODU'mON. 
 
 luggested many improvements (1 Kings vii. 1-12). Jere- 
 miah (xxii. 13, 14) indicates s**ie magnificence of building: 
 he speaks of upper storeys, o 7 spacious apartments, of many 
 ^ windows, of cedar ceil- 
 
 ings, and of vermillion 
 painting. By the time 
 of Christ the buildings 
 of the upper classes had 
 become much improved 
 by some attention to the 
 rales of Grecian archi- 
 tecture. It would seem 
 that the mass of the 
 houses in Palestine were 
 such as we now see in 
 Syria and Mesopotamia. 
 They were generally 
 only one storey high, 
 and when they consist- 
 ed of more, the upper 
 storey was inhabited by 
 the family, the ground- 
 floor being laid out in stores, kitchens, and servants' rooms 
 and offices. But what such houses wanted in elevation was 
 made up in extent, as they occupied two, three, or four sides 
 of an enclosed court; and in great houses, there were two or 
 three such courts 
 communicating with 
 each other. All the 
 buildings fronted in- 
 to these quadrangles, 
 and had no front to 
 the street, unless a 
 high wall with the 
 principal entrance, 
 and perhaps a lattice 
 above, may be so ** ^^ Court - 
 
 called. The enclosed courts had generally a reservoir or 
 fountain in the centre, and were often planted with a few 
 trees. A gallery, or verandah, screened the principal front 
 
 43. Eastern Palace. 
 
HABITATIONS. 
 
 45. Basement of an Eastern Hoiise. 
 
 f building, and sometimes two, or all the fronts. This gal- 
 lery was broad and substantial, and had a balustrade, and the 
 covering was upheld by pillars of wood. Hence the many 
 allusions to columns 
 (Psalm Ixxv. 3 ; Prov. 
 ix.l;Gal.ii.9). The 
 roofs of the houses 
 were, and are, flat, 
 and covered with 
 mould or a prepared 
 compost. They were 
 fenced by a parapet 
 or balustrade (Deut. 
 xxii. 8). In fine weather the people resorted much to these 
 roofs, to which there was a stair, to breathe the fresh air, to 
 enjoy a prospect, or to witness any event that occurred in the 
 neighbourhood (2 Sam xi. 2 ; Isaiah xxii. 1 ; Matt. xxiv. 17; 
 
 Mark xiii. 15). For 
 the cool air, they slept 
 on the housetop in sum* 
 mer; and to enjoy the 
 air and prospect in the 
 day-time, without in- 
 convenience from the 
 sun, sheds, booths, and 
 tents were sometimes 
 erected there (2 Sam, 
 xvi. 22). The Hebrew 
 kings had winter and 
 summer palaces, and in 
 good houses there were 
 sitting-rooms for both 
 seasons. In the one 
 the situation, the expo- 
 sure, the form, were 
 designed to promote 
 coolness; in the other 
 to preserve warmth 
 
 1. Ancient Egyptian Door, 
 of hinges). 
 
 Door Pius (in lieu 
 4. Key. 
 
 (Judges iii. 20 ; 1 Kings vii. 2-6 ; Jer. xxii. 14 ; xxxvi. 22; 
 Amos iii. 15). 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 *7. Door of Private House. 
 
 4. Doors were double, or folding, and moved on pivoti 
 inserted into holes in the threshold below and the lintel above. 
 
 They were secured by bars (Deut. 
 iii. 5 ; Judges xvi. 3 ; Job xxxviii. 
 10), which were of wood ; only 
 those to the gates of fortresses and 
 valuable stores being of metal 
 (Isaiah xlv. 2). There were also 
 locks, which were merely wooden 
 slides which entered a hole in the 
 door-post, and were there secured 
 by teeth or catches (Sol. Song v. 
 4). The street-doors, as well as 
 the gates of towns, among the 
 Jews, were adorned with inscrip- 
 tions taken from the Law of 
 Moses (Deut. vi. 9 ; xi. 20.) 
 
 5. The windows had no glass ; they were only latticed, 
 and thus gave free 
 
 passage to the air and 
 admitted light, while 
 they excluded birds 
 and bats. In winter, 
 the cold was kept out 
 by thin veils over the 
 windows, or by shut- 
 ters with holes in them 
 sufficient to admit light 
 (1 Kings vii. 17 ; Sol. 
 Song ii. 9). 
 
 6. No ancient 
 houses had chimneys. 
 The word so trans- 
 lated in Hosea (xiii. 3) 
 means a hole through 
 which the smoke 
 escape!. This was 
 only in the lower class 
 
 dwellings, where raw * interior <* Pnrt Room, 
 
 wood was employed for fuel or cooking, and where ther 
 
WTKODUCTION. 
 
 67 
 
 49. Bedstead of Palm-sticks. 
 
 an opening immediately over the hearth, to let out the smoke. 
 In better houses, the rooms were wanned in winter by charcoal 
 in braziers, as is still very generally the practice in Western 
 Asia (Jer. xxxvi. 22 ; Mark xiv. 54 ; John xviii. 18). 
 
 7. In the East, where the climate allows the people to 
 spend much of their time out of doors, the articles of house- 
 hold furniture and the domestic utensils have always been few 
 and simple : in the sitting-rooms, almost nothing but feats 
 appear. These seats are now low mattresses or couches at 
 the upper end, and sometimes along the sides of the room, with 
 bolsters against the wall to support the back. On these the 
 people sit cross-legged 
 or with their knees 
 bent under them : they 
 sit in the same man- 
 ner upon the ground, 
 or on rugs and mats. 
 Although it would seem that the Hebrewo had these customs, 
 yet not so exclusively as the modern Orientals ; as it is clear 
 
 that they had also 
 
 vvvvwW/S 
 
 raised seats, such as 
 chairs and stools, 
 like their Egyptian 
 neighbours, among 
 Vrr.m both modes of 
 sitting prevailed (1 
 Sam.i. 9; iv. 13,18; 
 1 Kings ii. 19 , Prov. 
 ix. 14 ; Matt. xxi. 
 12). The beds con- 
 sisted of mattresses 
 and quilted coverlets, 
 laid upon the floor at 
 night, and stowed 
 away in a recess by 
 day. Sheets, blan- 
 kets, and bedsteads, 
 are not known in the 
 
 60. Royal Bed. 
 
 East ; but in Persia and Mesopotamia there is a kind of raised 
 frame, or settee of wood, or of palm branches, on which the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 beds are sometimes placed at night for sleeping on the house- 
 top. The Jews seem to have had something of the same 
 kind (Psalm xli. 3 ; cxxxii. 3 ; Amos vi. 4). A bed with a 
 tester is mentioned in Judith (xvi. 23) which, with other 
 indications, and the frequent mention of rich tapestries hung 
 about and upon a bed for luxuriousness and ornament, seems 
 to prove that such beds as may yet be found in Eastern 
 palaces were not unknown under the Hebrew monarchies. 
 See Esth. i. 6 ; Prov. vii. 16 ; Ezek. xxiii. 41. 
 
 8. As every family ground its own corn, a hand-mill is 
 often named among the domestic utensils. This consisted of 
 
 two circular stones, 
 placed horizontally 
 one upon another; 
 and the upper being 
 made to revolve 
 upon the lower, 
 reduced to flour the 
 corn which was in- 
 troduced through a 
 hole in the topmost 
 stone (called the 
 rider}. This work 
 was performed by 
 women, and was 
 their first morning 
 labour, which they 
 often cheered by 
 singing (Exodusxi. 
 5; Num. xi. 8; Deut. 
 xxiv.6; Isaiah xlvii. 
 2 ; Matt. xxiv. 41 ; 
 Rev. xviii. 22). 
 
 9. The common domestic vessels were of earthenware, or 
 of copper (perhaps tinned), and a few were of leather such 
 as pots, kettles, leather bottles (made of the whole skins of 
 goats or kids), plates, cups, and pitchers They all seem to 
 have been such as are still used in the East. Lamps, fed 
 with oil of olives, were used for giving light at night. They 
 were of earthenware or metal, according to circumstances $ 
 
 61. Grinding Corn. 
 
HABITATIONS. 
 
 52. Egyptian Lamps. 
 
 and in the houses of the rich were raised on stands, which 
 are called "candlesticks" in our Bible, and which, judging 
 from that made for 
 the Tabernacle, must 
 sometimes have been 
 costly and elegant, with 
 branches for several 
 lamps (Gen. xv. 17 ; 
 Exodus xxv. 31-40; 
 xxvii. 20, 21; Zech. 
 iv. 2; Matt. xxv. 1-9). 
 A lamp was, and is, 
 always kept burning 
 at night, which ex- 
 plains an allusion con- 
 tained in many pass- 
 ages of Scripture (2 
 Sam. xxi. 17 ; Job 
 xviii. 6 ; Prov. xx. 
 20). Candles were not in use, and when the word " candle ' r 
 occurs in our Bibles it means a lamp. 
 
 10. The towns of Palestine do not appear to have been 
 considerable for size or population ; but this was compensated 
 by their great numbers. We are surprised at the number of 
 towns mentioned even so early as the time of Joshua. They, 
 of course, grew larger and more populous as the country 
 became more densely inhabited ; but the only cities that we 
 should be disposed to rank with our first-rate towns were 
 Jerusalem, Samaria, and, eventually, Csesarea. We know not 
 the ordinary population of Jerusalem ; but, from a calculation 
 founded on the number of lambs slain at the Passover, it 
 would seem that the concourse at that great festival must 
 have amounted to between two and three millions. Tha 
 houses of Jerusalem, which were of many storeys, were then 
 full of people, and many lodged outside in tents. In the 
 time of Christ, Josephus describes Galilee, in particular, aa 
 exceedingly populous : the towns lay near each other, and the 
 population of the least important exceeded fifteen thousand. 
 Towns had high walls in the time of Moses, which seemed 
 very formidable to the Israelites (Num. xiii. 25-33); and 
 
W INTRODUCTION. 
 
 afterwards the defences of towns were greatly unproved. 
 Indeed, the gates of towns, which imply walls, are mentioned 
 as early as the time of Abraham (Gen. xix. 1 ; xxiii. 10). 
 
 Villages, being un- 
 walled, or surrounded 
 only by a hedge, were 
 abandoned in times 
 of war and trouble, 
 and the inhabitants 
 removed into caves or 
 walled towns (Judges 
 v. 7). At the gates 
 of towns, most of the 
 public business was 
 transacted(Gen. xxiii. 
 10,18; Deut. xxi.19; 
 xxii.24; xxv.7; Ruth 
 iv. 1). At the gates 
 also the markets were 
 held, as long as the 
 transactions of the 
 Israelites were almost 
 confined to the sale 
 
 63. Gate of Komeh (Icomum). . . . ... 
 
 or interchange of the 
 
 produce of their fields and flocks (2 Chron. xviii. 9 ; xxxii. 6 ; 
 Neh. viii. 1, 3 ; 2 Kings vii. 18; Job xxix. 7); but after- 
 wards they had, in their large towns, as Josephus testifies, 
 such covered bazaars, or streets of shops, for the sale of manu- 
 factured goods, as are now usual in the East. The streets 
 in Eastern towns are always exceedingly narrow, that the 
 shadow of the houses may keep them cool : and the appear- 
 ance of these streets is dull and uninviting, as the houses do 
 not front the road. The streets are always unpaved; but 
 some streets in Jerusalem, and in the new cities, were paved 
 in the time of the Herods, who had witnessed the benefits of 
 this practice in Rome and Italy. The Jewish towns must 
 have had rather a mean appearance in ti.3 distance, from the 
 want of temples and pitelic buildings (except at Jerusalem), 
 g well as of such elegant minarets and domes as enliven and 
 the towns of the modern East. 
 
SECTION 1I.-FOOD AND DRESS. 
 
 1. LIKE most Eastern people, the Israelites were plain 
 and simple in their food, which consisted chiefly of bread, 
 vegetables, fruits (green and preserved), honey, milk, curds, 
 cream, butter, and cheese. Meat could hardly be called an 
 ordinary article of food, except among the higher class of the 
 people dwelling in towns. The use of animal food was, in- 
 deed, restricted in some degree by the law, which allowed the 
 flesh of no beasts to be eaten but such as chewed the cud and 
 parted the hoof, nor any fish but such as had both fins and 
 scales (Lev. xi. 1-28). Blood and fat were also interdicted, 
 as well as the large lobe of the liver, and the kidneys (Lev. 
 iii. 15, 17). These restrictions rendered it difficult for a 
 strict Jew to eat with a heathen : and this was probably the 
 motive ; as it was one great object of the Mosaical law to 
 keep the Israelites separate from all other nations. The hog 
 was not forbidden more especially than many other animals ;, 
 but being the only unclean beast the flesh of which was usually 
 and commonly eaten, its absence from the diet of the Jews 
 attracted more attention than any other prohibition. Poultry 
 was but sparingly used. The only domestic birds kept were 
 pigeons and the common fowl ; and the Scripture gives no in- 
 stance of their being used for food, except the " fatted fowl," 
 provided for the regal and vice-regal tables of Solomon and 
 Nehemiah (1 Kings iv. 23 ; Neh. v. 18). The quails eaten 
 in the wilderness furnish the only other instance of birds used 
 for food (Exod. xvi. 12, 13 ; Num. xi. 31). Eggs are only twice 
 mentioned as articles of food (Job vi. 6 ; Luke xi. 12). Al- 
 though fish with fins and scales were allowed to the Israelites 
 for food, it does not seem that much use was made of this in- 
 dulgence until the later days of the Jewish history. In the 
 Old Testament, the only direct reference to tho consumption 
 of fish is where we learn that Mediterranean fish were brought 
 across the country by the Phoenicians for sale at Jerusalem 
 (Neh. xiii. 16). The fish brought to the city were sold at a 
 particular gate, called the Fish-Gate (2 Chron. xxxiii. 14; 
 Neh. iii. 3 ; xii. 39). Fish-ponds are mentioned (SoL Song 
 
62 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 vii. 4) ; and there are such allusions to fishing with nets (Job 
 xix. 6 ; Isaiah li. 20), with hooks (Job xli. 1 ; Isaian xix. 
 8 ; Amos iv. 2), and with spears (Job xli. 7), as shew that 
 these operations were well known. In the New Testament 
 we read oftener of fish and fishing. Several of the Apostles 
 were fishermen of the lake of Gennesareth, which abounded 
 in fish ; and the Gospels frequently notice their proceedings 
 in that character, with which some of the most signal miracles 
 of Christ were connected. The eating of fish is also often 
 mentioned, and it would seem to have been generally broiled 
 (Matt. vii. 10 ; Luke xxiv. 42 ; John xxi. 9, 10, 13). 
 
 2. Bread was not baked in loaves, as with us, but in 
 cakes, in rolls, and in large and thin plats, like pancakes. 
 Every family generally baked its own bread, and that daily, 
 after the flour had been ground. The modes of baking were 
 various, and on these the shape of the bread depended. There 
 was the heated hearth for the thicker cakes and rolls ; and the 
 thin bread was baked either on a metal plate over hot embers, 
 or by being stuck against the heated sides of a large earthen- 
 ware vessel, or of a pit in the floor (Gen. xviii. 6 ; xix. 3 ; 
 Lev. ii. 4; vi. 21 ; xi. 35 ; 1 Kings xix. 6). This work of 
 baking bread, like that of grinding corn, was at first performed 
 by the wives and daughters, however high their station (Gen. 
 xviii. 6 ; Lev. xxvi. 26 ; 2 Sam. xiii. 6, 8 ; Jer. vii. 18, 19) ; 
 but was in time abandoned, in families of consequence, to fe- 
 male servants (1 Sam. viii. 13). There were, however, in 
 large towns, as at present, public ovens and bakers by trade 
 (Jer. xxxvii. 21 ; Hos. vii. 4); and from the former text 
 which mentions " the bakers' street," it appears that, as is 
 ftill the case, the bakers, as well as other trades, had a par- 
 ticular part of the market or bazaar set apart to their own 
 use, instead of being, as with us, dispersed through the towns in 
 which they lived. The customers of the bakers were chiefly 
 the small households, the poor, and the unsettled part of the 
 population. For their more extensive operations, the bakers 
 have ovens of brick, not unlike our own ; and in very large 
 households similar ovens are used. Bread, such as has been 
 mentioned, needed not to be cut ; it was always broken (Isaiah 
 Iviii. 7 ; Lam. iv. 4 ; Matt. xiv. 19 ; &c.) In eating, gene- 
 rally, no knives, and much less forks, were used, but each 
 
FOOD AND DRESS. 
 
 morsel of food was conveyed from the dish to the mouth by 
 the right hand (Ruth ii. 14 ; Prov. xxvi. 15 ; John xiii. 26). 
 Meat was dressed so as to be easily separated by the fingers ; 
 and if a morsel was too large, it was transferred to the cake 
 of bread which was placed before each person ; for the use of 
 plates was unknown. This mode of feeding made it neces- 
 sary that the hands should be washed before and after meals 
 (Matt. xv. 2 ; Mark vii. 3) ; which was done by a servant 
 pouring water over the hands from an ewer, and receiving it 
 in a basin held below, as it fell from them (2 Kings iii. 11). 
 3. A kind of lunch, consisting of bread, milk, cheese, &c., 
 was taken in the forenoon ; but the principal meal was in the 
 evening after the labours of the day were over, and when the 
 coolness of the air allowed enjoyment and created appetite. 
 Hence it is called a supper (Mark vi. 21 ; Luke xiv. 24 ; 
 John xii. 2). A short prayer was said before and after meals 
 (Matt. xiv. 9 ; xv. 36 ; xxvi. 27 ; &c.) We have supposed 
 before that the Hebrews had two modes of sitting ; when they 
 used seats they ate from a table, but when they sat on the 
 ground, the meal was laid out on a cloth spread on the floor, 
 with a large piece of 
 leather under it, to pre- 
 vent the mats or carpets 
 from being soiled. Or 
 a kind of table, raised 
 only a few inches, may 
 have been occasionally 
 employed, as at present. 
 During the Captivity, 
 the Jews learned (as 
 did afterwards the 
 Romans) the Persian 
 practice of reclining at 
 meals upon mats or 
 cushions, around the 
 table, in such a way that the.head of every person approached 
 the bosom of the one who reclined next abov him (John xiii. 
 23). In ancient times, every person seems to have had hii 
 separate portion of meat, and honour was shewn to a distin- 
 guished or favoured guest, by the quantity or quality of thai 
 
 54. Modern Syrians at Meat, 
 
04 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 which was set before him (Gen. xliii. 34 ; 1 Sam. i. 4, 5f 
 ix. 23, 24) ; but in later times every one helped himself from 
 
 the dish nearest to 
 him, or from one dish 
 if the party was small 
 enough for one dish 
 to be within the reach 
 of all (Matt, xx vi. 23; 
 John xiii. 26). The 
 Orientals do not drink 
 during meals, but 
 56. Ancient Dmner-Bed. afterwards water or 
 
 wine is handed round in vessels of tinned copper (Matt. xxvi. 
 27). Wine was used freely among the Jews, whose country 
 was, indeed, noted for wine and oil : all their wines appear to 
 have been red (Prov. xxiii. 31 ; Isaiah xxvii. 2). The kind 
 most commonly drunk was weak, or much diluted with water, 
 and was used much as we use table ale or beer. Strong and 
 generous wines were necessarily confined to the rich, and were 
 sparingly used. Wine was also sometimes strengthened or 
 flavoured with spices, especially myrrh (Num. xv. 10 ; Psalm 
 Ixxv. 8 ; Prov. xxiii. 30 ; Hos. xiv. 7). That which was called 
 " strong drink," included the higher kinds of wine, but more 
 particularly denoted a very inebriating liquor made of dates and 
 of various seeds and roots (Lev. x. 9 ; Deui. xxix. 6 ; 1 Sam. 
 L 15 ; &c.) From this and pure wine was made another 
 drink, which appears to have been much used for common 
 purposes (Num. vi. 3 ; Ruth ii. 14 ; Matt, xxvii. 48). 
 
 4. At feasts or entertainments, the guests were anointed 
 with precious and perfumed oils (Psalm xxiid. 5 ; xlv. 7 ; 
 Amos vi. 6 ; Luke vii. 37, 38 ; &c.) . It was not uncommon 
 for the carousal to be prolonged through the night, with much 
 excess of drinking (Rom. xiii. 13 ; Gal. v. 21 ; 1 Peter iv. 3). 
 Jests, riddles, singing, music, dancing, were not wanting on 
 these festive occasions (Judges xiv. 12 ; Prov. ix. 2-4 ; Isaiah 
 v. 12 ; xxiv. 7, 9 ; Amos vi. 4, 5; Luke xv. 25). The Jews 
 do not appear to have been addicted to gaming, for there is 
 no allusion to it in the Scriptures. Neither is story-telling, 
 that great pastime of the modern East, directly mentioned; 
 but as they were in the habit of producing apologues, or 
 
FOOD AND DRESS. 
 
 short stories, on particular occasions, we may safely number 
 this among their amusements. 
 
 5. We know how the ancient Egyptians, Persians, Baby- 
 lonians, Greeks, and Romans were dressed, for their costumes 
 are represented in sculptures and paintings which still exist ; 
 but it is not so with respect to the Jews, who did not consider 
 it lawful to carve or paint the human figure. This want is> 
 however, well supplied by the existing costumes of the East. 
 Dress does not change 
 there as with us; and 
 it is clear, that the 
 habits now worn by 
 the people, as well as 
 the common usages of 
 life, are, for the most 
 part, the same as in 
 the times of the Bible. 
 The patriarchs dress- 
 ed somewhat differ- 
 ently, probably, from 
 their settled descend- 
 ants ; and the differ- 
 ence was in all likeli- 
 hood such as we now 
 see between the pas- 
 toral Bedouin Arabs 
 and the inhabitants 
 of settled countries. 
 The dresses of the 
 great Arabian family, 
 in its various condi- 
 tions, appear to have been transmitted with little alteration 
 from very ancient times, and may be taken as affording 
 the nearest approximation which can now be obtained to the 
 raiment worn by the ancient Israelites. The Arabian cos- 
 tumes may be deemed to agree with the dresses worn in 
 the patriarchal and pastoral periods of the Hebrew history. 
 The garb conventionally assigned by painters and sculptors to 
 Scripture characters seems to have been founded partly on tradi- 
 tion, and partly derived from actual observation of Oriental dress 
 
 D2 
 
 Arabian Drees. 
 
INTRODUCTIOW. 
 
 in early pilgrimages to the Holy Land. It is, upon the whole, 
 a noble costume, and makes a nearer approach to the truth 
 than has been of late usually supposed. Long garments were 
 
 worn by the Israel- 
 ites, as they were, 
 indeed, by most an- 
 cient nations, and 
 are by the modern 
 Orientals. Such gar- 
 ments were also wide 
 and loose ; and thus, 
 although easy and 
 dignified, they rather 
 impeded active and 
 vigorous exertion ; 
 for which reason, in 
 manual action, the 
 57. Sculptural Scripture Costumes. sleeves were drawn 
 
 up, or, as the Scripture describes it, "the arm made bare" 
 (Isaiah lii. 10; Ezek. iv. 7); and in travelling on foot, or 
 running, the skirts were gathered up, and confined by the 
 nrdle ; this was called 
 "girding the loins" (1 
 jings xviii. 46 ; 2 Kings 
 V. 29; Luke xii. 35 ; 1 
 Peter i. 13). We may con- 
 ceive the figure of a Jew, 
 riewed externally, as that 
 )f a full-bearded man, clad 
 \n a long and loose gar- 
 nent with large sleeves, 
 which was confined to the 
 person by a girdle about 
 the loins; the neck bare, 
 
 58. Arms Bared. 
 
 the feet protected by a 
 
 piece of leather strapped to the sole, and the head either bare 
 (as it seems very often to have been), or covered, among 
 the higher classes, by a kind of turban, and among the 
 common people by a piece of cloth thrown over the head, 
 nd confined by a fillet around the brows. The ordinary 
 
POOD AND DREM. 
 
 Drew : Starts or Procica witaout Outer 
 and with or without Girdles. 
 
 fall DTOM : with dalereut aorta of Outer 
 
 P. 4 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 appearance of the Jew, however, was varied by circumstances; 
 as when a large, loose, and shapeless garment was thrown, 
 like a cloak, over the dress which has been described. This 
 was worn with studied grace by the upper classes, who had it 
 of finer materials ; and to the poor it was cf such service that 
 it was forbidden by law to keep it in pledge over-night (Exod. 
 zxii. 25, 26 ; see also Job xxii. 6 ; xxiv. 7). This was 
 because such persons wrapped themselves up in it when they 
 slept ; it also served them to carry burthens in, when nothing 
 more suitable was at hand ; and this use of it may be seen 
 every day in the East (Exod. jrii. 34 ; 2 Kings iv. 39). It was 
 
 peculiar to the Jews to 
 have a fringe with a 
 piece of blue tape upon 
 the four corners of this 
 garment, to remind 
 them that they were a 
 peculiar people and 
 under peculiar laws 
 (Num. xv. 38, 39; 
 
 61. Captive Jews. -i.- , . . nf * T , 
 
 Matt. ix. 20; Luke 
 
 viii. 44), In a tomb discovered by Belzoni in the valley of 
 Babel-Melook, near Thebes, there are, among other figures, 
 four supposed to be of captive Jews of the time of Josiah, 
 where the fringe 
 is conspicuously re- 
 presented perhaps 
 with some exagger- 
 ation. It was also 
 peculiar to them, in 
 later days, to wear 
 * frontlets,' or * phy- 
 lacteries,' which 
 were little boxes 
 of hard calf -skin, 
 bound by thongs to 
 the forehead, and 62- Frontlets. 
 
 folded up slips of parchment, on which were written out the 
 texts of the law which were supposed to prescribe this curious 
 observance (Exod. xiii. 16 ; Deut vi. 8). 
 
FOOD AND DRESS. 
 
 6. All these dresses of the Israelites were of linen or cot- 
 tan, excepting the capacious outer garment which was of wool, 
 or of wool and hair interwoven. The Egyptians were famoui 
 for the manufacture of various kinds of cloth ; and that th 
 Israelites had learnt this art from them, is evinced by their 
 producing in the wilderness the various rich cloths required 
 for the coverings and curtains of the tabernacle, and for the 
 dress of the high-priest (Exod. xxvi. xxviii.). From various 
 passages of Scripture we infer that the art of embroidery was 
 carried to some degree of perfection (Exod. xxxv. 35 ; xxxviii. 
 23 ; Judges v. 30). There was a family of Judah particu- 
 larly celebrated for its skill in the manufacture of fine linen 
 (1 Chron. iv. 21). White, blue, and various shades of red 
 and purple, seem to have been the favourite colours among 
 the Israelites. No other colours of clothes are named in 
 Scripture. 
 
 7. From Oriental analogies, we should suppose that the 
 Israelites wore shirts under their tunics ; but there is no posi- 
 tive evidence of this, unless, as some 
 
 suppose, such were the " thirty 
 sheets" (margin "shirts") which, 
 with thirty changes of raiment, 
 formed the forfeit of Samson's rid- 
 dle (Judges xiv. 12). Loose linen 
 drawers or trowsers, such as are 
 still used in the East, were worn 
 by the priests, and probably by 
 others (Exod. xxviii. 42). These 
 were at first very short, not reach- 
 ing to the knees, but were at length 
 extended to the middle of the leg, 
 or to the ankle. 
 
 8. The girdle which confined 
 
 the tunic was of two kinds. One was a broad band of 
 leather, fastened with clasps (2 Kings i. 8 ; Matt. iii. 4), and 
 the other was of fine linen or cotton, long and narrow, and 
 wound in many folds around the waist (Jer. xiii. 1). The 
 girdle answered the purpose of a pocket to carry money and 
 other valuables, hence the word rendered " purse " in some 
 passages literally means "a girdle" (2 Sam. xviii. 11 ; Matt. 
 
 Shirt, 
 
TO 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 x. 9 ; Mark vi. 8). It might be inferred from 2 Sana. xx. 8, 
 that the Israelites wore daggers in their girdles, like the 
 modern Orientals ; but this is not very clear ; and Joab, as 
 the commander of the forces, might carry arms not generally 
 worn. 
 
 9. Stockings and socks were not in use, and the mass of 
 the people went altogether barefoot, except in winter, or upon 
 a journey ; but the wealthier classes always wore sandals out 
 of doors, except during mourning. These sandals are called 
 
 " shoes" in our Bible. 
 They were pieces of 
 hide or tanned leather, 
 shaped to the sole of 
 the foot, and bound 
 to it with thongs of 
 leather (Gen. xiv. 23 ; 
 Exod. xii. 1 1 ; Isaiah 
 v. 27; Matt. iii. 11; 
 x. 10; &c.) When 
 a person entered a 
 house, or the presence 
 of a superior, he took 
 
 off his sandals, as the modern Orientals do their shoes (Exod. 
 
 iii. 5 ; Deut. xxv. 9 ; Ruth iv. 7, 8 ; Isaiah xx. 4 ; Ezek. 
 
 xx iv. 17). It was the office of the lowest class of servants to 
 
 take off and carry the master's sandals (Matt. iii. 11 ; Mark 
 
 L 7). Servants of that class also washed the soiled feet of 
 
 the guests who came 
 
 to an entertainment; 
 
 although the master 
 
 himself sometimes 
 
 stooped to perform 
 
 this office for a much- 
 honoured visitant 
 
 (Gen. xviii. 4 ; Luke 
 
 vii. 44). 
 
 10. The Israel- 
 ites allowed the hair 
 
 of the head and beard to grow. The former was shorn occa- 
 sionally ; and the partial use of the razor in trimming th* 
 
 64. Sandals, 
 
 65. Beards of Syrian and other Foreign Nation*, 
 from Egyptian Monuments. 
 
FOOD AND DRESS. 
 
 Tl 
 
 beard was not unlawful to any but the Nazarites (Num. vi. 5 ; 
 Judges xiii. 7 ; xvi. 17). A full head of hair seems to have 
 been much admired (2 Sam. xiv. 26 ; Sol. Song v. 11). The 
 hair was dressed and anointed with much care, especially at 
 festivals (2 Sam. xiv. 2 ; Isaiah iii. 24 ; Matt. vi. 17 ; Luke 
 viL 46). Baldness in 
 men not old was rare, 
 and was despised (2 
 Kings ii. 23 ; Isaiah 
 iii 24 ; Jer. xlvii. 5). 
 The beard, as the 
 characteristic sign of 
 manhood, was much 
 respected by the Is- 
 raelites; to shave it, 
 
 66. Modern Oriental Beards. 
 
 to spit upon it, to pull 
 it, and even to touch 
 it, except for the pur- 
 pose of salutation, were 
 the grossest insults which men could inflict upon one another 
 (2 Sam. x. 4-6 ; 1 Chron. xix. 3-6 ; Isaiah vii. 20) ; and 
 hence, for a man to neglect or maltreat his own beard was a 
 sign of madness or of extreme grief (1 Sam. xxi. 13 ; 2 Sam. 
 xix. 24 ; Isaiah xv. 2). 
 
 11. It appears to have been the custom to use walking- 
 staves, even when not upon a journey (Gen. xxxii. 10 ; 
 xxxviii. 18; Exod. xii. 11 ; 2 Kings iv. 29; Mark vi. 8; 
 &c.) Eings were worn on the fingers : these were generally 
 signet-rings bearing the name of the owner, and the impres- 
 sion from which was equivalent to nis signature. This ex- 
 plains the high powers and dignities which a monarch con- 
 ferred by the delivery of his own signet-ring (Gen. xli. 42; 
 Et. iiL 10, 12 ; viii 2 , Dan. vi. 9, 13, 17). 
 
SECTION m.-WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 
 
 1. WOMEN appear to have enjoyed considerably more free- 
 dom among the Jews than is now allowed them in Western 
 Asia, although in other respects their condition and employ- 
 ments seem to have been not dissimilar. At present, women 
 of all ranks are much confined to their own houses, and never 
 
 see the men who visit 
 their husbands or fa- 
 thers; and in towns 
 they never go abroad 
 without their persons 
 and faces being com- 
 pletely shrouded; they 
 also take their meals 
 apart from the males, 
 even of their own 
 family. But in the 
 rural districts they 
 enjoy more freedom, 
 and often go about 
 unveiled. Among the 
 Jews, women were 
 somewhat less re- 
 strained in their in- 
 tercourse with men, and did not generally conceal their faces 
 when they went abroad. Only one instance occurs in Scrip- 
 ture of women eating with men (Ruth ii. 14) ; but that was 
 at a simple refection, and only illustrates the greater freedom 
 of rural manners. 
 
 2. The employments of the women were very various, 
 and sufficiently engrossing. In the earlier or patriarchal, 
 state of society, the daughters of men of substance tended 
 their father's flocks (Gen. xxix 9; Exod. ii. 16). In ordi- 
 nary circumstances, the first labour of the day was to grind 
 corn and bake bread, as already noticed. The other cares of 
 the family occupied the rest of the day. The women of the 
 
 07. Matron in Pull Dress. 
 
WOMEN AND CHUiDBttL 
 
 M. In-door Veil*. 
 
 DTCM Veil*, Ac. in-door. 
 
f4 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 peasantry and of the poor consumed much time in collecting 
 fuel, and in going to the wells for water. The wells were 
 usually outside the towns, and the labour of drawing water 
 from them was by no means confined to poor women. This 
 was usually, but not always, the labour of the evening ; and 
 the water was carried in earthen vessels, borne upon the 
 shoulder (Gen. xxiv. 15-20 ; John iv. 7, 28). Working with 
 the needle also occupied much of their time, as it would eeeni 
 that not only their own clothes but those of the men were 
 made by the females. Some of the needlework was very fine, 
 and much valued (Exod. xxvi. 36 ; xxviii. 39 ; Judges v. 30; 
 Psalm xlv. 14). The women appear to have spun the yarn 
 for all the cloth that was in use (Exod. xxxv. 25 ; Prov. 
 xxxi. 19) ; and much of the weaving seems also to have been 
 executed by them (Judges xvi. 13, 14 ; Prov. xxxi. 22). The 
 tapestries for bed-coverings, mentioned in the last-cited text, 
 were probably produced in the loom, and appear to have been 
 much valued (Prov. vii. 16). 
 
 3. We have no certain information regarding the dress of 
 the women among the poorer classes; but it was probably 
 coarse and simple, and not materially different from that which 
 
 we now see among the Be- 
 douin women, and the female 
 peasantry of Syria. This 
 consists of drawers, and a 
 long and loose gown of coarse 
 blue linen, with some orna- 
 mental bordering wrought 
 with the needle, in another 
 colour, about the neck and 
 bosom. The head is covered 
 with a kind of turban, con- 
 nected with which, behind, is 
 a veil which covers the neck, 
 back, and bosom. We may 
 presume, with still greater 
 certainty, that women of su- 
 
 70. Yo^ng Lady in Pull Dress. . J ' . . 
 
 penor condition wore, over 
 
 their inner dress, a frock or tunic like that of the men, but 
 more closely fitting the person, with a girdle formed by an 
 
WOMKM AND CHILDREN. 
 
 71. Out-door Veils. 
 
 MOM Jawei. 
 
IXTRODUtTIO?. 
 
 Bracelets. 
 
 unfolded kerchief. Their head-dress was a kind of turban, 
 with different sorts of veils and wrappers worn under variout 
 circumstances. The hair was worn long, and, as at present, 
 was braided into numerous tresses, with trinkets "and ribands 
 (1 Cor. xi. 15; 1 Tim. ii. 9 ; 1 Peter iii. 3). With the 
 head-dress the principal ornaments appear to have been con- 
 nected, such as a jewel for the forehead, and rows of pearl* 
 (Sol. Song i. 10 ; Ezek. xvi. 12). Ear-rings were also worn 
 (Isaiah iii. 20 ; Ezek. xvi. 12), as well as a nose-jewel, con- 
 sisting, no doubt, as now, either of a ring inserted in the 
 cartilage of the nose, or an ornament like a button attached 
 
 to it. The nose-jewel 
 was of gold or silver, 
 and sometimes set with 
 jewels (Gen. xxiv. 47 ; 
 Isaiah iii. 21). Brace- 
 lets were also generally 
 worn (Isaiah iii. 19; 
 Ezek. xvi. 11), some 
 on the wrists, and some 
 on the upper arm. They were worn both by men and 
 women, but chiefly by the latter ; and, for a man, the bracelet 
 on the upper arms, seems to have been, as it is now in the 
 East, a mark of royalty 
 (2 Sam. 1 10). Ank- 
 lets were also worn by 
 females, and were, as at 
 present, probably more 
 like fetters than orna- 
 ments (Isaiah iii. 16, 
 20). The Jewish wo- 
 men had the art of 
 staining their eyelids 
 black, for effect and 
 expression (2 Kings ix. 
 30; Jer.iv. 30; Ezek. 
 
 Xxiii. 40); and it is 1 ' 2 ' 6 - 6 >7, Aunent Oriental 3,^8, Modern Oriental. 
 
 more nian probable that they had the present practice of 
 staining the nails, and the palms of their hands and soles of 
 their feet, of an iron-rust colour, by means of a paste made 
 
 74. 
 
WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 77 
 
 from tne plant called henna (Lawsonia inermis). This plant 
 appears to be mentioned in Sol. Song i. 14, and its present 
 use is probably referred to in Deut. xxi. 12 ; 2 Sam. xix. 24. 
 
 4. Fathers claimed the absolute disposal of their sons and 
 daughters in marriage (Gen. xxi. 21 ; Exod. xxi. 9 ; Deut. 
 xxii. 16 ; Judges xiv. 1-4) ; but in a family where the chil- 
 dren were from different mothers, the full brothers of a young 
 woman expected also to be consulted (Gen. xxxiv. 11, 27; 
 2 Sam. xiii. 20-29). If a young man saw a damsel whom he 
 liked, he might ask his own father to apply to her father on 
 his behalf (Gen. xxxiv. 4 ; Judges xiv. 1, 2). To prevent 
 the contamination of idolatry, all marriages with foreigners 
 were forbidden to the Israelites (Exod. xxxi^, 15, 16; Neh. 
 xiii. 23). If it Happened that, for want of male heirs, daugh- 
 ters inherited an estate, it was expected that they should 
 marry near kinsmen, or at least in their own tribe, that the 
 property might be kept in the family or tribe to which it was 
 fim allotted (Num. zxvii. 1-11 ; xxxvi. 1-12). For a some- 
 what similar reason, if a man died without sons, his next 
 brother was expected to marry his widow, and the first-born 
 son of this union was considered as the son of the deceased, 
 and inherited his estate (Deut. xxv. 5-10 ; Ruth iv. 1-5). 
 
 5. A father did not, as with us, give a fortune with hia 
 daughter, but expected to receive a consideration or dowry 
 for giving her in marriage ; the amount of which was settled 
 in the contract of marriage which was formed by the fathers 
 of the respective parties (Gen. xxix. 18, 27 ; xxxiv. 11, 12 ; 
 Josh. xv. 6 ; 1 Sam. xviii. 23-26). This covenant, which 
 was, in fact, the essential act of marriage, was in earlier 
 times rendered valid by the presence of witnesses; but in 
 later days it was reduced to writing, and appears to have 
 been confirmed by oaths (Prov. ii. 17 ; Mai. ii. 14). In 
 Jacob's case we have an instance of the husband's personal 
 services to the father being accepted in lieu of money. Some- 
 times, however, a daughter was freely given by a father, 
 without the exaction of what was called her " price," and 
 such wives were the more highly honoured (Gen. xi. 15). 
 In particular cases, it also occurred that a dowry was given 
 by the father with his daughter (Josh. xv. 18, 19 ; Judges i. 
 12-15 ; 1 Kings ix. 16). 
 
TS INTRODUCTION. 
 
 6. An intend *& ten or twelve months, or even longer, 
 usually passed between the contract of marriage and the 
 actual nuptials. During this time the affianced pair saw 
 little of each other ; but were nevertheless accounted as man 
 and wife, so much so, that the engagement could not be 
 broken off without a regular divorce ; and the woman was 
 stoned as an adulteress, if, in the meantime, she proved un- 
 chaste (Gen. xxiv. 55 ; Judges xiv. 8 ; Matt. i. 18-20). When 
 the nuptial day arrived, the bridegroom went, in the evening 
 with his friends and associates, in holiday attire, to tak* 
 home his bride from her father's house. She, splendidly ar 
 rayed, and with the bridal crown upon her head, came forth 
 attended by her young companions ; and, walking under a 
 canopy, was escorted to her future home with songs, and 
 dances, and instrumental music. On their arrival there, the 
 men and women feasted in separate apartments ; and if the 
 parties were wealthy, the feast was prolonged for a week 
 (Judges xiv. 17). We know not of any ceremony attending 
 this actual marriage, unless it were that the nuptial blessing 
 a prayer for a numerous offspring was invoked on the 
 newly-married pair. 
 
 7. For a man to have more than one wife was an abuse 
 which existed at a very early date (Gen. iv. 19), and, in 
 the course of time, became very prevalent. It was common 
 among the Hebrews in the time of Moses, when it was deemed 
 advisable to discourage rather than absolutely to interdict so 
 rooted a practice. Afterwards, however, it became very un- 
 nsual for a man to have more than one wife ; as is, in fact, 
 the case at present in countries where polygamy is allowed. 
 
 8. In like manner, Moses imposed some restrictions on 
 the practice of divorce, which appears to have been before 
 his time merely an oral act on the part of the man, but which 
 he required to be effected by a written document. The re- 
 pudiation might afterwards be retracted, if the woman had 
 not, in the meanwhile, married another man ; but if she had, 
 it could not be recalled (Dent. xxiv. 1-4). It was disputed 
 in later times, what the law intended to be a sufficient ground 
 of divorce. One party contended that the man might divorce 
 his wife for any cause, however trifling ; the other, that he 
 could dc 80 for adultery only. Our Lord, in whose time th 
 
WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 7 
 
 practice of divorce had become frightfully common, decided 
 the latter to be the just alternative (Matt. v. 31, 32). Even 
 before the time of Moses, the punishment for adultery in a 
 woman was death (Gen. xxxviii. 24 ; Lev. xx. 10), but we 
 meet with no instance of its actual infliction. If a man sus- 
 pected the chastity of his wife, without having legal evidence 
 of the fact, it was in his power to subject her to the ordeal 
 of " the water of jealousy," which, through the agency of a 
 very awful oath, was to be instrumental in making her guilt 
 or innocence appear (Num. v. 11-31). 
 
 9. The Israelites eagerly desired children, and especially 
 sons. Hence the messenger who first brought to the father 
 the news that a son was born, was well rewarded (Job iii. 3 ; 
 Jer. XX. 15). The event was celebrated with music ; and 
 the father, when the child was presented to him, pressed it 
 to his bosom, by which act he was understood to acknowledge 
 it as his own (Gen. 1. 23 ; Job iii. 12 ; Psalm xxii. 10). On 
 the eighth day from the birth the child was circumcised (Gen. 
 xvii. 10) ; at which time also, a name was given to it (Luke 
 i. 59). The first-born son was highly esteemed, and had many 
 distinguishing privileges. He had a double portion of the 
 estate (Deut. xxi. 17) ; he exercised a sort of parental autho- 
 rity over his younger brothers (Gen. xxv. 23, &c. ; xxvii. 29 ; 
 Exod. xii. 29 ; 2 Chron. xxi. 3) ; and before the institution 
 of the Levitical priesthood, he acted as the priest of the fa- 
 mily (Num. iii. 12, 13 ; viii. 18). The patriarchs exercised 
 the power of taking these privileges from the first-born, and 
 giving them to any other son, or of distributing them among 
 different sons ; but this practice was overruled by the Mosaical 
 law (Deut. xxi. 15-17). 
 
 10. The child continued about three years at the breast 
 of the mother, and a great festival was given at the weaning 
 (Gen. xxi. 8 ; 1 Sam. i. 22-24 ; 2 Chron. xxxi. 6 ; Matt. 
 xxi. 16). He remained two years longer in charge of the 
 women ; after which he was taken under the especial care of 
 the father with a view to his proper training (Deut. vi. 20- 
 25; xi. 19). It appears that those who wished for their 
 cons better instruction than they were themselves able or , 
 willing to give, employed a private teacher, or else sent them 
 to a priest or Levite, who had perhaps several others under 
 
80 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 his care. The principal object was, that they should be well 
 acquainted with the law of Moses ; and reading and writing 
 were taught in subservience to this leading object 
 
 11. The authority of a father was very great among the 
 Israelites, and extended not only to his sons, but to his grand- 
 sons, indeed, to all who were descended from him. His 
 power had no recognised limit, and even if he put his son or 
 grandson to death, there was, at first, no law by which he 
 could be brought to account (Gen. xxi. 14 ; xxxviii. 24). 
 But Moses circumscribed this power, by ordering that when 
 a father judged his son worthy of death, he should bring him 
 before the public tribunals. If, however, he had struck of 
 cursed his father or mother, or was refractory or disobedient, 
 he was still liable to capital punishment (Exod. xxi. 15, 17; 
 Lrr. xx. 9 ; Deut. xxi. 18-21). 
 
81 
 
 SECTION IV.-ETIQUETTE. 
 
 1. THE Israelites, like other Orientals, gave stronger 
 manifestations of their feelings of respect or dislike, than hag 
 ever been usual among western nations. In most cases their 
 manner would express more, and ours less, than the real feel- 
 ing; and, hi general, the etiquette of Orientals is more 
 refined than might be expected from their condition in life. 
 Domestic servants who, in families of consideration, were 
 foreign slaves, behaved with great submission and respect, 
 and, when in actual attendance, stood at a distance with 
 crossed arms, watching the slightest motion of the master's 
 .'and (Psalm cxxiii. 2). When equals, being friends, met 
 they kissed each other's beards, as do the Arabians, placing 
 the hand underneath (2 Sam. xx. 9). Sometimes, the cheeks 
 were merely placed together, and this also is described as a 
 kiss or salutation. The kisses of affection, were on the lips 
 and cheeks in women, and the beard and cheeks in men ; the 
 kiss of respect and homage was upon the brow (Gen. xxvii. 
 26 ; Exod. iv. 27 ; 1 Sam. x. 1 ; 2 Sam. xv. 5 ; xix. 39 ; 
 Psalm ii. 12 ; Prov. xxiv. 26 ; Matt. xxvi. 49 ; Acts xx. 37). 
 In meeting, they asked each other of their health, and the 
 health of their connections, which, with other ceremonies, 
 consumed so much time that persons charged with urgent 
 messages were enjoined to salute no one by the way (2 Kings 
 iv. 29 ; Luke x. 4). Various forms of bowing and prostra- 
 tion are mentioned in 
 Scripture. The most 
 usual, as now, were 
 to bow or incline the 
 head, in doing which 
 the Orientals lay the 
 right hand upon the 
 heart (Gen. xxiv. 26 ; 75 ' Eastern Forma of Bowui s 
 
 1 Kings i. 16, 31, &c.) ; to bow the body very .low " with th 
 face towards the ground," without bending the knees (1 Sam, 
 xxv. 23; zxriii. 14; 2 Sam. xiv, 33; 1 Kings.!, 23; 2 Coroa. 
 
82 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 vii. 3, &c.) ; to bend the knees (Num. xxiv. 9 ; Judges vii. 6; 
 1 Kings xix. 18); to kneel, in worship (2 Chron. vi. 13; Psalm 
 xcv. 6 ; Dan. vi. 11) ; and to prostrate one's-self upon the 
 ground, which was done either as an act of worship to God, 
 or in reverence, homage, or humiliation before man (Gen. 
 xxii. 5 ; 1 Sam. i. 3 ; 2 Sam. ix. 8 ; Psalm xlv. 12 ; Acts x. 
 
 77. Head on the Ground. 
 
 76. Prostration. 
 
 25, 26 ; Rev. xix. 20 ; xxii. 9). This last posture consisted 
 sometimes hi grovelling flat upon the ground ; but more 
 usually with the knees 
 bent, and the forehead 
 rested on the earth. 
 Other marks of reve- 
 rence were, kissing 
 the feet of the person 
 reverenced, or the hem 
 of his garment (Matt. 
 ix. 20 ; Luke vii. 38), ? 8 - Kissing the Feet. 
 
 which acts were usually connected with some of the postures 
 of respect which have been mentioned. In their greetings 
 
 nearly the same verbal saluta- 
 tions were in use as we now find 
 among the Arabians and other 
 Moslems. The most usual were, 
 "Peace be with thee" (Judges 
 xix. 20 ; 1 Sam. xxv. 6 ; 1 Chron. 
 xii. 18 ; Luke xxiv. 36) ; " The 
 blessing of the Lord be upon 
 the Hand. thee" (Psalm cxxix. 8) ; "Blea- 
 ted be thou of the Lord" (Ruth iii. 10; 1 Sam. xxiiL 21). 
 
ETIQUETTE. 88 
 
 There is a pleasLUi. mstance of the interchange of salutations 
 in the case of Boaz, who said to his reapers, " The Lord be 
 with you," and was answered, "The Lord bless thee" 
 (Euth ii. 4). 
 
 2. It has always been the custom in the East for an in- 
 ferior to make a present to a superior, when paying him a 
 visit, or seeking any favour from him ; and this custom was 
 very prevalent among the Jews (Prov. xviii. 16). It was 
 considered a mark of respect which it would be uncivil to 
 omit, even when the present was merely complimentary, and 
 of no intrinsic value ; and it might consist of money, different 
 articles of food, clothes, arms, or anything which could, ac- 
 cording to his means, evince the respect of the party making 
 the offering (Gen. xliii. 11 ; 1 Sam. ix. 7 ; xvi. 20 ; Job xlii. 
 11). Kings and princes were in the habit of making presents 
 as marks of distinction and favour to those whom they wished 
 to honour. These were generally dresses of more or lesa 
 value (Gen. xlv. 22, 23 ; Est.. viii. 15) ; and there was a 
 royal wardrobe in which such garments were kept (2 Chron. 
 ix. 24). The most distinguished honour of this kind, was to 
 receive a robe which the prince had himself worn (1 Sam. 
 xviii. 4) ; and it was a great affront if the garment thus pre- 
 sented was not immediately and publicly worn (Matt. xxii. 
 11, 12). 
 
 3. When kings and princes entered their cities in state, it 
 was usual to lay the dust by sprinkling the streets, to strew 
 the road with flowers and branches of trees, and even to spread 
 the ground with cloth, or with garments ; while the specta- 
 tors, crowding on the house-tops, and at the opened lattices 
 fronting the street, clapped their hands and shouted for joy : 
 at other times they performed their obeisance in silence as the 
 great one passed (2 Sam. xvi. 16 ; 1 Kings i. 40 ; 2 Kings 
 ix. 13 ; Isa. xlii. 11 ; Zech. ix. 9 ; Matthew xxi. 7-9). 
 
 4. The modes of shewing insult and inflicting disgrace, 
 among the Israelites, were very significant, although they ap- 
 pear to us childish. They consisted of maltreating the beard, 
 as formerly mentioned ; of plucking off the hair (Isa. 1. 6), 
 and of spitting in the face (Isa. 1. 6 ; Mark xiv. 65). To 
 put men to the employments of women was a dreadful degra- 
 dation (Judges xvi. 21 ; Lam. v. 13) ; and clapping thf 
 
84 OTRODUCTIOH. 
 
 hands, hissing, thrusting out the tongue and making a irkb 
 mouth, crunching the teeth, and wagging the head, are de- 
 scribed as modes in which the populace testified their hatred, 
 or shewed malignant exultation or contempt (Job xxvii. 23 ; 
 Jer. Ivii. 4 ; ii. 15 ; Ezek. xxv. 6). But perhaps the greatest 
 and most intolerable insult, was to cast contempt upon a man's 
 mother : thus Saul, to insult his son, spoke contemptuously of 
 his own wife (1 Sam. xx. 30) ; and more than once David 
 speaks slightingly of his own sister Zeruiah, to humble her 
 sons (2 Sam. iii. 39 ; xvi. 10 ; xix. 22). In popular tumults 
 the people testified the vehemence of their rage by casting 
 dust into the air (Acts xxii. 23). The dead were dishonoured 
 by denying them the rites of sepulture (Rev. xi. 8, 9) ; by 
 casting the great into the graves of the common people (Jer. 
 xxvi. 23) ; by disinterring them after burial (Jer. viii. 1) ; or 
 by exposing them to be devoured by ravenous beasts, and 
 forbidding them to be publicly lamented (Jer. xvi 5-7 ; xix 
 7 ; xxii. 18, 19). 
 
SECTION V. TRAVELLING. 
 
 1. WHEN a person travelled on foot, he tucked up hi* 
 kirts with his girdle, so as to leave free action to the leg and 
 knee ; he had a staff, wore sandals, and had a small " scrip " 
 or bag suspended from the neck for provisions. If he wag 
 going to a distance he took a change of clothes, and sometimes 
 a jar or kid-skin bottle of water (Gen. xxi. 14 ; Luke ix. 3). 
 The cool of the morning or evening, or of the night, was the 
 usual time for travelling ; in the heat of the day travellers 
 sought refreshment and rest (Gen. xviii. 1-5). The custom- 
 ary salutations on the road were neglected by hurried travel- 
 lers (2 Kings iv. 29). 
 
 2. There were no inns like ours. In the early periods of 
 Scripture history, if a traveller had no friends to whom he 
 could repair in the place to which he came, he waited in the 
 street, or at the gate, till some hospitable person invited him 
 to his house (Gen. xix. 2 ; Judges xix. 15-21). In the time 
 of Christ there appear to have been, in the towns, such places 
 of public accommoda- 
 tion as we now find 
 
 in the East, namely, 
 khans, where strangers 
 
 are provided with lodg- 
 
 . % ., fo , 80. Khata. 
 
 ing for themselves and 
 
 beasts, but have to provide provisions, fuel, and beds for 
 themselves. In the stable of such a place, there being no 
 room for his parents in the lodging apartments, the Saviour 
 of the world was born (Luke ii. 7). Places of the same 
 kind upon the road, for the accommodation of travellers, are 
 called caravanserais: these are of more ancient date, being 
 the "inns" of Gen. xlii. 27; xliii. 21; Exod. iv. 24; and 
 Luke x. 34. Under such circumstances, persons making a 
 journey are obliged to make preparation not required among 
 us. This varies with the length and circumstances of the 
 way* a long journey through a thinly peopled country, 
 requiring more preparation than a short oue where market 
 
86 
 
 towns frequently occur But all preparations may be cora 
 preh ended under the heads of, 1. Provender for the cattle, 
 consisting of barley and chopped straw : 2. Provisions and 
 water; the provisions being meal to make bread, or else a 
 kind of hard-baked bread or biscuit, rice, dried dates and 
 other fruits, cheese, and sometimes, but rarely, potted meat ; 
 the water is carried in skin bags or bottles, of a size and num- 
 ber proportioned to the journey: 3. Conveniences; which 
 are more extensive now since the use of coffee and tobacco 
 has been introduced than formerly ; but which may be said 
 to consist of a rug and quilted coverlet for a bed, a copper 
 pot for cooking, a few bowls of wood or of tinned copper, and a 
 ewer for ablutions. Few long journeys are described in Scrip- 
 ture ; but in such as are mentioned, preparations like these 
 must be more or less understood, according to the exigencies 
 of the case (Gen. xlii. 25, 27; xliii. 11, 21; xlv. 21, 88; 
 Jott. ix. 11-16). 
 
SECTION VI. CUSTOMS EELATING TO THE DEAD. 
 
 81. Wail with Tabreta, &c. 
 
 1. WHEN a person died, his relations rent their upper 
 garment from head to foot, and a smaller rent was made by 
 the spectators. This rending of the clothes was alsc a com- 
 mon act of mourning on almost every occasion of distress 
 (Gen. xxxvii. 29 ; Judges xi. 35 ; 2 Sam. i. 2 ; Esther iv. 
 1 ; &c.) In the case of death, a dismal cry was at the same 
 time raised by the 
 persons present ; and 
 if the parties were in 
 good circumstances, 
 the hired mourners 
 and minstrels were 
 soon in attendance 
 to aggravate the 
 ostensible mourning 
 by thfcir doleful la- 
 mentations and melancholy music (Jer. ix. 17, 18 ; Matt. ix. 
 23 ; Mark v. 38 ; Acts ix. 39). The eyes of the deceased 
 were closed by one of his sons, or by the nearest present 
 relative (Gen. xlvi. 4). The body was then laid out upon a 
 cloth on the floor or on a table, and washed with warm water. 
 It was next placed upon a table and embalmed. There 
 were various ways of embalming ; but except in the case of 
 Jacob and Joseph, who were embalmed in Egypt (Gen. 1. 2, 
 26), it is doubtful if this was ever done so elaborately as 
 among the Egyptians. The most usual mode was to anoint 
 the body with a solution of odoriferous drugs, and wrap it up 
 in linen. Spices and perfumes were used in great abundance 
 in preparing the bodies of the wealthy for the sepulchre. We 
 
 may infer this from 
 the large quantities 
 provided by Joseph 
 and Nicodemus for 
 the body of Christ, 
 which was wrapped op in linen, with hundred-weight of 
 
 82. Grave-clothes. 
 
88 
 
 WTRODUCTIOIf. 
 
 myrrh and lign aloes (John xix. 39, 40). Usually, after th 
 ordinary w ishing and anointing, the body was wrapped round 
 with many folds of linen, and the head enveloped in a rapkip 
 (John xi. 44). 
 
 2. The funeral was seldom delayed above twenty-four 
 hours after death, as the process of decomposition commence* 
 very soon in warm countries ; and to enforce the salutary prac- 
 tice of speedy interment, the law extended to seven days th 
 eeremonial defilement communicated by the presence of a corpse 
 (Num. xix. 11-13; Acts v. 6, 10). The body was not put 
 into a coffin, but, closely wrapped up from head to foot, wag 
 borne in an open bier to the place of burial (Luke vii, 14). 
 
 83. Ancient Jewish Funeral ; Costume, Arabo- Syrian. 
 
 The bier was followed by the mourners, who expressed their 
 grief in loud lamentations ; while the minstrels, with their 
 melancholy pipes, and the mourning women with doleful voices 
 and dishevelled hair, enhanced the effect of this public display 
 of Borrow (2 Sam. iii. 31, 32 ; Amos v. 31, 32 ; Matt. ix. 23 ; 
 xi 17). The body was deposited in its last home without any 
 particular ceremony. As the funeral procession returned, there 
 were several pauses, to enable certain of the company to ad- 
 minister comfort to the afflicted relatives. The day was con- 
 cluded by a funeral feast, in which they ate what was called 
 the " bread of mourning " and drank " the cup of consolation " 
 (2 Sam. iii. 35 ; Jer. xvi. 7 ; Hos. ix. 4). Rent clothes and 
 sackcloth formed the mourning attire of the Israelites (Gen. 
 xxxvii. 34 ; 2 Sam. iii. 31 ; Joel i. 8 ; &c.). Other acts of 
 mourning were, to go about with the face and head shrouded 
 (2 Sam. xix. 4), and to sprinkle dust upon the head (Job ii. 
 12 ; Lam. ii. 10 ; Rev. xviii. 19.) 
 
 3. Our own custom of burying the dead in towns would 
 rot be endured in the East; nor did it exist among the 
 
CUSTOMS RELAWNO TO TOE DEAD. 
 
 Israelites. The burial-grounds are always at some distance 
 from the towns ; they are unenclosed, and the highways often 
 pass through them. This was also the case among the Jews, 
 as is evident from several passages of Scripture (Jer. xxvi. 
 23 ; Matt, xxvii. 52, 53), and from mention being made of 
 men walking over graves without being aware of them (Luke xi. 
 44). Burial in these general cemeteries was for the mass of 
 the people, or those who had no private or family sepulchres. 
 The latter were commonly 
 in private fields and gar- 
 dens, in the outskirts of 
 the towns; and, when pos- 
 sible, were caverns, some of 
 which, still remaining, are 
 extensive excavations, with 
 niches in the sides wherein 
 the corpses were deposited. 
 They were closed either by 
 a stone door, or by a flat stone placed against the entrance 
 (Gen. xxiii. 17-20 ; 2 Kings xiii. 21 ; Isaiah xxii. 16 ; Matt 
 xxiii. 27, 29 ; xxvii. 52, 53, 60). Only the remains of kings 
 and very distinguished men were allowed to be deposited in 
 cities (1 Sam. xxviii. 3 ; 2 Kings xxi. 18 ; 2 Chron. xvi. 14; 
 xxiv. 16) ; and the sepulchre of the kings of the line of David 
 was upon Mount Zion (2 Kings xiv. 20 ; 2 Chron. xxi. 20 ; 
 &c.) It was usual to whitewash the exterior of sepulchres 
 on the last day of the year, with the view of preventing the 
 
 strangers who came 
 to Jerusalem from 
 defiling themselves 
 by inadvertent con- 
 tact therewith (Matt. 
 xxiii. 27) ; for con- 
 
 Interior of Sepulchre. 
 
 tact even with a bone 
 of a dead body wast 
 counted a defilement 
 (2 Ohron. xxxiv. 5). 
 By what kind of 
 monuments the Is- 
 raelites honoured the dead is not very clear. In very earif 
 
 Modern Syrian Tombs. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 times Jacob erected a stone (called a " pillar ") over the grave 
 of his beloved Rachel (Gen. xxxv. 20) ; and Absalom in his 
 lifetime erected a monument (also called a " pillar ") to keep 
 his name in remembrance (2 Sam. xviii. 18). The sepulchral 
 stones appear to have been engraved with inscriptions de- 
 claring the name and quality of the dead (2 Kings xxiii. 17). 
 That there were tombstones in the common cemeteries is not 
 altogether clear from Scripture, but may be inferred from 
 various circumstances, and from the analogy of existing 
 nsages. 
 
 Omrdm Tomb. 
 
PAST 1V.-IJTEBATURE, SCIENCE, AND ABT. 
 
 SECTION I.-LITERATURE. 
 
 1. WITHOUT inquiring into the origin of the Hebrew language, 
 we may observe that it was spoken both in Mesopotamia and 
 Canaan in the time of Abraham ; for that patriarch, whc 
 came from beyond the Euphrates, conversed freely with the 
 inhabitants of Canaan ; and when Jacob, who had been brought 
 up in the land of Canaan, went into Mesopotamia, his speech 
 was readily understood (Gen. xxiii. 3, &c. ; xxix. 4-8). A 
 more certain evidence of this is found in the fact, that the 
 names of places and persons existing in Palestine when Abra- 
 ham migrated to that country, have all a meaning in the 
 language which Abraham spoke. That language is entirely 
 unlike those of Europe, but it has a strong resemblance to the 
 other original languages of Asia west of the Tigris, the Ara- 
 bic, the Syriac, and the Chaldean. As it is now known, the 
 Hebrew language is very simple and significant, but it wants 
 flexibility and copiousness. It should be observed, however, 
 that only a part of the ancient language is known to us, that 
 which is contained in the Bible : and no one book, however 
 large or various, can ever exemplify all the forms, or embrace 
 the whole vocabulary, of any language. 
 
 2. Like all the languages of western Asia, Hebrew is read 
 from right to left. The character in which it is written la 
 the Chaldean, which the Jews adopted during the Captivity ; 
 and which, although not altogether different from that which 
 they previously employed, is more neat and elegant. The 
 older character is now known as the Samaritan, because it 
 was retained by the Samaritans after it had been abandoned 
 
 P. 5 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 by the Jews. The Hebrew alphabet consists of twenty- 
 or, as some count them, twenty-two consonants : 
 
 a b g d hvichtjk 1 
 
 a D y o s p i to tf n 
 
 m n 8 gh p.ph. tz q.k r a ah ttfa 
 
 There are thirteen vowel sounds, which are now usually ex- 
 pressed by points set above or below the respective consonants 
 with which they are joined. The antiquity of these points is 
 a matter which has been much controverted. 
 
 3. The older alphabet of the Hebrews, and their mode of 
 writing, were, like their language, the same as those of the 
 Canaanites and Phoenicians. Their early knowledge of alpha- 
 betic writing is implied in the fact, that there were public genea- 
 logists (Deut. xvii. 18, 19 ; xxiv. 1-3) ; and is evinced by the 
 writings of Moses, by the stone tables of the law, and by the fre- 
 quent references which Moses makes to books and writings as 
 to things well known (Exod. xvii. 14 ; xxiv. 4 ; xxviii. 9-11 ; 
 xxxii. 32 ; xxxiv. 27, 28 ; Num. xxxiii. 2 ; Deut. xxvii. 8). 
 In the course of time, many of the Israelites were able to read 
 and write ; but the great mass of the people were content with 
 oral instruction in the law of God, which was the only kind 
 of learning in general deemed necessary. When occasion re- 
 quired, those who could, wrote for those who could not write ; 
 and persons in the habit of thus acting as scribes, who were 
 usually Levites, always went with inkhorns in their girdles, as 
 
 is still done by the 
 learned in the East. 
 This implement was 
 then, as now, pro- 
 
 86. Arabmn Wntmg Case. vided not Only with 
 
 a receptacle for ink, 
 
 but with a case for reed pens and a pen-knife (Jer. xxxvi. 23 ; 
 Ezek. ix. 2, 3, 11). The materials for writing were very 
 various at different times of the long period over which the 
 Hebrew history extends. New inventions were introduced, 
 and the purpose of the writing often dictated the character oi 
 the material. The most ancient which we know to have 
 been actually used, were the stone tables on which the Deca* 
 
LITERATURE. 
 
 93 
 
 fogue was engraved, and the great etones which were set up 
 en Mount Ebal (Deut. xxvii. 1-3). From the latter instance, 
 it would seem that the engraved letters were sometimes filled 
 up with plaster. In the book of Job, which is supposed to 
 be of still earlier date, the practice of writing on rocks and 
 tablets of lead, as well as in books, is mentioned (Job. xix. 
 23, 24). It is presumed that laws, treaties, and the history 
 of great public events, were carved on the rocks and stones 
 as well as on lead, for which brass, as being more durable, 
 was afterwards substituted (1 Mace. viii. 22 ; xiv. 20-27). 
 It is more difficult to determine the early material of books 
 among the Hebrews. As we do not read of books being in 
 use among them till they were in Egypt, it is probable that 
 they would use the materials employed in that country. Now 
 it is known that leather was among the materials on which 
 the Egyptians wrote ; and a few leathern rolls of the most 
 remote antiquity have been found. As, therefore, the Hebrews, 
 when they first had books, were a pastoral people, and had 
 the art of preparing the skins of animals, it seems likely that 
 their first books, or rolls, were of this material. Linen, also, 
 was so prepared as to bear writing, and may have been 
 employed to some extent by the Israelites. The invention 
 f paper made from the papyrus reed (Cyperus papyrus) was 
 of very ancient date ; and hence it also may have been in use 
 
 among the Jews. But 
 as it was much dearer 
 than leather, it may 
 be assumed that the 
 latter was the material 
 chiefly used. Jose- 
 phus affirms, that the 
 copies of the sacred 
 books were written on 
 skins (Antiq. xii. 2); 
 and that Jeremiah's 
 roll of prophecy con- 
 sisted of skin seem* 
 
 87. Ancient Writing Materials. . , , , 
 
 to be indicated by the 
 
 feet that the king cut it with a knife before throwing it into 
 the fire (Jer. xxxvi. 23). Parchment was not invented untiJ 
 
94 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 950 B. o., and it soon came into general use waong the 
 Israelites, for their sacred writings. For common uses, tablets 
 of wood were employed : these were not in the East, as 
 among the Romans, covered with wax, but with a glazed 
 composition capable of receiving ink. Such tablets were used 
 by the Egyptians long after they had papyri, and are still 
 used in the common schools of Egypt (Isaiah viii. 1 ; Ezek. 
 rxxvii. 16 ; Luko i. 63). 
 
 4. Books of skin and parchment, and even ot papyrus, 
 were in the form of rolls, written in small columns, the 
 beginning being at the open end. They were sometimes, but 
 
 very rarely, written 
 on both sides (Ezek. 
 ii. 9, 10 ; Zech. v. 1). 
 They were rolled 
 round a stick or rol- 
 ler, like a map; or, 
 if long, round two 
 rollers, one at each 
 end. The reader un- 
 rolled the book as he 
 perused it, and rolled 
 it up again when he 
 had done ; and hence 
 a book was called a 
 " volume," or a thing 
 rolled up (2 Kings 
 xix. 14; Ezra vi. 2; Isaiah xxxiv. 4). Books which were 
 thus rolled up, and tied round with a string, could be easily 
 sealed (Isaiah xxix. 11 ; Dan. xii. 4; Rev. v. 1, 5, 7). 
 
 5. No mention of letters or epistles occurs earlier than 
 the time of David (2 Sam. xi. 14, &c.); but they are fre- 
 quently spoken of afterwards. In the East, letters are usually 
 sent unsealed ; but when addressed to persons of consequence, 
 they are enclosed in a valuable purse or bag, which is tied, 
 sealed, and stamped with a signet. This seems also to have 
 been the practice of the Jews (Neh. vi. 5; Isaiah xxix. 11). 
 It has already been observed, that the common use of the 
 signet in the East is not to seal letters, but to stamp with ink 
 the tame engraved thereon, instead of a manual signature. 
 
 88. Ancient Roll. 
 
LITERATURE. 
 
 95 
 
 6. In writing on hard materials, such as tables of stone or 
 metal, use was made of a stylus or bodkin, made of iron, and 
 some times tipped with diamond (Jer. xvii. 1). But the ordi- 
 nary pen for writing with ink was a reed, cut and split much 
 like our pen, but with a 
 more blunt point. The 
 ink used by the Orientals 
 is most intensely black, 
 and much less fluid than 
 ours, more resembling 
 printers' ink (Num. v. 23; Jer. xxxvi. 18). The ink-horn, in 
 which it is carried, consists of a small brass vessel at the end 
 of a hollow shaft, which, as already mentioned, also contains 
 the reeds and a knife 'or sharpening theci (Jer. xxxri. 29 ; 
 Esk. ix. 2, 3, 11). 
 
 89. Persian Writing Case. 
 
SECTION IL-SCIENCE AND AET. 
 
 1. THE sciences were very little cultivated among the 
 Hebrews, except for some of the ordinary purposes of life. 
 They understood so much of arithmetic as to be able to state 
 and compute large numbers ; and they appear to have known 
 the application of geometry to the measurement and demarca- 
 tion of land. Astronomy was chiefly studied, in ancient times, 
 for the sake of the vain science of astrology ; and as the 
 Israelites were interdicted from practising the latt<>- (Deut. 
 xviii. 10), they paid little attention to the formei, except for 
 the purpose of reckoning time. 
 
 2. The days and nights among the Hebrews were divided 
 according to the natural periods of light and darkness ; and 
 the civil or calendar day was counted, not from morning to 
 morning, but from evening to evening. Hence, their seventh 
 day, or sabbath, began on the evening of our Friday, and 
 ended on the evening of our Saturday. The natural day was 
 divided into three parts, morning, noon, and evening (Psalm 
 Iv. 17) ; and there was also a more minute division of it into 
 six unequal parts : 1, the break of day ; 2, the morning, or 
 sunrise ; 3, the heat of the day ; 4, mid-day ; 5, the cool of 
 the day ; 6, evening. The natural night was also divided 
 originally into three parts, or " watches ;" the first watch 
 (Lam. ii. 19) ; the middle watch (Judges vii. 19) ; and the 
 morning watch (Exod. xiv. 24). In later times a fourth 
 watch was added, when the divisions of the night were rec- 
 koned thus : Eventide, from sunset to the third hour of the 
 night (Mark xi. 11) ; midnight, from the third hour till mid- 
 night; cock-crowing, from midnight to the third hour after, 
 or the ninth hour of the night ; morning-tide, or " the early 
 watch," from the ninth to the twelfth hour of the night, or 
 sunrise (John xviii. 28). 
 
 3. Hours are not mentioned until the time of the Baby- 
 lonish Captivity (Dan. iii. 6, 15 ; v. 5) ; after which the di- 
 vision of the day into twelve hours gradual!} ^ame into com- 
 
 use. But as it was ihs natural dav wb:ch was thus 
 
SCIENCE AND ART. 97 
 
 divided, and as every hour was the twelfth portion of that day, 
 the length of the hours was continually changing. The hours of 
 chief note were the third, the sixth, and the ninth, which were 
 the hours of prayer (Dan. vi. 10; Acts ii. 15; iii. 1; x. 9). 
 
 4. The division of time into Weeks was first made at the 
 Creation, which it was designed to commemorate (Gen. ii. 2, 
 3). It continued to be observed till the Deluge (Gen. vii. 
 10 ; viii. 10, 12 ; xxix. 27), and was afterwards extended 
 Into the various nations descended from Noah, although the 
 object of it was eventually forgotten. The Jews distinguished 
 the days of the week by their numerical order ; as, u first lay 
 of the week," " second day of the week," &c. 
 
 5. The septenary period was applied moro extensively by 
 the Jews, than by any other people. Not only was every 
 seventh day a day of rest, but every seventh year was a year 
 of rest, called "the Sabbatic year;" and every seventh re- 
 currence of the latter period was still more eminently cele- 
 brated as the " year of Jubilee." During the whole of the 
 Sabbatical year, the land lay fallow, the vine and the olives 
 were not pruned, nor was any game taken o: % destroyed : 
 whatever grew was the common right of all (Lev. xxv. 1-7). 
 The fiftieth year, or the Jubilee, which was ushe-'ed in by the 
 blowing of trumpets, was a year of general release ; debtors 
 and prisoners obtained their freedom, and property which had 
 been sold, reverted to the original owner or his heirs (La 
 xxv. 8-17). 
 
 6. Months were originally regarded as the intervals of 
 tune between one new moon and another. The Israelites 
 computed each of these intervals at thirty days ; as did also 
 the ancient patriarchs ; for, at the Deluge, Noah reckoned 
 one hundred and fifty days equal to five months. But twelve 
 of euch months made only three hundred and sixty days, a 
 period which was soon found to be shorter than the natural 
 year ; and, therefore, a thirteenth month was occasionally in- 
 tercalated after the month Adar. Originally the months had 
 no names, but, like the days, were distinguished by their nu- 
 merical order, with the exception of the first month, which 
 was called Abib, or, " the month of young ears of corn " 
 (Exod. xiii. 4, &c.) During the Captivity the Babylonigh 
 names of the months were adopted. 
 
98 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 7. There were two kinds of Years in use among the Jews. 
 The first was the civil year, which commenced in September, 
 and by which they computed their jubilees, and all their civil 
 and rural affairs. The other was the sacred year, which ap- 
 pears to have been first introduced by Moses, and by which 
 the public feasts and all religious matters were computed : it 
 commenced in March. The following are the Hebrew months, 
 with the corresponding English months. 
 
 1. Nisan, or Abib, corresponding to part of March and April 
 
 2. Zif, or Jyar April and May. 
 
 3. Sivan May and June. 
 
 4. Thammuz June and July. 
 
 5. Ab July and August 
 
 6. Elol August and September. 
 
 7. Tisri September and October. 
 
 8. Marchesvan October and November. 
 
 9. Chisleu November and December. 
 
 10. Thebet December and January. 
 
 11. Sebat January and February. 
 
 12. Adar February and March. 
 
 There was also a sort of agricultural division of the year 
 mto six portions of two months each, under the names of 
 ieed-time, winter, the cold season, harvest, summer, and the 
 hot season ; or " seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, sum- 
 mer and winter " (Gen. viii. 22). 
 
 8. The Israelites were so much devoted to agriculture 
 *hat the arts received little attention from them. After the 
 extinction of the generation which came from Egypt, we find 
 but faint traces of the arts which they had learned in that 
 country. Every family furnished for itself whatever it re- 
 quired in the way of food and clothing, so that the only re- 
 gular mechanics were masons, carpenters, smiths, and potters. 
 For the first two there appears to have been little employ- 
 ment till the time of the kings ; the fabrication of arms and 
 ornaments afforded more occupation for the workers in 
 metals ; and the fragile wares of the potter were always in 
 demand. That the Israelites did not attain superior skill in 
 any manufacture is shewn by the fact, that they took only 
 agricultural produce to the markets of Tyre (Ezek. xxvii. 17). 
 Solomon was obliged to obtain assistance from the Phoenicians 
 to enable him to build and furnish his temple and palaces, 
 and evn the humbler works of David required similar 
 
SCIENCE AND ART. 99 
 
 tance (1 Chron. xiv. 1 ; xxii. 15 ; 2 Chron. ii. 3, &c.) After 
 the impulse given by the public works of these two kings, and 
 as the population and luxury increased, artisans of various 
 kinds became more numerous (2 Kings xxiv. 14 ; Jer. xxiv. 
 1 ; xxix. 2). The employments and habits of the Israelites 
 were greatly changed during the Captivity. In Babylonia, 
 many of them finding but little encouragement in agricultural 
 pursuits, turned their attention to the arts and trade, for which 
 that country offered eminent advantages. After the restora- 
 tion, agriculture continued to engage the chief attention of 
 the Jews who actually lived in Palestine ; but the great num- 
 bers who were dispersed throughout foreign lands, lived chiefly 
 by trade and the useful arts. Indeed, a practical knowledge 
 of these arts was at length so much esteemed, that it was 
 held a duty of all parents to have their sons taught some 
 manual craft ; and the Jews mention many learned men of 
 their nation who lived by such employments. Thus, many of 
 the persons mentioned in the New Testament history prac- 
 tised some trade. Joseph, the husband of Mary, was a car- 
 penter (Matt. xiii. 55) ; Simon was a tanner (Acts ix. 43) ; 
 Alexander, a coppersmith (2 Tim. iv. 14) ; and Paul and 
 Aquila were tent-makers (Acts xviii. 3). 
 
 9. Music and poetry were much cultivated among the He- 
 brews, and their best poets were sometimes their best musi- 
 cians, singing their own compositions to the harp (1 Sam. xvi. 
 18). The harp (kinnor), or rather a kind of lyre, was the 
 national musical instrument. Its shape and the number of 
 its strings are not known with certainty, and appear to have 
 varied in different ages ; but it seems to have been small and 
 portable (2 Sam. vi. 5, 14 ; Ps. cxxxvii. 2). There was 
 another kind of harp called a psaltery fnebelj ; and there were 
 also straight and bent trumpets, two or three kinds of pipes, 
 tambourines or tabrets, cymbals, and probably sistrums. The 
 Jews seldom neglected any opportunity of introducing music. 
 It was used at their private entertainments and public festi- 
 vals ; and, by the arrangement of David, a splendid establish- 
 ment for sacred music, performed by well-instructed Levites, 
 was associated with the public worship (1 Chron. xxv.) 
 
 10. Dancing was frequently connected with music among 
 the Jews. It was sometimes an act of religious exultation 
 
100 
 
 WTRODUCTIOH. 
 
 (Exod. xv. 20 ; 2 Sam. vi. 16), and was common on all ordi- 
 nary occasions of mirth and rejoicing (Ps. xxx. 11 ; Jer. xxxL 
 4, 13 ; Luke xv. 25), as well as at the great festivals (Judge* 
 rxi. 19, 21), and on triumphal occasions (Judges xi. 34 ; 1 
 Sam. xviii. 6). The precise character of the Hebrew dances 
 is not known, but no ideas of levity were connected with 
 them. The proud-spirited Michal despised David, not because 
 he danced, but because he danced with the common people 
 (9 Sam, vi. 16, 20-23). 
 
 Ancient Horns and Curved Trumpet* , 5, Straight 
 
CWNCE AND ART. 
 
 101 
 
 91. Egyptian Figures of Lyres. 
 (H pbyed without, and 3, 4, with the plectrum ; 4, is the supposed Hebnv Ifttj 
 
 33. Sutra various Egyptian specuneas. 
 
tot 
 
 SECTION EL-COMMERCE AND WAR 
 
 1. THE ancient Israelites were not a commercial people; 
 oor did the Law of Moses afford much encouragement to 
 what "was calculated to promote that intercourse with other 
 nations, which it was the object of so many of the Jewish in- 
 stitutions to prevent. They had no maritime traffic, and ships 
 are rarely mentioned, except in connection with the spirited 
 attempts of Solomon and Jehoehaphat to establish a commerce, 
 through the Red Sea, with the shores of the Indian Ocean. 
 The former, having the aid of Phoenician ships and mariners, 
 was not unsuccessful ; but the operations begun in his reign 
 were broken off in the troubles which afterwards ensued, and 
 Jehoshaphat's attempt to revive them proved abortive (1 Kings 
 ix. 26; xxii. 48, 49; 2 Chron. ix. 21; xx. 36). Joppa, 
 which was the only harbour in the Mediterranean belonging 
 to the Jews, was the port of Jerusalem (2 Chron. ii. 16), and 
 Phoenician vessels of some burden resorted to it (Jonah i. 3). 
 It was much improved in the time of Simon Maccabseus ; but 
 was ultimately superseded by Csesarea, after Herod the Great 
 had formed a better harbour there by the construction of 
 magnificent moles. 
 
 2. At the time the Jewish history commences, the land 
 traffic of Western Asia had become something more than 
 mere barter. In the time of Abraham silver had become the 
 medium of exchange ; but it was estimated by weight (Gen. 
 xariii. 16). The weight most in use was the shekel, which 
 
 was nearly half an ounce. No distinct 
 mention is made of coined money, or of 
 any other metallic medium of exchange 
 than silver, till after the Captivity. Gold, 
 although of course estimated highly 
 above silver, was, even so late as the 
 time of David, known only as a costly 
 93. Penun Dane. g^fa o f merchandise, proper for trinkets, 
 rms, and rich works in metal. The most ancient coin *vhich 
 
COMMERCE AND WAR. 
 
 103 
 
 94. Shekel. 
 
 history makes known was the Persian daric, a gold coin 
 gomewhat heavier than a guinea; and this is also the first 
 coin mentioned in the Bible (1 Chron. xxix. 7 ; Ezra ii. 69 ; 
 viii. 27 ; Neh. vii. 70-72). During the Captivity, and for 
 some time after it, the Jews used the coins of the nations to 
 which they were subject. The first coinage by themselves 
 was under Simon Maccabaeus (1 Mac. xv. 6), who issued a 
 currency under the 
 name of shekels. 
 These coins were 
 mostly silver, and 
 were worth nearly 
 half- a - crown ; but 
 some were of gold, 
 and, in the propor- 
 tion which gold now 
 bears to silver, must 
 have been worth 
 nearly two pounds 
 sterling. Greek and 
 Roman coins also 
 came into use, the 
 latter of which are 
 frequently mention- 
 ed in the New Tes- 
 tament. Their value 
 may be seen in the tables prefixed to this work. But it must 
 be remembered, that the value affixed merely expresses the 
 present English value of such a quantity of metal. Gold and 
 silver were probably scarcer in ancient times than now, and 
 therefore of higher relative value. It is possible that a given 
 quantity of silver or gold may have purchased as much as ten 
 times the same quantity will purchase now ; and in that case 
 a shekel of silver, equivalent to nearly half-a-crown, wat 
 Beally worth as much as five-and-twenty shillings in thia 
 country, at the present time. But all this is uncertain ; and 
 it is possible that the quantities of the precious metals exist- 
 ing in ancient times, from sources, the subsequent exhaustion 
 of which, rendered them scarce until the discovery of America, 
 has been greatly underrated in common opinion. 
 
 95. Quarter Shekel. 
 
104 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 3. Prior to the introduction of coins among the Israelites, 
 the use of weights and balances was necessary in all sales and 
 purchases. Scales were commonly employed, but an instru- 
 ment on the principle of the modern steel-yard also came into 
 use. The weights were originally stones ; and hence the 
 word for a weight denotes a stone in the Hebrew. Dealers 
 were in the habit of carrying balances and weights about with 
 them in a kind of pouch (Lev. xix. 35, 36 ; Deut. xxv. 
 13-15 ; Prov. xi. 1 ; xvi. 11 ; Mic. vi. 11) ; and the frequent 
 injunction against the use of " divers weights," applies to 
 those who carried in their bags two sets of weights, lighter 
 and heavier, which they used fraudulently, as they had oppor- 
 tunity. 
 
 4. Among the Israelites, the soldiers were not a separate 
 class, as in Europe, but every adult male was considered 
 liable to bear arms, the priests and Levites not excepted. 
 They were like a militia, and were called out in such propor- 
 tion as the public service required, the whole body not being 
 expected to take the field except on very extraordinary occa- 
 sions. All the adult males, above the age of twenty, were 
 enrolled, and from them the necessary levy was drawn by the 
 genealogists. When a man was required to engage in mili- 
 tary service, he might claim exemption on any of the follow- 
 ing grounds; 1. If he had built a house, and had not occu- 
 pied it; 2. If he had planted a vineyard or oliveyard, and 
 had not yet eaten of the produce ; 3. If he had espoused a 
 wife, but had not yet taken her home ; 4. If he were faint- 
 hearted (Deut. xx. 5-8). All the Israelites being thus re- 
 garded as fighting-men, we perceive how it was that large 
 armies were often raised in a very short time (Judges xx. 
 8-11, 17 ; 1 Sam. xi. 1-9). But they could be kept together 
 only for a brief campaign, as every man served at his own ex- 
 pense (1 Sam. xvii. 13, 17). This inconvenience, and others 
 of a similar kind, made the kings desirous of having a body 
 of troops always at command. Hence Saul, instead of dis- 
 banding the whole army after his first campaign, retained three 
 thousand in arms (1 hm. xiii. 1, 2). David kept up a much 
 larger number; but still they were only militia, in twelve 
 legions of twenty-four thousand men each, which relieved one 
 Another in monthly rotation, so that each legion was one mootb 
 
COMMERCE AND WAR. 105 
 
 in service and eleven at home (1 Chron. xxvii). Later kings 
 appear to have followed this example more or less ; but we 
 do not find that there were ever soldiers by profession among 
 the Israelites. The mercenary soldiers of the Herods were 
 foreigners. 
 
 5. The armies of the Israelites were composed entirely of 
 infantry till the time of the Idn^a. CavaLy was of little use 
 in a mountainous country, and was discouraged by the law 
 (Deut. xvii. 16). David had a hundred horses, more for shew 
 than use (2 Sam. viii. 4) ; but Solomon maintained a large 
 number of horses and chariots of war (2 Chron. ix. 25). After 
 him, however, the kings appear to have had no considerable 
 force in cavalry, except when they obtained succours from 
 Egypt. The infantry were divided into light- armed troops 
 and spearmen : the former were furnished with slings, darts, 
 bows and arrows, quivers, and in later times, bucklers ; the 
 spearmen had spears, swords, and shields (1 Chron. xii. 24, 
 34; 2 Chron. xiv. 8; xvii. 17). We can collect little from 
 Scripture respecting the order of battle ; but there can be 
 little doubt that, as among other nations, the light-armed 
 troops made the onset; and that the main body following, 
 with extended spears, made a rapid and impetuous rush upon 
 the enemy. If the enemy's front remained unbroken they 
 withdrew, and again came on in like manner. They advanced 
 to the charge with a shout (Josh. vi. 20 ; Judges vii. 20 ; 1 
 Sam. xvii. 52). Battles were very sanguinary, and the 
 slaughter immense, because quarter was seldom expected or 
 given ; and the soldiers being often engaged hand to hand, 
 the animosity and passions of the combatants were furiously 
 excited. The barbarities committed by the conquerors upon 
 the conquered were generally very revolting. Prisoners of 
 distinction were often grievously maltreated (Josh. x. 24 ; 
 Judges i. 6, 7 ; 2 Kings xxv. 7) ; and the captured soldiers 
 were either kept in hard bondage, or sold as slaves (2 Sam, 
 xii. 31; 2 Chron. xviii. 10; Psalm xliv. 12). When a 
 town was taken by assault, all the men were slain, and the 
 women and children sold into slavery. 
 
 6. Like all Orientals, the Israelites were averse to unuer 
 take sieges, in which they had but little skill. Sudden and 
 violent onsets, stratagem, treachery, or famine, were the meani 
 
106 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 employed for taking towns. When the siege was much pro- 
 tracted, an extended ditch was sometimes dug between the 
 
 camp and the city, and 
 another parallel to it, 
 behind the camp, for the 
 purpose of protecting it 
 in front and rear, and 
 of cutting off from the 
 town all assistance and 
 supplies (Deut. xx. 19, 
 20; 2 Sam. xx. 15). 
 96. Battering Bam. The earth thrown up 
 
 formed a wall on which towers were sometimes erected ; or 
 else it formed a mound against the city wall on which the 
 besiegers might plant 
 their engines, if they 
 had any, project their 
 missiles, and assail 
 the wall (2 Sam. xx. 
 15; 2Kingsxix.32). 
 In later times batter- 
 ing-rams were used 
 in the assault of towns 
 (Ezek. iv. 1, 2 ; xxi. 
 22 ; xxvi. 9) ; and 
 engines of defence, 
 
 for casting large 97 Bahsta 
 
 stones and other mis- 
 siles, were introduced in the reign of King Uzziah (2 Chron. 
 rxvi. 15). 
 
 7. The commander-in-chief of the army was called the 
 captain of the host. Joshua was the first who held this office. 
 After him the command was taken by the " Judges," who were 
 successively raised up to deliver the nation. Under the kings, 
 the command of the army was maintained as a distinct office, 
 the possessor of which was of the highest rank and influence ; 
 although, in action, the kings themselves often took the chief 
 command (Josh. v. 14 ; Judges iv. 2 ; 1 Sam. xiv. 50 ; 2 
 Sam. xx. 23 ; 2 Kings iv. 13). The whole army appears to 
 have been formed into three grand divisions, each commanded 
 
COMMERCE AND WAR. 
 
 107 
 
 by a general, but the whole under the commander-in-chief 
 (Judges vii. 16, 20; 1 Sam. xi. 11 ; 2 Sam. xviii. 2) ; and 
 these were subdivided into bodies of ten thousand, a thousand, 
 a hundred, and fifty, each under its appropriate commander. 
 These commanders were generally the paternal chiefs of the 
 clans and families from which the troops were levied (1 Sam. 
 fiii. 12 ; 2 Kings i. 9 ; 1 Chron. xii. 14 ; 2 Chron. xxv. 6). 
 
 98. Egyptian War Chariot- 
 
PABT V. INSTITUTIONS 
 
 SECTION I.-EELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 1. THE Tabernacle, erected by Moses in the wilderness, WM 
 not only the temple of God, but his palace the place of his 
 presence and residence as king of the Hebrew nation ; and 
 this two-fold character was preserved in its furniture, utensils, 
 
 and ministers. Itwas 
 of an oblong rectan- 
 gular figure, 55 feet 
 in length, 18 in 
 breadth, and 18 in 
 height. The inside 
 was divided into two 
 rooms by a veil or 
 curtain hung upon 
 four pillars. This 
 curtain was made of 
 rich stuff, curious- 
 ly embroidered with 
 figures of cherubim, 
 and other ornaments. 
 In the inner and smal- 
 ler room, called the 
 "Holy of Holies," 
 was placed the ark, 
 which was an oblong 
 chest of wood, over- 
 laid with gold, and surmounted by two golden figures of 
 cherubim with outstretched wings. Above them appeared a 
 mysterious resplendence, which symbolised the presence ef 
 
BUO10US INSTITUTIONS, 
 
 108 
 
 101. 
 
110 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Divine King. In the ark were kept the tables of etona 
 sm which the ten commandments were written. Beside the 
 
 ark were laid up for 
 memorial a quantity 
 of manna in a vase of 
 gold, the rod of Aaron 
 that budded, and a 
 copy of the book of 
 the law (Exod. xxv. 
 1-22; Deut. xxxi. 26; 
 Heb. ix. 4). In the 
 anteroom were placed, 
 1, The golden altar on 
 which incense was 
 burnt daily (Ex. xxx. 
 1-10); 2, The massive 
 and highly ornamen- 
 ted seven - branched 
 
 loa. Golden Altar. g lden "candlestick" 
 
 or lamp stand (Exd. 
 
 xxv. 31-39); 3, The table of wood, overlaid with gold, called 
 the table of shew-bread, from the bread which was always 
 kept upon it, and renewed every week (Exod. xxv. 23-30), 
 
 2. Around the Tabernacle was an extensive area or court, 
 formed by curtains of fine twined linen, hung upon pillars, 
 which were set in bases of brass, and filleted with silver. Of 
 these pillars there were twenty on each side, and ten at each 
 end, five cubits apart (Exod. xxvii. 9-19). In this court all 
 the public services of religion were performed, all sacrifices 
 were offered, and all offerings made. It contained the great 
 brazen altar for burnt-offerings, which was five cubits square, 
 Bnd three in height, with prominences at the corners, called 
 "horns" (Exod. xxvii. 1-8 ; Psalm cxviii. 27). On this altar 
 the sacrifices were consumed by fire which was miraculously 
 kindled at first, and was always preserved afterwards (Lev. 
 ix. 24). In the court of the Tabernacle also stood the large 
 brazen laver, at which the priests were to perform their ablu- 
 tions before they approached the altar (Exod. xxx. 15-21). 
 
 3. The Temple of Solomon was built on the same plan aa 
 the Tabernacle, and contained the same furniture and uten- 
 
103. Golden Candlestick. 
 
 From the arch of Titna at Borne, In which the spofla of tie Temple ar repregen*ei 
 tbt baae i> supposed to hare buen added, or ornamented with the figures it ta hen tME 
 to bear. 
 
 
 MM. Bratwn Attar. 
 
112 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 sils ; but it was much larger, the materials were more costly 
 and durable, and the workmanship was more elaoorate. In- 
 stead of one court there were three, the innermost of which 
 corresponded to the court of the Tabernacle ; and the cur- 
 tained enclosure was supplied by walls and colonnades. 
 
 4. It does not appear that there were in the towns any 
 synagogues, or places of religious meeting, before the Capti- 
 vity; but under the Asamonean princes they became common. 
 They were plain and unpretending buildings, in which the 
 Jews assembled on the Sabbath to offer prayers, to hear the 
 sacred books read, and to receive instruction. They are often 
 mentioned in the New Testament (Matt. iv. 23 ; Acts vi. 9 ; 
 ix. 2 ; xiii. 5, &c.) 
 
 5. As the Tabernacle was not only the Temple of God, 
 but the palace of the Divine King ; so the priests and Levites 
 were not only sacerdotal ministers, but were at the same time 
 his officers of state and the guards of his palace. The cir- 
 cumstances under which the tribe of Levi was set apart to this 
 service, and one family of that tribe, the family of Aaron, spe- 
 cially consecrated to the priestly office, will claim to be noticed 
 in the ensuing history. Aaron was consecrated by Moses as 
 the first high priest, and his sons officiated as priests under 
 him (Lev. viii.) Their duties were to offer sacrifices, to burn 
 incense, and to bless the people ; and it was death for any 
 others to perform these offices (Num. xvi. 10 ; 2 Chron. xxvi. 
 16-21) ; although we read of some of the prophets in distant 
 places, and on extraordinary occasions, offering sacrifices (1 
 Sam. xiii. 8-14 ; xvi. 1-5 ; 1 Kings xviii. 21-40). The in- 
 ner chamber of the Tabernacle, containing the ark, was never 
 entered but by the high priest, and even by him only once in 
 the year, when he made a ceremonial atonement for the sins 
 of the nation. This was called the " day of atonement " 
 (Lev. xvi.) 
 
 6. The priests, when not engaged in their sacerdotal 
 duties, dressed like other men ; but when they were so em- 
 ployed, their tunics, drawers, girdles, and turbans, were all of 
 white linen (Exod. xxxix. 27, 28). The high priest wore 
 this dross only on the day he entered the most holy place; 
 but his regular official dress was very splendid. Over the 
 white tunic he wore a blue woollen robe, affixed to the hem 
 
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 118 
 
 of which were small golden bells, separated by artificial pome- 
 granates (Exod. xxviii. 31-34). Over this was a short 
 sleeveless garment, called an " ephod," of fine twisted linen, 
 inwrought with purple and gold, and hiving on each shoulder- 
 strap a precious stone, engraven with the names of the twelve 
 tribes (Exod. xxviii. 5-12). The " breast-plate of judgment " 
 was the greatest ornament of the dress. It was a span square, 
 *nd was composed of twelve precious stones, set in a doubled 
 aece of the same rich cloth which composed the ephod. On 
 
 106. The High Priest. 
 
 inch stone was graven the name of one of the twelve tribes 
 (Exod. xxviii. 15-21). On his head the high priest wore a 
 kind of mitre, to the front of which was fastened a plate of 
 gold, inscribed with Hebrew words, meaning, " Holiness unto 
 the Lord " (Exod. xxviii. 36-38). To the breast-plate be- 
 longed the Urim and Thummim, by which the priest was 
 enabled to ascertain tne will of the Divine King on any 
 matter submitted to him ; but in what manner the response 
 given has not been very satisfactorily determined. Some 
 
114 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 think that when the high priest, wearing the breast-plate, 
 appeared in the holy place with his face turned towards the 
 ark, he became officially qualified to receive an oral answer to 
 such questions as he uttered. Others presume that, as the 
 twelve stones of the breast-plate bore the names of the twelve 
 tribes, the letters composing the response were in some way 
 or other supernaturally distinguished from the rest. 
 
 7. The priests had become so numerous in the time of 
 David, that they could not all be employed at the same time 
 in their sacred duties; and therefore the king divided the 
 whole body into twenty-four companies or courses, which served 
 in weekly rotation (1 Chron. xxiv.) Each course had its 
 own head or chief; and these are supposed to be the "chief 
 priests" so often mentioned in the New Testament. The tribe 
 of Levi had originally been divided into three classes, accord- 
 ing to their descent from Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the 
 three sons of Levi. The office of the Levites was to assist 
 the priests, by slaughtering the victims, and by providing and 
 preparing whatever was necessary for the sacred services. 
 They commenced their service at the age of twenty-five, and 
 retired at fifty (Numbers viii. 5-2G). In the wilderness they 
 encamped with the priests around the Tabernacle, and formed 
 its guard. They also set it up, took it down, and conveyed 
 it from place to place (Num. iv. 1-20). In later times, David 
 divided the whole body into three classes, each of which war 
 subdivided into twenty-four courses, which attended in weekly 
 rotation. The first class attended upon the priests in their 
 services ; the second formed the choir of singers in the Temple ; 
 and the third acted as porters and guards in the Temple, and 
 at its gates (1 Chron. xxiv. 20-30 ; xxv. xxvi.) 
 
 8. As the tribe of Levi, in order that it might be more 
 completely detached from secular employments, received no 
 share in the distribution of the land, it was necessary to pro 
 vide in some other way for its maintenance. In addition, 
 f Jberefore, to the produce of the belt of land around the forty- 
 tight cities assigned for their residence, the Levites received 
 from the other tribes the tenth, or tithe, of all the produce of 
 the country, including live stock (Lev. xxvii. 30 ; Num. xviii. 
 80-24 ; xxxv. 1-8). A tenth of this tithe was the share of 
 the priests, who had also thirteen of the forty-eight citiet* 
 
BELIGIOUS INSTITUTION* 110 
 
 There was another tithe, the produce of which the people 
 were themselves to expend in feast-offerings, to which the 
 Levites were to be invited (Deut. xiv. 22-27). 
 
 9. The sacrifices which the law required the Israelites to 
 offer to God, were divided into four kinds : 1. The Burnt' 
 offering, which was wholly consumed upon the altar (Lev. i.) ; 
 2. The Sin-offering, which was a sacrifice offered in ceremo- 
 nial expiation of sins of ignorance, and of legal pollution. Of 
 this class of offerings, only certain fat portions were consumed 
 on the altar, the rest belonging to the priests (Lev. iv.); 3. 
 The Trespass-offering, which is not clearly distinguishable from 
 the former, but is supposed by some to refer to sins of omis- 
 sion ; the sin-offering referring to sins of commission (Lev. v.) ; 
 4. The Peace (or Feast) -offering which was eaten by the 
 offerer and his friends, after the fat parts had been burnt on 
 the altar, and a small portion given to the priests (Lev. iii.) 
 All these sacrifices were only occasional : but there were others 
 regular and national ; such as the daily sacrifice of two lambs, 
 as burnt-offerings, one in the morning and the other in the 
 evening, with each of which was offered a bread-offering, and 
 a drink-offering of strong wine (Ex. xxix. 38, 41). This sac- 
 rifice was doubled on the Sabbath-day (Num. xxviii. 9, 10). 
 There were also large and extraordinary sacrifices at the new 
 moons, and at the annual recurrence of the great festivals. 
 
 10. Sacrifices were limited to three kinds of cattle, oxen, 
 sheep, and goats ; but all clean birds were allowed, although, 
 practically, doves only appear to have been offered (Lev. xiv.. 
 4-7). To ensure unity of worship, sacrifices could only be 
 offered on the one altar at the Tabernacle, and afterwards at 
 the Temple, whither all gifts and oblations were to be brought 
 (Lev. xvii. 8, 9) ; but before the Captivity this regulation 
 was much neglected, even in the best times. 
 
 11. The festivals of the Israelites were weekly, monthly, 
 and annual. The weekly festival was the Sabbath, on which 
 they rested from all labour, and double sacrifices were offered 
 (Exod. xx. 8-11). After the Captivity, when Synagogues 
 were built in the several towns, the people assembled in them 
 on the Sabbath-day to hear the sacred books read and ex- 
 pounded (Luke iv. J*; Acts xiii. 15). The monthly festival 
 was that of the new moon, which was proclaimed by the sound 
 
 P. 6 
 
116 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of trumpets, and at which additional sacrifices were offered. 
 The great annual festivals prescribed by the law were three, 
 each of them of a week's continuance ; and at their celebra- 
 tion all the adult males in Israel were required to appear at 
 the place of the Sanctuary (Exod. xxiii. 14-17). 1. The 
 Passover was kept in remembrance of the departure from 
 Egypt. It began on the eve of the fourteenth day of the first 
 month, with the eating of the Paschal Lamb, and was con- 
 tinued through the week, during which no leavened bread 
 was to be eaten. On the sixteenth day, the first ripe ears ol 
 com were offered, and till that was done the early harvest 
 could not be commenced (Exod, xii. 1-27 ; Lev. xxiii. 9-14) 
 2. Seven weeks after the commencement of the Passover, 
 when the labours of the harvest were usually completed, was 
 the feast of Pentecost, which also continued for seven days. 
 This was, properly, the harvest festival, in which the nation 
 offered thanks to God for the bounties of the season, and pre- 
 sented the first-fnvts, in bread baked of the new com (Lev. 
 xxiii. 15-21). 3. In autumn was the feast of Tabernacles Of 
 of Booths, which commenced on the fifteenth day of the 
 seventh month. It celebrated the sojourn of the Israelites in 
 the wilderness; and was also a festival of thanks for the fruits 
 of autumn, whence it was called the Feast of Ingathering. 
 During this festival the people dwelt in booths, formed of green 
 boughs interwoven ; they also carried green boughs in their 
 hands, and the rejoicing was very great (Lev. xxiii. 34-43). 
 
 12. The only other periodical celebrations prescribed by 
 the Mosaical Law, were the Feast of Trumpets and the Day 
 of Atonement. The first was held on the first and second 
 days of the month Tisri, and celebrated the commencement 
 of the civil year, which was ushered in by the blowing of 
 the sacerdotal trumpets with unusual solemnity ; and hence 
 the name of the feast (Lev. xxiii. 23-25). The Day of Atone- 
 ment was the only periodical fast prescribed by the law. It 
 occ'irred on the tenth day of the same month, between the 
 feast of trumpets and that of tabernacles. It was a strict 
 fast, when the people bewailed the sins of the past year, and 
 a ceremonial expiation was made by the High Priest, who, 
 on that day only, entered the most holy place, where he 
 prinkled the blood of a goat which had been sacrificed. Thig 
 
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS 
 
 lit 
 
 goat was one of two, which were appointed by lot to their 
 several destinations. The other, after the sins of the people 
 had been confessed over it, Und laid upon its bead, was sent 
 away alive to be lost in the wilderness (Lev. xvi. 7-10, 15, 
 20-22). 
 
 13. There were two other feasts, which, although not 
 appointed by the law, or belonging to the more ancient times, 
 became of considerable note. The Feast of Purrm, which is 
 still observed in two days of rejoicing, was instit-urod to cele- 
 brate the overthrow of Hainan's plot for the extirpation of the 
 Jews (Esther ix. 20-32). The other was the Feast of Dedi- 
 cation, instituted by Judas Maccabaeus, to celebrate the re- 
 establishment of public worship at Jerusalem, after Antiochut 
 Epiphanes had been vanquished and the Temple purified 
 (1 Mac. iv. 59 ; John x. 22). 
 
 106. Altars. 
 Q, ft S, Greek. 4, Egyptian. 6, Babylonian. 6, Roman. 7, 5, 
 
118 
 
 SECTION II. -POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 1. THE theory of the Hebrew constitution supposed that 
 God himself was the KING and General Governor of the 
 nation ; the high priest being his minister, and the interpreter 
 of his will. From the time of Joshua to that of the kings, 
 there was not a regular succession of human governors ; for 
 the authority of the "Judges" was by no means general, and 
 was often intermitted. There were, however, an internal 
 government and authority, in the several tribes, sufficient for 
 domestic purposes. Each of the tribes was divided into 
 " families," and these were again divided into " houses of 
 fathers," and each section had its head or chief, called an 
 *' elder" (Josh, xxiii. 2 ; xxiv. 1). There appears also to 
 have been a paternal chief, who represented the eldest branch 
 of the whole tribe, and to whom the sectional chiefs were 
 subordinate. We find these " princes" of tribes still subsist- 
 ing in the time of David (1 Chron. xviii. 1) ; but their autho- 
 rity declined and passed away when a strong central govern- 
 ment came to be established. 
 
 2. By the constitution, as originally established by Moses, 
 the consent of all the tribes was required to give effect to 
 public measures. As it was impossible to bring a matter 
 efficiently before a whole nation at once, a certain number of 
 persons must have been deputed to represent the tribes and 
 families in the general convention or " assembly." These 
 representatives are mentioned more than once (Num. i. 16 ; 
 xvi. 2), and they appear to have been the heads of families 
 and houses, already mentioned, together with the judges and 
 officers (Deut. xxix. 10 ; Josh. yyiii. 2). By the advice of 
 Jethro his father-in-law, Moses appointed judges of thousands, 
 hundreds, and tens, allowing an appeal from one to another, 
 and, in the last instance, to himself. As the judges of tens 
 were in number sixty thousand, it is most likely that the 
 judges of thousands only were called to the convention. 
 This was in the wilderness. When settled in Canaan, they 
 were to have magistrates in every city (Deut xvi. 18). Tbi 
 
POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. 119 
 
 persons named " officers," or scribes, existed among the 
 Israelites in Egypt (Exod. v. 6-14), and appear to have had 
 the duty of keeping the genealogical tables of the Israelites, 
 and of apportioning to individuals their share of the services 
 which were required of the nation. This class of men sub- 
 sisted long afterwards, with modified duties, and seems to 
 have been chiefly composed of members of the Levitical tribe. 
 
 3. The offices of Moses and Joshua were merely tempo- 
 rary ; that of the one being to organise the nation, and that 
 of the other to establish it in Canaan. These were different 
 offices ; and Joshua had no successor. But anticipating that 
 the people would ultimately desire to have a king, like ether 
 nations, Moses took care to provide for that contingency. 
 He reserved the right of nomination to God, the supreme 
 King, yet not so as to preclude the exercise of elective choice 
 by the people ; and he laid down certain general principles 
 by which the conduct of the future monarchs should be 
 guided. Among other things, the king was to be a native 
 Israelite ; he was not to maintain a numerous cavalry ; and 
 he was not to take many wives (Deut. xvii. 15-17). The 
 first king, Saul, was accordingly nominated by God, through 
 his prophet, then chosen by lot, and finally accepted by the 
 people. After the rejection of Saul, the house or dynasty of 
 David was established. He was accordingly nominated, by 
 anointing, in Saul's lifetime, and was afterwards called to the 
 throne by the people, who knew of this nomination. The 
 king was far from being an absolute monarch. When Saul 
 was made king, the prophet Samuel drew up certain rules 
 and limitations according to which he was to govern (1 Sam. 
 x. 25) ; the eleven tribes, in receiving David for their king, 
 required and obtained his assent to a similar compact (2 Sam. 
 v. 3) ; and the refusal of Rehoboam to submit to some further 
 limitations, caused ten of the tribes to renounce their allegi- 
 ance to the house of David (1 Kings xii. 1-20). 
 
 4. At his inauguration, the king went in state to some 
 public place, or to the Temple, where he was anointed (1 Sam. 
 x. 25; 2 Sam. ii. 4; v. 1-3; 2 Kings xi. 12-20; 2 Chron, 
 xxiii.) crowned, took the sceptre (2 Sam. i. 10 ; Ps. xlv. 6 ; 
 Ezek. xxi. 26), and received the kiss of homage (1 Sam. x. 1; 
 Pi. ii. 12), after which he returned to the palace, ainid the 
 
I9C INTBODUCTION. 
 
 acclamations of the people (1 Sam. x. 24; 1 Kings i. 39), 
 and seated himself upon the throne (1 Kings i. 35, 48; 2 
 Kings ix. 13 ; xi. 19). On the same occasion, he took an 
 oath to govern according to the law of Moses, and accepted 
 the covenant which defined the principles on which the 
 government was to be conducted. He was thus not only 
 bound to keep the law himself, but he had not the power of 
 making new laws, though he might promulgate temporary 
 edicts. But, notwithstanding these limitations, the power of 
 the ancient Hebrew kings was very great. They assumed 
 the power of life and death, without the forms of judicature 
 (2 Sam. i. 15 ; iv. 12), but appear to have exercised it only 
 where the guilt of the offender was manifest. They also 
 levied taxes for the support of the government (1 Sam. xvii. 
 25 ; 1 Kings xii. 14). The revenues of the Crown arose not 
 only from this source, from the spoils of successful wars, and 
 from the tribute of subject provinces, but also from the pro- 
 duce of arable lands and vineyards, of plantations, of olive 
 and fig trees, of herds of kine, camels and asses, and of flocks 
 of sheep (1 Chron. xxvii. 25-31). The estates of traitors 
 lapsed to the Crown, by the accumulation of which forfeitures, 
 and by purchases, a valuable royal demesne seems to have 
 been ultimately formed. 
 
 5. Saul and David, and the kings of Israel, appear to 
 have lived with much plainness and simplicity, but Solomon 
 and the succeeding kings of Judah affected more state and 
 splendour. When they appeared in public, they were attended 
 by guards and runners (2 Sam. xv. 1 ; 1 Kings i. 5), whose 
 duty it was not only to defend the palace and to protect the 
 sovereign himself, but to convey messages, edicts, and orders, 
 to execute the royal commands, and to inflict death when 
 awarded by the king. When the culprit was a person of 
 rank, the captain of the guard executed the king's judgment 
 upon him with his own hand (1 Kings ii. 25, 34). 
 
 6. Several of the ministerial and household officers of the 
 Hebrew kings are named in Scripture, from which some 
 notion may be formed of the organisation of the government. 
 There was a body of royal councillors, apparently chosen for 
 their sagacity, and whose opinion was taken in public mea- 
 sures (2 Sam. xvi. 15-23 ; 1 Kings xii. 6-11 ; 1 Chron. xxviL 
 
fOUTlCAL INSTITUTIONS. 121 
 
 82, &e.) The officer of state, corresponding to our prime 
 minister, seems to have been the personage who is called the 
 next (or second) to the king (1 Sam. xxiii. 17 ; Esth. x. 3; 
 2 Chron. xxviii. 7). The Mazkir, or recorder, appears to 
 have performed the duty of recording in the royal archives 
 all the transactions of the court and government (2 Sam. viii. 
 16 ; 2 Kings xviii. 18, 37). The Sopher, or scribe, was the 
 secretary of state, who prepared and issued the edicts and 
 orders of the Crown (2 Sam. viii. 17 ; xx. 25 ; 2 Kings 
 xviii. 18). The Governor of the Palace was the steward of 
 the royal household, who is a very high and influential officer 
 in the East (1 Kings iv. 6; xviii. 3; 2 Kings xviii. 18). 
 The King's Friend, or companion, was the intimate and 
 endeared associate, with whom the king conversed most freely 
 and familiarly (2 Sam. xv. 37 ; xvi. 16 ; 1 Kings iv. 5). 
 There was an " Officer over the Taxes" (tribute), who seems 
 to have been the minister of finance, receiving and accounting 
 for all the revenue of the Crown (2 Sam. xx. 24 ; 1 Kings 
 iv. 6). The Captain of the Guard was another court officer, 
 who has already been mentioned. There was also an officer 
 in each of the provinces, called the Prince of the Province, 
 whose duty it was to collect the provisions required for the 
 royal establishment (1 Kings iv. 5, 7-19; xix. 22, 23; xx. 
 15; 1 Chron. xxvii. 25-31). 
 
in 
 
 SECTION m.-JUDICIAL INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 1. THE arrangement which had been made in the wilder- 
 
 oess for the administration of justice, by judges of thousands, 
 hundreds, fifties, and tens, ceased when the nation was settled 
 in Canaan ; and, as Moses directed, judges and scribes were 
 appointed for every city, with jurisdiction over the surround- 
 ing villages. Cases of great importance and appeals were car- 
 ried to the chief civil ruler, or to the high priest (Deut. xvL 18; 
 xvii. 8, 9). This arrangement seems to have continued till 
 the time of the Maccabees, when a supreme tribunal of justice 
 was established at Jerusalem, composed of seventy members, 
 and denominated the Sanhedrim. This was the great 
 "council" of justice so often mentioned in the New Testa- 
 ment. It was composed of chief priests ; of elders, or heads 
 of large family associations ; and of scribes, or men of learn- 
 ing, who were mostly Levites. The Jewish writers speak 
 much of this institution. They state that its members sat hi 
 a semicircle, of which the president and vice-president occu- 
 pied the centre, and that it was attended by secretaries and 
 apparitors. This court tried appeals and other cases of 
 importance. It was by a hasty and irregular assembly of 
 its members, at the house of the high priest, that our Lord 
 was tried (Matt. xxvi. 3, 57 ; John xviii. 24) ; but they 
 could not themselves put him to death, as the power of capital 
 punishment had been taken from them by the Romans. In 
 later times, the district judicatures were so distributed, that, 
 as Josephus states, there were seven judges, with two Levites 
 as apparitors, in every city. This is that which is called 
 " the judgment" in the New Testament. 
 
 2. The courts of justice held their sittings in tne morning 
 (Psalm ci. 8 ; Jer. xxi. 12). As the gates of towns were the 
 places of the greatest public resort, justice was administered, 
 and civil business transacted there. This continued even 
 after the Captivity (Gen. xxiii. 10, &c. ; Deut. xxi. 19 ; Ruth 
 Jr. 1, &c. ; Psalm cxxvii. 5 ; Prov. xxii. 22 ; Zech. viii. 16). 
 
 3 The form of trial appears to have been very simple. 
 
JUDICIAL INSTITUTIONS. 123 
 
 The court consisted of a judge or judges, and, at least in later 
 times, of a scribe, who wrote down the sentence, and the par- 
 ticulars of the trial or cause. Before them stood the accused, 
 the accuser, and the witnesses. Two witnesses were necessary 
 to establish any charge, and they were examined separately, 
 in the presence of the accused (Num. xxxv. 30 ; Dent. xvii. 
 6 ; Matt. xxvi. 60). The sentence was pronounced soon after 
 the examination, and, even when it decreed the punishment 
 of death, was executed without delay (Joshua vii. 16-25 ; 
 1 Sam. xxii. 18 ; 1 Kings ii. 23-25). In the earlier periods 
 of Jewish history imprisonment was not used as a punishment. 
 When it was necessary to keep a person in custody, he was 
 put under a guard (Lev. xxiv. 12), or confined in an empty 
 cistern (Gen. xl. 15 ; Jer. xxxvii. 15-20), or in the house of 
 the judge. In later times, however, prisons were better 
 known, and imprisonment was more usual (Matt. v. 25 ; 
 xviii. 30; Acts xii. 4-10). Prisoners often wore chains or 
 fetters of iron or brass (Judges xvi. 21 ; Psalm cv. 18 ; cvii. 10 ; 
 Jer. xl. 4; Hi. 11). In the time of Christ, the Jews had 
 borrowed from other nations the practice of imprisoning for 
 debt; and the creditor seems to have had the power of 
 demanding the application of stripes and torture (Matt. v. 26 ; 
 xviii. 28-34). The vigilance and severity of the gaolers were 
 Bometimes enforced by their being subject to the punishment 
 intended for their prisoners, if they allowed them to escape. 
 Among the instruments of punishment, stocks for the feet are 
 mentioned at a very early period (Job xiii. 27 ; xxxiii. 11). 
 
 4. With regard to punishments generally, the theory oi 
 the law was that life should be given for life, eye for eye, 
 tooth for tooth, &c. (Exod. xxi. 23-25). But this was only 
 done literally in the matter of life for life ; in all other cases, 
 indemnification equivalent to the damage sustained might be 
 made by the offender to the sufferer (Exod. xxi. 30). Res- 
 titution, to twice the value of the property stolen, was the 
 general punishment for theft; but, in some cases, the resti 
 tution was fourfold, or even fivefold (Exod. xxii. 1-6). If 
 the thief was unable to make restitution, he was sold as a 
 slave, and the price applied to that purpose ; and if the full 
 amount was not thus made up, his wife and children were 
 also sold (Exod. xxii. 3 ; 2 Kings iv, 1). 
 
14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5. There was only one kind of secondary corporal punish- 
 ment scourging. This was usually inflicted with a rod upon 
 the back of the prostrate culprit. The blows could, hi no 
 case, exceed forty ; and to prevent an inadvertent excess, the 
 number was practically restricted to thirty-nine (Deut. xxv. 
 2, 3 ; Matt. x. 17 ; 2 Cor. xi. 24). A kind of scourge, called 
 a scorpion composed of thongs set with sharp iron points 
 appears to have been used for torture (1 Kings xii. 11). The 
 punishment of scourging was chiefly applied to offences against 
 the ceremonial law; and, hi later times, it was usually inflicted 
 in the synagogues. To such offences, also, was applicable the 
 punishment of excommunication, which, hi a theocratical state 
 like that of the Hebrews, was as much a civil as an ecclesi- 
 astical punishment, and involved many afflictive privations 
 (Num. xv. 30, 31). But if an offence liable to this punish- 
 ment was committed inadvertently, the party might exonerate 
 himself of the penalties, by confessing his error, and present- 
 ing a " trespass-offering" for sacrifice (Num. xv. 28, 29). 
 
 6. The crimes punished with death were murder, adultery, 
 unnatural crimes, and gross misconduct to parents, also ido- 
 latry and Sabbath-breaking, which were acts of treason against 
 the Supreme Head of the theocratical government. The 
 common and national mode of inflicting the punishment of 
 death was by casting stones at the culprit; but when the 
 punishment was ordered by a king or military commander, it 
 was usually inflicted by stabbing with a sword (Judges viiL 
 21 ; 1 Sam. xxii. 18 ; 2 Sam. i. 5 ; 1 Kings ii. 25, 29, 31, 
 34). Latterly decapitation came into use (Matt. xiv. 8-12 ; 
 Acts xii. 2). The other modes of punishing with death, 
 mentioned in Scripture, were inflicted by foreigners, not by 
 Hebrews such as crucifixion, which was a Roman punish- 
 ment, introduced into Palestine after the power over life had 
 been taken from the Jews by then* conquerors. 
 
 7. There were also posthumous punishments, by which 
 the memory of the deceased was rendered infamous. Of this 
 kind was the hanging of the dead body on a tree or gallows ; 
 but the law required that it should be taken down and buried 
 the same day (Num. xxv. 4, 5 ; Deut. xxi. 22, 23). Another 
 was, to bum to ashes the body of a person who had been 
 toned (Lev. xx. 14 ; xxi. 9 ; Joshua vii. 15, 25) ; and a 
 
JUDICIAL INSTITUTIONS. 12 
 
 third was, to raise a large heap of stones ovei the corps* 
 (Josh. vii. 26 ; 2 Sam. xviii. 17). 
 
 8. Another institution remains to be mentioned, which 
 engages much attention in the law and early history of the 
 Israelites. In early pastoral life it had been the custom, 
 when a person was slain, for his next of kin to take upon him 
 the office of avenger (hi Hebrew, Goel), who rested not until 
 he had taken the life of the homicide. A practice so liable 
 to gross abuse, and calculated to entail endless blood-feuds, 
 could not be endured in an organised community. The law, 
 therefore, provided for the mitigation of its evils. Six cities, 
 in different parts of the country, were appointed as " cities of 
 refuge," to any one of which the unintentional man-slayer 
 might hasten ; and when he reached it, and while he remained 
 in it, he was safe from the avenger. This protection he con- 
 tinued to enjoy till the death of the high priest, when he was 
 at liberty to return home. But the shelter of these asylums 
 was refused to actual murderers ; for although they might be 
 received on their first arrival, yet, on their guilt being proved, 
 they were delivered up to punishment (Num. xxxv. 9-34). 
 The most laudable anxiety was manifested to secure to the 
 homicide the just effect of this institution ; and, among other 
 things, it was directed that the roads to the cities of refuge 
 mould be kept free from all obstruction (Dent. ziz. 8). 
 
HISTORY OF PALESTINE 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 CHAPTER I. B.C. 2348 TO 1909. 
 
 FATEIAECH3. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 The Deluge . . . 2348 
 Confusion of Tongues 2230 
 Birth of Terah . . 2126 
 Birth of Abraham . 1996 
 First Call of Abraham 1937 
 Second Call, and arrival 
 
 in Canaan . . . 1921 
 Defeat of Chedorlaomer 1912 
 
 ASSTUA. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Empire founded by 
 Nimrod or Ashur 2204 
 
 am 
 
 B.OU 
 
 . . . sin 
 
 SuphislL .... 2088 
 Moscheris or Me* heris 2043 
 Musthis? .... 2029 
 Pammas .... 2011 
 Aphoph or Apappni . 2001 
 
 1. EARLY after the Flood, the country which we now call 
 Palestine became the habitation of a portion of the tribes 
 descended from Canaan, the youngest son of Ham. Hence 
 the country acquired its earliest name, the Land of Canaan ; 
 and the inhabitants were, collectively, called Canaanites. At 
 the time of Abraham the country was but thinly peopled, 
 and the inhabitants were separated into the various nations, 
 enumerated in the first section of the Introduction. These 
 several nations were not united under a common head ; but 
 each was kept together by a common name and parentage, 
 and by local connection. In all these nations every town, 
 with its vicinage, appears to have formed a separate common- 
 wealth under its own Melek or " king." These kings appear 
 to have been no other than the chief magistrates of the place, 
 who were also leaders in war, and sometimes priests. Their 
 authority was small, and they seem to have been unable to 
 transact any important matter without the direct consent of 
 their citizens. As there was abundant room in the land, the 
 
128 THE DELUGE. 
 
 vacant pasturages were abandoned to the pastoral chiefs of 
 other tribes or nations, with whom the Canaanites exchanged 
 their goods and the produce of their fields for the products of 
 the flocks and herds. Their language, with probably some 
 difference of dialect, was the same with that which Abraham 
 brought from Mesopotamia. Their moral practices had 
 become very offensive, and their notions of God and his 
 government were wild and uncertain ; but there is no evi- 
 dence that they were idolaters in the time of the Patriarchs. 
 
 2. Our only knowledge of the social condition of the 
 Canaanites is to be gathered from the few intimations con- 
 tamed in the Book of Genesis. They lived in walled towns, 
 at the gates of which public business was transacted ; they 
 cultivated the ground, and raised corn and wine. Silver by 
 weight was their medium of exchange, and it would seem 
 that every adult male was acquainted with the use of arms. 
 Such were the people of Canaan, when their country was 
 visited by the illustrious stranger whose descendants were to 
 become its most celebrated inhabitants. The circumstances 
 of that visit must now be explained. 
 
 3. One thousand six hundred and fifty-six years after the 
 Creation, the race of Man had become so guilty before God, 
 that he swept them from the earth by a flood of waters. 
 Only one family, of which Noah was the father, was saved. 
 Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, through 
 whom the vacant world was again replenished with inhabi- 
 tants. In about 400 years after the flood, the new races of 
 mankind had also forgotten God, and had only some vague 
 remembrance of that ancient promise of a Deliverer, who 
 should crush the head of the Serpent, by whose seducements 
 sin and sorrow were brought into the world (Gen. iii.) The 
 world then seemed fast ripening for a new desolation ; but 
 God had sworn not again to destroy the earth for man's ini- 
 quities (Gen. viii. 21, 22). He chose rather to take one of 
 the numerous tribes of men, and commit to its care the great 
 truths which it was needful to keep alive in the world, until 
 the time should come in which he purposed to make his will 
 mor* fully known. These truths were, the knowledge of 
 himself as the Creator and Euler of the Universe, and of his 
 promise to provide a Redeemer for mankind. 
 
FIRST CALL OF ABRAHAM. 1S9 
 
 4. The founder of this favoured tribe was Abraham (at 
 first called Abram), a descendant of Shem, the son of Noah, 
 in the line of Heber. He belonged to a wealthy pastoral 
 family dwelling beyond the Euphrates, in that district in 
 which the town of Ur (now Urfah) was situated. This 
 family was not free from the general taint of idol- worship ; 
 for we are told that Terah, the father of Abraham, and pro- 
 bably also his sons, " served other gods" beyond the Euph- 
 rates. Nevertheless, the God of Noah does not appear tc 
 have been altogether unknown ; and while the world at large 
 lay in darkness, the last rays of departing truth still lingered 
 upon the tents of Terah. Abraham was the youngest of 
 three sons, the others being Haran and Nahor. Haran, the 
 eldest, died early, leaving one son called Lot, and two 
 daughters, Milcah and Sarah (at first called Sarai). Milcah 
 became the wife of Nahor, and Sarah of Abraham. Nahor 
 had children, but Abraham had none. 
 
 5. Before the flood, the life of man had been very long ; 
 after the flood, it gradually shortened ; but in the times of 
 which we write, it was not yet reduced to its present limit of 
 three score and ten years. Abraham, therefore, although 
 sixty years of age, was still in the prime of life when God 
 made himself known to him ic a vision, and required him to 
 leave his own country for another which should be aiade 
 known to him (Acts vii. 2-4). He must have disclosed this 
 mandate to his family ; for they all went with him from the 
 land of their birth. But they proceeded no further than 
 Haran, in another part of Mesopotamia. The cause we know 
 not ; but in that neighbourhood they remained sixteen years, 
 when Terah died, at the age of 205 years. (Gen. xi. 27-32). 
 
 6. When Terah was dead, a second and more special call 
 was received by Abraham, requiring him not only to quit his 
 country, but his kindred, for a strange land. But this more 
 strict requirement was accompanied with encouraging pro- 
 mises of blessedness and renown ; and with the obscure inti- 
 mation of some great distant blessing which the families of 
 men should receive through him. With that undoubting 
 faith and prompt and unquestioning obedience which he 
 always exhibited, and for which he is much commended ui 
 the sacred Iwoks, Abraham separated himself from his brothtf 
 
130 SECOND CALL OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 Nahor, and departed. He was accompanied by his nephew 
 Lot, the son of his deceased brother Haran ; and as both had 
 great possessions of flocks, and herds, and slaves, a large 
 caravan was doubtless formed by their union. They crossed 
 the river Euphrates, and, traversing the deserts to the west, 
 at length entered the land of Canaan, and first pitched their 
 tents in the beautiful valley of Moreh, lying between the 
 mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, in which the city of Shechem 
 was afterwards built. 
 
 7. In this early age there were no temples. Men wor- 
 shipped their gods at altars erected in the open air, sometimes 
 amid the shade of umbrageous groves. Their more solemn 
 acts of worship consisted in the sacrifice of victims from their 
 flocks or herds, or oblations of the fruits of the ground corn, 
 wine, and oil. So did the patriarchs worship God ; and many 
 were the monuments of their piety, in the form of altars, which 
 they erected in the land of their sojourning. 
 
 8. The year after Abraham's entrance into Canaan, a great 
 scarcity arose in that land. This was no doubt occasioned 
 by the absence of the customary rains. But Egypt, whose 
 fertility depends upon the overflowing of the Nile, was not 
 affected by this drought, and continued to afford its usual 
 abundance of corn. To Egypt, therefore, the patriarch 
 repaired. Fearing to be slain for the sake of his wife Sarah, 
 who was very beautiful, Abraham desired her to declare that 
 she was his sister. The consequence was, that the king, 
 hearing of her great beauty, sent and took her to his own 
 palace; in return loading her alleged "brother" with valu- 
 able gifts, such as befitted his condition camels, asses, sheep 
 and oxen, and men and women slaves. But the truth was 
 soon made known, through the grievous disorders with which 
 the Lord afflicted the king and his household as soon as 
 Sarah came under his roof. He therefore sent her back, and 
 after reproving Abraham for his conduct, desired him to with- 
 draw from the country, probably fearing what might happen 
 through the presence of a man who so manifestly enjoyed the 
 special protection of God. 
 
 9. So Abraham returned to Canaan very rich, not only 
 in cattle, but in silver and gold. Proceeding northward, he 
 came to his former station near Bethel, and encamped there. 
 
KBVOLT AND DEFEAT OF THE FIVE KINGS. 131 
 
 The increased substance of Abraham and Lot, made it diffi- 
 cult to find sufficient pastures for the flocks of both in the 
 same neighbourhood, and this led to frequent contentions 
 between their shepherds. They therefore separated ; and 
 Lot removed to the fertile and well- watered plain which the 
 waters of the Dead Sea now cover. Here were the cities of 
 Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela (afterwards 
 Zoar). This enforced separation from the last of his kin was 
 doubtless a great grief to Abraham. But he was comforted 
 by the renewed promises of God, who again assured him of a 
 numerous posterity, and directed him to go forth and survey 
 more largely the fine country which was to become their 
 heritage. He went first southward, and pitched his tent 
 under the shade of a terebinth tree, in the pleasant valley of 
 Mamre, near Hebron, where he remained a considerable time. 
 10. The Assyrian empire, beyond the Euphrates, appears 
 already to have risen to some importance, by reducing many 
 petty kings to the condition of tributaries. The strength of 
 these inferior chiefs appears to have been then employed in 
 distinct and foreign expeditions, for the further aggrandize- 
 ment of the empire to which they were subject. About four 
 years before Abraham entered the land of Canaan, one of 
 these princes, Chedorlaomer, whose own kingdom was Elam 
 (probably Elymais, a district of south-western Persia), was 
 intrusted with a command to extend the empire in the country 
 west of the Euphrates. This he executed by rendering several 
 nations tributary ; and he appears to have remained on this 
 side the great river to keep his conquests in obedience.* 
 After twelve years of subjection, and about eight years after 
 the first arrival of Abraham in Canaan, some of the conquered 
 nations revolted, and refused any longer to send theii tribute. 
 Among these were the petty " kings," or chiefs, in the five 
 cities of the plain to which Lot had withdrawn. This 
 brought upon them the vengeance of Chedorlaomer, who, 
 with his former confederates, invaded and ravaged all the 
 
 It IB right to apprise the reader that the above, as far as regards the Assyrian 
 empire, and the position of Chedorlaomer and other kings under it, is not certain history; 
 bat it if supported by circumstances, and seems to us a better explanation of the obscure 
 intimation in Genesis, than the supposition that the king of Elam and others, from verj 
 distinct quarter*, were independent kings, acting for themselves, ud allied for tha oor 
 
i32 DEFEAT OF CHEDORLAOMEH. 
 
 couutry east of the Jordan, defeated the five kings in & 
 pitched battle, and retired with numerous captives and abun- 
 dant spoil. Lot was among the captives. No sooner was 
 intelligence of this brought to Abraham, who was still in the 
 valley of Mamre, than he called out all his servants who 
 were able to bear arms, in number three hundred and eighteen, 
 and being joined by a few friendly native chiefs, set forth in 
 pursuit. The invaders were overtaken near the source of the 
 Jordan, and Abraham falling upon them suddenly by night, 
 put them to utter rout, and pursued them to the neighbour- 
 hood of Damascus. Thus was Lot delivered, and with him 
 were recovered all the captives and spoil which had been 
 taken. According to the war-laws of the East, all this prey 
 had, by the act of recovery, become his own. This right 
 was cordially recognised by the king of Sodom ; but with a 
 generous pride the patriarch declined to appropriate the 
 smallest portion of the spoil, lest it should be in the power 
 of any one of the native princes to say that he had made 
 Abraham rich. 
 
 11. His whole conduct on this occasion won the patriarch 
 the esteem of the well-disposed native princes. One of them, 
 Melchizedek (the just king], of whom we know nothing but 
 that he also was one of the remaining worshippers of the true 
 God, came forth from his town to meet the returning patriarch, 
 blessed him, and supplied his people with victuals ; * and as 
 the priestly functions were then exercised by kings and chiefs, 
 he offered sacrifices for himself and Abraham to " the most 
 high God, the maker of heaven and earth." After this the 
 patriarch returned to his encampment at Mamre. 
 
 All kind* ** victuals are understood as comprehended under the tenu 
 <Sa tiurf rti*e of food, and "wine," the chief article of driak. 
 
183 
 
 CHAPTER II. B.C. 1909 TO 1898. 
 
 rATRIABCHS. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 1910 
 
 Birth of Ishmael .... 
 Circumcision instituted > 
 Sodom destroyed / . 
 
 Isaac born 1896 
 
 Hagar dismissed 1893 
 
 1897 
 
 Achescus Ocaras 
 Nitocris . . 
 
 1.9. 
 
 im 
 
 190C 
 
 1. ABRAHAM had been promised a numerous posterity. 
 The promise was of some standing, but as yet there were no 
 signs of its fulfilment : he had no child, nor seemed likely to 
 have any. When he thought of this he was sometimes dis- 
 couraged ; but the Lord condescended to enter into a formal 
 covenant with him, not only to assure him that a son of his 
 own should inherit his substance, but that the posterity of 
 that son should become a nation, which, after being afflicted 
 many years in a strange land, should return to take posses- 
 sion of the beautiful country in which he himself lived as a 
 stranger. But although Abraham was to be the fatfcer of 
 this promised son, Sarah had not at any time been named 
 as the mother. She had always been reputed barren ; and 
 now that she was advanced in years, had given over all hope 
 of children. She therefore recommended a course which was 
 sanctioned by the ideas and usages of the time. She pro 
 posed that the patriarch should receive her own handmaid, 
 Hagar, as a secondary and inferior wife, and that any child 
 which this bond-woman might have, should be counted as 
 the child of the mistress. Abraham did not object to this 
 course, and it soon became plain that Hagar would give birth to 
 a child. This consideration appears to have made her behave 
 unbecomingly towards Sarah, who, in return, treated her so 
 harshly, that she fled, and wandered into the southern wilder- 
 ness. But an angel met her there, and encouraged her to 
 return to the tents of Abraham, where, in due season, she 
 gave birth to a son, who was called Ishmael, and who became 
 the founder of a large portion of the Arabian tribes. 
 
 2. Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael, when 
 
134 THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM. 
 
 was ninety years old, and Abraham ninety and nine, the Lord 
 again appeared to the patriarch, and solemnly renewed his 
 covenant to be, in an especial manner, THE GOD of him and 
 of his numerous race. And as a ratification of this covenant 
 on their part, the ceremony of circumcision was instituted, 
 that every male in that race should bear upon him a token of 
 this covenant with God. And further, when Abraham so 
 spoke as to shew that his hope of posterity was resting on 
 Ishmael, he was assured that the heir of the covenant was 
 not yet born, and that Sarah herself was his destined mother. 
 Even the name (Isaac) by which he should be called was 
 given ; and it was on this occasion that the patriarch himself 
 had his name changed from Abram to Abraham, and his 
 wife's name was altered from Sarai to Sarah. 
 
 3. It was not long after this that three heavenly beings, 
 in the guise of travellers, accepted the hospitality of Abraham. 
 When they arose to depart, the patriarch went with them a 
 little way. They directed their course towards Sodom ; and 
 as they proceeded, the Chief Person, as a mark of his confi- 
 dence and favour, opened to Abraham the design of his pre- 
 sent appearance in these parts. He declared that the iniquity 
 of Sodom and of the other cities of the Plain, was very great ; 
 and that such enormous wickedness could be no longer allowed 
 to pollute the earth, if their present conduct answered to the 
 grievous cry which had come before His throne. The two 
 avenging angels then went on, and Abraham, remaining 
 alone with the Lord, and, touchingly describing himself as 
 " but dust and ashes," deprecated his anger, while he took 
 upon him to intercede for the devoted cities. This he did 
 with reverential earnestness, until the Lord said, that if but 
 ten upright men were found in Sodom, it should be saved for 
 their sake. The same evening the two angels came to 
 Sodom, and were invited by Lot to spend the night under his 
 roof. They yielded to his hospitable importunity ; and before 
 the night was over, they had full reason to be satisfied that 
 the wickedness of the inhabitants was fully answerable to the 
 cry which had ascended unto God. The doom of these cities 
 was therefore sealed ; yet that the innocent might not perish 
 with the guilty, the angels warned Lot of the impending 
 **8tr>" < tion, and urged his immediate departure from the 
 
BIRTH OF ISAAC. 185 
 
 place. Pressed and led by them, he left the town, with hit 
 wife and two daughters; and at his intercession, the small 
 city of Bela, thenceforth called Zoar, was spared, that it 
 might be a place of refuge to him. As they sped over the 
 plain, Sodom and the other cities received their doom " The 
 Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and 
 fire," whereby the cities and all their inhabitants were utterly 
 consumed, and the waters of the Dead Sea came over the 
 ground on which they had stood.* The family of Lot did 
 not wholly escape ; for as his wife lingered regretfully behind 
 the rest, she was overwhelmed by the destroying shower, 
 which encrusting her body, left it standing like " a pillar of 
 salt." Lot went to Zoar, but withdrew to a cave in the 
 neighbouring mountains, where he became the father of two 
 sons, Moab and Ammon.-j- 
 
 4. Very soon after the destruction of Sodom, Abraham 
 removed his encampment to the south-west, into that part of 
 the country where the Philistines had already established 
 themselves. Here an adventure happened very similar to 
 that which had occurred in Egypt. Uninstructed by expe- 
 rience, Abraham pretended that Sarah was his sister. As 
 such she was seen and admired by Abimelech, king of Gerar, 
 who sent and took her to his own house ; but being warned 
 by God in a dream that she was another man's wife, he 
 restored her to Abraham with valuable gifts, but not without 
 a keen rebuke. 
 
 5. The time at length arrived when Sarah gave to her 
 husband the long-promised blessing of a son. On the eighth 
 day he was circumcised, and the name of Isaac was given to 
 him. About three years the mother nourished him at her 
 own breast, and then a great feast marked the day in which 
 the child was weaned (B.C. 1893). The birth of Isaac, the 
 great attention which was paid to him, and the consciousness 
 that by him Ishmael was cut off from the heritage of Abraham, 
 were matters very distasteful to Hagar and her son, and at 
 this great feast they took no pains to hide their feelings. At 
 this Sarah was highly provoked, and insisted with Abraham 
 that they should be sent away from the camp. The patriarch 
 
 Sec before, p. 30, t See before, p. * 
 
136 HAGAR AND ISHMAEL RELIEVED. 
 
 was very reluctant to take so harsh a course ; but on receiv 
 ing an intimation from Heaven that this was in accordance 
 with the divine intentions, and that the Lord would care for 
 the prosperity of Ishmael, he resisted no longer, but sent both 
 the mother and son away, with suitable provisions for the 
 journey. 
 
 6. They had not, however, travelled farther than the 
 wilderness of Beersheba when their supply of water failed, 
 and Ishmael, overcome with heat, thirst, and weariness, 
 declared himself unable to proceed any further. Hagar 
 assisted him to reach some shrubs, under the shade of which 
 he lay down ; and his mother, not being able to endure the 
 anguish of seeing him die, withdrew to a distance. In her 
 grief, an angel of God called to her with words of comfort ; 
 he made known to her that there was a well of fresh water 
 not far off, and encouraged her by renewed predictions of the 
 prosperity of Ishmael. Thus relieved, they remained among 
 the tribes of the Desert ; and, in due time, Ishmael was mar- 
 ried to a woman of Egypt, became a person of note, and was 
 the father of several sons, the founders of families and tribes, 
 which formed, and no doubt still form, a large portion of the 
 Arabian people. 
 
187 
 
 CHAPTER III. B.C. 1893 TO 1796. 
 
 MttUIOHS. 
 
 Iiaac offered 
 Sarah dies . 
 Isaac marries 
 Jacob and Esau 
 Abraham dies 
 Esau marries 
 
 born 
 
 
 JOTPT. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 1871 
 
 Mvrtseus . . 1890 
 
 1859 
 
 Thvosimares . 1880 
 
 1856 
 
 Thinillus . . 1866 
 
 1836 
 
 Semphucrates 1848 
 
 1821 
 
 Menmoph . . 1830 
 
 1796 
 
 The names and eras of 
 
 
 the kings that follow 
 
 
 to Osirtasen I. B.C. 
 
 
 1740, are uncertain. 
 
 GRKKCK. 
 
 B.& 
 Kingdom of Argot 
 
 founded .... 1850 
 Deluge of Ogyges, in 
 
 Attica . . . 1848 
 
 1. ABRAHAM still remained in the south country, near to 
 Gerar, where his power and pastoral wealth had much 
 increased; and, as he seemed to manifest no intention of 
 removing, the king Abimelech thought it right to court a 
 treaty of alliance with him, being the first which history 
 records. To this he was probably the more induced, as some 
 anxiety had been experienced on account of the wells which 
 Abraham had digged an act which, as we have already 
 explained, gave to the party by whom such wells were made, 
 a kind of appropriative right in lands not previously occupied. 
 This matter being adjusted, and the rights of the patriarch 
 being recognised by the king, the desired covenant was 
 formed between them, and confirmed by an oath. It 
 amounted to little more than that the contracting parties, 
 and their heirs after them, should act with truth towards 
 each other. In memory of this transaction, Abraham gave 
 the name of Beersheba (ivell of the oath) to the well in ques- 
 tion ; and, the situation being agreeable and convenient, he 
 remained there many years, and planted a grove of trees 
 around the altar at which he worshipped God. 
 
 2. When Isaac had attained the age of twenty-five years, 
 jt pleased God to prove Abraham by one great trial of his 
 faith and obedience. He was commanded to journey to 
 mountain in Canaan, and there to offer up his son Isaac in 
 sacrifice to God. Firmly persuaded that since God had pro- 
 mised him a posterity through Isaac, he would even raise 
 him again from the dead, rather than allow Ws promise to 
 
138 SACRIFICE OF ISAAC. 
 
 foil (Heb. xi. 17-19), the "father of the faithful" prepared 
 to render full, however heart-rending, obedience to this extra- 
 ordinary mandate. He travelled to the appointed place ; he 
 built an altar, and laid thereon the wood for the fire ; he 
 bound his beloved son with cords ; and his hand was uplifted 
 to give him the death -wound, when he was arrested by a 
 voice from heaven with words of commendation and encou- 
 ragement, and by a more than ever solemn confirmation to 
 him and to his race of all the blessings that had before been 
 promised. A ram, which was found entangled by the horns 
 in a thicket, was substituted for Isaac upon the altar, and the 
 father returned rejoicing to Beersheba with his son. 
 
 3. Twelve years after this Sarah died, in the 127th year 
 of her age. Abraham had, before this, removed his camp 
 from Beersheba to his old station at Mamre, near Hebron, or 
 to some other spot in that neighbourhood ; and as it had now 
 become necessary that he should have a family sepulchre in 
 which to lay his dead, he purchased for 400 shekels of silver 
 the field and cave of Machpelah, near Hebron. Here Sarah 
 was buried ; and thus a sepulchre became to the patriarchs 
 the earnest of their reversionary heritage. 
 
 4. Three years after this, when Isaac had reached the 
 age of forty years, Abraham bethought himself of seeking a 
 wife for his son. The state of religion and morals in Canaan, 
 and the special nature of the promises made to his race, con- 
 curred with the usual habits and notions of a pastoral chief, 
 in leading his attention to his own family, which he had left 
 in Mesopotamia, of whose welfare he had, a few years before, 
 received intelligence. He therefore gave it in solemn charge 
 to his old and confidential servant Eliezer to travel thither, 
 and, if possible, to obtain thence a wife for Isaac. Eliezer 
 sped well on his journey. On his first arrival at Haran, he 
 fell in with Rebekah, the grand-daughter of Abraham's 
 brother Nahor, and received kind attentions from her and 
 from the family, when he arrived at the house. When he 
 made known the object oi his journey, the proposed alliance 
 was accepted without hesitation. Rebekah herself, on whom 
 the choice fell, made no objections ; and she therefore, accom- 
 panied by her nurse Deborah, was soon on the road to Canaan 
 with Eliezer and his men. They arrived safely there; all 
 
DEATH OF ABRAHAM. 139 
 
 parties were well pleased ; and Kebekab became the wife of 
 Isaac. 
 
 5. Not long after, Abraham took to himself a second wife, 
 named Keturah, by whom he had six sons, named Zimran, 
 Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah, all of whom 
 were provided for by their father during his lifetime, and 
 sent to settle in Arabia Petraea, lest at his death they should 
 interfere with his heir Isaac. They became the founders of 
 Arabian tribes and nations one of which, Midian, makes 
 some figure in the early history of Isaac's descendants. 
 Nothing more is recorded of Abraham until his death, which 
 occurred at what was even then considered the advanced age 
 of 175 years just 100 years after his arrival in Canaan. 
 His body was laid beside that of Sarah, in the sepulchral 
 cave of Machpelah. 
 
 6. Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, presented her husband 
 with two sons, twins, of whom the first-born was named 
 Esau, and the other Jacob (B.C. 1836). They were fifteen 
 years of age when their grandfather Abraham died. As they 
 grew up, the brothers manifested very different dispositions ; 
 Esau was a rude and boisterous man, devoted to the sports 
 of the field, while Jacob was of a sedate and quiet disposition, 
 much employed in the cares and duties of pastoral life. 
 Before their birth, it had been intimated to the mother, that 
 the younger of the two was the destined heir of the promises ; 
 and this, together with his gentle disposition, rendered Jacob 
 very dear to Rebekah ; but the love of Isaac, although him- 
 self a quiet man, was more engaged by the first-born, Esau. 
 Not knowing, or not rightly understanding, or not having 
 much confidence in the intimation which had been given to 
 his wife, Isaac was still disposed to considei Esau as the heir 
 of the promises ; and being aware of this, Rebekah was always 
 contriving to bring about, by craft and management, the 
 designs which the Lord would have accomplished without 
 her aid. Jacob, in his early life, much resembled his mother 
 in these respects; but time, trouble, and experience, made 
 him a much better man in his later years. 
 
 7. The first object was to get from Esau a formal renun- 
 ciation of his birthright, on which, in truth, Esau himself set 
 o very little value, that he readily agreed to barter it for a 
 
 P. 7 
 
140 FAMINE IN TUB LAND OF CANAAN. 
 
 mess of savoury pottage which, one day, when he came home 
 faint and hungry fcrm hard hunting, he found Jacob prepar- 
 ing. It does not appear to us that he renounced, or that 
 Jacob sought, the ordinary secular right of the first-born to a 
 double portion of the father's goods, but rather the peculiar 
 blessings and promises of the Abrahamic covenant, which all 
 parties supposed must henceforth descend in the line of pri- 
 mogeniture, unless God otherwise specially determined, or 
 unless the person most nearly interested abandoned his claim. 
 All tho parties appear to have laboured under some mistake 
 in this matter; and Esau's light estimation of his supposed 
 privilege was no less reprehensible than Jacob's over-anxiety 
 to secure what he believed to be intended for him. 
 
 8. After this there was a famine in the land of Canaan, 
 and Isaac would probably have withdrawn into Egypt, had 
 he not been commanded by the Lord to remain in the land 
 which was the destined inheritance of his race. On this 
 occasion, the promise of that heritage, and of all the other 
 blessings of the covenant with Abraham, was repeated to 
 Isaac, who then removed into the territories of the Philistines, 
 where another Abimelech than he who had entered into cove- 
 nant with Abraham, reigned. During his residence in Gerar, 
 Isaac denied his wife, as his father Abraham had done in the 
 same country, and for the same reason, for which he also 
 incurred the just rebuke of the reigning king. While in this 
 quarter, Isaac paid some attention to the culture of the 
 ground, which repaid him a hundred-fold ; and in this and 
 other ways, his wealth and power so rapidly increased, as to 
 excite the alarm and jealousy of the Philistines, who filled 
 up the wells which gave him a right to the soil, and whose 
 king at length desired him to withdraw to a greater distance. 
 The patriarch Accordingly proceeded to the more open pas- 
 tures which his father had occupied, and there digged again, 
 without opposition, the wells of Abraham. But his attempts 
 to dig new wells were vehemently resisted by the Philistine 
 shepherds, until he did so at such a distance, that they no 
 longer interfered. In this situation, his still growing pros- 
 perity suggested to Abiaaelech the propriety of renewing with 
 the powerful nomad chief the convention which his own pre- 
 decessor made with Abraham. The king, therefore, went 
 
ESAU HARRIES. 141 
 
 from Gerar to the camp of Isaac, whom he treated in all 
 respects as an equal. He and his attendants were properly 
 feasted by the patriarch, who, after a becoming remonstrance 
 as to the treatment he had received, consented to renew the 
 covenant of peace. At the age of forty, Esau married two 
 women of Canaan, and thereby gave much pain to his parents, 
 whose views in such matters were the same as those which 
 Abraham had entertained. 
 
us 
 
 CHAPTER IV. B.C. 1796 to 178H 
 
 Uncertain till Osirtasen L 
 
 HW 
 
 PATEIAKCHS 
 
 friiiMeldies 1773 
 
 Jacob leave* Palestine .... 1759 
 
 Keuben born ... . . 1758 
 
 Simeon born ....... 1757 
 
 Levi born 1756 
 
 Judah born . . 1755 
 
 Joseph born 1745 
 
 Jacob returns 1739 
 
 1. WHEN Jacob was 77 years old, and Isaac 137, we find 
 the patriarchal family again at Beersheba. By that time 
 Isaac's sight had failed him, and he concluded that he had not 
 long to live. He therefore determined to bestow that bless- 
 ing which the patriarchal fathers were wont to give to their 
 sons in their last days, and to which much importance was 
 attached, because on such occasions an influence from above 
 enabled them to interpret the designs of the Almighty towards 
 those whom they addressed. The blessings of the Abrahamic 
 covenant, which God intended for Jacob, the fond Isaac now 
 purposed to bestow on Esau. This he made known to him ; 
 but first sent him out into the fields to hunt, that, with the 
 game, he might prepare one of those savoury messes with 
 which he had been in the habit of gratifying the appetite of 
 his aged father. All this was overheard by Eebekah, who 
 instantly determined to frustrate the design by artifice. She 
 dressed Jacob in his brother's clothes, and persuaded him to 
 personate Esau : and he thus obtained from his blind father 
 the important blessing " 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 every one that blesseth thee ! " 
 Jacob had scarcely withdrawn, when the entrance of Esau 
 revealed the deception which had been practised. Isaac was 
 seized with consternation when he discovered that his inten- 
 tion had been counteracted. But convinced that he had been 
 rashly attempting to act in opposition to the divine will, and 
 
JACOB LEAVES PALESTINE. 143 
 
 that the whole matter had been overruled by a higher power, 
 he made no attempt to recal the blessing he had bestowed on 
 Jacob, but rather confirmed it by the emphatic declaration, 
 " Yea, and he shall be blessed ! " 
 
 2. The grief and rage of Esau at being thus circumvented 
 by his brother were very great. He earnestly begged another 
 blessing for himself, and obtained one which involved the 
 promise, that although his posterity should for a while be 
 subject to that of Jacob, yet in the end they should throw off 
 the yoke, and establish their independence. All the parties 
 in this transaction were much to blame ; Rebekah and Jacob 
 especially, were guilty of the sins of doing evil that good 
 might come, and of promoting, by fraudulent means, the 
 intentions of God, in effecting which their aid was not needfuL 
 
 3. Esau cherished the most inexorable resentment against 
 Jacob for what he had done. He vowed to be revenged by 
 the death of his brother ; but, out of regard for his father, 
 purposed to wait till after his death. This came to the ears 
 of Rebekah, who thereupon persuaded Jacob to withdraw for 
 a tune to her brother Laban in Mesopotamia. Not to trouble 
 the mind of the aged Isaac, she forbore to tell him the prin- 
 cipal reason for this course, but assigned another, which was 
 also true, being her fear lest Jacob should follow the example 
 of his brother, in marrying one of the women of the country 
 in which they lived. Isaac therefore called Jacob, and 
 charged him not to do this, but to go and obtain for a wi& 
 one of the daughters of Laban, his mother's brother. 
 
 4. Dismissed with his father's blessing, the heir of the 
 promises set forth upon his journey. On his way, he was 
 encouraged by an important vision at Bethel, and in due time 
 arrived at Haran ; and when he came to the well outside that 
 city, he found a great number of persons of both sexes 
 assembled there to water their flocks. Among them he dis- 
 covered Rachel, the daughter of Laban, who hr.d charge of 
 the home flock. Having watered the flock for her, he told 
 her who he was, and went with her to her father's house. 
 He was well received by Laban, to whom he made his cir- 
 cumstances known. In a short time that person discovered 
 that Jacob had a very superior knowledge of pastoral affairg, 
 and became anxious to retain his services in the management 
 
144 JACOB'S MARRIAGES. 
 
 of his flocks. He offered him wages ; but Jacob, who Ltd 
 much love for his cousin whom he had met at the well but 
 had no means of paying the price which custom required a 
 man to give to the father of the woman he married offered 
 Laban seven years of his services for Rachel. Laban con- 
 sented ; and when the time came, made a great feast to 
 celebrate his daughter's marriage ; but instead of giving 
 Jacob the youngest daughter, according to agreement, he 
 managed, by some deception, to substitute Leah, the eldest, 
 for whom Jacob had no regard. 
 
 5. Next day, when the fraud was discovered, Laban 
 excused himself by saying, that the custom of the country 
 would not permit the younger daughter to be given in mar 
 riage before the elder ; and coolly added, that now the elder 
 was married, he might have the other also, if he chose to 
 serve other seven years for her. Jacob, who saw no remedy, 
 and who greatly loved Rachel, agreed to this proposal, and, 
 after a proper interval, she was given to him. He had now 
 two wives, as the custom of the time and country allowed. 
 As might be expected, Rachel was much dearer to him than 
 Leah, whom he treated with comparative neglect; but the 
 Lord, who hates injustice, restored the balance in this matter, 
 by giving Leah children, which were withheld from Rachel. 
 Leah bore successively four sons, whom she named Reuben, 
 Simeon, Levi, and Judah. As children are greatly desired 
 by the Orientals, and were more especially desirable to him 
 whose posterity was to become a great nation, this gave to 
 Leah an advantage over her sister, which vexed Rachel 
 She therefore gave her handmaid Bilhah to Jacob, in th 
 same way, and with the same intention, as that with which 
 Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham, Rachel intending, that if 
 there were children, they should be considered her own. 
 Bilhah had two sons, whom Rachel named Dan and Naphtali. 
 On this, Leah would not be denied the right of giving also 
 her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob. She bore two sons, Gad and 
 Asher, in addition to whom Leah herself had two more sons, 
 Issachar and Zebulun, and one daughter named Dinah. At 
 last, after many years of repining, Rachel herself had a son, 
 irho received the name of Joseph. 
 
 6. The fourteen years during which Jacob had agreed to 
 
JACOB'S RETURN TO CANAAN. 145 
 
 serve Laban for his two daughters were expired, and he now 
 expressed an intention of returning to the land of Canaan. 
 But Laban, convinced that the Lord had blessed him greatly 
 for Jacob's sake, and that all his affairs had prospered in his 
 hands, earnestly entreated him to remain, offering whatever 
 recompense for his further services he might demand. As he 
 was still poor, and felt it a duty to provide for his own house, 
 Jacob found it prudent to accept this offer, and named the 
 party-coloured sheep and goats which might henceforth be 
 born in the flock as the reward of his cares. As pied ani- 
 mals are very rare in Syrian flocks, Laban eagerly agreed to 
 this proposal. By forming into a separate flock, and remov- 
 ing to a distance all the animals which were already party- 
 coloured, leaving all the rest under the care of Jacob, he 
 took means to prevent the inordinate increase of such as were 
 o become his nephew's share ; but, on the other hand, Jacob, 
 by an ingenious contrivance, endeavoured to promote their 
 increase, and with such success, that a very few years sufficed 
 to render his portion of the flocks greater than Laban's. 
 
 7. Annoyed at the discontent and envy, which Laban 
 and his sons took no pains to conceal, longing to be at home, 
 and deeming his present wealth sufficient, Jacob, after six 
 years more of servitude, making twenty years in all, deter- 
 mined to return to Canaan. But fearing that Laban might 
 oppose his departure, ho took an occasion of removing clan- 
 destinely, with his wives and children, his flocks and herds. 
 Three days passed before Laban heard of his departure, and 
 with his relations and retainers he immediately set off in 
 pursuit. In seven days he traversed the distance for which 
 Jacob, encumbered with flocks and herds, had required ten 
 days, and overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. It had, 
 doubtless, been the intention of Laban either to compel Jacob 
 1o return, or to despoil him of his wealth ; but the night 
 before they met, he had been warned in a dream against 
 committing any injurious or hostile act. Therefore, when 
 they met the next day, he confined himself to reproofs, which 
 Jacob retorted with great spirit, and much truth ; and in the 
 end they came to a good understanding, and entered into a 
 covenant of peace ; after which they parted, Laban returuing 
 home, and Jacob pursuing his journey. 
 
14ft JACOB'S ENCOUNTER WITH AN ANGEL. 
 
 8. Jacob's next anxiety was to ascertain the cHnpoftition 
 towards him of his brother Esau, to evade whose wrath h 
 had quitted the land of Canaan twenty years before. Mean- 
 while, Esau himself had become a person of consequence, and 
 had established himself in great power as a military chief in 
 the mountains of Seir. Thither Jacob sent messengers to 
 announce his return, which they were instructed to do in 
 terms of the utmost deference and respect. In due time the 
 messengers returned with the alarming intelligence that Esau 
 himself was advancing at the head of 400 men. Jacob much 
 feared that the intentions of his brother were unfriendly ; and 
 he recommended himself, in an earnest prayer, to the protec- 
 tion of God. It was night : his caravan had already passed 
 the river Jabbok, and he remained behind to renew his sup- 
 plications in the solitude. While he was thus engaged, an 
 angel of God appeared and struggled with him, in wrestling, 
 for a long while, and refrained from overcoming the mortal 
 man with whom he conflicted, until the morning broke ; an^ 
 then, to evince his power, he laid his hand upon the hollow 
 of Jacob's thigh, when instantly the sinew shrank, and he 
 halted with lameness. Yet Jacob left not his hold of the 
 angel, but cried, " I will not let thee go except thou bless 
 me I" The angel asked him, "What is thy name?" He 
 answered, " Jacob." Then said the angel, " thy name shall 
 be called no more Jacob, but ISRAEL (prince of God) ; for as 
 a prince has thou power with God, and with men, and hast 
 prevailed." He then received the blessing for which he 
 strove, and derived all the intended encouragement from this 
 mysterious interview. Israel then joined his family on the 
 other side the Jabbok. The intentions of Esau may have 
 been hostile ; but his heart was so wrought upon by the sight 
 of his long absent brother and his peaceful troop, that he ran 
 to meet him, and fell upon his neck and kissed him, and they 
 wept together. 
 
147 
 
 CHAPTER V. B,C. 1739 TO 1708. 
 
 Benjamin born 1734 
 
 Joseph sold 1728 
 
 Joseph imprisoned ..... 1718 
 
 Isaac dies 17H 
 
 Joseph Governor of Egypt . . . 1718 
 Famine begins 1708 
 
 1. ISRAEL made some stay at Succoth, after which he pro- 
 ceeded to the valley between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, where 
 Abraham first encamped on entering the Land of Promise. 
 A city had since been built there, and the land appropriated, 
 so that Jacob was obliged to purchase the ground on which 
 he pitched his tents. Here a friendly understanding, and a 
 mutually advantageous traffic, soon arose between this family 
 of shepherds and the townspeople. The former could supply 
 milk, and wool, and skins, and animals for use and slaughter, 
 for which the latter could give the products of their fields and 
 gardens, and the utensils, cloths, arms, and ornaments which 
 towns usually produce. But it unfortunately happened that 
 Shechem, the son of Hamor, the prince of the country, saw 
 Dinah, Jacob's daughter, at a public festival in the town, 
 and, becoming enamoured of her, allured her from her father'i 
 protection to his own house, where he detained her with the 
 promise and intention of marriage. The young man opened 
 the matter to his father, and persuaded him to go out to 
 Jacob's camp, and make proposals of marriage to him. 
 
 2. Jacob was much grieved, and his sons were fired with 
 indignation at the dishonour which the family had received, 
 and at first refused to listen to the liberal offers which Hamor 
 made. At last, however, they acceded to the proposed mar- 
 riage, on condition that all the Shechemites should receive 
 the rite of circumcision. To this the townspeople were 
 induced by Hamor to consent ; and on the third day, when 
 they were 1 east able to defend themselves, Simeon and Levi, 
 full brothers of Dinah, entered the town, with some of theii 
 father's men, and slew all the male inhabitants, to avenga 
 the indignity offered to their sister, whom they took away to 
 the camp. After this the other sons of Jacob came and plun* 
 
148 
 
 BIRTH OF BENJAMIN. 
 
 dered the place, bringing the women and children away at 
 captives. Jacob was greatly distressed and alarmed at this 
 atrocious action of his sons, and was glad to withdraw in 
 accordance with a divine intimation from a neighbourhood 
 gtained by BO great a crime, to Bethel. 
 
 3. From Bethel Jacob proceeded southward, probably 
 with the intention of rejoining his aged father, who was still 
 alive, and who abode in the plain of Mamre, near Hebron. 
 When they were near Ephrath (afterwards Bethlehem), Rachel 
 was delivered of a second son, named Benjamin ; and she 
 died in giving him birth. The bereaved husband honoured 
 
 the grave of his be- 
 loved wife with a se- 
 pulchral pillar, which 
 long after stood 
 there, but which is 
 now replaced by a 
 Mohammedan monu- 
 mental tomb. Israel 
 removed from Eph- 
 rath to a pasture 
 ground in \vhic 
 stood a tower, calle 
 the Tower of th 
 Flock, and, after some stay there, at length joined his ol 
 father in Mamre, and remained with him till his death. Thi 
 did not occur till sixteen years after, when Isaac had reache 
 the advanced age of 180 years. Esau was also present, an 
 joined with Jacob in rendering the last offices of filial duty 
 to their father, whose remains were deposited in the cave ol 
 Machpelah, with those of Sarah and Abraham. After this 
 Esau withdrew, with the portion of the property which fell 
 to him, to his former residence in the mountains of Seir, where 
 his posterity became a considerable nation. At the time of 
 Isaac's death, Jacob was 120 years old. He continued still at 
 Mamre, engaged with his sons in the usual pastoral employ- 
 ments. 
 
 4. The history now conducts us to Joseph, the eldest of 
 Rachel's two sons. Hi? beauty, his engaging qualities, hie 
 iarly wisdom, and, more than all, his having been for many 
 
 Rachel's Sepulchre. 
 
JOSEPH SOLD TO THE ISHMAELITE8. 149 
 
 years (before Benjamin was born) the only son of Rachel, 
 had given him the first place in his father's love. This par- 
 tiality may have been natural ; but Jacob most unwisely 
 displayed it before the eyes of his other sons, by clothing his 
 favourite in a gaudy " coat of many colours." This and 
 other things so moved the envy and jealousy of the brothers, 
 that " they could not speak peaceably to him ;" and he espe- 
 cially offended the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, by reporting to 
 Jacob their misbehaviour when out with the flocks. The 
 general ill-feeling of his brothers towards him was not a little 
 strengthened by his account of certain dreams with which he 
 was favoured, and which could only be interpreted to pre- 
 figure his own future greatness and their humiliation before 
 him. At length their hatred rose to such a height, that they 
 resolved to get rid of him by death as soon as a favourable 
 opportunity should occur. 
 
 5. They had for some time been out with the flocks in 
 distant pastures, when Israel sent Joseph from Mamre to 
 enquire after their welfare. As soon as he came in sight 
 they resolved to kill him; but were prevented by Reuben, 
 who wished to deliver him out of their hands, and persuaded 
 them to cast him into an empty pit. Afterwards, by the 
 advice of Judah, they drew him out, and sold him for a slave 
 to a caravan of Ishmaelitish and Midianitish merchants, who 
 were going with costly drugs to Egypt. The brothers then 
 took Joseph's coat the coat of many colours and dipped it 
 in the blood of a kid, to induce the belief that he had been 
 killed by a wild beast. They then sent it home to their 
 father, who, receiving the impression they intended to convey, 
 was overwhelmed with anguish. He rent his clothes, put on 
 sackcloth, and mourned for his son many days. This was 
 about three years after Jacob had joined his father Isaac at 
 Mamre. 
 
 6. Meanwhile Joseph was taken to Egypt, and sold to 
 Potiphar, captain of the guard to Pharaoh,* king of Egypt. 
 By his abilities and excellent conduct he won the entire con- 
 fidence of his master, who in the end left all his affairs in his 
 
 * Pharaoh, or 1'hrah, is not a name, but a title, meaning " king," which accounts for 
 Its being given in Scripture to nearly all the sovereigns of that country of whom it takst 
 Mfe* 
 
150 JOSEPH GOVERNOR OP EGYPT. 
 
 hands. But after serving Potiphar with great integrity abd 
 success for ten years, he was then thrown into prison, on 
 account of a false accusation by his mistress, whose guilty 
 enticements he had repelled. In the prison, his charactel 
 and talents were soon appreciated by the governor, who com- 
 mitted all the other prisoners to his charge. Among these 
 were the king's chief butler and chief baker officers of some 
 consequence in Eastern courts. These were both, in one 
 night, troubled with remarkable dreams, which Joseph 
 modestly undertook to interpret ; and the event corresponded 
 to his interpretations the butler was restored to favour, and 
 the baker was hanged. 
 
 7. Two years after this the king of Egypt himself had 
 two very singular dreams in one night, which troubled him 
 greatly, especially when he found that none of his diviners 
 were able to discover their meaning. On this, the chief butler 
 called to mind Joseph's most true interpretation of his own 
 and his companion's dreams in prison, and spoke of this to the 
 king. Pharaoh immediately sent to the prison for him, and 
 related to him his dreams. Modestly disclaiming the wisdom 
 which the king supposed him to possess, and ascribing all the 
 honour to the God whom he served, Joseph told the king 
 that the two dreams were to be received as a warning from 
 God, that seven years of extreme plenty hi Egypt would be 
 succeeded by seven years of unexampled scarcity. He then 
 proceeded to give such sound advice as to the mode in which 
 the over-produce of the seven years of plenty might be hus- 
 banded for use during the seven years of famine, that Pha- 
 raoh at once determined to invest him with the power and 
 station necessary for giving effect to the measures he had 
 advised. By taking off his signet-ring, and placing it on 
 Joseph's finger, he conveyed to him such high powers as made 
 him next in authority to the king. He was then arrayed 
 in the vestures of fine muslin and the chain of gold which 
 belonged to his high place, and, standing in the royal chariot, 
 he was conducted in grand procession through the metropolis, 
 and proclaimed chief minister and governor of Egypt. Joseph 
 was thirty years old when he attained this high advancement. 
 Soon after Pharaoh in order to strengthen Joseph's position, 
 by connecting him with distinguished families gave him in 
 
JOSEPH'S MARRIAGE. 151 
 
 marriage a lady of high rank, Asenath, daughter of Potipherah, 
 high-priest of On, by whom in due time he had two sons, 
 Manasseh and Ephraim. 
 
 8. During the seven years of plenty Joseph travelled 
 through all the provinces, making surveys, building granaries, 
 and filling them with corn. The effects of the years of scar- 
 city which followed were felt not only hi Egypt, but in all 
 the adjacent countries, the inhabitants of which soon flocked 
 to Egypt to purchase corn from the well-filled granaries of 
 Joseph. The private stores of the Egyptians themselves were 
 soon spent, and they became dependent upon the public stock, 
 out of which they bought corn until they had nothing but 
 their persons and their lands left to them. Then, at their 
 own desire, Joseph bought their lands for the Crown, at the 
 cost of supplying them with food during the scarcity; and 
 for the convenience of distribution, he assembled the people 
 of every district into the towns in which the corn was stored, 
 and, when the famine was nearly ended, he gave them seed, 
 and restored them their lands to farm, at the fixed Crown- 
 rent of one-fifth of the produce. We have explained thw 
 procedure, because it appears to have been of late uiuea 
 misunderstood. 
 
15* 
 
 CHAPTER VL B.C. 1708 TO 1635. 
 
 PATRIARCHS. 
 
 B. C. 
 
 lob sendi his sons to Egypt for corn 1707 
 
 Jacob and his family go to Egypt . 1706 
 
 End of the Famine 1702 
 
 Jacob die* 1689 
 
 Joseph diet. .... . . 1635 
 
 turn 
 
 P.O. 
 
 Amun-m-gori I 1691 
 
 Amun-m-jrori II. 168* 
 
 Osirtasenll. ........ 1661 
 
 1. AMONG the foreigners who repaired to Egypt to buy 
 corn in the first year of the famine, were the brethren of 
 Joseph. As they stood " and bowed themselves before him, 
 with their faces to the earth," and thus accomplished what 
 was predicted by the dreams which they had so criminally 
 endeavoured to frustrate, they little thought of their brother, 
 but he knew them well. To try their present dispositions, 
 he spoke roughly to them, and accused them of being spies, 
 " come to spy the nakedness of the land." This was a most 
 grave and dangerous charge, coming from such a quarter. 
 This they felt ; and, in their anxiety to repel it, gave a par- 
 ticular account of their real condition, from which Joseph 
 learned that his father still lived, and that his favourite son, 
 their youngest brother, had remained at home with him. 
 Joseph seized hold of this, and made the appearance of that 
 younger brother before him the test of their sincerity, and de- 
 cided that one of them should go for him, and the rest remain 
 in custody till that one returned with Benjamin. Meanwhile 
 they were cast into prison ; but on the third day he spoke 
 more gently to them, and directed that they might all go 
 home, except Simeon, who was to be detained as a hostage 
 for their return. Their troubled consciences interpreted the 
 difficulties into which they had fallen as a divine judgment 
 upon them for the treatment of their brother; and as they 
 freely expressed this to one another not supposing " the 
 governor of the country " could understand them Joseph was 
 much moved, and turned from them and wept. He gave 
 them provisions for the journey, and caused the money they 
 had paid for corn to be privily restored in their sacks. 
 
JACOB SENDS HIS SONS TO EGYPT FOR CORN. 153 
 
 2. When they reached home they gave their father a full 
 account of the strange behaviour of " the man, the governor 
 of the land." He was much disconcerted at the demand for 
 Benjamin, and refused to let him go. But, when the corn 
 was all consumed, and Jacob desired his sons to go to Egypt 
 for more, they absolutely refused again to appear before " tha 
 governor" without Benjamin. At length, with extreme diffi- 
 culty, they extorted his consent Judah making himself indi- 
 vidually responsible for Benjamin's safe return. Anxious to 
 make a favourable impression upon the much-dreaded "man" 
 in Egypt, Jacob sent him a present of the choice products of 
 the land of Canaan balm and honey, spices and myrrh, nuts 
 and almonds. 
 
 3. They arrived in Eyypt, and again stood before Joseph, 
 who no sooner saw Benjamin than he expressed his satisfac- 
 tion, and set Simeon free. He asked them concerning that 
 old man of whom they had spoken their father and was 
 obliged to withdraw to indulge that burst of emotion which 
 the sight of his brother inspired. He feasted them sump- 
 tuously that day, and the next morning allowed them to 
 depart with the corn they required. But, to try their feeling 
 towards Benjamin, he caused his own silver cup to be secretly 
 introduced into the mouth of his corn- sack, that he might see 
 whether, when Benjamin should be charged with the theft, 
 they would leave him to his fate, and go home without him. 
 Accordingly, after they had left the town, they were over- 
 taken by a party of Joseph's servants, who ordered them to 
 stop, and charged them with having stolen their master's 
 silver cup. Alarmed at this accusation, but conscious of their 
 innocence, they expressed their readiness to be searched, and 
 declared that any one with whom the cup might be found 
 deserved to die. When the cup was found in Benjamin's 
 sack, they returned with the supposed culprit to the city, and 
 once more stood before the governor of the land. They fell 
 on their faces before him, and, in answer to his reproaches, 
 declared themselves his bondsmen, without attempting to 
 deny or vindicate the apparent guilt of their brother. But 
 Joseph told them it was right that only the guilty should 
 suffer. Benjamin, therefore, he would detain in bondage, 
 but they might gf home. Judah then interceded, and, in a 
 
154 JACOB AND HIS FAMILY GO TO EGYPT. 
 
 most eloquent and touching address, evinced the most tender 
 affection towards his brother and his aged father ; and, 
 declaring the special trust he had incurred, entreated to 
 be taken as a bondsman in the stead of Benjamin. The 
 governor could contain himself no longer ; he made himself 
 known to them " I am Joseph 1 doth my father yet live ? " 
 Perceiving them overwhelmed with apprehension and remorse, 
 he endeavoured to comfort and reassure them, by directing 
 their attention to the designs of Providence " Be not grieved 
 or angry with yourselves that ye sold me hither, for God did 
 send me before you to preserve life." He then embraced 
 them all, and opened to them his desire that they should 
 return and bring their father and their families down to 
 Egypt, where they would enjoy plenty during the remaining 
 years of famine ; and he would procure them a grant of the 
 pastoral district of Goshen for their residence. 
 
 4. Joyful was their return, and rapturous their announce, 
 ment to their father " Joseph is yet alive, and is governoi 
 over all the land of Egypt I" Jacob's heart fainted, and he 
 believed them not. Twenty years he had mourned his 
 beloved Joseph as dead, and it was not easy at once to receive 
 so great a joy. When at length their solemn assurance cre- 
 ated belief, he said, " It is enough ; Joseph my son is yet 
 alive I will go down and see him before I die I" So Jacob 
 left Canaan with all his family and possessions. On the way 
 he paused to worship at the old family altar in Beersheba, 
 and was there favoured with the intimation from God, that 
 the purpose of His providence was, that his race should 
 tarry hi Egypt, to grow into a great nation there ; and that, 
 as such, they should then march forth to take possession of 
 the land of Canaan, their promised inheritance. Jacob'* 
 family consisting of his sons, with their wives and children- 
 at the time it entered Egypt, consisted of seventy-five* per- 
 sons (Acts vii. 14). On entering Egypt, Jacob sent Judah 
 to give notice of his arrival to Joseph, who immediately roue 
 
 In Gen. xlri. 27, we read " seventy." The reason of the difference if this Jacob'! 
 toven ions and a daughter, and their children and grandchildren, made sixty-six per- 
 sons, to whom the account in Acts adds the nine wives of Jacob's eleven sons. The 
 account in Genesis omits these wives, but makes the number seventy, by adding to UM 
 lixty-*ix Jacob himself, and Joseph, with hi* two sons, already in Egypt. 
 
JACOB'S DEATH. 155 
 
 rth in his chariot to meet his father, who, when he saw him, 
 " fell upon his neck, and wept on his neck a good while ;" and, 
 as soon as he could speak, he said, " Now, let me die since 
 I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive." Joseph 
 conducted them into the land of Goshen, which they were 
 to occupy. Having left their flocks and herds there, they 
 proceeded to the metropolis, and were introduced by Joseph 
 to the king, the father separately, and the sons together. 
 Pharaoh was much struck by the venerable aspect of the 
 patriarch, and asked him how old he was? He answered 
 " The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and 
 thirty years : few and evil have the days of the years of my 
 life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of 
 the life of my fathers, in the days of their pilgrimage." 
 
 5. Jacob and his family having taken possession of the 
 district of Goshen, remained there, undisturbed, in their usual 
 pastoral employments for seventeen years, at the end of which 
 Jacob being then 147 years old felt that his last hour 
 drew nigh. He therefore called his sons together, to tell 
 them, in the spirit of prophecy, what should befall them and 
 their tribes in the coming times. As they all stood around 
 him, he gave utterance in the most beautiful language, replete 
 with poetical images, to a wonderful series of predictions 
 respecting the future character, circumstances, and situation 
 of the tribes which were to spring from his several sons. To 
 Judah was allotted the pre-eminence, and a more especial 
 interest in the promises of the covenant ; nor was it obscurely 
 intimated that in his tribe was to arise the promised Deli- 
 verer, whose coming was the main object of the Hebrew 
 covenant, and of the Jewish polity, as established in after 
 years. Joseph was eminently favoured with a double portion ; 
 for Jacob adopted his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as 
 his own children, thereby making them heads of tribes, and 
 entitling them, as such, to be counted as two tribes in the 
 commonwealth of Israel ; but, at the same time, Jacob inti- 
 mated that the tribe of the younger son Ephraim would take 
 a leading part in the nation, and be greater and more 
 renowned than the tribe of the elder Manasseh. 
 
 6. When he had finished blessing his sons, Israel 
 fathered up his feet into the bed, and died. Joseph fell 
 
156 JOSEPH'S DEATH. 
 
 upon the face of his dead father, kissed him, and closed his 
 eyes. Egypt held a solemn mourning for him. His body was 
 embalmed after the manner of the Egyptians, and carried 
 with great state to the land of Canaan, to be laid in the 
 family sepulchre. Such had been his own desire, in the 
 unshaken conviction that the Lord would restore his race to 
 the land which contained that sepulchre, and give it to them 
 for a possession. In the same conviction Joseph himself, 
 fifty-four years after, and just before his death being then 
 110 years old sent for his brethren, and required them, on 
 behalf of the family, to swear to carry up his bones from 
 Egypt, and bury them in the Land of Promise thus, at 
 once, evincing his faith, and taking his last place with the 
 Israelites rather than with the Egyptians. He then died; 
 and, as he had only charged them to remove bis bones with 
 them when the time of their final departure should arrive, 
 htt body wi carefidly preserved in a coffin against that time. 
 
BOOK II. 
 
 CHAPTEK I. B.C. 1571 TO 1491. 
 
 PATRIARCHS. 
 B.C. 
 
 Lerdies .... 1619 
 The new king (dynasty) 
 in Egypt .... 1575 
 Aaron bom 1574 
 
 EGTPT 
 
 Osirtasen III. 
 Aniun-m-gori III 
 Name unknown 
 
 
 B.C. 
 
 1636 
 1621 
 1580 
 1575 
 
 Moses burn .... 1571 
 Moses quits Egypt . 1531 
 Moses return* to Egypt, 
 and bring* forth the 
 Israelites .... 1491 
 
 Araunoph I. . 
 Thothmes I. . 
 Thothmes II. . 
 Thothmes III. 
 
 
 1550 
 1532 
 1505 
 1495 
 
 F.VKNT3 AND rano*. 
 
 B.O. 
 
 Scamander leads a co- 
 lony from Crete, and 
 founds Troy . . . .1541 
 
 Cecrops leads a colony 
 from Sals in Egypt, 
 and founds Athens 1564 
 
 Cadmus carries letters 
 into Greece, and 
 founds Thebes . . 14M 
 
 1. THE posterity of Jacob's sons remained in the land of 
 Goshen, increasing with prodigious rapidity, through the 
 special blessing of Providence, who designed to multiply them 
 soon into a nation. For many years we know little more of 
 them ; but it may be observed that Ephraim and Manasseh, 
 the two sons of Joseph, instructed by their father to prefer 
 the lot of God's chosen people, very early joined the Israelites 
 in Goshen, and followed the same mode of life. All went on 
 very well until the accession of a new dynasty to the throne 
 of Lower Egypt probably a foreign dynasty from Upper 
 Egypt, which knew little and cared less for the memory and 
 services of Joseph. The new government contemplated with 
 alarm the position occupied by an active, closely united, and 
 rapidly increasing body of foreigners in the land of Goshen. 
 It was considered that, unless means were taken to reduce 
 and keep down their numbers, their power would soon be too 
 great for the Egyptians to control. While the troops were 
 olsewhere employed they might get possession of the country, 
 or might at any time ruin Egypt, by going over to its ene- 
 mies in time of war. 
 
 2. Much of this alarm obviously arose from the fact of 
 their living apart by themselves, in Goshen, so that tneir 
 aggregate mass was so apparent as to inspire the Egyptians 
 
158 MOSES BORN. 
 
 with apprehension, and the Israelites with confidence. Had 
 they been dispersed over Egypt, and intermixed with tb 
 native population, nothing of this could have been felt. 
 Knowing how, under ordinary circumstances, a population 
 may be kept in check by oppression and labour, the Egyp- 
 tian government determined to reduce the free-born Israelitei 
 to the condition of serfs, requiring them to "serve with 
 rigour " hi the public works to dig canals, to cultivate tho 
 ground, to build towns and granaries, and to make the &un- 
 dried bricks, compacted with straw, of which they were con- 
 structed. Task-masters were set over them to exact the 
 foil amount of labour ; and those who failed were subjected 
 to severe punishments. But although the yoke upon Israel 
 was made very heavy, the population was not checked. The 
 more they were oppressed, the more their numbers increased. 
 Perceiving this, the king determined to resort to more decisive 
 measures, and enjoined the Hebrew midwives to destroy every 
 male infant hi the birth. Fearing God more than they feared 
 the king, the midwives disregarded this barbarous order. 
 But, determined not to be balked in his politic design, 
 Pharaoh no longer stooped to indirect and secret measures, 
 but openly commanded that every male child thenceforth 
 born should be thrown into the river Nile. 
 
 3. In those days, Jochebed, the wife of Amram, of the 
 tribe of Levi, gave birth to a son. She had already two 
 children, a son named Aaron, and a daughter called Miriam. 
 For three months the mother managed to save her infant 
 from its doom ; and then, finding that she could hide him no 
 longer, she placed him among the flags beside the river, in a 
 basket which had been daubed with slime to keep the water 
 out. In the good providence of God, who intended this 
 infant for great deeds, it happened that he had not lain there 
 long before the king's daughter came to the spot, attended 
 by her maidens, to bathe. Perceiving the basket she sent 
 for it, and was much struck by the extreme beauty of the 
 child, and moved by its infant wail. She knew that it must 
 be a Hebrew child, but resolved to save it; and sent Miriam 
 who had been watching the result to find a nurse for him. 
 She brought the mother, who joyfully received the charge ol 
 nursing her own infant for the king's daughter. 
 
MOSES QUITS EGYPT. 159 
 
 4. In due time the boy was taken home to the princess, 
 who became attached to him, regarded him as her son, and 
 gave him the name of MOSES (from the water), because she 
 had saved him from the water. He was duly instructed in 
 the learning and science of the Egyptians who were then, 
 perhaps, the most cultivated people in the world ; and it is 
 eaid that in due time he rose to high employments, and 
 rendered important services to the state.* At length, it 
 eeems to have been considered necessary that he should, by 
 Borne legal form or ceremony, be recognised as "the son of 
 Pharaoh's daughter," to qualify him for higher distinctions 
 than he had yet attained. But when it came to this point, 
 he refused the proposed adoption, and chose rather to take 
 his part with the oppressed people to whom he by birth 
 belonged. He repaired to the land of Goshen, and became 
 an eye-witness of the misery which they still suffered. One 
 day, seeing an Egyptian task-master beating an Israelite, he 
 fell upon him, slew him, and hid his body in the sand. The 
 next day, in endeavouring to pacify two quarrelling Israelites, 
 he was treated with insult, and jeeringly reminded of what 
 he had done the day before. Alarmed at finding that the 
 deed was known, and fearing the vengeance of the Egyptians, 
 Moses fled from the country without delay ; being then forty 
 years of age. 
 
 5. Moses travelled eastward, and came to a territory on 
 the eastern arm of the Eed Sea, occupied by a branch of the 
 family descended from Midian, one of Abraham's sons by 
 Keturah. Here, while resting beside a well, he interfered to 
 protect seven young women of the country from some shep- 
 herds, and drew for them the water their flocks required. 
 This led to his introduction to the father of these damsels, 
 Jethro, the prince and priest of Midian, who persuaded the 
 stranger from Egypt to take the charge of his flocks, and gave 
 him in marriage Zipporah, one of his daughters. By he* he 
 had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. Forty years Mosep fed 
 the flocks of Jethro, his father-in-law at proper seasons 
 leading them for pasture to the well-watered valleys ol toe 
 
 This is not said in the Biblical narrative. But it is probable m itself, is afflnn*^ bf 
 Jwephus (Antiq. ii. 10), and is more than hinted at by St. Stephen, who, aUnding to tb 
 jeriod of Moses' life, says, he wa " mighty in word and deed" (Acts fii; 
 
160 HOSES RETURNS TO EGYPT. 
 
 Sinai mountains. At the end of that time, when he was ia 
 this quarter, hard by the Mount Horeb, he was startled at 
 seeing a bush burning, and yet remaining nnconsumed. He 
 advanced to examine this wonder ; and as he drew near, the 
 voice of God called to him by name from out of the bush, for- 
 bidding him to come nearer, and admonishing him to take the 
 sandals from his feet hi reverence of the Divine presence, 
 which rendered holy the ground on which he stood. The 
 Voice then proceeded to announce that the cries of the op- 
 pressed Hebrews had entered heaven, and that the time was 
 now come to bring them forth from Egypt, and give them 
 possession of the Promised Land. 
 
 6. Moses himself was then required to become the agent 
 for working their deliverance ; but he shrunk from the re- 
 sponsibilities and care of this great commission. He excused 
 himself by reason of his wanting that persuasive speech which 
 had power over men. But, to meet this, his eloquent brother 
 Aaron was joined in the commission ; and when Moses per- 
 sisted, on the ground that the Israelites were not likely to 
 listen to him, or to believe that he had been sent by the God 
 of their fathers, he was empowered to work miracles for their 
 conviction. No longer able to refuse, Moses took leave of 
 Jethro, and returned to Egypt ; and as he approached the 
 land of Goshen, was met by Aaron, who had in a dream been 
 warned of his coming. The brothers called together the 
 elders of Israel, and Moses opened to them his commission, 
 and confirmed it by the appointed miracles. Having satisfied 
 them, they all repaired to the court of the reigning king, of 
 whom Moses demanded, in the name of JEHOVAH, the God of 
 the Hebrews, that the descendants of Israel should be allowed 
 to quit his dominions. The Egyptians had, however, by this 
 time, found out the value of their forced services, and the 
 king flatly refused to listen to so extraordinary a proposal. 
 Indeed, affecting to consider such vain notions the effect of 
 idleness, he directed their labours to be increased, and their 
 bondage to be made more bitter. 
 
 7. Moses was then obliged to resort to "the plagues," 
 which he was commissioned to inflict, in order to compel 
 Pharaoh to consent to their departure, and at the same time 
 to demonstrate the greatness and power of the God whom thd 
 
DEATH OF THE FIRST-BORN OF THE EGYPTIANS. 161 
 
 Hebrews worshipped. The heart of Pharaoh was very hard, 
 and it required a succession of the most terrible inflictions to 
 extort his consent. The waters were changed into blood ; 
 frogs, lice, and gnats, successively inundated the land ; a 
 murrain destroyed the cattle ; the people were afflicted with 
 painful and noisome ulcers ; a tremendous hail - storm de- 
 stroyed the fruits of the ground ; clouds of locusts consumed 
 all that the hail had left ; and this was followed by a thick 
 darkness which overspread all the land except that part which 
 the Israelites occupied. By some cunning sleight, a few o 
 these miracles were imitated by the Egyptian magicians, 
 which much encouraged Pharaoh hi his obstinacy. At times 
 he wavered ; but as at the end of all these plagues he still 
 remained inexorable, one last and terrible infliction was 
 threatened, and Moses was apprised that it would be effectual. 
 This was no less than the sudden death of all the first-born 
 in Egypt. Accordingly at midnight, the first-born, from the 
 highest to the lowest, were smitten, and there was no house 
 fro oa which came not the wail for the dead. This calamity, 
 like the others, touched not the Israelites, whose door-posts 
 were sprinkled with the blood of a lamb offered up in sacrifice 
 to God, according to his previous appointment. And that 
 the memory of this signal distinction, when the Destroyer 
 passed over the blood-sprinkled doors of the Israelites, and 
 smote the first-born of the Egyptians only, might be preserved 
 to all generations, the Lord instituted the feast of the PASS- 
 OVER ;* and as a further memorial, he directed that the first- 
 born should henceforth be set apart for his service. Exod. 
 vii. to xiii. 
 
 8. Although the king of Egypt had held out so long, his 
 people had before this been anxious that the Israelites should 
 be J ; smissed ; and now they were no longer to be restrained. 
 With their dead around them, and not knowing what might 
 befall them next, they insisted on the instant departure of the 
 Israelites. The king was not able to resist the popular im- 
 pulse, and perhaps was not at the moment willing, for the 
 first-born of the throne lay also dead. He gave his permission, 
 and the people in every possible way urged and hastened theil 
 going forth. The Hebrews, however, took this opportunity 
 
 Thi feut hat been mentioned before, p. 116. 
 
162 MOSES LEADS FORflT THE ISRAELITEi. 
 
 of universal consternation to demand* the wages of their 
 long and laborious services ; and the Egyptians in theii 
 eagerness to get them out of the country, were in no humour 
 to contest the matter, but hastened to load them with "jewels 
 of gold and jewels of silver," together with costly raiment. 
 This, together with their numerous flocks and herds, caused 
 the Israelites to go forth from Egypt a wealthy people. They 
 had also become very numerous ; for the men fit to bear arms 
 amounted to six hundred thousand, which implies a total 
 population of about two and a half millions ;-J- besides these 
 there was a large " mixed multitude," which chose rather to 
 take their part with the Israelites than to remain in Egypt. 
 Very probably a large proportion of these were foreigners 
 who had, like the Israelites, been held in slavery by the 
 Egyptians : the rest may have been Egyptians of the lower 
 and more despised orders. At all events, this " mixed" body 
 appears from the history to have formed the rabble of the 
 immense multitude that quitted Egypt 215 years after Jacob 
 and his family entered that country, and 430 years after the 
 founder of the family went to the land of Canaan. 
 
 9. The ends for which that family had been sent into 
 Egypt were now completely answered. Under the protection 
 of the most powerful people in those parts, and in one of the 
 most fertile countries of the world, they had rapidly multiplied 
 into a great nation ; so that, notwithstanding the ill feeling 
 which ultimately prevailed, Egypt had been compelled to act 
 as a nursing mother to Israel. During their residence in 
 Egypt, the original character of the Israelites had been some- 
 what modified by intimacy with Egyptian habits and ideas, 
 and by familiarity with Egyptian modes of life, though to a 
 less degree than might have happened, had they not lived so 
 much apart by themselves in the land of Goshen. Never- 
 theless, they must have acquired a knowledge of agriculture, 
 and of the arts of settled and social life in which the Egyp- 
 tians excelled, and so far they had undergone a useful training 
 for their destined condition. And inasmuch as it was the 
 divine intention that they should exchange the comparative 
 
 * Incorrectly rendered "borrow "in our version. 
 
 + Tims, the men fit to bear arms are seldom half the entire male population; and this 
 fain must be doubled for the females, who are never less, and generally more numerous 1 
 
 &u tin malt*. 
 
CHARACTER OP THE ISRAELITES IS EGYPT. 163 
 
 Inertness of pastoral life for the cares and labours of agricul- 
 ture, even the bitter bondage hi Egypt may, hi its real effect, 
 have been a serviceable schooling of the nation into those 
 habits of regular industry which their destined condition would 
 require. On the other hand, the iron of their bondage had 
 entered into their soul ; their religion had become tainted 
 with the superstitions of Egypt ; and their mind and character 
 had acquired the hue which continued bondage never fails to 
 impart. They had become a timid, selfish, vain, idle, suspi- 
 cious, unconfiding, mean, and ungenerous people. It soon 
 appeared that the generation which quitted Egypt wa 
 utterly unfit to enter Canaan ; and several generations passed 
 before the taint of the Egyptian bondage was wholly purged 
 from the blood of Israel. 
 
 P. 8 
 
1*6 
 
 CHAPTER II. B. C. 1491. 
 
 FMnfe of the Rd ?V sa, 
 The first fall of Manna, 
 
 B. c. 
 1491 
 1491 
 
 Defeat of Ainalekites, 1491 
 
 Arrival in Sinai, 1401 
 
 1. WITH a view to the condition and character of the 
 people, and their unfitne*) for immediate action, it was not 
 the Divine intention that the emancipated Israelites should 
 go directly and by the nearest way to the land of Canaan, 
 entering it on the south-west, where the Philistines and other 
 warlike tribes were stationed; but to go round by the desert 
 and approach on the south-east, from which quarter they 
 might get into the very heart of the country before any 
 serious opposition could be encountered. But first they were 
 to be led into the peninsula of Sinai, among the mountains 
 where Moses had seen the burning bush, that they might 
 there be properly organized, and receive the laws and insti- 
 tutions necessary to keep them as a peculiar people among 
 the nations. In their march the Israelites could not be mis- 
 taken in their course ; for a miraculous pillar, of cloud by day 
 and of fire by night, went always before them to direct their 
 way. They rested whenever it stood still, and whenever it 
 moved they followed. 
 
 2. From Egypt the hosts of Israel marched towards the 
 western arm* of the Red Sea, round the head of which lay 
 the usual road to the peninsula of Sinai. On arriving at the 
 sea, they encamped on its hither shore in such a manner that 
 they had the sea before them and the mountains behind, and 
 could only retreat by returning to Egypt by the way they 
 came or by going round by the head of the gulf into the 
 peninsula. 
 
 3. In the three days which had passed since the Israelites left 
 Egypt, the alarm of the Egyptian king subsided into resentment 
 for the calamities which Egypt had suffered for their sake ; 
 the loss of the services of so large a body of well-trained serfs, 
 also a matter of no small moment : and, therefore, when 
 
 Now the Gulf of Suet. 
 
PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. 
 
 165 
 
 he received information that they had encamped in so disad- 
 vantageous a position as that which has been described, he 
 determined to follow them with his troops, and, by cutting ofr 
 their retreat round the head of the gulf, either drive them 
 back into Egypt by the way they came, or destroy them 
 where they lay. Dreadful was the consternation of the 
 Hebrews when the appearance of Pharaoh and his host made 
 known to them their danger. Only a miracle could save 
 them ; and that miracle was wrought. At the command of 
 God, Moses uplifted his rod over the waters, when imme- 
 diately a strong wind 
 arose, by which a 
 broad track was open- 
 ed through the sea 
 for the passage of the 
 chosen race, dryshod, 
 to the other side, where, 
 by the break of morn- 
 ing, they all arrived in 
 safety. With marvel- 
 lous temerity,Pharaoh, 
 with his chariots and 
 horsemen, entered in 
 pursuit ; when Moses, 
 from the further shore, again stretched forth his rod, and the 
 waters suddenly returned and overwhelmed them all. Thia 
 great event, which was celebrated by the daughters of Israel 
 in triumphant hymns, had a most salutary effect upon the 
 neighbouring nations, impressing them with a great dread of 
 the mighty God by whom the Israelites were protected. 
 
 4. The now secure multitude tarried a short time at this 
 place, and then marched southward for three days through 
 the wilderness of Shur, where they began to be in want of 
 Mater. This caused them to murmur greatly, especially 
 when, on coming to Marah, they found water which was too 
 bitter to be of any use. To pacify it Moses was instructed 
 to cast a branch of a certain tree into it, and it then became 
 sweet and drinkable. Their next resting-place was at Elim, 
 where twelve wells, shaded by seventy palm trees, gave 
 abundant water to the people and their flocks. 
 
 108. Egyptian War Chariot. 
 
166 THE FIRST PALL OP MANNA. 
 
 0. Journeying from Elim, the people having exhausted 
 the provisions they had brought from Egypt, began to suffer 
 hunger. On this they gave way to their usual unmanly 
 wailings, and to the most ungenerous reflections upon their 
 great leader. They forgot the miracles of God, and remem- 
 bered only the " flesh pots " of Egypt. God rebuked them ; 
 but he promised that they should have meat in the evening, 
 and in the morning bread to the full. This he made good 
 by causing a vast flight of quails to rest that evening upon 
 the camp; and of these large quantities were taken and 
 dressed for food. And in the morning, when the dew was 
 gone, the ground was found to be covered, as by hoar-frost, 
 with small, round, white, particles, like coriander seed for size 
 and shape, and the taste of which was like fine bread 
 sweetened with honey. The wondering inquiry Man-hu? 
 (what is this ?) which the Israelites addressed to one another 
 on beholding it, caused this food to be called Manna. This 
 proved to be the commencement of a supply of " bread from 
 heaven," which was furnished daily, except on the Sabbaths, 
 fr forty years. Still advancing southward towards the upper 
 region of Sinai, the Israelites passed over an arid tract of 
 country and encamped at Rephidim. As no water was found 
 at this place, the people broke forth into their usual murmurs; 
 and on this occasion, so wild and fierce did their passions rise 
 under the agonies of thirst, that Moses and Aaron were in 
 danger of being stoned for having brought them to that wil- 
 derness, unless some immediate relief were given. Moses was 
 instructed by God to take some of the elders as witnesses, and 
 strike with his rod a rock in Horeb. He did so ; and from that 
 rock an abundant stream immediately broke forth and flowed to 
 the Hebrew camp. Moses signalized this transacticn by call- 
 calling the place Massa (temptation), and Meribah (strife). 
 
 6. By this time the movements of the Israelites had attracted 
 the attention of the inhabitants of the peninsula of Sinai ; and 
 that warlike tribe, the Amalekites, whose quarters the Hebrew 
 host now approached, determined to assault them, stimulated, 
 perhaps, by the hope of acquiring the Egyptian wealth with 
 which they were laden. On this Moses directed a valiant 
 yonng man named Joshua, who always attended him, to draw 
 out a body of choice troops, and give the Amalekites battla 
 
ARRIVAL AT SINAI. 167 
 
 on the morrow. The next morning when Joshua marched 
 forth against the Amalekites, Moses, accompanied by his 
 brother Aaron, and by Hur, ascended to the top of a moun- 
 tain and prayed tc God in view of the warriors and the 
 people. It was soon discovered that while the hands of 
 Moses were uplifted in prayer, Israel prevailed over Amalek ; 
 but that when his hands hung down in weariness, Amalek 
 was the stronger ; and, therefore, Aaron and Hur placed 
 themselves beside the prophet and sustained his interceding 
 hands until the evening, by which time the Amalekites were 
 put to utter rout. This signal success in their first military 
 enterprise greatly encouraged the Israelites ; and by Divine 
 authority and command, the race of Amalek was, for this 
 first and most unprovoked act of hostility against the chosen 
 people, devoted to utter extermination. 
 
 7. After this the Hebrews advanced to Mount Sinai, called 
 also Mount Horeb, where the Lord had appeared to Moses in 
 the burning bush. While the host remained encamped in the 
 valleys below, Moses was frequently called up by the Lord 
 into the mountain ; and sometimes, by command, he took up 
 Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, Joshua, and other principal persons, a 
 part of the way with him ; and they were permitted to be- 
 hold that resplendence which is named " the glory of God." 
 Never was the intercourse between God and a man made so 
 obvious to the senses as it was at this time, with regard to 
 Moses, upon this mountain ; and the reason evidently was, 
 that a weak-minded and suspicious people might be the more 
 strongly convinced of his Divine mission, and the more readily 
 obey him as thei 1 * leader. An infant nation, circumstanced 
 like the Israelites in leaving Egypt, required, more than an 
 advanced people can well apprehend, that kind of evidence 
 which may be seen and handled ; and this consideration will 
 be found to explain many circumstances in the history of the 
 measures which God at this time took with the Israelites. 
 
 8. The first important act was to obtain from the assembled 
 nation a distinct acknowledgment of the supreme authority of 
 Jehovah, and the promise of implicit obedience to him. This 
 was becomingly and cheerfully given by the people ; and by 
 that act they became a nation with the Lord himself for their 
 King in a sense in which h never was the king of any othef 
 
168 ARRIVAL AT SINAI. 
 
 people. This it is important to remember, as the clearneM 
 of the history very much depends upon the recollection of the 
 fact, that the Lord was not only the God of the Israelites, 
 and of the whole world ; and not only the King of the Israel- 
 ites, in the same sense in which he was and is King and 
 Governor of the universe; but that he was, in a peculiar 
 sense, and for a peculiar purpose, their real political and 
 national King and Head, and as such entitled to direct the 
 affairs of the state, and to require political and civil obedience 
 from his people. His sovereign power being recognised, the 
 Lord appointed the third day after as that in which he would 
 appear with glory upon the mountain, to deliver the laws to 
 which he required obedience. Meanwhile the people were to 
 purify themselves against that day ; and fences were placed 
 around the mountain, that none might trespass too near tho 
 sacred presence. 
 
 9. On that day, being the fiftieth after the departure from 
 Egypt, the Lord descended upon the top of Mount Sinai, which 
 then trembled greatly, while the lightning flashed, and the 
 thunders rolled, and the summit was enveloped in a vast body 
 of flame, from which a great smoke arose. The awe-struck 
 multitude remained at the foot of the mountain ; but Mosea 
 and Aaron ascended, although only the former dared to enter 
 the cloud which veiled the presence of God. No form was 
 eeen by the people or by Moses ; but a VOICE was heard 
 giving utterance to the words of the Decalogue. So awful 
 was that voice, and so appalling were the circumstances, that 
 the people were struck with fear, and entreated that God 
 would henceforth make known to them his will through Moses, 
 and that they might thenceforth hear the VOICE and the 
 "mighty thunderings" no more. Accordingly, in successive 
 visits to the mountain, Moses received the great body of civil, 
 ceremonial, and political laws and institutions, which, on his 
 return, he wrote down as we now find them in the Pentateuch, 
 and read to the people. The greater number of these insti- 
 tutions were delivered to him on one occasion when he was 
 absent not less than forty days on the mountain, at the end 
 of which he received, written upon tables of stone, the ten 
 fundamental laws of the Decalogue, which had before been 
 orally delivered. 
 
16t 
 
 CHAPTER IIL B.O. 1491 TO 1490 
 
 The Law de!i>red 
 abernacle completed 
 
 B. C. 
 
 1491 
 1490 
 
 Aaron and bis eons appointed 
 Priests 
 
 1*0 
 
 1. DURING his absence, Moses left the charge of the people 
 to Aaron and Hur. After long waiting, they gave him up for 
 lost, and ceased to expect his return. The salutary restraint 
 of his presence being thus withdrawn, the infatuated Israelites 
 clamoured to Aaron for a sensible image or similitude of the 
 God they worshipped, such as other nations had, that it might 
 go before them, and be always among them. This was con- 
 trary to the very first law which the people had lately heard 
 delivered from amidst the thunders of Sinai. From the pre- 
 valen* danger of idolatry, they had been strictly enjoined not 
 on]-} jiot to worship other gods, but not to make any figure or 
 similitude or symbol of the true God for the purpose of worship. 
 But, heedless of this, the people persisted in their demand, 
 nd Aaron weakly yielded ; and of the ornaments which the/ 
 contributed, he caused 
 to be made a golden 
 calf probably because 
 under the form of a 
 calf or young bull, the 
 Egyptians worshipped 
 their most popular god, 
 Osiris. No sooner was 
 the golden calf com- 
 pleted than Aaron pro- 
 claimed a feast to the 
 Lord, which the peo- 
 ple celebrated with 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 ~~^ 
 
 
 
 
 109. Egyptian Calf-Idol. 
 
 dances and heathenish sports, before the degrading symbol of 
 his presence which they had set up. 
 
 2. Meanwhile, Moses was dismissed from his high con- 
 ference with God on the clouded mountain top ; and in hii 
 descent, with the tables of the law in bis hands, was joined 
 
170 THE LAW DELIVERED. 
 
 by the faithful Joshua, who had remained below. As 
 proceeded, they arrived at a point which commanded a 
 view of the camp and the proceedings there. No sooner 
 did the Prophet behold the people abandoning themselves to 
 heathenish merriment before their idol, than he was seized 
 with vehement indignation, and cast from him the tables ol 
 the law with such force that they were broken in pieces. He 
 hastened forward, and his presence struck the crowd with 
 dismay. He broke down and destroyed their image ; and 
 after reproving Aaron, called around him the men of his own 
 tribe, the Levites, and ordered them to execute judgment on 
 the revolters. Three thousand men fell in the slaughter 
 which they made. After this, Moses was commanded to pre- 
 pare two new tablets of stone, which he took up to the Mount, 
 where they received the words which had been graven on the 
 broken tables. When he came down from the Mount on this 
 occasion, it was found that his countenance had become so 
 radiant that the people were not able to look steadfastly at 
 his face ; and hence he covered his head with a veil. 
 
 3. Order being restored, Moses proceeded to execute the 
 commands which he had received during his long stay in the 
 Mount ; and the recent exhibition which the people had made 
 of their tendency to sensible symbols and material idols, only 
 the more evinced the necessity for the measures which were 
 taken. A purely spiritual worship of an invisible God, and a 
 true allegiance to an invisible King, were beyond the reach of 
 their understanding, and their condition. Therefore, in so far 
 as his ineffable greatness could stoop to the littleness of man, 
 he determined to make his presence among them felt by sensible 
 manifestations, by ministers, officers, and ceremonies. He was 
 their King ; and he determined as such to dwell among them, 
 and to connect with the requisitions of his peculiar and politick 
 character, such religious observances as would constantly 
 remind them that he who stooped to be their King, was also 
 their God, and the Lord of the universe. 
 
 4. In the first place, they were to provide for him * 
 palace- temple, con taming all things meet for the state of a 
 Divine King ; a throne, a table, an incense altar, a superb 
 candelabrum, all formed of^ or overlaid with, the finest gold. 
 The throne was the ark, th table that of shewbread. The 
 
TABERNACLE COMPLETED. 
 
 dwelling itself the TABERNACLE, was necessarily so made 
 to be taken to pieces, and carried from place to place as occasion 
 required. When standing it was an oblong structure fifty-five 
 feet in length, by eighteen in breadth and in height, formed 
 of acacia wood overlaid with plates of gold, and the whole 
 cverhung with rich palls and curtains. In the enclosure in 
 front was erected a large but portable brazen-altar, on which 
 were to be offered daily and occasional sacrifices ; and here 
 also was an immense basin or laver of the same metal, in 
 which the ministers of the Divine King were to perform their 
 ablutions. When the sacred edifice was completed and set 
 up, the pillar of cloud, which has already been mentioned, 
 moved from its previous station, and rested upon it ; and a 
 wondrous resplendence called the Shechinah, or "glory of 
 God," filled the place, and ultimately concentrated over the 
 ark, where it became the appropriate and abiding symbol of 
 the Divine presence. 
 
 5. For the state of the Great King, ministers and officers 
 were necessary. According to patriarchal usage, there was 
 no distinct order of priesthood such sacerdotal offices as their 
 simple worship required being discharged by the first-born. In 
 conformity with this, the first-born had, as we have seen, been 
 set apart to the service of God on the departure from Egypt, 
 with a further reference to a commemoration thereby of their 
 preservation, when all the first-born of the Egyptians were 
 destroyed. But now that the Israelites had evinced their need 
 of a more ostensible system of worship, it was deemed proper, 
 for the sake of better organization, that a whole tribe, instead of 
 the first-born of all tribes, should be set apart for this service. 
 The tribe of Levi, to which Moses and Aaron belonged, was 
 therefore chosen for the general service of the theocratical 
 government; and the family of Aaron was selected for the higher 
 and more special services of the priesthood, Aaron himself being 
 the high-priest. All these had peculiar dresses suitable to their 
 service, which they were to use when they officiated : at other 
 times they were dressed like the rest of the community. The 
 dress of the high-priest was very splendid, especially by reason 
 of a breast-plate of gold, in which were set twelve precious 
 etones, on each of which was graven the name of a tribe ia 
 Israel. This was called the Urim and Thummim. 
 
172 CONSECRATION OF AARON AND HI8 SONS. 
 
 6. To support the court and ministers of the Great King 
 which involved also a provision for public worship, it was 
 directed that the Levitical tribe should have one-tenth (tithe), 
 and the first fruits of the produce of the fields and of the 
 flocks. The tithe was what kings were in the habit of exacting 
 for the support of the government, and as a sort of quit-rent 
 for the soil, of which they were regarded the sovereign pro- 
 prietors ; and more than once does the Lord assert this right, 
 as King, to the soil of Palestine. Besides, the tribe of Levi 
 was to have no territorial inheritance ; and as their exclusion 
 left more for the other tribes, they had a claim of right to com- 
 pensation from those tribes ; for the few towns which were 
 given to them for residence were no adequate compensation 
 for their foregoing an equal heritage in the soil of the Promised 
 Land. 
 
 7. The people worked with ardour, and contributed with 
 liberaKty and zeal, in giving effect to all those designs and 
 operations ; for a gorgeous regality and theocracy, with a 
 splendid court and imposing ritual, were exactly suited to 
 their condition of mind, and gave them a feeling of importance 
 and concentration, which they could not well have realized 
 by any other means. Eight days after the solemn consecration 
 of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood, their ministrations 
 commenced by the first burnt-offering upon the altar. On 
 that occasion the Lord was pleased to signify his complacency 
 by the appearance of that "glory" or resplendence, of which we 
 have so often spoken, and from which a fire now darted forth 
 which consumed the burnt-offering that lay upon the altar. 
 At this sign of favour and acceptance the people shouted and 
 fell upon their faces in adoration (Lev. ix.) The fire thus 
 kindled was commanded to be continually kept up (Lev. vi. 
 12, 13) ; nor was it lost until the Babylonish captivity. No 
 fire but this was lawful in any ministerial service, as two of 
 the sons of Aaron, called Nadab and Abihu, found to their 
 cost; for when, through carelessness or wilful daring, they 
 put common fire in their censers, and offered incense there- 
 with, they were struck dead ; a suffocating flame shot through 
 and destroyed them, without injuring their bodies or their 
 garments. 
 
 8. Paring the subsequent stay at Sinai, great jpains wei 
 
CK*DER OP ENCAMPiMENT OF THE TRIBES. 
 
 178 
 
 taken to organise the vast body which now composed the 
 Hebrew nation. A census was taken, which exhibited nearly 
 the same result as the rough estimate given on quitting 
 Egypt, being rather more than 600,000 men fit to bear arms, 
 which, as we have shewn, is usually one-fourth of the entire 
 population (Num. i.) A particular account of the order by 
 which the marchings and encampments of this vast host was 
 regulated is given in Num. ii. This regulated movement 
 and orderly disposition must have been very imposing, whilst 
 nothing could be more effective for preventing confusion. 
 The tribes usually encamped so as to form a hollow square, 
 in the centre of which was the tabernacle, within a smaller 
 iquare formed by the tents of the sacerdotal tribe according 
 to the following order. 
 
 EAST. FIRST DIVISION CAMP OF JUDAH : 186,400. 
 
 
 
 
 t 
 
 JUDAH, 
 
 
 
 
 co_ 
 
 74,600. 
 
 
 9 
 
 S 
 
 I8SACHAB AND 
 
 ZEBULTTH, 
 
 I 
 
 .. 
 
 64,400. 
 
 67,400. 
 
 
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 9. For the idea of another excellent arrangement, Mosei 
 indebted to Jethro, his father-in-law, who came from hi 
 borne, which was at no great distance, to congratulate th 
 
{74 APPOINTMENT OF INFERIOR JUDGES. 
 
 Deliverer of Israel, and to bring to him his wife and tw 
 sons. During his stay this old man observed with concern 
 the great labour which Moses had taken upon himself, IB 
 hearing the complaints and determining the differences of so 
 great a people ; and fearing that he would soon be utterly 
 worn out by such incessant labour, he counselled him to 
 commit the hearing of secondary causes to subordinate officers, 
 some over thousands, some over hundreds, some over fifties, 
 and some over tens reserving for his own hearing only the 
 weightier causes, and appeals from the inferior tribunals. 
 This counsel being approved, was put into immediate execu- 
 tion, and the order thus established was long after preserved 
 among the Israelites. 
 
 10. In the sequestered wilderness of Sinai, nearly a year 
 was spent by the Hebrew people, when, the constitution of 
 their civil and ecclesiastical polity being completed, the re- 
 moval of the cloudy pillar from off the tabernacle, gave tne 
 signal to depart, in the twentieth day of the second month 
 the second year after the departure from 
 
175 
 
 CHAPTER IV. B.C. 1490 TO 1489. 
 
 The Israelites leave Sinai . 
 
 Supply of (,)u;ii!s ..... 
 Sedition of Miriam and Aaron 
 Arrival at Kadesh Barnea . . 
 Spies sent into Canaau . . 
 
 B.C. 
 
 1490 
 14'JO 
 1490 
 1490 
 1490 
 
 Their ill report of the land discourages 
 the people 149 
 
 Sentence to wander 40 years in the 
 Desert 1490 
 
 Leave Kadesk Barnea .... 148f 
 
 1. IN the journey from Sinai to the frontiers of Canaan, 
 several occurrences evinced the still intractable and unmanly 
 character of the people, and their unfitness to receive the 
 inherence promised to their fathers. The renewed fatigues 
 and privations of travel through the Desert soon raised their 
 murmurs, which, at the third stage, became so outrageous, 
 that their Divine King manifested his displeasure by causing 
 a, fire to rage in the outskirts of the camp, which was only 
 stayed at the intercession of Moses, when the people recog- 
 nised the hand of God. Hence the place was called Taberah 
 (the burning]. 
 
 2. The next offence commenced among the " mixed mul- 
 titude " which accompanied the Hebrew host, but involved 
 many of the Israelites. Whatever fortitude they had, soon 
 gave way before the privations of the Desert. There was, 
 indeed, plenty of manna; but they had grown dainty, and 
 "their souls loathed that light food." They lamented that 
 they had ever left Egypt, and remembered, with tender regret, 
 the cooling melons, the leeks, the onions, the garlick, and the 
 other fruits and vegetables which they had enjoyed in abun- 
 dance ; as well as the fish and the meat, which in that rich 
 land they had "eaten to the full." All this greatly oppressed 
 the spirit of Moses, and his address to God on that occasion 
 marks his deep despondency. To comfort him, and to enable 
 him the better to sustain his heavy charge, he was directed 
 to choose seventy competent men from the elders of Israel, 
 who should act as a council, arid assist him in the govern- 
 ment of the people. These being nominated by Moses, wer 
 to be brought to the door of the tabernacle, where the Divina 
 King gave undoubted signs of their acceptance. 
 
176 SEDITION OV MIRIAM AND AARON. 
 
 3. As to the murmuring people, it was promised not in 
 kindness, but in anger that on the morrow, and for a month 
 after, they should have "meat to the full." Accordingly, the 
 miracle of the quails was repeated ; and so abundant was the 
 Bupply of these birds, that not only were the people able to 
 glut themselves for the time, but to preserve a great quantity 
 for future use. In the midst of their over-feeding on this 
 meat, their incensed God caused a terrible plague to break 
 out among them, whereby great numbers were destroyed. 
 Excessive indulgence in a kind of food to which people have 
 not been lately accustomed, produces a mortal fever well 
 known to travellers ; and this was probably the instrument 
 employed in punishing the gluttonous people, who found a 
 grave at Kibroth Hattaavah (the graves of hungering). 
 
 4. At Hazeroth, the spirit of opposition to Moses broke 
 ont in his own family, in consequence of his having married 
 the foreign woman Zipporah, who had lately been brought 
 among them. Miriam, the sister of Moses, who had previ- 
 ously held the chief place among the women in Israel, and who 
 was now probably jealous of the respect paid to the wife of 
 Moses, was the leader in this affair, and was soon joined by 
 Aaron, who probably feared the influence which the newly 
 arrived family were likely to acquire in prejudice to his own 
 sons, on whom the priesthood had been conferred. At all 
 events, their feeling was bad, and as the expression of it 
 tended to undermine the authority of Moses, the Lord testified 
 his displeasure by smiting Miriam with leprosy, and as a leper 
 she was excluded from the camp. But in seven days she was 
 restored at the intercession of Moses, after Aaron had humbled 
 himself, and acknowledged their joint offence. 
 
 5. Nothing remarkable occurred in the march through 
 the wilderness of Paran until the arrival at Kadesh Barnea, 
 on the southern border of the Promised Land, when Moses 
 encouraged the people to proceed boldly, and take possession of 
 thei heritage. But they betrayed some diffidence, and re- 
 solved first to send twelve spies, one from each tribe, to 
 traverse the country, and to bring them an account of the 
 land and its inhabitants, After an absence of forty days, 
 the spies came back with a large cluster of grapes, and other 
 fruits of the country many of which were new to men from 
 
SENTENCE TO WANDER FORTY TEARS IN THE DESERT. 177 
 
 Egypt. Of the country itself, and of its productions, they 
 gave a very glowing account ; but the inhabitants they de- 
 ecribed as warlike and, in some places, gigantic, dwelling in 
 tigh- walled and seemingly impregnable cities; and they 
 declared it as their opinion, that however desirable the 
 country, the Israelites were by no means equal to the con- 
 quest of it from the present inhabitants. This statement filled 
 the timorous mr.ltitude with dismay ; and they threatened to 
 etone two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, who proclaimed 
 their conviction that, with the Divine aid, which was pro- 
 mised to them, they were fully equal to the enterprize. 
 Breaking out into open mutiny, they even talked of appoint- 
 ing a leader to conduct them back to their bondage in Egypt. 
 6. For this last melancholy display of their utter unfit- 
 Bess for the promised inheritance, of their insensibility to the 
 great things which had been done for them, and of their gross 
 incapacity of comprehending his great designs, the Lord's 
 anger was greatly kindled against them. The mysterious 
 "glory" suddenly appeared in the cloud which rested upon the 
 tabernacle ; and that manifestation of the present God struck 
 mute every clamorous tongue, and filled al) hearts with fear. 
 The Divine voice now threatened instant extinction to the 
 revolters, and promised to make of Moses and his family a 
 nation greater and mightier than they. This offer had been 
 made on a former occasion, and was then, as now, reverently 
 declined by the disinterested prophet ; and he and his brother 
 lay prostrate before the cloud, with their faces to the ground, 
 interceding for the people. Their prayer had power with 
 God, and the doom of instant death and disinheritance was 
 verted. But it was pronounced that not one of the tainted 
 generation composed of those who were of full ag on leaving 
 Egypt should enter the Promised Land ; but that they 
 should wander for forty years* to and fro in the wilderness, 
 until they were all dead, and until their children had grown 
 up into a generation fitter than they to receive the heritage 
 of Abraham. From this doom only the two faithful spies, 
 Joshua and Caleb, were exempted: the ten others were 
 smitten with that instant death which their conduct deserved 
 Num. xiv.) 
 
 * Forty jean from the departure from Egypt> Marly 88 from this point of * 
 
!79 LEAVE KADESH BARNEA. 
 
 7. This awful denunciation had the remarkable, but not 
 unnatural, effect of driving the Israelites from their childish 
 timidity to the very opposite extreme of unauthorised and 
 presumptuous rashness. The Canaanites and Amalekites 
 had already taken alarm, and possessed themselves of the 
 passes in the mountains which lay before the Hebrew host. 
 Notwithstanding this advantage on the side of the enemy, 
 and in spite of the earnest remonstrances of Moses, a large 
 body of the Israelites determined to march forward and take 
 possession of the country. They were driven back with 
 great slaughter ; and immediately after, in obedience to the 
 Divine mandate, the camp at Kadesh Barnea was troken up, 
 and the people conducted back into the desert towards the 
 Bed Sea. 
 
 8. Here, hi the deserts between Palestine and Sinai, they 
 wandered their appointed time, the generation which received 
 the law in Horeb becoming gradually extinct. During all 
 this time they continued to lead the same pastoral or Bedouin 
 life as they had done before, living on manna and the produce 
 of their flocks and herds ; and removing from one station to 
 another, as directed by the pillared cloud which rested upon 
 the tabernacle. 
 
CHAPTER V. B.C. 1489 TO 1452. 
 
 tATCUBCHS. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 ebdlion of Korah . 1471 
 Ifcturn to Kadesh Bar* 
 
 nea . . . . 1453 
 
 Beath of Aaron . 1453 
 
 fbe 1'iery Serpeato 1452 
 
 KGY1T. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Amunopk IL , . 1456 
 
 EVENTS AMD HMORB, 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Danaus arrives (in a 
 ship) from Egypt, 
 and possesses him- 
 self of Argos . . 1^ 
 
 The Olympic games 
 first celebrated at 
 Elis . . . 1468 
 
 1. DURING all this period, only one event of much im 
 portance is recorded. This was a very serious revolt against 
 the theocratical government, by persons of high rank and 
 Consequence in some of the tribes. The rebels were heads 
 of families and clans, who would have possessed high civil 
 power, and would have exercised priestly functions under the 
 patriarchal government : and their attempt must be regarded 
 as a struggle of the old institutions against the new. In 
 some shape or other, such a conflict almost always takes 
 place between new forms of government and the ancient 
 inptitutions which are altered or superseded. A settled and 
 Central government absorbs the power which, in a ruder state) 
 of society, is exercised by individuals over small sections of 
 the general body ; and these are commonly too fond of power 
 to relinquish it without a struggle. Among the Hebrews, 
 the supreme authority under which the new institutions had 
 been framed, kept the great body of the natural heads oi 
 tribes and families quiet, whatever may have been their 
 secret discontent; but there were some audacious spirits 
 whom even this consideration could not restrain. 
 
 2. Korah, although himself a Levite, appears to have 
 been the chief instigator of this revolt. His birth and sta- 
 tion would have entitled him to a leading place in the tribe ; 
 and it is more than probable that another family being 
 appointed to the priesthood, was the chief cause of his dis- 
 content. This, however, was not a ground on which he 
 could expect much support from the chiefs of other tribes; 
 *nd it was therefore preteaded, that the liberties of the people 
 
180 REBELLION OF KOKAH. 
 
 had been infringed by Moses and Aaron ; and that the head* 
 of families had been unjustly deprived of the sacerdotal and 
 other powers, which naturally belonged to them. The man- 
 ner hi which the high-priesthood had been made a high 
 political office in a theocracy, exposed the priesthood to the 
 jealousy which it might have escaped had its duties been 
 only sacerdotal. 
 
 3. Besides Korah, two chiefs of the tribe of lieuben, 
 Dathan and Abiram, are named as the principal malcontents; 
 and it will be remembered, that this tribe, descended from 
 the first-born of Jacob, had, as regards the civil and sacer- 
 dotal rights of primogeniture, suffered more than any other 
 by the existing institutions, which gave the civil pre-eminence 
 to Judah, and the sacerdotal to Levi. Two hundred and 
 fifty other chiefs, probably from the different tribes, joined in 
 this conspiracy, the very grave character of which may be 
 estimated from the description of these persons as " princes 
 of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown* 
 (Num. xvi. 2). 
 
 4. The people appear to have been well disposed to listen 
 to those who told them that they had cause to be discon- 
 tented ; that their liberties had been taken from them ; and 
 that the yoke of a central government was too heavy to be 
 borne. The leaders, therefore, being supported by a large 
 body of the " congregation," at length openly charged Moses 
 and Aaron with the usurpation of civil and pontifical power, 
 and required them to lay it down. It was admitted that the 
 appointments of the Divine King were absolute ; but it was 
 denied that it was, or could be, his intention that such powers 
 should be vested hi their hands. This they could only dis- 
 pute by indirectly doubting the testimony of Moses, who 
 brought this institution with him on his return from the 
 Mount ; and it was clear that, if his legislative agency in this 
 matter could be set aside, an opening was made for overturn- 
 ing the whole system which rested on the same foundation. 
 This was, no doubt, secretly understood on all sides : hence 
 Moses at once saw that a special manifestation that the 
 Aaronic priesthood was a Divine appointment, had become 
 necessary, not only to establish that institution, but for the 
 confirmation of the whole system, of which that was an into- 
 
AARON STAYS TUB PLAGUE. 18 
 
 part : and, in the confidence that God -would vindicate 
 his own appointments, Moses was content to refer the matter 
 lo him. After some strong words of reproof, he therefore 
 Invited the leading conspirators to exercise on the morrow, 
 by offering incense, the sacerdotal functions to which they 
 laid claim, and then the Lord would doubtless make known 
 his own decision. Awful was that decision I As they stood 
 with their censers to offer incense, they were suddenly con- 
 sumed by fire from His presence : and the Reubenites, Dathan 
 and Abiram, who had refused to attend, did not escape ; foi 
 the earth opened and engulphed them where they stood, with 
 their tents and all that belonged to them. 
 
 5. The discontent which these unhappy men had en- 
 couraged among the people, was too widely spread, and to 
 deeply rooted, for even this awful judgment to subdue. The 
 turbulent mob were, indeed, struck with present horror and 
 alarm at the destruction of their leaders ; but the next day 
 they rallied, and assembled in great numbers, clamouring 
 against Moses and Aaron, as if they were the authors of that 
 judgment which the wrath of God had inflicted. Now again 
 was the Divine wrath kindled, and a consuming plague vsfcnt 
 forth among the people. They fell, like corn before the 
 reaper, until Aaron, at the desire of Moses, took a censer, 
 with burning incense, and rushing forth among the people, 
 stood between the living and the dead, when the plague waa 
 stayed. On this occasion fourteen hundred people perished 
 (Num. xvi.) 
 
 6. The destruction of those who unwarrantably pretended 
 to sacerdotal functions, and the honour put upon Aaron by 
 the plague being stayed at his intercession in his priestly 
 character, were calculated to settle all real doubt regarding 
 his appointment. But to place this matter beyond contro- 
 versy, the Divine King was pleased to grant a special and 
 abiding miracle. Moses was directed to take a rod frouj 
 each of the tribes, and to engrave upon each rod the name 
 of the tribe to which it belonged, but upon the rod of Levi 
 to write Aaron's name. All these rods were laid up in the 
 tabernacle, before the ark, God having signified that he 
 would cause to blossom the dry rod of the man chosen and 
 anointed by hi">> The next day the rods were brought 
 
183 RETURN TO KADESH BARNEA. 
 
 forth and delivered to those to whom they belonged, when it 
 was found that the rod of Aaron had budded, blossomed, and 
 borne ripe almonds. The rod which became the witness 
 that Aaron had been divinely appointed to the priesthood, 
 was directed to be laid up among the muniments of the 
 tabernacle. 
 
 7. At length the forty years, during which the Israelites 
 had been doomed to wander in the wilderness, were nearly 
 expired, and the generation which, by their disobedience, had 
 forfeited their title to the Promised Land, had perished. The 
 new generation, although far from faultless, was, upon the 
 whole, much superior to that which had passed away, and 
 better fitted for the promised inheritance. As the time drew 
 nigh, the host returned to the borders of Canaan, and we 
 gain find it encamped at Kadesh, whence it had formerly 
 been sent back into the desert. Miriam, the sister of Moses 
 and Aaron, died here ; and here the brothers themselves 
 forfeited their claim to enter the Promised Land. The want 
 of water was experienced at Kadesh with so much severity, 
 that the people became clamorous and reproachful. By this 
 Moses and Aaron were so much disturbed, that, when in- 
 structed to smite a certain rock, from which water should 
 then flow, they exhibited such impatience and distrust as, if 
 left unpunished, might have had an injurious effect on the 
 minds of the people. They were therefore interdicted from 
 entering Canaan ; but, at his earnest entreaty, Moses was 
 promised a distant view of that " goodly land " which the 
 Lord had promised to his people. 
 
 8. Considering the strength of the southern frontier of 
 Canaan, and the warlike character of the inhabitants^ it 
 seemed much less desirable that the Israelites should invade 
 the country on that side, and fight their way northward, 
 than that they should at once enter a central and compara- 
 tively undefended part of the land. This could only be 
 achieved by passing northward over into the country east of 
 the Dead Sea, - and crossing the Jordan into the heart of 
 Palestine. From Kadesh, the nearest way to the east 
 country was through a great valley in the mountains of Seir, 
 which, however, could not be traversed with safety, if any 
 resistance were made by ite inhabitants the Edornites. An 
 
THE FIERT SERPENTS. 183 
 
 was therefore sent to the king of Edoit. to remind 
 him of the fraternity of the two nations, and request periuis- 
 ion to pass through his country. This request, although 
 couched in the most civil and respectful language, met with 
 a direct and churlish refusal. It was therefore determined 
 tc return to the head of the eastern arm of the Red Sea, 
 from which it was easy to pass to the other side of the Seir 
 mountains. On the way they had to pass by Mount Hor, 
 one of the loftiest of these mountains, at the base of which 
 they encamped. Upon that mountain Aaron died, and was 
 buried ; and his tomb is still seen afar off by those who 
 travel in that solitary region. He was succeeded in the 
 pontificate by his eldest son Eleazer (Num. xx.) 
 
 9. Before the Israelites quitted this place, they were 
 unexpectedly attacked by the Canaanitish king Arad, who 
 took some of them prisoners. For this they in due season 
 took ample vengeance, by the extermination of his tribe, and 
 the desolation of the land in which it dwelt. 
 
 10. The hosts of Israel on reaching Kadesh had fully 
 expected that they were immediately to enter the Promised 
 Land. They were, therefore, much discouraged at having 
 to take another troublesome journey through so unpleasant a 
 wilderness as that which bordered the land of Edom ; and, 
 by the time they reached the vicinity of the Red Sea, they 
 broke forth into loud complaints for bread and water, and 
 expressed their distaste at the manner in which they had 
 been fed for nearly forty years, saying, "our soul loatheth 
 this light food." For this impatience, and for the contempt 
 of God's merciful provision, without which they must long 
 ago have perished, the serpents, which infested, and do still 
 infest that region, were sent among them in unwonted num- 
 bers, and whoever was bitten by them died. On this the 
 people confessed their sin, and sought the intercession of 
 Moses, who was instructed to make a serpent of brass, and 
 elevate it upon a pole in the midst of the camp ; and those 
 who looked upon it were instantly cured. The brazen ser- 
 pent was preserved as a memorial of this miracle for about 
 900 years, when, because the people were disposed to rendei 
 it idolatrous honours, it was destroyed, by king Hezekiah. 
 
CHAPTEE TL 
 
 B.C. I 
 
 TIM fcrae1j;es eros tha Arnon 1452 I The Midianites mitte ' I ' 
 
 Sihon and Og defeated . . 1452 I The people numbered ' 
 
 Balak and Balaam . . 1452 | Moses dies . . . 14$* 
 
 1. THE Israelites passed, without molestation, along the 
 eastern border of Mount Seir, and through the country oi 
 Moab, and encamped by the river Arnon. Of the country 
 immediately to the north of that river, the descendants of Lot 
 had before this time been dispossessed, by a colony of the 
 Amorites from the other side of the Jordan. As it was an 
 early law of nations, of which we have had a previous instance, 
 that a body of armed men could not pass through a country 
 without permission from the sovereign, Moses sent ambassador! 
 to Heshbon to ask that permission. This was not only re- 
 fused by King Sihon, but he went forth with an army to fight 
 against the Israelites, and to drive them back. Hearing this, 
 the Hebrews did not await his attack, but advanced to meet 
 im half way; and having routed him at Jahaz, they acquired 
 possession of a very fine country, rich in pastures, and full of 
 towns and cities. This acquisition brought them into the 
 neighbourhood of Bashan, whose king, Og, was descended 
 from the old gigantic race by whom the country was origi- 
 nally inhabited. To give an idea of his bulk and stature, the 
 sacred historian informs us that his bedstead was of iron, and 
 that its length was thirteen feet and a half, and its width six. 
 This monarch prepared to resent the defeat and slaughter of 
 his friend and neighbour ; and the Israelites were somewhat 
 dismayed when he appeared against them; but being en- 
 couraged by Moses with assurances of success, they fought 
 bravely, and slew the monarch and dispersed his host. Thus 
 the Israelites became possessed of the countries of Gilcud 
 and Bashan, east of the Jordan, although their views had in 
 the first insUnce been confined to the region west of tha 
 civac. 
 
BALAK AND BALAAM. 185 
 
 2. The Israelites now moved their encampment from the 
 banks of the Arnon to the district of country near the northern 
 extremity of the Dead Sea, called the Plains of Moab, as 
 having once been in the territory of the Moabites. That 
 nation was not at all pleased with these transactions. On 
 entering the land of Moab, the Israelites had been cautioned 
 to respect their descent from Lot, and offer them no molesta- 
 tion ; and the Moabites, on their part, although they regarded 
 the new-comers with no good will, were afraid to oppose them. 
 Now, however, that the Hebrews had acquired such important 
 possessions on that side of the river, a considerable portion 
 of which had once belonged to the descendants of Lot, the 
 wish to wound or crush this new power became very strong, 
 and was only kept inoperative by a salutary dread of the 
 consequences. At length Balak the king of Moab recollected 
 a famous- prophet who lived beyond the Euphrates, and fancied 
 that if he could get him to come and lay a curse upon the 
 Israelites, they might afterwards be attacked and destroyed 
 with ease. He therefore sent an honourable embassy, with 
 the promise of high distinctions and costly gifts, to tempt 
 Balaam from his distant home. The covetous prophet was 
 willing enough to earn the wages rf iniquity ; but being for- 
 bidden in a vision to go, he sent back the messengers with 
 that intimation. Balak, however, believing that the objec- 
 tion was only urged with the view of extorting a higher 
 bribe, again sent a more dignified embassy, with the offer of 
 still greater rewards. Knowing already the Divine will, 
 Balaam ought at once to have rejected these offers, and sent 
 the messengers home ; but, overcome by his avarice, he 
 invited them to stay, and promised to make another effort to 
 get leave to go with them. Displeased at this conduct, 
 God left him to take his own course, and in the morning 
 he joyfully mounted his ass to accompany the messengers 
 of Balak. 
 
 3. On the way, however, he met with an unexpected 
 check. In a narrow road, he was stopped by an angel with 
 a drawn sword. The angel was at first only visible to the 
 ass ; and the obstinate refusal of the animal to proceed, BO 
 provoked Balaam, that he beat him most severely. On this 
 
186 BALAK AND BALAAM. 
 
 the beast was gifted for the moment with a human voice, ia 
 which he remonstrated against this treatment, and intimated 
 that there was a cause for his obstinacy. That cause became 
 instantly visible to the confounded prophet, who humbled 
 himself before the angel, and offered to return home ; but was 
 allowed to proceed, with the strict caution that on his arrival 
 he should speak and act only as directed (Num. xxii.) 
 He was received with great honour by the king of Moab, 
 who, intent upon his design, lost no time in taking Balaam, 
 first, to the high places of Baal, then to the top of Pisgah, 
 and the third time to the top of Mount Peor ; from which, 
 severally, he could view, first the whole, and then different 
 parts of the Hebrew camp. At all these places altars were 
 get up by Balaam's direction, and sacrifices offered. On each 
 occasion the king wished the prophet to lay his curse upon 
 the people before him ; and Balaam was more than willing 
 to gratify him ; but he was constrained not only to abstain 
 from cursing the Israelites, but to bless them altogether, and 
 to utter the regretful but vain wish that his own portion 
 were with them in life and hi death. The king was dis- 
 pleased that he had brought a blessing upon those he intended 
 to curse ; and to pacify him, as well as to evince that he had 
 acted contrary to his own will, Balaam proceeded to point 
 out what he considered the most likely way to inflict a real 
 injury upon the Israelites. He taught the king that none 
 could injure that people while they remained faithful to their 
 God, and had him for their defender; and that, therefore, 
 the true way to weaken them was to endeavour to seduce 
 them from their allegiance to him in which seduction he 
 intimated that the women of Moab and of Midian might be 
 employed. 
 
 4. This atrocious counsel was eagerly followed by the 
 princes of Moab and Midian. The latter nation were neigh- 
 bours of the former, and took an active part with them in 
 their underhand plots against the Israelites. A seemingly 
 friendly intercourse was encouraged ; and the women of Moab 
 and Midian, the latter especially, succeeded in drawing very 
 many of the Israelites into the worship of their own idols. 
 But this could not last. Idolatry was flow a capital crime 
 
fafE MTDIANTTES SMITTES, 
 
 |>y the law, having been made an act of treason against the 
 Divine head of the theocratical government. Moses, there- 
 fore, directed the judges to enforce the law, in consequence 
 of which the chief of those who had followed Baal-Peor (the 
 great idol of these parts) were " hanged up before the Lord." 
 A mortal plague was also sent forth among the people to 
 punish them for their idolatry and lust. Twenty-four 
 thousand were destroyed by this pestilence, before its ravages 
 were stayed thrc ijh the Divine complacency at the zealous 
 act of Phinehas, the son of the high-priest, in slaying with 
 his own hand Zimri, a prince of Simeon, and one of the fair 
 idolatresses of Mitiian, whom he brought to his tent at the 
 very time that the people stood lamenting their sin and its 
 punishment (Num. xxv.) 
 
 5. Moses was also commissioned to punish the Midianites 
 by warring against them. A thousand men from each tribe 
 were entrusted with this service, which they discharged with 
 exemplary severity ; for, being conquerors in battle, they 
 made tremendous havoc among the Midianites, and took a 
 large number of female captives, with an immense spoil in 
 cattle and rich goods and ornaments. The Moabites were 
 less severely punished; but for their conduct on this and 
 other occasions, it was decreed that, for ten generations to 
 come, they, notwithstanding their near relationship, should be 
 counted as strangers to Israel. 
 
 6. The tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half the tribe of 
 Manasseh, having large possessions in flocks and herds, and 
 observing that the conquered country on the east of the 
 Jordan was rich in pasturage, applied to Moses that it should 
 be given to them for their portion of the promised inheritance. 
 As they explained that they sought not this for the sake 01 
 an earlier provision, or with a view to abandon the general 
 cause, but were willing that their own men should go and 
 assist the other tribes in the conquest of Canaan, their 
 
 est was granted. 
 
 7. Now that the host of Israel was composed of almost 
 entirely new men, and that they were about to enter upon 
 onwonted military actions, it was important that a fresh enu- 
 meration of the population should be taken. The comparison 
 between it and the census taken thirty-nine years before ia 
 
 P. 9 
 
188 
 
 THE PEOPLE NUMBERED. 
 
 Sinai affords some interesting information. The details aft 
 hewn in the table. 
 
 Tribes. 
 
 Chp. I. 
 
 Chap. XX VL 
 
 laeroie. 
 
 Prr>M 
 
 Benben . 
 Simeon . 
 Gad . . 
 
 46,600 
 59,300 
 45,650 
 
 43,730 
 
 22,200 
 40,500 
 
 ... 
 
 2,770 
 87,100 
 6,160 
 
 Jndah . 
 Issachar 
 Zebuluu 
 Ephraim 
 Manasseh 
 Benjamin 
 
 74,600 
 54,400 
 67,400 
 40,500 
 32,200 
 86,400 
 62,700 
 
 76,500 
 64,300 
 60,500 
 82,500 
 62,700 
 45,600 
 64,400 
 
 1,900 
 9,900 
 8,100 
 
 20,500 
 10,200 
 1,700 
 
 ei oo 
 
 Aaher . 
 NaphUli . 
 
 41,500 
 63,400 
 
 6*,400 
 45,400 
 
 11,900 
 
 8,'6bo 
 
 Lerites, from a \ 
 month old f 
 
 603,660 
 
 22,273 
 
 601,730 
 23,000 
 
 69,200 
 
 Decrease an the 
 whole . . 
 
 727 
 
 61,020 
 } 1,820 
 
 8. From this comparison it appears that the population 
 which had increased so rapidly in Egypt, had rather decreased 
 in the wilderness. This is clearly a result of the Divine 
 determination to remove by death in forty years the whole 
 of those who were past twenty on quitting Egypt, in conse- 
 quence of which there could at this time be no old men in the 
 congregation ; and as the total population was nearly the 
 name as when the Israelites commenced their journey, there 
 must have been a great increase of the young, seeing there 
 were none above sixty years old except Moses himself, who 
 was soon to die, and Joshua and Caleb, who alone of the 
 past generation were to enter the land of promise. The 
 absence of aged and superannuated members exhibits a 
 trange and singular social condition ; and while their removal 
 by death was intended in the first instance as a judgment, it 
 at the same time gave a character of remarkably unen- 
 cumbered physical efficiency to the generation on which the 
 conquest of Canaan devolved. But although the full num- 
 ber is so nearly the same, it is surprising to notice the very 
 great changes of proportion in the several tribes such as the 
 increase of 20,500 in Manasseh, 11,900 in Asher, and 10,200 
 fa* Benjamin; and the decrease of 37,100 in Simeon, and of 
 
THE PEOPLE NUMBEKED 189 
 
 8000 in Ephraim. and in Naphtali. On both occasions the 
 number of Judah was the highest ; but on the first occasion 
 the lowest (omitting Levi) was Manasseh, and on the second, 
 Simeon. At the first enumeration, the number of Judah 
 more than doubled that of Manasseh, Benjamin, and Levi, 
 and nearly doubled those of Reuben, Gad. Ephraim, and 
 Aehor. At the second, Judah more than doubled Simeon, 
 Ephraim, and Levi, and nearly doubled Keuben, Benjamin, 
 and Naphtali. Levi was the lowest in both accounts ; much 
 lower, indeed, than appears ; for in that tribe all the males 
 above a month old were counted, but in the other tribes only 
 those fit to bear arms, or above twenty years of age. The 
 enumeration being, as before, made only with reference to 
 the adult male population, we must quadruple the amount to 
 find the actual population, including women and children, 
 and this, as before, we must necessarily estimate at about 
 2,500,000. 
 
 9. All this being accomplished, it only remained for 
 Moses to die, and leave to other hands the task of conducting 
 the children of Abraham into their promised inheritance. He 
 therefore prepared for death by giving to the people who had 
 so long been the objects of his solicitude, such directions and 
 counsel as their circumstances appeared to require. After 
 describing the boundaries of the Promised Land, he appointed 
 the mode in which it should be divided among the several 
 tribes, and directed that cities should be appropriated by each 
 of them for the residence of the Levites who had no territo- 
 rial inheritance, and that six of these cities should be regarded 
 as places in which those who undesignedly or in self-defence 
 clew others, might hold their lives safe from the avenger of 
 blood (Num. xxxiv., xxxv.) 
 
 10. After this Moses repeated the law which had been 
 given on Mount Sinai to the people, a great proportion of 
 whom had been born since it was delivered, or were to* 
 young to hold it in remembrance. He also recapitulated the 
 acts of Divine mercy towards them, and judgment upon them, 
 since the departure from Egypt ; and enjoined upon them the 
 duty of destroying all the idols of Canaan, and of rooting out 
 the doomed inhabitants. Then he renewed with the people, 
 in the name of JEHOVAH, the covenant which had been made 
 
190 MOSES DIES, 
 
 in Sinai ; and delivered the book of the law to the care of 
 
 the Levites, with directions to lay it up in the side of the ark. 
 These particulars form the contents of the book of Deutero- 
 nomy. 
 
 11. The official duties of this great and good man being 
 now terminated, he delivered to the assembled people an 
 address, in which he described, in the most vivid language, 
 the perverseness and disobedience of the nation, their punish- 
 ment, repentance, and pardon. Lastly, he took leave of all 
 the tribes, together and severally, in an eloquent and pathetic 
 blessing, such as that which Jacob delivered to his sons before 
 he died. Then, as he had been commanded, Moses ascended 
 to the top of Pisgah, and took from thence a wide survey of 
 ** the pleasant land," to whose borders he had led a nation. 
 And there he died unseen ; and he was buried secretly, and 
 not by mortal hands ; for it was feared that if the Israelites 
 knew the place of his sepulture, they might in the end be 
 tempted to pay divine honours to his remains. At the time 
 of his death Moses was 120 years of age, and we are told that 
 lie was exempt from the usual infirmities of age that " nil 
 y wag not dim, nor big natural force abated." 
 
BOOK in. 
 
 CHAPTER L B.C. 1451. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 At Isr8*li*i cross the Jordan . . 1451 
 
 Circumcision restored 1451 
 
 The manna ceases . ... 1451 
 
 Jericho taken and destroyed * 1441 
 
 The offence of Achan 1461 
 
 Ai taken by stratagem ... . 1461 
 
 1. AFTER the death of their great lawgiver, the Israelites 
 remained encamped on the " plains of Moab," awaiting the 
 order to advance to the arduous enterprise of dispossessing 
 nations greater, mightier, and better armed and disciplined 
 than themselves ; more experienced in the art of war, and 
 dwelling in fortified towns, with all the resources of the 
 country at their command. So disproportionate seemed the 
 situation of the invaders and the invaded, as to natural and 
 acquired advantages, that the former, if they had looked to 
 them only, might have been excused for regarding the result 
 with some anxiety and apprehension. Certainly the Ca- 
 naanites, regarded as a settled and valiant people, assailed 
 by a comparatively undisciplined horde from the desert, may 
 very well be spared the pity which some perverse under- 
 standings bestow upon them, as if they were so many sheep 
 waiting slaughter at the hands of the Israelites. The difr 
 proportion was indeed so much to the disadvantage of the 
 Hebrews, that, to render the balance somewhat more equal, 
 the Lord saw fit that the operations should commence by a 
 series of special and signal acts of his own providence, to 
 encourage the chosen people, and to dismay their enemies. 
 Indeed the marvels which had attended their deliverance 
 from Egypt, and their progress through the wilderness, wer 
 well known to the Canaanites, and had inspired them with 
 dread not of the Israelites themselves, whom they probably 
 despised as enemies but of the God, the mighty and terrible 
 God, who fought on their behalf. 
 
192 THE ISRAELITES CROSS THE JORDASf. 
 
 2. In the plain on the other side of the river stood the 
 city of Jericho, which must evidently be the first object of 
 attack after the passage of the river. Joshua, therefore, sent 
 spies to that place to collect information, and to ascertain the 
 sentiments of the people. The spies were lodged by a woman 
 named Rahab, who also concealed them when they were in- 
 quired for by the authorities of the place ; and from her they 
 received the encouraging information that the Canaanites 
 were already dispirited : " Your terror is fallen upon us," 
 Bhe said, " and all the inhabitants of the land faint because 
 
 of you As soon as we had heard these things, our 
 
 hearts did melt ; neither did there remain any more courage 
 in any man because of you ; for the Lord your God, he is 
 God in heaven above, and in earth beneath." It was, in 
 fact, thus to glorify his own great name, by forcing the con- 
 viction of His pre-eminence in power upon even those who 
 did not serve him, that the Lord had wrought the wonders 
 of which the Israelites were to reap the benefit. 
 
 3. The design of the Israelites to establish themselves in 
 Palestine, and to root out the old inhabitants, was perfectly 
 well known to the Canaanites ; but they appear to have made 
 no extraordinary preparations to repel the invaders, trusting, 
 probably, to the obstacle which at this time the river Jordan 
 appeared to offer to their further progress; for it was the tune of 
 the barley harvest, when the river, swollen with the latter rains 
 and the melted snows, overflowed its banks, and ran with the 
 fullest stream to the Dead Sea. In this calculation they 
 underrated the power of that Almighty arm which they had 
 already learned to dread. 
 
 4. At length the order came to pass the river on a given 
 day ; and this order was accompanied with a distinct confirma- 
 tion to Joshua of his high and glorioiu office, attended with 
 the assurance that, while he adhered to the spirit and principles 
 of the theocracy, none of those who opposed him should be 
 able to stand before him. This appointment was recognised 
 with acclamations by the people, who readily covenanted their 
 obedience : and with them Joshua appears to have been at 
 all times very popular ; nor was his administration disturbed 
 by such discontents and seditions as had disgraced the Israelite* 
 in the time of Moses. 
 
THE ISRAELITES CROSS THE JORDAN. 193 
 
 5. The day appointed for the passage of the Jordan was 
 the tenth day of the first month, only five days being wanting 
 to complete forty years since the departure of the Hebrews 
 from Egypt. On that day, the ark of the covenant was 
 borne in solemn state by the priests, about one thousand yards 
 before the people on their march to the river's brink. No 
 sooner had the feet of the priests touched the water, than the 
 course of the river at that point was stayed. The waters 
 above suspended their course, while those below hastened into 
 the Dead Sea, leaving the bed of the river dry for the hosts 
 of Israel to pass over. The priests bearing the ark entered, 
 and stood in the mid-channel, under the wall of waters, until 
 all the hosts of Israel had gone over. Then the priests also 
 left the river's bed ; and no sooner had they reached the bank, 
 than the suspended waters resumed their course. As a stand- 
 ing memorial of this stupendous miracle, twelve large stones 
 from the bed of the river were set up in the plain ; and twelve 
 stones from the shore were deposited in the bed of the river. 
 
 6. At the place where the stones were set up, namely, at 
 Gilgal in the plain of Jericho, the Israelites formed their first 
 encampment in Canaan. Instead of proceeding to take 
 advantage of the panic with which this event had inspired 
 the inhabitants, as mere human policy would have dictated, 
 by at once marching against them, the Israelites were directed 
 to the observance of the details of that covenant under which 
 they claimed their inheritance. Therefore, in the first place, 
 the rite of circumcision, which had been intermitted during 
 the sojourn in the wilderness, was renewed, and all the per- 
 sons, forty years old and under, who had been born since the 
 departure from Egypt, were taken into the Abrahamic cove- 
 nai.t by being circumcised at Gilgal. They were then in a 
 condition to observe the passover, the time for which had 
 come round ; and this was the third celebration of that 
 remarkable ordinance, as it had been entirely neglected since 
 the second celebration in Sinai. The day after the passover 
 they began to eat the corn, the fruits, and other products of 
 the soil of Canaan ; and then the miraculous supply of manna, 
 by which they had been so long fed, altogether ceased. It 
 should be observed that the tabernacle was set up at Gilgal, 
 and that it remained there during the seven years employed 
 
194 JERICHO TAKEN AND DESTROYED. 
 
 in the conquest of Canaan. Gilgal may, therefore, be regarded 
 as the head-quarters of the Israelites throughout that period. 
 7. When Joshua was OCQ day surveying the strong defences 
 of Jericho, a person with a drawn sword in his hand appeared 
 iuddenly before him. He announced himself as the " Captain 
 of the Lord's host," and commanded Joshua to take the sandals 
 off his feet, because the ground was holy on which he stood. 
 The prostration and worship rendered by the Hebrew chief on 
 this occasion indicates that this was the same mysterious 
 being who had spoken to Moses from the burning bush. His 
 object was to encourage Joshua, by directing his attention to 
 the fact, that the success of the great enterprise before him 
 depended not upon his own skill and valour, or upon the endur- 
 ance and courage of his forces, but upon the assistance of the 
 Almighty, who had covenanted to bestow the land upon them, 
 and who would ensure the victory to his people in every con- 
 test which they undertook with a becoming confidence in their 
 Divine leader. To evince this, in the first instance, means 
 were to be taken in the siege of Jericho which would be wholly 
 inoperative under ordinary circumstances, and which would, 
 therefore, refer the victory solely to that Almighty arm which 
 was made bare to fight for the chosen people. Accordingly, the 
 army was directed to march round the city in solemn state 
 on six successive days, preceded by the ark, before which went 
 seven priests with rams'-horn trumpets in their hands. This 
 seemingly idle parade probably occasioned nothing but wonder 
 to the people of Jericho, whom we may conceive crowding 
 the walls to behold the spectacle. On the seventh day this 
 circumambulation was repeated seven times, and at the com- 
 pletion of the seventh circuit, the priests blew a long blast 
 with their trumpets, and the people raised a tremendous shout. 
 At that instant the strong walls of Jericho fell level with the 
 ground, and free ingress was offered on every side to the 
 Israelites, who, the place having before been put under a ban 
 of devotement to utter ruin, slew every living creature with 
 the sword, excepting only the family of the woman, Rahab, 
 by whom the spies had been entertained. Josh. vi. 
 
 8. Not only every living creature in Jericho had been 
 devoted to extinction, but all the effects were to be destroyed, 
 lave articles of precious metal, which were to be consecrated 
 
ACHAN AND THE ACCURSED THING. 19 1 
 
 fa the Lord, and laid up for the service of the Tabernacle. 
 But a man named Achan, of the tribe of Judah, overcome by 
 tovetousness, appropriated to his own use, and concealed in hia 
 tent, a costly garment of Babylonish work, which should have 
 been destroyed, and an ingot of gold, which should have been 
 consecrated to the Lord. The disgraceful repulse and flight 
 of a party which had been sent to take the neighbouring town 
 of Ai, filled Joshua with anxiety and alarm, such a circum- 
 stance being likely to impair that confidence of assured succesi 
 which had thus far encouraged the Israelites and disheartened 
 their enemies. He complained before the Lord, and waa 
 answered that the repulse was a punishment for the infraction 
 of the vow of devotement, by the concealment in the camp of 
 gome of the spoil of Jericho. 
 
 9. On hearing this, the lot was resorted to for the detection 
 of the offender. Achan was taken, and having confessed the 
 crime, was stoned to death, and a tumulus of stones was raised 
 over his body. After this expurgation, Ai was in another 
 attempt easily taken by stratagem, in which one body, by a 
 pretended flight, drew out the defenders in pursuit, on which, 
 another body, which had lain in ambuscade, rushed into the 
 town, and set it on fire. The pretended fugitives then turned 
 upon their pursuers, who, being also attacked in the rear by 
 the other body, and seeing their town in flames, were panic- 
 struck, and easily cut in pieces. Twelve thousand, being the 
 whole inhabitants, perished on this occasion ; and the king, 
 who was taken prisoner, was put to the sword, and his body 
 hanged on a tree until the evening, when it was taken down, 
 and buried at the gate of the place under a heap of stones. 
 This and many similar acts of the Israelites in their warfare 
 with the Canaanites were undoubtedly severe and cruel ; but 
 in those times all wajs were carried on with great barbarity, 
 as they still are in the countries of the East ; and the con- 
 duct of the Hebrew invaders of Palestine was only in accord- 
 ance with the war-practice of the time and country, and wai 
 not more harsh than would have been exercised towardi 
 themselves, had they been defeated and the Canaanites vic- 
 torious. As the Lord was employing the sword of the 
 Israelites for the extermination of a very guilty people, whose 
 iniquities had at this time reached the highest point of aggra- 
 
196 AI TAKEN BY STRATAGEM. 
 
 ration, he did not direct that the invaders of Palestine should 
 introduce any milder usages of war than those which then 
 ordinarily prevailed. Josh. viii. 
 
 10. There can be no doubt that the success of the Hebrew 
 armies was much facilitated by the absence of any large or 
 central government, or of any one power strong enough to act 
 in opposition to the invaders. The country was still, as in 
 the time of the Patriarchs, broken up into a vast number of 
 small independent states, which difiered even in the form of 
 government, some being monarchical, and others republican; 
 but the monarchical form was the most prevalent, and every 
 chief over one or more towns, with a few dependent villages 
 and a narrow tract of surrounding country, was dignified with 
 the title of king. Among these kings there were a few who, 
 from their proportionately larger territories, their success in 
 war, or general character, had sufficient influence, on occasions 
 of great and general emergency, to induce a number of the 
 others to confederate with them for the common benefit ; but 
 during the entire period of this war of life and death, no such 
 confederacy was ever formed by the Canaanites, as brought 
 all the military resources of the country to bear at one time 
 against the Hebrew host 
 
197 
 
 CHAPTER H. B. C. 1451 TO I486. 
 
 Treaty with the Gibeonites . . . 1451 
 
 Defeat of the Five Amorite Kings . 1451 
 
 The solemnity at Ebal and Gerizira 1445 
 
 The Tabernacle estaolished at Sliiloh 1445 
 
 First Division of Lands .... 1445 
 
 Second Division of Lauds .... 1440 
 
 Death of Joshua 1426 
 
 BOTPT. 
 
 ThothmesIV MM 
 
 Amunoph III. (Kathotis), the sup- 
 posed Memnon of the vocal tUtue 1431 
 
 1. THE inhabitants of the land appear to have trusted very 
 much to the obstacle which their fortified towns would ofier 
 to the progress of the Israelites ; but the capture of two such 
 strong places as Jericho and Ai awoke them from this confi- 
 dence, and shewed them the necessity of some decided course of 
 action. Among the "kings" of that part of Palestine in 
 which the invaders lay, five are named, who, headed by Ado- 
 nizedek, king of Jerusalem, confederated together to resist 
 them. Had the states in this quarter been disposed to make 
 overtures of peace, or even of tribute, they would doubtless 
 have been prevented by the knowledge that the Israelites 
 were bent on dispossessing them altogether, and were under 
 orders to enter into no treaties with them. The knowledge 
 of this did not, however, hinder the inhabitants of Gibeon 
 from attempting to obtain by stratagem what they knew would 
 be refused to a direct application. Ambassadors were sent 
 to the Hebrew camp at Gilgal, cunningly dressed up and dis- 
 guised to appear as travel-worn men, whom the renown of 
 the Lord's marvellous acts in behalf of Israel had drawn 
 from a far country, to enter into engagements of friendship 
 and peace with a people so highly favoured. Deceived by their 
 appearance and by their professions, the Hebrews entered into 
 the proposed engagements, without previously consulting their 
 Divine King. For this neglect they were very soon punished 
 by discovering how they had been outwitted ; and then they 
 sought counsel of the Lord as to the binding nature of an obli- 
 gation incurred under such circumstances. They were told 
 that a covenant so solemnly contracted, must be held binding ; 
 but that its terms did not prevent the Gibeonites being r- 
 
198 DEFEAT OP THE FIVE AMORITE KINGS. 
 
 dnced to servitude. A tribute of labour, in hewing wood anfl 
 drawing water, was therefore exacted from them. Josh. ix. 
 
 2. The kings, whose confederacy we have just mentioned, 
 were much troubled at the defection of the Gibeonites and 
 at the alliance they had formed. Determined to punish them 
 first, the five kings made their appearance in arms before 
 Gibeon. The inhabitants in this extremity sent to claim the 
 protection of Joshua, who immediately went, at the head of a 
 Strong force, to their assistance. A rapid march by night 
 brought him unexpectedly upon the besiegers, who were 
 routed with great slaughter ; those that fled were hotly pur- 
 sued all the day. The fugitives were sorely distressed also 
 by a shower of large stones, by which the Lord evinced that 
 He fought lor Israel ; and when, under the covering of ad- 
 vancing night, many of them seemed likely to escape into the 
 fortified towns, the light of day was prolonged at the request 
 of Joshua, who, urged by the strong impulse of his faith, 
 which taught him that even such a manifestation of the Divine 
 power would not be refused, cried, " Sun, stand thou still 
 upon Gibeon; and thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon." 
 Being ignorant of the true system of astronomy, Joshua 
 described what appeared to him and those who heard him to 
 be the only means of producing the desired result. His man- 
 date was obeyed ; the day was lengthened ; or, in the sense 
 in which Joshua and the people understood it, " the sun stood 
 still, and the moon stayed," until the desired objects had been 
 secured. As the worship of the Canaanites and other idola- 
 ters ultimately resolves itself into the worship of the heavenly 
 bodies, of which the sun and moon are the chief, nothing 
 could more strikingly evince the omnipotence of the God 
 whom the Hebrews worshipped, than this proof, that the most 
 glorious objects of the material world, of which men made to 
 themselves gods, were but the creatures of his power. 
 
 3. The five kings were found hid in a cave near Makke- 
 dah, from which, when the pursuit was over, they were brought 
 out, and the principal Hebrew officers set their feet upon their 
 necks, which was a well-known act and symbol of victory in 
 the East. They were then slain and hanged upon trees until 
 the evening, as the king of Ai had been. At evening, as the 
 kw required (Deut. xx. 16, 17), they were taken down, and 
 
DEFEAT OF JAB1N, KING OF HAZOR. 
 
 19* 
 
 their bodies were returned to the cave which had been their 
 refuge. With his usual military skill, Joshua took advantage 
 of the panic which his signal success and the attendant miracles 
 had on this occasion inspired, and overran and reduced the 
 greater part of the country from Gibeon southward to the 
 aesert frontier, including the cities of Makkedah, Libnah, 
 Lachish, Eglon, Debir, and Hebron. The attack on Defcir 
 was commanded by Caleb, who, according to a romantic 
 oriental usage, announced that he would give his daughter 
 Achsah in marriage to the man who should first enter the 
 town, or most distinguish himself in the assault. The prize 
 of gallantry was won by Othniel, Caleb's own nephew, whom 
 we shall hereafter recognise as the first "Judge" in Israel. 
 After all these victories Joshua led back his army to Gilgal. 
 
 4. The success of this campaign gave great alarm to the 
 princes of the north, who united in a very powerful league, 
 headed by Jabin, king of Hazor. The allies took the field 
 with such a vast force as seemed fully equal to the task of 
 crushing the invaders by one stroke. Their army compre- 
 hended a proportion 
 of horses and chariots 
 of war : and this is 
 the first occasion on 
 which horses are men- 
 tioned in Palestine, 
 and the first time that 
 they were brought in- 
 to action against the 
 Israelites, who them- 
 eelves had no cavalry 
 till long" ?ftr. In dealing with this very formidable host, the 
 Hebrew general! followed his usual course : he penetrated into 
 Upper Galilee by rapid marches, and falling upon the enemy 
 when least expected, defeated them with tremendous slaughter. 
 This great loss so broke the power and spirits of the Canaan- 
 ites, that, while Joshua lived, no other powerful combination 
 could be formed against the Israelites, who occupied themselvei 
 in reducing in detail the petty kings and cities of the country. 
 In the course of five years, thirty-one of these little state* 
 were subdued. This was the period of merciless and extei* 
 
 110. Persian Chariot. 
 
800 
 
 FIRST DIVISION OF LANDS. 
 
 minating warfare, to avoid the horrors of which, it appean 
 that some of these nations emigrated to foreign lands; and 
 there are traditions which might lead us to trace some of them 
 to the northern shores of Africa. The towns which the Israe- 
 lites were unable to occupy or defend, they destroyed. These 
 were chiefly such as were situated in the plains ; for of those 
 that stood on hills Hazor only was destroyed. 
 
 5. At the end of five years, Joshua had reduced the 
 greater part of the country from the mountains of Seir to 
 those of Lebanon. The portion lying to the south of the 
 great plain of Esdraelon was the most completely subjugated ; 
 and it seemed proper to determine without further delay to 
 what tribes that portion should belong. The southern part 
 of this territory was given to Judah, and the northern part to 
 Ephraim, and the unprovided half tribe of Manasseh. Thus 
 five tribes were provided for : two-and-a-half on each side of 
 
 111. Mounts Ebal and Gerizim. 
 
 the river Jordan. This first distribution of territory seemed 
 a suitable occasion for the removal of the tabernacle from 
 Gilgal to the interior of the conquered country. Shiloh, in 
 
THK SOLEMNITY AT EBAL AND QERIJEIM. 201 
 
 the territory of Ephraim, and near the centre of ijie land, 
 was the place chosen ; and there it continued above 450 
 years, until the time of Samuel. It appears to have been on 
 the way to this place that the Israelites, in passing by the 
 mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, went through the august and 
 striking ceremonial which Moses had long before directed to 
 be celebrated in that place, and whereby he had wisely pro- 
 vided that the assembled people should, on taking possession 
 of their inheritance, once more solemnly declare their accep- 
 tance of the institutions which had been given to them (Deut. 
 xxvti.) The fundamental laws were inscribed on plastered 
 pillars, and sacrifices were offered on a large altar of unhewn 
 stone. Then, six of the tribes stood on Mount Ebal, and the 
 other six tribes on Mount Gerizim ; while the ark with the 
 priests and Levites was stationed in the valley between. In 
 that vast audience, the loud voices of the Levites proclaimed 
 blessings on the obedient, and curses on the disobedient to 
 the law ; and each clause of blessing and of curse was met by 
 a grand responsive " AMEN ! " from the thousands of Israel- 
 for the blessings from Gerizim, and for the curses from Ebal. 
 
 6. The five or six following years were consumed in a 
 desultory warfare with the unconquered states. It would 
 appear that the existing population did not yet need all the 
 country, and found enough to occupy them in what they had 
 already acquired. At all events, the first ardour of action 
 had so much subsided, that at length Joshua rebuked the 
 tribes for their backwardness in taking full possession of their 
 heritage. Anxious, however, that the territorial distribution 
 should be settled before his death, he determined that all that 
 remained to be done with regard to such a distribution should 
 be at once effected, leaving the tribes to assist one another in 
 getting complete possession of the domains which fell to them. 
 As it appeared probable that the portions already given were 
 too large in proportion to the whole, it was deemed necessary 
 that properly qualified persons should be sent through the 
 land to survey it, and to enter the particulars in a book. It 
 is not improbable that some kind of map was constructed on 
 this occasion ; and, altogether, the circumstance is interesting 
 *s indicating the earliest territorial survey on record. 
 
 7. The result of this operation manifested that too much 
 
202 THE TWO AND HALF TRIBES DISMISSED. 
 
 land had been given at the previous distribution, and that the 
 seven remaining tribes could not be adequately provided for 
 out of what remained ; and room was therefore made for two 
 other tribes in the portion which had been assigned to Judah, 
 and for one in that which had been given to Ephraim. To 
 prevent disputes, the seven portions were distributed by lot to 
 the seven tribes; and that the determination of the lot were 
 divinely directed was evinced by the fact, that the position 
 and territory given to each of the tribes corresponded exactly 
 to the prophetic descriptions given by Jacob and by Moses. 
 The lot gave to Simeon and Dan the two portions which had 
 been formed out of the territory of Judah, and to Benjamin 
 that which had been taken from Ephraim. The four portions 
 in the north, forming what was afterwards called Galilee, 
 were assigned by the lot to Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, and 
 Naphtali. The tribe of Levi had no territory assigned to it ; 
 but each of the tribes gave four towns with their suburbs for 
 the residence of the Levites, whereby the members of that 
 tribe were equally and judiciously dispersed through, the 
 country ; and, although there was but one tabernacle and one 
 altar, a determinate localization, in every tribe, was made ol 
 the institutions and officers of the Divine King. Of the 
 forty-eight cities given to the tribe of Levi, thirteen were 
 allotted to the priesthood, all in the tribes of Judah and 
 Benjamin. Six of the forty-eight, at proper distances from 
 each other, were made cities of refuge for the man-slayer. 
 These were, on the west of the Jordan, Hebron in Judah, 
 Shechem in Ephraim, and Kedesh in Naphtali; and on the 
 east, Bezer in the wilderness, Ramoth in Gilead, and Golan 
 in Bashan. 
 
 8. This important operation having been completed undei 
 the direction of Joshua and Eleazer, the high-priest, it seemed 
 proper to dismiss to their homes the warriors of the tribes 
 beyond the Jordan, who, according to agreement, had hitherto 
 accompanied the other tribes, and assisted them in their war- 
 fare. Joshua, therefore, called them together, and, afte* 
 acknowledging their services, and exhorting them to maintain 
 their allegiance to the Divine King, and their union with the 
 other tribes, sent them away with his blessing. The return- 
 ing tribes having crossed the Jordan, erected, at the passage 
 
MfflCTION OF A SECOND ALTAR. 203 
 
 of Bethabara, a great altar, which threatened to produce a 
 serious misunderstanding between them and the tribes on this 
 ride the river. The law allowed but one altar for sacri- 
 fices ; and it was hastily concluded that the trans-Jordanio 
 tribes designed to destroy the unity of the nation, by setting 
 up a separate altar and a separate establishment on their side 
 the river. This apprehension so awakened the indignation 
 and zeal of the other tribes, that they assembled in large 
 numbers at Shiloh, bent on making war with their brethren, 
 unless a satisfactory explanation were afforded. Delegates 
 were sent to remonstrate with them, and to invite them to 
 come and share the country west of the Jordan, if they deemed 
 that river so great a barrier as to disconnect them from the 
 central altar and establishment at Shiloh. The charge 
 was, however, repelled with horror by the suspected tribes, 
 who explained that the altar was not intended by them for 
 sacrifices, but for an abiding monument of their common origin, 
 interest, polity, and worship of that very unity which they 
 were charged with an intention to dissever. This statement 
 was received with great satisfaction, and the name of Ed, " a 
 Witness," was given to the altar of memorial. 
 
 9. Joshua appears to have lived about fourteen years after 
 the second division of the lands. During this period, the 
 people ceased to prosecute the war against the Canaanites. 
 It would seem that the several tribes having as much land 
 and as many towns as they at present wanted, applied them- 
 selves to agriculture and the pursuits of settled life, and each 
 tribe became too much engrossed in its own concerns to assist 
 the others in getting full possession of their territory. It was 
 well that they took so early and decided a turn towards their 
 intended vocation as an agricultural people, and that the old 
 inhabitants were not too rapidly expelled before the Hebrews 
 were able to take their place and to occupy their cities ; but 
 it was dangerous to them as the peculiar people, that they 
 were in a position to form connections with the idolaters, and 
 to be contaminated by their abominations. There was also 
 reason to fear that the Canaanites, by being left alone, would 
 in time gather strength again to make head against the chosen 
 race. All this happened accordingly, but not in the time of 
 Joshua, 
 
204 
 
 DEATH OF JOSHUA. 
 
 10. Although the old patriarchal idolatries and thos i 
 Egypt were secretly practised by some individuals, yet the 
 people were, upon the whole, obedient to the Divine King, 
 and therefore prosperous, during the life of Joshua. To con- 
 firm them in their obedience, Joshua, in his latter days, 
 convened two general assemblies, in which he earnestly 
 exhorted them to be faithful to God ; and on the last occasion 
 he caused the covenant, by which the Lord had become their 
 overeign, to be solemnly acknowledged and renewed. As a 
 standing memorial of this transaction, a stone was set up 
 under a tree that grew near the sanctuary, and a record of 
 it was made in the Book of the Law. Soon after this, th 
 illustrious warrior and devoted upholder of the theocratic*) 
 initiations, died at the age of 110 yeara. 
 
805 
 
 CHAPTER III. B.O. 1426 TO 1285. 
 
 FALESTINE. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Dthniel delivers Israel 1405 
 
 Khud 1323 
 
 ghamgar 1305 
 
 Deborah and Barak . 1285 
 
 EGYPT. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Amnn-men . . . 1408 
 
 Remeses 1 1395 
 
 Osirei I. (Armais) . 1385 
 Remeses II. (Miamun) 
 
 or the Great . . 1355 
 Ptliahmen Tlimeioftep? 
 
 (Amenophis) . . 1289 
 
 rVENTS AMD RB8O1M. 
 
 B.O, 
 
 Musoeus the Poet, Mi- 
 nos, King of Crete 1400 
 
 Eleusinian Mysteries 
 introduced at Athens 1366 
 
 The Isthmian Games 
 instituted . . . 1331 
 
 Orpheus the Poet. 
 
 1. WE now enter upon the time of the Judges, a period 
 of 331 years (1426 to 1095 B. C.), during which we shall 
 find the Helrew nation afflicted or prosperous, in proportion 
 to their neglect or observance of the conditions of their cove- 
 nant with their Divine King. When they turned from God, 
 and worshipped idols, He humbled them before their enemies, 
 by whom they were subjected to the yoke of bondage; and 
 when at length, in their misery, they repented and turned to 
 God, he sent them deliverers, named " Judges," under whom 
 they continued prosperous, until they sinned again, when they 
 were again punished. 
 
 2. During the generation which had taken the covenant 
 nnder Joshua, idolatry, although it had never been wholly 
 eradicated, was never allowed to predominate in the nation. 
 Soon, however, the idols of Canaan began to receive that 
 homage which had formerly been given to those of Mesopo- 
 tamia and Egypt. This increasing tendency to idolatry arose 
 from the continued remissness of the Israelites in their con- 
 duct towards the Canaanites. Only a few tribes made war 
 upon them, and these soon grew weary of the contest. In 
 most cases where they had the ascendency, they were content 
 to hold the Canaanites under tribute, although this had been 
 forbidden by an express law; and their intercourse becoming 
 gradually more intimate, they engaged in affairs of commerce, 
 and intermarried with the native inhabitants. 
 
 3. Joshua has been blamed by some for not asking per- 
 mission to appoint a successor in the government; but his 
 
206 GOVERNMENT AFTER JOSHUA'S DEATH. 
 
 office was one in which no successor was needed. He wag a 
 military commander, not a civil governor. The Lord himself 
 enthroned in the Tabernacle, was the political and civil, aa 
 well as the religious, head of the nation ; and there were esta- 
 blished means of obtaining the commands of the Divine King 
 on all questions that could arise, through the instrumentality 
 of his chief minister, the high-priest. In those days the 
 (unctions of general government were so simple that this 
 theocratical institution contained every element of stability 
 and safety, had its principles and advantages been properly 
 understood by the people. The administration of justice 
 among them had been well provided for; the business of 
 public instruction was in the hands of the Levites, in their 
 several cities; and the internal concerns of the several tribes 
 were sufficiently cared for by their own patriarchal or family 
 chiefs and elders. 
 
 4. The only military operations of any note shortly after 
 the death of Joshua, consisted in the endeavours of the tribe 
 of Judah, assisted by Simeon, to get full possession of its 
 territory. In this it seems to have succeeded generally; but 
 it was unable to expel the Jebusites from the strong fortress 
 which formed the upper town of Jerusalem. In one action 
 Against Adoni-bezek, in Bezek, ten thousand Canaanites were 
 slain, and the king was taken prisoner. His thumbs and 
 great toes were cut off, in retribution for the manner in which 
 he had been wont to treat his own captives; for he himself 
 declared that seventy kings, whose thumbs and great toes he 
 had cut off, gathered their bread under his table. 
 
 5. The high-priest Eleazer did not long outlive Joshua, 
 and he was succeeded by his son Phinehas. Early in his 
 administration, " the angel of the Lord," who had appeared 
 to Joshua at Gilgal, again appeared to the people when 
 assembled before the tabernacle at Shiloh, and, having 
 olemnly leprehended their conduct with regard to the 
 Canaanites, threatened no longer to vouchsafe Almighty 
 power for their expulsion, but to leave the remainder of the 
 Canaonites for a test and trial of their faithfulness. Thi* 
 authoritative rebuke produced some effect, and moved them 
 to snch cries and tears aa caused the place to be called 
 Bochim (weepers). 
 
OTHNIEL DELIVERS ISRAEL. 207 
 
 6. But the impression produced was of short duration. 
 The last five chapters of the book of Judges relate events 
 which belong to the time of Phinehas, and give a melancholy 
 view of the moral condition of the nation at this period. The 
 tribe of Dan being pressed for room in its southern allotment, 
 and being unable to get possession of the portions of territory 
 which were successfully defended by the Canaanites, sent out 
 a portion of its members to seek for a situation where they 
 might more easily form a settlement. This they found near 
 the source of the Jordan, where they took the town of Leshem 
 or Laish from the inhabitants, who were living in security, 
 and changed its name to Dan, under which name it is often 
 celebrated as the most northerly town of Palestine in the 
 popular phrase, "from Dan (in the north) to Beersheba (in 
 the south)," which described the whole length of the land. 
 On this occasion a modified system of idolatry was introduced 
 into this tribe. The depravity of the inhabitants of the Ben- 
 jamite city of Gibeah, and the grievous maltreatment of a 
 Levite and his wife, roused the other tribes to warlike opera- 
 tions, on the refusal of the Benjamites to give up the offenders. 
 This infatuated tribe had some success in the first and second 
 actions ; but in a third, their reverse was so complete, and the 
 ensuing carnage so dreadful, that the tribe was nearly exter- 
 minated, and never wholly recovered the blow, but ever after 
 remained the smallest tribe in Israel. 
 
 7. To punish the disorders, which these circumstances 
 illustrate rather than describe, the Lord in his anger brought 
 the nation into subjection to a distant and unexpected enemy, 
 Chushan Kishathaim, a king from beyond the Euphrates, who 
 kept the Israelites under severe tributary bondage for eight 
 years. At the end of that time they turned to the Divine 
 King against whom they had so grievously revolted ; and he 
 moved Othniel, the nephew of Caleb, to act for their deliverance. 
 After some desultory warfare, a general action was fought, 
 in which the complete victory of the Israelites effected their 
 deliverance from the Mesopotamian yoke. After this, Otb 
 niel, as "judge " or regent for the JDivine King, directed the 
 foreign and military policy of southern Israel for forty years. 
 daring which time the people continued true to their allegi- 
 ance, and dwelt in peace. 
 
208 8HASIGAH. 
 
 8. On his death, the Israelites again returned to theii 
 idolatrous practices, and were punished by their jealous neigh- 
 bours and relatives, the Moabites, who, finding the chosen 
 people not invincible, ventured a battle, and, being victorious, 
 reduced to subjection the tribes beyond Jordan, and, at length, 
 also the southern tribes on this side the river. Eglon, the 
 king, then fixed his residence at Jericho, as the best means 
 of establishing his power, by controlling the communications 
 of the tribes which the river separated. The Hebrews were 
 kept under tribute for eighteen years; at the expiration ol 
 which, one of the tribute-bearers, Ehud of Benjamin, secretly 
 dew the king, whose death struck the Moabites with such con- 
 sternation, that the Israelites were enabled, under the con- 
 duct of Ehud, to shake off their yoke. This man's deed 
 was murder; but in the East, such acts are considered as 
 sanctioned by public objects and successful results. 
 
 9. The victory over the Moabites was followed by a re- 
 pose of eighty years, at the end of which the Philistines first 
 invaded the land of Judah. But their force was encountered 
 by a body of husbandmen, under the conduct of Shamgar, 
 who, although armed only with the instruments which they 
 employed in goading their oxen,* repelled them with great 
 slaughter. If Shamgar, in consequence of this victory, be- 
 came judge in southern Israel, it does not appear that he lived 
 long to enjoy that honour. 
 
 10. In the 200 years which had elapsed since their dis- 
 comfiture by Joshua, the northern Canaanites had gradually 
 recovered such power as enabled them to form another con- 
 federacy against the Israelites, headed by Jabln, king of 
 Hazor. He had at his disposal a large army, comprehending 
 900 iron-armed chariots of war, which the Israelites regarded 
 with peculiar dread. With such a force, commanded by 
 Sisera, one of the ablest generals of that age, he grievously 
 oppressed the northern tribes for twenty years ; and his yoke 
 appears to have been more intolerable than any which they had 
 previously sustained. At the end of that time, Deborah, a 
 prophetess of Mount Ephraim, was moved by a Divine im 
 
 These or-gonds, which are still used in the East, were good substitutes for spear* 
 they are often eight feet long, armed at one end with a sharp point, for goading the oxem, 
 Ud at the other with a kind of ipad* or paddle for clearing the plough of clay, fee. 
 
DEBORAH AND BARAK. 209 
 
 pulse to exhort Barak, of the tribe of Naphtali, to undertake 
 the deliverance of the afflicted tribes. With some reluctance 
 ne accepted the call, on condition that she went with him. 
 He assembled 10,000 men, near Mount Tabor, with whom, 
 confiding in God, he gave battle to the numerous hosts of 
 Jabin in the plain of Esdraelon. The Canaanites were com- 
 pletely routed ; and a sudden inundation of the river Kishon 
 swept away great numbers of the fugitives. Sisera found re- 
 fuge in the tent of a pastoral chief, a Kenite, named Heber, 
 whose wife Jael offered him hospitality and protection ; but 
 while he slept, she treacherously slew him, by driving a tent- 
 pin through his temples, and nailing his head to the ground. 
 This great victory was celebrated by Deborah in a song of 
 thanksgiving, abounding in the richest ornament! cf men 
 oriental poetry. Jndgw iv. 5. 
 
S10 
 
 CHAFTER IV. B. C. 1285 TO 1157. 
 
 fALXSTINB. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 1242 
 
 EGYPT. 
 B.C. 
 
 Pthah-men-Septhah 
 
 EVXITTS AND PSKSOBt. 
 B.C. 
 
 Abimelech . . . . 
 
 1236 
 
 (Sethos) .... 12G9 
 
 dition . . . 1283 
 
 Tola 
 
 1232 
 
 Oairei II. (Rampses) 1255 
 
 
 
 1210 
 
 
 stituted . . 1263 
 
 Jephthmh .... 
 
 1198 
 1182 
 
 Kcmesealll. . . 1235 
 
 The rape of Helen by 
 Paris . 11M 
 
 Eton ...... 
 
 1176 
 
 n ernes) . . 1205 
 
 Troy taken by the 
 
 Abdo 
 
 1165 
 
 Rerneses V. (Thuorie 1196 
 
 Greeks .... 11M 
 
 
 1157 
 
 Remr 38 VI. . . 1180 
 
 
 
 
 Remeses VII. . . 1170 
 
 
 1. THE defeat of Sisera was followed by a repose of forty 
 jears. At the end of that time the Midianites, Amalekites, 
 and other nomad tribes, began to invade Palestine in great 
 numbers, treading down the cultivated lands under the feet 
 of their numerous herds, seizing the fruits of the ground, 
 taking away the cattle, plundering men and houses, and, 
 in short, ravaging the country as the Bedouin Arabs are wont 
 to do at the present time, when there is no power sufficient 
 to restrain them. Like them also, the Midianites withdrew 
 on the approach of winter, and returned in the early summer 
 to gather that which the Israelites had sown, and for which 
 they had laboured. This oppression continued for seven 
 years, and became so grievous, that many of the people sought 
 refuge in the dens and caves of the wilderness ; and it is per- 
 haps to this period that we should refer the migration to the 
 land of Moab of that Elimelech, the touching history of whose 
 widow and daughter-in-law forms the beautiful episode con- 
 tained in the book of Ruth. 
 
 2. In their deep trouble, the Israelites at length cried to 
 the God who had so often delivered them in time past. A 
 prophet was then sent to rebuke their ingratitude ; but also 
 to promise deliverance. Accordingly, as Gideon, a man of 
 the tribe of Manasseh, was secretly threshing wheat hi a 
 winepress, to hide it from the Midianites, an angel of God 
 appeared to him, and commissioned him to undertake th 
 deliverance of bis country. Gideon first sought to decline so 
 
GIDEON DELIVERS ISRAEL. 211 
 
 high a trust, and then requested a token that the commission 
 was indeed from heaven. His request was granted ; for, at 
 the touch of the angel's staff, fire broke forth and consumed, 
 af a sacrifice, the kid and the bread whibh Gideon had set 
 before his visitant, who disappeared, and left him " filled with 
 the Spirit of God, /; a spirit of faith and fortitude, equal to 
 the great enterprise which lay before him. In answer to hi 
 prayer, another sign was given to Gideon ; a fleece which he 
 spread out upon the open threshing-floor became wet with 
 dew, while the ground was dry; and again, the fleece alone 
 was dry, while the soil was wet all around. 
 
 3. Now strong in faith, Gideon overthrew the altar which, 
 his father had erected to Baal, and cut down the trees of the 
 " sacred" grove which he had planted around it. Then pro- 
 eeeding into the country, he blew the trumpet of war, when 
 32,000 men gathered to his standard. But the Lord know- 
 ing the unbelief and distrust that prevailed among them, 
 directed Gideon to proclaim that all who were fearful and 
 faint-hearted might withdraw. Availing themselves of this 
 permission, 22,000 took their departure, so that only 10,000 
 were left. Even these were too many for the Lord's purpose, 
 which required that the means employed should be so evi- 
 dently inadequate, that the glory of the deliverance might be 
 entirely his own. Gideon was therefor* directed to lead his 
 thirsty troops to the river, and permit them to drink. The 
 greater part bent down to the surface of the water, to imbibe 
 large draughty at ease and leisure ; but a few lapped up the 
 water in the hollow of their hands, as men in haste. Those 
 who stooped down to drink were ordered by Gideon to retire 
 to their homes; and by the remainder, who were only 300 in 
 number, the deliverance of Israel was promised. The host 
 which this handful of men had to encounter, lay encamped in 
 the plain of Esdraelon. Encouraged by ascertaining, in a 
 night-visit to their camp, that the Midianites were already 
 dispirited, and might easily be struck with a panic, the 
 Hebrew commander instructed his men to provide themselves 
 with earthen pitchers, and to place in each pitcher a lighted 
 lamp. The pitcher containing the lamp in one hand, and a 
 trumpet in the other, formed the weapons of their warfare. 
 The 300 men, in three bands of 100 each, approached tli* 
 
 P. 10 
 
212 
 
 GIDEON DELIVERS ISRAEL. 
 
 sleeping host of Midian, in silence and by night, on different 
 sides. At a given signal, they simultaneously broke theii 
 earthen vessels, displayed their lamps, and blew a loud blast 
 with their trumpets. The tremendous noise by which the 
 Midianites were awakened, and the numerous lights all 
 around, conveyed to their confused senses the notion that they 
 were surrounded by a mighty host; and, in the darkness, 
 every one taking his neighbour for an enemy, they slew each 
 other by thousands. One hundred and twenty thousand men 
 were left dead upon the field of battle, and only 15,000 saved 
 themselves by flight. The Israelites who shrunk from the 
 war joined in the pursuit, and hasted to share the spoil. 
 Gideon displayed the talents of one fit to govern men, by the 
 tact with which he soothed the jealous pride of the Ephraim 
 ites, who complained that they had not been called into 
 action, and by the spirit with which he punished the men of 
 Succoth and Penuel, who had refused refreshment to his 
 men, and had derided his enterprise. 
 
 4. In the height of their admiration and gratitude, the 
 people offered to make Gideon king, and to entail the crown 
 upon his race. But he was too well acquainted with the pecu- 
 iar nature of the go- 
 vernment under which 
 they had been placed 
 by God, to listen to a 
 proposal like this. He 
 therefore replied, "Not 
 I, nor my son, Vut JE- 
 HCVAH shall reign over 
 you." But this great 
 man was not equally 
 alive to the religious 
 obligations of the cove- 
 nant; for with the pro- 
 duce of the golden ear- 
 rings taken from the 
 Midianites, which were 
 willingly given to him 
 by the army, he made an ephod, or priest's dress, and ap 
 pears to have formed a sacerdotal establishment in bis own 
 
 fig. 113. Ear-rings. 
 
ABIMELECH PROCLAIMED KINO, Sltt 
 
 town, where sacrifices might be regularly offered. However 
 well intended, this was a gross interference with the Tabernacle 
 establishment at Shiloh, and in the end proved a snare to 
 Gideon's own family, and an occasion for idolatry to th 
 nation. Judges viii. 
 
 5. Gideon lived forty years after this great victory ; and 
 in bis time the peace of Israel does not seem to have been 
 agjiiu seriously disturbed. The parable of Jotham seems to 
 intimate, that after, or perhaps even before, his death, the 
 offer of the crown had been repeated to his sons, of whom he 
 had, by his several wives, seventy that were legitimate. But 
 they having nobly refused the tempting offer, his spurious 
 son Abimelech succeeded in persuading the people of Shechem 
 to proclaim him king, and to put to death all the other sons 
 of Gideon. Only Jotham, the youngest, escaped; who after- 
 wards from Mount Gerizim administered a cutting rebuke to 
 the Shechemites, in the oldest and most beautiful apologue of 
 antiquity, which represents the bramble as accepting that 
 sovereignty over the trees which had successively been de- 
 clined by the olive-tree, the fig-tree, and the vine. Three 
 years sufficed to disgust the Shechemites with the king they 
 had set up. They revolted, in consequence of which their 
 city was utterly destroyed by Abimelech, who then pro- 
 ceeded to reduce another revolted town, Thebez, where he 
 was killed by a stone thrown down upon him by a woman. 
 Judges ix. 
 
 6. The enemies from whom Tola, of the tribe of Issachar, 
 defended Israel are not named; and of Jair, the Gileadite, we 
 only know that his thirty sons rode on white asses, as chiefs 
 of thirty small towns or villages in Gilead, which belonged to 
 their opulent family. The administration of Tola lasted 
 twenty-three years, and that of Jair twenty-two. 
 
 7. After this, the Israelites fell into gross idolatry, in 
 punishment for which their enemies were allowed to oppress 
 them greatly. The Ammonites laid claim to a part of the 
 land beyond Jordan which had been wrested from them by 
 the Amorites, from whom it was conquered by Moses. For 
 eighteen years they greatly distressed the two and half tribes 
 beyond Jordan, and likewise made incursions into Benjamin, 
 Judah, and Ephraim, who had at the same time to defend 
 
214 JEPIITHAH DELIVERS ISRAEL. 
 
 themselves against the Philistines. In these troubles they 
 cried to God, whom they had so grievously insulted; and at 
 they gave signs of true repentance, he delayed not to send 
 them deliverance. 
 
 8. Jephthah, the deliverer raised up on this occasion, was 
 an illegitimate son, by " a strange woman," of one Gilead, a 
 person of some note in Manasseh, beyond Jordan. Ho had 
 no claim to share with his brethren in their patrimony ; and, 
 on the death of their father, was excluded with some harsh- 
 ness from the paternal home, and became a wanderer and 
 exile. A number of men of like broken fortune and unsettled 
 dispositions, joined themselves to him, and they lived upon the 
 prey which they acquired by harassing the Ammonites and 
 other enemies of Israel. In this kind of predatory warfare, 
 they became skilful, hardy, and bold ; and the name of Jeph- 
 thah was celebrated beyond Jordan as that of a valiant and 
 successful leader. When, therefore, the tribes were encouraged 
 to hope for deliverance, their eyes turned to him, and a depu- 
 tation was sent to invite him to take the command in the war 
 against the Ammonites. After some demur, he accepted the 
 invitation, and repaired to Mizpeh of Gilead, where his ap- 
 pointment was solemnly ratified. His first act was to send 
 an embassy to demand of the Ammonites why they invaded 
 the territories of Israel. In reply, they advanced the claim 
 of prior occupation, which has been mentioned; to which 
 Jephthah answered, that whoever were the prior occupants, 
 the country belonged to Israel by right of conquest from tho 
 Amorites. Jephthah then went forth to the war, but in de 
 parting, rashly vowed to devote in sacrifice to God whatever 
 came forth to meet him on his return triumphant. In tie 
 issue the Ammonites were defeated with great slaughter, and 
 completely subdued. 
 
 9. Jephthah had only one child, a virgin daughter, beauti- 
 ful and young ; and she it was who, on his return to Mizpeh, 
 came forth, at the head of the maidens, to greet him with 
 timbrels and dances. The warrior remembered then the irre- 
 versible vow which he had taken, and rent his clothes in the 
 anguish of his soul. When apprised of her doom, the heroic 
 daughter encouraged her father to fulfil his vow ; but whether 
 he did this by shedding her blood in sacrifice, or by devoting 
 
DEATH OF JEFHTHAH. 
 
 her to a secluded and solitary life, is a point not well deter* 
 mined, and on which different opinions are entertained. 
 
 10. The Ephraimites, envying the splendid success of 
 their brethren in this campaign, and the valuable booty which 
 they had gained, stirred up a civil war, which terminated very 
 disastrously for them, for they were defeated with the loss of 
 42,000 men. Jephthah died, after an administration of six 
 years. 
 
 11. The Judges Ibzan of Bethlehem, who governed 
 seven years; Elon of Zebulon, ten years; and Abdon of 
 Ephraim, eight years; in all, twenty-five years appear to 
 have maintained peace. But during this time the Israelites 
 again relapsed into gross idolatry, and drew on themselves a 
 rigorous bondage to their western foes the Philistines, who 
 had by this time become a powerful people. This servitude 
 lasted forty years; during which, whatever general govern- 
 ment existed, appears to have been exercised by Eli the high- 
 prie* (B. 0. 
 
316 
 
 CHAPTER V. B.C. 1155 TO HIT. 
 
 fALESTINE. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 MMonbora 1165 
 
 Samson's exploits from . . 1137 to 111? 
 Samson s death 1117 
 
 xom. 
 
 Remeses V11I. . . lllf 
 
 RemeseslX 1140 
 
 Remeses X 1126 
 
 1. SAMSON was the next deliverer, or rather avenger 
 for, as his countrymen were become too weak and too spirit- 
 less to second his efforts, he was only able to " begin to deliver 
 Israel," and to molest the Philistines in transient and desul- 
 tory attacks. Samson was a very extraordinary man in 
 bodily endowments, indomitable courage, and tremendous 
 strength ; but he was very feeble in his moral and intellectual 
 character. His parents were of the tribe of Dan. An angel 
 announced his birth and declared his vocation to his mother ; 
 and directed that the abstinence and unshorn hair of a Naza- 
 rite should distinguish him from his birth. These were to be 
 the signs of the covenant by which he held his gigantic 
 powers, and on which their continuance was to depend. 
 
 2. In early manhood, Samson became enamoured of a 
 damsel of the Philistine town of Timnath, and persuaded his 
 parents to go and ask her in marriage for him. On the way, 
 he encountered a lion, and without weapons, tore it asunder 
 as if it had been a kid ; but he did not deem the exploit 
 worth relating, even to his parents. The offer of marriage 
 was accepted ; and after a while, Samson again went to Tim- 
 nath, to celebrate the nuptials and bring home the bride. On 
 the way, he turned aside to see what had become of the lion ; 
 and he found a swarm of bees in the dried frame-work of skin 
 and bones which was left, after jackals (probably) had de- 
 voured the flesh. This furnished the subject of the riddle 
 which, according to the custom of these times, he proposed to 
 the guests at the marriage-feast " Out of the eater came 
 forth meat, and out of the fierce came forth sweetness." Not 
 being able to solve the riddle, the guests secretly induced 
 Samson's wife, by threats, to extract the secret frosa him and 
 
SAMSON'S EXPLOITS. 217 
 
 reveal it to them. Indignant at his wife for betraying his 
 secret, and at the guests for tampering with her, Samson left 
 her and went home, after he had slain thirty Philistines of 
 Askelon, and given their garments, as his forfeit, to the guests. 
 3. After his anger had subsided, he went to visit his wife, 
 with a present of a kid; but he found her married to his 
 friend, who had been his bridesman at the wedding. On this 
 and other occasions, he allowed his private wrongs to stimu- 
 late him to the exercise of his vindictive mission, which other- 
 wise he appears to have been much disposed to neglect. Fired 
 by the present insult, he vowed and took severe revenge. 
 Collecting three hundred foxes, he tied them together by thei 
 tails, in pairs ; and then 
 putting a firebrand be- 
 tween every pair, he turned 
 them into the standing corn 
 of the Philistines, which 
 was burnt with fire, along 
 with the shocks of corn, 
 and the vineyards and 
 olive-grounds. The Phili- 
 stines laid the blame upon Samson's wife and her father, and 
 came and burnt them both with fire ; but this cruel action wag 
 soon after punished by Samson with so great a slaughter, that 
 he deemed it prudent to withdraw to the top of the almost in- 
 accessible rock Etam in the tribe of Judah. Determined to 
 secure so implacable an enemy, the Philistines went in great 
 force against him; but beingunable to reach him in this position, 
 they required the Judahites to yield him up. More disposed 
 to dread the consequences of Samson's feats than to glory hi 
 them, three thousand men of Judah went to seize their hero, 
 and deliver him up in bends to the Philistines. He did not 
 resist ; and when the enemies and masters of Israel beheld 
 their redoubted foe brought to them as a captive, they raised 
 an exulting shout : but at that moment Samson burst asunder 
 the new ropes with which he was bound, as if they had been 
 burnt tow, and seizing the jaw-bone of an ass that lay near, 
 he fell upon the Philistines, and routed them with the slaughter 
 of a thousand. After this feat, which he very properly felt 
 to be " a great deliverance which God had given to him," 
 
218 SAMSON AT GAZA. 
 
 Samson, ready to perish with intense thirst, called upon Go4 
 for relief; and immediately water rose from a hollow place 
 close by, which ever after remained a perennial spring. 
 
 4. We next find this very strong yet erring man in the 
 house of a harlot, in the Philistine city of Gaza. When his 
 arrival was known, the gates of the city were shut, and a 
 guard set, to prevent his escape. But he arose in the night, 
 and not only burst open, but rent away the gates, carried 
 them off, posts and all, upot his shoulders, and left them 
 upon a hill on the road to Hebron. 
 
 5. Another harlot, named Delilah, dwelling in the vale 
 of Sorek, proved his ruin. Tempted by the rich bribes of the 
 Philistine lords, Delilah endeavoured to extract from Samson 
 the secret of his strength, for it was known that it was in 
 something more than bones and sinews that he differed from 
 other men. After some attempts to amuse her, Samson, tired 
 by her importunities, at length told her that his strength lay 
 in his hair, as the sign of his devotement, and of the covenant 
 by which he held his powers. While he slept upon her lap, 
 she made the seven locks of his hair be cut off ; and instantly 
 the covenant with God being broken, the strength of Samson 
 departed from him, and he became weak as other men. The 
 Philistines took him without difficulty, put out his eyes, and 
 carried him to Gaza, where he was bound with fetters of brass, 
 and put to a slave's labour in the prison-house. Blind and 
 in prison, Samson had leisure to repent that he had trifled sc 
 Kghtly with the gift of God ; and with his repentance and 
 the growth of his hair, it pleased God to renew his strength. 
 At this time the Philistines held a high day of festival and 
 thanksgiving, to praise their God Dagon for having delivered 
 their greatest enemy into their hands; and Samson himself 
 was brought from the prison, that the assembled people might 
 behold their wretched victim, triumph in his misery, and 
 make sport of his blindness. Wearied at length, the fallen 
 champion applied to the lad who led him by the hand, to lei 
 him lean for rest upon the two pillars which chiefly supported 
 the roof of the building, upon which three thousand people 
 were at that time assembled to see the spectacle and celebrate 
 the feast. Their impious rejoicing in their idol was so dia- 
 
 to God, that he granted the prayer of Samson, and 
 
SAMSON'S DEATH. 
 
 219 
 
 endued him with such strength, that when, embracing the 
 pillars, he bowed himself with all his might, they yielded to 
 (he vast force, and broke ; whereon the roof, with the mass of 
 people upon it, fell in, and buried in the ruins Samson and 
 the multitude below. At his death, Samson slew a greater 
 Dumber of the Philistines than ho had done during his life. 
 Judges, xvi. 4-31. 
 
 6. The precise effect of this event upon the relative posi- 
 tion of the Israelites and the Philistines does not appear. 
 But a blow which struck down the flower of the Philistine 
 nation was not likely to be inoperative ; and it may be infer- 
 red from subsequent circumstances, that the Philistines were 
 too much discouraged to maintain their hold upon the Hebrew 
 nation. 
 
CHAPTER VL 
 
 EGYPT. 
 
 B.O. 
 
 RemeseaXL . . 1110 
 
 1TVTNT8 HUOMa. 
 
 9M. 
 Return of the Heraelidss 
 
 into Peloponessus . 11M 
 Which they divide 
 
 among themselves . 1101 
 Kingdom of Lacedeemon 
 
 commences . . . 1108 
 
 Muumri. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 fcmnel born . . . 1149 
 Samuel called to be a 
 
 Prophet .... 1187 
 Commencement of 20 
 
 P jars' servitude to the 
 hilistines . . . 112? 
 Convention at Mizpeh, 
 
 and Samuel Judge 1107 
 Defeat of the Philistines 1107 
 End of Samuel's (12 
 years) separate admi- 
 nistration .... 1095 
 
 1. As Samson does not appear to have exercised any 
 authority, civil or military, even in the southern portion of 
 Palestine adjoining the Philistine territory to which his 
 operations were confined, he might be described as a scourge 
 of the Philistines rather than a Judge of Israel. Without 
 doubt, the civil government, as far as any existed in such 
 disorderly times, was directed by the high priest which 
 office, during a portion of Samson's time, appears to have 
 been held by Eli, although, for chronological purposes, his 
 administration is said to begin where the history of Samson 
 ends. Eli judged Israel for forty years after the death of 
 Samson. In the course of his administration, Hannah, the 
 wife of Elkanah, a Levite, who had been barren, and or 
 that account much insulted by another wife of Elkanah, who 
 was fruitful, in her distress prayed to the Lord to give her a 
 son, and vowed that if her suit were granted, she would 
 dedicate that son as a Nazarite to the Lord all the days of his 
 life. The petition was heard, and she called her son Samuel, 
 signifying " heard of God," or " given of God." In accor- 
 dance with the vow of special dedication, the child had no 
 sooner reached a proper age than he was taken to the taber- 
 nacle at Shiloh, and left there under the care of Eli, who 
 soon became much attached to him, and, as he grew up, em- 
 ployed him in personal attendance in himself, and in various 
 service* about the tabernacle. 
 
SAMUEL CALLED. 221 
 
 2. Eli himself was descended from Ithamar, the second 
 on of Aaron, and appears to have been the first high priest 
 of the younger branch of the family. We know not on what 
 occasion the elder branch, descended from Eleazer, had been 
 set aside. Eli was a pious man, but of too easy and mild a 
 disposition for his high situation. His gentle rebukes had 
 therefore very little effect upon his two sons, Hophni and 
 Phineas, who proved so degenerate, that they were guilty of 
 the grossest excesses and most criminal abuses of their priestly 
 office ; and hence the presentation of offerings and sacrifices 
 became disagreeable and hateful to all the people. Although 
 sensible of their bad conduct, Eli did not interpose his autho- 
 rity to put a stop to it. 
 
 3. Thus matters proceeded until the boy Samuel had 
 attained the age of twelve years, when he was called by 
 night, hi a very remarkable way, to the prophetic office. On 
 that occasion the destruction and deposition of Eli's house 
 were denounced, on account of the iniquities of his sons and 
 his own criminal neglect, "because his sons made them- 
 selves vile, and he restrained them not." Samuel could not 
 conceal this revelation from Eli. The aged pontiff, in con- 
 formity with the usual passive piety of his character, answered 
 meekly, " It is the Lord : let him do what seemeth to him 
 good 1 " From that time forward Samuel was favoured with 
 frequent communications from God. The youth also con- 
 ducted himself with so much propriety amd discretion, that 
 the people generally looked to him with affection and confi- 
 dence, as appointed of God to an office which appears to have 
 been for a long time intermitted. 
 
 4. Ten years after the call of Samuel, the Israelites, with- 
 out the consent or authority of their Divine King, whom they 
 oughfc to have consulted, embarked in an ill-considered war 
 with the Philistines. Being defeated in the first engagement 
 with the loss of 4000 men, they had the presumption to send 
 for the ark of God, out of the tabernacle, tha they might 
 fight under its protection. It was borne to the wars by 
 Hophni and Phineas with other priests ; and its arrival filled 
 the Philistines with dread, as they identified it with the pre- 
 sence of " the mighty God, that smote the Egyptians with all 
 the plagues," Yet they encouraged one another to fight 
 
322 
 
 THE ARK TAKEN TO ASHDOD. 
 
 manfully to save themselves from such bondage as that fa 
 which they had held the Israelites. Again they were victo- 
 rious : 30,000 men of Israel fell in the battle ; Hophni and 
 Phineas were slain ; and the art of the covenant was taken. 
 Eli, now blind with age, and his heart tremtVing for the ark 
 *f God, sat watching by the way side for the irst news from 
 the battle. He soon heard the disastrous tidings, and when 
 the messenger announced that " the ark of God was taken," 
 he fell off his seat, and, being heavy and old, his neck was 
 broken by the fall. 
 
 5. The Philistines conveyed the ark to Ashdod, and 
 placed it hi the temple of Dagon their god, whose idol bora 
 a figure half fish and half man. By this they perhaps in- 
 tended to shew that their god had triumphed over the God 
 whom the Hebrews worshipped. But He, always jealous of 
 His glory, delayed not to vindicate it on this occasion. On 
 successive nights, the image of Dagon was found thrice to 
 have fallen prostrate before the ark, and the third time it 
 was broken hi pieces. He also smote the Philistines with a 
 grievous disease, and with swarms of field-mice which marred 
 , the land; and they 
 
 114. 
 
 were 
 
 pelled to appease the 
 wrath of the God of 
 Israel, by trespass- 
 offerings expressive of 
 the plagues with 
 which they had been 
 visited. These were 
 
 five golden mice, and five golden emerods, which they put in 
 
 a coffer beside the ark. They then set the ark on a new car, 
 
 drawn by milch cows taken from their calves, which, without 
 
 guidance, took the right 
 
 road to the land of Israel, 
 
 and stopped at Beth- 
 
 shemesh, a city of the 
 
 priests in the tribe of 
 
 Judah. The restored 
 
 ark, which had been 
 
 even months among the Philistines, was received with grea 
 
 116. 
 
CONVENTION AT MIZPEH. 223 
 
 joy by the people; but this was soon turned into mourning, 
 for not fewer than 50,070 men were struck with sudden death 
 for presuming to look into the ark. This made the men of 
 Bethshemesh as much afraid as the Philistines had been, to 
 have the ark any longer among them, and they invited the 
 inhabitants of the neighbouring town of Kirjath-jearim to 
 send and take it to themselves. They did so, and deposited 
 it in the house of Abinadab, " upon tho hill," who set apart 
 his son Eleazer to take care of it. There it remained foi 
 eighty- two years, or until the tenth year of the reign of king 
 David. 
 
 6. Notwithstanding these signal events, the Israelites, 
 who remained in subjection to the Philistines, continued care- 
 less of the obligations of the covenant, and negligent of the 
 worship of God. The exertions of Samuel, however, in th 
 course of time, brought them round to a better state of feel- 
 ing ; and after twenty years, they were disposed to return to 
 their allegiance to their Divine King. Having, therefore, 
 put aside all their strange gods, they held a solemn feast of 
 humiliation for their sins at Mizpeh in Benjamin, and there 
 poured out water before the Lord in token of their grief. 
 Samuel, who was then formally recognised as judge over 
 Israel, earnestly interceded for them, and implored deliver- 
 ance from the Philistines, who had taken alarm at this large 
 assemblage, and were then advancing to disperse them. This 
 prayer was answered by a thunder-storm so tremendous, and 
 BO entirely unexpected at that season of the year, as struck 
 such terror and amazement into the Philistines, that they 
 were easily put to flight, and were pursued and smitten by the 
 Israelites. The consequences of this victory relieved them 
 from the yoke of the Philistines, who were obliged to restore 
 the places taken from Israel, and were not in a condition to 
 give any further disturbance during Samuel's administration. 
 
 7. The prophet-judge administered the government with 
 great ability and care ; and perhaps made the office of the 
 judge in time of peace, more efficient than it had ever been 
 before. For the regular administration of justice, he took an 
 annual circuit through the land to Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpeh, 
 and Ramah, which last was the place of his usuai residence. 
 At that place he erected an altar for sacrifices; and this wai 
 
224 SAMUEL APPOINTS JOEL AND ABIAH JUDGES. 
 
 doubtless by special order or permission, as otherwise it would 
 have been contrary to the letter and spirit of the law. Be- 
 sides, the ark, that most sacred symbol of the Divine Pre- 
 sence, was not then in the tabernacle, and the spot destined 
 for its final resting-place was not yet known. 
 
 8. At length Samuel, growing " old and greyheaded," 
 appointed his sons Joel and Abiah to act as his deputies in 
 the southern district of Palestine. They accordingly settled 
 their reeidence at Beer-sheba ; but, in their management of 
 affairs, they proved as unlike their father as Eli's sons had 
 been unlike him. Greedy of gain, and careful only how to 
 turn their public employment to their own private advantage, 
 * they took bribes, and perverted judgment." 
 
BOOK 
 
 CHAPTER I. B. C. 1095 to 1091. 
 
 PALXSTINI. 
 
 B. C. B. 
 
 The ItraelitA desire a king : Saul Amun-mai-Pouee . . , . 1095 
 
 appointed 1095 
 
 Saul defeats the Ammonite* . . . 1095 
 
 War with the Philistines .... 1093 
 
 Saul's first offence 1093 
 
 Jonathan's exploit at Michmash . 1091 
 
 I. THE misconduct of Samuel's sons, his own advanced age, 
 and the seemingly unsettled state in which the government 
 would be left at his death, were the ostensible grounds on 
 which the elders of Israel proceeded in resolving to demand 
 such a change in the government as would give them a human 
 king, " to rule them like the nations." Every nation must 
 have some great central principle on which it can unite as 
 one community. This was particularly necessary in a nation, 
 which, like that of Israel, had a strongly marked sectional 
 division into tribes, whose interests were not always in agree- 
 ment. Now, this principle had been very efficiently and very 
 beautifully supplied by the theocracy, with its invisible but 
 ever-present Divine King, and the sacred symbols and services. 
 But the right working of this constitution depended on a con- 
 tinued obedience in the people, which they had not manifested, 
 and an appreciation of the system, of which they seem to 
 have been scarcely capable. In short, the principle of this 
 form of government was too refined for them ; and, notwith- 
 standing its very numerous concessions to their weakness, they 
 too often failed to comprehend it as their principle, and to act 
 up to its requirements. Hence arose internal disorders and 
 confusions, which, although really owing to the shortcomings 
 of the people, yet seemed in some degree imputable to the 
 
226 THE ISRAELITES DESIRE A SING. 
 
 practical inefficiency of the central principle, and created the 
 desire for something less sublime and remote, something 
 visible, tangible, common, suited to the apprehensions of an 
 unintellectual people. Hence the demand for a king, and 
 for the forms and institutions of a human monarchy, which 
 might form a more sensible state-principle than the theocracy 
 offered. 
 
 2. When the elders made their application for this great 
 change in the government to Samuel at Eamah, they found 
 him strongly opposed to their wish. With becoming dignity, 
 he vindicated the purity of his own administration, and chal- 
 lenged any one to charge him with corruption or wrong-do- 
 ing ; he reminded them that they had already a KINO, whos 
 power and resources were illimitable, and under whom obedi- 
 ence only was necessary to render their welfare secure ; he 
 placed before them, in the most vivid manner, the exactions 
 and services to which they would be subject under human 
 kings, and from which they were now so happily exempt; 
 and, in short, it was his desire that they should rather strive 
 to bring the national character up to the requirements of their 
 present state-principle, than bring down the principle to a 
 lower standard of character. But the elders had made up 
 their minds on the subject, and persisted in their demand. 
 As, therefore, the demand was made in a becoming manner, 
 which referred the whole matter to the Lord through his pro- 
 phet ; as Moses had foreseen and provided for such a contin- 
 gency ; and as it was more than probable, that, in their pre- 
 sent temper, the people would set up a king for themselves, 
 unless indulged in their wish, Samuel was at length authorised 
 to yield to their desire, although under a protest. 
 
 3. We have now, therefore, to contemplate a new phase 
 of the Jewish history, in which the government was not a 
 pure theocracy, nor a simple monarchy, but a combination of 
 the two. The Lord was still the Supreme King; and the 
 human monarch was to be appointed by him, and the line of 
 succession determined or changed at his pleasure. The king 
 was to wield the ordinary administrative powers of royalty, 
 and its signs and symbols of dignity and honour ; but his real 
 position was that of a vice-king, the minister, regent, or re- 
 
SAUL APPOINTED KIN<1. 227 
 
 pieeentative of the Divine King, whose counsel was to be 
 ought, through the sacred oracles, on all occasions of import- 
 ance, and whose directions, when given, were to be implicitly 
 followed by the sovereign. It must, therefore, be understood 
 that the responsibility of the Hebrew kings to the Lord, 
 was not merely the responsibility under which every one is 
 placed to God for the exercise of the powers entrusted to him; 
 but also the more immediate and particular responsibility of a 
 delegated or representative ruler to the Supreme King oi the 
 state which he governs. This was the theory of the Hebrew 
 monarchy, as, by anticipation, it had been settled long 
 before by Moses (Deut. xvii. 14-20) ; and we shall find in 
 the sequel that the character o the kings, whether good or 
 bad, was determined by their observance or neglect of this 
 fundamental principle. The kings themselves were but too 
 much disposed to forget the fact of their dependence upon the 
 Invisible King. 
 
 4, Saul, the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, had 
 wandered about for three days seeking the strayed asses of his 
 father. Fatigued with the unsuccessful search, he was dis- 
 posed to abandon it and return home, when, finding himself 
 near Ramah, where Samuel lived, he resolved to consult one 
 who was renowned in all Israel as a man from whom nothing 
 was hidden. Instructed in the Divine designs regarding 
 Saul, the prophet received him with honour. He assured him 
 that the asses which he had sought were already found, and 
 invited him to stay with him until the next morning. Saul 
 was in fact the man on whom the Divine appointment to be 
 the first king of Israel had fallen, A hint of this high des- 
 tiny, produced from the astonished stranger a modest declara- 
 tion of his insufficiency. But the prophet gave him the place 
 of honour before all the persons whom foreknowing the time 
 of his arrival he had invited to his table. As is still usual 
 in summer, Saul slept on the flat roof of the house ; and was 
 called early in the morning by Samuel, who walked forth 
 some way with him on his return home. When they had got 
 beyond the town, they stopped, and Samuel then anointed 
 Saul as the person whom God had chosen to be " captain over 
 his inheritance ;" and gave him the first kiss of civil homage. 
 
SAUL CONFIRMED KINO. 
 
 116. Kiss of Civil Homage. 
 
 In token of the reality of these things, and to assure the mind 
 of the bewildered young man, the prophet foretold the inci- 
 dents of his home- 
 ward journey, and, 
 in parting, desired 
 his attendance on 
 the seventh day fol- 
 lowing at Gilgal. 
 
 5. On the day 
 and at the place ap- 
 pointed, Samuel as- 
 sembled a general 
 convocation of the 
 tribes for the elec- 
 tion of a king. As 
 usual, under the the- 
 ocracy, the choice of God was manifested by the sacred lot. 
 The tribe of Benjamin was chosen; and of the families of 
 Benjamin, that of Matri was taken ; and, finally, the lot fell 
 upon the person of Saul, the son of Kish. Anticipating this 
 result, he had modestly concealed himself, to avoid an honour 
 which he so little desired. But he was found, and brought 
 before the people, who beheld with admiration his comely 
 and dignified person, for he stood taller, by the head and 
 shoulders than any of the people. A physical superiority 
 over the great body of the people, so manifest, and so highly 
 appreciated in ancient times, procured a willing recognition of 
 the king offered to them. Many persons in the great tribes, 
 however, were dissatisfied that this election had vested the 
 royalty over Israel in the smallest of the tribes, and in a 
 person of so little consequence, even in that tribe, as Saul. 
 They therefore held proudly aloof, and the new king was 
 allowed to return, with a very humble attendance, to his home 
 in Gibeah. Saul, although sensible of the neglect, wisely 
 "held his peace" for the time; and it ultimately appeared 
 that the different tribes could more readily unite around a 
 monarch in his neutral position, than would have been pos- 
 sible to them had a member of one of the more powerful 
 tribes been chosen. Judah would have been reluctant to 
 iubmit to a king of Ephraim, and the proud and fiery 
 
RELIEF OF JABE3H GILEAD. 229 
 
 Ephraimites would not willingly have received a king from 
 Judah. Perhaps, therefore, the choice which appears so 
 strange at the first view, was the only one by which a civil 
 war could have been averted. 
 
 6. Soon after these things, the Ammonites, under their 
 king Nahash, took the field on the other side of the Jordan, 
 and laid siege to the important town of Jabesh-Gilead. Be- 
 ing forced to capitulate, the inhabitants could obtain no better 
 terms than that every mai -should have his right eye put out. 
 To this hard condition tne^ agreed, unless relief should come 
 within seven days. Messengers were immediately despatched 
 to Saul, who had contentedly resumed his usual avocations in 
 Gibeah, and, when the tidings were brought to him, was re- 
 turning quietly from the fields with his herd. Instantly the 
 spirit of a king was roused within him ; and he felt the duties, 
 and claimed the powers of the Lord's anointed. He impera- 
 tively summoned the warriors to his standard ; and speedily 
 found himself at the head of a very large force, with which he 
 crossed the Jordan, and by a forced march arrived before 
 Jabesh, in time to save the inhabitants from their enemies, 
 who were defeated with great slaughter. This splendid 
 achievement manifested in Saul the qualities which, in these 
 times, were most sought for in a king, and raised him so high 
 tn the estimation of the people, that Samuel deemed it proper 
 to call another assembly at Gilgal, to confirm him in the king- 
 dom. Here those who had hitherto manifested discontent, 
 were obliged, by the force of popular opinion, to join in a 
 general and more formal recognition of the new king. It was 
 then that Saul began really to reign. 
 
 7. Of the large force which had been collected, Saul re- 
 tained only three thousand men, with whom he proposed to 
 make war upon the Philistines, who held in possession many 
 strong places in the south, and kept the neighbouring inhabi- 
 tants in such subjection that they had been deprived of their 
 weapons, and could not even get their implements of hus- 
 bandry sharpened without going to the Philistine garrisons. 
 Hence, in all the force, Saul and his eldest son, Jonathan, were 
 the only persons who possessed a sword or a spear. The 
 operations against the Philistines were commenced by Jona- 
 than, who, witfc the thousand men whom his father had placed 
 
230 EXPLOIT OF JONATHAN. 
 
 under his command, cut off the Philistine garrison at Geba 
 Interpreting this as a declaration of war, the Philistines de- 
 layed not to bring into the field a vast force, which compre- 
 hended six thousand horsemen and three thousand chariots of 
 war. Saul, on his part, had summoned all the tribes to send 
 then' levies to Gilgal. This they did in sufficient numbers ; 
 but while they remained there waiting for Samuel, who had 
 appointed to come and offer sacrifices, great numbers of the 
 men slunk away, being appalled at the formidable aspect of 
 the Philistine army. Saul was confessedly in a difficult posi- 
 tion, and his obedience to the principle of the theocracy was 
 severely tested. It failed; for, becoming impatient at the 
 delay of Samuel, he called for the victims, and himself offered 
 the sacrifices. By this act he not only seemed to make a claim 
 to exercise the priestly office, as kings did in other countries, 
 but gave indications of the dispositions which in the end proved 
 his ruin. He was a brave and able commander ; but he too 
 often forgot that, in his political capacity,, he was but the vassal 
 of the Divine King ; and he did not always execute the orders 
 he received, but made exceptions according to his own views. 
 Just as the sacrifices had been offered, Samuel arrived, and 
 strongly testified the Divine displeasure at this disobedience, 
 which he declared had manifested the unfitness of Saul to be 
 the founder of a race of kings. He then quitted the camp ; 
 and Saul, hiding his concern, numbered his force, which he 
 found dwindled away to six hundred men. Not daring to 
 encounter the Philistine host with this handful of men, he 
 marched with them to his own town of Gibeah. 
 
 8. The main body of the Philistines remained at Mich- 
 mash ; but they frequently sallied out in parties, and ravaged 
 the country without opposition. At length a bold plan was 
 formed by Jonathan, who communicated it only to his armour- 
 bearer, and the two secretly withdrew themselves from the 
 camp. They found means to ascend a steep cliff, where the 
 enemy least of all expected an attack ; and early in the morn- 
 ing they fell upon the advanced guards of the Philistines. 
 Some were slain by the sword, and the others thrown into 
 ach consternation, that they slew one another, mistaking 
 friends for foes. As soon as Saul got intelligence of what had 
 happened, he took advantage of the confusion into which they 
 
PHILISTINES ROUTED. 
 
 331 
 
 were already thrown, and fell upon the Philistines with euch 
 fury, that they were soon utterly routed. That the pursuit 
 of the enemy might not be retarded, Saul, in the heat of the 
 chase, proclaimed death to any one who should taste food 
 before the night. Ignorant of this, Jonathan, happening to 
 taste some wild honey, had well nigh fallen a sacrifice to th 
 rash vow of his father, but was saved by the interposition al 
 the people. 
 
282 
 
 CHAPTER II. B. C. 1095 to 1050. 
 
 MtKnir. 
 t. c. 
 
 War with the Araa- 
 lekites .... 1W5 
 Baal's second offence 
 and rejection . . 1079 
 David born .... 1079 
 David anointed . . 1070 
 David slays Goliath . 1065 
 David marries Michal 1060 
 David's first flight to 
 Gath, &c. . . . 1059 
 
 Mm 
 
 AiMm-meaes? from 1080 to 
 %bout l')60, kftor which 
 the succession is doubt- 
 ful fcr Lonely yean. 
 
 KVZNTS >!.- r*MM 
 
 Latinus, fifth king of 
 the Latins . . . 
 Kingdom of Athens 
 ends with Codrus 
 Medon, the first Ar- 
 chon of Athaus . 
 
 10M 
 1070 
 
 10TO 
 
 1. SEVERAL following years were distinguished by success- 
 ful warfare with the enemies of Israel, with Moab and Am- 
 mon in the east, with Edom in the south, with the Philistines 
 in the west, and with the Syrian kings of Zobah in the north. 
 At length, in the tenth or eleventh year of his reign, Saul 
 received orders, through Samuel, to execute the Lord's " fierce 
 wrath " upon the Amalekites, who had formerly been doomed 
 to utter extermination for opposing the Israelites when they 
 came out of Egypt. The result of the war put it fully in the 
 king's power to fulfil his commission ; but he thought proper to 
 retain the best of the cattle as booty, and to bring back the 
 Amalekite king Agag as a prisoner. Here again Saul ven- 
 tured to use his own discretion where his commission left him 
 none. For this the Divine decree, excluding his descendants 
 from the throne, was again and irrevocably pronounced by 
 Samuel, who met him at Gilgal on his return. The stern 
 prophet then directed the Amalekite king to be brought forth 
 and slain by the sword, after which he departed to his own 
 home, and went no more to see Saul to the day of his death, 
 though he ceased not to bemoan his misconduct and the for- 
 feiture it had incurred. But, during the years in which 
 Samuel mourned for Saul, the king himself seemed increasing 
 in strength and power ; he became respected at home and 
 feared abroad ; while the many virtues of his excellent sor 
 Jonathan, who was greatly beloved by the people, seemed to 
 render his dynasty secure. Saul himself, however, appears to 
 
DAVID ANOINTED, 
 
 233 
 
 aave had sad misgivings on this subject, and we may perhaps 
 impute to the constant brooding of his mind upon the doom 
 pronounced by the prophet, those fits of morbid melancholy 
 into which he frequently fell. His general temper, at the 
 same time, became sour, irritable, and sanguinary. 
 
 2. At length, about the twenty-fifth year of Saul's reign, 
 Samuel received the Divine mandate, to take measures for 
 anointing the person whom the Lord had chosen to displace 
 the race of Saul in the throne of Israel. For this purpose he 
 was to proceed to Bethlehem, and there anoint one of the 
 eons of a man named Jesse. This was a delicate commission, 
 which, if known, might, as the prophet apprehended, induce 
 Saul to slay him ; and he therefore veiled it under the form 
 of a public sacrifice. The prophet appears to have made 
 known his real purpose only to Jesse, who caused all his sons 
 to pass before him, when they were rejected, one after another, 
 until the youngest, David, was sent for from the fields, where 
 he was with the sheep. This youth was the destined king ; and 
 Samuel anointed him as such in the midst of his elder breth- 
 ren, who, as well as himself, were probably kept in ignorance 
 of the purport of this act. Samuel returned to his own home, 
 and David continued to tend his father's flock. David was 
 not more distinguished by the comeliness of his person ftian by 
 his accomplishments and valour ; he was skilled in music and 
 poetical composition, and he had, without weapons, slain a 
 lion and a bear which attacked his flock. 
 
 3. Meanwhile, the king's fits of melancholy madness went 
 on increasing in frequency and duration, and no cure was 
 
 found . for his dis- 
 ordered mind. At 
 length, some persons 
 who had observed 
 that Saul was much 
 affected by music, 
 suggested that the 
 soothing powers of 
 the harp should be 
 
 tried; and another 
 117. Grand Egyptian Harpe. , v 
 
 then recommended 
 
 "the 10* of Jesse" as an accomplished master of that iustru- 
 
 L2 
 
234 
 
 GOLIATH CHALLENGES THE ISRAELITES. 
 
 merit, and withal, a man of valour. Saul therefore delayed 
 not to send to Jesse, commanding him to send his son to 
 court. Little thinking that in him he beheld his successor 
 on the throne, Saul received the youthful minstrel with favour 
 When the fits came upon him, David played on the harp, anc 
 under its soothing strains his mind soon recovered its usual 
 tone. This service, together with his other engaging quali- 
 ties, and his discreet behaviour, won the heart of the king, 
 who conferred upon him the distinguished and confidential 
 post of his armour-bearer. 
 
 4. Since their last great discomfiture, the Philistines had 
 tecruited their strength, and in the thirtieth year of Saul's 
 reign, and the twentieth of David's life, they again took the 
 field against the Israelites. It curiously illustrates the nature 
 of warfare in those times, to find that the presence, in the 
 nny of the Philistines, of one enormous giant about nine or 
 ten feet high, filled them with confidence, and struck the 
 
 Israelites with dread. 
 The giant, whose name 
 was Goliath, had a hel- 
 met of brass upon his 
 head, and he was armed 
 with a brazen coat of 
 mail, the weight of 
 which was no less than 
 six hundred shekels. 
 He had also greaves of 
 brass upon his legs, and 
 a target of brass be- 
 tween his shoulders ; 
 and a man bearing his 
 shield went before him. 
 118. Shields. His weapons were of 
 
 I IfceT^orGreatShield. 2. Common Egyptian UTSQ Proportioned to 
 Shield. 3. Target *. B. Ancient Shields or un- hlS enormous bulk J HS 
 known tribes. 6. Roundel. . c , . , 
 
 an instance of which, 
 
 we are informed, that the staff of his spear was like a weaver's 
 beam, and that its head contained six hundred shekels of 
 iron. He presented himself daily between the two armies, 
 fid, with insulting language, defied the Israelites to produce 
 
DAVID OFFERS COMBAT TO GOLIATH. 
 
 235 
 
 a champion who might, in single combat with him, decide the 
 quarrel between the nations. This was repeated many days; 
 but no Israelite was found bold enough to accept the chal- 
 lenge. At this juncture David, who, when his services were 
 HO longer needed at court, had returned to his father, arrived 
 
 119. Coats of Mail. 
 \j Egyptian tigulated. 2. Sleeve of ring-mail, 
 
 130. Spear Heads. 
 
 ft the camp to visit his elder brethren who were with the 
 army. Hearing the insolent vaunts of the proud Pagan, 
 witnessing the dismay of the people, and learning that 
 high rewards had been offered to the man who should 
 overcome the giant, David offered himself for the combat. 
 He was accordingly brought before the king, who failed to 
 recognise him under the altered appearance which a year or 
 two on the verge of manhood produces, but, contrasting the 
 bulk and known prowess of the giant with the inexperience 
 and light frame of the young man, earnestly disuaded him 
 P. 11 
 
236 DAVID SLAYS GOLIATH. 
 
 from the enterprise. But as David expressed his strong con- 
 fidence that the God of Israel, who had delivered him from 
 the lion and the bear when he tended his father's flock, 
 would also deliver him from the Philistine, Saul at length 
 allowed him to go forth against Goliath. Eefusing all armour 
 of proof and weapons of common warfare, David advanced to 
 
 the combat, armed 
 only with his shep 
 herd's sling and a few 
 smooth pebbles picked 
 up from the brook 
 which flowed through 
 the valley. The as 
 tonished giant felt in- 
 sulted at being offered 
 such an opponent, and 
 poured forth such hor- 
 rid threats as might 
 have appalled any one 
 
 i21. Egyptian Slingers and Sling. , . .,, 
 
 less strong in faith 
 
 than the son of Jesse. But as Goliath strode forward to 
 meet David, the latter slung one of his smooth stones with 
 BO sure an aim and so strong an arm, that it smote his 
 opponent in the middle of the forehead and brought him to 
 the ground. 
 
 5. The king lost no time in following up this blow, and 
 attacked the astonished Philistines with such vigour that they 
 immediately gave way and were defeated with tremendous 
 slaughter. Triumphant was the return of Saul ; but it mor- 
 tified his pride to perceive that David was on all hands re- 
 garded as the hero of the day : and when the damsels made 
 this the burden of their triumphal song " Saul has slain his 
 thousands, and David his ten thousands 1" he could not con- 
 ceal his resentment that the honours of victory should be 
 thus proportioned. From a fretful expression which he let 
 fall, it seems more than likely that he then first suspected 
 that David was " the man after God's own heart," to whom 
 his throne was to be given. His inquiries probably confirmed 
 this impression, and thenceforth he lost no opportunity of ex- 
 posing David to disgrace and danger. But all the scheme! 
 
DAVID MARRIES MICHAL. 237 
 
 laid for his ruin served only to make more prominent David's 
 valour in the field, and the wisdom and generosity of bia 
 general conduct. Finding that the honours which were 
 designed as snares for him including that of giving him his 
 daughter Michal in marriage really exalted David, Saul 
 could no longer confine his dark passions to his own bosom, 
 but charged his son Jonathan and others to take some oppor- 
 tunity of destroying the son of Jesse for him. He little sus- 
 pected that a most tender friendship, " passing the love of 
 women," had grown up between Jonathan and David. To 
 Jonathan, in particular, was this celebrated friendship highly 
 honourable ; for it was not unknown to him that the son of 
 Jesse was destined to exclude himself and his children from 
 the throne of Israel. But with a generosity of feeling, of 
 which there is scarcely another example, he cheerfully ac- 
 quiesced in the superior claims of David, and was the most 
 ardent admirer of his person and character. He could even 
 find pleasure in picturing the time when David should sit 
 upon the throne, and when he should himself be next to Him 
 in place, as nearest to him in love, and find in him the pro- 
 tector and guardian of the very children whom narrow minds 
 might have suspected to be in the utmost danger from his 
 claims. 
 
 6. On the present occasion Jonathan gave his friend 
 timely notice of danger, and spoke so forcibly to his father, 
 that his better feelings overcame his insane horror of David, 
 and he promised to make no further attempt upon his life. 
 But soon after this, David, having commanded an expedition 
 against the Philistines, so distinguished himself as to increase 
 the admiration of the people, and to revive the hatred of SauL 
 When he resumed his place at court, and was one day play- 
 ing on his harp to soothe the perturbed spirit of the king, he 
 narrowly escaped death from a javelin which Saul threw with 
 the intention of pinning him to the wall. He then withdrew 
 to his own house, where he was followed by men whom the 
 king sent to despatch him. But they were amused and de- 
 ceived by David's wife Michal, Saul's own daughter, while 
 her husband was let down from the window in a basket and 
 made his escape to Samuel at Ramab.. Repeated attempts to 
 take him thence or slay him there, the last of which 
 
188 DAVID GOES TO ADULLAM. 
 
 made by the king in person, were defeated by the special te 
 *rp<*ition of Providence. But Saul, brooding gloomily ovet 
 ta doom, still cherished his cruel purpose against him ; and 
 on one occasion he even threw his javelin at Jonathan for 
 peaking in favour of his absent friend. This being made 
 known to David, he resolved, after a private interview and 
 tender parting with Jonathan, to withdraw himself effectually 
 from the designs upon his life by retiring to a foreign land. 
 For this purpose he made choice of Gath, one of the five 
 Philistine states. In this choice he was probably guided by 
 the consideration that the Philistines, from their enmity to 
 Saul, were less likely than any other neighbouring nation to 
 give him ap at the demand of the king. 
 
 7. The tabernacle had by this time been removed from 
 Shiloh to Nub, in the tribe of Benjamin ; and David, with 
 his few followers, called there on his way, and procured from 
 the high priest, Ahimelech, a supply of provisions and the 
 wdy weapon in his possession the very sword which David 
 himself had taken from Goliath, and which had been laid up 
 in the tabernacle as a trophy of that victory. This assistance 
 David obtained under the unjustifiable pretence of being on a 
 private mission from the king. He then proceeded to Gath; 
 bat finding that the Philistines cherished revengeful recollec- 
 tions of his former exploits against them, he feigned himself 
 mad, and by that means escaped their resentment. 
 
 8. David then left the country of the Philistines and re 
 paired to the wild district of Adullam, in the tribe of Judah. 
 Here there was a large and not easily accessible cave, which 
 formed an excellent shelter for himself, and the men of broken 
 fortunes and reckless character, about four hundred in number, 
 who resorted to him, and of whom he became the captain. 
 
 9. From Adullam David went to the land of Moab for 
 the purpose of placing his parents in safety there, lest they 
 should become exposed to the blind fury with which Saul 
 was now animated. He was perhaps inclined to remain there 
 himself; but it was of importance that his dangers and con- 
 duct should keep him in the view of his admiring countrymen, 
 and a prophet was therefore sent to command his return to 
 the land of Judah. He obeyed, and found refoga in the 
 forest of Hareth. 
 
839 
 
 CHAPTER III. B.C. 1059 TO 1055. 
 
 ftnrjd's wanderings . 1059 to 1054 
 
 Death of Samuel 1057 
 
 David's second flight to Gath . . 1055 
 
 PALESTINE. 
 B. C. 
 
 Saul's third offence , . ,,. 
 
 Saul defeated and slaiu by the In* 
 listines . OK 
 
 1. THE mind of Saul was of too coarse a mould to under- 
 stand that it was possible for David to know his high des- 
 tinies, and yet abide God's own time, without taking any 
 questionable measures to advance them. He persuaded him- 
 self that David had organized an extensive conspiracy against 
 his life and government ; he suspected every one about him 
 of being engaged in this conspiracy, and believed that his son 
 Jonathan had been drawn into it. He was in a most san- 
 guinary mood, and craved for some objects on which to wreak 
 his fury. Unhappily such objects were found in the high- 
 priest and others of the sacerdotal order. One Doeg, an 
 Edomite in the employment of Saul, had been present at Nob 
 when David was there ; and he gave an exaggerated report 
 of the assistance which Ahimelech had given to the fugitive. 
 On hearing this, Saul sent for the pontiff, and the rest of the 
 priests then at Nob, and, accusing them of traitorous prac- 
 tices, ordered them to be slain. His guards refused this bar- 
 barous office ; but Doeg and other strangers executed the 
 king's order without compunction. Eighty-five of the priestly 
 race perished : nor did this satisfy the sanguinary king, for 
 he sent to Nob, ordering man, woman, child, and every liv- 
 ing creature, to be put to the sword. None escaped Vt 
 Abiathar ; and he fled lo David, who was greatly shocked at 
 the tidings which he brought. Thus another and almost 
 final step was taken in the completion of that doom which 
 had many years before been pronounced upon the house of 
 Eli. This, however, was no excuse for Saul, whose tender- 
 ness towards the Amalekites, whom he was commanded to 
 destroy, is strikingly contrasted with his shocking immolatifla 
 f the priests of God, whom it was his duty to protect. 
 
240 DAVID FLEES TO THE PHILISTINES, 
 
 2. Meanwhile, David found an opportunity of employing 
 his troop for the benefit of his country, by relieving the town 
 of Keilah from the incursions of the Philistines. He then 
 entered that town ; which Saul no sooner heard, than he 
 marched to lay siege to it. But David, being informed by 
 the sacred oracle, which Abiathar, who acted as his priest, 
 consulted for him, that the inhabitants would deliver him up, 
 withdrew into the wild country in the eastern part of Judah, 
 towards the Dead Sea, and found refuge in the wilderness of 
 Ziph. While he was there, Jonathan came to him privately, 
 to encourage him to trust in God, and to renew their cove- 
 nant of friendship and peace. This was the last time these 
 devoted friends saw each other. 
 
 3. Soon after this, some ill-disposed persons of the neigh- 
 bourhood went to Gibeah, and acquainted Saul with the place 
 of David's retreat. The king immediately marched thither 
 with a sufficient force ; but David, being warned of his ap- 
 proach, retreated southward into the wilderness of Maon, 
 before his arrival. Saul followed him thither ; and was close 
 upon him, when he was providentially called off to repel an 
 unexpected incursion of the Philistines. This gave David an 
 opportunity of withdrawing to Engedi, among the rocky fast- 
 nesses which border the Dead Sea ; and to that quarter Saul 
 pursued him with three thousand men, after he had repulsed 
 the Philistines. Here, being one day weary, the king with- 
 drew into a cave to take some rest. In the providence of 
 God, it happened that this was the very cave in whose inte- 
 rior recesses David and his men lay concealed ; and whilst 
 Saul slept, David advanced softly, and cut off the skirt of his 
 robe. When the king went out of the cave, David followed 
 him at some distance, and at length called to him, and dis- 
 played the skirt in evidence of his innocence. Saul could not 
 but feel that the man who had taken the skirt could quite as 
 easily have taken his life ; and struck by this magnanimity, 
 his stern heart was for the time subdued. " Is that thy voice, 
 my son David I" he cried, and then he wept. He acknow- 
 ledged that he had been foolish and criminal ; he admitted 
 that the son of Jesse was worthy of the destinies which 
 awaited him ; and he exacted from him a promise, that when 
 ne became king he would not root out the family of his pre- 
 
SAMUEL'S DEATH. 241 
 
 dccessor, as eastern kings were wont to do Saul tnen with- 
 drew : but David had too little confidence in his good resolu- 
 tions to make any alteration in his own position. 
 
 4. The death of Samuel took place shortly after this, in 
 the ninety-second year of his age. He appears to have re- 
 tained his judicial authority, even after Saul became king; 
 and he was much and deservedly lamented by the people be- 
 fore whom he had acted a public part from his very cradle, 
 with equal credit to himself and benefit to his country. Soon 
 afterwards, David retreated southward into the desert of 
 Paran. The shepherds of southern Israel led their flocks in- 
 to those distant pastures in the proper season ; and the pre- 
 sence of David and his men, at this time, effectually protected 
 them from the Bedouin tribes, by which they were in general 
 much molested. Afterwards returning to the wilderness of 
 Maon, David heard that a rich sheep-master, called Nabal, 
 with whose shepherds his men had been very friendly in the 
 Jesert, was making great preparations for the entertainment 
 of his people during the shearing of his numerous flocks of 
 sheep. David being in great want of provisions sent a 
 respectful message to solicit a supply from him. Nabal, who 
 was of a churlish disposition, refused the application with in- 
 sult ; at which ungracious return for the protection which had 
 been given to his flocks in the desert, David was so much 
 enraged, that he hastily determined to inflict a severer punish- 
 ment than the occasion warranted, by bearing fire and sword 
 to the homestead of the brutish sheep-master. 
 
 5. Some such resolution on his part was foreseen by such 
 of the shepherds then present as had been out into the desert ; 
 but the execution of it was prevented by the prudent conduct 
 of Abigail, the wife of Nabal, a very excellent and beautiful 
 woman, whom David married after Nabal's death. Here it 
 is right to mention that after David fled from court, Saul, to 
 wound him in the tenderest point, obliged his daughter, 
 Michal, the first wife of David, to marry another husband. 
 
 6. David again retreated into the wilderness of Ziph, 
 which coming to the knowledge of Saul, he, notwithstanding 
 his recent convictions, again went in search of him with 3000 
 men. While the King of Israel lay encamped and surrounded 
 Dy his troops, during the darkness and stillness of the night, and 
 
242 DAVID FLEES TO THE PHILISTINES. 
 
 when, all were fast asleep, David, accompanied by his nephew 
 Abishai, penetrated, undiscovered, to the place where the 
 monarch lay, and took away the spear which was stuck hi the 
 ground near his head, and the cruse of water which stood by 
 his side. In the morning, he called to the king from the hill- 
 side, and displayed these manifest tokens that the king's life 
 had been completely in his power. His remonstrance was 
 attended with the same result as on the former occasion. Saul 
 was deeply affected, and, having acknowledged that he had 
 acted " foolishly," returned to Gibeah. 
 
 7. The strong faith by which David had been hitherto 
 sustained, now began in some degree to give way under these 
 continued persecutions ; and apprehending that, if he remained 
 any longer in the country, he should one day perish by the 
 hand of Saul, he resolved again to seek refuge with the Phi- 
 listines of G-ath. This very questionable step brought him 
 into dangers quite as imminent as those from which he fled, 
 and involved him in much insincere conduct which cannot b 
 contemplated without pain. Achish, the king of Gath, re- 
 ceived him and his men with pleasure, probably because he 
 calculated that persons so persecuted by Saul, would render 
 effectual service in the war against him, for which the Philis- 
 tine states were then making preparations. After being for 
 some time hospitably entertained at Gath, the king gave to 
 David the border town of Ziklag, that he and his men might 
 dwell there with then* families and possessions. While at this 
 place, David employed his men from time to time in expedi- 
 tions against the Amalekites and other nations of the south ; 
 and by the spoil thus acquired his men were greatly enriched. 
 But, as these nations were friends and allies of the Philistines, 
 Achish was led to believe that his operations were directed 
 against his own countrymen the Israelites, which gave the 
 king of Gath great satisfaction in the belief that by thus 
 making himself abhorred in Israel, he had rooted himself in 
 the service of the Philistines. This duplicity, however, soon 
 brought its own punishment ; for, when the Philistines were 
 ready for the war against Saul, David found that no ground 
 was left him on which he could decline the invitation of 
 Achish, to go with him against Israel. He was only saved 
 from his difficulty by the jealousy of the princes of the ether 
 
SAUL AND THls WOMAN OF ENDOB. 948 
 
 Philistine states, who, justly suspecting the sincerity of bis 
 alleged enmity against his own people, compelled Achish to 
 end him back to Ziklag. On his return, David found that 
 the Amalekites had taken advantag of his absence to born 
 and pillage the place, and had carried away as captives all 
 the people, chiefly women and children, who had been left 
 there. He immediately pursued after them, and having at 
 length overtaken them, when they deemed themselves in safety, 
 cut them hi pieces, and not only recovered all that they had 
 taken, but obtained abundant spoil, which they had collected 
 in other places, and out of which he sent valuable gifts to ofe 
 friends in Judah. 
 
 8. Meanwhile the Philistine army continued its march 
 into the land of Israel, and penetrated to the eastern part of 
 the great battle-field of Esdraelon ; by which time Saul had 
 formed an opposing camp on the mountains of Gilboa. When 
 he beheld t lie vast force which the Philistine states had, by a 
 mighty effort, brought into the field, dire misgiving as to the 
 result arose in his mind ; and now, at last, in this extremity, 
 he sought counsel of God. But the Lord answered him not 
 by any of the usual means, by dreams, by Urim, nor by 
 prophets. Finding himself thus forsaken, he had recourse 
 to a witch at Endor, not far from Gilboa, to whom he re- 
 paired by night hi disguise, and conjured her to evoke the 
 spirit of Samuel that he might ask counsel of him in this fear- 
 ful emergency. Accordingly, an aged and mantled figure 
 arose, which Saul took to be tlie ghost of Samuel, though 
 whether it were really so or not has been much questioned. 
 The king bowed himself reverently, and told the reason for 
 which he had called him from the dead. The figure, in reply, 
 told him that God had taken the crown from his house, and 
 given it to a worthier man ; that, on the next day, the Philis- 
 tines would triumph over Israel ; and that he and his sons 
 should be slain hi the battle. The king swooned at these 
 heavy tidings, but soon recovered; and having taken some 
 refreshment, returned the same night to the camp. 
 
 9. The next morning the two armies engaged, when the 
 Israelites gave way before the Philistines, and maintained a 
 tunning fight until they had fallen back upon Mount wilboa, 
 fcoru which they had advanced to meet the enemy. Hare 
 
244 HAUL DEFEATED AND BLAIR. 
 
 they attempted to rally, but in vain : Jonathan and two otheff 
 of Saul's sons were killed, and the army was thrown into 
 complete disorder. At length Saul himself was desperately 
 wounded ; and fearing that he would fall into the hands of 
 the enemy, and "be ignominiously treated by them, he prayed 
 hk armour-bearer to thrust him through; and when that 
 faithful follower refused, he took his own sword, fell upon it, 
 and died. This example was followed by the armour-bearer. 
 
 10. The next morning, when the Philistines went over 
 the field of battle, they found the bodies of Saul and his sons. 
 They cut off their heads, and sent them, with their armour, 
 into Philistia as trophies of their victory ; and the bodies 
 were shamefully gibbetted upon the walls of the neighbour- 
 ing town of Bethshan, near the Jordan. But the people of 
 Jabesh Gilead, on the other side of the river, mindful of their 
 ancient obligations to their king, went over by night and 
 stole away the bodies, which they burned, and then buried 
 the remains under a tree. 
 
 11. Three days after his return to Ziklag, the news of 
 this action and its results were first brought to David by an 
 Amalekite. This man, in roaming over the field of battle, 
 had found the body of Saul, which he divested of the royal 
 diadem and armlets, and, in expectation of great rewards, 
 hastened with them to David, whose appointment to the 
 throne appears to have been by this time well known not 
 only to the Israelites but to their neighbours. To enhance 
 his claims of reward, he pretended that the wounded king 
 had fallen by his hand. But he grievously misunderstood 
 the character of David, who rent his clothes in bitter afflic- 
 tion, and ordered the Amalekite to be slain for laying his 
 hands upon " the Lord's anointed." David then poured forth 
 his grief for Israel, for Saul, and for Jonathan, his friend, in 
 one of the most beautiful elegiac odes to be found in any 
 
S45 
 
 CHAPTER IV. B.C. 1055 TO 1084. 
 
 ftarid begins to reign ovei Judab in 
 Hebron 1055 
 
 Abner sets ip I. hbosheth, son of Saul, 
 
 as king, ... 1055 
 
 Abner comes over to David, and is as- 
 sassinated by Joab 1048 
 
 Ishbosheth assassinated .... 1047 
 David becomes king of all Israel . 1047 
 Takes the fortress of Jebus in Jeru- 
 salem 1046 
 
 Removes the Ark of the Covenant to 
 Jerusalem 1041 
 
 Designs to build a temple, but is told 
 to leave that work for his son . . 1040 
 
 Sin in the matter of Bathsheba and 
 Uriah 1036 
 
 Is reproved by Nathan, and re- 
 pents 1034 
 
 1. SAUL being dead, David inquired of God what course 
 he should take, and was directed to repair to Hebron, the 
 principal town in the tribe of Judah. At that place the men 
 of Judah publicly anointed him as their king. But through 
 the able management of Abner, a near relative of the late 
 king, and the chief commander of his forces, the other tribes 
 acknowledged Ishbosheth, the only surviving son of Saul, 
 whose residence was fixed at Mahanaim, eastward of the 
 Jordan. For two years no hostile acts took place between 
 the two kingdoms; but, at the end of that time, war was 
 commenced by Abner, with the view of bringing Judah 
 under obedience to the house of Saul. To oppose him David 
 sent Joab, his sister's son, who, with his brothers Abishai 
 and the swift-footed Asahel, had been amongst his most ac- 
 tive and devoted followers in all his wanderings. The most 
 remarkable action in this war took place at Gibeon, where 
 the forces of Abner were defeated and put to flight. Abner 
 being closely pursued by Asahel, and having in vain entreated 
 him to desist, smote him dead with his spear. At length a 
 number of Benjamites rallied under Abner, and faced the 
 pursuers, when the opposing tribes came to a parley ; and 
 Joab, being persuaded by Abner to prevent the further effu- 
 sion of kindred blood, drew off" his forces, and went home. 
 In most of the other actions of this war David had the ad- 
 vantage, and his interest in the nation daily increased, while 
 that of Ishbosheth declined. 
 
246 ABNER ASSASSINATED BY JOAB. 
 
 2. One so able and experienced as Abner could not but 
 apprehend the final result ; and being 1 stimulated by a per- 
 sonal dispute with Ishbosheth, he resolved to withdraw from 
 him, and give to David that support by which alone the house 
 of Saul was upheld. Having obtained authority from the 
 Other tribes to treat with David, he repaired to Hebron, and 
 was there received and entertained with all honour and re- 
 spect ; and after having conferred with the king, withdrew 
 with the intention of completing the transaction. Joab just 
 then returned from a military expedition, and being informed of 
 what had taken place, he became jealously apprehensive that 
 8Dch a man as Abner would soon supplant him with David ; 
 and professing to believe that the whole was a snare laid by 
 Abner, he reproached the king, in no very measured terms, for 
 tbe reception he had given to him. He also burned to avenge 
 the death of his brother, which, indeed, the popular ideas con- 
 nected with u blood-revenge," seemed to impose upon him as 
 a duty. He therefore despatched a messenger to recall Abner, 
 in the king's name, to Hebron. He met him at the gate of 
 the town, and drawing him aside, as if to speak with him pri- 
 vately, treacherously stabbed him. This was likely to have 
 the very worst effect upon the pending negotiations. David, 
 by the abhorrence he expressed at this cruel and treacherous 
 deed, by his lamentations, and by a magnificent funeral, in 
 which he appeared himself as a mourner, evidenced that he 
 had no part in the murder ; and of this the people were satis- 
 fied. But the influence of Joab with the soldiers was too 
 great to allow the king, at that time, to inflict on him the 
 punishment he deserved. The loss of Abner rendered the 
 condition of Ishbosheth utterly hopeless ; and not long after, 
 two of his own officers, expecting great rewards from David, 
 Biurdered him hi his bed, and hastened with his head to He- 
 bron. But no sooner had David heard their boastful confes- 
 sion, and seen the head of his rival, than, with great indig- 
 nation, he condemned the assassins to an ignominious death, 
 for the crime by which they had hoped to win his favour. 
 
 3. The tribes, now looking upon David as the man who 
 had been specially nominated by the Divine Head of their 
 theocracy, and as one whose military services in the time of 
 Saul entitled him more than any living man to the distinction, 
 
DATID MACES JERUSALEM HIS METROPOLIS. 247 
 
 unanimously offered him the crown. Having accepted th 
 offer, with conditions annexed to it, David was, in the pre- 
 sence of the elders of all the tribes, anointed a second time at 
 Hebron, and proclaimed king over all Israel. He had then 
 reigned seven and a half years as king of Judah only. 
 
 4, The resources of united Israel being now at his dis- 
 posal, David turned his attention to such military enterprises 
 as might consolidate and extend his empire. His first act 
 was to gain possession of the fortress which was still held by 
 the Jebusites in Mount Zion. This fortress being deemed 
 impregnable, the attempt to take it was derided by the Jebu- 
 sites. It was, however, carried by storm, under the conduct 
 of Joab, who was in consequence appointed captain-general 
 of the forces of the whole kingdom, as he had been before of 
 those of Judah. David then made Jerusalem the metropolis 
 of his realm, and fixed his residence upon Mount Zion. His 
 success in accomplishing what for many ages had resisted all 
 the efforts of the Israelites, seemed a most auspicious com* 
 mencement of David's reign, and even attracted the attention 
 of foreigners. Hiram, king of Tyre, sent ambassadors to con- 
 gratulate him on his accession to the throne, and to enter into 
 a league with him. As the Phoenicians were well skilled in 
 the fine and useful arts, David was glad to avail himself of 
 their assistance in building a palace in the captured city. 
 
 5. The Philistines regarded with apprehension the in- 
 creasing prosperity of the Israelites ; and to keep it in check, 
 invaded the south with a large army. They had some suc- 
 cesses at first, David not being prepared to meet them in the 
 field ; but when he had collected his forces, he gave them 
 battle, and discomfited them so completely in two different 
 engagements, that they were never again able to give any 
 serious disturbance to Israel. 
 
 6. Having now a respite from war, David formed the de- 
 sign of removing to his new capital the ark of the covenant, 
 which had so long remained in obscurity at Kirjath-jearim. 
 A vast company of priests and Levites, chiefs and elders, from 
 all parts of the land, attended at this important solemnity ; 
 and numerous instruments of music sounded in harmony with 
 the glad feelings of the people. But, through ignorance of 
 inadvertence, the ark, which should have been borne on th 
 
248 DAVID DESIGNS TO BUILD A TEMPLE. 
 
 shoulders of the Levites, was put upon a car drawn by oxen. 
 On the way the animals stumbled, and Uzzah, the son of 
 Abinadab, put forth his hand to support the tottering ark, for 
 
 which he was struck 
 dead upon the spot, 
 none but priests being 
 allowed to touch it on 
 pain of death (Numb. 
 
 123 iy - l5 )- This judg- 
 
 ment threw a damp 
 
 over the whole proceeding ; and David, being afraid to take 
 the ark farther, left it in the care of Obed-edom, a Levite, 
 whose house was near at hand. This person experienced 
 the Divine favour and blessing in a very remarkable manner, 
 during the three months the ark remained under his roof. 
 The news of this encouraged David to resume his original 
 design, which he did with the more confidence, as he had 
 meanwhile taken care to acquaint himself with the prescribed 
 observances for the orderly removal of the ark. It was 
 accordingly removed with great pomp and ceremony, and 
 deposited in a tabernacle which David had provided for it. 
 
 7. About five years after, when the king was inhabiting 
 his house of cedar, and God had given him rest from all his 
 enemies, he meditated the design of building a temple in 
 which the ark of the Lord might be placed, instead of being 
 deposited " within curtains," or in a tent, as hitherto. This 
 design was at first encouraged by the prophet Nathan ; but 
 he was afterwards instructed to tell David that this work was 
 less appropriate for him, who had been a warrior from his 
 youth, and had shed much blood, than for his son, who should 
 enjoy in prosperity and peace the rewards of his father's vic- 
 tories. Nevertheless, the design itself was highly commended, 
 e betokening proper sentiments; and for this, and for his 
 faithful allegiance to the Supreme King of Israel, it was pro- 
 mised that the sceptre should be perpetuated in his family. 
 To this was added an intimation sufficiently intelligible to 
 him, and which filled him with joy that the long-promised 
 Messiah, the Anointed of God, should be numbered among 
 his descendants. To David this was an honour greater than 
 bis crown ; and in very beautiful and elegant language he 
 
THE MAN AFTER GOD'S OWIf HEART. 249 
 
 expressed his adoration and gratitude. Since he was him- 
 self precluded from building the temple, it became an object 
 of interest to him, during the rest of his life, to provide the 
 materials for it, and to form arrangements and lay down rules 
 for the more imposing and orderly celebration of the ritual 
 worship which the law had prescribed. He divided thff 
 priests and Levites, who had become verv numerous, into 
 bands, and fixed a regular rotation of service. Music, instru- 
 mental and vocal, was also introduced by him into tbe sacred 
 services. A great number of the sacred songs to be used in 
 these services were composed by himself. These are to this 
 day preserved to us in the Book of Psalms. 
 
 8. The next measures of David were calculated, if not 
 designed, to give a peaceable and prosperous reign to his suc- 
 cessor, by subduing- or weakening all the neighbouring powers 
 likely to disturb his repose. In successive campaigns he 
 completed the reduction of the Philistines, and took posses- 
 sion of Gath and its towns, using them as barrier towns for 
 Judah ; he utterly subdued the Moabites, and dismantled all 
 their strongholds ; he cleared his eastern frontier to the 
 Euphrates, and made the Syrians of Zobah and Damascus 
 tributary, and brought the Edomites under the like subjection, 
 after he had defeated them with great slaughter in the valley 
 of Salt. From all these wars, which appear to have occupied 
 about three years, he returned to Jerusalem with rich spoils, 
 which he laid up for the use of the future temple. To the 
 same use he applied the presents which he received from fo- 
 reign kings whose attention was drawn to his victories, and 
 who deemed it expedient to propitiate so great a conqueror. 
 
 9. The Scriptures describe David as " a man after God's 
 own heart." By this we are not to understand that David 
 always acted rightly, or that God approved of all he did. 
 Its meaning is, that, in his public capacity, as king of Israel, 
 he acted in accordance with the true theory of the theocratical 
 government ; was always alive to his dependence on the Su- 
 preme King ; took his own true place in the system, and as- 
 pired to no other ; and conducted all his undertakings with 
 reference to the Supreme will. He constantly calls himself 
 " the servant (or vassal) of Jehovah :" and that, and no other, 
 Was the true place for the human king of Israel to fill. By 
 
J50 DAVID AND BATH8HEBA. 
 
 thus limiting the description of David as " a man after God's 
 own heart," we are left free from any necessity of vindicating 
 all his acts, or of upholding him as an immaculate character, 
 which he was very far from being. The basis of his charac- 
 ter, and the general tone of his conduct, were good, were 
 better than we usually find among men. But the same ardent 
 temperament which sometimes betrayed his judgment in his 
 public acts, led him into great errors and crimes ; it also 
 made him the first to discover his lapse, and the last to for- 
 give himself. Who can depict the sins of David in stronger 
 language than he does himself? Who was ever more sub- 
 missive to punishment, or more convinced of his unworthiness 
 to receive forgiveness and consolation ? 
 
 10. We find him engaged in a war with the Ammonites, 
 in the eighteenth year of his reign, to avenge the insulting 
 treatment which his ambassadors had received from their king. 
 The conduct of this war David intrusted to Joab, and re- 
 mained himself at Jerusalem. There, while sauntering upon 
 the roof of his palace, after the noon-day sleep which is usual 
 in the East, he perceived a woman whose great beauty at- 
 tracted his great regard. She proved to be Bathsheba, the 
 wife of Uriah, an officer of Canaanitish origin, then absent 
 with the army, besieging Eabbah, the capital of Ammon. 
 David sent for her, and, under the influence of criminal pas- 
 sion, became an adulterer. This first crime was followed by 
 a greater ; for, to cover his own sin, and to save the woman 
 from the doom of an adulteress, he sent for Uriah to Jerusa- 
 lem. Having heard from him the particulars of the war 
 which he pretended to require, the king dismissed him to his 
 own home. But Uriah, considering that it ill became a 
 soldier to seek his bed while his companions lay on the hard 
 ground, under the canopy of heaven, exposed to all the at- 
 tacks of the enemy, remained all night in the hall of the 
 palace with the guards, and returned to the wars without 
 having seen Bathsheba. This cost him his life ; for David, 
 seeing no other way to prevent the consequences he appre- 
 hended, made him the bearer of an order to Joab to expose 
 him to certain death in some perilous enterprise against the 
 enemy. He was obeyed by that unscrupulous general ; and 
 when David heard that Uriah was dead, he sent for Bath* 
 
DAVID REPROVED BY NATHAN. 
 
 sheba and made her his wife. He had already several wives, 
 as was customary in those times ; and among them was Michal, 
 whom he had long ago reclaimed from the man to whom she 
 had been given by Saul. 
 
 11. David thought all was now safe ; but he was much 
 mistaken. The prophet Nathan was sent to him, and by a 
 fictitious tale of oppression applicable to the case (2 Sam. xii. 
 14), so kindled the anger of David that he not only sen- 
 tenced the supposed offender to restore fourfold, according to 
 the law, but condemned the criminal to death. Instantly the 
 prophet exclaimed " Thou art the man !" and proceeded, in 
 the name of the Lord, to rebuke him for his heinous trans- 
 gression, and to announce the punishments which it became 
 his justice to inflict. 
 
 12. No sooner were the eyes of David thus opentd than 
 he instantly confessed his crimes with great humility and con- 
 trition, and submitted himself to the chastisements of God. 
 This becoming repentance averted the sentence of death from 
 himself, but it was transferred to the offspring of his crime, 
 then newly born. To mark the divine displeasure against 
 sin, the rest of David's life was full of troubles from his chil- 
 dren, three more of whom died untimely deaths ; thus, in 
 some sense, completing a fourfold retaliation for the murder 
 of Uriah. 
 
 13. The war with the Ammonites was successful. Eab* 
 bah, the metropolis, which was the last to yield, was taken ; 
 and the people generally were so completely subjected, that 
 David put them to hard labour and servile employments in 
 the fields, woods, and brick-kilns. Among the spoils was the 
 very costly crown of the king, which David appropriated to 
 hifc own nee, and wore on state occasion*. 
 
CHAPTER V. B.C. 1034 TO 1015. 
 
 PALESTINE. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 . 1033 
 
 Absalom's vengeance on Amnon 
 
 . 1030 
 . 1027 
 
 His rebellion and death ... 
 David numbers the people . . 
 
 . 1023 
 . 1017 
 . 1015 
 
 
 . 1015 
 
 Solomon proclaimed king . . 
 David dies . . 
 
 . 1015 
 1016 
 
 EVENTS AND FEBSOltl. 
 
 M 
 
 Medon, king of Argos 1030 
 
 Alba, sixth king of the Latins . . 1039 
 Archippus, third archon of Athens . 1014 
 Hiram, king of Tyre 
 
 1. THE threatened troubles in the house of David were 
 not long in breaking out. Amnon, his eldest son, dis- 
 honoured his half-sister, Tamar, who was the full sister of 
 Absalom, This injury excited in the mind of Absalom a 
 resentment which only blood could satisfy. He said nothing 
 for a time. But after two years, when all seemed to be 
 forgotten, he invited all the royal family to a feast with 
 which he celebrated the shearing of his sheep. Amnon was 
 among the guests ; and, at a given signal from their master, 
 he was set upon and murdered by the servants of Absalom. 
 On this, all the others mounted their mules, and fled in haste 
 to Jerusalem ; while Absalom himself lost no time in seeking 
 refuge at the court of his maternal grandfather, Talmai, king 
 f Geshur. He remained there three years ; for although 
 David, after the first burst of indignation and grief, would 
 have been willing to recal him, he was prevented by the 
 dread of public opinion and the demands of justice. At the 
 end of the three years, however, the king, through the con- 
 trivance and intercession of Joab, was induced " to call home 
 his banished;" but a regard for appearances excluded Ab- 
 salom from the presence of his father until two years after 
 his return to Jerusalem. 
 
 2. Absalom was now the eldest living son of David, and, 
 in ordinary circumstances, might ha\j been considered the 
 heir-apparent to the throne. But it was already known to 
 David that SOLOMON, his eldest surviving son by Bathsheba 
 Vas destined by God to be his successor. The Lord, a* we 
 
ABSALOM IS PROCLAIMED KINO. 258 
 
 have already seen, reserved the right of appointing whom 
 he pleased to the crown, although, in the absence of any 
 special appointment, it was supposed to descend in the ordi- 
 nary course of succession. It is more than probable that 
 this destination of the crown of David was known to 
 Absalom, and that the attempt to secure it in his father's 
 lifetime was made with the design of averting his own exclu- 
 sion. Had he been sure of succeeding when his father died, 
 he would probably have waited till then, for David was 
 already old. At all events, he soon began to affect great 
 state, made much display of his chariots and guards, and 
 appeared in public with a splendid retinue of fifty men. All 
 this pomp the more enhanced the condescension with which 
 he behaved to the people, and the interest he took in the 
 affairs of the suitors at the royal court. These arts of popu- 
 larity, with his handsome persun and engaging manners, 
 quite won the hearts of the un discerning multitude ; and 
 when at length he ventured to raise the standard of open 
 rebellion, and to proclaim himself king, at Hebron, the people 
 flocked to him in crowds, and David was nearly deserted, 
 except by his guards and some faithful followers. Confounded 
 at this intelligence, David abandoned Jerusalem in haste, to 
 proceed to the country beyond the Jordan, where the distance 
 would allow him more time for collecting his resources and 
 considering his course of action. Deeply humbled at what 
 he considered as the punishment of God for his sins, David 
 ascended the Mount of Olives, on the upper road to Jericho, 
 as a mourner, weeping, barefoot, and with shrouded head. 
 
 3. On his way David was deeply wounded by false intelli- 
 gence of the ungrateful desertion of Mephibosheth, the son of 
 Jonathan, whom, for his father's sake, he had treated with 
 much kindness and distinction, and to whom he had restored 
 the lands of Saul. These lands he now too hastily bestowed 
 cr the treacherous informant, Ziba, who had managed them 
 for Mephibosheth. When he afterwards discovered his error, 
 and found that it was only his lameness which prevented the 
 son of his friend from following him, Ziba's connections were 
 too powerful to allow him to revoke the grant entirely, and 
 he directed that the land should be divided between them. 
 Among the remarkable incidents of tint mournful journey. 
 
S54 ABSALOM'S REBELLION AND DEATH. 
 
 waa toe abusive and insulting conduct of a man nam*d 
 Shiinei, of the family of Saul, who manifested the most un- 
 seemly exultation at the forlorn condition of the king. Yet 
 the chastened David would not allow his people to avenge 
 this wrong. 
 
 4. The fugitives rested themselves in " the plains of the 
 wilderness ; " but soon crossed the Jordan, in consequence of 
 information that Absalom had been advised to pursue them 
 with 12,000 men, and smite them before an army could be 
 collected. This, in fact, was the best course which Absalom 
 could have taken to complete his enterprise at one stroke. 
 It was the advice of David's chief councillor, Ahithophel, 
 who was renowned in all Israel for his sagacity, and whose 
 desertion to Absalom seemed one of the most serious of the 
 king's disasters. Nevertheless, Hushai, the friend of David, 
 who also had found a place in the council of Absalom, con- 
 trived to get this advice rejected in favour of the very differ- 
 ent course recommended by himself. Finding his counsel 
 thus neglected, and foreseeing the consequences, the traitorous 
 Ahithophel went home and hanged himself. 
 
 5. Meanwhile David fixed his residence at Mahanaim, 
 beyond Jordan, where Ishbosheth had formerly held his 
 court. When Absalom heard where he was, he followed 
 him across the river with a powerful army, under the direc- 
 tion of his cousin Amasa. David and his general had not 
 been idle, but had collected a force, which, although small 
 in comparison, seemed to men who trusted Li the righteous- 
 ness of their cause, sufficient for the contest. David divided 
 his force into three battalions, and entrusted the command to 
 Joab, Abishai, and Ittai ; for the troops refused to allow him 
 to risk his own valuable life in the battle. Still feeling all 
 a father's unreasoning love for his guilty son, the last words 
 of David to his commanders charged them to respect the life 
 of Absalom. This charge was but little regarded. The 
 army of Absalom was defeated by the better disciplined troops 
 of David, and the prince himself fled upon a swift mule ; but 
 as he passed under an oak, the long hair which he so care- 
 folly cherished became entangled in the projecting boughs, 
 from which he was left suspended. In this situation he was 
 found by Joab, who slew him ou the spot. His death ended 
 
DAVID RETURNS TO JERUSALEM. 
 
 255 
 
 the war: the rebels dispersed, and went every man to his 
 home. The king's joy at the victory was greatly damped 
 by the news of his son's 
 death. He shut him- 
 self up in the chamber 
 over the city gate ; and 
 the returning warriors, 
 who expected the re- 
 ward of his presence 
 and praise, heard only, 
 as they entered, his 
 loud and bitter lamen- 
 tations for his lost Ab- 
 salom. At length Joab 
 went to him, and by 
 representing the pro- 
 bably serious conse- 
 quences of disgusting 
 the troops by making 
 
 them feel that their 
 
 victory was a crime, he 
 
 induced him to appear 
 
 in public, and give his faithful soldiers the satisfaction they 
 
 had earned. 
 
 6. As the mass of the people had hailed Absalom as king, 
 David, with commendable delicacy, abstained from resuming 
 the crown as a matter of right ; but resolved to tarry at 
 Mahanaim until formally invited back by the tribes. The 
 Israelites generally were, by this time, thoroughly ashamed 
 of the rebellion, and quite ready to return to their allegiance. 
 But the want of unanimity among the tribes, and other cir- 
 cumstances, occasioned such delay, that Judah was the first 
 to invite the king to resume his throne at Jerusalem. He 
 accordingly returned. This seems to have been a wrong 
 step ; for the other tribes were offended that he had returned 
 on the sole invitation of Judah, without their concurrence; 
 and at length the dissension became so great, that the Israel 
 ites. as distinguished from the Judahites, refused to recognise 
 the act, or to acknowledge David as king ; and, appointing 
 one Sheba of Benjamin, perhaps of Saul's family, for their 
 
 133. Absalom's Tomb. 
 
AMASA SLAIN BY JOAB. 
 
 leader, they raised the standard of revolt, with the usual cry 
 of civil war " To your tents, Israel ! " 
 
 7. David, partly with the view of conciliating those who 
 had followed Absalom, appointed Amasa his commander-in- 
 chief, in the place of Joab. Him he now ordered out in 
 pursuit of Sheba ; but as he failed to assemble the forces of 
 Judah within the limited time, David, who dreaded delay, 
 sent out Abishai with the royal guards. With this force 
 Joab went as a volunteer.* While they rested at Gribeon, 
 Amasa came up with the force which he had at length got 
 together. As he came on, Joab advanced to meet him ; and, 
 under the cover of a friendly salute, gave him a mortal stab, 
 as he had formerly given Abner. Having thus treacherously 
 removed his rival, and confiding in the attachment of the 
 troops he had so often led to victory, he assumed the chief 
 command, and the soldiers readily, perhaps gladly, followed 
 their former general. The fact that they had to deal with 
 so experienced a commander as Joab, appears to have helped 
 to discourage the partisans of Sheba, who, finding himself 
 abandoned by the greater part of his followers, as Joab 
 approached, deemed it expedient to withdraw with his few 
 remaining adherents into the fortified town of Abel-beth- 
 maachah in Naphtali. But when Joab appeared under the 
 walls, the inhabitants, to save themselves, threw over to him 
 the rebel's head ; and the war being thus ended, Joab re- 
 turned to Jerusalem. David detested his conduct, and was 
 mortified at his presumption ; but he dared not call him to 
 account for the murder of Amasa, or remove him from the 
 place which he had assumed. 
 
 8. After these things a famine of three years afflicted the 
 people : and as the principles of the theocracy, guaranteed to 
 the Israelites prosperity and plenty as long as they continued 
 in obedience, every public calamity was justly regarded as a 
 punishment for sin. David, therefore, somewhat tardily, sought 
 to know the cause of this famine. He was told that, although 
 -vo long after the event, it was a punishment for innocent blood 
 
 * As thete persona were all related to the king, it may he well to define the relotion- 
 ihip. David had two sisters, Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah was the mother of Jo% 
 Abishai, and Asahel (whom Abner slew); and Abigail was the mother of Amasa. They 
 rm all therefore David's nephews, and cousins of his sons. 1 Chron. ii. IS, 17 
 
THE GIBEONITE3 AVENGED. 25? 
 
 which had been left unatoned, namely, the blood of the 
 Gibeonites, whose safety Israel had guaranteed by a covenant 
 of peace ; but who had been massacred by Saul, on some pre- 
 text or other, in considerable numbers. On learning this, 
 David required the remnant of the Gibeonites to name the 
 expiation they required ; and they vindictively asked the 
 death of seven of Saul's descendants. The king could not 
 gainsay them ; and accordingly two sons of Saul by his con- 
 cubine Rizpah, and the five sons of Merab, his eldest daughter, 
 were yielded up to them. Thus were all the descendants of 
 Saul destroyed, except Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, 
 whom David had cherished, and now exempted for his father's 
 sake. The exposure of the bodies, beyond the day of execu- 
 tion, which the Gibeonites demanded, was contrary to the 
 habits of the Israelites, and justly repugnant to their feelings. 
 Rizpah, the mother of Saul's sons, remained disconsolately, 
 night and day, watching the bodies of her children, to protect 
 them from the birds and beasts of prey. When this came to 
 David's knowledge, he ordered the bodies to be taken down 
 and deposited, with the bones of Saul and Jonathan, in the 
 family sepulchre. 
 
 9. Now that the Israelites had been weakened by two 
 rebellions and by three years of famine, the Philistines deemed 
 the opportunity favourable for trying to shake off the yoke 
 which they had borne with much impatience. They there- 
 fore renewed the war, but were defeated in four engagements, 
 and finally subdued. Among the Philistines were some 
 families of gigantic stature, and in this campaign they brought 
 several of Goliath's family into the field. One of them had 
 nearly overpowered David ; but he was rescued, and the giant 
 killed by Abishai. After this the people would never allow 
 David to go to the wars in person, " lest he should quench the 
 light of Israel." 
 
 10. The next year David, that he might know the real 
 extent of his power, and that all competent Israelites should 
 be enrolled for military service, ordered Joab to take a census 
 of the adult male population. The schemes of enlarged 
 dominion, with a view to which this census was probably 
 ordered to be taken, were contrary to that divine policy which 
 required Israel to remain a compact and isolated people ; Mod 
 
 If 2 
 
158 ADONIJAH'S REBELLION. 
 
 the enrolment for such purposes seriously infringed tne liberties 
 of the nation. It also manifested great distrust of the Supreme 
 King, who was known to be willing and able to give victory 
 in every lawful enterprise, whether by many or by fe-w. On 
 these grounds the act was displeasing to God ; and it was 
 distasteful even to Joab, who, after a vain remonstrance, pro- 
 ceeded to execute the order with great reluctance. The re- 
 tarn which he made of men twenty years old and upwards, 
 was 900,000 in the tribes of Israel, and 400,000 in Judah 
 alone, amounting in all to 1,300,000. By this we see that 
 the population had more than doubled since the nation left 
 Egypt and entered Palestine. The total numbers may be 
 reckoned at considerably more than 5,000,000. When David 
 received this account of the numbers of his people, " his heart 
 smote him," and he became alive to the heinousness of his 
 offence^ At that moment the prophet Gad came commissioned 
 to offer him the choice of three punishments : seven years 
 of famine three months of defeat and loss in war or three 
 days of pestilence. He chose the last ; and immediately the 
 country was visited with a pestilence which in two days 
 destroyed 70,000 men. David then vehemently interceded for 
 his people, pleading that he alone had sinned, and praying 
 that he and his might alone bear the punishment. His inter- 
 cession prevailed, and the plague was stayed. 
 
 11. The eldest surviving son of David was Adonijah, who 
 resembled Absalom in comeliness and in ambition. Provoked 
 at the prospect of his younger brother Solomon being con- 
 sidered heir to the throne, he plotted to secure the crown be- 
 fore the king's death, which his age and feebleness shewed to 
 be near at hand. He gained over Joab and Abiathar the 
 high-priest to his cause ; but the other high-priest,* Zadok, 
 with the valiant Benaiah, the commander of the guards, and 
 the great body of the " worthies," remained faithful to the 
 cause of Solomon, and thereby evinced their adherence to the 
 great principle of the government, the supremacy of the 
 Divine King, and his right to bestow the crown according to 
 
 * Abiathar will be remembered as the son of Ahimelech, who fled to David after th 
 wncre at Nob. He naturally succeeded as high priest ; but Saul gave that dignity to 
 Zadok, thereby restoring the pontificate to the older line of Eleazer. When David rac- 
 eeeded to both kingdoms, .e was unwilling to remove either and therefore gave them e*> 
 **Mte powers. 
 
BOLOMON PROCLAIMED KINd. 259 
 
 his pleasure. Having taken all the preliminary measures 
 which seemed necessary, Adonijah invited his supporters to a 
 splendid feast in one of the suburbs of Jerusalem, near the 
 fountain of the king's garden. Here he was proclaimed king, 
 with great acclamation, by his adherents. The news speedily 
 reached the city, and was communicated to the king by Bath- 
 sheba and the prophet Nathan. Now Adonijah was very dear 
 to the heart of David ; and it is more than likely that, if left 
 to his own feelings, he would have been willing that his eldest 
 son should reign. But he was too much alive to the principle 
 of the government to consider that he had any will in the 
 matter, after the will of the Lord had been declared. He 
 therefore immediately issued orders to Zadok the priest, and to 
 the officers of the court and army, to take Solomon, and anoint 
 and proclaim him king. The prince was immediately mounted 
 upon the king's own mule, and escorted by all the court and 
 the royal guards to the fountain of Gihon, where he was 
 anointed by Zadok with the sacred oil ; when the trumpets 
 sounded, and the assembled concourse rent the air with shouts 
 of " Long live King Solomon 1 " 
 
 12. When Adonijah and his party heard of this prompt 
 and decided procedure, they were struck with fear, and 
 dispersed to their own homes. Adonijah himself fled to the 
 altar, which was a sanctuary, whence none but murderers 
 could be taken. Hearing of this, Solomon sent to tell him 
 that his safety depended upon his future conduct, and directed 
 him to retire to his own house. Soon after, in a general 
 assembly of the nation, the election of Solomon was ratified 
 by the assent of the people ; and he was again solemnly 
 anointed by the high-priest. On this occasion, David gathered 
 up the remnant of his declining strength, and addressed the 
 convention in a very forcible and touching harangue. He 
 took pains to impress upon his audience the true character of 
 the government, and its peculiar subservience to the Divine 
 King. He then adverted to the temple, which had been so 
 long before his view ; mentioned his own extensive prepara- 
 tions for it; urged them to assist Solomon with heart and hand 
 in the great work which lay before him ; and recommended 
 an adherence to the plans and models which he had provided. 
 He concluded with a devout thanksgiving to the Lord for all 
 
 P. 12 
 
S60 
 
 DAVID'3 DEATH. 
 
 hu mercies to hta and to the nation. Solomon then ascended 
 the throne of his father ; and his accession was celebrated with 
 feastings and sacrifices. 
 
 13. On a subsequent occasion, David, feeling his end 
 rapidly approaching, sent for Solomon, and earnestly impressed 
 upon him the duty of obedience in all things to the Divine King. 
 He had now done with life ; and gave it up, at the age of 
 seventy years, of which he had reigned forty seven as king 
 of Judah only, and thirty-three as king of all Israel. Amid 
 the lamentations of all his people, the remains of David were 
 deposited in a splendid tomb, which he had prepared for him- 
 eif on Mount Zion. 
 
CHAPTER VI. B.C. 1015 TO 975. 
 
 PALESTINE. 
 
 B. C. 
 
 Salomon king 1015 
 
 Adonijah aud Joab slain .... 1015 
 
 Solomon weds an Egyptian princess 1013 
 
 The foundation of the Temple laid . 1012 
 
 The Temple finished 1005 
 
 Solomon seduced to idolatry . . . 978 
 
 Solomon dies : Rehoboam succeeds 975 
 
 Revolt of the ten tribes . . . 975 
 
 GKNEBAL HISTOBT. 
 
 . 
 
 Capetus, 7th king of the Latins . . 9M 
 Tliersippus, 4th Archon of Athena OW 
 Tadrnor built ........ 991 
 
 City of Saraos built ...... 98 
 
 Shialiak (Sheshonk I., Sesouchis), king 
 of Egypt ......... 981 
 
 1. SOLOMON was nearly twenty years old when he began 
 to reign. His natural talents were of the highest order, and 
 had been improved by careful education ; he was endowed 
 with profound sagacity, quick penetration, and great decision 
 of character ; and no man ever possessed in a more eminent 
 degree those collective talents and attainments to which the 
 ancients gave the name of wisdom. He had not long ascended 
 the throne when his sagacity detected the secret traitorous 
 designs which Adonijah still entertained. This prince had 
 the adroitness to interest Bathsheba, the king's mother, in a 
 scheme which he had formed of espousing Abishag, one of the 
 wives of the late king, whom he had taken in his latter days. 
 No sooner was this named by Bathsheba to Solomon, than he 
 recognised in the insidious demand a plan formed by Adonijah 
 to accredit his old pretensions ; and as this was breach of 
 the conditions on which his life had been spared, h ordered 
 him to be slain. Abiathar appears to have had some part in 
 this intrigue ; on which account, as well as for his first defec- 
 tion, he was deposed from the joint high-priesthood to tha 
 rank of a common priest, and ordered to withdraw to his town 
 of Anathoth. With some other persons, Solomon dealt ac- 
 cording to the last instructions which his father had given 
 him. Joab, when he heard what had been done to Adonijah 
 and Abiathar, doubted not that his own death was determined, 
 and therefore fled for refuge to the altar. But the altar was 
 allowed to be no refuge to so old a murderer : he was torn 
 thence, and put to the sword by order of the king. This wa 
 an act of astonishing vigour for so young a ruler, when w* 
 
262 SOLOMON ESPOUSES PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER. 
 
 consider the influence of Joab with the army, which Lad 
 secured him complete impunity in the time of David. The 
 valiant Beiiaiah was appointed captain-general in his stead ; 
 and Zadok remained the sole high-priest. 
 
 2. Solomon was not unmindful of Shimei, the Benjamite, 
 who had cursed David and pelted him with stones when he 
 fled from Absalom. David had not found it prudent to punish 
 him ; liut Solomon was not under the same restraint. He 
 ordered him to fix his residence in Jerusalem, and not to leave 
 it on any occasion on pain of death. For a time he was 
 attentive to this injunction ; but after two years he left the 
 city, and went to Gath in pursuit of two runaway slaves, and 
 was, on his return, put to death. 
 
 3. Through the conquests of his father and the wise mea- 
 sures which he had taken to consolidate his power, Solomon 
 was a great king, especially when the extent of his dominion 
 is compared with the small dimensions of kingdoms in those 
 times. His dominions reached from the Mediterranean to the 
 Euphrates, and from the Red Sea and Arabia to the utmost 
 Lebanon. The tributary states were held in complete subjec- 
 tion, and being still governed by their native princes, made 
 Solomon a " king of kings." The Canaanites who still 
 remained in the land, had become peaceable and obedient 
 subjects, or useful and laborious servants. His treasures also 
 were immense, composed chiefly of the spoils won from many 
 nations by his victorious father, and treasured up by him for 
 the very purpose of sustaining the magnificence and aggran- 
 dizing the kingdom of his son. Solomon sought for an alliance 
 becoming his high estate, and found it in a marriage with the 
 king of Egypt's daughter. It was a proud thing for Israel 
 that their king could in such a matter treat on terms of 
 equality with the power which had in old times so long held 
 them under the yoke. The Egyptian princess was received 
 with great magnificence ; and Solomon lodged her in " the 
 city of David," on Mount Zion, until he should build for her 
 a superb palace. 
 
 4. During the tune of David, hi which the tabernacle and 
 the ark had been separate from each other, an irregular prac- 
 tice had crept in of sacrificing to God and burning incense at 
 other places than the tabernacle. The altars for these ser- 
 
SOLOMON'S CHOICE. 263 
 
 rices were chiefly jpon hills covered with trees, and were 
 called " high places." As this was also the practice of the 
 surrounding heathens, it was very dangerous, and, in fact, 
 paved the way for the idolatries into which the Israelites in 
 after times fell. It had been strictly prohibited by the law 
 of Moses (Lev. xvii. 3-5 ; Deut. xii. 2-5). The principal 
 high place was at Gibeon ; and at one of the religious festi- 
 vals Solomon proceeded thither, in solemn pomp, with all his 
 court, the officers of the state and army, and the chiefs and 
 elders of the people, to render his homage to Jehovah, and to 
 offer sacrifices to him. With this homage and with these 
 sacrifices God was well pleased ; and the night following he 
 manifested- himself to Solomon in a dream, and offered to be- 
 stow upon him whatever blessing he might choose. The 
 young king evinced the wisdom he already possessed, by 
 asking an understanding heart to enable him to discharge the 
 awful responsibilities that rested on him, in governing the 
 numerous people and the various interests under his sway. 
 Because he had made so excellent a choice from among all 
 the gifts which the Lord of the Universe had to bestow, not 
 only was surpassing wisdom given to him, but what he had 
 not asked glory, and riches, and length of days, were added 
 to the gift. His extraordinary sagacity was early shown in 
 his judicial decisions, one example of which is given in the 
 celebrated case of the two women living together, each of 
 whom had a child. One of the children died in the night, 
 and the living child was claimed by both the mothers, with 
 equal apparent truth and zeal. When the case came before 
 the king, he saw there was no way of discovering the real 
 mother of the living child, but by an appeal to the truthful- 
 ness of maternal affection, and he therefore ordered the liting 
 child to be cut in two and one half given to each. The 
 earnestness with which one of the women entreated that the 
 life of the child might be spared, at once discovered the real 
 mother. 
 
 5. Solomon had a great taste for magnificence, which he 
 displayed in many ways. In the state, he introduced a most 
 skilful organization of all its departments, which were severally 
 entrusted to men whose abilities had been tried in the time of 
 David ; and the splendour and beautiful order of every do 
 
264 EXTRAVAGANCE OP SOLOMON'S COURT. 
 
 partment in the court claimed admiration. But the inordinate 
 magnificence and extent of all the regal establishments may 
 be justly blamed, when we learn that the expenses were too 
 great for even his large resources ; so that at length the roya. 
 profusion could only be supported by such oppressive exac- 
 tions upon the people, as in the next reign led to the division 
 of his dominion into two kingdoms. Some idea of this extra- 
 vagant magnificence may be formed from the fact, that he 
 had 4000 stalls or stables for the horses of his various car- 
 riages. The provisions required by the court for one day, 
 amounted to thirty bushels of fine flour, sixty bushels of com- 
 mon flour, ten fat oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and a 
 hundred sheep, besides venison and poultry of all descrip- 
 tions. A household requiring such quantities of food must 
 have consisted of several thousand persons ; but it is likely 
 that the royal guards were also supplied from this store. 
 
 6. It is said that Solomon's wisdom greatly exceeded that 
 of the wisest men, Jewish or foreign, of his own day ; there 
 were none equal to him among the people of the east or the 
 Egyptians, who were justly famous for their knowledge of 
 every useful science. Three thousand proverbs, many of 
 which remain to us, embodied his moral sayings and sage re- 
 marks on human character. A thousand and five songs, of 
 which only the Canticles and 127th Psalm remain, ranked 
 him among the first of Hebrew poets ; and his perfect know- 
 ledge of all kinds of plants, beasts, birds, and fishes, was 
 shown by writings which are supposed to have been lost in 
 the Babylonian captivity. 
 
 7. An embassy of condolence and congratulation from 
 Hiram, king of Tyre, kept open the friendly relations with 
 that king, which David had cultivated. It also led to an 
 arrangement under which the king of Tyre engaged to bring 
 fr^m Tjp^j>.Tr>' and to land at the port of Joppa, the timber 
 v on Solomon required for the building of the temple. For 
 this he was to pay in corn and oil ; for the Tyrians having 
 only a small tract of territory, and being chiefly employed in 
 commerce and manufactures, obtained their provisions chiefly 
 from the fertile lands of Canaan. In return for this, in the 
 ordinary course of traffic, the Israelites received the manufac- 
 tured of the Phoenicians and the products of foreign lands. 
 
THE TEMPLE BUILT. 265 
 
 The timber, when landed at Joppa, was conveyed by the 
 Tynans to Jerusalem ; and they also assisted in preparing the 
 stones for the building. Three years were spent in these pre- 
 parations : and in the fourth year, the foundation of the temple 
 was laid, and in seven years the fabric was completed (B. C. 
 1005). The temple appears to have been a truly splendid 
 structure, and great wealth was consumed in its various uten- 
 sils of precious metal, the whole of which were executed by 
 Phosnician artists supplied by Hiram. From the connection 
 of Solomon with Egypt, it is also probable that he availed 
 himself of the talent which, in every branch of art, that country 
 abundantly supplied. To foreigners certainly much of the 
 beauty and perfection of the celebrated temple was owing; 
 for the Israelites being chiefly an agricultural people, had but 
 little skill in those arts of design and ornament which the 
 undertakings of Solomon required. The general plan of the 
 temple seems to have much resembled that of the tabernacle ; 
 being composed of extensive courts for worship and sacrifice 
 in the open air, in front of an oblong building, comparatively 
 of small dimensions, but in all its parts rich and elaborate 
 beyond description. This was not, like our churches, for the 
 use of the worshippers. It was never entered by them ; but 
 was the abode of the Divide symbols, which were the same as 
 in the tabernacle ; the ark with its hovering cherubim, and 
 the Shechinah, or radiant symbol of the Divine presence, being 
 within the interior or most sacred of the two apartments into 
 which the building was divided. 
 
 8. A high feast was held on the day when the temple 
 was dedicated to its destined purpose, and when the sacred 
 services commenced. On that day Solomon appeared upon a 
 scaffold before the temple, and poured forth a long and most 
 sublime prayer, at the conclusion of which the Divine com- 
 placency was evinced" by " the glory of the Lord," filling 
 the whole house, as it had aforetime filled the tabernacle ; 
 after which the radiance concentrated over the ark, and there 
 rested as the symbol of the Divine presence and occupancy. 
 The first victims were also consumed by supernatural fire, 
 which was afterwards constantly kept up as the sacred fire of 
 the temple. 
 
 9. The remainder of king Solomon's reign is a history 
 
366 
 
 SOLOMON'S COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES. 
 
 rather of peaceful undertakings than of warlike exploits. H 
 built a number of splendid palaces, with pleasure-grounds, 
 and basins of water. Of these the most celebrated was " the 
 house of the forest of Lebanon," all the plate and furniture 
 of which seems to have been of pure gold, while in the hall 
 hung two hundred golden bucklers, each of which must have 
 been worth fifteen hundred pounds, and three hundred smaller 
 ones, each worth half the former. There also was the royal 
 hall of audience and of judgment, where the king sat publicly 
 upon a lofty throne of ivory and gold. Many cities were 
 built, others rebuilt, and others fortified by Solomon. Of 
 the former the most celebrated was Tadmor in the eastern 
 wilderness (B. C. 991), better known by its later name of 
 Palmyra, whose splendid ruins excite to this day the admi- 
 ration and wonder of travellers. These, however, are not 
 the ruins of Solomon's buildings, but of others erected in 
 after ages on the same site. 
 
 10. The king also engaged in maritime and inland com- 
 merce. Being possessed of Eziongeber, a port on the Red 
 Sea, which opens into the Indian Ocean, he united with king 
 
 Hiram in sending ships 
 into the eastern seas, 
 which, after an absence 
 of three years, returned 
 laden with the valuable 
 products of distant climes 
 gold, silver, ivory, 
 beautiful and costly woods, 
 and precious stones; gums, 
 spices, and perfumes ; and 
 collections of curious 
 plants, animals, and birds 
 (among which apes and 
 peacocks are particularly 
 named), which must have ministered much delight to the 
 enquiring mind of Solomon. He also carried on a great trade 
 in the fine linens, the yarn, the horses, and the chariots of the 
 Egyptians; which he bought by his factors of the Egyptians, 
 and sold at an enhanced price to the Syrian nations. From 
 theso sources, and from the tribute of the subject nations, 
 
 V 
 
 \ 
 
 134. Baboon. 
 
THE QUEEN OP 8HEBA VISITS SOLOMON. 26' 
 
 Tst treasure came into the royal coffers. We are told that 
 the commercial voyages alone brought, in one year, no less 
 than 666 talents of gold, which some compute at 3,646,350 
 sterling. As for silver, it was of no account in his days ; and 
 the previously costly wood of the cedar became as common 
 as that of the sycamore had been. But most of this prosperity 
 was rather the result of a temporary excitement, than of a 
 regular development of the national resources. Even the 
 commercial enterprises were monopolies of the crown ; and th 
 greater part of the wealth arising from all sources went into 
 the royal treasury, and was there absorbed in empty splen- 
 dour, spent on foreigners, or consumed in extravagance. We 
 are not therefore surprised that, in his later years, when some 
 of the sources of supply had declined, while the cost of the 
 royal establishment was undiminished, Solomon was obliged 
 to resort to oppressive exactions from his own people, which 
 had well nigh ruined the house of David in popular esteem. 
 It is true, however, that, taking his reign in the whole, the 
 nation was prosperous, as the long continued peace enabled 
 the population to increase without check, while every man 
 could attend to his lands without distraction. Hence we are 
 told that in his days " Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every 
 man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even 
 to Beersheba." 
 
 11. The vast knowledge of Solomon, his profound saga- 
 city, and the order and splendour of his court, attracted many 
 foreign princes to Jerusalem. The most celebrated of these 
 visitors was the queen of Sheba, supposed, on sufficient 
 grounds, to have come from southern Arabia; but who is 
 thought by some to have been the queen of Abyssinia, which 
 is the firm belief of the Abyssinians themselves to this day. 
 The distance from which she came, the costly gifts which 
 she brought, and her splendid train, excited much admiration. 
 The king satisfactorily solved the "hard questions" by which 
 she tried his wisdom ; and all that she heard and saw led 
 her to confess that the reality greatly exceeded the scarcely 
 credible rumours which had reached her distant land. 
 
 12. Unfortunately, that vain and costly appendage ol 
 royal state in the east, a large seraglio of women, was 
 deemed by Solomon necessary to his magnificence. He had 
 
268 
 
 SOLOMON BEDUCBD TO IDOLATRY. 
 
 125. Ashtaroth. 
 
 no fewer than 700 wives of high family, and 300 secondary 
 or concubine wives. Many of these wives were foreigners 
 and idolaters from the neighbouring nations; and they, in 
 his latter days, drew him astray, not only to participate in 
 their acts of homage to their native idols, but to build 
 temples to their honour and for their worship, on the hills 
 facing Jerusalem, and in front of the Lord's own temple. 
 Here he joined in sacrifices to Chemosh or Peor, the obscene 
 idol of the Moabites, to Moloch the 
 god of the Ammonites, and to Ash- 
 taroth the goddess of the Sidonians. 
 These doings greatly provoked the 
 Divine indignation. The splendid 
 endowments of Solomon served the 
 more to aggravate his offence ; and 
 at length it was solemnly announced 
 to him, that since he had broken 
 the covenant by which he held his 
 crown from the Divine King, the 
 kingdom should be rent from him, and given to his servant. 
 Kevertheless it was added, that, for David's sake, this should 
 not be done in his time, but in the time of his son ; and 
 that, also for the sake of David, one tribe, that of Judah 
 (with which Benjamin had now coalesced), should remain 
 under the dominion of his house. 
 
 13. This prophecy was soon after made known by the 
 prophet Ahijah to Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, who, as a man 
 of activity and talent, had attracted the notice of Solomon, 
 and had been by him made overseer of the workmen from 
 the tribes of Joseph, employed in the public service. The 
 prophet accompanied the message by the significant act of 
 rending his own new garment into twelve pieces, ten of which 
 he gave to Jeroboam, and reserved only two for the house of 
 David. It was then announced that the dominion over the 
 ten tribes was given to him ; and that it should be confirmed 
 to his descendants, if he and they maintained their allegiance 
 to the Divine King. This soon came to the knowledge of 
 Solomon, whose attempts to destroy the destined rival of his 
 Bon, taught Jeroboam the prudence of leaving the country. 
 He retired into Egypt, where he was well received by tha 
 
DEATH OF SOLOMON. 269 
 
 king, Shishak, and protected by him till the death of Solo- 
 mon. The repose of the king's latter days was also disturbed 
 by the revolt of the Edomites and the Syrians of Damascus. 
 There is reason to hope, that these just punishments opened 
 the eyes of Solomon to the enormity of his offences, and that 
 his last days were repentant. He died about the sixtieth 
 year of his age, after a reign of forty years. B.C. 975. 
 
 14. Solomon may have left many sons, but the only one 
 known to history is his successor, Kehoboam, who was born 
 the year before his father's accession, and was therefore forty- 
 one years of age when he ascended the throne. 
 
 15. The tribes were now determined to relieve themselves 
 from the burdens, which, in the later .years of his reign, had 
 been imposed upon them by Solomon. They therefore re- 
 called Jeroboam from Egypt ; and, with him at their head, 
 applied to Kehoboam for redress of the grievances under which 
 they had laboured. It is evident that the ten tribes were 
 predisposed to separate themselves from Judah, and establish 
 an independent government. Their sentiments were in- 
 fluenced chiefly by those of Ephraim, which proud and power- 
 ful tribe could not brook that the sovereignty should be in 
 the great rival tribe of Judah. They were, therefore, in all 
 probability, rather glad than sorry when a rough refusal of 
 redress from Rehoboam gave them a reasonable pretext for 
 revolt, and for abandoning their allegiance to the house of 
 David. Accordingly, they openly revolted, and made Jero- 
 boam their king. 
 
 16. As this separation was in accordance with the inten- 
 tions of the Divine King, to punish the house of David for 
 the guilt of Solomon, the Sacred Oracle forbade Rehoboam 
 to pursue the design which he had formed of reducing tL 
 revolted tribes to obedience by force of anna. 
 
BOOK T 
 
 CHAPTER I. ISBAEL FROM B.C. 975 TO 918. 
 
 ReMooam 
 
 I8KAXL. 
 
 Jeroboam I. ... 
 Nadafc 
 
 B.C. 
 
 975 
 954 
 
 GENKRAI, HI8TOBY. 
 
 . 
 
 Pborbas, 6tb Archon of 
 Athens AM 
 
 Baaaba .... 
 Elah .... 
 Zirari and Omri . 
 Omri dies 
 
 953 
 . 930 
 . 929 
 918 
 
 Osorkoa I., King of 
 Egypt . . . . . WJ 
 Benhiidad, King of Syria 940 
 Lycurgus born . . . 926 
 Takelothe, King of Egypt 926 
 
 rcroAH. 
 
 B.C. 
 976 
 . . 958 
 
 Asa" 955 
 
 Azariah, High-Priest 958 
 
 1. JEROBOAM made the ancient city of Shechem, in his 
 own tribe of Ephraim, the seat of his government ; and he 
 had also a summer residence at Tirzah in Manasseh. Al- 
 though released from its dependence on Judah, the new king- 
 dom, which was called, by way of distinction, the kingdom of 
 Israel, was still under allegiance to the Divine King, and 
 bound, as much as Judah, by all the obligations of the an- 
 cient covenants. In both, therefore, we are to view the con- 
 tinued operation of the theocratical system, for the purpose of 
 preserving the knowledge of the true God upon the earth. 
 Both the kingdoms prospered or were, humbled in proportion 
 as their conduct advanced or hindered that great object. 
 
 2. Jeroboam, whatever may have been his original in- 
 tentions, soon renounced the peculiar institutions of Judaism, 
 Although the kingdoms were separated, there remained, ac- 
 cording to the law, but one temple and one altar, one eccle- 
 iastical establishment, for both. To the place of that temple 
 and that altar all the descendants of Jacob were still abso- 
 lutely required to repair three times every year, and that 
 place was Jerusalem, the metropolis of the rival kingdom. 
 Fearing that this might ultimately lead to the re-union of the 
 tribes, and to the extinction of his separate kingdom, Jero- 
 boam most presumptuously and wickedly dared to abrogate 
 
JEROBOAM I. 2fl 
 
 tfce unity of the nation (which might still have been main* 
 tained under two kingdoms], by forbidding his subjects to re- 
 pair to Jerusalem, to render their homage to the Divine 
 Bong. He alleged that the distance made the journey bur- 
 densome to them ; and, therefore, he established two places, 
 towards the opposite extremities of his own kingdom, to which 
 they might resort. These were Bethel in the south, and Dan 
 in the north. Having himself resided in Egypt, and recol- 
 lecting the readiness with which the Israelites had, in the 
 wilderness, set up a figure of the Egyptian ox-god (Mnevis) 
 as the symbol of the true God, he now reverted to that su- 
 perstition, and set up " golden calves" at Dan and Bethel, as 
 objects of religious service and homage. He did not deny 
 the God of Israel, and turn to other gods ; but for political 
 objects, he prevented the access of his subjects to the true 
 symbols of the Divine Presence, and caused them to worship 
 Him under forbidden and degrading symbols. 
 
 3. To their very great honour, no priests or Levites could 
 be found who would connect themselves with this abomina- 
 tion. After a vain attempt to stem the evil, the Levites 
 abandoned their cities and possessions, and removed into the 
 kingdom of Judah. The priests were already there, for their 
 towns were all within the territories of Judah. Jeroboam 
 could not induce any respectable persons to arrogate the 
 priestly office, and, therefore, the lowest and most unprincipled 
 of the people became the fitting priests of the golden calves. 
 As to the high-priesthood he took that office to himself, ac- 
 cording to the practice in Egypt and other countries, where 
 the sovereign was also supreme pontiff. As such, he officiated 
 at high festivals, one of which, the Feast of Tabernacles, he 
 presumed to change from the seventh to the eighth month. 
 These innovations were so shocking to every mind well im- 
 bued with the principles of the theocracy and the true reli- 
 gion, that, by degrees, a large proportion of the most valuable 
 men in Israel removed into the sister kingdom. By this and 
 other accessions, the kingdom of Judah soon became, in real 
 strength and power, less unequal to that of Israel, than the 
 proportion between two and ten tribes would seem to indi- 
 cate. Indeed, Judah was already a formed kingdom, with 
 well-organized resources and establishments, and with much 
 
272 DEATH OF JEROBOAM. 
 
 treasure ; so that the balance of power may even be deemed 
 to have inclined in its favour. 
 
 4. Jeroboam was not allowed to remain long unwarned. 
 He was officiating as high-priest at Bethel, at his feast of 
 tabernacles, when a prophet appeared and foretold that a fu- 
 ture king of Judah, Josiah by name, should profane and de- 
 Btroy the very altar at which he was then burning incense. 
 The power by which the prophet spoke was evinced by the 
 instant withering of the hand which the king stretched forth 
 to lay hold on the prophet ; and not less by its being instantly 
 restored at that prophet's prayer. This, however, had no 
 abiding effect upon Jeroboam ; he persisted in his evil ways, 
 which at length brought ruin upon his house. This doom 
 was announced to his wife by the prophet who had anointed 
 him for the kingdom. Ahijah was now blind with age ; but 
 when the queen, disguised, went to consult him about a be- 
 loved son who was dangerously ill, he knew her, and not only 
 told her that the child should die, but that the dynasty of 
 Jeroboam should soon be extinguished ; and that the Israel- 
 ites, for their iniquities, should, in the end, be carried away 
 as captives beyond the Euphrates. After a reign of twenty- 
 two years Jeroboam died, and was succeeded by his son Na- 
 dab, in the second year of Asa, king of Judah. 
 
 5. Nadab reigned only two years, during which he ad- 
 hered to the system of his father. He was then murdered by 
 a person called Baasha, of the tribe of Issachar, who usurped 
 the crown and put to death the whole family of Jeroboam. 
 
 6. Baasha's government was as offensive to God as it was 
 oppressive to the people, great numbers of whom sought quiet 
 in Judah. Displeased at this, Baasha engaged in a sort of 
 skirmishing warfare with Asa, and took Rarnah of Benjamin, 
 which he began to fortify with the view of controlling the 
 intercourse between the two kingdoms. But he was called 
 off to defend his own country from the Syrians, whose assist- 
 ance had been bought by the king of Judah with gold from 
 the temple. Persisting in evil, Baasha incurred for his house 
 the doom which had been inflicted on that of Jeroboam. He 
 died after a reign of twenty-three years. 
 
 7. Elah, his son. reigned little more than one year, when 
 he was murdered at a feast by Zimri, a military commander, 
 
TIBNI CHOSEN KINO. 
 
 273 
 
 who then mounted the throne. The army, which was in the 
 field against the Philistines, no sooner heard of this than they 
 declared in favour of their own commander Omri, who im- 
 mediately led them against his rival. He was at Tirzah; 
 and when Omri arrived, Zimri, despairing of the result, with- 
 drew to his haram, which he set on fire, and perished, with 
 all that belonged to him, in the flames. 
 
 8. The people, like the army, had refused to recognize the 
 murderous Zimri as king, and had chosen one for themselves 
 named Tibni, in whom Omri now found another competitor. 
 It was not until after six years of civil war that Omri mas- 
 tered this opposition and remained undoubted king (B. C. 923.) 
 The most memorable act of his reign was the foundation of 
 a new metropolis in a very advantageous situation (B. C. 918.) 
 He called it Shemron or (as afterwards softened in the Greek 
 into Samaria), after the name of the person (Shemer) to 
 whom the ground had originally belonged. Omri reigned 
 eleven years, and died in the thirty-ninth year of Asa, king 
 of Judah. 
 
274 
 
 CHATTER II, JUDAH FROM 975 TO 
 
 JUDAH. 
 
 Kehoboam . . . 
 Abijah 
 
 B.C. 
 
 . 975 
 . 958 
 
 ISRAEL. 
 
 Jeroboam I. ... 
 Nadab 
 
 B.C. 
 
 . 975 
 . 954 
 
 Asa 
 
 . 955 
 
 
 . 953 
 
 
 . 914 
 
 Elah 
 
 . 930 
 
 
 889 
 
 
 929 
 
 
 of 
 
 
 . 918 
 
 
 . 896 
 
 
 . 897 
 
 
 
 Jehoram . . . 
 
 . 896 
 
 EOTPT. 
 
 M 
 
 Orsokon II., Vin? . 90f 
 Shishak (Shesronk) IL ft* 
 to about 86^ : after 
 which a blank VU the 
 reign of Boe*^ 1 *, 
 who ascended b 
 throne in . . \ . V* 
 
 GENERAL HISTOKT. 
 
 Mcgn, 6th Archon of Athens 923 
 
 Hesiod, the poet 915 
 
 Homer flourished about 907 
 
 Diogenetes, 7th Archon of Athens 893 
 
 1. IN Judah, the conduct of Kehoboam was without re- 
 proach during the three first years of his reign. After that 
 he, and his subjects with him, fell into the same gross ido- 
 latry and abominable practices, which had proved the ruin oi 
 the Canaanites. To punish them for this apostacy, God al- 
 lowed an invasion of the land by Shishak, king of Egypt, 
 (B.C. 970), who took some of the fortified towns, entered 
 Jerusalem, and carried off the treasures of the temple and the 
 palace. As this produced repentance, the remainder of the 
 reign was prosperous. Kehoboam reigned seventeen years. 
 
 2. Abijah, the son of Rahoboam by a grand-daughter oi 
 Absalom, succeeded his father. He was an active and mar- 
 tial prince, and he resolved to endeavour, by force of arms, to 
 bring back the ten tribes to obedience. He raised a large 
 wmy for that service ; and was met by Jeroboam with an 
 <imy twice as large. Before the battle, Abijah harangued 
 ->he opposing force from Mount Zemaraim. He asserted the 
 indefeasible right of the house of David to reign over all the 
 tribes ; he alleged that, in the revolt, undue advantage had 
 been taken of Eehoboam's inexperience ; and he gathered 
 confidence of success from the adherence of Judah to the 
 theoeratic.il institutions, which Israel had so heinously for- 
 aken. This reliance gained him the victory. Jeroboam 
 
ASA DEFEATS THE CUSHITES. 275 
 
 lost two- thirds of his immense army, and never recovered the 
 strength he then lost. Abijah was thus enabled to advance 
 his frontier, by taking from Israel several border towns, 
 among which we find the name of Bethel, where was one of 
 the golden calves. We are not, however, told that he de- 
 stroyed that idol ; and it would appear that the town itself 
 was ultimately recovered by Israel ; perhaps on the death of 
 Abijah, which soon followed, after a short reign of three years. 
 
 3. Asa, who then ascended the throne, was a prince of 
 great piety and virtue. He ruled quietly for ten years, which 
 he employed in the reformation of the abuses of former reigns. 
 He destroyed all idols and their altars, and employed all the 
 means in his power to restore the pure worship of God, and 
 re-establish the principles of the theocratical government. 
 His own adhesion to these principles, which required implicit 
 confidence in the Divine King, was severely tried by an in- 
 vasion of the country by a vast host of the Cushites (called 
 Ethiopians), under Zerah their king (B.C. 941). Strong in 
 the confidence that it was equally in the Lord's power to give 
 the victory with few as with many, the pious Asa advanced 
 with a comparatively small force, to his southern frontier, to 
 meet this immense host. In that confidence, the Cushites 
 were totally overthrown before him, and the victory gave him 
 the abundant spoil and numerous cattle of this pastoral horde. 
 This repulsion of a torrent which had threatened to over- 
 whelm all the neighbouring states, and which must have been 
 regarded with general apprehension, could not but enhance 
 his credit in the adjoining countries. 
 
 4. Five following years of profound peace he employed, 
 under the advice of the prophet Azariah, in pursuing his re- 
 formations with a still more vigorous and less sparing hand. 
 Even his own grandmother, the guardian of his youth, was 
 banished from court on account of her idolatries. These re- 
 forms put the kingdom in such advantageous contrast with 
 that of Israel, that the well disposed subjects of that king- 
 dom removed in great numbers into Judah. Alarmed at this, 
 Baasha of Israel, took the measures which have been already 
 mentioned to check the communication between the two king- 
 doms. The conduct of Asa, in hiring the Syrians with the 
 gold of the temple, to make a diversion in his favour, did not 
 
276 JEHOSHAPHAT KINO. 
 
 become his character, nor evince that confidence in the Great 
 King which he had on more trying occasions exemplified. 
 He also imprisoned the prophet Jehu, the son of Hanani, who 
 reproved him for his conduct on this occasion. His latter 
 years were also stained by several acts of oppression ; and 
 when afflicted with a grievous disease in the feet, he mani- 
 fested more confidence in his physicians, and less in God, 
 than was considered becoming. He died after a reign of 
 forty-one years, and was honoured by his subjects with a 
 magnificent funeral ; for the Jews, like other Orientals, were 
 in the habit of making known, by funeral testimonials, the 
 estimation in which they held their deceased kings. 
 
 5. The excellent father was succeeded by the still more 
 excellent son, Jehoshaphat. The first act of his reign was 
 to remove the high places and the groves, which Asa had 
 left untouched. Then, becoming convinced that the most 
 effectual means of preventing the return of the corruptions 
 which had with so much difficulty been rooted out, was to 
 provide for the suitable instruction of the people, in the third 
 year of his reign, he sent out, through all the cities of Judah, 
 a number of chiefs or " princes," whose rank and influence 
 secured respect and attention to the priests and Levites who, 
 with them, were to instruct the people in the law of Moses. 
 The king himself made a tour through his kingdom to see 
 that due effect was in this matter given to his intentions. 
 
 6. Having made this the first object of his care, Je- 
 hoshaphat found leisure to examine and reform the abuses 
 which had crept into various departments of the state, and to 
 develope the civil and military resources of the country. 
 His cares were rewarded by the increasing numbers and pro- 
 sperity of his people, by their happiness, and by the exemp- 
 tion from war which his manifest preparedness for it secured. 
 All the men fit to bear arms were regularly enrolled, and 
 were found to be no less than 1,160,000 being not materi- 
 ally fewer than the number returned for all the tribes (except 
 Levi and Benjamin) in the time of David. Of these a cer- 
 tain proportion was kept in service, to act as royal guards at 
 Jerusalem, to garrison the fortresses, and to protect the 
 northern frontier from the kings of Israel. The effective 
 order which tho king thus established throughout his king- 
 
JEHORAM MARRIES AHAB r S DAUGHTER. 277 
 
 dom procured for him the respect of foreign states, while 
 Edom was retained in its subjection, and the Philistines dared 
 not withhold their tribute. 
 
 7. The grand error of Jehoshaphat's reign was the 
 alliance which he contracted with the idolatrous Ahab, king 
 of Israel, who thought it safer to have the king of Judah for 
 a friend than an enemy, and therefore paid court to him. 
 The alliance was soon cemented by a marriage between 
 Ahab's daughter Athaliah, and Jehoram the son of Jehosha- 
 phat. In consequence of this connection a friendly inter- 
 course was established between the two kings ; and on a 
 visit paid by Jehoshaphat to the court of Ahab he allowed 
 himself to be persuaded to accompany him in an expedition 
 to recover Eamoth-Gilead from the Syrians. In that action 
 Ahab was killed, and Jehoshaphat narrowly escaped with his 
 life to Jerusalem. On his arrival he was severely reproved 
 by the prophet Jehu for so injurious and improper a connec- 
 tion. The king testified his repentance in the best possible 
 way by prosecuting his reformations with renewed vigour. 
 A personal tour through the kingdom evinced the sincerity 
 of his endeavour to bring his subjects into a right state of 
 feeling towards the God of their fathers. In this tour the 
 king discovered many abuses and irregularities in the admini- 
 stration of justice ; and he therefore established local courts 
 in every important town, with a right of appeal to the supe- 
 rior courts at Jerusalem. To all these courts competent 
 judges were appointed; and they were dismissed to their 
 duties with a plain and forcible charge from the king. 
 
 8. The next undertaking of Jehoshaphat was an attempt 
 to reopen the maritime traffic which Solomon had carried on 
 by way of the Red Sea. But he unfortunately allowed Aha- 
 ziah, the king of Israel, to become a partner in the enterprise, 
 in consequence of which the Lord refused to prosper the 
 design, and the ships were destroyed by a storm almost as 
 soon as they had left the port of Ezion-Geber. Ahaziah 
 wished to renew the attempt ; but Jehoshaphat refused, and 
 appears to have abandoned the project altogether. 
 
 9. Very soon after this, Jehoshaphat obtained a very 
 signal deliverance from a formidable and quite unexpected 
 Invasion from the south, by a large force composed of Moab- 
 
J78 JEHOSHAPHAT'S DEATH. 
 
 ites and Ammonites, together with some Arabian tribes whom 
 they had engaged in the enterprise. They came by the way 
 of Edom, and had arrived as far as En-gedi before Jeho- 
 ghaphat was well aware of their presence. He had no re- 
 source but to throw himself unreservedly upon the covenanted 
 protection of the Great King ; and this confidence was re- 
 warded by th promise of deliverance. In fact, the Judahites 
 had no occasion to draw a sword ; for there arose such a spirit 
 of discord among the invaders, that after the Ammonites and 
 Moabites had quarrelled with and destroyed their Arabian 
 auxiliaries, they repeated the same process between them- 
 selves ; so that the people under Jehoshaphat had nothing to 
 do but collect the spoil which they left. This was so large 
 that it took three days to gather it together ; after which they 
 returned with great joy to Jerusalem, and before they entered 
 the city held a solemn thanksgiving in the valley of Shaveh. 
 
 10. The king of Judah was probably induced, by his re- 
 sentment at the invasion of the Moabites, to give his aid to 
 the king of Israel, Jehoram, in the attempt to re-establish 
 over that people the dominion of Israel, from which they had 
 revolted on the death of Ahab. The allies got into a posi- 
 tion of imminent danger, and t^eir deliverance was declared 
 to be solely owing to the divine favour towards Jehoshaphat. 
 B. C. 895. 
 
 11. Not long after this Jehoshaphat died, having lived 
 sixty years, and reigned twenty-five. He was undoubtedly 
 fie greatest of the Hebrew kings since Solomon, and this 
 oat faithful since David. B. C. 889, 
 
279 
 
 CHAPTER HI. ISRAEL FROM B.C. 918 TO 897. 
 
 JUDAH. 
 
 ISRAEL. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 /hab, Vhiz 918 Jehoshaphat, long 
 
 The great drought begins . . . 910 
 
 Return of rain plenty ..... 906 
 
 Benhadad's invasion 901 
 
 Naboth slain : and Ahab doomed . . 899 
 
 Ahab sluin in battle at Ramoth-Gilead 897 
 
 1. OMRI was succeeded by his son Ahab, the events of 
 whose reign are related at greater length than those of any 
 other king of Israel. His reign was for the most part con- 
 temporary with that of Jehoshaphat in Judah. In both their 
 public and private character there never was a greater con- 
 trast than between these two kings. We have seen how 
 zealously Jehoshaphat laboured to restore and establish the 
 knowledge and the worship of the true God among his people. 
 But Ahab exceeded all former kings in his abominations. 
 His predecessors had been content to make religion an imple- 
 ment of human policy, by the unwarrantable worship of God, 
 under the profane symbol of the golden calves; but Ahab 
 betook himself to the worship of foreign gods instead of the 
 God of Israel. The preference appears to have been given 
 to Baal, the great sun-god of the Phoenicians ; which is to be 
 ascribed to the influence of Ahab's wife Jezebel, who was a 
 daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre, an unscrupulous and 
 wicked woman, who was very zealous for her national idol. 
 She soon procured his worship to be established in the land 
 of Israel ; and as the religious sentiments of the people had 
 been corrupted by the worship of the golden calves, it is not 
 wonderful that they very readily transferred their homage to 
 an idolatry pleasant to the natural depravity of man. Jehovah 
 was not formally rejected or abandoned ; but Baal received 
 At least equal worship from the multitude, and greater from 
 the court. 
 
 2. To stem the tide of corruption, and to prevent the 
 total apostacy of Israel, God raided up a man endued with 
 
280 ELIJAH FORETELLS THE GREAT DROUGHT. 
 
 extraordinary gifts and powers, ardent zeal, and stern virtues, 
 such as the time required. This was Elijah, the Tishbite,* 
 by far the greatest prophet, both in word and deed, which 
 had appeared since Moses. He is introduced abruptly, as 
 boldly announcing to Ahab in person the national punishment 
 of a long drought, and consequent scarcity, not to be removed 
 but by his own intercession. This last condition made it 
 necessary for the prophet to withdraw himself from the pre- 
 sence and solicitations of the king. When, therefore, the 
 drought began to be felt, in the eighth year of Ahab's reign, 
 Elijah retired beyond the Jordan, and concealed himself in a 
 cavern beside the brook Cherith, where Providence directed 
 ravens to furnish him with regular supplies of bread and 
 meat, morning and evening. When the brook was dried up 
 for want of rain, the prophet crossed the country to Sarepta, 
 a town in the kingdom of Jezebel's father, to which also the 
 drought and famine had extended. He remained at this 
 place two years, lodging with a poor widow and her son ; and 
 during all that time of famine, they were supported through 
 the miraculous inexhaustion of a handful of flour and a little 
 oil, the only remaining food of the poor woman when the 
 prophet met with her. 
 
 3. Three years had Elijah remained in obscurity one 
 year by the brook Cherith, and two in Sarepta. During 
 this time Israel suffered greatly; and Ahab had sought for 
 the prophet in every quarter, convinced that the remedy was 
 in his hands. God, intending now to give rain, and to re- 
 move the famine, ordered the prophet to return to the land 
 of Israel. On the way, he met Obadiah, comptroller of the 
 king's household, who had been sent out to seek forage for 
 the cattle. This person, at the risk of his own life, had 
 sheltered many holy persons in a cave, and supplied them 
 with victuals, during a recent persecution by Jezebel. Elijah 
 sent Obadiah back to announce his reappearance to Ahab, 
 who then came out to meet him. When the king saw him, 
 he said, "Art thou he who troubleth Israel?" But the pro- 
 phet sternly retorted the charge, alleging that the apostacy 
 of himself and his people was the cause of the national suffer- 
 
 So called, from hit native place, which was probably Thebes, tow> of ManatMk 
 Jordan. 
 
DESTRUCTION OF THE PRIESTS OF BAAL. 281 
 
 ing. He further required the king to convene a general 
 assembly of his priests and people at Carmel. 
 
 4. In that great assembly there were no fewer than 450 
 priests of Baal. Elijah proposed that these priests should 
 call upon Baal, and that he should call upon the name of 
 Jehovah, and that the Deity who should make it appear that 
 he had heard their prayers, by consuming with fire from 
 heaven the sacrifices to be offered, should be acknowledged 
 as the true God. It was impossible for the priests of Baal 
 to decline so fair a trial, especially as 
 
 fire was the congenial element of the 
 
 god they worshipped. Accordingly, they 
 
 prepared their altar, and laid out upon 
 
 it their sacrifices, and continued, wifh 
 
 frantic invocations and lacerations of 
 
 their flesh, to ask the required sign, 
 
 until above half the day was spent ; but 
 
 no sign in heaven or earth answered 
 
 to their cry. Then Elijah rose, and, 
 
 after some biting ridicule of the im- 126 ' F 
 
 potent god and his votaries, proceeded to repair an old altar, 
 
 which had formerly been erected there. Upon this he placed 
 
 his sacrifices, and called solemnly upon the God of Israel to 
 
 manifest his power. He was instantly answered by fire from 
 
 heaven, so intense, that it consumed not only the victims 
 
 and the wood, but the very stones and dust of the place, and 
 
 absorbed the water which had been poured profusely on the 
 
 whole. At this astounding display of miraculous power, the 
 
 people fell on their faces, crying, " The Lord, he is the God ; 
 
 the Lord, he is the God." At the instance of the prophet, 
 
 they evinced the sincerity of their conviction, by seizing the 
 
 priests of Baal and destroying them all. The prophet then 
 
 went to the top of Carmel, and prayed for rain. A small 
 
 cloud arising from the sea was the first answer to his prayer^ 
 
 and that welcome sign was soon followed by abundant and 
 
 heavy rain. 
 
 5. Learning tha\, Jezebel had vowed his death, on account 
 of the slaughter of Baal's priests, the prophet withdrew to 
 Beersheba, where he left his servant, and proceeded alone 
 cross the desert to Horeb, "the Mount of God." Here, 
 
282 BENHADAD'S INVASION. 
 
 where the law had been originally delivered, the Lord mani- 
 fested himself to his servant not in the whirlwind, the 
 earthquake, or the fire but in " a still small voice," which 
 spoke comfort to his now desolate soul, and encouraged him 
 by the assurance, that whereas he deemed that he was him- 
 Belf the only worshipper of God left in Israel, there were 
 indeed seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal. 
 He was then directed to return home ; and on the way he 
 met with Elisha, ploughing in the field. Knowing that this 
 person was his destined successor, he intimated the fact by 
 casting over him his mantle. Elisha then went with him, 
 and remained in attendance upon him. 
 
 6. Now Israel was invaded by Benhadad, king of Syria* 
 of Damascus, at the head of a numerous army, with which he 
 invested Samaria. The kingdom was too much exhausted 
 by the recent famine to allow Ahab to make any effectual 
 resistance. But although he was unworthy of any help, yet 
 God, for the glory of his own great name, sent a prophet to 
 promise him victory, and to instruct him how to act. Benhadad 
 was in consequence defeated, and with difficulty saved his 
 life by flight. Yet the next year he made another invasion 
 with a more powerful force, hoping to bring the Israelites to 
 action in the plain ; for he had arrived at the foolish conclu- 
 sion, that the God of Israel (to whom' he ascribed his previous 
 defeat) was indeed a God of the mountains, but not a God of 
 the valleys. To correct so dishonouring a notion of his power, 
 the Lord again gave the victory to Ahab. But instead of 
 following up this success, Ahab concluded a league of amity 
 with Benhadad, which was so displeasing to God, that a pro- 
 phet was sent to announce the evils which would befal hi 
 house, through the neglect of this opportunity of breaking 
 the Syrian power. 
 
 7. It was not until nine years after the transactions at 
 Mount Carmel, that Elijah and Ahab had another interview, 
 which was the last. The prophet came to denounce the 
 Divine vengeance against him and his family, for killing 
 Naboth under the forms of law, in order to obtain possession 
 at a vineyard which that person had refused to part with. 
 
 * The " kings of Syria," in the Scriptural history, were the kings of Oat -xwtion of 
 ffra of which Damascus was the capital. 
 
AHAB'S EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SYRIANS. 288 
 
 For his great wickedness the prophet declared that his pos- 
 terity should be cut off; and that, for this iniquity in par- 
 ticular, dogs should lap his own "blood in the place where 
 they lapped the blood 
 of Naboth; and that 
 dogs should eat the 
 flesh of Jezebel under 
 the wall of Jezreel. 
 On hearing this dread- 
 ful denunciation, the 
 king manifested some 
 signs of humiliation 
 and contrition, in con- 127. Dog, 
 
 sequence of which the heaviest part of this doom was post* 
 poned from his own time to that of his successor. 
 
 8. The last act of Ahab's reign was the expedition against 
 the Syrians, in which Jehoshaphat took part, as noticed in 
 the preceding chapter. When that excellent prince was in- 
 vited to go with the army, he was not satisfied with the 
 assurances of success which the "false prophets" of Ahab 
 gave in great abundance ; but wished to see " a prophet of 
 the Lord beside." Ahab therefore sent for a prophet named 
 Micaiah, whom he nevertheless declared that he hated, be- 
 cause he did not prophesy good concerning him, but evil. 
 Micaiah verified this when he arrived, by telling him that if 
 lie went, he would never return alive. On this the indignant 
 king commanded him to be kept in prison until his return 
 " in peace ; " which the unflinching prophet persisted would 
 never happen. The kings went against the Syrians ; but 
 before the battle began, Ahab, secretly alarmed at the ore 
 diction of Micaiah, invidiously proposed to Jehoshaphat that 
 he should take the chief command, and appear in his royal 
 robes, while he himself would wear an ordinary dress. He 
 hoped to favour his own escape, by exposing the king of 
 JudaL In fact, Jehoshaphat being taken for the king of 
 Israel, was in great danger of his life ; but Ahab escaped not. 
 An arrow shot at random by a Syrian soldier penetrated the 
 joints of his coat of mail, and inflicted a mortal wound. Ho 
 immediately retired from the field to have the wound dressed; 
 but fearing to discourage his men, quickly returned, and re- 
 P. 13 
 
284 
 
 AHAB SLAIN. 
 
 mained in the field till he died in his chariot. When thii 
 was known, the army was commanded to disperse. The 
 washing of Ahab's chariot in the pool of Samaria, to which 
 city his body was taken, caused a modified fulfilment of the 
 prediction that dogs should lick his blood as they had licked 
 the blood of Naboth; but this doom was again, and more 
 literally (as to the place \ accomplished in the person of his 
 
ttft 
 
 CHAPTER IV. JUDAH FROH B. C. 889 TO 809. 
 
 JUDAH. 
 B.C. 
 
 Jehoram or Joram. 
 king . . . a89 
 
 ISRAEL 
 B. C. 
 
 Jehoram or Joram, 
 <in<< ..... 896 
 
 Ahaziah, king . . 885 
 Athaliah, queen . 884 
 Joash or Jehoash, 
 king ... 878 
 Zechariah, high priest 850 
 Amariah, high priest 810 
 Amaziah, king . 838 
 Amaziah dies . 809 
 
 Jehu,' king . . 884 
 Jehoahaz, king . 856 
 Jehoash or Joash, 
 king ... 839 
 Jeroboam II., king 823 
 
 GENERAL HISTOIT. 
 
 B. 
 
 Phidon, king of Argos 84 
 Cartilage founded 869 
 
 Pherecles, 8th Archon 
 
 of Athens . . 863 
 Ariphron, 9th Archon 
 
 of Athens . . Sid 
 Thespieus, 10th Archon 
 
 of Athena . . 82ft 
 Bocchoris (Pehor, Bak- 
 
 hor), king of Egypt 811 
 
 1. IN the kingdom of Judah, Jehoshaphat was succeeded 
 by his son Jehoram or Joram, who has before been mentioned 
 as having married Ahab's daughter, Athaliah. He was 
 thirty-eight years of age when he began to reign, and proved 
 a very degenerate son of an excellent father. The first act 
 of his reign was the murder of his six brothers, and some of 
 the chief persons of the nation. He was also persuaded by 
 Athaliah to subvert the worship of the Lord, and to introduce 
 the corruptions which prevailed in the sister kingdom. For 
 this, the prophet Elisha, by letter, denounced th Divine ven- 
 geance upon him and upon his house. This was speedily 
 executed. The Edomites threw off the yoke, as had long 
 before been foretold (Gen. xxvii. 40), and Libnah, on his 
 southern frontier, revolted. The Philistines harassed him on 
 the west; and he was invaded from the south by the Ara- 
 bians, who plundered his country and palaces, carrying into 
 captivity all his wives except Athaliah, and all his sons ex- 
 cept Ahaziah, the youngest. Lastly, to fill up the measure 
 of his punishments, he was afflicted with a horrible disease in 
 his bowels, of which he died after a torturing illness of two 
 years and a reign of eight. 
 
 2. Ahaziah, called also Jehoahaz, who then ascended the 
 throne, was twenty-two years old. He was as bad as his 
 father, and associated as much by character as by birth with 
 the house of Ahab. He joined his uncle Jehoram, the 
 
286 
 
 JOASH PROCLAIMED KING. 
 
 reigning king of Israel, in another effort to recover Ramoth- 
 Gilead from the Syrians. After they had returned to Jezreel, 
 in consequence of a wound which Jehoram received, both the 
 kings were slain in the conspiracy of Jehu, who was commis- 
 eioned to exterminate the house of Ahab. The servants of 
 Ahaziah were allowed to convey his body to Jerusalem, for 
 burial in the royal sepulchre. He reigned only one year. 
 
 3. When Athaliah saw that her son was dead, she resolved 
 to take the sovereign power into her own hands. She there- 
 fore destroyed all of the royal family whose present or pros- 
 pective claims stood in the way of her ambition. No one 
 escaped, except her grandson Joash, the son of Ahaziah, an 
 infant of a year old. He was hidden from her rage, with his 
 nurse, in the chambers of the temple, by his aunt Jehosheba, 
 the wife of the high-priest. Athaliah now ruled Judah with 
 a high hand. She established the worship of Baal through 
 the land, and persecuted the faithful few who still adhered to 
 the worship of Jehovah. Thus six years passed ; when 
 Jehoiada, the high-priest, resolved to endure her usurpation 
 and profligacy no longer, but to produce Joash, then seven 
 years old, to the people as their king. Having engaged the 
 Levites to support the design, a time was fixed for its execu- 
 tion. On that day the 
 avenues and gates of the 
 temple being strictly 
 guarded by well-armed 
 Levites, the young prince 
 was carried into the inner 
 court of the temple, under 
 a strong escort of priests, 
 and was there anointed 
 and proclaimed king oi 
 Judah. 
 
 4. The blast of the 
 trumpets, and the shouts 
 and acclamations of the 
 people, attracted the at- 
 tention of Athaliah, who repaired in haste to the temple. A 
 glance revealed to her the hateful truth, and she turned 
 way with a cry of "Treason!" But no one moved in her 
 
 128. Ancient Egyptian Trumpets. 
 
JOA8H ASSASSINATED. 287 
 
 fevour, not even when, by order of Jehoiada, the guards 
 seized ner and led her forth to inevitable death. The high- 
 priest now solemnly charged the king and people to renew 
 the national covenant with God, and to serve and worship 
 him only. He then led the willing people to destroy the 
 temple and idols of Baal, whose priests and prophets were 
 also slain. In reading the account of these transactions, we 
 must bear in mind that, under the theocracy, idolatry was 
 not merely a religious error, but high treason against the 
 Supreme Head of the commonwealth. 
 
 5. While the young king acted under the direction of 
 Jehoiada, he reigned well, and order was restored to the king- 
 dom. But after the death of that eminent person, he fell 
 under the influence of bad advisers idolaters at heart by 
 whom he was seduced from the worship of the true God to 
 those abominations through which the nation had already 
 Buffered so deeply. This provoked the Divine anger, of which 
 he was repeatedly warned by the prophets. At length, when 
 the king and people were celebrating a festival in the temple, 
 Zechariah, the son and successor of Jehoiada, remonstrated so 
 strongly against his conduct, that the indignant king com- 
 manded Zechariah, his cousin, and the son of his benefactor, 
 to be stoned, even in that sacred place ; and his cruel and 
 unjust command was but too readily obeyed by the apostate 
 multitude. Many evils fell upon Judah for these iniquities. 
 The land was invaded by the Syrians, who ravaged the country 
 and plundered Jerusalem. Many of the inhabitants, as well 
 as of the king's court and household, were put to the sword, 
 and the invaders withdrew with immense booty to Damascus. 
 Shortly after this, Joash, being afflicted with grievous diseases, 
 was assassinated by two of his attendants, after a reign cl 
 forty and a life of forty-seven years. 
 
 6. Amaziah, the son of Joash, was twenty-five years old 
 when he succeeded his father. He began his reign well, and 
 ra-established the worship of Jehovah ; but he, like all his 
 predecessors, continued the unsanctioned practice of offering 
 sacrifices in the high places. When he was settled in the 
 throne, he brought the murderers of his father to condign 
 punishment ; but he shewed his respect for the law (Deut. xxiv. 
 16) by sparing their children, contrary to the general prao- 
 
288 
 
 AMAZIAH DEFEATS THE EDOSKTE8. 
 
 129. Ruined Temple, Petra. 
 
 tice of the East. Afterwards, about the twelfth year of hit 
 
 reign (B. C. 827), h* 
 undertook to reduce t 
 obedience the Edomites, 
 who had revolted in th 
 reign of his father. He 
 got together 300,000 
 men for this expedition ; 
 and not deeming this a 
 sufficient number, hired 
 100,000 warriors from 
 the king of Israel, for 
 100 talents of silver. 
 This was displeasing to 
 God, who ordered him, 
 by a prophet, to send 
 them back again ; and 
 he manifested a just sense 
 of his position, as the 
 viceroy of the Divine King, by his compliance, which involved 
 the loss of the money he had advanced. The Israelites 
 were very far from being pleased at their dismissal, and tes- 
 tified their resentment by the ravages and barbarities which 
 they committed on their way home. Amaziah was re- 
 warded for his obe- 
 dience by a com- 
 plete victory over 
 the Edomites, of 
 whom he slew ten 
 thousand in battle ; 
 and ten thousand 
 more whom he had 
 taken prisoners, he 
 unjustifiably des- 
 troyed, by casting 
 them down from 
 the cliffs of their 
 native mountains. 
 He took the metro- 
 
 130, Petra, from above the Amphitheatre. 
 
 polls, Selah, and changed its name to Joktheel. This is, io 
 
MURDER OF AMAZIAH. 289 
 
 all probability, the lately discovered Petra, whose marvellous 
 excavations have been regarded with much admiration. 
 
 7. The savage cruelty of Amaziah to the captive Edomites 
 was not the only evil connected with this expedition ; for, 
 having brought away with him the idols of Edom, he, with 
 wonderful infatuation, set them up as objects of religious 
 homage at Jerusalem ; and the services of God's temple were 
 once more forsaken or eclipsed. After repeated warnings, 
 his doom went forth from God, and its execution speedily fol- 
 lowed. Puffed up with his victory, over Edom, he formed 
 the wild project of bringing the ten tribes under obedience to 
 the house of David, and provoked Joash, the king of Israel, 
 to hostilities, notwithstanding his endeavour to avoid them. 
 In the first action the army of Amaziah was completely routed ; 
 he was himself taken prisoner and carried in triumph to his 
 own capital, which was taken, and the fortifications demolished. 
 The rapacious conqueror stript even the temple of its trea- 
 sures ; but at his departure he left Amaziah in possession of 
 his dishonoured crown. The disgrace which Amaziah had 
 brought upon the nation was so intolerable to his own sub- 
 jects, that a powerful conspiracy was formed against him, and 
 he was killed at Lachish, to which place he had fled for safety 
 (B. C. 809). He reigned twenty-nine years. 
 
ato 
 
 CHAPTER V. ISRAEL FROM B.C. 897 TO 771. 
 
 ifeaziah, king . . 897 
 Translation of Elijah 896 
 leboram or Joram, king 806 
 Jehu, king .... 884 
 Johoahaz, king . . . 856 
 Jehoash, king ... 839 
 Jeroboam II., king . 823 
 Interregnum .... 783 
 Zechariah and Shallnm, 
 
 kings 771 
 
 Hie prophets Jonah, 
 Amos, Hoshea, flourish 
 in the time of Jero- 
 boam II. Isaiah be- 
 gins in the last year 
 of Uzziah. 
 
 JUDAH. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Jehoram, king . . 889 
 Ahaziah king . 886 
 
 Athaliah, king ... 885 
 Joash or Jehoash, king 878 
 Amaziah, king ... 838 
 Uzziah or Azariah, king 809 
 Menahem, king . . 770 
 
 GENERAL HI8TOBI. 
 
 i.C. 
 
 Hazael. king of Syria 8M 
 
 Benhadad II., king of 
 Syria 836 
 
 Kingdom of Macedon 
 begins 814 
 
 Jonah's prophesy againt 
 Nineveh .... 800 
 
 Kingdom of Lydia be* 
 gins 797 
 
 Monarchy ends in Co- 
 rinth 778 
 
 So, Sabaco or Sabakoph, 
 king of Egypt . . 778 
 
 1. AHAB was succeeded, in Israel, by his son Ahaziah, 
 who adhered to the abominations which his father had added 
 to those of Jeroboam. The chief events of his reign were 
 the revolt of the Moabites, and his unfortunate alliance with 
 Jehoshaphat in the attempt to recover the maritime traffic by 
 the Red Sea. Being greatly injured by a fall from the lat- 
 tice of an upper chamber, Ahaziah sent messengers to consult 
 the oracle of Baal-Zebub, the fly-god of Ekron, respecting his 
 recovery. The messengers were intercepted by Elijah the 
 prophet, who sent them back, and afterwards went himself, 
 to denounce, as a punishment of his impious abandonment of 
 the God of Israel, and his resorting to foreign idols, that he 
 should rise no more from the bed on which he had lam down. 
 Accordingly he died, after a reign of two years. 
 
 2. Having no sons, Ahaziah was succeeded by his brother 
 Jehoram or Joram. He removed the foreign and recent ido- 
 latries; but would not interfere with the golden calves of 
 Jeroboam, probably on account of the political considerations 
 connected with their worship. The first year of this reign 
 was distinguished by one of the most extraordinary events in 
 Biblical history, the translation to heaven of the prophet 
 Elijah, who was taken away by a whirlwind in a chariot and 
 Horses of fire. Elisha was p-M**ent ; and on him the mantle 
 
BENHADAD INVADES SAMARIA. 291 
 
 and the power of his master devolved. This was soon pioved; 
 for the Jordan, when smitten by the prophetic mantle, opened 
 to give him passage, as it had before done to Elijah ; at 
 his word the bitter waters of Jericho were made sweet ; 
 and, soon after, his curse brought bears from the wood to 
 destroy some young men who mocked at the translation of 
 Elijah and insulted his successor. By these signs Elisha, 
 although a man of different temperament and habits, became 
 known to all Israel as one invested with the spirit and power 
 Elijah. 
 
 3. The beginning of Jehoram's reign was prosperous; 
 for, as Elisha declared, on account of Jehoshaphat having 
 joined him in the enterprise, his army was, by a special inter- 
 position of Providence, delivered from circumstances of great 
 danger, and enabled to subdue the Moabites, who had revolted 
 in the preceding reign. In this campaign, the king of Moab, 
 when besieged by the allies in his capital, and pressed to ex- 
 tremities, offered up in sacrifice his eldest son, upon the wall 
 of the city, hoping thus to render his idols propitious. Hor- 
 ror-struck at such a sight, the allies raised the siege and re- 
 turned home. Elisha also returned to Samaria, where, in his 
 prophetic capacity, he wrought several signal miracles, which 
 gave him a great and useful influence with the people. 
 
 4'. The partial reformations with which Jehoram com- 
 menced his reign, were not the result of decided principles. 
 They were, therefore, soon abandoned, or not carried out ; 
 and both king and people speedily relapsed into the former 
 idolatries. This was punished by a new invasion by the 
 Syrians under their king Benhadad. He subdued the whole 
 country to the metropolis, Samaria, which he could only hope 
 to reduce by famine, and to which, therefore, he laid siege. 
 The famine and attendant miseries which were experienced 
 in Samaria during this siege defy description. The extremity 
 of hunger at length became so great, that every kind of edible 
 substance, however unusual or unwholesome, was devoured ; 
 and some women were known to have eaten the flesh of 
 their own children. When the king heard of this he rent 
 his robes with horror and anguish of soul, and disclosed the 
 penitential sackcloth which he wore next his skin. But he 
 Was still as far as ever from a right mind. His indignat 
 
JEHU PROCLAIMED KING OP ISRAEL. 
 
 turned against Elisha, whom he supposed to have the 
 to avert these evils ; and he swore that he should be put to 
 death that day. Aware of this intention, the prophet refused 
 to admit the king's messenger into the house he occupied. 
 Jehoram himself followed, perhaps to countermand the order 
 be had given ; and to him the prophet announced an imme- 
 diate deliverance, and a superabundance of provisions in 
 Samaria on the following day. This seemed incredible to 
 ome of those who heard the announcement. But the night 
 following it was found that the Syrians had raised the siege 
 and fled away in great alarm, leaving every thing behind 
 them. They had miraculously been made to hear a noise of 
 a vast host of chariots and horses, which led them to con- 
 clude that the Israelites had purchased relief from the 
 neighbouring states ; hence their panic and its consequences. 
 The delivered and famished citizens rushed upon the forsaken 
 camp, in which they found rich spoils and great abundance 
 of food. 
 
 5. Towards the end of this reign, the king of Syria, 
 Benhadad, was secretly murdered in his sick-bed by Hazael, 
 one of his chief officers, who then usurped the throne. Soon 
 after this, Jehoram determined to make another effort to re- 
 cover Eamoth-Gilead from the Syrians; and, as we have 
 seen in the previous chapter, persuaded Ahaziah, the king of 
 Jndah, to go with him. The king of Israel was severely 
 wounded and obliged to leave the army and retire to Jezreel, 
 and was soon followed by Ahaziah. Long before this, when 
 in Horeb, Elijah had been commissioned to anoint, as king 
 of Israel, Jehu, the son of Nimshi, who was to execute the 
 doom of extermination upon the house of Ahab. This charge 
 he had delayed to execute, and it now therefore devolved 
 upon Elisha. Now, Jehu was one of the generals left it 
 charge of the military operations before Ramoth-Gilead after 
 the king had departed. One of the " sons of the prophets " 
 was sent to anoint him there, and to charge him at once to 
 execute his commission as the Lord's avenger upon the house 
 of Ahab. Jehu was popular with the army ; and when th 
 officers heard of this appointment they hailed it with ac- 
 clamations and immediately proclaimed him publicly as king 
 f Israel. They then followed Jehu to Jezreel, whither, 
 
EXTIRPATION OP THE FAMILY OF AIIAB. 293 
 
 with his usual promptitude, he determined to proceed at once 
 before any others could convey the tidings. When his ap- 
 proach was discovered from the walls of that city, Jehoram, 
 quite ignorant of these transactions, and being impatient 
 to know whether he returned from the war in triumph or 
 defeat, went forth to meet him, accompanied by the king of 
 Judah. But when they met in the fatal field of Naboth, 
 after a few bitter words Jehu slew him, and his body was 
 left unburied in the open field. Ahaziah of Judah, being of 
 the house of Ahab by his mother Athaliah, was also slain ; 
 but his body was conveyed for interment to Jerusalem. 
 
 6. As Jehu entered Jezreel, the queen-mother Jezebel 
 presented herself, royally arrayed, at a window of the palace; 
 but at the command of Jehu, she was cast down by her own 
 servants, and dashed to pieces, and trodden under foot by the 
 horses. It was found, not long after, that her body had been 
 devoured by dogs, according to the prediction of Elijah. The 
 rest of Ahab's family, seventy in number, who were at 
 Samaria, were killed, and their heads sent to Jehu by the 
 men in authority there, in evidence of their obedience to the 
 new king. After he had rooted out all of the doomed race 
 that were in Jezreel, he proceeded himself to Samaria, and 
 extirpated all who bore affinity to the family. The establish- 
 ment at Samaria for the service of Baal, temple, idol, and 
 priests, were totally destroyed by Jehu ; and he denounced 
 a similar fate against whoever should attempt to revive what 
 he had overthrown. The consequence of this severe pro- 
 ceeding was, that the idolatry of Baal never again gained 
 head in Israel ; although idolatry itself was far from being 
 destroyed. Indeed, Jehu made no attempt to interfere with 
 the golden calves ; and, altogether, his zeal, although effective 
 and vehement in operation, only led him to do what coincided 
 with his own interest or humour*. For the completeness 
 with which he had accomplished his avenging mission, it 
 was promised to Jehu that his dynasty should endure for 
 four generations. The defects of his obedience probably 
 prevented a more extended duration ; but still his family sat 
 on the throne above a hundred years, which is longer than 
 the rule of any other dynasty in Israel. The result of the 
 war east of the Jordan was, that Hazael proved victorious, 
 
94 JEHOAHAZ JO ASH JEROBOAM TL 
 
 nd i prived Israel of all its possessions on that side the 
 rivev. Jehu reigned twenty-eight years. 
 
 7. He was succeeded by his eon Jehoahaz, who also ad- 
 hered to the schismatical worship and institutions of the 
 golden calves. For this the Syrians were allowed to extend 
 their power to the west of the Jordan, and so to prevail, that 
 at length the whole force left to the king of Israel consisted 
 of no more than fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and 10,000 in- 
 fantry. Jehoahaz reigned seventeen years. 
 
 8. Joash, his son, then ascended the throne. Soon after 
 he visited the prophet Elisha when on his deathbed, and was 
 encouraged by the dying prophet, who assured him of three 
 successive victories over the Syrians. He accordingly ven- 
 tured to rise against them, and succeeded in expelling them 
 from his dominions. He also repulsed the Moabites, who 
 invaded his territories. These successes procured for troubled 
 Israel a few years of tranquillity and peace. Joash reigned 
 sixteen years. 
 
 9. Jeioboam II. then succeeded his father. He was as 
 bad as most of his predecessors; and the condition of the 
 Israelites was daily becoming more depressed. The country 
 was successively invaded by the Syrians, Moabites, Ammo- 
 nites, and Edomites ; who, however, were severally defeated 
 and driven off by Jeroboam, encouraged by the prophet 
 Jonah (B. c. 823). Jeroboam reigned forty-one years. Dur- 
 ing this reign the Lord began by his prophets to warn the 
 Israelites of the doom of captivity and dispersion, which their 
 crimes would speedily bring down upon them. The prophets 
 were Hosea, Amos, and Jonah. 
 
 10. The reign of Jeroboam was followed by an inter- 
 regnum of eleven years, occasioned probably b/ the infancy 
 of his son Zechariah. It was at this period that the pro- 
 phet Jonah was sent on his reluctant mission to Nineveh, of 
 which an interesting account is given in the book that bears 
 his name. During the interregnum, the country fell into 
 such a state of anarchy and confusion, that at length the 
 remedy was adopted of calling Zechariah to the throne of his 
 fathers. 
 
 11. Zechariah, the last king of the race of Jehu, wielded 
 the sceptre of Israel only six. months. He was not equal 
 
JONAH AMOS HOSEA. 
 
 293 
 
 to the emergencies of the times, and was put to death by 
 one Shallum, who usurped the government. Thus endured 
 as promised, and ended as foretold, the dynasty of Jehu. 
 
 12. During the period embraced by this chapter, tho 
 prophets Jonah, Amos, and Hosea, flourished and prophesied. 
 Jonah appears to have lived in the time of Jeroboam II.; 
 he was a native of Gath-hepher, in Zebulon. The book 
 irhich bears his name is occupied by a narrative of his mis- 
 sion to Nineveh, to warn that great city of an impending 
 destruction, which was averted by the repentance and humi- 
 liation of the inhabitants. Amos belonged to the same time : 
 he was a dresser of sycamore fruit, and began to prophesy at 
 Bethel ; but being driven thence by Amaziah, the high- 
 priest of the golden calf, he retired to Tekoah in Judah, and 
 found employment as a herdsman. It is from this place that 
 his written prophesies are dated. They are replete with 
 images drawn from the objects in rural life, with which his 
 avocations made him conversant: and their object is to de- 
 nounce the destruction of the surrounding nations; to alarm 
 the negligent by the declaration of national punishments; 
 and to hold forth comforting promises of the future Messiah. 
 Hosea lived at the same time with Amos, but appears to have 
 survived him. Little is known of his history; but he ia 
 supposed to have been of the kingdom of Israel, as his de- 
 nunciations of vengeance, mixed with promises of mercy, are 
 chiefly directed against the iniquities into which the tea 
 tribes had fallen. 
 
CHAPTER VI. JUDAH FROM 809 to 696. 
 
 JUDAH. 
 B.C. 
 
 Cnh or Aznriah, king 809 
 Jotham, king . . 757 
 Ahaz, king . . . 741 
 
 ISRAEL. 
 B.C. 
 
 First Interregnum . 783 
 Zechariah and Shallum, 
 kings 771 
 
 GENERAL HISl'dEY 
 
 wft 
 
 Agamestor, llth AT- 
 chon of Athens . . 800 
 jEschylus, 12th Ar- 
 
 Hezekiah, king . . 725 
 Hezekiah dies . . 696 
 Aliitul) II, high priest 800 
 
 Menahem, king . 770 
 Pekahiah, king . . 760 
 Pekah, king ... 758 
 
 chon of Athens . . 778 
 MTU of the lilt Olym- 
 piad 77$ 
 
 Zadok 11., high-priest 771 
 The prophets Isaiah, 
 Nanam, Micah, and 
 Habakkuk, flourish 
 after Uzziah. 
 
 Second Interregnum 738 
 Hoshea, king . . 729 
 Samaria taken . 721 
 
 Ephori commence in 
 Lacedemon . . . 760 
 Decennial Archons be- 
 gin at Athens . . . 754 
 Rome founded . . 758 
 
 1. IN the kingdom of Judah, Uzziah, otherwise called 
 Azariah, was but five years old when his father was slain. 
 He was sixteen before he was formally called to the throne : 
 and it is disputed by chronologers, whether we should count 
 the fifty-two years of his reign from the beginning or from 
 the end of the eleven intervening years. In the first half of 
 his reign, this king behaved well, and was mindful of his 
 true place as viceroy of the Divine King. He accordingly 
 prospered in all his undertakings. His arms were successful 
 against the Philistines, the Arabians, and the Ammonites. He 
 restored and fortified the walls of Jerusalem, and planted on 
 them engines of defence, for discharging arrows and great 
 stones ; he organised the military force of the nation into a 
 kind of militia, composed of 307,500 men, under the com- 
 mand of 2600 chiefs, and divided into bands liable to be 
 called out in rotation ; for these he provided vast stores of all 
 kinds of weapons and armour, spears, shields, helmets, breast- 
 plates, bows, and slings. 
 
 2. Nor were the arts of peace neglected by king Uzziah : 
 he loved and fostered agriculture ; and he also dug wells, and 
 constructed towers iii the desert, for the use of the flocks. 
 At length v when he had consolidated and extended his power, 
 and developed the internal resources of his country, Uzziah 
 fell. His prosperity engendered the pride which became his 
 ruin. In the twenty-fourth year of his reign, incited pro- 
 
KING AHAZ'S PASSION FOR IDOLATRY. 
 
 297 
 
 bably by the example of the neighbouring kings, who united 
 the regal and pontifical functions, Uzziah, unmindful of the 
 fate of Dathan and Abiram, dared to attempt the exercise of 
 one of the principal functions of the priests, by entering the 
 holy place to burn incense at the golden altar. But, in the 
 very act, he was smitten with leprosy, and was thrust forth 
 by the priests. He continued a leper all the rest of his life, 
 and lived apart as such, the public functions of the govern- 
 ment being administered by his son Jotham, as soon as he 
 became of sufficient age. His whole reign was fifty-two 
 years, being, with the sole exception of Manasseh's, the longest 
 in the Hebrew annals. In this reign Isaiah began to pro- 
 phesy in Judah. 
 
 3. Jotham was a meritorious prince, and prospered ac- 
 cordingly. He re- L 
 
 polled an invasion of 4 A. . 
 
 the Ammonites, and 
 laid them under a 
 yearly tribute ; and 
 he built various 
 cities, castles, and 
 towers, in different 
 parts of his domi- 
 nions. Besides the 
 time that he acted 
 as regent during the leprosy of his father, Jotham reigned 
 sixteen years in Jerusalem. 
 
 4. Ahaz, then twenty years old, ascended the throne. 
 He proved an unworthy son of a good father, being equally 
 forgetful of his allegiance to the Lord as his King, and of his 
 reverence to him as his God. He apostatised not only to 
 the idolatries of the surrounding heathen, but to that of the 
 golden calves. He erected images and altars to various idols 
 ui different parts of Jerusalem, and adopted all the horrid 
 rites by which their worship was celebrated. So intense wag 
 the passion of this prince for idolatry, that it rather resembled 
 the insatiate craving of a drunkard than the reverence of a 
 worshipper. The Syrian idolatry appears to have been that 
 which he most admired ; for he introduced the idols and 
 altars of that country, and altered the temple and its ser 
 
 131. Castle. 
 
298 REUBEN, QAD, AKD MANA8SEH SENT AWAY CAPTIVE. 
 
 vioes after the model of those of Damascus. At length ha 
 shut up the sacred building altogether. To punish him for 
 these crimes, his kingly state was brought very low. In the 
 early part of his reign, a formidable confederacy was formed 
 against him by Pekah, king of Israel, and Rezin, king of Syria, 
 with the fixed intention of dethroning the house of David, 
 and of bestowing the crown on some person whom we only 
 know as " Tabeal's son." In this war, Eezin stripped Judah 
 of its external territories, ai>d carried away great numbers at 
 Jews as captives to Damascus. Pekah was equally success- 
 ful : he slew in one day 120,000 men of Judah, and carried 
 away 200,000 as captives to Samaria. But he was induced 
 to treat them well, and to send them back again, at the in- 
 stance of the prophet Obed and other persons of influence, 
 who refused to hold their brethren in bondage, and were in 
 this supported by public feeling in Israel. This shews that, 
 after all, the separation had uot produced an exasperated 
 state of feeling between the nations. After this, the allies 
 besieged Jerusalem, but were unable to take it ; while thf 
 general distress was aggravated by the incursions of the 
 Edomites on the south and the Philistines on the west, who 
 took several cities and villages in the low country, and settled 
 in them. 
 
 5. In this extremity, Ahaz sougbt *he assistance of Tig- 
 lath-pileser, the king of Assyria, to whom he sent an embassy, 
 declaring himself his vassal, and bearing a subsidy of all the 
 sacred and the royal treasures. Glad of a pretext for inter- 
 ference, Tiglath-pileser readily promised tiie assistance thus 
 required. Accordingly, he defeated and slew tne king of 
 Syria, and took possession of his dominions; he also made 
 himself master of all the Hebrew possessions beyond Jordan, 
 and sent away captive, into Assyria and Media, the three 
 tribes Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh.* Ahaz visited the 
 Assyrian king at Damascus, to congratulate him, and to 
 render him homage. He found, however, that although 
 temporarily relieved from an imminent danger, he had little 
 cause to rejoice in the result. He had become the tributary 
 
 * There was only half of Manasseh beyond Jordan ; but the king of Assyria cater 
 the tribe for captivity, by adding the other half which was west of the Jordan. 
 
KING HEZEKIAH. 299 
 
 rf a foreign power ; and instead of a rival, he had now a 
 powerful and overbearing master for his neighbour. Little 
 is known of his future reign, except that he persisted in his 
 old courses, and lived, it would seem, under the odium of the 
 whole nation for having been the apparent cause of the 
 captivity into which three tribes of Israel had fallen. When, 
 therefore, he died, after an inglorious and disastrous reign of 
 sixteen years, he was refused a place in the royal sepulchres, 
 although a grave in Jerusalem was allowed him. In this 
 reign Micah delivered the prophesy contained in the book 
 which bears his name. 
 
 6. Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, was twenty-five years old 
 when he ascended the throne. In all respects his character 
 was the very reverse of that of his father, entitling him to 
 rank as one of the very best kings of David's line ; indeed, 
 the Scriptures seems to give him the preference to them all 
 (2 Kings, xviii. 5). The characteristics of a good king 
 tinder the Hebrew system of government have been so often 
 mentioned, that it is scarcely needful to repeat that they con- 
 sisted hi a faithful obedience to the revealed will of God 
 first, in his general character, as Creator and sole Lord of 
 the Universe ; secondly, in his more particular character, as 
 the God who had made Israel his chosen people, and to whom, 
 therefore, he was a national God, as distinguished from the 
 national gods of the heathen around; and, thirdly, in the 
 still more intimate character of the actual KINO and political 
 Head of the nation, and who, as being incapable of error, 
 exacted, and was entitled to, the most unlimited and confiding 
 obedience. In all these characters Hezekiah understood 
 him ; and hence he also understood his own true position ir 
 the state. The first act of his reign was to open and purify 
 the temple, and to extirpate all the idolatries which his 
 father had sanctioned or introduced. He even went so far 
 as to destroy the brazen serpent of Moses, which had been 
 preserved as a memorial, the people having manifested a dis- 
 position to burn incense to it as a holy relic. 
 
 7. This conduct of Hezekiah was rewarded by prosperity 
 in all his undertakings. He subdued the Philistines; and at 
 length ventured to withhold the yearly tribute which his 
 father had agreed to pay to the Assyrians. Shalmaneser, the 
 
300 SENNACHERIB INVADE8 JUDAH. 
 
 BOD and successor of Tiglath-pileser, was too much occupied 
 in other quarters to pay much attention to Hezekiah; but in 
 the sixth year of his reign, he carried away into captivity the 
 flower of the seven tribes of Israel on the west side of Jordan, 
 thus completing the ruin of the ten tribes. This event ap- 
 pears to have made a salutary impression on Judah, and pro- 
 bably afforded much aid to Hezekiah in his reformations. 
 These were more radical than any former kings, however 
 well-disposed, had thought necessary; for Hezekiah not only 
 abolished idolatry and restored the worship of God, but he 
 revived the national observances, which had been altogether 
 neglected in former reigns, such as the passover, which he 
 celebrated at Jerusalem with greater solemnity than had been 
 observed since the time of Solomon. Not only his own sub- 
 jects, but the desolate remnants of the ten tribes were invited 
 to this great feast; many of them came, but others mocked 
 and refused. 
 
 8. At length the Assyrians, having subdued the small 
 nations between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates, found 
 leisure to call Hezekiah to account for his arrears of tribute. 
 Shalmaneser was dead, and had been succeeded by his son 
 Sennacherib, who invaded Judah with a mighty host. Heze- 
 kiah, disappointed of assistance which he had expected from 
 Egypt, did not consider it safe to attempt to oppose him; but 
 made his intercessions, and offered to furnish any tribute 
 which the Assyrian might think proper to impose. He ac- 
 cordingly paid the heavy ransom of three hundred talents ot 
 silver and thirty talents of gold, although this obliged him 
 not only to exhaust the sacred and the royal treasures, but to 
 trip off the gold which covered the doors and pillars of the 
 temple. Sennacherib took the money, and went towards 
 Egypt, which he intended next to invade ; but on the way he 
 changed his mind, and resolved not to leave unbroken in his 
 rear a power so well inclined to ally itself with the Egyptians. 
 He, therefore, took the strong towns of the south ; and, while 
 he laid siege to Libnah and Lachish, sent his general Rab- 
 ghakeh against Jerusalem. The language which this man 
 nseu in summoning Hezekiah to surrender, was in the highest 
 degree offensive and blasphemous. Hezekiah, with humble 
 confidence, referred the matter to God, and was answered by 
 
DESTRUCTION OF THE ASSYRIAN HOST. 
 
 301 
 
 tee promise of deliverance. Accordingly, a rumour reached 
 Sennacherib that Tirhakah the Ethiopian, king of Upper 
 Egypt, was marching with an immense army to cut off his 
 retreat; so that he deemed it prudent to abandon his opera- 
 tions, but not without sending a boastful and threatening 
 letter to Hezekiah respecting his future intentions. But the 
 very night after, the Assyrian host of 180,000 were destroyed 
 by " a blast," which may be understood to have been the 
 simoom, or hot pestilential wind which sometimes blows in 
 those regions. The baffled tyrant hastened home to Nineveh, 
 where he behaved with great severity to the captive Israelites. 
 But his career was short; for, seven weeks after his return, 
 he was slain by his own sons while worshipping in the temple 
 of Nisroc, the great idol of the Assyrians. The parricides 
 fled, and left the throne open to their younger brother Esar- 
 haddon. 
 
 9. The same year Hezekiah was taken ill, apparently 
 with the plague; and was warned by the prophet Isaiah to 
 prepare for death. But 
 
 he so fervently and de- 
 voutly prayed for his 
 recovery, that the pro- 
 phet was sent back 
 with a second message, 
 promising a prolonga- 
 tion of his life for fifteen 
 years. To assure him 
 that his recovery was 
 indeed miraculous, and 
 not " a chance," and 
 to give him confidence in the promise, a token was given in 
 the going backward of the sun's shadow ten degrees, as 
 measured by the sun-dial of Ahaz, which was probably some- 
 thing of the same kind as the architectural dial at Delhi, 
 which is also used as an observatory. 
 
 10. The great loss which the Assyrians had sustained in 
 Palestine, enabled the governor of Babylon, Merodach-bala- 
 dan, to declare himself independent ; and he naturally de- 
 sired to form amicable relations with the monarch in whose 
 dominions the Assyrian power had been so greatly disabled. 
 
302 SACRED WRITERS. 
 
 To congratulate Hezekiah on his recovery, and to inquire 
 concerning the attendant miracle, were, however, the osten- 
 sible objects of the embassy which the Babylonians sent to 
 Jerusalem. Highly flattered by such an embassy from so 
 distant a quarter, Hezekiah forgat his usual discretion, and to 
 convince the ambassadors of his importance, and that he was 
 a desirable ally, he made to them a very ostentatious display 
 of his treasures and armouries. Because he had indulged in 
 this vainglory, instead of referring all his power and great- 
 ness to that Divine King who had cared for and protected him 
 and his people, the Lord was displeased; and the prophet 
 Isaiah was commissioned to warn him, and to humble him 
 by the intimation that the day was coming when all the 
 treasure which he and his fathers had laid up should be spoil 
 for the Babylonians, and when his descendants should be 
 servants in the palace of the king of Babylon. The remainder 
 of his own reign, however, which lasted for twenty-nine years, 
 was peaceful and prosperous. 
 
 11. Sacred Writers. The prophet Joel is generally sup- 
 posed to have delivered his predictions during the reign of 
 Uzziah ; but his whole history is perfectly unknown, and it 
 is even uncertain whether he belonged to the kingdom of 
 Judah or that of Israel. In nervous and animated language, 
 he endeavours to awaken the people to repentance, by an- 
 nouncing the devastation of their fields, and consequent 
 famine, as the punishment of their sins. In the reign of 
 Hezekiah, several eminent prophets flourished, some of whom, 
 however, had begun to prophesy before his reign. At the 
 head of them, and indeed of all the prophets, stands Isaiah. 
 We know little of him, except that he was the son of one 
 Amoz, and that he discharged the prophetic office in the 
 reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, before the 
 last of whom he probably died; although there is JewisL 
 tradition which alleges that he survived to the time of Man- 
 asseh, by whose order he was sawn asunder. His prophetic 
 ministry, therefore, extends over the whole period which also 
 embraced the prophets Amos, Hoshea, Joel, and Micah. His 
 extensive predictions embrace every matter in which the Jews 
 or their neighbours were interested. They are delivered with 
 marvellous sublimity of thought and language, especially in 
 
SACRED WRITERS. 308 
 
 portions in which he foretells the advent of the Messiah, 
 and the circumstances attending his birth, his ministry, his 
 death, and the ultimate glory of his kingdom. Micah pro- 
 phesied in the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. He 
 was a native of Morasthi, a small town in the southern part 
 of Judah ; and this is all we know of him. His prophesies 
 relate to both the kingdoms, which he invites to repentance 
 by threaterings and promises. He also spoke of the Messiah, 
 and named Bethlehem as the place of his birth. Nahum ap- 
 pears to havt> prophesied in the time of Hezekiah, and not 
 long after th \ubversion of the kingdom of Israel by Shal- 
 manezer. The principal object of his prophesy is to declaro 
 the future downfall of that great Assyrian power by whicb 
 Israel had lately S n desolated, and to which Judah wa 
 then tributary. 
 
 Tower of BabeL 
 
CHAPTER VII. B.C. 771 TO 711. 
 
 IMAIL. 
 
 Skallnm .... 
 Mennhem ..... 
 
 B.C. 
 
 771 
 770 
 760 
 759 
 739 
 780 
 721 
 713 
 750 
 
 767 
 741 
 725 
 696 
 
 AS3TRIA. 
 
 New Dynasty . 
 Pul or Betas" II. 
 Invades Israel 
 Tiglath-pileser 
 Invades Israel 
 Shalmaneser 
 
 BABYLON 
 
 Nabonassar . . 
 Niidius . . . 
 Chinzirus 
 
 B.C. 
 
 821 
 790 
 770 
 747 
 740 
 729 
 
 747 
 733 
 731 
 
 . 72fi 
 
 KftTFT. 
 
 Sebechon, or Sheebrt 791 
 Tirhakah (Ethiopian) 710 
 
 GENERAL HIS1OKT. 
 
 Tatius, king of Rome . 744 
 First recorded eclipse of 
 the moon, March 19th 79 
 
 Pekaiah 
 
 Pekah 
 
 Second Interregnum . 
 Hoshea 
 
 Samaria taken . . . 
 Nahum the prophet . 
 Micah . ... . . 
 
 JTJDAH. 
 
 Ahaz 
 Hezekiah 
 
 Merodach-baladan . 721 
 These are viceroys under 
 Assyria, up to and be- 
 yond this time. 
 
 
 
 1. IN Israel, Shallum did not long retain the power he 
 had acquired by the death of Zechariah, the last of Jehu's 
 house. He was in his turn assassinated by Menahem, about 
 a month after he ascended the throne. 
 
 2. But the act of Menahem was not sanctioned by public 
 opinion, and the nation generally refused to acknowledge his 
 authority. The land was thus distracted by internal commo- 
 tions, when the Assyrians first made their appearance in 
 these parts, under Pul their king, the father of Tiglath-pi- 
 leser. This conqueror was advancing to invade Israel, when 
 Menahem made submission to him, and, by the payment of 
 one thousand talents of silver, procured his assistance against 
 his refractory subjects. Menahem exercised with great bar- 
 barity the power he had thus acquired by foreign help ; and 
 the heavy annual tribute which he had engaged to pay the 
 Assyrians in some degree compelled him to extort large sums 
 of money from the people. The kings of Israel had no sa- 
 cred treasury to draw from, like those of Judah ; and in 
 eastern countries, where there is no regular system of finance, 
 extraordinary demands are met by the exaction of large con- 
 tributions in money from those who are supposed to be in pos- 
 session of wealth. Israel was thus in a most miserable con- 
 
JERUSALEM TAKEN BY SHALMANESER. 309 
 
 dition. The land became impoverished ; the people were in 
 a state of exasperation ; and the Assyrians, having so largely 
 profited by the invasion of Israel, were ready to avail them- 
 selves of any pretext for repeating the experiment. The 
 state of religion and morals corresponded with this external 
 condition. With the rapid growth of idolatry, and the ne- 
 glect of that religious system which was the true glory of the 
 nation, the people lost all love for the good and the beautiful, 
 and gave themselves up to the grossest abominations that the 
 heart of man can conceive. It was evident that the nation 
 was ripening fast for that destruction which the prophets had 
 foretold. After a troubled reign of ten years, Menahem died. 
 
 3. Pekahiah, his son, reigned two years, and was thea 
 put to death by Pekah, the commander of the forces. 
 
 4. Pekah then ascended the throne. The principal 
 events of this reign were those which arose from the alliance 
 of Pekah with Eezin, king of Syria, against Ahaz, king of 
 Judah, as related in the preceding chapter. Pekah was vic- 
 torious in this war, which induced Ahaz to apply to Tiglath- 
 pileser, the son of Pul, king of Assyria, who came and chas- 
 tised the belligerents into quietness, after which he removed 
 the tribes beyond Jordan to Media and Assyria. After a 
 reign of twenty years, Pekah was slain by Hoshea. 
 
 5. Ten years of the most cruel anarchy elapsed before 
 Hoshea was able to establish himself on the throne. About 
 this time the Egyptians became seriously alarmed at the pro- 
 gress of the Assyrians in their neighbourhood ; and So or Sa- 
 baco, the king of Egypt, adopted the policy of procuring 
 employment for them elsewhere, to avert their attention from 
 his own country. To this end he induced Hoshea in Israel, 
 and Hezekiah in Judah, by insincere promises of support, to 
 hold back the tribute they had paid to the Assyrians. Thia 
 soon brought Shalmaneser, the son of Tiglath-pileser, with a 
 mighty host into Palestine. Having easily subdued the 
 country, he advanced to lay siege to the metropolis, in which 
 Hoshea had shut himself with the remnant of his forces. It 
 was not taken until the third year, and in the interval the 
 inhabitants endured great privation and distress. At length 
 it fell ; and Shalmaneser extinguished the kingdom of Israel, 
 and sent Hoshea in chains to Nineveh. Thus perished the 
 
 o2 
 
306 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF THE SAMARITANS. 
 
 kingdom of Israel, which was annexed to the Assyrian crown 
 under an Assyrian governor, after it had endured, as a upAiote 
 State, 271 years, under seventeen kings. 
 
 6. The king of Assyria adopted the policy which appeara 
 to have heen usually followed in those times with regard to 
 such countries or provinces as the conqueror designed to in- 
 corporate with his own dominions. The flower of the nation, 
 composed of all who were distinguished for their rank or 
 wealth, for their abilities or personal qualifications, and for 
 their knowledge of arms and useful arts, were taken away to 
 the region beyond the Euphrates, in which the three tribes 
 carried off by Tiglath-pileser were already settled. Their 
 place was partly supplied by the inhabitants of other con- 
 quered countries in distant parts. In the present case, the 
 new settlers in Israel were brought from the region of the 
 Lower Tigris and Euphrates ; and being intended merely to 
 keep the land occupied, were a far less numerous and valu- 
 able population than that which they had displaced. This 
 design was more fully worked out by Esarhaddon, the son of 
 Sennacherib, who gleaned the remnant left in the land, and 
 substituted more foreigners. The new comers gradually com- 
 bined with the dregs of the Israelites who remained in the 
 country, and the population thus formed took the name of 
 Samaritans from the city of Samaria. They were all ido- 
 laters; but, according 
 to the notions of local 
 and national deities 
 which then prevailed, 
 they deemed them- 
 selves bound to know 
 something of " the 
 god of the country" 
 in which they had 
 settled. To this they 
 were further impelled 
 by the increase and 
 boldness of lions and 
 other beasts of prey in the depopulated country, which they 
 ascribed to His anger against them. The desired knowledge 
 they obtained from a priest who fixed his residence at Bethel ; 
 
 133. Lion. 
 
THE JEWS RETURN TO PALESTINE. 307 
 
 And the result was, that they combined the worship of the 
 true Grod with that of their own idols. Very gradually, how- 
 ever, their system purified itself from the idolatrous dross, and 
 the Samaritans at length rested in a system of belief as pure 
 as that of the Jews, although less regular in some of ita 
 observances. In some respects their creed may have been 
 the purer of the two, seeing that it was based entirely upon 
 the Books of Moses, whereas that of the Jews became encum- 
 bered with a great mass of oral traditions. 
 
 7. As henceforth the Jews only, that is, the inhabitants 
 of the kingdom of Judah, have historical existence, it may be 
 well to offer a few concluding remarks regarding the ten 
 tribes, who were earlier brought under the yoke of bondage 
 by the Assyrians. They were settled in Assyria and Media, 
 and nothing of their further history is known. Much, how- 
 ever, has been conjectured ; and their destiny has often been 
 made a subject of inquiry and dispute. Many believe that 
 they are destined to take part in those purposes of divine 
 mercy for which their brethren of Judah have been kept for 
 so many ages separate and apart among the nations, a won- 
 der and a byword in them all. In this belief they have 
 sought for them, and have found in various countries, and 
 under a variety of disguising circumstances, races or tribes of 
 men whom, from analogous customs, rites, and features, they 
 have supposed to be descendants of the ten tribes. Such 
 have been found in Asia, Europe, and America, among hea- 
 thens, Moslems, Jews, and Christians. All these identifica- 
 tions cannot be true ; and there are none of them which quite 
 satisfy the mind, for many of the analogies rest on circum- 
 stances which belonged to the Israelites, not as the sons of 
 Abraham, but only as Orientals.* 
 
 8. It is to be borne in mind that the land of Israel waa 
 not altogether divested of its inhabitants, as many of the 
 poorer people were allowed to remain. Then, also, the pro- 
 clamation of Cyrus, under which the Jews eventually returned 
 to build again their city and temple, was addressed not to the 
 tribes of Judah and Benjamin alone but to all the people of 
 Jehovah (Ezra i. 1, 3) ; and being proclaimed throughout 
 the Persian empire, which included the former dominions of 
 Assyria, it is probable that not a few of the ten tribes were 
 
 P. 14 
 
808 THE ISRAELITES JOIN THE JUOAHITES. 
 
 induced to return to Palestine. Those who were inclined to 
 remove, would naturally attach themselves here and thsre to 
 a caravan of merchants, and return to the land of their fa- 
 thers. But as they arrived one after another, in small par- 
 ties, no mention of their return could be expected in a history 
 so concise. There might have been Israelites in the great 
 caravan of Zerubbabel ; and, at all events, it is more than 
 probable that most of them returned when they heard of the 
 prosperity of their brethren in Palestine. At whatever time 
 it may have been, it is certain that many did return ; for the 
 history mentions Israelites as settled in Galilee and Persea 
 before the time of Christ. (1 Mace. v. 9, 24.) But connect- 
 ing themselves with the tribe of Judah, they finally lost the 
 distinctive name of Israelites, and all the Hebrews were in- 
 discriminately designated as Jews. 
 
 9. Something similar may very safely be supposed to 
 have occurred beyond the Euphrates, where a very large pro- 
 portion of the Judahites thought proper to remain. It is 
 likely that still greater numbers of the Israelites who had 
 lived in these countries two centuries longer, would feel little 
 inclination to exchange the comforts they had accumulated 
 for the prospects which Palestine offered. But as the old 
 jealousy between Judah and Israel had by this time ceased, 
 those Israelites who remained east of the Euphrates joined 
 themselves to the tribe of Judah, which was in possession of 
 the Temple, and consequently they too received the name of 
 Jews. If this view as to the amalgamation of the ten with 
 the two tribes rests upon better grounds than that which re- 
 erves for the former a separate existence, all inquiry after 
 the " loct tribes" must needs be suuerfluoua. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. B. C. 698 TO 588. 
 
 JtTOAH. 
 B.C. 
 Manaseeh . ... 698 
 
 ASSYRIA. 
 B.C. 
 
 Esarhaddon .... 710 
 
 GENERAL liISTOBT. 
 B.O. 
 Creon, 1st annual AT- 
 
 Judah invaded by the 
 Assyrians .... 674 
 
 Medes and Babylon- 
 ians revolt . . . 710 
 Babylon regained . . 680 
 
 chnn of Athens . . 684 
 Tyrtseus, the poet . 684 
 Terpander, the poet . 676 
 
 Josiah 641 
 Jehoahaz .... 610 
 Jehoiakira . . .610 
 
 Ninus III 667 
 Nebuchadouozor . . 658 
 Sarac or Sardanapalus 
 II 606 
 
 Tullus Hostilius, king 
 of Rome .... 673 
 Byzantium built . . 668 
 Ancus Martins, king of 
 
 Zedekiah 698 
 
 
 Rome 640 
 
 Jerusalem taken . . 688 
 
 Medes and Babylo- 
 
 Thrasybulus, tyrant of 
 Miletus 634 
 
 PBOPHETS. 
 
 Zephaniah .... 630 
 Jeremiah .... 628 
 
 BABTLON. 
 Apronadius .... 699 
 
 Kingdom and city of 
 Cyrene founded . . 630 
 Periander, tyrant of 
 Corinth 629 
 
 Hahakkuk .... 607 
 Daniel 603 
 
 Regibelus .... 693 
 Misoessimordak . . 692 
 
 Draco, lawgiver of 
 
 Ezekiel .... 594 
 Obadiah 587 
 
 Interregnum . . 688 
 Asaradiii or Esarhad- 
 
 Tarquinius Priseus, 
 
 EGYPT. 
 
 Tirhakah 689 
 
 don (of Assyria) . 680 
 Saosduchin .... 667 
 Chyniladen .... 647 
 
 Alcseus, the poet . . 607 
 Sappho, the poetess . 600 
 Solon, lawgiver of 
 
 
 Nabopolassar . . 647 
 
 Athens 694 
 
 Psammitichus (Psa- 
 matik) 1 664 
 
 Labynetus I. ... 625 
 
 Thales of Miletus . . 594 
 The Pythian games in- 
 
 Necho 610 
 
 BABYLONIAN UMPIRE. 
 
 
 Psammiticbus (Psama- 
 tik) II " 600 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar . . 606 
 
 Anacharsii, the Scy- 
 thian 590 
 
 Psama tik III., Apries, 
 (Pharaoh Hophra) . 596 
 
 MKDKS. 
 
 Revolt from Assyria 710 
 Dejoces or Artseus . 703 
 Phraortes .... 663 
 Cyaxares 1 608 
 
 
 
 Astyages 601 
 
 
 1. MANASSEH, the son of Hezekiah, was but twelve years 
 old when his father died. Wicked counsellors corrupted his 
 youth. They imbued his mind with the worst principles of 
 religion and government, and brought him up in a settled 
 dislike to the wholesome reformations of his father, which ne 
 seemed to have made it the business of his life to subvert. 
 Whatever God declared to be most repugnant to him what- 
 ever good men the most abhor were the very objects of his 
 depraved choice and appetite. He not only built altare for 
 all the heavenly bodies, but set up an idol in the very 
 sanctuary of God, wlich no one had hitherto dared to pro- 
 
310 JERUSALEM TAKEN. 
 
 fane ; he devoted his children to Moloch, by making them 
 pass through the fire in the valley of Hinnom; and the 
 people, depraved by his example, became in all respects far 
 worse than the Canaanites, who had been rooted out to make 
 room for them. The righteous few, who still remained 
 faithful to the truth, were grievously persecuted; and injustice 
 and crime were at this time so rampant, that innocent blood 
 flowed abundantly in Jerusalem. Even the prophets, whom 
 God sent t warn the apostate king, were not spared ; and 
 it is believed that the great prophet Isaiah was by his order 
 sawn asunder. 
 
 2. The threatened doom was at length inflicted. By the 
 twenty-second year of his reign, Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, 
 had repaired the losses which the death of Sennacherib had 
 occasioned. Having invaded Palestine, he removed the 
 remnant which lingered upon the mountains of Israel, and 
 dispatched his generals against Jerusalem. The city was 
 taken and Manasseh was sent in chains to Babylon, which 
 the Assyrians had recovered, where he was thrown into a 
 dungeon. There he had leisure for thought; and the re- 
 membrance of what he had been, of what he had lost, and 
 how he had lost it, filled him with poignant sorrow. At 
 length his heart was softened ; he wept, and turned repen- 
 tingly to the Lord, from whom he had revolted. God heard 
 the moaning of the prisoner, and had pity upon him, and 
 forgave him, and inclined the heart of the successor of 
 Esarhaddon to restore him to his kingdom. The remainder 
 of his reign was good, and he found ample employment in 
 undoing all that he had before done. His reign of fifty-five 
 years was the longest which occurred in either Judah or 
 Israel. 
 
 3. Amon, his son, succeeded at the age of twenty-two 
 years. But although brought up in the best days of his 
 father, he followed the example of the worst. He was slain 
 in a conspiracy by his own servants, after a short reign ol 
 two years. 
 
 4. Josiah was only eight years old when the people, after 
 having punished the murderers of his father, made him king. 
 His guardianship devolved upon the high-priest, who be- 
 towed upon him an education worthy of a king. Josiah 
 
NINEVEH BESIEGED. 311 
 
 began very early to manifest the good dispositions and ex- 
 cellent character which distinguished his reign. As early ai 
 the age of twelve he interested himself in seeing Jerusalem 
 purged of the idolatries which his father had in his short 
 reign introduced. Afterwards he conducted this expurgation 
 in person, not only in his own dominions, but throughout 
 the territories which had belonged to Ephraim, Manasseh, 
 Zebulun, and Naphtali. On this occasion he executed the 
 sentence against the altar at Bethel, denounced to the first 
 Jeroboam 350 years before, when Josiah had been appointed 
 to this work by name. 
 
 5. In the eighteenth year of his reign, the Temple was 
 >ut in complete order and repair. In the course of these 
 abours, the original book of the law, as written by the hand 
 
 of Moses, and deposited beside the ark, was discovered by 
 Hilkiah the high-priest. From this venerable copy the pro- 
 phesies of Moses, foretelling the desolation of the land and 
 the ruin of the Temple, were read to the king. With in- 
 tense concern Josiah rent his clothes, and sent to the pro- 
 phetess Huldah to ask how these things were to be under- 
 stood. She confirmed the denunciation, and said that the 
 threatened evils were near at hand ; but she added that the 
 good king himself should be removed from this world before 
 they came. The same year the king celebrated a great pass- 
 over, such as had not been in any former reign. In short, 
 no king surpassed, or perhaps equalled, Josiah in well-directed 
 zeal for the Lord, and in efforts to extirpate idolatry and re- 
 store the true religion. 
 
 6. In the year 606 B. C., Nineveh was besieged by the 
 Medes and Babylonians, who had revolted from Assyria. 
 Taking advantage of these affairs, the king of Egypt marched 
 an army to possess himself of Carchemish, an important pass 
 of the Euphrates. He marched through Palestine. But 
 Josiah, as a tributary to the Assyrians, felt himself bound to 
 oppose his passage. He was defeated, and mortally wounded 
 in a battle at Megiddo, and soon after died at Jerusalem, 
 sincerely lamented by all his people, and bewailed by the 
 prophet Jeremiah. He left three sons, Eliakim, Jehoahaz or 
 Bhallum, and Zedekiah. 
 
 7. Jehoahaz or Shallum, tne second of these sons, wat 
 
812 NEBUCHADNEZZAR TAKES JERUSALEM. 
 
 elected king by the people. We know not the cause of thia 
 preference, which was very little justified by his conduct 
 during the three months of his reign, in which he manifested 
 a disposition to imitate the worst of his predecessors. At 
 the end of the three months, Necho returned triumphant 
 from the Euphrates, and came to Jerusalem to reap the 
 fruits of his victory at Megiddo. He laid on the city a heavy 
 tribute, and deposed Jehoahaz, and carried him away captive 
 into Egypt, where he died. Necho bestowed the crown on 
 Josiah's eldest son, Eliakim, whose name he changed to 
 Jehoiakim, in token of subjection. 
 
 8. Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he ascended 
 the throne as the vassal of Egypt. He trod in the steps of 
 his idolatrous predecessors, and the people imitated his ex- 
 ample. The Babylonians wished to succeed to the western 
 empire of the Assyrians, and not to destroy it. Nabo 
 polassar, the king of Babylon, while besieging Nineveh, be- 
 held, therefore, with displeasure the disturbances west of the 
 Euphrates, and sent his son Nebuchadnezzar to reduce the 
 provinces to obedience. In this he succeeded, and Jehoiakim, 
 among the rest, became his vassal, and continued such for 
 three years. During this time Nineveh was taken, and 
 Nabopolassar, dying soon after, was succeeded by his son 
 Nebuchadnezzar. While the attention of the new monarch 
 was otherwise engaged, Jehoiakim had the temerity to revolt 
 from him. To this he was probably incited by tie king of 
 Egypt, who undertook a second expedition against Carche- 
 mish, which Nebuchadnezzar had recovered. He was de- 
 feated by the Babylonian, and stripped of all his possessions 
 between the Euphrates and the Nile. Nebuchadnezzar then 
 besieged and took Jerusalem ; and among other spoil, carried 
 away a portion of the sacred vessels of the Temple, which he 
 lodged in the temple of Belus at Babylon. Certain of the 
 royal family and of the nobles were also taken away as 
 hostages for the fidelity of the king and people. Among 
 these were the prophet Daniel and his companions. Upon 
 the whole, Nebuchadnezzar behaved more leniently than 
 might have been expected, owing, probably, to a desire of 
 maintaining Judah, if possible, as a frontier state between 
 himself and Egypt. He did not even depose Jehoiakimj 
 
NEBUCHADNEZZAR MAKES ZEDEKIAH KINO. 313 
 
 who, nncorrected by adversity, proved the same remorseless 
 tyrant, regardless of God and man. It does not appear that 
 he again revolted, but after some years his conduct appeared 
 BO displeasing to the king of Babylon, who was then in the 
 north of Syria, that he sent a number of local auxiliaries 
 against him. They took him prisoner and carried him to 
 Nebuchadnezzar, who put him in fetters, and designed to take 
 him to Babylon. But he first proceeded with him to Jeru- 
 salem, whare he died. 
 
 9. On Nebuchadnezzar's arrival at Jerusalem, he was 
 little pleased to find that, without consulting him, the people 
 had in the meantime raised to the throne Jehoiachin (or Je- 
 coniah or Coniah), the son of Jehoiakim. This prince, in the 
 brief interval of three months, had found time to evince the 
 most depraved dispositions. He surrendered to Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, and was taken to Babylon, where he spent the rest of 
 his days. Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah, the third son of 
 Josiah, king; but left him a much impoverished kingdom. 
 All the portable wealth that could be found in the palace or 
 the Temple, was seized and sent off to Babylon : and, along 
 vith the deposed king, were taken away all the persons of 
 aote, and all the skilful craftsmen of the kingdom. 
 
 10. In appointing Zedekiah to the throne, Nebuchad- 
 nezzar exacted from him a very solemn oath of allegiance. 
 Accordingly, when in the fourth year of his reign, the kings 
 of Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Tyre, invited him to join them 
 in a confederacy to shake off the Babylonian yoke, he would 
 not listen to their proposals. But Zedekiah set an example 
 of iniquity to his people, which they willingly followed. 
 They were rapidly ripening for the destruction which had 
 been so long foretold; and which was brought about by 
 means of the revolt of Zedekiah from the king of Babylon, in 
 the ninth year of his reign. This step was taken in reliance 
 upon Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, in spite of the earnest 
 remonstrances of Jeremiah, who repeatedly and in the face of 
 cruel treatment, warned both the king and people, that their 
 only hope of safety and quiet lay in their adhesion to Nebu- 
 chadnezzar. 
 
 11. In consequence of this revolt, the Babylonian king 
 invaded Judaea with a great army, and, after taking most (I 
 
814 JERUSALEM TAKEN. 
 
 the principal towns, sat down before Jerusalem. Early hi 
 the next year the Egyptians marched an army to the relief 
 of their ally; but being intimidated by the alacrity with 
 which the Babylonians raised the siege and advanced to give 
 them battle, they returned home without risking an engage- 
 ment. The return of the Chaldeans to the siege, destroyed 
 all the hopes which the approach of the Egyptian succours 
 had excited. The siege was now prosecuted with redoubled 
 vigour ; and at length Jerusalem was taken by storm at mid- 
 night, in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, and in the eighteenth 
 month from the commencement of the siege. Dreadful was 
 the carnage. The people, young and old, were slaughtered 
 wherever they appeared ; and even the temple was no refuge 
 for them : the sacred courts streamed with blood. Zedekiah 
 himself, with his family and some friends, contrived to escape 
 from the city ; but he was overtaken and captured in the 
 plains of Jericho. He was sent in chains to Nebuchadnezzar, 
 who had left the conclusion of the war to his generals, and 
 was then at Eiblah in Syria. After sternly reproving him 
 for his ungrateful conduct, the conqueror ordered all the sons 
 of Zedekiah to be slain before his eyes, and then his own eyes 
 to be put out, thus making the slaughter of his children the 
 last sight on which his tortured memory could dwell. He 
 was afterwards sent in fetters of brass to Babylon, where he 
 remained until his death. 
 
 12. Nebuchadnezzar appears to have felt that his pur- 
 poses had not been fully executed by the army, or else he was 
 urged by the Edomites and others to exceed his first inten- 
 tions. He therefore sent Nebuzaradan, the captain of the 
 guard, with a sufficient force, to complete the desolation of 
 Judah and Jerusalem. He burned the city and the temple 
 to the ground ; he collected and sent to Babylon all the gold 
 and silver which former spoilers had left ; and he transported 
 all the people who had been left behind in Jehoiachin's cap- 
 tivity, save only the poor of the land, who were left to be 
 vine-dressers and husbandmen. Four years after, Nebuzara- 
 dan again entered Judaea, and gleaned a few more of the 
 miserable inhabitants, whom he sent off to Babylon. 
 
 13. Thus was the land left desolate ; and thus ended the 
 kingdom of Judah and the reign of David's house, after it had 
 
SACRED WRITERS. 315 
 
 endured 404 years, under twenty kings. It is remarkable 
 that the king of Babylon made no attempt to colonize the 
 country he had depopulated, as was done by the Assyrians in 
 Israel; and thus, in the providence of God, the land was 
 left vacant, to be re-occupied by the Jews after seventy yean 
 of captivity and punishment. 
 
 14. Sacred Writers. Zephaniah prophesied in the early 
 part of Josiah's reign ; and his reprehension of the existing 
 abuses would appear to have roused that excellent prince to 
 undertake those reformations which honoured his reign.^ 
 About the middle of that reign Jeremiah began to prophesy, 
 and he lived through the succeeding reigns to see the fulfil- 
 ment of his own predictions of the captivity of Judah. He 
 was a priest of Anathoth, a place about three miles north o 
 Jerusalem. After the death of Josiah, he met with great op- 
 position from the kings and courtiers, by which his spirit wag 
 much afflicted. After the destruction of Jerusalem, he went, 
 reluctantly, to Egypt, with a remnant of the Jews. What 
 afterwards happened to him is not known with certainty ; but 
 it is said that his countrymen in Egypt were so offended by 
 his faithful remonstrances, that they stoned him to death. 
 The prophesies and " lamentations " of Jeremiah, indicate a 
 man deeply conscious of the evil days on which he had fallen, 
 and over which he mourned intensely. Habakkuk, who de- 
 livered his short prophesy in the reign of Jehoiakim, declared, 
 with much sublimity of style and grandeur of imagery, the 
 approaching calamities of the nation, and pointed ost the con- 
 solations which the faithful might still claim. Ezekiel was 
 of the sacerdotal race, and was one of the captives whom 
 Nebuchadnezzar carried into Babylonia, along with king Je- 
 hoiachin. There, by the river Ch'ebar, which falls into the 
 Euphrates, he had visions of God, and delivered prophesies 
 confirmatory of those which Jeremiah at the same time de- 
 livered in Juda?a. The short prophesy of Obadiah is almost 
 wholly directed against the Edomites, and is supposed to have 
 been delivered in the very few years which elapsed between 
 the destruction of Jerusalem and the desolation of Edom by 
 Nebuchadneaaar. 
 
BOOK Tl 
 
 CHAPTER L 588 TO 535. 
 
 ABTIOH. 
 
 B.C. I 
 
 Hebnchadnezzar con- i 
 quers Egypt . . . 670 ' 
 His insanity .... 668 
 Bis recovery and death 61 
 Evil-Merodach ... 661 
 Jehoiachin released . 561 
 Belshazzar, or Neriglis- 
 
 sar 558 
 
 Nahonadins viceroy 653 
 Cyrus, the Persian, takes 
 
 Babylon .... 530 
 End of captivity . . 585 
 
 MKD1A. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Cyaxares II. (Darius) 641 
 
 succeeds Belshaz- 
 zar at Babylon . . 553 
 
 Cyrus succeeds his 
 uncle Darius . . 551 
 
 completes the for- 
 mation of the Persian 
 Empire, by recover- 
 ing Babylon from Na- 
 bonadiut .... 586 
 
 C-rNT.KAT. HT8TOBT. 
 
 BO. 
 
 Servins Tnllins, King 
 
 of Rome .... C7V 
 
 Anaximander. . . . 668 
 Phalaris, tyrant of 
 
 Agrigentum . . . 537 
 
 Cleolmlus 564 
 
 Croesus, King of Lydia 562 
 Pisistratns, tyrant of 
 
 Athens 560 
 
 Anaximenes .... 558 
 
 Pythagoras .... 539 
 
 Simomdes the poet . 537 
 
 IN order to preserve the continuity of the history of Palestine, 
 It is necessary to follow into their exile that favoured race, 
 on whose account the Holy Land has acquired that celebrity 
 which must ever attach to its name. 
 
 1. Again, the children of Abraham, the chosen people, 
 were in exile, and the land of their inheritance lay desolate. 
 But we are not on that account to imagine that the purposes 
 for which they had been set apart as a peculiar people among 
 the nations, had been rendered nugatory. This was by no 
 means the case. They were still destined to fulfil their vo- 
 cation of keeping alive in the world the knowledge of the true 
 God, the Creator of all things, and of being the depositaries 
 of his designs towards the race of man. 
 
 2. The later exiles found themselves not altogether 
 strangers at Babylon. Their countrymen of the earlier cap- 
 tivities were settled in various stations and employments, and 
 some of them held posts of trust under the government. By 
 that government they were regarded not as prisoners, but as 
 useful emigrants ; and after a while they appear to have ex- 
 perienced no other inconveniences than those which naturally 
 
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DRUAM. 317 
 
 flowed from their regrets for their own pleasant land ; from 
 their position as foreigners in a strange country ; from the 
 derision of the natives at the peculiarities of their religion ; 
 and, probably, from a distinctive poll-tax from which the 
 Babylonians were exempt. This much may be gathered from 
 dispersed intimations ; but the principal known facts of the 
 captivity are connected with the history of Daniel, one of the 
 earlier exiles, who rose to the highest distinction under the 
 Babylonian kings. 
 
 3. Daniel was one of the young men of high family who 
 were carried away as hostages for the fidelity of king Jehoia- 
 chin. He and some others were put under the chief eunuch, 
 to ta properly trained in the language and learning of the 
 Chaldeans, to fit them for employments at the court. This 
 training lasted three years, when they were examined in the 
 presence of the king ; and Daniel and three of his friends 
 were found to have made far greater progress than any of 
 those who had been educated with them. They were there- 
 fore enrolled among the magians or learned men. 
 
 4. A few years after Nebuchadnezzar was greatly troubled 
 with a dream, which made a profound impression upon his 
 mind ; but the particulars of which quite passed from his me- 
 mory when he awoke. Great importance was attached to 
 dreams in those days, and men skilled in the sciences were 
 supposed to be able to discover their meaning. Therefore, 
 the king sent for his court magians, and required them not 
 only to interpret the dream, but to discover the dream itself, 
 which he had forgotten. This they declared to be impossible; 
 on which the exasperated tyrant ordered all the magians to 
 be massacred. Daniel and his friends, although not present, 
 were included in such a sentence. On learning this, he 
 begged a respite for the whole body, undertaking to find, 
 through his God, the solution of the difficulty. The respite 
 was granted ; and at the earnest prayer of Daniel, the Lord 
 made the secret known to him. A colossal ki c ge which the 
 king saw, with a head of gold, arms and breast of silver, 
 belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and toes partly iron 
 and partly clay, was struck down by a stone, which itself grew 
 and filled the whole earth. This, in the interpretation of 
 Daniel, figured forth "the things to come;" describing by 
 
THE BURNING FURNACE, 
 
 Characteristic symbols the succession of empires to the end of 
 tone ; and it is -wonderful to observe how precisely the greater 
 part of what was then future has since been accomplished. 
 The king was not only satisfied but astonished ; he was al- 
 most ready to pay divine honours to Daniel ; and raised him 
 at once to the eminent station of Archimagus, or chief of the 
 magians, and governor of the metropolitan province of Baby- 
 lon. His three friends, also, were, at his request, promoted 
 to places of trust and honour. 
 
 5. Not long after, Nebuchadnezzar set up a colossal image 
 in the plains of Dura, and commanded that, when music 
 sounded, every one should worship it, on pain of death. He 
 soon learned that this command was utterly neglected by 
 Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; 
 and his rage grew so high, at the example of disobedience 
 given by persons in their high station, that he ordered them 
 to be at once cast into " the burning furnace." The heat of 
 the furnace was so great as to destroy the men who cast them 
 in; but they themselves remained unhurt, and not even a 
 hair of their heads was singed. They came forth when the 
 king called them ; and he was so much astonished and con- 
 vinced by this prodigy, that he publicly acknowledged the 
 greatness of the God whom they served. 
 
 6. There appeared to have been some good and generous 
 
 qualities in the cha- 
 racter of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar ; but the pride 
 with which he con- 
 templated the gran- 
 deur of his empire, 
 and the magnificence 
 of his undertakings, 
 was most inordinate, 
 and he required to 
 be taught that " the 
 Most High ruleth 
 Over all the kingdoms of the earth, and giveth them to 
 whomsoever he will." He was warned of this in a dream, 
 which was interpreted to him by Daniel ; but, neglecting the 
 warning, " his heart was changed from man's, and a beast's 
 
 Ancient Babylonians. 
 
DEATH OP NEBUCHADNEZZAR. 
 
 319 
 
 heart was given to him." He was afflicted with a ma Iness 
 which made him think himself a beast, and, acting as such, 
 he remained constantly abroad in the fields, living upon wild 
 herbs. In this debased and forlorn condition the mighty 
 conqueror remained seven years, when he was restored to his 
 reason and his throne ; and one of his first acts was to issue 
 a proclamation, humbly acknowledging the signs and wonders 
 which the Most High God had wrought towards him, and 
 declaring his conviction, that "those who walk in pride he is 
 able to abase." He died soon after. He was succeeded 
 by Evil-Merodach, who had administered the government 
 during the ''nsanity of 
 his father. On his 
 accession, he releas- 
 ed Jehoiachin from 
 his long confinement, 
 and gave him the 
 first place among the 
 fallen kings who sat 
 
 135. Ancient Babylonian*. 
 
 years, Evil-Merodach 
 
 was defeated, and 
 
 killed in a battle with the combined Medes and Persians undef 
 
 Cyrus. 
 
 7. His son Belshazzar succeeded. Of him nothing is 
 recorded but the circumstances in which his reign concluded. 
 There was a great festival, which Belshazzar celebrated by a 
 magnificent feast to all his nobles. They talked of their 
 gods, whose power had proved so much greater than that of 
 the gods of other nations ; and this suggested to the king 
 to send for the sacred vessels of the temple of Jerusalem, to 
 be used as wine-cups in their riotings. While thus profanely 
 engaged, their attention was arrested by a mysterious hand, 
 tracing on the wall words which no one understood. The 
 magians tried in vain to interpret them. Daniel was then 
 sent for, and he, after solemnly rebuking the king for his 
 profanation of that Great Name which his proud grand- 
 father had been compelled to honour, explained the terrible 
 purport of the inscrijition to be, that the end both of hia 
 
320 DANIEL CAST INTV THE DEN OF LION8. 
 
 life and dynasty was close at hand. He lost his life tiat 
 very night by the conspiracy of two nobles, whom he had 
 grievously wronged ; and a year after, the death of his son, a 
 boy, named Laborosoarchad, left the heritage to Darius (or 
 Cyaxares) the Mede, who accordingly took possession of the 
 kingdom. Thus the Babylonian empire was merged in that 
 of the Medes ar>d Persians. 
 
 8. A very high place in the favour of Darius was oc- 
 cupied by Daniel ; and in re-distributing the government of 
 the provinces, the prophet was set at the head of all. This 
 excited the jealousy and discontent of many, and the destruc- 
 tion of Daniel was determined. His hands were too clean, 
 and his conduct too upright, to allow them to hope that they 
 could fasten any charge upon him, except on the score of his 
 religion. They therefore persuaded the weak old king to 
 issue a decree, that no one should, for thirty days, make 
 prayer to any god but himself, under pain of being cast 
 alive into the den of lions. Daniel, however, made no change 
 in his usual habits of prayer to the God of Israel, with his 
 face turned towards Jerusalem. He was, therefore, accused to 
 Darius, who saw too late the folly into which he had been 
 drawn, and would fain have spared his friend. But being 
 reminded, that among the Medes and Persians a royal decree 
 could not be revoked or altered, he reluctantly consented 
 that his own should take effect. Daniel was then thrown 
 into the den of lions. The unhappy king spent the night in 
 sorrow ; and early in the morning he hastened to the den, 
 hoping that perhaps the Mighty God whom Daniel served 
 had not allowed him to perish. The cheerful voice of the 
 prophet from within the den answered to the call, for the 
 lions had not been allowed to hurt him. Daniel was taken 
 from the den, and his accusers cast in ; and on them the lions 
 had no mercy. This produced from Darius a remarkable 
 proclamation of the greatness and supremacy of " the Most 
 High God," whom Daniel served. 
 
 9. Darius occupied the throne of Babylon only two years; 
 and on his death it was usurped by a Babyloniar noble, 
 named Nabonadius. Cyrus, the illustrious nephew of Darius, 
 was for several years too much engaged in other wars to 
 attend to him. But, at length, he led his troops against 
 
BACRIM) WRITERS. 321 
 
 The city held out for two years against him; and 
 was then only taken by the remarkable stratagem of divert- 
 ing the course of the river Euphrates, which flowed through 
 the city, and entering by night through the dry channel 
 This taking of Babylon, with all its circumstances, was 
 minutely described by the prophet Isaiah, and Cyrus mentioned 
 by name, above a century before that conqueror was born. 
 
 10. The prophet Daniel was still alive when Babylon 
 was taken by Cyrus; and there is reason to conclude, that 
 this venerable personage was high in the esteem of that con- 
 queror. In some decrees, Cyrus intimates his knowledge of 
 those prophesies in Isaiah which speak of himself, and there 
 is little question that Daniel had called his attention to them. 
 We know that the prophet had at this time looked much into 
 the writings of former prophets (Dan. ix. 1, 2), and had as- 
 certained that the duration of the captivity was to be seventy 
 years (Jer. xxv. 11, 12; xxix. 10); and now he found that 
 the expiration of the seventy years left the sovereign power 
 in the hands of Cyrus, of whom Isaiah had so particularly 
 prophesied as the person destined " to restore the captivities 
 of Judah." The communication of these facts must have 
 made a strong impression on the conqueror, accompanied as 
 it was by the claim, that the Jehovah whom the Hebrews 
 worshipped was He who had raised him up, and had given 
 to him all that greatness and glory by which he was now 
 surrounded. 
 
 11. Sacred Writers. The most eminent writer of thia 
 period was Daniel, whose history has been given above. He 
 lived throughout the captivity in great esteem and honour. 
 He did not return with his countrymen to Judsea, but re- 
 mained at Babylon, and probably died soon after, either there 
 or at Susa, from which metropolitan city the last of his visions 
 is dated, when he was about ninety-four years old. His 
 writings are in the form of visions, which describe, almost 
 with the distinctness of history, the events of future times. 
 The Messiah is also mentioned by him ; and the time of his 
 coming is set down with such precision, as produced among 
 the Jews a general expectation of his advent at the time 
 when Jesus Christ appeared. 
 
CHAPTER II. B. 0. 535 TO 518. 
 
 tn TEWS. 
 
 B. C 
 
 Ketarn to Jerusalem 
 under Zernbbabel . 635 
 
 feshua, high-priest . 535 
 
 Rebuilding of the city 
 and second Temple 
 begun 535 
 
 Temple finished . . . 516 
 
 PERSIAN IMPIEE. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Cyrus 
 
 Cambyses .... 629 
 
 Smeruis, the Magian 521 
 
 Darius Hystaspei . . 621 
 
 OENEBAL 
 
 .a 
 
 Tarcjninius Superbus, 
 King of Borne . . 634 
 
 Anacreon 63S 
 
 Polycrates, tyrant of 
 
 Samoa 531 
 
 Hippias and Hippar- 
 
 chus at Athens . . 527 
 Confucius, in China . 520 
 
 1. ANIMATED by the impressions thus made upon his 
 mind, Cyrus, in the very year that Babylon was taken, issued 
 a decree, in which, after acknowledging the supremacy of the 
 Lord, and that to Him he owed all his kingdoms, he gave 
 full permission to the Jews, in any part of his dominions, to 
 return to their own land, and to rebuild the city and Temple 
 of Jerusalem. No sooner were the favourable dispositions 
 of the king thus made known, than the members of the later 
 captivity those of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi 
 repaired in large numbers to Babylon from their different 
 places of residence; some to make preparations for their 
 journey ; and others, who had no intention to return them- 
 selves, to assist those who had. Most of the existing race 
 had been born in Babylonia, and in the course of years families 
 had established themselves in the country, and formed connec- 
 tions, and gathered around them comforts which were not 
 easily abandoned. Hence, only a zealous minority were dis- 
 posed to avail themselves of the decree in their favour : the 
 great bulk of the people choosing to remain in the land of 
 their exile ; and it has always been the opinion of the Jews, 
 that the more illustrious portion of their nation remained in 
 Chaldea. 
 
 2. The first return caravan was organised and directed 
 by Zerubbabel, the grandson of king Jehoiachin, and by 
 Jeshua, a grandson of the last high-priest Jozadak. The 
 number of persons who joined them was about 50,000, in- 
 eluding above 7000 male and female servants. Before they 
 
RETURN OP THE JEWS TO JERUSALEM. 323 
 
 departed, Cyrus caused to be restored to them the more valu- 
 able of the sacred utensils, which had been removed by Ne- 
 buchadnezzar, and preserved by his successors, and which 
 were now destined to be again employed in the service of the 
 sanctuary. Zerubbabel was also entrusted with large contri- 
 butions towards the expense of rebuilding the Temple, from 
 the Jews who chose to remain behind. The beasts of burden 
 in this caravan exceeded eight thousand. In the book of 
 Ezra, the names of the families which returned in this first 
 colony, and in those which followed are *efully given. 
 
 3. The incidents of the journey are not related. On 
 reaching Palestine, the caravan repaired at once to Jerusa- 
 lem, which they found utterly ruined and desolate. Before 
 they separated to seek habitations for themselves, they raised 
 a large sum by voluntary contributions towards the rebuilding 
 of the Temple. They then employed themselves in securing 
 dwellings and necessaries for their families ; and at the ensu- 
 ing Feast of Tabernacles again repaired to Jerusalem, where 
 sacrifices were offered on an altar erected upon the ruins of 
 the Temple. After this the people applied themselves zeal- 
 jously to the necessary preparations for the restoration of that 
 edifice. In a year from the departure from Babylon the pre- 
 parations were sufficiently advanced to allow the work to be 
 commenced ; and, accordingly, the foundations of the second 
 Temple were then laid with great rejoicings and songs of 
 thanksgiving. While the work proceeded, the Samaritans 
 manifested a desire to assist in the work, and to claim a com- 
 ^aunity of worship hi the new Temple. This was declined by 
 die Jews, on the ground that the decree of the Persian king 
 extended only to the race of Israel. 
 
 4. Being thus frustrated in their design, the Samaritana 
 employed every means they could devise to thwart the under- 
 taking. Their origin appears to have given them consider- 
 able influence at the Persian court , and although they could 
 not act openly against the plain decree of Cyrus, an unscru- 
 pulous use of their money and influence among the officers of 
 the government enabled them to raise such obstructions that 
 the people were much discouraged, and the work proceeded 
 but languidly, and at length was suspended altogether. This 
 
 one cause of the enmity which always afterwards sub- 
 
324 SECOND TEMPLE FINISHED. 
 
 gisted between the Jews and the Samaritans. The suspension 
 of the work commenced in the time of Cyrus, and continued 
 through the reigns of Cambyses and Smerdis, to the second 
 year of Darius Hystaspes. In this long interval the people 
 gradually lost all heart for the work, and were disposed to 
 conclude that the set time for it had not yei arrived. From 
 this lethargy they were roused by the exhortations and re- 
 proaches of the prophet Haggai ; and the building was re- 
 sumed with fresh zeal. This zeal was indeed somewhat 
 damped by the discouraging regrets of the old men, who had 
 Been in their youth the Temple of Solomon, and who clearly 
 perceived that this would be a far inferior building. But to 
 obviate this discouragement the prophet Haggai was com- 
 missioned to declare that the ultimate glory of this second 
 Temple should greatly exceed that of the first, not by 
 greater splendour of fabric, but by the presence within its 
 walls of the Messiah, so long expected and foretold " the 
 desire of all nations." Haggai ii. 1-9. 
 
 5. The renewal of the work roused afresh the opposition 
 of the Samaritans, whose representations induced Tatnai, the 
 Persian governor of Syria, to write home for instructions, 
 stating that the Jews alleged the authority of a decree of 
 Cyrus for their proceedings. The result was happy ; for, 
 after some search, the decree was found. It not only autho- 
 rised the erection of the Temple, but directed the local 
 government to afford assistance and supplies, which the Jews 
 had not ventured to require, but which the rescript of Darius 
 now commanded to be given. Under the impulse thus im- 
 parted the work proceeded with spirit ; and, four years after, 
 it was completed. The dedication was celebrated with great 
 solemnity and joy ; and soon after, it was made fit for the 
 old ritual worship, which was resumed at the ensuing pass- 
 over. 
 
 6. The Jews being now in some sense restored to their 
 own land, it is proper to mention the footing on which they 
 stood as a people. Like all the surrounding nations, they 
 were under tribute to the Persians, and subject t? the general 
 policy of that government. They appear to have been 
 favourably considered by it, at first on account of Daniel, and 
 afterwards on account of the hatred of idolatry which wt& 
 
SACRED WRITERS. 325 
 
 common to the Jews and to the Persians.* They were al- 
 lowed the free exercise of their religion and laws, and the 
 internal government was directed by a governor of their own 
 nation, or by the high-priest when there was no other gover- 
 nor. There was, in fact, a distinct commonwealth, with its 
 own peculiar institutions ; and although responsible to the 
 Persian king, and to his deputy the governor-general of 
 Syria, it was more secure under the protection of the Persian 
 monarchy than, considering its feeble condition, it would 
 have been in complete independence. With regard to religion, 
 the dreadful lesson taught by the desolation of the land, the 
 destruction of the Temple, and the captivity of the people, 
 had effectually cured the Jews of that tendency to idolatry 
 which had been their ruin. But, as time went on, the dis- 
 tortion of character which had been restrained in one direc- 
 tion broke forth in another ; and although they no longer 
 went formally astray from a religion which did not suit their 
 carnal minds, they, by many vain and mischievous fancies, 
 fabricated a religion suited to their own dispositions out of the 
 ritual to which they formally adhered. 
 
 7. Sacred Writers. The prophet Haggai was the first 
 of the three prophets who were commissioned to make known 
 the will of God to the Jews after their return from captivity. 
 He ?'s supposed to have been born at Babylon, and to have 
 returned with Zerubbabel, under the edict of Cyrus. The 
 object of his prophesy was to stimulate the building of the 
 Temple. Zechariah was also one of the returned exiles; and 
 his prophesies were delivered at the same time, and with the 
 same object. He also speaks of more remote times, th 
 coming of Christ, and the Roman war. 
 
 * The Persians worshipped the sun as a symbol of the JJeity, ami Ike ten klkijn&boi 
 f the iut, They could not endure idolatrous imagtt. 
 
326 
 
 CHAPTER HI. B. C. 516 to 444. 
 
 THE JEWS. 
 
 B. C. 
 
 I ahoiakim, high-priest 483 
 
 lither succeeds queen Vashti ... 464 
 
 Ezra sent to Jerusalem ..... 457 
 
 Mordecai exalted ....... 451 
 
 Eliashib, high-priest ...... 453 
 
 OENKHAL HISTORT. 
 
 Harmodius and Aristogiton at Athens 613 
 Consular government establislied at 
 
 Borne 609 
 
 First dictator (Lartius) at Rome . . 498 
 
 Coriolanus banished 491 
 
 The Fenians defeated at Marathon . 490 
 Xerxes makes his expedition into 
 
 Greece 480 
 
 The stand at Thermopylae .... 479 
 Xerxes, defeated at Platea and My- 
 
 cale, retires from Greece .... 479 
 
 first Decituvirg at Rome .... 451 
 
 PERSIAN EMPIU. 
 
 Xerxes or Ahasuerus .... . 48i 
 Artaxerxes Longimanui . . . 484 
 
 KKVAKKABLB PERSONS. 
 
 L. Jnnius Brutus ....... 609 
 
 Porsenua . . . 507 
 
 Coriolanus 490 
 
 Leonidas .......... 491 
 
 Aristides . . . . 486 
 
 jEschylus 488 
 
 Findar 480 
 
 Themistocles 480 
 
 Pausanius . ........ 479 
 
 Cimon (banished) ....... 470 
 
 Anaxagoras . . . 470 
 
 Pericles 468 
 
 Sophocles 463 
 
 Herodotus * . .445 
 
 1. IT does not appear that the restored Jews experienced 
 any further molestation in the lifetime of Darius Hystaspes, 
 who reigned thirty-six years, and died B. C. 485. He was 
 succeeded by his sqn Xerxes ; and as he is the Ahasuerus of 
 Ezra (iv. 6), it would appear that he was friendly to the 
 Jews, notwithstanding the attempts made by the Samaritans 
 to prejudice his mind against them. He was succeeded hi 
 B. C. 564, by his son Artaxerxes Longimanus, whose long 
 reign embraces several circumstances of great interest to the 
 Jewish people. 
 
 2. Early in this reign they proceeded to rebuild Jeru- 
 salem on a regular plan, and to surround it with a wall. 
 This last procedure excited a ferment of opposition from the 
 Samaritans and others, who succeeded in alarming the Persian 
 government lest its dominion hi these parts should be en- 
 dangered by the fortification of a city, noted of old for its 
 turbulent character, as well as for the power of its former 
 kings. Hence, an order was obtained that the building of 
 the walls should not bi allowed* It was not long, however, 
 
EZRA SENT TO JERUSALEM. 327 
 
 before Artaxerxes ascertained the present position and cha- 
 racter of the Jewish people, anl the favourable sentiments of 
 Cyrus and Darius Hystaspes towards them, as manifested in 
 the conduct and edicts of these princes. He learned also 
 the veneration with which the God of the Hebrews had been 
 regarded by the most eminent of his predecessors. All this 
 is manifested in the terms of the commission by which, in the 
 seventh year of this reign, Ezra, the priest and scribe, was 
 authorised to proceed to Jerusalem to set in order whatever 
 related to the service and worship of Jehovah. He was not, 
 however, authorised to rebuild the walls. 
 
 3. Such a commission as that with which Ezra was in- 
 vested had become highly necessary ; for after the death of 
 the first leaders of the restoration, the high-priest Jeshua, the 
 governor Zerubbabel, and the prophets Haggai and Zecha- 
 riah, both the civil and ecclesiastical state became very 
 unsettled, and had remained so for many years. The com- 
 mission granted to Ezra was very extensive, and its terms 
 were so precisely applicable to the circumstances of the 
 Jewish people, as to suggest that it was procured from the 
 king by some of the powerful Jews who remained beyond 
 the Euphrates. As governor, Ezra was authorized to appoint 
 superior and inferior judges, to rectify abuses, to enforce the 
 observance of the law, and to punish the refractory with fines, 
 imprisonment, or even death, according to the degree of their 
 offences. Such of the Jews as thought proper, were invited 
 to go back with Ezra, and from those who chose to remain, 
 he was authorized to collect contributions for the use of the 
 Temple. To this fund the king himself and his coiuicil 
 liberally contributed ; and the ministers of the royal revenues 
 west of the Euphrates were enjoined to furnish Ezra with 
 what he might require, within certain limits, of silver, wheat, 
 wine, oil, and salt, in order that the sacrifices and offerings 
 of the Temple should be constantly kept up ; all of which is 
 said to have been done in order to avert from the king and 
 his sons, the wrath of the God of the Hebrews, who, it is very 
 evident, was held in much honour at the Persian court. 
 
 4. An exemption from all taxes was also promised to 
 persons engaged in the service of the Temple ; but this boon 
 did not induce any of the Levitical tribe to join the caravan 
 
328 EZRA CAUSES THE LAW TO BE PUBLICLY READ. 
 
 which assembled on the banks of the river Ahava, in Baby- 
 Ionia ; and it was with some difficulty that Ezra at last 
 induced some of the priestly families to go with him. The 
 whole caravan was composed of 1754 adult males, making, 
 with wives and children, about 6000 persons. As a party 
 thus composed had little military strength, and as the journey 
 across the desert was then, as it always has been, dangerous, 
 from the predatory Arab tribes by which it is infested, 
 they felt considerable anxiety on this account. But Ezra, 
 from having said much to the king of the Lord's power to 
 protect and deliver those that trusted in him, felt disinclined 
 to apply for a guard of soldiers ; and thought it better that 
 the party should, in a solemn act of fasting and prayer, cast 
 themselves upon the care of their God. Their Confidence 
 was rewarded by the perfect safety with which their journey 
 was accomplished. In four months they arrived at Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 5. Having deposited in the Temple the donations with 
 which he was charged, and imparted his commission to the 
 royal officers in that quarter, Ezra applied himself earnestly 
 to the work he had undertaken. He does not himself record 
 any of his acts particularly, excepting the removal of the 
 foreign and idolatrous women, whom many of the people, and 
 even of the priests and Levites, had married, contrary to the 
 law. But we are informed by Nehemiah, that Ezra caused 
 the law to be publicly read to the assembled people, and to 
 be explained by interpreters to those who understood only 
 the Chaldean dialect, in which they had been brought up. 
 This doubtless gave occasion for the increase of the copies of 
 the law ; and it is generally understood that Ezra collected 
 and revised the sacred books which compose the Old Testa- 
 ment, and arranged them in the form which they now bear. 
 
 6. While Ezra was engaged in these labours, a great 
 danger threatened the Jews who remained beyond the 
 Euphrates. In the third year of his reign, the Persian king 
 had put away his queen Vashti, and had taken in her place 
 a beautiful Jewish damsel named Esther, the niece of Mor- 
 decai, a Benjamite, and one of the officers of the palace. 
 Years passed away, in the course of which the chief place in 
 tha king's favour was acquired by Haman^ an Amalekite, 
 
DECREE FOR THE EXTERMINATION OP THE JEWS. 329 
 
 To him the king commanded that all his servants and officers 
 should bow in that peculiar manner, by which the Persians 
 testified the highest respect. This act of homage was refused 
 by Mordecai,* who 
 constantly allowed the 
 great man to pass by 
 without shewing that 
 respect which all 
 others paid. This at- 
 tracted the attention 
 and excited the in- 
 quiries of Haman ; 
 and learning, proba- 
 bly, that all other 
 rigid Jews would act 
 in the same manner, 
 he vowed the extinc- 
 tion of the whole race. 
 
 Having fixed, by lot, what he considered a propitious day 
 for the execution of his design, he proceeded to the king, 
 and without naming the people, but describing them, in 
 general terms, as of peculiar customs and unpleasant manners, 
 and of a refractory and rebellious disposition, he obtained an 
 order for their extermination. Couriers were accordingly 
 Bent to all the provinces, commanding that the Jews every- 
 where, without regard to age or sex, should be utterly extir- 
 pated on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and their 
 property taken as a prey. When this became known in 
 Shushan (Susa) the metropolis, all the Jews there declared 
 their concern in loud lamentations, and by garments of 
 mourning. On learning these things from Mordecai, Esther, 
 at his desire, undertook to intercede with the king in behalf 
 of her people. 
 
 7. This was an undertaking of great peril; for it was 
 death for any one to appear before the king uncalled, and 
 she had not for some time been invited to his presence. She 
 
 * The precise ground of this refusal is not well known. Some think tint it wa 
 because the form of homage was deemed idolatrous by Mordec&i; others, that he would 
 not bow to one of the race which had been doomed to extermination u the implacable 
 Mamie* of Israel. 
 
 ri 
 
330 DEATH OF HAMAH. 
 
 went, however, attended by her maidoas ; and the king, 
 happening to be in good humour, extended to her the golden 
 sceptre, by which act her intrusion was forgiven. She 
 invited the king and Haman to a banquet, at which she 
 improved the favourable opening with such consummate tact, 
 that the design of Haman appeared in the king's view as a 
 plot for the destruction of the queen and her people ; and in 
 his rage he commanded him to be hanged upon a high gal- 
 lows which he had himself prepared for Mordecak It was 
 less easy to revoke the murderous order which had at 
 Hainan's instance been issued, by reason of that peculiar 
 practice of the Persians which made the word of the king a 
 law that could not be altered. All that could be done was 
 to allow the Jews to stand upon their defence against those 
 who might attempt to put the first order into execution. 
 These conflicting orders occasioned much bloodshed in dif- 
 ferent parts ; but the Jewish nation was preserved 7 and the 
 deliverance is to this day commemorated by an annual feast, 
 called Purim. 
 
 8. There is yet another incident in this remarkable his- 
 tory. In the interval, after the first order had been issued, the 
 king's attention was providentially drawn to the fact, that a 
 Domestic plot against his life had been formerly detected 
 and made known by Mordecai. He then asked what reward 
 had been conferred on the man to whom he owed his life ; 
 and hearing that he had received no mark of favour, he sent 
 for Haman, and asked him what ought to be done for the 
 man "whom the king delighted to honour." Supposing thai 
 the king referred to himself, Haman enumerated distinctions 
 of the very highest class, bordering on those which belonged 
 to royalty itself; he was, therefore, utterly confounded when 
 the king told him to see that all these honours were bestowed 
 upon Mordecai the Jew, the very Mordecai for whom he had 
 just prepared a gallows fifty cubits high. Haman obeyed in 
 silence; and on his downfall, which immediately followed, 
 Mordecai was promoted to his place, which gave him power 
 to be very useful to his nation. 
 
 9. Sacred Writers. The history of Ezra has been men- 
 tioned, and some allusion has been made to his labour in 
 arranging and revising the sacred books. Of these labour* 
 
SACRED WRITERS. 
 
 331 
 
 le says nothing himself; but the constant tradition cf the 
 Jews has been, that he collected as many copies of the sacred 
 books as he could obtain ; and by correcting the errors of 
 former copyists, and by adding in various places what appeared 
 necessary to illustrate, connect, or explain the context, he 
 produced one perfect copy, which became the exemplar for all 
 eubsequent transcribers. Ezra was probably the author of 
 the book which bears his name ; and to him also the author- 
 hip of the books of Chronicles has been usually ascribed. 
 
 Tomb of Ezra 
 
 P. 15 
 
832 
 
 CHAPTER IV. B. C. 444 TO 319. 
 
 THE JKW. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Hekemiah 444 
 
 Builds the walls of Jerusalem . 444 
 
 Returns to Persia 432 
 
 Comes again to Jerusalem . . 424 
 
 End of Old Testament canon ... 420 
 
 Joiada, high-priest 413 
 
 Jonathan or Jehu, high-priest . . . 373 
 
 Jaddua or Jaddus, high-priest . . . 841 
 
 OniM 321 
 
 PERSIAN E1IPIKJL 
 
 Artaxerxes Longimanus . . . , , 438 
 
 Darius Nothus ..,..,, 428 
 
 Artaxerxes Mnemon ...,-. , 404 
 
 Ochus , . 881 
 
 Darius Codomanus ... , . 836 
 
 Conquered by Alexsjader . . , 881 
 
 First Censors at Rome 443 
 
 Feloponnesian War begins .... 431 
 
 Egypt revolts from the Persians . . 414 
 
 Death of Cyrus the younger . . . 401 
 
 Retreat of the Ten Thousand ... 401 
 
 Peace of Antalcidas 387 
 
 Battle of Mantiuea, and death of 
 
 Epaminondas 863 
 
 Birth of Alexander the Great ... 356 
 
 Egypt recovered by the Persians . . 350 
 
 Carthaginians defeated by Timoleon 340 
 
 Battle of Chseronea 340 
 
 Philip, king of Macedon, killed . . 336 
 Alexander defeats the Persians on the 
 
 Granicus 334 
 
 - at Issus 833 
 
 Takes Tyre, visits Jerusalem, acquires 
 
 Egypt, founds Alexandria ... 832 
 
 Defeats Darius at Arbela .... 331 
 
 Persian Empire ends 831 
 
 Alexander dies, and his conquests 
 
 shared by his generals 824 
 
 PERSONS. 
 
 B. e. 
 
 Euripides . . 442 
 
 Phidias 440 
 
 Aristophanes ......... 434 
 
 Socrates 429 
 
 Democritus ......... 428 
 
 Thucydides ......... 426 
 
 Hippocrates . ........ 425 
 
 Alcibiades 420 
 
 Appius Claudius ....... 419 
 
 Euclid 404 
 
 Zeuxis 397 
 
 Camillas (Roman dictator) . . . ' 39C 
 
 Plato . 389 
 
 Epaminondas ....... . 375 
 
 Diogenes 379 
 
 T. Manilas TorquatUS 361 
 
 Timoleon 346 
 
 Aristotle 345 
 
 Phocion 343 
 
 Demosthenes 338 
 
 Apelles 334 
 
 I. IT was not until the twentieth year of Artaxerxes 
 that the Jews received the long-desired permission to build 
 the walls of Jerusalem. This permission was obtained by a 
 Jew called Nehemiah, who held the high office of the royal 
 cup-bearer, and whose concern that "the city of his fathers' 
 sepulchres lay waste" having been noticed by the king, led 
 to the inquiries which induced this result. Nehemiah Lnu- 
 self was granted leave of absence, and invested with full 
 powers, as governor of the province, to enabL him to execute 
 his own designs, which circumstances had rendered ocinciJeu 
 with the existing policy of the Persian government. He 
 carried orders to the royal officers west of the Euphrates, to 
 
WALLS OP JERUSALEM REBUILT. 333 
 
 render him 11 possible assistance, and to furnish from the king's 
 forests in Lebanon such timber as he might require. Thus com- 
 missioned, Nehemiah proceeded to Judsea, escorted by a body 
 of Persian officers and cavalry. In this person we have an* 
 other instance of the liberality with which the great eastern 
 monarchies treated persons of a different religion, and of 
 foreign and captive origin. The rank and authority of Ne- 
 hemiah at the Persian court are evinced by the commission 
 itself, and by the great retinue which was allowed him ; and 
 his wealth is shown by the numerous servants he maintained, 
 and the open table he kept at Jerusalem, which, with the 
 other expenses of the governor, he defrayed from his own 
 purse, declining to receive from the Jews the allowances be- 
 longing to his office. 
 
 2. A large town without walls offered so little inducement 
 to the people, and so much temptation to enemies, that Ne- 
 hemiah found Jerusalem unbuilt, and with a most scanty 
 population. On making known his commission to the prin- 
 cipal persons of the nation, he found them all disposed to en- 
 gage zealously in the undertaking. The building of the 
 new wall was accordingly commenced upon the old founda- 
 tions. The Samaritans, and other enemies of the Jews, took 
 alarm at this movement, and endeavoured hi every possible 
 way to thwart the design. The Jews were, however, too 
 much in earnest to be discouraged ; they armed the work- 
 men, and still further protected them by a guard of armed 
 citizens, as they worked in bands upon different parts of the 
 wall. Thus, by the most arduous and patriotic exertions, 
 the whole wall, with its gates and towers, was finished in the 
 short space of fifty-two days. This great work being ac- 
 complished, the governor took measures to induce a sufficient 
 number of the people to come and settle in the city. The 
 neglected service of the Temple was re-established, and care 
 was taken that the people should be properly instructed in 
 the law of Moses. The public reading of the law, and its 
 interpretation, under the direction of Ezra, as mentioned in 
 the former chapter, took place at this time, with every en- 
 couragement from Nehemiah. This ended in a joyful celebra- 
 tion of the Feast of Tabernacles, which had, since the days 
 of Joshua, been neglected and almost forgotten ; and after 
 
834 HISTORY OP THE OLD TESTAMENT CLOSES. 
 
 this the people were found to be in so devout a frame of mird, 
 that Ezra and Nehemiah seized the occasion to engage them 
 to enter into a solemn covenant to serve God with singleness 
 of heart, and to obey in all things the law of Moses. Of 
 such covenants we have had more than one previous example. 
 This one was sealed by the principal heads of families, as re- 
 presenting the whole of the people. 
 
 3. After twelve years Nehemiah returned to Persia, his 
 kave of absence having apparently expired. His absence 
 was not supplied by the presence of any person uniting the 
 came degree of power and influence in the nation. The 
 consequence was that the people soon began to neglect the 
 divine law, and to contract mischievous connections with the 
 heathen nations by whom they were surrounded. This mis- 
 conduct was by no means confined to the inferior classes of 
 the people ; but the evil example was set by the leading 
 men, by the priests, and even by the high-priest himself, 
 The intelligence of such proceedings at length brought Ne- 
 hemiah back again from the Persian court. He applied a 
 vigorous and unsparing hand to the reformation of these 
 abuses. The Jews who had married heathen females were 
 compelled to part from them ; the observance of the Sabbath 
 was enforced ; and the condition of the people was much im- 
 proved by the abolition of illegal usury, which had operated 
 in bringing great numbers of the poor under personal servi- 
 tude to the rich. 
 
 Here, properly speaking, the history of the Old Testa- 
 ment closes ; and our further information is obtained from 
 Josephus, and from the books of the Maccabees. 
 
 4. After Nehemiah, Judaea ceased to form a distinct 
 government, and was annexed to the satrapy of Syria. The 
 internal government was, however, administered by the high- 
 priests, under the appointment of the satraps of Syria. This 
 annexation of the civil government to the pontificate, soon 
 made that oflice one of high ambition to the different mem- 
 bers of the sacerdotal family, and gave occasion to most dis- 
 graceful contests among them. At the time which we have 
 now reached, there had been three high-priests since the re- 
 turn from Babylon, namely, Jeshua, Joachim, and Eliashibt 
 
JOSHUA SLAIN. 335 
 
 last died in B. C. 413, and was succeeded by his son 
 Joiada or Judas, whose pontificate extended to B. G. 373. 
 Until the death of Joiada nothing particularly worthy of 
 notice occurs in the history of the Jews. They remained 
 quiet under the Persian government, to which they were as 
 much attached as they could be to any foreign rule, and to 
 which they were always faithful. 
 
 5. The death of Joiada occurred in the thirty-first year 
 of Artaxerxes Mnemon, when the satrapy of Syria was vested 
 in Bagoses. Joiada was succeeded by his son Johanan or 
 Jehu. But soon after Joshua, another son of the late high- 
 priest, arrived at Jerusalem, and claimed that high office on 
 the ground of having been appointed by Bagoses. This 
 occasioned a violent dispute between the two brothers in 
 the interior court of the Temple, and Joshua was slam in 
 that sacred place. On hearing of this, Bagoses repaired 
 to Jerusalem, and after sternly rebuking the Jews for thus 
 defiling the Temple of their God, he imposed as a punishment 
 a heavy tax upon the lambs offered in sacrifice, which was 
 not remitted until after the death of Artaxerxes, when Ba- 
 goses was recalled to Persia, and the tax was not enforced by 
 his successor. 
 
 6. In the next reign, that of Ochus, the Phoenicians re- 
 volted from the Persian yoke ; and in this affair the Jewi 
 appear to have been partially involved ; for after the fall oi 
 Sidon, the king went- and took Jericho, and sent the inhabi- 
 tants into exile. It was in the eighteenth year of this reign 
 that the high-priest Johanan died, and was succeeded by his 
 son Jaddua. It would seem that Jaddua was a just pontiff, 
 who endeavoured to uphold the reforms of Nehemiah. Of 
 this he gave a remarkable proof by expelling his own brother 
 Manasses for marrying the daughter of Sanballat, the Cuthite 
 governor of Samaria. Manasses then repaired to that per- 
 sonage ; and the Samaritans, not being allowed access to the 
 Temple at Jerusalem, were induced, by the presence of a 
 member of the pontifical family among them, tc think of 
 having a Temple for themselves. Sanballat accordingly ob- 
 tained from Darius Codomanus permission to build a Temple for 
 them on Mount Gerizim, and when it was finished, Manasses 
 became their high-priest. This measure greatly widened th* 
 
336 
 
 ALEXANDER MARCHES AGAINST JERUSALEM. 
 
 breach between the Jews and the Samaritans. Each party 
 contended for the exclusive claims of its own Temple. The 
 Jews alleged that sacrifices ought to be offered only at 
 Jerusalem ; but the Samaritans affirmed that the true place 
 of sacrifice was Mount Gerizim, where they alleged Joshua had 
 built the first altar. The continuance and growth of this 
 controversy produced that mortal antipathy between the two 
 nations to which there is more than one allusion in the New 
 Testament. Luke ix. 51-56 ; John iv. 9-29 ; viii. 48. 
 
 7. It was in the time of Jaddua that the great event 
 arrived which had long been foreshewn in the prophetic 
 visions of Daniel (ii. 39 ; xi. 4). The great victory over 
 the Persian king, at Issus, opened up the south to Alexander 
 the Great, who commenced operations in Syria, and, while 
 engaged in the siege of Tyre, summoned the neighbouring 
 nations to render their submission. The Samaritans obeyed 
 the summons very early, and were treated with indulgence ; 
 but it does not seem that any attention was paid to it by the 
 Jews. Therefore, after he had destroyed Tyre, he turned 
 aside on his way to Gaza, to march against Jerusalem. As 
 he approached, his hostile purposes are said to have been 
 averted by an imposing and submissive procession of tke 
 priests and citizens, headed by the high-priest in his ponti- 
 fical robes. In him the conqueror is said to have recognised 
 
 the person who in a dream had 
 foretold to him the conquest 
 of the Persian empire. If BO, 
 it was quite in the power of 
 Jaddua to fulfil this dream by 
 showing him these prophesies 
 of Daniel, in which his exist- 
 ence and victories had been 
 clearly foretold. That the 
 high-priest brought these pro- 
 phesies to his knowledge, might 
 account for the favour with 
 which the Jews, notwithstand- 
 ing the tardiness of their sub- 
 mission, were treated by Alexander. But the Greek historians 
 who have written the history of Alexander, have no record 
 
 187. Alexander the Great. 
 
JERUSALEM TAKEN BY PTOLEMY. 331 
 
 of Ms visiting Jerusalem ; and the whole story of the inter- 
 view between him and the high-priest wants confirmation. 
 However, when the Jews submitted, the conqueror, at their 
 epecial request, secured to them the indisturbed enjoyment of 
 their national laws, with exemption from tribute every seventh 
 year ; but he demurred when the latter privilege was also 
 sought by the Samaritans. While he was absent, conquer- 
 ing Egypt, the Samaritans gave him so much displeasure 
 that, so far from rendering them any favour, he expelled them 
 from Samaria and re-peopled it by a colony of Macedonians. 
 The dispossessed Samaritans then repaired to the city of 
 Shechem, between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, which became 
 their metropolis. "' ', 
 
 J3. After the death of Alexander, the vast empire which 
 he had won was divided among his generals, and Judsea, 
 from its situation between Egypt and Syria, suffered dread- 
 fully, and was deeply involved in the bitter contests in which 
 his successors were soon engaged against each other. It is 
 our purpose not to relate the particulars of these contests, but 
 to glean from them the facts which directly affected the con- 
 dition of the Jewish people. 
 
 9. In the first division of Alexander's empire, Syria, with 
 Palestine, devolved to Laomedon, and Egypt to Ptolemy Lagus. 
 Between them a war arose, and the former was defeated by 
 Nicanor, one of the generals of Ptolemy. All the provinces 
 of Laomedon then submitted to Ptolemy; but the Jews mani- 
 fested so much reluctance to violate their engagements, that 
 Ptolemy advanced against Jerusalem with a large army and 
 laid close siege to the city. Knowing that the religious 
 veneration of the Jews for the seventh day prevented them 
 from fighting thereon, he assaulted and took the city on the 
 Sabbath. But he did not treat them with severity ; for 
 although he sent a large number of Jews into Egypt, it was 
 rather cs colonists than as prisoners. Indeed, before this, 
 many Jews had been removed to Egypt by Alexander, to 
 help to people his new city of Alexandria, where they were 
 allowed civic privileges of the first class, the same as the 
 Greek inhabitants enjoyed. These privileges were confirmed 
 by Ptolemy, who also advanced many of those he took away 
 to places of authority and trust, in consequence of which 
 4 
 
338 SACRED WRITERS. 
 
 many more went to Egypt of their own accord. Eight year* 
 after, Ptolemy transported another large body of them, whom 
 he settled in the provinces of Lybia and Gyrene. By suc- 
 cessive deportations of this description, and by the voluntary 
 removals of Jews who sought under the shadow cf the 
 Egyptian throne the peace which they could not find in their 
 own country, Egypt became, and long continued, an impor- 
 tant seat of the Jewish population. 
 
 10. Sacred Writers. The book of Nehemiah has the 
 angularity of being written in the first person, and was, 
 therefore, without doubt, the production of the eminent man 
 whose name it bears. It gives a clear and plain account of 
 his administration, and has more than any other portion of 
 Scripture, the effect of an autobiographical narrative. Malachi, 
 the last of the prophets, belonged to the time of Nehemiah, 
 Nothing whatever is known of him. He reproved the abuses 
 which Nehemiah laboured to correct. It is remarkable that 
 his prophesy closes the Old Testament with an announcement 
 of John the Baptist, with whose birth and ministry the history 
 of the New Testament open* 
 
889 
 
 CHAPTER V, B.C. 314 TO 187. 
 
 THE JEWS. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Shnon I. High-priest . 802 
 
 Eleazer 283 
 
 Munasses 251 
 
 Oniiia II 225 
 
 Simon II. 211 
 
 OniasIU. ... 191 
 
 IOTPT. 
 
 Ptolemy Lagus , 
 P. Philadelpuus 
 P. Euergetes I. ; 
 P. Philopator . 
 I Epipkanes . 
 
 B.C. 
 
 824 
 284 
 246 
 22C 
 204 
 
 8TBU. 
 
 B.O. 
 
 Seleucus I. Nicator . 311 
 Antiochns I. Soter . . 280 
 Antiochus II. Theos . 261 
 Seleucus II. Callinicus 246 
 Seleucus III. Keraunus 226 
 Antiochus III. the Great 223 
 Seleucus IV. Philopator 187 
 
 GENBEAL BISTORT. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 J5ra of the Seleucidse begins . . . 312 
 Alexander's generals take the title of 
 
 kings 306 
 
 Antigonus defeated and killed . . 301 
 Seleucia on the Tigris built .... 291 
 The Septuagiut translation of the Old 
 
 Testament 184 
 
 Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, enters Italy 280 
 
 First Punic war begins 264 
 
 Regulus taken prisoner 256 
 
 The Temple of J anus shut' .... 235 
 The Colossus of Rhodes overthrown 224 
 Second Punic war begins .... 218 
 
 The battle of Cannae 216 
 
 Hannibal defeated in Africa by Scipio 202 
 
 Second Punic war ends 201 
 
 Hannibal i/oes to Antiochus III. . . 195 
 First Roman army in Asia, under 
 
 Scipio Asiaticus : defeat* Antiochus 190 
 
 KEUARKABLK PERSONS. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Antipater, ob. ...... . 319 
 
 Eumenes, ob 315 
 
 Antigonus 311 
 
 Demetrius Poliorcetes . . . . 307 
 
 Epicurus . . . 295 
 
 Theocritus 281 
 
 Berosus 268 
 
 Manetho 261 
 
 Callimaclius 260 
 
 Hanno . 257 
 
 Rc-gulus . 258 
 
 Hamilcar 248 
 
 Archimedes . 236 
 
 Apollonius 230 
 
 Plautus 220 
 
 Hannibal " . 220 
 
 Q. Fabius Maximus ...... 216 
 
 Zeno 210 
 
 Asdrubal . . 211 
 
 Scipio Africanu 204 
 
 Scipio AsiaticuC ........ 190 
 
 1. PTOLEMY LAGUS did not long remain in undisturbed 
 possession of Palestine, which, with Phoenicia and Coele-Syria, 
 was wrested from him by Antigonus, one of the most ambi- 
 tious and turbulent of the generals who shared the empire of 
 Alexander. But after he had been overthrown and slain by 
 Seleucus and Lysimachus, in the decisive battle of Ipsus, 
 Ptolemy quietly recovered and retained this important pro- 
 vince ; and by the wisdom and justice of his government pro- 
 moted the prosperity and gained the affections of the Jewish 
 people. During his reign, Simon the Just, a most excellent 
 high-priest, repaired and improved the city and temple of Je- 
 rusalem, and provided both with strong and lofty walls. He 
 is also understood to have completed the canon of tLe Old 
 Testament Scriptures by adding the bocks of Ezra, 
 
340 
 
 TRANSLATION OP SCRIPTURES INTO GREEK. 
 
 Chronicles, Esther, and the prophesies of Malachd. In B. 0. 
 300, he succeeded Onias, the successor of Jaddua, and died 
 b B.C. 291. 
 
 i. Meanwhile a power arose in Asia, which was by far 
 
 the greatest of those 
 which were formed 
 out of the spoils of 
 Alexander's empire. 
 It was founded by Se- 
 leucus, who took the 
 =3^1 title of King of Syria, 
 His dominion extend- 
 ed from the Euxine 
 to the borders of 
 Arabia, and from the 
 Mediterranean to the 
 Indus. His eastern 
 capital was Seleucia, 
 on the Tigris, and his 
 188. Antioch. western Antioch. Both 
 
 these cities, and many others, were founded by him. Being, 
 like Ptolemy, convinced of the value of the Jews as good and 
 faithful citizens, he endeavoured to attract them to his new 
 cities in Asia Minor by the offer of the same privileges a* 
 Ptolemy had allowed them in Egypt. Many Jews accepted 
 the invitation ; and hence, in later periods, we find them 
 established in considerable numbers in the principal cities of 
 Asia Minor as well as of Egypt. 
 
 3. Ptolemy Philadelphus succeeded his father Ptolemy 
 Lagus in B.C. 285. He confirmed to the Jews all their for- 
 mer privileges. He induced large numbers of them to settle 
 in Egypt, and to promote that object ransomed many who 
 had been sold for slaves. This king was a great patron of 
 literature, and spared no cost in procuring curious books for 
 the famous library which he established at Alexandria. He 
 caused the Hebrew Scriptures to be translated into Greek, 
 and deposited in that library. This important translation still 
 exists under the name of the Septuagint, from the tradition 
 that seventy persons were employed in the translation. The 
 prophesies of the Hebrew books had lately attracted some at- 
 
PTOLEMY PHILOPATOR. 341 
 
 tention, and the authentic history of a people so closely 
 connected with Egypt as the Jews, must have been deemed 
 interesting. These were prohably the reasons which led 
 Philadelphus to desire this translation. By its means the 
 religion of the Jews became better known to the heathen, and 
 we afterwards hear of magnificent presents being sent by them 
 to the Temple of Jerusalem. The translation may be refer- 
 red to the year B.C. 278 ; a correct copy of the original also 
 was provided by the care of Eleazer the high-priest, son of 
 Simon the Just. 
 
 4. Ptolemy Euergetes, the next king of Egypt, consider- 
 ably enlarged the privileges of the Jews, and testified his re- 
 spect for their God, by offering a vast number of victims in 
 sacrifice at Jerusalem. 
 
 5. In the next reign, that of Ptolemy Philopator, th 
 peace which the Jews had enjoyed under the Egyptian kings 
 began to be seriously disturbed. Antiochus III. surnamed 
 the Great, king of Syria, greatly desired to annex to his own 
 dominions the provinces of Palestine 
 
 which had been held by the kings of 
 Egypt, whom he made some vigorous 
 efforts to dispossess. But, after being 
 for a time successful, he was at length 
 defeated with great loss by Philopater, 
 who soon after repaired to Jerusalem, 
 and offered many sacrifices to Jehovah 
 
 in acknowledgment of his recent vie- , r 
 
 rr f 1 i t A i_ i i 139 - Antiochua the Great 
 
 tory Unfortunately the beauty and 
 
 richness of the building attracted his attention, and he desired 
 to view the interior. This was resisted by the high-priest 
 Simon II. who informed him that it was unlawful even for 
 priests to enter the inner sanctuary. The king persisted ; 
 but as he was walking across the inner court to enter the sa- 
 cred place, a sudden dread and horror came over him, and he 
 fell speechless to the ground. He was carried out, half dead, 
 by his attendants. This circumstance, acting upon an ill 
 constituted mind, filled the king with great resentment against 
 the Jewish people, and, on his return to Egypt, he raised a 
 bitter persecution against those who had settled in that land. 
 He took away their high privileges, and eaused them to be 
 
342 DEATH OF PHILOPATOR. 
 
 enrolled with the lowest class of the native Egyptian* ; and 
 many were, on various alleged grounds, consigned to slavery 
 and to death. It is even said that he contemplated the ex- 
 tirpation of the Jewish race, and that, beginning with those 
 of Egypt, he caused a large number of them to be brought 
 together at Alexandria, with the view of having them pub- 
 licly destroyed by elephants in the hippodrome. A vast mul* 
 titude of people assembled to view the horrid spectacle, and 
 the king himself was present with his court. The elephants, 
 to render them furious, had been previously inebriated with 
 wine and frankincense ; but instead of slaying the victims 
 exposed to their rage, they turned their fury upon the spec- 
 tators, of whom great numbers were destroyed, while the 
 Jews remained altogether unhurt. Public opinion recognised 
 in this an interposition of Heaven in their behalf; and we 
 are told that Philopator desisted from his designs, and restored 
 to the Jews their former privileges. The whole of this ac- 
 count, however, rests on authority in which implicit confidence 
 cannot be placed. 
 
 6. Philopator died in B.C. 205, leaving the crown to 
 Ptolemy Epiphanes, then a child of five years old. Antiochua 
 the Great had meanwhile, by a series of successes in the east, 
 greatly extended his authority and power ; and having now 
 returned to the west, he deemed the conjuncture favourable 
 for a fresh attempt to wrest the Syrian provinces from the 
 Egyptian crown. He succeeded ; and the Jews manifested 
 great readiness in placing themselves under his rule. Con- 
 sidering their general attachment to Egypt, this must be ac- 
 counted for by their resentment at the treatment of Philo- 
 pator, and by their satisfaction at the kindness and liberality 
 of Antiochus to the numerous Jews who were settled in his 
 dominions on both sides of the Euphrates. Antiochus was 
 much gratified by the proofs of attachment which he received ; 
 and when he visited Jerusalem in B.C. 198, he conferred on 
 it such favours as he knew were best calculated to win the 
 hearts of the inhabitants. He promised to restore the city to 
 its ancient splendour, and to repair the Temple at his own 
 cost ; he made provision for the regular performance of the 
 sacred services, and he guaranteed the Temple from the in- 
 trusion of strangers. By bestowing these favours, with the 
 
PEACE RESTORED TO JERUSALEM. 343 
 
 confirmation of their political privileges, Antiochus shewed 
 that he well understood the remarkable people with whom he 
 bad to deal. 
 
 7. The troubles in which Antiochus became involved with 
 the Romans, who now began to take part in the affairs of 
 Western Asia, little concerned the Jews. They might have 
 continued to enjoy tranquillity under his successor ; for Se- 
 leucus Philopator was as well disposed towards the Jews as 
 his father had been, and gave orders that the charges for the 
 public worship should continue to be defrayed out of his own 
 treasury. An unhappy altercation, however, between Onias 
 III. and Simon the governor of the Temple, changed the 
 aspect of affairs. The latter, in consequence of this quarrel, 
 sent to the king a very exaggerated account of the wealth 
 contained in the Temple ; and Seleucus, being in great want 
 of money, determined to appropriate all this treasure to him- 
 self. He therefore sent his treasurer Heliodorus to seize it 
 and bring it to Antioch. When this functionary arrived at 
 Jerusalem, Onias endeavoured to dissuade him from his pur- 
 pose, assuring him that the fund was not considerable, and 
 that it was devoted to charitable uses. But Heliodorus per- 
 sisted in executing his commission, and was about to enter 
 the Temple, when he was terror-struck by an awful vision, 
 and quickly withdrew not only from the Temple but from the 
 city, which he declared to be under the protection of a power 
 which no man could withstand. 
 
 8. The high-priest soon followed him to Astioeh, to com 
 plain to Seleucus of the misconduct of Simon, which he placed 
 in so strong a light as to procure his banishment from Jeru- 
 salem, whereby peace was t*v* :ucre restored to the city 
 
844 
 
 CHAPTER VI. B. C. 175 TO 169. 
 
 TBBIXWS 
 
 B. C. 
 
 Ion, High-priest . 174 
 Meneiaus, High-priest 173 
 
 EGYPT. 
 
 B. C. 
 
 Ptolemy Pliiloraetor 
 and Ptolemy Phys- 
 con ..... 17& 
 
 niA. 
 
 .. 
 
 Antiochus IV. Epj- 
 
 phanes .... 171 
 
 1. THE Jews had now been so long under the Greek 
 monarchs of Egypt and Syria, that they had become well 
 acquainted with the customs, the literature, and the philo- 
 sophy of the Greeks. A large party 
 regarded the manners of that people 
 with preference, and their religion 
 without displeasure, and were willing 
 to sink the distinctive peculiarities of 
 their own practices and faith. Of this 
 number was Jesus, the brother of the 
 high-priest Onias, whose predilections 
 iAn * r^^*lT I ~were manifested by the Greek name of 
 
 140. Antiochus Epiphanes. . * 
 
 Jason which he assumed. He offered 
 
 a large sum of money for the high-priesthood to Antiochus 
 Epiphanes, who succeeded Seleucus Philopator in B. C. 175. 
 His offer was accepted. 
 Onias was called to An- 
 tioch, and kept there a 
 prisoner at large ; and 
 Jason took his place. The 
 party which gathered 
 around this man was con- 
 siderable ; for not only 
 was there among the edu- 
 cated classes a strong lean- 
 ing towards the Greek 
 customs, to which he was 
 known to be favourable, 
 but the citizenship of Antioch, which he had been empowered 
 to bestow, was to them an object of great desire, Jason delayed 
 
 141. Athletic Exerciae*. 
 
MENELAD8 HIGH-PRIEST. 
 
 3U 
 
 not to 5tablish at Jerusalem a gymnasium for athletic exer- 
 cises, which soon became so popular, that even the priesti 
 neglected the Temple services to be present at the games. 
 Jason also established an academy for bringing up the 
 Hebrew youth after the manner of the Greeks ; and by every 
 kind of influence he encouraged the adoption of Greek 
 customs and habits, not only of external life, but cf action 
 and thought. It appears, however, that the Jews generally, 
 and even his own adherents, were not prepared to go so far 
 as himself; and when he sent some young men to Tyre, to 
 assist at the games celebrated there in honour of the Tyrian 
 Hercules, and entrusted them with large sums of money to 
 expend in sacrifices to that idoi, tney chose rather to give the 
 money for the build- 
 ing of ships. Jason 
 did not long enjoy 
 his ill-gotten dignity ; 
 for after three years 
 ha was supplanted in 
 turn by his younger 
 brother Onias IV. or 
 Menelaus, who offered 
 the king 300 talents 
 more for that dignity 
 than Jason had given. 
 Jason fled to the coun- 
 try of the Ammonites. 143 ' Anciei* Light VeaseL 
 Menelaus proved even more wicked than his brother. One 
 of his first acts was to abstract some of the golden vessels of 
 the Temple, and to send them secretly to Tyre for sale. The 
 fact, however, transpired, and excited considerable ferment, 
 especially among the numerous Jews at Antioch, where the 
 exiled high-priest, the venerable Onias, took such notice of 
 it, as gave deep ofience to his brother, who prevailed on 
 Andronicus, the king's deputy at Antioch, to put him to 
 death ; for which deed Andronicus was himself slain on the 
 same spot by order of the king, when he returned to the 
 capital. 
 
 2. Soon after Antiochus engaged in a war with Egypt. 
 He inva led that country twice with success ; but a rumoru 
 
346 DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM BY APOLLONIU8. 
 
 of his death was believed in Palestine. This, together witk 
 the absence of the Syrian forces, encouraged the exiled j ason 
 to attempt the recovery of his lost power. With a body ol 
 1000 men, assisted by friends within the city, he surprised 
 Jerusalem, and inflicted great severities upon the adherents 
 of Menelaus, who himself sought refuge in the castle. The 
 return of Antiochus, however, compelled him to abandon the 
 city and relinquish the power which he thought he had 
 recovered ; and after wandering from place to place, he died 
 miserably in Lacedaemonia. Antiochus, provoked at the 
 satisfaction which the news of his death was reported to have 
 given the Jews, chose to consider the transaction as a revolt, 
 and to punish it accordingly. The city was abandoned to 
 the fury and license of the soldiers for three days, during 
 which 4000 of the inhabitants were slain, and nearly an equal 
 number carried away and sold for slaves. The king, con- 
 ducted by the impious Menelaus, then entered the Temple, 
 which he plundered of all its treasures, vessels, and golden 
 ornaments, and carried away 1800 talents of gold and silver 
 to Antioch. But he did not quit the place until he had 
 offered to the people and their God, the outrage, of sacrificing 
 a large hosf upon the altar of burnt-offerings. Menelaus was 
 left in the Ligh-priesthood ; for although he was hated by the 
 people, no one dared to move against one who stood so high 
 in the favour of the king. 
 
 3. In another invasion of Egypt, Antiochus was met by 
 the Roman ambassadors, who, in the name of the Senate, 
 commanded him to desist from the enterprise, and, drawing 
 a circle around him on the sand, forbade him to quit it until 
 he decided between the friendship and the enmity of Rome. 
 He bent his proud heart to the hard task of obedience, and 
 turned homeward with the formidable army he had assembled 
 for this enterprise. Burning with the sense of this disgrace, 
 he failed not to wreak a portion of his wrath on the Jews as 
 he returned. The baffled tyrant detached Apollonius to 
 Jerusalem with an army of 22,000 men, commanding him to 
 destroy the city, to massacre the male inhabitants, and to sell 
 the women and children for slaves. Apollonius entered the 
 city peaceably, and gave no sign of his intentions until the 
 first Sabbath-day after his arrival. Then, while the people 
 
ANTTOCHTJS ESTABLISHES IDOLATRY. 347 
 
 were engaged in the solemn worship of the Most High, he 
 executed his dreadful commission with unrelenting ferocity. 
 After having slain great multitudes of the people, and sent 
 away 10,000 captives, he plundered the town, after which it 
 was set on fire, and the wall demolished. The Temple wa 
 allowed to stand, but its service was altogether abandoned ; 
 for it was commanded by a fortress which tbe Syrians erected, 
 and from which the soldiers assaulted all \rho went there to 
 worship. Thus, in the month of June, B. C. 168, the daily 
 sacrifices of the Temple ceased, and the city of Jerusalem was 
 deserted. 
 
 4. Antiochus next issued a decree, enjoining the esta- 
 blishment of the Grecian form of idolatry throughout his wide 
 dominions, that the various nations under his sway might, by 
 the relinquishment of their distinctive observances, " become 
 one people." When we consider the variety of the forms of 
 worship among the different nations in the empire of Anti- 
 ochus, it is scarcely credible that so wild a project was 
 seriously entertained; nor is it likely that the decree was 
 exclusively levelled against the Jewish people ; but it \e more 
 probable, that his object was to find a pretext for plundering 
 the temples of the recusants ; and as the temples were, from 
 their sanctity, the great banks of deposit in those times, their 
 spoils offered great temptations to so needy a king as Anti- 
 ochus. Although the Temple of the Jews had been already 
 plundered, his hatred to that people was gratified by the suf- 
 ferings in which this law involved them ; and so rigidly wai 
 it enforced, that death was the penalty of disobedience. 
 What reception this decree met with among the heathen, is 
 scarcely known ; but, except the Jews and the Persians, 
 there were few nations likely to offer any serious opposition. 
 Officers were especially appointed to enforce the decree in 
 every province. , In the different towns, many of the Jews 
 submitted to sacrifice to idols, and to profane the Sabbath. 
 The Samaritans consented to receive the statue of Jupiter 
 Xenius into their temple on Mount Gerizim ? and the Lord's 
 Temple at Jerusalem was dedicated to Jupiter Olympius, his 
 statue placed therein, and sacrifices regularly offered to him. 
 Such of the Jews as refused to share in this worship, or to 
 evince their conformity by eating swine's flesh, were cruelly 
 
848 ANTiooiros REPAIRS TO JERUSALEM. 
 
 saosacred, or subjected to the most exquisite tortures. The 
 game proceedings were repeated in other towns ; for the idol 
 altars, groves, and statues were everywhere set up, and every- 
 where the tests of obedience were exacted. It was not long, 
 however, before Antiochus perceived that, in as far as the 
 Jews were concerned, his decree was less effectual than he 
 had expected. He therefore issued another decree, forbid- 
 ding, under pain of death, the worship of Jehovah, and the 
 observance of the distinctive requirements of the Mosaical 
 law, such as circumcision and the Sabbath. He went further, 
 and endeavoured to extinguish the law itself, forbidding it to 
 be read, and commanding every copy to be given up under 
 pain of death. It was in this emergency that the Jews com- 
 menced reading lessons from the prophets, instead of the law, 
 in their synagogues ; and when afterwards they resumed the 
 reading of the law, they did not cease to read the prophets ; 
 whence arose the subsequent use of both the books of the law 
 and of the prophets in their synagogues. Many, as we have 
 said, apostatized under these trying circumstances ; but many 
 also were found faithful unto death, and many others went 
 forth to wander in deserts and in mountains, in dens and caves 
 of the earth, subsisting on such herbs and roots as they could 
 find in those solitary places. 
 
 5. Astonished at the obstinacy which the Jews manifested, 
 Antiochus, mistrusting the zeal of his officers, repaired him- 
 self to Jerusalem to see that his decreee was rigidly 
 enforced. It were charity to suppose that Antiochus Epi- 
 phanes had by this time become mad ; for it is difficult other- 
 wise to imagine how any human creature would endure to 
 witness, much less to take delight in, the horrid tortures and 
 cruel deaths to which the unhappy recusants were subjected. 
 As examples of these dreadful transactions, the historian 
 relates at length the case of the venerable Eleazer, who, 
 in his ninetieth year, chose rather to die than to eat the 
 forbidden flesh of swine ; and of the heroic mother and her 
 seven sons, who nobly set the tyrant at defiance, and pro- 
 fessed their faith and hope that "the king of the world 
 would raise up those that died for his laws to everlasting 
 life." 
 
BOOK m 
 
 CHAPTER I. B. C. 167 TO 168. 
 
 THK JEWS. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Venelans, High-priest 172 
 Judas Maccabeus . . 163 
 Alcimus 161 
 
 EGYPT. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 P. Philometor and P. 
 Physcon .... 175 
 
 STRIA. 
 
 Antiochui (IV.) Epi- 
 phanes 171 
 
 Antiochm (V.) Eu- 
 pator 164 
 
 1. THE persecution by Antiochus had raged about half a 
 year, when God raised up deliverance for his people in the 
 noble family of the Asamoneans, Mattathias and his sons, 
 better known as the Maccabees. Asamoneus, from whom 
 the family took its name, was the great-grandfather of Mat- 
 tathias, a priest descended from Phinehas, the son of Eleazer, 
 the elder branch of the family of Aaron. This Mattathias 
 was a person of consequence and influence in his native city 
 of Modin, for which reason the king's commissioner at that 
 place was anxious that he should there set the example of com- 
 pliance with the royal mandate. But Mattathias, on his own 
 behalf and that of his sons, repelled with indignation the in- 
 ducements which were offered ; and in a transport of holy 
 zeal, he ran and smote down a Jew who at that moment ad- 
 vanced to offer sacrifice at the idol altar. By this act the 
 Bword was drawn, which was to be sheathed no more till 
 Israel was free. Animated by the same impulse, his sons 
 and a few others gathered around Mattathias, and fell upon 
 and slew the commissioner himself and his attendants ; after 
 which they passed through the city, calling upon all who 
 were zealous for the law of God to follow them. Many were 
 roused by their call ; but as the number was as yet small to 
 meet the enemy, they withdrew for a time into the wilderness. 
 They were speedily followed thither by the king's troops, and 
 being attacked on the Sabbath day, many suffered themselvef 
 
850 JUDAS MACCABEUS. 
 
 to be slain without offering the least resistance. Mattathiaa 
 saw the fatal consequences of this scruple, as it had for a 
 long time been usual for the enemies of the Jews to attack 
 them on a day when it was known they would not fight. He 
 therefore directed that henceforth they should stand on their 
 defence even on the Sabbath day ; and this order, being pro- 
 perly confirmed, guided the future practice of the Jewish 
 people, who still, however, refused to act, except on the de- 
 fensive, on the sacred day. 
 
 2. The standard of revolt being now erected, all who 
 were zealous for liberty and truth repaired to it, so that 
 Mattathiaa soon found himself sufficiently strong to act on 
 the offensive. They then left their retreat, and went, chiefly 
 by night, throughout the country, pulling down the idolatrous 
 altars, and destroying their persecutors wherever they met 
 with them. They also re-opened the synagogues, enforced 
 the rites enjoined by the law, and recovered many of the 
 sacred books which had fallen into the hands of the heathen. 
 A year of such exertions greatly improved the aspect of 
 affairs, when death arrested the career of the heroic priest. 
 He left five sons, John, Simon, Judas, Eleazer, and Jonathan. 
 The dying advice of the father was, that the judicious Simon 
 should be their counsellor, and the valiant Judas their 
 captain. Judas is said to have derived his surname of Mac- 
 cabeus from a cabalistic word formed out of M. C. B. J., 
 the initial letters of the words contained in the sacred text 
 which he bore upon his standard.* He proved himself a 
 bold and able commander, and, in many respects, may be 
 considered one of the greatest heroes which the Jewish 
 nation ever produced. With a force not exceeding 6000 
 men he took the field against the large and well-disciplined 
 armies of Antiochus, commanded by warriors of reputation, 
 and defeated them all. In the first instance, the defeat of 
 Apollonius the governor of Samaria, enabled him to make 
 himself master of some of the principal towns and fortresses 
 of Judaea, from which he expelled the Jews who had turned 
 to idolatry. Then a powerful army under a great general 
 
 Tae text was Exod. XT. 11. Mi Ckamoka Baalim JelormJt, * Who ii like onto the* 
 nong the godi, O Lord I" 
 
MACCABEUS DEFEATS THE SYRIANS. 851 
 
 called Seron, took the field against Judas. After encourag- 
 ing his men, who were somewhat alarmed at the immense 
 disparity of numbers, the hero fell upon the enemy with 
 great fury, so that their force was broken and they fled be- 
 fore him. This victory made the name of Judas renowned 
 in all the neighbouring states. Antiochus himself saw that 
 this revolt required more attention than he had given to it, 
 and resolving to crush it, he repeatedly sent formidable 
 armies into Judaea, commanded by his most able officers. 
 But tho valiant Maccabeus maintained his ground, and in 
 one year defeated the Syrians five times, in as many pitched 
 battles. The last of these engagements was Arith Lysias 
 the regent of Syria, during the absence of Antiochus in 
 Persia, whose army amounted to 60,000 choice infantry and 
 5000 horse. This formidable army was met by Judas with 
 only 10,000 men to Bethzur; and after calling on God, 
 " Cast them down with the sword of them that love thee," 
 he assailed them with such vigour that thousands of them 
 were slain and the rest put to flight. Lysias was astonished 
 at the desperate valour of the Jews, and conducted the 
 remnant of his army back to Antioch. 
 
 3. This great success encouraged Judas to march at 
 once to Jerusalem. He gained possession of the city and 
 the Temple, and after purifying both from every trace of 
 the Syrian idolatries, the Temple was consecrated anew to 
 the service of God, and the daily sacrifices and worship were 
 resumed after a calamitous interruption of three years. This 
 new dedication of the Temple and revival of their worship, 
 was ever after celebrated by a feast which occurred about the 
 winter solstice. John x. 22. 
 
 4. The Jews were not, however, able to expel the Syrian 
 garrison from the fortress which had been built by Apollonius 
 to overlook the Temple. They therefore protected the Temple 
 itself by surrounding it with high walls and towers, within 
 which they kept a valiant and watchful garrison. 
 
 5. In the east, Antiochus appears to have been little 
 more successful than were his generals in the west. He was 
 repulsed in an attempt to plunder the rich temple at Elymais 
 in Persia, and withdrew in anger and shame to Ecbatana. 
 There news reached him of the repeated losses which his arms 
 
852 DEATH OP ANTIOCHUB. 
 
 bad sustained in Judaea, and that the country was in pofl- 
 session of the Jews. On receiving this intelligence, his rage 
 passed all bounds, and he denounced the most horrible venge- 
 ance upon that land and people. But while the words were 
 in his mouth, he was smitten with a loathsome and incurable 
 disease, in which he lingered under the most excruciating 
 torments. In his last days, he confessed to those around 
 him that he was smitten by the hand of God, in punishment 
 for his desecration of the Temple and his persecution of the 
 Jews. "I perceive, therefore," he said, "that for this cause 
 these troubles come upon me ; and behold, I perish through 
 grief in a strange land." He died hi the beginning of B. C. 
 164. 
 
 6. Although the Jews were thus delivered from the most 
 Inveterate enemy they had ever known, the war was still 
 carried on by the regent Lysias, in the name of Antiochus 
 Eupator, a child, the son of the late king. But although 
 this army was much stronger than the last, it was completely 
 routed ; and then the regent, confessing the wickedness of 
 contending with the mighty God who defended the Jewish 
 people, offered peace on reasonable terms, which the Jewish 
 leaders thought it right to accept, and in obtaining which the 
 Boman ambassadors used their commanding influence. The 
 high-priest Menelaus took this occasion to return home and 
 resume his pontificate. 2 Mace. xi. 
 
 7. The Jews at Jerusalem were, however, still much an- 
 noyed by the presence of the Syrian garrison in the castle. 
 Judas, therefore, laid siege to this fortress, determined, if 
 possible, to rid the capital of so serious an inconvenience. 
 There were many apostate Jews in the castle ; and they, 
 dreading the treatment they might expect from the orthodox 
 Jews, if it fell into their hands, withdrew secretly and 
 hastened to Antioch, where their representations invited the 
 regent and the young king to undertake a new war against 
 Judaea. The army which was raised for this purpose, was 
 evidently intended to extinguish the nation. It consisted of 
 100,000 foot, 20,000 horse, 32 war elephants, and 300 chariots 
 armed with scythes. With this mighty host, Lysias pro- 
 ceeded southward and besieged Bethsura, a strong fortress 
 which had been built to protect the frontier towards Idunwea. 
 
JUDAS DEFEATS THE SYRIANS. 853 
 
 Judas could not induce his men to risk a pitched battle with 
 Buch a host ; but they fell upon the invaders by night, and 
 before they knew who had entered their camp, four thousand 
 of them were dead men. The Jews drew off in safety by 
 break of day. The next morning they came to battle ; and 
 Judas, to avoid being surrounded by the Syrians, was forced 
 to withdraw to Jerusalem, which had by this time been put 
 in a good state of defence. In this battle Judas lost his 
 brother Eleazer, who was crushed to death by the fall of an 
 elephant, which he himself slew under the erroneous impres- 
 sion that the king rode upon it. 1 Mace. vi. 18-47 ; 2 Mace, 
 xiii. 15-22. 
 
 8. The Jews were now in great peril ; for the Syrian 
 army, after taking Bethsura, and placing a strong garrison 
 there, advanced to Jerusalem, which they closely besieged, 
 and, in all human probability, would have soon taken. But 
 at this juncture the regent received intelligence that Philip, a 
 rival regent, whom the late king had appointed on his death- 
 bed, had entered Syria with a large army, and had taken 
 possession of Antioch. He therefore concluded a hasty treaty 
 with the Jews, granting all their demands. He then threw 
 down the strong walls around the Temple mount, in violation 
 of the treaty, and hastened to encounter Philip, whom he 
 utterly overthrew (1 Mace. vi. 48-65; 2 Mace. xiii. 3-23). 
 Menelaus, the apostate high-priest, who had again deserted 
 to the Syrians, and had encouraged the expedition in the 
 hope of obtaining the government of Judaea, being viewed by 
 them as the real author of their disasters, was, by the royal 
 order, smothered, by being thrown into an ash-pit at Berea. 
 Judas himself was now recognised as governor of Judtea ; 
 and it is from this year (B. C. 163) that his accession to tin 
 principality is usually dated. 
 
854 
 
 CHAPTER H. B. C. 163 TO 143. 
 
 AMOH1AN PRINCES. 
 
 Jndas Maccabeus . 
 
 Alcimos, High-priest 
 
 Jonathan . . . 
 
 High-priest . . 
 
 1 
 
 1OTPT. 
 
 
 SYRIA. 
 
 
 i.C. 
 
 
 B. 0. 
 
 
 .o. 
 
 163 
 163 
 160 
 
 Ptolemy Philometor 
 Ptolemy Physcon 
 
 . 160 
 . 146 
 
 Demetrius Soter . . 
 Alexander Balas . . 
 Demetrius Nicator . . 
 
 iet 
 
 ISO 
 
 145 
 
 163 
 
 
 
 Antiochus (VI.) Ttet*. 
 
 144 
 
 
 
 
 Xryphon 
 
 148 
 
 GENESAL HISTORY. 
 
 Demetrius Soter defeated and killed by Alexander Balas 
 Third Pisnic War begins, and lasts three years ... 
 Carthage destroyed by Scipio Nasica 
 Corinth destroyed by L. Mummius ..... 
 
 B. 0. 
 
 150 
 149 
 148 
 148 
 
 1. THE vacant high-priesthood was given to Alcimus a 
 Jacimus, to the exclusion of the rightful successor, Onias, 'Jbe 
 on of that Onias who had been murdered at Antioch at the 
 
 instigation of Mene- 
 laus. This disap 
 pointment induced 
 Onias to retire into 
 Egypt. He was there 
 received with favour 
 by Ptolemy Philome- 
 tor, and used his in- 
 fluence to obtain 
 leave to found a 
 temple for the nume- 
 rous Jews in that 
 country. It was 
 built at On or Helio- 
 polis, " the city of the 
 sun," after the model 
 of the Temple at Je- 
 rusalem, but not so 
 large or magnificent. 
 Onias was appointed 
 high - priest : there 
 were also inferior priests and Levites, and the services were 
 conducted as at Jerusalem, until the time of Vespasian, in 
 Whose reign both temples were destroyed. 
 
 143. Oil or Heliopolis, 
 
JUDAS DEFEATS ALCIMUS. 855 
 
 2. Alcimus, the new high-priest, was a man of loose 
 principles, which, with his known attachment to the Grecian 
 idolatries, rendered him so obnoxious to the Jews, that they 
 very soon expelled him from the land. 
 
 3. Shortly after, Antiochus Eupator, and the regent Lysias, 
 were defeated and slain by Demetrius Soter, the rightful heir 
 to the throne,* who had hitherto been detained as a hostage 
 at Rome. This prince was no sooner established on the 
 Syrian throne than all the Jewish traitors and apostates, with 
 Alcimus at their head, came around him with many grievous 
 complaints against Judas and his party ; and Alcimus made 
 it appear that his own expulsion was an act of strong con- 
 tempt towards that power by which he had been invested 
 with the pontificate. Listening to these complaints, Deme- 
 trius re-appointed Alcimus to the high-priesthood, and sent 
 Bacchides, the governor of Mesopotamia, to re-instate him in 
 his office, and take vengeance on his enemies. This com- 
 mander entered the country without any hostile manifesta- 
 tions ; and many Jews, who, relying on his fair professions, 
 had put themselves into his power, were treacherously slain. 
 Bacchides then, having met with no opposition, left the coun- 
 try hi charge of Alcimus, with a force considered sufficient to 
 secure him in his place. But he had no sooner withdrawn, 
 than Judas, who had retired before him, appeared again, and 
 easily recovered the position which he had seemed for the 
 moment to abandon. Alcimus, being unable to offer any 
 effectual resistance, again repaired to Antioch, with renewed 
 and more earnest complaints to the king. Another and more 
 powerful army was accordingly sent into Judaea, under Nicanor, 
 He was twice defeated by Judas the last time so completely, 
 that of 35,000 men, not one escaped alive to bear the tidings 
 to Antioch. This great victory procured the nation an in- 
 terval of rest, and was deemed of so much importance by 
 the Jews, that they established an annual festival of com- 
 memoration. 1 Mace. vii. 4-50; 2 Mace. xiv. 2-16; xv. 
 1-37. 
 
 4. A step was then taken by Judas, which some have 
 praised, and others blamed ; but which will probably be con- 
 
 * Demetrius was the son of Seleucus Philopator, who was succeeded by his brothw 
 AntioeliuB Epipbanes, who left the crown to his son Antioclms Eupator. 
 
 P. 16 
 
S56 DEATH OF JUDAS. 
 
 idered, by those who are the most intimately acquainted with 
 the history of the time, to be the best which could have been 
 taken under all the circumstances. He sent an embassy to 
 Borne, to solicit the friendship of that powerful nation, whose 
 influence had for some time been paramount in Syria and in 
 Egypt. It quite consisted with the policy of the Roman 
 senate to weaken the great states, by forming alliances with 
 the lesser nations which depended on them. The Jewish 
 ambassadors were therefore received with favour, and the 
 Romans readily concluded a treaty, which could not possibly 
 be injurious to themselves, and might yet be of some advan- 
 tage to the Jews. The immediate result of this alliance was, 
 that the senate sent a missive to Demetrius, commanding 
 him, on pain of their displeasure, to abstain from persecuting 
 the Jews in time to come. But before the ambassadors re- 
 turned, the valiant Judas had met his death, in a desperate 
 conflict with Bacchides and Alcimus, who had been sent to 
 avenge the destruction of Nicanor and his host. The brothers 
 of Judas, Simon, and Jonathan, having made a truce, depo- 
 sited the body of the hero in the family sepulchre at Modin, 
 which was not far off, and all Israel mourned for him many 
 days, crying, " How is the valiant fallen, that delivered 
 Israel!" 
 
 5. The death of then* great leader threw the Jews into 
 such consternation, that the Syrians easily reaped the fruits 
 of their victory. They reduced Jerusalem, and slew many of 
 the adherents of the Maccabees ; and Alcimus was once more 
 restored to the high-priesthood. Incapable of profiting by 
 experience, this man persisted in his former courses. He 
 made many innovations in the religion of his country, in order 
 to produce a greater conformity to the practices of the heathen. 
 At length, with the view of admitting the Gentiles equally 
 with the Jews to the inner courts of the temple, he proceeded 
 to break down the separating wall, when he was suddenly 
 cut off in the full career of his guilt, and died in the most 
 dreadful agonies. On the occurrence of this event, Bacchides, 
 who had remained in the country, returned to Syria, and the 
 Jews were left for two years unmolested. Jonathan, the 
 youngest brother of Judas, who had been elected bj the or- 
 thodox Jews as their prince and leader in his place, employed 
 
JONATHAN HIGH-PRIEST. $57 
 
 this interval in establishing a regular government, in strength- 
 ening the walls and fortifications of Jerusalem, and in effect- 
 ing various important reforms in the civil and ecclesiastical 
 affairs of his country. 
 
 6. After two years, the adverse faction, growing uneasy 
 at the prospect of continued peace, recommenced their opera- 
 tions. They conspired to seize Jonathan, and all his adherents 
 throughout the land, in one night ; and invited Bacchides to 
 aid their project by a military force. This became known to 
 Jonathan, who, after putting fifty of the leading conspirators 
 to death, withdrew with Simon and his friends to Bethbasi in 
 the wilderness, not feeling strong enough to meet Bacchides 
 in the field. This was a strong post; and the dilapidated 
 fortifications having been put into complete repair, the be- 
 sieged were enabled to hold out so long, and so to harass the 
 enemy by daring sallies and excursions, that Bacchides at 
 length grew weary of an expedition from which so little 
 honour was to be won, and put those to death who had en- 
 gaged him in it. In this mood he listened to the overtures of 
 peace made by Jonathan, and, after an exchange of prisoners, 
 withdrew his forces, engaging to trouble the land no more. 
 
 7. Three years after this," a conjuncture of affairs arose in 
 Syria highly favourable to the Jewish cause. A claim was 
 set up by Alexander Balas to the 
 
 crown of Syria, which not only 
 gave the reigning king, Demetrius, 
 sufficient employment for all his 
 disposable forces, but made it the 
 interest of the competitors to out- 
 bid each other for the support and 
 favour of so warlike a people as 
 the Jews had now become. Jona- 
 than had, meanwhile, been pro- 144. Alexander Baias. 
 ceeding quietly with his improvements and repairs, which, 
 while they enhanced his reputation, gave the promise of sta- 
 bility to his government. When the competitors began to 
 court his friendship, the remembrance of the wrongs which 
 Demetrius had inflicted upon the nation, no less than good 
 policy, induced him to espouse the cause of Alexander, who, 
 in return, offered him the high-priesthood. That office had 
 
8 JONATHAN GOES TO ANTIOCH. 
 
 fcecn vacant seven years, and, with the unanimous consent 
 and approbation of the people, it was accepted by Jonathan. 
 It will be remembered that the Maccabees were descended 
 from the eldest branch of the family of Aaron. Together 
 with the offer of the priesthood, Balas sent to Jonathan a 
 purple robe and a crown, as ethnarch or prince of Judaea, 
 The chief ecclesiastical, as well as civil power, was then, with 
 the full sanction of public opinion, assumed by Jonathan, in 
 the seventh month of the same year, at the Feast of Taber- 
 nacles (B.C. 153), and remained in the family until the 
 usurpation of .Herod. 
 
 8. Hearing of this, king Demetrius, resolving to outbid 
 Alexander, sent a long list of privileges and immunities 
 which he would grant to the Jews, and of honours which 
 he would bestow upon Jonathan. But, distrusting his sin- 
 cerity, the people, when the letter was read to them, agreed 
 with their leaders in adhering to the cause of Alexander 
 Balas. That cause was successful ; and when Alexander 
 was at Ptolemais, to espouse the king of Egypt's daughter, 
 he gratefully acknowledged the efficient assistance he had re- 
 ceived from Jonathan during the struggle, and treated him 
 with distinguished honours. 
 
 9. Prosperity ruined Alexander Balas. The misconduct 
 of the ministers to whom he abandoned all the affairs of go- 
 vernment, alienated his friends and encouraged his enemies, 
 and in the fifth year his head was laid at the feet of the 
 younger Demetrius, the son of Demetrius Soter, by Zabdiel, 
 with whom, after all had been lost, the royal fugitive had 
 sought a refuge in Arabia. 
 
 10. As Jonathan had remained true to Balas in this 
 struggle, his enemies hailed the success of Demetrius Nicator 
 as the signal for his overthrow ; and, through their represen- 
 tations, he was summoned to Antioch. He went, carrying 
 with him valuable presents, and conducted himself so dis- 
 creetly, that, so far from disturbing him, Demetrius not only 
 confirmed him in the dignities he had received from Balas, 
 but added all the valuable privileges which had been offered 
 by his father, when he had endeavoured to outbid Balas for 
 the friendship of Jonathan. 
 
 11. Among his other public acts, Jonathan renewed the 
 
DEATH OF JONATHAN. 
 
 359 
 
 treaty with the Romans, and formed another with the Lace* 
 dsemonians. His government of seventeen years was in tha 
 highest degree beneficial to his country, and tended much to 
 give to the peculiar institutions of the people, which ho 
 laboured to renovate, that determinate character which was 
 essential to their continuance. His end was afflicting. Dis- 
 gusted by the perfidy of Demetrius, who cancelled the privi- 
 leges he had granted, as soon as he was relieved from the 
 danger by which he was threatened, the Jews eagerly 
 espoused the cause of a young son of Alexander Balas, who 
 was brought forward by Tryphon, formerly governor of An- 
 tioch. Eventually this youth was raised to the throne, under 
 the name of Antiochus Epiphanes. But Tryphon had used 
 him only for his own objects, and contemplated his removal 
 to make room for himself. To this he saw an obstacle in the 
 known attachment of Jonathan to the house of Balas ; and 
 this obstacle he resolved to remove by his death, which he 
 treacherously and barbarously accomplished at Ptolemais, 
 where Jonathan was slain, with a thousand men who attended 
 him as guards. This was speedily followed by the murder of 
 the young king ; and Tryphon placed on his own head the 
 blood-stained crown. 
 
140 
 
 CHAPTER in. B.C. 143 TO 78. 
 
 AnfORIAN PBINCES. 
 B.C. 
 
 STRIA. 
 B.C. 
 
 Tryphon 143 
 
 John Hyrcanus . . 
 Aristobulus . . . 
 Alexander Jannaeus 
 Queen Alexandra . 
 
 1OTPT. 
 
 Ptolemy Pliyscon . 
 Ptolemy Lathyrus . 
 Ptolemy Alexander 
 
 . 135 
 . 107 
 . 106 
 . 79 
 
 B.C. 
 
 . 144 
 . 116 
 . 88 
 
 Antiochus (VII.), Si- 
 detes 139 
 
 Demetrius Nicator II. 130 
 Alexander Zebina . . 127 
 Antiochus (VIII.), 
 Grypus .... 123 
 Antiochus (IX.), Cy- 
 zicenus .... Ill 
 Antiochus VIII. and 
 IX. contemporane- 
 ously 100 
 
 Philip and Antiochus 
 (X.), Pius .... 93 
 Demetrius Kuc-mis . 92 
 Tigranes, King of Ar- 
 menia 83 
 
 QEXKEAL HI8TOBT. 
 
 XJ. 
 
 Scipiq Nnsica . . . 136 
 Tiberius Gracchus, tri- 
 bune 138 
 
 Mithridates the Great 123 
 Caius Gracchus, tribune 121 
 Caius Marius, tribune 119 
 Jugurthine war begins 
 
 (5 years) .... Ill 
 Julius C;esar bora . . 100 
 The civil war between 
 Marius and Sylla (6 
 
 years) 88 
 
 Sylla, dictator (3 
 
 years ... 82 to 79 
 Cicero's first Oration . 81 
 
 1. WHEN the Jews heard of the massacre at Ptolemais, 
 and the death of their honoured high-priest, they were filled 
 with consternation and sorrow. To avert the dangers which 
 this state of discouragement threatened, Simon, the only sur- 
 viving brother of Judas and Jonathan, called the people to- 
 gether in the Temple, and offered himself as their leader. 
 The people were encouraged and animated by the terms in 
 which the offer was made, and they accepted it with joy. The 
 first act of Simon was to put the country in a state of con> 
 plete defence, by repairing all the fortresses, and storing them 
 with provisions and munitions of war. Then considering 
 that, bad as the conduct of Demetrius Nicator had been, that 
 of Tryphon was much worse, Simon sent an embassy to the 
 former, offering to acknowledge his sovereignty, and to assist 
 him against Tryphon. Demetrius, who led an indolent and 
 dissipated life at Laodicea, and left the war to his generals, 
 saw the value of this offer, which he gladly accepted, and, in 
 return, agreed to acknowledge Simon as the high-priest and 
 prince of the Jews, to relinquish all claim upon them for 
 tribute, customs, and taxes, and to grant an amnesty for all 
 past offences against himself. This being committed to writing 
 la the form of a royal edict, and properly ratified, amounted 
 
SIMON MURDERED. 
 
 361 
 
 to a churter of freedom and independence ; and was so con- 
 sidered by both parties. Accordingly, with this year (B. C. 
 143), the Jews commenced a new epoch, dating from it as 
 from the first year of " the freedom of Jerusalem." This era 
 is used on the coins of Simon, as well as by Josephus, and by 
 the author of the first book of Maccabees, 
 
 2. The next care of Simon was to reduce the fortresses 
 which still held out ; and he had the inexpressible satisfac- 
 tion of compelling the Syrian garrison in the citadel of Jeru- 
 salem, which had so long been a standing grievance to the 
 Maccabees, to surrender. He made his son John commander 
 of the forces, and ultimately sent him with king Demetrius to 
 the wars in the East, where, from his exploits in Hyrcania, 
 he acquired the surname of Hyrcanus. In the third year of 
 his reign, he renewed the alliance with the Komans and La- 
 cedaemonians, and sent, as a present to the former, a great 
 shield of gold, worth fifty thousand pounds. The senate was 
 pleased, and wrote to all the kings in these parts, command- 
 ing them to consider 
 the Jews as friends 
 and allies of the Ro- 
 mans. The next year 
 Antiochus Sidetes as- 
 cended the Syrian 
 throne, his brother 
 Demetrius being held 
 in bondage by the 
 Parthians. He con- 
 firmed to Simon all 
 the grants of his pre- 
 decessor, and added the regal prerogative of coining money. 
 When, however, he had subdued and slain the usurper Try- 
 phon, he altered his tone, and demanded back the strongholds 
 which Simon had taken, and the tribute which had been re- 
 linquished. He sent a powerful army to enforce his demand ; 
 which was met and defeated by the Jews under the conduct 
 of Simon's two eldest sons, John and Judas. This victory 
 procured an interval of repose, during which Simon and two 
 of his sons were treacherously murdered, while on a visit at 
 Jericho to his son-in-law, Ptolemy, who aspired to his office 
 
 146. Parthians. 
 
862 JERUSALEM BESIEGED Y ANTIOCHUB. 
 
 and power (B.C. 136). He sent also to destroy John Hyrc 
 nus, who, however, had timely warning, and fled to Jerusalem, 
 where the people elected him in his father's room, and shut 
 their gates against the murderer. Baffled in this, Ptolemy 
 applied to Antiochus for an army to assist him in bringing 
 the country again under the Syrian yoke. Without wait- 
 ing for his movements, Hyrcanus marched against him, and 
 besieged him in a fortress near Jericho, to which he had fled. 
 The siege was, however, broken up when the sabbatical yea? 
 opened, and Ptolemy sought refuge beyond the Jordan until 
 Antiochus should arrive (B.C. 135). What afterwards be- 
 came of him is not known. 
 
 3. Antiochus arrived soon after, with a large army, and 
 besieged Hyrcanus in Jerusalem, which was reduced to great 
 extremities for want of provisions. When the Feast of Taber- 
 nacles approached, Hyrcanus begged a week's respite for the 
 celebration of the festival. This was not only granted, but 
 the king supplied victims for the sacrifices, and was in the 
 end so much mollified that he concluded a peace, although he 
 knew that the city lay at his mercy. But he again reduced 
 the country under the Syrian dominion, dismantled Jerusa- 
 lem, and exacted tribute for the fortresses which were held 
 out of Judaea. Antiochus was, not long after, killed in a 
 battle with the Parthians, from whom Demetrius contrived to 
 escape. Of the confusion occasioned by these events, Hyrca- 
 nus availed himself to enlarge his territories, as well as to re- 
 cover the independence of Judaea ; and no sort of service, tri- 
 bute, or homage, was ever after paid by him or his descend- 
 ants to the kings of Syria. 
 
 4. The next exploit of their prince must have been very 
 acceptable to the antipathies of the Jews ; for he invaded 
 Samaria, took Shechem, the chief seat of the Samaritans, and 
 destroyed their temple on Mount Germm. 
 
 5. The next year (B.C. 129), Hyrcanus attacked the Idu- 
 means (Edomites), who, during the Captivity, had established 
 themselves in the southern part of Juda, having Hebron for 
 their capital, and had since maintained themselves there. 
 Having subdued them, Hyrcanus gave them the choice of 
 adopting the Jewish religion, or of quitting the country and 
 seeking a settlement elsewhere. They accepted the former 
 
THE SHORT REIGN OF ARISTOBULU8. 
 
 alternative, and afterwards gradually incorporated whh th* 
 Jews, so as not ultimately to be distinguishable from them. 
 
 6. In the course of the two following years, two several 
 embassies were sent to Koine, and obtained decrees highly fa- 
 vourable to Hyrcanus and to the Jewish nation, chiefly ai 
 securing them against the aggressions of then* neighbours. 
 By his alliances, his consolidation of the government, his con- 
 quests, and the wealth which they afforded, Hyrcanus suc- 
 ceeded in raising the nation to a position of much greater 
 dignity and power than it had occupied since the return from 
 Babylon. After enjoying several years of peace and honour, 
 he died B.C. 106. 
 
 7. The principality was left by Hyrcanus to his wife; 
 but the government was seized by his eldest son Aristobulus ; 
 and as his mother refused to relinquish her claim, he sent her 
 to prison, where he left her to die of hunger. He also im- 
 prisoned the three youngest of his brothers ; but shewed some 
 affection for Antigonus, the next in age to himself, and em- 
 ployed him in public business. Aristobulus was the first who 
 assumed the royal title and diadem. He extended his domi- 
 nion by subduing the Itureans, who, like the Edomites before, 
 chose rather to accept the Jewish religion than to abandon 
 their country. The short reign of Aristobulus was brought 
 to its close through his remorse and horror at discovering 
 that it was an unjust suspicion which had caused him to put to 
 death Antigonus, the brother whom he had trusted and loved. 
 
 8. Immediately after his death, his three imprisoned 
 brothers were liberated, and the eldest of them, Alexander 
 Jannaeus, was advanced to the throne. He ha talents for 
 war, which enabled him to enlarge his dominions, although, 
 in other respects, his reign was far from happy. He sub- 
 dued the Philistines, who accepted the alternative of adopt- 
 ing the Jewish religion. Moab, Ammon, Gilead, and part 
 of Arabia Petraea, also yielded to his arms. This reign was, 
 however, much troubled by the Pharisees, a sect whose name 
 occurs first in the time of Hyrcanus, but who must have 
 arisen earlier, as they had then attained to much power 
 and importance. Their turbulent character and lofty preten- 
 sions induced Alexander to follow the example of Hyrcanua 
 in attaching himself to the rival sect of the Sadduceea. This, 
 
864 DEATH OF ALEXANDER JANN-iEDS. 
 
 as well as the general disfavour with which he regarded the 
 principles of the more powerful body, led them to detest his 
 person and government ; and they lost no opportunity of 
 exasperating the mind of the people against him by vilifying 
 his administration, and by all sorts of charges and insinua- 
 tions against his conduct and character. His return with loss 
 and disgrace from the siege of Amathus beyond the Jordan, 
 damaged his reputation with the people, and gave increased 
 boldness to the Pharisees. At length they openly assaulted 
 him while engaged in the most sacred act of the ritual ser- 
 Tice. At the feast of tabernacles, as he stood at the altar, 
 performing the functions of his office, the Pharisees, and the 
 multitude incited by them, cast at him the citrons which the 
 Jews usually carried in their hands on that occasion. This 
 was the commencement of a civil war, which lasted nine 
 years, in which all parties suffered, and in which above 
 50,000 persons perished. During this war, both parties 
 committed the most shocking barbarities on each other. The 
 concluding act of it was the taking of Bethone by Alexander. 
 He then brought 800 of the prisoners to Jerusalem, an(* 
 caused them all to be crucified in one day, and their wivet 
 and children put to death before their eyes ; while he sat 
 feasting with his women in view of the horrid spectacle. 
 
 9. Alexander spent three years more in reducing the for- 
 tresses which had fallen into hostile hands during these 
 troubles, and in extending his power beyond the Jordan; 
 where, it should be observed, the country was chiefly occu- 
 pied by, or under the control of, tribes of Arabian origin, 
 which had settled in these parts ; and hence the whole coun- 
 try beyond Jordan, excepting the northernmost part, came 
 ultimately to be considered as part of Arabia, and is so named 
 by ancient geographers. 
 
 10. Returning victorious to Jerusalem, Alexander aban- 
 doned himself to luxury, drunkenness, and sloth, which 
 brought on a quartan ague, under which he languished for 
 three years and then died. B.C. 82. 
 
 11. Before his death, Alexander delivered the govern- 
 ment to his wife Alexandra, and Appointed her the guardian 
 of the young princes. Following the dying counsels of her 
 late husband, she convened the leaders of the Pharisees, and 
 
PERSECUTION OF THE SADDUCEEB. 
 
 365 
 
 committed to them the management of affairs. With this 
 they were so wonderfully mollified, that they not only secured 
 her own peaceful succession, but bestowed a most magnificent 
 funeral on their old enemy. Being now the dominant party, 
 and, in fact, greatly exceeding the other party in popularity 
 and numbers, the queen soon became a mere tool in their 
 hands. She was obliged to yield to their most unreasonable 
 demands ; and they used their power with no sparing or gentle 
 hand. They raised a grievous persecution against the Sad- 
 ducees, and, in general, used their authority in a most oppres- 
 sive and arbitrary manner, especially against the former 
 friends and adherents of Alexander Jannseus. Many of the 
 most valuable persons, finding that the queen was unable to 
 protect them, abandoned Jerusalem, and withdrew to obscuiw 
 towns. 
 
CHAPTEE IV. B.C. 78 TO 54 
 
 AJLAJfOlttAK PRINCES. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Q. Alexandra, with Hyr- 
 
 canns II. as priest . 78 
 Hyrcanua II. king . . 69 
 Aristobuhis .... 69 
 Hyrcanui IL restored . 68 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Ptolemy Aulete* . 64 
 
 ROMAN OOVBK.NOKS. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Gabinius ..... 68 
 Crassu* 65 
 
 STRIA. 
 
 B. c. 
 
 Antioclms (XI.) Asia- 
 ticus 69 
 
 Dethroned by Pouipcy, 
 and Syria made a IVo- 
 man province ... 65 
 
 GBN1RAL IHBTOW. 
 
 B.a 
 
 Sparta ens 71 
 
 Lucullus defeat* Mith- 
 
 ridates and Tigranes 69 
 
 The Cataline conspiracy 68 
 
 Cicero 68 
 
 Catullus 60 
 
 1st Triumvirate: Fom- 
 pey, J. Cteaar, and 
 
 Ciassug ..... 60 
 
 Cicero banished . . . E8 
 
 Sallut it 
 
 1. ALEXANDRA had two sons. The elder, Hyrcanus, who 
 was a man of quiet habits and indolent temper, was raised 
 to the high priesthood. The other son, Aristobulus, was of 
 a more ardent and impetuous temperament, and took no pains 
 to conceal his 'dislike of his mother's proceedings, and of the 
 conduct of the Pharisees. He, with lie principal men of the 
 party, which had been paramount in the time of his father, 
 appeared before the throne, and asked permission to quit the 
 country, or to reside in the frontier towns, out of the way 
 of the Pharisees. The request was granted, excepting that 
 they were not permitted to withdraw to those towns hi which 
 the queen kept her treasures. Aristobulus was afterwards 
 entrusted with some forces to relieve Damascus; but he 
 only used the occasion as an opportunity of making himself 
 agreeable to the soldiers, and returned without having done 
 any thing of importance. After a peaceful reign of nine 
 years, Queen Alexandra fell sick, and died, after having, in 
 her last days, as one who had nothing more to do with go- 
 Yernment, refused to nominate her successor. 
 
 2. The Pharisees, however, placed Hyrcanus IL on the 
 throne. But he reigned only three months ; for his brother 
 Aristobulus, having got possession of most of the fortresses of 
 the kingdom, during the illness of his mother, advanced hia 
 own claims to the sovereignty. The people, who had grown 
 
ARISTOBULUS DEFEATED BY ARETAS. 
 
 367 
 
 weary of the Pharisees, and knew that the imbecile Hyrca- 
 nus was entirely in their hands, supported this movement ; 
 the soldiers also de- 
 serted to the popular 
 Aristobulus. Hyrca- 
 nus, with little reluc- 
 tance, then resigned 
 the mitre and the 
 crown, and withdrew 
 into private life, which 
 better suited his cha- 
 racter and habits. 
 
 3. In his retire- 
 ment, Hyrcaiius fell 
 under the designing 
 counsels of Antipater 
 (originally Antipas), 
 an Idumean, who had 
 been much in the 
 confidence of Alexan- 
 der Janncsus and his 
 wife Alexandra : by 
 them he had been 
 appointed governor of 
 Idumea,in which office 
 he had amassed con- 
 riderable wealth. By repeated solicitations, and by persuadi.ig 
 him that his brother sought his life, this person at length in- 
 duced Hyrcanus to escape by night to Petra, the seat of the 
 Arabian king Aretas, and claim his protection and assist- 
 ance. Aretas espoused his cause, and brought him back to 
 Judwa with an army of 50,000 men ; and being joined by 
 many Jews of the same party, he gave battle to Aristobulus, 
 who was defeated, and obliged to retreat to the temple-mount, 
 which had by this time become a strong fortress. The siege 
 of this fortress was carried on with the animosity which has 
 always been usual in civil wars. Heathen kings had almost 
 invariably, during a siege, allowed the lambs for sacrifice at 
 the great festivals to be introduced into the temple ; but this 
 was refused by the party of Hyrcanus, at the passover, al- 
 
 146 Modern Asiatic Crowns, 
 
368 ARISTOBULUS DEFEATS ARETA8. 
 
 though Aristobulus gave, over the walls, money to pay lor 
 them. 
 
 4. At this time, the Romans, in accordance with the na- 
 tional policy for establishing a universal empire, had a large 
 army in Asia, under the command of the great Pompey, who 
 was warring in Armenia against Tigranes and Mithridates, 
 while some of his officers were employed in Syria. In this 
 emergency, Aristobulus sent to Severus the Koman general, 
 who had taken possession of Damascus, imploring his assist 
 ance against his brother, not forgetting to send a present of 
 400 talents with the application. Although Hyrcanus offered 
 to buy his lid at the same price, the Roman preferred the 
 cause of Aristobulus, as one whom it might be the most easy 
 
 to assist, and the most difficult 
 to subdue ; and, therefore, he 
 commanded Aretas instantly 
 to withdraw his forces from 
 Judaea, under pain of a war 
 147. with the Romans. The Arabian 
 
 king obeyed at once ; but, on his retreat, he was overtaken 
 by Aristobulus, and was defeated in a bloody conflict, in 
 which many of the friend.* of Hyrcanus perished. Being thus 
 master of the country, Aristobulus anxiously endeavoured to 
 procure from the Romans a recognition of his title. Accord- 
 ingly, when Pompey soon after came to Damascus, and twelve 
 kings and many ambassadors appeared before him, the am- 
 bassadors of Aristobulus were among the number, bearing, as 
 a present, an exquisitely wrought vine of pure gold, valued at 
 500 talents. His suit was waived for the time, and although 
 his present was accepted, not his own name but that of his 
 father was inscribed upon it, as the donor. 
 
 5. The next year, when both Hyrcanus and Aristobulus 
 Bent ambassadors to Pompey, inviting him to consider and 
 decide their differences, he put them off to the year ensuing, 
 when they again appeared before him, each furnished with a 
 multitude of witnesses to prove his claim ; while another body 
 of Jews came and accused both of them of having changed 
 the government, which had formerly been administered by 
 high-priests, and not by kings. Hyrcanus urged his right as 
 the eldei bore ; which right, Aristobulus contended, was mtt 
 
TEMPLE BESIEGED AND TAKEN. 369 
 
 tralised by his incompetency. Pompey, however, still left 
 the matter undecided, until he should be at leisure to come 
 himself and settle it at Jerusalem. But the impetuous Aris- 
 tobulus, perceiving that imbecility in a dependent prince 
 was far from being objectionable to the Eomans, and that the 
 ultimate decision was likely to be against him, abruptly with- 
 drew to make preparations for war. Enraged at this, Pom- 
 pey, on his return from an expedition against the Nabathsean 
 Arabs, marched into Judaea, and summoned Aristobulus, who 
 was in the strong fortress of Alexandrium, to appear before 
 him. He obeyed ; and Pompey no sooner had him in his 
 power, than he compelled him to sign an order for all the for- 
 tresses to be given up to the Romans, He was then libe- 
 rated ; when, resenting this treatment, he fled to Jerusalem, 
 determined to stand a siege. But when Pompey advanced, 
 the gates were opened to his troops by the party of Hyrca- 
 nus ; and Aristobulus and his party withdrew once more into 
 the Temple, determined to hold out to the last. Here they 
 were closely besieged by Pompey, who found his proceedings 
 greatly facilitated by the strictness with which the Jewish 
 people observed their Sabbath. It was true, that since the 
 Maccabaean wars, they would on that day stand on their own 
 defence ; yet they still considered it unlawful to take any 
 steps to hinder the works or operations of the enemy. The 
 Romans were, therefore, allowed, without the slightest moles- 
 tation, to carry on during the Sabbath-days their preparations 
 for the assaults of the ensuing weeks ; by which means they 
 at length carried the Temple by assault, after a siege of three 
 months, on the very day which the Jews observed as a fast 
 for the taking of the city and Temple by Nebitchadnezzar. 
 A dreadful carnage now ensued, during which the officiating 
 priests continued, with the utmost composure, their solemn 
 services at the altar, until they were themselves smitten down 
 before it without resistance. 
 
 6. Pompey had the temerity to enter the Temple itself 
 even to the most holy place, with some of his officers ; no 
 one venturing to oppose the act. But curious observers have 
 remarked, that he was ever after an unprosperous man ; and 
 this is no doubt tiue in itself, whether it was a consequence 
 Wnkh resulted from this sacrilege or not. In the gacctuary, 
 
870 ALEXANDER DEFEATED BY GABINIUB. 
 
 the Roman noted with a curious eye the objects presented to 
 his view ; but he left untouched all the sacred utensils, and even 
 the treasures of the Temple, which amounted to ten thousand 
 talents of gold. The walls and fortifications of Jerusalem 
 were then demolished by order of Pompey ; who also made 
 no ceremony in reducing the recent " allies" of Rome to the 
 condition of a tributary people. He indeed appointed Hyrca- 
 nus to be high-priest and prince of the country ; but he re- 
 quired him to pay tribute to the Romans, and forbade him to 
 assume the crown, or extend his territories beyond their an- 
 cient limits. The external conquests of the principality were 
 dded to Syria, which was erected into a Roman province, 
 nd left under the dominion of Scaurus as prefect, with two 
 legions to preserve order. To this date all agree in referring 
 the subjection of Judaea to the Romans. When Pompey left 
 Palestine, he took with him Aristobulus, with his two sons, 
 Alexander and Antigonus, and two of his daughters, to <race 
 his triumph at Rome. 
 
 7. Alexander, the eldest son of Aristobulus, escaped from 
 Pompey during the journey to Rome, and got back to his 
 own country. He must, however, have kept quiet for a time, 
 as we do not hear of him till the year B. C. 57, when he had 
 found means to collect a considerable force, with which he 
 seized and garrisoned several strong fortresses, and from them 
 ravaged the whole country. Hyrcanus had no means to op- 
 pose him, and as Jerusalem would probably be the next point 
 of attack, he wished to rebuild the walls of the city, but was 
 forbidden by the jealousy of the Romans. On his calling 
 upon them for succour, however, the pro-consul, Gabinius, 
 marched an army into Judwa, and was accompanied by the 
 celebrated Mark Antony, the commander of his cavalry. The 
 Roman troops were joined by those of Hyrcanus, under An- 
 tipater; and in the battle which followed, Alexander was 
 completely routed. He sought refuge in the strong fortress 
 of Alexandrium, whence, through the mediation of his mother, 
 he concluded a peace with Gabinius, on condition of surren- 
 dering the fortresses held by him, which were then demolished, 
 
 8. The general then employed himself in settling the 
 country, after the manner of the Romans. He was probably, 
 in many respects, guided by the advice of Antipater, who 
 
CRABSUS PLUNDKRS THE TEMPLE. 371 
 
 made it Ws policy to ingratiate himself with the Komans. 
 The most important measure was the change of the govern- 
 ment to an aristocracy. Before this, the administration of 
 affairs had been conducted by two sanhedrim, or councils, or 
 courts of justice : the lesser consisting of twenty-three mem- 
 bers, existed in every city, and all these local sanhedrims 
 were subject to the jurisdiction of the Grand Sanhedrim of 
 seventy-two members, which sat at Jerusalem. These were 
 pot down by Gabinius, who, in their place, established five 
 separate and independent tribunals at Jerusalem, Jericho, 
 Gadara, Amathus, and Sepphoris, giving to each the power 
 of administering summary justice upon the inhabitants of the 
 several districts. This threw the whole power into the hands 
 of the nobles, who presided in these courts ; whereas by the 
 former practice the power had ultimately centred in the prince. 
 This, or anything that tended to lower the regal principle of 
 government, was no doubt acceptable to the Jews in general ; 
 for they were unwilling to have any king not of the house of 
 David to reign over them, especially as they were at this 
 time anxiously expecting the appearance of the promised 
 Messiah. 
 
 9. The next event of importance is the re-appearance of 
 Aristobulus, who, with his younger son Antigonus, escaped 
 from Rome, and returned to his own land, where he soon got 
 together a considerable number of adherents, and excited a 
 revolt, which might have been dangerous, but for the inter- 
 ference of the Eomans, who soon defeated his forces, and 
 again made him and his son prisoners. But in sending them 
 back to Rome, Gabinius made such a representation of the 
 services of the mother in suppressing Alexander's insurrection, 
 that the senate liberated the family, and only detained Aris- 
 tobulus. 
 
 10. Not long after this, Gabinius was succeeded in the 
 government of Syria by the celebrated triumvir Crassus, whose 
 insatiable avarice is well known to the students of Roman 
 history. He soon visited Jerusalem with a body of soldiers, 
 and plundered the temple of all the treasures which Pompey 
 had spared, to the value of two millions sterling. His ter- 
 rible overthrow and death, in the ensuing year, was deemed 
 by the Jews a judgment upon him for this sacrilege. 
 
7S 
 
 CHAPTER V. B.C. 54 TO 87. 
 
 .0. 
 
 Hyrcanus IL 
 
 Antigomu 40 
 
 4ntizonnt beheaded ; 
 End of Aiamouean 
 Dynasty . ... 37 
 
 SYBTA. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Roman Governors. 
 
 Bibulus 61 
 
 Q. Metellus Scipio . . 50 
 
 Sex t us Csesar. ... 47 
 
 Cassius ...... 43 
 
 Ventidim 38 
 
 Ptolemy Auletes. 
 Cleopatra ...'.. n 
 
 XOMK. 
 
 Julius Csesar .... 38 
 II. Triumvirate OcU- 
 vius Mark Antony 
 Lepidus . ... 31 
 
 PEESON*. 
 
 CorneliM Nepot 50 
 
 Varro 49 
 
 Diodor us Siculus . ... i ... 44 
 
 Trogus Pompeim ....... 41 
 
 Cains Cassius, ot. ....... 49 
 
 Marcui Brutus, ot. 43 
 
 BNUUI. H1STOBT. 
 
 XS. 
 
 Syria invaded by the Parthian* ... 50 
 
 Battle of Pharsalia 49 
 
 Cato kills himself at Utica .... 47 
 
 Csesar reforms the Roman Calendar . 46 
 
 Caesar slain in the Senate-house . . 44 
 
 Battle of Philippi 42 
 
 The Partisans make themselves mas- 
 ters of Syria and Asia Minor . . 40 
 The Parthians defeated and expelled 
 by Ventidiui Si 
 
 1. IN the Roman civil war which broke out between 
 Pompey and Julius Caesar, the latter, thinking to promote 
 his own interests and to disturb those of his rival in Syria, 
 liberated Aristobulus, and sent him home with two legions of 
 soldiers to reclaim the crown. But he was poisoned in the 
 way by the adherents of Pompey; by whom also his son, 
 Alexander, who had begun to raise forces to assist his father, 
 was seized, brought to Antioch, and after a mock trial, be- 
 headed. Two years after, the surviving son, Antigonus, 
 presented himself before Caesar when he returned, through 
 Judaea, from his campaign in Egypt, and solicited to be re- 
 itored to the principality of his father. He mentioned the 
 claims of his family, its wrongs, and how much it had 
 suffered in his cause. But Caesar was now under a new in- 
 fluence, and he therefore not only rejected the petition, but 
 treated it as an impertinence. The new influence was that of 
 Antipater, who swayed the real power of the province in the 
 name of Hyrcanus. He had employed that power and the 
 near resources of a neighbour, so much to the advantage of 
 
HEROD GOVERNOR OP GALILEE. 373 
 
 the Romans in this campaign, he had devoted himself so 
 sedulously to Caesar, and, withal, he had found occasion to 
 display so much valour and conduct, that Caesar felt grateful 
 to him, and held him in high estimation. 
 
 2. Antipater failed not to employ, for the advancement 
 of his own fortunes, the influence he had thus acquired. 
 Ccesar was induced to confirm to Hyrcanus the full and 
 ancient powers of the high-priesthood and the ethnarchy. 
 This had the effect of indirectly restoring the regal character 
 of the government, which had been impaired by the measures 
 of Gabinius, and of destroying the independent jurisdictions 
 which he had established. To do this, and to do it without 
 a direct decree against a popular measure, appears to have 
 been the real object of this restoration. Hyrcanus personally 
 derived no increase of power from it ; for at the same time 
 Antipater himself, who had before Leen admitted to the dignity 
 of Roman citizenship, was appointed Roman procurator of 
 Judaea, which vested in him all the substantial powers of the 
 state. Caesar also granted permission for rebuilding the 
 walls of Jerusalem which Pompey had destroyed ; and at 
 this and other times, such other signal favours were, through 
 Antipater, bestowed by Caesar upon the Jewish nation, that 
 in his time the weight of the Roman yoke was scarcely felt. 
 One of the first acts of the new procurator was to raise his 
 two sons, Phasael and Herod, to stations of trust and distinc- 
 tion. Herod was made governor of Galilee, and Phasael 
 governor of Jerusalem. The former exercised himself in 
 clearing his province of the bands of daring robbers by 
 which it was infested. But his mode of action was so sove- 
 reign and arbitrary as to attract the notice of the Sanhedrim, 
 which summoned him to Jerusalem to give an account of his 
 conduct. He came indeed, but he came clothed in purple, 
 with a numerous retinue, and bearing a letter from the pre- 
 sident of Syria, with express orders for his acquittal. This, 
 with his haughty and imperious carriage, quite intimidated 
 the assembly, until an address from one of their number 
 kindled their resentment as well at his past as present con- 
 duct. Perceiving this, Hyrcanus, who was attached to him, 
 adjourned the assembly, and, as advised by that prince, 
 Herod fled from the city in the following night, and went to 
 
B74 ANTIPATER POISONED. 
 
 8extus Ctesar at Damascus, who bestowed upon him tfat 
 government of Coale-Syria. Burning with resentment^ 
 Herod would have marched to Jerusalem to punish the 
 Sanhedrim and depose Hyrcanus, had not his father and 
 brother persuaded him to abandon the design. 
 
 3. The greater struggles and confusions in the state of 
 Rome were accompanied by smaller conflicts and troubles in 
 Syria and Palestine ; but in all these, it was the lot of the 
 family of Antipater to be always uppermost. After the 
 assassination of Julius Caesar at Rome by Brutus, Cassiua, 
 and their confederates, and of his relative Sextus Caesar 
 in Syria by Bassus, the flames of war broke forth anew. 
 Cassius being, like others, obliged to withdraw before the 
 paramount influence of Antony and Octavius in Italy, passed 
 over into Syria, and, seizing that province, made head there 
 against the proconsul Dolabella. Cassius was obliged to 
 raise heavy contributions to maintain the large army he had 
 collected. Judsaa was assessed in 700 talents; and Anti- 
 pater commissioned Herod to raise one-half, and Malichus, 
 one of the principal supporters of Hyrcanus, to collect the 
 other. Herod won high favour with Cassius by the speedy 
 payment of his portion ; but Malichus, being more dilatory, 
 would have been put to death, had not Hyrcanus redeemed 
 him by paying 100 talents out of his own coffers. This 
 affair seems to have quickened the bad feeling with which 
 Malichus and other leading Jews regarded the power and 
 authority which Antipater had acquired and was acquiring 
 over the nation. They therefore plotted to destroy him and 
 his whole family ; and soon after Antipater was poisoned 
 with a glass of wine, which the high-priest's brother was in- 
 duced to give him at an entertainment in the palace. Herod 
 avenged his father, by inducing Cassius to order Malichus to 
 be slain at Tyre by the Roman soldiers. The party of 
 which Malichus had been the head, countenanced by Hyr- 
 canus himself, then made a vehement struggle to relieve 
 themselves from the grasp of Antipater's sons. They failed, 
 and the failure gave the more strength to Herod and Phasael. 
 Herod upbraided Hyrcanus for the part he had taken in this 
 affair ; but he did not come to an open rupture with him, aa 
 ha wished to bring into his own family the claims of th 
 
ANTIGOXUS DEFEATED BY HEROD. 379* 
 
 Asamonean house by a marriage with Mariamne, the high* 
 priest's accomplished and beautiful grand-daughter. 
 
 4. The party adverse to Herod and Phasael, was, how- 
 ever, far from being extinct. It soon found another and 
 more dangerous head in the person of Antigonus, that younger 
 Bon of Aristobulus, whom there has been more than one 
 occasion to mention. He came to claim his father's throne ; 
 and his claim was well supported. But when Antigonus 
 arrived in Judaea with his army, he received from Herod a 
 complete overthrow, and was obliged, for the time, to abandon 
 his enterprise. The next year, after the victory over Brutus 
 at Philippi, Mark Antony passed over into Asia, to secure that 
 important region for the conquerors. It will be remembered 
 that this celebrated man had formerly served in Palestine 
 with Gabinius, and must have been acquainted with the affairs 
 of the Jewish people, and with the persons of their leaders. 
 A deputation, composed of a hundred influential Jews, came 
 to him at Daphne, near Antioch, with complaints against the 
 usurping sons of Antipater. Antony gave them a hearing, 
 and then turning to Hyrcanus, who was present, asked whom 
 he thought the most competent to govern the state under 
 himself. To the surprise of many, he named the two brothers, 
 influenced possibly by the projected marriage between Herod 
 and his grand-daughter. On this, Antony, who had received 
 gifts from Herod, and who well remembered the services of 
 Antipater, raised Herod and Phasael to the rank of tetrarchs 1 , 
 and committed the affairs of Judsea to their administration. 
 Not long after, however, when Antony was at Tyre, another 
 more numerous deputation came to him with the same com- 
 plaints; but Antony ordered the soldiers to disperse them, 
 which was not done without loss of life. 
 
 5. Antigonus was not yet disheartened. The Parthiana^ 
 for a brief period, became masters of Syria, and held possession 
 of Sidon and Ptolemais. Antigonus engaged their assistance 
 by the promise of a thousand talents and five hundred Jewish 
 women, and advanced at the head of a powerful army against 
 Jerusalem ; and after many strong efforts, succeeded in re- 
 covering the kingdom. Herod escaped by flight; but 
 Hyrcanus and Phasael were thrown into dungeons. Knowing 
 that his death was determined, Phasael dashed out his brains 
 
876 HEROD BESIEGES JERUSALEM. 
 
 against the prison walls. Antigonus dared not incur the 
 odium of destroying his aged uncle ; but he barbarously cropped 
 off his ears, and sent him far away to Seleucia in Babylonia, 
 in the safe keeping of the Parthians. 
 
 6. Herod made the best of his way to Rome, where he 
 found his friend Antony in the very zenith of his power ; and 
 was by him introduced to the favourable notice of Octavius, 
 his coadjutor, by an account of the services which Antipater 
 had rendered to Julius Csesar in the Egyptian campaign, and 
 of the esteem in which he had been held by that conqueror. 
 All that Herod came prepared to solicit was, that Aristobulus, 
 the brother of his espoused Mariamne, should have the throne 
 of Judsea, purposing himself to govern under him, as he had 
 governed under Hyrcanus. But Antony would hear of nothing 
 less than that he should be king himself, and, with the con- 
 currence of Octavius and of the Senate, he was solemnly 
 inaugurated king of Judaea, in the Capitol of Rome, He had 
 till, however, to gain possession of his kingdom, and this he 
 found an arduous undertaking. The Romans were again 
 masters of Syria ; but such assistance as Herod could obtain 
 from them did him more harm than good; and the war 
 lingered on with various success for between two and three 
 years, when, finding that he had tolerably well secured Galilee 
 and Samaria, he led his forces against Jerusalem. He was 
 induced to do this, probably, by the promise of efficient aid 
 from Antony, who had now returned to the East. While 
 engaged in the siege, Herod completed his marriage with 
 Mariamne, whom he had espoused four years before, hoping 
 by this step to reconcile the people to his government. He 
 was joined before Jerusalem by Sosius, the president of Syria, 
 whom Antony had sent to his assistance with a powerful army, 
 wMch raised the whole investing force to above 60,000 men. 
 The city withstood a vigorous siege of above half a year, and 
 was then taken by storm. Exasperated at the obstinate 
 resistance they had encountered, the Roman soldiers pillaged 
 the city, and massacred the inhabitants without mercy. 
 Jerusalem would probably have been destroyed, had not 
 Herod ransomed it with gold. Antigonus surrendered him- 
 eelf to Sosius, and showing less of the hero than had been 
 xpected from him, was treated with contempt. He was 
 
ASAMONEAN DYNASTY ENDS. 
 
 877 
 
 lent in chains to Antioch, where he was ultimately, at the 
 solicitation of Herod, put to death, with such contumely M 
 had never before been shewn by the Eomans to a crowned 
 head. 
 
 7. Thus ended the Asamonean dynasty, after it had sub- 
 listed 126 years. In its later struggles for existence, tho 
 cost devoted and even obstinate attachment to it was evinced 
 by the great mass of the Jewish people ; and it was because 
 not! dng would induce them to acknowledge one of another 
 family as king while Antigonus lived, that Herod determined 
 itt pi )curing his death. After that, the Jews sullenly and 
 gradually submitted to what they could not avoid, Herod 
 being upheld by Eoman swords. 
 
OOK vm. 
 
 CHAPTER I. B.C. 37 TO B.C. 4. 
 
 THE JZW3. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Herod the Great 37 
 
 Birth of John the Baptist announced 6 
 
 Birth of Christ announced .... 5 
 
 John the Baptist horn 6 
 
 EGYPT. 
 
 Cleopatra. 
 
 Egypt reduced to a Roman Province by 
 Octavius 81 
 
 SENERAL BISTORT. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 lepidus erpelled from the Triumvirate S8 
 War between Octavins and Antony . 83 
 
 Battle of Actium 31 
 
 Octavius invades Egypt, and reduces it 
 
 to a Roman Province 20 
 
 Octavius, Emperor, with the title of Au- 
 gustas 87 
 
 STRIA. 
 
 * 
 
 Roman Governor*. 
 Plancus ... . . . . , .94 
 
 Messala Corvinus ....... 2T 
 
 Agrippa a 
 
 again If 
 
 Sentius Saturninus and Titus Vclum- 
 nius IS 
 
 PKE30NS. 
 
 . 0. 
 
 Meecens* ..........Si 
 
 Agrippa 29 
 
 Horace . . . 2! 
 
 Prnpertius .......... 27 
 
 Titus Livius ......... 26 
 
 Tibullns 21 
 
 Ovid 20 
 
 Vitruvins 16 
 
 Dionysins of Halicarnassns . .1 
 
 1. WE now find upon the throne of Judaea the man who 
 comes down to us as Herod " the Great," and who certainly 
 manifested in no common degree the qualities to which great- 
 ness has been usually ascribed. Understanding the epithet, 
 in its conventional use, as not applied to moral goodness, but 
 to certain regal qualities which men have been trained to 
 admire, it must be admitted that Herod had as good claim to 
 be called " the Great" as many of those to whom that dis- 
 tinction has been given. There is no person who, singly, 
 fills so large a place in the history of the Jews, or whose cha- 
 racter has been brought so completely into view. His resolu- 
 tion and indomitable valour are evinced by his whole history; 
 he was liberal even to extravagance in his expenditure ; hia 
 views were large and penetrating, and his plans comprehen- 
 give ; he was magnificent in his buildings and public works ; 
 and, at the first view, he appears to us as one of those 
 men who might stand forth as the benefactors of mankind. 
 
CHARACTER OP HEROD THE GREAT. 879 
 
 2. But a closer inspection shews that all this fair appear* 
 nee was false and hollow. Ambition, glory, and the praise of 
 men, were the motives of all his great acts to attain these he 
 aimed at objects far beyond the grasp of the dependent sove- 
 reign of so small a state. He was obliged, by his lavish ex- 
 penditure, to lay the most heavy and oppressive burdens upon 
 his people, and to invent any pretext for cutting down the 
 wealthy and the noble, and confiscating their estates. He 
 was a slave to the most furious passions : his natural disposi- 
 tion was severe and unrelenting, and no regard for human 
 suffering formed an obstacle to the least of his designs. His 
 inexorable cruelties against those whom he suspected or feared, 
 excited against him the hatred of all his subjects, and then, 
 his only care was how to make that hatred a source of gain, 
 by new exactions and confiscations. Although a Jew by pro- 
 fession, he was in heart a heathen, and it displeased him that 
 the severe principles of that religion which made more account 
 of righteousness than of glory, precluded his subjects from 
 honouring him as the great ones of the heathen were hon- 
 oured, by statues, temples, games, and offerings. In a word, 
 the good qualities of Herod, real or seeming, were kept bright 
 for holiday show to the Romans ; but the bad ones were dis- 
 played without reserve to his own people, to his own kindred, 
 and, above all, to those who stood in his way, or whom he 
 accounted his enemies. 
 
 3. The leading acts of his reign class themselves so natu- 
 rally under the heads of jealousy and pride, that it may be 
 well thus to arrange them. Of his jealousy, the prime objectf 
 were the members and the adherents of the Asamonean house. 
 He began his reign by a most dreadful persecution of the ad- 
 herents of the fallen Antigonus ; and here policy went along 
 with his hatred, for with his exhausted treasury and lavish 
 expenses, he found it exceedingly convenient to put the more 
 affluent of them to death, and confiscate their estates. The 
 blood which he shed, and the inexorable cruelty which he 
 manifested, in the beginning of his reign, made his person 
 and government hateful to the Jews ; and hatred rose to ab- 
 horrence when the objects of the public love, the last remains 
 tif a noble race, became the victims of his murderous jealousy. 
 
 4. The old Hyrcanus, it will be remembered, had bee* 
 
 P. 17 
 
880 ARISTOBULUS DROWNED. 
 
 exiled to Babylonia, where he wws treated with ranch consi- 
 deration, not only by the large body of influential Jews in 
 that quarter, but by the Parthian government. Jealous of 
 the place which the harmless old man occupied in the affec- 
 tion and respect of the Jewish people, Herod decoyed him to 
 Jerusalem, and, after treating him for a time with apparent 
 attention and deference, caused him, at a convenient season, 
 to be slain (B. C. 31). The enormity of this deed is unutter- 
 able, when we consider what Hyrcanus had been to Herod 
 and to his father Antipater. 
 
 5. The next object of Herod's jealousy was a boy, the 
 grandson of Hyrcanus, and brother of Mariamne. This child 
 was now the lineal representative of the Asamonean house, 
 and, as such, was hateful to Herod ; but his life and welfare 
 seemed sufficiently guarded by his relationship to Mariamne. 
 The boy grew up into a youth of wonderful beauty ; and the 
 hearts of the Jews were fixed upon him, as the last of the 
 glorious race of the Maccabees. His of right was the high- 
 priesthood, which Herod had bestowed upon an obscure priest 
 of the name of Ananel ; but perceiving, at "length, that it 
 was no longer safe to withhold the pontificate from him, the 
 king removed Ananel, and gave his place to Aristobulus, 
 then but seventeen years of age. When he first appeared in 
 the gorgeous robes of his office, at the Feast of Tabernacles, 
 the assembled people could not restrain a burst of admiration 
 and delight: and that testimony of affection sealed the doom 
 of Aristobulus. Very soon after, he was drowned, by allejed 
 " accident," while bathing at Jericho ; but the whole nation 
 knew that the act was Herod's, and saw through the show of 
 mourning and parade of grief displayed on the occasion. 
 
 6. Of his wife, Mariamne, who has been so often named, 
 Herod was doatingly fond ; and this he shewed in his own 
 peculiar manner, by more than once leaving private orders, 
 when he had occasion to leave Judaea, that she should be put 
 to death if he failed to return. This happened to transpire, 
 and gave occasion to jealousy and suspicion on the part of 
 Herod, and to anger and indignation cm the part of the high- 
 spirited and virtuous princess. The result was, as usual, death. 
 In the rage of his jealousy and anger, he poured out that life 
 which was the dearest of all. to him, and which his groans and 
 
HEROD STRANGLES HIS TWO SOKS. 381 
 
 tears could not afterwards restore. The deata o^ nr mother 
 Alexandra followed soon after. The two sons of Manamne by 
 Herod himself, also exciting his jealousy and dislike "by rest- 
 ing upon their Asamonean descent through her, and making 
 that their ground of claim to the favour of the people, were at 
 length consigned to the same doom, and were, by their father's 
 order, strangled in the prison-house (B. C. 6). In short, such 
 was his jealous temper, that he spared neither hiK own family, 
 his friends, nor the noblest, wealthiest, or most powerful of 
 his subjects. It is not wonderful that such conduct procured 
 him the intense hatred of the Jews, and that various plots 
 were laid for his destruction. In such plots a very active part 
 was taken by the Pharisees ; but they were all abortive, and 
 only served to increase the distance between the tyrant and 
 his people, and to render the former so suspicious, that the 
 innocent were often cruelly tortured, lest the guilty should 
 escape. 
 
 7. The knowledge of how deeply he was disliked by the 
 people, also made him more and more careless of public opinion; 
 and when he supposed that all his enemies were put down, and 
 his power well established, he evinced a marked neglect of the 
 Jewish religion and laws, and as marked a preference of 
 Eoman customs and practices. There was, perhaps, policy in 
 this ; for he owed everything to the Eomans, and had no trust 
 but in their favour. Not being a Levite, or even, by birth a 
 Jew, he did not venture to seize the priesthood. His own 
 policy and that of his successors, was, therefore, to degrade 
 that sacred office, and to render it entirely dependent on his 
 will. From the beginning of his reign to the destruction of 
 the Temple, the hereditary principle of succession to the priest- 
 hood was utterly neglected ; and the high-priests were set up 
 and removed at pleasure. He destroyed the authority of the 
 Grand Sanhedrim, before which he had formerly been sum- 
 moned ; and he is said to have burned the public genealogies, 
 that no evidence might exist against his claim to be considered 
 tn Israelite. In all parts of his kingdom, except Jadsea, 
 3erod built temples in the Grecian style of art, set up statues 
 for idolatrous worship, and even dedicated a magnificent theatre 
 and amphitheatre to the celebration of games in honour of 
 Augustus, which, it is known, implied the deification of th* 
 
382 HEROD REBUILDS THE TEMPLE. 
 
 person in whose honour the games were celel rated. His or- 
 dinary habits were framed after the manners and customs of 
 the Romans ; and along with the usages, his influence and ex- 
 ample failed not to impart the luxuries and vices of that 
 licentious people. 
 
 8. To Herod's pride may he ascribed his buildings and 
 public works. His design to rebuild the Temple in a style and 
 scale of superior grandeur, may certainly be attributed to his 
 wish for the glory of being thought another Solomon, rather 
 than to his piety or zeal. He was likewise sensible of the 
 fact, that there was scarcely any step he could take by which 
 he could so well please and soothe the people he had done so 
 much *o exasperate. Accordingly, having obtained their con- 
 sent, he spent two years hi bringing together all the materials 
 for the work, after which the old fabric was pulled down, anc 
 the new one begun, in the twentieth year of his reign. Foi 
 nine or ten years, no less than 18,000 workmen were employed 
 upon it. The sanctuary, or the actual Temple itself, was com- 
 pleted hi a year and a-half ; and the rest of the pile, with its 
 courts, porticoes, offices, and outer buildings, in eight years 
 more, so as to be fit for the usual services of religion ; but the 
 whole was not completed till long after the death of Herod. 
 This Temple is that which Christ and his apostles so often 
 visited, and which is minutely described by Josephus. It 
 seems in many respects to have been a much more magnificent 
 pile than the first Temple, built by Solomon, although it may 
 not have equalled that celebrated structure in its wealth of 
 gold. It was built with hard white stones of vast size ; and, 
 rising in all its grandeur from the summit of an eminence, it 
 formed the most conspicuous object in a general view of the 
 city, and excited the admiration of all beholders. The ex- 
 terior was covered profusely with solid plates and pinnacles 
 of gold; and when the rays of the sun were reflected from it, 
 it shone like a meteor, which the eye could not rest upon. 
 The noble porticoes which surrounded the Temple courts, also 
 claimed no small share of admiring wonder. Incalculable 
 wealth was expended on them; and the refined taste was 
 gratified, by grace of form and proportion, by vast extent, by 
 costliness of materials, and by every variety of beauty and 
 embellishment which art or imagination could devise. 
 
HEROD'S PUBLIC WORK. 383 
 
 9. Herod also built a magnificent palace for himself 
 which subsequently became the residence of the Eoman pro- 
 curators at Jerusalem. This, next to the Temple, was con- 
 sidered the finest building in Jerusalem. Many other great 
 works were undertaken by him, not only in his own domi- 
 nions, but in foreign cities, with the view of spreading the 
 fame of his magnificence in the Koman empire. In many 
 other cities, the traveller might hear in those days, as he 
 went from place to place, that the city walls, the porticoes, 
 the gymnasiums, the theatre, the temple, the bath, the bazaar, 
 the aqueduct, were built by a munificent foreigner, Herod, 
 king of Judasa; or else that he had planted the grove, had 
 founded the public games, or had made rich gifts to the city. 
 Although this lavish expenditure upon foreigners was a 
 grievance to the people over whom he ruled, it must be ad- 
 mitted that his own dominion was by no means overlooked. 
 Many new cities were built by him, and old ones restored; 
 bridges, roads, baths, aqueducts, were formed wherever 
 needed, which gave a new aspect to the country under his 
 reign. At Csesarea, which was built by him, he framed by 
 aTt the safest and most convenient port on all the coast. 
 Among the cities rebuilt by him on an enlarged and beauti- 
 ful plan, was Samaria, to which he gave the name of Sebaste, 
 in honour of Augustus. All these were great, and in them- 
 selves useful works; yet we may gather from the Jewish 
 writings, that the people were but little grateful for them, 
 while they groaned under the exactions by which their cost 
 was defrayed. 
 
 10. We have seen that Mark Antony was the original 
 patron of Herod, and that to him chiefly he owed his king- 
 dom. In the conflict that eventually arose between Antony 
 and Octavius, Herod adhered to the cause of the former; but 
 at length, not feeling it his interest to connect his fortunes 
 with those of a man whose infatuations were leading to hig 
 inevitable ruin, he made a timely and by no means ungrace- 
 ful transfer of his allegiance to Octavius. To that person 
 the attentions and services of Herod were very acceptable; 
 and when he became the sole master of the Roman world, 
 nnder the name of Augustus, he continued to manifest towardi 
 him the highest degree of favour and personal esteem, Bj 
 
384 
 
 BIRTH OP JOHN THE BAPTIST. 
 
 successive additions, his kingdom was made more extensive 
 than that of any king since Solomon, and embraced not only 
 the whole country from Dan to Beersheba, but as extensive 
 domains beyond the Jordan as had at almost any time be- 
 longed to the crown of Israel. Besides this, he was the 
 emperor's procurator in Syria, and the governor of that im- 
 portant country undertook nothing without his concurrence. 
 We may form some notion of the regard which the emperor 
 had for Herod by the pains which he took from time to time 
 to settle the troubles that were constantly arising in his 
 family, and which were as constantly referred to his judgment 
 and decision. The most important incidents, as arising 
 chiefly from the jealousy of Herod's character, have been 
 mentioned. The last of them which was named, being the 
 execution of his two high-spirited and accomplished sons by 
 Mariamne, took place towards the latter end of his long reign. 
 B. C. 6. 
 
 11. The year after was signalised by the birth of Jobfi 
 the Baptist, the harbinger of the promised Messiah. 
 
69* 
 
 CHAPTER It B. 0. 5 TO A. D. 25. 
 
 PALESTINE. 
 
 Herod the Great . 
 
 B.C. 
 37 
 
 Archelaus, ethnarch of Judeea, &c. . 1 
 Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and 
 
 Perea ........... 1 
 
 Herod Philip, tetrarch of Trachonitis, 
 
 fcc ............ 1 
 
 KOMAN PROCURATORS OT JUDJCA. 
 
 A. D. 
 Coponius .......... 6 
 
 Marcus Ambivius ....... 9 
 
 Annius Rufus ...13 
 
 Valerius Gratus ...14 
 
 Pontius Pilate ... .26 
 
 BOMB. 
 
 Augustas 
 Tiberius 
 
 B. O. 
 
 . 27 
 
 A. D. 
 
 14 
 
 PEESONS. 
 
 Phredrus 
 
 Cornelius Celsus ....17 
 
 Valerius Maximus ....... 88 
 
 Germanicus ......>. 8 
 
 Arminius . . 10 
 
 EVENTS. 
 
 A.B. 
 
 Jesus Christ born 1 
 
 Massacre of the Innocents at Beth- 
 lehem 1 
 
 Christ in the Temple t 
 
 Jews expelled from Italy .... 80 
 Annas removed from the high-priest- 
 hood, which, he had held 15 years 81 
 
 1. THE good understanding "between Herod and Augusta^ 
 was at length interrupted, in consequence of Herod marching 
 some troops into Arabia Petrsea, against king Obodas, with 
 whom he had quarrelled. This was so misrepresented to the 
 dmperor, that he was greatly incensed against Herod, and 
 wrote to him saying he should be no longer treated as a 
 friend but as a subject. Accordingly, a commissioner named 
 Cyrenius, was sent into Judeea to register the taxable popu- 
 lation, with a view to the imposition of that capitation or 
 poll-tax, usually paid by the inhabitants of the subject pro- 
 vinces, but from which Herod's dominion had been hitherto 
 exempt. The registration was completed; but the tax itself 
 was not imposed, as proper explanations restored the good 
 understanding between Herod and the emperor. 
 
 2. As, under the decree of registration, the people were 
 to be enrolled in their paternal towns, many persons who had 
 settled in other places, had now to journey to the seat of the 
 
886 BIRTH OP CHRIST. 
 
 families to which they belonged. Those of the house and 
 lineage of David repaired to Bethlehem. Among them was 
 a carpenter named Joseph, with his wife Mary, from Naza- 
 reth in Galilee. As the caravanserai was too crowded by 
 previous comers to afford them any accommodation, they 
 lodged in the stable belonging to it. Here Mary gave birth 
 to a son, and cradled him in the manger. That son was 
 JESUS CHRIST, the Messiah, so long foretold, whose day so 
 many kings and prophets had desired to see. Nor was that 
 fllustnous birth without such heavenly celebration as became 
 its importance. Hosts of rejoicing angels sang of " peace on 
 earth, and good will to man;" and by them the shepherds, 
 who lay abroad at night in the plain, watching their flocks, 
 were directed to the birth-place of the Kedeemer. 
 
 3. Not long after, Jerusalem was astonished by the 
 arrival of three sages from the distant east, inquiring for the 
 new-born king, saying, that they had seen " his star," and 
 had come to offer him their gifts and homage. They found 
 him in the manger at Bethlehem ; and then repaired to their 
 own country without returning to Jerusalem, as Herod had 
 desired. The jealousy of that tyrant had been awakened by 
 their inquiry for the " King of the Jews ; " and as their 
 neglect to return prevented him from distinguishing the 
 object of their homage, he had the inconceivable barbarity to 
 order that all the children hi Bethlehem under two years of 
 age should be put to death, trusting that the intended victim 
 would fall in the general slaughter; but Joseph had pre- 
 viously been warned in a dream to take his wife and the 
 infant to the land of Egypt, whence they did not return till 
 after the death of Herod. 
 
 4. That event was not long delayed. In the sixty-ninth 
 year of his age, Herod fell ill of the disease which occasioned 
 his death. That disease was in his bowels, and not only put 
 him to the most cruel tortures, but rendered him altogether 
 loathsome to himself and others. The natural ferocity of his 
 temper could not be tamed by such experience. Knowing 
 that the nation would little regret his demise, he ordered the 
 persons of chief note to be confined in a tower, and all of 
 them to be slain when his own death took place, that there 
 might be cause for weeping in Jerusalem. This savage 
 
ARCTIELAUS GOVERNOR OF JUDAEA. 387 
 
 order was not executed. After a reign of thirty-seven years, 
 Herod died in tbe seventieth year of his age. 
 
 5. By his will, which was, of course, left subject to the 
 approval of the emperor, Herod divided his dominions among 
 his three sons, Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Herod Philip. 
 To Archelaus he bequeathed what was regarded as properly 
 the kingdom, namely, Judaea, Samaria, and Idumaea; to 
 Antipas was left the tetrarchy of Galilee and Perea; and 
 Philip was appointed tetrarch of the territory formed by the 
 districts of Trachonitis, Gaulonitis, Batanea, and Paneas. 
 The relative value of the territories may be estimated by the 
 revenue derived from them. Archelaus' territory yielded 600 
 talents a-year, that of Antipas 200, that of Philip 100. This 
 distribution was confirmed by Augustus, excepting that he 
 recognised Archelaus as ethnarch only, reserving the title of 
 king as the future reward of his good conduct in the govern- 
 ment. His subjects, however, regarded him as their king, 
 and entertained favourable anticipations of his reign. But 
 he soon shewed himself as great a tyrant as his father, with- 
 out the redeeming qualities that had been sometimes visible 
 in Herod. At the very beginning of his reign, his refusal of 
 a popular demand, raised a commotion in the temple, to quell 
 which he let loose the soldiers upon the people, whereby not 
 fewer than 3000 persons were destroyed. This and other 
 acts revived the general unpopularity of the rule of the 
 Herodian family; and, therefore, when the several members 
 of that family, interested in the will of Herod, proceeded to 
 Borne to promote their claims, a deputation of Jews also went 
 to petition that they might be no longer harassed by a show 
 of independence, but should be allowed to live according to 
 their own laws under a Roman governor. Their suit was, 
 however, refused, and the will of Herod was confirmed. 
 
 6. On his return, Archelaus conducted himself with great 
 harshness towards his refractory subjects. This produced new 
 disorders; and the ensuing years were disturbed by insurrec- 
 tions against the Komans by pretenders to the crown, and by 
 powerful bands of brigands, who kept the kingdom in con- 
 tinual alarm, and checked the communications between one 
 part of the country and another. At length the mal- admi- 
 nistration of Archelaus, and his unfitness to govern, became 
 
JUDJBA REDUCED TO A ROMAN PROVINCB. 
 
 to evident, that the complaints of his subjects were no longer 
 treated with neglect at Rome. In the tenth year of hia 
 reign he was deposed, and banished to Vienne in Gaul. 
 
 7. At the same time Judsea was reduced to the form of a 
 Roman province, annexed to Syria, and governed by Roman 
 procurators. This change threw into the rough hands of 
 strangers those powers which the kings had previously exer- 
 cised. Thus, tribute was paid directly to the Romans; the 
 power of life and death was taken away; and justice was ad- 
 ministered in the name and by the laws of Rome. The pro- 
 curators were appointed directly by the emperors, and the 
 place of their residence was Csesarea, which hence became 
 the reputed capital of the province. A magnificent palace 
 whbh Herod had built there for himself, became the resi- 
 dence of the procurators. At the great festivals, the procu- 
 rators usually visited Jerusalem, attended by some cohorts (or 
 regiments) of soldiers, with the view of repressing any dis- 
 turbance which might arise in so vast a concourse of discon- 
 tented people. Six cohorts were constantly kept in Judaea, 
 ef which five were generally at Ciesarea, and one always at 
 Jerusalem. A part of the Jerusalem cohort was quartered 
 in the tower of Antonia, so as to command the Temple and 
 the prsetorium or palace of the governor. 
 
 8. The duty of the procurator was to maintain good 
 order in his province, to collect the imperial revenues, and to 
 administer justice. Some of those who came to Judaea, held 
 independent jurisdiction, while others were dependent on the 
 president or general governor of Syria, whose seat was at 
 Antioch. The tribute paid to the Romans was peculiarly 
 galling to the Jews, many of whom, arguing on abstract 
 tenets, without reference to its being compulsory, held that it 
 was " unlawful" for the chosen people of God to pay tribute 
 to the heathen. The persons holding this doctrine, or making 
 it a cover for their restlessness, were called " zealots;" and 
 under that name they are distinguished in the few sad pagei 
 that remain of the Jewish history. Such people were not 
 likoly to admit of any middle course, nor indeed was there 
 any such course open to them. They raised numerous insur- 
 rections against the Roman government, or united in formi- 
 dable bodies of brigands; and considering all those Jews who 
 
ABHORRENCE OF THE JEWS TO THE ROMAN!. 889 
 
 were willing to rest quiet under the Romans, as unworthy 
 wid degenerate sons of Israel, they counted them as enemies, 
 and treated them as such. The effect of this was increasing 
 disorder, insecurity, and rapine. 
 
 9. Even the more quietly disposed who, from seeing no 
 hope of deliverance, were disposed to submit to the Roman 
 yoke, detested the tribute in their hearts: and hence those 
 Jews who assisted in the collection, and were called " publi- 
 cans," were disliked beyond all men, being regarded as be- 
 trayers of their country's liberties, and extortioners in behalf 
 of the Romans. This feeling naturally threw the office of 
 collector or publican into the hands of men of low character, 
 whose conduct generally justified the dislike with which they 
 were regarded. The lofty notions entertained by the Jews 
 of their national privileges as the peculiar people of Jehovah, 
 rather than any enlarged and patriotic views of public liberty, 
 fostered those feelings of hatred to the Roman government. 
 Besides, the Romans, being idolaters, were looked upon by 
 the Jews with disgust, as polluted and abominable men, with 
 whom they could not sit at the same table or mix in any 
 Bocial intercourse. This marked and avowed abhorrence of 
 the Jews to the persons of the Romans, was by no means 
 calculated to produce in that overbearing people a kind feel- 
 ing towards their tributaries. 
 
 10. But for their national peculiarities and prejudices the 
 Jews would have had no good ground for complaint. They 
 were allowed the free exercise of their own religious rites; 
 they worshipped in their temple and synagogues without re- 
 straint; they followed their own customs, and were still in ft 
 great degree governed bv their own laws. 
 
S90 
 
 CHAPTER m. A. D. 25 TO SflL 
 
 MLHTINZ. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 CUHlee Herod Antipas . . . . 1 
 Trachonitis Herod Philip .... 1 
 
 Judaea Pontius Pilate 25 
 
 Marcellus .....35 
 
 Marullu* .......... 36 
 
 14 
 
 John the Baptist begin* Mi aii- 
 
 nistry 
 Jews baptised by John .... 
 
 John imprisoned by Antipas .. 
 Jesus begins bis ministry ... 
 John the Baptist beheaded .. 
 Jesus crucified ....... 
 
 Stephen martyred 
 
 . 39 
 . 80 
 . 30 
 
 . 32 
 . 33 
 34 
 Conversion of Saul .......M 
 
 1. THB important changes in Judaea consequent upon 
 its becoming a Roman province, did not extend to the 
 tetrarchies of Herod Antipas and Philip, who governed their 
 territories without the direct intervention of the Romans. 
 The former of these personages is repeatedly mentioned in 
 the gospels by the name of Herod. He sedulously culti- 
 vated the favour of the emperor Tiberius, who succeeded 
 Augustus in A. D. 14, and gave his name to the city which 
 he built on the western border of the lake of Gennesareth, 
 from which also the lake itself soon acquired the name of 
 Tiberias. 
 
 2. The Roman procurators of Judaea were often 
 changed ; and, with rare exceptions, every succeeding one 
 was worse, in character and conduct, than his predecessor. 
 The first of them of whom there is anything remarkable 
 to record is Pontius Pilate, whose name the gospels have 
 made familiar to every reader. He came into the province 
 in A. D. 25, and continued in it ten years. His conduct 
 from the first excited the dissatisfaction of the people. He 
 was an impetuous, greedy, sanguinary, and obstinate tyrant, 
 who sold justice, plundered the people, and slew the inno- 
 cent. Although the abhorrence in which idolatrous images 
 were held by the Jews, was perfectly well known to all 
 the Romans, he persisted in bringing into Jerusalem the 
 images which were on the military ensigns; and by this 
 
JOHN THE BAPTIST, 
 
 39] 
 
 and otbir acts of insult and oppression, he raised frequent 
 tumults among even those of the Jewish people who were 
 
 the most inclined to 
 submit to the Re- 
 man government. 
 
 3. But the gove 4- 
 ment of Pilate if 
 made chiefly men or- 
 able by the pu >lio 
 appearance, mi ais- 
 try, and deatl of 
 JESUS CHBIST. His 
 birth has ah sady 
 been mentioned. Of 
 his history, while he 
 remained in } rivate 
 life, that is, u atil he 
 attained the age of 
 thirty yeari, little 
 further is known 
 than that he re* 
 mained with his 
 parents at Nazareth 
 in Galilee, to which 
 town they had re- 
 turned as soon as the death of Herod rendered it safe for 
 them to leave Egypt. His actual appearance as the ex- 
 pected Messiah, was harbingered by John the Baptist, who 
 had lived in the solitudes of the wilderness, clad in hairy 
 raiment, and subsisting on locusts and wild honey, and came 
 thence to the river Jordan, where, by his preaching of re- 
 pentance and remission of sins, with his baptism of those 
 who came to him, he attracted great attention. But the in- 
 terest of his countrymen was increased when he annourced 
 that he came but as a forerunner of One whose sandal- 
 thong he was not himself worthy to unloose. This accorded 
 with the expectations then prevalent among the Jewish 
 people, that the time for the coming of the long-desired 
 Messiah, the Deliverer, was very near. This expectation 
 
 148. Roman Standards. 
 
892 CHRIST'S MINISTRY. 
 
 was founded on a calculation of the time mentioned by Daniel 
 the prophet,* which calculation still remains as one of the 
 itrongest evidences that Jesus of Nazareth was the very Christ 
 of whom Moses and the prophets wrote. The Jews were, how- 
 ever, utterly mistaken in their conception of the character 
 and offices of the expected Messiah. They thought he was 
 to appear as a great and glorious king, claiming his place 
 upon the throne of David, and going forth conquering and 
 to conquer, until Israel not only broke the yoke that fretted 
 her neck, but until she became the head of the nations, and 
 the proudest of her enemies licked the dust beneath her feet. 
 This expectation was one of the circumstances which ma.de 
 the nation so impatient of the Koman yoke. 
 
 4. With such expectations, the Jews as a body, and 
 especially the proud and self-confident Pharisees, were little 
 prepared to recognise the Messiah in that lowly man, whom 
 soon after the Baptist pointed out as " the Lamb of God that 
 taketh away the sins of the world." There seems to have 
 been a thick mist over the Jewish mind, which rendered the 
 nation incapable of perceiving or understanding that his 
 mission was indescribably more glorious than that which 
 their worldly minds assigned to him ; that he came to ransom 
 mankind from their lost condition ; to bring into the fold of 
 God other sheep, which had been straying long on mountains 
 and in wildernesses of ignorance and ungodliness ; to bring 
 into the world a hope full of immortality ; and to furnish man- 
 kind with higher and purer motives, feelings, and principles 
 of action than had yet been known on the earth. This the 
 Jews would not and could not understand, as they liked far 
 better to see in the Messiah a great king and warrior, clad 
 with the visible glory of his father David. Although, there- 
 fore, they confessed that no man ever spake as he spoke, that 
 no man ever did such marvellous things as he did ; although 
 he raised the dead, healed all manner of diseases, gave sight 
 to the blind and healing to the deaf, and fed seven thousand 
 with the bread of ten people, yet they refused to receive him 
 as "the Christ of God." Nay, more, the claims which ht 
 
 " Seventy weeks." meaning weeks of year*, or seventy multiplied by seven. 
 
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION 39S 
 
 advanced were, as coming from him, so opposed to rooted 
 opinions, by which the national pride was flattered ; his an- 
 nouncement of the termination of the Mosaical system was 
 so abhorrent to the same feeling; his reproofs of the reign- 
 ing evils were so unsparing, that he was not only rejected 
 but hated by the teachers and leaders of the people. They 
 spared no pains to accomplish his death ; and at length, 
 three years after the commencement of his ministry, at the 
 Passover of the year A. D. 33, they brought him to the 
 scourge, the thorny crown, the transfixing nails, and the cross 
 of a Koman execution. 
 
 5. In that act of blood the doom of the Jewish nation 
 was sealed. The rent veil of the Temple indicated the end 
 of the Mosaic dispensation, and the completion of the pu* 
 poses for which the descendants of Abraham had hitherto 
 been preserved as a nation. The light of Israel went out in 
 that darkness which overspread the land when the dying 
 Saviour cried " IT is FINISHED I " 
 
 But the grave could not retain him. On the third 
 day he rose, and after meeting several times with his fol- 
 lowers, discoursing with them and partaking of their food, on 
 the fortieth day he ascended, visibly, up into the heavens 
 from which he came. Soon after, at the feast of Pentecost, 
 he sent down upon his chosen followers that enlightenment 
 of the Holy Spirit, which was needful to qualify them for 
 making known his doctrines to all the world. 
 
 6. The Koman governor, Pilate, being the person in 
 whom rested the power of life and death, necessarily took 
 part in the death of Christ. To ensure the conviction of 
 Jesus, the Jews charged him with a political crime, that 
 of sedition. Had the power been with them, they would 
 have stoned him. Pilate, however, saw very plainly that 
 tkere was no real ground of charge against him, and was re- 
 luctant to condemn him. But, on the other hand, he was at 
 that time anxious to gratify the Jewish people, and was 
 fearful of the impressions which the jealous and suspicious 
 Tiberius might receive from their accounts of the trans- 
 action. He therefore yielded to their clamour; but, in doing 
 0, vainly sought to clear his own hands from the stain 
 
394 JOHN THE BAPTIST BEHEADED. 
 
 of innocent blood, and to cast it upon their heads. They 
 received it gladly, shouting, " His blood be on us, and on 
 our children!" and awfully were their words fulfilled. 
 Christ himself, not long before his death, predicted that the 
 existing generation should not pass away before their city 
 and Temple should be destroyed, with fearful sufferings of the 
 people. 
 
 7. In the year that Christ was crucified, the tetrarch 
 Philip died ; and as he had no sons, his territories were an- 
 nexed to the Koman province of Syria. As to the surviving 
 tetrarch, Herod Antipas, he put John the Baptist in prison, 
 on account of his public reprobation of a very unseemly act 
 of which he had been guilty. He took Herodias, the wife 
 of his living brother, and married her himself, putting away 
 his former legitimate wife, a daughter of the king of Arabia- 
 Petraea. Herod had no wish or intention to put John 
 to death, but was reluctantly induced to do so in com- 
 pliance with a foolish vow which the dancing of the 
 daughter of Herodias extracted from him. He afterwards 
 happened to be at Jerusalem when Christ was brought be- 
 fore Pilate, and that person, hearing that the accused be- 
 longed to Galilee, sent him to the tetrarch of that district. 
 Herod was glad to see him, having heard much of his preach- 
 ing and miracles; but, finding that Jesus was not disposed 
 to gratify his curiosity, he treated him with insult, and 
 Bent him back to Pilate. This civility between the governor 
 and the tetrarch, at the expense of Jesus, paved the way 
 for making up a misunderstanding which had existed be- 
 tween them. 
 
 8. Pilate retained his government some years longer, 
 and continued his oppressions and exactions, among which 
 may be reckoned his attempt to drain the treasury of the 
 Temple, under cover of making it chargeable for the expenses 
 of carrying an aqueduct into Jerusalem. At length, a gross 
 outrage upon the Samaritans, in which a number of innocent 
 people were put to the sword, occasioned such complaints 
 to Vitellius, the governor of Syria, that he ordered Pilate 
 home, to give an account of his conduct to the emperor. 
 
WLATE PERISBE8 BY HIS OWN HAND. 39ft 
 
 Tiberius was dead before he arrived, and his successor, 
 Caligula, banished him to Vienne in Gaul, where he is said 
 to have perished miserably by his own hand. 
 
 9. After having sent Pilate home, Vitellius himself went 
 to Jerusalem (although he had been there lately) to allay the 
 ferment which had arisen among the Jews. He was accom- 
 panied by Herod, and acted with temper and discretion. 
 He removed the high-priest, appointed Marcellus procurator 
 for the interim, and received the oaths of allegiance to the 
 new emperor. 
 
 10- Marcellus was soon superseded as procurator bf 
 Ifarolta, who was sent out by Caligula. 
 
896 
 
 CHAPTER IV. A. D. 36 TO 4. 
 
 FALESTINS. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Herod Antipas in Galilee, &c. ... 1 
 King Herod Agrippa in Trachonitis, &c, 88 
 Herod Agrippa, king of Judaea ... 41 
 
 BOM AN PROCURATORS. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Crispins Fadios . . 44 
 
 Tiberius Alexander .......46 
 
 Ventidius Cumanus .......47 
 
 Felix 52 
 
 Porcius Festal ........60 
 
 Albinos ...........63 
 
 ROME. 
 
 Caligula 87 
 
 Claudius 41 
 
 Hero 64 
 
 GENERAL HISTOKT. 
 
 Jewish embassy to Caligula . . 40 
 
 Claudius's expedition into Britain 48 
 
 Martyrdom of James the Elder . 44 
 
 Council of Apostles at Jerusalem 49 
 
 Paul imprisoned at Jerusalem . 59 
 
 Paul's first visit to Rome 61 
 
 Martyrdom of James the Lest ... 63 
 
 Paul liberated 68 
 
 PERSONS. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 ColumellS) . . . 3J 
 
 Philo Judfeus .........89 
 
 Persius ...........37 
 
 Seneca ........... 53 
 
 Petronios Arbiter . Cl 
 
 Lucan ......63 
 
 Quintus Curtius ....... .64 
 
 1. WE must now remind the reader of the two sons of 
 Herod the Great by the Asamonean Mariamne, whom their 
 father had put to death. One of them, Aristobulus, left a 
 eon called Herod Agrippa, who was sent to Borne, and brought 
 up there in the imperial family. While Tiberius lived, he 
 attached himself to Caligula, and became his intimate friend 
 and companion. An unguarded expression of the wish that 
 his friend might soon be emperor, was reported to Tiberius, 
 who threw him into prison, laden with chains. The first act 
 of Caligula, when he came to the throne, was to liberate 
 Herod Agrippa, and to bestow on him a chain of gold, of the 
 ame weight as the one of iron which he had worn for hi 
 sake. Nor was this all : he bestowed on him the tetrarchy 
 of his late uncle Philip, together with that of Abilene, with 
 the title of king. This unexpected advancement of his 
 toephew was highly unpalatable to Herod Antipas, who, 
 greatly coveting the royal title himself, went to Rome to 
 endeavour to obtain it ; but in seeking it he lost all, and was 
 ^ent to join Pilate at Vienne in Gaul. His territory was 
 given to the fortunate Agrippa; Judaea and Samaria were 
 
DEATH OF HEROD. 397 
 
 a few years after; so that the kingdom of Herod the 
 Great was once more reconstructed in behalf of his grandson. 
 
 2. The government of Agrippa was acceptable to the 
 Jews. He was anxious to satisfy them ; and his influence at 
 Eome enabled him to be of real use to them. Caligula grew 
 intoxicated with power, and wished to be worshipped as a 
 god. The Jews were likely to have been in much difficulty 
 through their resistance to the introduction of his image into 
 their Temple. The emperor was greatly enraged; but at 
 length the solicitations of Agrippa gave effect to the remon- 
 strances of a deputation from the Jews, and the Temple was 
 reluctantly exempted from the threatened pollution. Caligula 
 died soon after; and the part taken by Agrippa in promoting 
 the succession of Claudius, procured him the gratitude and 
 favour of that emperor. It was he who added Judaea to his 
 kingdom. 
 
 3. It appears to have been less from an intolerant dispo- 
 sition, than from a wish to please the Jews, at all hazards, 
 that Herod Agrippa persecuted the Christians. He put the 
 apostle James, the brother of John, to death, and Peter 
 escaped only through the interposition of an angel. 
 
 4. Latterly the mind of Herod was so inflated by the 
 sense of his increasing power and greatness, that he received 
 with complacency the salutations of the people, who, on some 
 public occasion, hailed him as a god in the theatre of Csesarea. 
 A grievous and loathsome disease with which he was imme- 
 diately smitten, and of which he soon died, convinced him 
 and them that he was a mortal man. 
 
 5. His son Agrippa was only seventeen years of age, and 
 was deemed too young to be put in possession of the dominions 
 of his father. When, however, three years after, his uncle 
 Herod, king of Chalcis, died, the emperor gave him that 
 kingdom, to which was annexed the government of the 
 Temple at Jerusalem, and the power of appointing and re- 
 moving the high-priests. Afterwards a more important king- 
 dom was given him for that of Chalcis. It was composed of 
 the provinces of Batanea, Gaulonitis, Trachonitis, and Abilene. 
 But on the death of Herod Agrippa, Judaea was again re- 
 duced to the condition of a Roman province, in which state it 
 afterwards remained. 
 
S98 FELIX GOVERNOR OF JUD2BA. 
 
 6. Under the successive governments of Cuspius Fading 
 flf Tiberius Alexander, and of Ventidius Cumanus, which 
 together occupied not more than eight years, various acts of 
 tumult, popular frenzy, delusion, and crime, afford indications 
 to the careful observer of the commencement of that troubled 
 condition of society which ended in the destruction of Jertip 
 ealem and the ruin of the nation. 
 
 7. After these, Claudius gave the government of Judaea 
 to his freedman, Felix. He was the brother of Pallas, the 
 celebrated freedman and favourite of that emperor. The 
 common observation, that the government of a slave is always 
 tyrannous, was confirmed in the case of Felix. He acted 
 with great severity, and with utter disregard of public opinion. 
 He began his government by clearing the country of the 
 numerous banditti, and the clandestine assassins called Sicarii,* 
 by whom it was infested. The great principle of conduct in 
 Felix was the same as that ascribed to Turkish Pashas in our 
 day, he was bent on making a fortune for himself during the 
 limited period of his government. To this end there was 
 nothing mean, cruel, unjust, or extortionate to which he did 
 not resort; and this conduct went far to extend and strengthen 
 that impatience of the Roman yoke, which had long existed| 
 and which was soon to rise to a kind of madness. Indeed if 
 was such already; for constantly were enthusiasts and im- 
 postors starting up, declaring themselves divinely commissioned 
 to deliver the nation from the Roman bondage. The general 
 sxpectation of such a deliverer, secured followers for the 
 wildest of those impostors ; and so numerous were they, that 
 scarcely a day passed in which several of them were not put 
 to death. The deluded people who listened to them were 
 destroyed like vermin by the Roman troops. The procurator 
 is the same Felix whose name occurs in the Acts of the 
 Apostles (xxiv.) the same who "trembled" when the apostle 
 reasoned before him " of righteousness, temperance, and judg- 
 ment to come," the same who kept Paul in prison, expecting 
 to obtain money for his ransom. About that time, however, 
 his government became so intolerable to the Jews, that they 
 
 * They obtained this name from using poniards bent like the Roman Sie*. It wM 
 their practice to mingle with the crowdf, having these poulards under their garaiMiU, Mid 
 theu using them aa they saw occasion. 
 
PORCTOS FESTUS. 899 
 
 cent s deputation to complain of his conduct to the emperor 
 Nero. He was then recalled; and the influence of his brother 
 Pallas alone preserved him from a severer punishment. 
 
 8. Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, whose cha- 
 racter in history is much fairer than that of his predecessor. 
 He proceeded to act with great vigour against the robbers and 
 Sicarii, who again swarmed in the land, and acted with in- 
 credible boldness, spreading terror through the very heart of 
 Jerusalem. He next applied himself to allay the discords 
 which raged between the superior and inferior priests, and 
 which, in a country where the ecclesiastical institutions were 
 itill so prominent as in Judaea, could not be carried on with- 
 out involving all the interests of the state. No one can exa- 
 mine the history of this period without perceiving that the 
 leaders of the people, whether priests or laymen, were, as 
 Josephus, who knew them well, describes, as vile miscreants 
 as ever lived. The immediate cause of quarrel among the 
 priests was connected with the frequent changes of the per- 
 sons holding the office of the high-priest, and the extravagant 
 claims of the persons who had once enjoyed that dignity. 
 These, in the course of time, formed a considerable body, and 
 as they all claimed the pontifical portion out of the tithes, 
 there was not enough left for the subsistence of the inferior 
 priesthood. The vigour with which the claim was enforced, 
 and the vehemence with which it was resisted, led to the most 
 scandalous outrages. They engaged partisans and employed 
 assassins against each other ; and not only was the country 
 kept in a continual ferment, but the very sanctuary was often 
 desecrated by their broils, and stained with their blood. By 
 his resolute conduct and wholesome severities, Festus in some 
 degree subdued this disgraceful strife. He received much 
 trouble from the enthusiasts and false prophets who from time 
 to time appeared, exciting the multitude by their promises of 
 deliverance. In the midst of these labours Festus died, after 
 he had held the government only two years. 
 
 9. Albinus, his successor, thought only of enriching him- 
 self. His severities were reserved for poor rogues who could 
 produce no money; but the most atrocious criminals who 
 could bribe sufficiently high, were sure of impunity. AB 
 crime yielded him a rich harvest of bribes and ransoms, he 
 
400 GESSIUS FLORUS. 
 
 was but little anxious to put it down, and his course of 
 action gave it great encouragement; BO that he was de- 
 clared to be the real head of all the robbers in the coun- 
 try. 
 
 10. But bad as Albinus was, he was greatly surpassed 
 in oppression and cruelty by Gessius Florus, who wa sent 
 out to supersede him. This man seems indeed to have 
 been the very worst, as he was the last, of the Roman 
 governors. Other governors had been tyrannical, cruel, 
 avaricious; but the tyranny of Florus knew no bounds, 
 his cruelty was a habit, and his avarice was utterly insa- 
 tiable. He gave protection to all robbers who would 
 divide the spoil with him, and thus practically gave a 
 license to all kinds of violence and spoliation. His mal- 
 administration was so outrageous as must have insured his 
 disgrace had it been made a subject of complaint at Rome; 
 and the knowledge of this made him do his utmost to 
 urge on the tendencies of the people to intestine commo- 
 tion and open revolt, hoping that, in the storm, the voice 
 of complaint against him would not be heard, and that 
 a wider field for spoliation would be opened up. The 
 measures of Florus can, however, only be said to have 
 hastened by a few years that result which the madness of 
 the people had made inevitable. 
 
401 
 
 CHAPTER V. A. D. 64 TO 70. 
 
 IVDMJi. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Oeaglua Floras, Procurator .... 64 
 
 War with the Romans ..... 65 
 
 Vespasian invades Judaea .... 68 
 
 Ktus takes and destroys Jerusalem 70 
 
 Nero M 
 
 Gulba . . 68 
 
 Otho 69 
 
 VitclIJus. 69 
 
 Vespasian ......... .69 
 
 1. THE condition of the country became 80 deplorable, 
 that a great number of the well-disposed inhabitants sought 
 in foreign countries that peace which was denied them in 
 their own. The land was distracted by tumult, and over- 
 run by robbers, who, professing to be actuated by zeal for 
 liberty and religion, plundered, without mercy, the defence- 
 less towns and villages which refused to give in their adhesion 
 to what was called the patriot cause. Meanwhile justice was 
 Bold by the Roman governor, and even the sacred office of 
 the high-priesthood was offered to the highest bidder. Hence 
 those who got that dignity were often profligate wretches, 
 who, having obtained the office by bribes, used it for their 
 own purposes, and maintained themselves in it by the darkest 
 iniquities. Being of different sects and parties, of which 
 there was now a great number, they, and the leading men 
 of the nation, acted with all the animosity of sectarianism 
 against each other. With such examples in their superiors, 
 the ordinary priests and the scribes became, in the highest 
 degree, dissolute and unprincipled ; while the mass of the 
 people abandoned themselves to all evil ; and seditions, ex- 
 tortions, and robberies, were matters of every day occurrence. 
 The bands of society were loosened ; and it became clear 
 that the nation was fast ripening for destruction. 
 
 2. Some transactions at Csesarea gave occasion for the 
 actual outbreak. That place, the seat of the Roman gover- 
 nor, was built by Herod, and had a mixed population of 
 Syrians and Jews. It was disputed between these two 
 classes, to which of them the city really belonged. The dia- 
 
 8 
 
402 VESPASIAN INTADES JUDJ5A. 
 
 pute had been referred to the emperor, and about this time the 
 decree was announced in favour of the Syrians, whose bound- 
 less exultation greatly exasperated all the Jews, who had 
 felt a prodigious interest in the question. This, with insults 
 on their religion, of which the governor refused to take cog 
 nizance, fanned into a flame the smouldering embers of re- 
 volt. Acting upon the impulse thus given, a party of hot- 
 brained young men surprised a Roman garrison at Massada, 
 near the Dead Sea, and put all the soldiers to the sword. 
 The act was recognised at Jerusalem, where the leaders of 
 the nation openly threw off their allegiance, by the refusal of 
 the priests any longer to offer up the usual sacrifices for the 
 prosperity of the Roman empire. There also the popular 
 party rose upon and slew the Roman garrison; and the 
 palace and the public offices were destroyed by fire. In- 
 describable barbarities were also committed by the "patriot" 
 party upon the quietly-disposed citizens. This example pro- 
 duced a general insurrection, in which the Jews on the one 
 side, and the Romans and Syrians on the other, attacked 
 each other with the greatest fury ; and in every city there 
 was war, massacre, and spoliation. 
 
 8. On the first news of this revolt, the president of Syria, 
 Cestius GaDus, marched a powerful army into Judsea, and 
 advanced against Jerusalem. Strange to say, he was de- 
 feated by the insurgents with great slaughter; and the 
 military engines which fell into the hands of the victors, 
 were of great use to them in the subsequent defence of the 
 city. The honour of Rome was now engaged to avenge this 
 disgrace, and no thinking man for a moment doubted the 
 result. Nero sent the able and experienced Vespasian into 
 Syria (who was accompanied by his on Titus), with the 
 quality of president, tt take the conduct of the war. 
 
 4. Vespasian commenced operations in the spring of 
 A. D. 67, with an army of 60,000 men. Instead of going 
 at once to Jerusalem, he employed himself in reducing 
 Galilee, and in recovering the fortresses which had been 
 taken by the insurgents. In this he met with considerable 
 resistance, and had many occasions of witnessing the despe- 
 rate valour of the insurgents. At Jotapata he was opposed 
 by ' Josephus, the historian of the war, to whom the pro- 
 
DREADFUL MASSACRES OF THE JEWi. 401 
 
 visional Jewish government had confided the defence of 
 Galilee. The fortress fell, and Josephus was taken alive, 
 He was at first treated rather roughly, but afterwards with 
 consideration and respect. At the commencement of the 
 campaign, the Romans behaved with great severity wherever 
 they came. No mercy was shown to age or sex ; but cities, 
 towns, and villages were cruelly ravaged and destroyed. Nor 
 were these desolations confined to Judaea; for in many 
 foreign cities in which Jews were settled, they were slaugh- 
 tered in multitudes by the Roman soldiers and the other 
 inhabitants. Some idea of these dreadful massacres may be 
 formed from the facts, that above 20,000 Jews were slain in 
 one day at Csesarea, 13,000 in one night at Scythopolis, 
 50,000 at Alexandria, 8000 at Joppa, and above 10,000 at 
 Damascus. Nor need we wonder at such extent of destruc- 
 tion among a people who were so infatuated as to rush into a 
 warfare, in which, according to Josephus, the odds were so 
 fearfully against them. 
 
 5. Though the war was steadily prosecuted, Vespasian 
 evinced no haste to march against Jerusalem ; and when urged 
 by his impatient officers, he told them that it was better to 
 let the Jews destroy one another. In fact, he knew well 
 how destructively the factions were raging against each other 
 in Jerusalem. There were three of these factions, after- 
 wards reduced to two, holding possession of different parts of 
 the city. They wasted their strength in cruel conflicts with 
 each other ; in which they even destroyed the storehouses of 
 corn and provisions which formed the only resource against 
 famine in the threatened siege. In one thing, however, they 
 all agreed, in harassing, plundering, and destroying the 
 citizens and nobles who did not enter into their views. Thug 
 fliey obtained little real benefit from the respite which arose 
 from the attention of the Roman army being diverted for a 
 while from them by the revolution which at this time hap- 
 pened in imperial Rome, in consequence of the death of 
 Nero. Galba, Otho, Vitellius, were invested with the purple 
 in quick succession ; and at length, with general approbation, 
 Vespasian himself was declared emperor by the army in 
 Judaea, He then departed for Rome, leaving the coiaduot ojf 
 the war to his son Titus. 
 
 P. 18 
 
404 TITUS BESIEGES JERUSALEM. 
 
 6, At the feast of the Passover, in the ensuing year, 
 when the city of Jerusalem was, as usual at tnat time, 
 crowded with people from all quarters, the Eoman army ap- 
 peared before the walls. It was probably his anxiety to 
 eave the city and the Temple, that induced Titus to com- 
 mence the siege at this season ; as it might have been 
 expected, that where such multitudes were shut up hi an 
 ill-provisioned city, famine alone would soon make a sur 
 render inevitable. The besieged were very earnestly in- 
 vited to open their gates to the Romans, and were with 
 all sincerity assured of their liberty and safety. Josephus 
 was also commissioned to harangue them, and to point out to 
 them the folly of supposing that they could hold out against, 
 or successfully resist, the might of Rome. But all warning 
 and counsel were treated with insult and scorn ; and the fac- 
 tions expressed the resolution of defending the place to the 
 very last, in the confidence that God would not permit hia 
 Temple and city to fall before the heathen. Such repeated 
 refusals of mercy and compassion, and the very desperate 
 defence made by the besieged, compelled Titus, much against 
 his own will, to become the unconscious instrument of ac- 
 complishing that doom of the city and the Temple, which 
 Christ had nearly forty years before denounced. The folly 
 of resistance was so clear to Titus, that he became ex- 
 asperated at the unpleasant task which their obstinacy 
 imposed upon him. Resolved that none of them should 
 escape, but such as surrendered to him, he raised around 
 the city a strong wall of circumvallation, strengthened with 
 towers. This great work was accomplished in the short 
 space of three days. 
 
 7. The city was very strong, being enclosed by three 
 walls, one within another ; and then there was the Temple, 
 which itself was an exceedingly strong fortress. All these 
 defences were successively carried by the Romans, although 
 very step was desperately contested by the besieged. ~ 
 
 . .- __< * +> 
 
CHAPTEB VI. A. D. 70 TO 107. 
 
 1. AFTER the Roman armies were withdrawn from Jera- 
 wlem, many of the Jews returned to dwell among its ruins, 
 though the Roman emperor, indignant at the late rebellion, 
 had placed a garrison of 800 troops on Mount Zion, in order 
 to prevent any attempt to rebuild the city. A portion of the 
 country was yet, indeed, unscathed by the flames of war; the 
 towns on the coast, submitting to the Romans, escaped the 
 horrors of a siege and the penalties of rebellion, while the 
 provinces beyond Jordan enjoyed tranquillity under the rule 
 of the conquerors. But the Jews were discontented and re- 
 bellious under the yoke of Rome; they still fondly believed 
 that an earthly Messiah was shortly to arise, to free them from 
 bondage, and to give them the dominion of the whole earth. 
 They accordingly listened to the tales of every impostor, and 
 were easily seduced into rebellion by vain hopes of national 
 glory, that were never realised. Hence their continual insur- 
 rections, which exposed them still farther to the vengeance of 
 the conquerors, and accelerated the crisis of their fate, when 
 they were to be driven altogether from their own land, and 
 dispersed over the face of the earth. In the course of these 
 commotions great cruelties were committed; but in the end? 
 the Jews were everywhere borne down by the disciplice of 
 the Roman legions, and paid the penalty of their rebeJlioa 
 with their lives. By acts of mutual cruelty, the animosity of 
 both parties was inflamed; the sword of persecution was la* 
 loose against the Jewish religion by their conquerors; the 
 rite of circumcision, the reading of the law, and the observance 
 of the Jewish Sabbath, and all the other memorials of the 
 national faith, were forbidden. In the city of Jerusalem, 
 which was to a certain extent repaired, and received the 
 name of JElia Capitolina, a colony of Greeks and Latins wai 
 established, in order to preclude the return of the Jews, and 
 all further hopes of the restoration of their kingdom. But 
 
408 SIMON BARCOCHAB'S REBELLION. 
 
 the policy of the Komans was of no avail against the deep- 
 rooted prejudices of this infatuated people ; and no sooner hafl 
 a new impostoi arisen, of the name of Simon Barcochab (ton of 
 a star), than the deluded Israelites hailed him as the light 
 that was to dawn in the latter days, and usher in the day of 
 their long-expected rest. They accordingly crowded to his 
 Standard ; and in a short time he had mustered a powerful 
 army of 200,000 devoted followers. Owing to the absence of 
 the Roman legions, engaged at that time in distant service, 
 important advantages were gained, and Jerusalem was again 
 occupied by the insurgent Jews, besides about fifty castles, 
 and numbers of open towns. But this career of success was 
 speedily terminated by the arrival of Severus, afterwards 
 emperor, with a large and well-appointed body of legionary 
 troops; the Jews were overwhelmed by numbers, discipline, 
 and military skill; their cities were taken and destroyed; and 
 Either, where the leader of the rebellion, Barcochab, had made 
 his last stand, was stormed with great slaughter, and himself 
 slain. Of the Jews, it is estimated that 580,000 died on the 
 field, and the remnant that escaped mostly perished by famine 
 and disease, or amid the flames of their ruined cities. Under 
 these ruthless devastations the country was at last converted 
 into a desert; the inhabitants were either slain or driven into 
 exile; and the divine denunciations were now fully accom- 
 plished against this misguided people, that they should be 
 scattered among all the nations of the earth. 
 
 2. The victors having thus satiated their vengeance, 
 began in due time to relax their stern and intolerant policy. 
 Under the mild rule of Antoninus Pius, the Jews were re- 
 stored to their ancient privileges, to the freedom of worship, 
 and to all their other national rites. They were now mingled 
 >rith the nations, and were found dwelling in all parts of the 
 Roman empire; and their general condition under the Roman 
 emperors was not unfavourable. The numerous remains of 
 that people, though they were excluded from the precincts of 
 Jerusalem, were permitted to form and to maintain conside- 
 rable establishments both in Italy and in the provinces, to 
 acquire the freedom of Rome, to enjoy municipal honours, and 
 to obtain at the same time an exemption from burdensome 
 and expensive offices. The moderation or indifference of the 
 
THE EMPEROR CONST ANTINB. 409 
 
 Romans gave a legal sanction to the form of ecclesiastical 
 police which was instituted by the vanquished sect. The 
 patriarch, who had fixed his residence at Tiberias, was em- 
 powered to appoint his subordinate ministers to exercise a 
 domestic jurisdiction, and to receive from his dispersed 
 brethren an annual contribution. New synagogues were 
 frequently erected in the principal cities of the empire ; and 
 the sabbaths, the fasts, and the festivals, which were either 
 commanded by the Mosaic law, or enjoined by the traditions 
 of the rabbins, were celebrated in the most solemn and 
 public manner. Such gentle treatment insensibly mollified 
 the stern temper of the Jews, and, awakened from their 
 dream of misinterpreted prophecy and conquest, they assumed 
 the behaviour of peaceable and industrious subjects. 
 
 3. No great change appears to have taken place in the 
 condition of Palestine, until Constantino ascended the im- 
 perial throne. He was, as is well known, the first Christian 
 emperor ; and under his powerful patronage, and that of his 
 mother the Empress Helena, splendid structures were every- 
 where erected in the Holy Land, in honour of the Christian 
 faith. The land was gradually overspread with memorials of 
 Christianity; and chapels, altars, and houses of prayer marked 
 every spot which was memorable for any of the sayings or 
 doings of the Saviour. The Jews beheld with indignation 
 the rise of these Christian monuments within the precincts of 
 the holy city. They were as much opposed to the Christian 
 worship as to the heathen idolatry, but their influence wag 
 now at an end. Scattered in distant parts, they could no 
 longer act with consistency or vigour ; yet, so attached were 
 they to their peculiar rites, that, however faint the chance of 
 success, they were ready in crowds to rally round the stan- 
 dard of their ancient faith, wherever it was displayed, and io 
 follow any daring leader into the field. But the time was 
 past. They were rejected by the divine decree, and were no 
 longer to be assembled as a nation in their own land. 
 Jerusalem was now filled with the emblems of a new faith, 
 and crowds of pilgrims were attracted from the most distant 
 countries, by the eager desire of contemplating the place of 
 the Redeemer's passion, and of all the previous incidents of 
 his holy life. These visits were encouraged from varioui 
 
410 JULIAN'S ATTEMPT TO REBUILD A TEMPLE* 
 
 motives. They evinced, no doubt, the zeal of the new con- 
 verts ; and being at once an apparent proof of piety and a 
 real source of profit, they were encouraged by the clergy at 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 4. The reign of Julian was a new era in the history of 
 Palestine, and the Jews anticipated, from his declared enmity 
 to Christianity, his favour for their own faith. The policy 
 of this heathen emperor countenanced them in this belief, 
 when he endeavoured, by rebuilding the Temple of Jeru- 
 Balem in its former splendour, to discredit the truth of 
 those prophesies which declared the extinction of the ritual 
 service. He chose the commanding eminence of Mount 
 Moriah for the site of a new structure, which was to 
 eclipse the splendour of the Christian church on the adja- 
 cent hill of Calvary ; and he resolved to establish a 
 Jewish order of priests, who might revive the observance 
 of the Mosaic rites, together with as numerous a colony 
 of Jews as could be collected, in the holy city. Such 
 was still the ardour of the national faith, that the Jews 
 crowded from all parts, and exasperated, by their insolent 
 triumph, the hostility of the Christian inhabitants. All 
 now joined with unwearied zeal in the sacred work of re- 
 building the Temple. Liberal contributions poured in from 
 all quarters ; men and women joined in the pious labour ; 
 and the authority of the monarch was seconded by the 
 enthusiasm of the people. But this last effort of expiring 
 zeal was unsuccessful ; no Temple ever arose on the ruins of 
 the heathen edifices ; and a Mohammedan mosque still stands 
 on the ground of the Jewish Temple. The work, from 
 whatever cause, was abandoned ; and as it was only under- 
 taken during the last six months of Julian's reign, the fact 
 eems sufficiently explained by the absence and death of the 
 emperor, and by the new maxims that were adopted during 
 the Christian reign that succeeded, without the aid of the 
 alleged miracle to which it has been usually ascribed. 
 
 5. After the death of Julian, it was the policy of the 
 Christian emperors to depress the Jews in Palestine, though 
 they were not ill-treated throughout the provinces, and were 
 even granted considerable privileges and immunities. But 
 it is astonishing how carefully fathers instilled into the micdf 
 
THE PERSIAN INVASION. 411 
 
 of their children, along with their ancient faith, the fondly- 
 cherished delusion, that some new and happier era of free- 
 dom and independence was yet to dawn on Israel ; and how 
 eagerly the children, imbibing this idea, became the prey of 
 every impostor, and, under the blind impulse of enthusiasm, 
 rashly entered into new conflicts with their enemies in the 
 field, where they perished, the willing victims of a hopeless 
 cause. About the beginning of the seventh century, the 
 peace of Judaea was seriously disturbed by the Persian in- 
 vasion of Khosroes. The Greeks and the Persians were for 
 * long period rivals for the dominion of the east ; and Khos- 
 roes, the grandson of Nushirvan, now invading the Roman 
 empire, stormed and sacked the city of Antioch. From Syria 
 the flood of invasion rolled southward on Palestine, and the 
 Persian army was joined by the Jews to the number of 
 24,000, still burning with the love of independence. The 
 Christians and Jews were inflamed against each other by a 
 long course of deep injuries given and received. Those of 
 the former nation within the walls of Jerusalem were mas- 
 Bacred without mercy by their Christian enemies, while the 
 Jews on the outside were burning with the desire of revenge. 
 The advance of the Persians secured the triumph. The city 
 was stormed by the combined armies, and the Jews were 
 satiated with a full measure of revenge. The Christians 
 neither sought nor found mercy ; it was estimated that 
 90,000 of them perished in the storming of the city. Some 
 were sold for slaves, and others were bought for the purpose 
 of being slaughtered. The city was sacked, and the magni- 
 ficent monuments of the Christian faith were mostly con- 
 sumed by fire. But this, like all the other triumphs of the 
 Jews, was short-lived. The eastern emperor, Heraclius, wa 
 roused from inglorious sloth by the triumphs of the Persian 
 arms, and by the approach of the victorious force to the 
 walls of his own capital. He quickly assembled his veteran 
 armies, by whose aid he defeated the troops of Khosroes; 
 and in the course of a few successful campaigns recovered 
 all the provinces that had been overrun. He visited Jeru- 
 salem after his victories in the lowly guise of a pilgrim, and 
 prepared new triumphs for the Christians in the restoration 
 of the magnificent churches which had been destroyed, and 
 
112 THE MOHAMMEDAN POWER. 
 
 in the persecution of the Jews, and their banishment, as be- 
 fore, from the holy city, which they were now forbidden to 
 approach within a nearer distance than three miles. 
 
 6. Palestine continued to own the sway of the Greek 
 emperor till the rise of the Arabian power in the East. The 
 followers of Mohammed, extending their doctrines and their 
 dominion by fire and sword, rapidly subdued Arabia, Syria, 
 and Egypt, when, about the year 637, the victorious Omar 
 turned his arms against Jerusalem. After a siege of four 
 months, during which the Arabs suffered extremely from the 
 inclemency of the winter, a capitulation was proposed and 
 agreed to, when the conqueror entered the city seated on a 
 red camel, which carried a bag of corn and dates, and with- 
 out guards, or any other precaution. Omar was assassinated 
 at Medinah, in the year 644, after which, the East was for 
 two hundred years distracted by the bloody wars that ensued 
 among the Ommiades, the Abbassides, and the Fatimite 
 caliphs ; and Palestine having become an object of contest be- 
 tween them, was for a like period a scene of devastation and 
 trouble. In the year 868, the capital was conquered by 
 Achmet, a Turk ; but was again recovered by the caliphs of 
 Baghdad in the year 906. It was reduced by Mohammed 
 Ikschid, of the Turkish race. Towards the end of the tenth 
 century, the holy city was taken possession of by Ortok ; and 
 in 1076, by Meleschah, a Turk. It was retaken by the 
 Ortokides, and finally by the Fatimites, who held possession 
 of it when the Crusaders made their first appearance in the 
 Holy Land. 
 
CHAPTER VII. A. D. 1076 TO 1203. 
 
 t. JERUSALEM, though it was in possession of Moslem chiefs, 
 was still revered as a holy city by both Christian and Jew, 
 and was visited by pilgrims from every quarter ; among others 
 by Peter the hermit, a native of Amiens. The pathetic tale 
 which he brought to Europe, of the injuries and insults which 
 the Christian pilgrims suffered from the infidels, who pos- 
 sessed and profaned the holy city, excited the deepest 
 sympathy among the people and princes of Christendom. 
 Councils were summoned, and were attended by bishops, a 
 numerous train of ecclesiastics, and by thousands of the laity. 
 The mixed multitude were harangued by the zealous en- 
 thusiasts of this sacred cause ; their pity and indignation were 
 alternately roused by the sufferings of their brethren in the 
 Holy Land ; the flame of enthusiasm was propagated by 
 sympathy and example ; and the eager champions of the cross, 
 the flower of the European chivalry, assembled in martial 
 array, to march against the enemies of their common faith. 
 To defray the necessary expenses of the expedition, princei 
 alienated their provinces, nobles their lands and castles, 
 peasants their cattle and instruments of husbandry ; and vast 
 armies were transported to Palestine, in order to accomplish 
 the deliverance of the holy sepulchre. These rude and un- 
 disciplined bands died in great numbers on reaching the shores 
 ot Asia, from disease, famine, and fatigue ; and of the first 
 Crusaders, it is estimated that 300,000 had perished before a 
 single city was rescued from the infidels. Of the leaders in 
 the Christian host, the first rank is due to Godfrey, Duke of 
 Brabant and Bouillon, who was accompanied by his two 
 brothers, Eiistace the elder, who had succeeded to the county 
 of Boulogne, and Baldwin the younger. The otrer chiefg 
 were, Robert of France, the brother of King Philip ; Robert, 
 Duke of Normandy, the son of William the Conqueror; 
 Bohemond, the son of Robert Guiscard ; Tancred his cousin, 
 ard Raymond of Thoulouse r The vast armies that wer 
 
414 THE FIRST CRUSADE. 
 
 collected under the guidance of these leaders arrived by 
 various routes at Constantinople, the Greek capital ; after 
 having lost, some say, half their number, in the intermediate 
 march through untried regions, by famine, disease, and the 
 assaults of the inhabitants into whose countries they had 
 made so unexpected an irruption. After some time spent in 
 the capital of the East, they crossed to the opposite shore of 
 Asia. Having taken the towns of Nice and Antioch in the 
 year 1098, they, about a year after, laid siege to Jerusalem, 
 and carried it by assault, with a prodigious slaughter of the 
 garrison and inhabitants, which was continued for three days, 
 without respect either to age or sex. 
 
 2. Eight days after the capture of Jerusalem, the Latin 
 chiefs proceeded to ilhe election of a king, who should preside 
 over their conquests in Palestine, and Godfrey of Bouillon 
 was unanimously raised to this high office. But if it was an 
 honourable office, it was also one of danger; he was not 
 chosen to sway a peaceful sceptre ; and he was summoned to 
 the field in the first fortnight of his reign, to defend his 
 capital against the sultan of Egypt, who approached with a 
 powerful army. The signal overthrow of the latter in the 
 battle of Ascalon confirmed the stability of the Latin throne, 
 and enabled Godfrey to extend on every side his infant 
 kingdom, which consisted only of Jerusalem and Jaffa, with 
 about twenty villages and towns of the adjacent districts. 
 The fortified castles, in which the Mohammedans had taken 
 refuge, and from which they made incursions into the open 
 country, were reduced; the maritime cities of Laudicea, 
 Tripoli, Tyre, and Ascalon, were besieged and taken ; and 
 the Christian kingdom thus included a range of sea-coast from 
 Scanderoon to the borders of Egypt. Although the province 
 of Antioch claimed independence, the courts of Edessa and 
 Tripoli owned themselves the vassals of the king of Jerusalem; 
 and the four cities of Hems, Hamah, Damascus, and Aleppo, 
 were the only relics of the Mohammedan conquests in Syria. 
 The feudal institutions of Europe were introduced into thii 
 kingdom in all their purity ; and a code of laws, called the 
 assize of Jerusalem, was drawn up and deposited in the seput 
 ehre of the Saviour, as an unerring guide in all doubtful quo 
 that might be brought before the tribunals of the holy citjfc 
 
THE SECOND CRUSADE. 415 
 
 8. Godfrey was succeeded by Ms brother Baldwin I., wh 
 ruled with vigour and success. In 1118 his nephew, Bald- 
 Win II., ascended the throne, and still maintained the interesti 
 of the kingdom. Melisandra his daughter, married Fulk, 
 Count of Anjou, who, in right of his wife, acquired the king- 
 dom of Jerusalem. He lost his life by a fall from his horse, 
 after having reigned twelve years. His son, Baldwin III., 
 ruled in Jerusalem twenty years ; and his reign was remark- 
 able as the era of the second Crusade, and of the rise of the 
 various orders of knighthood, the hospitallers, templars, and 
 cavaliers. 
 
 4. The military force of the first Crusaders, wasted by 
 fatigue, and by losses in the field, was no longer able to oppose 
 the hosts of Turks and Saracens by which it was surrounded. 
 The first victories of the Europeans, and their rapid success, 
 extended far and wide the terror of their arms. But this 
 alarm having subsided, the Mohammedan chiefs collected their 
 armies, and commenced a vigorous attack on the European 
 posts, scattered over a wide extent of country, and gained 
 Borne important advantages. The accounts of these disasters 
 that were circulated in Europe excited the liveliest sympathy 
 of all Christians for their suffering brethren in the Holy Land, 
 for the defence of which the European princes now entered 
 into a new coalition. A second Crusade was the consequence. 
 It was undertaken by Conrad III., emperor of Germany, and 
 Louis VII. king of France, and was even more unfortunate 
 than the first expedition. In the course of a tedious march 
 through an unhealthy and hostile country, more than half the 
 army of Conrad was wasted by famine and the sword, and not 
 above a tenth part ever reached the Syrian shore. The sub- 
 sequent battles with the Saracens reduced them to a miser- 
 able remnant ; and on his return with his shattered forces 
 from this unfortunate campaign, the emperor was met by Louis 
 and the French troops, who arrived in better condition at the 
 scene of action. The French army, rashly advancing into the 
 heart of the country, was assaulted and overwhelmed by an 
 innumerable host of Turks ; and the king with great difficulty 
 made his escape, and finally took shipping with his knighti 
 uid nobles, leaving his plebeian infantry to the sword of the 
 victorious enemy. The two princes proceeding to Jerusalem, 
 
416 THE SULTAN iALAHIH. 
 
 united the poor remains of their once mighty armies to the 
 Latin troops in Syria, and laid a fruitless siege to Damascus, 
 which was the termination of the second Crusade. 
 
 5. The defeat and dispersion of these armies tended greatly 
 to weaken the Christian cause in the Holy Land, and to shake 
 the foundations of the Latin throne at Jerusalem. Baldwin, 
 the son ef Melisandra and the Count of Anjou, together with 
 his brother Amaury or Almeric, long maintained the war with 
 considerable success against the infidels, Baldwin, dying, was 
 succeeded by his brother, who, after a reign of eleven years, 
 transmitted the throne to his son Baldwin IV., disabled both 
 in mind and body by the disease of leprosy. Sybilla, the 
 mother of Baldwin, was the next heiress, who chose for her 
 second husband, and consequently for king of Jerusalem, Guy 
 of Lusignan, base in character, but handsome in his person. 
 This choice was universally blamed, and excited the hatred 
 of Count Raymond, who had been excluded from the succes- 
 sion and regency, and who, entertaining an implacable hatred 
 against the king, was seduced into a traitorous correspondence 
 with the Sultan. Many of the barons were also so dissatisfied, 
 that they refused to take the oath of allegiance to the new 
 king. 
 
 6. It was in the midst of these internal dissensions that 
 the kingdom of the Latins was assailed by a new enemy, 
 namely, the Sultan Saladin, who joined much generosity of 
 character to valour, policy, and military skill. He had risen 
 from a private station to the sovereignty of Egypt, and he 
 had been for years extending his influence and dominions. A 
 fortress had been seized by a soldier of fortune, Reginald of 
 Chatillon, from which he issued with his followers to pillage 
 the caravans and insult the Mohammedans, and he even 
 threatened the holy cities of Medina and Mecca. Saladin 
 complained of these injuries, and being refused satisfaction, 
 invaded the Holy Land with an army of 80,000 horse and 
 foot. He advanced against Tiberias, to which he laid siege ; 
 and a decisive battle was hazarded by the king of Jerusalem, 
 in defence of this important place. The two armies met on 
 the plain of Tiberias, and in a sanguinary conflict, which 
 lasted two days, the Christians were completely overthrown, 
 With the loss of 30,000 men. The king, the Marquis l 
 
CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM BY THE MOSLEMS. 417 
 
 Montserrat, and the master of the templars, with many of their 
 followers, were made prisoners ; and two hundred and thirty 
 gallant knights of the cross were cruelly led out to execution 
 after the battle. This great victory placed the whole coun- 
 try at the mercy of the conqueror. The Christians were left 
 without a head ; the towns and castles, drained of their 
 governors, fell successively before Saladin's victorious force ; 
 and scarcely had three months elapsed when he appeared in 
 arras before the gates of Jerusalem. 
 
 7. This city was in no condition to sustain a protracted 
 siege. It was crowded with fugitives from every quarter, 
 who here sought an asylum from the destroying sword; a 
 disorderly throng of 100,000 persons was confined within the 
 walls, but there were few soldiers. The queen was alarmed 
 for the fate of her captive husband, and her government was 
 feeble and indecisive. A defence was, however, maintained 
 for fourteen days, during which the besiegers had effected a 
 breach in the wall, and only waited the Sultan's orders for the 
 assault. This last extremity was averted by a capitulation, 
 by which it was agreed that all the Franks and Latins should 
 quit Jerusalem, receiving a safe conduct to the ports of Syria 
 and Egypt, that the inhabitants should be ransomed for a 
 sum of money, and that those who were unable to pay it 
 should remain slaves. These conditions were liberally inter- 
 preted and greatly mitigated by the generosity of the Sultan, 
 who allowed the poor to be ransomed by wholesale for a mo- 
 derate sum, and freely dismissed about 3000 more. In his 
 interview with the Queen, he displayed the kindness and 
 courtesy of his disposition, comforting her with his words, 
 and even with his tears ; he distributed liberal alms among 
 the widows and orphans of those who were slain, and allowed 
 the warlike knights of the hospital to continue their care of 
 the sick for another year. He made his triumphant entry 
 into the city, with waving banners and martial music ; the 
 Christian Church was converted into a mosque, and the 
 glittering cross was taken down and dragged through the 
 streets, amid the shouts of the Moslems. The whole country 
 now submitted to the Sultan, whose victorious progress was 
 first arrested by the resistance of Tyre, which was gallantly 
 defetded by Conrad. The Sultan, being foiled in all his at- 
 
418 THE THIRD CRUSADB. 
 
 tempts to take this place, was finally compelled to raise thft 
 riege, and x> retreat to Damascus. 
 
 8. The capture of Jerusalem by the infidels, and the de- 
 cline of the Christian cause in Palestine, excited the deepest 
 sorrow; the slumbering zeal of the European powers was 
 aroused, and new expeditions were fitted out for the re- 
 covery of the holy city. Philip, king of France, Frederick 
 Barbarossa, the emperor of Germany, and Kichard I. of 
 England, surnamed Coeur-de-Lion, assembled a large force, 
 and, with the aid of Flanders, Frise, and Denmark, filled 
 about 200 vessels with their troops. The first armaments 
 landed at Tyre, the only remaining inlet of the Christians 
 into the Holy Land, and no time was lost in commencing the 
 celebrated siege of Acre, which was maintained with an en- 
 thusiasm that mocked at danger, and by feats of valour that 
 were the theme of wonder, even in that romantic age. This 
 memorable siege lasted for nearly two years, and was attended 
 with a prodigious loss of men on both sides. At length, in 
 the spring of the second year, the royal fleets of France and 
 England cast anchor in the bay, with powerful reinforce- 
 ments, and the brave defenders of Acre were reduced to capi- 
 tulate. A ransom was demanded for their lives and liberties, 
 of 200,000 pieces of gold, the deliverance of 100 nobles, and 
 1500 inferior captives, and the restoration of the holy cross, 
 which had been taken at the battle of Tiberias. Thus was 
 an important town and harbour obtained by the Christians, 
 but by an enormous sacrifice of men. The host that sur- 
 rounded Acre amounted at different periods to 600,000 ; of 
 these, 100,000 were slain during the siege of two years, a 
 greater number perished by shipwreck and disease, and it is 
 computed that only a very small remnant reached their na- 
 tiVe shores. The place was taken possession of by the Chris- 
 tians on the 12th of July 1191. 
 
 9. The capture of Acre was the prelude to farther opera- 
 tions against the enemy. Richard determined to commenca 
 the siege of Ascalon, about a hundred miles distant, and his 
 inarch to this place was a continual battle of eleven days. 
 He was opposed by Saladin with an army of 300,000 com- 
 batants ; and on this occasion was fought one of the most 
 memorable battles of this, or any other age. Saladin was de- 
 
THE FOURTH CRU8ADB. 419 
 
 feated with the loss of 40,000 men, and the victorious Richard 
 obtained possession of Ascalon, and the other towns of Judsea. 
 A severe winter interrupted the operations of the field. But 
 Richard, issuing from his winter quarters with the first gleam 
 of spring, advanced with his army within sight of Jerusalem, 
 the great object of his enterprise. Saladin had chosen Jeru- 
 salem for his head-quarters, where the sudden appearance of 
 the Christian conqueror spread universal consternation. The 
 holy city was, however, relieved by the hasty retreat of the 
 English king, discouraged by the difficulties of the enterprise 
 and the murmurs of his troops. In the meantime, the 
 town of Jaffa was vigorously assaulted by Saladin with a for- 
 midable force, and was on the point of surrendering, when 
 Richard, hastening to its relief, encountered the besieging 
 army of Saracens and Turks, amounting to 60,000 men, who 
 yielded to the vigour of his attack. In the meantime, the 
 miseries of a protracted war began to be severely felt, and the 
 energetic views of Richard were obstructed by the discontent 
 of his troops. Negociations were commenced, which were 
 broken off, and as often resumed. The views of both parties 
 varied with the fortune of war. At last, however, both Sala- 
 din and Richard were equally 'desirous of terminating an un- 
 popular and ruinous contest. The first demands of Richard 
 were, the restitution of Jerusalem, Palestine, and the true 
 cross. These terms were rejected by the Sultan, who would 
 not part with the sovereignty of Palestine, or listen to any 
 proposition for dismembering his dominions. A truce was at 
 length concluded for three years, by which it was stipulated 
 that the Latin Christians should have liberty to visit the holy 
 city without being liable to tribute ; that the fort of Ascalon 
 should be dismantled ; and that Jaffa and Tyre, with the in- 
 tervening territory, should be surrendered to the Europeans, 
 Soon after the conclusion of this treaty Richard embarked for 
 Europe ; and Saladin, his great rival, did not survive many 
 months the conclusion of peace. 
 
 10. The fourth Crusade was encouraged by the zeal of 
 Pope Celestine III. It was directed against the Greek em- 
 pire, which was too feeble to resist so formidable an attack ; 
 and the result was its conquest by the Latins, who ruled over 
 it for fifty-seven years. 
 
430 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. AD. 1203 TO 1850. 
 
 t. IN the meantime, though partial successes were gained 
 by the armies of the Crusaders in Palestine, their power wai 
 on the decline. A truce for six years had been concluded 
 with Saphadin, the brother and successor of the Sultan Sala- 
 din. The sovereign of the Latin kingdom at this time wai 
 Mary, the daughter of Isabella by Conrad of Tyre, Almeric 
 and his wife being dead. In order to strengthen the govern- 
 ment of Jerusalem, it was resolved to request the king of 
 France, Philip Augustus, to provide a husband for Mary. 
 John de Brienne, one of the most accomplished cavaliers in 
 Europe, of tried valour and experience in war, was chosen ; 
 and the Christian chiefs were so elated by this union, that 
 they sought a pretence for breaking the subsisting truce be- 
 tween them and the Sultan, and bringing matters to the ar- 
 bitration of the sword. War accordingly ensued, and the 
 new monarch of Jerusalem displayed all the great qualities 
 of a statesman and a soldier, for which he was chosen j and 
 though his success did not entirely correspond to his hopes or 
 wishes, yet he made a successful defence, and maintained for 
 a time the Latin kingdom against the growing power of its 
 enemies. He foresaw, however, that its gradual decline and 
 final ruin were approaching, as it was now reduced to two or 
 three towns, and preserved only in a precarious existence by 
 the divisions and civil wars that prevailed among its enemies. 
 
 2. This intelligence rekindled the dying zeal of the 
 Christian world. A new Crusade was commenced, and a large 
 force, chiefly of Hungarians and Germans, landed at Acre. 
 The sons of Saphadin, who now ruled in Syria, collected their 
 armies to oppose this formidable attack. But the Crusaders, 
 rashly conducted, and weakened by divisions, advanced into 
 the country without concert or prudence ; provisions failed 
 them ; they were wasted, as usual, by famine and disease/ 
 
THE FIFTH AND SIXTH CRUSADES. 421 
 
 nd at length their leader, the sovereign of Hungary, resolved 
 to quit a country where he had been exposed to hardship and 
 danger, Avithout glory. The crusading armies, thus weakened 
 and discouraged, had laid aside all further idea of offensive 
 operations, when, in the spring of the following year, a fleet 
 of 300 vessels, from the Ehine, appeared on the coast, and 
 brought to their aid powerful reinforcements, which recruited 
 their strength, and restored their ascendancy in the field. 
 For reasons which do not clearly appear, they now retired 
 from Palestine, and carried the war into Egypt, where they 
 obtained important successes, having taken Damietta by storm, 
 and spread such consternation among the infidels, that the 
 most favourable terms of peace were offered, and rejected by 
 the Crusaders. Soon after, however, having wasted their 
 strength on the banks of the Nile, they were reduced to the 
 necessity of bargaining for permission to retire to Palestine, 
 by the cession of all their conquests in Egypt. 
 
 3. The next Crusade wa-s undertaken by Frederic II., 
 the grandson of Barbarossa, according to a vow which had 
 been long made, and the performance of which had been so 
 long delayed, that he was excommunicated by Gregory IX. 
 By his marriage with Violante, the daughter of John de 
 Brienne, he was the more especially bound to vindicate his 
 right to the kingdom of Jerusalem, which he had received as 
 a dowry with his wife. After many delays, he set sail with 
 a fleet of 200 ships and an army of 40,000 men, and arrived 
 at Acre. This was the most successful and the most blood- 
 less expedition that had yet been undertaken. Without the 
 hazard of a battle Frederic entered Jerusalem in triumph. 
 The Saracen power was at this time weakened by divisions ; 
 vnd, owing to suspected treachery among his kindred, Kamel, 
 ,^he son of Saphadin, held precarious possession of the throne. 
 \t was his policy, therefore, rather to disarm the hostility of 
 these powerful armies by treating with them, than to encounter 
 them in the field ; and accordingly a treaty was concluded, 
 by which Jerusalem, Jaffa, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and their 
 dependencies, were restored to the Christians ; religious tole- 
 ration was established, and the contending parties of Chris- 
 tians and Mohammedans were allowed each to offer ap their 
 devotions, the first in the mosque El-Aksa, and the last in the 
 
4M THE SEVENTH CRUSADE. 
 
 mosque of Omar.* But all these services were performed by 
 Frederic while under the stain of excommunication ; and hence 
 the patriarch, when he made his entry into Jerusalem, re- 
 fused to crown him, or to be present at the ceremonial ; Fre- 
 deric, therefore, himself took the crown from the holy sepul- 
 chre, and placed it on his own head. The stipulations of 
 this treaty were not faithfully observed by the Saracens, and 
 the Christians in Palestine still suffered under the oppression 
 of the infidels. New levies were raised in Europe for the 
 holy war, and a large force of French and English, led by the 
 chief nobility of both nations, landed in Syria. Numeroui 
 battles were fought, which terminated in favour of the Sara- 
 cens; and the French Crusaders, accordingly, after severe 
 losses, were glad to purchase peace by the cession of almost 
 all their conquests in Palestine. Next year, when the Earl 
 of Cornwall, with the English levy, arrived at the scene of 
 action, he found, to his surprise, that all the territories and 
 privileges which had been ceded to the emperor of Germany 
 were lost ; and that a few fortresses, and a small strip of ter- 
 ritory on the coast, comprised all that the Latins possessed in 
 Palestine. He immediately prepared for the vigorous prose- 
 cution of hostilities. But the Sultan, being involved in war 
 with his brother in Damascus, readily granted favourable 
 terms as the price of peace namely, the cession to the Chris- 
 tian armies of Jerusalem, Beirut, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Mount 
 Tabor, and a large tract of the adjoining country. But the 
 kingdom of Jerusalem, thus so happily re-established, was sub- 
 verted by a calamity from a new and unexpected quarter. In 
 the interior of Asia the conquests of Ghenghis Khan had 
 brought about the most stupendous revolutions, and the bar- 
 barous hordes of the desert, flying before his conquering sword, 
 rushed like a torrent on other nations. The Kharismians, 
 unable to withstand this powerful invader, were driven upon 
 Syria, and the coalesced powers of Saracen and Christian were 
 onable to resist their powerful assault. The Christian host 
 was overthrown in a great battle, which lasted two days, and 
 in which the grand masters of two orders, and most of the 
 
 * Both these mosques stand on Mount Moriah ; the Christians believed that the 
 osque El-Aksa (which was originally a Christian church), and the Moslems that Utt 
 Btoeque of Omar, occupied the precise site of Solomon's Temple. 
 
THE EIGHTH AND NINTH CRUSADES. 423 
 
 knights, were slain. The merciless invaders revelled in the 
 B&ck and pillage of the holy city, sparing neither sex nor age; 
 and it was not until the year 1247 that they were routed near 
 Damascus, by the Syrians and Mamluks, and driven back to 
 their former settlements on the Caspian Sea. 
 
 4. Each new disaster of the Christian arms served to re- 
 kindle the languishing zeal of the Europeans ; and Louis IX. 
 of France fitted out an immense armament for the Holy Land, 
 consisting of 1800 sail, in which he embarked an army of 
 50,000 men. He landed in Egypt, and, after storming the 
 town of Damietta, advanced along the sea-coast towards Cairo, 
 when his troops were so wasted by sickness and famine, that 
 they fell an easy prey to the enemy. The king, the most of hia 
 nobles, and the remnant of his army, were made prisoners; 
 and it was owing to the clemency of the Sultan Moadhdham, 
 who accepted a ransom for their lives, that Louis, with hia 
 few surviving followers, was permitted to embark for Palestine. 
 
 5. The power of the Christians in Palestine, weakened, 
 among other causes, by internal dissensions, was now vigo- 
 rously assailed by the Sultan Bibars, the Mamluk sovereign 
 of Egypt. He invaded Palestine with a formidable army, 
 advanced to the gates of Acre, and, reducing the towns of 
 Sepphoris and Azotus, massacred or carried into captivity 
 numbers of Christians. The important city of Antioch yielded 
 to his powerful assault, when 40,000 of the inhabitants were 
 put to the sword, and 100,000 carried into captivity. The 
 report of these cruelties in Europe gave rise to the ninth and 
 last Crusade against the infidels, which was undertaken by 
 Louis, the French king, sixteen years after his return from 
 captivity. In place of directing his arms immediately against 
 Palestine, he landed in Africa, and laid siege to Carthage, 
 which he reduced. But he perished miserably on the burn- 
 ing sands of Africa, of a pestilential disease, which proved 
 fatal also to many of his troops ; and thus ingloriously termi- 
 nated this expedition, whic h was the last undertaken by the 
 Europeans for the recovery of the Holy Land. 
 
 6. The Europeans in Palestine were now confined within 
 the walls of Acre, their last stronghold, which was besieged 
 by a Mamluk host of 200,000 troops, that issued from Egypt, 
 and encamped on the adjacent plain. In this their last con 
 
PALESTINE INVADED BY BONAPARTB. 
 
 flict with the infidels of the Holy Land, the Europeans fully 
 maintained the glory of their high name. They displayed aU 
 the devotion of martyrs in a holy cause, and performed pro- 
 digies of valour. But, equalled as they were in discipline, 
 and fearfully overmatched in numbers, by their enemies, they 
 were overborne by the weight and violence of their attacks, 
 and in the storm and sack of the city, all either perished o: 
 were carried into captivity. Thus terminated for e\er al 
 those visions of glory and conquest by which so many adven- 
 turers were seduced from Europe to the Holy Land, there to 
 perish under the complicated perils of disease and the sword. 
 The other smaller towns which still remained in possession of 
 the Christians yielded without a struggle to the Moslem arms, 
 and, under the religious tyranny of the infidels which suc- 
 ceeded, the Christians in Palestine were everywhere reduced 
 to the lowest degree of debasement. The pilgrims who still 
 visited Jerusalem were exposed to insult and danger; and 
 large contributions were exacted by their oppressors for a free 
 passage through the Holy Land. The Mamluk Sultans of 
 Egypt continued to rule over Palestine till the year 1382, 
 when the country was overrun by a barbarous tribe from the 
 interior of Asia. On their expulsion, the sovereignty of the 
 Egyptian Sultans was again acknowledged, until the country 
 yielded to the formidable irruption of the great Tamerlane. 
 At his death Jerusalem reverted to the kingdom of Egypt, 
 and was finally subdued by the Turks, under whose barba- 
 rous rule it has continued for more than 300 years. The 
 country was partitioned into provinces, in each of which a 
 pasha ruled with a despotic authority equal to that of the 
 Sultan. 
 
 7. In this condition Palestine remained without any re- 
 markable event in its history, except that for nearly three 
 centuries it was the scene of domestic broils, insurrections, 
 and massacres, until the memorable invasion of Egypt by the 
 French aimy. Bonaparte, being apprised that preparations 
 were making in the pachalik of Acre for attacking him in 
 Egypt, resolved, according to his usual tactics, to anticipate 
 the movements of his enemies. He accordingly marched 
 across the desert which divides Egypt from Palestine, and 
 invaded the country at the head of 10,000 troops. El-Adah 
 
SIEGE OF ACRE. 425 
 
 Surrendered, and the lives of the garrison were spared on 
 condition that they should not serve against him during the 
 war. Gaza also yielded without opposition ; and Jaffa, 
 Btoimed after a brave resistance, was given up to pillage, 
 The French army then proceeded to form the siege of Acre ; 
 and this fortress, the last scene of conflict between the Chris- 
 tians and infidels of former days, became a modern field of 
 battle, in which were exhibited prodigies of valour that 
 rivalled the most renowned deeds of those chivalric times. 
 The trenches were opened on the 10th of March ; in ten 
 days a breach was effected, and a desperate assault took 
 place. At first the defenders were forced to give way ; but 
 Djezzar Pasha, who had shut himself within the walls, an<* 
 who was aided by Sir Sidney Smith with a body of British 
 jailors, rushed forward among the thickest of the combatants, 
 and, animating the troops by his example, drove back the 
 enemy with heavy loss. Bocaparte still persevered in a 
 series of furious assaults against the fortress, which were all 
 most gallantly repelled ; and after a protracted siege of sixty 
 days, a last assault was ordered, which being equally unsuc- 
 cessful with all former attempts, and attended with the losg 
 of borne of his bravest warriors, dictated the necessity of an 
 immediate retreat. 
 
 8. In the present century a new power arose in the East, 
 namely, that of Mehemet Ali, pasha of Egypt, who, having 
 collected large treasures and a well-disciplined army, openly 
 renounced his allegiance to the Grand Signior. A war took 
 place, in which the hasty levies of Turkey were broken and 
 put to flight by the veteran troops of Egypt ; and a series of 
 brilliant successes added Syria, with Palestine, to the pasha's 
 iominion. The people generally were disposed to hail the 
 change of masters with pleasure ; and by a well-advised and 
 moderate system of government, Mehemet Ali might have 
 bound them firmly to his person and his cause. But, 
 although in some respects an enlightened man, his notions of 
 government were still Oriental and despotic ; and the sort of 
 European discipline and order which he had introduced into 
 his civil and military service, was chiefly valued by him as 
 an instrument in giving the more general and certain effect 
 to bis extortions. The Syrians soon discovered that, instead 
 
426 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 of being relieved from the exactions of the Turkish govern* 
 ment, much heavier burdens were laid upon them. The 
 conscription, or forcible impressment of young men for the 
 army, and the disarming of the population, were, however, 
 the measures which created the most general discontent, and 
 led to such disturbances and revolts, as encouraged the Porte 
 in the design which it had always entertained, of reducing 
 the pasha and recovering the ceded provinces. Eventually a 
 Turkish army appeared on the northern frontier of Syria, 
 and soon came into collision with the Egyptian army under 
 Ibrahim Pasha, eldest son of Mehemet Ali. The Turks were 
 completely routed by the Egyptians in the battle of Nezib ; and 
 the great powers of Europe then deemed it right to interfere, 
 to prevent Ibrahim from pursuing his victory, and to crush 
 the ambitious designs of his father. This was accomplished 
 chiefly through the brilliant operations of an English fleet, 
 under Admiral Stopford and Commodore Napier, by which 
 Acre and other strongholds on the coast were taken for the 
 Sultan ; and the pasha was at length compelled to evacuate 
 Syria, and restore it to the dominion of the Porte, which has 
 eince administered the government of the country with greater 
 mildness, and with less disregard of European influence, than 
 they formerly manifested. Jerusalem, which had long been 
 overlooked in the policy of nations, has recently become of 
 importance in the eyes of the greatest states in the world. 
 The five great powers of Europe have established consuls in 
 the city, and two of them, England and Prussia, have joined 
 to foond there an Anglican Episcopate, in connection with 
 iriuci a Protestant church has been built upon Mount Zion. 
 
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